Public policy—all the actions that governments take that are designed to influence individual, group, institutional, or national behavior—is one of the main products of politics. Politics involves the activities of individuals who are cooperating or competing with others to resolve disagreements over scarce resources or different preferences.

To understand political activity and outcomes, it is useful to focus on the rules that determine what the actors can and cannot do, the reality of the political environment, and the choices that the political actors make Politics is the means by which societies decide who gets what, when, and how.

politics — “who gets what, where, when, and how”—the process for resolving disputes and allocating scarce resources. political science — the systematic study of political phenomena using empirical or philosophical methods. rules — instructions regarding what behaviors are required, forbidden, or allowed. reality — the world as it is, as verified by observations and measurements.