Approaches of the study of Political Science

November 05, 2022

Methods and Approaches of the study of Political Science

Approaches of the study of Political Science

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Approaches of Political Science
1.Traditional Approach
Philosophical approach
Historical approach
Institutional approach
legal approach
2.Modern Approach
3.Behavioural Approach

What is the Introduction to Approach of Political Science?

Has a comprehensive introduction to the range of topics covered in Political Science, from authoritarian to democratic politics, from local governance to international relations, from formal rules and institutions to the psychology and behavior of individuals who participate in political processes.

Broadly we can divide Political Science into two types:
Traditional Approach and Modern Approach.

Traditional Approach
The traditional approach is value-based and lays emphasis on the inclusion of values to the study of political phenomena.The adherents of this approach believe that the study of political science should not be based on facts alone since facts and values are closely related to each other. Since the days of Plato and Aristotle "the great issues of politics‟ have revolved around normative orientations. Accordingly, there are a large number of traditional approaches like legal approach, philosophical approach, historical approach, institutional approach etc.

Philosophical approach
Philosophical approach to the study of political science could be traced in the writings of ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. Leo Strauss who was one of the ardent supporters of this approach believed that “the philosophy is the quest for wisdom and political philosophy is the attempt truly to know about the nature of political things and the right or good political order.” This approach lays stress on ethical and normative study of politics and is idealistic in nature. It deals with the problems of nature and function of state, issues of citizenship, rights and duties etc.

Historical approach
Historical approach believes that political phenomena could be understood better with the help of historical factors like age, place, situations etc. Political thinkers like Machiavelli, Sabine and Dunning believe that politics and history are intricately related and the study of politics always should have a historical perspective. Sabine is of the view that Political Science should include all those subjects which have been discussed in the writings of different political thinkers from the time of Plato. Every past is linked with the present and thus the historical analysis provides a chronological order of every political phenomenon.

The institutional approach
The institutional approach lays stress on the study of political institutions and structures like executive, legislature, judiciary, political aprties, interests groups etc. Among the ancient thinkers Aristotle is an important contributor to this approach while the modern thinkers include James Bryce, Bentley, Walter Bagehot, Harold Laski, etc.

The legal approach regards the state as the creator and enforcer of law and deals with legal institutions and processes. Its advocates include Cicero, Jean Bodin, Thomas Hobbes, Jeremy Bentham, John Austin, Dicey, and Sir Henry Maine.

Modern Approach

The modern approach is fact based and lays emphasis on the factual study of political phenomenon to arrive at scientific and definite conclusions. The modern approaches include sociological approach, economic approach, psychological approach, quantitative approach, simulation approach, system approach, behavioural approach, Marxian approach etc.

Behavioural Approach

Until the middle of the 20th century, political science was primarily concerned with qualitative questions which had a philosophical, legalistic and descriptive orientation. The discipline was in fact transformed by the behavioural revolution in the 1950‟s which laid stress on scientific and empirical approach to the understanding of political phenomena. The revolution got an impetus with the establishment of the journal Experimental Study of Politics in 1970‟s. The central focus of behavioralism is its emphasis on the study of political behaviour which refers to acts, attitudes, preferences and expectations of man in political context. In the words of Barrow, “behavoiralism‟s main methodological claim was that uniformities in political behaviour could be discovered and expressed as generalizations but such generalizations must be testable by reference to observable political behaviours such as voting, public opinion or decision-making.

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