What is Politics?
THE POLITICAL DIMENSION OF EUROPE LECTURE - week 1
What is politics?
Struggle for power and leadership that gives an individual or a group the ability to make authoritative decisions for the public as a whole, for society.
The interaction of people, ideas and institutions, i.e. it provides the focus for understanding how values are allocated and resources distributed.
The State: a geographic territory with internationally recognized boundaries an identifiable population that lives within these boundaries a recognized government many argue it is impossible to define it
Weber: state is an institution claiming ‘monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force in enforcing its order within a given territorial area’
All states have sovereignty: (Jean Bodin, William Blackstone)
- the highest form of authority in a particular territory
The ability to act within a territory, independently from internal or external rivals. Internal: supreme authority domestically External: independence internationally
- de jure sovereignty: a legal right to rule supremely
- facto sovereignty: actual distribution of political power
Government: Leadership that runs the state.
States differ based on
1. Territorial organization
Unitary: Most power at the national level, little regional authority.
Federal: Significant power given to regional bodies by constitution.
2. Ethnic Composition
Nation state: Correspondence between state and nation: population bound by a shared territory, history, culture, common legal rights and duties for all citizens.
Often associated with ethnic groups: 1. Homogenous - state with one ethnic group 2. Heterogeneous - state with several
What is politics?
Struggle for power and leadership that gives an individual or a group the ability to make authoritative decisions for the public as a whole, for society.
The interaction of people, ideas and institutions, i.e. it provides the focus for understanding how values are allocated and resources distributed.
The State: a geographic territory with internationally recognized boundaries an identifiable population that lives within these boundaries a recognized government many argue it is impossible to define it
Weber: state is an institution claiming ‘monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force in enforcing its order within a given territorial area’
All states have sovereignty: (Jean Bodin, William Blackstone)
- the highest form of authority in a particular territory
The ability to act within a territory, independently from internal or external rivals. Internal: supreme authority domestically External: independence internationally
- de jure sovereignty: a legal right to rule supremely
- facto sovereignty: actual distribution of political power
Government: Leadership that runs the state.
States differ based on
1. Territorial organization
Unitary: Most power at the national level, little regional authority.
Federal: Significant power given to regional bodies by constitution.
2. Ethnic Composition
Nation state: Correspondence between state and nation: population bound by a shared territory, history, culture, common legal rights and duties for all citizens.
Often associated with ethnic groups: 1. Homogenous - state with one ethnic group 2. Heterogeneous - state with several