Anthony Downs was a prominent American political economist and public policy scholar, best known for his works on rational choice theory and its application to politics and public administration. His most influential contributions include An Economic Theory of Democracy (1957) and Inside Bureaucracy (1967).

Here are some key ideas associated with Anthony Downs:

1. Economic Theory of Democracy

Downs' An Economic Theory of Democracy is one of the foundational works in applying rational choice theory to political science. In this book, he developed a model of political behavior based on economic principles. His key contributions include:

• Rational Voter Theory: Voters are seen as rational actors who aim to maximize their utility by choosing candidates or parties that align most closely with their preferences. However, Downs also introduced the concept of rational ignorance, which suggests that voters have limited incentives to be fully informed due to the high costs of acquiring information compared to the perceived impact of a single vote.
• Median Voter Theorem: One of Downs' most famous propositions is the Median Voter Theorem, which posits that in a two-party system, parties will converge toward the preferences of the median voter in order to maximize their chances of winning an election. This results in centrist policies as the two main parties shift their platforms to appeal to the largest segment of the electorate.

2. Bureaucratic Behavior

In Inside Bureaucracy, Downs explored the behavior of bureaucrats and public institutions. He emphasized that bureaucrats, like other actors, are driven by self-interest, career advancement, and goals that may diverge from the organization's official mission. His work laid the groundwork for the study of bureaucratic behavior using rational choice models, focusing on:

• Types of Bureaucratic Officials: Downs categorized bureaucrats into types, such as climbers, conservers, zealots, and advocates, each driven by distinct motivations and preferences. This categorization offered a nuanced perspective on how different types of officials might pursue goals based on their own incentives.

3. Downs’ Theory of Issue-Attention Cycles

Anthony Downs also formulated the Issue-Attention Cycle, which describes the public’s attention span concerning social and political issues. He argued that issues go through five stages:

1. Pre-Problem Stage: A problem exists but hasn’t captured public attention.
2. Discovery and Enthusiasm: Public awareness of the issue rises, and enthusiasm for solving it increases.
3. Realizing the Costs: As awareness deepens, people begin to recognize the costs of significant change.
4. Decline of Interest: Enthusiasm and interest in the issue start to fade.
5. Post-Problem Stage: The issue persists in a less prominent form.

Influence and Legacy

Downs' work has significantly influenced political science, public policy, and economics. His rational choice approach reshaped the way scholars study voting behavior, political parties, public administration, and public policy. His insights into voter behavior, party competition, and bureaucratic dynamics continue to be essential references in these fields.

Graham Wallas’s Human Nature in Politics (1908) is a foundational work in political psychology and an early critique of the rationalist assumptions in political theory. Wallas, a British social psychologist and political theorist, argued that traditional political science overlooked the importance of emotions, instincts, and irrational behaviors in political life. He emphasized the limitations of purely rational or mechanical models of human behavior in politics and called for a broader understanding that incorporates human psychology.

Key Themes in Human Nature in Politics:

1. Critique of Rationalism in Political Theory

Wallas critiqued the prevailing assumption that human beings are primarily rational actors who make political decisions based solely on reason and self-interest. He argued that political science had become overly mechanical, ignoring the fact that human behavior is also driven by emotions, instincts, and social influences. He saw traditional political thought as too dependent on rationalist frameworks that assumed voters were consistently logical in their political decisions.

2. Psychological Foundations of Politics

Wallas introduced the idea that political decisions are influenced by deeper psychological factors. He emphasized that understanding human nature—including instincts, emotions, and unconscious motivations—is crucial for understanding political behavior. This recognition laid the groundwork for political psychology by suggesting that political scientists need to incorporate psychological insights into their theories and models.

3. Role of Emotion and Irrationality in Political Behavior

Wallas highlighted the role of emotion in political decision-making, arguing that feelings such as fear, hope, and loyalty play a significant role in shaping political actions. He believed that political leaders and movements often appeal to these emotions rather than to purely rational arguments. This was a significant departure from the rational-choice models of his time, and Wallas emphasized how emotional appeals could mobilize or manipulate masses.

4. Importance of Political Education and Propaganda

Wallas pointed out that public opinion is often shaped through propaganda and political education, rather than through reasoned debate. He argued that people are susceptible to emotional and suggestive influences from leaders, the media, and other social forces. He was ahead of his time in recognizing the emerging power of mass communication and the role of propaganda in shaping democratic politics.

5. Call for a Broader Approach to Political Science

In Human Nature in Politics, Wallas advocated for a more comprehensive and realistic approach to studying politics. He encouraged political scientists to engage with insights from psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Wallas was skeptical of purely mathematical or deterministic models, and he promoted a holistic understanding of human nature in political contexts.

Influence and Legacy

Wallas’s work challenged the dominant rationalist and mechanistic views in political science, laying the groundwork for subsequent developments in behavioral and psychological approaches to politics. His insights were a precursor to what would later emerge as behavioralism and post-behavioralism in political science. Wallas’s emphasis on emotions, instincts, and non-rational influences resonated with later scholars who questioned purely rational models of political behavior, like Herbert Simon and his concept of bounded rationality.

Graham Wallas was one of the founding members of the Fabian Society and also contributed significantly to the field of public administration. His ideas remain relevant in contemporary political psychology, as they help explain phenomena like voting behavior, political propaganda, and the emotional appeal of political movements.

Analysis:

• Assertion (A) is true. Post-behavioralism, as a movement in political science, emerged in response to the limitations of behavioralism, which was criticized for its overemphasis on empirical data (facts) and neglect of values and normative concerns. Post-behavioralists argued that political science should not only focus on measurable behaviors and quantitative data but should also incorporate values, ethics, and the broader societal impacts of political decisions. David Easton, a key figure in this movement, emphasized that political science needed to be both relevant and action-oriented, with an emphasis on addressing real-world problems.
• Reason (R) is also true, but only partially linked. Post-behavioralism indeed encourages inter-disciplinarity by incorporating insights from psychology, sociology, economics, and other fields. This broader approach is intended to give political science a more comprehensive understanding of political phenomena. However, the primary purpose of post-behavioralism was not merely to promote inter-disciplinarity, but rather to reintegrate values and normative considerations into political analysis to make it more relevant and action-oriented.

The "Credo of Relevance" is associated with post-behavioralism, a political science approach that emphasizes substance over techniques. The concept was proposed by Canadian-American political scientist David Easton, who was previously a leading believer of behaviorism. Easton's "Credo of Relevance" is a set of seven features that outline the basic tenets of post-behavioralism:
  i. Substance over techniques
 ii. Change orientation
 iii. Relevant research
 iv. Value laden research
  v. Social change over social preservation
 vi. Political science should not lose touch with the realities of politics
vii. Political science should not be value free
 viii. Political scientists should protect the humane values of civilization

The idea of the "group" and the concept of "process" are central to the work of Arthur Bentley. Bentley was an American political scientist and a key figure in the development of group theory in political science. His most significant contribution is found in his 1908 work, The Process of Government, where he introduced a new way of thinking about political dynamics through the lens of group interactions.

Key Ideas from Arthur Bentley:

1. Group Theory

Bentley argued that politics should be understood as the interaction of groups rather than as the actions of individuals. He saw political activity as the result of conflicts, negotiations, and cooperation among different social, economic, and interest groups. In his view, groups are the fundamental units of political analysis because they aggregate and represent the interests of individuals.

2. Concept of Process

Bentley emphasized the "process" of how groups interact, form alliances, and engage in conflict to influence governmental decisions and policies. He viewed politics not as a static entity but as a dynamic and continuous process of group interactions. Bentley was less concerned with formal structures like laws and institutions and more focused on the activities and relationships among various groups.

3. Rejection of Traditional Approaches

Bentley’s approach represented a rejection of the more traditional ways of studying politics, which focused on legal frameworks, institutions, and individual leaders. He believed that these approaches overlooked the actual mechanisms of how power operates. For Bentley, politics was about observable actions and group behavior rather than abstract notions like the state, sovereignty, or justice.

The title of the "Intellectual Godfather of Behaviouralism" is often attributed to Charles E. Merriam. Merriam was a pioneering American political scientist who played a significant role in the development of behaviouralism in political science during the early 20th century.

Charles E. Merriam emphasized the empirical study of political behavior, moving away from the traditional normative and descriptive approaches in political science. He advocated for a more scientific and quantitative approach, which laid the foundation for the behavioural movement in the field. His influence extended through his own work and by mentoring several leading scholars who went on to shape political science in the mid-20th century.

To arrange the events/concepts in the order in which they appeared historically, let's look at their time periods:

1. Glorious Revolution – Took place in 1688 in England, leading to the establishment of constitutional monarchy.
2. Proletariat Revolution – Refers to the Marxist revolution led by the working class, often associated with the Russian Revolution of 1917.
3. Behavioural Revolution – This occurred in political science in the 1950s and 1960s, emphasizing empirical research and scientific methods in the study of politics.
4. Total Revolution – The concept was popularized by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1974 in India, calling for a comprehensive social, political, and economic change.

Correct chronological order:

i - ii - iv - iii

1. Structural-functionalism (1940s-1950s): This approach, which examines how structures within a political system function to maintain stability, emerged in the mid-20th century. Scholars like Talcott Parsons and Gabriel Almond were influential in its development.
2. Post-behaviourism (late 1960s): This approach arose as a reaction to Behaviouralism, advocating for the inclusion of normative and value-based concerns in political analysis. It was championed by David Easton, who emphasized the importance of relevance and action-oriented research.
3. Neo-liberalism (1970s-1980s): This political and economic ideology, associated with thinkers like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, advocating for free-market policies, deregulation, and limited government intervention.
4. Communitarianism (1980s-1990s): Emerging as a critique of liberal individualism, Communitarianism focuses on the importance of community and social responsibilities. Scholars like Amitai Etzioni and Charles Taylor contributed to its development during the late 20th century.