INTRODUCTION TOTHE STUDY OF POLITICS Chapter 1, Magstadt Why 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. The public interest Civil society is inevitably affected by its political environment. The study of politics helps the public deal with the possible pressures of this environment.Why study politics? The self-interest Satisfaction 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 doesn’t). htm .zetterberg.The State and Civil Society Source: http://www.org/Papers/ppr1997c. ” -Aristotle Politics is in a general sense about the way human beings govern and are governed. The example of Adolf Eichmann can help illustrate these effects. It therefore affects our lives in countless ways on a daily basis.Politics and everyday life “Man is by nature a political animal. . The story of Adolf Eichmann Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi functionary who administered much of the extermination program. . He had a strong desire to get ahead. He also took special pride in his ability to do his job efficiently. Hannah Arendt wrote of Eichmann as not being a particularly unusual man. to be a success in life. he/she may even be a faithful spouse or a loving parent.Politics and everyday life Being a normal person. after all. Such a person would be a workaholic. . it would not be difficult to picture an Eichmann in more familiar surroundings. Not being a particularly harsh person. The Nazis were commonly described as being affectionate and caring towards their own families. concerned with advancement. and eager to please superiors. .” that he/she has no time for (or interest in) abstract. moral. Despite being quite ordinary. Eichmann was still able to do horrific things to his fellow man. or political questions. This may be attributed to the cultural and political environment during Nazi Germany. social.Politics in everyday life The key point is that this person is so caught up in the “real world. Politics in everyday life As German leadership equated mass extermination with patriotism. “All propaganda is lies ---. 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.even when it is telling the truth. These qualities are the ones that you may acquire in the study of politics.” -George Orwell . They are power. and each one deserves recognition. . However.Basic concepts in politics Politics has been defined in countless ways. and justice. there are certain concepts in politics that are considered more important than most. Agreement regarding a uniform definition is therefore a futile activity. order. Power “Power tends to corrupt. and is linked inevitably to the concept of authority.” -Lord Acton The usual notion of power in politics is the ability of governments to make and enforce rules. power involves much more than physical force. QUESTION: What are other forms of “power”? . and absolute power corrupts absolutely. However. however. power is more tangible and can readily be measured. claim that it is too narrow. distinguishes between “hard power” and “soft power”. In this way. in particular.” -John Adams . Joseph Nye. “Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak.Power in material form It is common to associate power in material forms. Critics of this notion. and that it is doing God’s service. when it is violating all His laws. whether it is the government or not.Power and its distribution Power is never equally distributed in any society or state. It is difficult to determine who really rules any state. the need to concentrate power in the hands of a few raises questions. However. “Who watches the watchmen?” -Juvenal . and sometimes suspicions among people. doubts. 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. In reality. . they are two distinct concepts. and are in fact even used interchangeably.Power and Authority These are terms that are often confused. .Power and Authority Authority is closely related to. the idea of legitimacy. Authority may then be considered as “legitimate power”. and according to rules that are freely accepted by people as being right and proper. Legitimacy is a condition in which power is exercised through established institutions. and in fact implies. to determine if a person is in fact an authority. We must consider how much value people attach to these rights instead. we must not consider the ability of people to agree or disagree by exercising their rights to vote or to stage popular demonstrations. . The consent of the people to live with or without these rights is the important factor.The test of legitimate authority However. however. Authority. It can only be asserted or claimed. but it is not legitimate.The test of legitimate authority Power itself may be seized in many ways. When assailed. then there may be authority. authority loses its legitimacy and becomes naked power (or what some people may call despotism). cannot be seized. therefore. . Assuming a status of leadership may then necessarily follow. If people allow this to happen. and practices that make up a political system. Society is closely related to the concept of community.Order Political order denotes structures. rituals. on the other hand. rules. or an association of individuals that share a common identity. . The political system. is built upon the foundations of society. procedures. and the state Order is also related to government. A sovereign state is a community with welldefined territorial boundaries administered by a single government.Order. etc. . Governments may then be differentiated into many other forms: republics. dictatorships. monarchies. which is the sole location of sovereignty. oligarchies. government. or the machinery that rules society. This further leads to the concept of the state. . the country. and the nation The state can also be confused (more or less rightfully) with the term country.The state. which is a distinct group of people who share a number of fundamental identities or backgrounds. However. Although a state may not always be a country. the distinctions are few. the state or the country must not be equated with the nation. Nation-states. multination-states. multistate-nations. QUESTION: What are some examples of these combinations? . This distinction gives rise to the concepts of the nation-state. or even stateless nations. etc. The question of justice addresses this fact. which is more or less considered in state affairs (more often.Justice The sheer number of people to be governed gives rise to various conflicting claims on how such governance should be performed. it is not). The importance of the public interest becomes relevant when evaluating the government’s actions. . however. Justice The 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.” -Cicero QUESTION: What is justice? . How we study politics As there is no uniformly effective method of studying politics. seeks to answer the more important questions. The study of politics. Different approaches. like the other sciences. different audiences. all exist and thrive at the same time. . the discipline becomes multifaceted. different kinds of questions. Methods in political study The 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. Whether you choose one over the other is not important. The normative approach mainly considers the value of political concepts or phenomena. . . Public administration – Seeks to study how bureaucracies implement governmental policies. Comparative politics – Seeks to contrast and evaluate governments and political systems. International relations – Seeks to analyze how nations interact.Examples of political science specialties Political theory – Seeks to answer normative questions through reason and logic.