1. Aristotle: the study of the polis — the state — the "highest of all communities" aimed at the highest good. ("Political science" = the master science of the good life.)
2. Paul Janet: "that science which treats of the state, which endeavours to determine its conditions, its elements and its manifestations."
3. J.W. Garner: "the study of the state" — beginning and ending with the state.
4. George Catlin: the study of politics as the sphere of power, not merely of the state — "political science is the science of the exercise of power."
5. Harold Lasswell: the study of "who gets what, when and how" — politics as the distribution of values (wealth, safety, dignity) in society.
6. David Easton: the study of "the authoritative allocation of values for a society" — the political system converts society's demands into binding decisions.
7. Modern working definition:Political Science is the systematic study of the state,government, power, political behaviour, and the authoritative making of public decisions.