Political science has long existed as a separate body of knowledge about politics. But, despite this, a single definite understanding was not entrenched in this term. From the very first days of the emergence of science, the subject of political science was supplemented and refined. Its methods were constantly improved.
The main object of study is the political world. This is the opinion of most researchers. The subject of political science is a complex of concepts with which it describes the existing political reality. However, as you know, this reality is dual. On the one hand, politics is a real relationship, a practice related to governance, power. And on the other hand, it is a world of absolutely subjective judgments and intentions regarding those human values that influence the adoption of relevant decisions.
The fact that the subject of political science has different interpretations is due to the ambiguity of the forms of existence of science. An understanding of this issue is directly affected by the national characteristics of its development.
There are two conventionally distinguished points of view on the subject of political science. Each of them also has additional shades.
Regulatory advocates strive to create a universal science. They consider it as an organization, activity and form of government or state, their relations with other states and with citizens from the standpoint of order, justice and benefit. The subject of political science in this case is political institutions as a means of expression. This view is popular in Western Europe. There, political science was singled out from constitutional law, hence the analogy with political institutions.
Adherents of the second point of view see the subject of political science in the system of relations regarding power. They consider this area of life to exist independently, along with economic, spiritual, social, etc. In this case, politics is not only a set of institutions and institutions that give it shape and direct action. It also includes all types of activities that are related to relations with the authorities. Such an interpretation is characteristic of the political science of England and America.
At the end of the 20th century, such changes occurred in the world that provoked the convergence of the two approaches. Old ideas about the functions of politics and its factors were transformed in connection with the collapse of the communist system and the formation of a different order. In this situation, its best comprehension will be the combination of the theory of science and pragmatics.
The discussion on the subject of political science allows us to draw the following conclusions. First, the boundaries of its object are determined by the space in which social power is formed and functions. Secondly, the subject of political science depends on the political tradition. And, thirdly, its object is represented by ideas about science, their logical construction, the coherence expressed by the main categories of political science, that is, its most general concepts.
Politics is a kind of social reality that takes shape during the exchange of information between people. And also in the process of forming the same ideas about the role of power, its meaning and organization. A working definition about the subject of this science may sound as follows: political science is a science that studies the structure, distribution and exercise of political power. All this is realized in the course of an individual’s interaction with state bodies and society. The meaning of various methods of communication is to make political decisions that are aimed at satisfying those that are significant for all needs.