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Political Science

Have you ever wondered…

  • Why we have government?
  • Whether governments have the right to tell us what to do?
  • Whether democracy is the best form of government?
  • Whether governments should intervene in the economy?
  • How a leader’s personal beliefs influence political decisions?
  • What the causes of war are?
  • Whether countries should accept immigrants or refugees?
  • Why the UN Security Council is undemocratic?
  • Why some countries are rich and others are poor?
  • Whether affirmative action really is a fair policy for South Africa?
  • Where human rights come from?
  • Whether there should be a world government?
  • How individuals, communities and states should act within our global commons and the environment?

If so, then you should consider a degree (or specific modules) in Political Science. If being a more effective citizen, professional, and indeed human being, concerns you, then this discipline is for you. It is one of a very limited number of disciplines to which all students benefit from being exposed.

Because Political Science is such a broad discipline, it embraces a wide array of academic sub-disciplines such as Political Theory, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Public Policy and Administration. Within these sub-disciplines, students also encounter the politics and institutions of specific countries and regions – including of course African and South African Politics – as well as environmental politics, gender politics, political economy and public policy and administration. At the undergraduate level, you will take courses in each of these sub-disciplines whereas at the postgraduate level, you choose a particular sub-discipline in which to specialize. 

This Sub-discipline explores the basic question: ‘What kind of political system ought we to have?’. It is the study of fundamental issues to do with the state, government, politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, obligations and law.

Comparative Politics on its own does not have a substantive focus because it is a methodological sub-discipline: It focuses on the ‘how’ but does not specify the ‘what’ of the analysis. The ‘what’ in this sub-discipline is the Politics of Development which is the analysis of theories, patterns, and modernization, dependency, industrialization, democracy and security.

In this Sub-discipline the focus is on foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system, including the roles of states, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and multinational corporations. Globalization and its impact on societies and state sovereignty, ecological sustainability, nuclear proliferation, economic development, terrorism, organized crime, human security, and human rights are among the subjects covered in this area of study.
Here Students are provided with a launching pad from which to unravel the politics of Africa. The 1950s marked the start of a new stage in Africa’s contemporary history and in this sub-discipline; we examine the events, issues and circumstances affecting Africa: exploring the challenges for a continent attempting to affect a regional turn-around, and so secure political and economic freedom.
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From examining the major political institutions, to engaging with issues that macro-economic policy, HIV/AIDS, corruption, crime, land, civil society, this sub-discipline enables students to have a real sense of the after-effects of apartheid, the health of South Africa’s Democracy, the state of the economy and development, as well as how South Africans see themselves