PAD120

INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE

CHAPTER 1
Introduction to Political Science
Prepared by:
Ms. Nurfaizah Abbdullah
University Technology MARA, Sabah Branch
 TOPICS COVERED
1.1 Definitions of Political Science
1.2 Is Political Science a science?
1.3 Scope of Political Science:
1.3.1 Public Administration
1.3.2 Political theory
1.3.3 Comparative Politics
1.3.4 International Relations
1.4 Relationship of Political Science with other Social Sciences:
1.4.1 Economy
1.4.2 History
1.4.3 Law
1.4.4 Sociology
1.4.5 Psychology
1.5 Methods of Studying Political Science
1.4.1 Scientific Methods
1.5.2 Non-scientific Methods

NFA 2 2
 What Is Political
Science?
Politics

Greek word Polis (city-state) the study of a

city i.e. state

Plato & Aristotle polis existed to seek its

common good, civic virtue and moral perfection.
-Art of living and working together

Aristotle man is by nature a political animal.

NFA 3
 Dhal (1970)- any persistent pattern
of human relationships that involves,
to a significant extent, power, rule or
authority

03/27/17 NFA
 Oxford - the science of dealing with
the form, organisation and
administration of a state, or part of
one, and with the regulations of its
relations with other state.

Laswell (1958) Politics is who

gets what, when and how.

03/27/17 NFA
 Redekop (1983) - refers to all activity
whose main purpose is one or more of the
following:
1.To reshape or influence governmental
structures of processes;
2.To influence or replace governmental office
holders;
3.To influence the formation of public policies;
4.To influence the implementation of public
policies;
5.To generate public awareness of, and response
to, governmental, processes, personnel and
policies; or
6.To gain a place of influence or power within
government

03/27/17 NFA
Science
Latin word Scientia (knowledge)
Zimmermann & Britt (2012)- Science is a
systematic and logical approach to
discovering how things in the universe
work.

03/27/17 NFA
 Definition of Political
Aristotle
Science
master science
Jean Bodin (1530-1596)
French political philosopher coined the term political
science (science politique).
Focus on the characteristic of the state gave political
science an abiding concern for the organization of
institutions related to law.
Reinforced by Montesquieu (1689-1755)
French philosopher.
Argued that all the functions of government could be
encompassed within the categories of legislation,
execution and the adjudication of law.

NFA 8
 Bluntschli- the science, which is concerned
with the state, which endeavors to
understand and comprehend the state in its
fundamental conditions, in its essential
nature, its various forms of manifestation, its
development

Moten & Islam (2006) - political science

studies not only the state but also the society
as a whole in so far as they are related to the
various institutions of the state.

03/27/17 NFA
 Is Political Science is a
Science?
Political science is the body of systematized knowledge.

Consists of several steps; formulation of the problem,

observation, classification, hypothesis, verification and
prediction.

Political science follows this scientific method while

studying a social phenomenon. i.e political scientists
observes the voting behavior in particular constituency
systematically.

Thus, political science is an empirical science that

accumulates both quantified and qualitative data.

NFA 10
Political science
cannot be scientific
because:
Cannot be reproduced in a
laboratory.
Political science deals with
dynamic human beings and
not with static objects.
Human beings are also self-
consciousness with the
capacity for altering and
planning behavior.
Thus, scientific approach
would not explain clearly
what is happening in politics.
NFA
Politics can be
scientific because:
Political science studies
human behavior. Though
human behavior is complex
but such behavior follows
regular patterns
They are discoverable and
verifiable through careful
and systematic observations
On the basis of these
observations and by the use
of statistics and
mathematics, laws can be
formulated on how politics
operates
11 11
 Plato, Aristotle,
Al-Farabi, Ibn
Rushd, St.
Methods of
Augustine, Al-
managing and
Political Theory Mawardi,
administering
Hobbes, Locke,
government.
Rousseau,
Montesquieu,
Weber, Marx, etc.

Scope of
Public International
administration Political relations
Science

Executive,
legislative,
judicial bodies, United Nations,
constitutions, the Organization
laws, Comparative of Islamic
administrative politics and Conference, the
organizations, Arab League.
government
policies, political ASEAN, European
parties & Union, etc.
processes,
Refer to text 12
NFA
economic, etc. book, pg. 22-25
 Economy

Psychology History
Relationship
of Political
Science with
other Social
Sciences

Sociology Law

NFA 13
 Political Science and
Economics
Economics allocating scarce resources to
fulfil optimum satisfaction of societys
unlimited wants.

Government can use the economics

formula in redistributing the resources.

E.g. budget, income, welfare state, labour,

unemployment, taxes, etc.

NFA 14
 Political Science and
History
History the past situation, phenomena

Political scientists make a study of a state and its political

institutions based on history in knowing the states origin,
its growth and development, and its institutions.

Knowledge of the past (history) is used in analyzing and

describing present political phenomena, and consequently
providing lesson for the future.

Compare and contrast various cases and try look for

generalization.

E.g. Political parties in Malaysia

NFA 15
Political Science and Law
Law rules of conduct

Laws are formulated, administered

and enforced by the government

E.g. Law in Malaysia is made by the

legislative in parliament.

NFA 16
 Political Science and
Sociology
Sociology the study of society as a
whole. Such as crime, religion, family,
state, race and social class, beliefs,
culture, and social stability, radical change
in whole societies.

It enriches political science by its

contributions to the study of social
problems which are also problems of the
governments. E.g. housing problems
policy
NFA 17
 Political Science and
Psychology
Psychology deals with human behaviour
and explains the motives of human actions.

It has contributed greatly to political

sciences understanding of such
phenomena as nationalism, revolutionary
leadership, voting behaviour and causes of
war.

Studies of political personalities. E.g. Hitler,

Stalin, Gandhi, Mao Zedong

NFA 18
Methods of studying
Political Science

NFA 19
 S
Case Study C
I
E
It is where a group of society, a community N
T
or race is studied wholly. I
The result of the case study over one F
particular society is applied to all other c
societies in a community.
Result is gained through observation and
experience.
By observing any changes that occur in one
society, various assumptions can be applied
to the community as a whole.
E.g. Case study on the voting behaviour in
Kelantan
NFA 20
 S
Survey C
I
E
It aims to obtain data from target samples/population.
N
A surveys question requires respondents to answer a YES/NO T
response. I
A questionnaire can take the form of structured or non- F
c
structured, closed or open.
A structured questionnaire refers to one which asks a set of
clearly defined answers which lead to predetermined result.
Non-structured survey questionnaire means simply the
opposite.
E.g. Survey on the satisfaction towards the governing party in
Malaysia

NFA 21
 S
Experimental
C
I
Sir George Lewis: Cannot treat the body politic as a corpus E
vile and vary its circumstances at our pleasure for the sake of N
T
only ascertaining abstract truth cannot do what
I
experimenter does in chemistry. F
c
e.g. The constitution of India is committed to prohibition. The
Tek Chand Committee was appointed by the Government of
India to recommend a uniform policy persistent demand for
the separation of the judiciary from the executive- experiment
was tried in a few states and now the same has been adopted
in almost all the states.

NFA 22
 S
C
Statistical/ Quantitative I
E
N
A method attempting to describe and T
measure the political phenomena in I
quantitative terms. F
c
Can be applied to the study of political
opinion and political parties.
The method must be used with great care as
it can be manipulated to suit anyone
purposes.
It is used to quantifying things such as public
opinion polls, voting motivation, occupational
trends and economic power of a state.

NFA 23
 N
Historical method O
N

S
Methods looked at past events and C
I
codify the results of the events. E
What have happened in the past N
T
determined what we do in the future. I
F
Knowing the past helps understanding c

the present
History justifies the good and the bad
sides of all events.
E.g. 13th May 1969 Riot in Malaysia
NFA 24
 N
Philosophical method O
N

This method originates from studying the S

C
history, comparative study and conclusions I
made on certain political phenomena. E
N
It was founded by several philosopher T
researchers such as Plato, Aristotle, Karl I
F
Marx, Rousseau and Hegel. c
The ideas of these philosophers on certain
issues can be studied, analysed and
compared.
E.g. Communism vs. Capitalism

NFA 25
 N
O
Comparative method N

S
The comparison method helps in refining C
I
the way a government governs. E
By comparing : identify strengths and N
weaknesses of a political institution. T
I
The method can determine common causes F
and effects of the events experienced by the c
past and current political institutions.
Comparison methods must consider the
differences in human nature such as
manners, customs, habits and environment.
E.g. U.S.A vs. Malaysia
NFA 26
 Political Science is Not
Politics
POLITICIANS
i. Love power
ii. Seek popularity
iii. Practical thinking
iv. Hold firm views
v. See short-term payoff
vi. Plan for next election
vii.Respond to groups
viii.Seek name
recognition
NFA
POLITICAL SCIENTISTS
i. Are skeptical of power
ii. Seek accuracy
iii. Abstract thinking
iv. Reach tentative
conclusions see long-
term consequences
v. Plan for next
publication
vi. Seek good of whole
vii.Seek professional
prestige
27
REFERENCES

Abdul Rashid Moten, Syed Serajul Islam.

Intoduction to Political Science. Singapore:
Thomson, 2006, 2nd Edition.

Roskin, M.G. et al. Political Science. An

Introduction. New Jersey: Pearson Printice
Hall, 2003.
Q&A
NFA 28