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    Magstadt Chapter 1

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    BruceWaynne
    This document provides an introduction to the study of politics. It discusses why politics should be studied, including to understand how government works and is affected by one's environment. It also explores key concepts in politics like power, order, and justice. Power involves the ability to make and enforce rules but also less tangible forms. Order refers to the structures that make up a political system. Justice addresses how governance should be performed to serve the public interest. The study of politics uses various methods from both positivist and normative approaches.

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    Magstadt Chapter 1

    Uploaded by

    BruceWaynne
    256 views26 pages
    This document provides an introduction to the study of politics. It discusses why politics should be studied, including to understand how government works and is affected by one's environment. It also explores key concepts in politics like power, order, and justice. Power involves the ability to make and enforce rules but also less tangible forms. Order refers to the structures that make up a political system. Justice addresses how governance should be performed to serve the public interest. The study of politics uses various methods from both positivist and normative approaches.

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    This document provides an introduction to the study of politics. It discusses why politics should be studied, including to understand how government works and is affected by one's environment. It also explores key concepts in politics like power, order, and justice. Power involves the ability to make and enforce rules but also less tangible forms. Order refers to the structures that make up a political system. Justice addresses how governance should be performed to serve the public interest. The study of politics uses various methods from both positivist and normative approaches.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    256 views26 pages

    Magstadt Chapter 1

    Uploaded by

    BruceWaynne
    This document provides an introduction to the study of politics. It discusses why politics should be studied, including to understand how government works and is affected by one's environment. It also explores key concepts in politics like power, order, and justice. Power involves the ability to make and enforce rules but also less tangible forms. Order refers to the structures that make up a political system. Justice addresses how governance should be performed to serve the public interest. The study of politics uses various methods from both positivist and normative approaches.

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    of 26

    INTRODUCTION TO

    THE STUDY OF
    POLITICS
    Chapter 1, Magstadt

    Why study politics?


    People always disagree, and it is
    interesting to uncover the processes at
    work during these conflicts (and their
    resolutions).
    The study of logic, as well as the other
    social sciences, may also help here.
    Politics, however, may be the most
    significant of these studies.

    Why study politics?


    The self-interest
    Satisfaction of personal needs depends
    largely on the workings of the government.
    The study of politics allows us to know how
    government works (or why it doesnt).
    The public interest
    Civil society is inevitably affected by its
    political environment. The study of politics
    helps the public deal with the possible
    pressures of this environment.

    The State and Civil Society

    Source:
    http://www.zetterberg.org/Papers/ppr1997c.
    htm

    Politics and everyday life


    Man is by nature a political animal.
    -Aristotle
    Politics is in a general sense about the
    way human beings govern and are
    governed.
    It therefore affects our lives in countless
    ways on a daily basis.
    The example of Adolf Eichmann can help
    illustrate these effects.

    The story of Adolf Eichmann


    Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi functionary
    who administered much of the
    extermination program.
    Hannah Arendt wrote of Eichmann as not
    being a particularly unusual man.
    He had a strong desire to get ahead, to
    be a success in life.
    He also took special pride in his ability to
    do his job efficiently.

    Politics and everyday life


    Being a normal person, it would not be difficult
    to picture an Eichmann in more familiar
    surroundings.
    Such a person would be a workaholic, concerned
    with advancement, and eager to please
    superiors.
    Not being a particularly harsh person, he/she
    may even be a faithful spouse or a loving parent.
    The Nazis were commonly described as being
    affectionate and caring towards their own
    families, after all.

    Politics in everyday life


    The key point is that this person is so
    caught up in the real world, that he/she
    has no time for (or interest in) abstract,
    moral, social, or political questions.
    Despite being quite ordinary, Eichmann
    was still able to do horrific things to his
    fellow man.
    This may be attributed to the cultural and
    political environment during Nazi Germany.

    Politics in everyday life


    As German leadership equated mass
    extermination with patriotism, it was difficult for
    the Eichmanns (ordinary Germans) to resist the
    performance of their functions.
    It would require a rare combination of intellectual
    independence and moral courage to go against
    such a trend.
    These qualities are the ones that you may acquire
    in the study of politics.

    All propaganda is lies ---- even when it is telling the truth.


    -George Orwell

    Basic concepts in politics


    Politics has been defined in countless
    ways, and each one deserves
    recognition.
    Agreement regarding a uniform
    definition is therefore a futile activity.
    However, there are certain concepts in
    politics that are considered more
    important than most. They are power,
    order, and justice.

    Power
    Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power
    corrupts absolutely.
    -Lord Acton

    The usual notion of power in politics is


    the ability of governments to make and
    enforce rules, and is linked inevitably to
    the concept of authority.
    However, power involves much more
    than physical force.
    QUESTION: What are other forms of
    power?

    Power in material form


    It is common to associate power in material forms.
    In this way, power is more tangible and can
    readily be measured.
    Critics of this notion, however, claim that it is too
    narrow.
    Joseph Nye, in particular, distinguishes between
    hard power and soft power.

    Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the
    comprehension of the weak, and that it is doing Gods service;
    when it is violating all His laws.
    -John Adams

    Power and its distribution


    Power is never equally distributed in any
    society or state.
    However, the need to concentrate power in
    the hands of a few raises questions, doubts,
    and sometimes suspicions among people.
    It is difficult to determine who really rules any
    state, whether it is the government or not.

    Who watches the watchmen?

    -Juvenal

    Power and Authority


    These are terms that are often confused,
    and are in fact even used
    interchangeably.
    In reality, they are two distinct concepts.
    QUESTION: What is the difference between
    power and authority?
    CLUE: Authority flows from the norms that
    are recognized and embraced by the
    vast majority of society.

    Power and Authority


    Authority is closely related to, and in fact
    implies, the idea of legitimacy.
    Legitimacy is a condition in which power
    is exercised through established
    institutions, and according to rules that
    are freely accepted by people as being
    right and proper.
    Authority may then be considered as
    legitimate power.

    The test of legitimate


    authority
    However, to determine if a person is in fact
    an authority, we must not consider the
    ability of people to agree or disagree by
    exercising their rights to vote or to stage
    popular demonstrations.
    We must consider how much value people
    attach to these rights instead.
    The consent of the people to live with or
    without these rights is the important
    factor.

    The test of legitimate


    authority
    Power itself may be seized in many ways.
    Assuming a status of leadership may then
    necessarily follow.
    If people allow this to happen, then there
    may be authority, but it is not legitimate.
    Authority, however, cannot be seized. It can
    only be asserted or claimed.
    When assailed, therefore, authority loses its
    legitimacy and becomes naked power (or
    what some people may call despotism).

    Order
    Political order denotes structures, rules,
    rituals, procedures, and practices that
    make up a political system.
    The political system, on the other hand,
    is built upon the foundations of society.
    Society is closely related to the concept
    of community, or an association of
    individuals that share a common identity.

    Order, government, and the


    state
    Order is also related to government, or the
    machinery that rules society.
    Governments may then be differentiated
    into many other forms: republics,
    monarchies, oligarchies, dictatorships, etc.
    This further leads to the concept of the state,
    which is the sole location of sovereignty.
    A sovereign state is a community with welldefined territorial boundaries administered
    by a single government.

    The state, the country, and the nation


    The state can also be confused (more or
    less rightfully) with the term country.
    Although a state may not always be a
    country, the distinctions are few.
    However, the state or the country must
    not be equated with the nation, which is
    a distinct group of people who share a
    number of fundamental identities or
    backgrounds.

    Nation-states, etc.
    This distinction gives rise to the
    concepts of the nation-state,
    multination-states, multistate-nations, or
    even stateless nations.
    QUESTION: What are some examples of
    these combinations?

    Justice
    The sheer number of people to be governed
    gives rise to various conflicting claims on
    how such governance should be performed.
    The importance of the public interest
    becomes relevant when evaluating the
    governments actions.
    The question of justice addresses this fact,
    which is more or less considered in state
    affairs (more often, however, it is not).

    Justice
    The need to ask whether something is
    just coincides with the ability to think
    and speak intelligently about politics.
    The question whether government is
    acting justly therefore carries with it
    other questions related to politics.

    Extreme justice is extreme injustice.


    -Cicero

    QUESTION: What is justice?

    How we study politics


    As there is no uniformly effective
    method of studying politics, the
    discipline becomes multifaceted.
    Different approaches, different kinds of
    questions, different audiences, all exist
    and thrive at the same time.
    The study of politics, like the other
    sciences, seeks to answer the more
    important questions.

    Methods in political study


    The most basic division regarding methods to
    study politics is between positivism and the
    normative approach:
    Positivism emphasizes empirical research
    and places weight in measurable variables
    that are more likely considered to be facts.
    The normative approach mainly considers
    the value of political concepts or phenomena.
    Whether you choose one over the other is
    not important.

    Examples of political science specialties

    Political theory Seeks to answer normative


    questions through reason and logic.
    Comparative politics Seeks to contrast and
    evaluate governments and political systems.
    International relations Seeks to analyze
    how nations interact.
    Public administration Seeks to study how
    bureaucracies implement governmental
    policies.

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