Archive for February, 2011
Political Science Books – The Key to Understanding the World
Whether you are interested in politics, you will find that, at some point in your life, you will be influenced by politics, be it at your workplace, home, or school. However, when we talk about politics, we generally refer to the political situation of the country, state, region or city we live in. Consequently, almost all political science books are written keeping these factors in mind. In fact, most courses in colleges and universities around the world also prescribe books that teach students the political situation in their country or that of the rest of the world.
There is a school of thought that says that political science can help you prepare for studying law. This is due to the fact that much of what you study in politics comes from law. You read about the laws that govern various processes in your country. Political processes, such as elections, the judiciary, procedures for appointment of the prime minister and president and various other laws, can form a part of this course. As a result, books written on this subject give a very detailed perspective of laws governing the country.
Additionally, political science books can help you compare the laws of your country with those of some other countries. For instance, you can compare the political process of two of the world’s biggest democracies of the world – United States and India. Both countries follow different forms of democracies, which are successful in their own ways. If you want to study it in greater detail, then consider taking up a book related to the politics of the country and read it in detail. You will gain plenty of knowledge of the way the country functions and will learn how, despite of its fallacies, a country is successful in its political process.
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Review – Ross, Andrew: “The Theory and Practice of International Relations”
Three analytical perspectives – Realism, Liberalism, and Marxism – guide the international relations theorist throughout the world. Realism focuses on war and peace and it contends that politics determines economics. The central problem within Liberalism is conflict and cooperation. Liberalist believe that war is not the only form of conflict, peace is not the only form of cooperation and that socio-economics is no less important than national security. Liberalist also believe that the interrelationship between economics and national security determines state interest. Marxism is based solely on domination and subordination; The ‘have and the have-nots.’ Economic issues drive the Marxist agenda; they conclude that economics determine politics. Realism, Liberalism, and Marxism are not mutually exclusive approaches to understanding international relations. Though there are linkages between the three perspectives, those linkages are few in number.
U.S. decision-makers are most influenced Realism and Liberalism. The fact that political, social, economic, and security issues have all vied for top billing on the U. S. agenda leads me to believe that Liberalism has had the greatest impact in the U. S. decision making process. This depends on the President and Party in power. We can look back and see that a Carter is clearly a liberalist and a Reagan is definitely a realist. Even in the last election there were clear indications that Bush is a strong realist and Gore a strong liberalist. A hybrid like Clinton is harder to sort out he started out to the liberal side but ended up on the other. It is difficult to say which perspective should have the most influence. However, the extensive agenda of Liberalism would best fit our needs due to the economic and social diversity of American society. The main point of these readings is to show that there are strict differences in these perspectives and they will affect your view of the world coming together or coming apart. This kind of view will therefore influence what you think we will need for future forces.
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“Political Science is an Interesting Topic Indeed, at 65 I’m Going to Get My Poly Sci PhD!” She Said
Many people say, and I am probably one of them, that politics is a terrible way to run human society and civilization. In fact, I am often amazed that human beings have progressed as far as they have using the system of governance such as politics. It seems that this way to make political decisions, and try to keep everyone happy, well, in the end result is no one is happy. Perhaps, this all gives us something to think about, and allows us to join this sound and fury that keeps everything going.
Not long ago, I talked to a 65-year-old lady who told me she wanted to get her PhD in political science. Good for her I thought, wait to go, may as well keep your mind sharp, and since we are all living longer now, it’s a smart choice to make it count.
Political Science is a very interesting topic indeed, I’d just read in the Wall Street Journal that they will be teaching Chinese Students in China political science, because one of the main educator administrators believes it is something very lacking there. That is very interesting isn’t it? A doctorate degree in political science would be a good idea.
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