Understanding Politics: Concepts, Ideologies, and Systems
What is Politics?
Politics emerges from disagreements among individuals in a world with limited resources, leading to conflict and cooperation. It involves the exercise of power, the science of government, the process of making collective decisions, and the allocation of scarce resources.
The Nature of Politics
Politics is multifaceted, encompassing roles as:
- The art of government
- Public affairs
- Compromise and consensus
- Power struggles over scarce resources
Politics as the Art of Government
Politics is considered an art, involving the exercise of control within society through the making and enforcement of collective decisions.
Politics as Public Affairs
Politics embodies the “public” character and gives meaning to life, affirming the uniqueness of each individual. It promotes personal, moral, and intellectual development.
Politics as Compromise and Consensus
Politics is challenging and can lead to frustration with democratic politics.
Politics as Power
Politics involves the struggle for limited resources and the ability to achieve desired outcomes. It can be seen as a struggle over scarce resources, with power serving as the means through which this struggle is conducted.
The Public/Private Divide
The distinction between public and private life is traditionally drawn based on the state apparatus of government and the institutions responsible for the collective organization of community life.
Negative and Positive Images of Politics
Politics can be viewed as noble, enlightened, and educational, but it can also be associated with control, manipulation, and struggle for power at all costs.
Declining Support for Democracy
There is declining support for democracy in various countries, especially among younger generations.
Aristotle’s View
Aristotle believed that participation in public life is necessary for the full development of personal character and that politics is an ethical activity concerned with creating a just society.
Defining the State
The state is an artificial person, the Leviathan, whose body is made up of all the bodies of its citizens. The head of the Leviathan is the sovereign. The state arose from a voluntary agreement, or social contract, made by individuals to protect them from the insecurity, disorder, and brutality of the state of nature.
Features of the State
- Sovereignty: The state has the ultimate authority within its territory.
- Domination: The state is an instrument of domination, with the potential for coercion and the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force.
- Territory: The state has defined borders and a permanent population.
- Legitimacy: The state’s authority is recognized and accepted by its citizens.
- Public Realm: The state serves the public interest and provides a framework of peace and social order.
Roles of the State
- Minimal State: Emphasizes individual freedom and maintains social order.
- Developmental State: Actively intervenes in economic life to promote industrial growth and economic development.
- Social-Democratic State: Focuses on fairness, equality, and social justice.
- Collectivized State: Brings economic life under state control.
- Totalitarian State: Represents the most extensive form of state intervention, controlling every aspect of human existence.
Eclipse of the State
The authority of the state has been challenged by the growing importance of the global economy, market forces, non-state actors, and international organizations. Some argue for a shift towards understanding the state as one actor among many in a complex, interconnected global system.
Failed States and State-Building
Failed states refer to those where existing structures cannot establish a legitimate monopoly on the use of force or maintain domestic order and personal security.
Political Ideologies
Political ideologies are defined as a set of ideas that form the basis for organized political action, aiming to preserve, modify, or overthrow existing power dynamics. They serve as a binding force for movements, parties, and revolutionary groups, providing ideological motivation.
Left-Right Political Spectrum
The left-right political spectrum distinguishes between different economic systems such as capitalism and socialism. It outlines divergent views on the level of state intervention in the economy, individual liberties, and social equality.
Liberalism
Liberalism emphasizes consent, reason, constitutionalism, freedom, individualism, toleration, and equality. It favors welfare reform and economic intervention.
Conservatism
Conservatism values hierarchy, authority, tradition, organicism, human imperfection, and pragmatism. It emphasizes the importance of shared values and common culture for maintaining community and promoting social cohesion.
Socialism
Socialism advocates for community, common ownership, social equality, and need. It emphasizes the satisfaction of basic needs and the eradication of economic and social inequalities.
Elements of Socialism
- Community
- Common ownership
- Social equality
- Need
Rise in Flash Mob Robberies
The rise in flash mob robberies is linked to urban lawlessness by conservatives and attributed to liberal policies such as the elimination of cash bail and non-prosecution of misdemeanors.
Authority in Conservatism
Authority is viewed as a source of leadership, guidance, and support for social cohesion and individual identity. Freedom is seen to coexist with responsibility, consisting of a willing acceptance of obligations and duties.
Marxism
- Classical Marxism: Focuses on historical materialism and the dialectic process of interaction between opposing forces.
- Orthodox Marxism: Includes Lenin’s vanguard party theory and Stalin’s state-led collectivization and central planning.
Social Democracy
Social democracy aims to humanize capitalism through state intervention and equitable wealth distribution.
The Third Way
The Third Way embraces the market economy and acknowledges globalization. It advocates for a balance between profit-oriented business values and social and moral responsibilities.
Feminism
Feminism aims to improve the social role of women and advocates for gender equality.
Fascism
Fascism is centred on constructing an organically unified national community and demands subsuming individual identity into the community.
Anarchism
Anarchism advocates for a stateless society and opposes hierarchical structures.
Religious Fundamentalism
Religious fundamentalism aims to shape society based on a strict interpretation of religious principles.
Environmentalism
Environmentalism focuses on addressing the damage inflicted on the natural world by economic development and advocates for ecocentrism.
Populism
Populism champions the common people against perceived corrupt elites and can be left-wing or right-wing.
Challenges to Dominant Ideologies
- The collapse of communism did not imply the death of Marxism, as socialist ideas have resurged in Western politics.
- Populism can be viewed as a threat to the prevailing liberal model of democracy.
What is Democracy?
Democracy is a system of government where the people have the power to make decisions that affect their lives and society. It involves both procedural aspects (free and fair elections) and substantive qualities (accountability, citizen participation, freedom, and rule of law).
Who are the People, and How Should the People Rule?
Democracy is based on the principle of ‘government by the people,’ where citizens participate in making critical decisions that shape their lives and society. This participation can take various forms, such as:
- Direct democracy: Citizens directly vote on specific issues.
- Representative democracy: Elected officials make decisions on behalf of the people.
Models of Democracy
- Classical democracy: Emphasizes popular participation.
- Protective democracy: Focuses on protecting individual liberties.
- People’s democracy: Aims for economic emancipation.
Criticisms of Democracy
- Democracy may not work well in the developing world, potentially favoring conflict and disharmony.
- Some argue that democracy may not be universally applicable, particularly in the East, due to cultural differences and values.
- Democracy can degenerate into the ‘tyranny of the majority,’ where the interests of minority groups are overlooked.
- Authoritarian regimes may be perceived as more effective and efficient than democratic rule.
Nations
Nations are complex phenomena shaped by cultural, political, and psychological factors.
- Culturally, a nation refers to a collective of individuals bound together by common elements such as language, religion, history, and traditions.
- Politically, a nation is characterized as a group of people who view themselves as a natural political community, distinct from an ethnic group, and can manifest as a desire for statehood or autonomy or as civic consciousness.
- Psychologically, a nation represents a shared sense of loyalty or affection, often manifested as patriotism.
Benedict Anderson views nations as artifacts crafted for people through education, mass media, and political socialization, emphasizing that nations are more mental constructs than genuine communities.
Nations can be viewed as:
- Cultural communities, focusing on shared cultural elements
- Political communities, emphasizing shared citizenship over ethnic or cultural similarities
The nation-state is a sovereign political association where citizenship and nationality overlap within a single state. The 20th century saw significant world transformation due to anti-colonial nationalist movements, particularly in Asia and Africa.
Varieties of Nationalism
- Liberal nationalism: Asserts the inherent right of each nation to freedom and self-determination, aiming to foster a world comprised of sovereign nation-states.
- Conservative nationalism: Cherishes national patriotism for social cohesion and security, often rooted in a shared past and historically endorsed values and institutions.
- Expansionist nationalism: Can lead to military aggression and imperial conquest, often involving doctrines of racial superiority and the portrayal of other nations as enemies. The most extreme manifestations of expansionist nationalism are colonialism and imperialism, with consequences such as World War I and World War II.
- Anti-colonial nationalism: Deeply entwined with the fight for national liberation and social development, often manifesting through ideologies such as Marxism-Leninism or religious fundamentalism.
Woodrow Wilson proposed the principle of national self-determination, laying the foundation for the terms of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
International vs. Global Politics
- International politics involves interactions between sovereign states.
- Global politics includes non-state actors like international organizations and multinational corporations.
Realist Approach to International Politics
Realism presents a pessimistic view of world politics as a competition for power among self-interested states in a state of anarchy.
Liberal Approach to International Politics
Liberals believe in the application of reason and universal ethics to lead to a more orderly and cooperative world.
Key Events Shaping the Landscape of International Politics
- The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 marked the transformation of medieval Europe into a modern state system.
- The end of the Cold War led to a unipolar world order, with the USA as the sole superpower.
Change of World Order
- Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) emerged as a condition where a nuclear attack by either state would lead to its own destruction.
- The end of the Cold War marked the transition from a bipolar world order to a unipolar one, with the USA as the dominant superpower.
Emerging Trends Associated with Global Politics
- Regionalization is driven by security and economic factors, with organizations like NATO and the EU aiming to boost collective security and promote peace among member states.
- Global Governance: International law is viewed differently by liberals and realists, with liberals seeing it as a tool to establish international order by respecting moral principles.
Intertwining Domestic and International Realms of Politics
Domestic and international realms of politics are becoming increasingly intertwined, making it harder to define and separate them.
State in Decline
The interconnectedness of global challenges underscores the indispensability of multinational cooperation, even for formidable sovereign states like the USA.
Unipolarity
A unipolar system can create conditions of unchecked power and inherent instability, leading to resentment and resistance towards the hegemon.
Political Participation
Political participation refers to activities influencing government decisions and personnel selection.
Elections
Elections are crucial for:
- Holding politicians accountable
- Shaping public opinion
- Providing representation
- Influencing policy
- Legitimizing the government
Political Parties
Political parties aim to:
- Exercise government power
- Have organized membership
- Adopt a broad issue focus
- Unite members by shared political preferences and general ideological identity
Social Movements
Social movements are collective actions driven by member attitudes and aspirations, challenging prevailing social goals and political styles.
Functions of Political Parties
- Elite formation and recruitment
- Goal formulation
- Interest articulation and aggregation
- Socialization and mobilization
- Organization of government
Relationship between Electoral and Party Systems, and Government Types
- Majoritarianism: Dominant/Two-party System
Electoral Systems
- Majoritarian Systems: Provide clear choices and policy mandates.
- Proportional Representation Systems: Strive to establish a more equal relationship between seats and votes, promote consensus and cooperation among several parties.
Representation
Political parties establish collective goals and ensure their implementation, develop governmental programs to garner popular support, and devise coherent sets of policy alternatives.
Elite Formation and Recruitment
Political parties play a crucial role in supplying states with their political leaders, serve as training grounds for politicians, and furnish them with necessary skills, knowledge, and experience.
Organization of Government
Political parties aid in the formation of governments, facilitate cooperation between the two major branches of government, and serve as a vital source of opposition and criticism.
Socialization and Mobilization
Parties serve as important agents of political education and socialization, encouraging groups to adhere to the rules of democracy and mobilizing support for the political system itself.
Party Systems
- One-Party System
- Two-Party System
- Dominant-Party System
- Multi-Party System
Recruiting Politicians
Elections are key for political recruitment, where political parties nominate candidates and play a role in shaping the formation of governments.
Percent of Vote
- Plurality voting system
- Proportional representation system
Majoritarian Systems
Under a proportional representation (PR) system, seats are allocated to parties in proportion to the number of votes they receive, which can lead to a hung parliament.
Emergence of Political Parties
: Sign of political modernization, political expressions of social divisions.