Political System Approach by David Easton

Abstract

David Easton was the first political scientist who systematically developed a framework on the basis of the systems approach for the study of politics systems. He has selected the political system as the basic unit of analysis. However, he concentrated on the inter system behaviour of various systems as principal areas of research. He put forward his ideas in his work entitled “The Political System: An Inquiry into the State of Political Science”, published in 1953. Later on it was elaborated in his books namely “A Framework for Political Analysis” and “A Systems Analysis of Political Life”, both published in 1965. Political scientist, before him, studied only isolated political institution or area. That never led to a useful study because the environment around were totally ignored. Easton found political system the most suitable unit through which all the political processes and forces could be analyzed. He was first concerned with the relationships between a system and the environment in which it was located. He gives attention to the boundary politics and other aspects of social life.