2.1: Politics and Power

Politics is the contest over and exercise of power. Usually people associate politics with aspects of government, such as elections, politicians, and policies, but politics occurs in any situation where there is competition over power. For example, the phrase “office politics” is commonly used to refer to the contest over power in the workplace, such as when employees compete for promotions or complain about incompetent bosses.

Politics can occur outside of government because power can exist outside of government. Power is the ability to cause someone to do something he or she would not otherwise do. Governments have many powers with which to influence the behavior of their citizens or of other governments, but nongovernmental organizations and everyday people also have various powers of their own.

Power is sometimes thought of only in terms of violent force, but violence or the threat thereof is by no means the only form of power, even if it is one of the most visible forms. We influence others’ behavior — and have our behavior influenced by others — many times each day, usually without violence and often without even noticing. Those influences are forms of power, too.

Politics exists because power is scarce. There is not enough power for everyone to have as much as he or she wants, because power is relative. Whenever one person becomes more powerful, everyone else becomes less powerful relative to that person.

Political scientist Harold Lasswell defined politics as “who gets what, when, and how.” Whenever people, groups, or countries compete over territory, wealth, privileges, or status, they are competing over power. Sometimes this competition occurs through formal processes, such as elections, lawmaking, and trials. Other times it occurs through informal processes, such as protests, rebellions, and terrorist attacks. Whatever form it takes, the contest over power is, by definition, political.