weeks 1-5

Cards (55)

  • Definition of Politics:
    • Greek origin: "Politika" means "to walk before" or "affairs of the city"
    • Greek origin: "Politikos" means "relating to citizens, belonging to the state"
    • Greek origin: "Polis" means "city"
    • Greek origin: "Polites" means "citizens"
    • Different interpretations of politics exist due to diverse backgrounds
    • Universal standard definition: includes elements of power, rule, authority, and influence, and how they are acquired and exercised
  • Allocations of Power:
    • Manners of acquiring, exercising power, rule, authority, and influence
    • For social scientists, politics is the study of power, the powerful, influence, and the rules and the ruled
  • Democratic:
    • Leadership determined by an electoral process
    • De Jure: legal ways of acquiring power
    • De Facto: illegal ways of acquiring power
    • Elections are democratic means of acquiring power as people are directly involved in the process of choosing the Head of State
  • Autocratic:
    • Power and determination of succession centralized in the head of state
    • One-Man rule
    • Dictatorship and Absolute Monarchy can be forms of autocracy
  • Theocratic:
    • Leadership, power acquisition, and governance determined by the overseeing interpretation/community of the agreed faith
    • State functions with obedience to religious doctrine
  • Authoritarian:
    • Powers of the state vested in one person, usually civilian or military (dictatorship)
    • Power of the state led by one political party with an ideology
  • Fascism:
    • Dictators may emerge as the "strong man ruler" and symbolize ideologies (ex: Hitler and Nazism)
  • Totalitarian:
    • Government portrays the best of the system/use of terrorism to instill obedience (ex: Hitler claiming German superiority)
  • Consensual:
    • Variation of democracy
    • Head of state acts based on consultation and agreed course of action by different groups/classes in the state to empower minority groups
  • Invasional:
    • Established government authority overtaken by foreign influence as a hostile means to enforce principles or take advantage of the territory
  • Politics in General:
    • Art and science of governance
    • Means by which the will of the community is arrived at and implemented
    • Activities of government, politicians, or political parties in exercising political power to make binding policy decisions and distribute benefits
  • Beginning of States:
    • Origin found in the development of art of warfare and wars/conflicts
    • New states formed and organized due to military principles
  • Political Science:
    • Study of state, government, and politics
    • Study of public opinion regarding governance and its influence on state function and actions of the governed
    • Systematic study of government and politics, making generalizations and analyses about political systems and behavior
  • Values and Uses:
    • Awareness of government's impact on people's lives
    • Education for citizenship
    • Development of civic values
    • Preparation for careers and professions
  • Politics: A Broader Sense:
    • Politics as the activity of making, preserving, and amending general rules under which people live
    • Politics as conflict resolution linked to conflict and cooperation
  • Politics as the Art of Government:
    • Politics as the art of government, exercising control through making and enforcing collective decisions
    • Politics associated with policy and authoritative decisions
  • Politics as Public Affairs:
    • Distinction between political and non-political activities
    • Public sphere involves state responsibilities, funded by the public, while private sphere involves individual interests
  • Politics shouldn't infringe on personal affairs and institutions
  • Politicians tend to draw a distinction between their professional conduct and personal behavior
  • Feminists argue that politics does exist in family, domestic life, and personal relationships
  • Liberals prefer Civil Society over the State, viewing private life as a realm of choice, personal freedom, and individual responsibility
  • Some individuals prefer to keep politics out of personal matters to preserve peace or boundaries
  • He Aristotle viewed politics as a noble and enlightened activity due to its public character
  • Hannah Arendt endorsed Aristotle's perception of politics, emphasizing its importance in human interaction and individual uniqueness
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau advocated for direct and continuous citizen participation in political life for the common good
  • John Stuart Mill believed that involvement in public affairs promotes personal, moral, and intellectual development
  • Politics is seen as a tool for compromise and consensus, resolving conflict through negotiation rather than force
  • Bernard Crick defined politics as conciliating differing interests by giving them a share in power for the welfare of the community
  • Politics involves the struggle over scarce resources, with power as the means through which this struggle is conducted
  • Feminists assert that the personal is political, viewing politics as power-structured relationships and a means of oppression and subjugation
  • Adrian Leftwich's view states that politics is present in all social activities and human groups
  • Marxists believe that politics is rooted in the economic base and is the most concentrated form of economics
  • Karl Marx predicted that class exploitation would end with the establishment of a classless communist society
  • Power can be exercised through privilege, decision-making, agenda setting, and thought control
  • Authority is legitimate power based on acknowledged duty to obey, with Weber's three kinds of authority: traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational
  • Civil Society consists of private institutions independent from the government, including businesses, interest groups, and families
  • Constructivism views the social world as constructed by individuals or social groups based on their beliefs and assumptions
  • Consensus implies broad agreement accepted by individuals or groups, permitting disagreement on details
  • Post-positivism questions the idea of an objective reality, emphasizing how individuals construct the world they live in
  • Postmodernism highlights the shift towards fragmented and pluralistic societies, rejecting the idea of absolute and universal truth