Most people think that when they study political science they are being trained to become politicians. However, the study of political science is not a vocational training but a social science. The science of political science studies political behavior, political structures and processes. The study is taught differently at every university. One course focuses more on the administrative aspects of political science and the other course focuses more on the theoretical aspects of political science.
Political science: what is it?
Political science, as described in the introduction, studies political behavior, political structures and political processes. Each study can have its own local interpretation. For example, there are 3 courses of study at the University of Amsterdam: public administration, international relations and political theory & behavior. The VU offers a separate political science study and a separate public administration study, they consider these as separate components. The University of Amsterdam’s vision is that public administration and politics are interconnected. Politics is happening everywhere, within unions, within action groups, everywhere people try to pursue their interests as a collective. Everyone wants to have a finger in the pot. Wherever this happens is the political domain, say the Amsterdam political scientists. The political scientists at the VU prefer to make a greater distinction between public administration and administration per se and the study of politics. Further differences are that the University of Leiden has more right-wing students and that the University of Nijmegen educates predominantly left-wing students.
Governance & Policy
The specialization in administration and policy, or public administration, focuses on public administration. The course focuses on administrative processes such as decision-making, agenda setting and power relations. Who achieves what and how do we achieve this? In this course of study you will learn fairly practical knowledge about governing a municipality, country or international governing body such as the United Nations or the European Union. You mainly focus on the policy and decision-making aspects of this.
International relations
International relations has risen in popularity among new students in recent years. The International Relations course focuses on relations between countries. This concerns diplomatic processes. These are of great importance for every country today because the world is becoming more and more uniform and dependent on each other. When the stock markets in America collapse, we here in the Netherlands also notice a lot of it. If a budget deficit arises in Greece, we as a European country must intervene, otherwise this will also have effects on our country. To manage these types of relationships, this course of study trains people who gain insight into transnational relationships and relationships. If you aspire to an international job as a diplomat, you should follow this course of study. Pay attention to your career opportunities, the work is often focused abroad and you will therefore have to travel a lot or even live abroad.
Political theory & behavior
In this course of study you choose to focus on theories regarding political behavior. This is the most ‘scientific’ field of study of all three. You will be trained as a researcher with a thorough knowledge of political processes and structures. After this, you can, for example, work in education or you can work as a scientist at a university.
Origin of the training
After the Second World War, the demand for a study that would teach young people political insight and skills began to increase. Where politicians, journalists and civil servants often studied law or journalism before, there was now a course that focused purely on politics. The field of public administration and politics became a separate domain of analysis. Until that time, public administration had mainly been legal in nature. With the advent of large-scale policy came the need for people who understood policy aimed at social aspects that offered more than a legal framework. People went from a night watchman state to a welfare state. The state came to play a greater role in people’s lives.
In 1947, the University of Amsterdam was the first in the Netherlands to offer such a study. The VU followed in 1956. This was also followed by the University of Nijmegen. These three universities, together with the University of Leiden, still form the basis on which one can receive training in political science.