Aristotle described political science as the overarching science, arguing that it helps us understand who we are as human beings and how we can live happy and productive lives in communities. Political science is a highly diverse field united around a core interest. Political scientists study power, and especially power used for public purposes: how it is created, organized, distributed, justified, used, resisted, and sometimes destroyed. They study power both normatively and empirically. They study it in different settings: within states, among states, and in spaces that states do not (or no longer) control. They consider past as well as contemporary patterns. They use a wide array of approaches and methods to gain leverage on the even wider array of questions they pose.

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