Introduction to Politics

• Politics involves creating, preserving, and modifying general rules within a society.
• Conflict and cooperation are integral to politics.

Clarifying Politics Requires Addressing:

• The word "politics" carries many associations from everyday language that affect understanding.
• Agreement on the subject of politics is difficult, even among authorities.

Approaches to Studying Politics

• Behavioralism
• Rational-choice theory
• Institutionalism
• Feminism
• Marxism
• Post-positivist approaches

Approaches to Defining Politics

• Politics as an Arena: Focuses on politics happening within a specific location like a state or government.
  • It emphasizes formal structures and institutions.
• Politics as a Process: Emphasizes ongoing political activities, interactions, power dynamics, and resource distribution.
  • It involves compromise, consensus, power, and how resources are distributed.

Definitions of Politics

• Politics as an Arena: The function of government and public affairs.
• Politics as a Process: Compromise, consensus, power and distribution of resources.
• Exercise of societal control through creating and enforcing collective decisions.
• Studying politics involves studying government and the exercise of authority.
• Politics is the authoritative allocation of values.
• Politics relates to "policy" and has a judicial element.
• Politics exists within a social organization centered on the machinery of government.
• Polity is a society structured through the use of political authority.
  • Aristotle saw it as rule by the many for the good of all.
• Anti-Politics: Disillusionment with established political processes.
  • Evidenced by non-participation, support for anti-system parties, or direct action.
• Politics may be viewed as the art of government.
  • Niccolo Machiavelli saw politics this way.
  • This view is considered Machiavellian.
• Politics is a process that resolves differing interests in a unit of rule.
  • Achieved by giving different interests a share in power relevant to their importance.
• Politics is essentially power: The ability to achieve outcomes, however possible.
• Struggle over resources can facilitate larger conflicts.
• Politics involves one group controlling another.
• Politics is the concentrated form of economics.
• Political power is one class oppressing another.
• Class struggle is central to politics, mainly versus the working class.
• Politics is how a community chooses rulers who have the power to make decisions and act to achieve goals.
• Aristotle believed politics exists only within a political community.
  • The goal is for human beings to live a "good life".
  • Politics is ethical, aiming to achieve a "just society".
  • It is means of resolving conflict via compromise, conciliation, and negotiation.

Key Concepts in Politics

• Power, order, and justice.
• The terms above are considered to be universal concepts.
• Power is the ability to influence or control behavior through persuasion or coercion.
  • Power is essential to government because it allows laws to be made and enforced.

Forms of Power

• Hard Power: Force or coercion, usually through military or economic means.
• Soft Power: Attracting others to what someone wants.
• Power is never equally distributed.
• "Who rules?", "In whose interest?", and "And in what ends?" are key questions to consider.
• Power can come from the army, those in military roles and from the police.
• Power also arises from wealth, charisma, ideology, and religion.
• Power stems from moral standing.
• Order refers to the arrangement of institutions under principles like liberty, equality, and the rule of law.
  • "Law and order" aligns with conservative values like stability and obedience.
• Authority: Government's ability to command obedience from society's members.
• Legitimacy: When political power is accepted by a community's population.
  • It is a recognized claim of authority and is accepted voluntarily by the people.
• Legitimate authority is the legal and moral entitlement of a government to rule over a specific population.
• Society refers to a group of individuals who share a commonality.
• Social Contract: An agreement where people form a society.
  • It accepts certain moral and political obligations to preserve social order.
• Social contract theory: The right to rule is derived from the consent of those governed.
  • Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau relate to social contract theory.
• Government is the entity that makes and enforces rules.
• Republic: Government where sovereignty is held by the people.
  • Republics are either democratic or representative.
  • Elected representatives are accountable to the people.
• State: An independent political unit that governs a population, uses force legitimately, and controls territory.
  • It can also be a political subdivision of a federal system.
• Sovereignty: Government having supreme power in a political state.
• Country is similar to nation-state.
• Political literacy involves critical thinking and speaking about politics.
• Aristotle: Forefather of political science.
  • He sought to understand politics through systematic inquiry.
• Justice is fairness, involving how rewards and burdens are distributed.
• Nation: People with distinct language and culture.
• Nation-State: A community with defined borders and a government.
• Stateless nation occurs when the people or nations have no autonomy and are without a governing body.
• Nation-building: Creating a shared identity within a political community distinct from others.
  • Common identity is often based on ethno-linguistic roots.

An overview of politics including rule creation and modification within societies, and the roles of conflict and cooperation. It covers approaches to studying and defining politics, considering both arena and process perspectives. Definitions span government functions to power dynamics and resource distribution.