6.1.2 The Role of Politicians
The role of politicians is to govern, acting as leaders and as intermediaries between the population, public services and other countries
The term ‘politician‘ in this book is restricted to those whose prime function is to exercise powers on behalf of the population. Politicians provide governance, in the form of leadership and administration. They also represent their countries externally
This usage excludes those who are responsible for day-to-day management of public services, where the term ‘public servant’ is used if the person is employed by the State. Public servants should provide the best service they can on behalf of the population, whilst complying with whatever direction they are given by politicians. Decision-makers whose prime responsibilities are in other dimensions of power – business, religious and military leaders, for example – are also excluded from this definition of the term ‘politician’.
The power relationship between people and politicians can be described as a negotiable bargain: politicians are granted power, and they receive support (perhaps only tacit support) in return.
The following diagram provides an overview of the role of politicians at national level:
Going clockwise round the diagram, from the bottom left:
● The population empowers the politicians: whether through the ballot box in a democracy or by giving its tacit consent in an authoritarian system of government. If it is electing them, it may do so on the basis of their ideologies or policies – which may vary, as suggested by the shading.
● People and group interests can put unsolicited pressure on politicians in any political system.
● Politicians can initiate consultation to find out what people want. This is possible in any political system.
● They exert political leadership: persuading the population to change its attitudes and behaviour.
● Politicians can have different ideologies and ideas about how to govern. The shading represents shades of opinion, which tend to be represented by different political parties in a democracy.
● The diagram illustrates the overlap in the British system, where members of the government (ministers) are also Members of Parliament, whereas in America the members of the Administration don’t sit in Congress – though they may be connected by membership of the same political party.
● In both Britain and America some national politicians oppose the government and act as a check upon its powers. Many other countries have similar systems, but there are countries where there is no formally constituted opposition – as is the case, by definition, in a one-party State.
● Governments represent their countries in many, but not all, of the interactions with other countries and with international organisations.
● As described in the next section, governments make decisions related to other dimensions of power. The political constraints on decision-making are analysed in this chapter, but their economic impact, for example, was reviewed earlier.
● Politicians oversee the running of the country. They set objectives, terms of reference and regulations that apply to the public servants, commercial organisations and civil society who deliver services to the public.
Local politicians are responsible for local services, for local political decisions such as town planning, and for negotiation with national government departments when the latter are making decisions that affect local interests. Each layer of political subsidiarity has its own issues, as discussed later in this chapter.
Politics is a mechanism for negotiation, in this book’s extended use of the word (2.4):
● People are, in effect, negotiating with each other when they elect politicians in a democratic system. Elections are one way of determining what policies the majority wants.
● When they have been given power, the politicians can facilitate further negotiation – by responding to pressure or by initiating consultation.
● The inclusiveness of the negotiations depends on how they cater for different ethnicities and conflicting political viewpoints.
The role of politicians is to serve people. Depending upon the political system, they may pay the penalty of having their powers removed if they are judged to have done badly. In most countries they are also subject to legal constraints in how they use their powers. It is in the interests of both the population and the politicians that the latter should try to determine what is necessary to increase the level of acceptability of governance and then try to make it happen.
This page is intended to form part of Edition 4 of the Patterns of Power series of books. An archived copy of it is held at https://www.patternsofpower.org/edition04/612a.htm.