COURSE MANUAL

The Study of Politics

POS111

University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre

Ibadan Open and Distance Learning Course Series Development
Version 1.0 ev1
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

General Editor: Prof. Bayo Okunade

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University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre

University of Ibadan,
Nigeria
Telex: 31128NG
Tel: +234 (80775935727)
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.dlc.ui.edu.ng
Vice-Chancellor’s
Chancellor’s Message
The Distance Learning Centre is building on a solid tradition of over two decades of service in
the provision of External Studies Programme and now now Distance Learning Education in Nigeria
and beyond. The Distance Learning mode to which we are committed is providing access to
many deserving Nigerians in having access to higher education especially those who by the
nature of their engagement do not havehave the luxury of full time education. Recently, it is
contributing in no small measure to providing places for teeming Nigerian youths who for one
reason or the other could not get admission into the conventional universities.
These course materials have been
been written by writers specially trained in ODL course delivery.
The writers have made great efforts to provide up to date information, knowledge and skills in
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user
In addition to provisionion of course materials in print and e-format,
e format, a lot of Information
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captured in audio-visual
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information on availability and access is available on the website. We will continue in our
efforts to provide and review course materials for our courses.
However,
owever, for you to take advantage of these formats, you will need to improve on your I.T.
skills and develop requisite distance learning Culture. It is well known that, for efficient and
effective provision of Distance learning education, availability of appropriate
appropriate and relevant
course materials is a sine qua non.
non. So also, is the availability of multiple plat form for the
convenience of our students. It is in fulfilment of this, that series of course materials are being
written to enable our students study at their own pace and convenience.
It is our hope that you will put these course materials to the best use.

Prof. Isaac Adewole

Vice-Chancellor
Foreword
As part of its vision of providing education for “Liberty and Development” for Nigerians and
the International Community, the University of Ibadan, Distance Learning Centre has recently
embarked on a vigorous repositioning agenda which aimed at embracing a holistic and all
encompassing approach to the delivery of its Open Distance Learning (ODL) programmes.
Thus we are committed to global best practices in distance learning provision. Apart from
providing an efficient administrative and academic support for our students, we are committed
to providing educational resource materials for the use of our students. We are convinced that,
without an up-to-date, learner-friendly and distance learning compliant course materials, there
cannot be any basis to lay claim to being a provider of distance learning education. Indeed,
availability of appropriate course materials in multiple formats is the hub of any distance
learning provision worldwide.
In view of the above, we are vigorously pursuing as a matter of priority, the provision of
credible, learner-friendly and interactive course materials for all our courses. We commissioned
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cognitive knowledge, but also skills and humane values which are at the core of education, even
in an ICT age.
The development of the materials which is on-going also had input from experienced editors
and illustrators who have ensured that they are accurate, current and learner-friendly. They are
specially written with distance learners in mind. This is very important because, distance
learning involves non-residential students who can often feel isolated from the community of
learners.
It is important to note that, for a distance learner to excel there is the need to source and read
relevant materials apart from this course material. Therefore, adequate supplementary reading
materials as well as other information sources are suggested in the course materials.
Apart from the responsibility for you to read this course material with others, you are also
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your study even before the interactive session which is by design for revision. Your academic
advisors will assist you using convenient technology including Google Hang Out, You Tube,
Talk Fusion, etc. but you have to take advantage of these. It is also going to be of immense
advantage if you complete assignments as at when due so as to have necessary feedbacks as a
guide.
The implication of the above is that, a distance learner has a responsibility to develop requisite
distance learning culture which includes diligent and disciplined self-study, seeking available
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This is why you are encouraged to develop your computer skills by availing yourself the
opportunity of training that the Centre’s provide and put these into use.
In conclusion, it is envisaged that the course materials would also be useful for the regular
students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria who are faced with a dearth of high quality textbooks.
We are therefore, delighted to present these titles to both our distance learning students and the
university’s regular students. We are confident that the materials will be an invaluable resource
to all.
We would like to thank all our authors, reviewers and production staff for the high quality of
work.
Best wishes.

Professor BayoOkunade
Director
Course Development Team
Content Authoring Lafenwa Stephen Akinyemi Ph.D.

Content Editor Prof. Remi Raji-Oyelade

Production Editor Dr. Gloria O. Adedoja
Learning Design & Technologist FolajimiOlamboFakoya
Managing Editor Ogunmefun Oladele Abiodun
General Editor Prof. Bayo Okunade
 Contents
About this course manual 1
How this course manual is structured ................................................................................................... 1

Course overview 3
Welcome to The Study of PoliticsPOS111........................................................................................... 3
The Study of PoliticsPOS111—is this course for you? ........................................................................ 3
Course outcomes ........................................................................................................................ 3
Timeframe ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Study skills ........................................................................................................................................... 4
Need help? ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Academic Support ................................................................................................................................ 5
Activities .............................................................................................................................................. 5
Assignment ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Assessments.......................................................................................................................................... 6
Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Getting around this course manual 7

Margin icons ......................................................................................................................................... 7

Study Session 1 9
The Nature and Scope of Political Science........................................................................................... 9
Introduction................................................................................................................................ 9
1.1 Political Science and the Study of Politics........................................................................... 9
1.2 The Scope and Importance of Political Science................................................................. 12
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 16
Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 16
Assignment ......................................................................................................................................... 17

Study Session 2 18
The Levels of Politics ......................................................................................................................... 18
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 18
2.1 Levels of Politics ............................................................................................................... 18
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 20
Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 21

Study Session 3 22
Development of the Study of Politics ................................................................................................. 22
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 22
3.1 The Study of Politics before the Advent of Behaviouralism ............................................. 22
 3.2 Behavioural Revolution and the Study of Politics ............................................................. 25
3.3 A Science of Politics .......................................................................................................... 27
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 28
Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 29

Study Session 4 30
Approaches to the Study of Politics ................................................................................................... 30
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 30
4.1 Normative Philosophical Approach ................................................................................... 30
4.2 Descriptive Institutional Approach .................................................................................... 31
4.3 The Scientific Behavioural Approach ................................................................................ 32
4.4 The Eclectic-Post Behavioural Approach .......................................................................... 32
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 33
Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 34

Study Session 5 35
Power, Influence, Authority and Legitimacy ..................................................................................... 35
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 35
5.1 The Central Organizing Concepts of Politics .................................................................... 35
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 39
Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 40

Study Session 6 41
Government and Its Roles .................................................................................................................. 41
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 41
6.1 Basic Components of Government .................................................................................... 41
6.2 The Roles of Government .................................................................................................. 42
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 43
Assignment ......................................................................................................................................... 43

Study Session 7 44
Types of Political System or Polity .................................................................................................... 44
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 44
7.1 Liberal Democratic Polities ............................................................................................... 44
7.2 Social Democratic Polities ................................................................................................. 45
7.3 Autocratic Polities.............................................................................................................. 46
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 47
Assignment ......................................................................................................................................... 47

Study Session 8 48
Political Culture .................................................................................................................................. 48
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 48
8.1 Meaning and Key Elements of Political Culture ............................................................... 48
8.2 Types of Political Culture .................................................................................................. 50
 Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 52
Assignment ......................................................................................................................................... 53

Study Session 9 54
Political Socialisation ......................................................................................................................... 54
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 54
9.1 The Meaning of Political Socialisation .............................................................................. 54
9.2 Agents of Political Socialisation ........................................................................................ 55
9.3 Process, Time-Span & Change as Analytical Categories of Patterns of Political
Socialisation ............................................................................................................................. 56
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 57
Assignment ......................................................................................................................................... 58

Study Session 10 59
Political Participation ......................................................................................................................... 59
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 59
10.1 The Meaning of Political Participation ............................................................................ 59
10.2 Forms and Levels of Political Participation ..................................................................... 60
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 61
Assignment ......................................................................................................................................... 62

Study Session 11 63
The Institutions of Politics: State Instrumentalities ............................................................................ 63
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 63
11.1 State Instrumentalities...................................................................................................... 63
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 66
Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 67

Study Session 12 68
The Institutions for Political Interactions: Political Party and Pressure Groups................................. 68
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 68
12.1 Political Parties ................................................................................................................ 68
12.2 Party System .................................................................................................................... 70
12.3 Pressure Groups ............................................................................................................... 71
12.4 Pressure Groups and Political Parties Compared ............................................................. 72
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 73
Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 73

Study Session 13 74
Constitution and Constitutionalism .................................................................................................... 74
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 74
13.1 What is a constitution? ..................................................................................................... 74
13.2 Genesis of Constitutions .................................................................................................. 75
13.3 Sources of Constitutions .................................................................................................. 75
13.4 Kinds of Constitutions ..................................................................................................... 76
13.5 Types of Constitutions ..................................................................................................... 76
13.6 Variants of Constitution ................................................................................................... 77
13.7 The Morphology of Constitution ..................................................................................... 77
13.8 Functions of a Constitution .............................................................................................. 77
 13.9 Constitutionalism ............................................................................................................. 78
Study Session Summary ..................................................................................................................... 78
Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 78

Revision Session 79

Bibliography 83

References 84

Feedbacks to Self Assessment Questions (SAQs) 86

 About this course manual

About this course manual

The Study of Politics POS111 has been produced by University of Ibadan

Distance Learning Centre. All Political Science course manuals produced
by University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centreare structured in the
same way, as outlined below.

How this course manual is

structured
The course overview
The course overview gives you a general introduction to the course.
Information contained in the course overview will help you determine:
If the course is suitable for you.
What you will already need to know.
What you can expect from the course.
How much time you will need to invest to complete the course.
The overview also provides guidance on:
Study skills.
Where to get help.
Course assessments and assignments.
Activity icons.
Study sessions.

We strongly recommend that you read the overview carefully before

starting your study.

The course content

The course is broken down into study sessions. Each study session
comprises:
An introduction to the study session content.
Learning outcomes.
Content of study sessions.
A study session summary.
Assessments and/or assignment, as applicable.

1
POS111 The Study of Politics

Your comments
After completing this course, The Study of Politics, we would appreciate
it if you would take a few moments to give us your feedback on any
aspect of this course. Your feedback might include comments on:
Course content and structure.
Course reading materials and resources.
Course assessments.
Course assignments.
Course duration.
Course support (assigned tutors, technical help, etc).
Your general experience with the course provision as a distance
learning student.
Your constructive feedback will help us to improve and enhance this
course.

2
 Course overview

Course overview

Welcome to The Study of

PoliticsPOS111
This Course provides a survey of the major issues of politics; who rules,
in whose interests and on what basis. It explains different types
ty of
involvement in politics, the role of conflicts of interests, the relation
between the elite and the masses, and the government and the people.
Also, it exposes students to different ways of studying politics and a brief
survey of the methods of political
poli science.

The Study of PoliticsPOS111—

Politics
is this course for you?
POS111 is a compulsory foundational course for students studying
Political Science. It also aimed at students of Social Sciences, Arts, and
Education who are allowed to choose their electives from the Department
of Political Science in general. The course attempts to provide clues to
those who are curious about the meaning of politics, its it fundamentals,
and approaches by introducing what politics and indeed Political Science
entail.

Course outcomes
Upon a successful completion of The Study of Politics POS111 you will
be able to:

point out the fundamental developments in the study of politics.

politics
explain the various levels at which politics take place and
discuss the general approaches for studying politics.
highlight the operations, processes and actors in politics.
Outcomes apply political concepts, methods, techniques and processes to the
analysis of contemporary political issues.

3
POS111 The Study of Politics

Timeframe
This is a one semester course.
45 hours of formal study time is required.

How long?

Study skills
As an adult learner your approach to learning will be different to that
from your school days: you will choose what you want to study, you will
have professional and/or personal motivation for doing so and you will
most likely be fitting your study activities around other professional or
domestic responsibilities.
Essentially you will be taking control of your learning environment. As a
consequence, you will need to consider performance issues related to
consequence,
time management, goal setting, stress management, etc. Perhaps you will
also need to reacquaint yourself in areas such as essay planning, coping
with exams and using the web as a learning resource.
Your most significant considerations will be time and space i.e. the time
you dedicate to your learning and the environment in which you engage
in that learning.
We recommend that you take time now—before
now before starting your self-
self
study
study—to familiarize yourself with
ith these issues. There are a number of
excellent web links & resources on the Course CD. Go to “Self-Study
“Self
Skills” menu in course CD.

Need help?
As earlier noted, this course manual complements and supplements
POS111 UI Mobile Class as an online course.
POS111at

You may contact any of the following units for information, learning
Help resources and library services.
Distance Learning Centre (DLC) Head Office
University of Ibadan, Nigeria Morohundiya Complex, Ibadan-
Ibadan
Tel: (+234) 08077593551 – 55 Ilorin Expressway, Idi-Ose,
Idi
(Student Support Officers) Ibadan.
Email: [email protected]

4
 Course overview

Information Centre Lagos Office

20 Awolowo Road, Bodija, Speedwriting House, No. 16
Ibadan. Ajanaku Street, Off Salvation
Bus Stop, Awuse Estate, Opebi,
Ikeja, Lagos.

For technical issues (computer problems, web access, and etcetera),

please send mail to [email protected].

Academic Support
A course facilitator is commissioned for this course. You have also been
assigned an academic advisor to provide learning support. The contacts of
your course facilitator and academic advisor for this course are available
at [email protected]
[email protected]
Help

Activities
This manual features “Activities”, which may present material that is
NOT extensively covered in the Study Sessions. You will be provided
with answers to every activity question. Therefore, your emphasis when
working the activities should be on understanding your answers. It is
working
Activities more important
important that you understand why every answer is correct.
There are different forms of activities in this manual, ranging from
reading activities, case studies, discussion activities. The use of activities
is particularly based on learning outcomes and nature of content. Some
Study Sessions comes with discussion topics. You may discuss the Study
Sessions at respective discussion boards on course website.
You may see dates for active discussion with tutor on course schedule.
This course schedule is available on the course website.

5
POS111 The Study of Politics

Assignment
This manual also comes with tutor marked assignments
assignments (TMA).
Assignments are expected to be turned-in
turned in on course website. You may
also receive TMAs as part of online class activities. Feedbacks to TMAs
will be provided by your tutor in not more than 2-week
2 week expected
duration.
Assignment
Schedule dates for submitting assignments and engaging in course / class
activities is available on the course website. Kindly visit your course
website often for updates.

Assessments
There are two basic forms of self assessment in this course: in-text
questions (ITQs) and self assessment questions (SAQs). Feedbacks to the
ITQs are placed immediately after the questions, while the feedbacks to
Assessments SAQs are at the back of manual. You will receive your TMAs as part of
online class activities at the UI Mobile Class. Feedbacks to TMAs will be
provided by your tutor in not more than 2-week
week expected duration.
Schedule dates for submitting assignments and engaging in course / class
activities is available on the course website. Kindly visit your course
website often for updates.

Bibliography
For those interested in learning more on this subject, we provide you with
a list of additional resources at the start of this course manual;
manual these may
be books, articles or websites.

Reading

6
 Getting around this course manual

Getting around this course manual

Margin icons
While working through this course manual you will notice the frequent
use of margin icons. These icons serve to “signpost” a particular piece of
text, a new task or change in activity; they have been included to help you
to find your way around this course manual.
A complete icon set is shown below. We suggest that you familiarize
yourself with the icons and their meaning before starting your study.

Activity Assessment Assignment Case study

Discussion Group Activity Help Outcomes

Note Reflection Reading Study skills

Summary Terminology Time Tip

7
 Study Session 1The
The Nature and Scope of Political Science

Study Session 1

The Nature and Scope of Political Science

Introduction
This study session will introduce you to the various definitions of politics
within the context of Political Science as a distinct field of study. This
will facilitate your deeper understanding of the concept. The study
session will also expose you to the scope of politics and what political
scie
science entails.

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
discuss the art and science of politics and government.
differentiate between politics, political science and government.
Learning Outcomes discuss the idea of politics in terms of definition and significance.

1.1 Political Science and the Study of Politics

Queen of Science The main Political science is indeed a very old discipline. Aristotle (384 – 322
driving force upon which BC), a Greek, described ‘politics’ as ‘Queen of sciences’ in his book
other sciences / scientific
discoveries depend. “Politics” (1282). By this he meant that almost everything happens in a
political context, that the decisions of the polis (the Greek city state)
governed most other things. Politics is intimately connected to social,
economic, geographical, psychological systems. For instance, disaster is
natural, but its impact on society is controlled in large part by politics.
Most of the choices we make either as individual, group or government
are political.
Until the last quarter of 19th century, however,
however, political science lacked a
separate identity as a distinct field of study. It was dominated by political
philosophers, theologians, and journalists, but seldom engaged in by full-
full
time professional political analysts.
A convenient starting point at understanding
understanding what Political Science
entails is a discussion on what politics is all about.

1.1.1 What is Politics?

SocietyA group of people who Like many other concepts in social sciences, politics has no single or
share a common culture- a universally acceptable definitions. In fact, you need to know that there
culture that includes formal and
informal social arrangements are as many definitions of politics as there are works in Political Science.
such as mores and processes of Many of these definitions are however mutually contradictory or
government. irreconcilable.
According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, “Politics is the essence of
social existence and that two or more men interacting
interacti with one another
are invariably involve in a political relationship”. This definition appears
to make every man living in society a politician and therefore too broad.

9
POS111 The Study of Politics

Power the ability to influence Harold Lasswell in his own view, defines politics as “who gets what,
the behaviour of people. when and how” which underlines the significance of power as the major
ingredient of politics. In other words, politics for Lasswell is concerned
with which group of individuals in the society gets what resources at what
time and in what manner. In this sense, politics is equated with the study
of power. The problem with Lasswell’s definition is that it is also too
broad. You should be conscious of the fact that there is always a question
of who gets what, when and how, or strictly speaking, the central issue of
power, influence and authority, wherever two or more men are involved
in a relationship, for instance in the family, a social club, cultural
organisation or in the university.
Social class broad group in Another American political scientist, David Easton has defined politics as
society that have common authoritative allocation of values for a society. Easton’s definition is
economic, cultural, or
political status. however appears to be rather abstract; this is because it fails to tell us
what the relevant values are, how the values are produced, who makes the
Utilitarian an adherent of
utilitarianism. Utilitarianism
authoritative allocation of values and what rules govern these allocations.
refers to the principle according To a German philosopher, Karl Marx, politics is seen as the confrontation
to which an action is right if it or struggle among social classes or economic groups. This definition is
tends to maximize happiness, not
only that of the agent but also of
too narrow in that groups other than social classes are involved in the
everyone affected. To this end, struggle for power in the society. These groups can be ethnic groups,
utilitarian view that political racial groups or religious groups. To the utilitarian, ably represented by
conducts should have as its goal Jeremy Bentham, politics is the means by which men could promote their
the procurement of the greatest
happiness for the greatest private and collective interest. This is also narrow in the sense that there
number of persons. are other means by which men promote their interests.
o ITQ Harold Lasswell’s definition of politics as “Who gets what
when and how” emphasizes the notion of:
A. power
B. government
C. state
D. territory
Feedback on ITQ answers
• The correct answer is A.
• If you choose B and C, then you would have stated that
the definition of politics as “who get what when and how”
revolves only in the public realm (government circle) and
not in the private realm (family, school etc). In fact,
Laswell’s definition makes more reference to the
acquisition of power that can be seen in both the public
and private realm.
• If you choose D, then you would have related the
definition to territorial boundaries. This conception of
politics is however, not limited by geographical locations
of a state. It can also occur in both domestic and
international forum, among government and private
individuals.
Governmental institutions Some scholars posit that politics equates with the organization and
includes all of legislature, operation of governmental institutions. According to this definition,
presidency and judiciary with
their various establishments. politics involves the functioning of institutions which make law, enforce
it and settle controversy arising from different interests and various
Authority Right to enforce

10
 Study Session 1The
The Nature and Scope of Political Science

obedience. interpretation of the law. The problem with this definition is that it is too
narrow and formalistic; this is because it ignores the political activities of
such non-governmental
non governmental institutions as political parties and interest or o
pressure groups. Other scholars perceive politics as the quest for power,
order and justice, the art of influencing, manipulating and controlling
others, using authority,, a process of resolution of conflict in society and
a struggle among actors pursuing conflicting desires on public issues.

More appropriately, politics can be seen as concerning the

activities of governmental institutions in a state as well as any
aspect of the society that directly or indirectly affects the
operation of these institutions. In short, politics involves
Note organisation of government and the behaviour of groups and
individuals in matters that are likely to affect the course and
conduct of government as for examples in voting and in forming
pressure groups.

Crucial to any definition of politics is the state,, which is the most

important contemporary framework for the conduct of politics. The state
is simply defined as a territorial organization exercising a legitimate
monopoly of force over a people within the specified geographical
boundary. The modern state has four major characteristics namely;
people, territory, government and sovereignty.

Tip Also, while there is no best definition of politics, most political scientists
agree that politics has something to do with power, influenceand
authority, which are the central organizing concepts of the study of
politics.

o ITQ State is the most important contemporary framework for

the conduct of _______.
A. government
B. people
C. territory
D. politics
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is D
• If you choose A, B or C, you are wrong. In fact, people,
territory, and government are elements of a state.

1.1.2 Political Science, Politics and Government

Having exposed you to different meaning of politics, it is important to
explain what Political Science entails? There exists some confusion on
what political science entails. Part of the confusion is in respect of
politics as an academic discipline and politics as an art.
art To some people,
political scientists are ‘politicians’. Even to some people, political
science offers training for revolutionaries or politicians. Let me point out
this to you that political science is not necessarily training to become a
practicing politician. Political Scientists as pointed out earlier carry out
systematic and objective analysis of politics, which may or may not aid

11
POS111 The Study of Politics

working politicians. Meanwhile, you should be aware that Politicians

love power, while Political Scientists are skeptical of power. While
Politicians seek popularity and think practically, Political Scientists seek
accuracy and think abstractly. More importantly, Politicians often
respond to group and seek name recognition while Political Scientists
seek the good of the whole and seek professional prestige. Therefore, it
could be inferred that not all Political Scientists are politicians and vice –
versa. Billy Dudley in his inaugural lecture titled “Scepticism and
Political Virtues” delivered in 1975 cleared the ground on what political
science is all about. From his submission, it is evident that political
science is the study of politics.
To him, politics and indeed political science entails the following:
1. “Consciousness Formation, that is, the evolving of awareness
amongst a collectivity of the issues and problems that confront
that collectivity”.
2. “Social Mobilization, which is the organisation of a collectivity
for joint collaborative action”.
3. “Contestation”, the contesting of the determination of natural
priorities through the process of argumentation and debate.
4. “Institutional Struggle or the conversion of fights into games
and debates” and
5. Transcendence, the bringing about of change both at the level of
the person and at the systemic and sub-systemic levels.
In his conclusion, he opined that Political Science “is the systematic
study of these various components of politics”. Like Dudley, the World
Book Encyclopedia (1997) describes Political Science as the systematic
study of political life. It however added that political scientists seek
answers to such questions as “what reasons justify the actions of
government? And “whose interests are served by government?”

1.2 The Scope and Importance of Political Science

Political scientists study the various forms of government as well as
political parties, pressure groups, elections, international relations, public
institutions, comparative politics and public administration. All these
deal with the activities of individuals and groups, both at the national and
international levels. You should note that Political Science deals with
fundamental values such as equality, freedom, justice and power. These
are issues within and outside formal operations of government.
In terms of significance of political science to human endeavours, it is
well established from the definitions given above (see study session
1.1.1) that politics matters to every human being. Let me illustrate: if you
do not take an interest and participate, someone else will, and they will
influence the decisions that affect and govern your lives. Awareness of
what politics is and how it works raises the consciousness in us to look
after ourselves and prevent others from using us, since the ignorant are
usually manipulated. The fact remains that you need not like the thing
you study. For instance, virologists studying viruses and diseases may
observe a disease–causing virus under a microscope. The fact that they do
not like the virus does not hinder them from studying how it grows, how

12
 Study Session 1Thee Nature and Scope of Political Science

it does its damage,

damage, and how it may be prevented or eradicated. Neither do
biologists get angry at the bacterium and smash the glass slide with stone.
They first understand the forces of nature and then see how they can work
with them to improve mankind’s existence. What political scientists try to
do with politics in not different.

So far, we have discussed the nature and scope of politics. You will now
engage in a reading activity on consensus view and conflict views on
Politics”.
Task
Activity
Read the article below and answer the questions that follow.
Allow 20 minutes
Introduction
Many scholars have attempted to conceptualize politics and give meaning
to the term. One of them is Stephen Giliat who introduced two major
traditions into the understanding of politics asas a means of conflict
management, and at the same time, perceived it as a means of conflict.
This activity is aimed to expose you to consensus and conflict views of
politics so as to have comprehensive understanding of some salient issues
in political science.
scie
Consensus and Conflict Views of Politics
According to Stephen Giliat, there are two major traditions in the
understanding of politics. One tradition views politics as a positive
means of conflict management, while the other one sees it as concerned
with the production and promotion of conflicts. The first view, Stephen
Giliat called the consensus or management view of politics. The second
he described as the conflict view of politics.
The Consensus View of Politics
The following are the arguments associated
associated with the consensus or
management view of politics:
1. Politics is the process of resolving the problem of conflicting
desires. It is concerned with resolving conflicts and
contradictions peculiar to human existence. In short, controlling
conflicts is the crucial and central function of the political
process.
2. Conflicting desires arise when people want resources that are
incompatible or in short supply. In other words, scarcity of
resources leads to disagreement. Even men have diverse views,
interests
ts and characteristics. They differ in their view of the
nature of man and of his role in the world; they have conflicting
interests as young and old, employer and employee or rich and
poor. They also differ racially and psychologically. These
differences
es provide the basis for political activities.
Consequently therefore, competing political parties are evidences
of the disagreement not causes of this disagreement.
3. Politicians and political processes function to accommodate and
regulate differences by recognizing,
ecognizing, representing or responding to
them. Thus, the primary role of the political process is to

13
POS111 The Study of Politics

integrate and reconcile conflicting desires in order to produce

policies that benefit everybody and ensure security and order.
4. Inevitably therefore, politics is concerned both with conflict and
consensus, disagreement and agreement, disorder and order or
politicking and policy making. While differences or conflicting
desires provide basis for politics, consensus or agreement is also
required in order to reconcile the conflicting interests and ensure
social stability and effective government. In essence, if politics is
not to degenerate into anarchy, it is imperative or it is important
that people who hold divergent interests should also accept the
constraints imposed by the political framework of the rule, which
regulate the gains of politics in society.
5. Finally, politics is therefore the functional activities having as its
aim the accommodation and resolution of conflict, the
establishment of order and formulation of decisions or policies.
Politics is a cure for rather than the cause of disagreement and
that maintaining order is the legitimate aim of all political
activities.
The Conflict View of Politics
The conflict view of politics makes the following propositions or
arguments:
1. Politics is concerned not with the management of conflict but for
its production and promotion. Differences became unmanageable
when they are politicized and issues become controversial when
they are giving energy by politicians.
2. The consensus view of politics is a faulty and mistaking
description of the nature of political activities. The inadequacy of
consensus view of politics becomes obvious when we look at the
nature of international politics. The international political arena is
conflict-ridden. Different nations aggressively compete for power
and there are no universally acceptable processes or rules to
regulate relations among these nations. This unregulated
competition among states in the international system has
transformed international politics into a turbulent and dangerous
process. You need to know this is also true of domestic politics.
3. It is wrong to assume that competing political parties are
evidences of disagreement not causes of them. On the contrary,
it is through politics that disagreement and conflicting interests
are established and accepted in the first place. Strictly speaking,
this view argues that politics plays a major role in creating
differences and conflicting interests. Therefore it does not
resolve conflicts it creates them.
4. Political groups are not always ready to accept the constraints
imposed by the established institutions and structure of societies.
To be political is to be militant, and to be militant may entail the
breaking of established conventions and processes. For example,
Marxist’s or socialist’s books in capitalist societies do not regard
pubic institutions for accommodating and regulating conflicts in
these societies as legitimate. Rejection of institutional constraints
therefore seems to be an essential ingredient of what it takes to be

14
 Study Session 1The Nature and Scope of Political Science

political.
5. Widespread apathy to politics among ordinary people is routed in
the conflictual nature of politics. For the ordinary people, politics
involves taking an issue of principle to a point where
confrontation becomes inevitable and cooperation impossible.
Politics is seen as something to be avoided by people who want
to live with each other on friendly terms. In other words ordinary
people see politics as an obstacle to the regulation of conflict and
the survival of associations.
6. Politicians survive not by building consensus or reconciling
differences but by placing groups and associations against one
another through the exaggeration of differences and the use of
propaganda. They encourage groups to conceive others’ point of
view as opposite and antagonistic to their own. The campaign of
socialist politicians for example informs workers about their
exploitation by the bourgeoisies and the use of political
institutions as instruments of class domination. Thus, politicians
tend to complicate issues which could be resolved peacefully and
with little noise.
In conclusion, the conflict view emphasizes that politics is not about co-
existence and conciliation but polarity and antagonism. In short, politics
is not a means of peaceful accommodation and resolution of conflict but
an instrument for the promotion of conflicts.
Question
Fill in the empty spaces with the most appropriate answer
Many scholars have expressed their views about politics. ____A_____ as
one of the scholars identified two major traditions in the understanding of
politics which are conflict. One tradition views politics as a positive
means of conflict management, while the other one sees it as concerned
with the production and promotion of conflicts. The first view was called
the ___B____ or management view of politics while the second was
described as the ____C____ view of politics.
The first tradition concludes that ___D___ is a cure for rather than the
cause of disagreement arising from scarcity of resources; and that
maintaining order is the legitimate aim of all political activities. The
second tradition on the contrary emphasizes that politics is not about co-
existence and conciliation but polarity and antagonism. To this conflict
view, politics is not a means of peaceful accommodation and resolution
of conflict but an instrument for the promotion of ____E____.
o ITQ Which of the following statements about the consensus
view of politics is not true?
A. Politics is the process of resolving the problem of
conflicting desires.
B. Conflicting desires arise when people want resources
that are incompatible or in short supply.
C. Politicians and political processes function to
accommodate and regulate differences by
recognizing, representing or responding to them

15
POS111 The Study of Politics

D. politics is concerned not with the management of

conflict but for its production and promotion
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is D
• If you believe A, B and C as true and the odd one is D,
then you are correct. This is because while A, B and C are
concerned with the consensus view of politics, D is
concerned with the conflict view of politics.

Study Session Summary

In this Study session we noted that politics has no single or universally
acceptable definitions. Politics involves organization of government and
the behaviour of groups and individuals in matters that are likely to affect
Summary the course and conduct of government. The state, which is regarded as the
most important contemporary framework for the conduct of politics is
crucial to any definition of politics. Most political scientists agree that
politics has something to do with
with these central organizing concepts of the
study of: power, influence and authority.
You also learnt that Political Science is the systematic and scientific
study of politics. According to Billy Dudley, it entails consciousness
formation, social mobilization,
mobilization, contestation, institutional struggle and
transcendence.

Assessment
Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well
you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions.
Write your answers in your Study Diary and discuss them with your
Assessment Tutor at the next Study Support Meeting. You can check the back of this
manual for feedbacks to these SAQs
SAQ 1.1 (tests Learning Outcome 1.1)
Study the table below, and fill the empty labelled columns with the
appropriate answer.
A means by which men could promote their
private
rivate and collective interest

B authoritative allocation of values for a society

C the essence of social existence and that two or

more men interacting with one another are
invariably involve in a political relationship

D confrontation or struggle among social classes

16
 Study Session 1The Nature and Scope of Political Science

or economic groups

E who gets what, when and how

SAQ 1.2 (tests Learning Outcome 1.2)

Discuss the difference between political science and politics.
SAQ 1.3 (Tests learning outcome 1.3)
Explain the scope and significance of politics.

Assignment
This is a tutor marked assessment for this study session. Turn in your
response at UI Mobile Class – the course website. You may see
submission date at the course website as well
1. “Politics is the process of resolving the problem of conflicting human
Assignment desires”. Discuss.
2. In few words state your understanding of the second major tradition
in the conception of politics according to Stephen Giliat?

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POS111 The Study of Politics

Study Session 2

The Levels of Politics

Introduction
In the last study session attempts were made to conceptualize politics and
discuss its nature. In this study session we will discuss the three basic
levels at which politics takes place. In addition, you will be shown
differences and similarities among the three levels.
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
discuss the levels at which politics takes place. (SAQ 2.1)
show differences and similarities among thee three levels of
politics. (SAQ 2.2)
Learning Outcomes discuss the dimensions and ramification of politics. (SAQ 2.3)

2.1 Levels of Politics

Politics, generally speaking, takes place at different levels. While
Aristotle posits that politics is both ubiquitous and universal because man
by nature is a political animal, and so takes place from the individual
level to the state and inter-state
inter state level; some contend that for a more
conventional understanding of politics, it is at three basic levels. Eric
Rowe, in his book - Modern Politics: An Introduction to Studying of
Behaviour and Institutions - identifies three levels of politics: i.
the state levels of politics;
ii. intra-state levels of politics; and
iii. inter-state levels of politics.

2.1.1 The State Level of Politics

Po
This is the most important level of politics, which some scholars even
consider to be the only level of politics. This level enjoys primacy over
other levels because the state, apart from being more or less permanent
with a territory that is defined,
defined, is also an institution that exercises the
monopoly of the legitimate use of force over its territory.
Put differently, other associations groups and institutions are ultimately
subjected to the jurisdiction of the legal control of the state. In other
words,
rds, the state unlike other associations has compulsory jurisdiction.
State politics includes the activities of the national or federal government,
the sub-national
sub national or regional government and those of local governments.
In Nigeria, these will mean the federal,
federal, state and local governments.
Legislative, executive and judicial activities form part of state politics.

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 Study Session 2The
The Levels of Politics

2.1.2 Intra-State
Intra level of Politics
This refers to those forms of political behaviour or conduct which take
place within associations or social groups
groups that form part of the state. Put
differently, intra-state
intra state politics has to do with the activities, interactions
and co-existence
co existence of all the groups within a definite territory. For example,
the relationship between the governed and the governors, two or more
arms of government, the pressure groups and the government, etc,
constitutes intra-state
intra politics.
It is however pertinent to note that such relationship all works towards
the smooth running of the state through policy making and policy
feedback. It may not be governmental that all times, but actions of
groups influence government decisions. Intra-state
Intra state politics is limited by
such state rules as exist. In addition, however, associations can participate
in state politics, that is politics that move beyond the internal affairs of
the associations and involve the activities of government. For example,
members of a church or university may campaign against any
governmental policies or decisions that affect its activities. Such
participation by an association
association in the politics of the wider state
environment or government can be more conveniently described as an
instance of state politics rather than of intrastate politics.

2.1.3 Inter-State
Inter Level of Politics
Another name for inter-state
inter politics is international
tional politics. As the
name suggests, it is the politics that goes on between two or more states.
According to scholars like Nicholas Spykman, Federick Dunn, Joshua
Goldstein and of course Hans Mongenthau, among others, it is activities
involving political
political actors and other related ones, carried across state
boundaries.

Unlike state and intra-state

intra state politics, international politics or inter-state
inter
level of politics does not take place within a definite territory. There
are also no existing institutions of government that enjoy the monopoly
of the legitimate use of force. What best occurs at the level of inter- inter
Tip state politics is voluntary association, and cooperation among states.

There is however attempts to create stability and a world order that will
set the tone for a world government. The United Nations Organisation
(UNO) with independent nations of the world as members is however
faced with ideological conflicts, lack of commitment and the inability to
compel obedience because it doesdoes not have absolute control over the
member
member-states. The inter-state
state politics takes place in a setting in which
no institution monopolises superior authority or jurisdiction.
o ITQ State-levellevel of politics enjoys primacy over other levels
because
A. the state exercises
xercises the monopoly of the legitimate use
of force over its territory.
B. the state does not have the capacity to use coercion.
C. groups or institutions have jurisdictional supremacy.
D. the state has its main objectives as the promotion of
people’s welfare

19
POS111 The Study of Politics

Feedback on ITQs answers

• The correct answer is A.
• If you choose B, then you would have stated that the state
cannot enforce obedience. The fact is, a state exist
because it has the instrumentalities of power to enforce
obedience
• If you choose C, then you would ould have stated that
institutions and groups have jurisdictional supremacy over
the state. The fact is that most institutions or groups are
located within the state and thus subject to the state.
• If you choose D, then you would have believed the most
important
rtant thing about the state is the provision of social
welfare. You might be right but for a state to be abe to
provide social welfare, it must be able to have the
monopoly of the use of coercion to carry out its
responsibilities of ensuring social order which
w provides
avenue for the provision of people’s welfare.

o ITQ _______________ does not take place within a definite

territory.
A. international politics
B. supra inter state politics
C. intra-state politics
D. state politics
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is A.
• If you choose B, you would have suggested that there is
another level of relationship higher than international
politics, state and intra-state
state politics apart from the three
levels of politics stated by scholars.
• If you choose C & D, then you would have stated that
politics carried out among institutions and groups or state
politics is not done within a defined territory. State and
intra-state
state politics are carried within a clearly defined
territory.

Study Session Summary

Although politics is described as ubiquitous and universal, this study
session has shown that there are three basic levels at which politics takes
place, which are: state level politics, intra – state level politics, and inter-
inter
Summary state or international politics. The state level of politics is considered to
be the only level of politics that includes the activities of the national or
federal government, the sub-national
sub national or regional government and those of
local governments.
Intra state politics refers to those forms of political behaviour or conduct
which take place within associations or social groups that form part of the

20
 Study Session 2The
The Levels of Politics

state. The inter-state

state or international politics is activities involving
political actors and other related ones, carried across state boundaries. It
does not take place within a definite territory like the other two levels of
politics.

Assessment
Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well
you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering
answe these questions.
Write your answers in your Study Diary and discuss them with your
Assessment Tutor at the next Study Support Meeting. You can check your answers
with the Notes on the Self-Assessment
Self Assessment Questions at the end of this
Manual.

SAQs 2.1 (tests Learning Outcome 2.1)

Attempt a definition of state, intra-state
intra and inter-state
state politics.
SAQs 2.2 (tests Learning Outcome 2.2)
With illustrations, differentiate between state and inter
inter-state
(international) politics.
SAQs 2.3 (tests Learning Outcome 2.3)
Identif the similarities in the state and inter-state
Identify state level of politics.

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POS111 The Study of Politics

Study Session 3

Development of the Study of Politics

Introduction
Having discussed the levels at which politics take place in the last study
session, it is important for us to trace the development of political
science. In this session, you will be exposed to the behaviouralism
revolution that swept across sociology and psychology in 1950s caught
up with political science; and shifted the attention of the political
scientists from the formal structure of the state to man’s political
behaviour. Behavouralism aims at subjecting human behaviour to
scientific analysis. Prior to 1950, study of politics had been preoccupied
with the moral end of the state as well as the formal structure of
government that is the constitution, the origin, and purpose of the
structure.
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
trace the development of political science as a discipline. (SAQ
3.1)
identify major events that have shaped the course and content of
political science as the scientific study of politics. (SAQ 3.2)
discuss the debate on the issue of a science of politics or
Learning Outcomes
scientificness of politics. (SAQ 3.3)

3.1 The Study of Politics before the Advent of Behaviouralism

Let me remind you that political science as an academic discipline is
concerned with the systematic and scientific study and analysis of
politics. As a separate field for the study and analysis of politics, political
science is a relatively late arrival within the social sciences where it is
well developed. It is a relatively young academic field of study in many
countries. It may interest you to note that political science was first taught
in American universities in the 1850s. In the past as noted earlier, the
term "political science" was not always distinguished from political
philosophy and political history since the subject was taught as part of
other academic disciplines. Even the modern discipline has a clear set of
antecedents including also political economy, moral philosophy, history,
antecedents
political theology, and other fields concerned with normativism or “what
ought to be” questions and with a major emphasis on the characteristics
and functions of the ideal State.
The history
history of Western politics, strictly speaking, can be traced back to
the political philosophers who belonged to the Socratic school of
thought namely, Plato (427–347
thought, 347 BC), Xenophon (430–354
(430 BC), and
Aristotle, who is considered to be the founding father of political
pol science
(384
(384–322 BC). The works of these authors, The Republic and Laws by
Plato, and The Politics and Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, analyzed

22
 Study Session 3Development of the Study of Politics

political systems philosophically, going beyond earlier Greek poetic and

historical reflections.
It is important to point out that in the height of the Roman Empire, the
study of politics was oriented toward understanding history,
understanding methods of governing, and describing the operation of
governments. Nearly a thousand years elapsed from the foundation of the
city of Rome in 753 BC to the fall of the Roman empire or the beginning
of the Middle Ages; philosophers and historians in this period
emphasized the importance of Roman institutions in making the State as a
whole stable. According to Polybius, “Roman institutions were the
backbone of the empire but Roman law is the medulla”.
With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, there arose a more disperse
arena for political studies. The rise of monotheism and, particularly for
the Western tradition, Christianity brought to light a new space for
politics and political action. For instance, Augustine of Hippo’s The City
of God synthesized current philosophies and political traditions with
those of Christianity, redefining the borders between what was religious
and what was political. During the Middle Ages, the study of politics was
widespread in the churches and courts and the theologians and political
commentators of the period were preoccupied with the political questions
surrounding the relationship between Church and State. The two concepts
were clarified and contested in this period. In the 13thcentury Aristotle's
Politics was translated and became the basic text as in the works of Saint
Thomas Aquinas.
The antecedents of politics can be traced back to scholars from other
continents as well. For instance in ancient India, Chanakya (350–275 BC)
as a political thinker wrote the Arthashastra,a treatise on political
thought, economics and social order. This work discusses monetary and
fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and war strategies in
detail, among other topics. Also the ancient China was home to several
competing schools of political thought, these included Mohism- a
utilitarian philosophy;Taoism, Legalism - a school of thought based on
the supremacy of the state; and Confucianism – a school of thought that
greatly influenced strategic studies in political science. Moreover, during
the Italian Renaissance, Niccolo Machiavelli established the emphasis of
modern political science on direct empirical observation of political
institutions and actors. Machiavelli in the early 16th century introduced
what some believe is the crux of modern political science. His great work
“The Prince” was about getting and using political power. As a realist he
focused on power, arguing that to accomplish anything good – such as the
unification of Italy and expulsion of the foreigners who ruined it – the
Prince had to be rational and tough in exercise of power. Machiavelli has
been described as the father of the "politics model" of political science.
Let me point out at this point that the expansion of the scientific paradigm
during the Enlightenment further pushed the study of politics beyond
normative determinations.

o ITQ Which of these political philosophers did not contribute to

the study of politics?
A. Aristotle

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POS111 The Study of Politics

B. Plato
C. Xenophon
D. Comte
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is D.
• If you choose D, then you are correct because Auguste Comte
works dwells on the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of
positivism.
• Options A, B & C in fact include political philosophers such as:
Aristotle, Plato and Marx have made useful contributions to the
development of politics as a discipline.
In the Enlightenment period, the Contractualists emerged and contributed
immensely to the study of politics through their social contract theory.
Social contract is a theory that assumes that individuals join and stay in
civil society as if they had signed a contract. Like Machiavelli, Thomas
Hobbes, one of the Contractualists believed that a strong central power,
such as a monarchy, was necessary to rule the innate selfishness of the
individual but neither of them believed in the divine right of kings. John
Locke, another Englishman, on the other hand, who wrote the Two
Treatises of Government and who did not believe in the divine right of
kings either, sided with Aquinas and stood against both Machiavelli and
Hobbes by accepting Aristotle's dictum that man seeks to be happy in a
state of social harmony as a social animal. Unlike Aquinas' preponderant
view on the salvation of the soul from original sin, Locke believed man
comes into this world with a mind that is basically a tabula rasa.
According to Locke, an absolute ruler as proposed by Hobbes is
unnecessary, for natural law is based on reason and equality, seeking
peace and survival for man. It should be mentioned that Jean- Jacques
Rousseau who lived in 18th century France was considered as one of
those who laid the philosophical groundwork for the French Revolution.
Although he accepted the theories of Hobbes and Locke, he deviated a
little, by theorizing that life in a state of nature was downright good;
people lived according to him as “Noble savages” without artifice or
jealousy. To Rousseau, what corrupted humans was society itself. Let me
remind you his famous word in the beginning of his Social Contract:
“Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains”. This social contract
theory by these writers provided an alternative explanation on the origin
of the modern State.
The antecedents of politics can also be traced to Hegelian philosophy
during the Enlightenment Period. Hegel’s political philosophy produced
Marxism. Karl Marx who popularized Marxism was trained in Hegelian
Philosophy. Like Hegel, Marx argued that things do not happen by
accident; everything has a cause. Nevertheless they differed, while Hegel
posited that the underlying cause that moves history forward as spiritual,
specifically Zeitgeist – the spirit of the times, Marx found the great
underlying cause in economics.
o ITQ Social contract theory was developed by the
A. the Structuralists
B. the Functionalists
C. the Contractualists

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 Study Session 3Development of the Study of Politics

D. the Socialists
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is C.
• If you choose A, then you would have suggested that the social
contract theory was developed by philosophers such as Ferdinand de
Saussure and French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss.
• If you choose B, then you have stated that the social contract theory
was developed by political philosophers such as Emile Dukheim.
• If you choose D, then you have stated that political philosophers such
as Karl Marx and Fedrick Engels developed the social contract
theory.

3.2 Behavioural Revolution and the Study of Politics

In the 1950s and the 1960s, a behavioural revolution stressing the
systematic and rigorously scientific study of individual and group
behaviour swept political science discipline. A focus on studying political
behaviour, rather than institutions or interpretation of legal texts,
characterized early behavioural political science, including work by
Robert Dahl, David Easton and Phillip Converse.
Political behaviour refers to a particular approach, a set of methods for
the study of politics, and the study of human behaviour in politics. Let me
point out that behaviouralism is not a new field of Political Science;
rather it is a new approach to the study of political and governmental
phenomena. The goal of behaviouralism is to make political science a
more scientific discipline, one which analyzes politics empirically, that is,
using the scientific method.
The behavioural approach adopted by behaviouralists is distinguished by
its attempt to describe government as a process made up of the actions
and interactions of individuals and groups of individuals. It is concerned
with the activities of governments, political parties, interest groups and
voters. Unlike institutional theoretical approach, behavioural approach
rejected institutions as the unit of analysis because, government, after all,
is not made up merely of documents, containing laws and rules or of
structures of a particular form but is fundamentally based upon patterns
of actions and activities of men. Thus, the units of analysis of
behaviouralism should be the observed behaviour and relationships of
individuals.
Beginning from 1950s, behaviourally inclined political scientists
borrowed the natural scientists’ approach and accumulated statistics from
elections, public opinion surveys, votes in legislatures, and anything else
they could hang a number on. Specifically, the term "behavioural
science", subsequently called "behaviouralism", was coined by a group of
quantitatively oriented, rigorously inclined social scientists, at the
University of Chicago. As we shall soon see in this study session,
Behaviouralists made some remarkable contributions to political science,
shooting down some long-held but unexamined assumptions, and giving
political theory an empirical basis. Their best work has been on voting
patterns, the area in which they can get lots of valid data.

25
POS111 The Study of Politics

The decline of behaviouralism as an intellectual force in the late 1960s

led to the emergence of new perspectives in the study of politics. By
1969, a newer movement post-behavioural emerged as a synthesis of
traditional and behavioural approaches. Post behaviouralists recognize
that facts and values are tied together; they are willing to use both the
qualitative data of the traditionalists and quantitative data of the
behaviouralists.
There was to be a greater emphasis on the informal processes of politics
and less on state political institutions in isolation. Post-behaviouralism
developed from the criticisms of behaviouralism which was attacked for
concentrating on quantifiable but trivial politics, downgrading the
importance of normative values in political research, and neglecting vital
areas of political life which are not directly amenable to scientific
treatment.
Thus, the post behavioural approach is engaged to promote a political
science that would be as scientific or precise as possible, philosophical
normative, politically relevant and also socially responsible. It was
eclectic in that it supported the incorporation into political science as
many perspectives or approaches as can throw light on the complexities
of political life. The approach encourages borrowing from other social
science disciplines particularly, sociology and psychology.
The advent of political science as a university discipline was marked by
the creation of university departments and chairs with the title of political
science arising in the late 19th century. In fact, the designation "political
scientist" is typically reserved for those with a doctorate (PhD) in the
field. You should be aware that the process of integrating political studies
of the past into a unified discipline is ongoing, and the history of political
science has provided a rich field for the growth of both normative and
positive political science, with each part of the discipline sharing some
historical predecessors.
o ITQ The goal of behaviouralism is to make political science
A. a more scientific discipline.
B. a more philosophical discipline.
C. a more dependent discipline.
D. more constricted discipline.
Feedback on ITQ
• The correct answer is A.
• If you chose B, then you have suggested that behavioural
approach to the study of politics revolves around the
normative-philosophical or legal-institutional approach,
which once dominated the study of politics.
• If you choose C & D, then you would that the suggested
that the behavioural approach to the study of politics
limited. The behaviouralist would argue otherwise
Those who study and teach politics have formed different professional
associations in various countries as well as at the continental and
international levels, such as Nigerian Political Science Associations,
(NPSA), American Political Science Association (APSA), International
Political Science Association (IPSA), and the African Association of

26
 Study Session 3Development of the Study of Politics

Political Science (AAPS). The American Political Science Association

was founded in 1903 and the American Political Science Review was
founded in 1906 in an effort to distinguish the study of politics from
economics and other social phenomena.

3.3 A Science of Politics

There is a crucial and controversial debate on the scientificness of the
study of politics. Questions that are usually posed in connection with this
debate include but not limited to: Is there a science of politics? To what
extent is political science a science? Can one speak of the laws of
political behaviour? Without mincing words, in the sense of the precision
that is attributed, often mistakenly, to such pure and natural sciences as
physics, mathematics, chemistry, zoology and biology, perhaps political
science is not a science. It is well established that political science can not
be considered an exact science because it is a behavioural or soft science.
Its controls are less exact. It deals with people rather than with matter.
Nevertheless, it is possible to talk about a scientific study of politics. By
this, we mean that the study will be systematic and orderly and that
political scientists will attempt to find out what is or what actually exists.
Strictly speaking, we mean the use of scientific method to study political
phenomena. (This debate will be extensively discussed in another course
meant for 200 level Political Science Students; POS 211 – Political
Analysis).
Like all social sciences, political science faces the difficulty of observing
human actors that can only be partially observed and who have the
capacity for making conscious choices unlike other subjects such as non-
human organisms in biology or inanimate objects as in physics. Despite
the complexities, contemporary political science has progressed by
adopting a variety of methods and theoretical approaches to
understanding politics and methodological pluralism is a defining feature
of contemporary political science. Due to the interdependence of all
social life, political science also moved towards a closer working
relationship with other disciplines, especially sociology, history,
economics, anthropology, law, psychology, administration and statistics
without losing its own identity.
Increasingly, political scientists have used the scientific method to create
an intellectual discipline involving quantitative research methods, as well
as the generation of formal economics-style models of politics to derive
testable hypotheses followed by empirical verification. Over the past
generations, the discipline placed an increasing emphasis on relevance
and the use of new approaches to increase scientific knowledge in the
field and provide explanations for empirical outcomes.
In 2000, the Perestroika Movement in political science was introduced as
a reaction against what supporters of the movement called the
mathematicization of political science. Those who identified with the
movement argued for a plurality of methodologies and approaches in
political science and for more relevance of the discipline to those outside
of it.
o ITQ Political science as an academic discipline is concerned
with

27
POS111 The Study of Politics

A. systematic study and analysis of politics.

B. scientific study Marxism.
C. the idea of the social contract .
D. the philosophy of Aristotle.
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is A.
• If you choose B, then you would have limited the study of
politics to the political philosophies of karl Marx which stipulates
that the stratification of the state or society into classes such as
the bourgeoisies and the proletariats, and the struggle among amon
these class, will finally cumulate into the victory of the
proletariats and the subsequent establishment of a classless
society.
• If you choose C, then you would have also suggested that politics
essentially entails Thomas Hobbes idea of the emergence of the
state through a social contract that exists between the citizens and
the state.
• If you choose D, then you would have limited to study of politics
around Aristotle’s dictum that man seeks to be happy in a state of
social harmony as social animals.

Study Session Summary

In this Study session you traced the origin of political science as an
academic discipline. As a separate field for the study and analysis of
politics, political science is a relatively late arrival within the social
Summary sciences. As demonstrated in the study session, Plato, Xenophon, and
Aristotle, who is considered to be the founding father of political science
contributed immensely through their works to the development of
western politics. In fact the antecedents of politics can be traced back to
many scholars from different continents
continents as discussed in the study session.
In the post Second world war era, the major growth area in the study of
politics has been the area designated political behaviour with the
emergence of behavioural approach.
You were also exposed to the advent of political science as a university
discipline arising in the late 19th century in America. Those who study
and teach politics have formed different professional associations in
various countries as well as at the continental and international levels like
NPSA, IPSA, and AAPS etc. In spite of the pessimism about the
scientificness of politics you were informed that contemporary political
science has progressed by adopting an eclectic approach.
approach

28
 Study Session 3Development
Development of the Study of Politics

Assessment
Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well
you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions.
You can check the back of this manual for feedbacks to these SAQs.
Assessment SAQ 3.1 (tests Learning Outcome 3.1)
How would you conceptualize political science?
SAQ 3.2 (tests
(t Learning Outcome 3.2)
Briefly discuss the major developments in the study of politics
SAQ 3.3 (tests Learning Outcome 3.3)
Is there a science of politics?

29
POS111 The Study of Politics

Study Session 4

Approaches to the Study of Politics

Introduction
We discussed the levels at which politics take place in the last study
session. The main aim of this study session is to help you identify and
discuss various approaches to the study of politics. Four main approaches
that dominate the study of politics before
before and after the Second World
War will be explained.

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
identify four basic approaches to the study of politics. (SAQ 4.1)
explain the approaches to the study of politics. (SAQ 4.2)
Learning Outcomes

Since the emergence of Political Science as a separate discipline, there

th
are four major approaches identified to be useful in the study of politics.
These are:
i. Normative-philosophical approach,
ii. Descriptive-institutional approach,
iii. Scientific-behavioural approach, and
iv. Eclectic/post-behavioural approach.

4.1 Normative Philosophical Approach

Traditionally, the study of politics was dominated by philosophical
reflections on universal political values that were regarded as essential to
the just state and the good state. Among the questions that attracted the
attention of such great traditional philosophers as Plato, Aristotle
Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau were: What is justice? What
makes the existence of political power legitimate? What should be the
proper role of the state? What reciprocal obligation exists
exist between the
state and its citizens? What interpretation and importance should be
attached to such political values as justice, natural rights, freedom and
obedience? In short, they were preoccupied with “what ought to be” or
normative questions.
In its present form the normative philosophical approach has taken the
form of a discussion and analysis of the answers that the traditional
philosophers provided to some of those questions. But contemporary
students of normative philosophical approach have tried tri not only to
provide fresh answers to the question posed by the traditional
philosophers but also to empirically investigate the extent to which such
political values as justice and liberty or freedom are actually been
accepted in a particular society. Thus, the application of the
philosophical approach in political science usually leads to a focus on the
great ideas, values and doctrine of politics.

30
 Study Session 4Approaches to the Study of Politics

The normative philosophical approach is the oldest and the least scientific
approach to the study of politics and it has been taken over although not
completely displaced by newer or more contemporary approaches.

4.2 Descriptive Institutional Approach

The strongest legacy that philosophy, history and law have bequeathed to
the study of politics is in the field of descriptive and institutional
approaches. In broad terms, an institution can be defined as ‘any
persistent system of activities or any pattern of group behaviour’. More
concretely, an institution has been conceived as ‘offices and agencies
arranged in a hierarchy, each agency having certain functions and
powers’. You should be informed that this approach emerged to
strengthen the weakness of normative philosophical approach.
The institutional approach to political inquiry focuses on the formal
structures and agencies of government. It originally focused on the
evolution and operation of legislatures, executives and judiciaries. As the
approach developed however, the list is extended to include political
parties, constitutions, bureaucracies, interest groups and other institutions
which are more or less permanently engaged in politics. In the descriptive
institutional approach, the emphasis is on facts rather than values. In
other words, the approach seeks to provide factual and historical answers
to such questions as what are the historical sources of parliamentary
supremacy over the monarchy. What are the procedures followed when a
bill becomes law? By what electoral arrangement are rulers or
representatives chosen? What are the relative merits and demerits of
rigid and flexible constitutions?
Although descriptive institutional approach is fairly old, political
scientists still, in spite of recent developments, concentrate chiefly on
examining the major political institutions of the state such as the
executive, legislature, the civil service, the judiciary and local
government and from these examinations valuable insights as to their
organisation can be drawn, proposals for reform discussed and general
conclusions offered. The approach has been criticised for the neglect of
the informal aspects of politics, norms, beliefs, values, attitudes,
personality and the processes.
o ITQ The Descriptive–Institutional Approach focuses on:
A. Organization of data for presentation purposes. The
discussion of such universal values as equality, justice
and freedom.
B. the reciprocal obligations that exist between the state
and citizens.
C. the evolution and operation of governmental
institutions and other bodies engaged in politics
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is C.
• If you choose A & B then you would be making reference
to the normative-philosophical approach to the study of
politics

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POS111 The Study of Politics

4.3 The Scientific Behavioural Approach

Beginning in the 1950s, strictly speaking, some Political Scientists started
to concentrate their attentions on actual human behaviour as opposed to
thoughts and feelings. They borrowed the natural scientists’ methods and
accumulated statistics from elections, public opinion surveys and so on.
The key assumption of the behavioural approach or behaviouralism is
that there are certain uniformities in political behaviour which can be
stated as generalizations or theories and which are capable of explaining
and predicting political phenomena. As an approach to the study of
politics, it introduces two major elements to the study of politics.
The first was the emphasis on the political behaviour of the individual or
the group of individuals as a central or crucial unit of political analysis
and the basic building block of political science. For example, if you say
the court is conservative, we mean that the judge in the Supreme Court is
conservative. Behaviouralists argue that although the institution is an
important aspect of politics, being on its own is not the real stuff of
politics. In other words, institutions do not and cannot exist physically
apart from the person or groups who inhabit them. It is therefore the
behaviour of the individual within institutions rather than the formal
structure and characteristics of those institutions which should be the
main focus of the political scientists.
The second element that behaviouralism brought to the study of politics
was the emphasis on the use of scientific method in political analysis.
The behavioural approach insists on the scientific methods in making
accurate statements about political phenomena, on cumulative research
and on broad generalizations. The advent of behaviouralism in political
science was marked by the emphasis on the collection of empirical
political data and the use of mathematical and statistical techniques to
analyze data collected. Past behavioural studies were especially good in
examining the ‘social bases’ of politics, the attitudes and values of
average citizens, which go a long way toward making the system function
the way it does.
There are several criticisms levelled against the behavioural approach.
Critics questioned its basic assumption and argued that political reality
consists mainly of unique elements and that whatever regularities that
exit are trivial in nature. It was further stressed that political phenomena
are not amenable to experimentation. However, despite its perceived
short comings, the behavioural approach has greatly encouraged the
scientific study of political phenomena.

4.4 The Eclectic-Post Behavioural Approach

The decline of behaviouralism as an intellectual force in the late 1960s
led to the emergence of new perspectives in the study of politics. There
was to be a greater emphasis on the informal processes of politics and
less on state political institutions in isolation. Post-behaviouralism
developed from the criticisms of behaviouralism which was attacked for
concentrating on quantifiable but trivial politics, downgrading the
importance of normative values in political research, and neglecting vital

32
 Study Session 4Approaches
Approaches to the Study of Politics

areas of political life which are not directly amenable to scientific

treatment.
Thus, the post behavioural approach is engaged to promote a political
science that would not be as scientific or precise as possible,
philosophical normative,
normative, politically relevant but be also socially
responsible. It was eclectic in that it is supported the incorporation into
political science as many perspectives or approaches as can throw light
on the complexities of political life. The approach encourages
enco borrowing
from other social science disciplines particularly, sociology and
psychology. Some of the new perspectives that later developed into
approaches in Political science include, the systems approach, structural-
structural
functional approach, the group approach,
approach, decision-making
decision approach
among others. Each of these approaches has its own weakness(es) and
strength(s).
It has to be mentioned that there is indeed no agreement on one single
approach to the study of politics.
o ITQ The Normative–Philosophical Approach proach emphasized:
A. the development in the study of behaviours of
political actors.
B. the study of state parastatals.
C. the discussion of such universal values as equality,
justice and freedom
D. the scientific study of politics
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is C.
• If you choose A &D, then you would be referring to the
scientific-behavioural
behavioural approach to the study of politics.
If you choose B, then you would be referring to the descriptive
institutional approach to the study of politics.
s.

Study Session Summary

As it is pointed out in the study session, politics can be studied using
us four
different approaches; these are: normative philosophical
hilosophical approach which
focus on philosophical reflections on universal political values that
focuses
Summary were regarded as essential to the just state and the good state; descriptive
institutional
nstitutional approach that focuses on the formal structures and agencies
of government; behavioural approach that emphasizes the scientific
study of political behaviour of individuals and group of individuals; and
the post-behavioural
p approach that is eclectic in nature
nat and engaged to
promote a political science that would not be as scientific or precise as
possible, philosophical normative, politically relevant but be also socially
responsible.

33
POS111 The Study of Politics

Assessment
Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how
well you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these
questions. You can check feedbacks on SAQs to get the answers.
Assessment SAQ 4.1 (Tests learning outcome 4.1 and 4.2)
Differentiate between the normative-philosophical
philosophical and the
descriptive-institutional approach to the study of politics.
SAQ 4.2 (Tests learning outcome 4.2)
What is behaviouralism?
Discuss eclectic/post
clectic/post behavioural approach in political inquiry.

34
 Study Session 5Power,
Power, Influence, Authority and Legitimacy

Study Session 5

Power, Influence, Authority and Legitimacy

Introduction
You were told in our first study session that power, influence and
authority are the central organizing concepts of the study of politics. In
this study session, much emphasis will be on these inter-related
inter concepts.
The meaning of each concept and the difference between the concepts
will be demonstrated with illustrations.
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
explain he concepts of power, influence, authority and legitimacy
as the central issues of politics. (SAQ 5.1)
Learning Outcomes distinguish between these concepts of politics. (SAQ 5.2)

5.1 The Central Organizing Concepts of Politics

Power,
Powe r, influence, authority and legitimacy are common terminologies in
political analysis. Even, most of the definitions of politics given by
scholars (some of which were given in study session one) emphasize
these concepts. Specifically speaking, some defined politics as the quest
for power and let me remind you of Harold Lasswell’s definition of
politics as ‘who gets what when and how’, which focuses on power. The
concepts of power, influence and authority express relationships among
political actors, and the distinction that could be made between these
concepts is only in the extent of variance in the form of relationship.
These concepts are generic terms and hence Robert Dahl used ‘influence’
and related concepts such as control, persuasion, might, force and
coercion to explain them all.
Often, we have heard of terms like physical power, military power,
economic power, political power, presidential power, judicial power,
national power, etc. Dahl sees power as the product of human
relationships. A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do
something that he would not otherwise do. A person may be said to have
power to the extent he influences the behaviour of others in accordance
with his intentions. Max Weber’s definition of power indicates
ind that power
involves the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be
in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance.
To most political thinkers, politics is all about power and influence, thus
Harold Lasswell and Abraham
Abraham Kaplan see politics as the shaping,
distribution and exercise of power. Power is bilateral as well as
relational. It is exercised with respect to others. For there to be a leader,
there must be followers.

35
POS111 The Study of Politics

5.1.1What is Political Power?

According to Max Weber, power is the possibility of imposing one’s will
upon the behaviour of other persons. To him, power involves
domination, i.e. a reciprocal relationship between the rulers and the ruled
in which the actual frequency of compliance is only one aspect of the fact
that the power of command exists.
Carl Frederick sees power as the capacity of an individual or group of
individuals to modify the conduct of others in the manner which he
desires. From the above definition, it is clear that political power is a
social power. It is exercised over man not over nature or things. Power is
the ability to get things done, to make others to do what we want, even if
they do not want to do it.
There are three major terms that can be identified with the term power,
and these are force, domination and manipulation.
Force
This is the physical manipulation of the subordinated individual. The
exercise of force can be assault, confinement, etc.
Domination
This is an influence on the behaviour of a person by making it explicit to
others what he wants them to do (command, request etc). To Max
Weber, domination is identical with authoritarian power of command, for
domination to be present, there must be:
a. an individual who rules or a group of rulers
b. an individual who is ruled or group of people ruled.
c. The will of the rulers to influence the conduct of the ruled and
expression of that will (i.e. though command).
d. Evidence of the influence of the rulers in terms of the objective
degree of compliance with command
e. Direct or indirect evidence of that influence in terms of the
objective acceptance with which the ruled obey the command.
Manipulation
This is another form of power obtained when an actor influences the
behaviour of others without making explicit the behaviour which he
wants them to display. Manipulation may be exercised by utilizing
symbols of performing acts. Propaganda is a major form of manipulation
by symbols.

5.1.2 Influence
When a relationship is devoid of sanctions, coercion and physical force,
there is said to be a relationship of influence. The distinction between
power and influence can only be made in terms of the form of
relationship among persons. While it will be correct to assert that power
relationship connotes influence, relationship based on influence on the
other hand does not connote the use of force which is synonymous with
power. However, both concepts express relationship between two
persons, for instance person A and person B.

36
 Study Session 5Power, Influence, Authority and Legitimacy

It should be noted that power and influence are inseparable concepts.

According to Robert Dahl, influence is a relation among actors such that
the wants, desires, preferences or intentions of one or more actors affect
the actions or predispositions to act, of one or more other actors. One
person has influence over another within a given scope, to the extent that
the first, without resorting to either a tacit or an overt threat of severe
deprivations, causes the second to change his course of action. The
exercise of power depends upon potential sanction, while the exercise of
influence does not.
Influence can be classified into two broad categories, though it takes
several forms:
a. Manifest or explicit influence
b. Potential or implicit influence
Manifest or explicit influence is an influence exercised by A over B to the
extent that A’s action causes a change in B’s behaviour. B is able to
anticipate A’s wants and B complies accordingly.
Potential or implicit influence is an indirect or unknown influence by the
influencer e.g. the National Assembly trying to make a law on a subject
and putting different groups into consideration and considering
alternatives before they will eventually make the law that favours a
particular group. This group may be said to have potential or implicit
influence on the decision of the National Assembly.
o ITQ When a relationship is devoid of sanctions, coercion and
physical force, there is said to be a relationship of
A. Influence
B. Power
C. Manipulation
D. Domination
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is A.
• If you choose B, then it would be incorrect because power
entails the use of sanctions, coercions, or physical force.
• If you choose C, it would also be incorrect because
manipulation is another form of power obtained when an
actor influences the behaviour of others without making
explicit the behaviour which he wants them to display
• If you choose D then you are incorrect because according
to Max Weber, domination is identical with authoritarian
power of command.

5.1.3 Authority
Authority is a form of power; perhaps it could be described as a superior
form of power. Authority is the quality of being able to get people to do
things because they think the individual has the right to tell them what to
do. Those in authority are followed because it is believed that they fulfil
a need within the community or political system. Authority is linked with
respect which creates legitimacy and therefore leads to power.

37
POS111 The Study of Politics

Authority is a form of power derived from approved procedure of the

political culture which enables the political office holder to act in certain
ways that will affect the behavior of others. Thus authority has been
described as legitimate power.
Max Weber identified three types of authority, which are:
i. Traditional authority,
ii. Charismatic authority, and
iii. Legal authority
Traditional Authority
This authority rests on the sanctity of tradition in conventional usage, in
which prevailing social order is seen as inviolable or sacred. This takes
the form of respect for the monarch or chief. Traditional authority is
legitimate in the sense that it is in accordance with the custom and
tradition of the people.
Charismatic Authority
This authority is exercised because of the belief in the personal qualities
of a particular person (the charisma of a person). The power of command
may be exercised by a leader when he possesses extra-ordinary gifts or
personal attributes. Persons who obey such a leader are called followers
or disciples, examples of such leaders are ObafemiAwolowo, Indira
Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela
etc.
Legal Authority
This authority is legitimated by the supremacy of the law, meaning that
the exercise of the law is accepted as legitimate because all subscribe to
existing rules, regulations, laws and policies of the land. The laws
subscribed to are seen as constitutional and in line with the political
culture of the people.
o ITQ Political authority refers to
A. the electorate
B. the right to influence the attitude and conduct of
others
C. the power one exercise as a result of complete
ownership of the means of production and distribution
D. the right to influence the election of the
representatives of the people
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is B
• If you choose A, then you have stated that the electorates can also
be called political authority.
• If you chose C, then you are making reference to economic
power and not political authority.
• If you choose D, then you are making reference to election
rigging.

38
 Study Session 5Power,
Power, Influence, Authority and Legitimacy

5.1.4 Legitimacy
In order to understand what is meant by legitimacy one needs to look at
different definitions of legitimacy and their differences in detail. Useem
refers to state legitimacy as “the widespread public belief that the
society’s governing institutions and political authorities are worthy of
support, is commonly held to be a precondition for for political stability in
advanced capitalist democracies”. Beetham in his attempt to define
legitimacy argues that “where power is acquired and exercised according
to justifiable rules and with evidence of consent, we call it rightful or
legitimate”. Another
Another way to approach this problem of conceptualization
is to define what illegitimate means and therefore reason what legitimate
means. Rotberg for example argues that an illegitimate state is a state
with broken and corrupt state institutions. This approach does not seem to
be reasonable, because in reverse, this definition would imply that a state
is legitimate only when its institutions are not corrupt or broken. This
definition lacks a moral element. Weber argues that legitimacy arises out
of the confidence
confidence of the ruled. This definition also lacks a sufficient
moral element.
From the foregoing, legitimacy denotes the belief in the rightness of an
individual to make authoritative and binding decisions. It is the belief in
the right to govern and to be governed.
governed. Legitimacy refers to an attitude in
people’s mind (in some countries strong, in others weak) that the
government rule is rightful. Through it, power is translated to authority.
When the government is perceived as dishonest and dirty, people feel less
les
obliged to obey laws which can lead to the erosion of the legitimacy of
the government of the day. Government is seen as legitimate when it is
rules and decisions are respected and obeyed. To get citizens’ approval of
its policies and programme, government
government in most cases follows public
opinion.

Study Session Summary

In this Study session you learned that power, influence, authority and
legitimacy are central concepts in political analysis. Although people
erroneously make use of them interchangeably, they connote different
Summary meaning. Generally speaking, power is the ability to get things done, to
make others
others to do what we want, even if they do not want to do it. Power
is relational and bilateral. Authority is a form of power derived from
approved procedure of the political culture which enables the political
office holder to act in certain ways that will affect
affect the behaviour of
others. You were told in the study session that when a relationship is
devoid of sanctions, coercion and physical force, there is said to be a
relationship of influence. In essence therefore, the distinction between
power and influence can only be made in terms of the form of
relationship among persons. It is through legitimacy, which denotes
rightness or acceptance; that power and influence can be translated into
authority. Max Weber categorized types of authority into three, namely,
Charismatic, legal-rational
legal and traditional.

39
POS111 The Study of Politics

Assessment
Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well
you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions.
You can check the back of this manual for feedbacks to these SAQs.
Assessment SAQ 5.1 (Tests learning outcome 5.1)
Attempt a short definition of power, authority and legitimacy
SAQ 5.2 (Tests learning outcome 5.2)
What is the difference between power and influence?
influence?

40
 Study Session 6Government
Government and Its Roles

Study Session 6

Government and Its Roles

Introduction
As we discussed earlier in this course (Study Session 1.1.1), the State is a
contemporary framework for the conduct of politics. Since the State is an
abstract entity, and it is through government that people can actually feel
thee impact of it, it becomes important for us to have a discussion on
government. In this study session, you will be exposed to the basic
components of government, and the role of government as an agency
through which the State formulates and implements her policies.

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
discuss basic components of government. (SAQ 6.1)
highlight and explain the major roles of government as one of the
crucial concepts of politics and an agency of the state. (SAQ 6.2)
Learning Outcomes

6.1 Basic Components of Government

Government is that decision making and enforcing agency
a in a state that
control a monopoly of legitimate use of force. This definition highlights
three crucial components of government.

6.1.1 Decision Making and Enforcement

Government exists to make and enforce decision. All human society
needs to make a collective decision as to the ends (wants) of the society
and the best means of achieving them. Government is the highest and the
most formal level at which such decisions are taking or implemented.
The decision like what type of economy strategy should Nigeria takes to
wipe off armed robbery, to reduce poverty and eliminate corruption.

6.1.2 Source of Coercion in Social Affairs

Government is the ultimate source of coercion in social affairs. If
collective decisions must be implemented or enforced there must be some
form of collective agency with a monopoly over the use of force. This
agency is the government. While the use of force or the threat of the use
of force is not always advisable, it may be unavoidable in instances where
groups or individuals resist or violate collective decisions.

6.1.3 Legitimacy
Government conduct is normally seen as legitimate. Legitimacy refers to
an acceptance by the people that it is right for government to seek and
receive the obedience of the citizens. In other words, the government is
popularly accepted and authorized to govern.
govern. Compare with other

41
POS111 The Study of Politics

institutions in the society, the conduct of governmental institutions is

usually seen as legitimate.

6.2 The Roles of Government

“Contract, collective action and a desire to maximize
social well being all generate possible roles for
government”.
- Michael Laver in Eric Rowe, Modern
Politics and Introduction to Behaviour and
Institution
The roles of government are hereby discussed.

6.2.1 Contract Enforcement

We must all deal or enter into contract with people, however only very
few deals can be contracted that does not involve enforcement. These few
deals are those that depend on mutual trust or involve individuals in a
small or closely integrated community. In other words, the enforcement
of contract may not be necessary among individuals who trust each other
or live in a small community, where members are no strangers to each
other and are expected to deal with each other from time to time. In this
situation, deals may not need to be enforced. However, most deals or
contracts involve a collection of individuals who are not in continuous
interaction or do not share a sense of community, the temptation to
double cross or be dishonest is therefore very high. In this context,
contracts need to be enforced and a role for the government emerges.

6.2.2 Collective Action

When there is a need for a project that would benefit all, but no individual
is prepared to contribute towards it, there is a problem of collective action
which creates a role for the government. Basic elements of problem of
collective action are:
• Almost all private actions have public consequences either in the
form of social benefit or social cost.
• Some private actions may not produce private benefits only but
also social cost, while other private actions, may entail private
cost but produce social benefits.
• Social cost and benefit produced by private action have an
indiscriminate influence on society. In other words, the cost can
not be suffered by one and the benefit enjoyed by another. Any
attempt to exclude anyone from the cost or benefit will almost
invariably exclude everyone.
• Except in very special circumstances, individuals will not
voluntarily continue to incur private cost to produce social
benefit or forgo private benefit to reduce social cost.
• The effect of all these is that social cost will tend to increase and
social benefits tend to decrease.

42
 Study Session 6Government
Government and Its Roles

Government can solve collective action problem by encouraging,

supporting, or even assuming responsibility for private actions which
produce social benefits.

6.2.3 Social
S Well-Being or Welfare
In order to make the society a better one; it may be necessary to help
some individuals or groups at the expense of others. For example, it may
be necessary to help the poor at the expense of the rich in order to
increase the overall
overall social welfare. In the absence of government action
however, the distribution of resources from the rich to the poor may be
resisted by the rich. Indeed the privileged member of the society usually
argued that social inequality is necessary for economic
economic efficiency and
productivity, and that any attempt to redistribute wealth is bad because it
suppresses competition and creativity. Redistribution that increases social
welfare will tend therefore to depend on the use of authoritative sanction
or legitimate
legit coercion by government.

It is significant that every government that is established is expected

to perform some certain duties. The primary duty of government as
you know is the maintenance of peace and order.
Tip

Study Session Summary

This study session has revealed that government as an agency of the state
makes and enforces decision. It has monopoly of legitimate use of force.
It is the ultimate source of coercion and its conduct is always seen as
Summary legitimate. According to Michael Laver,
Laver, three major roles are generated
for the government to perform. These include, contract enforcement,
responsibility for collective action and the desire to maximize social
welfare.

Assignment
TMA6.1 (tests Learning Outcome 6.1)
What do you consider as components of the state?
SAQ 6.2 (tests Learning Outcome 6.2)
Assignment What is the end of the state?

Forward your response to your tutor at UI Mobile Class. Response should

not be more than 200 words.

43
POS111 The Study of Politics

Study Session 7

Types of Political System or Polity

Introduction
Having discussed the roles of government in our last study session, it is
imperative to identify and explain different types of political system that
exist in the world today. David Easton defines political system as that
system of interactions in any society through which binding or
authoritative allocations are made and implemented. This authoritative
allocation may be roughly translated as policy making. This study session
will examine the three basic forms of polity or political system in our
contem
contemporary world.
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
Identify three major political systems/polities existing in the
contemporary world.
Explain the major features/ characteristics of these political
Learning Outcomes systems.

It is possible to classify political systems or polities

politie into three main
groups namely: liberal democratic polity, socialist democratic polity,
autocratic polity.

7.1 Liberal Democratic Polities

These polities share the following important features:
i. Political Participation: Participation in politics is widespread and
open. In liberal democratic political system there is a relatively
unrestricted opportunity to seek political office in competition with
others. Moreover, there is usually more than one political party
competing for power.
ii. Limited Government Intervention: The political sphere is
relatively small. Government nt intervention in social life is limited.
In other words, limit exists as to what rulers may do or what is
generally regarded as political. The government does not control or
even largely influence such institutions as the mass media, trade
union, religious
us associations and other pressure groups. In the
words of Samuel Finer, the liberal democratic government operates
only at the margin of social activity.
iii. Civil Rule: Rule is by civilian, a large number of who are directly
and periodically accountable to thehe adult population at large or to a
substantial proportion of it.
iv. Respect for the Rule of Law: There is widespread agreement and
respect for the procedure for competition or rules of the political
game. Both the victor and the vanquished accept that at some
s future
date their positions may be revised without violent action.

44
 Study Session 7Types of Political System or Polity

v. Presence of Autonomous Pressure Groups: Pressure groups

enjoy considerable autonomy (independence) and are able to
operate to influence governmental decisions. Associations, such as
trade union and the press are subject to close governmental control
and can exercise their tremendous influence on the policies of the
government.
vi. Civil Liberties: Civil liberties such as freedom of speech,
association and religious belief are recognized and entrenched in
the system. The role of opposition groups is also accepted and
institutionally protected.
vii. Institutional Autonomy: Finally, each of the traditional branches
of government possesses enough institutional autonomy to act as
check on the other. A system of check and balances exists in
relation to operation of the structure of government and there is
also a formal attempt at the separation of powers.
Liberal democratic polities are found all over the world but are
particularly prominent in North America and Western Europe. The
political systems of Britain, France, The United States of America, and
Germany and so on are all examples of established liberal democratic
polities.

7.2 Social Democratic Polities

Social democratic polities are more popularly known as totalitarian
polities. They include China, Vietnam, Cuba, North Korea, Former
Soviet Union, and most countries of Eastern Europe. The major features
of socialist democratic polities include:
i. Adoption of Socialist Ideology: There is an elaborate and officially
recognized socialist ideology, which everyone living in the society
is expected to support at least passively.
ii. Monopolization of Political Power: Political power is monopolized
by a single mass party, which is hierarchically organized and led by
a dedicated group of party functionaries. The party is typically
superior to or completely integrated with the state bureaucracy (the
machinery of government in the state). The party also plays a very
active role in the selection, deployment and training of
functionaries of government. Opposition to the single party is not
permitted and those who oppose are felt to do from ignorance.
iii. Promotion of Social Rights: There is a great emphasis on social
rights than civil liberty. Citizens in socialist democratic polities
have the right to work, rest, leisure and maintenance at old age or
cases of sickness or disability. The promotion of these socio-
economic rights is regarded as the legitimate goal of government
activity. However, civil liberties like freedom of speech, of the
press or association are permitted only in so far as they are
exercised in manner that does not threaten the stability of the
socialist system.
iv. Limited Governmental Authority: The scope of government
authority is not limited but it is total. The government exercises
substantial control over many areas of social life particularly the
economy, which is centrally planned and controlled. All means of

45
POS111 The Study of Politics

communication are also operated by the government. Private

associations and groups subject to a greater degree of political
control than in liberal democracies. In other words the political
arena under socialist democratic polities is very wide.
v. Lack of Institutional Autonomy: There is no equivalent of the
liberal principle of separation of powers under socialist democratic
polities. In particular the judiciary is subservient (not independent)
and enjoys no distinct autonomy of its own. Indeed it is regarded
as another instrument of the state by which the interest of the ruling
party and its leaders may be expressed.

7.3 Autocratic Polities

This category of political system is very heterogeneous and it seems to
contain that political system that cannot be included in the liberal
democratic or socialist democratic category. The varieties of the regimes
that can be included in this category include the traditional or historical
oligarchies in many Arab countries, the military oligarchies in Africa,
Asia, and Latin America, the defunct racial supremacist regime in South
Africa and the defunct colonial oligarchies in many part of the third
world. However, while autocratic polities differ in their level of
authoritarianism and modernization they share certain common condition.
For instance they are all to be found outside Europe, and are mostly
concentrated in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Most of those polities
are also relatively backward economically or in per capita income when
compared with the socialist and liberal democratic countries. All of these
polities are either colonized or subjected to cheap diplomatic and
economic penetration by the western power. The major characteristics of
autocratic polities include:
i. Absence of Coherent Ideology: There is an absence of a strongly
articulated and coherent ideology. This is one major factor that
distinguished autocratic from socialist democratic polities.
Furthermore, government under autocratic systems unlike those in
socialist democratic polities do not or perhaps cannot control all
areas of public life.
ii. Weakly Institutionalized Political Authority: Political authorities
are weakly institutionalized. In other words, political institutions
lack autonomy, complexity, adaptability and coherence. There is
no consensus as to who or what constitute the legitimate authority
in the society. Indeed a majority of the people has little attachment
to or even understands political institutions in the society.
iii. Widespread Use of Violence: The use of violence is widespread.
Might is right and political repression is not uncommon. The
political dominance prevalent in it is usually depends on the use of
force to enforce political obedience or control civil tension arising
from domestic social conflicts.
iv. Government Total Control: Civil liberties such as freedom of
expression and association are weakly supported and frequently
violated by the government. The major means of communication
are either owned by the government or placed under close
government control or supervision.

46
 Study Session 7Types
Types of Political
Politic System or Polity

v. Political Competition: There are important limitations in open

political competition.
ion. Elections are uncommon and are often
manipulated in the interest of the ruling oligarchies. There is not in
existence (in most cases) a wide public approval of the procedure
of transforming power and a corresponding belief that no exercise
of power out ut of this procedure is legitimate. Changes in
government are usually effected through violence or revolution.

Study Session Summary

In this study session, you learned that political systems or polities could
be categorized into three main groups namely, Liberal Democratic,
Socialist Democratic and Autocratic Polities. In liberal democratic
Summary polities participation
participation in politics is widespread and open, the political
sphere is relatively small, rule is by civilian, respect for the rule of
political game and so on. Examples of these political systems include
Britain, France, The United States of America, and Germany. In Social
democratic polities, there is an elaborate and officially recognized
socialist ideology, political power is monopolized by a single mass party,
emphasis is on social rights as against civil liberty, the scope of
governmental authority is total andand so on. These systems are found in
countries like China, Vietnam, Cuba, North Korea, and most countries of
Eastern Europe. Autocratic polities are characterized with absence of a
strongly articulated and coherent ideology, weakly institutionalized
political authorities, widespread use of violence and limited open political
political
competition among others. As you were told in the study session,
varieties of the regimes that can be included in this category include the
traditional or historical oligarchies in many Arab countries, the military
oligarchies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the defunct racial
supremacist regime in South Africa and the defunct colonial oligarchies
in many part of the third world.

Assignment
TMA 7.1 (tests Learning Outcome 7.1 and 7.2)
Which of the political systems promotes genuine democratic ideals and
why?
TMA 7.2 (tests Learning Outcome 7.1 and 7.2)
Assignment
Write a short essay on: Contemporary Nigeria Political System.

47
POS111 The Study of Politics

Study Session 8

Political Culture
Introduction
Although two political systems may look similar in most respect;
culturally, a careful investigation will show that they are distinct. In other
words, one of those things that distinguish one political system from the
other is political culture. In this study session, you will be
b exposed to the
meaning, elements and types of political culture.

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
demonstrate political culture.
highlight the elements of a political culture.
Learning Outcomes explain different types of political culture

8.1 Meaning and Key Elements of Political Culture

In generic terms, culture
culture is the totality of the way of life of a people.
Culture covers a people’s ideas about the world social structure,
education, economy, religion, politics, etc. It refers to "that complex
whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom
custo and
other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Put
differently, culture connotes the way a people have been doing their
things from the past to the present – their thinking, beliefs, values,
relationship, etc. All these, passed
passed from generation to generations, have
conditioned their life and have a unique style for them.
Thus, political culture is part of the larger culture of a society. It is a
differentiated, part of generic culture, a sub-culture
sub culture influenced by the
general culture.
culture. It is important to inform you that each society imparts its
norms and values (culture) to its people and the people in turn have
distinct notions about how the political system is supposed to work and
about what the government may do to them. These values, v beliefs, and
symbols are the political culture of a particular society. Political culture
focuses attention, however, on that part of a culture which bears
relevance to politics. You should be aware that the political culture of a
nation is usually affected by its history, economy, religion and social
pattern. Political culture is just one aspect of the total way of life of a
given people.
There are varied conceptualizations of political culture. Robert Dahl in
his own view considered political culture culture as a significant factor
explaining different patterns of political opposition. For Gabriel Almond
and Sydney Verba, a political culture is defined as:
Political orientations, attitudes towards
the political system and its various parts

48
 Study Session 8Political Culture

and the attitudes towards the role of self

in the system.
They refer to it as the subjective realm which underlines and gives
meaning to political activities. Lucian Pye defines a nation's political
culture as "the set of attitudes, beliefs and sentiments which give order
and meaning to a political process and which provides the underlying
assumptions and rules that govern behaviour in the political system. It
encompasses both the political ideals and the operating norms of a polity.
Put differently by Sydney Verba, political culture consists of the system
of empirical beliefs, expressive symbols and values which define the
situation in which political action takes place. Consequently, as the
attitude of the people affects their actions, so does the political culture of
a nation affects the conduct of the people and the leaders in a political
system.
It is defined by the Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences as “the set of
attitudes, beliefs and sentiments, which give order and meaning to a
political process and which provide the underlying assumption and rules
that govern behaviour in the political system.” On the other hand,
political culture could be seen as encompassing both the political ideal
and the operating norms of a polity. Another scholar sees a nation’s
political culture as “the set of attitudes, beliefs and sentiments which give
order and meaning to a political process and which provides the
underlining assumptions and rules that govern the behaviour in the
political system. It is also defined as the “commonly shared goals and
commonly accepted rules”. Similarly, Heywood sees political culture as
“pattern of orientations to political objects such as parties, government,
the constitution expressed in beliefs, symbols and values.”
Almond and Powell identified three attitudes of political culture namely:
a. Cognitive Orientation towards the system, that is, the
recognition of the political objects and beliefs.
b. Affective Orientation: That is the feeling of attachment,
involvement or rejection of political objects and symbols.
c. Evaluative Orientation: That is the application of judgements
and opinions of political objects and events.
A nation's political culture, hence, involves the political style, values,
norms, emotions, beliefs and symbolic attachment that are dominant
among a population.
Similarly, Dahl identified the salient elements of the culture as:
i. Orientations of problem-solving; whether they are pragmatic or
rationalistic.
ii. Orientation to collective action: whether they are cooperative or
non-cooperative.
iii. Orientation to the political system: whether they are allegiant or
alienated and
iv. Orientations to other people: whether they are trustful or
mistrustful.
By orientations we mean predispositions to political action, which are
mostly determined by such factors as traditions, historical memories,

49
POS111 The Study of Politics

motives, emotions and symbols. The objects of political orientations

include the genera1 political system about which members may, for
example, feel either patriotism or alienation; that it is large, small, strong,
weak, democratic, autocratic, constitutional etc. Also, the component
parts of the political system – legislature, executive, bureaucracy,
judiciary, the political leaders, such as monarchs: presidents' party
leaders, public policies, etc.
It is pertinent to note that, there cannot be a uniform political culture for
any nation, as there are many sub-cultures as there are variant groups
with different elements or orientations. Hence, a society’s political
culture is determined by the levels of the differing kinds of cognitive,
affective and evaluative orientations towards the political system.
According to Almond and Powell the key elements of what constitutes a
nation’s political culture include among other things:
i. The degree of social trusts or mistrust which prevails in society.
ii. The general attitude of tolerance and inter-personal cooperation
permeating political relations among people.
iii. Attachment and loyalty of citizens to the national political
system.
iv. People’s attitudes towards authority – degree of public
recognition of what constitute the legitimate authority.
v. People’s sense of their right, powers and obligations. Do they
feel that they can influence and participate in the decision-
making processes or is there wide spread apathy and political
alienation in the political system?

8.2 Types of Political Culture

Gabriel Almond and Sydney Verba from their pioneering study of cross-
national differences in political beliefs, symbols, and values came up with
three types of political culture namely, parochial, subject and participant
cultures. In their book, The Civic Culture, Almond and Verba based their
classifications upon whether members of society take an active role in the
political process or whether they are inactive.

8.2.1 Parochial Culture

This type of political culture is characteristic of small and traditional
societies where there is no specialization of any kind in societal
responsibilities. It is considered lower than the subject political culture.
Actors here combine the functions of political, economic and religious
roles all at the same time. Hence, the orientation of such individuals is
parochial; members of the political community tend to be less politically
conscious; and individuals here seem far away from government. They
take no pride in their country’s political system and expect little of it. It is
important for you to know that the set of people sharing this culture have
no sense of political efficacy or competence and feel powerless in the
face of existing institutions. Here, political efficacy means feeling that
one has at least a little political input and political competence means
knowing how to accomplish something politically. I should also add that
they have neither the desire nor the ability to participate in politics.

50
 Study Session 8Political Culture

Politics, where parochial culture is pervasive, is permeated by ethnic

loyalty and primordial sentiments. In addition, there is little expectation
on the part of the members of the political community that significant
changes in their lives can be made through politics. A parochial citizen
does not expect anything from the political system; he makes no demand
on it. This was common in pre-colonial Nigerian societies. In Mexico,
parochial political culture manifests in the sense that many people do not
care much that they are citizens of a nation. They rather identify with the
immediate locality. Let me also tell you that it will be very difficult to
make attempt to grow democracy in a parochial political culture without
new institutions and a new sense of citizenship.

8.2.2 Subject Culture

Here, there is a high level of political consciousness, but the citizens are
passive in the political process. Put differently, while the people are
aware of the political process, they play little or no role in it. This is
because they believe they do not matter in the scheme of things. This type
of political culture is described as being lower than the participant
political culture. A subject orientation is essentially a passive one.
Citizens are often aware of the outputs of the government welfare
programmes, coercive measures or tax legislation, but they play no part in
the inputs. They do not participate and believe they have no influence on
the government. In this kind of political culture, the government expects
obedience from the people and. conformity to its directives without
questioning. Citizens that share this kind of political culture often follow
political news but are not proud of their country’s political system and
feel little emotional commitment towards it. Their sense of political
efficacy or competence is lower; some feel powerless. Most of them often
participate in voting during election, but without enthusiasm. Examples
abound in developing countries like Iran, Togo, Swaziland and Nigeria
under General Sani Abacha. Subject political culture was predominant in
West Germany and Italy at that time, in which people still understand that
they are citizens and pay passive attention to politics. You should note
this fact that democracy has more difficulty sinking roots in a culture
where people are used to thinking of themselves as obedient subjects
rather than as participants.

8.2.3 Participant Culture

This is a situation in which the people are not only politically very
conscious but they are also very active in the input and the output
processes of governance. Put in another way, they are conscious of their
role in the government and participate actively in politics as gladiators,
that is; politicians, kingmakers and decision makers in various capacities.
This participant culture is characterized by a citizenry which is aware of
both the inputs and outputs of government. The citizens believe in their
ability· to influence their government. They manifest attitudes of personal
political competence. They are encouraged to participate actively, in. the
decision-making process. In Britain and United States where participant
political culture is predominant, people understand that they are citizens
and pay attention to politics. They take pride in their country’s political
system and are willing to discuss it. Citizens that share this culture often
believe they can influence politics and claim they would organize a group

51
POS111 The Study of Politics

to protest something unfair and unjust. As you may expect, they show a
high degree of political efficacy
efficacy and competence. It is important to call
your attention to the fact that a participant political culture provides a
good environment for a democracy to thrive or flourish.

Itshould be pointed out that no political system fits perfectly

into any of these three types. Rather, each is mixed, made up of
different proportions of parochial, subject and participant
attitudes. The relative prevalence of each type determines the
kind of political culture which exists in a nation or society. In
Nigeria, for instance, there is no predominant political culture
the various ethnic groups such as the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo
Tip inherently constitute different political sub-cultural
cultural groups.
They all exhibit cohesive political cultures of their own which
are very different from· each other and which resist integration
into a Nigerian whole.

In another study, Professor S.E. Finer identified another set of typologies

namely: mature, developed, low
low and minimal political cultures. These are
reflected in advanced, developed, developing and underdeveloped
countries respectively. Britain, United States, Canada, and Australia are
good examples of matured culture. Germany, Japan, and former USSR
are examples
examples of developed culture, while low culture is represented by
Egypt, Syria. Turkey, Iran, Sudan, South Korea and minimal culture
existed in Mexico, Argentina, Congo and many West African countries,
where they had witnessed military coups.
Let me point out
out to you that the political cultures of most of the advanced
democracies have recently grown more cynical, and voter turnout has
declined. This is partly due to the perception of some citizens about
politicians and government. They see politicians as corrupt corru and
government institutions as ineffective. It is also important to point out
that political culture affects politics as it provides the connecting link
between micro-politics
micro and macro-politics.
politics. It constitutes a structure of
orientations, values and norms
norms which help to ensure coherence in the
operation of institutions and organizations.

Study Session Summary

In this study session the different meanings of political culture are given
and the key elements identified. You can attempt to define political
culture in view of the definitions given in this study session. Three
Summary attitudes of political culture as identified
identified by Almond and Verba include;
Cognitive, Affective and Evaluative orientations. Through their study
they categorized types of political culture into three. These are parochial,
participant and subject political culture. The set of people sharing
parochial culture have no sense of political efficacy or competence and
parochial
feel powerless in the face of existing institutions. Under subject political
culture there is a high level of political consciousness, but the citizens are
passive in the political process. Participant
Participant political culture is a situation
in which the people are not only politically very conscious but they are

52
 Study Session 8Political Culture

also very active in the input and the output processes of governance.

Assignment
TMA 8.1 (tests Learning Outcome 8.1 and 8.2)
50 years of Nigeria’s independence: does political culture matter?
TMA8.2 (tests Learning Outcome 8.3)
Assignment Explain the three types of political culture found by Almond and Verba.

Submit your response to your tutor on POS111 course page at UI Mobile

Class.

53
POS111 The Study of Politics

Study Session 9

Political Socialisation
Introduction
In our previous study session, we discussed political culture – its
meaning, elements and types. We established that the stability of a
political system is underlined by the relative success or failure of the
assimilation of new attitudes into the existing value structure. This
change is made possible through political socialization. In short, political
socialization serves as a means of effectively transmitting the political
culture of a nation from generation to generation. In this study session,
the meaning, agents and analytical framework of political socialization
will be discussed.
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
Define the term ‘political socialization’.
Identify the agencies of political socialisation.
Learning Outcomes use analytical framework to distinguish patterns of political
socialisation

9.1 The Meaning of Political Socialisation

The political behaviour of an individual often results from the
socialisation process: an individual's learning from others in his
environment the social patterns and values of his culture. Most attempts
to define socialisation have generally agreed that it is a process in which
individuals incorporate into their own attitudinal structure and behaviour
patterns; the ways of their respective
respective social groups and society. The term
socialisation refers to the process of growing up into a human being, a
process which necessitates the contact with other people. It describes the
way by which as we grow up in our society, we are led to absorb the th
ideas, the beliefs, tastes, aversions and standards of the groups in which
we find ourselves. To put it simply, if culture is the way of life of a
people, socialization is the process of acculturation. It is referred to one’s
introduction into a political
political culture, and perhaps one’s capacity to change
it. Hence, political socialization can simply be defined as the process
whereby political culture is transmitted from generation to another.
Several authors have attempted to define political socialisation, butb there
is no general consensus on its definitions. To start with, in the broadest
sense political socialisation refers to the way society transmits its political
culture from generation to other generation. It is a process, meditated
through various agencies
agencies of society, by which an individual learns
politically relevant attitudinal dispositions and behaviour patterns. These
include attitude and behaviour related to pol1tical legitimacy, electoral
behaviour, interest articulation, decision-making,
decision making, which affects
af the

54
 Study Session 9Political Socialisation

authoritative allocation of values in the system, feelings of personal

competence to influence decisions affecting the allocation of values, and
attitudes toward authority. According to Robert Levine, "political
socialization is the acquisition by an individual of behavioural,
dispositions relevant to political groups, political systems and political
processes”.
Political socialisation may serve to preserve, transmit and inculcate
traditional political norms values and institutions across time. It helps to
maintain continuity and stability and helps to ensure some degree of
discipline among members of a political community. Political
socialisation is also a means of role-training and as well as a vehicle for
social and political change. Political change refers to a fundamental or
far-reaching change in the distribution or exercise of authority in the
polity or political system.

9.2 Agents of Political Socialisation

By agents, we mean the means (bodies, groups, institutions, etc) by which
one acquires the culture, norms, and values of a political system. They
include:

9.2.1 Family
The family is a very powerful agent of political socialization because an
individual's formative years are spent here and what he learns there may
have a permanent impact on him. Development of attitude towards
authority, obedience, cooperation, protest, etc is learnt or acquired here.
Parents, siblings are influenced at this level. You should note that our
first political and politically-relevant learning occurs within the family.
Most of this learning is informal, unintentional and often subconscious.
Families initially provide everything necessary for a child to survive and
grow such as food, shelter, affection and social interaction. Because of
this, families influence basic personality development and have great
influence on acquisition of non-political but politically relevant values.
Children's basic personality orientation such as capacity for trust and
cooperation is often developed within the family. Even politically
relevant ideas and values, such as proper conduct or orientation to
authority, rules, and obedience is developed within the family.

9.2.2 Schools
While the family is an informal agent of political socialization,
educational institutions are formal agents. This starts from the nursery, to
primary to secondary schools and to university level. Schools tend to
inculcate and foster certain attitudes, values, orientations; respect for
authority, rights and duties to the state, etc are learnt and internalized.
The school accomplishes political socialization through its curriculum,
classroom routines and values and attitudes unconsciously transmitted by
the teachers and schoolmates. The school's social climate, political and
non-political organizations and extracurricular activities also serve to
instill political values, such as participation, competitiveness,
achievement, and observing the rules of the game. The school contributes
significantly in shaping an individual's political behaviour. It is in the

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POS111 The Study of Politics

school that the most formal political socialization takes place because one
is directly taught and trained to obey the rules of the society. Through
well defined methods, the school formally inculcates political beliefs into
the individual. This is done by teaching subjects, like civics and
government to educate students about the' political system. Individuals
are taught how to be good citizens and obey constituted authority.
Patriotism is also emphasized.

9.2.3 Peer Group

Peer group means friends, colleagues and associates. From them, we
learn certain attributes including political attitudes and orientations.
Hence, friends, schoolmates, age-mates, etc., shape our world view and
attitude towards the political system.

9.2.4 Political Parties

These tend to encourage their supporters and members to be more
politically conscious and thus, active. Political parties also play the role
of political enlightenment and mobilization. As parties integrate groups
into society, they also teach members how to play the political game. In
addition, political parties introduce citizens to candidates or elected
officials and show members how to speak in public, to conduct meetings
and campaigns, and to compromise. These they do to deepen the political
competence of their members and building among them legitimacy for
the system as a whole. You should also be aware that parties are also the
training grounds for leaders.

9.2.5 Mass Media

These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations.
They are important instruments and agents of political socialization.
They help in informing and enlightening the society. Consequently, they
shape the opinions, values and attitudes of people to the political system.

9.2.6 Pressure Groups

These are interest groups. Put differently, they are organisations with
individuals that share similar views and/or opinions. As they shape the
political attitude of their members, their activities also help mould the
political culture of the society. They are instruments of conscientisation,
mobilization and enlightenment. They include the NLC, NBA, ASUU,
NANS, etc.
As an analytical or conceptual category, agencies enable us to distinguish
between primary and secondary institutions of political socialisation. The
primary agency is the family, while secondary agencies refer to such
extra- familial institutions of socialisation such as the school, mass
media, pressure groups, and so on as mentioned earlier.

9.3 Process, Time-Span & Change as Analytical Categories of

Patterns of Political Socialisation
Patterns of political socialisation can be distinguished further by using
process, time–span and change as analytical categories.

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 Study Session 9Political
Political Socialisation

The process of political socialisation can be either latent or manifest.

Political socialisation is manifest when it it is explicitly and consciously
undertaken by such secondary agencies as the schools, mass media or
political parties. It is latent when it is largely informal, unintentional or
unconsciously and takes place through the family.
With regard to time span, we mean the specific period or phase at which
political socialisation takes place in an individual’s life history. In
essence therefore, the time span of political socialisation may involve an
individual’s childhood or formative years, or his adulthood or matured
ma
years. Political socialisation that occurs at the formative years of an
individual tends to occur through the family and it is latent in terms of
process. On the other hand, political socialisation through the secondary
agencies tends do occur during an individual’s relatively mature years
and tends to be manifest.
The last analytical category is change, which seeks to explain the
structural consequences of political socialisation on the political system.
The political change may be systemic or non-systemic.
non stemic. It is systemic if
the process of political socialisation produces a fundamental change in
the distribution or exercise of authority in the political system as earlier
alluded in this study session. It is non-systemic
non systemic when the process of
political socialisation
socialisation produces relatively insignificant or incremental
changes in the patterns of political participation and association which do
not alter to distort the existing distribution of power and authority in the
political system. It is indeed significant
significant for me to point out that political
socialisation is essentially a stabilizing process and hardly results into any
systemic change. It is only under conditions of rapid modernization or
societal crisis that the process of political socialisation becomes
destabilizing
estabilizing or produces systemic change.

Study Session Summary

In this study session, we have exposed you to the concept of political
socialisation. Political socialisation is essentially concerned with the
process of transmitting a society’s political culture to successive members
Summary of that society. As discussed, political socialisation may serve to preserve,
transmit and inculcate traditional political norms values and institutions
across time as well as helps to maintain continuity and stability. Also we
have attempted to distinguish the various forms or patterns of political
socialisation through the use of analytical
analytical categories-
categories Agencies (primary
or secondary), Process (latent or manifest), Time-span
Time span (Formative years
or mature years, and Change (systemic or non – systemic).

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POS111 The Study of Politics

Assignment
TMA 9.1 (tests Learning Outcome 9.1)
Differentiate between political culture and political socialisation.
TMA 9.2 (tests Learning Outcome 9.2)
Assignment Mention five agents of political socialization and discuss their role in
influencing individual’s future political participation.
TMA 9.3 (tests Learning Outcome 9.3)
A. Discuss the process of political socialisation in Nigeria’s
contemporary political system.
B. Distinguish between the forms or patterns of political socialisation
using, agencies, process, time-span and change as conceptual or
analytical categories.
Submit your response to your tutor on POS111 course page at UI Mobile
Class.

58
 Study Session 10Political
Political Participation

Study Session 10

Political Participation
Introduction
In our last study session we discussed the meaning of political
socialisation and distinguish between its various forms or patterns using
agencies, process, time-span
time span and change as conceptual or analytical
categories. In the present study session you will be exposed to the
definition and forms of political participation. The first part of this study
session shall be devoted to the conceptualization
conceptualization of the term ‘political
participation’, while the second part shall focus on the major forms and
levels of political participation.

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
define political participation in your own words.
discuss levels of political participation.
Learning Outcomes identify forms of political participation.

10.1 The Meaning of Political Participation

Political participation is one of those concepts in the social sciences that
have been defined in several ways and given different meanings. Nie and
Verba have defined political participation as consisting of those level
activities by private citizens which are more or less directly aimed at
influencing the selection of government personnel and/or the action they
take. It involves those voluntary activities by which members of society
share in the
the selection of rulers and directly or indirectly in the formation
and implementation of public policy. Simply put, it is involvement of
private citizens in political activities and effective political socialization
affects in positive terms the future political
political participation.
By implication, political participation involves from the various
interpretations given to it the following:
1. It is concerned with influencing the composition and conduct, or
personnel and policies, of government.
2. It is not limited to voting
oting at elections but includes many other
ways in which citizens try to influence government decisions.
3. Since political participation is often defined to include the
activities of private citizens only, government and party officials
are described as objects
cts not source of political participation.
4. Illegal and often violent forms of participation such as riots and
assassinations are treated as abnormal as only legal forms of
participation are recognized.
5. Participation is often regarded as a desirable or positive
posi process.
It has been seen as civic duty, as a sign of political health, as the

59
POS111 The Study of Politics

best method of ensuring that one’s private interests are not

neglected and as requisite in a democracy.
6. Finally, political participation is a concrete activity of behaviour,
and not simply a psychological orientation or disposition.

10.2 Forms and Levels of Political Participation

You should be aware that political participation can take a wide variety of
forms and can occur at various levels. Also, getting involved in politics
entails costs in time, energy and resources. By implication, the amount of
resources that individuals are able and willing to sacrifice is likely to
determine the form or level of their participation. Lester Malbraith in his
book ‘Political Participation’ published in1965 has made a very useful
classification of levels of political participation. He distinguishes between
political participation at the Spectator-level, the Transition level and the
Gladiatorial level. Our discussion will mainly be on the corresponding
activities of each of these levels of participation and as well include the
cost in terms of time, energy, material resources involved; percentage of
the participants at each level and the benefits derived.

10.2.1 Spectator-Level of Participation

These are the activities in which people involve themselves at the
spectator level of participation:
(a) Voting at election;
(b) Initiating a public discussion;
(c) attempting to influence another into voting in a certain way; and
(d) wearing a political party badge or displaying party stickers.
It is quite obvious that the activities listed above entail relatively little
costs in time, energy and resources. Market women, artisans and students
of higher learning form the bulk of participants at this level in Nigeria,
for instance. Consequently, many people are able to participate at this
level than at either of the other two levels. It is important to note that
some citizens do not participate in politics even at the level of spectator.
These are the apathetics who do not want to involve themselves in
politics at all, and are almost totally unconscious of the political world
around them.
10.2.1 Transitional-Level of participation
Activities at the transitional level include:
(a) Attending a political meeting or rally, (b) making some monetary
contribution to a campaign or political course and (c) contacting a public
official or political leader. Activities at this level require more costs in
time and financial resources than those at the spectator level. For
example, only 7 and 9% of United States citizens participate at this level.
Activities at this level are referred to as transitional because of the
general tendency for participants at the level either to descend to
spectator level or ascend to gladiatorial activities.

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 Study Session 10Political
Political Participation

The Gladiatorial-Level
Gladiatorial of participation
With regard to gladiatorial level of participation, activities involved
include the followings:
(a) Holding a public or party office;
(b) being a candidate for office;
(c) soliciting or appealing for party funds;
(d) attending a caucus or strategy meeting; and
(e)) contributing time or other resources in a campaign.
At this level activities are not only the most expensive, but also the most
effective form of political participation.
participation. Not surprisingly, only about 1 -
3% of the population is usually able to participate in politics at the
gladiatorial level. On this, a study conducted by Nie and Verba in 1972
revealed six forms of participation that are characteristics of six different
kinds of citizens. According to this study, the six different kinds of
citizens in a given country are:
a. The inactives
b. The voting specialists
c. The campaigners
d. The communalists
e. The parochialists
f. The complete activists
Different factors influence the
the levels and forms of political participation
and these factors vary across political system. Generally, these factors
can be categorized as economic, social, political and psychological.

Study Session Summary

In this study session we have been able to define political participation. It
is agreed by most political scientists with behavioural orientation that
political participation involves those activities which are more or less
Summary directly aimed at influencing the selection of rulers and the formulation of
public policy. While political participation is not limited to voting during
election, illegal and often violent forms
forms of participation like assassination
and riots are considered as abnormal ways of participation. You were told
that not all people get themselves involved in politics, or participate to the
same degree. This is due to the fact that participation involves involve
considerable costs in terms of time, energy and resources, and it is not all
people are willing or able to make the necessary sacrifices. Malbraith,
therefore classified participants into three different levels. These are
Participants at the spectator level,
level, transitional level and gladiatorial level.
The conclusion here is that with the costs of participation in political
activities increasing, the number of participants decreasing at each
successive level.

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POS111 The Study of Politics

Assignment
TMA 10.1 (tests Learning Outcome 10.1 and 10.2)
Write a short essay on any of the following topics:
A. Overview of Political Participation in African States: 2005 to
date.
Assignment
B. Political Participation in Nigeria: Decreasing or Increasing?
TMA 10.2 (tests Learning Outcome 10.3)
Discuss five major characteristics of political participation.
Submit your response to your tutor on POS111 course page at UI Mobile
Class.

62
 Study Session 11The Institutions of Politics: State Instrumentalities

Study Session 11

The Institutions of Politics: State Instrumentalities

Introduction
Although, the study of politics is not all about institutions, institutions are
critical in the understanding of modern governments and politics. In this
study session, state apparatuses or instrumentalities will be discussed.

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
define state apparatuses. (SAQ 11.1)
explain the functions of each apparatus of the State. (SAQ 11.2)
Learning Outcomes

11.1 State Instrumentalities

You were told in one of our previous study sessions (Study session 1.1.1)
that the state is not a thing; it is an abstract entity. More importantly, we
are about to discuss
discuss in this study session the concrete instruments through
which the state expresses itself in the real world. The instruments through
which the state "does its thing" in the political system is referred to as
state apparatuses. The institutions of the state state collectively wield state
power and it is through their individual operations that individual citizens
and groups in the society experience the state and state power. These
instrumentalities give body, reality or concreteness to the legal
abstraction that
that is popularly known as the State. Thus, when it is said that
the State provided health facilities, formulated foreign policies and
increased taxes, it is through these instrumentalities that it does whatever
it does. We prefer to use the term 'instrumentality'
'instrumentality' or ‘institution’ here
because this seems to capture the level of concreteness that we shall find
desirable in this discussion. Nevertheless, other scholars like
RaphMiliband preferred such other terms as "elements of the state
system" and Louis Althusser
Althusser called it “state apparatus”.
The political organization we call the State has developed some
institutions for governing its society. These institutions consist largely of
the following: the government, the constitution, the central administrative
agency
ency and parastatals, the military and paramilitary
paramilitary institutions, the
judiciary, sub-central
sub central administrative agencies, and the representative
assemblies. State power inheres in the simultaneous control and operation
of these institutions, and it is through them that the citizen experiences
the reality of state power. In short, the State apparatus contains the
Government, the Administration, the Army, the Police, the Courts, the
Prisons, etc.
Let us attempt to give brief explanation on some of the instrumentalities.
instrument
The first on the list is government. Our next study sessions will be
devoted to the discussion of constitution and political parties as other
institutions of politics.

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POS111 The Study of Politics

11.1.1 Government
This is an agent of the state, it is not the state. In fact it is the most
important agent of the state. It can be defined as the machinery for
deciding and implementing the will or the end of the state. It is often seen
as a set of activities, as a set of persons and as a set of institutions.
Government acts and speaks on behalf of the state, and is formally vested
with state power. It takes responsibility for whatever is done in the name
of the state. It has also been observed that a government is a group of
people who have the ultimate authority to represent and act on behalf of
the state. It is important for you to note that unlike its principal, the state,
which is permanent, the government comes and goes – it is a temporary
entity. Government is made of three branches and it is indeed the sum
total of the legislative, executive and judicial bodies in all political
systems. It is best represented by the political executive, namely, the
corps of elite personnel who man the high institutions of the state. This
will include presidents, prime ministers, vice presidents, governors of the
states, ministers or members of the federal executive council, leadership
of the legislatures, heads of the numerous parastata1s, and the judiciary.

11.1.2 Central Administrative Institutions.

They are administrative systems, especially in a government at the centre
or at the national level, which divides work into specific categories
carried out by special departments of non-elected officials. These
agencies assist to carry the laws into effect, that is, to execute or carry out
the laws with the assistance of a police force, a military force and the
civil service. In Nigeria, for instance, the central administrative
bureaucracy includes the federal ministries and their associated
parastatals. This is the administrative backbone of governance. It assists
in the formulation and, primarily, implementation or execution of the
policies of the government of the day. It is important to point out that the
influence of the central administrative institution goes beyond just the
formulation and implementation of policies. The institution plays the
advisory role to the political executive and, through its control of
information which informs much of the decisions of government; it plays
an important role in determining policy. It is therefore not just an
administrative tool for execution. Let me tell you that in most countries of
the world, bureaucrats and public servants working in these
administrative institutions wield tremendous political power.

11.1.3 Security Services

These are also part of the apparatuses of the State. They are often referred
to as the coercive institutions of the State. The security services function
as agents for the management of violence on behalf of the State. They
consist of, for instance, in Nigeria the military and police forces, and
various para-military institutions such as the State Security Service
(SSS), the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), the Customs and
Immigration Services, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
(NDLEA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),
Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) etc. Again, like the
central administrative institution, these coercive agencies owe their
allegiance to the government of the day. These agencies serve the state by

64
 Study Session 11The Institutions of Politics: State Instrumentalities

serving the government of the day. The Marxists call them the "repressive
apparatus" of the state, while liberal theorists refer to them as an agency
for the "management of violence" or "security services". Though loyal to
the government of the day, they are supposed to be non-political; but it is
their increasing interest in politics that has made these agencies especially
the military dangerous to constitutional governance in some political
systems, especially in the so-called developing societies.

11.1.4 The Judiciary

This is another apparatus of the state. It is an institution meant for the
administration of justice. It consists mainly of the law courts, is
responsible for interpreting and enforcing the law. Suffice to say that the
judicial power is the power to interpret and apply the law to disputes and
conflicts that arise between the state and the individual and disputes and
conflicts that arise between individuals. Unlike the central administrative
institutions and the security services which owe loyalty to the political
executive, the judiciary is constitutionally empowered to operate
independently of the political executive or the government of the day. It
is for this reason that people demand for the independence of the
judiciary, especially in democratic governments. The judiciary is the
apparatus of the state which helps to defend the citizen against the
operations; I mean the excesses of the government or political executive.
It is also common to hear people referring to the judiciary as the last hope
of the common man. Let me inform you that how much of a hope it
affords the common man would depend on how much independence it
enjoys from the government.

11.1.5 Sub-central Administrative Agencies.

Down the hierarchy of government at the national or federal level are
other sets or tiers of administrative units that basically perform the
function of policy formulation and implementation. In the Nigerian
context, these will consist of the state government ministries and
parastatals, and local government institutions. These are agencies
operating at the sub –national levels of government. The character of
these institutions may well depend on whether the system in which they
function is a federal or unitary one. In most unitary states, they exist in
the form of simple local administrative units responsible for
implementing national policies at the local level being controlled by
appointed or selected officials. In federal systems, there is that tendency
for them to enjoy considerable political autonomy. It is significant to
point out that in federal systems the sub-central administrative agencies
operate not only as instruments representing the national government at
the local level, they also represent the interests of the people at the
grassroots or local level at the centre.

11.1.6 Legislature
Another important instrumentality of government is the legislature, which
is also known as the Representative Assembly. Representative
assemblies are responsible for law-making and for overseeing the
operations of the government. They perform critical roles in a democracy.
These roles include and not limited to oversight, law/policymaking and

65
POS111 The Study of Politics

representational role. In Nigeria,

Nigeria, they consist of the National Assembly,
the State Houses of Assembly and the Local Government Councils. The
members are elected and, in discharging their constitutional functions, are
supposed to represent the interests of their constituencies. The
relationship
lationship between the legislature and the executive is one of both
cooperation and conflict. It usually takes the form of cooperation mainly
when the political patty that controls the executive is the dominant party
in the legislature. A situation of conflict
conflict defines the relationship when the
ruling patty is not the dominant party in the given assembly. The
relationship between the executive and the legislature is often affected by
the character of the regime. In parliamentary systems, in which the
legislature is fused with the executive, the control which the executive
legislature
has over the legislature predisposes the latter more into cooperation than
conflict. In fact parliamentary systems are prone to promoting executive
dominance of the legislature, except in multi-party
mu party systems when party
fragmentation in the legislature tends to destabilize the executive branch.
It is well known that through cabinet control of the legislature,
parliamentary system of government guarantees executive supremacy. In
presidential systems,
systems, the emphasis on separation of powers tends to
promote independence of the legislature, as well as tends to increase the
probability of conflict between the legislature and the executives. Thus,
presidential systems operate to encourage legislative supremacy.
s

Get a copy of any Nigerian Constitution and identify those institutions of

the State provided for in the constitution.
Activity
Allow 20 minutes

Study Session Summary

In this Study session highlight and discuss State instrumentalities or
apparatuses, which are the instruments through which the state "does its
thing" in the political system. These instrumentalities
instrumentalities consist largely of
Summary the following: the government, the central administrative agency and
parastatals, the military and paramilitary
paramilitary institutions, the judiciary, sub-
sub
central administrative agencies, and the representative assemblies.

66
 The Institutions of Politics: State Instrumentalities

Assessment
SAQ 11.1 (tests Learning Outcome 11.1)
What do you consider as State instrumentalities?
Assessment SAQ 11.2 (tests Learning Outcome 11.2)
Discuss any two state instrumentalities you know.

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POS111 The Study of Politics

Study Session 12

The Institutions for Political Interactions: Political

Party and Pressure Groups
Introduction
In the last study session, we highlighted and discussed some of the major
instrumentalities of the State. I want you to know that the understanding
of the operation and functions of these formal institutions of the State
St is
not complete without adequate knowledge of the nature of the informal
institutions of politics. The operations of the latter affect the functioning
of the former. In this study session, we shall make attempt to define
political parties and pressure groups as institutions of political interaction.
Also the major features, types and functions of these institutions shall be
outlined in the study session.
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
define political parties and pressure groups as institutions for
political interactions.
explain the major features of political party and pressure groups.
Outline functions of these institutions as instruments for political
interactions.
Learning Outcomes
differentiate between political party and pressure groups.

12.1 Political Parties

Many scholars have attempted to define political parties as institutions
ins of
political interaction. Not unlike other concepts in political science, there
is no consensus on the meaning of political parties. Generally speaking, a
political party is an organised group of like-minded
like minded persons seeking to
take control of government
government through constitutional means. Let us consider
some of the definitions given by scholars.
Definitions
According to Edmund Burke, a political party is a body of men united for
promoting by their joint endeavour the national interest, upon some
particular principle in which they are all agreed”. Tekena Tamuno sees it
as “an organist group that either strives for self-government
self government or contest
election on a competitive basis in order to influence and control the
personnel and policy of government”. Richard
Richard Rose conceives political
party as “an organization (of voluntary membership with ease of
entry/acceptance and exit/withdrawal) concerned with the expression of
popular preferences and contesting control of chief policy making offices
of government”.

12.1.1 Features of a Political Party

Political parties have the following characteristics:

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Study Session 12The Institutions for Political Interactions: Political Party and Pressure Groups

i. Adoption of a Manifesto: Political parties usually have a

manifesto, which is a document listing their intentions,
aspirations and objectives.
ii. Existence of manifest and permanent organization at the national
and local levels. They usually organize membership to reach all
nooks and crannies of the country by establishing their
secretariats at the national and sub national levels.
iii. Self-conscious determination to capture power and hold power of
decision-making alone or in coalition: The main objectives of
political parties are to contest elections, win and form
government through constitutional means.
iv. Capacity to strive for political education to elicit popular support:
Political parties usually attempt to show that they are loyal to the
electorate, and would serve their interest if voted into power.
Thus, they seek for the support of the electorate through political
enlightenment.
v. Alignment to a political ideology; political parties usually tend to
align with a major socio-economic cum political ideology, such
as socialism, capitalism, liberalism, conservatism, which guides
their members’ actions, especially when they come to power.
vi. Political symbols for identification: for easy identification by
their supporters, political parties usually have party logos,
badges, signs and anthems as political symbols.

12.1.2 Functions of a Political Party

Political parties perform the following functions:
i. Representation – ability to articulate the views of the electorate
and capture it in campaign platforms. Political parties help to
bring together and represent differing interests and opinions of a
large number of people.
ii. Elite Formation and Recruitment: It is through the parties that
leaders are selected by the people through election. Parties also
provide training ground for politicians by equipping them with
skills, knowledge and experience.
iii. Goal Formation: Party platforms are used to set collective goal
that captures the interest of the various groups that make up the
electorate.
iv. Interest Articulation and Aggregation: Parties provides
platform for the various groups in society to express their
interest, as well as aggregate (combine) the various interests of
groups within society.
v. Socialization and Mobilization: In their bid to elicit popular
support, parties engage in political education and socialization of
the people as issues they bring up sets political agenda that make
profound impression on the citizen, thus shaping their political
culture. They help to disseminate information on government
policies to the people, especially when they are in power.
Through effective mobilization, political parties help to arouse
the interest of the electorate towards participation in political
activities such as elections.

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POS111 The Study of Politics

vi. Organization of Government: Parties makes it easy to

constitute a government, they give government stability, fosters
cooperation among the arms of government and help to create an
environment of competition for political positions.
vii. Forum for National Unity and Integration: Political parties
serve as a forum for national unity and integration by bringing
together people from different cultural, ethnic, religious and
professional groups.
viii. Policy Formulation: It is important for you to note that the
manifestoes of political parties serve as a ready source from
which government policies can be formulated.
ix. Checking Government Excesses: Members of political parties
outside the government usually serve as the opposition and often
act as checks of government excesses.
It is important to point out that there are different types of political
parties. They include Mass parties, Elite parties, Personality parties and
Religious parties among others. The mass parties are those whose
membership is drawn from all segments of society, for example, People’s
Party, Labour Party etc. An elite party is also referred to as cadre party,
often comprises only the wealthy, well educated, professional and the
influential. A party is described as personality party if the guiding spirit
and leadership are motivated by a charismatic man or woman. Religious
parties are mainly formed by members of a particular religion.

12.2 Party System

This is a network of relationship through which parties interact and
influence the political process. Also, party system denotes the pattern of
political parties in a particular country. This may vary according to the
number of political parties in the country. Generally speaking, there are
three types of party system, namely, one party system, two-party system
and multi or multiple party systems. Each category has its advantages and
disadvantages. Let us examine these party systems one after the other.

12.2.1 One Party System

This is where only a single party is allowed to exist in a country often
through legislation. Advocates of single party contend that it promotes
unity by bringing together all the varying tendencies under one umbrella
for mutual understanding. Therefore, in single party system, multiple
candidates contest election in constituencies. Single party system is cheap
and inexpensive to operate. However, a single party system can lead to
regimentation of opinion. It is a system that provides no choice of
alternative political platform. Most times, single party system leads to
totalitarian regime or dictatorship.

12.2.2 Two Party System

These are found in political systems (countries) where two main or
dominant parties exist i.e. USA, Britain (before Tony Blair was elected as
the prime-minister), and Nigeria (under the Third republic). Though two
main political parties exist, other political parties are not denied
participation in the political process. However, those parties remain

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 Study Session 12The Institutions for Political Interactions: Political Party and Pressure Groups

insignificant to make any meaningful impact in the political landscape of

those countries (i.e. Britain – Liberal and Socialist parties). In two party
system, independent candidates are allowed to participate after they
satisfied a stipulated criteria set by the electoral law. Two party system
help to bring about stability in the polity by stirring and bringing about
vibrant opposition and alternative to the ruling party. However, two party
system can make politics a bipolar affair (ruling – opposition) which can
become dangerous at times. It can as well degenerate into a destructive
opposition politics when the opposition group stays out of power over a
long period of time.

12.2.3 Multi-Party System

Multi- party system exist in political systems where more than two
political parties are allowed to exist i.e. France, India, Nigeria, South
Africa, Ethiopia etc., It caters for plurality of interest more so in a
heterogeneous polity. It encourages diversity of opinion and constructive
opposition. It allows for freedom of association and self expression. Multi
party system gives greater opportunity for the electorate to identify with a
political party that reflects their views accurately. Nevertheless, it is
prone to instability and ineffective (it is very difficult for one party to
win). It makes parliamentary work to drag because of difficulty to reach
compromise, thus it can weaken a government. Again a multiple party
system weakens the fused executive of the parliamentary system and
increases the chances of governmental instability of the parliamentary
regime.

12.3 Pressure Groups

These are groups of organized sections of the community promoting their
own (parochial) interest by regularly putting pressures on the authorities
(government) or public opinion. This is usually with the objective of
securing favourable changes and preventing detrimental policies or
decisions of government.
Pressure groups are association of individuals united by a common
interest, belief, activity, purpose that seek to achieve its objectives,
further its interest and enhance its status. Existence of pressure group is
based on the gradual enthronement of individualism and atmosphere of
freedom. This environment of freedom enabled individuals to band into
groups in furtherance of such interests. Pressure groups do not seek
power, but they influence government to make favourable policies and
decisions.

12.3.1 Types of Pressure Groups

Communal Groups: These are pressure groups where membership is
based on birth rather than recruitment. It is rather embedded in the social
fabric. Examples are OhanezeNdi-Igbo, ArewaPeoples Congress, Odua
Peoples Congress, Afenifere, and Movement for the Survival of Ogoni
Peoples (MOSOP) etc.
InstitutionalGroups: These are groups that are part of the machinery of
government. Their influence is exerted through the machinery of
government. They differ from the others because they do not enjoy

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POS111 The Study of Politics

autonomy or independence. Examples include bureaucracies, military

etc.
Associational Groups: Consist of individuals banded together to pursue
shared but narrow goals. This type is characterized by voluntary action
and existence of common interest. Examples are Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Nigeria Union
of Teachers (NUT), NACCIMA etc.
Anoemic Groups: Consist of pressure groups that emerge spontaneously
in response to issues and usually extinct after the issue became resolved.
Examples are National Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra
(MASSOB) etc

12.3.2 Channels of Exerting Influence

Pressure groups exert their influence through the following institutions
and mediums:
i. The Bureaucracy
ii. The Legislature
iii. The Courts
iv. Political Parties
v. The Mass Media

12.4 Pressure Groups and Political Parties Compared

i. Pressure groups seek influence from outside, whereas political
parties seek to capture power.
ii. Pressure groups have narrow issues that are particular to their
members, whereas political parties’ articulate broader interest in
other to win election.
iii. Political parties sponsor candidate for election but pressure
groups uses other means like aligning with a political party (i.e.
Labour Party – TUC in Britain)
iv. While political parties strive to mobilize a majority of the voters
to gain power, pressure group serves to give special
representation to minorities.
v. They both contribute to political education but differ in approach.

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 Study Session 12The
The Institutions for Political Interactions: Political Party and Pressure Groups

Study Session Summary

In this study session we have tried to define political parties and pressure
groups as institutions for political interactions. Their functions and types
were also discussed. A political party is an organised group of like- like
Summary minded persons seeking to take control of government gover through
constitutional means, while pressure groups are groups of organized
sections of the community promoting their own (parochial) interest by
regularly putting pressures on the authorities (government) or public
opinion. Political parties and pressure
pressure groups are significant in terms of
the roles they play, particularly in a democracy. There are three types of
party system, namely, one party, two party and multi party systems.
Types of pressure groups include anoemic, communal institutional and
associational
ociational groups. One of the significant differences between political
parties and pressure groups is that the latter seek influence from outside,
whereas the former seek to capture power.

Assessment
SAQ 12.1 (tests Learning Outcome 12.1)
How would you define political party and mention any two attributes of a
political party.
Assessment
SAQ 12.2 (tests Learning Outcome 12.2)
Attempt a definition of pressure group and identify three ways pressure
group influence government decisions.

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POS111 The Study of Politics

Study Session 13

Constitution and Constitutionalism

Introduction
This study session will expose you to constitution as another example of
institution of politics. In essence therefore, this study session will not
only define constitution; it will show the connection between
betwee it and the
concept of constitutionalism. It will also highlight the various sources and
types of constitutions.
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:

highlight the components of constitution.

identify the sources, types, morphology and functions of
constitution.
explain the term constitutionalism.
Learning Outcomes

13.1 What is a constitution?

In common usage, a constitution may be defined as a collection of norms
or standards according to which a country is governed. Simply put, it is a
written document outlining the structure of political system. Political
scientists broadly defined
defined ‘constitution’ as the rules and customs, either
written or unwritten, legally established or extralegal, by which a
government conduct its affairs. Most constitutions contain statements
intended to define the relations between rulers ·and ruled, the basic b
institutional framework of government, the rights and duties of citizens,
and many important procedures to be followed in connection with those
matters. In a democratic setting, the constitution is expected to define the
conditions for the exercise of legitimate power; who shall exercise
political power, how they shall exercise their powers and the limits of
these powers. Even in chaotic, corrupt or dictatorial systems, though
constitutions may not count for much, there exist some forms of rules and
regulations
gulations governing those systems. Invariably, almost all political
systems or polities have constitutions since they operate according to
some set of rules.
According to Kenneth C. Wheare, a constitution is defined as a collection
or aggregation of norms,
norms, mores, conventions, customs and standards on
which a country is governed. It is considered superior to the rules of
ordinary law. It is the grand norms, supreme and fundamental laws of the
land. It is the pulse of the nation, sustaining loyalty as well
w as unifying
the society. Constitution is an experiment as all life is also an experiment,
providing frame or platform for dissenting voices of people with various
political opinions. Like money in the bank, is useful only due to its
provision of satisfaction
satisfaction and utility. Constitutional authority is constituted
under the current Nigerian Federal Constitution of 1999. It is well

74
 Study Session 13Constitution and Constitutionalism

established that the purpose and functions of the state is the establishment
of law and order, protection and provision of welfare and participation in
the state system. To fulfil this purpose, most states adopt one form of
constitution or the other.
It is important to note that a few countries like Britain and Israel have no
single written document but still have constitutions. In other words, a
constitution may be a vague body of unwritten laws, taking the form of
customs, statues, precedents, usages, understandings, or conventions;
which courts may not recognise as laws: but which are not less effective
in regulating the government, as in Britain. On the other hand, a
constitution may be a detailed written document, as in the. United States,
Nigeria and most modern States; in these States, the constitution is
usually an elaborate document in which the organization of' the
government, its powers and its relations to individuals are all carefully set
down. It is inconceivable that any state could exist without a written or
unwritten constitution, defining the relationship between governors and
the governed. By their very nature, constitutions everywhere are regarded
as embodying the fundamentals of the political system. These
fundamentals have the force of law, which is enforceable by the courts.

13.2 Genesis of Constitutions

Credit must be given to the founding fathers of the United States of
America for given to the world the longest surviving written constitution
in the world. American constitution was adopted in 1787; this is
followed by Poland 1791, France 1791, Sweden 1809, Venezuela 1811,
Ecuador 1812, Spain 1812, Norway 1814 which is the second largest
surviving constitution in the world, Mexico 1824, Argentina 1826, and
Liberia 1847.

13.3 Sources of Constitutions

There are many sources of constitutions.
i. Organic Laws: These are laws that occur or develop gradually
and naturally without being forced or contrived. For examples
special legislative rules like Magna Carta 1215, providing trial by
jury and due process of law. Habeas Corpus of 1679 confirming
rights of citizens to protection against imprisonment. Act of
settlement of 1710 which established the supremacy of the
Legislature and independence of judges, and the Acts or
Parliament 1911 and 1949, which limited the powers of the Lords
ii. Judicial Decisions: The ambiguous languages of law necessitate
the clarifications, expansion or contraction for laymen. The
courts deal with controversies that may arise over interpretation
of law and her judicial decisions are usually regarded as
authoritative; that is clothed with legitimacy.
iii. Philosophical Ideas The ideas of great philosophers have also
provided important principles that have been incorporated m
most constitutions. Such principles as limited government,
consent of the governed and religious tolerance, stem from the
writings of the English philosopher, John Locke. The French
philosopher Montesquieu wrote convincingly about limited

75
POS111 The Study of Politics

government, separation of powers .and checks and balances,

which today are included in most constitutions. of political
philosophers like John Locke, Montesquieu, Thomas Hobbes,
Niccolo Machiavelli and others serve as sources of some
constitutional provisions.
iv. Constitutional Conventions and Customs: They are the
fundamental rules of government clearly understood; obeyed and
accepted. For instance, it is conventional for a cabinet which
clearly cannot command the confidence of a parliament to resign.
They are the fundamental rules of government that are not
expressed in the formal and official manner of written
constitutions, organic laws and judicial decisions. They are
obeyed m public life as if they were laws because they are
necessary for efficient government.
v. Experience: The unique experience of a people is usually a
fountain of wisdom on which constitutions are framed as well
amended e.g. 1979 constitution of Nigeria which outlawed
military take over of Government as a de facto Government.
vi. International Laws and Practices: Laws and treaties entered
into at such international fora as the United Nations, African
Union, and the European Union among others serve as materials
for constitution making in some countries.

o ITQ A written constitution usually does not make provision for

A. customs and conventions.
B. civil service regulations.
C. historical documents.
D. judicial precedent.

Feedback on ITQs answers

• The correct answer is B.
• Options A, C & D are the major sources of constitution while
option B cannot be said to be a source of constitution.

13.4 Kinds of Constitutions

The two kinds of constitutions have been discussed earlier, these are:
i. Written constitutions e.g. USA, Nigeria
ii. Unwritten constitutions e.g. Britain, Israel, Belgium etc.

13.5 Types of Constitutions

i. Flexible: Flexible constitutions are easy to change. For instance,
in Britain, Italy, New Zealand that have constitutions that are
flexible, there is provision for easy amendment procedures in
respect of change or amendments.
ii. Unflexible/Rigid: difficult process involved in amending
constitutional provisions of a rigid constitution. USA, Australia
and Switzerland are good examples.

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 Study Session 13Constitution and Constitutionalism

13.6 Variants of Constitution

i. Unitary constitutions provide single, central government that is
supreme. Britain, Belgium, France, Sweden, and Italy to mention
just a few are examples of countries with unitary constitutions.
ii. Federal constitutions divide powers among the federating units
for unity and supremacy. Federal constitutions are usually written
and rigid and are often adopted by heterogeneous societies like
USA, Nigeria, and Switzerland etc.

o ITQ A written constitution usually does not make provision for

____________.
A. the party system
B. the powers and limitations of government
C. the change of government through coup d’état
D. the fundamental rights of the citizens
Feedback on ITQs answers
• The correct answer is C.
• Options A, B & D are items that can be found in a written
constitution, option C which entails a forceful and most times
bloody means of power transition cannot be found in a written
constitution.

13.7 The Morphology of Constitution

A typical constitution usually provides for the following:
i. A Preamble: Statements of values and ideals stating the
authority establishing a constitution.
ii. Structure of the Government: makes provision for the organs
and agencies of government.
iii. Distribution of power: Governmental powers are divided among
organs of government - Legislature, Judiciary and Executive. In
Nigeria, the 1999 makes provisions for the exclusive list to the
Federal, Concurrent list to the Federal and states and residual list
for local governments.
iv. Rights of Individuals: Judiciable rights, non-justiciable rights
obligation of the government, collective rights, privileges and
fundamental objectives and directives of state policy are usually
included in the

13.8 Functions of a Constitution

It is also important to highlight major functions of a constitution. They
include the following;
1. A constitution defines the powers of the government.
2. It also defines the basic organs of government
3. Probably more important than the first two, a constitutions sets
limits on the use of the powers of government

77
POS111 The Study of Politics

13.9 Constitutionalism
Constitutionalism is government that respects the th constitution or
government based on rules of law or due process for maintaining of law
and order. Constitutionalism deals with the rule of law. What this means
is that a government which a constitution sets up should conduct itself in
accordance with the
th rules of law – that is according to agreed procedures.
Any government set up by a constitution has limits to its powers.
Constitutionalism says that not only should these limits be recognized
and accepted by government, the fundamental human rights of the t
citizens should also be recognized and guaranteed. Dictatorship and
constitutionalism do not go hand in hand.
From what I have said earlier, constitutionalism is a term with definite
implications. As a concept it means essentially limited government, a
system of restraints on both rulers and ruled. It is mostly bound up with
the notion of the rule of Jaw. By implication the concept of
constitutionalism embraces the idea that a government should not be
permitted to do whatever its officials please but should
sh conduct itself
according to equitable and agreed procedures. The purpose of this
restriction on its freedom of action, you need to know is to safeguard
fundamental area of freedom for his citizens. Constitutionalism is
expected to protect human rights such as free speech, free association,
free press, due process of law.

Study Session Summary

In this Study session you learned that constitutions are part of formal
institutions of politics. A country’s constitution is the body of basic law,
principles,
nciples, conventions, rules and regulations which govern the country.
Summary You also learnt that there are different kinds, types, and variants of
constitution. Constitutionalism refers to government that respects the
constitution or a government based on the rule rule of law or due process.
Constitution, irrespective of types or forms are sourced from organic
laws, customs and conventions, judicial precedents/ decisions, past
experience, intellectual works of philosophers to mention just a few.

Assessment
SAQ 13.1 (tests Learning Outcome 13.1)
Attempt a definition of constitution.
Assessment SAQ 13.2 (tests Learning Outcome 13.2)
Identify three sources of a constitution
SAQ 13.3 (tests Learning Outcome 13.3)
Define constitutionalism.

78
 Revision SessionConstitution
Constitution and Constitutionalism

Revision Session
Introduction
This last study session is devoted for revision. So far, the course study
sessions have focused on the basic concepts, approaches and other
important aspects of political science as a discipline involved in the
systematic study of politics.
At the end of this study session, you should be able to
write a concise and informative essay on any of the topics
discussed in preceding study sessions.

What will you ascribe as the components of politics and political science?
Have I ever being involved in politics? If yes, how?
Reflection

Summary
At the beginning of this course you were introduced to the nature and
scope of political science. It was established in the study session that
politics has no single or universally acceptable definitions. Nevertheless,
notable scholars including Aristotle, David Easton, Harold Laswell,
Jeremy Bentham have attempted to define politics in one way or other.
As you were told in the study session it is agreed by most political
scientists that politics has something to do with power, influence and
authority, which
which are the central organizing concepts of the study of
politics (later discussed extensively in study session six). Political
Science as an academic discipline is the systematic and scientific study of
politics. According to Billy Dudley, it entails consciousness
conscio formation,
social mobilization, contestation, institutional struggle and transcendence.
The scope of the discipline extends to cover but not limited to the study
of political parties, pressure groups, elections, international relations,
public institutions,
institutions, comparative politics and public administration.
In study session two, it was mentioned that many scholars have expressed
their views about politics. Stephen Giliat as one of the scholars identified
two major traditions in the understanding of politics.
politics. The arguments put
up under each tradition were highlighted and discussed. One tradition
views politics as a positive means of conflict management, while the
other one sees it as concerned with the production and promotion of
conflicts. The first view
view was called the consensus or management view of
politics while the second was described as the conflict view of politics.
In the third study session you were told that there are three basic levels at
which politics takes place. These are; state level politics,
poli intra – state and
inter state or international politics. The state level of politics considered
inter-state
to be the only level of politics includes the activities of the national or
federal government, the sub-national
sub national or regional government and those of

79
POS111 The Study of Politics

local governments. Intra state politics refers to those forms of political

behaviour or conduct which take place within associations or social
groups that form part of the state. The inter-state or international politics
is activities involving political actors and other related ones, carried
across state boundaries.
The fourth study session was used to trace the origin of political science
as an academic discipline. As a separate field for the study and analysis
of politics, political science is a relatively late arrival within the social
sciences. As demonstrated in the study session, Plato, Xenophon, and
Aristotle, who is considered to be the founding father of political science
among other scholars contributed immensely through their works to the
development of western politics You were informed that in the post
Second world War era, the major growth area in the study of politics has
been the area designated political behaviour with the emergence of
behavioural approach. It was mentioned in the study session that in spite
of the pessimism about a science of politics you were informed that
contemporary political science has progressed by adopting a variety of
methods and theoretical approaches to understanding politics and
methodological pluralism is a defining feature of contemporary political
science. Political scientists in their quest to study political phenomena
have used the scientific method to create an intellectual discipline
involving quantitative research methods.
It was pointed out in study session five that politics can be studied using
four different approaches. These are: Normative Philosophical approach
focusing on philosophical reflections on universal political values that
were regarded as essential to the just state and the good state; The
Descriptive Institutional approach that focuses on the formal structures
and agencies of government; the behavioural approach that emphasizes
the scientific study of political behaviour of individuals and group of
individuals; and the Post- Behavioural approach that is eclectic in nature
and is engaged to promote a political science that would not be as
scientific or precise as possible, philosophical normative, politically
relevant but be also socially responsible. The weakness(es) and
strength(s) of these approaches were pointed out.
The seventh study session attempted to define power, influence, authority
and legitimacy as central concepts in political analysis. Although people
erroneously make use of them interchangeably, they connote different
meaning. The differences between them were clearly shown in the study
session with lucid examples
Study session eight was devoted to the discussion of government as an
agency of the state. Its basic components and roles were highlighted and
discussed. You were told that government makes and enforces decision
and has monopoly of legitimate use of force. It is the ultimate source of
coercion and its conduct is always seen as legitimate. According to
Michael Laver, three major roles are generated for the government to
perform. These include, contract enforcement, responsibility for
collective action and the desire to maximize social welfare.
In study session nine, features and examples of political systems or
polities formed the basis of our discussion. These polities as you were
told can be categorized into three main groups namely, Liberal

80
 Revision SessionConstitution and Constitutionalism

Democratic, Socialist Democratic and Autocratic Polities. Examples of

liberal democratic political systems include Britain, France, The United
States of America, and Germany. Social democratic polities are found in
countries like China, Vietnam, Cuba, North Korea, and most countries of
Eastern Europe. Autocratic polities have several varieties including the
traditional or historical oligarchies in many Arab countries, the military
oligarchies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the defunct racial
supremacist regime in South Africa and the defunct colonial oligarchies
in many part of the third world.
Study session ten focused on the different meanings of political culture,
its key elements and types. Political culture, however it is defined focuses
attention on that part of a culture which bears relevance to politics. Three
attitudes of political culture as identified by Almond and Verba include;
Cognitive, Affective and Evaluative orientations. Through their study
they categorized types of political culture into three. These are parochial,
participant and subject political culture. The set of people sharing
parochial culture have no sense of political efficacy or competence and
feel powerless in the face of existing institutions. Under subject political
culture there is a high level of political consciousness, but the citizens are
passive in the political process. Participant political culture is a situation
in which the people are not only politically very conscious but they are
also very active in the input and the output processes of governance.
Study session eleven serves as a follow-up to study session ten. In this
study session we tried to define political socialization, which is
essentially concerned with the process of transmitting a society’s political
culture to successive members of that society. As you were told political
socialisation may serve to preserve, transmit and inculcate traditional
political norms values and institutions across time as well as helps to
maintain continuity and stability. Also we attempted to distinguish the
various forms or patterns of political socialisation through the use of
analytical categories- Agencies (primary or secondary), Process (latent or
manifest), Time-span (Formative years or mature years, and Change
(systemic or non – systemic.)
In study session eleven the meaning, forms and types of political
participation were examined. Generally speaking, political participation
involves those activities which are more or less directly aimed at
influencing the selection of rulers and the formulation of public policy.
While political participation is not limited to voting during election,
illegal and often violent forms of participation like assassination and riots
are considered as abnormal ways of participation. You were told in the
study session that not all people get themselves involved in politics, or
participate to the same degree. This is due to the fact that participation
involves considerable costs in terms of time, energy and resources. Lester
Malbraith classified levels of participants into three, namely, spectator
level, transitional level and gladiatorial level. We concluded that with the
costs of participation in political activities increasing, the number of
participants decreasing at each successive level.
As from study session twelve, the focus of the course shifted to the
institutions of politics. In that study session we tried to highlight and
discuss State instrumentalities or apparatuses, which are the instruments
through which the state "does its thing" in the political system. These

81
POS111 The Study of Politics

instrumentalities consist largely of the following: the government, the

central administrative agency and parastatals, the military and para-
military institutions, the judiciary, sub-central administrative agencies,
and the representative assemblies.
In study session thirteen attempts were made to define political parties
and pressure groups as institutions for political interactions. Their
functions and types were also discussed. A political party, as you were
told is an organised group of like-minded persons seeking to take control
of government through constitutional means, while pressure groups are
groups of organized sections of the community promoting their own
(parochial) interest by regularly putting pressures on the authorities
(government) or public opinion. Political parties and pressure groups are
significant in terms of the roles they play, particularly in a democracy.
There are three types of party system, namely, one party, two party and
multi party systems. Types of pressure groups include anoemic,
communal institutional and associational groups. One of the significant
differences between political parties and pressure groups is that the latter
seek influence from outside, whereas the former seek to capture power.
Study session fourteen focused on constitutions as examples of formal
institutions of politics. As it was shown in the study session, a country’s
constitution is the body of basic law, principles, conventions, rules and
regulations which govern the country. It is a document that specifies the
limits of and as well as relationship between various branches and
agencies of government. There are different kinds, types, and variants of
constitution. Constitutionalism refers to government that respects the
constitution or a government based on the rule of law or due process.
Constitution, irrespective of types or forms are sourced from organic
laws, customs and conventions, judicial precedents/ decisions, past
experience, intellectual works of philosophers to mention just a few. It
usually provides for a preamble, structure of government, distribution of
power to mention just a few.
Study session fifteen concludes the course. This concluding study session
attempts to revise the course study sessions in form of summary of the
highlights of the preceding fourteen study sessions. It is assumed that you
have gained very well in this course. It is advisable to carefully go over
the course again and make use of some of the available recommended
texts cited in the references at the end of each study session so as to get
an adequate and rewarding insight into the nature and theories for
contemporary political analysis.

82
 Bibliography

Bibliography
Anifowoshe, R. and Francis Enemuo, (1999) Elements of Politics, Lagos:
Ironuansi.
Ayam, J. (ed.) (2004). Introduction to Politics, (Ota: Department of
Policy and Strategic Studies and Covenant University Press).
Chaturvedy, J. C. (2005). Political Governance, Gyan Publishing House.
Druckman, James N., Donald P. Green, James H. Kuklinski, and Arthur
Lupia. 2011. Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science.
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gabriel, Abraham (2002). Ventures in Political Science. Lynne Rienner
Publishers.
Hoffman, John (1995) Beyond the state: An Introductory Critique UK:
Polity Press.
Ikporukpo, C.O. (2001) ed., Government, Society and Economy: an
Introduction to the Social Science, Ibadan: FSS
Lane, Ruth (1996). Political Science in Theory and Practice: the ‘politics
model’
Oyediran, Oyeleye. (2007), Introduction to Political Science, Ibadan;
Oyediran consult
Roskin, Michael G., Robert L. Cord, James A. Mederois, Walter S. Jones.
2008, (10th ed.), Political Science: an Introduction, Prentice hall: Pearson
International Edition
Stoner, J. R. “Political Science and Political Education”, Paper presented
at the annual meeting of the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference
(APSA), San José Marriott, Retrieved on 2009-02-04 at San
José,California.
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/4/5/5/
8/p245585_index.html.
Walker, J. (1993), “The Constitutional Good: Constitutionalism’s
Equivocal Moral Imperative.

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POS111 The Study of Politics

References

Almond, Gabriel. (1960), "A Functional Approach to Comparative Politics" in G. Almond

and J.S Coleman (eds,), The Politics of Developing Areas, Princeton
Almond, G.A. and Verba, S. (1963), The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy
in Five Nations (Princeton: Princeton University Press).
Anifowoshe, R. and Francis Enemuo, (1999) Elements of Politics, Lagos: Ironuansi.
Appadorai, A. Substance of Politics
Ayam, J. (ed.) (2004). Introduction to Politics, (Ota: Department of Policy and Strategic
Studies and Covenant University Press).
Ball, Allan. (1987), Modern Politics and Government, Longman
Beetham, David (1991), The Legitimation of Power US: Humanities Press International.
Birch, Anthony H. (1993) The concepts and theories of modern democracy (UK: Routledge).
Brown, J A. and Jack Gray (eds.), Political Culture in Communist States, Oxford, 1976,
Chaturvedy, J. C. (2005). Political Governance, Gyan Publishing House.
Dahl, Robert. (1966) Political Opposition in Western Democracies, New Haven,
Druckman, James N., Donald P. Green, James H. Kuklinski, and Arthur Lupia. 2011.
Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Dudley, Billy J. 1975, Skepticism and Political Virtues, An inaugural study session.
Gabriel, Abraham (2002). Ventures in Political Science. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Greenstein, Fred I. 1968 "Political socialization" in International Encyclopedia of the Social
Sciences, Vo1.14, New York,
Hoffman, John (1995) Beyond the state: An Introductory Critique UK: Polity Press.
Ikporukpo, C.O. (2001) ed., Government, Society and Economy: an Introduction to the
Social Science, Ibadan: FSS
Lane, Ruth (1996). Political Science in Theory and Practice: the ‘politics model’
Levine, Robert. 1963 "Political Socialization and Cultural Change," in Clifford Greetz (ed.),
New York
Langton, Kenneth P. (1969) Political Socialization, New York.
Lehman, Edward W (1992) The Viable Polity (USA: Temple University Press).
Lowell, A. Lawrence. 1910. "The Physiology of Politics." American Political Science
Review 4: 1-15.
Oyediran, Oyeleye. (2007), Introduction to Political Science, Ibadan; Oyediran consult
Pye, Lucian. (1962) Politics, Personality and Nation Building, New Haven, 1962
Pye L. and S. Verba (eds.), 1965, Political Culture and Political Development, Princeton,
Rowe, Eric. Modern Politics: An Introduction to Studying of Behaviour and Institutions

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 References

Roskin, Michael G., Robert L. Cord, James A. Mederois, Walter S. Jones. 2008, (10th ed.),
Political Science: an Introduction, Prentice hall: Pearson International Edition
Stoner, J. R. “Political Science and Political Education”, Paper presented at the annual
meeting of the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference (APSA), San José Marriott,
Retrieved on 2009-02-04 at San José,California.
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/4/5/5/8/p245585_in
dex.html.
Strong, C.F. 1963, Modern Political Constitutions. London, 1963
Suberu, Rotimi. (1991) Study session Notes on The Study of Politics, University of Ibadan,
Ibadan
Suchman, Mark (1995) Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional approaches in The
Academy of Management Review 20: 571-610.
Walker, J. (1993), “The Constitutional Good: Constitutionalism’s Equivocal Moral
Imperative.
Weber, Max (1972) Economy and Society UK: Routledge.
Welsh, Willam A. (1973). Studying Politics, London: Thomas Nelson
Wheare, K.C. Modern Constitutions, OUP,' 1966.

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POS111 The Study of Politics

Feedbacks to Self Assessment Questions

(SAQs)
SAQ 1.1 A. Jeremy Bentham
B. David Easton
C. Aristotle
D. Karl Marx
E. Harold Lasswell
SAQ 1.2 There is no clear cut difference between the two concept. They both
complement each other. Political science is the study of politics. Political
Science According to Dudley, “is the systematic study of these various
components of politics”. More so, the World Book Encyclopedia (1997)
describes Political Science as the systematic study of political life.
SAQ 1.3 The study Political science entails the various forms of government as
well as political parties, pressure groups, elections, international relations,
public institutions, comparative politics and public administration.
Political Science also deals with fundamental values such as equality,
freedom, justice and power. In terms of significance of political science
to human endeavours, politics matters to every human being. The study
and understanding of politics and how it works raises the consciousness
in us to look after ourselves and prevent others from using us, since the
ignorant are usually manipulated.
SAQ 2.1 State Level of Politics is those actions carried out by the national or sub-
national and local governments. It enjoys primary over other level of
politics because it has a definite territory and has a monopoly of the use
of force and other level of politics are carried within it and through it.
Intra-state level of politics are those activities or interactions that takes
place among institutions or groups within a state or defined by the rules
of the state; while inter-state level of politics are those activities or
interactions that carried out by political actors (state and non-state actors)
across state boundaries.
SAQ 2.2 In Nigeria, the review of the 1999 constitution, which is a statutory
responsibility of the National Assembly with support from the State
Assemblies, and which will be enforced by the executive arm of
government and interpreted by the judiciary on the successful review, is
an example of state politics while Resolution 1373 reached by the United
Nations (comprised of 153 states) after September 11 2001, aimed at
countering the upsurge of terrorism globally is an example of inter-state
or international politics.
SAQ 2.3 The similarities between state and inter-state level of politics include:
i. They are both carried by state actors
ii. They both apply the instruments of coercion. While states can
enforce its decision on it citizens, at the international level or

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 Feedbacks to Self Assessment Questions (SAQs)

international community states can reach an agreement to enforce

its decision on a non-compliant state.
SAQ 3.1 Political science is an academic discipline that is concerned with the
systematic and scientific study and analysis of politics.
SAQ 3.2 Prior, to the behavioural revolution, the study of politics was dominated
by the normative-philosophical and legal-institutional approach. These
approaches were popularized by plato, Aristotle, Niccolo Machiavelli,
John Locke, Jacques Rosseau Thomas Hobbes Chanakya, Arthashastra,
etc. However, in the 1950s and the 1960s, a behavioral revolution
stressing the systematic and rigorously scientific study of individual and
group behavior swept political science discipline. A focus on studying
political behavior, rather than institutions or interpretation of legal texts,
characterized early behavioral political science, including work by Robert
Dahl, David Easton and Phillip Converse.
SAQ 3.3 Irrespective of the arguments by the traditionalist who questioned the
adoption of science in the study of politics citing the complexities
inherent in the study of man’s social life, political scientists
(Behaviouralist) in their quest to understand political phenomena have
adopted the scientific methods to create an intellectual discipline
involving quantitative research methods.
SAQ 4.1 In the normative-philosophical approach, the study of politics is
dominated by philosophical reflections on universal political values that
were regarded as essential to the just state and the good state, while in the
descriptive-institutional approach to political inquiry, it main focus is on
the formal structures and agencies of government.
SAQ 4.2A The basic assumption of the behaviouralism or behavioural approach to
the study of politics is that there are certain uniformities in political
behaviour which can be stated as generalizations or theories and which
are capable of explaining and predicting political phenomena.
SAQ 4.2B The post behavioural approach to political inquiry is concerned with the
promotion of political science that would not be as scientific or precise as
possible, philosophical normative, politically relevant but be also socially
responsible. It was eclectic in that it is supported the incorporation into
political science as many perspectives or approaches as can throw light
on the complexities of political life.
SAQ 5.1 Power is the ability to compel obedience through application or threat of
coercion. Authority is the right to exercise power. It is also described as
legitimate power. According to Beetham, Legitimacy is “where power is
acquired and exercised according to justifiable rules and with evidence of
consent”.
SAQ 5.2 While Power is the possibility of imposing one’s will upon the behaviour
of other persons, Influence is devoid of sanctions, coercion and physical
force.
SAQ 11.1 State apparatuses or instruments are concrete structures through which
the state carries out its statutory responsibilities in the political system.
SAQ 11.2 We do not know what makes up your discussion, but your discussion may
include any of the following:

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A. Security Services: also known as the repressive institutions of the

State. Their responsibility includes: the management of violence on
behalf of the State. These security agencies includes the following:
Nigeria the military and police forces, and various para-military
institutions such as the State Security Service (SSS), the Directorate of
Military Intelligence (DMI), the Customs and Immigration Services,
the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt
Practices Commission (ICPC)
B. The Representative Assembly: They are charged with the functions of
for law-making and for overseeing the operations of the government.
Their roles also include and not limited to oversight,
law/policymaking and representational role. In Nigeria, they consist of
the National Assembly, the State Houses of Assembly and the Local
Government Councils.
SAQ 12.1 A political party comprised of men and women united by a common
ideology and who seek to capture state power. Attributes of political
parties include:
(i) Self-conscious determination to capture power and hold power of
decision-making alone or in coalition;
(ii) Adoption of a Manifesto: Political parties usually have a
manifesto, which is a document listing their intentions, aspirations
and objectives.
SAQ 12.2 Pressure groups are organized men and women whose major aim is to
influence government policies for the interest off their members and
sometimes public interest. Attributes of pressure groups include:
(i) lobbying
(ii) strike
SAQ 13.1 A constitution may be defined as those fundamental principles, rules and
regulations, customs and convention by which a country is administered
or governed.
SAQ 13.2 A. Judicial precedents: these are her judicial decisions which are
usually regarded as authoritative.
B. Organic Laws: These are laws that occur or develop gradually and
naturally without being forced or contrived.
C. Philosophical Ideas: The ideas of great philosophers have also
provided important principles that have been incorporated m most
constitutions.
SAQ 13.3 Constitutionalism simply means adherence to the dictates or stipulations
of the constitution. Constitutionalism deals with the rule of law.

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