please see below definitions for politics:

# social relations involving authority or power
# the study of government of states and other political units
# the profession devoted to governing and to political affairs
# the opinion you hold with respect to political questions
www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn2.1


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Note added at 2 hrs 13 mins (2005-08-29 11:17:51 GMT)
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Merriam-Webster
1 a : the art or science of government b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy c : the art or ****science**** concerned with winning and holding control over a government
2 : political actions, practices, or policies
3 a : political affairs or business; especially : competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government) b : political life especially as a principal activity or profession c : political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices
4 : the political opinions or sympathies of a person
5 a : the total complex of relations between people living in society b : relations or conduct in a particular area of experience especially as seen or dealt with from a political point of view <office politics>