General Pinciples - Introductory

1. Part I
Political Science as a Discipline
A.M. SALVA

2. BASIS OF POLITICS
OVERVIEW
Politics is the heart of political science
Aristotle: Politics is the study of the affairs
of the polis (city-state), the most sovereign
and inclusive association.
Dahl: Politics is the existence of rules or
authority within the state. It is the study of
power relationship among people in a given
society as well as those relationships among
states in the international community.

3. Varying outlooks of politics
1. Politics as consensus and compromise
2. Politics as society
3. Politics as a power and the sistribution of
resources
4. Politics as a public affair
5. Politics as an art of government
6. Politics as academic
7. Politics as a science

4. Politics as Consensus
and Compromise
Consensus – the agreement of the people in a
class or group that characterizes the balancing of
interest in order to advance a collective purpose
to promote their welfare.
Consensus politics is coined on 2 facets:
i)Procedural consensus – willingness thru
consultation and bargaining
ii)Substantive consensus – overlapping
ideologies between parties agreeing fundamental
policy goals.

5. Politics as Society
The presence of varying views, interest,
conflicts, and diversities in a society give
politics meaning and relevance in any given
field of human activity, condition, organization.

6. Politics as Power and the
Distribution of Power
Adrian Leftwich: Politics is at least the heart
of all collective social activity, formal and
informal, public and private, in all human
groups, institutions and societies. It takes place
at every level of social interaction.
Politics is in essence, power: the ability to
achieve a desired income thru whatever means.
It is about diversity & conflict but the essential
ingredient is the existence of scarcity.

7. Politics as Power and the
Distribution of Power
Power – is the ability to get things done
accordingly through various means like
influence, authority, coercion or other use of
force and intimidation.
Power is understood as the degree of
dominant relationship over another that is the
ability of the possessor to manipulate the
behavior of others in a manner not of their
choosing.

8. Politics as Public Affairs
Public – refers to the apparatuses or institutions
of the government that are directly involved in
the conduct of state and political affairs. They
are basically peddled by public finance
generated thru different means of taxation.
Private affairs – dwell in the areas of life
where individuals manage and decide for
themselves as in cultural, artistic, personal,
economic, social and domestic spheres.

9. Politics as Art of Government
“What concerns the State?’”
To study politics is in essence to study
government in terms of the conduct and
management of public affairs, the resolution of
conflicts through consensus or compromise, and
the production, distribution and use of resources
for welfare provisions in a society.
Politics takes place in a polity and is played
and swayed in executive bureaucracies,
legislative houses, etc. by specific stakeholders.

10. Some key terms
 Political Process. Miller (1991) Politics as a
process whereby a group of people, whose
opinions or interest are initially divergent,
reach collective decisions which are generally
accepted as binding on the group, and enforced
as a common policy.
 Political Institutions. Refer to societal
arrangements for legislating and enforcing
laws, and providing for social services
(Steward).

11. Defining Politics
- The exercise of power
- The making of political decisions
- The practice of deception & manipulation
- The allocation of limited resources, etc.
“Politics is a study that tries to
complement extreme power and interests in
the society. It is an art and a science in
harmonizing both ends together in the name
of consensus and compromise”.

12. Defining Politics
- A struggle for power, control and influence.
- The central concept in the heart of the State.
- The persons working directly and indirectly in
the affairs of the government.
- The struggle and compromise between the
dominant and the minority party, the powerful
and the powerless, the haves and the have-nots,
the influenced and the influential.
- A play everyone wants to keep in tilting the
balance of power on his behalf.

13. Defining Politics
Haque (2002):
i) Politics is a collective activity involving people
accepting common membership or acknowledge a
shared fate
ii)Politics presumes and initial diversity of views, if
nor about goals, then at least about means
iii)Politics involves reconciling such differences
thru discussion and persuassion
iv)Political decisions become authoritative policy
for a group, binding members to decisions that are
implemented by force if necessary.

14. Basic Issues in Politics
1. Legitimacy – Refers to the legal and
psychological right to govern. It is what
compels people to believe and follow
orders emanating from political superiors.
-Marcos legitimacy was put into question
in 1986. He was forced to abandon and flee
into exile. Same cases: Ceausescu of
Romania and the Shah of Iran.

15. Basic Issues in Politics
1. Legitimacy
How does the government achieve
legitimacy?
i) By existing a long time
ii) By governing well
iii) By the structure of government
iv) By manipulating national symbols

16. Basic Issues in Politics
2. Sovereignty – Refers to the right of the
government to exist and control his subjects as
well as the territory over which the citizens
live and prosper.
Sovereignty and legitimacy are
connected. With a decline of legitimacy may
also come a decline of sovereignty (eg.
Lebanon in 1976 & 1982).

17. Basic Issues in Politics
3. Authority – The power of the leader to rule
and exact obedience on his people. It is soaked
in legitimacy and rightfulness. It exists when
subordinates acknowledged the right of
superiors to give orders.
Max Weber. Three classifications:
i) Traditional Authority
ii) Charismatic Authority
iii) Legal-Rational Authority

18. Basic Issues in Politics
3. Authority
Max Weber’s Classifications:
i) Traditional Authority – based on customs
and established way of doing things
ii) Charismatic Authority – stems from
personality, thus breeds obedience among the
people
iii) Legal-Rational Authority – based on rules
and procedures where people giver their
loyalty and obedience.

19. Basic Issues in Politics
Authority comes with the office, “
occupying an office may not be sufficient to
command authority, the authority figure
must also cultivate respect.”
Cord (1997): Effective authority requires
firm, fair and wise leadership. Any tint of
corruption undermines authority

20. Some Key Terms in Politics
 Political Process. Miller (1991). A process
whereny divergent opinions or interests of people
reach collective decisions which are generally
accepted as binding and enforceable as a common
policy.
 Political Institutions. Steward. Refer to societal
arrangements for legislating and enforcing laws,
and providing for social services. These institutions
are branches of government that inhere respective
functions in managing the affairs of the state.

21. Some Key Terms in Politics
 Political Situations. These are the events or
phenomena in which participants mix common and
competing interests in assessing or evaluating the
impact or outcome of any political happenings that
may directly or indirectly alter the social order.
 Political Dynamics. Refer to the varying forces
that shape and influence the political play in a state
like political parties, interest and pressure groups,
public opinion and other propaganda.

22. Some Key Terms in Politics
 Political Values. These are political norms
that guide the society, both the leaders and the
followers in establishing and building a
political consensus that is mutually enforcing
among the actors in the organization.

23. POWER is the currency of politics. It is the
capacity to produce intended effects...the capacity
of a community to shape its own destiny. It is also
the capacity of an individual or group to get its
way against opposition.
AUTHORITY is broader notion than power. It is
the right to rule. Strictly, it is the right to act,
rather than power to do so. However, authority
creates its own power so long as people accept
the authority-figure has the right to make
decisions. A legitimate system of government is
one based on authority.

24. The Study of Political Science
Politics as Academics. Its main principle was
to discover the purpose upon which human
society should be based.
Politics as a Science. It is scientific because it
is possible to acquire objectives and
knowledge (truths) about the political reality
and its complications by characterizing facts
from values.

25. Growth of Political Science
“Polis” “Chiefdom” “State”
(City/state)
Jean Bodin (1530-1596). French. The father of
Political science.
Montesquieu(1689-1755). French, include the
mechanisms and organizations of government that
enveloped formal structure of administration
(executive) and law writing (legislation).
Man’s knowledge of the natural, physical and social
environment has developed through the times by the sharp
observation of things surrounding him.

26. Methodology of Political Science
1. Historical Method
2. Comparative Method
3. Scientific Method
4. Inductive Method
5. Deductive Method
6. Theoritical Method
7. Observation Method
8. Behavioral Method

27. New Approaches in Political
Science
1. Political Economy. The systematic
production, utilization and distribution of
scarce economic resources by the state t
maximize people’s needs and wants in the
most effective and efficient way the
government may deem appropriate.

28. New Approaches in Political
Science
2. Public Choice Theory. This approach
considers what the people prefer, and what they
chose as option over other ones. It helps to
determine the focus of government policy based
on public preference.
3. Rational Choice Theory. It purports to
overestimate human rationality and ignores the
fact that people seldom possess a clear set of
preferred goals and rarely make decisions in the
light of full and accurate knowledge.

29. Branches and Fields of Political
Science
1. Public Law
2. Political Theory
3. International Relations
4. Public Administration
5. Political Philosophy
6. Political Dynamics
7. Comparative Government

30. Goals and Importance of
Political Science
Primary goal: Education for citizenship.
Core competencies:
1. Knowledge-Based
2. Competence-Based
3. Skill-Based

31. Concept, Models, Theories
Concept. A general idea about something that
appears to be conclusive like the ideas on social
classes, rights, power, laws, etc.
Model. A theoretical representation of empirical
data to advance understanding of significant
relationships and interactions like model criteria
for public choice and system analysis.
Theory. A systematic explanation of practical
data that is presented as a reliable truth to the
public which can be cossidered as more or less
useful in understanding political phenomenon.

32. Structural Process of Political Science
1. Executive Process. Entails knowledge,
competence and skills in running and managing
the powers and functions of the state.
2. Legislative Process. The complicated process of
legislation must be geared always at the survival
interest of a state, its people, and its need in
relation to international communities.
3. Legal and Judicial Process. Covers the
interpretation, enforcement and administration
of laws as they affect various machineries.

33. Next:
Part II
State as a Political System

34. Thank you !