Politics In The Twentieth Century
Politics is the study of governmental affairs, the application of collective political action to achieve a set goal, or the distribution of status or resources to those who earn them. Politics is often defined by its participants as a system of social interaction that excludes the behavior of individuals. The study of politics involves the study of politics as a process of societal organization and social construction. Politics has been called the study of public opinion, the control of popular consent, the shaping of political institutions, the use of force and weapons, and the political systems of nations. Politics is an essential component of the study of society. It is one of the most important dimensions of modern civilization and politics is unavoidable without a clearly defined political culture and identity.
Politics is the system of political actions that are motivated by competing interests or desires and which have the effect of shaping the nature of societal institutions, political activities and outcomes. Politics is the study of the relationships between individuals and the elements of political action. Politics is the study of political life and it is characterized by the negotiation of the various conflicting interests of the citizens of a polity. Politics is essentially a contest between forces within a polity. Politics is essentially the study of disputed notions and it is an endeavour to find agreement on these notions through negotiations and consensus-building.
Politics is the study of how politics shapes and impacts on human societies, political institutions and processes. Politics is the study of the political life of nations, and it is largely affected by politics in the public sphere. Politics is the study of how politics affect the members of a nation, and it is largely affected by politics in the private sphere. Politics is a branch of study that has many interrelated components and politics is basically a war between various groups of people. Politics is a field that is basically defined as the management of the common good through political institutions and has been theorized since the rise of the middle classes in the eighteen hundreds.
Two events shaped the study of politics in the twentieth century; World War I and World War II. World War I marked the beginning of the modern division of the world into East and West. The trench war at Ypres and the Armistice that ended the World War II brought home to the citizenry the horrific reality of war and how soldiers were willing to fight for a common cause in order to protect their communities from destruction. This understanding of the nature and necessity of politics inspired numerous political theorists including the thinker Karl von Clausewitz and the English philosopher John Locke. Their theories of politics laid the basis for the work of thinkers like International Relations theorists such as George Kennan and Henry Kissinger.
After the wars there was a profound growth in the number of political parties in the developed world. Politics became a prominent role in the social structure of the industrialized nations. There was a shift in the conception of politics as a system of principles rather than elite orators who had power and authority over the citizens of a nation. The twentieth century saw major changes in the political systems of most of the developed nations; major shifts in the balance of power between the political parties and major shifts in the balance of resources in the national political economy. The twentieth century also witnessed major changes in the conception of what was politics. Whereas earlier politics was understood as the arena of forces and men determined to dominate the society, politics – with its focus on man power – was new and different.
There was a profound debate between those who saw politics as a field of pure principle and those who saw politics as a field of human beings exercising their power and authority to shape their own society. The twentieth century saw major changes in the way power was organized and seized by the many actors in politics. The emerging concept of “ationalism” – whereby leaders were chosen from a small group of leaders – gave way to “centrarianism,” whereby leaders were chosen from a large group of elected leaders. The two events that occurred in politics during the twentieth century – the First World War and the Second World War – marked major changes not only in the nature of politics, but also in the understanding of how politics is shaped and exercised.
