Political Science: Power and Politics Quiz

Government and Politics

• Government in political science is the institution or set of institutions that resolve conflicts, allocate resources, and provide public goods and services.

The Essence of Politics

• The essence of politics, according to political science, is the struggle for power and influence to shape public policy and decisions.

Comparative Politics

• The American political system is compared to others around the world to understand the diversity of political institutions, processes, and outcomes.

Core Concept of Politics

• The core concept of politics is power, which is the ability to influence or shape public policy and decisions.

Focus of Political Science

• The focus of political science is to understand the dynamics of power and how it is exercised, distributed, and contested.

Thematic Questions in Political Science

• The thematic questions related to political science include who governs, what are the sources of power, and how is power exercised and maintained.

Primary Focus of Politics

• The primary focus of politics is to make decisions about who gets what, when, and how.

Modern Political Science

• Harold Lasswell is credited with shaping modern political science's fixation on power as the currency of politics.

Behavioralism vs. Traditionalism

• The main difference in emphasis between the behaviorism school of thought and the traditionalists in the 1960s was the former's focus on empirical, scientific methods and the latter's focus on normative, philosophical approaches.

Role of Ideologies

• Ideologies play a crucial role in political life by shaping beliefs, values, and attitudes towards public policy and politics.

Politics vs. Government

• The main distinction between politics and government is that politics refers to the struggle for power and influence, while government refers to the institution or set of institutions that exercise power.

Authoritative Allocation of Values

• According to Robert Dahl, the concept of authoritative allocation of values involves the distribution of resources and goods by those in power.

Traditionalists

• Leo Strauss was one of the leading voices of the traditionalists in the 1960s.