The development of thought led to the condition of the political science being a multidiscipline rooted in philosophy and theory. Despite the fact that conflicts arise, political philosophy with its revival continuously characterize an aspect of political science being value-laden. Political philosophy might have been disregarded for its conception of reflection as well as the values and even questioned for its relevance in the field. However, it is for a fact that in order for a discipline to grow, it must look back to its origin in order to find its identity and true essence. The study of politics characterized by changing theories and methods as well as the existence of political philosophy as its bedrock serves as a reminder that political science is a field not limited to the ideal conception rather, the field seeks to tackle the ideal and provide practical methods and knowledge to obtain the definition of the
This statement brings to light an important constant in the study of political anthropology: the manner in which the design of the political structure of colonial rule was instrumental in the molding of the social imagination of the colonizer and the ruled or colonized. Colonialism has left behind an indelible print of the face of the world, thus ensuring that social vocabulary and political institutions will be marred (overtly or subtly) by it. To a large extent, the outburst of political anthropology came both late and its popularity short lived; its heyday was the 1960s and its recent rediscovery came hand in hand with the resurgence of examinations of power (Vincent, 2002). Prior to this, anthropology went hand in hand as a tool of empire. This is underlined in the understanding of the political as something disparate from the cultural – “We attempt to discover some of the general principles in political manoeuvre which transcend cultures and which provide questions which could be tools of research in a variety of cultures” (Bailey, 1969).
The next status of political philosophy, suffered a dangerous position of being eradicated in the inquiry of politics because of the behavioral revolution. Finally, political philosophy was placed in a position where it cannot be removed from political science, at the same time it’s not the only enterprise in which the discipline is grounded
In addition, he was influenced by Communist party and he worked as a journalist he wrote a number of books and articles about capitalism, state, and society. Marx was one of the most intelligible and perspective critics. However, the study of political sociology refer to the interrelationship between both politics and society and somehow this relationship cannot be separated between both of them or it is hard to separate between both politics and society, because they are interrelated. As a result, of this interconnection between both politics and society there is a social relationship between both of them which lead to reform in the society and make the community a better place for living within a welfare for the people. In this way, the definition of Political sociology is apprehensive with the social basis of power in all institutional sectors of society.
For example, political ecology researchers often showed that environmental crisis like deforestation was not an issue of the commons, but is an issue within the decision-making process which is fundamentally flawed at the first place, particularly as regarded tenure regimes. Development is not just about economics, but also about the exercise of power and the establishment of hegemony. Herewith, political ecology is used as a critical approach which in many of the cases are used to detect circumstances that researchers think should be changed, with references to the overall values such as human rights and justice (Robbins in Benjamin and Svarstad 2010:31). That is to say that helps in identifying the ‘lie of the land’ in hasty assessments made by international experts in complete disregard of local ecological knowledge. In this case, it acts as a critique where it seeks to expose flaws in approaches that are dominative to the environmental system that are favored by large institutions as in corporation, the state and international authorities.
This lack of consensus is also an indication of ongoing debate over the issue of organizational politics (Vigoda-Gadot & Drory, 2006). The interchangeable use of identical terms has made research in the field of organizational politics fragmented. Therefore, some conceptual ambiguities are necessary to be removed before starting report on literature reviewed. Organizational politics is defined as the existence of multiple interests and incompatible goals, beyond the goals of organization, and the influence techniques used to defend them. Whereas political behavior means observable of individual while pursuing their goals.
Both forms of government tend to use a representational system — i.e., citizens vote to elect politicians to represent their interests and form the government. In a republic, a constitution or charter of rights protects certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away by the government, even if it has been elected by a majority of voters. In a democracy the majority is not restrained in this way and can impose its will on the minority. Most modern nations are democratic republics with a constitution, which can be amended by a popularly elected government. This comparison therefore contrasts the form of government in most countries today with a theoretical construct of a democracy, mainly to highlight the features of a republic.
What happened was that the behavioralist wanted to copy the ways of the natural sciences to the extent of borrowing their approaches, methods, and tools to use in the study of man. This resulted in the formation of political science. Even though this approach created a more diversified study of politics because it allowed the discipline to transcend beyond the academe, the discipline was still questioned by the people in the same academe Susser (1992) described the development of political science since World War II “as one of the most turbulent and fascinating chapters in its long history. It is a period marked by high hopes and revolutionary change, a period that has witnessed a broadening of the discipline’s subject matter and a striking reorientation in its methods and techniques. But it also a period characterized by deep rifts and heated battles.
Social means pertaining to the society. While political means pertaining to the affairs of the state. Deriving a definition from the common notions of the terms, Social and Political Philosophy is the study of the ultimate causes of the matters of the society and state. But that is still too vague of a definition to start with. Let us analyze the definition piece by piece.
Introduction According to the Greece mythology, the word ‘politics ' derives from a Greek word, polis, meaning ‘city state '. Greece was divided into a collection of independent city- state of which each had their own system of government. People are said to be in politics in everyday life, but inhabitants set to think of politics as of political parties and parliament. This paper will further discuss what political sciences is, the significance of studying political sciences and make reference to what is currently happening in South Africa. Further, discuss the significant of political sciences for me, further reflect on my reason for deciding to study political sciences.