POLITICAL SCIENCE

AND THE STUDY OF

POLITICS
by Group 4
 POLITICAL THEORY
Political theory is a field of political science that studies the ideas, values, and
principles that shape politics and government. It examines important concepts
such as justice, freedom, equality, rights, and power, using insights from both
classical philosophers and modern thinkers. The aim is to understand the
ideals that should guide political systems and provide a moral and
philosophical foundation for governance. By doing so, political theory helps
evaluate existing systems and imagine better ways to organize and improve
societies.
 COMAPARATIVE POLITICS
Comparative politics is a branch of political science that studies similarities
and differences in governments and political systems. It analyzes what
makes governments effective or prone to failure, using scientific
comparisons to guide locally relevant policies. The field recognizes that
political systems, like democracy, may work differently depending on local
political cultures. As such, promoting the same political framework
everywhere, without considering cultural contexts, can be risky.
 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The study of state-to-state relations and the wider margin of the impacts of globalization and
climate change such as terrorism, piracy, and democratization of non-Western territories fall
into the category of international relations. This field also covers the interaction between states
and non-state global actors such as international organizations and human groups. The case
of China and Philippines on the Scarborough Shoal is an example of an internal relations issue
in the Philippines as much as the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center that spawned
transnational campaign of the United States against terrorism. Through this field, an
understanding of the motivations of global actorsis made possible, and this understanding
provides a basis for political decisions of the parties involved. In the case of the campaign
against terrorism, a country that aims to win the favor of the United States ought to rally behind
this campaign and dissociate with blacklisted countries or political actors
 POLITICAL BEHAVIOR
This field covers the attitudes, knowledge, and actions of an individual in response to political
variables such as policies created by the government, behavior of politicians, and general political
environment. Works on the political action repertoire of individuals are categorized under this field
as it examines their psychology toward the system. These types of studies are important for drafting
election campaigns and gauging the electorates' inclination to support a policy.
The political orientation of Filipinos toward elections is a subject of this inquiry. Political
commentaries have highlighted the fanfare that is the Philippine elections, from the savvy campaign
materials to unabashed promotion of every political activity and public service made by the
candidates. The presence of political dynasties is also enabled by the political culture of the country.
In the Philippines, where political affiliations are mostly due to not political parties but on
personalities, the costs and benefits of a political action are always administered from a personality
to his or her supporters/detractors. According to Alfred McCoy, an American political scientist, the
Philippines has strong families that have political influence in regions of the country, allowing for the
perpetuation of political dynasties.
 PUBLIC POLICY
This topic studies why people create government policies and what motivates those who create and implement
them. While we often think that policies are created in order to help people, they are not. Sometimes the people
who create policies act from their own self-interest.
This is important to recognize in the examination of policy success and appropriate changes that may need to
be determined. For example, in the Philippines, there are controversial laws and policies around the
Reproductive Health (RH) Law and HIV/AIDS Law (The Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998).
Both policies have significant input from significant pushback from religious groups and organizations and
traditional family values, but also significant support from family planning advocates.This topic studies why
people create government policies and what motivates those who create and implement them. While we often
think that policies are created in order to help people, they are not. Sometimes the people who create policies
act from their own self-interest.
This is important to recognize in the examination of policy success and appropriate changes that may need to
be determined. For example, in the Philippines, there are controversial laws and policies around the
Reproductive Health (RH) Law and HIV/AIDS Law (The Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998).
Both policies have significant input from significant pushback from religious groups and organizations and
traditional family values, but also significant support from family planning advocates.
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS
Public administration studies how government officials implement administrative schemes, the
strategies used in policy implementation, and the feedback mechanisms for gathering public
opinion. It evaluates the efficiency of administrative units and the factors affecting their ability
to meet goals.

Political Science Orientation

Political science is both applied and interdisciplinary—addressing politics, ethics, and
governance while using frameworks from history, sociology, anthropology, psychology,
philosophy, and demography. It gathers data through both quantitative and qualitative
methods.

David Easton’s Political System Model (1957)

Easton’s model analyzes political dynamics through five variables:
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS
1. Environment – Historical, social, and economic conditions influencing policy acceptance or
rejection (e.g., Global North/South status, cultural diversity, colonial history).
2. Input– Political needs of society, divided into:

Demands– Needs such as better wages, equality, or lower taxes, shaped by environmental
conditions.
Support– Structures or sectors that back demands, increasing chances for government action.
3. Political System – The “black box” where demands are processed; its nature (e.g., democratic,
socialist, parliamentary, presidential, unitary, federal) determines if demands are addressed.
4. Output – Government decisions, such as laws, regulations, or projects (e.g., wage hikes for
teachers or alternative solutions).
5. Feedback– Public responses to outputs, helping assess effectiveness and guiding future actions
and demands.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
 POLITICAL SCIENCE
CONCEPTS
Similar to anthropology and sociology, political science has disciplinebased
concepts that aid in the analysis of society. This section presents the
eight most essential terms used in the field of political science.
 POLITICS
This is the central concept in the discipline, as much as society is to sociology
and culture is to anthropology. Table 5.1 presents three definitions of politics
by different theorists.

Table 5.1. Definitions of Politics

Source: Curtis. The Great Political Theories, 1976.

 POLITICS
Boyer highlighted the concept of governance or the execution of laws within a territory as
mediated by civil society (sectors of society) and the government. The government acts as the
arbiter of rules and laws within a territory. However, its power is tempered by the opinion of
stakeholders in a society.

Easton's definition promotes the idea that there are scarce or limited values in society. This
includes power, prestige, and other values that are held by a select few in society. As such,
competition for these values is fierce, requiring an authoritative distribution of them. For
example, the power to govern is limited and the desire to acquire it is high. To avoid political
disorder, this value is distributed to a select few.
 POLITICS
Power, as defined by Robert Dahl, is "the ability of person A to make person B do what person B would not
otherwise do" (American Political Science Association, 2013). This implies the capacity to direct and influence
the decision of others. Hence, Weber's definition corresponds to the interplay of power relations within a
political system.

A state is a political entity that consists of four elements: territory, government, people, and sovereignty. These
elements are highlighted in De Leon's (2005) definition of a state as:

a community of persons more or less namerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, having a
government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying freedom from
extemal control.

A state is a political concept, which makes it intangible unlike its elements. Two of the defining characteristics of
a state are the following: (1) it is independent from external control and (2) it may consist of many nations.
 GOVERNMENT
The set of personnel who manages the affairs of the state in its act of allocating scarce values is
called the government. Its existence is dictated by the political system that it revolves on. For
democratic systems, the aim of the government is to advance the welfare of the general public.
Aristotle provided a system of classification of governments based on number of rulers and its
efficiency in governance (Curtis, 1981).

Table 5.2. Aristotle's Classification of Government

 GOVERNMENT
A government that is governed by one ruler who has efficient administration of political and
economic values is a monarchy. A perverted form of it is tyranny or the rule of a dictator. Aristotle
argued that a tyrant ruler serves only his or her own interests. This leader is prone to using force to
stay in power as he or she merely usurped it. Monarchs are better leaders as they are not prone to
employ force to subjugate members of their society as they do not feel the pressure to maintain their
position, which they inherited.

Aristotle argued that the rule of the few intellectuals known as aristocracy is the best form of
govemment. He said that aristocracy is less prone to corruption given that it is run by a group of
people who have no vested self-interest due to their high moral values and noneconomic
preoccupation. Contrary to this, the rule of the few rich individuals is seen by Aristotle as
problematic, as the rulers are more predisposed to further their economic interests.
 GOVERNMENT
The rule of aristocrats is the ideal but not a possibility, as this group of people are not inclined toward
the practice of governance due to their preoccupation with the intellectual and the philosophical.
Hence, according to Aristotle, the best alternative for an effective government is the rule of the
middle class known as polity. This type of government is the most

efficient, as it is less prone to corruption. This is due to the rulers who come from the middle class,
are satisfied economically, and are well-educated.

Although well-accepted by current world leaders, democracy was considered by Aristotle as an

ineffective type of government. He said that democracy had a potential for chaos and corruption,
given that it is ruled by the masses that are generally economically challenged and lacking proper
education.
 SOVEREIGNTY
the capacity of a political system to make independent decisions
within its territory. Sovereignty can be classified in terms of its scope.
Internal sovereignty
vrefers to thecapacity of a political system to implement
its rules and policies within its territory.
External sovereignty
refers to the recognition of that system's existence and authority by other actors andsystems. The
capacity of the government to quell rebellion by separatist
groups is a marker of its internal sovereignty. When a government's internal
sovereignty is perceived by other global actors as weak or even nonexistent,
its external sovereignty may be challenged.
 TERRITORY
This is the geographic space in which the sovereignty of a state is exercised. A
territory includes “the terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains,including its territorial
seas, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas”
(De Leon, 2005). Taking in point the Philippine context, Article 1 of the 1987
Philippine Constitution declares thefollowing:
The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and
waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has
sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains,
including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other
submarine areas. The waters around between, the connecting the islands of the
archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, from part of the internal waters
of the Philippines.
 PEOPLE
Let's talk about people and how they make their presence felt in the world. In the realm of political science, when we mention "people,"
we often mean a nation. Now, a nation isn’t just a spot on the map; it's a rich tapestry woven from the threads of ethnicity, culture, and
history. The folks in a nation are often bound by common stories and traditions that have been passed down through the years.

A state, on the other hand, can house many nations within it. Take the United States, Singapore, and the European Union, for instance.
They are like grand feasts, each offering a delightful mix of cultures, all coming together under one roof, or administration, as they say.

But just as a house can have different rooms, a nation can also exist under various styles of government. Take the Arab nation—spread
across continents and cultures; its people face different kinds of governance depending on whether they’re in the Global South or the
Global North.

Now, when a state is filled with people who share the same culture and history, it earns the right to call itself a nation-state, like a badge
of honor. But not every state can wear this badge, especially when the people within it don't share a common identity or story. And
therein lies a tale of diverse journeys.peole
THANK YOU