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Paper prepared by Prof. Omar Hasan Kasule Sr. MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard) DrPH (Harvard) Chairman, Institutional Review Board - KFMC
DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION
• Political science is the systematic analysis of the state and its organs.
• Political science is closely related to sociology, psychology, history, and law.
• Political philosophy is a theoretical study of concepts such as power related to political opinion.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
• Aristotle is considered the father of political science in Europe. Plat o wrote the Republic. Al Mawardi wrote about government.
• As an academic discipline, political science is new having started in the 19th century.
• Study of politics cannot be easily approached from a value-free point of view. It has grown to be a quantitative science relying on the collection and analysis of data on political opinions, attitudes, behaviors, and processes.
• It has also extended from the study of governmental processes to the study of interest groups, political elites, and political parties.
PARADIGMS AND METHODS
• European political science is rooted in the European democratic ethic and is there not objective or value-free.
• Oligarchy is government by a small privileged group for selfish reasons. On the other hand, a government by an aristocracy assumes a small just ruling class.
• Fascism refers to a political ideology and mass movement in the period between the first and second world wars characterized by extreme ethnic nationalism, militarism, opposition to cultural and political liberalism, and despotic rule. Fascism emphasizes the emotional and not the rational in the masses. Extreme nationalism engendered racism and the desire to conquer and rule other nations. Fascists took social positions similar to those of social conservatives. After the second world war, neo-fascist movements continued in Europe. They had the same values and attacked immigrant workers.
• Oligarchy is government by a few for their own selfish interests. This contrasts with aristocracy which is the government by a few who are supposed to have the interests of others at heart. Oligopoly is a situation in which the economy is affected by the actions of a few producers competing with one another. Examples of oligopolies are the steel and the automobile industries.
ISLAMIC EPISTEMOLOGICAL CRITIQUE
ISLAMIC DISCIPLINE INTRODUCTION