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P o lit ic s a n d
G o ve rna nc e
W it h
C o n s t it u t io n

Meaning of

The term political science is the
systematic study of the state and the
government

Meaning of

Political Science is a social science
regarding the practice and theory of
politics, the analysis of political
systems, and the study of political
behavior.

Meaning of

Political science is the study of
politics.
-public policy,
-national politics,
-political theory,
-international relations.

Brief
History of
The Ancient Greeks
• 2,500 years ago, Greek civilization emerged
• city states (‘the polis’) the center of political life
• the polis was center of the universe
• ‘idiot’ - word to describe someone with no
interest in politics

Brief
History of
Plato (427-347 BC)
• Founder of a lyceum (school) for politics and law (first of its kind)
• philosopher whose pedagogy was based on a dialogue b/w
student & teacher
• his political philosophy presented essentially in The Republic
• Deductive theory
• advocated a system of ‘enlightened dictatorship’ by
‘philosopher-kings’

Brief
History of
Plato (427-347 BC)
• Philosopher-Kings were selected from childhood
• subjected to an incredibly intensive education in
ethics, theoretical and practical politics, etc.
• groomed to lead from a very early age
• “who shall guard the guardians?” a key question

E T YM O L O G IC A
L D E F IN IT IO N

Greek
The word politics has its origins in Ancient
Greece. All of the cities in Ancient Greece, such as
Athens, Sparta, and Corinth, were referred to as
city-states and the Greek word for a city-state was
polis (πολις)

E T YM O L O G IC A
L D E F IN IT IO N

Latin word “Politicus “
– an adjective used to describe anything “of
the state”.��

SCOPE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

2. P o l i t i c a l
- e nT rh e oo y o f
ti e b d r y
d o c t r in e s r e la t in g t o
t h e o r ig in , f o r m ,
b e h a v io r a n d p u r p o s e s
o f the s ta te .


2 . P u b lic
- m d t h i ndi s ta n d i o n
Ae mo s ra t
t e c h n iq u e s u s e d in
a c tu a l ma na g e me nt o f
s t a t e a f f a ir s .


3 . P u b lic
l iL at wt i o n s u p o n
mi a
g o ve rnme nt
a u t h o r it y .

FUNCTION AND IMPORTANCE
OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
“ T h e f u n c t io n o f
p o lit ic a l s c ie n c e is t o
d is c o v e r t h e
p r in c ip le s t h a t s h o u ld
b e a d h e r e d t o in
p u b lic a f f a ir s t h a t
e v e n t u a lly w o u ld
s e rve a s a mo d e l tha t
c a n b e a p p lie d t o

GOALS IN THE STUDY OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE
1. E d u c a t i o n f o r
c it iz e n s h ip
- t h e p r im a r y o b je c t iv e
o f t h e p o lit ic a l s c ie n c e
c u r r ic u lu m is t o e q u ip
s t u d e n t s t o d is c h a r g e
t h e o b lig a t io n s o f
d e m o c r a t ic c it iz e n s h ip

GOALS IN THE STUDY OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE
2 . A n e s s e n t ia l f a c t o r f o r
s o c ia l t r a n s f o r m a t io n
- P h ilo s o p h y in t e r p r e t s
t h e w o r ld in v a r io u s
w a y s , b u t t h e p o in t ,
h o w e v e r , is t o c h a n g e
it .

What is Politics?
Man is a political animal
-Aristotle

If this is true, then politics is not only
prevalent in our lives, but inevitable.

We must understand politics to
meaningfully participate in it.

What is Politics?
“Politics is the gentle art
of getting votes from
the poor and campaign
funds from the rich by
promising to protect
each from the other.”
- Oscar Ameringer

What is Politics?
“I have never
regarded
politics as the
arena of
morals. It is the
arena of
interest.”
- Aneurin Bevan

What is Politics?
Contemporary Politics -
Some Preliminary Definitions
“Who gets what, when & how”
Harold Lasswell, 1936

“Politics is the exercise of power”
Robert Dahl (and other ‘realists’)

“Politics involves the authoritative allocation of
values for a society”
David Easton, The Political System, 1953

What is Politics?
The processes whereby a society makes binding
decisions
who pays how much tax?
Flat tax versus progressive/regressive schemes
Who controls social security investments?
How to regulate commercial activity?
How much can a polluter pollute?
What content is permissible in radio/television/movies?
How to regulate civil activity?
Should/can same sex partners marry?
Should terminally ill be able to choose to die?

Theory of Politics
1) Politics a Good Thing
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
2) Politics a Necessary Thing
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
John Locke (1632-1704)
3) Politics an Unnecessary Evil!
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921)

Why study politics?
• “Primitive” societies man was one with
nature.
– Development of strict hierarchies
• Men are “political animals”
• Aristotle (Politics)
• Bible full of political intrigue.

Why study politics?
Important issues
liberty / justice
stability / order / anarchy / terrorism
regulating important sets of activities

Politics and its objects
• Ideas and interests
– Democracy, Justice, feminism etc.
• State/Government
• Institutions
– Legislatures, Federalism, Political parties etc.
• Citizens/Communities
• Processes
– Elections, Socialization, Policy making etc.

The Conciliation of Interests
• Politics is a complex activity.
• When interests are uniform, there are
no politics.
• “The unique character of political
activity lies…in its publicity.”
• People cannot opt out of politics.
• Politics presupposes an established
order.

Is politics the only way
to conciliate interests?
• Certainly, there are many ways to
reconcile differences.
• Politics is a particular way of
reconciling differences.
– Tolerance, respect, support and
compromise are the language of
politics.
– Politics itself admits differences.

Summary
• Politics is the conciliation of diverse
interests in society
• Politics is a particular way of reconciling
differences: it is a civilizing activity.
• Political predicaments arise when
decisions have to be made and
alternative solutions are mutually
exclusive.

B. Concepts of State
and Government

M E A N IN G O F S T A T E

• A s t a t e is a
c o m m u n it y o f
pe rs ons more or
le s s n u m e r o u s ,
p e r m a n e n t ly
o c c u p y in g a d e f in it e
p o r t io n o f t e r r it o r y ,
in d e p e n d e n t o r
e x t e r n a lly

ELEMENTS OF A STATE

1. P e o p l e
- Th e
ma s s of
the
p o p u la t io
n liv in g
w it h in t h e
s ta te .

ELEMENTS OF A STATE

1. T e r r i t o r y
-
d e ma rc a te
d a re a
t h a t r ig h t ly
b e lo n g s t o
the
p o p u la t io n

“ t e r r it o r y ”
• t e r r e s t r ia l, f lu v ia l,
m a r it im e a n d a e r ia l
• s h o u ld b e p e r m a n e n t
a n d la r g e e n o u g h t o b e
s e lf -s u f f ic in g

ELEMENTS OF A STATE
1. G o v e r n m e n t
- R e fe rs to
the a g e nc y
t o w h ic h t h e
w ill o f t h e
s t a t e is
f o r m u la t e d ,
e xpre s s e d,
a n d c a r r ie d
o ut.

ELEMENTS OF A STATE
1. S o v e r e i g n t y
- M a y b e d e f in e d a s
the s u p re me p o w e r
o f the s ta te to
c omma nd a nd
e n f o r c e o b e d ie n c e
t o it s w ill f r o m t h e
p e o p le w it h in it s
ju r is d ic t io n a n d
c o r o lla r y t o h a v e

“ s o v e r e ig n t y ”
a. I n t e r n a l –
p o w e r o f the
s t a t e t o r u le
w it h in it s
t e r r it o r y
b. E x t e r n a l – t h e
fre e d o m o f th e
s ta te to c a rry
o u t it s a c t iv it ie s
w it h o u t

ORIGIN OF STATES

2. D i v i n e r i g h t t h e o r y - t h e
s t a t e is o f d iv in e c r e a t io n
a n d t h e r u le r is o r d a in e d b y
G o d t o g o v e r n t h e p e o p le .
3. N e c e s s i t y o r f o r c e t h e o r y -
s ta te s mus t ha ve b e e n
c re a te d th ro u g h fo rc e b y

ORIGIN OF STATES

3 . P a t e r n a lis t ic t h e o r y -
u n d e r t h e a u t h o r it y o f t h e
fa the r o r m o the r.( s ta g e s .,
n e x t s lid e )

4 . S o c ia l c o n t r a c t t h e o r y -
t h e o r y ju s t if ie s t h e r ig h t o f
t h e p e o p le t o r e v o lt

ORIGIN OF STATES

5 . C o n f lic t t h e o r y -
The conflict theory looks at how certain social
interactions occur through conflict. People engage
in conflict everyday to gain more power then others
in society.

NATURAL STAGES

FAMILY

CLAN

TRIBE

NATION

STATE

S TA TE
D IS T IN G U IS H E D
F R O M N A T IO N
“ T h e s t a t e is a
p o lit ic a l c o n c e p t
w h ile
a n a t io n is a n e t h n ic
c o nc e p t.”

S TA TE
F R O M N A T IO N
“ A s t a t e is n o t s u b je c t
to e x te rna l c o ntro l
w h ile a n a t io n m a y o r
m a y n o t b e in d e p e n d e n t
o f e x t e r n a l c o n t r o l. ”

S TA TE
F R O M N A T IO N
“ A s in g le s t a t e m a y
c o n s is t o f o n e o r m o r e
n a t io n s o r p e o p le a n d
c o n v e r s e l y , a s in g l e
n a t io n m a y b e m a d e u p
o f s e ve ra l s ta te s .”

S TA TE
F R O M G O VE R N M E N T
“ …t h e y a r e u s u a l l y
r e g a r d e d a s id e n t ic a l.
A s o r d in a r ily , t h e a c t s
o f the g o ve rnme nt a re
the a c ts o f the s ta te .”

S TA TE
F R O M G O VE R N M E N T
“ A s t a t e c a n n o t e x is t
w it h o u t a g o v e r n m e n t ,
b u t it is p o s s ib le t o
ha ve a g o ve rnme nt
w it h o u t a s t a t e . ”

Why must there be government?
• Purpose and necessity of government:

- Advancement of public welfare-protection
and security of people; preservation of the
state

- Consequence of absence- anarchy

“ f o r m s ” o f
g o ve rnm e nt re fe r to
t h e b a s ic r u le s b y
w h ic h a n a t io n
c a r r ie s o u t it s
p o lic ie s
t h e r e i s n o s t a n d a r d
fo r th e
c la s s if ic a t io n o f
g o ve rnme nts
a c t u a l

A S TO N U M B E R O F P E R S O N S
E X E R C IS IN G S O V E R IE G N
a . M O N P O WH Y S
ARC ER –
s u p r e m e a n d f in a l
a u t h o r it y is in t h e
h a n d s o f a s in g le
pe rs on.
b . A R IS T O C R A C Y-w h ic h
p o lit ic a l p o w e r is
e x e r c is e d b y
p r iv ile g e d c la s s .
c . D E M O C R A C Y -w h i c h

C L A S S IF IC A T IO N S O F
MONARC HY

a . A b s o lu t e
m o n a r c h y - w h ic h
t h e r u le r r u le s b y
d iv in e r ig h t .
b . L im it e d
m o n a r c h y - w h ic h
t h e r u le r r u le s in
a c c o r d a n c e w it h

C L A S S IF IC A T IO N S O F
DEMOC RAC Y

a . P u r e d e m o c r a c y-
t h r o u g h p e o p le in
a m a s s m e e t in g .
b . In d ir e c t
d e m o c r a c y -s e l e c t
body of pe rs ons
c ho s e n b y the
p e o p le t o a c t a s

A S TO E XTE N T O F P O WE R S
E X E R C IS E D
B Y TH E C E N TR A L O R
N A T IO N A L G O V E R N M E N T
• Un it a r y - c o n t r o l o f
n a t io n a l a n d lo c a l a f f a ir s
is e x e r c is e d b y t h e
c e n t r a l o r n a t io n a l
g o ve rnme nt
• F e de r al – p o w e rs o f the
g o v e r n m e n t a r e d iv id e d
b e tw e e n to s e ts o f
o rg a ns , o ne o f the

A S T O T H E R E L A T IO N S H IP
O F TH E B E TWE E N TH E
E X E C U T IV E A N D T H E
L E G IS L A T IV E B R A N C H E S O F
T H EP G O l i a R N M E a r y –
a. a r V E m e n t N T
le g is la t iv e a n d
e x e c u t iv e b o d ie s a r e
fu s e d to g e th e r

c. P r e s i d e n t i a l – t h e
e x e c u t iv e is
c o n s t it u t io n a lly

T H A N K YO U F O R
L I S T E N aN G A o u ! G O D
Th I n k y N D
B LES S

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