APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF POLITICS

THE APPROACHES
1. Methodological Methods
a. Quantitative
b. Qualitative
c. Single Case
d. Comparative
2. Analytical
a. Normative
b. Old Institutionalism
c. Behavioral
d. New Institutionalism
3. Philosophical
a. Positivist
b. Interpretevist
c. Constructivist
d. Critical
e. Critical Realism

POLITICS
WHAT IS POLITICS (HEYWOOD)
VIEWS
1. ART OF GOVERNMENT
 Exercise of authority (power)
 Laws are enforced
 Addressing problems
 ART – craft the community to how we want it to be
– It involves balancing acts
 Highly restricted view
More traditional view
 Actors: government officials, politicians (president, cabinet, senators, etc.)
 Reason why we have a negative view of politics is because of the negative view on politicians
2. PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Blurred distinction between public & private
 Government entering into the lives of people
 E.g. One Child Policy in China
a. Public
 Government  police, courts, army, SSS, MMDA
 Taxation managed by the government
 For the good of the community
b. Private
 Business, families, associations, groups
3. COMPROMISE & CONSENSUS
 Particular means of resolving conflict through negotiations and debates
 Seen as a civilized way of acting
 Limitations – nobody gets what they really want
 4. POWER
 Radical and broad view
 Distribution of resources
 Getting people to do what you want them to do
 Exists in every level of social interaction
 Ability to achieve a desired outcome through whatever means possible
 Negative: man as self-interested
 Include feminists, Marxists, etc.; who gets to subjugate the other

OTHER DEFINITIONS OF POLITICS ACCORDING TO:

1. Henry Mayo
 View: Politics as the art of government
 Three Elements that separate the political from the non-political
o Related to Formal Government
o Binding of all members
o Must emerge from conflict and dispute
2. Bernard Crick
 View: Politics as Comprise & Consensus
 Politics is the activity by which differing interests within a given unit of time are conciliated by giving them a
share in power in proportion to their importance to the welfare and survival of the community
3. David Easton
 View: Politics as the art of government
 Politics is the authoritative allocation of Social Values
4. Harold Lasswell
 View: Politics as Power and distribution of resources
 Politics is who gets what, when, and how
5. Hannah Arendt
 View: Politics as public affairs
 Politics is the most important of human activity
 It deals with the interaction amongst free men and equal citizens
 It thus gives meaning to life and affirms the uniqueness of each individual
6. Robert Goodin & Hans-Dieter Klingemann
 View: Politics as power and distribution of resources
 Politics is the constrained use of social power

METHODOLOGICAL METHODS
QUALITATIVE & QUANTITATIVE
CONTASTING QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH (MAHONEY)
QUALITATIVE APPROACHES (VROMEN)
 Strengths:
o The individual is able to express his thoughts in his own language
o Looks into the experiences of every individual more deeply
 Weaknesses:
o Data might be misinterpreted by the researcher
o Fails to provide concise information due to lack of data
QUANTITATIVE METHODS (JOHN)
 Strengths:
 o Gives accurate information in terms of statistics
o Assures scientific explanation
 Weaknesses:
o Fails to look into deeper meanings; cannot explain “why”
o Does not focus on what is vital, only mere numbers
SINGLE CASE
THE COMPARATIVE METHOD (HOPKIN)
COMPARATIVE
 Strengths:
o Able to contrast situations across countries
o Allows to see the organizational structure of a country’s state
 Weaknesses:
o May choose wrong determinant
o Cannot cover all relevant information

ANALYTICAL
NORMATIVE
OLD INSTITUTIONALISM
BEHAVIORAL
NEW INSTITUTIONALISM
PHILOSOPHICAL
POSITIVIST
INTERPRETIVIST
INTERPRETIVE THEORY (RHODES)
CONSTRUCTIVIST
CRITICAL
CRITICAL REALISM