What term describes the process of gaining and exercising control within a government for the purpose of setting and achieving particular goals, especially those related to the division of resources within a nation?

• A. Policy
• B. Politics
• C. Administration
• D. Government

Answer: (B)

Politics is the process of gaining and exercising control within a government to set and achieve particular goals, including decisions about how resources are distributed in a nation. This focus on power, negotiation, and decision-making among leaders, parties, interest groups, and institutions is what makes politics the best fit for describing how a country decides who gets what and how those goals are pursued.

Policy refers to the specific plans or courses of action the government adopts to reach its goals, once those goals have been established. Administration is the day-to-day work of running government programs and putting laws into effect. Government is the system of institutions that hold authority. For example, during budget negotiations, the shaping of what gets funded is politics—the bargaining and power dynamics—while the actual chosen funding plan is the policy, and implementing that plan is administration.