What is the nature of political science? |

Political science is an academic discipline. Its focus is the theory and practice of politics at every level of governance. This involves so many different facets that it is difficult to characterize the essential nature of the discipline. Generally, however, political science focuses on a few key areas. One is political theory. Since the ancient Greeks, philosophers have thought hard about the best ways to organize societies, the nature of political behavior, and other important...

Political science is an academic discipline. Its focus is the theory and practice of politics at every level of governance. This involves so many different facets that it is difficult to characterize the essential nature of the discipline. Generally, however, political science focuses on a few key areas. One is political theory. Since the ancient Greeks, philosophers have thought hard about the best ways to organize societies, the nature of political behavior, and other important questions. These issues still occupy political scientists. Another aspect of political science is comparative politics, the comparison of different aspects of varying political systems and cultures and their counterparts. However, political science is also a quantitative discipline that attempts to measure political trends, behaviors, and practices through hard data. This means that political science has close relationships with other disciplines, including communications, psychology, sociology, and history. The best way to characterize the nature of political science is to say that it is a very wide-ranging and diverse discipline.