INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL ANALYSIS

How Politics Has Been Conceptualized and Understood by Scholars and Traditions

1. Politics as the Art of Government

• Exercise of control within society through the making and enforcement of collective decision (Chancellor Bismarck)

• Heywood (2004:5) – This definition is considered classical

• Traditional view of the discipline – focuses on the personnel and machinery of government

• Highly restricted view – centered on government machinery, engaged in by a limited group of people

2. Politics as Public Affairs

• Greeks: Politics = matters in public realm vs. private realm

• Public affairs are morally superior to the private realm

• Primary interest: Moral purposes decision makers should pursue for the common good

• Aristotle: “Man by nature is a political animal” – humans can live the good life only within a political community

• Statesman aims to produce citizens with virtue and performance of virtuous acts

• Institutions (public) = responsible for collective organization of community life

• Civil society (family, church, private business, trade unions) = private; set up by individuals for their own interests, not the larger society (Heywood, 2004)

Criticism:

• Politics is not restricted to the public realm

• Politics happens in private spaces like:

  • Families (deciding who makes decisions at home)

  • Workplaces (competing for promotion)

  • Schools, religious groups, communities

• Politics exists wherever there is power, influence, negotiation, or decision-making – even in private life

3. Politics as the Operation of the State

• Max Weber: Politics = operation of the state

• Politics is associated with state activities because the state is the center of political analysis

• The state is an administrative structure that uses force and exercises sovereignty over its territory

4. Politics as Power

• Politics at work in all social activities

• Harold Lasswell: “Politics is who gets what, when, and how”

• Perspective:

  • Politics = diversity + conflict

  • Essential ingredient = scarcity

• Politics = means through which struggle is conducted

5. Politics as Collective Decision and Action

• Politics = reaching collective decisions + taking collective actions

• Miller (2002): Politics = process where a group with divergent opinions/interests reach collective decisions that are binding and enforced as common policy

• Assumptions:

  • All societies contain diversity

  • Scarcity is inevitable in all societies

6. Politics as the Determination and Execution of Policy

• Proponents: David Easton & Harold Lasswell

• Politics as struggle among people to decide who gets what and how

• Focus: How decisions are made and implemented – not only on state structures

• Emphasis on implementing policies:

  • Policy not implemented = non-policy

• Assumptions:

  • Political decisions affect most of society

  • Politics deals with acceptable decisions that do not require force

• Political activities take place outside state structures

7. Politics as Relations and Conflicts Among Classes in Society

• Karl Marx – proponent

• Every society = struggle between 2 broad classes (relation to mode of production):

  • Bourgeoisie – owners/controllers of production (oppressors)

  • Proletariat – have-nots (oppressed)

• Political activity = class struggle for supremacy

• Marx predicted oppressed class would win and create a classless, equal society

Criticism:

• Marx’s prediction did not materialize

• Socialism collapsed (USSR) and could not sustain itself

• China opened to market economy

8. Politics as Compromise and Consensus

• Politics = means to resolve conflicts through:

  • Compromise

  • Negotiation

  • Conciliation

  • Consensus-building

• If these fail and violence erupts → politics is rejected or failed

• Bernard Crick (2002): Politics is the only possible solution to the problem of order

• Limitation: Restricts politics to being only a solution to conflict