Module 1 Political Science and Concepts of State, Nation, and Government

Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. define political science
2. interrelate political science with other branches of learning
3. enumerate the goals in the study of political science
4. differentiate the concepts of state, nation, and government
5. state the purpose and necessity of government
6. cite the different forms of government

Meaning of Political Science

Reduced to its simplest terms, political science is the systematic study of the state and government.
The word “political” is derived from the Greek word “polis, “ meaning a city, or what today would be
the equivalent of a sovereign state. The word “science” comes from the Latin word “scire” which means
“to know.”

1. The science of politics, therefore, has its formal object, a basic understanding of the state and of
principles and ideals which underlie its organization and activities.
2. It is primarily concerned with the association of human beings into a “body politic,” or a political
community (one organized under government and law).
3. As such, it deals with those relations of men and groups which are subject to control by the
state, with the relations of men and groups to the state itself, and with the relations of the state
to other states.

Interrelationship With Other Branches of Learning

Political Science shares many points of interest with other social disciplines:
1. History - The bond between the political scientist and the historian is obvious in the observation
that “ history is past politics and politics is present history.” The political scientist frequently
adopts a “ historical approach” and employs knowledge of the past when he seeks to interpret
present and probable developments in political phenomena.
2. Economics - Until late in the 19th century, political science and economics ( the study of the
production, distribution and conservation, and consumption of wealth ) were coupled under the
name “political economy.” Today these fields are jointly concerned with the fact that economic
conditions affect the organization, development, and activities of states, which in turn modify or
even prescribe economic conditions. The political scientist regularly adopts an “ economic
approach” when seeking to interpret such matters as “ public financial policies” and government
regulation of business.
3. Geography - Geopolitics is a science concerned with the study of the influences of physical
factors such as population pressures, sources of raw materials, geography, etc., upon domestic
and foreign politics. It indicates one approach which a political scientist frequently must adopt
to help explain such phenomena as the early growth of democracy in Great Britain and the
United States and its retarded growth in certain Continental Europe, and the rise of authoritarian
governments in developing countries.
4. Sociology and anthropology - The political scientist, the sociologist (who specializes in the study
of “society as a whole”), and the anthropologist ( who studies ”mankind” in relation to physical,
social, and cultural development) are all deeply concerned with the origins and nature of social
 control and governmental authority, with the abiding influences of race and culture upon society,
and with the patterns of collective human behavior.
5. Psychology - The political scientist, as well as the psychologist, promotes studies of the mental
and emotional processes motivating the political behavior of individuals and groups. One of the
many topics which the political scientist handles from a “ psychological approach” is that of public
opinion, pressure groups, and propaganda.
6. Philosophy - The concepts and doctrines of Plato, Aristotle, Locke, and Rousseau (and other
universal thinkers about the state) are important to the specialist in academic philosophy and
also to the political scientist. These concepts are the underlying forces in the framing of
constitution and laws. The political scientist considers ethics when he contemplates the moral
background of the propose changes in social legislation.
7. Statistics and Logic - The political theorist must possess a broad scientific background and a
knowledge of current political problems, and he must employ scientific methods in gathering and
evaluating data and in drawing conclusion. These involve a proper application of statistical
procedures for the quantitative measurement of social phenomena and of logical procedures for
the analysis of reasoning.
8. Jurisprudence - It is concerned with the analysis of existing legal systems and also with the
ethical, historical, sociological, and psychological foundations of law. A comprehension of the
nature of law (whether the “natural; law” or the “divine law”) and of statutes enacted by
legislatures is indispensable to the political theorist.
Law and state are inseparable. All states proclaim laws, effective within their jurisdiction,
and enforce them through a system, of penalties or sanctions.

Goals in the study of political science:

1. Education for citizenship

2. Essential parts of liberal education
3. Knowledge and understanding of government

CONCEPTS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT

A state is a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion
of territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants render obedience,
and enjoying freedom from external control. The Philippines is a state.
Elements of the state are:
1. People - This refers to the inhabitants living within the state.
2. Territory - It includes not only the fixed portion of land over which the jurisdiction of the state
extends (territorial domain), but also the rivers and lakes therein, a certain area of the sea which
abuts upon its coasts (fluvial and maritime domain) and the air space above the land and the
waters (aerial domain). Thus, the domain of the state may be described as terrestrial, fluvial,
maritime, and aerial.
 3. Government - It refers to the agency through which the will of the state is formulated,
expressed, and carried out.
4. Sovereignty - It is defined as the supreme power of the state to command and enforce
obedience to its will from people within its jurisdiction and corollarily, to have freedom from
foreign control.

ORIGINS OF THE STATE

1. Divine right theory - It holds that the state is of divine creation and the ruler is ordained by God
to govern the people. Reference has been made by advocates of this theory to the laws which
Moses received at Mount Sinai.
2. Necessity or force theory - It maintains that states must have been created through force, by
some great warriors who imposed their will upon the weak.
3. Paternalistic theory - It attributes the origin of states to the enlargement of the family which
remained under the authority of the father or mother. By natural stages, the family grew into a
clan, then developed into a tribe which broadened into a nation, and the nation became a state.
4. Social contract theory - It asserts that the early states must have been formed by deliberate and
voluntary compact among the people to form a society and organize government for their
common good. This theory justifies the right of the people to revolt against a bad ruler.
Functions of the state:
1. Constituent - those which constitute the bond of society, and are, therefore compulsory in
nature.
2. Ministrant - those which constitute the advancement of the physical, economic, social, and
cultural well-being of the people.
Concept of a nation:

A nation is a group of people bound together by certain characteristics such as common social origin,
language, customs, and traditions, and who believe that they are one and distinct from others. The
term is more strictly synonymous with “people.”

State distinguished from nation:

A state is more of a political, judicial or legal concept, while a nation is more of a racial or ethnic
concept. A nation may or may not be independent of external control. A state may consist of one or
more nations while a nation may consist of one or more states.

Inherent Powers of the State:

1. Police power – It is power of the state to regulate individual’s rights and property for the general
welfare

2. Eminent Domain or Power of Expropriation - It is the power of the state to take possession of
private property for public purpose and after payment of just compensation.

3. Power of Taxation - It is the power of the state to enforce proportionate contributions from the
people for support of government programs and services.
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

1. As to the number of persons exercising sovereign powers:

a. Monarchy - or one in which the supreme and final authority is in the hands of a single
person without regard to source of his election or the nature or duration of his tenure.
1. absolute monarchy - or one in which the ruler rules by divine right
2. limited monarchy - or one in which the ruler rules in accordance with a
constitution.
b. Aristocracy - or one in which political power is exercised by a few privileged class which is
known as an aristocracy or oligarchy
c. Democracy - or one in which political power is exercised by a majority of the people
1. Direct or pure democracy - or one in which the will of the state is formulated or
expressed directly and immediately through the people in a mass meeting or
primary assembly rather than through the medium of delegates or
representatives chosen to act for them.
2. Indirect, representative, or republican - or one in which the will of the state is
formulated and expressed through the agency of a relatively small and select
body of persons chosen by the people as their representatives.

2..As to the extent of powers exercised by the central or national government:

a. unitary government - or one in which the control of national and local affairs is exercised by
the central or national government.
b. federal government - or one in which the powers of government are divided between two
sets of organs, one for national affairs and the other for local affairs, each organ
being supreme within its own sphere. The U.S. is a federal government

3..As to relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the government:

a. Parliamentary government - or one in which the state confers upon the legislature the
power to terminate the tenure of office of the real executive.
b. Presidential government - or one in which the state makes the executive constitutionally
independent of the legislature as regards his tenure and to a large extent as
regards his policies and acts, and furnishes him with sufficient powers to
prevent the legislature from trenching upon the sphere marked out by the
constitution as executive independence and prerogative.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT:

On the basis of the above classifications of government, it can be said that the Philippine government
Is a representative democracy, a unitary and presidential government with separation of powers. It also
embodies some aspects of pure democracy such as the constitutional provision on initiative and
referendum.
Under our Constitution, executive power is vested in the President and the Cabinet, legislative
power with the Congress composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives, and judicial power
with the Supreme Court and the lower courts.

Reference: Textbook on the Philippine Constitution by Hector S. De Leon and Hector M. De Leon, Jr.,
2014 Edition. Rex Book Store, Manila, Philippines

Exercise I. Identify the following:

Political Science 1. The science of state and government.

History 2. Past politics
Sociologist 3. Specializes in the study of society as a whole
Economics 4. Production, distribution, conservation, and consumption of wealth
Government 5. The agency through which the state articulate its will.
Philosophy 6. A political concept
Anthropologist 7. An ethnic concept
United States 8. Has a federal form of government
Polis 9. Greek word meaning “city”
Scire 10. Latin word meaning ‘’ to know.”
People 11. Inhabitants living within the state
Limited Monarchy 12. Constitutional monarchy
Sovereignty 13. Supreme power of the state to command and enforce obedience
Eminent Domain 14. The power of expropriation
Statistics and Logic 15. Correct reasoning
Geography 16. Quantitative measurement of social phenomena
Executive 17. President and the Cabinet
Absolute Monarchy 18. Ruler rules by divine right
Legislative 19. Congress composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives
Judiciary 20. Supreme Court and the lower courts

Exercise 2:

1. What are the other branches of learning that are correlated to political science ? Provide a
short description of each.
 History
 Economics
 Sociology and Anthropology
 Geography
 Statistics and Logic
 Psychology
 Philosophy
 Jurisprudence

2. Enumerate the goals in the study of political science.

• Education for citizenship
 • Essential parts of liberal education
• Knowledge and understanding of government

3. List the four essential elements of the state.

 People
 Government
 Territory
 Sovereignty

4. Differentiate state, nation and government.

A nation is a group of people bound together by certain characteristics such as common social
origin, language, customs, and traditions, and who believe that they are one and distinct from
others. The term is more strictly synonymous with “people.” On the other hand a state is a
community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of
territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants render
obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control. Government, meanwhile, refers to the
agency through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed, and carried out. Therefore,
government, state and nation differ from each other.

5. Give the different forms of government.

1. As to the number of persons exercising sovereign powers:

a. Monarchy
 Absolute Monarchy
 Limited Monarchy
b. Aristocracy
c. Democracy
 Direct or pure democracy
 Indirect, representative, or republican

2. As to the extent of powers exercised by the central or national government:

 Unitary government
 Federal government

3. As to relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the

government:
 Parliamentary government
 Presidential government

6. Classify the Philippine Government.

The Philippine government is a representative democracy, a unitary and presidential
government with separation of powers. It also embodies some aspects of pure democracy
such as the constitutional provision on initiative and referendum. Under our Constitution,
executive power is vested in the President and the Cabinet, legislative power with the
 Congress composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives, and judicial power with the
Supreme Court and the lower courts.

Exercise 3: Make a comic strip of each of the origin of the state.

Exercise 4: Write an essay how your family is governed.