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Evolution of the discipline

Political science is the systematic study of the government through empirical and scientific methods of analysis. This article talks about the evolution of political science from the early 19th century.

Political science is the systematic study of the government through empirical and scientific methods of analysis. Political science as a discipline is considered the Father of Science. As Political Science is traditionally well-defined and studied, it also examines the state and its organs and various institutions. Other broader ways of contemporary discipline study all the aspects of the cultural, societal, and psychological factors as they mutually influence the operation of the government and political body of the state.

Evolution of Political Science as a Discipline

Political science borrows various things from social science. When it comes to power, Political Science is different in terms of power as political science reflects the ability of one political actor to get another actor to give all the powers that he wants and can run at various levels like internally, nationally, and other local levels.

Generally, Political Science is used as a singular term but in French and Spanish languages it is used in plural terms as politiques respectively. Political Science started to have relevance in the late half of the 19th century.

The evolution of Political Science has its roots in the times of Aristotle and Plato. In the beginning, Political Science separated itself from political philosophy, which had its roots in the era of Plato and Aristotle. This was written nearly about 2,500 years ago. Political philosophy is the study of political ideas and values like justice, rights, duties, and various types of political obligations (which are sometimes obeyed and disobeyed by the citizens of the state).

Similarly, on the other hand, Political Science is the study of the institutions, behaviour and descriptive theories, and various behaviours like empirical observation which are usually expressed in quantitative terms in the field of social science.

If we look at the evolution of political science as a discipline, it is one of the classical disciplines that usually deals with the study of all the political phenomena of the state. The main objective of political science as a discipline is to understand human nature deeply, the nature of different political actions, and also to develop different tools based on theories that will help in interpreting the political phenomena.

Political Science as a Specialisation of Studies

As the specialisation in political science increases, the deep understanding also increases in the political phenomena. It helps people to look at things from the international perspective and also encourages their political actions also.

Political Science deals with the traditional fields of the politicians, powers, state, diplomacy, international relations, laws and orders, political system etc. There are also studies which reveal that any phenomena can have a political aspect in it like language, history or gender and these topics can be studied politically. This kind of understanding can be built by explaining oneself with various theories like political theory, modern theory, cultural theory and classical theory of sociology.

Fields and Subfields

The modern department of political science is often known as the government or politics. In some fields it also has various subfields.

  • The domestic field is commonly known and its various subfields are elections, public opinion and national government
  • Comparative study of politics focuses on the political phenomena that happens within the country and often has a group with few countries which analyses the similarities and differences within the countries
  • International relations consist of various issues and relationships within the different countries like war, foreign relations, agreement on trade and policy, and world political economy. In some universities international relations is considered as an important separate topic and subject for higher studies
  • Another one is political theory which consists of studies like philosophy and contemporary, basically theory parts like Constructivism, Modernism, etc
  • In public administration, there is the role of bureaucracy, and it is mostly about the subjects that are taught to the students in civil services
  • Public law includes everything related to the judiciary like civil rights, criminal justice, law, and order
  • The public policy includes the policies of the government and state like civil rights, duties, defence department, health department, education sector, environmental protection, etc

Conclusion

Political Science is the systematic study of the government through empirical and scientific methods of analysis. When it comes to power, Political Science is different in terms of power as political science reflects the ability of one political actor to get another actor to give all the powers that he wants and can run at various levels like internally, nationally, and other local levels.

The main objective of political science as a discipline is to understand human nature deeply, the nature of different political actions, and also to develop different tools based on theories that will help in interpreting the political phenomena.

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