What exactly is Political Science?

The control of a parent over a child is seldom considered to be political, except in an analogical sense. But if this is granted and it is accepted that there are some power situations that are not political, we would then be left with the task of devising criteria for distinguishing political power from all other types, such as parental or, for that matter, economic, religious, and the like. In this event we would be right back where we started, at the point of searching for a workable criterion for identifying the “political.”

The philosopher king as ruler is one of its most interesting aspects. You can find all ten mini-books here.

At the very most, a general theory of social power would be extremely helpful for shedding light on the properties of power relationships in a political setting.

Pax Romana
So is man’s ultimate goal to be constantly involved with wars?  Not if you check out this period in political science history. Literally meaning “Roman Peace,

In itself this would be no mean accomplishment. But beyond that, it would not help us to attain a conceptualization of political relationships as a whole.

,” it lasted from 27 BC to 180 AD and in an empire that was widely known for engaging in war and other violent past times. During this peaceful period, there was not only peace but prosperity, advancements in science, culture, law, and much more.

Toward the middle of the twentieth century there appeared an important and popular variation on the theme of power as the central subject of political science

,” it lasted from 27 BC to 180 AD and in an empire that was widely known for engaging in war and other violent past times. During this peaceful period, there was not only peace but prosperity, advancements in science, culture, law, and much more.

In this view, power attains significance because it leads to control over the processes through which public decisions are made and put into effect.

This interpretation was quickly absorbed into the discipline. It has led to the direct interpretation of political life as a set of relationships through which public decisions or policies are formulated and put into effect.

Leonardo da Vinci Paints The Last Supper
The now infamous painting features Jesus and all of his disciples eating dinner the night before he is sentenced to death.

Power as a component recedes into the background, as just one possible determinant of decisions.

The painting was done in 1498 as part of the maestro’s work for Ludovico il Moro and for the Dominican Monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie. This was an important moment in political history because it marked the first work of The Renaissance, which would reignite man’s desire to learn and grow.

The description of political science as the study of the making of public policy has become so widespread, particularly in American political science, and has become so much a part of the normal and even unstated intellectual apparatus of most students of politics, that its elaboration as a major concept can no longer be associated with any single person or group

Off With Their Head
A leader nowadays can think that impeachment and/or public disgrace is the worst thing that can happen to them. However, that is not the case as shown in this interesting moment in political science.

It came in 1649 when King Charles was executed for being a “tyrant, traitor, and murderer.” An interesting fact surrounding the case was that the man who signed the death warrant would later see his family rise to power as a result.

Its beginnings may be found in the work of Carl Schmitt in Germany, where it arose as a response to the years of indecision following World War i [seeSchmitt].

Some Punishment
In 1788, Britain was desperate for a new place to send its prisoners since the Americans were no longer accepting. In a desperate move, they sent about one thousand people, most of them convicts,

At that time, however, the idea left little impact on political science as a discipline, and it was only through the efforts of organizational theorists in the United States in the 1940s that its general significance for political analysis and research became apparent.

From its beginnings in the study of organizational behavior, the study of policy making has spread into virtually every sector of political research. Indeed, its use by political science reflected the even broader penetration of the idea of decision making into all of the social sciences

to the Australian territory in the hopes of letting Britain grow without its prison population. However, the new settlement would prove to be more prosperous than its founders ever thought. Once free settlers began to arrive, the country began to grow and thrive, marking an interesting time in political science history.

Decision making has proved to be one of the truly seminal ideas of the decades following World War ii, and few conceptualizations of political science can afford to ignore it entirely. [SeeDecision making, article onpolitical aspects.]

Abraham Lincoln Suspends Habeas Corpus
Along with a declaring martial law, President Abraham Lincoln ordered the suspension of habeas corpus in 1861 in an effort to bring the already bloody Civil War to an end

But however transparently relevant a decisional approach is to understanding at least one component of political processes, decisions, like power, are characteristic of all other spheres of life as well. Similar decisional behavior occurs in such organizations as trade unions, corporations, churches, and families, as well as in the political system.

After the courts refused to comply with Lincoln’s order, he officially released a proclamation on September 24, 1862 declaring that rebels and those who help them “shall be subject to martial law and liable to trial and punishment by Courts Martial or Military Commission.” Robert Longley of About.com has more on this interesting political science fact.