Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with
making decisions in
groups, or other forms of
power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of
status or
resources.
The branch of
social science that studies politics and government is referred to as
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
.
Politics may be used positively in the context of a "political solution" which is compromising and non-violent, or descriptively as "the art or science of government", but the word often also carries a negative connotation.
[.] The concept has been defined in various ways, and different approaches have fundamentally differing views on whether it should be used extensively or in a limited way, empirically or normatively, and on whether conflict or co-operation is more essential to it.
A variety of methods are deployed in politics, which include promoting one's own political views among people,
negotiation with other political subjects, making
laws, and exercising internal and external
force
In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an Physical object, object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the Magnitu ...
, including
warfare against adversaries.
[.][.][.][.] Politics is exercised on a wide range of social levels, from
clans and
tribes of traditional societies, through modern
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state.
Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
s,
companies and institutions up to
sovereign state
A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...
s, to the
international level.
In modern
states, people often form
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
to represent their ideas. Members of a party often agree to take the same position on many issues and agree to support the same changes to law and the same leaders. An
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
is usually a competition between different parties.
A
political system is a framework which defines acceptable political methods within a society. The
history of political thought can be traced back to early antiquity, with seminal works such as
Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
's ''
Republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
'',
Aristotle
Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
's ''
Politics'',
Confucius
Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...
's political manuscripts and
Chanakya
Chanakya (ISO 15919, ISO: ', चाणक्य, ), according to legendary narratives preserved in various traditions dating from the 4th to 11th century CE, was a Brahmin who assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya, Chandragup ...
's ''
Arthashastra
''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashas ...
''.
Etymology
The English word ''politics'' has its roots in the name of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
's classic work, ''
Politiká'', which introduced the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
term ()''.'' In the mid-15th century, Aristotle's composition was rendered in
Early Modern English
Early Modern English (sometimes abbreviated EModEFor example, or EMnE) or Early New English (ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transit ...
as ,
["The book of " (Bhuler 1961/1941:154).] which became ''Politics'' in
Modern English
Modern English, sometimes called New English (NE) or present-day English (PDE) as opposed to Middle and Old English, is the form of the English language that has been spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England
England is a Count ...
.
The singular ''politic'' first attested in English in 1430, coming from
Middle French
Middle French () is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th centuries. It is a period of transition during which:
* the French language became clearly distinguished from the other co ...
—itself taking from , a
Latinization of the Greek () from () and ().
Definitions
*
Harold Lasswell: "who gets what, when, how"
*
David Easton: "the authoritative allocation of values for a society"
[.]
*
Vladimir Lenin: "the most concentrated expression of economics"
*
Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...
: "the capacity of always choosing at each instant, in constantly changing situations, the least harmful, the most useful"
*
Bernard Crick: "a distinctive form of rule whereby people act together through institutionalized procedures to resolve differences"
*
Adrian Leftwich: "comprises all the activities of co-operation, negotiation and conflict within and between societies"
Approaches
There are several ways in which approaching politics has been conceptualized.
Extensive and limited
Adrian Leftwich has differentiated views of politics based on how extensive or limited their perception of what accounts as 'political' is. The extensive view sees politics as present across the sphere of human social relations, while the limited view restricts it to certain contexts. For example, in a more restrictive way, politics may be viewed as primarily about
governance, while a
feminist perspective could argue that sites which have been viewed traditionally as non-political, should indeed be viewed as political as well. This latter position is encapsulated in the slogan "''
the personal is political''", which disputes the distinction between private and public issues. Politics may also be defined by the use of power, as has been argued by
Robert A. Dahl.
Moralism and realism
Some perspectives on politics view it empirically as an exercise of power, while others see it as a social function with a
normative basis. This distinction has been called the difference between
political ''moralism'' and
political ''realism''''.''
[.] For moralists, politics is closely linked to
ethics
Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
, and is at its extreme in
utopian thinking.
For example, according to
Hannah Arendt, the view of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
was that, "to be political…meant that everything was decided through words and persuasion and not through violence"; while according to
Bernard Crick, "politics is the way in which free societies are governed. Politics is politics, and other forms of rule are something else." In contrast, for realists, represented by those such as
Niccolò Machiavelli,
Thomas Hobbes, and
Harold Lasswell, politics is based on the use of power, irrespective of the ends being pursued.
Conflict and co-operation
Agonism argues that politics essentially comes down to conflict between conflicting interests. Political scientist Elmer Schattschneider argued that "at the root of all politics is the universal language of conflict", while for
Carl Schmitt the essence of politics is the distinction of 'friend' from 'foe'. This is in direct contrast to the more co-operative views of politics by Aristotle and Crick. However, a more mixed view between these extremes is provided by Irish political scientist Michael Laver, who noted that:
Politics is about the characteristic blend of conflict and co-operation that can be found so often in human interactions. Pure conflict is war. Pure co-operation is true love. Politics is a mixture of both.
History

The history of politics spans
human history
Human history or world history is the record of humankind from prehistory to the present. Early modern human, Modern humans evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago and initially lived as hunter-gatherers. They Early expansions of hominin ...
and is not limited to modern institutions of
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
.
Prehistoric
Frans de Waal argued that
chimpanzees engage in politics through "social manipulation to secure and maintain influential positions". Early human forms of social organization—bands and tribes—lacked centralized political structures. These are sometimes referred to as
stateless societies.
Early states
In ancient history,
civilizations did not have definite boundaries as
states have today, and their borders could be more accurately described as
frontiers.
Early dynastic Sumer, and
early dynastic Egypt were the
first civilizations to define their
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
s. Moreover, up to the 12th century, many people lived in non-state societies. These range from relatively egalitarian
bands and
tribes to complex and highly stratified
chiefdoms.
State formation
There are a number of different theories and hypotheses regarding early state formation that seek generalizations to explain why
the state developed in some places but not others. Other scholars believe that generalizations are unhelpful and that each case of early state formation should be treated on its own.
Voluntary theories contend that diverse groups of people came together to form states as a result of some shared rational interest.
[.] The theories largely focus on the development of agriculture, and the population and organizational pressure that followed and resulted in state formation. One of the most prominent theories of early and primary state formation is the ''hydraulic hypothesis'', which contends that the state was a result of the need to build and maintain large-scale irrigation projects.
Conflict theories of state formation regard conflict and dominance of some population over another population as key to the formation of states.
In contrast with voluntary theories, these arguments believe that people do not voluntarily agree to create a state to maximize benefits, but that states form due to some form of oppression by one group over others. Some theories in turn argue that warfare was critical for state formation.
Ancient history
The first states of sorts were those of
early dynastic Sumer and
early dynastic Egypt, which arose from the
Uruk period and
Predynastic Egypt respectively around approximately 3000 BC.
[.] Early dynastic Egypt was based around the
Nile River in the north-east of
Africa, the kingdom's boundaries being based around the Nile and stretching to areas where
oases existed. Early dynastic
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...
was located in southern
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
, with its borders extending from the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
to parts of the
Euphrates
The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
and
Tigris rivers.
Egyptians, Romans, and the Greeks were the first people known to have explicitly formulated a political philosophy of the state, and to have rationally analyzed political institutions. Prior to this, states were described and justified in terms of religious myths.
Several important political innovations of
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...
came from the
Greek city-states (''
polis'') and the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
. The Greek city-states before the 4th century granted
citizenship
Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.
Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
rights to their free population; in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
these rights
were combined with a
directly democratic form of government that was to have a long afterlife in political thought and history.
Modern states

The
Peace of Westphalia (1648) is considered by
political scientists
The following is a list of notable political scientists. Political science is the scientific study of politics, a social science dealing with systems of governance and power.
A
* Robert Abelson – Yale University psychologist and political ...
to be the beginning of the modern international system,
[.][.] in which external powers should avoid interfering in another country's domestic affairs.
[.] The principle of non-interference in other countries' domestic affairs was laid out in the mid-18th century by Swiss jurist
Emer de Vattel
Emmerich de Vattel ( 25 April 171428 December 1767) was a philosopher, diplomat, and jurist.
Vattel's work profoundly influenced the development of international law. He is most famous for his 1758 work ''The Law of Nations''. This work was his ...
.
States became the primary institutional agents in an
interstate system of relations. The Peace of Westphalia is said to have ended attempts to impose supranational authority on European states. The "Westphalian" doctrine of states as independent agents was bolstered by the rise in 19th century thought of
nationalism, under which legitimate
states were assumed to correspond to ''
nations
A nation is a type of social organization where a collective identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, territory, or societ ...
''—groups of people united by language and culture.
In
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, during the 18th century, the classic non-national states were the multinational
empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
s: the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
,
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
,
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
, the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, the
Spanish Empire, the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, and the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. Such empires also existed in Asia, Africa, and the Americas; in the
Muslim world, immediately after the
death of Muhammad in 632,
Caliphates were established, which developed into multi-ethnic transnational empires. The multinational empire was an
absolute monarchy ruled by a king,
emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
or
sultan. The population belonged to many ethnic groups, and they spoke many languages. The empire was dominated by one ethnic group, and their language was usually the language of public administration. The ruling
dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others.
H ...
was usually, but not always, from that group. Some of the smaller European states were not so ethnically diverse, but were also
dynastic states, ruled by a
royal house. A few of the smaller states survived, such as the independent principalities of
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
,
Andorra,
Monaco, and the republic of
San Marino.
Most theories see the nation state as a 19th-century European phenomenon, facilitated by developments such as state-mandated education, mass
literacy, and
mass media. However, historians also note the early emergence of a relatively unified state and identity in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
. Scholars such as
Steven Weber,
David Woodward,
Michel Foucault, and
Jeremy Black have advanced the hypothesis that the nation state did not arise out of political ingenuity or an unknown undetermined source, nor was it an accident of history or political invention.
Rather, the nation state is an inadvertent byproduct of 15th-century intellectual discoveries in
political economy,
capitalism,
mercantilism,
political geography, and
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
combined with
cartography and
advances in map-making technologies.
Some nation states, such as
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, came into existence at least partly as a result of political campaigns by
nationalists, during the 19th century. In both cases, the territory was previously divided among other states, some of them very small. Liberal ideas of
free trade played a role in German unification, which was preceded by a
customs union, the
Zollverein. National
self-determination was a key aspect of United States President
Woodrow Wilson's
Fourteen Points, leading to the dissolution of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
after the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, while the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
became the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
after the
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
.
Decolonization lead to the creation of new nation states in place of multinational empires in the
Third World.
Globalization
Political globalization began in the 20th century through
intergovernmental organizations and
supranational unions. The League of Nations was founded after
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, and after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
it was replaced by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. Various
international treaties have been signed through it.
Regional integration has been pursued by the
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
,
ASEAN, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, and
Mercosur. International political institutions on the international level include the
International Criminal Court, the
International Monetary Fund, and the
World Trade Organization.
Political science

The study of politics is called political science, It comprises numerous subfields, namely three:
Comparative politics,
international relations and
political philosophy. Political science is related to, and draws upon, the fields of
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
,
law,
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
,
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
,
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior.
...
,
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
, and
neurosciences.
Comparative politics is the science of comparison and teaching of different types of
constitutions, political actors, legislature and associated fields.
International relations deals with the interaction between
nation-states as well as intergovernmental and transnational organizations.
Political philosophy is more concerned with contributions of various classical and contemporary thinkers and philosophers.
Political science is methodologically diverse and appropriates many methods originating in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
,
social research
Social research is research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan. Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative and qualitative.
* Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable ...
, and
cognitive neuroscience. Approaches include
positivism,
interpretivism,
rational choice theory,
behavioralism,
structuralism,
post-structuralism,
realism,
institutionalism, and
pluralism. Political science, as one of the
social sciences, uses methods and techniques that relate to the kinds of inquiries sought: primary sources such as historical documents and official records, secondary sources such as scholarly journal articles,
survey research,
statistical analysis,
case studies,
experimental research, and model building.
Political system

The political system defines the process for making official
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
decisions. It is usually compared to the
legal system,
economic system,
cultural system, and other
social systems. According to
David Easton, "A political system can be designated as the interactions through which values are authoritatively allocated for a society."
Each political system is embedded in a society with its own political culture, and they in turn shape their societies through
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...
. The interactions between different political systems are the basis for
global politics.
Forms of government

Forms of government can be classified by several ways. In terms of the structure of power, there are
monarchies (including
constitutional monarchies) and
republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
s (usually
presidential,
semi-presidential, or
parliamentary).
The
separation of powers describes the degree of horizontal integration between the
legislature, the
executive, the
judiciary, and other independent institutions.
Source of power
The source of power determines the difference between
democracies,
oligarchies, and
autocracies.
In a democracy, political
legitimacy is based on
popular sovereignty. Forms of democracy include
representative democracy,
direct democracy, and
demarchy. These are separated by the way decisions are made, whether by
elected representatives,
referendum
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
s, or by
citizen juries. Democracies can be either republics or constitutional monarchies.
Oligarchy is a power structure where a minority rules. These may be in the form of
anocracy,
aristocracy
Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats.
Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...
,
ergatocracy,
geniocracy,
gerontocracy,
kakistocracy,
kleptocracy,
meritocracy,
noocracy,
particracy,
plutocracy,
stratocracy,
technocracy,
theocracy, or
timocracy.
Autocracies are either
dictatorships (including
military dictatorships) or
absolute monarchies.
Vertical integration
In terms of level of vertical integration, political systems can be divided into (from least to most integrated)
confederations,
federations, and
unitary states.
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a
political entity characterized by a
union of partially
self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central
federal government (
federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of either party, the states or the federal political body. Federations were formed first in Switzerland, then in the United States in 1776, in Canada in 1867 and in Germany in 1871 and in 1901,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Compared to a
federation, a
confederation has less centralized power.
State

All the above forms of government are variations of the same basic
polity, the
sovereign state
A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...
. The
state has been defined by
Max Weber
Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...
as a political entity that has
monopoly on violence within its territory, while the
Montevideo Convention
The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States is a treaty signed at Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 26, 1933, during the Seventh International Conference of American States. At the conference, United States President Franklin D. R ...
holds that states need to have a defined territory; a permanent population; a government; and a capacity to enter into international relations.
A stateless society is a
society that is not
governed by a
state.
[.] In stateless societies, there is little
concentration of
authority; most positions of authority that do exist are very limited in
power and are generally not permanently held positions; and social bodies that resolve disputes through predefined rules tend to be small. Stateless societies are highly variable in economic organization and cultural practices.
While stateless societies were the norm in human prehistory, few stateless societies exist today; almost the entire global population resides within the jurisdiction of a
sovereign state
A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...
. In some regions nominal state authorities may be very weak and wield
little or no actual power. Over the course of history most stateless peoples have been
integrated into the state-based societies around them.
Some political philosophies consider the state undesirable, and thus consider the formation of a stateless society a goal to be achieved. A central tenet of
anarchism is the advocacy of society without states.
The type of society sought for varies significantly between
anarchist schools of thought, ranging from extreme
individualism to complete
collectivism.
In
Marxism,
Marx's theory of the state considers that in a
post-capitalist society the state, an undesirable institution, would be unnecessary and
wither away. A related concept is that of
stateless communism, a phrase sometimes used to describe Marx's anticipated post-capitalist society.
Constitutions
Constitutions are written documents that specify and limit the powers of the different branches of government. Although a constitution is a written document, there is also an unwritten constitution. The unwritten constitution is continually being written by the legislative and judiciary branch of government; this is just one of those cases in which the nature of the circumstances determines the form of government that is most appropriate. England did set the fashion of written constitutions during the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
but after the
Restoration abandoned them to be taken up later by the
American Colonies after their
emancipation and then
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
after the
Revolution and the rest of Europe including the European colonies.
Constitutions often set out
separation of powers, dividing the government into the
executive, the
legislature, and the
judiciary (together referred to as the trias politica), in order to achieve checks and balances within the state. Additional independent branches may also be created, including
civil service commissions,
election commissions, and
supreme audit institutions.
Political culture
Political culture describes how
culture
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
impacts politics. Every
political system is embedded in a particular political culture.
Lucian Pye's definition is that, "Political culture is the set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments, which give order and meaning to a political process and which provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in the political system."
Trust is a major factor in political culture, as its level determines the capacity of the state to function.
[.] Postmaterialism is the degree to which a political culture is concerned with issues which are not of immediate physical or material concern, such as
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
and
environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...
.
Religion
Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
has also an impact on political culture.
Political dysfunction
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of powers for illegitimate private gain, conducted by government officials or their network contacts. Forms of political corruption include
bribery,
cronyism,
nepotism, and
political patronage. Forms of political patronage, in turn, includes
clientelism,
earmarking,
pork barreling,
slush funds, and
spoils systems; as well as
political machines, which is a political system that operates for corrupt ends.
When corruption is embedded in political culture, this may be referred to as
patrimonialism or
neopatrimonialism. A form of government that is built on corruption is called a ''
kleptocracy'' ('rule of thieves').
Insincere politics
The words "politics" and "political" are sometimes used as pejoratives to mean political action that is deemed to be overzealous, performative, or insincere.
Levels of politics
Macropolitics

Macropolitics can either describe political issues that affect an entire political system (e.g. the
nation state), or refer to interactions between political systems (e.g.
international relations).
Global politics (or world politics) covers all aspects of politics that affect multiple political systems, in practice meaning any political phenomenon crossing national borders. This can include
cities, nation-states,
multinational corporations,
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
s or
international organizations. An important element is international relations: the relations between nation-states may be peaceful when they are conducted through
diplomacy, or they may be violent, which is described as
war. States that are able to exert strong international influence are referred to as
superpowers, whereas less-powerful ones may be called
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
or
middle powers. The international system of
power is called the ''world order'', which is affected by the
balance of power that defines the degree of
polarity in the system.
Emerging powers are potentially destabilizing to it, especially if they display
revanchism or
irredentism.
Politics inside the limits of political systems, which in contemporary context correspond to national
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
s, are referred to as
domestic politics. This includes most forms of
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...
, such as
social policy,
economic policy
''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press, Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris Scho ...
, or
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...
, which are executed by the state
bureaucracy
Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...
.
Mesopolitics

Mesopolitics describes the politics of intermediary structures within a political system, such as
national political parties or
movements.
A political party is a
political organization that typically seeks to attain and maintain political power within
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
, usually by participating in
political campaigns, educational outreach, or
protest actions. Parties often espouse an expressed
ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
or vision, bolstered by a written
platform with specific goals, forming a
coalition among disparate interests.
Political parties within a particular political system together form the
party system, which can be either
multiparty,
two-party,
dominant-party, or
one-party, depending on the level of
pluralism. This is affected by characteristics of the political system, including its
electoral system
An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...
. According to
Duverger's law,
first-past-the-post systems are likely to lead to two-party systems, while
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
systems are more likely to create a multiparty system.
Micropolitics
Micropolitics describes the actions of individual actors within the political system.
This is often described as
political participation. Political participation may take many forms, including:
*
Activism
Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...
*
Boycott
*
Civil disobedience
*
Demonstration
*
Petition
*
Picketing
*
Strike action
*
Tax resistance
*
Voting (or its opposite,
abstentionism)
Political values
Democracy
Democracy is a system of processing conflicts in which outcomes depend on what participants do, but no single force controls what occurs and its outcomes. The uncertainty of outcomes is inherent in democracy. Democracy makes all forces struggle repeatedly to realize their interests and devolves power from groups of people to sets of rules.
Among modern political theorists, there are three contending conceptions of democracy: ''aggregative'', ''
deliberative'', and ''
radical''.
Aggregation
The theory of ''aggregative democracy'' claims that the aim of the democratic processes is to solicit the preferences of citizens, and aggregate them together to determine what social policies the society should adopt. Therefore, proponents of this view hold that democratic participation should primarily focus on
voting, where the policy with the most votes gets implemented.
Different variants of aggregative democracy exist. Under ''minimalism'', democracy is a system of government in which citizens have given teams of political leaders the right to rule in periodic elections. According to this minimalist conception, citizens cannot and should not "rule" because, for example, on most issues, most of the time, they have no clear views or their views are not well-founded.
Joseph Schumpeter articulated this view most famously in his book ''
Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy''. Contemporary proponents of minimalism include
William H. Riker,
Adam Przeworski, and
Richard Posner.
According to the theory of ''
direct democracy'', on the other hand, citizens should vote directly, not through their representatives, on legislative proposals. Proponents of direct democracy offer varied reasons to support this view. Political activity can be valuable in itself, it socialises and educates citizens, and popular participation can check powerful elites. Most importantly, citizens do not rule themselves unless they directly decide laws and policies.
Governments will tend to produce laws and policies that are close to the views of the median voter—with half to their left and the other half to their right. This is not a desirable outcome as it represents the action of self-interested and somewhat unaccountable political elites competing for votes.
Anthony Downs suggests that ideological political parties are necessary to act as a mediating broker between individual and governments. Downs laid out this view in his 1957 book ''
An Economic Theory of Democracy''.
Polyarchy
Robert A. Dahl argues that the fundamental democratic principle is that, when it comes to binding collective decisions, each person in a political community is entitled to have his/her interests be given equal consideration (not necessarily that all people are equally satisfied by the collective decision). He uses the term
polyarchy to refer to societies in which there exists a certain set of institutions and procedures which are perceived as leading to such democracy. First and foremost among these institutions is the regular occurrence of free and open
elections which are used to select representatives who then manage all or most of the public policy of the society. However, these polyarchic procedures may not create a full democracy if, for example, poverty prevents political participation. Similarly,
Ronald Dworkin argues that "democracy is a substantive, not a merely procedural, ideal".
Deliberation
Deliberative democracy is based on the notion that democracy is government by
deliberation. Unlike aggregative democracy, deliberative democracy holds that, for a democratic decision to be legitimate, it must be preceded by authentic deliberation, not merely the aggregation of preferences that occurs in voting. ''Authentic deliberation'' is deliberation among decision-makers that is free from distortions of unequal political power, such as power a decision-maker obtained through economic wealth or the support of interest groups. If the decision-makers cannot reach
consensus after authentically deliberating on a proposal, then they vote on the proposal using a form of majority rule.
Equality

Equality is a state of affairs in which all people within a specific
society or isolated group have the same
social status, especially
socioeconomic status
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a measurement used by economics, economists and sociology, sociologsts. The measurement combines a person's work experience and their or their family's access to economic resources and social position in relation t ...
, including protection of
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
and
dignity, as well as access to certain
social goods and
social services. Furthermore, it may also include
health equality,
economic equality and other
social securities. Social equality requires the absence of legally enforced
social class or
caste boundaries and the absence of
discrimination based on by an inalienable aspect of a person's identity. To this end, there must be
equal justice under law, and
equal opportunity
Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. For example, the intent of equal ...
regardless of, sex, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, origin,
caste or class, income or property, language,
religion
Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
, convictions, opinions, health or disability.
Left–right spectrum
A common way of understanding politics is through the
left–right political spectrum, which ranges from
left-wing politics via
centrism
Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
to
right-wing politics. This classification is comparatively recent and dates from the
French Revolution, when those members of the
National Assembly who supported the
republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
, the common people and a
secular society sat on the left and supporters of the
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
,
aristocratic privilege and the Church sat on the right.
Today, the left is generally
progressivist, seeking social
progress in
society. The more extreme elements of the left, named the
far-left, tend to support
revolutionary means for achieving this. This includes ideologies such as
Communism
Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
and
Marxism. The
center-left, on the other hand, advocates for more
reformist approaches, for example that of
social democracy.
In contrast, the right is generally motivated by
conservatism, which seeks to conserve what it sees as the important elements of society such as law and order, limited government and preserving individual freedoms. The
far-right goes beyond this, and often represents a
reactionary turn against progress, seeking to undo it. Examples of such ideologies have included
Fascism and
Nazism. The
center-right may be less clear-cut and more mixed in this regard, with
neoconservatives supporting the spread of
free markets and
capitalism, and
one-nation conservatives more open to social welfare programs.
According to
Norberto Bobbio, one of the major exponents of this distinction, the left believes in attempting to eradicate social inequality—believing it to be unethical or unnatural, while the right regards most social inequality as the result of ineradicable natural inequalities, and sees attempts to enforce social equality as utopian or authoritarian.
[.]
Some ideologies, notably
Christian Democracy, claim to combine left and right-wing politics; according to Geoffrey K. Roberts and Patricia Hogwood, "In terms of ideology, Christian Democracy has incorporated many of the views held by liberals, conservatives and socialists within a wider framework of moral and Christian principles." Movements which claim or formerly claimed to be above the left-right divide include Fascist
Terza Posizione economic politics in Italy and
Peronism in Argentina.
Freedom
Political freedom (also known as political liberty or autonomy) is a central
concept in political thought and one of the most important features of
democratic societies.
Negative liberty has been described as freedom from oppression or coercion and unreasonable external constraints on action, often enacted through
civil and political rights, while
positive liberty is the absence of disabling conditions for an individual and the fulfillment of enabling conditions, e.g. economic compulsion, in a society. This
capability approach to freedom requires
economic, social and cultural rights in order to be realized.
Authoritarianism and libertarianism
Authoritarianism and
libertarianism
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...
disagree the amount of individual
freedom
Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws".
In one definition, something is "free" i ...
each person possesses in that society relative to the state. One author describes authoritarian political systems as those where "individual
rights and goals are subjugated to group goals, expectations and conformities", while libertarians generally oppose the
state and hold the
individual as sovereign. In their purest form, libertarians are
anarchists, who argue for the total abolition of the state, of
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
and of
other political entities, while the purest authoritarians are, by definition,
totalitarians who support state control over all aspects of society.
For instance,
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
(also known as ''
laissez-faire liberalism'')
[Adams, Ian. 2001. ''Political Ideology Today''. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 20.] is a doctrine stressing individual freedom and
limited government. This includes the importance of human rationality, individual
property rights,
free markets,
natural rights, the protection of
civil liberties, constitutional limitation of government, and individual freedom from restraint as exemplified in the writings of
John Locke,
Adam Smith,
David Hume,
David Ricardo,
Voltaire,
Montesquieu and others. According to the libertarian
Institute for Humane Studies, "the libertarian, or 'classical liberal', perspective is that individual well-being, prosperity, and social harmony are fostered by 'as much liberty as possible' and 'as little government as necessary'."
[IHS. 2019.]
What Is Libertarian?
" ''Institute for Humane Studies''. George Mason University. For anarchist political philosopher
L. Susan Brown (1993), "liberalism and
anarchism are two political philosophies that are fundamentally concerned with individual
freedom
Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws".
In one definition, something is "free" i ...
yet differ from one another in very distinct ways. Anarchism shares with liberalism a radical commitment to individual freedom while rejecting liberalism's competitive property relations."
[ Brown, L. Susan. 1993. '' The Politics of Individualism: Liberalism, Liberal Feminism, and Anarchism''. Black Rose Books.]
See also
*
Historic recurrence
*
Horseshoe theory
*
Index of politics articles – alphabetical list of political subjects
*
List of banned political parties
*
List of politics awards
*
List of years in politics
*
Outline of political science – structured list of political topics, arranged by subject area
*
Political lists – lists of political topics
*
Political censorship
*
Political corruption
*
Political polarization
*
Political scandal
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
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Further reading
* Adcock, Robert. 2014. ''Liberalism and the Emergence of American Political Science: A Transatlantic Tale''. New York: Oxford University Press.
* Adcock, Robert, Mark Bevir, and Shannon Stimson (eds.). 2007. ''Modern Political Science: Anglo-American Exchanges Since 1870''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
* Almond, Gabriel A. 1996. "Political Science: The History of the Discipline", pp. 50–96, in Robert E. Goodin and Hans-Dieter Klingemann (eds.), ''The New Handbook of Political Science''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
*
*
*
Mount, Ferdinand, "Ruthless and Truthless" (review of
Peter Oborne, ''The Assault on Truth: Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and the Emergence of a New Moral Barbarism'', Simon and Schuster, 2021, , 192 pp.; and
Colin Kidd and
Jacqueline Rose, eds., ''Political Advice: Past, Present and Future'', I.B. Tauris, February 2021, , 240 pp.), ''
London Review of Books'', vol. 43, no. 9 (6 May 2021), pp. 3, 5–8.
* Munck, Gerardo L., and Richard Snyder (eds.). ''Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
*
Ross, Dorothy. 1991. ''
The Origins of American Social Science''. New York: Cambridge University Press.
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{{Authority control
Main topic articles