por He policy objective It can be studied from different perspectives. Politics can be defined, in the broadest sense of the word, as the activity through which people create, preserve, and modify the general laws on which their societies are based.
Above all, politics is a social activity, since it involves dialogue. It foresees the existence of contrary opinions, of different demands and needs, and above all of opposing interests with respect to the regulations that govern society.
However, it is also recognized that if the rules are to be changed or maintained, teamwork is necessary.
In a broad sense, the objective of politics is the peaceful resolution of conflicts that may arise between human groups or groups of nations, in a democratic way.
Approaches of the policy objectives
There are two major approaches to studying politics: politics as a battlefield (or arena) and politics as behavior.
Politics as the art of governing
Otto von Bismarck, first chancellor of the Second German Empire, is credited with the phrase «Politics is not a science but an art».
Possibly, Bismarck saw politics as the art whose objective is to exercise control in a society through collective decision making.
This conception of politics is one of the oldest and derives from the Greek term «polis», which means city, state. In ancient Greece, the term politics was used to designate the issues that concerned the polis. That is, it is in charge of matters that concern the State.
However, this definition is very narrow because it only involves members of society who belong to the government, that is, those who hold political office, leaving other citizens aside.
Politics as public affairs
The second definition of politics is broader than politics as the art of governing, since it takes into account all members of a society.
This conception of politics is attributed to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who noted: «man is by nature a political animal.» From this statement, it follows that just by the simple fact of belonging to a society, he is already a politician.
For the Greeks, the polis involved the sharing of problems. In this sense, politics is the search for the common good through the direct and continuous participation of all citizens.
Politics as commitment and consensus
This conception of politics refers to the way in which decisions are made. Specifically, politics is seen as a way to resolve conflicts through compromise, reconciliation, and negotiation, ruling out the use of force and power.
It should be noted that the defenders of this perspective recognize that there are no utopian solutions and that concessions will have to be made that may not fully satisfy the parties involved. However, this is preferable to armed conflicts.
One of the greatest representatives of this concept is Bernard Crick, British political theorist, who in his study In defense of politics (1962), points out that politics is the activity that reconciles the interests of different individuals through the proportional division of power.
This approach to politics is ideological, because it puts international morality (ethical norms that regulate the behavior of nations, just as ethical principles do in individuals) before the interests of the State.
politics as power
The last definition of politics is the broadest and most radical of all. According to South African activist Adrian Leftwich, “…politics is at the heart of all social activities, formal and informal, public and private, within all human groups, institutions and societies…”.
In this sense, politics is present at all levels where human beings interact.
From this point of view, politics is the exercise of power to achieve a desired goal, regardless of the means. Harold Lasswell, an American sociologist, summarizes this conception in the title of his book Politics: Who gets what, when and how?
Politics as power is opposed to politics as compromise and consensus, because it puts the interests of a group first.
Objective of the policy according to the approaches
Just as the definition of politics varies, so does its objective. Politics seen as an arena has two objectives: addressing issues that concern the State (politics as art of governing) and promoting the participation of citizens to achieve the common good.
On the other hand, politics as behavior has the general objective of determining the performance of countries in the pursuit of interests. However, the processes proposed by each of the approaches are diverse.
Politics as consensus aims to achieve interests through negotiation. For its part, politics as power aims to achieve interests regardless of the means.
In the Russia-Ukraine conflict (the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022) some of these approaches are reflected, although the conflict has long since left the realm of politics to enter that of military weapons.
For example, the negotiations carried out by the European Union with Russia have the focus of politics as consensus. As this alone does not produce the desired effect (for Russia to leave Ukraine), the European Union has established various sanctions against the Slavic country.
Russia, for its part, exercises politics as a power, since it wants to achieve its interests regardless of any means, not even the armed one. The same is true of Ukraine, which must fight against Russia to defend its sovereignty.
References
What is Political? Recovered from freewebs.com.
Lasswell, Harold (1936). Politics: Who Gets What, When, and How? Retrieved from policysciences.org.
Power and Politics. Retrieved from nptel.ac.in.