POLITICS

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  • POLS1514: INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL STUDIES
  • Lecturer
    • Ms Moshibudi Motimele
    • MotimeleMH@ufs.ac.za
    • 0514013262
    • Wednesdays & Thursdays 12h00 - 14h00
  • Textbook
    The prescribed textbook in this module is: Heywood, A. 2019. Politics (5th edition) New York: Palgrave Foundations
  • There are additional compulsory readings that will be uploaded to Blackboard
  • What to expect?
    • 2 lectures a week
    • Tutorial Sessions
    • Online Tutorial Activities
    • Consultations with your lecturers
    • Independent study with your textbook & other prescribed material
  • Assessments
    • Test 120%
    • Test 220%
    • Assignment – 40%
    • Tutorial Activities – 20%
  • All assessment activities are compulsory. Failure to participate in, or complete any of these activities, will result in a student being awarded a mark of "incomplete" for the course
  • Units
    • UNIT 1: Politics: A Conceptualisation
    • UNIT 2: Political Systems and the State
    • UNIT 3: Identity- and Gender Politics
    • UNIT 4: The Organisation of Government
    • UNIT 5: Constitutions and the Law
    • UNIT 6: Political Parties
  • Aristotle: ''MAN IS BY NATURE A POLITICAL ANIMAL''
  • People will always disagree when it comes to politics
  • The inescapable presence of diversity (people differ) and scarcity (there is never enough to go around)
  • The beauty of politics – embracing a range of theoretical understandings about the world we live in
  • Politics
    Activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live
  • 'Politics' with a capital P is clearly the study of this activity
  • Politics
    Linked to conflict and co-operation – the heart of politics is conflict resolution
  • People realize that they need to co-operate in order to influence rules or ensure that rules are upheld
  • Politics
    A loaded term – comes with pre-conceptions of bias and being a 'dirty word'
  • No agreed understanding of what politics (the subject) is about - due to people understanding and defining it differently
  • Problems arise when we attempt to unpack the definition
  • Broad approaches to defining politics
    • Arena / location – behavior becomes political because of where it takes place
    • Process / mechanism – behavior that has distinctive characteristics / qualities and takes place in all social contexts
  • Politics as an art of government
    The exercising of control through making and enforcement of collective decisions
  • The word 'politics'
    Originates from the Greek word, Polis – meaning 'city state'
  • Politics
    The affairs of the polis – essentially, the affairs of the state
  • To study politics
    To study government & study the exercise of authority
  • David Easton's definition of politics

    The authoritative allocation of values: government response to pressures from society by allocating benefits, rewards or penalties
  • This definition is however restricted – politics is thus what takes place within a polity (the machinery of government)
  • Politics is therefore only practiced by a select (elected) few: Anything other than this – "outside politics"
  • Politics is essentially state- centric and ignores global influences
  • What politics is often defined by who politics is – politicians
  • Lord Acton (1834 – 1902): 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'
  • Politics as public affairs
    A broader concept of politics: not just government but the realm of public life/affairs
  • Aristotle: Man is a political animal
  • Politics as public affairs
    People can only have a 'good life' Within a political community
  • Politics as public affairs

    Politics is thus seen as an ethical activity that is focused on the creation of a 'just society'
  • Division between the political and the personal
    Civil society is different from the state – some institutions are thought of as 'public'
  • Feminist argument: Politics is present in the family, domestic life or in a personal relationship
  • Hannah Arendt (1906 – 1975): 'Politics is the most important form of human activity because it involves interaction amongst free and equal citizens'
  • Politics gives life meaning and forms part of what makes us unique individuals
  • Politics as compromise & consensus
    Relates to the way in which decisions in politics are made
  • Politics as compromise & consensus
    Political solution implies peaceful debate and arbitration as opposed to a military solution