POLITICAL SCIENCE

Political Science:
We have already read the meaning of the term politics. Now we will see what political science means. Many a times, the two terms “politics” and “political science” are used interchangeably. Aristotle used the term ‘politics’ instead of political science. Originally the discipline, which studies state, came to be designated as politics. Later on philosophers started using the term political science and in the early 20th century almost all the political scientist used the term “political science”. Now a large number of political scientist use both these terms but preferred to use political science. But there are some distinction between political science and politics. Political science is a body of knowledge about the state and politics refers to the actual operation of a political system.
Origin of the discipline of Political science can be dates back to the origin of the state. As an academic discipline it is concern about individual’s, groups, their political institutions, structures, arrangements, terminologies and activities such as the state, government, citizenship, public administration, public affairs etc. It is a part of social science revolves around individual and his/her political environment, which is a vital ingredient of social life. There is no universally accepted definition of political science. As a separate subject, Political Science concerned with the study of state, government, citizenship etc. Definitions of political science have two different manifestations, i.e. traditional and modern. Traditional definitions identify political science as the study of the state, government, society etc. whereas modern school defines political science as the study of political system, power and authority.

Traditional view to Political Science:

Traditionally Political Science is related with the study of the state and government. Aristotle, the ‘Father of Political Science’ used the term politics, from which the term political science is derived, to denote the state. Hence, the traditional school of Political Scientist considers that as the body of knowledge about the state and its various manifestations. This school defines Political Science as the study of the state, the government, their prospects and practices and so on. They viewed Political Science as the science of the state and government or the theory of the state and government. It talks about the systematic study of the state and the process of governing its internal and external affairs, both theoretically and from its empirical dimensions. To this school Political Science is somewhat different from that of politics. They have provided numerous definitions of Political Science. Some of these are mentioned below---
According to Garner, “Political Science begins and ends with the state.” According to Paul Janet, Political Science is a “part of social science which treats of the foundations of the state and the principles of government.” Gettel defines it as “the historical investigation of what the state has been an analytical study of what the state is and a political-ethical discussion of what the state ought to be.” P. Jenks observes that Political Science is a subject which deals with the state and government.” To Willoughby, “Generally speaking there are three topics with which Political Science deals with-the State, Law and Government.”
From these definitions mentioned above, we can say that, the idea of Political Science spins around the concepts like state, government, political systems, ideologies, theories and affairs of national and international lives, power, authority, legitimacy etc. In simple words Political Science is a subject which studies the activities of state and government. It contains the study of both the organizations and functions of the state, government and the principles and theories appear in the political life with the course of history.
Modern view to Political Science:

Modern Political Scientists believe that traditional view regarding Political Science is unscientific and backed by illusion. According to modern view, Political Science studies politics and political relations. To them Political Science is the science of political relations and interactions characterized by power. Here, focal point of consideration is power. It studies the political relationship of the individuals and the social groups with that of political institutions. This provides a wider connotation to that of Political Science. There are several definitions of Political Science given by the modern school. Some of these are given below.
According to Jellinek, “The task of political science is to study in their fundamental relations the public powers, to examine the conditions under which they manifest themselves, their end and their effect, and to investigate the state in its inner nature.” Apter defines Political Science as, “Taken as whole political science is about the relations between the rulers and ruled, and the means and the ends each employs.” To Harold Lasswell also politics is the process of shaping and sharing power.
From these definitions, one can derive the fact that the modern Political Scientists accept Political Science as the study of power relations and prefer to use the term ‘Politics’ than ‘Political Science’. In its modern connotations, the concept of Political Science can be defined as the analysis of power in relation to society. Moreover, the study of Political Science concentrates upon the concepts like political system, power, authority and many more.
Practically, one can combine the traditional as well as the modern view to Political Science to acquire the exact meaning of the term comprehensively. In summary, the discussion wants to draw the point that political science is one of the branches of social science which studies the state and its relation with other political institutions. It studies the activities of the individual in relation to political institutions and systems. As an academic discipline, Political Science includes the study of political institutions, activities and behaviours of individuals, social groups, state and non-state actors.

Scope of Political Science:


We have already discussed the meaning, concepts and definitions of Politics and Political Science. Now, we will explain the depth of the discipline. At this crucial juncture, we tend to focus on the subject matters, which comprise the study of Political Science. Regarding the scope, we can say it as an emerging area of study today having dynamism and overwhelming ness in its character. As the discipline lakes precision in defining and providing meaning to the concept of Political Science, there is no harmony among the scholars regarding its scope. Consequently, it is difficult to draw out the boundary lines for the scope of the discipline. But on the whole, we can say that the subject Political Science studies the concepts like the state and its organs; their past, present and future; government; political thoughts and ideologies; political groups and political structures; election and participation in politics; comparative politics and constitutions; concepts, theories and approaches to politics; political behavior, political authority, political infrastructure, public administration, international politics and the articulation of power, power-relation and other associated issues. It includes the study of the concepts like citizenship, democracy, justice, rights, nationalism, secularism, peace, development etc. As we have already know that it is a growing discipline and its scope is changing and updating day by day, it now incorporates all the regional, national and international affairs, having direct and indirect impact upon political lives of individuals and society concerned. Sir Frederic Pollock breaks up the subject of political science into two parts. Firstly, the Theoretical Politics- which studies the features of the state and the basic principles of government and secondly, the Applied Politics- which studies the actual working of any particular government. In this regard, it is important to describe the fact that, before second world war, political science primarily focus on the study of the state, but in the post second world war era, it shift its emphasis from state to the political system. Thus, political science comprehensively includes the study of the theoretical as well as empirical experiences related to state, government and political lives of individuals and social institutions, both structurally and from its empirical dimensions.