4 4-regional & national political science

The Computer & Social Science Disciplines
The Computer Sciences The Social Sciences
Dr. L.T.M. Muungo, PhD

Concept of Political Science
in
Social Environment
Dr. L.T.M. Muungo, PhD

Meaning of political science
 Traditional view point-: political science is the
study of state and government and the study of
various aspects of the state and government is its
subject matter.

 Modern view point-: the modern thinkers have
brought all such activities under the scope of
political science which are concerned with power,
influence authority, shaping and sharing of power
etc and with all this the scope of political science
has become quit vast. Today all the political
activities, from individual upto the world have
become the subject matter of political science.

Scope of political science according
to traditional point of view
 Study of state
 Study of the past of the state
 Study of the present of the state
 Study of the future of the state
 Study of the government
 Study of international relations and organizations
 Study of the man as a political being
 Study of political ideologies

 Study of political parties
 Study of pressure groups
 Study of rights and duties
 Study of the electoral system
 Study of law

Scope of political science according
to modern point of view
Study of political system
Study of power
Study of influence
Study of leadership
Study of the authority
Study of authorative allocation of values
Study of problems and conflict

 Study of who gets what when and how
 Study of decision making process
 Study of the political behaviour of an individuals
 Study of political culture
 Study of political socialization
 Study of comparative government and politics

Distinction between Political Theory
and Political Science
Meaning of Political Theory It is a
branch of political science under which scientific
analysis is made of political institutions, political
events and political facts etc. it is not concerned
with the explanation of the facts only, rather its
purpose is also to draw some conclusion after
making the analysis of political events, political
institutions, political system and political
behaviour etc on the basis of which we can
visualise of an ideal state, ideal government and
other ideal institutions.

 Political science is a independent subject whereas
political theory is branch of it
 Political theory is the so what? Department of
political science
 Difference in their subject matter
 Political theory make political science a science
 Difference in their method of study

 Political science has many branches whereas
political theory has none
 Political is institutional study whereas political
theory is conceptual study
 The study of political science is analytical whereas
the study political science is explanatory
 Theory building is the field of political theory not
political science

Conclusion
There is no doubt that there are many
differences between political science and political
theory, but there is as close relationship between
these two as there is between body and soul.
Through political theory is not an independent
subject, yet we can certainly call it the soul of
political science.

References
 Aggarwal R.C., Principles of Political Science, S.Chand Company, New
Delhi, 1976.
 Badyal, J.S, Political Theory, Raj Publishers, 2012, Jalander.
 Garner James Wildford, Political Science and Government, The World Press
Priviate LTD. Calcutta, 1951.
 Gauba O.P, An Introduction to Political Theory, Macmillan Publisher,
Delhi, 2009.
 Heywood Andrew, Political Theory An Introduction, Palgrave Macmillan,
New York, 2005.
 Misra K.K & Iyengar Kalpana. M, Modern Political Theory, S.Chand
Company, New Delhi, 1988.
 Ray Amal, Political Theory Idess and Institutions, The World Press Priviate
LTD. Calcutta, 1988
 Johari J.C, Principles of Modern Political Science, Sterling Publishers, New
Delhi, 1989.

 History of Political Science
 Recent debates
 Specific Research Programs
 Duverger’s Law (Riker)
 Realignment literature (Mayhew)

Almond’s History
 Place of political theory
 The Behavioral revolution
 Foundations of behavioralism
 Reaction to existing methods of political science
 The quantitative divide

Tenets of Behavioralism
 Emphasis on discovering regularities
 Generalization through “covering laws”
 Focus on causality
…very Popperian

Reactions to Quantification
 Statistical methods and Rational Choice theory
 One and the same?
 Battle between quantoids and non-quantoids

“Some may question the coupling of deductive theory and
quantitative research under the one rubric of “hard
science.” Quantitative researchers do at least
schematically empirical work, whereas most deductive
theorists use empirical data only for anecdotal
illustration. But it was radical quantifiers, those who
analyze all questions with statistics, who first deformed
the discipline in the name of hard science. It was they who
popularized the study of politics outside of its historical
and cultural setting, who made methodology into the core
of graduate education while degrading political
philosophy and foreign language study, and who spawned
the trend toward method-driven rather than problem-
driven research.”
Gregory Kaska (2001)

A clash of Paradigms?
“Mr. Perestroika”
Charges political science with being run by "a coterie" that
"dominate and control" the major scholarly journals and
impose "the same methodology" on everyone, thereby
"ignoring diverse knowledges and methodologies."
"Why are all the articles of APSR from the same
methodology–statistics or game theory? … Where is political
history, international history, political sociology, interpretive
methodology?”

More from Kaska
The Perestroika movement is a reaction against
scholars who wish to turn the study of politics into
what Thomas Kuhn called a “normal science.” They
seek to impose a consensus on epistemological and
methodological questions in order to hasten
scientific progress. This group of scholars
comprises mainly rational choice theorists, formal
modelers, and those who do exclusively
quantitative research. I refer to them as advocates
of “hard science.”

What is the end result? The evil of quantification
“Numbers crunchers created [the scientific] approach to
political education; rational choice theorists thrive on it.
Despite their differences, they share the daydream of a
hard science of politics. That is why they have formed a
ruling coalition in economics departments and aspire to
do so in political science.

Concept of Political
Science, State, Politics,
Government, Governance
and Administration

Political Science
It is the systematic study of and
reflection upon politics. Politics
usually describes the processes
by which people and institutions
exercise and resist power.

Political Science is the systematic
study of the state and government.
The word political is derived from the
Greek polis, meaning a city, of what
today would be equivalent of
sovereign state.
Science comes from the Latin scire,
“to know”

Scope of Political Science:
1. Political theory
2. Public Law
3. Public Administration

Political Theory
It refers to the entire body of
doctrines relating to the origin,
form, behaviour, and purposes
of the state are dealt with the
study of political theory.

Public Law – the (a)
organization of governments, (b)
the limitations upon government
authority, (c) the powers and
duties of governmental offices
and officers, and (d) the
obligations of one state to
another are handled in the study
of public law.

Private Laws are the one which
govern the relations among
individuals, public law is so
specialized that separate courses
offered in each of its
subdivisions, namely: (a)
constitutional law, (b)
administrative law, and (c)
international Law.

Public Administration -
attention is focused upon
methods and techniques used
in the actual management of
the state affairs by executive,
legislative, and judicial
branches of government.

N.B, today, legislative bodies
have been forced to delegate
greater discretion to executive
officers responsible for the
conduct of government policies
and powers. Thus we find many
administrative agencies
exercising quasi-legislative and
quasi-judicial powers.

Interrelationship of Political
Science with other branches of
learning:
1. History
“History is past politics and
politics is present history.”

Political Scientist adopts a
“historical approach and
employs knowledge of the past
when he seeks to interpret
present and probable
developments in political
phenomena.

2. Economics
Refers to the study of
production, distribution, and
conservation, and consumption
of wealth.

Political Scientist adopts an
“economic approach” when
seeking to interpret matters like
public financial policies and
government regulation of
business.

3. Geography Geopolitics
It is 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.

4. Sociology & anthropology
It is deeply concerned with the
origins and nature of social control
and governmental authority, with
the abiding influences of race and
culture upon society, & with the
patterns of collective human
behavior.

5. Psychology
It promotes studies of the
mental and emotional processes
motivating the political behavior of
individuals and groups. Particular
topics under this are: public
opinion, pressure groups, and
propaganda.

6. Philosophy
The concepts and doctrines of
Plato, Aristotle & Locke are
important to the specialist in
academic philosophy and also
to the political scientist.

7. Statistics and Logic
Political theorist must have
abroad background &
knowledge of current political
problems and he must employ
scientific methods in gathering
and evaluating the data & in
drawing conclusions.

8. Jurisprudence
This branch of public law is
concerned with the analysis of
existing legal systems & also
with the ethical, historical,
sociological, & psychological
foundations of law.

Concepts of State
Meaning of the State
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.

Elements of State:
1. People
2. Territory
3. Government
4. Sovereignty
5. Recognition

1. People
This refers to the mass of population
living within the state. There is no
requirement as to the number of people
that should compose a state. But it
should be neither too small nor too large:
small enough to be well-governed and
large enough to be self-sufficing.
The smallest state is Vatican. China has
the largest population.

2. Territory
Components of Territory:
1. Terrestrial/land mass
2. Aerial
3. Fluvial
4. Maritime Domain

The smallest state is Vatican
State with an area of 0.43
square kilometres. It would fit
in Rizal Park in Manila. The
biggest state is Canada with
an area of 3,852,000 square
miles which covers a surface
nearly as large as Europe.

Zambia has a total land area of
about …… square kilometres .
3. Government
It refers to the agency through
which the will of the state is
formulated, expressed and
carried out.

4. Sovereignty
It is the supreme power of the
state to command and enforce
obedience to its will from
people within its jurisdiction,
and to have freedom from
foreign control.

Two manifestations of Sovereignty:
1. Internal or the power of the state
to rule within its territory;
2. External or the freedom of the
state to carry out its activities without
subjection or control by other states.
External sovereignty is often referred
to as independence.

N.B these internal and external
aspects of sovereignty are not
absolutely true in practice
because of the development of
international relations and
consequently international law.

5. Recognition
1.Legal sovereignty is the possession of
unlimited power to make laws. It is the
authority by which law has the power to
issue commands.
2.Political sovereignty is the sum total of all
the influences in a state which lie behind
the law. It is roughly defined as the power
of the people.

What is imperium? Dominium?
Imperium is the right of the State to pass or
enact its own laws and employ force to
secure obedience thereto, maintain peace
and order within its territorial limits, defend
the State against foreign invasion, and do
any other act of government over its people
and territory.

Dominium refers to the independent
proprietary right of possession, use,
conservation, disposition or sale, and
control by the State over its territorial
lands.

Characteristics of Sovereignty
1. Permanence;
2. Exclusivity;
3. Comprehensiveness;
4. Absoluteness;
5. Individuality;
6. Inalienability; and
7. Imprescritibility

Permanence means it exist in the same form
forever or for a very long time.
Exclusivity means it is limited to a group of
people.
Comprehensiveness means including everything,
so as to be complete comprehensive
knowledge of the subject.
Absoluteness means possessing unlimited
power: having total power and authority.

Individuality means the state or condition of
being separate from others.
Inalienability means it is impossible to take
away or not able to be transferred or taken
away, e.g. because of being protected by
law.
Imprescribility it means not to be taken
away or impossible to remove or violate the
people's imprescriptible rights.

Governance
1. manner of government: the system or
manner of government;
2. state of governing a place: the act or
state of governing a place;
3. authority: control or authority

ADMINISTRATION
It means the management of the
affairs of a business, organization, or
institution.

GOVERNMENT
Forms of Government:
The principal forms are the
following:
1.As to number of persons
exercising sovereign powers;

2. As to extent of powers
exercised by the central or
national government;
3. As to relationship between the
executive and the legislative
branches of the government;
4. As to source of power or
authority:

1. As to number of persons
exercising sovereign powers:
A. Government by one
A1) Monarchy or one in which
the supreme and final authority

is in the hands of a single
person without regard to the
source of his election or the
nature or duration of his tenure.
Monarchies are further
classified into:

Monarchy, form of government
in which one person has the
hereditary right to rule as head
of state during his or her
lifetime; the term is also applied
to the state so governed.

Monarchs include such rulers as
kings and queens, emperors and
empresses, tsars, and kaisers.
Two types of Monarchical
government:
1. Absolute Monarchy or one in
which the ruler rules by divine
right; and

2. Limited monarchy or one in
which the ruler rules in
accordance with a constitution.
The power of the monarch
varies from absolute to very
limited; the latter is exemplified
in modern-day constitutional
monarchies.

A2 Authoritarian or one in which
the supreme power of the
dictator whose power is usually
through force.
1. strict and demanding
obedience: favoring strict rules
and established authority;

2. demanding political
obedience: belonging to or
believing in a political system in
which obedience to the ruling
person or group is strongly
enforced.

B. Government by few
B1 Aristocracy or one in
which political power is
exercised by few privileged
class.
1. people of highest social
class: people of noble families
or the highest social class

2. superior group: a group
believed to be superior to all
others of the same kind
3. government by elite:
government of a country by a
small group of people,
especially a hereditary nobility
4. state run by elite: a state
governed by an aristocracy.

B2 Oligarchy
1. small governing group: a
small group of people who
together govern a nation or
control an organization, often for
their own purposes;

2. entity ruled by oligarchy: a
nation governed or an
organization controlled by an
oligarchy;
3. government by small group:
government or control by a
small group of people.

Sources of their power:
1. By birth2. By wealth3. By wisdom
In an aristocracy, although the
power of government is wielded by
a few, theoretically the
administration of government is
carried on for the welfare of the
many.

Whenever the interests of the
people as a whole are made
subservient to the selfish
interests of the rulers,
aristocracy becomes a form of
government known as oligarchy.

C. Government by many
C1 Democracy or one in which
political power is exercised by
the majority of the people. It is
further classified into:

C1.1 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
representatives chosen by the
people to act for them.

C1.2 Indirect, representative or
republican democracy 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 to act as their
representatives.

2. As to 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 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.

Dist. bet. Federal & Unitary Gov’t
Federal states, such as the U.S.
and Switzerland, comprise unions
of states in which the authority of
the central or national government
is constitutionally limited by the
legally established powers of the
constituent subdivisions.

In unitary states, such as
the United Kingdom and
Belgium, the constituent
subdivisions of the state are
subordinate to the authority of
the national government.

Countries with federal political
systems have both a central
government and governments
based in smaller political units,
usually called states, provinces, or
territories. These smaller political
units surrender some of their
political power to the central
government, relying on it to act for
the common good.

In a federal system, laws are
made both by state, provincial, or
territorial governments and by a
central government. In the
United States, for example,
people who live in the state of
Ohio must obey the laws made
by the Ohio legislature and the
Congress of the United States.

Federal political systems divide
power and resources between
central and regional governments.
Central governments decide issues
that concern the whole country,
such as organizing an army,
building major roads, and making
treaties with other countries.

In unitary systems, with laws giving
virtually all authority to the central
government. The central
government may delegate duties to
cities or other administrative units,
but it retains final authority and can
retract any tasks it has delegated.

The central government in a
unitary system is much more
powerful than the central
government in a federal system.

3. As to relationship between the
executive and the legislative
branches of the government:
A. Parliamentary government or
cabinet gov’t. is one in which the
executive and legislative branch of
the government are dependent or
executive branch is part of the
legislative branch.

B. Presidential government or
one in which the state makes
the executive independent from
the legislative.

Distinctions bet. Presidential &
Parliamentary
In parliamentary
governments, of which the
United Kingdom, India, and
Canada are examples, the
executive branch is subordinate
to the legislature.

In presidential governments,
such as in Zambia, the executive
is independent of the legislature
and judiciary, although many of
the executive's actions are
subject to legislative review and
judiciary scrutiny.

4. As to source of power or
authority:
A. De facto is one not so
constituted or founded with the
existing constitution but has the
general support of the people
and has effective control of the
territory over which it exercises
its powers.

B. De Jure is one which is
constituted or founded in
accordance with the existing
constitution of the state but has
no control of the territory.
C. Hereditary & Elective

Checks and
Balances, the doctrine and prac
tice of dispersing political power
and creating mutual
accountability among political
entities such as the courts, the
president or prime minister, the
legislature, and the citizens.

The system of checks and
balances is a basic feature of the
United States government.
The first check comes from the fact
that different branches of the
government have overlapping
authority, so each branch can act
as a limit on the other.

For example, the president can
veto an act of Congress. A two-
thirds majority in Congress can
then override the president’s
veto. The president appoints
major federal officials, but only if
the Senate by majority vote
agrees.

Separation of
Powers, the doctrine and practi
ce of dividing the powers of a
government among different
branches to guard against
abuse of authority.

A government of separated
powers assigns different political
and legal powers to the
legislative, executive, and
judicial branches. The
legislative branch has the
power to make laws.

The executive branch has the
authority to administer the law—
primarily by bringing
lawbreakers to trial—and to
appoint officials and oversee the
administration of government
responsibilities.

The judicial branch has the
power to try cases brought to
court and to interpret the
meaning of laws under which
the trials are conducted.

A government of separated
powers is less likely to be
tyrannical and more likely to
follow the rule of law: the
principle that government action
must be constrained by laws.

A separation of powers can also
make a political system more
democratic by making it more
difficult for a single ruler, such
as a monarch or a president, to
become dictatorial.

The division of powers also
prevents one branch of
government from dominating
the others or dictating the laws
to the public. Most democratic
systems have some degree of
separation of powers.

POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
Liberalism, attitude, philosophy,
or movement that has as its
basic concern the development
of personal freedom and social
progress.

The course of liberalism in a
given country is usually
conditioned by the character of
the prevailing form of
government.

For example, in countries in
which the political and religious
authorities are separate,
liberalism connotes, mainly,
political, economic, and social
reform.

In countries in which a state
church exists or a church is
politically influential, liberalism
connotes, mainly,
anticlericalism.

In domestic politics, liberals
have opposed feudal restraints
that prevent the individual from
rising out of a low social status;
barriers such as censorship that
limit free expression of opinion;
and arbitrary power exercised
over the individual by the state.

In international politics,
liberals have opposed the
domination of foreign policy by
militarists and military
considerations and the
exploitation of native colonial
people, and they have sought to
substitute a cosmopolitan policy
of international cooperation.

In economics, liberals have
attacked monopolies and
mercantilist state policies that
subject the economy to state
control.

In religion, liberals have
fought against church
interference in the affairs of the
state and attempts by religious
pressure groups to influence
public opinion.

Conservatism, a general state o
f mind that is averse to rapid
change and innovation and
strives for balance and order,
while avoiding extremes.
Originally conservatism arose
as a reaction against the Age of
Enlightenment.

Conservatives advocated belief
in faith over reason, tradition
over free inquiry, hierarchy over
equality, collective values over
individualism, and divine or
natural law over secular law.

Conservatism emphasizes the
merits of the status quo and
endorses the prevailing
distribution of power, wealth,
and social standing.

Democracy (Greek demos,”
the people”; kratein, “to rule”),
political system in which the
people of a country rule through
any form of government they
choose to establish.

In modern democracies,
supreme authority is exercised
for the most part by
representatives elected by
popular suffrage.

The representatives may be
supplanted by the electorate
according to the legal
procedures of recall and
referendum, and they are, at
least in principle, responsible to
the electorate.

Socialism, economic and social
doctrine, political movement
inspired by this doctrine, and
system or order established
when this doctrine is organized
in a society.

The socialist doctrine demands
state ownership and control of the
fundamental means of production
and distribution of wealth, to be
achieved by reconstruction of the
existing capitalist or other political
system of a country through
peaceful, democratic, and
parliamentary means.

The doctrine specifically
advocates nationalization of
natural resources, basic
industries, banking and credit
facilities, and public utilities.

It places special emphasis on
the nationalization of
monopolized branches of
industry and trade, viewing
monopolies as inimical to the
public welfare.

It also advocates state
ownership of corporations in
which the ownership function
has passed from stockholders
to managerial personnel.

Capitalism, economic syste
m in which private individuals
and business firms carry on the
production and exchange of
goods and services through a
complex network of prices and
markets.

Capital in this sense means
the buildings, machines, and
other equipment used to
produce goods and services
that are ultimately consumed.

Second, economic activity is
organized and coordinated
through the interaction of buyers
and sellers (or producers) in
markets.

Third, owners of land and
capital as well as the workers
they employ are free to pursue
their own self-interests in
seeking maximum gain from the
use of their resources and labor
in production.

This principle, called
consumer sovereignty, reflects
the idea that under capitalism
producers will be forced by
competition to use their
resources in ways that will best
satisfy the wants of consumers.

Fourth, under this system a
minimum of government
supervision is required; if
competition is present,
economic activity will be self-
regulating.

Communism, a theory and
system of social and political
organization that was a major
force in world politics for much
of the 20th century.

As a political movement,
communism sought to
overthrow capitalism through a
workers’ revolution and
establish a system in which
property is owned by the
community as a whole rather
than by individuals.

In theory, communism would
create a classless society of
abundance and freedom, in
which all people enjoy equal
social and economic status.

In practice, communist regimes
have taken the form of coercive,
authoritarian governments that
cared little for the plight of the
working class and sought above
all else to preserve their own hold
on power.

I. Ancient Political Thinkers:
1. Socrates
2. Plato
3. Aristotle

Greek philosopher and teacher
who lived in Athens, Greece, in the
400s BC. He profoundly altered
Western philosophical thought
through his influence on his most
famous pupil, Plato, who passed
on Socrates' teachings in his
writings known as dialogues.

Socrates taught that every
person has full knowledge of
ultimate truth contained within
the soul and needs only to be
spurred to conscious reflection
in order to become aware of it.

His criticism of injustice in
Athenian society led to his
prosecution and a death
sentence for allegedly
corrupting the youth of Athens.

Attitude towards Politics
Socrates was obedient to the
laws of Athens, but he generally
steered clear of politics,
restrained by what he believed
to be divine warning.

He believed that he had
received a call to pursue
philosophy and could serve his
country best by devoting himself
to teaching, and by persuading
the Athenians to engage in self-
examination and in tending to
their souls.

He wrote no books and
established no regular school of
philosophy. All that is known
with certainty about his
personality and his way of
thinking is derived from the
works of two of his distinguished
scholars: Plato & Xenophon

He was charged in 399 BC with
neglecting the gods of the state
and introducing new divinities, a
reference to the daemonion, or
mystical inner voice, to which
Socrates often referred.

He was also charged with
corrupting the morals of the
young, leading them away from
the principles of democracy.
He was condemned to die,
although the vote was carried by
only a small majority.

Socrates' friends planned his
escape from prison, but he
preferred to comply with the
law and die for his cause.

His last day was spent with his
friends and admirers, and in the
evening he calmly fulfilled his
sentence by drinking a cup of
hemlock according to a
customary procedure of
execution.

Plato (428?-347 BC), Greek
philosopher, one of the most
creative and influential thinkers
in Western philosophy.
He was born to an aristocratic
family in Athens.

His father, Ariston, was believed
to have descended from the
early kings of Athens.
Perictione, his mother, was
distantly related to the 6th-
century BC lawmaker Solon.

The Republic, Plato's major
political work, is concerned with
the question of justice and
therefore with the questions
“what is a just state” and “who is
a just individual?”

The ideal state, according to Plato,
is composed of three classes. The
economic structure of the state is
maintained by the merchant class.
Security needs are met by the
military class, and political
leadership is provided by the
philosopher-kings.

A particular person's class is
determined by an educational
process that begins at birth and
proceeds until that person has
reached the maximum level of
education compatible with
interest and ability.

Those who complete the entire
educational process become
philosopher-kings.
Plato divides the human soul
into three parts: the rational
part, the will, and the appetites.

The just person is the one in
whom the rational element,
supported by the will, controls the
appetites. An obvious analogy
exists here with the threefold class
structure of the state, in which the
enlightened philosopher-kings,
supported by the soldiers, govern
the rest of society.

Aristotle was born at Stagira, in
Macedonia, the son of a
physician to the royal court. At
the age of 17, he went to Athens
to study at Plato's Academy.

In politics, many forms of
human association can
obviously be found; which one
is suitable depends on
circumstances, such as the
natural resources, cultural
traditions, industry, and literacy
of each community.

Aristotle did not regard politics
as a study of ideal states in
some abstract form, but rather
as an examination of the way in
which ideals, laws, customs,
and property interrelate in actual
cases.

John Locke (1632-
1704), English philosopher
Locke was born in the village of
Wrington, Somerset, on August
29, 1632. He was educated at
the University of Oxford and
lectured on Greek.

Locke's views, in his Two
Treatises of Government (1690),
attacked the theory of divine
right of kings and the nature of
the state as conceived by the
English philosopher and political
theorist Thomas Hobbes.

Locke argued that sovereignty
did not reside in the state but
with the people, and that the
state is supreme, but only if it is
bound by civil and what he
called “natural” law.

Many of Locke's political ideas,
such as those relating to natural
rights, property rights, the duty
of the government to protect
these rights, and the rule of the
majority, were later embodied in
the U.S. Constitution.

Locke further held that
revolution was not only a right
but often an obligation, and he
advocated a system of checks
and balances in government.
He also believed in religious
freedom and in the separation
of church and state.

He was born 1588-1679,
English philosopher and political
theorist (see Political Theory),
one of the first modern Western
thinkers to provide a secular
justification for the political
state.

Hobbes held that since people
are fearful and predatory they
must submit to the absolute
supremacy of the state, in both
secular and religious matters, in
order to live by reason and gain
lasting preservation.

Karl Marx (1818-
1883), German political
philosopher and revolutionist,
cofounder with Friedrich Engels
of scientific socialism (modern
communism), and, as such, one
of the most influential thinkers of
all times.

That the history of society is a
history of struggles between
exploiting and exploited, that is,
between ruling and oppressed,
social classes.

That the capitalist class
would be overthrown and that it
would be eliminated by a
worldwide working-class
revolution and replaced by a
classless society.

He believed that between the
capitalist and communist
systems of society lies the
period of the revolutionary
transformation of the one into
the other.

This corresponds to a political
transition period, whose state
can be nothing else but the
revolutionary dictatorship of the
proletariat.”

He was born in 1723-1790, British
philosopher and economist.
The central thesis of The Wealth
of Nations is that capital is best
employed for the production and
distribution of wealth under
conditions of governmental non-
interference, or laissez-faire, and
free trade.

In Smith's view, the production and
exchange of goods can be
stimulated, and a consequent rise
in the general standard of living
attained, only through the efficient
operations of private industrial and
commercial entrepreneurs acting
with a minimum of regulation and
control by governments.

To explain this concept of
government maintaining a
laissez-faire attitude toward
commercial endeavors, Smith
proclaimed the principle of the
“invisible hand”

Every individual in pursuing
his or her own good is led, as if
by an invisible hand, to achieve
the best good for all. Therefore
any interference with free
competition by government is
almost certain to be injurious.

He was born on 1712 & died
1778. He is French philosopher,
social and political theorist,
musician, botanist, and one of
the most eloquent writers of the
Age of Enlightenment.

He contributed greatly to the
movement in Western Europe
for individual freedom and
against the absolutism of church
and state.

His conception of the state as
the embodiment of the abstract
will of the people and his
arguments for strict
enforcement of political and
religious conformity are
regarded by some historians as
a source of totalitarian ideology.

CONSTITUTION
It is a system of fundamental
laws or principles for the
government of nation, society,
corporation or other aggregation
of individuals and it may be
either written or unwritten.

It is a written enactment by the
direct action of the people by
which the fundamental powers of
the government are established,
defined and limited and by which
those powers are distributed
among several departments for
their safe and useful exercise for
teh benefit of the body politic.

BASIC PURPOSES OF
CONSTITUTION:
1. Prescribes the permanent
framework of the system of
government;
2. It assigns to the different
departments their respective
powers and duties; &

3. It establishes basic principles
on which the government is
founded.

Different Kinds of
Constitutions

1. As to form:
a. Written – one which has
been reduced in writing at a
particular time fashioned out
usually by a constitutional
convention; &

b. Unwritten – one that is the
product of political evolution,
both in form and in substance,
not inaugurated at any specific
time and changing by accretion
rather than by systematic
method.

2. As to origin
a. Cumulative or evolved – one
where it has its origin mainly on
customs, common law principles,
and decisions of courts. It is the
product of historical evolution and
growth rather than of deliberate
and formal enactment.

b. Convention or enactment –
one that is the product of
deliberate assembly and
consciously adopted formally.

3. As to modality of amendment
a. Rigid – one that cannot be
amended except by the very
procedure spelled out in that
Charter itself which is rigid.

b. Flexible – one which
possesses no higher legal
authority than ordinary laws
which can be amended easily.

ADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN
CONSTITUTION:
1. It is frequently the only possible
starting point for the foundation and
growth of civil institutions and often
forms the first available means to give
civil dignity and political consciousness
to the people, as well as the beginning
of a distinct delineation of power.

2. In times of political apathy, it
forms the bridge to pass over
to better times.
3. It gives a strong feeling of right
and a powerful impetus to
action to have the written law
clearly on one’s side.

4. It serves as a beacon to apprise
the people when their rights and
liberties are invaded and
endangered.
5. It furnishes a text to which those
who are watchful may again rally
and recall the people in moments
of passion and delusion.

6. It protects the people from
frequent and violent fluctuations
of public opinion.

DISADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN
CONSTITUTION:
1. It establishes iron-clad rules
which are difficult to change
even if found inconvenient or
oppressive.

2. It is often construed on
technical principles rather than
in the light of great principles.
3. It is likely to invade the
domains of ordinary legislation

The advantage and disadvantage
of unwritten constitution.
The chief advantage of an
unwritten constitution is its
flexibility and elasticity which is
reflective at all times to the

correct expression of the
progressive and changing
necessities of the State.
Its principal weakness lies in
the fact that it is subject to
perpetual changes at the will of
the law-making power.

Major parts of a Constitution:
1. The Constitution of
Government
That portion which
establishes the major organs of
government and defines and
allocates these powers among
the several departments.

2. The Constitution of Liberty
The provisions guaranteeing
individual rights which may be
invoked against the massive
powers of the government in
case of excesses or abuses.

3. Constitution of Sovereignty
That part of the Constitution
where it spells out the authority
of the people as the repository
of sovereignty to approve or
change a Constitution.

Requisites of a good
Constitution:
1. It must be broad
It must outline an
organization of the government
for the whole State.

2. It must be brief
It is a document that should
not be too detailed in form.
3. It must be definite
Clarity and definiteness are
indispensable ingredients of a
Constitution.

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA
(No. 2 of 2016)
1. Zambia Independence Act of 1964, Chapter 65
2. Zambian Constitution 1991
3. The Constitution of Zambia ( Amendment) , Bill
2015
4. The constitution of Zambia Amendment No.2 of
2016 9

Study Questions
Define the following terms:
[Law, production, distribution, and conservation, consumption, sociology, anthropology, psychology, philosophy,
jurisprudence, Territory, Sovereignty, Terrestrial, Aerial, Fluvial, Maritime, Imperium, Dominium, Monarchy,
Authoritarian, Oligarchy, Liberalism, Unitary, Federal, democracy, executive, legislative, judiciary, Conservatism,
socialism, Capitalism, communism,, etc]
Respond to the following questions:
Give a detailed descriptive account of Zambia’s traditional and modern views political Science
Describe the political scope of political science as it applies to the Zambian scenario
State and describe the elements of what constitutes a State and how they are related to the Zambian
scenario
Describe the characteristics of a of Sovereignty nation like Zambia
Describe the various political thinkers and relate some to those of the Zambian and regional-based
politics
Group work discussional questions:
Describe some of the basic purposes and kinds of constitutions and how such an outlines have been
applied to the Zambian setting
State and explain some of the advantages and disadvantages of the various forms of constitutions
Give an outline of the Zambian constitutional development and accompanying reasoning for systematic
modifications

4 4-regional & national political science

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