Question

write a note on growth of the discipline of political science.

Answer 1

Here is the answer....

Answer 2

The study of politics has had a long tradition. As a matter of fact, Political Science has its roots in ancient Greece. The Greeks used the term “politika” to describe the numerous activities of the “Polis” or city-states in which they lived. Thus, it was the Greek thinkers who laid the foundation for the development of a systematic science of politics. They were mainly concerned with questions of morality and ethics and tried to define an ideal state. The first efforts to systematically study politics can be traced in the works of the two famous political thinkers from ancient Greece, namely, Plato and Aristotle. Later, Christian religious thinkers like St. Augustine and St.Thomas Aquinas, also dwelt upon the idea of an ideal state and sought to derive moral and ethical principles regarding the same. Accordingly, in the classical (Greek) and Christian formulations, Political Science was more in the realm of political philosophy focusing on the study of state.

In the fifteenth century, Niccolo Machiavelli, the Italian political thinker, started the tradition of studying existing and historical political institutions. It marked a departure from the classical and Christian traditions of political philosophy. Efforts were made to identify institutional arrangements that would maintain social order and political stability. Accordingly, political thinkers subsequently tried to deal with the historical origins of different political institutions and their structural frameworks.

However, it must be mentioned here that the origin of Political Science as an academic discipline is not very old.


After the Second World War and in the early fifties of the twentieth century, Political Science was highly influenced by sociologists like Tocqueville, G. Mosca, Max Weber, Talcott Parsons etc. Such an interaction between political scientists and sociologists helped to bring the study of Political Science closer to society. For instance, the concept of the state, which had been central to Political Science, gave way to the new concept of the “political system,” developed by David Easton. The new concept highlighted the interaction between the society and the political process. During this period the behavioural revolution in Political Science became popular and various methods of research and techniques of data collection were identified by the political thinkers. The Social Science Research Council of United States set up in the early twenties of twentieth century continued to play an important role in popularizing behavioural ideas in the post Second World War era.

Political Science entered a new phase towards the late 1960s in the form of the Post-behavioural revolution. The rise of behaviouralism clearly introduced a scientific vigour in the study of political phenomena. However, it soon came to be realized that too much emphasis was being laid on adoption of scientific techniques in the field of Political Science. In the process, Political Science was losing touch with the real social and political issues. Therefore, post-behaviouralists made an effort to make Political Science relevant to the society. However, it must be remembered that post-behaviouralism cannot be separated from behviouralism as it has emerged out of behaviouralism. Through using different techniques and methods, the post-behaviouralists have tried to overcome the drawbacks of behaviouralism and make the study of Political Science more relevant to the society. Thus, we can see that the Political Science which emerged as a study of the state and government has undergone tremendous changes in the later period. Because of the contribution of different scholars its scope is widening and its nature is changing. In the present time, the focus of Political Science shifts from the study of the state and government to the political system as a whole