Who is the Father of Political Science?

Before Aristotle, people talked about politics, but mostly in terms of morality, religion, or utopian dreams (like his teacher, Plato, who wrote about 'perfect' imaginary cities). Aristotle was the very first person to treat politics as an actual science. He did not rely on imagination. Instead, he systematically studied the actual constitutions of 158 different Greek city-states. He analyzed what laws worked, why certain governments collapsed into tyranny, and categorized governments based entirely on facts and logical observation.

Aristotle documented all his findings in his legendary book simply titled Politics. In this book, he famously declared that "Man is by nature a political animal." He meant that humans are naturally social creatures, and creating a structured state (a government) is the only natural way for humans to survive, find justice, and live a fulfilling life.

Aristotle actually referred to Political Science as the 'Master Science'. He believed that while other sciences teach you how to build a ship or cure a disease, Political Science dictates the rules for the entire society, controlling how all other sciences and citizens operate to achieve the ultimate goal: the happiness of the people.