Politics is a process by which decisions are made within groups. Although the term is generally applied to behavior within governments, politics is observed in all human (and many non-human) group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions.

Political science (also political studies) is the study of political behavior and examines the acquisition and application of power.

Alternate definitions

---

Alternative definitions of politics have been proposed that fulfill the needs of differing perspectives. They include:

• Dictionary definitions, for example, "the art and science of government" ^*
• Textbook definitions, notably, a "process of conflict resolution in which support is mobilized and maintained for collective projects". -- An Introduction to Government and Politics ... Dickerson and Flanagan
• Theorists, such as Harold Lasswell, who defined politics as "who gets what, when, where, and how."
• and Practitioners like
  • Mao Zedong, who said "Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."
  • and Otto von Bismarck's cryptic remark, "Politics is the art of feasibility."

More on [ Politics ]

L.A. Times - Politics

Seniors and doctors give key boost to healthcare bill
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
The din loudens from the left and right as a House vote nears on healthcare overhaul legislation. With a historic House vote on a $1-trillion healthcare bill barely 48 hours away, battle lines are hardening as lobbying groups for seniors and doctors endorse the legislation, while thousands of protesters swarmed Capitol Hill to oppose it.
New York's Bloomberg spent big, for small return
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
The mayor, who spent $100 million of his own money to eke out a slim victory, isn't the first free-spending candidate to feel the sting of the electorate. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg may have narrowly won a third term this week but he also earned -- or, rather, very handsomely paid for -- a less-welcome distinction: becoming the latest in a long line of politicians to prove that money can't buy everything.
Senate panel OKs sweeping climate bill
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Democrats bypass a Republican boycott and approve a plan to limit greenhouse gases. The GOP wanted more cost analysis. Backers say the move gives the U.S. credibility ahead of talks in Copenhagen. In a move that stoked optimism for global climate negotiations but raised tempers on Capitol Hill, Democrats on a key Senate committee swept aside a Republican boycott Thursday to pass a far-reaching plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Politics

Hendrik Hertzberg: Biggus Buckus
Hendrik Hertzberg Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0000
REG [at a meeting of the People’s Front of Judea]: All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?ATTENDEE: Brought peace?—“Monty Python’ . . .
Louis Menand: Chin Music
Louis Menand Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0000
In 2008, half the people who watched the Fox News Channel were over sixty-three, which is the oldest demographic in the cable-news business, and, according to a poll, the majority of the ones who watched the most strident programs, such as Sean Hannity’s and Bill O . . .
David Remnick: The Oracle
David Remnick Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0000
Among the grandees of the Princeton University faculty, past and present, Cornel West is the only one to have appeared in two sequels of “The Matrix,” playing a Zion Elder called Councillor West; recorded songs with both André 3000 and John Mellencamp; and seen his words quoted . . .

Wash Post Politics

Climate legislation is running into a chilly reception
David A. Fahrenthold Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:24:57 -0500
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A curious debate has broken out among American environmental groups, as the U.S. Senate finally, balkily starts to focus on the threat of climate change.Is this really the time to talk about the threat of climate change?
President Obama delivers remarks at White House-Tribal Nations conference
washingtonpost.com Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:36:18 -0500
SPEAKER: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA [*] OBAMA: Thank you. (APPLAUSE) Thank you so much. Thank you. Everybody, please, have a seat. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) Thank you so much. Thank you. Please, everybody, have a seat. T...
As GOP celebrates victories, ideological battles between moderates and conservatives remain
Philip Rucker and Perry Bacon Jr. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500
A rebounding Republican Party is savoring victories in two states that President Obama won last year, but as it tries to build momentum toward what GOP Chairman Michael S. Steele called a "Republican renaissance," it faces troubling ideological fissures within its ranks over how best to reclaim p...

Twitter / BarackObama

BarackObama: This is it—the House is voting on health reform legislation tomorrow. Tweet your rep and ask them to support reform: http://bit.ly/3AEkDz
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:03:49 -0000
BarackObama: This is it—the House is voting on health reform legislation tomorrow. Tweet your rep and ask them to support reform: http://bit.ly/3AEkDz
BarackObama: Pleased and grateful to learn that the AARP & the @AmerMedicalAssn are supporting the House health reform bill. #hc09
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:15:55 -0000
BarackObama: Pleased and grateful to learn that the AARP & the @AmerMedicalAssn are supporting the House health reform bill. #hc09
BarackObama: Erik recalls #Nov4 2008: "Talking to my mother who grew up in pre-civil rights America and the history felt that day when she voted."
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:07:16 -0000
BarackObama: Erik recalls #Nov4 2008: "Talking to my mother who grew up in pre-civil rights America and the history felt that day when she voted."

Subscribe to Politics RSS feed