Introduction To The Study Of Politics

Introduction To The Study Of PoliticsChapter 1, MagstadtWhy study politics?People always disagree, and it is interesting to uncover the processes at work during these conflicts (and their resolutions).The study of logic, as well as the other social sciences, may also help here.Politics, however, may be the most significant of these studies. Why study politics?The self-interestSatisfaction of personal needs depends largely on the workings of the government. The study of politics allows us to know how government works (or why it doesnt).The public interestCivil society is inevitably affected by its political environment. The study of politics helps the public deal with the possible pressures of this environment.The State and Civil Society

Source: http://www.zetterberg.org/Papers/ppr1997c.htmPolitics and everyday lifeMan is by nature a political animal. -AristotlePolitics is in a general sense about the way human beings govern and are governed.It therefore affects our lives in countless ways on a daily basis.The example of Adolf Eichmann can help illustrate these effects.The story of Adolf EichmannAdolf Eichmann was a Nazi functionary who administered much of the extermination program.Hannah Arendt wrote of Eichmann as not being a particularly unusual man.He had a strong desire to get ahead, to be a success in life.He also took special pride in his ability to do his job efficiently.Politics and everyday lifeBeing a normal person, it would not be difficult to picture an Eichmann in more familiar surroundings.Such a person would be a workaholic, concerned with advancement, and eager to please superiors.Not being a particularly harsh person, he/she may even be a faithful spouse or a loving parent.The Nazis were commonly described as being affectionate and caring towards their own families, after all.Politics in everyday lifeThe key point is that this person is so caught up in the real world, that he/she has no time for (or interest in) abstract, moral, social, or political questions.Despite being quite ordinary, Eichmann was still able to do horrific things to his fellow man.This may be attributed to the cultural and political environment during Nazi Germany.Politics in everyday lifeAs German leadership equated mass extermination with patriotism, it was difficult for the Eichmanns (ordinary Germans) to resist the performance of their functions.It would require a rare combination of intellectual independence and moral courage to go against such a trend.These qualities are the ones that you may acquire in the study of politics.All propaganda is lies ---- even when it is telling the truth. -George OrwellBasic concepts in politicsPolitics has been defined in countless ways, and each one deserves recognition.Agreement regarding a uniform definition is therefore a futile activity.However, there are certain concepts in politics that are considered more important than most. They are power, order, and justice.PowerPower tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. -Lord ActonThe usual notion of power in politics is the ability of governments to make and enforce rules, and is linked inevitably to the concept of authority.However, power involves much more than physical force.QUESTION: What are other forms of power?Power in material formIt is common to associate power in material forms.In this way, power is more tangible and can readily be measured.Critics of this notion, however, claim that it is too narrow.Joseph Nye, in particular, distinguishes between hard power and soft power.Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak, and that it is doing Gods service; when it is violating all His laws. -John AdamsPower and its distributionPower is never equally distributed in any society or state.However, the need to concentrate power in the hands of a few raises questions, doubts, and sometimes suspicions among people.It is difficult to determine who really rules any state, whether it is the government or not.Who watches the watchmen? -Juvenal

Power and AuthorityThese are terms that are often confused, and are in fact even used interchangeably.In reality, they are two distinct concepts.QUESTION: What is the difference between power and authority?CLUE: Authority flows from the norms that are recognized and embraced by the vast majority of society.Power and AuthorityAuthority is closely related to, and in fact implies, the idea of legitimacy.Legitimacy is a condition in which power is exercised through established institutions, and according to rules that are freely accepted by people as being right and proper.Authority may then be considered as legitimate power.The test of legitimate authorityHowever, to determine if a person is in fact an authority, we must not consider the ability of people to agree or disagree by exercising their rights to vote or to stage popular demonstrations.We must consider how much value people attach to these rights instead.The consent of the people to live with or without these rights is the important factor.The test of legitimate authority Power itself may be seized in many ways. Assuming a status of leadership may then necessarily follow.If people allow this to happen, then there may be authority, but it is not legitimate.Authority, however, cannot be seized. It can only be asserted or claimed.When assailed, therefore, authority loses its legitimacy and becomes naked power (or what some people may call despotism).OrderPolitical order denotes structures, rules, rituals, procedures, and practices that make up a political system.The political system, on the other hand, is built upon the foundations of society.Society is closely related to the concept of community, or an association of individuals that share a common identity.Order, government, and the stateOrder is also related to government, or the machinery that rules society.Governments may then be differentiated into many other forms: republics, monarchies, oligarchies, dictatorships, etc.This further leads to the concept of the state, which is the sole location of sovereignty.A sovereign state is a community with well-defined territorial boundaries administered by a single government.The state, the country, and the nationThe state can also be confused (more or less rightfully) with the term country.Although a state may not always be a country, the distinctions are few.However, the state or the country must not be equated with the nation, which is a distinct group of people who share a number of fundamental identities or backgrounds.

Nation-states, etc.This distinction gives rise to the concepts of the nation-state, multination-states, multistate-nations, or even stateless nations.QUESTION: What are some examples of these combinations?JusticeThe sheer number of people to be governed gives rise to various conflicting claims on how such governance should be performed.The importance of the public interest becomes relevant when evaluating the governments actions.The question of justice addresses this fact, which is more or less considered in state affairs (more often, however, it is not).JusticeThe need to ask whether something is just coincides with the ability to think and speak intelligently about politics.The question whether government is acting justly therefore carries with it other questions related to politics.Extreme justice is extreme injustice.-CiceroQUESTION: What is justice?How we study politicsAs there is no uniformly effective method of studying politics, the discipline becomes multifaceted.Different approaches, different kinds of questions, different audiences, all exist and thrive at the same time.The study of politics, like the other sciences, seeks to answer the more important questions.Methods in political studyThe most basic division regarding methods to study politics is between positivism and the normative approach: Positivism emphasizes empirical research and places weight in measurable variables that are more likely considered to be facts. The normative approach mainly considers the value of political concepts or phenomena. Whether you choose one over the other is not important.Examples of political science specialtiesPolitical theory Seeks to answer normative questions through reason and logic.Comparative politics Seeks to contrast and evaluate governments and political systems.International relations Seeks to analyze how nations interact.Public administration Seeks to study how bureaucracies implement governmental policies.