What is Politics?
Politics is the activity of people in groups or nations attempting to influence the decisions made by other people or the institutions that govern them. The word is generally used negatively, but it can also be seen as a positive force that helps to resolve differences. Politics has been around as long as humans have faced scarcity and conflicting values and preferences, and as long as governments have struggled to allocate scarce resources.
The narrowest definition of politics is that which concerns the state. This includes all activities that involve, or in some way directly affect, the institutions of the state – from determining public services to enforcing laws and providing security. It also includes the activities of those who manage the state, namely politicians who are elected to temporarily run it (at least in democracies).
But the narrow view of politics neglects many other things that are arguably political – for example campaigning to get a politician into office, or arguing about policy issues with friends and colleagues. It also ignores the fact that a large number of political activities take place outside the state, whether in organisations such as businesses or trade unions, in communities or churches, in schools or universities, in sports clubs or even on social media sites.
These political activities are all part of what makes politics, but the key point is that they are motivated by the desire to influence the decisions that are made by the people who manage the state and the wider society. In other words, they are a form of power politics – the authoritative and legitimate struggle for limited resources and precious rights and privileges in a given polity.
Almost all states have some kind of governing structure, and most have formal political parties to represent different ideological viewpoints. In the United States, for example, the Democratic and Republican parties are the two dominant political parties, and both have a significant presence in national elections.
States interact with each other in a range of ways, from international military alliances and trade agreements to regional cooperation through the United Nations or the African Union. Occasionally, they may even go to war. However, the majority of political interactions between states are less extreme and are managed through a variety of intergovernmental organisations.
It is possible to analyse the way in which these organisations and processes are structured, and the impact they have on the people who participate in them. This analysis is often referred to as ‘political science’, although there are many scholarly traditions that use the term in different ways. A more recent trend is towards what might be described as ‘critical political theory’, which has developed in response to the perceived failure of traditional political science to adequately explain why some states and societies are rich while others are poor. These newer theories of politics are based on insights from the wider social sciences and humanities, and incorporate elements such as cultural, economic and religious influences.
Politics is the activity of people in groups or nations attempting to influence the decisions made by other people or the institutions that govern them. The word is generally used negatively, but it can also be seen as a positive force that helps to resolve differences. Politics has been around as long as humans have faced scarcity and conflicting values and preferences, and as long as governments have struggled to allocate scarce resources. The narrowest definition of politics is that which concerns the state. This includes all activities that involve, or in some way directly affect, the institutions of the state – from determining public services to enforcing laws and providing security. It also includes the activities of those who manage the state, namely politicians who are elected to temporarily run it (at least in democracies). But the narrow view of politics neglects many other things that are arguably political – for example campaigning to get a politician into office, or arguing about policy issues with friends and colleagues. It also ignores the fact that a large number of political activities take place outside the state, whether in organisations such as businesses or trade unions, in communities or churches, in schools or universities, in sports clubs or even on social media sites. These political activities are all part of what makes politics, but the key point is that they are motivated by the desire to influence the decisions that are made by the people who manage the state and the wider society. In other words, they are a form of power politics – the authoritative and legitimate struggle for limited resources and precious rights and privileges in a given polity. Almost all states have some kind of governing structure, and most have formal political parties to represent different ideological viewpoints. In the United States, for example, the Democratic and Republican parties are the two dominant political parties, and both have a significant presence in national elections. States interact with each other in a range of ways, from international military alliances and trade agreements to regional cooperation through the United Nations or the African Union. Occasionally, they may even go to war. However, the majority of political interactions between states are less extreme and are managed through a variety of intergovernmental organisations. It is possible to analyse the way in which these organisations and processes are structured, and the impact they have on the people who participate in them. This analysis is often referred to as ‘political science’, although there are many scholarly traditions that use the term in different ways. A more recent trend is towards what might be described as ‘critical political theory’, which has developed in response to the perceived failure of traditional political science to adequately explain why some states and societies are rich while others are poor. These newer theories of politics are based on insights from the wider social sciences and humanities, and incorporate elements such as cultural, economic and religious influences.