This document provides an overview of key concepts in politics and political science. It defines politics as the art and science of government that involves making common decisions for groups of people. It discusses political concepts like power, authority, legitimacy, attitudes, public opinion, perception, values, conflict, and decision-making. It also examines governance, political processes, institutions, groups, and individuals. Overall, the document presents foundational information about many important elements of politics.

2.  Do you think
without
caring, you are
not involved?
 Why are you
interested?
/disinterested/
uninterested?
 What do you know
about Politics?

4. POLITICS is defined as the art and
science of Government.

5. Politics involves making common decisions for
a group of people.

6. “Man is a
political
animal”
Aristotle

9. Tolerance, respec
t, support and
compromise are
the language of
politics
Politics
itself
admits
differences.

10. POLIS

11. A process in the political system in which the
goals of that system are SELECTED and
ORDERED in terms of priority in the
ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES. The Allocation
of resources is done through authoritative
decisions by individuals, groups or
institutions to formulate and implement
policies and programs in behalf of the rest
of the members of the society.

13. Who gets what, when & how”
Harold Lasswell, 1936

14. “Politics is the
exercise of power”
Robert Dahl
(and other
„realists‟)

15. “Politics involves the
authoritative
allocation of values
for a society”
David Easton, The
Political
System, 1953

16. Power
Who holds it (authority)
How do you get it (politics)
RECURRING THEMES

17. POLITICS:
The processes whereby
a society makes binding
decisions

18. who pays how much
tax?

20. How to regulate
commercial activity?

22. How to regulate
civil activity?

23. POLITICS AND ITS OBJECTS
Ideas and interests

24. POLITICS AND ITS OBJECTS
State/Government

25. POLITICS AND ITS OBJECTS
Citizens/Communities

26. Mankind will never
see an end of
trouble until...
lovers of wisdom
come to hold
political power, or
the holders of
power... become
lovers of wisdom.
~Plato,
The Republic

27. To put the world right in
order, we must first put
the nation in order; to
put the nation in
order, we must first put
the family in order; to
put the family in
order, we must first
cultivate our personal
life; we must first set our
hearts right.

28. “The price of apathy
towards public affairs is
to be ruled by evil men”
Plato

29. THE STUDY OF POLITICS
DEALS WITH:
GOVERNANCE
POLITICAL PROCESSES
INSTITUTIONS GROUPS
INDIVIDUALS

30. GOVERNANCE
INDIVIDUALS
GROUPS
POLITICAL PROCESSES
INSTITUTIONS

31. POLITICS ALSO DEALS WITH THE
FOLLOWING CONCEPTS:

32. GOVERNANCE
The exercise of POLITICAL, ECONOMIC and
ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY in the management
of POLITICAL AFFAIRS. (NEDA, 1998)

33. 1. POLITICAL
GOVERNANCE

34. 2. ECONOMIC
GOVERNANCE

35. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE
GOVERNANCE

36. 4. ECOLOGICAL
GOVERNANCE

37. REQUIREMENTS OF GOOD
GOVERNANCE
TRANSPARENCY
LEGITIMACY
EFFICIENCY
AND
EFFECTIVENESS
IN THE USE OF
RESOURCES

38. FORMS OF PARTICIPATION

39. 1. ELECTORAL ACTIVITY

40. 2. LOBBYING

41. 3. ORGANIZING

42. 4. CONTACTING

43. 5. VIOLENCE

44. GOOD GOVERNANCE SHOULD BE ABLE
TO:
1. PROMOTE EQUITY AND EQUALITY

45. GOOD GOVERNANCE
SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
2. DEVELOP
RESOURCES AND
METHODS OF
GOVERNANCE

46. GOOD GOVERNANCE SHOULD BE ABLE
TO:
3. PROMOTE GENDER BALANCE

47. GOOD GOVERNANCE SHOULD
BE ABLE TO:
4. MOBILIZE
RESOURCES FOR
SOCIAL PURPOSE

48. GOOD GOVERNANCE SHOULD BE ABLE
TO:
5. STRENGTHENS INDIGENOUS
MECHANISMS

49. GOOD GOVERNANCE
SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
1. OPERATE BY RULE OF LAW

50. GOOD GOVERNANCE
SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
2. DEFINE AND TAKE OWNERSHIP
OF NATIONAL ISSUES

51. GOOD GOVERNANCE
SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
3. DEAL WITH TEMPORAL ISSUES

52. GOOD GOVERNANCE
SHOULD ALSO BE:
1. SERVICE
ORIENTED

53. GOOD GOVERNANCE
SHOULD ALSO BE:

54. GOOD
GOVERNANCE
SHOULD ALSO
BE:
3. ENABLING
AND
FACILITATIVE

55. CONCEPT OF POWER
POWER is the capacity of an actor to compel or
influence other actors to alter their behavior
or to do what they would not do otherwise.

56. POWER may
be measured
in terms of its
DOMAIN, SC
OPE and
WEIGHT.

57. DOMAIN OF POWER refers to the
aggregate of individuals whose
behavior it can alter.

58. SCOPE OF POWER
covers the values
implicated in the
objectives of the
power wielder.

59. WEIGHT OF POWER
refers to the extent it
affects policies

60. AUTHORITY refers to the formal or legal
relationships between policymakers and
citizens.

61. Influence is the capacity to produce
an effect without the threat of
coercion.

62. LEGITIMACY is the extent to which
citizens regard the state and its
institutions including its policies and
programs as morally right and
acceptable.

63. ATTITUDE is a learned
predisposition
towards political
objects. It is an
idea charged with
emotions, which
predisposes certain
kinds of actions to
a particular
situation.

64. PUBLIC OPINION
refers to the
summation of
the expressed
or verbalized
attitudes of
individuals.

65. PERCEPTION is the expression of all
those members of a group who are
giving attention in any way to a given
issue. It is a selection process by
which individuals choose and organize
stimuli that they think fit for their
attention.

66. VALUES are enduring beliefs
that a specific end-state of
existing order or mode of
conduct preferable to an
opposite state. It includes
the goals targeted by a
political activity and the
behavior employed in
achieving said goals.

67. CONFLICT is a disharmony arising
from stresses and strains due to
some changes in the political
environment.

68. DECISION-MAKING is the
process by which authorized
individuals or groups make
decisions with the effect of
allocating resources in the
society through
resolutions, laws, policies, pr
ograms, decrees, etc.

69. According to JOHN
CALHOUN “
interests were
destined to be
varied and diverse
in the society”
Because of
diversity, individual
s tend to associate
themselves.

70. Decision
Making
Policy
Political Environment
Supports
Demands