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Political Science



Francis Fukuyama, "The Origins of Political Order"

1 Watch the video  and put the words into the gaps in the text.
Thank you, it’s really a great honor to be here and to have this wonderful (1)___ and I’m very grateful that you’re all here for politics in prose.  One of the really nice things about being able to speak about a new book is to go to real brick and mortar (2)____ and to realize that there are still people that really like real books and come out for events like this because of the intellectual (3)____ and interest. So thank you all for coming.
So I’m going to get straight into it. I wrote this book for a number of reasons. Samuel Huntington, a political (4)___, was my teacher when I was a graduate student at Harvard.  He wrote a very important book in 1968 called “Political (5)___ in Changing Societies” which I think rereading it now in light of the Arab spring actually is probably one of the best guides to what is going on in the Middle East at the present moment. But it’s a book that needed to be (6)____, and I thought of a project of, you know, doing a revision of this book. Among other things that open on the very first page it says: “The Soviet Union and the United States are equally developed political orders” and that didn’t seem quite right after the fall of the Berlin (7)___. But the other, you know, major issue is the one that was just referred to,  I’ve been thinking about nation building, failed states, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, here are all of these (8)____ challenges that we’ve faced and we have this illusion which I would call ‘the problem of getting to ‘Denmark’ and “Denmark” is in quotation marks ‘cause Denmark is actually not a real country, it’s this mythical place that has low (9)___, democracy, stable government, good services delivered very efficiently, and so forth. We have this vision of ‘Denmark’ in the back of our heads, and then we go to a place like Afghanistan and we say: “Well, how we’re going to get Afghanistan to look like Denmark?” And it doesn’t work very well. And part of the reason I began to realize was that we don’t (10)____ how Denmark got to be Denmark. I actually have had a Visiting Professorship in Aarhus University in Denmark, so I’ve been going to Denmark for the last few years. And I’ll tell you that most Danes actually have no idea how Denmark got to be Denmark. And so it struck me as a political scientist that there ought to be a basic book you can go to say where political (11)___ come from. I didn’t see one, and so I decided to write and so that’s why we get this book that I’ve produced. So I also did not want to write a book on the (12)____ of politics that holds this traditional Eurocentric or Anglocentric story not because I am opposed to England or the West, but I think it’s a distortion. And it’s one that’s been, you know,  taught still in a lot of the discourse that really begins with Karl Marx that sees England as the model for modernization. “England’s present is everybody’s future”, - this is something actually that Karl Marx said. And what do you realize, when you actually learn something about the history of England, is that it is a very peculiar country in a number of ways that I will explain to you. And to expect other countries to replicate the England’s (13)____ path, I think, is highly unrealistic. And in fact, in my view, it was China, not that China, it did not establish the first state, that happened in a lot of places: in Egypt, in Mesopotamia, in the valley of Mexico. But in my view the Chinese (14)____ the first modern state, modern meaning, not based on hiring your cousins and your friends to (15)____ the government, but based on (16)___ examinations, a rational (17)____, centralized administration. And they did this in the third century BC. And it’s a historical (18)____ that I think a lot of people have not adequately recognized. And  so instead of starting with England or, you know, Greece and Rome and then going for the Magna Carta and the rise of democracy in England it seemed to me it made more sense to start with China. China created the first modern state, why are other societies different from China? So that’s the basic background.
Now there are three important baskets of political (19)___ that we need to think about. The first is a state itself. The state is all about power, the state is the ability to concentrate power in a hierarchy and to use it to (20)___ rules over a particular territory, right.  In the developing world, and this again is why I think we sometimes take politics for granted. We assume that things will happen like, you know, long time I lived in Fairfax County for twenty years and the potholes always get filled every spring. Why do those potholes get filled there but not in Papua New Guinea? Well, it turns out there’s a hidden social (21)____ that provides these services and it does it pretty efficiently, at least in a rich county like Fairfax, not in the only district. But, you know, it’s interesting, you know, why those differences happen and I think that all of the anti-government activists of which there are many in especially in our society don’t understand that if you want a country that doesn’t have a strong (22)____ that is able to enforce rules we are to move to Somalia or Afghanistan or, you know, any less-developed country that actually cannot enforce rules on its own territory.  In Somalia if you want to own not just an assault rifle but an RPJ or a shoulder- fired anti-aircraft weapon you are free to do it. But it’s not a very happy (23)____ because it doesn’t have institutions. Now that’s the state.
      Second is the rule of law. The rule of law is all about community rules of (24)___ that are regarded as superior to the will of whoever happens to be running the government whether that is a President, a Prime Minister, a  king, (25)___, whatever. The executive in the society doesn’t feel that he or she can just make up the (26)____ on the fly whatever they want, but they actually have to implement a law that someone else makes, all right. So that’s the second set of important institutions.
      And then the third is institutions of accountability.  Today we associate those with (27)___, with elections, but that’s not the only form of accountability. In any of them when accountability institutions were first put into place in 17th century England the king was accountable to Parliament that only represented ten percent of the English (28)____, richest ten percent. And so you can have accountability without having democracy. And I believe as in China you can also have moral accountability that is to say a government can feel obligated to take the interest of its citizens into account even in the absence of election. So the question is: “Where do these come from: the state is all about the concentration of (29)____, the rule of law and accountability are by all means limiting power?” And the miracle of modern politics is that you get the President of the United States, who is the most powerful individual in human history, who can nuke the rest of the world if he wants to, but he doesn’t because it’s all (30)____ by law and by accountable political institutions.  It’s a kind of miracle of modern politics, right.
So I’m going to tell you if you a few stories from the book in each of these baskets. Let’s begin with the state. The state, in some sense, in my view, is a big (31)____ against the family. Human nature tells you a couple of things, there’s a universal (32)____. And there are a couple of biological principles that govern human sociability. We sometimes get this incorrect notion from Thomas Hobbes that before the rise of the state you had just people clubbing each other over the head, you know, in anomic (33)___ of all against all.  But that was actually never true, human (34)____ never went through that period. They were always social and they’re social because they’re born with certain characteristics that allow them to (35)____.  So one of them is a principal called ‘kin selection or inclusive fitness’ by the biologists which simply means you’re going to be altruistic to people in proportion to the number of genes you share with them. In other words nepotism, you’re going to favor relatives. The second principal is reciprocal altruism:  you scratch my back - I’ll (36)____ yours, on a face- to- face basis.  No human child growing up anywhere has to be taught these (37)____, these are inbuilt forms of sociability. They are the default ways that we relate to each other, (38)____ and family. And in the absence of a modern institution that forces you to hire somebody with qualifications rather than your cousin or your brother-in-law, that’s the way you’re going to do it, that’s the kind of normal politics that will insert itself. And so in a sense the, you know, states and roles in the societies that were organized tribally meaning the people were in large kin groups, they all believe that their descended from a common (39)____, that they’re basically third and fourth and fifth cousins.
And how do you get from a state that is based on kinship as a form of social organization to one that’s based on (40)____, in which it’s not a matter of who you are related it’s the fact that I am a citizen of the state of France or Japan, or whatever?  And so that’s why there’s a struggle, constant struggle against especially this biological urge to protect your (41)___. Now how did this happen in China? It unfortunately happened as a result of century’s long military conflict. There’s a famous political (42)____ Charles Chile who was famous for arguing in the case of Europe that the state makes war and war makes the state, that it’s really military (43)____ that drove people out of tribal societies into these more organized hierarchical units. And if you look at Chinese history, that is exactly the story that unfolds.

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2 Vocabulary focus. Sudy the words and  word combinations, practise their translation, spelling. Check your knowledge in the test. Play vocabulary game and set your own vocabulary game record.

3 Mark the following statements as True or False.

1.     The book “Political Order in Changing Society” can be a guide to what is going on in Africa and Latin America.
2.     People want to create the state with low corruption, democracy and stable government but it doesn’t work in all countries.
3.     Danes have the recipe of ‘getting to Denmark’, they teach it at universities to all citizens.
4.     Traditionally political scientists are Eurocentric and Anglocentric when they write about the origins of the state.
5.     China was the first to establish state.
6.     Chinese state was modern because it was not based on hiring your cousins and your friends to run the government, but was based on civil service examinations.
7.     There are four important baskets of political institutions that political scientists think about.
8.     Many people take politics for granted and believe that the services their state gives to them are the same all over the world, e.g. potholes are filled every spring in Fairfax County and in Papua New Guinea.
9.     If people want a country that doesn’t have a strong government that is able to enforce rules, they soon find themselves in a less-developed country.
10. In Somalia you can own any weapon you want but it doesn’t make people happy.
11. In a country ruled by law presidents, kings and prime ministers cannot make the laws they want when they want to.
12. In a country ruled by law presidents, prime ministers, kings implement laws that were created by other politicians.
13. In 17th century England we can find examples of democracy and accountability.
14. In China moral accountability existed.
15. Accountability is not always connected with elections.
16. State is a struggle against the family because rulers and kings want their friends and cousins to rule too.
17. In human history people never were in the state of war against all other people, human beings had special mechanisms that helped them to cooperate.
18. People tend to like their relatives more that other people in the group.
19. In tribal societies all people believe that they are relatives and have common ancestor.
20. Tribal societies are based on citizenship but modern state is based on kinship.

4 Answer the Questions.
1.     Why do scientists need to update and revise books like “Political Order in Changing Society”? What important events took place in history since the book was written?
2.     What does the speaker mean when he mentions ‘the problem of getting to Denmark? Why is Denmark a model country for some people?
3.     Why was Chinese state different from other states?
4.     What countries are traditionally seen as models of modernization? Why are those countries seen as models of modernization? Is it still relevant today?
5.     What is state? Does the speaker support a weak or a strong government?
6.     What can people living in a country with weak government have? Will their society be happy?
7.     What is the rule of law? How does the rule of law influence kings, monarchs, presidents and prime ministers?
8.     What is accountability? What forms or types of accountability can political scientists name?
9.     What is human sociability? Why is it important in political science?
10. How did political scientists of the past (e.g. Thomas Hobbes) see human nature? Were they right?
11. What types of altruism are important for political science? How does each type influence development of the state?
  12. How was modern form of state developed in China? What influenced its development?

 

 

Research Methods in Political Science

 

Watch the videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpuepU69vqM

and put the words into the gaps in the text



There are many things that (1)____ good social scientists from bad ones. First, they understand the (2)_____ of what they do, like we’ve talked about in every video in the class so far. Second, they understand the value of their (3)____. In your case we're talking about the collected (4)____ of those social scientists that wrote about the topic before. In this video we will talk about how to (5)_____ this, why it is so important, and also how to put it to use in your own work.
As we saw last time the (6)____ method when applied to political and social science looks like this diagram.  We begin this video by discussing the first step in this process: (7)____ a research question.  In the next module you will move on to developing explanations and driving (8)____. Before we get there we will discuss the literature review which is the (9)____ we use to begin to answer our questions.
The first step in the scientific method is to (10)____ research question. The source of such a question is very open: it can come from personal experience or observation, experience with a (11)____ debate or insight, or it can come from more academic study,  perhaps a (12)____ course like judicial politics or (13)______. Any source that holds the spark of interest for the individual researcher is appropriate.  The only limit on the general choice of topic is that it is significant, observable, and political. Significant in this sense means that it is important or will in some way (14)____ our understanding of politics and government. Observable means the question is (15)_____. Political means that it has to do with questions of ‘who gets what, when, and how’. It is important to know that this is a subjective term and can (16)____ a wide range of phenomena that some would perhaps not considered to be overtly political. But it may still be appropriate. Also recall that research may focus on the political behavior of individuals, groups, (17)____, such as states and non-state entities, as well as political jurisdictions like the interstate system. The point is there are few limits on what a research question can be. There are, however, limits on what makes a good research question, the point to which we will now turn.
In most cases research questions focus on (18)___. In other words they ask a question about the specific association between some (19)____ or phenomenon and  another. For example: “Why do some rebel groups use child soldiers and others do not?” Concept - rebel groups, relationship - use or not use, concept - child soldiers.  In other cases research questions may be  (20)____ or factual, that is they ask discrete or easily answerable questions such as: “How many (21)____ are Republicans?” This is not an appropriate research question because it is simply account; it does not explain or require (22)_____. To be sure such questions are valuable but their value was a precursor to good research questions such as: “Why are so many Republican legislators from districts with high numbers of registered Democrats?”
Once we have established our research question we move on to answer it. To do so we must first explore our topic more thoroughly by seeing what information exists on it. A literature review or lit review in political science (23)____ is a body of work related by topic. It offers a systematic examination of how (24)____ authors explored an (25)_____ or phenomenon, and serves as a way to inform and introduce your contribution to the issue. The Lit Review does more than that though.  It teaches the researcher by (26)____ what scholars have uncovered. When you do a Lit Review for the first time you learn where the discipline is on a given issue, in other words if you're  interested in the effects of education on voting you need to know what the most recent conclusions are as well as where they came from.  A Lit Review also helps you identify important questions that have not been answered or answered fully to your (27)____. Identifying how previous scholars empirically explored a research topic in the past offers a third purpose for the Lit Review.  Finally it can help you narrow down your topic and motivate more specific research questions.
While you must have a research question in mind before starting your investigation a Lit Review might help, might force you to modify it based on what else has been done. This step in the process can also serve as a new source of inspiration for research.
 Generally speaking there are two ways to gather sources. One involves starting a wide search with the aid of electronic (28)____ and narrowing it down to about ten articles. As you have these ten you should (29)____ their contents including abstracts, introductions and (30)____ and see which ideas are most prominent and which ideas (idea or ideas) that you want to focus on.   After you have these you can look at the Lit Reviews in these articles for more guides for the most (31)____ sources or important authors for you here. 
Another method involves researching the author of a particularly important article on your study. You can then search for other work by that same author and see who they are citing or who was citing them.  From this focus you can build your new Lit Review.
After gathering your sources need to compile the information into a coherent whole. One common way to do this is what is known as the ‘boxcar method’.  In it writers will take the information from one piece of literature, (32)____ it in a paragraph form and follow it with another summary of a second article, then the third and so on.  This resembles a train where each car is of similar size, shape, and the content is presented in a similar way. It is also the most (33)______ way to conduct a literature review. You should avoid the ‘boxcar method’ at all cost. It is sloppy writing at best and (34)_____ at worst. It does not show how scholarship fits together and does not identify what your research is contributing.
The better way is to focus on the ideas, concepts, and possibly the methods chosen.  Though, I personally don't like this final approach. You should be able to identify commonalities and (35)____, what the authors tend to agree on, what is still inconclusive. Remember: the goal is to bring previous work together conceptually.  This serves as the purpose of identifying why your research is important. In other words from your Lit Review your readers should be able to anticipate what you're going to do that makes it an original contribution: “Does (36)____ tell us  this, but looking at it from other important ways it should be wrong? Does common sense tell us something, researchers tell us something else, or we should actually (37)____ common sense more?”  It is difficult to offer a set of examples on how to construct a Literature Review because there’s a wide variety of (38)___ to follow. One thing that they all have in common, though, is that they focus on an overview of what has been done on your chosen topic. Focus is an idea and serves as (39)____ information to your theory or answer to the research question. Also it does not follow ‘boxcar method’. Again, avoid the ‘boxcar method’.


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1 Vocabulary focus. Sudy the words and  word combinations, practise their translation, spelling. Check your knowledge in the test. Play vocabulary game and set your own vocabulary game record.




2 Answer the Questions

1.     What are the differences between good and bad social scientists?

2.     How can people identify research questions? When should people develop their research question: at the beginning, in the middle, at the end of their research?

3.     What sources can scholars use to identify their research question? What sources are appropriate?

4.     Why should research questions be answerable, observable and political? Can all people define term ‘political’ in the same way?

5.     How does the speaker define term ‘political’ in the video?
6.     What can research questions focus on? What kind of relationships can be studied by political scientists?
7.     Are all questions good research questions?
8.     What is Literature review? What is its main role?
9.     Why are research question and Literature Review connected?
10. How can people start working on their Lit Review? What sources can they use?
11.  How can scholars gather sources for Lit Review?
12. What methods of compiling information in Lit Review do you know? Which method is efficient and which is counterproductive?
 




Defining Politics
The world ‘politics’ is derived from polis (Greek), literally meaning city-state. (Ancient Greek society was divided into a collection of independent city-states, each of which possessed its own system of government). The modern form of this definition is therefore ‘what concerns the state’. To study politics is in essence to study government, or more broadly, the exercise of authority.
Politics is what takes place within a polity, a system of social organizations centered upon the machinery of government. Politics is therefore practiced in cabinet rooms, legislative chambers, government departments and the like and it is engaged in by a limited and specific group of people. Businesses, schools and other educational institutions, community groups, families and so on are in this sense ‘nonpolitical’ because they are not engaged in ‘running the country’.
The definition can be narrowed still further. This is evident in tendency to treat politics as equivalent of party politics. In other words, the realm of ‘the political’ is restricted to those state actors who are consciously motivated by organization such as a political party.
The link between politics and the affairs of the state also helps to explain why negative images have so often been attached to politics. This is because in the popular mind, politics is closely associated with the activities of politicians. But brutally, the politicians are often seen as power-seeking hypocrites who conceal personal ambitions behind the rhetoric of public service and ideological conviction. This rejection of the personnel and machinery of conventional political life is clearly evident in the use of derogatory phrases such as ‘office politics’ and ‘politicking’. But without some kind of mechanism for allocating authoritative values, society would simply disintegrate into a civil war of each against all. The task is therefore not to abolish politicians and to bring politics to an end, but rather to ensure that politics is conducted within a framework of checks and constraints that ensure that government power is not abused.
Thus, politics is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. Politics is also an academic subject, it is clearly concerned which the study of this activity.
Politics is also linked to the phenomena of conflict and cooperation (the existence of rival opinions, different wants, competing needs and opposing interests guarantees disagreement about the rules under which people live). This is why the heart of politics is often portrayed as a process of conflict resolution, in which rival views or competing interests are reconciled with one another.

1 Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following words and expressions.
         To be derived from, city-state, government, authority, machinery, department, politician, derogatory, to amend, rival.

2  Translate words and word combinations from Ukrainian into English and use them in your own sentences.
Суспільство, визначення, керівництво, законодавчий, навчальний заклад, управляти країною, державна служба, громадянська війна, розподіл,  ліквідувати, гарантувати, система стримувань і противаг, зловживати, вносити поправки, співпраця, усунути розбіжності.

3 Complete the sentences with words or phrases from the list.
Legislative chambers, party politics, government, polity,  city-state,    politicians, departments.
1.                 _______, or ancient Greek city-state, represents the largest of all city-state cultures.
2.           Estonia is the first country to develop a policy document for cooperation in the region and is currently developing a new mechanism for ______ funding.
3.           For almost seven centuries, the Thai _______ was under the rule of absolute monarchy.
4.           Federation's upper ______  _________ is designed to give federal subjects - their governments or citizens - direct representation in the center.
5.           In addition to the 11 government ________, there exists in Northern Ireland a substantial number of other organizations within the public sector.
6.           ______     ________ refers to actions or political behaviors motivated by what is best or right for the political party.
7.           The public tends to be too passive or indifferent when the ________ decide to send soldiers into battle.

4 Complete the sentences.
1.     The task is therefore not to abolish politicians ....
2.     Politics is therefore practiced .......
3.     This is why the heart of politics .....
4.     The modern form of this definition .......
5.     In other words, the realm of ‘the political’ .....
6.     The link between politics .....
7.     But without some kind .....
8.     Politics is also linked to .....

5 Comprehension questions.
1.     What is the origin of the term “politics”?
2.     Where is politics practiced? What does it include?
3.     How can politics be defined?
4.     What is the connection between politics and politicians, politics of the state and political parties?
5.     What   image do politicians have in public mind?
6.     How are politics and conflicts connected?

6  Say if the following statements are true according to the text.
1.     Ancient Greek society was divided into national states.
2.     Term ‘politics’ means ‘what concerns the state’.
3.     ‘Polity’ is the same as ‘political party’.
4.     Not all members of society and not all institutions are included in politics.
5.     Politics has no negative images.
6.     In popular mind politicians are the models of honesty and truthfulness.
7.     Politicians should not be abolished because it would lead to civil war.
8.     Checks and constraints are never used in politics.
9.     Cooperation is not important in politics.
10.  The heart of politics is resolution of conflicts.

Different Views of Politics

Politics as the art of government. ‘Politics is not a science … but an art’ as Chancellor Bismarck told the German Reichstag. The art Bismarck had in mind was the art of government, the exercise of control within society through the making and enforcement of collective decisions. This is perhaps the classical definition of politics, developed from the original meaning of the term in Ancient Greece.
Politics as public affairs. The second and broader conception of politics moves it beyond the narrow realm of government to what is thought of as ‘public affairs’. On the basis of ‘public/private’ division, politics is restricted to the activities of the state itself and the responsibilities which are properly exercised by public bodies (the apparatus of government, the courts, the police, the army, the society-security system and so forth).
Politics as compromise and consensus. The third conception of politics relates not so much to the arena within which politics is conducted as to the way in which decisions are made. Specifically, politics is seen as a particular means of resolving conflict, that is by compromise, conciliation and negotiation, rather than through force and power. This is implied when politics is portrayed as ‘the art of the possible’. Such is the definition in the everyday use of the term. For instance, the description of a solution to a problem as a ‘political’ solution implies peaceful debate and arbitration, as opposed to what is often called a ‘military’ solution.
Politics as power. The fourth definition of politics is both the broadest and the most radical. This view sees politics at work in all social activities and in every corner of human existence. At its broadest, politics concerns the production, distribution and use of resources in the course of social existence, but the essential ingredient is the existence of scarcity. The simple fact that, while human needs and desires are infinite, the resources available to satisfy them are always limited, politics can therefore be seen as a struggle over scarce resources, and power can be seen as the means through which this struggle is conducted.

1 Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following words and expressions.
Exercise, public affairs, realm, consensus, arbitration, infinite, struggle, scarcity.

2  Translate words and word combinations from Ukrainian into English and use them in your own sentences.
 Реалізація, суд, компроміс, вирішувати, примирення, переговори, обговорення.

3 Match the notions on the left with the definitions on the right.
1.    Cooperation                                a.    competition between opposing
                                                                  forces, reflecting diversity of
                                                                  opinions, preferences, needs
                                                                  or interest.
2.    State                                            b.    disillusionment with formal
                                                                   and established political
                                                                   processes, reflected in non-
                                                                   participation, support for anti-
                                                                   system parties or the use of
                                                                   direct actions 
3.    Power                                           c.    working together, achieving
                                                                   goals through collective
                                                                   actions
4.    Authority                                       d.   a political association that
                                                                  establishes sovereign
                                                                    jurisdiction within defined
                                                                    territorial borders and
                                                                    exercises authority through a
                                                                    set of permanent institutions
5.    Conflict                                         e.    ability to influence the
                                                                   behavior of others.
6.    Anti-polities                                  f.    legitimate power, rightfulness.
7.   General will                                   g.    the genuine interests of a
                                                                   collective body, equivalent to
                                                                    the common good.

4 Complete the sentences
1.     On the basis of ‘public/private’ ...
2.     At its broadest, politics...
3.     The art Bismarck had ...
4.     The simple fact that ...
5.     For instance, the description ...
6.     Specifically, politics is seen...

5 Comprehension questions.
1.     Which of the definitions is the closest to the meaning of the term ‘politics’ in Ancient Greece?
2.     How are broad and narrow definitions of politics different?
3.     What kind of compromise does politics involve? How can politics help to resolve conflicts?
4.     What is the role of politics in the distribution of resources in society?
5.     What kind of struggle is conducted in human society?

6  Say if the following statements are true according to the text.

1.     Bismarck thought that politics was an academic subject.

2.     Politics helps to enforce collective decisions in society.
3.     Politics can be seen as the activities of the state, not as part of public affairs.
4.     Courts are not included into politics.
5.     Political solution to a conflict is peaceful solution through negotiations.
6.     Human needs are not limited, but resources are scarce.
7.     Politics cannot regulate the allocation of resources in society.
Vocabulary Focus. Put the correct words from a–d below in the text.

Politics as the Art of Government
Politics is not a science … but an art, Chancellor Bismarck is reputed to have told the German Reichstag. The art Bismarck had in mind was the art of (1)________, the exercise of control within society through the making and (2)________ of collective decisions. This is perhaps  the classical definition of politics, developed from the original meaning of the term in Ancient Greece.
The word ‘politics’ is derived from polis, literally meaning city-state. Ancient Greek society was (3)_______ into a collection of independent city-states, each of which possessed its own system of government. The largest and most influential of these city-states was Athens, often portrayed as the (4)_______ of democratic government. In this light, politics can be understood to refer to the affairs of the polis, in effect, ‘what concerns the polis’. The modern form of this (5)______ is therefore ‘what concerns the state’. This view of politics is clearly evident in the everyday use of the term: people are said to be ‘in politics’ when they hold public office, or to be ‘entering politics’ when they seek to do so. It is also a definition which academic political science has helped to perpetuate.
However, what is striking about this definition is that it offers a highly restricted view of politics. Politics is what takes place within a polity, a system of social organization centered upon the machinery of government departments and the like, and it is cabinet rooms, (6)_______ chambers, government departments and the like, and it is engaged in by a limited and specific group of people, notably politicians, civil servants and lobbyists. This means that most people, most institutions and other educations and most social activities can be regarded as being ‘outside’ politics. Businesses, schools and other educational institutions, community groups, families and so on are in this sense ‘nonpolitical’, because they are not engaged in ‘running the country’. By the same token, to portray politics as an essentially state-bound activity is to ignore the increasingly important international or (7)______ influences upon modern life, such as the impact of transnational technology and multinational corporations. In this sense, this definition of politics is a hangover from the days when the nation-state could still be regarded as an independent actor in world affairs.
This definition can, however, be narrowed still further. This is evident in the tendency to treat politics as the equivalent of party politics. In other words, the realm of ‘the political’ is restricted to those state actors who are consciously motivated by ideological beliefs, and who seek to advance them through membership of a formal organization such as a political party. This is sense in which politicians are described as ‘political’, whereas civil (8)______ are seen as ‘nonpolitical’, as long as, of course, they act in neutral and professional fashion.
The link between politics and the affairs of the state also helps to explain why negative or pejorative images have so often been attached to politics. This is because, in the popular mind, politics is closely associated with the activities of politicians. Put brutally, politicians are often seen as power-seeking hypocrites who conceal personal ambition behind the rhetoric of public service and ideological conviction. Indeed, this perception has become more common in the modern period as intensified media exposure has more effectively brought to light examples of (9)______ and dishonesty, giving rise to the phenomenon of anti-politics. This rejection of the personnel and machinery of conventional political life is rooted in a view of politics as self-serving, two-faced and unprincipled activity, clearly evident in the use of derogatory phrases such as ‘office politics’ and ‘politicking’. Such an image of politics is sometimes traced back to the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli, who, in The Prince ([1531] 1961), developed a strictly realistic account of politics which drew attention to the use by political leaders of cunning cruelty and (10)_____.
Such a negative view of politics reflects the essentially liberal perception that, as individuals are self-interested, political power is (11)_______. However, there is a general acceptance that politicians are always with us. Without some kind of mechanism for allocating authoritative values, society would simply disintegrate into a (12)_______ war of each against all, as the early social-contract theorists argued. The task is therefore not to abolish politicians and bring politics to an end, but rather to ensure that politics is conducted within a framework of checks and constraints that ensure that governmental power is not abused. 
1
(a)
 governed
(b)
government
(c)
governing
(d)
controlled
2
(a)
agreeing
(b)
implemented
(c)
forcing
(d)
enforcement
3
(a)
divided
(b)
separated
(c)
split
(d)
broken
4
(a)
birth
(b)
motherland
(c)
cradle
(d)
basic
5
(a)
theoretic
(b)
word
(c)
definition
(d)
meaning
6
(a)
legislative
(b)
legally
(c)
legislature
(d)
law
7
(a)
local
(b)
internationally
(c)
global
(d)
world
8
(a)
servants
(b)
serving
(c)
service
(d)
offices
9
(a)
bribe
(b)
greed
(c)
corruptive
(d)
corruption
10
(a)
violent
(b)
manipulation
(c)
terrify
(d)
manipulate
11
(a)
disappoint
(b)
unrewarding
(c)
corrupting
(d)
dangerous
12
(a)
civil
(b)
state
(c)
citizen
(d)
civilian


What Is Politics?

If we try to define ‘politics’ more formally and precisely, we run into the problems. One of the problems is associated with whether we are talking about politics as a human activity or politics as an academic activity – or, in American terminology, politics or political science. The search for truth about how human beings exercise power might be thought to be completely separate from exercising that power. But in practice political ideas are some of the most important weapons in the politician’s armoury. Attempts to ignore this are either naive or a deliberate attempt to present a controversial political ideology as an indisputable political fact. In this light it is worth considering rather critically the standard academic definitions of politics and of power.
politics


is
the science and art of government; the science dealing with the form, organization and administration of a state or a part of one, and with the regulation of its relations with other states.
(Shorter Oxford English Dictionary)
who gets what, when, how.
(H. Lasswell, 1936)
man moving man.
(Bertrand de Jouvenal, 1963)
the authoritative allocation of value.
(David Easton, 1979)
a way of ruling divided societies by a process of free discussion and without undue violence.
(Bernard Crick, 2000)
power
is
the production of intended effects.
(Bertrand Russell, 1938)
the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance regardless of the basis on which the probability arises.
(Max Weber, in Gerth and Mills, 1948)
the capacity to mobilize the resources of society for the attainment of goals for which a general public commitment . . . may be made.
(Talcott Parsons, 1957)
the capacity of a social class to realize its specific objective
interests.
(Nicos Poulantzas, 1973)
The definitions of politics and power show very considerable differences, reflecting the viewpoint of the author. Most political scientists’ definitions of politics are much broader in scope than the first, dictionary, definition which focuses on the state. In effect they support the view suggested above: that politics is about the social exercise of power, rather than just the state. However, this may reflect the natural ‘imperialism’ of academics on behalf of their own discipline. Sociologists might argue that ‘man moving man’ would be more appropriate as a definition of their concerns.
Consider also, though, the unit of analysis, in terms of which these definitions are couched. Weber, Lasswell and de Jouvenal appear to be thinking primarily in terms of individuals exercising power, Crick and Parsons focus upon whole societies, the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary talks about governments, whilst Poulantzas views classes as the primary political ‘actor’. This reflects a split between individualistic and collectivist theories.
Another contrast in these definitions is that between what has been described as ‘zero-sum’ and ‘non-zero-sum’ theories of politics. This terminology is derived from the mathematical theory of games. A zero-sum game is the usual sort of game, such as chess, in which a win by one player is, by definition, a loss on the part of the opposing player or players. There is a fixed amount of ‘winnings’ which means that the gains of one side are, by definition, losses to the other. Obviously many politicians, and political scientists, see politics this way. Thus Weber and Lasswell both seem to suggest that the political success of one individual may well be at the expense of others who oppose them. It is also a feature of Marxist theories, like that of Poulantzas, that the interests of classes are opposed and are gained at the expense of each other.
However, not all games are of this sort – for instance in collective make-believe children’s games, new themes introduced by one player can enrich the enjoyment of the game for everyone. There is not a fixed amount of ‘winnings’, but by cooperation both sides can achieve more. In a similar way, Parsons explicitly argues that, by cooperation, different groups in society can each obtain greater benefits than would be the case if they work in competition. This view seems to fit well with contemporary emphasis in many parts of the Western world on the practice of mainstream politicians seeking to build coalitions, which involves compromise. Thus different theories place radically different emphasis on consensus (agreement) and conflict in their theories of politics.
Today ‘politics’ encompasses a broad range of situations in which people’s objectives vary, but in which they work together to achieve those aims they have in common as well as competing where aims conflict. Both cooperation and competition may involve bargaining, argument and coercion. Politics may often be more an art than a science, and the art of politics may often be to see the potential for alliances rather than antagonisms amongst differing groups.

1 Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following words and expressions.
Weapon, armoury, controversial, indisputable, scope, on behalf of, gain, antagonism.

2  Translate words and word combinations from Ukrainian into English and use them in your own sentences.
Застосовувати силу, одностайність (консенсус), коаліція, прагнення, ведення переговорів, стримування.

3 Complete the sentences with words or phrases from the list.
Consensus, objectives, exercise of power, coercion, political scientists
1.     Different _____   ______ have different views on the best way to define politics.
2.     For sociologists who study conflict and power, the important question is who benefits from the _____ __  ______.
3.     In order to keep the rulers accountable for their actions and to build __________, the civil society must play an active political role.
4.     Different nations may have different social and economic ________.
5.     In human-centered systems, the exercise of control by one person or entity over another person (natural or legal) is usually based on a combination of incentives and _______.

4 Complete the sentences.
1.     Sociologists might  ...
2.     Today ‘politics’ encompasses ...
3.     Both cooperation and competition  ...
4.     But in practice political  ...
5.     Most political scientists’ definitions ...
6.     This view seems to fit ...
7.     A zero-sum game ...

5 Comprehension questions.
1.     What problem does definition of the term ‘politics’ create?
2.     How do authors’ viewpoints influence the definition of politics?
3.     How do definitions of political scientists differ from those of sociologists?
4.     What situations does politics include?
5.     How are cooperation and competition related to politics?

6 Say if the following statements are true according to the text.
1.     In American terminology politics and political science mean the same.
2.     Exercising the power and analysis of this process are separate disciplines.
3.     Political science is concerned with the study of power and politics.
4.     Politics can be seen as a type of game.
5.     People should work together to achieve aims in politics.
6.     Competition is not part of politics.
Овал: Project
Work
 

      Project Work. Work individually or in pairs. Use the table in the text to define ‘politics’ and ‘power’. What definition do you agree with? Explain your point of view. Create your own definition of terms ‘politics’ and ‘power’. Prepare a 3-5 minutes talk to present your definitions to the class.


Approaches to the Study of Politics

One of the joys, and also one of the frustrations, of the study of politics lies in the variety of approaches adopted by academic writers to the subject. This is a joy because within one course of study you will be introduced to a rich spectrum of writing ranging from classic philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, through radical sociologists such as C. Wright Mills and Pareto, to modern social scientists such as Robert Dahl. It is frustrating because the conclusions of such writers cannot be simply accumulated to form political scientist’s view of politics.
The three main academic approaches to the study of politics can be described as ‘traditional scholarship’, ‘social science’ and ‘radical criticism’. They might also be thought of as the British, the American and the French approaches.
‘Traditional scholars’ often look at one specific country, political institution, theoretical concept or writer in depth, often with the tools of another academic discipline – especially history or philosophy. Thus the core of the politics curriculum in Britain, at least until recently, has been the study of individual British political institutions in their historical context; the great political philosophers; and ‘comparative government’. The latter was the study of American, French and Soviet government and politics separately. In continental Europe politics has often been a subsidiary part of departments of faculties of law, sociology or history.
‘Social scientists’ have generalizing approach in which scholars of politics try to derive general theories or laws about the nature of political behaviour. For example, a typical American-style curriculum presents political science as one of a group of related social science disciplines, including sociology and economics, all using modern quantitative/computer oriented methods of ‘analyzing data’ scientifically.
‘Radical critics’ do not deny the need to produce useful generalizations from the study of politics. They focus not on academic discipline but on a general doctrine calling for the radical change of existing (Western) societies – most frequently some variety of Marxism, ecological, theological or feminist perspective.
The bases of the distinction are: a) what writers see their task, b) the methods they use, c) the level and type of their analysis, d)  the values they share and support.

1 Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following words and expressions.
Frustration, approach, concept, in depth, curriculum, subsidiary, generalization.

2 Translate words and word combinations from Ukrainian into English and use them in your own sentences.
Підхід, філософ, соціолог, факультет, доктрина, теологічний.

3 Complete the sentences with words or phrases from the list.
Generalizing approach, political institution, approach, classic philosophers, approach, social sciences.
1.     The oldest ______ to the study of politics is philosophical that is also known by the name of ethical ______.
2.     The following ______ political _______ and texts should be added to the list: Aristotle, The Politics; Machiavelli, The Prince; G. Hegel, The Philosophy of Right.
3.     The discussion and description of ______  ______ established by the constitution and their functions, and how they compare in different countries have been the main focus of this book.
4.     The formal ______  ______ should be applied in the study of social phenomena which are characteristic of all societies.
5.     The ______   _______ include sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, political science, public administration and history.

4 Complete the sentences.
1.     In continental Europe ...
2.     ‘Traditional scholars’ often look ...
3.     ‘Radical critics’ do not ...
4.     The bases of the distinction ...
5.     Thus the core of the politics ...
6.     The three main academic approaches ...
7.     For example ...

5 Comprehension questions.
1.     What approaches can be adopted by academic writers on politics?
2.     How many approaches to the study of politics can be singled out? What are their characteristic features?
3.     What do students of political science learn in British universities?
4.     What approach focuses on the nature of political behaviour?
5.     What kind of change do ‘radical critics’ want to see in the society? Give example of  ‘radical critics’.

6 Say if the following statements are true according to the text.
1.     Variety of approaches to the study of politics is a positive trait of the subject.
2.     Plato and Aristotle are radical sociologists.
3.     Conclusions of different writes cannot be accumulated by political scientists.
4.     There are four main approaches to the study of politics.
5.     ‘Traditional scholarship’ is an American approach.
6.     ‘Traditional scholarship’ means studying American, French and Soviet government and politics separately.
7.     In American universities students learn political science among other social science disciplines like sociology.
‘Radical critics’ want to see change in Western societies.

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    1. Could you leave your e-mail address, and I'll send you the answers?

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