Politics is defined as the process through which groups of people make decisions. This term usually applies to behavior within civil governments, although the concept of politics can be observed in all group interactions including corporate, academic and religious groups.
In the United States, politics takes place within a presidential republic, with the President of the United States as the head of state and government, with a two-party legislative and electoral system. The federal government shares rule with the state governments and the Supreme Court balances the rights of each.
Generally, matters that lie within states’ borders are considered the exclusive concern of that state’s government, such as internal communications, property regulations, criminal codes and working conditions. However, states are not permitted to adopt laws that contradict or violate the Constitution or the laws and treaties of the United States.
There are many areas that overlap between state and federal jurisdiction, and like the federal government, state government has three branches, with the chief executive known as the governor. Within a state, there are city governments, which are chartered by the states, although most cities function independently of the state, unlike the relationship between the state and the federal government.
Within this overall framework are political parties, with most citizens aligning themselves with the party whose ideals and beliefs most closely match their own. These parties also are charged with the political campaigning for candidates. A political campaign usually seeks to influence the decision making process for a specific group of people, usually in the form of an electoral campaign. However, once a leader is elected, groups can also campaign on behalf of an issue, to bring it to attention and hopefully have lawmakers and other leaders act on its behalf. These organizations are also charged with political fundraisings, although individual candidates also raise funds for themselves.
In addition to these parties are other political organizations which advocate for rights and power for specific groups. These groups can represent anything from the elderly to animal rights to civil rights to education to the environment to government reform.
These types of political groups operate on both the state and national level, fighting for rights and recognition from each. These groups are also sometimes known as political advocacy groups. Advocacy is the act of arguing on behalf of an issue, idea or person and individuals, organizations, businesses and governments may advocate for different issues. Often these advocacy groups are also associated with political parties as many parties align themselves with particular social issues.
Within politics there are also groups known as political action committees, which commonly refers to private groups, regardless of size, which are organized to elect or defeat government officials, or to promote legislations. Legally, a political action committee is defined by state and federal law. Under these laws, a political organization becomes a political action committee when they receive contributions or make expenditures greater than $1,000 with the explicit purpose of influencing a federal election.
These committees are political fund-raising organizations that are allowed by federal law to contribute to federal elections. All political action committees are required to register with the Federal Election Commission and keep financial records, reporting their contributions and spending.