political science

Political Science

  • systematic study of the government and politics

  • including: Political Philosophy, Ethics, International Relations, Foreign Society, Public Administration, and the different parts of the government

  • Generalizes and analyzes about political systems and political behavior 

  • Use to predict next future behavior 


  • Plato (428/423 BC-348/347 BC)

  • Aristotle (387 BC- 322 BC) 

  • John Locke (1632-1704) 

  • Jean-Jacques Rosseau (1712-1778)


Some Pioneers of Political Science

  1. Plato

  • Platonist style of thinking

  • dissatisfaction with the ideals of democracy (ENGK DEMOCRACY because too much freedom daw)

  • Built an academy and taught his political ideas that was summarized

  1. Aristotle

  • Student of Plato and taught Alexander the Great

  • one of the most influential pioneer

  • Classification of government

Numbers of Rulers

Positive

“Perveted”

One

Monarchy - power is within a political family

Tyranny - absolute power is in a single ruler

Few

Aristocracy - group of people ruling

Oligarchy - for own or personal interest

Many

Polity - mixture of monarchy and aristocracy

Democracy - everyone has the right to rule; “rule of the people”

  • favors a government run by people with wisdom

  1. John Locke

  • man and freedom

  • against the common belief that monarchical rule comes from the God and that all people are subject to the rule and control of the crown (against the “divine rights” of a king)

  • natural freedom of man comes from the concept that all people are born equal and free and the very concept of natural freedom comes from the concept

  • Charles III - dissolved the parliament 11 times in his lifetime

  • Oliver Cromwell - a part of the parliament; stayed when arrested

  • concept of politics:

  • Governance -separation of powers and dissolution of government powers (not one man should lead everything)

  • Concept of punishment - punishment must be legal and binding and must fit the crime

  • Social Contract - power of the government must be from the people

  1. Jean Jacques Rousseau

  • influenced the progress of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought

  • his Discourse on Inequality and The Social Contract are cornerstones of the modern political and social thought

  • Napoleon

  • threatened the other consuls for him to be the Emperor when he was 24/25 years old (locked them in a room then pointed rifles at them)

  • kumampi sa kanya yung mga inutusan ng king na patayin siya, won the civil war

  • view:

  • General Will - the citizens’ general want

  • Freedom - man is born free, but are in chains (law)

  • Representation in the Government - general will that people could not be decided by elected officials

  • The social contract - government’s right to exist thru the consent of the people


Origin of Political Science

  • back to Ancient Greek

  • emergence of Athenian experiment called democracy

  • later mixed with religious aspects

  • 19th century


Definition of State

  • Community of people that occupies a territory and exercise freedom

Four Theories on the origin of the state:

  • Divine Rights

  • Force Theory - state emerges from violence; the process of establishing a new government or country through the use of force

  • Paternalistic Theory - this refers to states being run like a family where the father or the male figure is the head. 

  • Social Contract - this refers to states being formed by compromise and consensus of the people and the government.


Elements of a State

  1. People - inhabitants

  2. Territory - land, etc

  3. Government - power ruling in the territory

  4. Sovereignty - independence of a nation