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.
A petition is a formal request to a political official or governing body. Petitions typically request that officials address complaints or grievances, take action on an issue, or confer a special dispensation. The right for citizens to petition the government has roots in the English Magna Carta (1215) …
Jacques Peuchet (1758–1830) was a French political philosopher who was highly influential in shaping public administration in his country. It is likely that he coined the term bureaucratic around 1798, approximately a decade after the word bureaucracy was first introduced. Born in Paris, Peuchet matriculated at the College …
The phenomenon of pillarization is commonly associated with the social, political, and cultural organization of society into separated strata—along different religious denominations and ideological attachments—that manifested in the Netherlands and Belgium during the first half of the twentieth century. The term pillarization derives from the idea of a …
Plato (427–347 BCE) was a highly influential Greek philosopher and writer. In his autobiographical Seventh Epistle (ca. 350 BCE), he describes his early desire to enter into politics, but his disillusionment with what he viewed as unjust regimes that came to power in the period at the end …
A plebiscite, also known as a referendum, is a direct vote where the electorate in question is asked to accept or reject a government policy, piece of legislation, constitution or constitutional amendment, or the recall of an elected official. In the context of legislative inaction, public demand for …
Grigorii Valentinovich Plekhanov (1856–1918) was a Russian writer and political activist often considered the “Father of Russian Marxism.” Plekhanov began his revolutionary career during his university studies, joining the Land and Liberty organization, which hoped to foment revolution among the Russian peasantry. When this organization split in 1879, …
The notion of pluralism emerged in England and the United States during the early twentieth century as a conceptual response to the increasingly associative character of society, the rise of governmental interventionism, the lobbying activities of organized groups, and the nascence of immigrant subcultures. Pluralism may be defined …
The relationship between politics and poetry predates written poetry with Homer’s critical view of the Trojan War. However, its public policy significance was dormant until Plato theorized the benefits to society of banning poets in the Republic. Plato was reacting to the unacknowledged yet real authority retained by …
Karl Polanyi (1886–1964) was a Hungarian historian and political economist. His path-breaking critique of neoclassical economics is regarded as one of the most important contributions to social scientific thought in the twentieth century. Raised in Budapest and educated at the University of Budapest and the University of Kolozsvár, …
In the United States, police power refers to the authority granted to state governments giving them the ability to make laws that maintain order and safeguard the health, morals, public safety, and welfare of state citizens. This term is interpreted expansively and does not refer simply to the …
Police state signifies a highly centralized form of government, with the state pervading virtually all components of society. Political dissent and opposition are aggressively suppressed, and the populace’s fear of and intimidation by the government are a constant. For police states, governmental authorities’ control over society is at …
Policy analysis is a method of inquiry to examine governmental activity that provides a systematic way to assess the consequences of past policy actions and the alternatives available to address societal problems. Hence, it can be used for both retrospective and prospective purposes. The field of policy analysis …
Policy-centered entrepreneurship, or simply policy entrepreneurship, refers to opportunity-driven activity with the aim to influence policy. Policy entrepreneurship is a discrete and observable process in politics consisting of recognizing an opportunity to change policy, acting on the opportunity, and, consequently, materially affecting policy. The policy-entrepreneurship process begins with …
A policy evaluation is the last step in the policy-making process, after agenda setting, policy formulation, decision making, and implementation. It refers to the use of empirical social science research methods to assess the success or failure of policies for feedback or termination. A policy evaluation can be …
Policy innovation refers to a political system’s adoption of a policy that is different from past policy actions. Although other jurisdictions may have already initiated similar measures, policy innovation occurs when a government enacts a policy that is new to that particular governmental unit. This definition derives from …
Policy meta-analysis is a research method that involves the quantitative analysis of independent data sets or other studies. It seeks to develop a synthesis of existing information and conclusions. The approach typically uses quantitative software or other computer programs to conduct large-scale reviews of primary studies or sources, …
While there are several definitions of policy networks, there is widespread agreement among scholars that these networks are formed by the patter ns of relations between interdependent actors—most commonly identified as politicians, interest groups, public citizens, corporations, or foreign figures—involved in processes affecting the design or implementation of …
Policy theory is the set of principles and rules regarding public policies. Such definition immediately highlights the product of political action. Indeed, according to Harold Lasswell and Daniel Lerner’s classical 1951 definition, policy represents “a systematic attempt to shape the future” (ix). The Pragmatic Perspective Of Policy Analysis …
In the United States, political action committees (PACs) allow individuals to band together to contribute money to candidates. Federal law never actually mentions political action committees, which it instead refers to as multi-candidate political committees. Such a committee must have at least fifty-one members, have been registered with …
Political agents are actors within the political arena who possess a special role and capability for advising elected or appointed policy makers. Many political agents are individuals with unique accessibility to politicians, often representing a specific agency or corporation, or some specific cause. By consulting with policy makers …
