Definitions of politics

How we define politics? Social-Political Science definitions Is politics everywhere? What is non-political sphere? 1) Politics is “Acta Vita” (H.Arendt)! 2)Politics is derived from different interests,values, preferences. It is expressed on state, group and individual level. 3)Politics is the natural reflection of diversity in a society 4)Politics presumes a choice among alternative options.Aristoteles:The choice should be practical and ethical.Non-democratic regime might be even more efficient economically, but it,s unethical.

Definitions of Politics, Universal versus Specific? 5)Politics presumes open political decisions on state and local level (municipality) 6)Politics is a distribution of values 7)H.Lasswell:Who gets what, when and how? 8)P presumes power and power relations 9)N.Machiavelli: P is the art of possible 10)P is the art of compromises

Game theory Politics is zero-sum game (Winners,Losers) for example: huge military expenditures, more than 2% of state budget automatically mean that the other social sectors are receiving less financial means. P is zero-zero sum game War is the continuation of politics by other means(Clausewitz)

Poliitika avaldumise 3 taset Indiviidi tasandil-võtab osa demonstratsioonist Sotsiaalse grupi tasandil-liitub partei, huvigrupiga Riigi tasandil-maksu,välis,julgeolekupoliitika,jne.

Poliitika professionaalsuse eeltingimused Eeldab haridust, haritust, poliitilist kogemust (“life long political career”) ja intelligentsust P tegemine algab faktide tundmisest, mis tegelikult toimub ühiskonna tasandil Tuleks teada oluliste tegijate seisukohti antud küsimuses Ratsionaalne P eeldab kompromisse- st. mõlema või mitmepoolseid järelandmisi Peale poliitilise otsuse langetamist tuleks jälgida, kuidas see toimib praktikas

Six Generalizations of Politics(importance) First world 1)Poltical issues have low salience to other concerns in people,s lives. Although Aristioteles termed the citizen “homo politicus”,or political man, most people do not locate political issues in the center of their interest and attention. 2) People tend to focus on concrete issues and have minimal grasp of the abstract political concepts and theory. 3) Interest and knowledge are greater on short-term issues rather than longer-term ones 4) While peoples fundamental belifs are relatively stable, there can be considerable volatility in their short-term political opinions, which tend to shift when subjected to modest changes in political information.This volatility might be due to the limited interest or to the sheer difficulty of trying to understand complicated political questions.

Generalizations of politics (importance) 5) Significant inconsistencies can exist across political beliefs in a sense that individual can hold contradictory positions. Freedom of speech, for example, the communists and other extremes are denied to speak,in Delfi internet site the slogan “Jews into the oven.” 6)The content of individuals beliefs are aften inaccurate. People tend to know something, political facts, etc.…

What affects political orientations of individuals(Left-right political scale)? Gender Age Ethnicity Profession Income education

Birth of Universal Suffrage 1893-New Zealand 1902-Australia 1906 Finland 1917 Russia 1918 Estonia 1919,Germany,Sweden,US,UK 1928 UK full universal suffrage 1945-1948 France,Italy,Spain 1971 Switzerland 1986 Liehtenstein

Old versus new understanding of poltics Old Politics New Politics (the last 40 years) Views about political system Loyal, supporting critical Forms of participation parties Interest groups(single-issue) motives interests Values usually post-material Participation styles Ortodox through legal structure Non-conventional Participation ends Change of politics protest Av.age Middle-age Younger generation

Tänapäeva arenenud riikide poliitika iseärasused, nn.” uus poliitika” Vaated poliitilise süsteemi suhtes- kriitiline Osalusvormid - ainuprobleemsed huvigrupid (single-issue) Motiivid- pigem post-materiaalsed väärtused, eesmärgiks on jätkusuutlik valitsemine (sustainable development) Osalusstiilid- protest, kiirema efekti (tulemuse) taotlemine Keskmine vanus - nooremapoolne

Institutional variety cross different states (Comparison) Party-system Two versus multiparty Electoral system Proportional versus majoritarian Legislative Assembly One versus two-chambered Structure of government Unitary versus federal Central Authority Parliamentary versus presidential Local municipality Weak-strong autonomy Connection between state and economy Liberal vs. corporatist