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.
Public enterprise is used to describe specific corporate entities partially or wholly sponsored by the government. These enterprises may include governmental entities, such as public authorities or special purpose districts, which are distinguished from traditional government agencies by their corporate structure, fee-for-service funding model, or insulation from the …
The idea of the public good, also called the common good, refers to those generalizable interests and values that all members of a polity share by the mere fact of being members of that polity, whether particular individuals recognize those interests and values or not. Policies, practices, and …
The concept of a public interest group has varied operational definitions within the discipline of political science. Broadly defined, public interest groups represent diffuse, generally noneconomic, interests in society. Their primary focus is on representing causes that have no natural constituency, or advocating for people or groups that …
Public policy is what officials within government choose to do or not to do about public problems—conditions that are perceived to be unacceptable. Government policy makers typically set certain policy goals and objectives, and then identify the tools or means to reach those ends. Debate over public policy …
There is the story that when asked about the making of American foreign policy, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger reportedly responded, “We don’t really make policy, instead we make a series of decisions that eventually become the policy.” This anecdote illustrates the difficulties in understanding what policies …
The question of public and private is essentially a philosophical one, centered upon the proper scope of the activity of the state. Deter mining this scope entails studying whether some kinds of human endeavor, whether individual or collective, are private—that is, private in the sense that they are …
Whether publicly or privately owned, it is the job of a public utility to handle and maintain the operation of a public service. Usually, a public utility has a natural service monopoly. While its own consumers own a publicly owned utility, investors own a privately owned utility. A …
Samuel Pufendorf (1632–1694) was a German jurist and historian, often considered an important forerunner of the German Enlightenment and a significant influence upon British philosopher John Locke. In 1658, while he was the tutor for the family of a Swedish ambassador in Denmark, Pufendorf spent eight months in …
In Agendas and Instability in American Politics (1993), Frank Baumgartner and Bryan Jones argue that debate on most policy issues remains confined to a small circle of interested players that constitute a policy domain. These players may be in conflict, but the terms of the debate and the …
Puritanism—a term rarely used by Puritans themselves, but rather by their critics and opponents—originated as a reformist movement within the sixteenth and seventeenth-century Church of England. Puritans were English Protestants dissatisfied with the extent of reform in the English church after its break with Rome under Henry VIII. …
Lucian Pye (1921–2008) was a political scientist known for his work on Chinese politics. Pye was born Bai Luxun in Fenzhou, Shanxi Province, China. After receiving a bachelor of arts in 1943 from Carleton College in Minnesota, he entered the U.S. Mar ine Corps and became an intelligence …
Al-Qaida (Arabic for “The Base”) is defined by the U.S. Department of State as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.” This means that the organization is foreign, engages in terrorist activity or terrorism or retains the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism, and its terrorist activity …
Invented by British psychologist William Stephenson in 1935, Q-methodology represents a kind of observer rating that can be used to assess subjective opinions or beliefs about any topic or situation. It is often used in political science in observations of policy issues and decision makers. In a Q-sort, …
A qualified majority voting system, also known as a supermajority, is a parliamentary rule which requires that legislation or motions obtain a predetermined number of votes beyond a simple majority. Common qualified majority voting numbers range from three-fifths to three-quarters of the legislature; however, the percentage required for …
Qualitative analysis refers to the way researchers analyze data collected through methods such as participant observation, case studies, interviews, narratives, and other nonquantitative for mats. Qualitative analysis includes three major components: (1) reducing data by narrowing the focus, organizing, and transforming raw data (e.g., field notes) in a …
Case study methods underwent a renaissance over the last decade that encompasses three key developments. First, methodologists have clarified philosophy of science foundations in case study methods, and their comparative advantages vis-à-vis statistical methods. Second, scholars have improved their practical advice on how best to conduct case studies. …
Quality of life (QOL) is a term used by politicians, journalists, and social scientists to distinguish differences in objective and subjective social well-being among individuals and between different units of government. Most often, it is used to measure and compare differences in the satisfaction of fundamental social and …
Quangos are quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organizations. The term quango was created in the 1970s to describe public bodies that conduct public functions but are not directly controlled by central government. The purpose of quangos is to allow experts to directly control policy-implementation processes. However, there is no clear and …
Quantitative analysis in political science entails assigning numbers to observed events in the political world, and then using the rules of mathematics, probability, and statistics to make statements about the world we live in. Quantitative analysis enables not just precise identification of the relationships between events, but also …
Quasi-experimental design refers to situations in which an experimenter can assign treatment conditions but, for certain reasons, is not able to randomize subjects across conditions. Variants on this design include interrupted time series designs, which can either be simple or equivalent types, and nonequivalent control group designs. Quasi-experiments …
