***What is Politics?
Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behaviour within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions.
***Power, Authority, and Violence
1. Power
Political power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows that group to administrate the distribution of public resources, including labour, and wealth. Political powers are not limited to heads of states. Power, then, is often defined as the ability to influence the behavior of others with or without resistance.
2. Authority
In government, authority is often used interchangeably with the term "power". However, their meanings differ. Authority refers to a claim of legitimacy, the justification and right to exercise power.
3. Violence
In most modern nation-states, the government has authority, which gives it power. Interestingly, the fact that the government has authority gives it the right to use power to force citizens to do what the government consider appropriate. In other words, the government has the right, based on its authority, to force people to behave in certain ways. Refusal to follow the dictates of the government can result in the government using violence to coerce individuals into compliance.
***Types of Governments
1. Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication. The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. So, Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch of the United Kingdom. It was a common form of government in the world during the ancient and medieval times.
2. Democracy
Democracy is a form of government in which the right to govern or sovereignty is held by the majority of citizens within a country or a state. In political theory, democracy describes a small number of related forms of government and also a political philosophy. Even though there is no universally accepted definition of 'democracy', there are two principles that any definition of democracy includes.
The first principle is that all members of the society (citizens) have equal access to power and the second that all members (citizens) enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties.
2. New materials I learned
***Article about pros and cons of THAAD
Whether to deploy THAAD has emerged as a hot potato for the National Assembly's April session, which will begin from Tuesday.
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) have remained sharply divided over the issue.
The governing party held a meeting of its lawmakers Wednesday to draw up its stance toward potential deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea.
Ruling party floor leader Rep. Yoo Seong-min, a noted supporter for the deployment, told lawmakers, "The issue is directly related to the life of the people. The governing party will deliver its stance to Cheong Wa Dae after collecting various opinions of its members through free discussion."
He made clear that he does not intend to stick to his personal opinion about the issue.
Yoo has so far openly talked about the need for the deployment, saying THAAD should be deployed at the earliest possible date to protect people from nuclear and missile threats.
His proposal for open debate has caused conflict with the presidential office, which is seeking to handle the issue through quiet diplomacy.
President Park Geun-hye talked about the advanced missile interceptor system for the first time Tuesday. She said, "What the government needs to do is secure enough information to make the overall and right judgment."
Some lawmakers who support Park were against Yoo during the party meeting in an apparent attempt to support the President.
............
The THAAD system is widely regarded as the core of the U.S. ballistic missile defense (MD) system.
Washington hopes to bring its advanced missile interceptor into South Korea to better deal with missile threats from the North. But Seoul has never given a definite answer, apparently because it fears strong opposition from China, Korea's No. 1 trading partner.
China has been pressing South Korea to block the U.S. move, alleging that it could be used to nullify China's military strike capabilities.
Russia has also expressed opposition to the deployment.
3. Disccussion
Since past, South Korea has been threatened by North Korea. In political view, USA has helped Korea by deploying US military forces in Korea. There is pros and cons about this issue. South Korea is under attack threathening, so some people insist that help of US is necessary. In contrast, some people argue that we should protect our country by ourselves. Do you think that staying of US military forces is needed or not?
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