The Science of Politics

1. The Science of Politics Introduction to Politics and Political Analysis Braunwarth

2. A Few Questions • Take a second to write down your responses to the following questions: • What does political science mean to you? • How do you think the study of political science will affect your daily life (if at all)? • If you were going to teach this class, how would you set up the class? • What was your best educational experience? Why?

3. Liberty v. Order • Politics essentially decides the tradeoff between Order and Freedom • We like both but can’t have maximum amounts of both • Where this tradeoff lies is the central feature of any political system

4. Power • Political Science differs from other sciences in part because of its emphasis on power (Machiavelli) • Politics determines how power will be exercised; Politics Matters • Will we go to war? Who will Fight? • Who have to pay taxes and who will avoid them? • Public Policy allows for the repeated exercise of power

5. Example of Poverty • It is relatively easy to determine the facts of poverty: who is poor, what is the poverty rate, how is it determined, etc. • (13%, 3X food budget, $20,000/family of 4,) • This is the job of the journalist, not the scientist • Much more difficult to determine why people are poor • What do you think? We can come up with many explanations • What should be done to alleviate poverty? • The real exercise of power comes with the implementation of policy, which depends on the explanation of the problem • For this reason, the “competition for meaning” to define why things are and explain the problem is fiercely contested politically • Political Science can use scientific tools to help explain the causes of problems and, therefore, what should be done

6. Science of Politics v. the Practice of Politics • Different people and groups have different understandings and beliefs which leads to a “competition for meaning” to define why things are and what should be done • Everyone brings to the study of politics their own unique set of experiences. • People organize and simplify their understanding of politics through conceptual frameworks. • personal experience • preferences • expectations • People use these frameworks to interpret political phenomena.

7. Science of Politics v. the Practice of Politics • Political actors play on these understandings to attract popular support • Political debate can be thought of as a competition to impose different truth claims • To impose one’s own view of reality • People rely on different sources of knowledge that they believe to be true • Three main sources of knowledge: Authority, Personal, Scientific

8. Authority as a source of Truth • Unquestioned source of knowledge • Sometimes referred to as Dogma • Person, authority figure (examples?) • Religion/Document (examples?) • Ideology Problem with this source of knowledge? • Can put “blinders” on a believer • What about conflicts with other sources of information?

9. Religious Zeal • For example, both Christian and Islamic Fundamentalists talk of relying on God and faith to make decisions about war and terrorism • If the “war on terror” is a “divine mission” with “God on our side” against “evil doers” • Doesn’t leave a lot of room for questioning • Using Political Science to determine the best way do diffuse the threat of terrorism would be, at best, a secondary concern

10. Religious Zeal • Given the problems with blindly following an authoritative source of knowledge, such as religion, why do so many follow this source of knowledge? • It provides an important role as a security system • The trouble with security is that it never lasts. “Time makes ancient Gods uncouth” (James Russell Lowell) • This is true when there is resistance to change in science, politics, or religion

11. The problem with dogma>science • If you know you are right and driven by religious or ideological faith, may be willing to use any tool available, including misleading those who “don’t understand” to achieve your end • Blinds believer to potential problems and alternatives

12. Personal Reflection as a source of Truth • Use logic, thought, reflection, intuition, intelligence, hunches to determine truth • Earl Babbie’s “Experiential Reality” • Plato’s Philosopher Kings (most brilliant, no property, men) • Problem with this source of knowledge? • Function of Personal Circumstances • Generally colored by authority influences (religion, ideology, etc.) • Again, no mechanism for resolving disputes

13. Scientific Method • Sets out procedure/mechanism for reaching knowledge claims • Form hypothesis, collect data, test hypothesis • Advantages over the other sources of knowledge? • Is falsifiable • Can never prove truth, can just fail to disprove

14. Which of the three main sources of political information (authority, personal reflection, or science) seems to have had the most powerful impact on the contemporary world? • Why is this the case?

15. Strengths of the Scientific Enterprise • Can move us beyond the hunch to firm evidence • Strives to eliminate anecdotal evidence • Attempts to bring the highest possible levels of objectivity • Brings a systematic logic to political problem solving

16. Politics as a Science • What is the science in political science? • Political science as a science emerged out of a post–World War II movement called the behavioral revolution in the social sciences that attempted to bring with it:* More objectivity* The application of the scientific method* The use of quantifiable data

17. What is Political Science? • But, social scientists usually cannot isolate individuals, organizations, and groups in the laboratory or isolate and manipulate the things that might influence them. • Political scientists have come up with numerous ways of approximating the ideal of laboratory conditions, primarily through the use of statistics.

18. What is Political Science? • Some suggest that the use of statistics pushes researchers to examine things that can easily be counted, cataloged, or quantified. • money • votes • weapons • This causes important things that cannot be counted, like beliefs, expectations, or hopes to be discounted or ignored entirely. • Still, researchers using statistics have made tremendous contributions to the study of politics.

19. What is Political Science? • Other political scholars have increased our understanding of the world by showing how rhetoric, decision process, and culture influence the behaviors of individuals and governments.

20. What is Political Science? • The best way to approach “science” may be to use social scientist Earl Babbie’s framework. • Experiential reality versus agreement reality. • experiential reality = the things we directly experience. • agreement reality (more important) = things we believe are real even though we have never directly experienced them.