How Tebello Nyokong might approach Political Science

Political Science, as it is often presented, can be a comforting illusion, a neat arrangement of terms and theories designed to obscure the messy, material realities of power. We are given frameworks, models, and analyses that speak of states, institutions, and elections as if they existed in a vacuum, detached from the historical currents that forged them and the economic forces that sustain them. The fundamental question, however, remains: to what end is this 'science' conducted?

We must interrogate the underlying structures that shape not only the curriculum but the very questions political scientists deem worthy of pursuit. Is this a discipline that truly seeks to understand how societies are governed, or one that rationalizes existing modes of governance, often inherited from a colonial past? The legacy of this is not merely historical, but deeply material, evident in the persistent inequalities and uneven development that plague many of our nations.

One cannot speak of genuine liberation without addressing the ideological underpinnings of our discipline. When the focus remains on superficial changes in leadership or electoral processes, while ignoring the fundamental expropriation of resources and labor, we are engaging in a form of intellectual obfuscation. It is imperative that we move beyond superficial analyses and embrace a dialectical understanding, one that recognizes the inherent contradictions within capitalist-driven global and national orders, and the relentless struggle for self-determination by those historically dispossessed. True political science, for us, must be a tool for liberation, a means to dismantle oppressive systems and build societies rooted in justice and equity.

Imagined perspective — an AI synthesis grounded in Tebello Nyokong’s recorded ideas and methods, not a quotation or a statement they actually made.