B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Political Science (Theory and Thought) 2017 Dec (70 marks) Question Paper with Solutions

Auxiliary studies

Garner notes that writers such as Jellinek treated "geography, physical anthropology, ethnology, psychology, and ethics as among the studies auxiliary to political science." He adds that "the tendency of modern thought is to accentuate the relations instead of the differences" between branches of knowledge.

Part A: Political science and psychology

Psychology studies the human mind and behaviour: motives, feelings, habits and attitudes. Since the state is made up of people, political behaviour depends on how people think and feel.

1. Authority rests on belief. Bagehot held that a constitution "must first GAIN authority, and then USE authority". Its "dignified" parts "excite and preserve the reverence of the population". The "efficient" parts actually rule.
2. Deference. Bagehot explained that Cabinet government worked in England because it "was a deferential country".
3. Leadership. Weber's charismatic authority rests on the followers' belief in a leader's extraordinary qualities.

1. Territory shapes the state. Garner: "Geographical situation and the shape and conformation of the territory, as well as extent of domain, have an important bearing upon the institutions and national life of the state." They determine "the occupations and industries of the people".
2. Climate and laws. Montesquieu tried to link climate with laws and forms of government. He wrote: "The empire of the climate is the first, the most powerful of all empires."
3. The critics. Garner judged that Montesquieu's conclusions "abound in paradoxes, and his estimate of the effect of climatic influences was greatly exaggerated". Hume went further: "I do not believe that man ever in his spirit or destiny owed any thanks to atmosphere, food, or climate."
4. Location and history. Garner quotes Shaler: "To a trifling geographical incident ... we owe the isolation of Great Britain from the European continent". Britain's island position helped its naval power and its freedom from invasion.
5. Security and foreign policy. Mountains, rivers and seas shape defence and relations with neighbours.

Why the relationships matter

A political scientist who ignores psychology cannot explain why people obey, follow leaders or change their votes. One who ignores geography cannot explain why states differ in size, wealth, defence and structure. Yet political science keeps its own focus: the state, its institutions and the rules by which power is exercised. It borrows from both subjects without becoming either. A student of politics needs both, as a doctor needs both anatomy and the study of the patient's habits.

Political science gives back

The relationship runs both ways. Political decisions change the map: states draw boundaries, build dams and roads, and settle frontiers by treaty. Laws and institutions also shape behaviour, so psychologists studying attitudes must take account of the political setting.

Conclusion. Political science is the study of the state and government. Psychology helps it explain authority, obedience, leadership and public opinion. Geography helps it explain how territory, climate and location shape institutions, defence and national life. Garner warns against overstating either: neither the mind alone nor the climate alone decides political life.