me and politics essay

Essay on Politics: Topics, Tips, and Examples for Students

Defining What is Politics Essay

The process of decision-making that applies to members of a group or society is called politics. Arguably, political activities are the backbone of human society, and everything in our daily life is a form of it.

Understanding the essence of politics, reflecting on its internal elements, and critically analyzing them make society more politically aware and let them make more educated decisions. Constantly thinking and analyzing politics is critical for societal evolution.

Political thinkers often write academic papers that explore different political concepts, policies, and events. The essay about politics may examine a wide range of topics such as government systems, political ideologies, social justice, public policies, international relations, etc.

After selecting a specific research topic, a writer should conduct extensive research, gather relevant information, and prepare a logical and well-supported argument. The paper should be clear and organized, complying with academic language and standards. A writer should demonstrate a deep understanding of the subject, an ability to evaluate and remain non-biased to different viewpoints, and a capacity to draw conclusions.

Now that we are on the same page about the question 'what is politics essay' and understand its importance, let's take a deeper dive into how to build a compelling political essay, explore the most relevant political argumentative essay topics, and finally, examine the political essay examples written by the best essay writing service team.

Politics Essay Example for Students

If you are still unsure how to structure your essay or how to present your statement, don't worry. Our team of experts has prepared an excellent essay example for you. Feel free to explore and examine it. Use it to guide you through the writing process and help you understand what a successful essay looks like.

How to Write a Political Essay: Tips + Guide

A well-written essay is easy to read and digest. You probably remember reading papers full of big words and complex ideas that no one bothered to explain. We all agree that such essays are easily forgotten and not influential, even though they might contain a very important message.

If you are writing an essay on politics, acknowledge that you are on a critical mission to easily convey complicated concepts. Hence, what you are trying to say should be your main goal. Our guide on how to write a political essay will help you succeed.

Conduct Research for Your Politics Essay

After choosing a topic for the essay, take enough time for preparation. Even if you are familiar with the matter, conducting thorough research is wiser. Political issues are complex and multifaceted; comprehensive research will help you understand the topic better and offer a more nuanced analysis.

Research can help you identify different viewpoints and arguments around the topic, which can be beneficial for building more impartial and persuasive essays on politics. Sometimes in the hit of the moment, opposing sides are not able to see the common ground; your goal is to remain rational, speak to diverse audiences, and help them see the core of the problem and the ways to solve it.

In political papers, accuracy and credibility are vital. Researching the topic deeply will help you avoid factual errors or misrepresentations from any standpoint. It will allow you to gather reliable sources of information and create a trustworthy foundation for the entire paper.

If you want to stand out from the other students, get inspired by the list of hottest essay ideas and check out our political essay examples.

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Brainstorm Political Essay Topics

The next step to writing a compelling politics essay is to polish your thoughts and find the right angle to the chosen topic.

Before you start writing, generate fresh ideas and organize your thoughts. There are different techniques to systematize the mess going on in your head, such as freewriting, mind mapping, or even as simple as listing ideas. This will open the doors to new angles and approaches to the topic.

When writing an essay about politics, ensure the topic is not too general. It's always better to narrow it down. It will simplify your job and help the audience better understand the core of the problem. Brainstorming can help you identify key points and arguments, which you can use to find a specific angle on the topic.

Brainstorming can also help you detect informational gaps that must be covered before the writing process. Ultimately, the brainstorming phase can bring a lot more clarity and structure to your essay.

We know how exhausting it is to come up with comparative politics essay topics. Let our research paper writing service team do all the hard work for you.

Create Your Politics Essay Thesis Statement

Thesis statements, in general, serve as a starting point of the roadmap for the reader. A political essay thesis statement outlines the main ideas and arguments presented in the body paragraphs and creates a general sense of the content of the paper.

Creating a thesis statement for essays about politics in the initial stages of writing can help you stay focused and on track throughout the working process. You can use it as an aim and constantly check your arguments and evidence against it. The question is whether they are relevant and supportive of the statement.

Get creative when creating a statement. This is the first sentence readers will see, and it should be compelling and clear.

The following is a great example of a clear and persuasive thesis statement:

'The lack of transparency and accountability has made the World Trade Organization one of the most controversial economic entities. Despite the influence, its effectiveness in promoting free trade and economic growth in developing countries has decreased.'

Provide Facts in Your Essay about Politic

It's a no-brainer that everything you will write in your essay should be supported by strong evidence. The credibility of your argument will be questioned every step of the way, especially when you are writing about sensitive subjects such as essays on government influence on economic troubles.

Provide facts and use them as supporting evidence in your politics essay. They will help you establish credibility and accuracy and take your paper out of the realm of speculation and mere opinions.

Facts will make your essay on political parties more persuasive, unbiased, and targeted to larger audiences. Remember, the goal is to bring the light to the core of the issue and find a solution, not to bring people even farther apart.

Speaking of facts, many students claim that when they say ' write my essay for me ' out loud, our writing team is the fastest to respond and deliver high-quality essays meeting their trickiest requirements.

Structure Your Political Essay

Your main goal is to communicate your ideas to many people. To succeed, you need to write an essay that is easy to read and understand. Creating a structure will help you present your ideas logically and lead the readers in the right direction.

Sometimes when writing about political essay topics, we get carried away. These issues can be very emotional and sensitive, and writers are not protected from becoming victims of their own writings. Having a structure will keep you on track, only focusing on providing supported arguments and relevant information.

Start with introducing the thesis statement and provide background information. Followed by the body paragraphs and discuss all the relevant facts and standpoints. Finish it up with a comprehensive conclusion, and state the main points of your essay once again.

The structure will also save you time. In the beginning, creating an outline for essays on politics will give you a general idea of what should be written, and you can track your progress against it.

Revise and Proofread Your Final Politics Essay

Once every opinion is on the paper and every argument is well-constructed, one final step should be taken. Revision!

We know nothing is better than finishing the homework and quickly submitting it, but we aim for an A+. Our political essay must be reviewed. You need to check if there is any error such as grammatical, spelling, or contextual.

Take some time off, relax, and start proofreading after a few minutes or hours. Having a fresh mind will help you review not only grammar but also the arguments. Check if something is missing from your essays about politics, and if you find gaps, provide additional information.

You had to spend a lot of time on them, don't give up now. Make sure they are in perfect condition.

Effective Political Essay Topics

We would be happy if our guide on how to write political essays helped you, but we are not stopping there. Below you will find a list of advanced and relevant political essay topics. Whether you are interested in global political topics or political science essay topics, we got you covered.

Once you select a topic, don't forget to check out our politics essay example! It will bring even more clarity, and you will be all ready to start writing your own paper.

Political Argumentative Essay Topics

Now that we know how to write a political analysis essay let's explore political argumentative essay topics:

Should a political party take a stance on food politics and support policies promoting sustainable food systems?
Should we label Winston Churchill as the most influential political figure of World War II?
Does the focus on GDP growth in the political economy hinder the human development index?
Is foreign influence a threat to national security?
Is foreign aid the best practice for political campaigning?
Does the electoral college work for an ideal political system?
Are social movements making a real difference, or are they politically active for temporary change?
Can global politics effectively address political conflicts in the modern world?
Are opposing political parties playing positive roles in US international relations?
To what extent should political influence be allowed in addressing economic concerns?
Can representative democracy prevent civil wars in ethnically diverse countries?
Should nuclear weapons be abolished for the sake of global relations?
Is economic development more important than ethical issues for Caribbean politics?
What role should neighboring nations play in preventing human rights abuse in totalitarian regimes?
Should political decisions guide the resolution of conflicts in the South China Sea?

Political Socialization Essay Topics

Knowing how to write a political issue essay is one thing, but have you explored our list of political socialization essay topics?

To what extent does a political party or an influential political figure shape the beliefs of young people?
Does political influence shape attitudes toward environmental politics?
How can individuals use their own learning process to navigate political conflicts in a polarized society?
How do political strategies shape cultural globalization?
Is gender bias used as a political instrument in political socialization?
How can paying attention to rural communities improve political engagement?
What is the role of Amnesty International in preventing the death penalty?
What is the role of politically involved citizens in shaping minimum wage policies?
How does a political party shape attitudes toward global warming?
How does the federal system influence urban planning and attitudes toward urban development?
What is the role of public opinion in shaping foreign policy, and how does it affect political decision making
Did other countries' experiences affect policies on restricting immigration in the US?
How can note-taking skills and practice tests improve political engagement?
How do the cultural values of an independent country shape the attitudes toward national security?
Does public opinion influence international intervention in helping countries reconcile after conflicts?

Political Science Essay Topics

If you are searching for political science essay topics, check our list below and write the most compelling essay about politic:

Is environmental education a powerful political instrument?
Can anarchist societies provide a viable alternative to traditional forms of governance?
Pros and cons of deterrence theory in contemporary international relations
Comparing the impact of the French Revolution and World War II on the political landscape of Europe
The role of the ruling political party in shaping national policies on nuclear weapons
Exploring the roots of where politics originate
The impact of civil wars on the processes of democratization of the third-world countries
The role of international organizations in promoting global health
Does using the death penalty in the justice system affect international relations?
Assessing the role of the World Trade Organization in shaping global trade policies
The political and environmental implications of conventional agriculture
The impact of the international court on political decision making
Is philosophical anarchism relevant to contemporary political discourse?
The emergence of global citizenship and its relationship with social movements
The impact of other countries on international relations between the US and China

Final Words

See? Writing an essay about politic seems like a super challenging job, but in reality, all it takes is excellent guidance, a well-structured outline, and an eye for credible information.

If you are stressed out from juggling a hundred different course assignments and have no time to focus on your thesis, our dissertation writing services could relieve you! Our team of experts is ready to take over even the trickiest tasks on the tightest schedule. You just have to wish - ' write my essay ' out loud, and we will be on it!

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Essay on Politics for Students and Children

500+ words essay on politics.

When we hear the term politics, we usually think of the government, politicians and political parties. For a country to have an organized government and work as per specific guidelines, we require a certain organization. This is where politics comes in, as it essentially forms the government. Every country, group and organization use politics to instrument various ways to organize their events, prospects and more.

Politics does not limit to those in power in the government. It is also about the ones who are in the run to achieve the same power. The candidates of the opposition party question the party on power during political debates . They intend to inform people and make them aware of their agenda and what the present government is doing. All this is done with the help of politics only.

Dirty Politics

Dirty politics refers to the kind of politics in which moves are made for the personal interest of a person or party. It ignores the overall development of a nation and hurts the essence of the country. If we look at it closely, there are various constituents of dirty politics.

The ministers of various political parties, in order to defame the opposition, spread fake news and give provocative speeches against them. This hampers with the harmony of the country and also degrades the essence of politics . They pass sexist remarks and instill hate in the hearts of people to watch their party win with a majority of seats.

Read 500 Words Essay on Corruption Here

Furthermore, the majority of politicians are corrupt. They abuse their power to advance their personal interests rather than that of the country. We see the news flooded with articles like ministers and their families involving in scams and illegal practices. The power they have makes them feel invincible which is why they get away with any crime.

Before coming into power, the government makes numerous promises to the public. They influence and manipulate them into thinking all their promises will be fulfilled. However, as soon as they gain power, they turn their back on the public. They work for their selfish motives and keep fooling people in every election. Out of all this, only the common suffers at the hands of lying and corrupt politicians.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Lack of Educated Ministers

If we look at the scenario of Indian elections, any random person with enough power and money can contest the elections. They just need to be a citizen of the country and be at least 25 years old. There are a few clauses too which are very easy.

The strangest thing is that contesting for elections does not require any minimum education qualification. Thus, we see how so many uneducated and non-deserving candidates get into power and then misuse it endlessly. A country with uneducated ministers cannot develop or even be on the right path.

We need educated ministers badly in the government. They are the ones who can make the country progress as they will handle things better than the illiterate ones. The candidates must be well-qualified in order to take on a big responsibility as running an entire nation. In short, we need to save our country from corrupt and uneducated politicians who are no less than parasites eating away the development growth of the country and its resources. All of us must unite to break the wheel and work for the prosperous future of our country.

FAQs on Politics

Q.1 Why is the political system corrupt?

A.1 Political system is corrupt because the ministers in power exercise their authority to get away with all their crimes. They bribe everyone into working for their selfish motives making the whole system corrupt.

Q.2 Why does India need educated ministers?

A.2 India does not have a minimum educational qualification requirement for ministers. This is why the uneducated lot is corrupting the system and pushing the country to doom. We need educated ministers so they can help the country develop with their progressive thinking.

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Essays About Politics: Top 5 Examples and 7 Writing Prompts

Essays about politics address delicate and intriguing matters. See our top essay examples and prompts you can incorporate into your writing.

Politics encompasses movements and ideas that aim to control and encourage progress. It attempts to run a country through relevant developments and efficient governance. Though it started in the 19th century , it’s also the root of many disputes. Because of its complexity, politics is a famous essay topic coaxing writers to be open-minded and wise. It’s also an extensive subject to tackle.

5 Best Essay Examples

1. the impact of media on teens’ views on politics by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 2. the problem of gun politics in the united states by anonymous on papersowl.com, 3. education: controversial issue in florida politics by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 4. the politics of modern day abortion in jamaica by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 5. the importance of public awareness in politics by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 1. the role of a politician, 2. why do we need political parties, 3. qualifications of a good politician, 4. the effect of having uneducated politicians , 5. social media and political campaigns, 6. politics and corruption, 7. if i were a politician….

“With the spike in internet usage and the rapid spread of thoughts and ideas, the effect on the human psyche comes into question. Applications like Instagram and Twitter have a “Like-Button” that acts as a representation for interest and has created an uproar on the need for attention amongst teens.”

The author examines the different media released online that are easily accessible to young people and how these contents receive engagement through likes and comments. The essay talks about government officials with social media accounts and how their simple posts can instantly change a teen’s view about politics. The piece also includes statistics on teens’ participation in these networking sites, the elections, and the effects of teens on politics.

“Every day 39 children and teens are shot and survive, 31 injured in an attack, 1 survives a suicide attempt and 7 shot unintentionally. Not only is the 2nd amendment giving access to guns to protect ourselves, it is giving others access to commit violent crimes that involve a firearm. Guns are not just used to have protection against harm, but it is also used to create dangerous scenarios out in the public.”

The essay delves into gun politics problems for US citizens. It mentions how bearing guns give people easy access to heinous acts such as mass shootings and suicides. The writer offers relevant statistics to demonstrate how severe the situation is, citing people who die or get injured from gun violence. At the end of the piece, the author says that they believe the 2nd amendment isn’t for protection but for crimes and violence.

“Some schools are already implementing full-time education, while others are not ready to accept students in person. Undoubtedly, this can still be dangerous for all stakeholders, but the state does not have a definite policy in this regard. Nevertheless, online education also comes with some challenges. It is difficult for teachers to maintain the required level of quality of distance learning.”

The essay focuses on Florida’s politics and how it affects the state’s educational system. Even after the pandemic’s peak, some Florida schools still struggle to implement policies that may help their schooling structure. The author also mentions that these institutions do not prioritize students’ mental health and don’t take racism seriously, which leads to high suicide rates and violence.

“Currently Jamaica maintains one of the most unique positions, with abortion being illegal officially, but still performed as part of the status quo in particular situations. The discussion around abortion in Jamaica is inherently complex, stemming from colonial influences on modern sociopolitical and religious perspectives.

The author shares their opinion about Jamaica’s political view on abortion and the protection of women. Abortion is illegal in Jamaica. However, some still do it by paying medical professionals handsomely. Abortion is a complex issue in Jamaica, as there are many things politicians need to consider before coming up with a solution. Although this topic still needs a lengthy discussion, the author believes there is a massive opportunity for change as people gradually forget the traditional beliefs about abortion.

“It’s imperative to get involved with politics so people can get educated and grasp their own opinion instead of listening to others. These aspects are vital to the understanding of how the government works and how a citizen of America will shape the country.”

The writer explains that being aware of politics is key to voting correctly during elections. Moreover, they say that involving young people in politics will help with the structure of the laws in the country. This is because understanding politics and governance yourself is better than believing others’ opinions, mainly when the country’s future depends on this framework.

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

7 Prompts on Essays About Politics

Essays About Politics: The role of a politician

List the duties and responsibilities of a politician running the country. Then, add your opinion on whether your country’s politicians are successfully fulfilling their duties. You can also discuss whether politicians are necessary for a country to thrive.

Political parties are groups of people sharing the same political ideas. They usually band together and support each other in hopes of earning the public’s trust. They also help shape the opinions and decision-making of the citizens on who to vote for. Use this prompt to discuss why political parties are essential in a government, give examples, and add some of their principles. You might also be interested in our guide on the best books about American politics .

Everyone can be a politician. But to be good at their job, they must have an excellent educational background and character to manage the country’s issues and its citizens. Identify and explain each qualification. You can also add events or names of politicians considered good at their jobs.

Education is a right for everyone in most countries, and so does having educated politicians. An uneducated politician can’t successfully run a nation because they lack the knowledge to discern what’s best for different segments of the economy, etc. As a result, they tend to make wrong decisions and affect citizens’ political behavior. Discuss the risks of giving uneducated politicians government positions and add previous incidents to support your claims.

Essays About Politics: Social media and political campaigns

Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are utilized to spread information, including political campaigns. A single post from a knowledgeable person across these three platforms can change a silent reader’s mindset about a particular political party. This prompt explains how politicians use social media in today’s political campaigning. You can also add the dangers of immediately believing viral posts online.

Politics is also concerned with managing budgets to improve infrastructures and institutions. However, because it involves large sums of money, corruption is also rampant. Use this prompt to explain how corruption happens within the government, including the measures used to stop it. You can add statistics about the most and least corrupt countries. Then, add examples or scenarios to make your essay more interesting.

Being a politician is not easy because you’ll have to consider not only yourself and your family but the welfare of many in every decision you make. Use this prompt to share what you want to focus on if you are a politician. For example, you’ll pay more attention to education so the youth can have a better future.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers.

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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How to Structure Your A Level Politics Essay

Are you struggling to write your next politics essay? Hundreds of thousands of students take their A-levels each year, all of them aim to get the best possible grade. But how do you get started getting the best Politics A-level grade you can? Read on for our guide to structure the perfect A Level politics essay, useful for both AQA and Edexcel boards.

Understand the Politics Essay Question

First, you need to understand your essay question to formulate a proper response to it. Read the question very carefully, and don’t make assumptions about what you’re reading. It’s easy to answer the question that isn’t in front of you. Circle any keywords that appear in the question, and make sure you understand the command word (such as evaluate, analyse or to what extent).

Get Planning

Be sure to start your politics essay by making a plan. This involves gathering your thoughts about what could ‘support’ or ‘oppose’ the argument. You should also plan what case studies you need to bring in, alongside planning which side of the argument you sit on. There are up to 33% of marks available for your conclusions and which side of the essay you are on, so make sure to include this!

You can also look at past papers to help you get an idea of what you should aim for when writing your own essay. A Level Politics past papers are a very useful resource as they allow you to see what the structure of the exam is, and the style of questions you could be asked.

Start Your Layout

The general layout of your politics essay should be as followed:

Introduction: give definitions, the general outline of your argument, and the side you support.
Point (AO1)
Evidence (AO1/AO2)
Explain (AO2)
Conclusion: bring the argument back around and firmly state your opinion on the debate.

You’ll need at least two paragraphs to argue one side of the question you’re evaluating and at least two paragraphs to argue the other side of the question. Each separate point in your essay should be its own paragraph to ensure it’s readable and clearly understood, with relevant examples/evidence and detailed explanations. Each paragraph should finish by linking back to the question in order to give strong and substantiated judgement.

And, when you’re writing a politics essay, follow the directions down to the letter. If the question has a source included, make sure you use it to form the basis of your arguments. The “rubric” on the question will include guidance such as referring to specific points or using a source.

When you use a source to support an argument, make sure you explain why the fact that this source supports you matters — why a source is authoritative, in other words.

If you’re having trouble, start by laying out your answer in a table so that you can see exactly what you need to get done over the course of your answer to support your argument. And, that way, you’ll avoid missing anything important while you write your essay.

Master the Assessment Objectives

There are three Assessment Objectives (AOs) for your A Level Politics essays:

AO1: knowledge & understanding
AO2: analysis
Ao3: conclusions & evaluation

It’s important to note that a large proportion of your marks come from assessment objectives other than knowledge. This means that you need to be able to analyse and evaluate your points rather than memorise facts. It’s therefore critical to practice your exam technique to maximise your marks in these assessment objectives.

Start Your Politics Essay Today

What are you waiting for? Begin writing your A-level politics essay, and with this formatting guide, you’ll be sure to get top grades.

By becoming a member , you can get access to a range of model essays. This will allow you to see what an A* politics essay looks like.

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Tips for writing Politics essays

15 February 2023 by Kitty

Hiya! I’m Kitty, and I study Politics with International Relations at the University of York! In my blog post, I share the methods I’ve developed to write a good Politics essay. Academic writing is very different to anything I had done before, and it took me a while to understand how to go about developing the correct skills.

Expectations vs reality

When I started university, I felt confident that I’d have no issues with writing essays, as it was something I was well practised in thanks to my A levels. When I received feedback suggesting that my approach to academic essays and writing wasn’t quite right, I felt my confidence waver and I was unsure how to adapt my skills. Through a bit of trial and error, I have developed an approach to essays which has drastically improved my confidence and skill.

Essay preparation

Throughout first year, I noticed that my skills improved as I read more academic articles. These exposed me to academic writing, and just through reading them for seminar work, I noticed that I was becoming more accustomed to the style. When I first started writing essays, I found looking back at articles an easy way to remind myself of the style and format.

I also started putting more effort into the formative assessments, as this is the main opportunity to receive feedback on your essay style. If the feedback is ever unclear or leaves me with questions, I make sure to go to the tutor’s feedback and guidance hours. I often find verbal discussions more useful than written feedback, so I try to make a note of any important information. This way, I am able to remind myself of what was said while I’m writing the essay.

Do some wider reading

When I plan an essay, I like to start by reading some of the key resources on the topic to ensure that I have a good understanding of the central debates. I usually look through the reading list on the VLE, as this tends to have the most relevant resources. As I’m reading these, I will make a note of the resources they reference, as this is another quick way to find the relevant texts. While reading, I make notes of any nuggets of information or quotes that I think could be useful to include in my essay. I always try to note the page numbers as I go, to save myself from having to search through again later.

Give your essay some structure

Once I feel that I have read enough resources to give me a good overview of the topic, I think of how I want to structure my essay, using the existing literature to develop my own argument. I start by creating a rough structure of the essay using bullet points and brief notes of what will be said where. I then start to expand the bullet points by adding in references to resources and my own opinion. Slowly the bullet points transform into sentences, paragraphs, sections, and eventually an essay.

Often, I find that I need to adapt the essay as I write, and I always try to leave enough time to have a few days break from it. This allows me to re-read the essay with fresh eyes. Having some distance from my work helps me identify any errors in the writing or overall structure, and gives me time to make any changes I see necessary. I also try to get a friend or family member to read over the essay to ensure it’s understandable to someone who’s not as close to the topic. This is important, as sometimes I phrase something in a way which I think is digestible, but actually isn’t very clear.

I have developed this approach to essays through a lot of trial and error, but find that a methodical and steady style works best for me.

Best of luck in your future essays!

Read more student experiences of studying Politics at York.

About Kitty

I’m Kitty, and I study Politics with International Relations at the University of York! I’m in my final year, and have found the course incredibly engaging and enjoyable!

Reader Interactions

16 August 2023 at 2.00 pm

this is really helpful thank you 🙂

About this blog

These blogs represent students’ views and reflections, at the time of publish. For course details and the official information please always refer to the University of York website .

To get in contact with us about anything on this blog you can email us .

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How to Write the Political and Global Issues College Essay

Essays are one of the best parts of the college application process. With your grades in, your test scores decided, and your extracurriculars developed over your years in high school, your essays are the last piece of your college application that you have immediate control over. With them, you get to add a voice to your other stats, a “face” to the name, so to speak. They’re an opportunity to reveal what’s important to you and what sets you apart from other applicants and tell the admissions committee why you’d be an excellent addition to their incoming student class.

Throughout your college applications process, there are many different types of essays you’ll be asked to write. Some of the most popular essay questions you’ll see might include writing about an extracurricular, why you want to matriculate at a school, and what you want to study.

Increasingly, you might also see a supplemental college essay asking you to discuss a political or global issue that you’re passionate about. Asking this type of question helps colleges understand what you care about outside of your personal life and how you will be an active global citizen.

Some examples from the 2019-2020 cycle include:

Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service : Briefly discuss a current global issue, indicating why you consider it important and what you suggest should be done to deal with it.

Yeshiva University Honors Programs : What is one issue about which you are passionate?

Pitzer College : Pitzer College is known for our students’ intellectual and creative activism. If you could work on a cause that is meaningful to you through a project, artistic, academic, or otherwise, what would you do?

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Our chancing engine factors in extracurricular activities, demographic, and other holistic details.

Our chancing engine factors in extracurricular activities, demographic, and other holistic details. We’ll let you know what your chances are at your dream schools — and how to improve your chances!

Tips for Writing the Political and Global Issues College Essay

Pick an issue close to your life.

When you first see a political and global issues prompt, your gut reaction might be to go with a big-picture topic that’s all over the news, like poverty or racism. The problem with these topics is that you usually have a page or less to talk about the issue and why it matters to you. Students also might not have a direct personal connection to such a broad topic. The goal of this essay is to reveal your critical thinking skills, but the higher-level goal of every college essay is to learn more about who you are.

Rather than go with a broad issue that you’re not personally connected to, see if there’s just one facet of it that you can contend with. This is especially important if the prompt simply asks for “an issue,” and not necessarily a “global issue.” While some essay prompts will specifically ask that you address a global issue (like Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service), there are still ways to approach it from a more focused perspective.

For example, if you were to talk about world hunger, you could start with the hunger you see in your community, which is a food desert. For your solution, you can discuss your plan to build a community garden, so the town is able to access fresh produce. Food deserts, of course, aren’t the only reason world hunger exists; so, you should also explore some other reasons, and other solutions. Maybe there is a better way to prevent and recuperate produce currently being wasted, for instance. If the prompt doesn’t specifically ask for a global issue, however, you could simply focus on food deserts.

For another example, maybe you want to talk about climate change. A more personal and focused approach would deal with happenings in your community, or a community you’ve had contact with. For instance, perhaps your local river was polluted because of textile industry waste; in this case, it would be fitting to address fast fashion specifically (which is still a global issue).

Remember your audience

As you’re approaching this essay, take care to understand the political ramifications of what you’re suggesting and how the school you’re addressing might react to it. Make sure you understand the school’s political viewpoints, and keep in mind that schools are hoping to see how you might fit on their campus based on your response.

So, if you’re applying to a school known for being progressive, like Oberlin or Amherst, you might not want to write an essay arguing that religious freedom is under threat in America. Or, if you’re applying to Liberty University, you should probably avoid writing an essay with a strong pro-LGBTQ stance. You don’t have to take the opposite position, but try picking a different issue that won’t raise the same concerns.

If you have no political alignment, choose economics

If you find yourself applying to a school with which you share no political viewpoints, you might want to consider if the school would even be a good fit for you. Why do you really want to go there? Are those reasons worth it? If you think so, consider writing about an economic issue, which tend to be less contentious than social issues.

For instance, you could write about the impact of monopolies because your parents own an independent bookstore that has been affected by Amazon. Or you could discuss tax breaks for companies that keep or move their production domestically, after seeing how your town changed when factories were moved abroad. Maybe tax filing is a cause you’re really passionate about, and you think the government should institute a free electronic system for all. No matter what you write about here, the key is to keep it close to home however you can.

Pick the best possible framing

When you’re writing an essay that doesn’t fully align with the political views of the school you’re applying to, you’ll want to minimize the gap between your viewpoint and that of the school. While they still might disagree with your views, this will give your essay (and therefore you) the best possible chance. Let’s say you’re applying to a school with progressive economic views, while you firmly believe in free markets. Consider these two essay options:

Option 1: You believe in free markets because they have pulled billions out of terrible poverty in the developing world.

Option 2: “Greed is good,” baby! Nothing wrong with the rich getting richer.

Even if you believe equally in the two reasons above personally, essay option 1 would be more likely to resonate with an admissions committee at a progressive school.

Let’s look at another, more subtle example:

Option 1: Adding 500 police officers to the New York City public transit system to catch fare evaders allows officers to unfairly and systematically profile individuals based on their race.

Option 2: The cost of hiring 500 additional police officers in the New York City public transit system is higher than the money that would be recouped by fare evasion.

While you might believe both of these things, a school that places a lower priority on race issues may respond better to the second option’s focus on the fallible economics of the issue.

Structuring the Essay

Depending on how long the essay prompt is, you’ll want to use your time and word count slightly differently. For shorter essays (under 250 words), focus on your personal connection rather than the issue itself. You don’t have much space and you need to make it count. For standard essays (250-500 words), you can spend about half the time on the issue and half the time on your personal connection. This should allow you to get more into the nuance. For longer essays, you can write more on the issue itself. But remember, no matter how long the essay is, they ultimately want to learn about you–don’t spend so much time on the issue that you don’t bring it back to yourself.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Introductory essay

Written by the educators who created Cyber-Influence and Power, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material.

Each and every one of us has a vital part to play in building the kind of world in which government and technology serve the world’s people and not the other way around. Rebecca MacKinnon

Over the past 20 years, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have transformed the globe, facilitating the international economic, political, and cultural connections and exchanges that are at the heart of contemporary globalization processes. The term ICT is broad in scope, encompassing both the technological infrastructure and products that facilitate the collection, storage, manipulation, and distribution of information in a variety of formats.

While there are many definitions of globalization, most would agree that the term refers to a variety of complex social processes that facilitate worldwide economic, cultural, and political connections and exchanges. The kinds of global connections ICTs give rise to mark a dramatic departure from the face-to-face, time and place dependent interactions that characterized communication throughout most of human history. ICTs have extended human interaction and increased our interconnectedness, making it possible for geographically dispersed people not only to share information at an ever-faster rate but also to organize and to take action in response to events occurring in places far from where they are physically situated.

While these complex webs of connections can facilitate positive collective action, they can also put us at risk. As TED speaker Ian Goldin observes, the complexity of our global connections creates a built-in fragility: What happens in one part of the world can very quickly affect everyone, everywhere.

The proliferation of ICTs and the new webs of social connections they engender have had profound political implications for governments, citizens, and non-state actors alike. Each of the TEDTalks featured in this course explore some of these implications, highlighting the connections and tensions between technology and politics. Some speakers focus primarily on how anti-authoritarian protesters use technology to convene and organize supporters, while others expose how authoritarian governments use technology to manipulate and control individuals and groups. When viewed together as a unit, the contrasting voices reveal that technology is a contested site through which political power is both exercised and resisted.

Technology as liberator

The liberating potential of technology is a powerful theme taken up by several TED speakers in Cyber-Influence and Power . Journalist and Global Voices co-founder Rebecca MacKinnon, for example, begins her talk by playing the famous Orwell-inspired Apple advertisement from 1984. Apple created the ad to introduce Macintosh computers, but MacKinnon describes Apple's underlying narrative as follows: "technology created by innovative companies will set us all free." While MacKinnon examines this narrative with a critical eye, other TED speakers focus on the ways that ICTs can and do function positively as tools of social change, enabling citizens to challenge oppressive governments.

In a 2011 CNN interview, Egyptian protest leader, Google executive, and TED speaker Wael Ghonim claimed "if you want to free a society, just give them internet access. The young crowds are going to all go out and see and hear the unbiased media, see the truth about other nations and their own nation, and they are going to be able to communicate and collaborate together." (i). In this framework, the opportunities for global information sharing, borderless communication, and collaboration that ICTs make possible encourage the spread of democracy. As Ghonim argues, when citizens go online, they are likely to discover that their particular government's perspective is only one among many. Activists like Ghonim maintain that exposure to this online free exchange of ideas will make people less likely to accept government propaganda and more likely to challenge oppressive regimes.

A case in point is the controversy that erupted around Khaled Said, a young Egyptian man who died after being arrested by Egyptian police. The police claimed that Said suffocated when he attempted to swallow a bag of hashish; witnesses, however, reported that he was beaten to death by the police. Stories about the beating and photos of Said's disfigured body circulated widely in online communities, and Ghonim's Facebook group, titled "We are all Khaled Said," is widely credited with bringing attention to Said's death and fomenting the discontent that ultimately erupted in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, or what Ghonim refers to as "revolution 2.0."

Ghonim's Facebook group also illustrates how ICTs enable citizens to produce and broadcast information themselves. Many people already take for granted the ability to capture images and video via handheld devices and then upload that footage to platforms like YouTube. As TED speaker Clay Shirky points out, our ability to produce and widely distribute information constitutes a revolutionary change in media production and consumption patterns. The production of media has typically been very expensive and thus out of reach for most individuals; the average person was therefore primarily a consumer of media, reading books, listening to the radio, watching TV, going to movies, etc. Very few could independently publish their own books or create and distribute their own radio programs, television shows, or movies. ICTs have disrupted this configuration, putting media production in the hands of individual amateurs on a budget — or what Shirky refers to as members of "the former audience" — alongside the professionals backed by multi-billion dollar corporations. This "democratization of media" allows individuals to create massive amounts of information in a variety of formats and to distribute it almost instantly to a potentially global audience.

Shirky is especially interested in the Internet as "the first medium in history that has native support for groups and conversations at the same time." This shift has important political implications. For example, in 2008 many Obama followers used Obama's own social networking site to express their unhappiness when the presidential candidate changed his position on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The outcry of his supporters did not force Obama to revert to his original position, but it did help him realize that he needed to address his supporters directly, acknowledging their disagreement on the issue and explaining his position. Shirky observes that this scenario was also notable because the Obama organization realized that "their role was to convene their supporters but not to control their supporters." This tension between the use of technology in the service of the democratic impulse to convene citizens vs. the authoritarian impulse to control them runs throughout many of the TEDTalks in Cyber-Influence and Power.

A number of TED speakers explicitly examine the ways that ICTs give individual citizens the ability to document governmental abuses they witness and to upload this information to the Internet for a global audience. Thus, ICTs can empower citizens by giving them tools that can help keep their governments accountable. The former head of Al Jazeera and TED speaker Wadah Khanfar provides some very clear examples of the political power of technology in the hands of citizens. He describes how the revolution in Tunisia was delivered to the world via cell phones, cameras, and social media outlets, with the mainstream media relying on "citizen reporters" for details.

Former British prime minister Gordon Brown's TEDTalk also highlights some of the ways citizens have used ICTs to keep their governments accountable. For example, Brown recounts how citizens in Zimbabwe used the cameras on their phones at polling places in order to discourage the Mugabe regime from engaging in electoral fraud. Similarly, Clay Shirky begins his TEDTalk with a discussion of how cameras on phones were used to combat voter suppression in the 2008 presidential election in the U.S. ICTs allowed citizens to be protectors of the democratic process, casting their individual votes but also, as Shirky observes, helping to "ensure the sanctity of the vote overall."

Technology as oppressor

While smart phones and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have arguably facilitated the overthrow of dictatorships in places like Tunisia and Egypt, lending credence to Gordon Brown's vision of technology as an engine of liberalism and pluralism, not everyone shares this view. As TED speaker and former religious extremist Maajid Nawaz points out, there is nothing inherently liberating about ICTs, given that they frequently are deployed to great effect by extremist organizations seeking social changes that are often inconsistent with democracy and human rights. Where once individual extremists might have felt isolated and alone, disconnected from like-minded people and thus unable to act in concert with others to pursue their agendas, ICTs allow them to connect with other extremists and to form communities around their ideas, narratives, and symbols.

Ian Goldin shares this concern, warning listeners about what he calls the "two Achilles heels of globalization": growing inequality and the fragility that is inherent in a complex integrated system. He points out that those who do not experience the benefits of globalization, who feel like they've been left out in one way or another, can potentially become incredibly dangerous. In a world where what happens in one place very quickly affects everyone else — and where technologies are getting ever smaller and more powerful — a single angry individual with access to technological resources has the potential to do more damage than ever before. The question becomes then, how do we manage the systemic risk inherent in today's technology-infused globalized world? According to Goldin, our current governance structures are "fossilized" and ill-equipped to deal with these issues.

Other critics of the notion that ICTs are inherently liberating point out that ICTs have been leveraged effectively by oppressive governments to solidify their own power and to manipulate, spy upon, and censor their citizens. Journalist and TED speaker Evgeny Morozov expresses scepticism about what he calls "iPod liberalism," or the belief that technology will necessarily lead to the fall of dictatorships and the emergence of democratic governments. Morozov uses the term "spinternet" to describe authoritarian governments' use of the Internet to provide their own "spin" on issues and events. Russia, China, and Iran, he argues, have all trained and paid bloggers to promote their ideological agendas in the online environment and/or or to attack people writing posts the government doesn't like in an effort to discredit them as spies or criminals who should not be trusted.

Morozov also points out that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are tools not only of revolutionaries but also of authoritarian governments who use them to gather open-source intelligence. "In the past," Morozov maintains, "it would take you weeks, if not months, to identify how Iranian activists connect to each other. Now you know how they connect to each other by looking at their Facebook page. KGB...used to torture in order to get this data." Instead of focusing primarily on bringing Internet access and devices to the people in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes, Morozov argues that we need to abandon our cyber-utopian assumptions and do more to actually empower intellectuals, dissidents, NGOs and other members of society, making sure that the "spinternet" does not prevent their voices from being heard.

The ICT Empowered Individual vs. The Nation State

In her TEDTalk "Let's Take Back the Internet," Rebecca MacKinnon argues that "the only legitimate purpose of government is to serve citizens, and…the only legitimate purpose of technology is to improve our lives, not to manipulate or enslave us." It is clearly not a given, however, that governments, organizations, and individuals will use technology benevolently. Part of the responsibility of citizenship in the globalized information age then is to work to ensure that both governments and technologies "serve the world's peoples." However, there is considerable disagreement about what that might look like.

WikiLeaks spokesperson and TED speaker Julian Assange, for example, argues that government secrecy is inconsistent with democratic values and is ultimately about deceiving and manipulating rather than serving the world's people. Others maintain that governments need to be able to keep secrets about some topics in order to protect their citizens or to act effectively in response to crises, oppressive regimes, terrorist organizations, etc. While some view Assange's use of technology as a way to hold governments accountable and to increase transparency, others see this use of technology as a criminal act with the potential to both undermine stable democracies and put innocent lives in danger.

ICTs and global citizenship

While there are no easy answers to the global political questions raised by the proliferation of ICTs, there are relatively new approaches to the questions that look promising, including the emergence of individuals who see themselves as global citizens — people who participate in a global civil society that transcends national boundaries. Technology facilitates global citizens' ability to learn about global issues, to connect with others who care about similar issues, and to organize and act meaningfully in response. However, global citizens are also aware that technology in and of itself is no panacea, and that it can be used to manipulate and oppress.

Global citizens fight against oppressive uses of technology, often with technology. Technology helps them not only to participate in global conversations that affect us all but also to amplify the voices of those who have been marginalized or altogether missing from such conversations. Moreover, global citizens are those who are willing to grapple with large and complex issues that are truly global in scope and who attempt to chart a course forward that benefits all people, regardless of their locations around the globe.

Gordon Brown implicitly alludes to the importance of global citizenship when he states that we need a global ethic of fairness and responsibility to inform global problem-solving. Human rights, disease, development, security, terrorism, climate change, and poverty are among the issues that cannot be addressed successfully by any one nation alone. Individual actors (nation states, NGOs, etc.) can help, but a collective of actors, both state and non-state, is required. Brown suggests that we must combine the power of a global ethic with the power to communicate and organize globally in order for us to address effectively the world's most pressing issues.

Individuals and groups today are able to exert influence that is disproportionate to their numbers and the size of their arsenals through their use of "soft power" techniques, as TED speakers Joseph Nye and Shashi Tharoor observe. This is consistent with Maajid Nawaz's discussion of the power of symbols and narratives. Small groups can develop powerful narratives that help shape the views and actions of people around the world. While governments are far more accustomed to exerting power through military force, they might achieve their interests more effectively by implementing soft power strategies designed to convince others that they want the same things. According to Nye, replacing a "zero-sum" approach (you must lose in order for me to win) with a "positive-sum" one (we can both win) creates opportunities for collaboration, which is necessary if we are to begin to deal with problems that are global in scope.

Let's get started

Collectively, the TEDTalks in this course explore how ICTs are used by and against governments, citizens, activists, revolutionaries, extremists, and other political actors in efforts both to preserve and disrupt the status quo. They highlight the ways that ICTs have opened up new forms of communication and activism as well as how the much-hailed revolutionary power of ICTs can and has been co-opted by oppressive regimes to reassert their control.

By listening to the contrasting voices of this diverse group of TED speakers, which includes activists, journalists, professors, politicians, and a former member of an extremist organization, we can begin to develop a more nuanced understanding of the ways that technology can be used both to facilitate and contest a wide variety of political movements. Global citizens who champion democracy would do well to explore these intersections among politics and technology, as understanding these connections is a necessary first step toward MacKinnon's laudable goal of building a world in which "government and technology serve the world's people and not the other way around."

Let's begin our exploration of the intersections among politics and technology in today's globalized world with a TEDTalk from Ian Goldin, the first Director of the 21st Century School, Oxford University's think tank/research center. Goldin's talk will set the stage for us, exploring the integrated, complex, and technology rich global landscape upon which the political struggles for power examined by other TED speakers play out.

Navigating our global future

i. "Welcome to Revolution 2.0, Ghonim Says," CNN, February 9, 2011. http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/02/09/wael.ghonim.interview.cnn .

Relevant talks

Gordon Brown

Wiring a web for global good.

Clay Shirky

How social media can make history.

Wael Ghonim

Inside the egyptian revolution.

Wadah Khanfar

A historic moment in the arab world.

Evgeny Morozov

How the net aids dictatorships.

Maajid Nawaz

A global culture to fight extremism.

Rebecca MacKinnon

Let's take back the internet.

Julian Assange

Why the world needs wikileaks.

Global power shifts

Shashi Tharoor

Why nations should pursue soft power.

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Politics Essay Writing Guide

The analysis of political life is largely based on the written word. In both academic and ‘real world’ debates on politics, the examination of texts – books, journal articles, official reports, declarations etc. – is central and highly prized. All of the great political speeches in history began life on a blank page before a word was even uttered. In your studies as a politics student, it should not be surprising, therefore, that the practice of writing will occupy a major proportion of your time. This will involve you doing different types of writing, including shorter presentation outlines in seminars, book reviews, examination answers and larger dissertations. This guide is focused on the art of essay writing, although many of the recommendations expressed below will be relevant to the other forms of writing you will conduct. At the outset, it is important to underscore that there is no single ‘correct’ way to write a great politics essay but, rather, many potential avenues that could be selected. However, this guide contains a series of suggestions and tips that, if acted upon in an effective manner, may increase the likelihood of you achieving higher marks and enjoying the essay writing experience.

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How to write an essay on political topics

Is a political essay your next challenge at a higher educational establishment? Do you like dealing with political essays? Some students adore disputing about modern government and political relationships between different countries. Even so, there is a category of students for whom any topic related to the behavior of politicians or political activity is just a first nightmare. If you are one of them, then you should make yourself familiar with our guidelines which will help you create powerful and effective political essays.

What You Should Consider Choosing a Topic

In sober fact, the success of your essay is contingent on the topic you select. Nevertheless, there is a category of students who adore writing and can creatively cover absolutely any theme. If you aren’t one of them and you only start developing your writing skills, you should think twice before you scope out a particular theme. Firstly, you need to bear in mind any theme you are going to develop in your essay should be based on proved facts. Otherwise stated, you need to select powerful resources and base your writing on them. The area of political science is very broad, and one particular theme can touch lots of other aspects as well. Secondly, it is better when the theme is well familiar to you. In this scenario, there are more chances that you will cover it successfully. Nevertheless, if you have a desire to explore the unfamiliar theme and you’ll bet you can cover it, you shouldn’t limit yourself. If you are a newbie in this area, you also shouldn’t take too broad topics. The length of an essay is usually limited. Thus, you won’t cover it! For that reason, it is better to prefer narrow themes.

What Problems Do Students Usually Face

As well as any other type of academic assignment , this one is also not easy (especially for newbies). Usually, students face the following challenges: • I haven’t the foggiest idea where to start and what argument I should cover first. • How to structurize the facts to create a clear and coherent argument? • How to air my opinion correctly? The key goal of our guideline is to help colleges get through all these issues and cope with this creative task productively.

Tips on Writing

Below, you can find several crucially important tips which will help you meet this challenge and create a worthy essay. In very deed, when you are aware of all aspects that should be taken into consideration, it will be easier to work on this task and focus on really significant things: • Organize your work. This is a key formula for success. When you finally received a topic from your teacher (or chose it by yourself), you should organize your thoughts and finally decide what aspects should be mentioned in your essay. • Sketch out an outline . This is just another step forward. In very deed, a brief outline will help you to form a clear idea of what you are going to mention. • Try to use simple terms to explain complicated notions. If this is a university or college essay, there is no need to use hard-hitting questions or notions. Following this recommendation, you will simplify your work. Your targeted audience will understand what you wanted to tell. • Form your opinion. This is the hidden purpose of any essay – to teach students to air their opinions regarding the given topic. This is an extremely useful skill which will help you build your career in the future. These simple essays allow you to form this habit. Writing a conclusion, you need to add a sophisticated opinion which supports your arguments.

Though political themes are very serious ones and this kind of assignment is not the place where you can show your sense of humor, you should try to stay creative! Your professor will immediately notice your creative manner of writing. Those works that have an original insight are more interesting than traditional ones!

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Essay on Politics

Essay on Politics for Students in English

Politics is a hugely important domain in the world and it has a profound impact on the functioning as well as the policies of the governments. Politics has an effect on all types of government including democratic, autocratic, monarchical, theocratic and others. The government is responsible for making decisions on different matters of public interest, issuing orders for the public health, directing the citizens towards development and growth, and performing a wide range of other related functions.

There are numerous definitions of what politics means. Politics can be described as the disagreement between the various groups on what they like. One of the broad definitions of politics, which is widely agreed, is the art of governance. The government is the entity having the legal authority of regulating people’s actions. The word politics is usually used for defining how the countries are governed and how the governments make the rules and the laws.

Defining laws and regulations that tell people what they can or cannot do is one of the ways in which the government leads the people. These regulations and laws are enacted by the government for ensuring order and protection in the society. Beyond the laws, the government might also regulate the citizens and the functioning of the country in other ways. Most of the countries have specific groups or political parties for expressing their views and policies.

The political parties form a consensus on the common policies or path that they should take in communicating their ideas or policies to the people. These parties support legislative bills or reforms and the candidates based on the agenda agreed upon by the members. The election is usually contested or fought between the opposite political parties of different spectrum.

One of the conventional explanations of politics refers to politics being conducted within the system of checks and balances for avoiding misuse of political power. The several institutions that exist within the governing system include the legislative body that is responsible for making laws, executive body that imposes them, and judiciary that interprets them thus providing a powerful and well-rounded political spectrum.

If you want to study in detail about politics and its various concepts of applications for your essay in English then you can refer to it on the Vedantu website or app. Vedantu is a leading learning platform with a wide range of learning resources, tutorials, solutions, reference notes, and sample questions papers with solutions for students of different branches.

Short Politics Essay in English

Politics, in general, is the platform by which people create, maintain, and change the laws that govern their lives. As a result, conflict and collaboration are inextricably connected in politics. On the one hand, the presence of conflicting views, competing expectations, competing needs, and competing interests is expected to result in conflict over the rules under which people live.

Politics is fascinating because everyone has a different perspective on life and its rules. They have differing opinions about how they should live. What money should go to whom? What is the best way to disperse power to help the powerless? Is it better for society to be built on collaboration or conflict? And so forth. They also talk about how such disputes can be resolved. What is the best way to make decisions as a group? In what conditions does who have a say? How much say should each person have in decisions? The list goes on.

This, according to Aristotle, made politics the "master science," which he described as "the action by which human beings strive to better their lives and build and contribute to a Good Society." Politics is, first and foremost, a social practice. It's still a conversation, but the parties have reduced it to a monologue.

Any effort to grasp the sense of the word "politics" must always grapple with two major issues. The first is the different connotations that this word has in everyday speech. Unlike economics, geography, history, and biology, which most people think of as academic subjects, few people approach politics without preconceptions. The second, more complicated issue is that even well-respected authorities cannot agree about what politics is all about. It has infiltrated nearly every aspect of society.

Hence, we can say that the exercise of authority, the sacred science of governance, the making of unified decisions, the distribution of limited resources, the art of deceit and exploitation, and so on are all terms used to describe politics.

FAQs on Essay on Politics

1. How do we define politics?

Politics is the collection of activities connected with community decision-making or other types of power relations between individuals, such as resource allocation or status.

2. Name the Various national-level political parties in india.

There are several national-level political parties in India. The major ones include:

All India Trinamool Congress(AITC)

Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP)

Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)

Communist Party of India(CPI)

Communist Party of India(Marxist)

Indian National Congress(INC)

National People’s Party(NPP)

Nationalist Congress Party(NCP)

3. What is the definition of politics?

Politics has numerous definitions and explanations. In the basic broad term politics can be defined as the art of governance through a collection of activities that are associated with society, decision-making, and power relations between the individuals, like status or resource allocation. The concept of politics is very important in the governance of a country and it is an important topic related to public life that the students must learn about.

4. Which are the different major political parties in India?

There are several major political parties in India. Some of these political parties include All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC), Indian National Congress (INC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI), and National People’s Party (NPP) amongst a host of others. Each of these political parties have their own political manifesto based on which they conduct their operations.

5. Why is politics an important subject for students to learn?

Politics is related to day-to-day functioning of a country or a society and thus it is important for students to learn and be well informed about it. Politics includes vital policies and decisions that have a direct impact on people and as a responsible citizen it is crucial for students to have a basic grasp of developments in the country that charts out the future path of the nation.

6. How can I prepare for an essay on politics?

If you want to write an essay on politics then you would need to prepare well by understanding the definitions and various other aspects related to politics. One of the ways you can do this is by learning and reading about politics on the internet. You can also find a detailed essay on politics for students in English at Vedantu. This essay incorporates all the important points and provides an excellent guide on how the essay should be done.

7. How can I download the English essay on politics from Vedantu?

If you want to download the English essay on Politics provided by Vedantu then you can do it from either the website or the app. All you need to do is go to the English section and browse to the essay on politics. Here you will have the “Download PDF” option and you just need to click on that button to download the English essay by Vedantu on your device for free. Once you downloaded the PDF file you can access it offline any time you want.

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A Brief History of the Political Essay

From swift to woolf, david bromwich considers an evolving genre.

The political essay has never been a clearly defined genre. David Hume may have legitimated it in 1758 when he classified under a collective rubric his own Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary. “Political,” however, should have come last in order, since Hume took a speculative and detached view of politics, and seems to have been incapable of feeling passion for a political cause. We commonly associate political thought with full-scale treatises by philosophers of a different sort, whose understanding of politics was central to their account of human nature. Hobbes’s Leviathan , Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws , Rousseau’s Social Contract , Mill’s Representative Government , and, closer to our time, Rawls’s Theory of Justice , all satisfy that expectation. What, then, is a political essay? By the late 18th century, the periodical writings of Steele, Swift, Goldsmith, and Johnson had broadened the scope of the English essay for serious purposes. The field of politics, as much as culture, appeared to their successors well suited to arguments on society and government.

A public act of praise, dissent, or original description may take on permanent value when it implicates concerns beyond the present moment. Where the issue is momentous, the commitment stirred by passion, and the writing strong enough, an essay may sink deep roots in the language of politics. An essay is an attempt , as the word implies—a trial of sense and persuasion, which any citizen may hazard in a society where people are free to speak their minds. A more restrictive idea of political argument—one that would confer special legitimacy on an elite caste of managers, consultants, and symbolic analysts—presumes an environment in which state papers justify decisions arrived at from a region above politics. By contrast, the absence of formal constraints or a settled audience for the essay means that the daily experience of the writer counts as evidence. A season of crisis tempts people to think politically; in the process, they sometimes discover reasons to back their convictions.

The experience of civic freedom and its discontents may lead the essayist to think beyond politics. In 1940, Virginia Woolf recalled the sound of German bombers circling overhead the night before; the insect-like irritant, with its promise of aggression, frightened her into thought: “It is a queer experience, lying in the dark and listening to the zoom of a hornet which may at any moment sting you to death.” The ugly noise, for Woolf, signaled the prerogative of the fighting half of the species: Englishwomen “must lie weaponless tonight.” Yet Englishmen would be called upon to destroy the menace; and she was not sorry for their help. The mood of the writer is poised between gratitude and a bewildered frustration. Woolf ’s essay, “Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid,” declines to exhibit the patriotic sentiment by which most reporters in her position would have felt drawn. At the same time, its personal emphasis keeps the author honest through the awareness of her own dependency.

Begin with an incident— I could have been killed last night —and you may end with speculations on human nature. Start with a national policy that you deplore, and it may take you back to the question, “Who are my neighbors?” In 1846, Henry David Thoreau was arrested for having refused to pay a poll tax; he made a lesson of his resistance two years later, when he saw the greed and dishonesty of the Mexican War: “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.” But to Thoreau’s surprise, the window of the prison had opened onto the life of the town he lived in, with its everyday errands and duties, its compromises and arrangements, and for him that glimpse was a revelation:

They were the voices of old burghers that I heard in the streets. I was an involuntary spectator and auditor of whatever was done and said in the kitchen of the adjacent village inn,—a wholly new and rare experience to me. It was a closer view of my native town. I was fairly inside of it. I had never seen its institutions before. This is one of its peculiar institutions; for it is a shire town. I began to comprehend what its inhabitants were about.

Slavery, at that time, was nicknamed “the peculiar institution,” and by calling the prison itself a peculiar institution, and maybe having in mind the adjacent inn as well, Thoreau prods his reader to think about the constraints that are a tacit condition of social life.

The risk of political writing may lure the citizen to write—a fact Hazlitt seems to acknowledge in his essay “On the Regal Character,” where his second sentence wonders if the essay will expose him to prosecution: “In writing a criticism, we hope we shall not be accused of intending a libel.” (His friend Leigh Hunt had recently served two years in prison for “seditious libel” of the Prince Regent—having characterized him as a dandy notorious for his ostentation and obesity.) The writer’s consciousness of provocative intent may indeed be inseparable from the wish to persuade; though the tone of commitment will vary with the zeal and composition of the audience, whether that means a political party, a movement, a vanguard of the enlightened, or “the people” at large.

Edmund Burke, for example, writes to the sheriffs of Bristol (and through them to the city’s electors) in order to warn against the suspension of habeas corpus by the British war ministry in 1777. The sudden introduction of the repressive act, he tells the electors, has imperiled their liberty even if they are for the moment individually exempt. In response to the charge that the Americans fighting for independence are an unrepresentative minority, he warns: “ General rebellions and revolts of an whole people never were encouraged , now or at any time. They are always provoked. ” So too, Mahatma Gandhi addresses his movement of resistance against British rule, as well as others who can be attracted to the cause, when he explains why nonviolent protest requires courage of a higher degree than the warrior’s: “Non-violence is infinitely superior to violence, forgiveness is more manly than punishment.” In both cases, the writer treats the immediate injustice as an occasion for broader strictures on the nature of justice. There are certain duties that governors owe to the governed, and duties hardly less compulsory that the people owe to themselves.

Apparently diverse topics connect the essays in Writing Politics ; but, taken loosely to illustrate a historical continuity, they show the changing face of oppression and violence, and the invention of new paths for improving justice. Arbitrary power is the enemy throughout—power that, by the nature of its asserted scope and authority, makes itself the judge of its own cause. King George III, whose reign spanned sixty years beginning in 1760, from the first was thought to have overextended monarchical power and prerogative, and by doing so to have reversed an understanding of parliamentary sovereignty that was tacitly recognized by his predecessors. Writing against the king, “Junius” (the pen name of Philip Francis) traced the monarch’s errors to a poor education; and he gave an edge of deliberate effrontery to the attack on arbitrary power by addressing the king as you. “It is the misfortune of your life, and originally the cause of every reproach and distress, which has attended your government, that you should never have been acquainted with the language of truth, until you heard it in the complaints of your people.”

A similar frankness, without the ad hominem spur, can be felt in Burke’s attack on the monarchical distrust of liberty at home as well as abroad: “If any ask me what a free Government is, I answer, that, for any practical purpose, it is what the people think so; and that they, and not I, are the natural, lawful, and competent judges of this matter.” Writing in the same key from America, Thomas Paine, in his seventh number of The Crisis , gave a new description to the British attempt to preserve the unity of the empire by force of arms. He called it a war of conquest; and by addressing his warning directly “to the people of England,” he reminded the king’s subjects that war is always a social evil, for it sponsors a violence that does not terminate in itself. War enlarges every opportunity of vainglory—a malady familiar to monarchies.

The coming of democracy marks a turning point in modern discussions of sovereignty and the necessary protections of liberty. Confronted by the American annexation of parts of Mexico, in 1846–48, Thoreau saw to his disgust that a war of conquest could also be a popular war, the will of the people directed to the oppression of persons. It follows that the state apparatus built by democracy is at best an equivocal ally of individual rights. Yet as Emerson would recognize in his lecture “The Fugitive Slave Law,” and Frederick Douglass would confirm in “The Mission of the War,” the massed power of the state is likewise the only vehicle powerful enough to destroy a system of oppression as inveterate as American slavery had become by the 1850s.

Acceptance of political evil—a moral inertia that can corrupt the ablest of lawmakers—goes easily with the comforts of a society at peace where many are satisfied. “Here was the question,” writes Emerson: “Are you for man and for the good of man; or are you for the hurt and harm of man? It was question whether man shall be treated as leather? whether the Negroes shall be as the Indians were in Spanish America, a piece of money?” Emerson wondered at the apostasy of Daniel Webster, How came he there? The answer was that Webster had deluded himself by projecting a possible right from serial compromise with wrong.

Two ways lie open to correct the popular will without a relapse into docile assent and the rule of oligarchy. You may widen the terms of discourse and action by enlarging the community of participants. Alternatively, you may strengthen the opportunities of dissent through acts of exemplary protest—protest in speech, in action, or both. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. remain the commanding instances in this regard. Both led movements that demanded of every adherent that the protest serve as an express image of the society it means to bring about. Nonviolent resistance accordingly involves a public disclosure of the work of conscience—a demonstrated willingness to make oneself an exemplary warrior without war. Because they were practical reformers, Gandhi and King, within the societies they sought to reform, were engaged in what Michael Oakeshott calls “the pursuit of intimations.” They did not start from a model of the good society generated from outside. They built on existing practices of toleration, friendship, neighborly care, and respect for the dignity of strangers.

Nonviolent resistance, as a tactic of persuasion, aims to arouse an audience of the uncommitted by its show of discipline and civic responsibility. Well, but why not simply resist? Why show respect for the laws of a government you mean to change radically? Nonviolence, for Gandhi and King, was never merely a tactic, and there were moral as well as rhetorical reasons for their ethic of communal self-respect and self-command. Gandhi looked on the British empire as a commonwealth that had proved its ability to reform. King spoke with the authority of a native American, claiming the rights due to all Americans, and he evoked the ideals his countrymen often said they wished to live by. The stories the nation loved to tell of itself took pride in emancipation much more than pride in conquest and domination. “So,” wrote King from the Birmingham City Jail, “I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court because it is morally right, and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances because they are morally wrong.”

A subtler enemy of liberty than outright prejudice and violent oppression is the psychological push toward conformity. This internalized docility inhabits and may be said to dictate the costume of manners in a democracy. Because the rule of mass opinion serves as a practical substitute for the absolute authority that is no longer available, it exerts an enormous and hidden pressure. This dangerous “omnipotence of the majority,” as Tocqueville called it, knows no power greater than itself; it resembles an absolute monarch in possessing neither the equipment nor the motive to render a judgment against itself. Toleration thus becomes a political value that requires as vigilant a defense as liberty. Minorities are marked not only by race, religion, and habits of association, but also by opinion.

“It is easy to see,” writes Walter Bagehot in “The Metaphysical Basis of Toleration,” “that very many believers would persecute sceptics” if they were given the means, “and that very many sceptics would persecute believers.” Bagehot has in mind religious belief, in particular, but the same intolerance operates when it is a question of penalizing a word, a gesture, a wrongly sympathetic or unsympathetic show of feeling by which a fellow citizen might claim to be offended. The more divided the society, the more it will crave implicit assurances of unity; the more unified it is, the more it wants an even greater show of unity—an unmistakable signal of membership and belonging that can be read as proof of collective solidarity. The “guilty fear of criticism,” Mary McCarthy remarked of the domestic fear of Communism in the 1950s, “the sense of being surrounded by an unappreciative world,” brought to American life a regimen of tests, codes, and loyalty oaths that were calculated to confirm rather than subdue the anxiety.

Proscribed and persecuted groups naturally seek a fortified community of their own, which should be proof against insult; and by 1870 or so, the sure method of creating such a community was to found a new nation. George Eliot took this remedy to be prudent and inevitable, in her sympathetic early account of the Zionist quest for a Jewish state, yet her unsparing portrait of English anti-Semitism seems to recognize the nation-remedy as a carrier of the same exclusion it hopes to abolish. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to a widened sense of community is the apparently intuitive—but in fact regularly inculcated—intellectual habit by which we divide people into racial, religious, and ethnic identities. The idea of an international confederation for peace was tried twice, without success, in the 20th century, with the League of Nations and the United Nations; but some such goal, first formulated in the political writings of Kant, has found memorable popular expression again and again.

W. E. B. Du Bois’s essay “Of the Ruling of Men” affords a prospect of international liberty that seems to the author simply the next necessary advance of common sense in the cause of humanity. Du Bois noticed in 1920 how late the expansion of rights had arrived at the rights of women. Always, the last hiding places of arbitrary power are the trusted arenas of privilege a society has come to accept as customary, and to which it has accorded the spurious honor of supposing it part of the natural order: men over women; the strong nations over the weak; corporate heads over employees. The pattern had come under scrutiny already in Harriet Taylor Mill’s “Enfranchisement of Women,” and its application to the hierarchies of ownership and labor would be affirmed in William Morris’s lecture “Useful Work Versus Useless Toil.” The commercial and manufacturing class, wrote Morris, “ force the genuine workers to provide for them”; no better (only more recondite in their procedures) are “the parasites” whose function is to defend the cause of property, “sometimes, as in the case of lawyers, undisguisedly so.” The socialists Morris and Du Bois regard the ultimate aim of a democratic world as the replacement of useless by useful work. With that change must also come the invention of a shared experience of leisure that is neither wasteful nor thoughtless.

A necessary bulwark of personal freedom is property, and in the commercial democracies for the past three centuries a usual means of agreement for the defense of property has been the contract. In challenging the sacredness of contract, in certain cases of conflict with a common good, T. H. Green moved the idea of “freedom of contract” from the domain of nature to that of social arrangements that are settled by convention and therefore subject to revision. The freedom of contract must be susceptible of modification when it fails to meet a standard of public well-being. The right of a factory owner, for example, to employ child labor if the child agrees, should not be protected. “No contract,” Green argues, “is valid in which human persons, willingly or unwillingly, are dealt with as commodities”; for when we speak of freedom, “we mean a positive power or capacity of doing or enjoying something worth doing or enjoying.” And again:

When we measure the progress of a society by its growth in freedom, we measure it by the increasing development and exercise on the whole of those powers of contributing to social good with which we believe the members of the society to be endowed; in short, by the greater power on the part of the citizens as a body to make the most and best of themselves.

Legislation in the public interest may still be consistent with the principles of free society when it parts from a leading maxim of contractual individualism.

The very idea of a social contract has usually been taken to imply an obligation to die for the state. Though Hobbes and Locke offered reservations on this point, the classical theorists agree that the state yields the prospect of “commodious living” without which human life would be unsocial and greatly impoverished; and there are times when the state can survive only through the sacrifice of citizens. May there also be a duty of self-sacrifice against a state whose whole direction and momentum has bent it toward injustice? Hannah Arendt, in “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” asked that question regarding the conduct of state officials as well as ordinary people under the encroaching tyranny of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Citizens then, Arendt observes, had live options of political conduct besides passive obedience and open revolt. Conscientious opposition could show itself in public indications of nonsupport . This is a fact that the pervasiveness of conformism and careerism in mass societies makes harder to see than it should be.

Jonathan Swift, a writer as temperamentally diverse from Arendt as possible, shows in “A Modest Proposal” how the human creature goes about rationalizing any act or any policy, however atrocious. Our propensity to make-normal, to approve whatever renders life more orderly, can lead by the lightest of expedient steps to a plan for marketing the babies of the Irish poor as flesh suitable for eating. It is, after all—so Swift’s fictional narrator argues—a plausible design to alleviate poverty and distress among a large sector of the population, and to eliminate the filth and crowding that disgusts persons of a more elevated sort. The justification is purely utilitarian, and the proposer cites the most disinterested of motives: he has no financial or personal stake in the design. Civility has often been praised as a necessity of political argument, but Swift’s proposal is at once civil and, in itself, atrocious.

An absorbing concern of Arendt’s, as of several of the other essay writers gathered here, was the difficulty of thinking. We measure, we compute, we calculate, we weigh advantages and disadvantages—that much is only sensible, only logical—but we give reasons that are often blind to our motives, we rationalize and we normalize in order to justify ourselves. It is supremely difficult to use the equipment we learn from parents and teachers, which instructs us how to deal fairly with persons, and apply it to the relationship between persons and society, and between the manners of society and the laws of a nation. The 21st century has saddled persons of all nations with a catastrophic possibility, the destruction of a planetary environment for organized human life; and in facing the predicament directly, and formulating answers to the question it poses, the political thinkers of the past may help us chiefly by intimations. The idea of a good or tolerable society now encompasses relations between people at the widest imaginable distance apart. It must also cover a new relation of stewardship between humankind and nature.

Having made the present selection with the abovementioned topics in view—the republican defense against arbitrary power; the progress of liberty; the coming of mass-suffrage democracy and its peculiar dangers; justifications for political dissent and disobedience; war, as chosen for the purpose of domination or as necessary to destroy a greater evil; the responsibilities of the citizen; the political meaning of work and the conditions of work—an anthology of writings all in English seemed warranted by the subject matter. For in the past three centuries, these issues have been discussed most searchingly by political critics and theorists in Britain and the United States.

The span covers the Glorious Revolution and its achievement of parliamentary sovereignty; the American Revolution, and the civil war that has rightly been called the second American revolution; the expansion of the franchise under the two great reform bills in England and the 15th amendment to the US constitution; the two world wars and the Holocaust; and the mass movements of nonviolent resistance that brought national independence to India and broadened the terms of citizenship of black Americans. The sequence gives adequate evidence of thinkers engaged in a single conversation. Many of these authors were reading the essayists who came before them; and in many cases (Burke and Paine, Lincoln and Douglass, Churchill and Orwell), they were reading each other.

Writing Politics contains no example of the half-political, half-commercial genre of “leadership” writing. Certain other principles that guided the editor will be obvious at a glance, but may as well be stated. Only complete essays are included, no extracts. This has meant excluding great writers—Hobbes, Locke, Wollstonecraft, and John Stuart Mill, among others—whose definitive political writing came in the shape of full-length books. There are likewise no chapters of books; no party manifestos or statements of creed; nothing that was first published posthumously. All of these essays were written at the time noted, were meant for an audience of the time, and were published with an eye to their immediate effect. This is so even in cases (as with Morris and Du Bois) where the author had in view the reformation of a whole way of thinking. Some lectures have been included—the printed lecture was an indispensable medium for political ideas in the 19th century—but there are no party speeches delivered by an official to advance a cause of the moment.

Two exceptions to the principles may prove the rule. Abraham Lincoln’s letter to James C. Conkling was a public letter, written to defend the Emancipation Proclamation, in which, a few months earlier, President Lincoln had declared the freedom of all slaves in the rebelling states; he now extended the order to cover black soldiers who fought for the Union: “If they stake their lives for us, they must be prompted by the strongest motive—even the promise of freedom. And the promise being made, must be kept.” Lincoln was risking his presidency when he published this extraordinary appeal and admonition, and his view was shared by Frederick Douglass in “The Mission of the War”: “No war but an Abolition war, no peace but an Abolition peace.” The other exception is “The Roots of Honour,” John Ruskin’s attack on the mercenary morality of 19th-century capitalism . He called the chapter “Essay I” in Unto This Last , and his nomenclature seemed a fair excuse for reprinting an ineradicable prophecy.

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Religion and Politics: the Role of Religion in Politics Essay Example

Introduction, relationship between religion and politics, religious fundamentalism, works cited.

Religion is closely related to politics in a number of ways. In the traditional society, religious leaders were both temporal and civil leaders. In 1648, a treaty of Westphalia was signed, which separated politics from the Church. However, religion has always influenced policy making process and decision-making in government. In many parts of the world, religious leaders influence political leaders to come up with policies that are in line with the provisions of religious beliefs.

However, the main question is how religion influences politics. In the United States, there is a clause in the Bill of Rights referred to as the disestablishment clause, which provides that politics must be kept separate from politics. In established democracies, somebody with questionable religious record stands no chance of being elected. The populace believes that a religious leader would always be willing to listen to the wishes of the majority (Settimba 9).

A non-religious leader is believed to be indifferent to the sufferings of the majority in society. In other words, a non-religious leader would fulfill his or her own interests instead of serving those who elected him or her. During campaigns at state level in the United States, local leaders quote the Bible whenever they want to bring out a certain fact.

In human life, each group has a belief system that is established with the help of religious values. These beliefs influence the political standpoint of an individual in a political system. The media will always evaluate the life of a politician using certain religious principles.

These principles are derived from religious morals and beliefs. In this case, a candidate in an election is identified as a Christian or a Muslim. The religion of a political leader determines the number of votes he or she would gunner in an election. In the United States, politicians associate themselves with Christianity because a majority of voters are Christians.

In the Arab world, a political leader must associate himself with Islam because it is a dominant religion in the region. Furthermore, the religious sects must be stated clearly before a political leader is elected. In other countries, religion is the major variable in every electioneering year. It is believed that certain religious affiliations are related to cultural beliefs that affect the performance of leaders in any political system. Recently, the issue of religion emerged in the United States when Obama was said to be a Muslim.

Many people were much worried that Obama was a Muslim. Islam has always been associated with extremism meaning that Muslims are accused of using warped means to attain justice. It was feared that Obama could support Muslims once he became president. However, the president dispelled fears by declaring that he was indeed a Christian. This nearly cost him the presidency (Johnstone 64).

There is a popular belief among Christians that good leaders are usually sent by God. This is based on the Bible whereby many kings and prophets were sent by God to lead Israelites in the times of war and calamities. Political leaders have always presented themselves as leaders sent by God to accomplish certain missions.

Through this, they have been able to ascend to leadership positions. Whenever political leaders make speeches, they quote the Bible to show the electorate that they understand the Christian principles. The idea that political leaders must come up with policies favoring the poor is based on the teachings of the Bible. The Bible and the Koran teaches that people must always be assisted to achieve their potentials in society.

It is not the interest of the ruling class to help the poor. The main aim of the ruling class is to amass wealth and use the proletariat to ascend to power. Political parties that tend to favor the poor in their manifestos have always clinched political power. Social justice ideology is based on the teachings of the Bible because the poor must have equal access to resources including healthcare, education, and employment.

Religious fundamentalism was first used in the United States to refer to those individuals who opposed the principles of the mainstream church. Those who subscribed to the ideas of the Protestant Churches were perceived as religious fundamentalists. In other words, fundamentalism was interpreted to mean diverting from the mainstream faith.

However, what should be clear is that fundamentalists had pertinent issues with the mainstream church since the mainstream church never allowed competition. Religious fundamentalists observed that it was critical to follow the teachings of the Bible instead of subscribing to the interpretations provided by the religious leaders. Religious leaders interpreted the teachings in the Bible to suit their interests.

Many people were not happy with this behavior. The mainstream church interpreted the Bible in accordance to the new dynamics of the modern world. However, fundamentalists were never happy about this. They believed that it would be better to stick to the teachings of the Bible. In the modern society, fundamentalism is used loosely to mean diverting from the normal beliefs and principles of major religions (McGuire 76).

Fundamentalism is a relatively new term in the sociology of religion because it was first used in the 19 th century. The modern society is complex to understand because of the changes brought about globalization and technology. Therefore, fundamentalism in the modern society has a different meaning. Religion in the modern society serves a different purpose as compared to its role in the traditional society. Religion is an instrument that brings people together.

In this regard, it must be used to bring about understanding and unity. This implies that religious teachings are usually interpreted to simplify the complexities in life. Religious fundamentalists do not believe that anything has changed as far as religion is concerned. In this case, modern interpretations must not be accepted because they go against the traditional teachings of religion (Weber 22).

When other people embrace change in society, religious fundamentalists encourage conservatism. To them, religion is absolute meaning that it dictates everything in society. There is a controversy among scholars regarding the use of the term because fundamentalists are perceived as people who are not intelligent.

Others view them as uneducated individuals who believe religion is everything in society. Religious fundamentalists believe that some things should not be allowed to go on in society. For instance, they oppose science, abortion, feminism, the use of family planning drugs, and homosexuality.

Recently, the term has been associated with Islamic extremists who believe that justice should be sought through terrorism and violence. For Islamic fundamentalists, the main problem in the world is exploitation. The west has always exploited people in other parts of the world, including the Middle East. To them, the main issue is that the west has always neglected the presence of Arabs.

Johnstone, Ronald. Religion in Society: Sociology of Religion . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.

McGuire, Meredith. Religion: the Social Context . New York: Sage, 2002. Print.

Settimba, Henry (2009). Testing times: globalization and investing theology in East Africa . Milton Keynes: Author House, 2009. Print.

Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism . Los Angeles: Roxbury Company, 2002. Print.

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How To Write An Essay On Politics

Introduction to political essay writing.

Writing an essay on politics demands not only an understanding of political theories and practices but also the ability to analyze current events and historical trends. In your introduction, clarify the specific political topic or question you are addressing. This could range from an analysis of a political ideology, a discussion of a policy issue, an examination of a political event, or a critique of a political figure. Establish the relevance of the topic in the current political landscape and outline your essay’s objective. This approach will set a clear direction for your essay and engage your reader from the outset.

Analyzing Political Theories and Context

The main body of your essay should delve into the analysis of the chosen political subject. If you are discussing a political theory, such as liberalism, socialism, or conservatism, describe its fundamental principles and historical development. For essays focusing on specific policies or political events, provide a background that includes the key players, relevant history, and the social and economic context. Use this section to present and critically evaluate different viewpoints, ensuring your analysis is balanced and well-supported by evidence. This might involve drawing on political texts, speeches, policy documents, or scholarly articles.

Discussing the Impact and Implications

A critical aspect of a political essay is discussing the impact and broader implications of the topic. Analyze how the subject of your essay influences political behavior, government policies, or society at large. For instance, if you are writing about a political movement, discuss its impact on public opinion, policy-making, and electoral outcomes. Consider both the short-term effects and the long-term implications. This part of the essay is your opportunity to demonstrate the significance of the topic and its potential consequences for the future.

Concluding with a Thoughtful Reflection

Conclude your essay by summarizing the main points of your analysis and offering a thoughtful reflection on the topic. Reiterate the significance of the political issue or theory you have discussed and its relevance to contemporary politics. You might also offer predictions or recommendations regarding the future trajectory of the topic. A well-crafted conclusion will not only provide closure to your essay but also leave the reader with a deeper understanding of the complexities of politics and its pervasive influence on society.

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Political Science Essay Example

Get Inspired with these Amazing Political Science Essay Examples

Published on: May 8, 2023

Last updated on: Jan 30, 2024

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Many students struggle to write effective political science essays that meet the expectations of their professors. They may have difficulty organizing their thoughts, conducting research, or making persuasive arguments.

One way to improve your political science essay writing skills is to study examples of successful essays in this field.

By analyzing the structure, and content of these essays, you can learn valuable lessons that will help you write better essays.

In this blog, we provide examples of high-quality political science essays in different different areas of the field.

Whether you're a beginner or an advanced student, you'll find valuable insights to help you succeed in your coursework.

Let’s get started!

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What is a Political Science Essay? Understanding the Basics

A political science essay explores a particular topic or issue within the field of political science. It typically requires students to conduct research, analyze data, and make persuasive arguments based on their findings.

These essays can take many different forms, depending on the specific requirements of the assignment. They can be comparative essays that examine the similarities and differences between two or more political systems.

They can also be theoretical essays that explore different political theories that analyze real-world political phenomena.

Regardless of its specific type, all such essays should adhere to certain basic principles. They should have a clear thesis statement, use evidence to support their arguments, and be written in clear and concise language.

Political Science Essay Examples

Now that we have a basic understanding of these essays, let's take a closer look at some of its examples.

By analyzing these essays, you can gain valuable insights into how to write political essays.

Political Science Paper Example

Political Science Research Paper Example

Political Science Analysis Paper Example

Political Science Term Paper Examples

Political Science Essay Example for Different Fields

Political science is a diverse and dynamic field that encompasses a wide range of topics and perspectives.

To gain a comprehensive understanding, it's important to study the examples that explore different areas of research and inquiry.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!

The examples given below will help you understand the richness and complexity of political science research.

Political Essay About Poverty

Political Science

The Impact Of Social Movements On National Security

Characteristics Of Political Science

American Political Science

The Political Reform of Japan

The United States and Terrorism

The Role of Political Parties and Political Figures in Shaping Political Landscapes

Kosovo protests 2022

Rishi sunak's political career

Political Essay on Politics and Political Decisions

Tips To Write A Write A Compelling Political Science Essay

To write an effective essay, it is important to approach the topic with care and attention to detail. Consider the following tips for writing a political essay that stands out:

Define your Topic: Be clear about the focus of your essay and ensure that it is relevant and interesting to your readers.
Conduct Thorough Research: Gather information from credible sources, including academic journals, government reports, and news outlets, to ensure that your arguments are well-supported.
Develop A Clear Thesis Statement: Your thesis should be concise and clearly state your argument or position on the topic.
Organize Your Essay Effectively: Use clear and logical structure to ensure that your arguments are presented in a coherent and convincing manner.
Use Evidence To Support Your Arguments: Incorporate relevant data and examples to support your arguments, and ensure that they are credible and well-sourced.
Consider Opposing Viewpoints: Acknowledge and address counterarguments to your position to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the topic.
Write Clearly And Concisely : Use simple and direct language to convey your ideas, and avoid unnecessary jargon or technical terms.

Pitfalls To Avoid While Writing A Political Science Essay

To write a strong political essay, it is important to not only follow best practices, but also avoid common pitfalls.

By keeping these pitfalls in mind, you can create a thoughtful and thorough essay that engages your readers.

Oversimplification

Political science is a complex field that deals with multifaceted political issues. Avoid oversimplifying the topic or argument in your essay, and make sure to provide a nuanced and in-depth analysis.

These essays should be objective and free from personal biases. Avoid using emotionally charged language or cherry-picking evidence to support a preconceived conclusion.

Using Vague Language

Political essays should be precise and clear in their language. Avoid using vague terms or generalizations, and strive to use concrete and specific language.

Ignoring Counterarguments

To write a convincing political science essay, it is important to consider and address counterarguments. Avoid ignoring opposing viewpoints, and make sure to provide a thorough analysis of alternative perspectives.

In conclusion, writing political science essays is a great way to explore important political issues. It can also help you in learning about how power and governance work.

By looking at examples, and writing tips, you can write a strong essay that contributes to the field.

Whether you're a student, a policy analyst, or just interested in politics, political essays help you understand how decisions get made.

If you need help writing your essay, CollegeEssay.org has an AI essay generator that can assist you.

Our political science essay writing service can help you write a well-organized essay that meets your needs.

So what are you waiting for? Reach out to us and request ' write me an essay ' to get started!

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School Education /

Essay on Politics in 500 Words

Updated on
Jan 16, 2024

Essay on Politics: Every day we see or hear in the news about politics. Politics is not just about government, bureaucracy, elections, or political parties . The process of decision-making, active participation of the people, belief systems and values, etc. are all aspects of politics. Every year, there are elections in a state or region of the country. In a democracy like ours, people are free to choose their leaders. People vote for the candidate who they think will best represent their interests. This is what we were taught right from the beginning. This is just one of the many features of politics, for it is a multifaceted concept.

Table of Contents

1 What is Politics?
2 How Politics Shape the Future of a Country?
3 100 Words Paragraph on Politics

What is Politics?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, Politics refers to the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power. Talking practically, politics refers to all the activities a person or group of people wants in their interest.

On a bigger level, politics involves the distribution and exchange of power among organizations and administrations, such as political parties. Politics includes different mechanisms and values, such as governance, political institutions and ideologies, elections, international relations, public policies, social change, etc. These mechanisms and values allow us to know what politics is about and how it works.

The concept of politics has been followed since ancient times. Today’s politics is more or less like the ancient Hindu political philosophy of Dharma. Dharma meant rules and orders, which everyone was abiding by through birth. It included duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and the right way of living.

How Politics Shape the Future of a Country?

Politics is meant for development. We have seen how political parties and other people play politics for their benefit. During election times, politicians make big promises to gain people’s interest. All the promises and decisions of political leaders are taken to shape the future of the country.

The progress in the economic, social, and cultural aspects of a country or region depends on political decision and their effective implementation. Policies related to education, healthcare, infrastructure, and the economy shape the conditions in which citizens live and work.
To bring economic development, governments work on fiscal and monetary policies, taxation and trade agreements, and other similar laws.
Infrastructural developments can be introduced to shape the physical and technological landscape of a country.
Effective social policies like healthcare, education, and equality can help deal with everyday life.
Friendly and cooperative diplomatic policies can help establish strong global relationships with other nations. Treaties, alliances, and trade agreements shape a country’s position in the international community, influencing its security, economic ties, and diplomatic engagements.
Political decisions can have a significant impact on environmental challenges. Policies related to climate change, natural resource management, and environmental conservation determine a country’s commitment to sustainability and the well-being of future generations.
Political support for research, development, and innovation drives technological advancements. Governments that invest in science, technology, and education contribute to a country’s ability to compete globally and adapt to the challenges and opportunities of the future.

A country with good and effective politics can thrive for longer. This can be only possible through effective decision-making by the political leaders, who form the decision-making body. Politics can shape the future of an individual and a country at the same time.

Also Read: Essay on My Ambition in 300 Words

100 Words Paragraph on Politics

Now that we have gone through an Essay on Politics, let us explore a paragraph on politics:

Ans: Politics refers to the activities of governance and decision-making in a country. Politics involves the distribution and exchange of power among organizations and administrations, such as political parties. Politics includes different mechanisms and values, such as governance, political institutions and ideologies, elections, international relations, public policies, social change, etc. These mechanisms and values allow us to know what politics is about and how it works.

Ans: Politics is an important field of study that goes beyond the traditional notions of partisan conflicts. It is an academic discipline that examines the structures, processes, and behaviors that shape governance and decision-making within societies. Politics makes us aware of governance, policy analysis, civic engagement, diversity of ideologies, social justice and advocacy, etc.

Ans: The different types of politics are democracy, totalitarianism, and authoritarianism, which include features of both democracy and authoritarianism.

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu .

Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Essay On Politics - 100, 200, 500 Words

Politics has always been a hot topic of discussion among people. The common man is eager and ready to chat or even debate about politics. It is a hugely important domain in the world since it has an impact on every person living in the country. Here are some sample essays on “Politics” .

100 Words Essay On Politics

This topic has never been a clearly-defined genre. Politics can simply refer to the activities surrounding the governance and parties of a country. If we talk about large democratic a country like India, which is also the largest democracy in the world having different cultures and religions, politics becomes complicated. Politics is not restricted only to the ruling party. It also has the role of the other parties who are in the race to achieve the position of the ruling party. When the government of the country and its opposition both are working for the country's development, it is said to be good politics.

200 Words Essay On Politics

500 words essay on politics.

If I say the word 'politics' , your mind will probably define it as the way in which countries are governed and the way any government takes decisions. Politics is a part of our everyday life. We all see certain politics going on in some common places like companies, clubs, schools, etc. Politics is closely related to the concept of power. Politicians will not be able to enforce their opinion on the people if they don't have power and respect.

Politicians are the people that come together to form a political party and, eventually, those parties lead to the formation of the government. Some examples of parties are the Liberal party, the Labor Party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Greens. There are certain responsibilities of the government for the betterment of the country, such as:

Deciding about the division of land.

Creating a hierarchical system of decision-making.

Decide whether to have war with another country and other foreign policies.

Create money to increase the GDP.

Build things for the public, such as roads, hospitals, libraries, and docks.

Educate people about the removal of illiteracy.

Ensuring good medical supplies to the people.

Manage the welfare of the country and the money available for spending on services.

Whenever you hear the term politics, you might think of the government, politicians and political parties. But in an actual sense, the exercise of authority, the science of governance, the making of unified decisions, the distribution of resources wisely, and the art of duplicity and exploitation, are all terms that can be used to describe politics.

Politics refers to the ways in which individuals and groups make decisions about the distribution of power and resources in society. It involves the study of governments, political systems, and ideologies, as well as the ways in which people participate in the political process.

We require an organisation for our country to work as per guidelines. This is where the government is required, and eventually, politics comes. Countries, groups and organisations use politics in many ways for their events, prospects and many other things. Politics is not only limited to those who are in power. Every other person who is in the race of achieving a target is a part of politics.

Elements Of Politics

One of the key elements of politics is the concept of power, which refers to the ability of individuals or groups to control resources and make decisions that affect others. In democratic societies, power is typically dispersed among a variety of institutions, such as the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.

Another important aspect of politics is the role of interest groups, which are organisations that represent specific groups of people and advocate for their interests. These groups can play a significant role in shaping public policy and influencing the political process.

In addition, politics is also concerned with the study of ideologies, which are sets of beliefs and values that inform political decision-making. Some common ideologies include conservatism, liberalism, and socialism.

Ultimately, politics is a complex and dynamic field that plays a crucial role in shaping society and determining the distribution of resources and power. Whether through the electoral process, activism, or simply participating in public discourse, it is important for citizens to engage with politics in order to ensure that their voices are heard and their interests are represented.

If we look at any random country, we can see so many non-deserving candidates get into power and then misuse it for their purpose, leading to the root cause of corruption. Because of this corruption, the deserving person lacks behind, and the one with money gets what they want.

We are required to save our country from corruption and dirty politics. It is just like a parasite eating away the development and growth of the country and its resources. All of us must unite to work for the prosperous future of our country.

Life of Politicians

Politics seems very fascinating because of the life of politicians we witness. We are attracted to the authority they have in decision-making. Once in our lifetime, you must have dreamt of being a politician, maybe because you are not satisfied with the policies of the government or simply wanted the luxurious life of politicians, which is just one side of the coin. They also have to work all the time for the country's betterment and development to maintain their position. Though it may seem easy to be a politician, it is way harder and more challenging than it looks.

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Political Science Essay Examples

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Ethics and politics : selected essays. Volume 2

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Guest Essay

Daniel Barenboim: What Beethoven’s Ninth Teaches Us

By Daniel Barenboim

Mr. Barenboim is a pianist and conductor.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was first performed exactly 200 years ago Tuesday and has since become probably the work most likely to be embraced for political purposes.

It was played at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin; it was performed in that city again on Christmas 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when Leonard Bernstein replaced the word “Joy” in the choral finale with “Freedom”; the European Union adopted the symphony’s “Ode to Joy” theme as its anthem. (These days the Ninth is being played in concert halls worldwide in commemoration of the premiere. The classical music world loves anniversaries.)

Beethoven might have been surprised at the political allure of his masterpiece.

He was interested in politics, but only because he was deeply interested in humanity. The story goes that he originally wanted to dedicate his “Eroica” symphony to Napoleon — it was to be called “Bonaparte” — but he changed his mind after Napoleon abandoned the ideals of the French Revolution and was crowned emperor.

I don’t believe, however, that Beethoven was interested in everyday politics. He was not an activist.

Instead, he was a deeply political man in the broadest sense of the word. He was concerned with moral behavior and the larger questions of right and wrong affecting all of society. Especially significant for him was freedom of thought and of personal expression, which he associated with the rights and responsibilities of the individual. He would have had no sympathy with the now widely held view of freedom as essentially economic, necessary for the workings of the markets.

The closest he comes to a political statement in the Ninth is a sentence at the heart of the last movement, in which voices were heard for the first time in a symphony: “All men become brothers.” We understand that now more as an expression of hope than a confident statement, given the many exceptions to the sentiment, including the Jews under the Nazis and members of minorities in many parts of the world. The quantity and scope of the crises facing humankind severely test that hope. We have seen many crises before, but we do not appear to learn any lessons from them.

I also see the Ninth in another way. Music on its own does not stand for anything except itself. The greatness of music, and the Ninth Symphony, lies in the richness of its contrasts. Music never just laughs or cries; it always laughs and cries at the same time. Creating unity out of contradictions — that is Beethoven for me.

Music, if you study it properly, is a lesson for life. There is much we can learn from Beethoven, who was, of course, one of the strongest personalities in the history of music. He is the master of bringing emotion and intellect together. With Beethoven, you must be able to structure your feelings and feel the structure emotionally — a fantastic lesson for life! When we are in love, we lose all sense of discipline. Music doesn’t allow for that.

But music means different things to different people and sometimes even different things to the same person at different moments. It might be poetic, philosophical, sensual or mathematical, but it must have something to do with the soul.

Therefore, it is metaphysical — but the means of expression is purely and exclusively physical: sound. It is precisely this permanent coexistence of metaphysical message through physical means that is the strength of music. It is also the reason that when we try to describe music with words, all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself.

The Ninth Symphony is one of the most important artworks in Western culture. Some experts call it the greatest symphony ever written, and many commentators praise its visionary message. It is also one of the most revolutionary works by a composer mainly defined by the revolutionary nature of his works. Beethoven freed music from prevailing conventions of harmony and structure. Sometimes I feel in his late works a will to break all signs of continuity.

The Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci said a wonderful thing in 1929, when Benito Mussolini had Italy under his thumb. “My mind is pessimistic, but my will is optimistic,” he wrote to a friend from prison. I think he meant that as long as we are alive, we have hope. I try to take Gramsci’s words to heart still today, even if not always successfully.

By all accounts, Beethoven was courageous, and I find courage an essential quality for the understanding, let alone the performance, of the Ninth. One could paraphrase much of the work of Beethoven in the spirit of Gramsci by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage to overcome it renders life worth living.

Daniel Barenboim is a pianist and conductor, co-founder of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and founder of the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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The essay about politics may examine a wide range of topics such as government systems, political ideologies, social justice, public policies, international relations, etc. After selecting a specific research topic, a writer should conduct extensive research, gather relevant information, and prepare a logical and well-supported argument.
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200 Words Essay On Politics. If I say the word 'politics', your mind will probably define it as the way in which countries are governed and the way any government takes decisions.Politics is a part of our everyday life. We all see certain politics going on in some common places like companies, clubs, schools, etc. Politics is closely related to the concept of power.
Politzilla: Political Science Essay Examples
Political Science Essay Examples. Draw inspiration from your predecessors. Browse our free database of political science essays and research reports. The complexity of our essay examples varies, but all have been checked for accuracy. Our database items have been written by the school, college, and university students.
Ethics and politics : selected essays. Volume 2
1 online resource (xxi, 239 pages) Alasdair MacIntyre is one of the most creative and important philosophers working today. This volume presents a selection of his classic essays on ethics and politics collected together for the first time, focussing particularly on the themes of moral disagreement, moral dilemmas, and truthfulness and its importance.
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Week in politics: Biden addresses campus protests, Democratic congressman indicted. Listen · 4:44 4:44. Toggle more options. Download; Embed. Embed <iframe ...
Daniel Barenboim: What Beethoven's Ninth Teaches Us
Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was first performed exactly 200 years ago Tuesday and has since become probably the work most likely to be embraced for political purposes.