Politics.

Politics refers to the “theory, art, and practice of government.”

The political instruction is a relatively stable cluster of statuses, general norms,and role behavior, which are involved in the acquisition and exercise of power and decision making in society.

The institution that sets up the social norms and values as to who will possess “the monopoly of legitimate use of physical force within a given territory,” how that power is acquired and maintained, and how that power is organized and exercised, comprises the state.

The government is a concrete example of a political institution.

It exercises power especially in relation to governance and decision-making.

Power is manifested in the acquisition of statuses and functions.

For instance, the president or the prime minister serves as the head of the government.

He or she functions as the chief executive and the commander-in-chief, especially in policy-making and other matters related to governance and imposition of laws.

He or she leads the military during war and the cabinet during peace.

He or she designates roles for cabinet members to undertake .

He or she is given power to approve or veto decision made by the cabinet or the legislative body.

He or she is also given a check-and-balance power, which means he or she can order the review of other branches of government if they are not executing their functions properly.

Power, as defined in democratic principles, is a status granted to individuals or institution to properly run the government and implement the rule of the law in a society.

The president or prime minister and the members of the cabinet are granted with executive power, which is the right to execute governance and implement laws.

Meanwhile, members of the legislative, which include senators and congressmen, are given the legislative power to make and pass laws for the executive power to implement.

Likewise, the members of the judiciary are tasked to interpret laws in accordance with a society's standards and norms.

With these ascribed roles and functions to perform, it is expected that all branches of the government (executive, legislative, and judiciary) work harmoniously to maintain the balance of power.

These aforementioned concepts-culture, society,and politics-are essential in understanding human behavior and social groups.

They are interrelated and to some extent reflective of each other.

Thought similarities and areas of convergence exist among them, they are not identical.

Their interrelatedness will be explained further in the succeeding chapters.

Before we proceed, student should bear in mind that such interrelatedness can be best understood by using their own experience.

Later, In the concepts in action section, you will asked to provide information about yourself: your gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religion, exceptionality, and nationality.

But first you need to pay attention to the following concepts and their meanings.