Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

In line with the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and Zambia’s Eight National Development Plan (8NDP), this progarmme becomes necessary. The 8NDP’s strategic development areas include economic transformation and job creation, human and social development, and good governance environment. The achievement of these strategic development areas requires the necessary human resource. Thus, political science majors are expected to acquire high critical thinking skills, which they would use in many writing requirements, evaluate information, assess arguments, and make informed policy decisions that make positive impact on communities. Political science encourages civic engagement and a commitment to social justice. Students learn about political ideologies, human rights, political power, and role of citizens in shaping political processes. This knowledge empowers individuals to participate actively in their communities and advocate for positive change. Therefore, the typical political science graduate is expected to enter employment that require critical thinking and thus the curriculum in political science involve the assessment of both the quality of the content and the clarity and persuasiveness of the arguments and writing style. Students should compose arguments not just facts gathered from meticulous review of literature, but of sound, logical synthesis of theories that combines the input provided by those facts to put forward an articulate and sound argument. Contemporary political science degree is now treated as general major under Bachelor of Arts degree.

A degree in political science world-wide offers coursework in three major streams of the field, namely: Political Theory; Comparative Politics and International Relations. Recently, there have been modifications in the manner each of the three components have been offered at undergraduate level. For example, many universities offer Political Theory from Classical Thought to Modern Political Thought. They also offer Comparative Politics and International Relations, as core courses for political science majors. Furthermore, in order to remain competitive and offer students the most recent information required for them to enter employment, an undergraduate degree programme in political science must have these components arranged chronologically from second year to fourth year.

Human Resource Gaps

The programme contributes to the country’s human capital development needs by producing undergraduate students with technical, practical and theoretical knowledge in political science within the context of a developing and globalized world Within these existing gaps which includes human resource gap capable of dealing with complex political issues, graduates from this programme which is developed in with Zambia’s Eight National Development Plan (8NDP) should be proficient in conveying complex political ideas to diverse audiences and engaging in constructive dialogue, job creation, social development and good governance. This becomes crucial in bridging the gap between theory and practice and preparing students for real-world challenges in politics and governance. The conventional and reactive approaches to the study of politics and political institutions which respond to politically related problems are now being replaced by preventive and proactive approaches, which monitor and correct or prevent political problems to occur.

Relevance of the Programme

It has been observed that most of our students and some practitioners are not aware of how societies ought to be organised and governed. In this regard, this program was designed to address that knowledge gap. Furthermore, Zambia like any other country of the global world need to adapt swiftly to keep pace with rapidly changing political landscapes. This therefore requires expertise that understands this fact including a flexible curriculum that incorporate global events and new emerging issues in a timely manner.

Acceptability of the Programme to Stakeholders

A University of Zambia undergraduate degree in political science is relevant to the needs of stakeholders. In this sense, the development of this programme involved stakeholder engagement with deep understanding of theories and methods of analysing and comparing political events, democratic values and political institutions, which is crucial for the preservation and advancement of democratic societies as well as provide contemporary methods of solving political problems. To this effect, the degree in this field enhances the capacity of political science students and at the same time maintain the international standards required for a political science undergraduate degree.

The overall objective is to help students to understand the nature of politics and state. This requires an examination or interrogation of questions concerning political power, justice, issues pertaining to governance (how should the state be governed with what political system), different forms of government, what makes a government legitimate, what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government and can a state subject the security policy to open negotiations (liberal internationalist). This broad objective will be achieved through specific objectives:

1. To expose students to critical thinking on the nature and reason of state.
2. To expose students to critical understanding of politics and the reason of government.
3. To provide students with a broad and comprehensive understanding of political systems at various levels, including local, national, and international contexts. This involves studying the structures, processes, and functions of government institutions and dynamics of power, governance, and political behaviour.
4. To equip students with the analytical and critical thinking skills necessary for understanding, evaluating, and addressing complex political issues and pursue further study in specialised area in more depth.
5. To train to a standard sufficient for enrolment in postgraduate research degrees.

1. Foundational Competences

• Explain the various branches of Political Science.
• Investigate the evolution and growth of the major theories of Political Science.
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of approaches and practices to the study of Political Science, their efficacy and limitations.
• Analyse the various components of Political Science.
• Analyse the complexity and dynamics of different political systems.
• Compare and contrast different political systems.

• Apply the various research methods and techniques in Political Science.

  2. Practical Competences

• Deliver services to the public through the various positions occupied.
• Provide advice to political actors on the implementation of policies, programmes and projects.

• Provide policy relevant information to policymakers.

  3. Reflexive Competences

• Effectively communicate information and uphold ethical standards of an organisation.
• Act in a manner that promotes social equity and sustainable development.