 Hello learners, welcome to this discussion on the relationship of political science with other social sciences. Now this discussion pertains to unit 2 of the course political theory part A from the BA first semester program in political science. Now when we try to examine the relationship between political science and other social sciences what we find is that political science being a social science is closely related to other social sciences such as history, economics, sociology, psychology, ethics etc. Thus political science is an autonomous discipline yet it has a very close relationship with other fields of study like economics, history, sociology, psychology, anthropology and ethics. So in this unit we shall discuss the relationship of political science with other social sciences. Now first let us try to focus on the relationship of political science with sociology. Now sociology is the science of society it deals with the origin, development and structure of all forms of human associations in the society. Political science on the other hand mainly deals with one form of human association namely the state. Political science studies the state and government while sociology studies nation, tribe, clan, family and all forms of human associations the state being one of them. However although the spheres of the two sciences have been separated both political science and sociology are complementary to each other. For instance the state which is the subject matter of political science is also dealt with by sociology. As such the scope of political science is much narrower than that of sociology. Moreover political science is restricted to only the political aspect of man's life while sociology deals with the social man in all the forms in all the various aspects of his life namely social, ethnic, economic, political, religious, etc. The behavioral political scientists have taken much from sociological writings of American sociologists like Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton and others to enrich empirical political theory. This popular trend gave birth to a new subject called political sociology. Political science studies the evolution of the state from its very birth and tries to analyze the complex social forces which are responsible for bringing the state organization into existence. By presenting these facts sociology helps political science. Similarly political science also helps sociology by presenting the details about the state and the government. Now we come to the relationship between political science and history. Political science is closely related to history. In order to fully understand the origin and development of political institutions we have to take the help of history. As we find that the political institutions that exist today in a particular form have the roots in the past. At the same time it must be mentioned that history is not merely a record of past events and institutions. For example the nature of monarchy in Britain and the functioning of the British Parliament can be appreciated only in the light of a thorough study of the history of Britain. The history of Britain reveals that the English people continually protested and struggled against the despotic monarchy of their own rulers resulting in the glorious revolution of 1688. It paved the way for the establishment of a limited monarchy and recognition of the rights of the parliament of Britain. The study of history becomes fruitful only when the political significance of various historical events and movements is properly appreciated. Thus both history and political science are complementary and contributory. For the understanding of history knowledge of political institutions and the principles which govern them is very vital. Again political scientists draw conclusions from historical events and arrive at principles which govern political life. The relationship between history and political science has been very aptly described by the British historian Sir John Sealy as follows. History without political science has no fruit. Political science without history has no root. Now let us examine the relationship of political science with economics. The relation between political science and economics is very intimate. As a matter of fact economics started its career as political economy. The Greeks regarded political economy as the art of providing revenue for the state. In the name of the book by the British political economist Admiral Smith, the father of modern economics was titled, Wealth of Nations. Admiral Smith pointed out that economics is a science to enrich people and the state. Writers like Machiavelli, Italian thinker John Locke was a British philosopher, Bentham again a British political philosopher, James Mill, British political thinker and James Mill another prominent British political thinker discussed political and economic affairs together. According to Karl Marx was a German thinker it is the economic factor alone which determines the politics of a nation. The forms and functions of government are considerably influenced by economic forces. The concepts of individualism, socialism and communism are primarily based on economic principles. Conversely, the economic activities of a country are largely determined by the existing form of government and its policies. Economic stability accounts for political stability and vice versa. Modern states are confronted with numerous economic problems which cannot be solved except through the political action of the state. The taxation policy of the government, its export and import policy, its exchange rates and the banking system related policies etc influence the economy of a country to a great extent. The modern state is now regarded as a welfare state whose main functions are economic in nature. Now, we try to discuss the relationship between political science and ethics. The relationship between political science and ethics is very close. Both of political science and ethics aim at doing good to man and promoting the common welfare. The state was organized for maintaining law, order and morality. As a matter of fact, laws should be enacted in such a way as to strengthen the moral beliefs of the state. Since long, social and political philosophers have tried to integrate their ideas about state, government and law with certain ethical standards. Modern for human beings and human values is a fundamental aspect of modern day political science. The ancient philosophers duly emphasized the moral end of the state. For example, in the ancient period, the Greek philosopher Plato put forward the theory of the ideal state. Aristotle also said that state exists for good life. During the medieval period, theology governed the ethical standards in politics. Modern political thinkers like Rousseau who was a French political philosopher, then Kant who was a German political philosopher, Hegel, another German philosopher, Green who was a British political philosopher and of course Mahatma Gandhi also attacks great importance to ethics and morality in political science. Modern writers also speak of the close relationship between ethics and political science. Mahatma Gandhi tried to combine political principles with moral values and laid stress on the fact that both ends and means should always be good. So Mahatma Gandhi tried to establish an integral connection between ethical means and ethical aims. In the next section, we shall talk about the relationship between political science and anthropology, political science and psychology and so on. In the previous sections, we discussed the relationship of political science with history, sociology, economics and ethics. In this particular section, we shall talk about the relationship of political science with other disciplines such as anthropology, psychology and so on. First, let us deal with the relationship of political science with anthropology. Political science is closely related to anthropology. Anthropology has a wealth of material regarding diverse types of social systems in terms of the customs, attitudes, values, patterns of behavior, leadership, etc. Political science takes the help of such data for making comparative analysis. Writers like James, who was an American anthropologist and Morgan, another American anthropologist, have collected immense facts from anthropology on the basis of which they have explained the origin of the state. Racial unity is still regarded as a strong bond of nationality. The modern system of law has been constantly influenced by ancient usages, customs and religious institutions recorded by anthropology. So we find that there is a relationship between anthropology and political science in terms of each influencing the other. Now, let us try to examine the relationship of political science with geography. Political science has also some relation with geography. The character and national life of peoples are influenced by physical conditions of a state such as topography, climatic conditions, insularity, presence of absence of rivers or mountains, proximity to or distance from the sea. So these geographical factors influence the character and national life of people of different countries. The difference in geographical factors largely explains the difference in the trend of political thought, economy and administrative systems of different countries. Various writers have attempted to prove the relationship between geographical environment and political organizations of the people. French political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued that climatic conditions could determine the nature of the quality of a nation. French political philosopher Montesquieu emphasized the influence of physical environments on the forms of government and liberty of the people. Now, let us try to discuss the relationship of political science with psychology. Political science has an intimate relationship with psychology, the science of the human mind. Social psychology in particular is of great help in understanding the mind and behavior of the human groups. The ideas and laws propounded by this state are likely to fail if they ignore the psychological factors of people. Thus, political science is integrally related to other social sciences such as sociology, history, economics, ethics, anthropology and so on. Political science helps us to understand other social sciences better and vice versa. Thank you.