explaining the subject matter of modern political analysis. How important it is to the student of politics.

SAIED SULAIMAN TAFIDA

Modern political analysis, as the name implies is the study of political debates and political phenomena’s. The course seeks to addresses some of the more important philosophical questions underlying theoretical and methodological choices that all political scientist must make and relate these to recent work and debates in the discipline of political science. (Stuart 2005)
Even though the course is a science, that is, it uses the scientific methods of researching, data collection and analyzing in its processes, all subject matters of social science, which is man, cannot be subjected to laboratory. Hence, the obvious question, “is it possible to have a scientific study of politics?” Social sciences, lacks a define way of oprationalizing its concepts and prepositions, therefore, the modern political analysis seek to study major political contest. It seeks to analyze and critically scrutinize the different methods and thoughts in the explanation of political processes
The general attempt by different philosophers to proffer explanations to political methodologies led to the division of the philosophers and theorists along different lines and orientation, within the discipline of political science. Some of these approaches are upheld and criticized where necessary, few among them are as follows.
Naturalist and anti naturalist; the naturalist believe that social sciences can be studied as any other natural science. For them state can be studied like water and can be subjected to certain conditioning for a certain result. While the anti naturalists argue, that politics which deal with human beings cannot be studied in the lab.
The positivist approaches, focuses on the use of empirical methods, surveys and observations to the study of human beings and politics. Close to the positivist are the individuals approaches, or known as the rational choice. The approach believes that social systems are fully reducible to individuals and their actions. These approaches counter the holistic approach which postulates that a group of individuals is more than just the sum of its parts, and so must be studies in aggregate.
The system approach tries to look at politics as a product of a whole of interdependent and interrelated parts, with each part functioning for the survival of the whole.
The communication approach looked at communication rather than power in the study of politics. And it can be best analyzed in the transmission of massages and reaction to those massages from the public.
The elitist approach opined on the alienation of labor, worker and his labor. It focuses on the existence of inequalities, distributed along wealth, power, prestige and authority in societies.
These debates try to provide and analyze political situations. However none of them is an article of faith. They are all being criticized for the short falls in one place or the other.
The Importance of political analysis to a political science student cannot be over emphasized. The contestations and the debates are the hallmarks of political science. It equipped a student with varieties of options and choices of explanations of political phenomena.
Most political propositions are metaphorical; politics is the art of navigating the ship of state. (Kenneth 2000). The different debates and approaches to the study of politics in modern political analysis serve as signs and navigational compass for the steersman of the ship of state.
One of the important conjunctions in politics is between the present and the future, between the differences in the cultures and interpretations. Modern political analysis provides varieties of thoughts and methodologies for a student politics to understand a certain political concept at a certain time based on a certain orientation for a better ruling and judgment. It is safe to say Modern political analysis is the back born of political science.

Refrences

1 Kenneth Minogue Politics, Avery short introduction. Oxford
University press, New York, 2000

2 Stuat, Soroka Modern political analysis notes, Leacock
University 2005.