Political activities in any particular time and place reflect the values, beliefs and attitudes which are currently held in that society.
Traditionally the study of political values rivets on what ought to be the political structure and what goals ought to be sought and it has been the customary field of all political philosophers.
A modem political philosopher will concern himself, no doubt, with the study of the great thinkers of the past but in this process he will minutely examine and analyse such value words as ‘justice’, ‘rights’, ‘freedom’ and supplement them by the study of values as political facts. His field is, therefore, comprehensive as he examines simultaneously the empirical aspect of such values and their validity in the present context.
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To express it in concrete terms, while students of politics remain interested in the historical formulations of arguments that we ought to obey laws because we have consented to it by participating in the choice of the government, and analyse the nature of ‘consent’ in all its aspects, an endeavour is also made to discover now to what extent ‘consent’ as defined is in fact a value subscribed to in a particular society and what consequences of political behaviour follow from the acceptance of the value. That is, there is increasing importance attached to the “political setting”—the political values and attitudes which together make political culture.
Separated, rather than divorced, from the study of political values is the study of political institutions. Till very recently, the study of Political Science primarily centred on the legislatures, the executives and judiciaries, the institutions for making, carrying and interpreting law.
As the study of Political Science developed, other areas—political parties, interest and other permanent groups and the media of communication—were included in the scope of the subject. All this entailed the study of facts and their actual performance.
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For example, what is the procedure followed when a bill becomes law and what is the system by which the rulers are chosen and how judges are appointed?
Such a study includes consideration of values for the political institutions reflect, in varying degree, the values of the present and the past. As a consequence, the political institutions are themselves evaluated to see to what extent theory and practice diverge.
Recently, emphasis has been placed on the study of what is called ‘political behaviour’. This approach, which is not restricted to declared behaviouralists, concentrates on the behaviour of individuals and groups within political institutions.
The intention is to get behind the formal structures in order to know how actually the actors behave in the realm of politics. It is the study of the ‘inside story’ in the actual processes of politics.
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This branch of political studies relating to the behaviour of man owes a great deal to students of other social sciences, especially Sociology, who brought with them not only a difference of approach, and new ideas, but also propagated a more scientific study of politics.
Though the distinction has been made here between three types of political inquiry, they are interrelated. No single approach by itself can solve the riddles of politics. Political activities reflect values and other qualities of the political culture; another concept of modern innovation.
They occur in institutions which reflect values and behaviour of the past and provide the arena for current activities which are the behaviour of individuals within institutions.