What Is Politics?
Politics is the activity of people who try to influence how things are done by creating, supporting or opposing laws and governmental institutions. It is exercised on a wide range of social levels from clans and tribes of traditional societies, through modern local governments, companies and institutions up to sovereign states and international organizations. It can involve the use of both internal and external force. Politics is a vital part of every society and is the subject of countless books, articles and academic journals.
The term is used to describe political systems at the local, national and global level and can be broken down into several different approaches including legal or constitutional analysis, empirical analysis of actual politics (with the study of real-world examples) and theoretical models and classifying schemes. Each of these approaches has produced a huge body of work and a wide variety of specialized terms and concepts.
Some define politics as the activities, actors and spaces involved in the business of governance, but many would argue that this is too narrow a definition. For example, it is often argued that protests or boycott campaigns that are not directly related to the business of governance, such as anti-war or anti-globalisation protests or the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, can be considered political.
In most countries, people who share similar ideas form political parties to represent them in government. Members of a party agree to take the same position on many issues and often support the same changes to law and the same leaders. An election is usually a competition between different parties.
Aristotle, in his Nicomachean Ethics and Politics, wrote that humans are by nature political animals, and that ethics and politics are closely linked. While we have moved beyond some of his ideas, there is much in his philosophy that remains relevant today.
Modern politics is complex. It takes place on a huge range of social levels, from the local, where citizens queue up to vote in elections and interact with their community councils, to the global level, where international organisations like the United Nations and regional bodies like ASEAN and Mercosur work towards political integration. It involves a vast array of activities, from lobbying politicians to campaigning for them in the media to using social media to share political views.
There are a number of theories about why people become politicised, and why some people are more partisan than others. One theory is that people form their political opinions based on a rational evaluation of different policies. However, research has shown that cognitive biases like in-group bias can also play a role in reinforcing partisanship. People may also become more partisan if they feel that their group is under threat and perceive the need to support the actions of their political leaders. These factors can contribute to the growing polarization in contemporary politics.
Politics is the activity of people who try to influence how things are done by creating, supporting or opposing laws and governmental institutions. It is exercised on a wide range of social levels from clans and tribes of traditional societies, through modern local governments, companies and institutions up to sovereign states and international organizations. It can involve the use of both internal and external force. Politics is a vital part of every society and is the subject of countless books, articles and academic journals. The term is used to describe political systems at the local, national and global level and can be broken down into several different approaches including legal or constitutional analysis, empirical analysis of actual politics (with the study of real-world examples) and theoretical models and classifying schemes. Each of these approaches has produced a huge body of work and a wide variety of specialized terms and concepts. Some define politics as the activities, actors and spaces involved in the business of governance, but many would argue that this is too narrow a definition. For example, it is often argued that protests or boycott campaigns that are not directly related to the business of governance, such as anti-war or anti-globalisation protests or the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, can be considered political. In most countries, people who share similar ideas form political parties to represent them in government. Members of a party agree to take the same position on many issues and often support the same changes to law and the same leaders. An election is usually a competition between different parties. Aristotle, in his Nicomachean Ethics and Politics, wrote that humans are by nature political animals, and that ethics and politics are closely linked. While we have moved beyond some of his ideas, there is much in his philosophy that remains relevant today. Modern politics is complex. It takes place on a huge range of social levels, from the local, where citizens queue up to vote in elections and interact with their community councils, to the global level, where international organisations like the United Nations and regional bodies like ASEAN and Mercosur work towards political integration. It involves a vast array of activities, from lobbying politicians to campaigning for them in the media to using social media to share political views. There are a number of theories about why people become politicised, and why some people are more partisan than others. One theory is that people form their political opinions based on a rational evaluation of different policies. However, research has shown that cognitive biases like in-group bias can also play a role in reinforcing partisanship. People may also become more partisan if they feel that their group is under threat and perceive the need to support the actions of their political leaders. These factors can contribute to the growing polarization in contemporary politics.