Introduction to Political Science

Prepared by: Arnel O. RiveraMAT-SS

What is Political Science?

• Political science is defined as the study of the state and government.

• It comes from the Greek word polis, which means city-state, and ciencia, which means knowledge or study.

Stages in the Study of Political Science

• Religious Stage – the government, it’s leaders and laws was considered as divine or divinely inspired.

• Metaphysical Stage – the state was considered as a human institution and it is therefore absolute (cannot be changed).

• Modern Stage – the state was deemed capable of being improved by rulers and subjects according to certain principles and laws.

DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

• Aristotle– wrote “Politics”, the first systematic work on political

affairs.

– Father of Political Science

• Niccolo Machiavelli– wrote “The Prince”, a handbook for rulers in the art of

government.

– Father of Modern Political Science

• Prof. Francis Lieber – wrote “Manual of Political Ethics”; the first systematic

treatise in political science

What is a state?

• A group of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, independent of external control, and possessing a government to which a great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience.

Elements of a State

• People

• Territory

• Government

• Sovereignty

What is the difference between Nation and State?

• State is a legal or juristic concept, while Nation is an ethnic or racial concept.

• Nasci = to be born indicates a relation of birth or origin and implies a common race.

• Thus, a nation may comprise several states Example: Egypt, Iraq, Saudi, Lebanon, Jordan, etc. belong to Arab nation.

• It is also possible for a single state to be made up of more than one nation, e.g. US which was the “melting pot” of many nations that were eventually combined into the “American nation”

What is the difference between Nation and State?

A. People

• Different meanings as used in the 1987 Constitution:

– Inhabitants (sec. 2, Art III; sec. 1, Art. XIII);– Citizens (secs. 1 & 4, Art II; sec 7, art. III);– Electors (sec. 4, Art. VII)

• As a requisite for Statehood, there should be an adequate number for self-sufficiency and defense; of both sexes for perpetuity.

What is the Difference between Citizenship and Nationality?

Citizenship

• Legal or juristic

• Can be changed or taken-back

Nationality

• Ethnic or racial

• Absolute, Innate

Citizens

• “A people bound together by common attractions and repulsions into a living organism possessed of a common pulse, a common intelligence and inspiration, and destined apparently to have a common history and a common fate.” (Malcom)

B. Territory

The National Territory

Sec. 1, Art. I: The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas.”

• Terrestrial = land

• Fluvial = internal waters

• Aerial domains = aerospace

• Marine = external waters both surface and sub-aquatic

Components of Philippine Territory :

C. Government

• The agency or instrumentality through which the will of the State is formulated, expressed and realized.

• Our Constitution, however, requires our government to be democratic and republican.

Section 1, Art II. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.

REPUBLICAN• It is one wherein all government authority

emanates from the people and is exercised by representatives chosen by the people.

C. Government

C. Government

DEMOCRATIC

• This emphasizes that the Philippines has some aspects of direct democracy such as initiative and referendum.

D. Sovereignty

• The supreme and uncontrollable power innate in a State by which that State is governed.

• Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. (Sec. 1 Art.II)

Sovereignty vs. Independence

• Sovereignty is the broader term. It has two aspects:– Internal – freedom of the State to manage

its own affairs;– External – freedom of the State to direct its

foreign affairs.

• Independence is synonymous with external sovereignty. It is defined as the power of a State to manage its external affairs without direction or inference form another State.

Duties of the State

• Peace and Order

• Political Harmony (Good Laws)

• Social Justice

• Economic Development

Theories of State Origin

• Divine Theory – the state is of divine origin, all political authority emanates from God.

• Social Contract Theory - this theory states that men agreed among themselves to live under one civil society or body politic. A person surrendered his natural liberty but gained in return the protection and civil rights guaranteed by the governments.

• Force Theory – the state has arisen through sheer force; a tribe conquering other tribes to form a kingdom.

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