Political Science and Other

Social Sciences

Dr. Avinash Samal

Assistant Professor
Hidayatullah National Law University
Raipur, Chhattisgarh
Political Science & Other
Social Sciences
 As a social animal, man’s social life has many
dimensions – political, economic, sociological,
psychological, etc.
 These dimensions of man are inter-connected
leading to interrelationship among various social
sciences.
 Political science, being one of the social sciences
dealing with the political aspect of social man, has
close connections with other social sciences.
 Interdisciplinary approach in social sciences.
 It implies examining and analyzing a specific
problem from the perspective of a number of
disciplines.
Political Science and History
 Political Science & History are very closely connected.
 For a proper understanding of institutions - political,
legal, or social – it is essential to understand the
history.
 The dual function of history is to enable man to
understand the society of the past and to increase
his mastery over the society of the present – E. H.
Carr
 The cause and effect relationship of social
phenomena can be understood by scientific
understanding of history.
 History furnishes the political scientist the raw
materials for comparison and induction and for
understanding an issue in an evolutionary manner.
Cont.
 "History without Political Science has no fruit. Political
Science without history has no root“-Seeley
 "History is past politics and politics is present history" –
Freeman
 Political science is dependent on history for its material,
history supplies only part of its material.
 All political institutions are products of history.
 History is a vast storehouse of facts and information from
which political science draws its relevant materials for
generalizations.
 "With its chronological treatment, history offers the
student of politics a sense of growth and development
and thus affords insight into the process of social
change" - Lipson
Cont.
 Political science has profound influence on history.
 Political ideas of thought leaders have contributed in
shaping human history.
 Political revolutions and political concepts like democracy,
liberty, equality and political ideologies like liberalism,
nationalism and socialism have substantially influenced the
history of societies.
 "To interpret history in its true significance we must study
that politically – Garner
 History assists in understanding the present and can act as
a guide for the future.
 While traditional method relied more on history
behaviouralism with its stress on empirical method has
undermined the importance of historical method in recent
political studies.
Political Science and
Economics
 Politics influences the economic system substantially.
 The state formulates the economic policies and regulates the
economy.
 Production and distribution of wealth, price control, trade,
taxation, government ownership of public utilities, banking,
export-import etc.
 The solution to many economic problems come through
political processes
 Many of the complex problems of the modern state are
essentially economic in character
 Reduction of economic disparity, removal of poverty,
unemployment and the achievement of a welfare state.
Cont.
 Man’s political and social life is profoundly influenced by
economic conditions.
 Karl Marx - politics as a part of political economy and
maintained that economic basis of society influences politics
 Political movements and revolutions are profoundly influenced
by economic causes.
 Political ideologies like liberalism, socialism, imperialism have
an economic basis.
 The political behaviour of man and various organized groups
is influenced by economic factors.
 The main functions of modern welfare state are basically
economic and there are economic motives behind many
political policies.
Political Science and
Sociology
 Sociology is the fundamental social science
 It studies all aspects of the life of man in society.
 No two social sciences are as closely related as political
science and sociology.
 Sociology has a much wider scope than pol. science.
 Being primarily a study of the state and government,
political science deals with the man in his political
relations.
 Sociology deals with man in all his social relations -
both organized and unorganised communities and
groups, while political science is concerned with
organised political communities.
 The subject of sociology is social man and that of
political science is political man.
Cont.
 "Sociology derives from political science
knowledge regarding the organization and
activities of the state, while political science
derives in large measure from sociology its
knowledge of the origin of political authority
and the laws of social control". – Garner
 State and politics cannot be studied
objectively without an understanding of the
general laws of social development.
 Political institutions and processes are
influenced by social forces and factors.
Cont.
 Not only does sociology influence political
science, but politics also influences the social
system.
 The political system controls and regulates
social forces and customs.
 Politics engineers the process of peaceful
social change and is engaged in maintaining
social stability and cooperation.
 Political control is the most important and the
most effective among all forms of social
control.
Cont.
 Borrowing of concepts, methods and techniques of
research
 Robert K Merton, Max Weber
 Behaviouralism - Interdisciplinary study of political
science and sociology got tremendous fillip with the
behavioural revolution in Political science
 Political sociology has emerged as a result of the
interaction between political science and sociology.
 “Politics has got socialised and society has got
politicised in the present times to such an extent
that politics cannot be studied in isolation from
sociology” - Giovanni Sartori
Political Science and
Psychology
 Psychology is the science of mental attitudes
and human behaviour. It studies human
instincts, attitudes, sentiments and emotions.
 As scientific study of social phenomena must
have a psychological basis, psychological
factors have become increasingly important for
understanding what people believe about
politics and how they act in political situations.
 Study of political behaviour has assumed great
significance under the impact of
behaviouralism in political studies.
Cont.
 Governments to be stable and popular must
take care of the wishes, aspirations and moral
sentiments of the people who are subject to
its control.
 Modern governments have devised innovative
methods of the psychological manipulation of
the masses.
 Public opinion is being moulded by ingenious
propaganda as in politics the art of controlling
the mass mind is increasingly becoming the
key to political power and stability.
Political Science and Ethics
 Political science has close historical links with
philosophy and ethics.
 The study of state in Greece was a part of
ethics initially.
 Ethics as a branch of study investigates the
laws of morality and formulates rules of
conduct.
 It is the science of the moral order while
political science is the science of the political
order.
 Both deal with questions of right and wrong,
good and bad, just and unjust.
Cont.
 The concept of “Ideal State” - In his 'Republic‘, Plato
argued that the state should train men in a life of virtue.
 The end of the state, according to Aristotle, is good life
for the citizens.
 State as an ethical institution which creates conditions
for the fullest development of human personality -
Modern idealists like Rousseau, Kant, Hegel and Green
have accepted this
 "The great question is to discover, not what governments
prescribe, but what they ought to prescribe“- Lord Acton
 What is morally wrong can never be politically right- Fox
 Gandhi's lasting contribution to politics is his insistence
upon the spiritualization of politics i.e., application of
truth, non-violence, love, self-suffering.
Cont.
 The state exists to promote social and moral
good on the largest possible scale.
 The end of the state has been formulated by
the greatest political thinkers in terms of
moral values.
 A good citizen is possible in a good state and
perfect state cannot be conceived where
wrong ethical principles prevail.
 Laws are obeyed with greater readiness if
they are based on the moral ideas of the
community.
Cont.
 Politics also influences ethics - It safeguards the ethical
norms of a society.
 The state acts as the guardian of social morality.
 The attempts of some contemporary political scientists to
create a value-free political science have not been
successful.
 David Easton - "The goal of value-free research is a
myth... The utility of political research stems from the
fact that it helps men to decide upon the kind of political
system they would prefer and to understand how to go
about changing social policy to obtain it. The inspiration
behind political science is clearly ethical."
Political Science and
Jurisprudence
 Jurisprudence - as the science of law
 The state is a social phenomenon as well as a
legal institution.
 From the legal point of view, the state is a
person with rights and duties. It has a juristic
personality subject to the process of law.
 The state operates through law and hence
jurisprudence is closely related to politics.
 Strictly jurisprudence is a subdivision of political
science but on account of its vast scope and
technical nature it is studied as a separate
branch of study.
Cont.
 Jurisprudence has several branches, namely, civil law,
criminal law, constitutional law, international law etc.
 Constitutional law defines the organs of the state, their
relations to one another, and the rights and duties of
individuals.
 International law regulates the relations of states and
various international organizations:
 Law influences politics, politics also influences law.
 Different political systems have different legal systems;
Laws tend to be a reflex of a particular social pattern and
are influenced by the nature of the political system.
Political Science and
Anthropology
 Anthropology deals with man as a social being.
 It deals with the origin, classification and relations of
races, languages and cultures found in different
localities.
 Politics uses the vast material gathered by anthropology.
 Physical anthropology dealing with the conditions of
primitive men and their environment facilitates the study
of the origin and evolution of various political
institutions.
 Similarly social or cultural anthropology dealing with the
growth and interpretation of customs, traditions, habits
and religious beliefs etc., explains the forces and factors
operating in political institutions.
 Anthropological data have assumed great importance in
the study of the formation of national character.
Political Science and
Geography
 Area/territory constitutes an important element of the state.
 Emphasis on the influence of geographical conditions and
physical environment upon national national policies – most of
them are often determined by such conditions.
 The influence of climate, topography, character of the soil, the
presence or absence of mountains, rivers and outlets to the sea
has been emphasized by various political thinkers from
Aristotle to the present.
 Geostrategic position of a state and the geographical factors
are seen as determinants of state policy and governmental
functioning
 ‘Geopolitics’ has emerged as an important area of study
 Since territory is an important element of the state,
geographical factors naturally influence political activities.
 These factors have assumed great significance especially in the
field of defence strategy.
Political Science and
Statistics
 Statistics is concerned with systematic collection, analysis
and presentation of numerical data.
 A means through which a picture of existing political and
social conditions could be obtained.
 Social phenomena and the results of governmental action
are quantitatively measured by it.
 Statistical findings serve as a guide for administrative
action, as a basis for legislation, and as a means for testing
the expediency or effectiveness of public policies.
 All governments collect statistical information concerning
finance, trade, military and economic resources, social
conditions of the people etc.
 Behavioural approach to the study of political science
emphasised on statistical methods (quantification,
techniques), thereby contributing a lot to the scientific
character of political science.
Summing Up
 Existence of an intimate relationship between
political science and other social sciences
 A proper understanding of political
institutions, processes and phenomena calls
for a thorough understanding of the socio-
economic and other systems and hence the
reliance upon a number of sister disciplines.
 Interdisciplinary approach to the study of
social sciences has resulted in the blurring of
rigid boundaries of various disciplines and
highlighting the need for mutual exchange
and interaction among social scientists.