Approches to Political Science

An approach is like a road leading to a destination. As one can reach a destination by different roads, one can try to explore political realities in various ways. Political Science is a highly complex, perhaps the most complex social science. Every other social science has a precise and well defined area of study. For example, economics is concerned with production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. History is concerned with the past activities of men. Political Science has no such well-defined area. Broadly speaking it studies the conflicts and ways of resolution of conflicts in the social arena. Where ever there is conflict, there is politics. Thus we have politics in the universities, in sports clubs or in trade unions. Politics does not necessarily mean a conflict with the state. The inherent complexity of the subject has compelled political scientists to follow different ways to explore political truths. For the convenience of analysis, the approaches adopted by the political scientists may be divided into three classes - (i) traditional, (ii) modern and (iii) Marxian approaches.