Qn. 21: Discuss David Easton’s model of Systems Analysis. (2015/I/4c/15)
Systems analysis or systems theory is a pioneering model of political analysis, by David Easton, a political scientist, professor and former President of American Political Science Association (APSA). He sought to yield explanations for the interacting components of political processes. Easton’s model describes inputs from the environment (‘demands’ and ‘supports’) into the political system, which yields outputs (‘decisions’ and ‘policies’), which further produce' feedback ' in the environment, affecting subsequent inputs. The model is a liberal view of politics.
Easton aspired to make politics a science, i.e. working with highly abstract models that described the regularities of patterns and processes in political life. So, politics should be seen as a whole, not as a collection of different problems to be solved. Easton was at the forefront of behavioural and post- behavioural movements. After the adoption of scientific methods, political analysis flourished.
Political analysis can be described as the determination of the nature of the process of politics. This is done by identifying the interacting components in political processes and arranging collected data to yield an explanation. Easton presented his conceptual framework in his The Political System (1953). He elaborated it further, in 1965, in his two books, A Framework for Political Analysis, and A Systems Analysis of Political Life.
First, he presented and developed the conceptual framework of systems analysis. He attempted to provide a ‘general’ functional theory of politics. According to Robert Dahl, ‘System’ is the broad unit of his analysis. A system is “any collection of elements that interact with one another”. Easton sees persistence as the goal of a political system.
Easton’s model describes inputs from the environment as ‘demands’ and ‘supports’. Demands guide the political system. Types of demands are – those for allocation of goods and services; for regulation of behaviour; for participation in the political system; and for communication. Supports enable political system to achieve its goals. Types of supports are material supports; obedience to law; political participatory supports; attention and respect to public authority.
Outputs from the political system are decisions and policies, types of which are – extractions, regulations of behaviour, distribution of goods and services and symbolic outputs. Outputs further produce ‘feedback’ in the environment, affecting subsequent inputs. Feedback is a communication process, in response to political system or its environment, to structures within the political system, to affect modification in future actions. It helps the political system to approach its goals.
Easton considered the political system as an information processing system and labelled politics as “authoritative allocation of values”. By studying the model, the political actors and citizens can learn ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘how’ of political operations, and take necessary actions.