Relation of Political Science with Law

 Relation of Political Science with Law

Law and politics as social phenomena are two emanations of the same entity (a monistic ontological conception), regarding which their separate existence is only a consequence of a human dualistic or pluralistic perception of the world (a dualistic ontological conception). 

The relation between politics and law has both a progressive function and a safeguarding function. Law and politics, separately or together, both encourage and suppress the development of societal relations, while they both also function to bring about justice and order. The essence of their "separate and connected" but not integral existence is to help set each other's borders. These borders prevent excessive one-sidedness in politics or the law, similar to a "checks and balances" mechanism.

Naturally, there are some significant differences between both spheres, but most of these differences are, regarding the issue of the autonomy of international law, only a matter of degree or intensity. 

Over the years, international law and its relationship to national laws have been defined in a variety of ways. It is crucial that international law be comprehended as law, and is relatively autonomous with regard to national legal orders, and also regarding national and international politics. Of course, there have always been different and opposing theories concerning this issue. There are several arguments for and against the claim that international law is truly law. Here again, we are faced with the issue of ontological monism or dualism. If we are inclined toward monism, we tend to define international and national law as a unity, while a dualistic approach leads us toward the establishment of essential differences between both entities. 

Although there have been many thinkers and scholars who have defended either the monistic or dualistic approach, it seems that today the dualistic understanding prevails in theory and practice. International law can be defined as a relatively independent set or system of legal rules (legal norms), called and comprehended as law, and applies to normatively determined legal subjects, primarily to states and international organizations, but also to other subjects, such as "peoples", and individual human beings. International law significantly differs from national legal systems due to its predominantly horizontal nature, its embodiment in the system of international relations, the nature of its sources, the nature of its subjects and their treatment within the sphere of international law, the lack of a central ("sovereign") legal authority, the decentralization of legal functions, the characteristics of legal procedures before international tribunals, and, last but not least, the weak and specific nature of international legal obligations and sanctions.

Present situation of political science and law:

Public law factors prominently within political science. Nearly every college and university in the country employs a Public Law scholar in its political science department to teach doctrinal courses and serve as a pre-law advisor. They were also often isolated from mainstream contemporary political science, including the discipline’s development of rational choice theory, improvements in research design and statistical methods. The field has major developments in the last 20 years, by becoming more vibrant and cutting-edge area of the study. While changes in the Public Law field have altered the nature of the scholarship and its relationship with the study of law in law schools, a disconnect remains.  The differences have helped maintain the division between the disciplines. 

The division between two approaches is unnecessary as they complement each other.  Political science approaches can help the legal academy rigorously test the assumptions and implications of important normative debates. This is one area in which law can contribute much to political science: law can help to guide the precise questions being asked to ensure that the resultant answers are substantively important. Political science is a rigorous discipline that can benefit both legal scholars and lawyers.

Political law: 

Political law is an established legal practice area encompassing the intersection of politics and law. This law comprises of various laws such as election law, voting law, campaign law, constitutional law legislative law administrative law and regulatory drafting. 

Federal level; the federal election commission enforces campaign finance law with respect to races for the united US house of Representatives, US senate and the office of president.

Integration of law and political science :

The separation between the study of law and political science improvises both disciplines by creating a false dichotomy between explanations of legal phenomena. The two fields are complement for each other rather than a challenge. This false dichotomy has prevented law students from being educated in a number of areas that would make them better lawyers. The knowledge regarding the theory and practice of law is provided by legal training and legal practice.

Today, knowledge and the tools that political scientist use to answer question allow for a better understanding of legal system work. Law schools should bring these insights and approaches into their curricula. This integration should not be in the form of a “Political Science for Lawyers” type of course, but in a comprehensive fashion. Just as Law and Economics has informed our understanding of a number of areas of law across the curriculum, the study of political science has much to offer. 

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Scope of Political Science
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