Defining Politics and Democracy Essay

Political parties have many functions, one of which is to uphold the principles of a democratic political system. A democratic political system is one which involves various features, such as a peaceful transition of power from one government to another, free and fair regular elections, people having open access to independent information, government accountability to the people and representative institutions and that the government operates in the broad interests of the people. Democracy can take a number of forms, the main two being representative and direct democracy. In the UK a representative democracy is in place. Arguably, the mere existence of political

The study of politics has evolved throughout the different epochs of history. The study of politics, by political philosophy, dates back at least fifth century B.C., where Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, were credited by being called its “founding fathers” (Chiranjeev et al., 2013, p42.). Political philosophy, as a study of politics, has progressed throughout the history of studying political phenomena. It brought numerous issues, revolutions, approaches, etc. on how to study politics. Two of which are the formation of political science and political theory. The connection between the three, political philosophy, political science, and political theory, is something that can be related to Hegelian dialectics. By analyzing political philosophy’s progress, it would give a better light on how the former molded the emergence of political science and theory.

A political two party system is one where two parties have complete dominance over voting, in terms of seats and the general vote. The multi- party system however describes a system where more than two parties have the ability to win role as government. In this essay I will give a balanced argument on whether Britain is a two party, or multi- party system.

By definition, a political party “is an ongoing coalition of interests joined together in an effort to get its candidates for public office elected under a common label”(Patterson 233). In the everyday world of politics, many people have an opinion on how government (politicians) should act on the many issues that affect people’s regular everyday life. People’s public opinion (¨politically relevant opinions

Harold Dwight Lasswell, leading American political scientist or communication theorist, defined politics as “Politics is who gets what, when, and how.” Although Lasswell definition is broad, I completely agree with him on his thoughts about politics based on the lessons I’ve learned throughout, my major, Political Science. Politics is defined as the “activities associated with governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties trying to achieve power. The task of political science is composed of four parts: a concern for what is right or wrong in politics, research that leads to the task of empirical understanding, the combination of empirical studies, and prudential concerns.

The word politics comes from the Greek word polis, meaning the state or community as a whole. The concept of the polis was an ideal state and came from the writings of great political thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. In his novel The Republic Plato describes the ideal state and the means to achieve it. The word politics originally has connotations in the ways in which to create the ideal society. An ideal society is in practice a rather difficult aim and even an impossible aim to achieve. Politics implies measures which could and should, in the views of their devisor, be implemented in the hope to create a better society, than that which is already present. The very fact that Plato and Aristotle saw imperfections in the societies, in which they lived, prompted them to write their political philosophies. These philosophies provided the first written recognition of politics. Aristotle believed that man is a political animal, in another words; it lies deep within the instinct of man. According to Aristotle politics was not a dreamt up concept, but rather an inherent feature of mankind. To begin with, the basest premise that underpins the notion of politics should be considered in order to arrive at a fair definition. Man is self-preserving by

Throughout the course of history, mankind has been recorded to corrupt itself. Men have grown tired of simply surviving; they have had to take and conquer others. Absolute monarchies control wealth, land, and even lives of men. The conditions of the people were solely dependent on the conditions of the one who was in power in that particular place and time. History has proven that most men rule unwisely in their kingdoms. To avoid tyrannical rule, some make an attempt to set up a government in which the people ruled themselves. This form of government is called a democracy, or “rule of the people.” History has also revealed through the Greeks and the French Revolution, that a democracy that gives complete power

The political system I would use for Viva la Vida Islands, is the Representative Democracy. I think it’s better to have citizens vote on representatives to represent them, rather than gathering everybody to vote on one law. It would be extremely difficult to gather people to have them vote. It’s easier to have citizens vote for a leader that has a voice for them and that they trust. Using this system would be easier and fairer making everyone have a voice in one way or another.

To understand exactly what we mean by ‘politics’ means we must first unpack it. ‘Politics’ is defined in the Oxford English dictionary as ‘the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power’ (Soanes: 2004). We can break this into two parts: (1) the activities associated with governance of a country or area, and (2) the debate between parties having power. I will suggest that the ABSM pays less attention to the activities associated with governance over an area, and more attention to the deliberative process between institutions. While political economy analysis, as a concept analyses politics by taking into account the ideas and institutions which drive an actor’s interests outside of a well-defined system. In contrast, the ABSM simply attempts to understand what constitutes the drivers of interest. The ABSM recognises that in order to work within complex construction of politics there must be an understanding of the drivers of interest. Yet it fails to take into account a comprehensive understanding of politics. Even the broadest definition of politics accounts for the factors which govern the drivers of interest in complex and competing ways.

Political philosophy encompasses reflections on the origin of political institutions, concepts that are used to interpret an organize political life for example justice and equality, the relation between the aims of ethics and the nature of politics and the relative merits of different constitutional arrangements or regimes.

Political science is the study of politics and power from domestic, international, and comparative perspectives. It demands understanding political ideas, ideologies, institutions, policies, processes, and behavior, as well as groups, classes, government, diplomacy, law, strategy, and war. Political science focuses only on politically organized societies. The scope of political science is narrower than the scope of sociology. Sociology studies all the social institutions whereas political science studies only state and government. Political science deals with the conscious activity of man, and sociology deals with both conscious and unconscious activity of man. Politicians can examine crime by investigating how politicians use the issue

In most democratic societies today the main political parties are located firmly in the center of the political spectrum, with only slight divergence to the left or the right. In the United States the Democrats are known as liberals and the Republicans as conservatives; in England the liberal party is called Labor and the conservative party is called the Tories.

Ever since the ancient Greeks, democracy has been widely acclaimed as the best form of governing. Known as the “rule of the majority”, democracy is made up of many factors that makes it so unique. For example, democracy is based on free and fair elections, active participation of the people, protection of human rights, and a rule of law that equally applies to everyone. With a system focussed on the rights and representation of all, why would such a system be on the decline? There are many elements that have contributed to the diminishing of the popularity for democracy. It all comes down to the fact that the people of democratic nations are losing trust in the system. It is this declining trust that can lead to the extinction of democracy.

Previously the UK has been criticised for having a two party system since the 1990s. This means that the voting system of First Past the Post favours two parties, these being Labour and Conservatives. However, it has now been challenged that the two party system is in decline and the UK is moving to a Multi-party system. A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties across the political board run for national election, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coalition meaning, there is more chance for each party to gain power. The UK's two party system and its political reign is far from over and it may remain for the next years to come.This essay will discuss the view that the

Politics surrounds us everyday, whether we wish it too or not this is because it controls us. Politics controls our country, it makes the laws in which we have to abide in order to avoid punishment this aims to make a safe and peaceful society. Parliament is the centre of politics situated in the house of commons. The parliament of Great Britain was formed after the combination of the Scottish and English parliaments in 1707 under the Act of Union. In the 1820’s the defining of the left and right wing was formed, the language associated with the differing wings is universal which allows political parties to be determined into classes around the world, however the line between left and right is ever changing, it has shifted through time, and it differs depending on culture and the country being inhabited. Hence a left wing view could be a right wing view in a differing country. The use of the political compass determines between left and right perspectives, this shows how left or right the party is and the level of authoritarian or libertarian the party is. The left wing believes in a progressive society, which believes in equality of the people, the right wing beliefs are known as the traditional beliefs and contends success of the individual. Luke states that not only does the left and right allows parties to be categorised in a political way but also a way in which to allow contextualisation. This provides widespread reliability. “To relate them to divisions in a wider