Politics and Governance

What are some ways that we tend to engaged ourself in Politics?

Answers. Cases/ intances that we may not even aware that we actually
engaged Subfield of Political Science
 Whenever politicians sqaubble with one onother to get the all
important votes in an election, there it exists.
 When laws and policies are being made in the government,
 Whenever debates ensue over lets say some regulations to be imposed
in a certain home owners association
 Whenever states try to resolve conflicts that may be military, political
and economic in nature.
The impact of Politics on us
 Politics can be seen not only in the government, in the corporate realm
but more mportantly in the way the society is being shaped, defined
and how we actually exists.
Politics: Analyzing a Multifaceted Phenomenon
POLITICS- refers to the practice and theory of influencing other people, which
oftentimes is directed towards decision making or policy formulation but
sometimes it resulted to conflict or conflict ridden situation
 It involves the making of a common decision for a group of
people, that is, uniform decision applying in the same way to all
members of the group but are not all times agreeable to everyone.
 It also involves the use of power by one person to affect the
behavior and manner of thinking of another individual.
 In narrow sense, it refers to achieving and exercising positions of
governance – organized control over a human comminity,
particularly a state.
Etimology of Politics
The word Politics emanates from the word “polis” which means city state in
as much as politics historically refers to the activities that revolve withina
city state.
 In the mid-15 century- it was latinized as ‘’Polletiques”, thus became
politics in Middle English
 The singular politic first attested in English 1430 and comes from
Middle French politique, in turn from Latin politicus, which is the
Latinization of the Greek (politikos), meaning amongts others “of, for,
or relating to citizens, “civil”, “civic”, “belonging to state”
 Definitions of Politics
Below are some compelling definitions of Politics according to different
authors:
1. Politics is the art or science of government, that is concerned with
guiding or influencing governmental policy, and the art or science that
is concerned with winning and holding control over a government.
Politics as the art of government “Politics is not science …. But an art”
CHANCELLOR BISMARCK OF GERMANY
*The art Bismarck had in mind was the art of government, the exercise
of control within society through the making and enforcement of
collective decisions.
2. Politics may refer to political actions, practices or policies or political
affairs or business, especially,
a. competition between competing interest groups or individuals
for power and leadership(as in government)
b. political life especially as a principal activity or profession
c. political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest
practices.
3. According to Laswell(1978) he defines as an activity that generally
refers to an “act of getting what, when and how in the government”

1. COMPARATIVE POLITICS- it is a method used in political science,

characterized by an empirical approach based on the comparative
method. In other words, it is the study of the domestic politics, political
institutions and conflict of countries.
 It involves comparisons among countries and through time within
single countries, emphasizing key patterns of similarities and
differences.
 Arend Lijphart argues that comparative politics does NOT have a
substantive itself, rather a methodological one, which means it
focuses on “the how but does not specify the what of the
analysis”
 It is not defined by the object of its study, but rather by the
method it applies to study political phenomena.
When applied to specific fields of study, Comparative Politics may be
referred as:
A. Comparative Government- the comparative study of
government
B. Comparative Foreign Policy- comparing the foreign
policies of different states in order to establish general
 empirical connections between the characteristic of the
states and the characteristics of its foreign policy.
2. Political Economy (PE)- it is also known as Global Political Economy
 It is an academic discipline that analyzes economics and
international relations.
 It an interdisciplinary that draws on many distinct academic
schools, most notably political economy, political science and
economics and also sociology, history and cultural studies.
Topics that command the substantial attention of scholars of PE
are:
A. International trade- with particular attention to the
politics surrounding trade deals but also significant
work examining the results of trade deals.
B. International development poverty and the role of
institutions in the development
C. International finance
D. Global market
E. Political risk
F. Multi state cooperation in solving trade border
economic problems
G. Structural balance of power between and among
states and institutions
3. International Relations (IR) or International Affairs- in this subfield
conflict, diplomatic affairs, and international and international law is
being studied.
 This field studies relationships among countries, the roles of
sovereignty states, inter- governmental organizations
4. Political Philosophy or Political Theory- it is subfield which studies
classical and modern politics. This subfield aims to discover what
theory suits the characteristic of a good politics.
 This subfield focus also on politics, liberty, justice, property,
rights and law and the enforcement of legal code by authority:
 In vernacular language the term political philosophy often refers
to a general view or specific ethic, political belief or attitude
about politics, and is synonymous to the term political ideology.
 It is the categorization of social thought by a group or by the
persuasion or beliefs of a geo- political mass
 Many political theories are founded as critics toward the existing
political, economic and social conditions of the theorist time.
 It can be considered as a critical tradition of discourse that
provides a reflection on collective life, the uses of collective
power, and resources within a collective setting.
 5. Public Administration- it is the implementation of government policy
and also an academic discipline that studies this implementation and
prepares civil servants for working in the public service
 It deals with the administrative activities of government
 As field of inquiry with a diverse scope its fundamental goal is to
advance management and policies so that government can
function”
 Other definitions are:
the management of public programs
the translation of politics into the reality that citizens see
every day
the study of the government decision making, the analysis
of the policies themselves, the various inputs that have
produced them, and the inputs necessary to produce
alternative policies
 according to Pfiffner, “as the coordination of collective efforts to
implement public policy”
 In broader sense, public administration referred to the work
involved in the actual conduct of the affairs of the government,
regardless of the particular branch concerned.
 In narrow sense, it is referred to the operations of the
administrative branch only, with defined functions of enforcing
the policy as distinct from the policy determining function. It
covers everything the civil agencies of government do, or could
do, to help the body- politic attain its purpose.
 Administration is only means to the attainment of the objectives
of the state.
 Public administration is really part of Political Science, though it
is now regarded and accepted as a separate subject of study.
According to LEONARD D. WHITE, the immediate objective of the art of
public administration is the most efficient utilization of resources at the
disposal of officials and employees.
WOODROW WILSON of USA- considered as the Father of Public
Administration.
 He first formally recognized public administration in an 1887 article
entitled “The Study of Administration”
 Defined public administration as a detailed and systematic execution
of public law, he divided the government institutions into separate
sectors: administration and politics.
 He wrote that it is the object of administration to study and discover
are:
 A. What government can properly and successfully do,
B. How it can do these proper things with the utmost possible
efficiency and at the least possible cost either money or of
energy
Four primarily concepts advocated by Wilson in 1887:
1. Separation of politics and administration
2. Comparative analysis of political and private organizations
3. Improving efficiency with business- like practices and attitudes toward
daily operations
4. Improving the effectiveness of public service through management and
by training civil servants, merit- based assessment.
VON STEIN- taught that public administration relies on many pre- established
disciplines such as sociology, political science, administrative law and public
finance.
 He called public administration as an integrating science and
stated that public administrators should be concerned with both
theory and practice

5. PUBLIC LAW- is that part of law which governs relationships between

individuals and the government, and those relationships between
individuals which are of direct concern to the society.
 It comprises constitutional law, administrative law, tax law and
criminal law. In public law mandatory law prevail.
 Law concerning relationships between individuals belong to
private law.
Importance of Political Science:
Government- is an institution that has an authority to oversee a country or a
state
Importance of Government:
1. It exists as the primary institution in which the state is able to carry out
its will.
2. It is the primary vehicle for governance to take place
3. It is the agency and instrument for change and mobilization
4. It act as a stabilizing factor to ensure that order can be achieved both
in the state in particular as well as in the society in general.

Classifications of governments
There are ways in which governments can be classified, the following are
some of the most common ways of categorizing governments:
A. According to the Geopolitical Distribution of Power-
This corresponds to where the power to exercise is located
1. UNITARY SYSTEM- the power to govern is the national or central
government.
 Is a state or sovereign state governed as a single entity in
which the central government is the supreme authority.
The central government may create or abolish
administrative divisions. Such units exercise only the
powers that the central government chooses to delegate.
Examples are: Great Britain, Italy and France developed unitary
governments as they emerged from a small kingdoms. The
Philippines is also a unitary government in as much policies and
decisions are emanated from a central government following a
hierarchical structure.

2. FEDERAL SYSTEM-the power to govern is shared between

national and local levels. There exists a central government but
there are also autonomous state.
Examples: the US and its 50 states. This has been proposed for
the Philippines a possible substitute to the current Unitary
system.
3. CONFEDERACY- a loose organization of independent states that
held together by a week central government.
 It is also known as Confederacy or League) is a union of
political units for common action in relation to other units.
 Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a
common constitution,
 confederation tend to be established for dealing with
critical issues such as defense, foreign affairs or a common
currency with the central government being required to
provide support for all members. An example is Canada,
the European Union and the Switzerland
B. As to who possess the power to govern – this classification of
government corresponds to who actually possess the power to govern.
Traditionally it is classified as:
1. Government of one as in the case of monarchial states
2. Government of a few as in the case of oligarchic rulings
3. Government of the many as in the case of Democracy
A Government of “One”
1. Autocracy- any system of government in which the power and
authority to rule are in the hands of a single individual. Historically, this
is maintained by the ruthless use of military or police power.

Examples of Autocracy
a. TOTALITARIAN / DICTATORSHIP- a single leader seeks
to control all aspects of social and economic life.
Totalitarian dictators are:
 Adolf Hitler of Greater German Reich/ German
Reich
 Joseph Stalin of Soviet Union
 Fidel Castro of Cuba

b. DICTATORIAL RULE- is a form of government where

a country is ruled by one person or political entity,
and exercise through various mechanisms to ensure
the entity’s power remains strong.
Dictator leaders are:
 Ferdinand E. Marcos of Philippines
 Suharto of Indonesia
2. Monarchy – traditionally ascribed to the power to govern given to kings
and queens, emperors, Czars, Sultans and the like.
 Emperor – a sovereign ruler of great power and rank, especially
one ruling empire

 Czar- is a Russian word for ruler or emperor. Those kinds of

Czars are long gone, but we still use the word to describe people
in charge of something important.

 King – is a man from a royal family who is the leader of a

country, and Queen is a woman from a royal family who is a
leader of country. Their children are called princes and princess,
and they will one day grow up to become kings and queens.

 Sultan- the word sultan comes from the Arabic Language which
means “strength, authority or rulership or king. It came to be
used as the title of certain Muslim rulers who claimed full
sovereignty. Originally according to the Quran, SULTAN means
moral or spiritual authority; the term later came to denote
political or governmental power and from the 11 th century was
used as a title by Muslim sovereign.
 Two types of Monarchy:
 Absolute Monarchy- these type of monarchy have complete
and unlimited power to rule their people. Example king of Saudi
Arabia, today they are rare but they ruled Western Europe from
1400’s – 1700’s.
 Constitutional Monarchy/ Limited Monarchy- in this type,
the monarch does not possess the real power to govern. Serves
mainly as ceremonial leaders of their government. The power to
govern is normally vested in the hands of the Presidents or PM.

Prime Minister is the head of the executive in the UK leads the

parliament. He is the leader of the party that wins the most seats
at a general election. Historically, the monarch can dismiss and
choose a personal choice of successor.

Two house system of Parliament:

 House of Commons- is the lower house. The main role of
this house is to introduce, debate and pass bills. Its
members are elected.
 House of Lords- upper house, they have similar functions to
the House of Commons. It scrutinizes legislation, holds the
government to account, and considers report upon public
policy. Not elected

A GOVENRMENT OF THE “FEW”

1. Aristocracy- is a form of government that places in the hands of a
small, privileged ruling class.
 The term derives from the greek aristokrata, meaning “rule of
the best”
2. Oligarchy- any system of government in which a small group holds the
power.
 As in dictatorships, oligarchies usually suppress all political
opposition-sometimes ruthless.
 In here exists the rule of the wealthy whose policy framework are
directed against the poor and the marginalized.
 It is a government ruled by the few, especially despotic power
exercised by a small and privileged group for corrupt or selfish
purposes.
 Aristotle used the term oligarchia to designate the rule of the few
when it was exercised NOT BY THE BEST but by the bad men
unjustly.
A GOVERNMENT OF THE MANY
1. DEMOCRACY- any system of government in which the rule is by the
people.
LINCOLN- described it as “government of the people, by the people,
and for the people.
 It is a government in which the sovereign power is vested in the
majority of people
 It is one in which the sovereign power rests in the hands of the
populace, but it is exercised by the representatives, either
chosen by popular vote or appointed by those chose.
 Democracy- literally, rule by the people.
 This type of government is one in which everyone has a say in
the act of governing either directly or indirectly and where
institutions are all aimed at increasing the power based
attributed to the people.

2. Direct Democracy- the people govern themselves by voting on issues

individually as citizens. No country has a government based on direct
democracy.

3. Representative Democracy or indirect democracy- the people elect

representatives and give them the power to make laws and conduct
government.

 This is considered to be the most efficient way to ensure the

rights of the individual citizen
 It is also reffered to as indirect democracy.
 It is a form of democratic government which vest the sovereign
power in the people but is exercised by the representatives
chosen by the popular vote or appointed by those chosen.
 It derives all its powers, directly or indirectly from the great body
of the people administered by person holding their offices during
pleasure, for a limited period, or during a good behavior
 It is form of government present in the Philippines
Feautures of an ideal democracy
1. Effective participation- befor a policy is adopted or rejected, the people
have opportunity to make their views about the policy known to other
members.
2. Eqaulity in voting- people have the opportunity to vote for or against
the policy, and all votes are counted as equal
3. Informed electorate- people have the opportunity, within a reasonable
amount of time, to learn about the policy and possible altenative
policies and their likely consequences.
4. Citizen control of the agenda- the people decide what matters are
placed on the decision- making agenda and how they are placed there.
5. Inclusion- each and everyone is entitled to participate in the
association in the ways just described.
6. Fundamental rights- each of the necessary features of ideal democracy
prescribes a right that is in itself a necessary feature of ideal
democracy.

the fundamental rights of men are:

 Everyone has the right to communicate with others,
 the right to have his vote counted equally with the votes of
others
 a right to gather information
 a right to participate on an equal footing with other
members
 and the right to exercise control over agenda.

4.