is a
Social Science discipline that deals with the theory and practice of
Politics and the description and
Analysis of
Political System s and political behavior. It is oriented around
Academia ,
Theory , and
Research .
Fields and subfields of political science include
Political Theory ,
Civics and
Comparative Politics , national political systems, cross-national political analysis, political development,
International Relations ,
Foreign Policy Analysis , politics,
Public Administration , administrative behavior, and
Public Policy . Related fields include
International Law , judicial behaviour, and
Public Law . In the United States, most political science departments are organized around four or five major fields: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, and sometimes political methodology.
Approaches to the discipline include classical political philosophy, research,
Statistical Analysis , and
Model building.
An alternative term for the academic study of politics is . Whilst "political science" tends to rely primarily on the quantitative methodologies of the social sciences, "political studies" tends to avoid or refute such connections by employing a broader methodological approach to the study of politics.
Herbert Baxter Adams is credited with coining the phrase "political science" while teaching history at
Johns Hopkins University .
''Main Article:
History Of Political Science ''
While the study of politics is first found in the
Western Tradition in
Ancient Greece , political science is a late arrival in terms of
Social Sciences . However, the discipline has a clear set of antecedents such as
Moral Philosophy ,
Political Philosophy ,
Political Economy ,
History , and other fields concerned with
Normative determinations of what ought to be and with
Deducing the characteristics and functions of the ideal
State . In each historic period and in almost every geographic area, we can find someone studying politics and increasing political understanding.
The advent of political science as a university discipline is evidenced by the naming of university departments and chairs with the title of political science arising in the 1860s. In the 1950s and the 1960s, a behavioral revolution stressing the systematic and rigorously scientific study of individual and group behavior swept the discipline. Increasingly, students of political behavior have used the scientific method to create an intellectual discipline based on the postulating of hypotheses followed by empirical verification and the inference of political trends, and of generalizations that explain individual and group political actions.
Political Scientist s study the allocation and transfer of
Power in decision-making, the roles and systems of governance including governments and international organizations, political behavior and public policies. They measure the success of
Governance and specific policies by examining many factors, including stability,
Justice ,
Material Wealth , and
Peace . Some political scientists seek to advance
Positive theses by analyzing politics. Others advance
Normative theses, by making specific policy recommendations.
The study of politics is complicated by the frequent involvement of
Political Scientist s in the political process, since their teachings often provide the frameworks within which other commentators, such as
Journalist s,
Special Interest Group s,
Politician s, and the
Electorate analyze issues and select options. Political scientists may serve as advisors to specific politicians, or even run for office as politicians themselves. Political scientists can be found working in governments, in political parties or as civil servants. They may be involved with
Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) or political movements. In a variety of capacities, people educated and trained in Political science can add value and expertise to corporations. Private enterprises such as
Think Tank s, research institutes, polling and public relations firms often employ political scientists. In the United States, political scientists known as "Americanists" look at a variety of data including
Elections ,
Public Opinion and public policy such as
Social Security reform, foreign policy, U.S. congressional power, and the
Supreme Court to name only a few issues.
As a discipline, political science is primarily advanced by articles in scholarly journals and academic books. The major journals, which are published by academic presses and are associated with associations of political science, are the
American Political Science Review , the
American Journal Of Political Science , the
Journal Of Politics and
British Journal Of Political Science , referred to in the discipline as "APSR," "AJPS," "JoP," and "BJPS" respectively. Countless other journals focus on more specific areas of the discipline, for example
Legislative Studies Quarterly and
Political Research Quarterly .
Perhaps more than in other disciplines, political scientists do not all agree on the standards for the study of political science. In recent years, one important aspect of this debate has become increasingly salient. In 2000, a political scientist using the pseudonym "Perestroika" sent an e-mail to a large number of other political scientists, objecting to what the writer saw as the dominance of quantitative statistical methods and formal economic models in the discipline and the marginalization of interpretive methods, case studies and normative social science. This e-mail sparked the "Perestroika movement" or "Perestroikans," who argue that political science should have more methodological diversity and strive to be more relevant to those outside the discipline. Those who oppose the movement argue that the discipline has always accommodated other methods, that the Perestroikans want to marginalize quantitative and formal methods, and that political science needs rigorous and objective standards of evidence to progress as a science. As a response to the Perestroika movement, APSA now publishes a new journal, ''Perspectives on Politics,'' designed to include more work aimed at influencing practitioners of politics.
In the United States, most departments of political science have at least four or five primary fields: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory and political methodology. However, field boundaries are especially porous in political science.
in the United States (and related fields in other countries) study domestic political institutions, elections, voting and public opinion. Many people divide this field into the subfields of '''instititions,''' which focuses on the direct study of Congress, the Presidency, etc., and '''behavior,''' or '''
Political Psychology ''' which focuses on the political decisions of citizens, generally public opinion and voting. This division is especially fluid, and most scholars do work that bridges both categories.
Much of the early progress on the study of legislatures, elections and public opinion was done in the U.S. context, so the study of these general subjects is often associated with American politics. But work in the past few decades has expanded these subjects to other countries.
involves the comparison of patterns of political development—including
Forms Of Government —and processes of political change in different settings or at different times.
focuses on the study of the dynamics of relations between states, and, more recently, on transnational issues such as the
Environment ,
Human Trafficking ,
Trade ,
Social Movements ,
Labor like
Co-operatives , or preventing
Terrorism .
involves the study of normative questions of politics and the history of
Political Philosophy .
refers to the development and application of statistical techniques to political questions.
The complex interplay of
Economic and political choices is reflected in the field of where political science tries to understand the normative implications of economic structures and theories. Political economy can also refer to the application of economic models and methods to political subjects, as in
Anthony Downs ' ''
An Economic Theory Of Democracy. ''
studies the implementation, determination and outputs of public policies. It seeks to explain the role of political structure,
Bureaucratic politics and
Interest Group activity on the
Public Policy output and the policy performance of
Public Sector entities.
