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Handouts #1

The study of Political Science

*Political Science is the systematic study of the state and government. The word
“political” is derived from the Greek word polis, meaning a city, or what today would be the
equivalent of a sovereign state. The word “science” comes from the Latin word scire, “to know.”
(*Text Book on the Philippine Constituion 2011 by Hector S. De Leon and Hector M. De Leon Jr.)

*Political science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state,
nation, government, and politics and policies of government. Aristotle defined it as the study of
the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political
systems, political behavior, and political culture.

Political scientists "see themselves engaged in revealing the relationships underlying


political events and conditions, and from these revelations they attempt to construct general
principles about the way the world of politics works."

Political science intersects with other fields; including economics, law, sociology,
history, anthropology, public administration, public policy, national politics, international
relations, comparative politics, psychology, political organization, and political theory.
Although it was codified in the 19th century, when all the social sciences were established,
political science has ancient roots; indeed, it originated almost 2,500 years ago with the works of
Plato and Aristotle.

Political science is commonly divided into distinct sub-disciplines which together


constitute the field: Political theory; Comparative politics; Public Administration;
International relations; Public law; Political methodology;

Political theory is more concerned with contributions of various classical thinkers such
as Aristotle, Niccolò Machiavelli, Cicero, Plato and many others. Comparative politics is the
science of comparison and teaching of different types of constitutions, political actors, legislature
and associated fields, all of them from an intrastate perspective. International relations deals
with the interaction between nation-states as well as intergovernmental and transnational
organizations.

Political science is methodologically diverse and appropriates many methods originating


in social research. Approaches include positivism, interpretivism, rational choice theory,
behavioralism, structuralism, post-structuralism, realism, institutionalism, and pluralism.
Political science, as one of the social sciences, uses methods and techniques that relate to the
kinds of inquiries sought: primary sources such as historical documents and official records,
secondary sources such as scholarly journal articles, survey research, statistical analysis, case
studies, experimental research and model building. (*From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

Concepts of State and Government


Meaning of State. - A state is a community of persons more or less numerous,
permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, having a government of their own to which
the great body of inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control.

Elements of a state. - 1. People - The mass of the population living within the state;
“people” answers the question, “who governs whom?” There is no specific number requirement;
“…the state shall neither be too small nor yet one that seems great but has no unity.” (Plato) 2.
Territory - demarcated area that rightly belongs to the population; “territory” answers the
question, “where?” terrestrial, fluvial, maritime and aerial; should be permanent and large
enough to be self-sufficing. 3. Government - Refers to the agency to which the will of the state
is formulated, expressed, and carried out. 4. Sovereignty - May be defined as the supreme power
of the state to command and enforce obedience to its will from the people within its jurisdiction
and corollarily to have freedom from foreign control. “Sovereignty” may be Internal – power of
the state to rule within its territory or External – the freedom of the state to carry out its activities
without subjection to or control by other states.

*Origin of states

There are several theories concerning the origin of states, among which are:

Divine Right Theory. – It holds that the state is of divine creation and the ruler is ordained by
God to govern the people. Reference has been made by advocates of this theory to the laws
which Moses received at Mount Sinai;
Necessity or force theory. – It maintains that states must have been created through force, by
some great warriors who imposed their will upon the weak;
Paternalistic theory. – It attributes the origin of states to the enlargement of the family which
remained under the authority of the father or mother. By natural stages, the family grew into a
clan, then developed into a tribe which broadened into a nation and the nation became a state;
and
Social contract theory. – It asserts that the early states must have been formed by deliberate and
voluntary compact among the people to form a society and organize government for their
common good. This theory justifies the right of the people to revolt against a bad ruler. (*Textbook
on the Philippine Constitution 2011 by Hector S. De Leon and Hector M. De Leon)

Purpose and necessity of government

Governments of all the countries, including the Philippines, have these purposes. They
are defense, national identity, representation, social welfare and infrastructure. Our
government according to our Constitution has, basically, three branches - the Executive, the
Legislative and the Judicial - that help in the all-round functioning of a government. Take a
look at the five main purposes of a government.

Defense: One of these purposes of government is to defend the borders of the nation
against foreign invasion. Hence, all governments have some form of defense system that
includes the army, the navy and the air force. Maintaining internal order is also one of the critical
defense purposes of a government. This is taken care of by the internal police force.
National Identity: Each nation is unique in its own way. Each nation has its own
traditions and culture. It is said that for a nation to exist, it must have an identity. For instance, no
two flags of any two nations are alike nor are the national anthems and pledges. Hence, one of
the most important functions of a government is to protect and uphold the identity of its nation.

Representation: A government represents the interests of the nation. To protect and


safeguard the interests of the nation, the government enters into bilateral trade agreements,
negotiations, treaties and so on, with the governments of other nations.

Infrastructure: One of the main purposes of the government is to provide good


infrastructure to all its countrymen in the form of roads, bridges, drinking water, electricity and
communication networks.

Social Welfare: Last but not the least, introducing social welfare programs to protect and
fulfill the interests of the minorities, such as to provide education and healthcare facilities to the
underprivileged classes of the economy, is one of the primary purposes of the government.

*Forms of Government

The principal forms are the following:

As to number of persons exercising sovereign powers:

Monarchy or one in which the supreme and final authority is in the hands of a single person
without regard to the source of his election or the nature or duration of his tenure. Monarchies
are further classified into – Absolute monarchy or one in which the ruler rules by divine right;
and Limited monarchy or one which the ruler rules in accordance with a constitution.
Aristocracy or one in which political power is exercised by few privileged class which is known
as an aristocracy or oligarchy; and
Democracy or one in which political power is exercised by a majority of the people. Democratic
governments are further classified into – Direct or pure democracy or one in which the will of
the state is formulated or expressed directly and immediately through the people in mass meeting
or primary assembly rather than through the medium of delegates or representatives chosen to act
for them; and Indirect, representative, or republican democracy or one in which the will of the
state is formulated and expressed through the agency of a relatively small and select body of
persons chosen by the people to act as their representatives.

As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government:

Unitary government or one in which the control of national and local affairs is exercised by the
central or national government; and
Federal government or one in which the powers of government are divided between two sets of
organs, each organ being supreme within its own sphere. The United States is a federal
government.
As to relationship between the executive and legislative branches of the government:

Parliamentary government or one in which the state confers upon the legislature the power to
terminate the tenure of office of the real executive. Under this system, the Cabinet or ministry is
immediately and legally responsible to the legislature and immediately or politically responsible
to the electorate, while the titular or nominal executive – the Chief of State – occupies a position
of irresponsibility; and
Presidential government or one in which the state makes the executive constitutionally
independent of the legislature as regards his tenure and to a large extent as regards his policies
and acts and furnishes him with sufficient powers to prevent the legislature from trenching upon
the sphere marked out by the constitution as executive independence and prerogative. (*Textbook on
the Philippine Constitution 2011 by Hector S. De Leon and Hector M. De Leon)

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