What is Politics

1. What is Politics Origin of the word politics – a word developed from the Greek term polis meaning city or state; on a basic level it refers to managing theaffairs of the state, although this is generally used in a modern context to describe government. More modern views tend to see the word politics as ‘conflict of ideas’. Failure of politics – this can lead topolitical and violent unrestfrom general disorder to terrorism, revolution (Russia 1917) or civil war (England’s civil war ending in 1649 is the reason we have a parliamentary government rather than monarchy sole rule) depending on the severity of the political breakdown. Conflict of ideas – Everyone has an opinion, a political opinion of how the country should be run, however mild or extreme that opinion may be. People who go to vote, mums, dads, teachers, lollipop ladies, local council, MPs or ministers representing those voters, they all have an idea of how they think the country should function. • Political ideas, when escalated to a grand scale become ideologies. An ideology is a collection of political ideas with the same overall goals. These are often radical and no longer a major part of the well-established more peaceful democracies. Examples of successful ideologies include; radical forms of nationalism, feminism, fascism and socialism.

2. Examples of conflicting Political Views:

3. Conflicting Interests– Different groups of people have different needs depending on their circumstances, these are known as interest groups. These groups may clash with one another if their personal group interests go in different directions. Interest groups usually attach to a political party, for example the Environmentalists tended to attach to the Green Party. Politics is the process by which these interest groups are mediated and their clashes resolved. Examples of conflicting interest group aims are in the table below;

4. Politics and the struggle for Power Politics and the Struggle for power– power is desired by people for different reasons, some for altruistic reasons (they want to improve society) others for more personal reasons (they just want the power). Whether or not people as a species are born to fight for power is a philosophical question which you don’t need to answer. (Feel free to dance around the room with joy)

5. Politics and the struggle for Power • Struggle for power happens in different ways: • Elections allow parties to compete with each other for power in Europe, nations, regions and locally. • Individuals compete at elections too for the right to represent other people as a local councillor, at regional assemblies and in Westminster Parliament on a national level. • Politicians compete with each other on an individual level for more senior positions on the opposition front bench or in government. • Within the current governing party (the highest level of power!) there is the struggle to have the power of being prime minister. • The struggles highlighted above are often perceived as politics by the general public because they are the struggles that the media tend to focus on in the news. • Obvious point – the party which wins the election is the one whose political ideas will become more dominant in the government!

6. Examples of Government ideas changing when different parties are in charge; 1975 Margaret Thatcher leads 1997 Tony Blair leads • Finance and business interests • gained influence • Trade Unions lose power • More integration with Europe • More focus on the poor

7. Examples of Government ideas changing when different parties are in charge; The Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition • Austerity • “Big Society” • University fees • Education reform

8. The Right to Rule • What gives a government the right to rule?– Legitimacyof government can be claimed through three different methods; Tradition, Force and Consent. • Traditionthis is when a governing system has been in place for many generations and is accepted by the people as a stable form of government. • Hereditary monarchyis an example of a traditional legitimacy to rule. • Forceis a controversial form of legitimacy, the idea that if the county is kept peaceful and secure then a forced regime of government is acceptable. • Dictatorshipis an example of a forced right to rule. • Side point – disagreeing with the methods and ideals a government employs does not make it an illegitimate form of rule.

9. The Right to Rule • What gives a government the right to rule?– Legitimacyof government can be claimed through three different methods; Tradition, Force and Consent. • This all sounds like a lovely, fluffy solution – but, wait, nothing is ever that simple...... • How do we judge whether people consent to their government • Can we classify past consent as current consent • What proportion of people consent to the regime • How do you know if a majority vote is enough for legitimacy • Does a lack of dissent indicate consent • In general practice peace and stability is accepted as a form of consent.

10. Key Words You NEED To Know … State Government Ideologies Legitimacy

11. Useful Quote Professor Bernard Crick, In Defence of Politics, (4th edition, 1992) “Politics arises from accepting the fact of the simultaneous existence of different groups, hence different interests and different traditions, within a territorial unit under a common rule.”

12. Useful e-links for hard working students • A link to a lecture on the basics of “what is politics” http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/oorhan/Lecture%202_What%20is%20Politics%20&%20The%20Study%20of%20Politics.pdf • It is a good idea to keep up-to-date with modern politics so that examples you can give are as modern as possible; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/