Politics Governance and Citizenships REVIEWER

Politics, Governance and Citizenship
Politics - is the study of power and powerful, of influence and influential, of rules and
the ruled, and of authority and the authoritative.
Prominent political philosophers defines politics as:
 Aristotle- man is by nature a political animal.
 Han Morganthan- struggle for power
 Bernard Crick- study of conflict of interest and how concillated.
Definition of terms
The 1998 New Oxford Dictionary of English defines:
Politics- refers to the activities associated with the government of a country, especially
the debate between parties hoping to achieve power.
Political Science- branch of knowledge that deals with the state and systems of
government.
Governance- is the action or manner of governing.
Governing- means conducting the policy, actions, and affairs of state.
Constitution- a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to
which a state is acknowledged.
Political Science Defined
In the traditional definition, Political Science is the systematic study in all its elements,
aspects and relationships.
Jean Bodin- French political philosopher defines Political Science as the systematic
study of the state and government.
Political- derived from the Greek word polis, meaning a city which is known today as
sovereign state.
Science- comes from the Latin word scire, meaning ‘’ to know ‘’ and ciencia meaning ‘’
knowledge of study ‘’.
Jacobsen- defines political science as the analysis of the state and relations of people
with the government.
Evolution of the Study of Politics
Politics as we know today started about 2,500 years ago in a place called Hellas, which
is now called Greece. People lived in communities called a polis meaning city state.
One of the famous city of Greece is Athens.
Athens first featured professors was SOCRATES.
Politics and Power
Politics- involves disagreements and the reconciliation of those disagreements.
Sources of Power
1. Expert power- based on the perception that the leader possesses some special
knowledge or expertise.
2. Referent power- the follower’s liking, admiring and identifying with the leader
3. Reward power- based on the capacity of the leaders to negotiate in others
behalf, by means of rewards for his followers.
4. Legitimate power- based on the follower’s perception of the leader.
5. Coercive power- based on the follower’s fear that non-compliance with leader’s
wishes will lead to punishment. Leader knows how to use force.
Approaches in the study of Politics
1. The Traditional Historical approach- most political scientist use history while
traditionalist concentrate almost exclusively on this era.
2. The Scientific Behavioralist approach- concentrating on the informal aspects
of politics a behavioralist seeks to understand how individuals behave within
political institution and how informal behavior contributes to policy making.
3. The General Theory approach- employs to identify all the critical structures
and processes of society, explain their interrelationship with politics and predict a
wide array of governmental outcomes.
4. The system approach- the essence of system theory is that the politics of a
country can be depicted by the interaction between the social environment and
an abstract political system which processes or converts demands and supports
into outputs, producing an overall stability or homeostasis.
5. The Structural-Functional approach- The essence of this approach is that it
specifies the-activities of a viable political system and explains how these
functions must be performed to maintain the stability of the political system.
6. The Political Economy Approach- Political economy studies are concern with
the relationship between government and economics. Economics involves
conflicts over scarce resources while politics generally involves decisions about
who will pay and who will benefit from the production and distribution of products
and services.
Scope in the Study of Political Science
Political science is a very comprehensive field. Its curriculum is almost certain to
include courses in political theory, public law and public administration as well as in
various more specialized subjects.
1. Political Theory- the entire body of doctrines relating to the origin, form,
behavior and purposes of the state are dealt with.
2. Psychology- the study of the mental and emotional processes motivating the
political behavior of individuals and groups. Some topics are public opinion,
propaganda.
3. Philosophy- These concepts are the underlying forces in the framing of the in
the framing of the constitution and laws called ethics, when it contemplates the
moral background of proposed changes in social legislation.
4. Statistics and Legic- Political theorist must have broad scientific background
and knowledge of current political problems and he must employ scientific
methods in gathering and evaluating data and in drawing conclusions.
5. Jurisprudence- This branch of law which is concerned with the analysis of
existing legal systems and also with ethical, historical, sociological and
psychological foundations of law.
Functions of Political Science
1. To discover the principles that should be adhered-to in public affairs and to
study the operations of government;
2. It deals with the practical use of executive, legislative and judicial branches on
the constitutional modes and norms that are applied to situations;
3. It also deals with on the problems of social welfare, governmental economic
programs, international cooperation, military alliances and agreements that are of
urgent matters to public officials and to private citizens.
The three related concepts that are important questions in political science:
1.Legitimacy - an attitude in people's mind that the government has a right to rule;
2. Sovereignty-the nation wide control over the territory of a particular country;
3. Authority- meaning the leader is being followed by obedience.

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