Political Science

1. Foundations and Scope of Political Science

  • Defining Politics and Power

    • Politics: Centered on the struggle for power, defined as the "authoritative allocation of rare values or resources" (David Easton) and "who gets what, when, and how" (Harold Lasswell).
    • Political Science: The systematic study of struggles among social groups to maximize their share of state outputs, examining how governments prioritize certain demands over others.
    • Politicians vs. Political Scientists:
    • Politicians: Seek popularity and power, focus on what is, think practically, offer single causes, and pursue short-term payoffs.
    • Political Scientists: Skeptical of power, focus on what ought to be, think abstractly, offer multiple causes, reach tentative conclusions, and analyze long-term consequences (G.W.F. Hegel argued for dispassionate, rational analysis of political events rather than emotional reactions).

  • Interdisciplinary Dimensions ("The Master Science")

    • Aristotle designated political science as the Master Science because virtually all human interactions occur within a political context.
    • Economics: Borrows the Rational-Choice Theory; political choices dictate economic development, while economic stability underpins democracy.
    • History: Provides comparative case studies; whereas historians examine single events in granular detail, political scientists derive generalized patterns across multiple events.
    • Sociology & Anthropology: Examine how social class, religion, gender, and kinship structures influence political participation and power.
    • Geography & Psychology: Address territorial boundaries, demographics, voting behaviors, and psychological attachments to leaders.

  • Theories of Power and Political Obedience

    1. Biological Approach: Obeying leaders and forming hierarchies is an innate, genetically transmitted human behavior ("political animal").
    2. Psychological Approach: Individuals naturally conform to group norms and submit to authority figures to fit into social orders.
    3. Cultural Approach: Political behavior is socialized from youth; crises arise when the political regime conflicts with cultural norms (e.g., the 1979 Iranian Revolution).
    4. Rational Approach: Citizens consciously form governments and obey leaders to ensure mutual security and peace, retaining the right to remove abusive rulers.
    5. Irrational Approach: Citizens are guided by emotion, myth, and political symbols rather than reason.

  • Core Political Principles

    • Legitimacy (Consensual Power): The popular perception that a government's rule is rightful and legally valid.
    • Sources: Constitutions, governance efficiency (economic growth, public safety), fair legislative representation, and national symbols (flags, anthems).
    • Authority (Coercive Power): The institutional capacity of a leader to command obedience, rooted in perceived fairness and wisdom.
    • Sovereignty (Territorial Control): The legal and physical control over a defined territory and a state's recognized right to exist.
2. Basic Political Institutions and the State

  • Institutionalisation of Power

    • Power shifts away from single autocratic rulers toward established institutions, traditions, and constitutions that outlast individual leaders.

  • Classification of State Capacity

    • Effective States: Maintain full control over national territory, enforce laws reliably, collect taxes, and deliver services.
    • Weak States: Marked by pervasive corruption, high crime, foreign dependency, and laws that are frequently broken despite democratic rhetoric.
    • Failed States: Experience a complete breakdown of central governance, legal authority, and public infrastructure (e.g., Yemen, post-2003 Iraq).

  • Territorial Power Distribution

    • Unitary Systems: Authority is centralized in the national government (e.g., Japan, Spain). Provides clear lines of command but risks over-centralization.
    • Federal Systems: Power is constitutionally shared between the central authority and regional subunits/states (e.g., USA, Germany, India). The upper house typically manages federal concerns such as foreign affairs and national defense.

  • State Economic Orientations

    • Laissez-Faire: Minimal state intervention; market mechanisms direct production and pricing.
    • Welfare State: Market-based ownership combined with substantial state-led wealth redistribution and social programs.
    • Statism: State manages economic activity primarily to enhance the power and stature of the state.
    • Socialist: Comprehensive state ownership of production and centralized distribution.
3. Legislative Frameworks and Government Systems

  • Evolution and Separation of Powers

    • Assemblies historically developed from advisory councils and tax-granting bodies summoned by monarchs into modern parliaments that resist absolute rule.
    • Lockean Separation of Powers:
    • Legislative: Enacts laws and allocates societal values.
    • Executive: Implements and enforces passed statutes.
    • Judiciary: Interprets laws, conducts legal supervision, and enforces constitutional limits.

  • Parliamentary vs. Presidential Systems

    • Parliamentary System:
    • Features a fusion of powers between the executive and legislative branches.
    • Executive leadership is split: a symbolic Head of State (monarch or ceremonial president) and a functional Head of Government (Prime Minister).
    • The Prime Minister is selected by the majority legislative party/coalition and appoints cabinet ministers from parliament.
    • The political opposition acts as a formal Shadow Cabinet (e.g., United Kingdom, Germany).
    • Presidential System:
    • Features a strict separation of powers with independent election cycles and calendar-set terms.
    • One official serves simultaneously as Head of State and Head of Government.
    • Built-in institutional struggle: the executive holds veto power, while the legislature controls funding and checks power via oversight and impeachment (e.g., USA).

  • The French Semi-Presidential System (Fifth Republic)

    • Executive Duality:
    • The President: Most powerful official; heads the armed forces, negotiates foreign treaties, dismisses the National Assembly, chairs the Council of Ministers, and calls referenda.
    • The Prime Minister: Appointed by the President from the legislative majority; manages day-to-day administration, issues decrees, and oversees domestic defense.
    • Cohabitation: The power-sharing arrangement required when the President and Prime Minister belong to rival political factions.
    • Bicameral Legislature:
    • National Assembly (Lower House): 577 seats; directly elected via a two-stage voting system; scrutinizes daily legislation and government actions.
    • Senate (Upper House): 321 seats; indirectly elected by an electoral college; specializes in constitutional questions and foreign treaties.
    • Judiciary:
    • Cour de Cassation: Highest appellate court.
    • Constitutional Court: Exercises judicial review; consists of 9 members serving non-renewable nine-year terms.