Why Study Politics?
Politics is all about how governments, organisations and societies manage themselves. It’s about the rules that govern human interactions and decisions, the power structures that dictate how things are done and the ideologies that influence those structures.
Politics also deals with how people engage in politics – whether they are voting, organising, demonstrating or forming communities to debate and share ideas about how government should operate. It’s also about the power relationships within these groups and how they might be used to achieve political goals.
Political science is the field of study that focuses on these questions at local, regional, national and international levels. It is a major branch of social science that has an extensive history and an exciting future.
One classic definition of politics is ‘the authoritative and legitimate struggle for limited resources or precious rights and privileges in the context of a government, an organisation or society’. But this view of politics overlooks the many other aspects of the discipline – including how people seek to gain control over others; the way power is structured, contested and shared in a polity; and how those processes impact on outcomes.
Politics involves a complex set of rules and realities that are always changing. That means it’s impossible to predict what will happen, but it is possible to understand the conditions that make something more likely or less likely and the effects of different choices. Whether you’re trying to run a company or win an election, having a good understanding of the rules will help you make better decisions and get more done.
The way we live and work is deeply influenced by the politics of our world, from how nations and cities are built to what laws we have in place and even the types of health services that are available. The most important thing about politics is that it affects us all, from the moment we are born until the moment we die. This makes it an incredibly important subject to be aware of and engaged with, which is why it’s such an exciting area for a career.
Politics is a fascinating subject to learn about and will teach you all sorts of interesting things about how our society works and why it’s important to have laws in place to protect our rights and freedoms. It’s not often that you get the chance to study politics as a GCSE or A-Level and it’s a great subject to go into further with university, which is where you’ll find yourself getting involved in even more in-depth discussions, opinions and debates. It’s not surprising that it’s a subject that so many people love to talk about and passionately dislike, too!
Politics is all about how governments, organisations and societies manage themselves. It’s about the rules that govern human interactions and decisions, the power structures that dictate how things are done and the ideologies that influence those structures. Politics also deals with how people engage in politics – whether they are voting, organising, demonstrating or forming communities to debate and share ideas about how government should operate. It’s also about the power relationships within these groups and how they might be used to achieve political goals. Political science is the field of study that focuses on these questions at local, regional, national and international levels. It is a major branch of social science that has an extensive history and an exciting future. One classic definition of politics is ‘the authoritative and legitimate struggle for limited resources or precious rights and privileges in the context of a government, an organisation or society’. But this view of politics overlooks the many other aspects of the discipline – including how people seek to gain control over others; the way power is structured, contested and shared in a polity; and how those processes impact on outcomes. Politics involves a complex set of rules and realities that are always changing. That means it’s impossible to predict what will happen, but it is possible to understand the conditions that make something more likely or less likely and the effects of different choices. Whether you’re trying to run a company or win an election, having a good understanding of the rules will help you make better decisions and get more done. The way we live and work is deeply influenced by the politics of our world, from how nations and cities are built to what laws we have in place and even the types of health services that are available. The most important thing about politics is that it affects us all, from the moment we are born until the moment we die. This makes it an incredibly important subject to be aware of and engaged with, which is why it’s such an exciting area for a career. Politics is a fascinating subject to learn about and will teach you all sorts of interesting things about how our society works and why it’s important to have laws in place to protect our rights and freedoms. It’s not often that you get the chance to study politics as a GCSE or A-Level and it’s a great subject to go into further with university, which is where you’ll find yourself getting involved in even more in-depth discussions, opinions and debates. It’s not surprising that it’s a subject that so many people love to talk about and passionately dislike, too!