History of political science facts for kids
Political science is a big word for studying how people govern themselves and how power works in society. It's about understanding governments, laws, and how leaders make decisions that affect everyone. Even though the name "political science" is somewhat new, people have been thinking about these ideas for thousands of years! They've explored what makes a good leader, how countries should be run, and what makes a society fair and stable.
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Western Ideas About Politics
Ancient Times
The first big thinkers in Western political science were ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle (who lived from 384 to 322 BC). Many people call Aristotle the "Father of Political Science." He believed that studying politics was super important, even more so than military studies, because it guided how a whole society worked.
Before Aristotle and Plato, people mostly learned about politics from poets, historians, and playwrights. But these philosophers started looking at politics in a more scientific way, trying to understand how things really worked, not just telling stories.
In the powerful Roman Empire, there were people who wrote down history as it happened, like Polybius, Livy, and Plutarch. They didn't just record events; they also looked at why empires rose and fell. At the same time, leaders like Julius Caesar and Cicero were actively shaping history by making political decisions and laws. Even though Caesar was a strong ruler, he made changes that helped the people. Back then, political science was about understanding how rulers governed and how laws affected everyone.
The Romans also adopted ideas from Greek philosophy, especially something called Stoicism. Stoics believed in keeping society stable by everyone doing their part and respecting their roles. Famous Roman Stoics included the philosopher Seneca the Younger and the emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Ideas from India and China
Around the same time, in India, a book called the Arthashastra was written by Chanakya in the 3rd century BC. This book is one of the earliest works on political science in India. It talked about things like how countries should deal with each other, war strategies, and how to manage money for the government.
Even older ideas about politics in India can be found in ancient Hindu texts like the Rigveda and the Mahabharata. Later, the Manusmriti became another important book about politics in India.
In China, philosophies like Confucianism and Taoism are often seen as religions, but they are also very important political ideas. Along with Legalism and Mohism, these ideas came from ancient China during a time called the Spring and Autumn period. This was a "Golden Age" for Chinese philosophy, where many different ideas were openly discussed.
Over time, during the Imperial Period in China, Confucianism became the main political philosophy, often mixed with ideas from Legalism.
Medieval Times
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the study of politics changed. The rise of Christianity in the West brought new ways of thinking about politics. Important works like Augustine of Hippo's The City of God blended old philosophies with Christian ideas, helping to define what was religious and what was political. During the Middle Ages, people in churches and royal courts often discussed political questions, especially about the relationship between the church and the government.
In the Middle East, thinkers like Avicenna and Maimonides kept the ideas of Aristotle alive by writing their own thoughts on his works. Later, thinkers in the Arab world started focusing more on Plato's book Republic, which then became a key text for political philosophy in Judeo-Islamic cultures, seen in the works of Al-Farabi and Averroes.
The Renaissance
During the Italian Renaissance, a famous thinker named Niccolò Machiavelli changed how people looked at politics. In his book, The Prince, Machiavelli said that leaders should focus on what actually works to gain and keep power, even if it means doing things that aren't always "good." He argued against using only idealistic models in politics and is often called the father of the "politics model" of political science. Machiavelli also wrote another book, Discourses of Livy, where he talked about the good things about republics and being a good citizen.
The Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was a time when people focused a lot on reason and science. French philosophers like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot wrote a lot about politics and society. Their ideas were so powerful that they helped spark the French Revolution, which greatly influenced how modern democracies developed around the world.
Like Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes believed that a strong ruler, like a king, was needed to control people's natural selfishness. However, neither of them believed that kings had a "divine right" to rule (meaning God chose them).
John Locke, another important philosopher, disagreed with Hobbes. He believed that people are born with minds like a "tabula rasa" (a blank slate) and that they are naturally reasonable and seek peace. Locke thought that an absolute ruler wasn't necessary because natural laws are based on reason and equality.
The new ideas from the Enlightenment also led to the idea of separating church and state. People started to think that the same scientific methods used to study nature could be used to study society. This is how the "social sciences" began. In 1787, Alexander Hamilton wrote that "The science of politics like most other sciences has received great improvement."
19th Century
In the late 1800s, ideas from Charles Darwin about evolution and natural selection influenced how people thought about society. Many believed that society was always getting better, though this idea was challenged by World War I.
A popular saying among early American political scientists was: "History is past politics and politics present history." This meant that to understand politics now, you had to look at history, and what's happening in politics today will become history tomorrow. Important early professors in the field included Woodrow Wilson (who later became president), John Burgess, and Herbert Baxter Adams.
During the Progressive Era in the United States (from the 1890s to the 1920s), political science became a respected subject in universities. It was also seen as a practical way to solve problems in government. Many cities and states even set up research offices to use these new ideas.
Behavioralism
In the 1930s, a new way of studying politics called Behavioralism became popular in the United States. This approach focused on using objective and measurable ways to understand and predict how people behave politically. Behavioralists believed that political science should gather and analyze facts as carefully and without bias as possible, much like how natural sciences are studied.
This approach looks at the actions and behaviors of individuals – not just the rules of governments or groups. It tries to explain why people act the way they do in political situations.
Systems Theory
Since the 1950s, the idea of a "system" became very important in American political science. David Easton helped explain how this idea could be used to study political behavior. It means looking at politics as a system where different parts (like citizens, government, and laws) interact with each other.
Political Science in Europe
In European universities, political science is often studied alongside law or philosophy. However, American ideas like behavioralism have helped unite political scientists across Europe through groups like the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), which publishes several academic journals.
Political Science in the Soviet Union
In the Soviet Union, political studies were often hidden within other subjects like law or international relations. The government tightly controlled what could be studied and said about politics. After the Soviet Union fell, many political science institutions were closed down, and the field had to rebuild itself. Today, the Russian Political Science Association brings together political scientists from all over Russia.
See also
