Politics is something that cannot be limited to one, single definition. In the broadest
sense, politics is the interaction between the people and the government in order for all our
voices to be heard and for our visions to prosper. However, it also holds the amalgamation of the
different perspectives that our society has regarding power, authority, and responsibility, by and
for the people. With this in mind, we can narrow the definition of politics down to two ideas that
embody these contrasting focuses—politics as an arena and politics as a process.
One may argue that both these definitions of politics play the same role in our society.
And while I agree to an extent, the factors in politics these definitions prioritize vastly differ.
Politics as an arena, as the name implies, strongly suggests the presence of a firm structure; while
politics as a process suggests the concept of politics to be full of the intangible actions that take
place without a certain structure limiting it. By definition, politics as an arena has a stricter wall
of what can be considered politics, as it only focuses on the formal institutions, such as the
government, the lawmakers, and other government-related organizations, taking hold of the
authority in our society. Following this definition in seeing politics as an arena, our power as the
people of the state is limited further, in contrast to that of the viewpoint of those who believe that
politics is a process. By definition, politics as a process considers all the activity and conflict that
takes place within a society politics. In light of this, even non-government institutions and
organizations make up part of the contributors to all the political discussions that our society
opens. It is not so focused on who takes the initiative to make a change; rather those decisions
that the people make will lead to eventual change. Simply put, this perspective believes that
politics is present in various aspects of our society, not just within its formal structure.
One focuses on the government, and one focuses on the people. One believes politics is
everywhere, and one believes that politics is confined to certain political realms. Nevertheless,
both perspectives, albeit different, still share their own commonalities. I believe that no matter
the definition of politics, it has one common goal: to help us understand that although politics
consists of a lot of factors that may lead to the branching off of different perspectives, it’ll still
serve as the lens through which we can look at how our society is being molded by those who
rule over us. The decisions we make, the laws we abide by, the votes we cast—all these
definitions of politics are correct. In the end, both perspectives of ‘politics as an arena’ and
‘politics as a process’ come together for this same purpose: for our society to thrive within the
governance of those people who can wield the power to do so.