- What is political science?
- Origin of Political Science
- Object of study of political science
- Political Science labor field
- Branches of Political Science
We explain what political science is and what its origin was. Object of study, labor field and branches of political science.
What is political science?
It is called Political Sciences, or also Politology, to the social science interested in the study of the theoretical and practical aspects of the politics, that is, the political and government, the behavior of societies, in order to establish an accurate and objective method on these matters, based on the observation of the reality.
Like all social science, its approach to the object of study is theoretical and qualitative, using various tools common to this type of non-exact sciences. And he often borrows from other fields of knowledge, such as economy, the sociology, the psychology, etc.
Its usual analysis methods are:
- Experimental. Through social experiments and simulated situations that collate the reactions of the societies.
- Statistics. Through the mathematical processing of data from observed and measured facts.
- Compared. Through the analysis comparative between two or more political situations that are of interest.
- Historical Through the review of the bibliography available and from the evocation of past political situations.
Origin of Political Science
This discipline originated from political philosophy, a branch of the Philosophy who specializes in the relationships between individuals and the society; but today political science is indistinguishable from its predecessor. It is considered a relatively recent science, whose true development took place in the 20th century, after the WWII.
His antecedents in antiquity, however, were the great Greek philosophers and thinkers (Aristotle, Plato), Romans (Livy, Plutarch, Polybius) and even ancient India (Chanakia Pandit). And one of its greatest exponents was the Renaissance philosopher Nicolás Machiavelli, author of the famous treatise Prince .
Object of study of political science
The object of study of political science is, as we said before, politics. This is equivalent to saying that it deals with the power relations that are established within that pact of coexistence mutual what is the Condition. This does not mean that it is a doctrine on the art of government, much less a method applicable.
Yes, on the other hand, it deals with the relations of obedience and domination that take place within the political organization, trying to construct an objective method to understand the origin and social functioning of these structures. He is interested in authority, the types of can, the political and social classes, the mechanisms of domination and conviction, the legitimation of power, etc.
His main areas of research, in that sense, are:
- Political power and its means of obtaining it.
- The authority and legitimacy of power.
- The origin and operation of the State.
- The public administration.
- The political behavior of societies.
- The communication politics and public opinion.
- International relations.
Political Science labor field
The political sciences train professionals willing to a very diverse field of work. In the first place, the public administration (the governments regional or national and even international organizations) benefit from these specialists in the State and its power relations, serving as advisers, consultants, directors or supervisors, if not witnesses whose task is to objectively document the novel political processes that are of public interest.
Another frequent labor vein points to specialized journalism, as disseminators and opinion makers in political matters, when not professionals of the teaching public and private in these matters.
Finally, the diplomatic exercise is an area of interest for political scientists, since their professional training allows them to be effective observers at the service of national, regional and international stability.
Branches of Political Science
Political science comprises the following main branches:
- International policy. Descriptive and explanatory study of the political dynamics that take place between the different nations.
- Comparative politics. Comparative study of the procedures, institutions, histories and characteristics of the different organized societies.
- Political theory. The theoretical study, that is, not applied but abstract, of the dynamics of power based on its fundamental principles.
- Public administration. The application of political theories and principles to the method of government of societies.
- Political economy. The study of the incidence of economy and its processes on the mode of operation of politics and vice versa.
- Political sociology. The study of the way in which the cultural, psychological and social constitution of the communities with the forms of power and domination they choose to organize.