Politics and International Relations
Politics is the group of political activities which are related to making decisions in groups or socio-economic settings, for the distribution of societal status or assets, or the allocation of scarce resources. The branch of applied social science which studies government and politics is called political science. The modern use of the term ” Politics” first appears in the English language in the eighteenth century, from which it has become immensely popular all over the world. Politics is a subject matter of great interest to the historians, social scientists, statisticians, engineers and business people.
Students of political theory learn a variety of skills, including: political analysis, public policy, the scientific method, communication skills and many other aspects. Politics, as a subject is extremely interesting to students of all ages. One of the most interesting aspects of studying politics is that there is rarely ever a single right answer. In fact, almost every situation, whether concerning domestic politics or international politics, opens up more possible solutions than one can view at first glance. Students therefore learn to evaluate various potential answers, which helps them to increase their critical thinking abilities and hence enhance their learning. The second major area in which Politics is studied is that of the various types of parties that exist and how they interact with each other, and with the rest of the world.
Another important aspect of politics which virtually every student will have to deal with is public opinion. Public opinion is basically the evaluation of how the government is performing its functions, good or otherwise, based on the feedback given by the citizens at a particular time. Thus, if the government does a good job, they will have high voter turnout; if the government does a bad job, they will have low voter turnout. It thus goes without saying that any political leader who wants to form a stable and healthy government must be in the right track with public opinion.
Bernard Crick is considered to be one of the most influential political philosophers of all time. His book, Political Parties in Power, is considered to be one of the most influential texts on modern politics. In this book he not only traces the evolution of party systems throughout history but also argues that democracy offers people living in it a unique opportunity to pursue their personal goals through a participative system of governance. This view is widely accepted by people living in democracy today, including people living in states that have not adopted a popularly elected government form. Thus, many political scientists and historians agree that Crick’s basic arguments are generally well-settled upon.
Politics and leadership are considered to be two of the most important areas in modern-day socio-political life. Two distinct theories on politics have emerged – one theory believes that politics is a way of life that people living in democratic societies choose to engage in, and another believes that politics is a form of organized group effort in which groups of people make decisions as a common good. Both of these theories can be traced back to the works of Immanuel Kant and Machiavelli. In addition to these famous theorists, many other less famous ones also developed important arguments concerning how politics really works. Jean Baptiste de La Rouchfoucauld, Jean Piaget, Alas Deckard Taine, Sir Oliver Cromwell, and Richard Wagner are just some of the many people who argued that politics is not merely a way of life enjoyed by some and practiced by others, but is instead a process of interaction among individuals based upon common interests and goals.
Comparative politics is a field of study that studies different political systems throughout the world and compares them to contemporary political situations. Some of the most prominent areas of comparative politics include constitutional systems, multiparty systems, international relations, and political economy. Comparative politics has been extremely important in the development of fields such as international relations, international business, and political science. International relations, international business, and political science all grew out of Comparative Politics. Thus, when one considers the impact that politics has made on the world today, one cannot ignore the importance of comparative political science.