Politics is defined as the activity through which individuals in the society make, preserve and amend the rules which govern them. It is a fundamental social activity and is strongly linked to the existence of conflict and diversity. It is also inextricably connected to the willingness to cooperate and act as one. Many say that the better definition for politics is that it is a search for conflict resolution.
Individuals from different cultures and schools of thought have different views on politics. Some see it as the art of government; as the conduct and the management of public affairs; as the production, distribution and the use of resources in social existence; or as the resolution of conflict with the help of debate and compromise.
The study of politics is called political science. Political science examines the acquisition and the application of power. It is a social science which looks into the theory and the practices related to politics as well as the description and the analysis of various political systems and political behavior.
Some approaches used for the discipline would include: classical political philosophy; structuralism; interpretivism; behavioralism; pluralism; realism and institutionalism. Political science makes use of various methods and techniques such as primary sources like official records and historical documents official; and secondary sources like survey research, scholarly journal articles, statistical analysis, model building and case studies.
The study of politics also have several related academic fields including: political philosophy, a study that looks for the underlying principles of politics as well as the morals of public behavior; political economy, a study that attempts to develop an understanding of the relations between the economy and politics and their governance; and public administration, a study which analyzes the practices of governance.
The study of politics has been seen as a scientific one in that it is possible to gain an objective knowledge of the political world through differentiating it between facts and values. However, this is hindered by the difficulty of being able to gain access to reliable data, by values which are embedded in numerous political models and theories, and finally, by the biases which all students of politics possess.
Today, political scientists mainly study the allocation and the transfer of power during decision-making, political behavior, public policies and the roles and systems of authority including governments and international organisations. They also measure the success and efficiency of governance and certain policies through the examination of a number of factors including justice, stability, material wealth and peace.
