Introduction to Political Science Homepage  الصفحة الرئيسية
Weekly Sessions (Outline) Session 2 Foundations and Basic Terms Contents What is Politics: Politics as the art of government Politics as public affairs Politics as conflict & compromise Politics as power What is Political Science? Definition Subject matter Methodology What do the areas of Political Science cover?   What is politics? Politics is about: � How should people live? �    How should power and other resources be distributed? How to spend money? � How can we solve conflicts? �    How should decisions be made? �    Who should have a say? Politics as the Art of Government The process of making and enforcement of collective decisions… The activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live… Developed from the original meaning of the term in Ancient Greece … Politics as the Art of Government �  derived from polis – city-state.. �  politics refers to the affairs of the polis – what concerns the state… �  the personnel and machinery of government… �  How… (procedures, rules, constitution.. ) �  Who…  (structure, politicians, those who have interests, demands..)   �  Why… (goals, interests, demands, values,  principles.. ) Examples: Military Expenditure Percent of GDP Politics as Public Affairs The distinction between ‘the  political’ and ‘the nonpolitical’ coincides with the division between thr public sphere of life and what can be thought of as a private sphere… public: institutions of the state (govt., courts, army, police…) private: civil society (family, private businesses, trade unions, community groups…) Politics as Conflict & Compromise Politics as Conflict and the Resolution of Conflict ¨  All group interrelationships will be involved with differences... ¨  Disagreement is very common: people disagree about objectives to be reached and about how to reach them ..  ¨  Politics is a particular means of resolving conflict, i.e. by compromise, conciliation and negotiation, rather than through force… ¨  That is what is implied when politics is regarded as ‘the art of possible’..   Politics as Conflict and the Resolution of Conflict War is not the only method of resolving disagreement/ conflict.. Setting up an arbitrator Mediation  Bargaining Compromise Discussion Voting   �  Aristotle: politics is “the master science”.. �  It is the resolution of conflict with as little disorder as possible… �  In order to resolve conflicts rationally and peacefully, we need a set of procedures and regulations .. We need law and institutions..           (or a political system)… thus ¨  political conflict is inescapable … but ¨  politics shouldn't be seen as a kind of permanent jungle warfare …  because ¨  every society has, CONSTITUTION, POLITICAL SYSTEM and GOVERNMENT …     Politics as Power �  The broadest and the most radical definition.. �  This view sees politics at work in all social activities and in every corner of human existence… �  Politics is power, i.e. the ability to achieve a desired outcome, through whatever means… Power ¨  the ability to influence the behavior of others with or without resistance… ¨  the ability to impose one's will on another… ¨  power is usually thought of as a relationship: as the ability to influence the behavior of others in a manner not of their choosing… ¨  implies a capacity for force, i.e. violence. ¨  political power is held by political leader(s) of a state, such as a president, prime minister, or monarch…   The core idea is the existence of scarcity: while human needs and desires are unlimited, the resources available to satisfy them are always limited … So, politics can be seen as a struggle over scare resources and power can be seen as the means through which this struggle is conducted..      Traditionally, political power has been built up and maintained through the exercise of military power, the accumulation of wealth, & the acquisition of knowledge.   What is Political Science? The study of politics .. The systematic study of political and governmental institutions and processes … The study of politics, government and public policy, both in our country and around the world … The study of issues such as human rights, women and politics, war and peace, protection of our environment, globalization, terrorism … The scientific study of political behavior    it examines the acquisition and application of power, i.e. the ability to impose one's will on another… PoliSci Subject Matter & Methods In the traditional political studies: descriptive, historical, and philosophical analysis … The main purpose was: to describe -- answering  ‘What questions’ or to uncover the principles upon which human society should be based… In the modern behavioral science:  both describe and explain political phenomena  – Why and How questions has shifted from the institutional concepts of state to the process or concepts of power, decision making, and political system...   3 subjects of great interest to political scientists: political philosophy and ethics -- what ought to be in politics …normative questions the empirical and behavioral study of  politics …what has been, what is, and what will be … objective analysis.. public policy … what can be, or workable public policies …   What do the areas of Political Science cover? Political theory National government Comparative politics Public policy and public administration International relations, and Special areas shared with other social sciences such as political sociology, political psychology, and political economy, Geopolitics… In practice, these subfields overlap…   Session 3 Power, Authority, Government,  the State, the Nation   Contents Power Class Activity Authority Legitimacy Government The State The Nation Assignment 1   Power  (ability & capacity) Power is the central concept in political science.. Max Weber: the ability to influence the behavior of others with or without resistance... The ability to impose one's will on another… The ability and capacity to achieve desired ends.. What do we mean by “Country A” is a powerful country? Talcott Parsons: Power is a collective resource…   Power Relationship Power is usually thought of as a relationship: as the ability to influence the behavior of others in a manner not of their choosing… Power is a social relations between two agents..  (A) has power or exercise power, while (B) is affected by this power.. (A ) in one relationship may be (B) in another, & (B)often exercises countervailing power to that of A…   a person or group “has power,” is “in power,” or is “powerful,” : The scope of an agent’s power (the values or issues over which it ranges) & the magnitude (how much difference s/he can make with respect to those issues), The resources, &  The styles of exercising power ..   Resources of Power Traditionally, political power has been built up and maintained through the exercise of: Military power, Money Knowledge & information Styles of Exercising Power Coercion: force, sanctions, the threat of sanctions ..  Manipulation of the masses or of individuals … Influence .. incentives - peaceful techniques  ..   Stark or subtle Implicit or manifest power   Decisions/ Power The 2 defining characteristics of politics are: Politics always involves the making of public decisions for groups of people Those decisions are made by some members of the group exercising power over other members of the group ..	University’s Academic Integrity Code   & Online Discussions   coming soon     & Class Activities (1) The American political scientist Robert Dahl argues that political science is about studying power – power and power relations at different levels of society and in all possible forms. Name a person, group, organization, or state and then explain its: scope of power and its magnitude, Resources or power, & styles of exercising power.   & Assignments Assignment  1 Using the main characteristics of the modern state, answer the following two questions:   (1) Is the Mafia (a secret crime organization in the island of Sicily in Italy) ‘a state’? (2) Is Gaza strip ‘a state’?
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