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Politician

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(Redirected from Political figure)
For other uses, see The Politician (disambiguation).

Politician
U.S. politicians (Kissinger, Nixon, Ford, Haig) in the White House's Oval Office discussing Representative Ford's nomination to the vice presidency
Occupation
Names
Occupation type
Politician
Activity sectors
Government
Description
Competencies
Education required
Qualification is not required
Fields of
employment
Government
Related jobs
Monarch

Identity

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Nineteenth-century painting by Philipp Foltz depicting the Athenian politician Pericles delivering his famous funeral oration in front of the Assembly.

Politicians are people who participate in policy-making, having a multifaceted positions of responsibility both domestically and internationally.[1][2]

The role of the politician has changed dramatically over time, for example, Pericles of Athens played an important role in politics in ancient Greece both in public life and in decision-making as depicted in Philip Foltz's 19th-century. [3]

Over time the figure of the politician has evolved to include many forms and functions. For example, In the United States of America, George Washington played a pivotal role as a politician because he was the first President of the United States of America.[4] Today, political offices take many forms in the modern century in the United States of America such as ministers, mayors, governors, senators, and presidents, each of whom has different duties. [5]

The identity of politicians is affected by their social and work environment, their ideology, and the parties to which they belong, moreover, the development of means of communication and social media have increased public participation in policy-making, leading to the formation of the identity of the politician and increasing the complexity of political work.[6]

" All government leaders are considered politicians." with sources; but not all politicians are subject to voters, autocratic and dictatorial regimes remain extant.

Media and rhetoric

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Politicians are influential people who use rhetoric to impact people as in speeches or campaign advertisements. They are especially known for using common themes,  and media platforms that allow them to develop their political positions,  developing communication between them and the people. [7][8]

Politicians of necessity become expert users of the media.[9] Politicians in the 19th century made heavy use of newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets, as well as posters to disseminate their messages to appeal to voters' emotions and beliefs in their campaigns.[10][11] In the 20th century, the scope of media expanded out into radio and television, and a major change occurred as speech was now presented visually as well as verbally as evidenced by the Kennedy-Nixon debates, marking a new era where visual media became crucial to campaigns.[12] In the 21st century, they have become increasingly involved with the social media based on the Internet and smartphones.[13]

Rumor has always played a major role in politics, with negative rumors about an opponent typically more effective than positive rumors about one's own side.[14]

Government job and spoils

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Once elected, the politician has to deal with government officers and government employees working for them. Historically, there has been a subtle conflict between the long-term goals of each side.[15] In patronage-based systems, such as the United States in the 19th century, winning politicians replace the government officers and government employees not protected under the government services rules with their supporters. It was the "spoils system". Government job reform[clarification needed] was initiated to eliminate the corruption of government jobs.[16] However, in many less developed countries, the spoils system remained in full-scale operation as of 1982.[17]

Careers and biographies

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Mattozzi and Merlo argue that two main career paths are typically followed by politicians in modern democracies. First, is career politicians. They are politicians who rule the government sector until retirement. Second, are the "political careerists". These are politicians who gain a reputation for expertise in ruling certain levels of government such as International Governments, Federal Governments, State Governments and Local Governments, then leave politics and start a new business venture making use of their political contacts.[18]

The personal histories of politicians have been frequently studied, as it is presumed that their experiences and characteristics shape their beliefs and behaviors. There are four pathways by which a politician's biography could influence their leadership style and abilities. The first is that biography may influence one's core beliefs, which are used to shape a worldview. The second is that politicians' skills and competence are influenced by personal experience. The areas of skill and competence can define where they devote resources and attention as a leader. The third pathway is that biographical attributes may define and shape political incentives. A leader's previous profession, for example, could be viewed as of higher importance, causing a disproportionate investment of leadership resources to ensure the growth and health of that profession, including former colleagues. Other examples besides profession include the politician's innate characteristics, such as race or gender. The fourth pathway is how a politician's biography affects their public perception, which can, in turn, affect their leadership style. Female politicians, for example, may use different strategies to attract the same level of respect given to male politicians.[19]

Characteristics

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Numerous scholars have studied the characteristics of politicians, comparing those at the local and national levels, and comparing the more liberal or the more conservative ones, and comparing the more successful and less successful in terms of elections.[20] In recent years, special attention has focused on the distinctive career path of women politicians.[21] For example, there are studies of the "Supermadre" model in Latin American politics.[22]

Many politicians have the knack to remember thousands of names and faces. United States Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were renowned for their memories.[23][24]

Criticism

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Many critics attack politicians for being out of touch with the public. Areas of friction include how politicians speak, which has been described as being overly formal and filled with many euphemistic and metaphorical expressions and commonly perceived as an attempt to "obscure, mislead, and confuse".[25]

In the popular image, politicians are thought of as clueless, selfish, manipulative, dishonest, incompetent and corrupt, taking money in exchange for goods or services, rather than working for the general public good.[26] Politicians in many countries are regarded as the "most hated professionals".[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ SpringerLink (2021). "Politicians. In the Encyclopedia of Law and Economics". SpringerLink. SpringerLink. Retrieved 19 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "politician – Princeton Wordnet dictionary". wordfind.com.
  3. ^ Mark, joshua (28 March 2018). ""Pericles"". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ ""George Washington: The First President"". The White House. n.d. Retrieved 23 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ ""State & Local Government"". The White House. n.d. Retrieved 23 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Olaniran, B.; Williams, I. (2020). ""Social Media Effects: Hijacking Democracy and Civility in Civic Engagement"". Springer.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Archer, A.; Cawston, A. (2022). ""Celebrity politics and democratic elitism"". Springer.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Jonathan Charteris-Black, Politicians and rhetoric: The persuasive power of metaphor (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2005)
  9. ^ Ofer Feldman, Beyond public speech and symbols: Explorations in the rhetoric of politicians and the media (2000).
  10. ^ U.S. National Archives (2022). ""American elections and campaigns – 1800 to 1865: Politics in the antebellum press"". The Reagan Library Education Blog. U.S. National Archives.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Robert J. Dinkin, Campaigning in America: A History of Election Practices (1989) online Archived 30 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Silvestri, V. N. (2018). ""Television's interface with Kennedy, Nixon, and Trump: Two politicians and one TV celebrity"". American Behavioral Scientist. sage.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Nathaniel G. Pearlman, Margin of Victory: How Technologists Help Politicians Win Elections (2012) online Archived 30 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ David Coast and Jo Fox, "Rumour and Politics" History Compass (2015), 13#5 pp. 222–234.
  15. ^ Joel D. Aberbach, Robert D. Putnam, and Bert A. Rockman, eds., Bureaucrats and politicians in western democracies (Harvard University Press, 1981)
  16. ^ David A. Schultz, and Robert Maranto, eds., The politics of civil service reform (1998).
  17. ^ Morris Szeftel, "Political graft and the spoils system in Zambia—the state as a resource in itself." Review of African Political Economy 9.24 (1982): 4–21.
  18. ^ Andrea Mattozzi and Antonio Merlo, "Political careers or career politicians?." Journal of Public Economics 92#3 (2008): 597–608.
  19. ^ Krcmaric, Daniel; Nelson, Stephen C.; Roberts, Andrew (2020). "Studying Leaders and Elites: The Personal Biography Approach". Annual Review of Political Science. 23: 133–151. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-050718-032801.
  20. ^ Timothy S. Prinz, "The career paths of elected politicians: a review and prospectus." in Shirley Williams and Edward L. Lascher, eds. Ambition and beyond: career paths of American politicians (1993) pp: 11–63.
  21. ^ Elina Haavio-Mannila and Torild Skard, eds. Unfinished Democracy: women in Nordic politics (2013)
  22. ^ Elsa M. Chaney, Supermadre: Women in Politics in Latin America (University of Texas Press, 2014).
  23. ^ Iwan W. Morgan (2010). Assessing George W. Bush's Legacy: The Right Man?. Springer. p. 45. ISBN 978-0230114333.
  24. ^ James E. Mueller (2008). Tag Teaming the Press: How Bill and Hillary Clinton Work Together to Handle the Media. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 32. ISBN 978-0742563926.
  25. ^ Vincent E. Barry (2007): Invitation to Critical Thinking p. 319 [ISBN missing]
  26. ^ a b Arnold J. Heidenheimer and Michael Johnston, eds. Political corruption: Concepts and contexts (2011).

Further reading

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  • D. Putnam, and Bert A. Rockman, eds., Bureaucrats and politicians in western democracies (Harvard University Press, 1981)
  • Heywood, Paul M. ed. Routledge Handbook of Political Corruption (2014) [ISBN missing]
  • Stebbins, Robert A. From Humility to Hubris among Scholars and Politicians: Exploring Expressions of Self-Esteem and Achievement. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing, 2017. [ISBN missing]
  • Stebbins, Robert A. "Democracy's Politicians: An Occupation Like no Other." Society, 56(5), 461–462, 2019, doi:10.1007/s12115-019-00399-w.
  • Welch, Susan, John Gruhl, John Comer, and Susan M. Rigdon. UnGovernment. 8th ed. Belmont: Thompson Wadsworth, 2006 [ISBN missing]
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