Category: Political Science Essay Examples
See our collection of political science essay examples. These example essays are to help you understanding how to write a political science essay. Political science is not merely an academic discipline, and political scientists do not just study the anatomy of politics. Political science is renewed with every political administration and with every major political event and with every political leader. Influential political leaders construct their own -isms (Fidelism/Castroism, Maoism, Gandhism, Reaganism, and so on) so that the political philosophies and ideologies that undergird the discipline have to be reinvented constantly. Also, see our list of political science essay topics to find the one that interests you.
John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) was one of the most influential political theorists of the nineteenth century. His defense in his essay On Liberty (1859) of the harm principle (which states the sole end for which power can be rightfully exercised over an individual against his will is to …
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the countries that compose the United Nations (UN) agreed to eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which they pledged to complete by the year 2015. These goals were derived from the UN’s Millennium Declaration, which was signed in September 2000. It is …
Warren Miller (1924–1999) was an American scholar who focused primarily on political behavior but also made great contributions to the field of social science as a whole. Born on March 26, 1924, in Hawarden, Iowa, Miller did his undergraduate and masters work at the University of Oregon, receiving …
American scholar Charles W. Mills (1916–1962) was one of the most influential sociologists of the twentieth century. Although he died at the early age of forty-six, he left a body of work that has not been equaled for its breadth of analysis and intellectual honesty. Mills was paradoxical: …
John Milton (1608–1674) is considered one of the great poets of the English-speaking world and was a prominent statesman during the English Civil Wars (1642–1651) and their aftermath. Milton studied at Christ’s College, Cambridge, intent on entering the Protestant clergy. However, he began publishing poetry, and, after finishing …
The minimal effects model is a political science theory that argues that campaigns generally have only a minor impact on voter choice. It is based on the work of Paul Lazarsfeld in the 1940s. Central to the minimal effects model is the contention that most voters have clear, …
The idea of the minimal state is associated with right wing political ideology and libertarian political theory. Its functions are limited to the protection of individual security and property rights along with external defense. Its ideal is the “night watchman” state. In a minimal state, the free market …
Traditionally, mining policy dealt with ownership of extractive resources, including all minerals, metals, water, sand and gravel, and carbon-based fuels. However, by the end of the twentieth century in most countries, it had acquired a much broader scope, covering not only the ownership of the resources but also …
The concept of minority political representation can take many forms. Primarily, the reference “minority” can denote a numerical or marginalized group identifier. Given the predominance of scholarship that focuses on the legislative branch of government in the United States, herein minority representation is defined as the congressional responsiveness …
Translated from its Greek roots, misogyny literally means the hatred of women. More broadly, misogyny refers to cultural beliefs that men are better, stronger, more rational, more capable, and more authoritative than women, especially in the public sphere. These beliefs contribute to the dislike or mistrust of women …
Mission civilisatrice (“civilizing mission”) was the French colonization policy that emphasized efforts to transfer French political, social, and linguistic norms to subjected peoples. The approach was officially designed to “uplift” the lesser developed peoples of the world and convert them into French citizens. The Portuguese empire also utilized …
Mixed method research involves the combination of qualitative and quantitative empirical methodologies within a single research design. (Although some consider the combination of quantitative theoretical methods with qualitative empirical methods to be mixed methods, the emerging consensus is that the term mixed methods refers to empirical analysis.) Political …
Political mobilization is the process whereby political actors encourage people to participate in some form of political action. In its concrete manifestations, this process can take on many different shapes. Political mobilizers may typically persuade people to vote, petition, protest, or rally, or to join a political party, …
Modernization theory is a term applied to several related social science theories that explain the process by which societies change from more traditional to more modern entities. Originating from classical social theory, including the writings of Max Weber and Karl Marx, U.S. social scientists built on the insights …
For much of human history, monarchy in one for m or another was the primary system of government. A monarchy is a type of tyrannical regime in which all or most political power is concentrated in the hands of a single ruler, the sovereign. The monarch is generally …
Monetary policy is a set of actions taken by a government authority to influence the supply of money and credit in circulation. Research indicates that changes in the rate of growth of the money supply affect unemployment, output, inflation, and interest rates. There is also a substantial political …
A monetary union is an economic arrangement among states in which a single currency is adopted to replace various national currencies, and there is widespread cooperation on monetary policy. Monetary unions seek to stabilize fluctuations in the value of money in order to facilitate trade and economic cooperation. …
Money laundering is the process by which criminal organizations manage substantial and recurring illicit revenues to bring these monies back to the legitimate economy. It is traditionally understood as a three-step cycle: (1) the placement, in which the illicit funds are distanced from the crime that produced them …
President James Monroe’s annual message to Congress on December 2, 1823, asserted a policy of opposition to colonization by foreign powers in the Western Hemisphere. This policy, known as the Monroe Doctrine, became the guiding principle for U.S. foreign policy in the Americas for generations. Specifically, Monroe stated, …
Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) was among the greatest thinkers of the French Renaissance. His most important intellectual achievements, which arose in reaction to the fanaticism and cruelty of France’s religious wars, included ground-breaking views of skepticism, self-exploration, and toleration. Moreover, although he did not argue for democracy, separation …
