Understanding the Concept of Politics
Politics is the activity of governing people or communities through laws and policies. It is a broad field that covers activities on many different levels, from small family groups and tribal societies through modern local governments and companies and up to the level of nation states and international political organizations. People often organize into political parties to express shared beliefs about political issues and compete in elections for positions in government.
Traditionally, politicians are thought to be in politics for power and personal gain. This has led to a variety of corruption scandals and other behavior that have made many people lose faith in politicians and their institutions. It also has led to the view that political processes are essentially broken and that they cannot be fixed, which may explain why so many people feel apathy or disillusionment about politics.
In addition, political processes can be confusing to those who are not familiar with them. For example, in the United States, a bill goes through a lengthy process before it is passed into law. It must be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, which may make amendments to it. After the two houses agree on a final version, it is sent to the President for approval. If the President approves it, it becomes law. If he vetoes it, it fails unless Congress has sufficient votes (2/3 of each house) to override the veto.
It is important to remember that politics is a process, not an event. People can change the system of politics through activism, lobbying and election to public office. They can also participate in the political process by expressing their views in social media or through other avenues. They can support or oppose legislation and policy proposals, and they can work with other citizens to shape the future of their community, city, state, country and world.
The concept of politics is complex and is a central part of the study of political science. Political scientists generally focus on political affairs that are significant at the local, national or international level. Thus, they do not usually study office politics, family politics or student-government politics.
A central question in the study of politics is how to understand the nature and purpose of political action. One way to approach this is through an examination of the various definitions of politics, and it can be helpful to think about these definitions as existing on a spectrum from narrow to broad understandings of political action. One of the limiting factors in the narrow definition of politics is that it depends on a particular definition of power, and this limits how broadly political actions can be understood. However, a broader definition of politics allows for the inclusion of less observable ways that power can be exercised, whether this is setting agendas (such as parliamentary agendas that determine who gets to speak and when and on what topics), or news agendas that decide which events will be covered and which stories get priority in the press.
Politics is the activity of governing people or communities through laws and policies. It is a broad field that covers activities on many different levels, from small family groups and tribal societies through modern local governments and companies and up to the level of nation states and international political organizations. People often organize into political parties to express shared beliefs about political issues and compete in elections for positions in government. Traditionally, politicians are thought to be in politics for power and personal gain. This has led to a variety of corruption scandals and other behavior that have made many people lose faith in politicians and their institutions. It also has led to the view that political processes are essentially broken and that they cannot be fixed, which may explain why so many people feel apathy or disillusionment about politics. In addition, political processes can be confusing to those who are not familiar with them. For example, in the United States, a bill goes through a lengthy process before it is passed into law. It must be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, which may make amendments to it. After the two houses agree on a final version, it is sent to the President for approval. If the President approves it, it becomes law. If he vetoes it, it fails unless Congress has sufficient votes (2/3 of each house) to override the veto. It is important to remember that politics is a process, not an event. People can change the system of politics through activism, lobbying and election to public office. They can also participate in the political process by expressing their views in social media or through other avenues. They can support or oppose legislation and policy proposals, and they can work with other citizens to shape the future of their community, city, state, country and world. The concept of politics is complex and is a central part of the study of political science. Political scientists generally focus on political affairs that are significant at the local, national or international level. Thus, they do not usually study office politics, family politics or student-government politics. A central question in the study of politics is how to understand the nature and purpose of political action. One way to approach this is through an examination of the various definitions of politics, and it can be helpful to think about these definitions as existing on a spectrum from narrow to broad understandings of political action. One of the limiting factors in the narrow definition of politics is that it depends on a particular definition of power, and this limits how broadly political actions can be understood. However, a broader definition of politics allows for the inclusion of less observable ways that power can be exercised, whether this is setting agendas (such as parliamentary agendas that determine who gets to speak and when and on what topics), or news agendas that decide which events will be covered and which stories get priority in the press.