Doing Political Science Differently: Experiences from an Institute of Social Sciences

Discourse on the Relevance of Political Science

The discipline of political science has experienced ups and downs in its career over the period (Stoker, Peters & Pierre, 2015, p. 2). Concerns related to the relevance of the discipline have been raised across the globe in the contemporary era. In Britain, the credibility is questioned on the ground that there is a little or no relevance of political science to some of the ‘insular’ issues, such as public policy and governance, among others (Wood, 2014). This is because policymakers of the contemporary Britain are highly relying on quantitative evidence. Therefore, political science with its qualitative research is gradually losing to disciplines, such as behavioural economics relying heavily on quantitative indicators. As a consequence, the British government is hesitant in commissioning research to political scientists. There is a concern that political scientists and policymakers do not learn much from each other. This has resulted in a ‘gap between what research policy makers demand of political scientists and what research political scientists are willing or able to provide’ (Wood, 2014, p. 281). As an outcome, a dismal picture concerning the relevance of the discipline arises in terms of its ability to offer practical solutions to policy problems (Peters, Pierre & Stoker, 2010, p. 341). In the USA, the discipline is being challenged on the ground that its adopted methodology is beyond understanding of a wider audience. In 2015, the Uzbekistan government banned teaching of political science across the country by considering it as Western pseudo-science that ignores the ‘Uzbek model’ of development. ²

The career of political science in India also has had a checkered history. The sudden establishment of political science departments in various universities and institutions since the early 1960s contributed to the resurgence of the discipline in India (Shah, 2001). However, the credibility of political scientists has been under scrutiny from time to time. It is suggested that the Indian political science has failed to contribute anything ‘original’ to the social science literature. It has been accused of being derivative in nature. As one commentator reflects ‘whether it be leading concepts in political theory, or questions of research methodology, or matters of procedural and substantive, it is western scholars who give the lead and offer new insights…’ (Fernandes, 1990, p. 15). In this background, the place of political science as a discipline appears to be shaky if one looks at the organization of the more recently established central universities in India and also in many private universities. ³ In many of these institutions, the conventional political science departments have been replaced by centres/schools of public policy, governance, international relations, development studies, etc. Does this mean that the status of the discipline has been challenged in the more recent period? Does it alert us to the need to reorient the discipline of political science as we understood it conventionally and ‘do’ political science differently?

This does not mean that the contributions of Indian political scientists to the development of the discipline need not be acknowledged. By way of a critical response to the charge of ‘Indian political science being a derivative discourse’, Gurpreet Mahajan’s (2013) contribution to Zed Book’s World Political Theories series must be acclaimed. Rajni Kothari’s (1964) thesis of ‘the Congress System’ probably is one of the top-cited references across the globe when it comes to addressing the nature of Indian party system. We cannot be oblivious to Partha Chatterjee’s (2001) notion of ‘political society’ concerning the contribution to the discipline. There are many such exemplary efforts of Indian political scientists that have enriched the global discipline of political science. The bulk of teaching and research of Indian political science, however, tends to remain dull in India.

It underlines the need to do political science differently. This can be carried out by developing more interdisciplinary curriculum rather than the traditional/conventional ways. The interdisciplinarity of political science is substantially recognized by various universities and social sciences institutions in the contemporary period. These institutions focus more on establishing departments/centres that conduct interdisciplinary research and teaching. In this context, the TISS is at the forefront to offer interdisciplinary teaching and research, where political science forms an integral part of the undergraduate teaching.

Political Science and Other Social Sciences

There is a reciprocal relationship between political science and other social sciences, such as history, economics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, geography and philosophy, among others. Though social sciences are closely linked with each other yet they are sufficiently distinct to venture upon their own area of research. The continuous interaction between political science and other social sciences has led to the emergence of many interesting fields of study that combine two or more social sciences. The domains such as political sociology, political economy, political psychology and political geography can make a point. The persistent interface between different social sciences has enabled to establish various specialized centres, such as women studies, development studies, conflict studies, labour studies and the study of social exclusion and inclusive policy in many Indian universities.

Institute of Social Sciences and Political Science

The TISS is at the forefront to offer interdisciplinary courses beginning from Integrated Bachelor of Arts-Master of Arts (BA-MA) to research degrees, such as MPhil. and PhD. ⁴ Courses on politics are an integral part of the BA in Social Sciences (BASS) at the Institute. Students enrolled for MA in Social Work (MASW) with specialization in Community Organization and Development Practice (CODP) take up advanced courses incorporating key elements of political science. The research degree of MPhil. in Social Sciences also involves key components of political science in its syllabi. In BASS, there are three papers, such as Political Science and Its Concerns, Politics and Governance in India and International Relations and Indian Foreign Policy. The first paper introduces the students to some of the key concepts of political science, such as state, government, democracy, political party, representation, participation, individualism, liberalism, utilitarianism and Marxism. It also deals with some of the concepts of contemporary political theory, such as Rawlsian liberalism, libertarianism, multiculturalism and deliberative democracy. The second paper deals with the issues and concerns of Indian political system. The third paper focuses on some of the key issues that are integral to understand international relations and nature and dynamics of India’s foreign policy. Like other social science subjects, after studying the first paper, the students are given a choice whether they want to study political science in the second year. Looking at the trend in Guwahati Campus since the inception of the programme, political science has become one of the most popular social sciences among the students.

The interdisciplinary perspectives gained at the undergraduate level help students to acquire a more nuanced understanding of political and social issues. The interdisciplinary courses ⁵ engage with issues that are central to concerns of political science. The courses of the Centres for Peace and Conflict Studies (PaCS), Labour Studies and Social Protection (LSSP) and Community Organization and Development Practice (CODP) are directly related to concerns of political science. The PaCS encourages students into discussions, without being overtly polemical, on a range of critical issues of discourses concerning the state, constitution, rights, liberty, equality, justice, multiculturalism, minority rights, international conflicts, conflict resolution and establishment/restoration of peace. The courses are well designed to address issues of social justice, marginalization, discrimination, subjugation and dispossession endured by different social groups, such as Dalits, Adivasis, women, religious minorities, etc. It has been observed from the class that students (especially the Integrated BA-MA) with a special interest in political science do opt PaCS programme due to its close proximity with political science.

Similarly, LSSP also draws on some issues of political relevance. Among other things, some of the papers focus on the changing relationship between democracy, governance and public policy. The understanding of the role of the state in development planning, role of the bureaucracy in policy formulation and implementation, place of public in the discourse on bureaucracy and democracy are some of the major focus. The LSSP centre, however, has a labour-oriented approach to these concerns of political science. In addition, it also raises the concerns of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that prominently entered into the social science discourse in the 1990s. The discussion on CSR assumes more significance in the 1990s because of the gradual hollowing out of the state and the shrinking scope of the public sector undertakings (PSUs).

Unlike PaCS and LSSP, the paper Contemporary Politics in India grounded in CODP seems to be one of the core papers of the discipline in universities that offer a full-fledged course in political science. At TISS, however, the paper has a community-oriented approach to issues of state, democracy, constitution, political parties, electoral politics, political behaviour and the emergence of alternative politics in India. In short, without sabotaging the broader objectives of these centres, the TISS curriculum introduces the disciplinary perspective of political science to its students. The relevance of political science cannot be reduced only to courses taught by these three centres (PaCS, LSSP and CODP). These are referred here because of my familiarity with courses since I teach some of the papers that are broadly related to political science.

Drawing on the interdisciplinary nature of the Institute, I offer a thematic course—Democracy, Rights and Tribes in India—to the MPhil. students. The paper is a blend of political science and tribal/adivasi studies, and the response is overwhelming. The enthusiastic engagement of students in raising issues and concerns in the class usually goes beyond their disciplinary background and re-emphasizes the relevance of doing political science in a slightly modified way.

Unlike some of the comparative notes that the Teaching-Learning Politics in India section of the journal has already published, ⁶ the structuring of the courses in TISS is different than the conventional departments of political science in India. The curriculum is not stagnant but dynamic in nature. The dynamic nature is reflected in the form of revising the syllabus over the period by blending the feedback collected from students, experiences of the teachers teaching the subject and recent developments concerning the subject at large. Such approach of the institute certainly equips the students to keep themselves up-to-date about the issues that affect the society in general and the discipline in particular. Besides these formally taught papers in BA and MA, MPhil.–Ph.D. students embark upon research on areas that are largely located in the discipline of political science. Some of the important themes related to issues of identity politics, conflict, social justice, governance and gender, among other areas of research.

Political science is an integral part of social sciences. By introducing BASS, TISS has taken yet another significant step to enrich further its interdisciplinary character and continues to preserve its credentials as one of the premier institutions of social sciences in the country. The training of social sciences opens up the opportunities for the students to have competing orientations to certain concepts that repeatedly appear in different social science disciplines. Students of social sciences at TISS have been benefitting in the form of incrementally developing interdisciplinary interpretations on concepts, such as state, rights, justice, equality, marginalization, discrimination, preferential policies, etc. It helps the students to develop critical yet unbiased views on experiences of individuals and communities in different spheres of life.

Conclusion

The emergence of interdisciplinary research and the establishment of interdisciplinary teaching and research centres in different universities and institutions should not be seen as the beginning of the decline of political science in India. Rather the interdisciplinary courses should be seen as complementing the learning of political science, and in turn insights from political science would complement the broader objectives of interdisciplinary research. Such attempts would essentially underline the importance of doing political science albeit differently. However, there is a need for political science to engage more with other social sciences for mutual advantages. Political science would neither replace nor dilute the relevance of other social science disciplines but essentially provide the ground for enriching the understanding of subject-matters of other disciplines and vice versa.

Scholars have been concerned about the contemporary relevance of the discipline of political science in different contexts. Peters et al. (2010) advocate the socially relevant political science. For them, methodological pluralism would act as the means of increasing the contemporary relevance of political science since there is nothing as neutral or value-free political science (Peters et al., 2010, p. 327). This would enable the discipline to engage more with society.

Lessons can be drawn from the ongoing discourse on the contemporary relevance of political science. In the age of interdisciplinary research, there is a need to change the orientation of doing political science in India. Scholars of political science should be more equipped to deal with these sweeping circumstances to increase the relevance of political science. The unconventional institutions, such as TISS, Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs), have already adopted the changes that come their way. Political science departments in the universities should be ready to adopt these changes and reorient the discipline. This could be carried out by planning the curriculum in association with other social sciences. The unconventional institutions show us one way of restructuring courses without diluting the relevance of political science in India.