What is politics?

Originally, “politics” comes from Ancient Greece, i.e. “polis, the city-state”. Politics is therefore “what concerns the state”.

The New Collins Concise English Dictionary defines politics as

• the art and science of directing and administrating states and other political units;

• any activity concerned with the acquisition of power.

So, politics is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under they live. On the other hand, people recognize that in order to influence these rules or ensure that they are upheld, they must work with others. This is why politics is often portrayed as a process of conflict resolution. There are some other more specific definitions which can be broken into four categories:

1. politics as the art of government;

2. politics as public affairs;

3. politics as compromise;

4. politics as power.

Task 6. Read the following quotations, try to match the quotation with one of the four categories of the definition of politics mentioned above.

1. “Politics is the most concentrated form of economics” Vladimir Lenin

2. “Politics is not a science … but an art” Chancellor Bismark

3. “Politics is the activity by which different interests within a given unit of rule are conciliated by giving them a share in power in proportion to their importance to the welfare and the survival of the whole community” Bernard Crick

4. “It is evident that the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal” Aristotle

(“Politics Review” volume 11, number 2, November 2001)

Political profile of a country

ACTIVE VOCABULARY

№	Word	definition	translation
1	politics (n)	the art and science of administrating states and other political units	политика
2	power (n)	political, financial, social, etc. force or influence; a prerogative, privilege or liberty	власть, полномочия
3	freedom (n)	the quality or state of being free, esp. to enjoy political and civil liberties	свобода
4	right (n)	any claim, title, etc. , that is morally just or legally granted allowable or due to a person	право
5	vest (v)	to place or settle (power, rights)	сосредотачивать
6	branch (n)	a subdivision or subsidiary section of something larger or more complex	ветвь (власти)
7	legislate (v)	to make or pass laws	узаконивать
8	execute (v)	to carry out, complete; to perform, accomplish, effect	исполнять
9	judge (v)	to hear and decide upon (a case of law); to pass judgment on	судить
10	implement (v)	to carry out; to put into action	воплощать, исполнять
11	enact (v)	to make into an act or statute; to establish by law, decree	внедрять, исполнять
12	constitute (v)	to form, to compose; to give legal form to	составлять

LANGUAGE FOCUS

Task 7. Match the words into synonymous pairs.

1	administer	a)	freedom
2	authority	b)	chamber
3	be responsible to	c)	govern
4	house	d)	power
5	implement	e)	state organ
6	liberty	f)	be accountable to
7	state body	g)	carry out, enforce
8	give consent	h)	work out
9	to elaborate	i)	agree

Task 8. Complete the word-building word chart.

Verb	Noun	Adjective
	legislation
execute
		judicial
represent
	elector
constitute