Written by students who passed Immediately available after payment Read online or as PDF Wrong document? Swap it for free 4.6 TrustPilot
logo-home
Document preview thumbnail
Preview 2 out of 5 pages
Class notes

What is Politics

Document preview thumbnail
Preview 2 out of 5 pages

These notes are a detailed summary of the first week of POL1004F at UCT: What is Politics.

Content preview

What is Politics
Created @February 17, 2022 7:38 PM

Class POL1004F

Type Lecture

Materials What is Politics 1 ppt.pptx

Reviewed



Key Issues
what are the defining features of politics as an activity?

how has ‘politics’ been understood by various thinkers and traditions?

can the study of politics be scientific?

what are the main approaches to the study of politics as an academic discipline?

what roles do concepts, models, and theories play in political analysis?



Political Studies as a Discipline
politics: the activity/process through which people make, preserve, amend the general
rules under which they live

power: the ability to influence the behaviour of others (one actor having influence over
another)

can be legitimate (e.g. democratically elected government)

can be illegitimate (e.g. Israeli-occupied Palestine)

politics is both the activity (lowercase) and the study of it (uppercase)

the study of politics can be called Politics, Political Studies or Political Science




What is Politics 1

, the issue of conflict and cooperation is integral to politics (how do people solve —or
manage—their disagreements

it is difficult to define politics because there are already so many associations with the
term, and it is difficult to agree on which is correct

My definition of politics: politics is an activity (or the study thereof) wherein people try to
deal with and/or solve the conflicts which prevent them from living amicably. It involves the
making and changing of social rules



Four Conceptions of Political Studies
he way politics is conceived affects how politics is studied.

the way politics is conceived affects how politics is studied

two main approaches to politics are defining it as an arena (where) or as a process (how)




Politics as an Art of Government
politics as an arena

most classical/well-known conception of politics

rooted in Greek term polis which means city-state

focuses on the collective decisions manage society

reliant on government authority (narrow conception because it only looks at government)

authority: the right to influence behaviour (when power is handed over legitimately)

“politics is not a science... but an art” - chancellor Bismarck

Politics as Public Affairs


What is Politics 2

Document information

Uploaded on
February 19, 2023
Number of pages
5
Written in
2022/2023
Type
Class notes
Professor(s)
Maxine rubin
Contains
Week 1: what is politics
$4.79

Wrong document? Swap it for free Within 14 days of purchase and before downloading, you can choose a different document. You can simply spend the amount again.
Written by students who passed
Immediately available after payment
Read online or as PDF

Seller avatar
Reputation scores are based on the amount of documents a seller has sold for a fee and the reviews they have received for those documents. There are three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. The better the reputation, the more your can rely on the quality of the sellers work.
malaikamamabolo
4.0
(2)
Sold
17
Followers
13
Items
23
Last sold
1 year ago




Why students choose Stuvia

Created by fellow students, verified by reviews

Quality you can trust: written by students who passed their tests and reviewed by others who've used these notes.

Didn't get what you expected? Choose another document

No worries! You can instantly pick a different document that better fits what you're looking for.

Pay as you like, start learning right away

No subscription, no commitments. Pay the way you're used to via credit card and download your PDF document instantly.

Student with book image

“Bought, downloaded, and aced it. It really can be that simple.”

Alisha Student

Working on your references?

Create accurate citations in APA, MLA and Harvard with our free citation generator.

Working on your references?

Frequently asked questions