Politics

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For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation).

"Politic" redirects here. For the political magazine, see The Politic.

The Politics series
List of politics topics Consent of the governed Politics by country Politics by subdivision Political economy Political history Political philosophy Political science International relations International relations theory Political scientists Comparative politics Public administration Bureaucracy Street-level bureaucracy Separation of powers Executive Judiciary Legislature Sovereignty Theories of political behavior
Subseries of Politics
Elections Electoral systems Voting Federalism Forms of government Ideology Political campaign Political parties
Politics Portal This box: view • talk • edit

Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions.

Politics consists of "social relations involving authority or power"^[1] and refers to the regulation of a political unit, ^[2] and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.^[3]

Political science (also political studies) is the study of political behavior and examines the acquisition and application of power. Related areas of study include political philosophy, which seeks a rationale for politics and an ethic of public behavior, and public administration, which examines the practices of governance.

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