Preview

Discuss the Strengths and Weaknesses of Any 5 of the Following Approaches to the Study of Politics.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
970 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Discuss the Strengths and Weaknesses of Any 5 of the Following Approaches to the Study of Politics.
Question 2. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of any 5 of the following approaches to the study of politics.

An approach is to deal with a situation or problem in a particular way. It is also the means by which something is reached. It is the angel form which one views political problems. It is a criteria for searching for the questions to ask. A criteria used to analyze political data. It can be implicit or explicit in what it explains. Some reasons why approaches are used in the study of political science is because it helps us to be more analytical and also helps suggest hypothetical relationships among political forces. The historical approach deals with political thinkers such as Machiavelli, Vico, Montesquieu, Savigny, Maine, Seeley and Freeman. It lays emphasis on the use of historical evidence for proper study of political situations. The reason for the use of this approach is that all political institutions have a long record of their rise and growth and their present form may be well understood in context of their history. This approach does not only explain the past but also enables us to draw dependable conclusions and also it provides us with basic principles for interpreting the future. Some strengths of this approach are that the value of historical approach enables us to make sound generalizations and we may also call them authentic by virtue because they are based on past evidence. Secondly the historical approach is always open to verification. Since it is based on gathered facts of history we may test the validity of conflicting ideas if needed. Lastly it gives us a sense of history than warns us against repeating blunders of the past. History becomes a lesson for the present generation .It enlarges our mental horizon, improves the perspective and builds up an attitude towards events. Some scholars have listed some problems facing the historical approach to the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Analyze the extent to which TWO of the following influenced the development of democracy between 1820 and 1840.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although events in history occurred over a long span of time and development, history first became an academic subject a little more than 100 years ago (McNeill 12). Since then, a plethora of controversies appeared regarding how historians, scholars, and intellectuals should examine and analyze history. Among the initial methods of studying history was the scientific research method, or scientific source criticism, which fundamentally extracts valid, legitimate facts from a diverse range of historical sources. Throughout time, however, the facts derived from this method of historical study gradually altered, leading to a new method of historical study: using facts and combining them with opinions and goals to constitute personal interpretations. As Oscar Handlin zealously asserts, historians and scholars should provide a strict examination of history based on a chronological study of known and verifiable facts as opposed to using verifiable facts as the basis for their own interpretation, influenced by their own group, experiences, beliefs, and personal motives. Through implementing a strict examination of history, historians can successfully detect and eradicate bias in their writings, allow the government as well as individuals to gain an insight into the past in order to secure and progress the future, and grasp the magnitude of truth.…

    • 645 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1) The strength of the economy is directly tied to the monetary value of all goods and services produced in a nation each year, which is called the ________.…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    History is the procedure used to analyze what was significant about chosen events, individuals, and advancements from the past. Historians utilize distinctive arrangements of criteria to help them make judgements about essentialness. All theories have to base on data. To make the country become better, people needs the data from the past to guide their country to the bright future. The old said: “the one who controls the past controls the future.”…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    According to the historians, by looking at things that have already happened, Americans can learn a lot about which actions made things better versus which actions made things worse, and can then plan their own actions accordingly.…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Studying history in the making seems a strenuous task. Many will say that we lack detachment and objectivity to judge the sequence of events. But if we base our study upon previous historical facts, and thus draw a strict comparison between past and present, bringing to light what the actual history is or is not, then the objectivity seems somewhat restored.…

    • 1796 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    By the awareness of the people the process increased and regularized by the liberty and civil rights. American citizens seek free will from the governments and Constitutional security of justice. In the American federal system the political parties free to have support conflicting political agenda, free will to voice out, ideas, and ideologies. While the liberals go with the democrats the group of conservative support the Republicans. The Democrats and Republicans represent the main political parties of American along with minor independent parties. The American governments cultivate federalism, by demanding of reforms the citizens of America also contribute in shaping up political changes. Although legislators look upon amendment of Constitution and creation of laws, the citizens have their voices heard and participate. In the whole time, the voting attitude of Americans demonstrated changes. For example, Solid South in the part of Southern states used to be solid supports of Democrats but it was politically divided over time (Maier, Pauline, 2010).In the maintain of consistency the Constitution of US obligate the state and federal governments. With the ruling of democratic, the American federal government also allows amendments of the Constitution as called by the political…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    the premise that each state is the ultimate source of law within its own boundaries.…

    • 2849 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scholarly Activity

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    History is the base to how we now live. The understanding of survival, wars, politics and even family moral developed from the knowledge acquired through the process of historical facts. Take for example a family tree. Our first introduction to our personal family tree occurs in the early years of academic enrichment. We begin with researching our…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hist 415 Week 1 Homework

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There were many situations and events in history that led to wars, freedom of religion, civil unrest, unfair trade, terrorism, and independence. By examining experiences, troubles, and triumphs of our ancestors, we can avoid failure and be more successful than our ancestors hopefully. Learning from our past ancestors mistakes is a huge factor in why people succeed today. Military leaders have studied their enemy’s war tactics and maneuvers in many past wars. Using the enemy’s past actions, US military leaders could anticipate their moves and predict the outcome of the most likely courses of action. History is a good guide to track many different trends. So, understanding what history means is can be very useful in explaining why it is important to study and learn from. When studying history the best resources that will be the most helpful to the student of history are Search engines on the internet. Search engines are helpful when researching historical facts. Google and Yahoo provide search suggestions if help is needed forming questions. Google Scholar provides examples of actual accurate articles, books, and journals.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Provide an avenue for Political Science students of Columban College to articulate their views vis-à-vis social and political issues on local, national and international milieu utilizing the rules of Parliamentary Procedure within the parameters of democratic process.…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Political Science is in part a social science, and in part a humanity. Both are important. In this topic, we will look at the basics of social science inquiry, and then proceed to show how this differs from, on the one hand, inquiry in the natural sciences and, on the other, inquiry in the humanities.…

    • 2405 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    An approach, in simple terms, may be defined as a way of looking at and then explaining a particular phenomenon. The perspective may be broad enough to cover a vast area like world as a whole in the study of politics, or it may be very small embracing just an aspect of local, regional, national or international politics. In brief, an approach ‘consists of criteria of selection-criteria employed in selecting the problems or question to consider and in selecting the data to bring to bear; it consists of standards governing the inclusion and exclusion of question and data.…

    • 1214 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Whilst people all around the world debate over which political system is the most effective, social scientists are still in debate over which is the best way to analyse politics. Without the correct analysis of political objects how is one supposed to decide which political system or party is the most effective? It is for this reason that the way in which we analyse political objects is so important. There are many different ways to go about analysing politics. One main distinction to be noted is how in America the subject is called political science, whereas many European universities just call it politics. European scholars would suggest that the name political science is flawed in the sense that you cannot conduct certain political experiments. Rational choice theorists would suggest otherwise as I will explain later on in the essay. In a lecture delivered by Professor Mark Franklin at the European University Institute, he stated; “We cannot take a random sample of people and give them a new political system to see what happens” (Franklin, 2006). Debates such as these go far further than just cross-national. In this essay I intend to give a brief background to the various approaches to studying politics. I will then go on to outline the strengths and weaknesses of the rational choice approach to understanding the political, paying close attention to the definition of self-interest, using various scholars work to form a critique of the rational choice theory.…

    • 1999 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Political Science

    • 8243 Words
    • 33 Pages

    CHAPTER 2 The Study of Politics: Logic, Approaches and Methods Nkwachukwu Orji Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the methodological issues relating to the study of politics. The chapter will examine the logic, approaches and methods that underpin the study of politics. It will explain the relationship between logic, approaches and methods in political science research. The chapter will review the nature, features and basic assumptions underlying each of the three methodological issues surrounding the study of politics, and provide an understanding of how these issues frame the study of politics. Before I proceed, let me note that my discussion of the study of politics in this chapter is a bit simplistic, so the reader should not take it as definitive. My style is informed by the aim of the chapter, which is to introduce the reader, in an unsophisticated manner, to the overall thrust of research in political science. Thus, if some elements of my discussion look shallow in some way, the reader is assured that there are more nuanced and advanced versions of the subject published somewhere. There is a close connection between the logic, approaches and methods of political inquiry. The logic of political inquiry refers to the underlying ontological and epistemological justification of the approaches and methods of political inquiry (Brewer 2000: 2). This provides the framework within which approaches and methods of political inquiry are couched. It is a common practice in the social sciences to locate research approaches and methods within broader ontological and epistemological foundation of knowledge. In fact, a specific field of study examines the ‘fit’ between research methods and the logic that validates them. This field of knowledge is known as the philosophy of…

    • 8243 Words
    • 33 Pages
    Powerful Essays