CHAPTER ONE

POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE:

AN INTRODUCTION

MARINET M. SAGADRACA
JHS TEACHER I
What is your
personal
understanding about
politics?
 Share the activities
conducted in your
respective barangays and
the reasons for doing so.
 WHAT POLITICS IS
 “Politics”, in Greek philosopher Aristotle’s
world, was politike, the short form of
politike episteme, or political science.
 This pertained to a practical science
concerned with the noble action or
happiness of the citizens.
 The adjective “political” also traces its
roots to the Greeks. It comes form the
politikos, which means “of, or pertaining
to, the polis” or city state (Miller, 2012).
 David Easton (1965) described
politics as human allocation of values
with the authoritative decision-making
and action by the government which
results in an authoritative allocation for
values for society.
 As such, anything of political value is
considered useful, desirable, good,
attractive, beneficial, advantageous,
and rewarding.
 Harold Laswell (1958), defined
politics as “who gets what, when,
and how.”
 Politics, he wrote, is concerned
with how official governmental
decision-making and action
identifies (1) who in political
society receives how much of what
benefits, rewards, and
advantages, (2) when they receive
such, and (3) the methods by
which they receive such.
 Viewed negatively, politics
pertains to how official
governmental decision-making
and action ascertains (1) who
will be denied which benefits,
rewards, and advantages, (2)
the period of deprivations, and
(3) the manner by which such
deprivations are to be
implemented (Way, 2014).
 WHAT POLITICS INVOLVES

 Politics includes the decision-making

and decision-enforcing processes in
any group that makes and enforces
rules for its members.
 It is the process by which policy-
makers choose the actions they will
and will not take (Ranney, 1999).
 These actions often lead to
disagreements.
 What is good for A may not be good for
B and what is good for B may not be
good for A.
 The task of political scientists is to
consider how people resolve these
disagreements.
In summary, politics involves:
1. an official allocation of things,
activities, ideas, and other phenomena
which society gives importance to;
2. a determination by government of who
should get what benefits, when, and
how; and
3. an analysis of public issues giving rise
to conflict which requires resolution.
 WHAT POLITICAL SCIENCE
IS
 As a social science, political science centers
on the systematic study of political and
governmental institutions.
 In this field of knowledge, the principles,
processes, and structures of political and
governmental institutions are given
importance.
 For example, in a political science class,
students learn the functions of the Philippine
government.
 They also conduct research on how to
improve the country’s electoral processes.
 Moreover, political science students are
made to analyze the nature of power,
tyoes of political leadership and systems
of government, examplesof constitutions
(for instance, the 1987 Philippine
Constitution), and public policy and its
impact to society.
 Early on, political science for the Greek
philosopher Aristotle involves the study
of the work or function of a politician or
statesman.
 The politician’s most important task is
that of a lawgiver.
 HOW TO STUDY POLITICS
 In the Philippine setting, politics can be
studied through the exercise of power by local
political leaders, and the effectiveness of
government institutions and official action.
 Politics is deeply ingrained in Filipino culture,
and it is manifested everywhere: from
appointments to executive and judicial
positions, crafting of economic policies,
lawmaking, processing of applications for
government permits and licenses, to
treatment of high-profile prisoners.
 This is not to say that
politics is evil: on the
contrary, it can be used
for the greater good of the
greater number.
 Otherwise stated, politics
can be used as a tool to
advance public welfare
and national development.
 POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
OTHER DISCIPLINES
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND HISTORY
 Political science is closely related to the
study of history. The word “history” comes
from the Greek word historia, which
means investigation or inquiry. This
etymology gives an idea on how the past
is to be studied.
 Relying on investigative work, a historian
can give a vivid account of the political
history of one country, nation, community,
or group of people.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND ECONOMICS
 Economics traces its origin to the Greek
work oikonomos, which means
“household management” a concept
associated with the individual and family.
 The political leadership adopts the
necessary policies and programs to
achieve economic development.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND SOCIOLOGY
 Sociology comes from the Latin word
socius, which means “partners,
companions, associates, or mates”, and
the Greek word logos, which means “to
study.”
 The social groups includes the family, as
well as professional, religious, and
business associations.
 The interaction often results in conflict,
which the political leaders are compelled
to resolve.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
ANTHROPOLOGY
 Anthropology is derived from the
Greek word anthropos, which means
“man,” and logos, which means “to
study.’
 Insofar as the government is
concerned, an anthropologist can
team up with a political scientist to
trace the roots of the political
leadership in an ethnolinguistic group,
minority group, or a nation itself.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGY
 Psychology deals with human
behavior. This field of study comes
in handy to political scientists, who
can work with psychologists in
interpreting the behavior of voters
during elections, analyzing how
officials treat public funds, and
finding the reasons why the military
acts the way it does during the time
of political crisis.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND GEOGRAPHY
 Geography is derived from the
Greek word geos, which means
“earth,” and graphein, which
means “to write”.
 It is related to political science
because it deals with location,
territory, and resources.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
LAW
 The application of
political science was, for
some time, limited to or
particularly focused on
law and lawmaking.