What Is Politics?
Politics is the process by which people make planned decisions about how to live together in groups such as tribes, towns, cities, and countries. This includes deciding what to do about public services, laws and other social matters that affect all citizens, as well as how to allocate resources and access rights and privileges. Politics also involves negotiating with other governments in order to achieve a common goal, such as reducing the risk of war. This negotiation is often called foreign policy. The study of politics is sometimes referred to as political science, government, or public affairs.
A common definition of politics is that it concerns the state, which is defined as the permanent institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and ensure security in a particular area or region. The politicians who run these institutions are elected (in democracies) or appointed by the leaders of the state to do so. The politicians determine the public services that the state should provide, the laws it should enforce and the nature of security it should ensure.
There are many different opinions on what constitutes politics. One view is that only those things that directly involve the state are politically relevant, whereas others think that any decision or activity that affects people in some way is political, whether or not it is explicitly a government decision. Some scholars have also taken a more broad view of the term and have defined politics as all the ways in which people try to influence the course of human events, either positively or negatively.
The word politics derives from the Greek verb
Modern societies increasingly depend on the co-operation of other nations and regions in order to deal with complex issues such as climate change, nuclear proliferation or global economic instability. In order for these relationships to work, there needs to be effective and open political dialogue, but this can be difficult in a world where power is so concentrated in the hands of the few. This has led to the development of targeted transparency as a tool that can encourage healthy political engagement and help address problems such as corruption and poor governance.
Politics is the process by which people make planned decisions about how to live together in groups such as tribes, towns, cities, and countries. This includes deciding what to do about public services, laws and other social matters that affect all citizens, as well as how to allocate resources and access rights and privileges. Politics also involves negotiating with other governments in order to achieve a common goal, such as reducing the risk of war. This negotiation is often called foreign policy. The study of politics is sometimes referred to as political science, government, or public affairs. A common definition of politics is that it concerns the state, which is defined as the permanent institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and ensure security in a particular area or region. The politicians who run these institutions are elected (in democracies) or appointed by the leaders of the state to do so. The politicians determine the public services that the state should provide, the laws it should enforce and the nature of security it should ensure. There are many different opinions on what constitutes politics. One view is that only those things that directly involve the state are politically relevant, whereas others think that any decision or activity that affects people in some way is political, whether or not it is explicitly a government decision. Some scholars have also taken a more broad view of the term and have defined politics as all the ways in which people try to influence the course of human events, either positively or negatively. The word politics derives from the Greek verb , meaning to govern or to make agreements. The most famous political philosophers are Plato and Aristotle, whose ideas still influence our thinking today. In the 1800s, John Stuart Mill developed a more liberal idea of politics. His philosophy of liberalism says that people should have freedom and protection against tyranny, but this should be balanced by other considerations such as justice, fairness and the interests of the majority. Modern societies increasingly depend on the co-operation of other nations and regions in order to deal with complex issues such as climate change, nuclear proliferation or global economic instability. In order for these relationships to work, there needs to be effective and open political dialogue, but this can be difficult in a world where power is so concentrated in the hands of the few. This has led to the development of targeted transparency as a tool that can encourage healthy political engagement and help address problems such as corruption and poor governance.