Chapter 1: What is Politics?

1. Defining Politics:
- Politics is described as the process through which people with differing views reach collective decisions, often
through negotiation, compromise, or conflict. Politics is necessary wherever differences in opinions, interests, or
beliefs need resolving.
- Aristotle famously defined politics as the “master science,” asserting that it seeks the creation of a “Good Society.”
Politics fundamentally requires dialogue and is inherently a social activity.

2. Four Approaches to Politics:

- Politics as Government: Traditional view focusing on the formal institutions of state, such as legislatures,
executives, and courts.
- Politics as Public Affairs: Politics extends beyond government, involving any action that impacts the public domain
and the governance of society.
- Politics as Compromise and Consensus: Politics involves negotiation and reaching agreements that balance
competing interests.
- Politics as Power: Focuses on the struggle for power and influence, occurring in all social institutions, not just the
state.

3. Globalization and the Scope of Politics:

- Increasing global interdependence has blurred the lines between domestic and international politics. Issues like
climate change, terrorism, and economic crises have emphasized the need for international cooperation and the
limitations of individual state control.

Chapter 2: Political Ideas and Ideologies

1. Ideologies as Frameworks for Political Action:
- Ideologies provide frameworks that help people interpret the world, envision ideal societies, and outline methods
for achieving political goals. They encompass both traditional and newer ideological strands.

2. Classical Ideological Traditions:

- Liberalism: Emphasizes individual freedom, democracy, and equality under the law. It ranges from classical
liberalism, advocating minimal state interference, to modern liberalism, which accepts state intervention for social
welfare.
- Conservatism: Values tradition, order, and stability. Conservatives often prioritize gradual change and view
authority as essential to societal harmony.
- Socialism: Advocates for social equality and often calls for collective ownership or significant regulation of
resources. Democratic socialism supports achieving these aims within a democratic framework, while Marxism aims
for a classless, stateless society.

3. Expanding Ideological Spectrum:

- Anarchism: Seeks the abolition of the state, arguing that it inherently restricts freedom.
- Fascism: Emphasizes authoritarian nationalism, often advocating for a unified, militarized state.
- Feminism: Focuses on gender equality and critiques social structures that perpetuate patriarchy.
- Green Ideology: Highlights ecological sustainability, advocating for policies that protect the environment and
promote intergenerational equity.
- Religious Fundamentalism: Advocates for governance based on religious principles, often seeking a theocratic
state.
- Populism: Often involves a “people versus the elite” perspective, championing the interests of ordinary citizens
against perceived corrupt elites.
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4. The “End of Ideology” Debate:
- Some argue that ideological distinctions are becoming less relevant in modern politics due to pragmatism in
policy-making and global issues that transcend traditional ideologies. Critics of this view assert that ideological beliefs
remain crucial for understanding political values and goals.

POLITICS AND THE STATE

1. Defining state
2. Rival theories of the state
3. Role of the state

Definition a state

 Term has been used to refer to a range of things:

 A collection of institutions
 Territorial unit
 Philosophical idea
 An instrument of coercion or oppression, etc.
 a political association that establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined territorial
borders, and has authority through a set of permanent institutions
 embraces the various institutions of government, but it also extends to the courts,
nationalized industries, social security system, and so forth; it can be identified with the
entire body politic

Different perspectives:

 idealist:
 A view of politics that emphasizes the importance of morality and ideals;
philosophic idealism implies that ideas are more real than the material world.
 There is less agreement about why the state came
 clearly reflected in Hegel’s writings
 he identified 3 moments of social existence  family, civil society and the
state
 functionalist:
 focus on the role or purpose of state institutions
 the central function of the state is seen as the maintenance of social order
 does not distinguish between state and non-state institutions
 organizational:
 set of institutions that are recognizably ‘public’
 responsible for the collective organization of social existence
 funded at the public’s expense.
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  it distinguishes clearly between the state and civil society
 international:
 views a state as an actor on the world stage  a basic unit of international
politics

1. classic definition of the state in international law is found in the Montevideo Convention
of the Rights and Duties of the state (1933):
2. according to article 1 of the Montevideo Convention:
 a defined territory
 permanent population
 effective government
 capacity to enter into relations with other states

Key Features of the State:

1. The state is sovereign. It exercises absolute and unrestricted power in that it stands
above all other associations and groups in society
2. State institutions are recognizably ‘public’ , in contrast to the private institutions
of civil society.
3. The state is an exercise in legitimation. The decisions of the state are usually
(although not necessarily) accepted as binding on the members of society because, it is
claimed, they are made in the public interest or for the common good; the state
supposedly reflects the permanent interests of society
4. The state is an instrument of domination. State authority is backed up by
coercion; the state must have the capacity to ensure that its laws are obeyed and that
transgressors are punished
5. The state is a territorial association. The jurisdiction of the state is geographically
defined, and it encompasses all those who live within the state’s borders, whether they
are citizens or non-citizens

 State is a historical institution and emerged in Europe (16 th and 17th century) as a
system of centralized rule that succeeded in subordinating all other institutions or
groups
 Why a state came into existence is unclear

Rival theories of the state

 Pluralist
 A belief in, or commitment to, diversity or multiplicity; or the belief that power in
modern societies is widely and evenly distributed
 State acts as an umpire or referee in society

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  Clear liberal lineage
 Tendency in Anglo-American thought to discount the state and state
organizations and focus instead on government
 Examples: Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence
 Capitalist
 Marxists have typically argued that the state cannot be understood separately
from the economic structure of society
 According to Marxists, state is nothing but an instrument of class oppression: the
state emerges out of, an in a sense reflects, the class system
 Proletariat and Bourgeois (class that oppressed the proletariat)
 Leviathan
 A self-serving monster intent on expansion and aggrandizement
 The central feature of this view is that the state pursues interests that are
separate from those of society (setting it apart from Marxism), and that those
interests demand an unrelenting growth in the role or responsibilities of the state
itself
 rooted in early or classical liberalism
 Overbearing “nanny” desperate to interfere or meddle in every aspect of human
existence.
 strong antipathy towards state intervention in economic and social life, born out
of the belief that the state is a parasitic growth that threatens both individual
liberty and economic security.
 Associated in modern politics with the New Right (neo-liberal and neo-
conservatism)
 Patriarchal
 View state as something that is marked by dominance of males
 Modern thinking about the state takes account of the implications of feminist
theory

Role of the State

- Minimal states
 aim is to ensure that individuals enjoy the widest possible realm of freedom
 merely a protective body, to provide a framework of peace and social order
within which citizens can conduct their lives as they think best
- Developmental
 intervenes in economic life with the purpose of promoting industrial growth and
economic development
 doesn’t intervene with other aspects

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  no attempt to replace the market with a socialist system of planning and control,
but rather, to attempt to construct a partnership between the state and major
economic interests.
 Japan
- Social-democratic state
 Practice interventionism in order to stimulate economic progress
 Want to bring about broader social restructuring, in accordance with principles
such as fairness, equality, and social justice
 Austria and Sweden
- Collectivized
 Bring the entirety of economic life under state control
- Totalitarian States
 most extreme and extensive form of interventionism
 essence is the construction of an all-embracing state, the influence of which
penetrates every aspect of human existence.
 economy, education, culture, religion, family life, etc. under direct state control
 Hitler’s Germany, USSR, North Korea
 surveillance and terroristic policing, system of ideological manipulation and
control
 abolish the ‘private’ sphere of life altogether.
- Religious
 Founded on the basis of religious principles
 contradiction in terms  The modern state emerged largely through the triumph
of civil authority over religious authority, religion increasingly being confined to
the private sphere, through a separation between church and state
 Muslim states

CONSTITUTION

- A set of rules which defines, describes and regulates the structure and operation of the
state, its institutions, activities and officials.
- A single authoritative document which sets out the rules governing the composition,
powers, methods of operation of the main institutions of government and general
principles applicable to their relations to citizens
- Primary function:
 Describes the powers of various state institutions – legislative, executive, judicial
+ the relations that ought to exist between hem
 Lays down the rights and duties of citizens (freedom of speech, religion and
political persuasion)

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 - Why does it matter?
 Shapes the relationship between the governed and those who govern and
between the country’s different governing organs
 Provide legitimacy to those in power
 Protect freedom, restraining the behavior of those in office
 Encourage governmental stability
 Draw attention to the goals and values
- every country has a constitution of some kind
- a constitution declares:
 the existence of the state
 express the most important principles, rules and procedures of the political
system
- In practice, all constitutions contain a mixture of written and unwritten rules
- A written constitution is not a detailed instruction manual, but rather a reference point
for a political system which is subject to change

British Constitution American Constitution

1215? 1787
Unwritten – uncodified constitution Written – codified constitution
written down but not gathered together a single document
Flexible
Rigid
rare, can be altered via the law-making
to change is more difficult
process without much difficulty
Federal constitutions
Unitary constitutions
a division of powers between the central
all power is concentrated in the hands of
government and various regional units called
central government
states, lands or provinces
Monarchial
constitutional monarchy in UK, the queen Republican
reigns and does not rule
Parliamentary constitution Presidential constitution
Based on sovereignty of parliament Sovereignty of people

Major Constitutional Principles in the UK and USA

1. The sovereignty of Parliament (people) – the idea that Parliament possesses

and exercises unlimited authority
 parliament can legislate on any subject it chooses
 Acts of Parliament cannot be overturned by any other authority

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  no parliament can bind its successors, meaning that any piece of current
legislation may be repealed by a future parliament
2. The rule of law / support for democracy – the principle that no one is above
the law
 it ensures that all citizens of a state are to be treated equally and impartially
 when they are charged with offences against the law they can expect a fair trial
from an independent judiciary – a principle which dates back to Magna Carta
3. A Unitary State (Federal)
 the UK is composed of four constituent nations: England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland - it is far from being united, in respect of culture, language or
tradition
 a unitary state is highly centralized (power is concentrated at the center)
 certain powers might be delegated to sub-national or local levels, but they are
not protected by constitutional safeguards
 classic unitary state exhibits a high degree of both centralisation and
standardisation, with all parts of the state being governed in the same way
 the UK never fitted this model
 it is more accurate to describe it as a union state, reflecting the political and
cultural variations which remained after the different countries came together
4. Representative government (representative democracy = form of “indirect
"rule by the majority of the electorate)
 western-style democracies are types of representative democracies;
 United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
 France is a unitary semi-presidential republic
 United States is a federal presidential republic
5. Membership of the European Union

Differences between UK and USA

 Monarchy vs Republic
 the Queen reigns but does not rule as the Head
 the President combining the role of figurehead and position of Chief of the
Executive
 Unitary vs Federal
 laws for all parts of the UK
 power to make laws is divided between the central and state authority
 Parliamentary vs presidential gov
 Fusion vs separation of powers
 Sovereignty of parliament vs sovereignty of people

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Sources of the British Constitution

 Major constitutional documents that express important constitutional principles

 no formal legal status, but are regularly consulted as reliable guides to the
workings of institutions and of the political system in general
 Magna Carta, 1215
 one of the most famous documents in the world
 issued by King John of England as a practical solution to the political crisis he
faced in 1215
 Magna Carta established for the first time the principle that everybody, including
the king, was subject to the law
 Magna Carta remains a cornerstone of the British constitution
 although Magna Carta contained 63 clauses when it was first granted, only three
of those clauses remain part of English law
 one defends the liberties and rights of the English Church, another confirms the
liberties and customs of London and other towns, but the third is the most
famous:

 this clause gave all freemen the right to justice and a fair trial
 however, ‘free men’ comprised only a small proportion of the population in
medieval England; the majority of the people were unfree peasants known as
‘villeins’, who could seek justice only through the courts of their own lords
- Act of Settlement, 1701
 to secure the Protestant succession to the throne, and to strengthen the
guarantees for ensuring parliamentary system of government
- Major texts and commentaries by eminent experts on the Constitution
- Major statutes or Acts of Parliament
 take precedence over other sources
 created by Parliament
 implemented by the executive and enforced by the courts
- The Law and Customs of Parliament
 rules relating to the procedures of the Houses
- Common and case (judge-made) law
 immemorial law of the people
 includes customs and precedents that have been accepted over time

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  the most important of these are the Crown’s prerogative powers, including the
right to declare war and negotiate treaties; to dissolve parliament; and to
appoint government ministers and judges
 these powers remained in the hands of the monarchy despite two revolutions in
the 17th century since then they have passed to government ministers, who
exercise them in the name of the Crown
 the Prime Minister declares war, decides the timing of general election and
appoints ministers – the monarch will usually be consulted, but this is purely
formal.
 ultimately the Prime Minister is more powerful than any British monarch since
the 17th century, because his or her control over parliament is direct, whereas
the monarch could never be totally confident of its support
- Prerogative powers of the Crown
 powers/privileges performed in the past by the monarch, now, performed by
Ministers
- Constitutional conventions
 Unwritten rules of constitutional behavior, lack the force of law
 Rules or norms that are considered to be binding