What is political?

Abstract

Our conceptions of politics ought to: (a) help clarify our normative interests in politics; (b) encompass everyday understandings of politics; and (c) define the domain of politics in ways that serve explanation. Events in the last couple of decades - from the rise of new social movements to the end to the Berlin Wall - have combined with shifts in the culture of expectations within political science to overtake most of our received definitions in these respects. I offer a conception of politics that focuses on the intersection of power and conflict, and argue that such a conception is more in accord with our political world today than are most common conceptions, especially in light of new concerns with democracy and democratization. Finally, I show how this conception illuminates our contemporary understandings of democracy.