Modebadze, Valeri
Article
The term politics reconsidered in the light of recent
theoretical developments
IBSU Scientific Journal (IBSUSJ)
Provided in Cooperation with:
International Black Sea University, Tbilisi
Suggested Citation: Modebadze, Valeri (2010) : The term politics reconsidered in the light
of recent theoretical developments, IBSU Scientific Journal (IBSUSJ), ISSN 1512-3731,
International Black Sea University, Tbilisi, Vol. 4, Iss. 1, pp. 39-44
This Version is available at:
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IBSU Scientific Journal 2010, 1(4), 39-44
The Term Politics Reconsidered in the Light of
Recent Theoretical Developments
Valeri MODEBADZE
Abstract
This article deals with the problems of the definition of the term “politics.” The definition
of “politics” varies from time to time and from place to place. In other words “politics” is
a “loaded term.” It has a wide range of meanings when used in everyday life. Politics is
defined in such different ways: as the study of conflict resolution, the art of government,
the conduct and management of public affairs, and so on. The aim of this article is to
explain the difficulties of defining the term “politics.” This research is based on the
comparative method: two contradictory approaches to understanding politics are
compared with each other, the narrow definition of politics and the broad definition of
politics. The narrow definition of politics is a highly restricted understanding of politics.
According to the narrow definition, politics is what takes place within the government and
state departments: only politicians, government officials, members of the political parties
are involved in politics. In contrast to the narrow definition of politics, broader
conception of politics argues that politics is not only confined to a particular sphere, but
also takes place in all aspects of human life. The problem of the definition of politics is
closely linked with these two contradictory approaches to understanding politics.
Keywords: politics; definition of politics; broad conceptions of politics; narrow
conceptions of politics
Valeri Modebadze is a PhD Candidate at International Black Sea University, Tbilisi,
Georgia, valery_4@yahoo.com
IBSUSJ 2010, 1(4) Page | 39
Valeri MODEBADZE
Introduction
We encounter a great difficulty when we try to define the term
“politics.” There is not just one legally accepted definition of politics but a
wide range of definitions; In other words the term has a great number of
acceptable and legitimate meanings. Thus, politics is a “loaded” term. Even
respected authorities cannot agree what the subject is about. Whereas the
natural sciences have a uniform technical vocabulary, an adequate and
precise terminology with words of recognized meaning, politics doesn't
have it. If the Mathematician speaks of a logarithm, the chemist of a chain
reaction, the physicist of a molecule, their hearers know what is meant by
those terms. But if political scientist speaks of socialism, conservatism,
liberalism, politics, then everyone of his audience places on those his own
personal interpretation, they have different opinions and therefore, it is
difficult to achieve agreement between them. (Miller,1962) Further, as
time passes new definitions of politics emerge which leads to the inevitable
loss of any precise meaning of the term “politics.” The definition of
“politics” varies from time to time and from place to place. For instance, in
the nineteenth century the arena of business and commercial affairs was not
considered the legitimate sphere of politics as it is today. Politics is defined
in such different ways: as the exercise of power, exercise of authority, the
making of collective decisions, the allocation of scarce resources, the
practice of deception and manipulation, and so on. (Heywood, 1997)
Political situations arise out of disagreement. In other words the
disagreement provides the basis for politics. The disagreement arises from
fundamental differences of condition, status, power, opinion, and aim.
People have different opinions, viewpoints and make different judgments.
They differ from each other in such a variety of ways that it would be
impossible to achieve agreement about everything. People disagree how
the limited resources which are available to the society should be
distributed. Should political power be concentrated in the hands of a few
leaders, or should it be widely dispersed among the members of a society?
Should everything be shared equally, for example, or do some people
deserve a bigger share than others? Since it is possible to increase the
resources available to a group (by conquest, technological advance or
better management of existing resources), further questions arise. For
example, what strategy should be employed to increase resources and what
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The Term Politics Reconsidered in the Light of Recent Theoretical Developments
is the best way to protect the resources which already exist? Since there is
not a single correct answer to such questions, different people have
different ideas about what is the best action to take. According to some
commentators, the conflict which arises from the expression of different
views is at the heart of politics. Politics is the study of conflict resolution.
(Bentley, Dobson, Grant, Roberts,1995)
People are social beings. They are members of society. In order to
survive they have to co-operate and work together. When the people work
together there is a need to make decisions about how the problems that arise
by working should be solved, or how the resources available to the group
are to be shared out. Politics is the study of how such decisions are made. It
may also be the study of how such decisions should be made.
Some political scientists define politics as the process by which
scarce resources are allocated within a social unit (be it a city, a state, a
nation, or an organization) for the purpose of providing for human needs
and desires.
There is no universal definition of politics. Politics has been
defined in many different ways. The different views of politics examined
here are as follows: Politics as the art of government, politics as public
affairs, politics as the study of conflict resolution, politics as the study of
power.
Politics as the art of government
The chancellor Bismarck told the German Reichstag “politics is not
a science … but an art.” In other words he believed that politics was the art
of government. This classical interpretation of politics was evolved from
the original meaning of the term inAncient Greece. (Heywood, 1997)
The word “politics” comes from the Greek word “polis,” meaning
everything that concerns or belongs to the “polis,” or city-state. Since the
city-states no longer exist, the modern form of this definition is “what
concerns the state.” Thus, politics can be defined as the study of the state, its
aims and purposes – the institutions by which those are going to be realized,
its relations with its individual members and with other states. Politics is
also defined as the study of the government – a collection of officers who
make, interpret and enforce rules for the whole community. This definition
IBSUSJ 2010, 1(4) Page | 41
Valeri MODEBADZE
of politics offers a highly restricted view of politics. According to this
definition politics takes pace just within the government departments,
cabinet rooms and legislative chambers. This means that politics is the
matter of politicians, civil servants and lobbyists. According to this view
the vast majority of the people are not involved in politics. All the
institutions that are not engaged in “running the country” are regarded as
“non-political.” (Heywood, 1997)
This definition can, however, be narrowed still further. This is
evident in the tendency to treat politics as an activity carried on by certain
designated organizations (“parties”). In other words politics is regarded as
an activity connected with political parties. Thus, only politicians are
considered as “political,” whereas civil servants are seen as “non-
political.” In the popular mind, politics is closely associated with the
activities of political parties and politicians. This extremely narrow view of
politics helps to explain why negative images have so often been attached
to the world politics. Politics is often described as a negative phenomenon
because only politicians are seen as decision-makers. .
Politics as public affairs
Is politics something associated solely with government and state?
The term is widely used in other context than that of the government and
state. People are often said to be acting politically in their relations with
their bosses and colleagues in an office, or in the management of the club of
some kind, or in many other situations in which government, state and
political parties are not mentioned. Nevertheless, much western political
thinking rests on a distinction between the public realm and private life.
The distinction between “the political” and “the non-political” coincides
with the division between an essentially public sphere of life and private
sphere. How can we differentiate the public sphere from private sphere?
The traditional division between the public realm and private realm
conforms to the distinction between the state and civil society. The
institutions of the state are considered as the part of the public sector,
whereas the civil society belongs to private sector. Thus, public sector is
regarded as “political”, whereas the private sector is considered to be “non-
political”. Thus, politics is an essentially “public” activity and it does not
take place in private sphere of life. It does not have right to infringe upon
“private” affairs and institutions.
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The Term Politics Reconsidered in the Light of Recent Theoretical Developments
Politics as the study of conflict resolution
Some political scientists see conflict as the essence of politics.
Conflict is a necessary characteristic of society. Human beings differ from
each other, they come from varying cultural backgrounds and have differing
and complex set of preferences. People's wants are infinite and the resources
possessed by societies are limited and therefore generally insufficient to
satisfy everybody's desires fully. Since the resources available to society are
limited, choices have to be maid. (Bentley, Dobson, Grant, Roberts, 1995) It is
the necessity of making such choices which leads to conflict. The conflict does
not take place between individuals but also exists between larger groups –
between countries, as well as within them. There is a competition for access to,
or control over, a society's resources. Some political scientists see politics as a
particular means of abolishing conflict by compromise, conciliation and
negotiation, rather than through force, so that people can live in reasonable
harmony with each other. Politics is the art of finding peaceful resolutions to
conflict, through compromise and the building of consensus.(Garner)
Politics as the study of power
On hearing the word politics, what usually springs to mind are images
of state institutions, political parties, law enforcement agencies and various
departments of government. But politics is not only confined to a particular
sphere, but also takes place in every corner of human existence. According to
the sociologists Dowse & Hughes (1972) politics is about power. They say:
“politics occurs when there are differentials in power.” This suggests that:
“Any social relationship which involves power differentials is political.
Political relationships would extend from parents assigning domestic chores
to their children to teachers enforcing discipline in the classroom; from a
manager organizing a workforce to a general ordering troop into battle.”
(Haralambos & Holborn, 1995)
Power is the ability to make other people do whatever you want either
by threat, sanctions or through manipulation. Politics is, in essence, power: the
ability to achieve a desired outcome, through whatever means.
Leftwich argues that politics exists at every level and in every sphere
of human societies. Politics is the defining characteristic of all human groups.
Politics takes place not only within the institutions of the state, but also occurs
in private sphere of life. Thus, all people are somehow involved in politics. It
influences the lives of all of us whether or not we participate in politics.
“Politics is at the heart of all collective social activity, formal and informal,
IBSUSJ 2010, 1(4) Page | 43
Valeri MODEBADZE
public and private, in all human groups, institutions and societies.” (Adrian
Leftwich, 1984)
Conclusion
Politics is difficult to define because of the contradiction between the
broad and the narrow conceptions of politics. According to the narrow
conception of politics only politicians are involved in politics. In the popular
mind politics is closely associated with politicians and the machinery of
government. Politics is often portrayed as an essentially state-bound activity.
Most people are considered to be “outside” politics because they are not
involved in decision-making process. Critics of the narrow view of politics
define it in broader terms. They argue that politics exists within and outside the
institutional boundaries of the modern state. They believe that politics in not
just confined to the actions of government but also takes place in every corner
of human existence. Political theorists disagree about whether 'politics' should
be defined narrowly or broadly.
Politics has been understood differently by different thinkers and
within different traditions. In addition, the definition of politics changes as
time passes and societies develop. Political Scientists disagree about the
definition of politics and there is a lack of consensus on its meaning. What is
politics? Is it something associated solely with specific institutional arenas?
Or is it found in all groups and organizations? It is difficult to draw the
boundaries between the political and non-political. Nobody can tell us with
complete certainty what politics is because of the wide range of meanings
attributed to this concept.
References
Bentley, Roy; Dobson, Alan; Grant, Maggie; Roberts, David (1995), British politics in
focus, Causeway Press, Ormskirk.
Haralambos & Holborn (1995), Sociology, Themes and Perspectives, Collins
Educational, London.
HeywoodAndrew (1997), Politics, Macmillan Press LTD, London.
J.D.B. Miller (1962), the nature of politics, Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd, London.
Leftwich, Adrian (1984), what is politics? The activity and its study, Basil Blackwell,
Oxford.
Robert Garner, Introduction: The Nature of Politics and Political Analysis, (accessed on 8
N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 9 ) . Av a i l a b l e f r o m Wo r l d Wi d e We b :
http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199231331/garner_ch00.pdf
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