A Appendix A.1 Proofs
A.2 Instructions to the chance treatment
29
UNIT 3 CONCEPT AND TOOLS FOR POLITICAL
3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 What is Concept
Concept alluded to in the preceding are necessary building blocks of thoughts, beliefs, knowledge or action, and to effectively relate them to reality, condition, problems, solution, or analysis, etc. require a good understanding of their supposed and contextual meanings. Concepts function as an intellectual construct or generalisation used as representative of the category of objects, preoccupation, idea, phenomenon, occurrences, etc. In other words, concepts are the founding purpose, plan, belief, impression or idea behind a given reality like a decision, policy, etc. As a perceptual illustration or exemplification, students are expected to know that concepts provide a preliminary or exploratory idea of how reality is or should be. As explained by Deleuze and Guattari (2017), concept is not given but created or emerges during the process of conceptualization; that is, the process of arriving at generalisation based on what has been perceived, experienced, and or believed. For Ophir (1999),“a concept is a unit of mental representation, a linguistic-perceptual capacity”; and for Margolis and Laurence (1999), concept is an “objective sense”. One thing students may wish to appreciate from these perspectives is that concepts may be defined, but the functions of definition and concept are very well different because concept is broader than definition or even definition of terms. However, in specific, the endeavour to define or provide a definition like the definition of concept is a feature of the nature of the conceptual inquiry, yet conceptual inquiry including its understanding is very significant to political analysis.
Following from the preceding, concepts are not to be taken for granted by students in the process of political analysis because of the responsibility it places on them to create or reconceptualise where and when necessary rather than perceiving it as given. For instance, when concept is treated or used as theoretically given in the process of political analysis, there is the higher possibility that the concept may not be a manifestation of practical reality probably because a concept has been made equivalent to a term whose meaning is very limited. Immanuel Kant (2002) grasped this succinctly well when he said that a concept is a precedent or configuration that allows for the recognition of what appears before us as-what-it-is when it appears. It is important therefore for students of political analysis to know the distinction between a term and a concept. For sure, a term can become or graduate into a concept but a term is specific while concept has a broader view of reality. In this regard, a concept like democracy or people’s sovereignty is likely to become empty when separated from the way it is used daily by most people through a process of apprehending it,
31
reality, and making it clearer from the point of material facts of what they have done or has been done with them. In this 21stcentury, so many talks of democracy, rule of law, separation of power, accountability, change, etc. as if they know what they are saying or they have already happened.
Based on this, concept no doubt is a feature or component of the cognitive system; however, concepts become very important to political analysis when what precisely happened is known. Before students read more, they need to know as Foucault (1972) said that a concept is a standard of discursive, broad, or conversational endeavour, activity or action. As you [students] read more of the importance of concepts to political analysis you will get to know that space, context, circumstance, condition, etc. in relation to places, objects, subjects, and methods are significant to understanding the meaning and role of concepts. Like politics, concepts could be political. Concepts are both abstract and concrete and they both assist in the clear assessment and explanation of the political world.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Explain the meaning of concept in relation to the concept of state and democracy in Nigeria.
3.2 Concepts in Political Science for Political Analysis
Many concepts in political science are relevant for political analysis, among these as identified by Apter (1977) includes generalisation, hypothesis, theories, variables [independent and dependent], categorisation, validation, models, deduction, induction, method paradigm, prediction, falsification, etc. Meanwhile, students are expected to know that they have come across these concepts in their POL 101 when they dealt with “Is Political Science a science”. Furthermore, other concepts in political science inexorably feature in political analysis. These include state, nation, government, citizen, power, authority, progress, development, growth, rule of law, democracy, representation, rule, order, separation of power, constitution, legitimacy, accountability and transparency, good governance, conflict, consensus, compromise, legal and political sovereignty, political conduct, political context, ideology, idea, reality, etc. Thus, students need to know the conceptual and practical or concrete meaning of concepts to help understand the prevailing reality, its existence or otherwise to help them to make meaning of social existence. You should know therefore that analysis in this context cannot be profoundly done without adequate and informed comprehension of concepts in their relatedness and relevance.