Defining Politics -
A many-sided activity which is impervious to one simple definition.

What are the boundaries of the political?

Can these boundaries be narrow or broad? Narrow can exclude many things that can be political. Broad can allow too many things and dilute what is political.

It can often be associated with corruption, intrigue & conflict. Also, it can be seen as an extremely noble activity, providing the means for service to improve the lives of people.

Studying Politics prior to the 19th century was almost exclusively concerned with the study of values.
Politics was equated with philosophy.

The conflict between liberty & security is of growing importance in the 21st century.

Normative analysis asks questions that seek to identify what is good or better in seeking what we ought to want.

The rise of "positivism" - an approach that seeks to apply the scientific methodology of the natural sciences to social phenomena.
It must limit itself to those things that are observable, insisting upon a clear separation between fact & value.

Empirical analysis seeks to identify observable phenomena in the real world, to establish what is, rather than what ought to be. It is the basis of natural sciences.

Positivist political analysts have sought to bring to bear what they see as impartial and value-free methods of the natural sciences to study political phenomena.

The "semantic" kind of analysis is concerned with clarifying the meaning of the concepts that we use.

"Behaviouralism" is based on an assumption that human behaviour can be measured in a precise way and generalizations drawn from it.

Prince Otto von Bismarck - politics is not a science but an art. It is the exercise of control within a society through making and enforcing collective decisions.

Politics is associated with policy. Formal or Authoritative Decisions that establish a plan for a state or community.

Politics takes place within a polity. Society Organized through the exercise of political authority. Rule by many in the interest of all.

The polity is practised through, The Cabinet / The Legislature / The Bureaucracy

Politics & Affairs of the State explain why there is a negative image of it. Because it is often associated with politicians.

Politics as Public Affairs
1. Moves politics from a narrow realm of government to what is thought of as public life or public affairs. Aristotle says that "man by nature is a political animal" It intends to say that humans can only have a "good life" within a political community.
2. It is about developing a just society.
3. Creating a just society entails the separation of public and private.
4. The separation is state and civil society. The state: Executive, Legislature, Judiciary & the Bureaucracy.
5. These institutions are funded by public monies.
6. Civil Society consists of "little platoons" according to Edmund Burke. Institutions such as the family, private businesses, trade unions, clubs and community groups are private. These are set up and funded by individual citizens to satisfy their interests, rather than those of the larger society.
7. This perspective accordingly does not and should not have politics infringing on these institutions

Politics as Conflict and Consensus
1. Politics is viewed as resolving conflicts. Bernard Crick - Politics is the activity by which differing interests within a given unit of rule are conciliated by giving them a share in power in proportion to their importance to the welfare and the survival of the whole community.

Politics as Power
1. The broadest definition of politics and the most radical. This view sees politics as affecting all aspects of life and human existence
2. Politics concerns how individuals gain power.
3. Politics concerns how people individually and collectively decide to get what they want and what they value. In this sense, politics concerns "the authoritative allocation of values"
4. Power involves the capacity of A to get B to do something that B might not do otherwise.

Approaches to the Study of Politics
1. As an academic subject, it is a reflection of the fact that it is about how we make, preserve and amend the general rules through which we operate as a society.
2. How do we study politics?
The Political Philosophy Approach and The Political Science Approach.

It has been long divided as a discipline, over the differences between the two dominant approaches names political philosophy and science.
Both rely on theory but how empirically oriented researchers develop and use theoretical constructs are distinct from the methodology of political theory.

There are two ways philosophy and science differ.
A] Science is about finding out what is, and philosophy is about what ought to be.
B] It is argued that political science is value-free, using quantitative tools and facilitated by the development of data-processing technology that can reliably discover answers to questions about the political world.

Science views Philosophy as operating on subjectivity. Values judgments, universality and concerns itself only with how an ideal society might always be structured.

Political scientists believe that the theorists can’t test and reject the premises on which they base their arguments.

Tools of Political Development
A] Concepts
1. A concept is a general idea about something, usually expressed in a single word or short phrase. It is the tool with which we think, criticise, argue, explain and analyse. e.g. Freedom, democracy and justice
2. The problem with political concepts is that a single concept carries different meanings.
B] Models
1. A model is usually thought of as a representation of something. Conceptual models are analytical tools. Their value is that they are devices through which meaning can be imposed upon matters that would otherwise be a confusing and disorganised collection of facts.
2. Facts do not always speak for themselves. It must be interpreted and organized. Models assist in the accomplishment of this task because they include a network of relationships that highlight the meaning of relevant empirical data,
3. One of the most influential models in political analysis is the model of "systems analysis" developed by David Easton
4. This model sets out to explain the entire political process as well as the function of major political actors, through the application of what is called systems analysis.

Systems Model - Demands and Supports are fed into The Political System (The Black Box) and it leads to Outputs. These Outputs generate Feedback which in turn creates a cycle that feeds into Demands and Support. It all exists inside the Political Environment.

5. His theory is general in two senses. (a) He rejects the idea that different systems must be created for national and international politics. (b) The first task of political science is the analysis of general problems common to all political systems.
6. The political systems exist between inputs and outputs. Inputs include demands and supports. Demands are those requests made by the citizenry and groups for services and or goods from the government. Supports are those means by which the citizenry and groups validate the system, such as voting, paying taxes and generally conforming to policy (compliance)
7. Outputs consist of decisions and actions of government, including the making of policies, passing of laws, the imposition of Taxes and the allocation of public funds.
8. These outputs generate feedback, which in turn shapes the political system trends towards long-term equilibrium or political stability.
C] Theory
1. Theories and models are often used interchangeably in politics. However, a theory is a proposition. It offers a systematic explanation of a body of empirical data.
2. A Model is merely an explanatory device it is more like a hypothesis that has yet to be tested.

D] Pluralist Theory (MG Smith - Jamaican?)
Also referred to as group theory. It begins with the proposition that the interaction among groups is the central fact of politics.

According to pluralist theorists, public policy at any given time is the equilibrium reached in the struggle between the groups competing for policy advantages.

The Commonwealth Caribbean and Plural Society Theory.

1) The term “Plural Society” is usually used to describe colonially created states with self-conscious culturally heterogeneous populations.
2) According to Furnivall (1948) and M.G. Smith (1965), one group tends to dominate politics in the plural society. The population segments of plural societies are normally distinctive.
(i) They have no external nation-state to relate to realistically
(ii) They are not strong nationalists but rather tend to identify with their ethnic group
(iii) Secession is normally not perceived as an alternative
(iv) Each population segment is internally divided according to class and possibly other criteria of rank.

UNDERSTANDING IDEOLOGIES

1. An ideology is a coherent set of ideas that provides a basis for organized political action, whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of power relationships.

2. Among the other meanings that have been attached to ideology are the following:

1. A political belief system.

2. An action-oriented set of political ideas.

3. The ideas of the ruling class.

4. The world-view of a particular social class or social groups.

5. An officially sanctioned set of ideas used to legitimize a political system or regime.

6. Over the last century, many attempts have been made to categorize political ideas and ideologies and to relate them to one another. The most familiar and firmly established method of doing this is the left-right political spectrum.

7. This is a linear spectrum that locates political ideologies at some point between two extremes, the far left and the far right.

THE LINEAR SPECTRUM

Communism

Socialism

Liberalism

Conservatism

Fascism

CONSERVATISM: ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

1. A general preference for the existing order of society and an opposition to all efforts to bring about rapid or fundamental change in that order.

2. Conservative ideologies characteristically strive to show that existing economic and political inequalities are well justified and that the existing order is about as close as is practically attainable to an ideal order.

3. The specific content of "conservatism" is highly variable across societies and over time, since the arguments necessary to defend the status quo depend upon what the status quo is in any particular country.

ELEMENTS OF CONSERVATISM

1. Tradition - The central theme of conservative thought, ‘the desire to conserve’, is closely linked to the perceived virtues of tradition, respect for established customs, and institutions that have endured through time.

2. Pragmatism - Conservatives have traditionally emphasized the limitations of human rationality, which arise from the infinite complexity of the world in which we live. Abstract principles and systems of thought are therefore distrusted, and instead faith is placed in experience, history and, above all pragmatism.

3. Human Imperfection - The conservative view of human nature is broadly pessimistic. The maintenance of order therefore requires a strong state, the enforcement of strict laws and stiffer penalties.

4. Organism - Instead of seeing society as an artifact that is a product of human ingenuity, conservatives have traditionally viewed society as an organic whole, or living entity.

Society is thus structured by natural necessity, with its various institutions or the ‘fabric of society’. The whole is more that a collection of its individual parts.

1. Hierarchy - In the conservative view, gradations of social position and status are natural and inevitable in an organic society. These reflect the differing roles and responsibilities of people.

2. Authority - Conservatives hold that, to some degree, authority is always exercised from above. The virtue of authority is that it is a source of social cohesion, giving people a clear sense of who they are and what is expected of them. Freedom must therefore coexist with responsibility.

3. Property - Conservatives see property ownership as being vital because it gives people security and a measure of independence from government, and it encourages them to respect the law and the property of others.

LIBERALISM - ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

1. Liberalism is derived from two distinct sources. One that is much older than the name ‘liberalism’ itself. This can be traced back to classical antiquity and took its modern form during the late 17^th and 18^th centuries as the political doctrines of the English Whigs.

2. This provided the model of political institutions which most of the European nineteenth century liberalism followed.

Historical Development of

Liberalism

1. The origins of liberalism are often traced to the rise of capitalist political economy, and, in particular, as a defence of private property.

2. Liberalism is difficult to pin down, not least because of its longevity and the fact that it has gone through a variety of different formulations.

3. The diverse character of liberalism is illustrated by the fact that it has been used to describe parties of the right (e.g. Australia) and the left (e.g. Canada).

4. In some countries, it is associated with the free market whereas in others, most notably the USA, it denotes state intervention.

5. The liberalism associated with the social democratic left is a type known as ‘new’ or ‘social’ liberalism, which differs from the traditional classical liberalism which had its heyday in the nineteenth century.

6. Classical liberalism began to be questioned towards the end of the nineteenth century, as the extent of poverty began to be recognised and socialist ideas emerged as an alternative.

7. This new liberalism saw a much more positive role for the state, in correcting the inequities of the market, but it was argued that far from reducing liberty this actually increased it by creating greater opportunities for individuals to achieve their goals.

ELEMENTS OF LIBERALISM

1. Individualism – This is the core principle of liberal ideology. It reflects a belief in the supreme importance of the individual as opposed to any social group or collective body.

The liberal goal is therefore to construct a society within which individuals can flourish and develop, each pursuing ‘the good’ as he or she defines it, to the best of his or her abilities.

1. Freedom - Individual freedom or liberty is the core value of liberalism; it is given priority over equity, justice or authority.

This arises naturally from a belief in the individual and the desire to ensure that each person is able to act as he or she pleases.

Liberals do not accept that individuals have an absolute entitlement to freedom. If liberty is unlimited it can become ‘licence’, the right to abuse others.

1. Reason - Liberals believe that the world has a rational structure, and that this can be uncovered through the exercise of human reason and by critical enquiry. This inclines them to place their faith in the ability of individuals to make wise judgements on their own behalf, being, in most cases, the best judges of their own interests.

2. Equality - Individualism implies a belief in foundational equality: that is, the belief that individuals are ‘born equal’, at least in terms or moral worth.

However, as individuals do not possess the same talent or willingness to work, liberals do not endorse social equality. 5] Toleration - Liberals believe that toleration is both a guarantee of individual liberty and a means of social enrichment.

1. Consent - In the liberal view, authority and social relationships should always be based on consent or willing agreement. Government must therefore be based on the consent of the governed. This is the doctrine that encourages liberals to favour representation and democracy.

2. Constitutionalism - Liberals believe in limited government. This goal is attained through the separation of government power, establishing checks and balances amongst the various institutions of government and through the establishment of a codified or written constitution embodying a bill of rights that defines the relationship between the state and the individual.

SOCIALISM: ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

The term socialism has been used in three different, ways: as a political principle, as a social model or regime-type based upon this model, and as an ideological movement whose central purpose is to establish such a society or regime.

As a political principle, communism stands for the communal organisation of social existence and, in particular, the common or collective ownership of wealth.

Features of of Socialism

1. Socialism has been associated with working-class parties but it differs from mere trade unionism in the sense that it seeks to transform society in cooperative and egalitarian directions.

2. Socialism is an ideology, like liberalism, that is a child of the industrial revolution being associated with the emergence of an industrial working class.

3. The historical development of socialism pivots around the person of Karl Marx.

4. Marx developed what he called a ‘scientific’ socialism which not only argued that socialism was ethically desirable but also attempted to explain the historical conditions that would bring it about.

There are many versions of socialism e.g. as a social model or regime-type. This version forms a model of a future society and is described in the writings of Marx and Engels.

Marx predicted that after the overthrow of capitalism there would be a transitionary ‘socialist’ stage of development, characterised by the ‘revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat’, which would, as class hatred, eventually lead to full communism.

ELEMENTS OF SOCIALISM

1. Community - The core of socialism is the vision of human beings as social creatures linked by the existence of a common humanity.

This refers to the importance of community and it highlights the degree to which individual identity is fashioned by social interaction and membership of social groups and collective bodies.

1. Fraternity - As human beings share a common humanity, they are bound together by a sense of comradeship or fraternity. This encourages socialists to prefer cooperation to competition, and to favour collectivism over individualism.

2. Social equality - Socialism emphasises the importance of social equality, as opposed to equality of opportunity. Socialists believe that a measure of social equality is the essential guarantee of social stability and cohesion. It also provides the basis for the exercise of legal and political rights.

3. Need - Socialists believe that material benefits should be distributed on the basis of need, rather than simply on the basis of merit or work. The classic formulation of this principle is found in Marx’s communist principle of distribution: from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’.

4. Social Class - Socialism has often been associated with a form of class politics. First, socialists tend to analyse society in terms of the distribution of income and they have thus seen class as a significant social cleavage.

Second, socialism has traditionally been associated with the interests of an oppressed and exploited working class, and it has traditionally regarded the working class as an agent of social change, even social revolution.

1. Common ownership - The socialist’s case for common ownership is that it is a means of harnessing material resources to the common good, with private property being seen to promote selfishness and social division.

FASCISM

1. Unlike the other ideologies discussed before, fascism is a 20^th century phenomenon.

2. It is particularly associated with the relatively short-lived regimes led by Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) in Italy (1925-43) and Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) in Germany (1933-45).

3. Fascism represents an extreme form of nationalism and authoritarianism.

4. Fascism opposes liberalism, democracy, reason and individualism. It is also profoundly anti-Marxist.

5. It is opposed to the liberal position that humans can be envisaged living in a pre-social state.

6. Accompanying the social nature of individuals is an authoritarianism which consists of the elite view whereby some individuals are regarded as superior to others, and thereby fitter to rule than others.

7. The masses are regarded as largely ignorant needing to be led by an elite, and particularly by one all-powerful leader.

What is the State?

• The state has been referred to as:

  • A collection of institutions

  • A territorial unit

  • A philosophical idea

  • An instrument of coercion or oppression

Idealist Approach expressed by G.W.F. Hegel

• Forms of existence: The family, civil society, and the state.

• In the family, altruism encourages people to prioritize the good of the children and elderly relatives.

• Civil society is seen as universal egoism, where individuals prioritize their own interests.

• The state is conceived as an ethical community underpinned by mutual sympathy.

• Hegel argues that appreciating the unifying role of the state can lead to happiness.

The Functionalist Approach

• The state's central purpose is the maintenance of social order.

• The state is defined as the set of institutions that uphold order and deliver social stability.

• Three basic types of internal roles performed by the modern state:

  • The state as a partisan pursuing its own interests (typical of authoritarian regimes)

  • The state as a guardian stabilizing and rebalancing society

  • The state as an instrument operating primarily as a tool in the hands of some group or groups in society at large

Organizational Approach

• Defines the state and the machinery of government as the set of institutions recognized as public and responsible for the collective organization of social existence.

• The state is made up of:

  • The Bureaucracy

  • The Military

  • The Judiciary

  • The Executive

  • The Legislature

Features of the State

• The state is sovereign, exercising absolute and unrestricted power above all other associations and groups in society.

• State institutions are recognizably 'public' in contrast to the 'private' institutions of civil society.

• The state is an exercise in legitimation, with decisions accepted as binding on society because they are made in the public interest or for the common good.

• The State as an Instrument of Domination. State authority is backed by force, and the state must have the capacity to ensure obedience to its laws and punish transgressors.

• The state is a territorial association, with jurisdiction geographically defined and encompassing all those who live within its borders.

Rival Theories of the State

• The pluralist state sees the state as an umpire or referee in society, a neutral actor.

• The state arose from a voluntary agreement or social contract to safeguard individuals from the insecurity, disorder, and brutality of the state of nature.

The Capitalist state and the Marxist view

• The Marxist notion of the state is that it is an instrument of class oppression.

• The state reflects and is dependent upon an economically dominant class, such as the bourgeoisie in capitalism.

• Marx saw the state as a means of safeguarding the gains of the revolution through the dictatorship of the proletariat. The proletariat is a concept from Marxist theory, referring to the working class in a capitalist society

The Role of the State - The Minimal State

• The aim is to ensure individuals enjoy the widest possible freedom.

• The state exists to maintain domestic order, enforce contracts, and provide protection against external attack.

• The institutional machinery of a minimal state is limited to a police force, a court system, and a military.

Developmental State

• A developmental state intervenes in economic life to promote industrial growth and economic development.

• There is a strong relationship between the state and private economic institutions, with the goal of securing rapid economic development.

Social-democratic states

• Social-democratic states intervene to bring about broader social restructuring based on principles such as fairness, equity, and social justice.

• The focus is on rectifying imbalances and injustices of a market economy and the equitable distribution of wealth.

The Totalitarian state

• The most extreme form of interventionism, where the state penetrates every aspect of human existence.

• The state brings education, culture, religion, and family life under direct control.

• Totalitarian states rely on surveillance, policing, and ideological manipulation for control.

The 'hollow state'

• Occurs in parts of the developing world where state apparatuses are fractured or disintegrating.

• State functions have been transferred to other institutions and bodies.

• Resulting in the emergence of stateless nations.

Challenges to the Modern State

• Globalization

• Restructuring of the state

• Growth of sub-state government.

THE MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT

Constitutions, the Law and Judiciaries

1. A constitution is, broadly, a set of rules, written and unwritten, that seeks to establish the duties, powers and functions of the various institutions of government, regulate the relationships between them, and define the relationship between the state and the individual.

2. Constitutions can be classified in many different ways.

These include the following:

A] The form of the constitution and status of its rules i.e. whether the constitution is written or unwritten, or codified or uncodified.

B] The ease with which the constitution can be changed whether it is rigid or flexible.

1. The degree to which the constitution is observed in practice i.e. whether it is an effective, nominal or make-believe constitution.

2. The content of the constitution and the institutional structure that it establishes

i.e. whether it is, for example, monarchical or republican, federal or unitary, or presidential or parliamentary.

• Written constitutions are, in theory, constitutions that are enshrined in laws, while unwritten constitutions are supposedly embodied in customs and tradition. A majority of states now possess basic written documents that lay down major constitutional provisions.

Only three liberal democracies Israel, New Zealand and the UK continue to have unwritten constitutions, together with a handful of non-democratic states.

• Note, no constitution is entirely written in the sense that all its rules are formal and legally enforceable.

  • Constitutions that are unwritten place considerable stress on conventions.

  • A constitutional convention, is a rule of conduct or behaviour that is based not on law but on custom and precedent.

1. In unwritten constitutions, they are particularly significant, because they define the procedures, powers and duties of the major institutions, thus compensating for the absence of a codified document.

2. Uncodified constitutions, have very different characteristics. Chief amongst these are statute law, which is made by parliament, common law, conventions, and various works of authority that clarify and explain the constitution’s unwritten elements.

3. The absence of a codified document implies, most importantly, that the legislature enjoys sovereign or unchallengeable authority.

   1. The strength of a written constitution include the following:

      1. Major principles and key constitutional provisions are entrenched, safeguarding them from interference by the government of the day.

      2. The power of the legislature is constrained, cutting its sovereignty down to size.

      3. Nonpolitical judges are able to police the constitution to ensure that its provisions are upheld by other public bodies.

      4. Individual liberty is more securely protected, and authoritarianism is kept at bay.

      5. The codified document has an educational value, in that it highlights the central values and overall goals of the political system.

         1. The weaknesses of a written constitution include the following:

            1. A written constitution is more rigid, and may therefore be less responsive and adaptable than an unwritten one.

            2. Government power may be more effectively constrained by regular elections than by a constitutional document.

            3. With a written constitution, constitutional supremacy resides with non-elected judges rather than with publicly accountable politicians.

            4. Constitutional provisions enshrined in custom and conventions may be more widely respected because they have been endorsed by history and not invented.

1] The purpose of a constitution is as follows:

1. To empower states, that is, they mark out the existence of states and make claims concerning their sphere of independent authority.

2. Providing government stability by allocating duties and functions amongst the various institutions of government. It formalizes and regulates the relationships between political bodies and provides a mechanism through which conflicts can be adjudicated.

Protecting freedom by marking out the respective spheres of government authority and personal freedom.

1. Constitutions legitimize regimes, however, many states do not establish a particular electoral system in their constitutions, yet this is a vital element in determining how power can change hands.

The Law and the Judiciary

• The law is a set of public and enforceable rules that apply throughout a political community. The law came from the union of primary and secondary rules.

  • Primary rules regulate social behaviour and can be thought of as the content of the legal system: criminal law is an

example. Secondary rules, on the other hand, are rules that confer power upon the institutions of government.

• The role of law, then, is to protect each member of society from his or her fellow members, thereby preventing their rights and liberties from being encroached upon.

  • The law is above politics, and a strict separation between law and politics must be maintained to prevent the law favouring the state over the individual, the rich over the poor, men over women and so on.

1. The central function of judges is therefore to adjudicate on the meaning of law, in the sense that they interpret or construct law.

2. One of the characteristics of the judiciary in liberal democratic systems is that judges are strictly independent and non-political actors. The ability of judges to be above politics is seen as the vital guarantee of a separation between law and politics.

3. Judges may be political in two senses.

One they may be subject to external bias or two, to internal bias.

1. External bias is derived from the influence that political bodies, such as parties,

the assembly and government, are able to exert on the judiciary. Internal bias stems from the prejudices and sympathies of judges themselves.

1. External bias is supposedly kept at bay by respect for the principle of judicial independence.

Role of Assemblies

Assemblies are sometimes called parliaments or legislatures and occupy a key position in the machinery of government.

Assemblies act as national

debating chambers, public forums in which government policies and the major issues of the day can be openly discussed and analysed.

1. Functions of Assemblies:

   1. Legislation is often seen as the key function of assemblies. Assemblies are typically vested with legislative power in the hope that the laws thus made will be seen to be authoritative and binding.

   2. Assemblies play an important role in providing a link between government and the people.

   3. Scrutiny and oversight have become some of the key functions of an assembly, that is, to constrain or check executive power.

   4. Assemblies often act as major channels of recruitment, providing a pool from which leading decision-makers emerge.

   5. The final function of assemblies is to promote the legitimacy of a regime by encouraging the public to see the system of rule as rightful.

The Executive

1. The executive is the core of government.

Political systems can operate with constitutions, assemblies, judiciaries, and even parties, but they cannot survive without an executive branch to formulate government policy and ensure that it is implemented.

1. The executive is the branch of government responsible for the implementation of laws and policies made by the legislature.

The executive branch extends from the head of government to the members of enforcement agencies such as the police and the military, and includes both ministers and civil servants.

Functions of the executive:

• Ceremonial duties

  • Policy-making leadership. The key function of the political executive is to direct and control the policy process.

  • Popular leadership. The popularity of the political executive, more than any other part of the political system is crucial to the character and stability of the regime as a whole.

  • Bureaucratic leadership. The task of overseeing the implementation of policy means that the political executive has major bureaucratic and administrative responsibilities in the system.

  • Crisis leadership. A crucial advantage that the political executive has over the assembly is its ability to take swift and decisive action.

Bureaucracies

• In the field of politics, bureaucracy refers to the administrative machinery of the state, that is, the massed ranks of civil servants and public officials who are charged with the execution of government business.

  • The academic study of bureaucracy has been dominated by the work of Max Weber. For Weber, bureaucracy was an ideal type of rules based on a system of rational rules, as opposed to either tradition or charisma.

1. Principles that characterize a bureaucratic organization:

   1. Jurisdictional areas are fixed and official, and ordered by laws and rules.

   2. There is a firmly ordered hierarchy, which ensures that lower offices are supervised by specified higher ones within a chain of command.

   3. Business is managed on the basis of written documents and a filing system.

   4. The authority of officials is impersonal and stems entirely from the post they hold, not from personal status.

   5. Bureaucratic rules are strict enough to minimize the scope of personal discretion.

   6. Appointment and advancement within a bureaucracy are based on professional criteria, such as training, expertise and administrative competence.

2. Functions of bureaucracies:

   1. Administration

   2. Policy advice

   3. Articulating interest. Bureaucracies are brought into contact with interest groups through their tasks of policy implementation and their involvement in policy formulation and advice.

   4. Political stability. The final function of bureaucracies is to provide a focus of stability and continuity within political systems.

Sources of bureaucratic power

1. The strategic position of bureaucrats in the policy process

2. The logistical relationship between bureaucrats and ministers

3. The status and expertise of bureaucrats