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 |  Power & Choice, 8/e W. Phillips Shively,
University of Minnesota---Minneapolis
Politics: Setting the Stage
Chapter Overview| This chapter introduces the concept of "politics," defining it as the use of power to make collective decisions. The chapter starts with a discussion of politics in a general sense, followed by a discussion of politics in a more narrow sense in relation to the state. The chapter then introduces the concept of "power" and explores its definitional and empirical complexity. The chapter also introduces one of the main themes running through the text—the need to look at political action as both public choice and as the use of power. The chapter ends with an overview of political science as field, touching on the debate over how scientific political science should be and the importance of theory in the analysis of politics.
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education