Meaning of Politics in Comparative Politics

Samuel E Finer says that Politics is a “continuous, time less, ever changing and universal activity having its key manifestations in the making of a decision to face and solve a predicament”. It flows from a special kind of activity, a form of human behavior. It refers to the making or taking of a decision in which some political action is involved. David Easton treats it is an action for the “authoritative allocation of values”. Harold Laswell, and Robert. A. Dahl describe it, ‘as a special case in exercise of power’. But Jean Blondal gives emphasis on the ‘decision making Process.’

In comparative politics ‘politics has three connotations, Political activity, Political process, and Power. Political activity consists of the efforts by which conditions of conflicts are created and resolved in a way pertaining to the interest of the people, as far as possible, who play their part in the struggle for power. 

The tension and conflicts are reduced and resolved through the operation of some permanent mechanism of tension reduction. If Politics is the authoritative allocation of’ ‘value’ it is bound to arise some measure of conflicts between ‘Values’ as desired by the people and ‘values’ as held by authorities. This leads to conflicts, that demand their solution and what leads to efforts in this regard constitute political activity. Political process is an extension of political activity. It includes the activities of all agencies that have their role in the decision-making process. It also includes even ‘non-state agencies’.A study of the way of groups and associations operate shows that they are not free from the trends of struggle for power; they have their ‘internal governments’ to deal with their internal conflicts and tensions. What is particularly important for our purpose is that these ‘non-state’

associations influence the government of the country for the sake of protecting and promoting

their specific interests.

 Thus, there occurs a very sharp process of interaction between the groups inter se and between the groups and the government of the country. Participate in policy formation  by the government or become the government, is the political process. Finally, the scope of comparative politics includes the subject of political power. The term ‘power’ has been defined by different writers in different ways. For instance, while Carl J Friedrich describes it as ‘a certain kind of human relationship’. Tawney regards it as the capacity of an individual, or a group of individuals to modify the conduct of other individuals or groups in the manner which he desires. Referring to the role of power in the matter of decision-making, 

Lasswell says: “The making of decision is an inter personal process: the policies which other persons are to pursue are what is decided upon. Power as participation in the making of decisions is an interpersonal relation. Politics thus connotes a special case in the exercise of power an exercise of power – an exercise in the attempt to change the conduct of others in one’s own

direction”