Political science is the social scientific study of politics, meticulously analyzing systems of governance, power, political behavior, and associated laws and constitutions. This modern discipline began to emerge distinctly from political philosophy and history in the latter half of the 19th century, leading to the creation of dedicated university departments.

Its independent identity was solidified with the founding of organizations such as the American Political Science Association (APSA) in 1903 and the International Political Science Association (IPSA) in 1949. The mid-20th century, specifically the 1950s and 1960s, witnessed a "behavioral revolution" that stressed the rigorous scientific study of individual and group political behavior, with prominent figures like Robert Dahl contributing significantly. Subsequently, the late 1960s saw an increased adoption of deductive, game-theoretic formal modeling, borrowing analytical approaches from economics to study political institutions.