PHILIPPINE POLITICS, GOVERNANCE AND CITIZENSHIP

WEEK 1: POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE

B. THE STUDY OF POLITICS: POLITICAL SCIENCE
A. NATURE AND DEFINITION OF POLITICS
 “Politics exists because people disagree about the aims  Political science is a classical discipline that deals with
and objects of human endeavor and, probably even more the study of political phenomena. Its goal is to
so, about the methods to be used in achieving them” (S. G. deepen human understanding of the forms and nature of
Richards, 1978). In his book, The Nature of Politics and political action and to develop theoretical tools for
Government. Introduction to British Government, interpreting politically meaningful phenomena.
Richards cited that human beings differ enormously in  Political science focuses on the theory and practice of
temperament, in what they want from life and in their government and politics at the local, state, national, and
reactions to the numerous problems that they have to international levels. (Political Science Department,
cope with. These differences produce different University of Washington, (2021)
attitudes to public issues and lead to the activity of https://www.polisci.washington.edu/
politics. Politics therefore involves conflict. This can result  Political Science deals with the systematic study of
in violence, as in many of the developing countries, but in political structures, political processes and political
the Western democracies the differences are usually behavior.
resolved peacefully. Richards opined that “A  Sartori, G. (1969) pointed out in his book From the
disagreement in which incompatible policies are Sociology of Politics to Political Sociology, “Political
advocated can only be resolved ultimately by one side approaches and research methods are largely decided by
obtaining the power to make its viewpoint prevail over the kind of evidence which is available for the units, and
the other. The acquisition of power therefore is a the kind of problems with which one deals." In using the
prerequisite of achieving political objectives.” Thus, is term "approach" we mean a particular orientation or
the nature of politics. point of view in looking at and interpreting the world of
politics.
POLITICS:
The term “politics” is generally applied to behavior within civil
governments, but politics has been observed in all human 1. The Traditional Approach
group interactions. It consists of social relations involving Traditional approach to the study of political science is
authority or power, the regulation of political units, a combination of views on and orientations to politics in
and the methods used to formulate and apply social policy. philosophical, ethical and institutional terms. Since the time of
Plato and Aristotle, the great issues of politics have revolved
around the organization and functioning of the state- the
Politics is the way in which we understand and order our political institution par excellence. Traditional approaches
social affairs, and acquire greater control over the exhibit certain well-defined features, such as: (a) are largely
situation. (B. Pomton and P. Gill, Politics, Introduction. (New normative and stresses on the values of politics, (b) emphasize
York: Basil Blackwell, 1982, p.6.) on the study of different political structures and institutions,

Tuibeo, (1998) defined Politics as the strategy for maintaining The traditional approach has various forms:
cooperation among people with different needs and ideals in a) Philosophical-This approach firmly believes that values
life, or for resolving the conflict within the group, whether this cannot be separated from the study of politics and political
is a family, a tribe, a village or a nation-state. (Amable G. system. Therefore, its main concern is to judge what is good or
Tuibeo, “Politics and Governance: A Critical Introduction bad in any political society.
(Makati: Grandwater Publication, 1998), p.1.
b) Historical-As the name of this approach is related to history,
Political Scientist Harold Lasswell, (1936) author of a major it emphasizes on the study of history of every political reality to
study of the distributive consequences of political activity, analyze any situation.
gave his book the title, Politics--Who Gets What, When, and
How. Lasswell, in effect, defined "politics" as involving c) Institutional-This approach is concerned with the study
questions as to "who gets what, when, and how." Politics, of formal structures and institutions like legislature,
according to Lasswell, is concerned with determination, by executive, judiciary, political parties, etc.
official governmental decision making and action, of:
d) Legal- This approach is concerned with the legal process,
1. Who in political society receives what benefits, rewards, legal bodies or institutions, justice and independence of
and advantages and how much of them they receive, judiciary.
2. when they receive the benefits, rewards, and advantages,
and
3. the methods by which they receive them. 2. The Behavioral Approach
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PHILIPPINE POLITICS, GOVERNANCE AND CITIZENSHIP
The behavioral approach to political science mainly happening around you or someone you know, you want to
emphasizes on scientific, objective and value free study of be aware if someone is breaking the law. It is very important
political phenomenon. This approach stresses upon the use to know what is happening around you.
of empirical as well as scientific methods of study political
behavior. This approach shifts its emphasis from the study of Another reason you should care about politics is
the state and government to the day-today problems, activities because you should have a say in what will happen.
and behavior of individuals and groups. Everyone should have a say in what will happen, because we all
live side by side with each other, and it would not be fair if
someone was left out. Also, each vote makes a difference in the
The Behavioral Approach has the following characteristics: ways that we live. It is always important to share your opinion.
a) Regularities -believes that there are certain uniformities The way you vote will affect many people, and their everyday
in political behavior which can be expressed in life.
generalizations or theories in order to explain and predict
political phenomena.
b) Verification -emphasizes testing and verifying everything. Finally, you should care about politics because the
According to the behaviorists, what cannot be verified is not decisions people make will affect many lives. For example,
scientific. if someone wanted to build on land, it might be good for the
c) Techniques -put emphasis on the use of those research tools people who worked in the area, but residents who lived nearby
and methods which generate valid, reliable and comparative and loved the land and relied on the land for water and food,
data. might be devastated. Sometimes things that sound like good
d) Quantification -After collecting data, the researcher should ideas might be very devastating later.
measure and quantify those data.
e) Values -believe that to do objective research one has to be
value free.
f) Systematization -research in Political Science must be These are just a few reasons why you should care about
systematic. Theory and research should go together. politics. Politics are very important and very complicated.
g) Pure Science -believes that the study of Political Science Some people might not care about politics, but when
should be verified by evidence. something bad happens, they will regret not voting.
h) Integration -Political Science should not be separated
from various other social sciences like history, sociology and
economics, etc. In 2018, the Quora, an American question-and-answer
website where questions are asked, answered, followed, and
edited by Internet users, either factually or in the form of
C. IMPORTANCE OF POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT opinions, asked the question Why Are Politics Important in
The Centre Daily Times, a daily newspaper located in State This Society? The most notable answer was given by a
College, Pennsylvania in the United States, held an opinion certain Vaibhav Narula, Autodidact Philosopher. (August 15,
survey (2016) on The Importance of Politics and gathered 2018)
several responses. Alexis Mortensen, made the most incisive
and meaningful response. Here is the transcript of her answer Because politics affects our daily life more than we
to the survey question: know. Politics is the science of optimum allocation of resources
for the betterment of everyone. It requires great understanding
It is very important to care about politics because you and skills. Common man too needs to have a basic grasp of
should know what is going on around you. Also, it is important politics specially in a democracy - which is essentially a system
to have a say in what is going on around you. The political of check and balances. A democracy is not run by the
decisions people make will affect many lives. Many people see government alone but by both the citizens and the government.
politics as the government and the laws being made, and A society that is politically aware is a society that cares about
that is true, but it is way more complicated than that. Every its people’s well-being. As best put in the words of Bertolt
law that is made will impact many. Sometimes the decisions Brecht:
will affect people in a bad way. Every vote that you make will
either break people or make people. “The worst illiterate is the political illiterate, he
doesn’t hear, doesn’t speak, nor participates in the political
One reason you should care about politics is because events. He doesn’t know the cost of life, the price of the bean,
you should always know what is going on around you. For of the fish, of the flour, of the rent, of the shoes and of the
example, if a new law is made is made in your area, you might medicine, all depends on political decisions. The political
want to make sure that you and the people around you know illiterate is so stupid that he is proud and swells his chest
that a new law has been made so that no one breaks the law saying that he hates politics. The imbecile doesn’t know that,
without even knowing it. Also, if something dangerous is from his political ignorance is born the prostitute, the
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abandoned child, and the worst thieves of all, the bad
politician, corrupted and flunky of the national and
multinational companies.”

D. MEANING OF GOVERNANCE
The World Bank defines governance as the manner in
which power is exercised in the management of a country's
economic and social resources for development. …
Governance has been defined as the rules of the political
system to solve conflicts between actors and adopt decision
(legality).

Etymology of Governance
The word “governance” came from the Latin verb
“gubernare,” or more originally from the Greek word
“kubernaein,” which means “to steer.” Basing on its etymology,
governance refers to the manner of steering or governing, or of
directing and controlling, a group of people or a
state.Governance is essentially related to politics, in that
politics is often defined as the art of governance. Just as politics
talks about governments, institutions, power, order, and the
ideals of justice, governance also deals with the public sector,
power structures, equity, and ideals of public administration.
Nevertheless, they are distinct from each other in the sense
that politics is broader than governance. Traditionally, the
study of politics entails the concept of the “good life” and the
“ideal society,” which are so broad they include a web of
subjects and every possible form of government. The study of
governance, on the contrary, is generally attuned to the
concept of democracy, and on how the government and the
civil society arrive at a decision in meeting their needs.

GOVERNANCE:
 Defined as the “exercise of power or authority by political
leaders for the well being of their country’s citizens or
subjects.
 It is “the complex process whereby some sectors of the
society wield power and enact and promulgate public
policies which directly affect human and institutional
interactions and economic and social development.
 The power exercised by the participating sectors of the
society is always for the common
 good, as it is essential for demanding respect and
cooperation from the citizens and the state. As such, a
great deal about governance is the proper and effective
utilization of resources.
 Good governance is understood through its eight
indicators or characteristics

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