{"id":45,"date":"2021-09-28T18:02:08","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T18:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/intro-to-political-science\/chapter\/chapter-2\/"},"modified":"2022-08-23T22:32:24","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T22:32:24","slug":"chapter-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/intro-to-political-science\/chapter\/chapter-2\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 2: Political Science","rendered":"Chapter 2: Political Science"},"content":{"raw":"

Chapter 2 What is Political Science?<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\u201cThe man who knows and concerns himself with his own interests is thought to have practical wisdom, while politicians are thought to be busybodies.\u201d[1]\r\n\r\n\u201cPolitical Science must be based on a recognition of the interdependence of theory and practice, which can be attained only through a combination of utopia and reality.\u201d[2]\r\n
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<\/header>\r\n
\r\n\r\nStudents should be able to:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Identify what is political science<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Distinguish among the various subfields in political science<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Investigate how the major of political science contributes to educate students and prepare them for \u201cthe real world\u201d<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nPolitical science is one of the social sciences like Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology.\u00a0 Political Science studies the state, institutions, and power as well as how all these variables interconnect with culture, economics, identity, and society, in both the domestic and international spheres. It\u2019s consistent focus on power helps separate political science from other social sciences.\u00a0 The discipline has its own epistemological[3] perspectives along with normative and empirical approaches.\u00a0 Questions remain about how well political scientists have been able to make accurate predictions about the political world in which we live.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_44\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"150\"]\"Bust Figure 2.1 Bust of Aristotle[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAny discussion of what Political Science is becomes a multi-millennial enterprise.\u00a0 From pre-Socratic philosophers to the 21st century, there is a multiplicity of scholars to study, who made contributions to the discipline of political science throughout the ages.\u00a0 Aristotle is a good start to the study of political science.\u00a0 Aristotle defined political science as politik\u00ea epist\u00eam\u00ea (political knowledge).\u00a0 While Aristotle considered political science an art, he also looked at political science as a creative science that is normative and empirical.\u00a0 Aristotle maintains that, \u201cit seems that those who aim at knowing about the art of politics need experience as well.\u201d[4]\r\n\r\nAristotle provides for a vision of political science that has various dimensions; which is made clear in this explanation:\r\n\r\nThe distinction which is made between the king and the statesman is as follows: When the government is personal, the ruler is a king; when, according to the rules of the political science, the citizens rule and are ruled in turn, then he is called a statesman. \u2026 We must therefore look at the elements of which the state is composed, in order that we may see in what the different kinds of rule differ from one another, and whether any scientific result can be attained about each one of them.[5]\r\n\r\nThis Aristotelian approach to political science has created a space for the historical development of the discipline.\u00a0 Like Aristotle, political scientists ask questions, create hypotheses, investigate events, theorize, and provide for conceptual analysis.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    <\/td>\r\nPolitical Theory<\/strong><\/td>\r\nDomestic Politics (American Politics)<\/strong><\/td>\r\nPolitical Behavior and Research Methods<\/strong><\/td>\r\nComparative Politics<\/strong><\/td>\r\nInternational Relations<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Questions<\/strong><\/td>\r\n1. What ought to be \u2026?<\/td>\r\n2. What can be\u2026?<\/td>\r\n3. What is\u2026?<\/td>\r\nQuestions 2 and 3<\/td>\r\nAll three questions<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Ideas<\/strong><\/td>\r\nEthical<\/td>\r\nCautious \u00a0\u00a0Pragmatism<\/td>\r\nEmpirical<\/td>\r\nAll three ideas<\/td>\r\nAll three ideas<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Explanations<\/strong><\/td>\r\nAnalysis (1)<\/td>\r\nEvaluation (2)<\/td>\r\nHypothesis (3)<\/td>\r\nTwo and Three<\/td>\r\nAll three<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nPolitical Theory<\/strong> studies classical, contemporary, normative, and critical theories.\u00a0 Political theory has traditionally created a safe space for western political thought at the cost of non-western traditions. <\/span>Because political science is a divided discipline, meaning that most of the time political scientists isolate themselves in their field, the result is a discipline with diverse research but little communication across its subfields.<\/span>[6]\u00a0 The following are disciplinary subfields in political science that are generally well accepted: political theory, domestic politics (e.g.: American politics, French politics, Peruvian politics, etc.), political behavior and research methods, comparative politics, and international relations.<\/span>[7]\u00a0 Each one will be discussed in turn.<\/span>\r\n\r\nSpeaking about political theory, political theorist Arlene Saxonhouse states that:\r\n\r\nReading texts is not merely illuminating, historically enlightening; \u2026 the careful reading of literature is the source of our humanity and identity. \u2026 there are those who turn to political theory for enlightenment about our condition in the contemporary world, for guidance about the normative choices that we as political creatures confront, \u2026 the conversations we must have about the meaning of political life.[8]\r\n\r\nPolitical theorists ask challenging questions that confront the political world.\u00a0 The dialogue about political life is key to effective governance.\u00a0 In short, political theorists ask normative questions seeking to provoke discussions that explain political life through various lenses.\r\n\r\nDomestic Politics<\/strong> (focused here in American politics) emphasizes state and local politics, national government, public policy, public opinion, and civic engagement.\u00a0 In the United States, studying American government allows for a discussion of the relationship among local, state, and federal levels of government.\u00a0 Civil rights and civil liberties interpret domestic relations between the state, government, and individuals.\r\n\r\nWriting to George Wythe in 1776, John Adams makes for a series of intriguing arguments for the formation of a new American government.\u00a0 Adams\u2019 \u201cThoughts on Government\u201d allows the student of early American political thought to understand how American institutions would take shape and how the Constitution would allocate powers to the different branches of government.\u00a0 While John Adams was still a British subject and the British empire still had hold of the thirteen colonies, he emphasizes, how:\r\n\r\na republic is the best of governments, \u2026 that form of government which is best contrived to secure an impartial and exact execution of the laws, is the best of republics. \u2026 It should think, feel, reason and act like them.\u00a0 That it may be the interest of this assembly to do strict justice at all times, it should be an equal representation \u2026 Great care should be taken to effect this, and to prevent unfair, partial, and corrupt elections.[9]\r\n\r\nThe predictions contained in this document demonstrate how much debate, thought, consideration, analysis, and compromise took place to form the United States even before the revolutionary war.\u00a0 In 1776, Adams provides for a blueprint of the republic that is enjoyed today by most Americans.\r\n\r\nPolitical Behavior and Research Methods<\/strong> promote scientific knowledge for the discipline.\u00a0 Empirical analysis includes the use of surveys and questionnaires, observations and data coding, document analysis, and quasi-experimental design research.\u00a0 By using methodology, political scientists have the ability to make certain types of predictions, like how voters will behave or how wars begin (see J. David Singer\u2019s Correlates of War Project<\/em>).\u00a0 Political behavior received its impetus from the behavioral revolution of the 1950s and 1960s.\r\n\r\nA large part of what political scientists do in research methods is quasi-experimental design.\u00a0 Campbell and Stanley state that, \u201cThere are many natural social settings in which the research person can introduce something like experimental design into his scheduling of data collection procedures.\u201d[10]\u00a0 The social sciences in general have a natural propensity for quasi-experimental design; because of the types of variables researchers use, the conclusion is \u201cevery experiment is imperfect.\u201d[11]\r\n\r\nThe researcher must be aware of both the strengths and weakness of the experiment.\u00a0 \u201cThe task of theory-testing data collection is therefore predominantly one of rejecting inadequate hypotheses<\/em>.\u201d[12]\u00a0 Political scientists use the scientific method to accomplish their research (research question\/purpose, research, hypothesis, testing and experiment, data collection and analysis, and conclusion).\u00a0 The issue remains for political scientists: how to control human subjects?\u00a0 Of course, how to make effective predictions about political behavior and about political decision-making continues to prove difficult.\r\n\r\nComparative Politics<\/strong> is one of the oldest fields in political science if one considers the work done with philosophical texts or even the work that Aristotle did with searching and studying constitutions throughout ancient Greece.\u00a0 Yet, comparative politics is considered a newer field in political science with a focus on comparing and contrasting countries (political culture, institutions, political parties, nationalism, electoral systems, ethnic conflict, etc.) and\/or regions.\r\n\r\nComparative politics has made specific contributions to the discipline of political science.\u00a0 Political scientists ask the following questions: \u201cWhat explained successes? What tensions and cleavages were unleashed by failure?\u201d[13] For example, the comparative work in political parties lacks sustainable and consistent analysis.\u00a0 Political science literature \u201cin the U.S. is not strong on comparative analysis \u2026 The American literature deals mainly with home-grown political parties and makes relatively few comparisons with parties in other countries.\u201d[14]\u00a0 The goal is to have comparative politics to be broader in the study of political parties: \u201cComparative research on political parties pays great attention to parties\u2019 positions on issues with cross-national significance.\u201d[15]\u00a0 European scholars have produced comparative scholarship that \u201creflects the great strength of European political science in structural comparative politics.\u201d[16]\u00a0 Comparative politics has developed asymmetrically.\r\n\r\nThe relationships among countries are critical to understand the complexity of global politics.\u00a0 International relations examines issues, like: 1) causes of events like war or famine; 2) globalization and trade under international political economy; 3) international organizations and various stakeholders; 4) leadership and decision making along with foreign policy; to name only a few.\r\n\r\nDecision-Making and Leadership<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWhile not a recognized subfield of political science, considerable work has been done in the areas of decision-making and leadership<\/strong>.\u00a0 Decisions are an essential component of human life.\u00a0 Making decisions for a nation and on behalf of a government is crucial, but not everyone makes those decisions.\u00a0 The literature on decision-making and leadership is vast.\u00a0 Qualities of a leader are vast and range from personal to professional and from moral or ethical to religious.\r\n\r\nLeadership styles in the discipline of political science are typical of other social sciences.\u00a0 Machiavelli has been historically used with his \u2018lion and the fox\u2019 analogy to explain how leaders ought to behave in office.\u00a0 The Machiavellian proposition for a leader to avoid being loved or hated and for a leader to be feared made as much sense in the 16th century as it does in the 21st century.\r\n\r\nIn Leadership Matters: Unleashing the Power of Paradox<\/em> (2012), Tom Cronin and Michael Genovese have an approach to leadership that helps political leaders of the 21st century to lead and be proactive in their role as effective leaders.\u00a0 To take liberties with Cronin and Genovese\u2019s work, leaders must have:\r\n