Politics is something that most individuals know a little about and without it, the country and its economic structure would not be able to operate.

The word politics actually derives from the Greek word that simply means “citizens” and as a generalization, applies to collective decisions that relate to government. These are the decisions made by government members to establish policies that apply to citizens on a local or national scale.

If we take politics in the United Kingdom for example, a decision made by the main government will typically apply to people on a national level. This means that if a policy regarding vehicle emissions is passed, the same rules and laws will apply to those who live in the North of the United Kingdom and also the South.

On the other side of the pond in the United States, the governmental structure is slightly different with each state being broken down and ruled under separate laws. The main government will have the biggest influence and the power to rule over any new policies but generally speaking, the politics of one American state to the next will be significantly different.

The general structure of politics

As already stated, politics relates to the collective decisions of government members yet within each government you will find political parties that hold different opinions to the next. In a democratic government, citizens are given the right to vote for the party they wish to be in power. During this transitional period, each party will typically go on campaigns to present their beliefs and proposed changes of existing policies. In the United Kingdom for example, the party that receives the most votes during their political campaign will be in power for 4 years. When this 4 year period is over, citizens across the country will be given the opportunity to vote again, and the same party may be given another 4 years in power.

This is just one example of government and the structure of politics yet there are many more forms of government across different countries around the world.

Some of the other, most well known types of government include Autocracy which includes sub-sections such as dictatorship, Fascism which includes just one political party and is known as a “totalitarian state” and also Socialism as seen in the Soviet state.

Also, another aspect of politics which effects the level of power a political party is given is whether a country has an existing monarchy or not. If we take Britain as the example again, the Queen is given the highest level of power over any existing government. If a party decided to establish a new policy or amend an existing one, the Queen is given the power to pass or decline these decisions. She is also the only person in the United Kingdom who is officially allowed to declare the country at war.

Politics is a very complex subject with a vast history ranging back thousands of years. It is forever changing and is an integral part of any country’s history. Without politics and the collective decisions made by those in power, a country would not be able to operate and the infrastructure would consequently collapse.