Politics: Basic Concepts

Synonyms

Conflict; Political science; Power; Preferences; Rationality

Definition

Politics is the “intersection of power and conflict”

Introduction

People disagree. At an individual level, people might disagree over how best to allocate limited resources in a state or which candidate would be best for a government. In the aggregate, people might disagree over the appropriate amount of social welfare spending and assistance by a government, or whether to go to war with an enemy state.

Understanding the nature of these conflicts is the essence of politics and political science. Given the importance of conflict and the implications any single resolution to the above situations might have on an individual (or a larger society), society ought to have a deeply developed understanding of how individuals come into conflict with one another and how that conflict gets resolved. This nuanced understanding requires, at its core, a precise set of definitions. These definitions should allow...