essay about political awareness

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Political awareness is a key component in empathy , which in turn is part of Emotional Intelligence .

Some commentators have suggested that political awareness is about sensitivity to public policy and government, and the agendas driving politicians.

In its broadest sense, however—and certainly in the sense in which it is used in Emotional Intelligence—political awareness is about understanding the ‘ currents ’, or hidden agendas, in an organisation, and particularly the power relationships.

Many people may have been put off the idea of being politically aware by seeing people ‘playing politics’ or trying to manipulate others using political tactics. But used wisely and well, political awareness is a force for good, and for getting things done in organisations, and it is an essential skill in life.

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

Organisational Politics and Political Awareness

Organisational politics —which occur in any group, team or organisation, whether social, commercial or voluntary—is a phrase used to describe the power relationships of the group.

In other words:

• How do things really get done around here?
• Who really has the power to make decisions?
• Who acts on those decisions?

Organisational politics has very little to do with the official organisational hierarchy, and everything to do with people, in particular their relationships, personalities and past experience.

Political awareness is simply an understanding of these ‘ power webs ’ and an ability to navigate them, and therefore get things done.

Political awareness is closely linked to Commercial Awareness , except that where commercial awareness is chiefly focused on the external environment of the organisation, political awareness is more about the internal environment.

A Model of Political Awareness

Simon Baddeley and Kim James developed a useful model of political skills, using two dimensions:

1. ‘ Reading ’, or the skills that an individual uses to understand the world around them.

This dimension is on a spectrum from ‘politically aware’ to ‘politically unaware’, and measures the individual’s ability to ‘read’ the organisation’s processes, agendas (both hidden and stated), the location of power, culture, style, and so on. Political unawareness is defined as the inability, or perhaps unwillingness, to recognise any of these aspects.

The two ends of the spectrum might therefore be defined as ‘ clever ’ and ‘ innocent ’. The ‘clever’ people are those who understand and use political power within an organisation, and the ‘innocents’ are the ones who do not even notice its existence.

This dimension, then, describes an individual’s awareness of the politics of the organisation.

2. ‘ Carrying ’, or the skills that an individual uses to understand their internal world.

This dimension is about what the individual does, and intends to do, with their understanding or lack of it. In other words, how do they act upon it?

Baddeley and James suggested that this was on a scale from ‘ acting with integrity ’ to ‘ playing psychological games ’. This dimension therefore modifies the ‘clever/innocent’ scale to create four possible ‘states’: clever, innocent, wise and inept , each of which can be described in terms of an animal (see Figure).

The two states on the left, donkey and fox , are both characterised by self-interested behaviour. This is what people usually mean when they talk about organisational politics. The difference is in how well the political manoeuvring is carried out: ‘ fox ’ behaviour is adept, and ‘ donkey ’ behaviour is not.

Baddeley and James stressed that all of us have the potential to use all four behaviours at different times, and that the four states do not describe individuals.

In the bottom right, ‘ sheep ’ behaviour will not harm others. Those using these behaviours are largely oblivious to organisational politics, but act with integrity, in a way consistent with their values. Unfortunately, however, they will struggle to get anything done, because they are either unable or unwilling to recognise that integrity is not enough.

In the top right quadrant is the ‘ideal’: political awareness used as a force for good in the organisation, and not for self-interest. This is described as ‘wise’ or ' owl ' behaviour.

The Essence of ‘ Wise ’ Behaviour

Wise behaviour can be summed up broadly as creating ‘win-win’ situations out of difficult political moments.

Those behaving wisely allow others to save face, and do not bring them down unnecessarily. For more about this, you may find it helpful to read our pages on Transactional Analysis . For a very good example of wise behaviour in action, read the case study ‘Persuasion Unseen’ on our page on Persuasion and Influencing Skills .

Baddeley and James stressed that this model is not about personality. It is about behaviour. It therefore follows that both dimensions of political awareness can be learnt and developed as a skill.

Develop your ' Wise ' Behaviour

Wise behaviour comes from bringing together awareness and integrity.

To develop these behaviours, you may find it helpful to look at the following areas:

To improve your ability to read political and social situations, you will probably need to improve your communication skills, particularly listening, and your understanding of non-verbal communication.

Much can be gathered from what is said and not said. For more about this, see our pages on Listening Skills and Non-Verbal Communication .

To avoid falling into traps about ‘what people meant’, read our page on the Ladder of Inference .

To understand more about the importance of integrity, you may find it helpful to read our pages on Goodness: Learning to Use Your Moral Compass and a Framework for Learning to Live Well .

To improve your ability to handle situations well, you may want to work on your Tact and Diplomacy , and also on your Assertiveness . Our page on Communicating in Difficult Situations may also be helpful.

To help you to look for creative solutions to problems, and develop win-win solutions, visit our pages on Problem-Solving , Creative Thinking and Transactional Analysis .

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Links to Other Aspects of Emotional Intelligence

Wise behaviour tends to be closely connected with very good emotional understanding. People who are politically aware, and use that awareness with integrity, tend to be good at understanding others (see our page on Understanding Others for more), and also have good self-control .

There is a very good reason why political awareness is defined as a key aspect of empathy, and it is also why nobody can afford to abandon it as simply ‘playing games’.

Continue to: Self-Awareness Trustworthiness and Conscientiousness

See also: What is Empathy? | What is Charisma? Social Skills in Emotional Intelligence

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The Importance of Being Politically Aware As a Student

As teenagers, it is important for us to know about current events just as much as adults do. Although most of the high school cannot vote, we can still research and ensure that we are politically aware as United States citizens. 

Lindsay B. , Reporter November 22, 2020

As teenagers, it is important for us to know about current events just as much as adults do. Although most of the high school cannot vote, we can still research and ensure that we are politically aware as United States citizens.

So why should we care? Or rather, “why shouldn’t we care?” From car insurance to global affairs, and for some people, fundamental human rights, politics affects everything in our daily lives. Your whole life could be affected by one law.

Politics can change our lives by helping shape our perspectives. By keeping ourselves updated on world events, we can further establish individual interpretations about issues in today’s society. No matter your political standpoint, it is crucial to formulate beliefs. When you are eligible to vote, you should know the policies and views of the candidate you are voting for. Knowing our values, we as a society can determine what we think is right and wrong.

To further emphasize why political awareness is significant, students are eligible to vote once they turn eighteen.  As high school students approach voting age, we need to be informed about the world. We should read about the various politicians running for government positions. You do not want to realize that you voted for the wrong candidate because you did not research important information about them beforehand.

So how can students become politically aware? Today it is simple. With diverse platforms, one can read online news sources as well as watch the news on TV. I recommend reading different sources to ensure each resource is unbiased. You can also watch political debates. To determine the candidate you would want to vote for, you could do research to truly understand their viewpoints regarding different policies. We are the future of society and should make an effort to stay involved in the world. Researching current events allows us to further advance our knowledge of the world that awaits us.

Lindsay B. has participated in the newspaper at Beth Tfiloh since her freshman year. In her free time, she can be found listening to music, watching movies,...

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Nikkia • Dec 7, 2021 at 3:41 am

VERY WELL SAID

Perspectives on Political Awareness

Conceptual, Theoretical and Methodological Issues

• © 2022
• Niels Nørgaard Kristensen 0 ,
• Thomas Denk 1 ,
• Maria Olson 2 ,
• Trond Solhaug 3

Department of Politics & Society, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

Department of Political Science, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden

Humanities and social sciences education, stockholm university, stockholm, sweden, social and educational sciences, norwegian university of science and tech, trondheim, norway.

• Presents a comprehensive framework to understand political awareness
• Addresses conceptual, theoretical and methodological questions
• Presents case studies which examine political awareness in new contexts

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

Front matter, introduction.

• Niels Nørgaard Kristensen, Thomas Denk, Maria Olson, Trond Solhaug

The Relevance of Political Awareness: A Literature Review with Meta-Analysis

Political awareness, concept and measurement.

• Trond Solhaug, Knut-Andreas Abben Christophersen

Political Awareness and Identification Among Young Students: Political Identity and Democratic Engagement

Niels Nørgaard Kristensen

Role of Political Awareness in Complex Societal Matters: The Cases of Health and Climate Change

• Carolin V. Zorell

Accuracy of Self-Assessments of Political Sophistication

• Lauri Rapeli

Travelling with Political Awareness: A Comparative Approach

Thomas Denk

• Political identity
• Democratic engagement
• John R. Zaller
• Complex societal matters
• Climate change
• Political sophistication
• Political attentiveness
• Political knowledge
• Political understanding
• Attitude formation
• Comparative methodology
• Political culture
• Citizen participation
• Political behavior
• Political participation
• Public opinion
• Citizenship
• Qualitative research methods
• Quantitative research methods

About this book

Editors and affiliations, department of politics & society, aalborg university, aalborg, denmark.

Maria Olson

Trond Solhaug

About the editors

Bibliographic information.

Book Title : Perspectives on Political Awareness

Book Subtitle : Conceptual, Theoretical and Methodological Issues

Editors : Niels Nørgaard Kristensen, Thomas Denk, Maria Olson, Trond Solhaug

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90394-7

Publisher : Springer Cham

eBook Packages : Political Science and International Studies , Political Science and International Studies (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

Hardcover ISBN : 978-3-030-90393-0 Published: 10 December 2021

Softcover ISBN : 978-3-030-90396-1 Published: 11 December 2022

eBook ISBN : 978-3-030-90394-7 Published: 09 December 2021

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : VIII, 132

Number of Illustrations : 2 b/w illustrations, 10 illustrations in colour

Topics : Comparative Politics , Political Sociology , Political Science , Electoral Politics , Personality and Social Psychology

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The importance of being politically aware.

At every level of society, citizens interact with and perceive their political representatives differently. With time, the presence of the government and its leaders impacts life more profoundly. Who we elect will have an effect on how we pay our taxes, handle finances and experience infrastructure.

Since the governments we elect set the course for our economy and lifestyle for half a decade (or more), it is essential to stay informed even when it may seem less than important. The structure of our government is a unique one. We can elect locally and hope that the effect resonates nationally.

Even if our sensibilities make us lean towards a certain party, we have to research, observe and notice who is making a difference locally . We have always been a nation where at the grassroot level leadership has been valued. However, what our nation should be and what it is are two separate realities.

If you asked the average teenager which actor was dating whom, they’d probably be able to tell you in a minute. Ask the same teenage who their local MLA is and they’d probably have to Google it. The fault doesn’t lie with the teenagers entirely. The news around celebrity-driven content is always marketed more aggressively. For most millennial and Gen Z audiences, their platform to take in news is digital and social. Through these channels, it is not easy to weed out accurate news from false stories.

Among the sea of blogs, tabloids and independent voices, it is very easy to present opinions as facts. News outlets across print and digital mediums that accurately fact check and present stories have to work twice as hard as tabloids and blogs to gain traction.

Which is why it becomes crucial for teenagers and other young audiences to take matters in their own hands, and look at news outlets to stay updated about their local leaders and developments.

Younger audiences that are just entering the voting group of citizens have to go out of their way to sometimes research their local representatives and find out what they are and aren’t contributing to the community.

Aside from news outlets, there are other sources that young people can turn to, in order to be more informed about the politics in their own communities. AGNI and ADR are two of many non-government organizations that work towards political awareness and stress upon the importance to vote. Registering to vote can now be done remotely from anywhere. Through the website , young people that have entered the voting legibility mark or are preparing to enter can register to vote.

The interest in voting becomes more pronounced when one can actually vote. To this end, the conversation on voter registration and participation has to run parallel to the conversation around who the local leaders are and why they deserve votes. In most communities, the only place to see leaders is on hoardings at bus stops and traffic lights. (Even though sometimes these hoardings are misused as greeting cards)

With time, a few leaders are taking to newer platforms like social media to engage with younger audiences but until more leaders find a way to connect with their younger voters, voters have to reach out and research who it is they should be voting for.

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Studying history and its effect on students’ political awareness: a case study of Saudi university students

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives

ISSN : 2077-5504

Article publication date: 3 November 2022

Issue publication date: 13 December 2022

This study aimed to address the importance and effects of studying history and Islamic history on students’ political awareness.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the objectives of this study, a questionnaire was used. A total of 315 university students aged 17–50 years old participated in the study. These students represented three of the most influential universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The results revealed a strong, positive and significant correlation between the study of history and students’ political awareness.

Originality/value

The findings of this study indicated that studying history and Islamic history leads to an increased level of students’ political awareness. Therefore, studying history is important for university students to develop their political awareness and prepare them as future leaders.

• Political awareness
• Higher education
• Islamic history
• Saudi Arabia

Achour, M. and Alghamdi, H. (2022), "Studying history and its effect on students’ political awareness: a case study of Saudi university students", Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives , Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 131-142. https://doi.org/10.1108/LTHE-10-2020-0048

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Meguellati Achour and Hasnah Alghamdi

Published in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

History is an organized record that links the realities of the past and helps prepare individuals to live in the future ( Obeidat, 1985 ). As such, history plays a crucial role in our lives ( Karlsson, 1999 ), while the study of history enables students to live more purposeful lives through greater self-understanding and personal growth ( Berg, 2019 ; Durant, 2014 ; Bentley, 2007 ; McCully, 1978 ). There exists a certain fascination with the past that is fundamental to the human experience ( Bradbury, 2020 ; Carr, 1961 ; Glassie, 1994 ; Ira Kreider, 1937 ). Through history, we can grasp how things change, begin to comprehend the factors that cause change and understand what elements of an institution or a society persist despite change. Therefore, history plays an integral part in how people understand their society, themselves, the people around them, as well as current political events. A civilized renaissance can only be achieved by drawing links between historical awareness and analysis of current events, and then building plans to establish awareness and knowledge for the new generation to bring about the desired changes ( Issam, 2020 ). Students need to understand how the past has contributed to the shaping of international, national and local relations between societies, people and nations. A certain level of political awareness is required for students to understand many of the complex issues and problems facing the world ( Rahman & Che Mohd Razali, 2019 ) and the study of history can lead to increased political awareness and help create good businesspeople, professionals and political leaders ( Stearns, 1998 ). The ability to connect the past to the present and future is frequently regarded as crucial to preparing students and providing them with sufficient awareness for their future role as citizens in society ( Seixas & Morton, 2013 ). Through history, students can develop the understanding that is required to separate truth from distortion, cultivate reasoned skepticism and counter the tendency to confirm their own biases. In a post-truth era of “fake news” and unprecedented access to information/disinformation, history education is more vital now than ever before ( Wineburg, 2018 ; Collins & Stearns, 2020 ). In view of this, the present study set out to highlight the importance of studying history and Islamic history for students in the Saudi higher education context, and to identify the effects of the study of history on the development of Saudi students’ political awareness.

Literature review

Importance of political awareness.

Political awareness is the individual’s recognition of political knowledge and information related to political issues, institutions and leaders at the global, national and international levels ( Al-A’zzam & Abdullah, 2007 ; Kuotsu, 2016 ). Through the transfer of knowledge, for example, through studying the origins of political ideas or acquiring the requisite vocabulary for understanding political phenomena and processes, history can help students develop ways of thinking that promote political literacy ( Straaten, Wilschut, & Oostdam, 2015 ). Mastering historical thinking skills may also enhance students’ ability to develop and substantiate opinions with fact-based arguments and qualify them to participate in political and social discourses ( Callaway, 2020 ; Barton & Levstik, 2004 ; Davis, 2009 ; Jordanova, 2006 ; Alghamdi & Achour, 2020 ).

Previous studies have explored the level of political awareness among students in higher education and the factors contributing to it. Abdelazim (2017) conducted a study in Saudi Arabia to assess students’ awareness of the national heritage and natural history of their nation. The results showed that there is a statistically significant relationship between the students’ place of residence and their perception of the level of importance of the national heritage and the natural history of their nation. In an earlier study, Al Haweelah (2009) assessed Kuwaiti students’ political awareness and its relationship to social changes at the time. The findings showed an average level of political awareness among students in general, while the students of education colleges had a higher level of political awareness. In addition, female students were found to be severely lacking in political awareness and unprepared for engagement in political activities. In the United Arab Emirates, Al-Khaza’leh and Lahiani (2021) carried out a study aiming to investigate the level of political awareness among Emirati students and the role of the university in cultivating it. The study found that there was a considerably high level of political awareness among the university students. It also found that there were differences in the level of political awareness among students depending on their program of study, with students belonging in humanities having a greater level of political awareness. Similarly, Alsati and Al-Ghanem (2017) found that educational institutions play the biggest role in shaping students’ political awareness and practices. Through their educational approaches and activities and through their courses and curricula, educational institutions prepare students to be in charge of public affairs in terms of awareness, contribution and responsibility.

Importance of studying history

In this paper, studying history refers to students’ learning about historical events and developing sufficient knowledge that can help them understand current events ( Joel, 2020 ). This concept is far from the sense of history to the historian, who serves as a reference in this science possessing the ability to write, classify, organize and evaluate the information.

Currently, few studies discuss the importance of studying history. In a recent study, Akengin and Cendek (2017) found that high school students enjoyed learning history and had positive opinions about their history grades. In an earlier study, Nyamwembe, Ondigi, and Kiio (2013) found that most of the students in Kenya had a negative attitude towards studying history. The study concluded that several factors influenced students’ negative attitudes towards studying history such as the teaching methods, teachers themselves, the excessive amount of events and dates for memorization, and the availability of job opportunities related to the knowledge of history. In the United States, Berg (2019) conducted a study with 26 undergraduate students to investigate their notions and perceptions about history. The findings showed an appreciation and recognition of the purpose of history studies in academic and public settings. Similarly, Andrews, McGlynn, and Mycock (2009) found that there is a relationship between students’ sense of national identity and their attitude towards history. To sum up, researchers have found that teaching approaches, the education environment, employment prospects and students’ national identity are likely to influence their attitudes toward studying history.

In the Arab context, Alabidi (2021) found that many students do not appreciate the importance of studying history and hence avoid it. Instead, they focus on subjects that they perceive will be helpful for their future jobs and careers. Today, many Arab universities force academically weak students to study history, while they encourage high achievers to study medicine, engineering, programming and languages ( Alabidi, 2021 ). In an effort to highlight the benefits of studying Islamic history, Tosh (2019) emphasized the importance of using historical knowledge in public debates and showed that historical knowledge can provide ready-made solutions for current problems. Using examples from past events in the region, Tosh (2019) attempted to emphasize the importance of returning to “reading history” to make appropriate future decisions. In the same vein, the present study sought to examine the significance of studying history and Islamic history for the development of Arab students’ political awareness.

Methodology

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of studying history and Islamic history on students’ political awareness. Following a quantitative approach based on the review of previous studies, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to university students in Saudi Arabia.

Participants

The study targeted students at three different Saudi universities using the snowball technique to recruit them. A total of 315 students responded to the online questionnaire. Their ages ranged from 17 to 50 years. Students participated voluntarily in this study. Majority of the respondents were female (64.4%). The respondents were from the history department (54.6%), political sciences (1%) and other faculties (44.4%). Most respondents had one to four years of studying at university (51.4%), while a further 40.0% had more than four years of studying and only 8.6% of respondents had studied less than a year at the university. Most respondents were studying for a bachelor’s degree (61.9%). A further 22.2% were studying for a master’s degree and 15.9% were pursuing their Ph.D. (see Table 1 ).

Data collection instrument and procedure

The study used an online questionnaire. The questionnaire included 20 items for the study of history and 15 items on student political awareness. The section on studying history looked at the extent students gain historical knowledge through reading books and documents about the history of the Middle East, Islamic history events, Muslim leaders in the past, memory of Muslims in the past, Islamic issues in the past, today and in the future. The section on political awareness aimed to investigate the extent to which students gain political knowledge through local and international news, reading about international issues (e.g. wars, political conflicts and ideological conflicts), and also watching and listening political programs and political talk shows.

Respondents were asked to rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from (1) “Strongly Disagree” to (5) “Strongly Agree”. The questionnaire was developed using Google Forms with an appended consent form. To determine the validity of the questionnaire, each question was reviewed based on feedback from three experts. The experts were Ph.D. holders in education and had significant experience in educational research in general and quantitative research in particular. The questionnaire was piloted with 40 students who were not part of the study sample and based on their responses, it was improved and finalized. The link to the final questionnaire was sent to the student respondents via social media.

Data analysis

The data were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25. Correlation analysis was used to describe the statistical relationship between studying history and students’ political awareness. Exploratory factor analysis was also used to reduce data to a smaller set of summary variables and identify the main factors influencing the study of history.

Descriptive statistics for studying history

In this section of the questionnaire, students were presented with 17 statements and they were asked to indicate their level of agreement using a scale from “1” strongly disagree to “5” strongly agree. Table 2 reports the descriptive statistics for the items in this section. The highest mean value for item 16 “Respected Islamic history events make me optimistic” was M  = 4.30, while the lowest mean for item 12 “The events of Islamic history are similar to what is happening today” was M  = 3.37.

Table 3 reports the descriptive statistics for the questionnaire items about political awareness. The highest means for political awareness were for item 1 “I am often interested in international news to understand what is happening in the world today” was M  = 3.96 and for both item 14 “Knowing politics helps make you aware of what is happening around you” and item 4 “I read the news more often on digital devices (e.g. tablet, smartphone, computer)” was M  = 3.88.

Factor analysis

Factor analysis is often used in research to explain a large number of measured variables (questionnaire items) with a small number of underlying factors (latent variables) ( Henson & Roberts, 2006 ). In addition, factor analysis is used to assess the validity of the measures that is the extent to which the constructs represent the original variables ( Cortina, 1993 ; Henson & Roberts, 2006 ; Tabachnick, Fidell, & Ullman, 2007 ). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) was calculated and it was found to be .949. The Bartlett test of Sphericity was found to be significant at p  = 0.000, i.e. the variables are highly correlated to provide a reasonable basis for factor analysis.

In this study, the questionnaire comprised twenty items for the studying history part. Based on the results of the exploratory factor analysis, three items were removed from the studying history set of items: “Thinking about the future is more important than thinking about the past.” (Item-2), “What is happening in the Middle East has strong relation to the Islamic history.” (Item-10) and “I like to learn about the past, I feel that it helps me understand why the world is the way it is today.” (Item-18). Following that, the studying history part comprised 13 items on the importance of history and four items on the importance of Islamic history.

Table 4 presents the results of the reliability statistics and exploratory factor analysis. Most of the factor loadings for the instrument exceeded 0.50, meeting the significance level of convergent validity. Furthermore, the research instrument was tested for reliability using Cronbach’s coefficient, as reported in Table 4 , with scale reliability greater than 0.70 considered reliable ( Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson, & Tatham, 1998 ).

A method often used is the Eigenvalue method ( Meerling, 1988 ), in which the Eigenvalues of the factors should be higher than 1. In multifactor subscales, total variance explained more than 60% is considered acceptable. Furthermore, in social sciences, a solution that accounts for more than 60% of the variance is considered acceptable ( Zikmund, Babin, Carr, & Griffin, 2010 ). The factor loadings found as a result of Varimax vertical rotation are presented in Table 4 . Factor 1 represents the maximum variance, i.e. 60.24%, and factor 2 accounts for 8.55% of variance. However, retaining a one-factor solution can lead to under-factoring, as it may cause a considerable error ( Wood, Tataryn, & Gorsuch, 1996 ). Furthermore, the percentage variance explained by both factors was acceptable (68.79%). Table 4 shows that only two factors have been retained: the first factor is the importance of history ( F1 ), the second-factor is Islamic history ( F2 ).

Political Awareness. The questionnaire also comprised fifteen items for political awareness. After using exploratory factor analysis, no items were removed. The factor loadings found as a result of Varimax vertical rotation are presented in Table 5 . Factor 1 represents the maximum variance, i.e. 60.83% and factor 2 accounts for 9.26% of variance. In Table 5 the percentage variance explained by factors was acceptable (70.09%). As can be seen from Table 5 , only two factors were retained: the first factor F1_Political (F1_Polit) and the second factor F2_Political (F2_Polit). Most of the factor loadings for the instrument exceeded 0.50, meeting the significance level of convergent validity. Furthermore, the research instrument was tested for reliability using Cronbach’s coefficient, which ranged from 0.76 to 0.95, exceeding the minimum of 0.6 ( Hair et al. , 1998 ).

Correlations

Means, standard deviations, reliabilities and correlations for the study variables are presented in Table 6 . Coefficient alphas for study variables were as follows: studying history (0.957), the importance of history (0.958), Islamic history (0.864) and political awareness (0.951). All coefficient alphas were above 0.70 which is acceptable (see Cortina, 1993 ).

Table 6 also shows that a significant and positive relationship was found between studying history and students’ political awareness ( r  = 0.565, p  = 0.000). The results indicated that the students’ increased interest in studying history led to an increase in students’ political awareness. A significant and positive relationship was found between the importance of history and students’ political awareness ( r  = 0.524, p  = 0.000). The results indicated that increasing students’ knowledge on the importance of studying history may help increase students’ political awareness. Also, a significant and positive relationship was found between Islamic history and students’ political awareness ( r  = 0.547, p  = 0.000). The results indicated that the increased interest in studying Islamic history led to an increase in political awareness. Taken together, the statistical analysis of the students’ responses to the questionnaire showed that the study of history has a strong relationship and a direct effect on increasing the level of political awareness of students in Saudi universities.

This study sought to examine the relationship between studying history and political awareness among university students at Saudi universities. Studying history was found to be positively related to the political awareness of students. The results of this study support previous studies that studying history positively affects the development of political awareness.

Previous studies found that studying history helps students gain political awareness because it provides them with a way to understand the world ( Issam, 2020 ). By studying history and politics side by side, one learns how to analyze and untangle the past to tackle the problems facing society today ( University of Leicester, 2020 ). Through learning history, students can develop competencies to think chronologically and have knowledge of the past to better understand and explain the process of development and change of the society to discover and foster national identity in the life of the world community. Learning history also makes students aware of the diversity of life experiences in each community and the different perspectives on the past to understand the present and build knowledge and understanding to deal with the future ( Depdiknas, 2006 ). Given the importance of the study of history, it comes as no surprise that it strengthens students’ political awareness and provides them with a clear picture of the background of their present life. Historical knowledge provides a comprehensive understanding of the development or trends as these occur in various nations. Thus, by studying history students gain a broader understanding of life from different aspects such as historical, cultural, social and political ( Rusvitaningrum, Agung, & Sudiyanto, 2018 ).

The present study showed that there is a strong positive and significant correlation between studying history and the political awareness of students in Saudi universities. Several studies supported this result. Studying history has been found to develop students’ understanding and thought about the human condition ( Beer & Blyth, 1991 ). When a student takes history as a mandatory subject, he/she may have a strong drive to understand and increase his/her level of political awareness. Conversely, a student studying history as an elective subject will have a decreased motivation, which directly affects his/her level of awareness ( Hagler, 2014 ). History studies can also give students ample opportunity to appreciate the interrelationship of cause and effect and to judge the relative importance of different causes ( de Marco & Medley, 1989 ). Being knowledgeable of local history informs the people about the community’s political, social, economic and cultural phases ( Walker, 2015 ).

History is generally helpful for such professions as law, journalism, diplomacy, politics and teaching. More broadly, the historical study develops analytical skills, comparative perspectives and critical judgment modes that promote thoughtful work in any field or career ( Podany, 2008 ). Every political issue and structure has historical roots. By studying history and politics side by side, one will learn how to analyze and untangle the past to tackle the problems facing society today ( University of Leicester, 2020 ). History is the repository of political events. Many of the world’s problems today find that they have been raised in the past; the historical incident may repeat at different times, places and people. History provides more than that; it gives us the origins of today’s problems. Historical knowledge increases its role in analyzing political events and international relations. Here, history is mixed with political theory as political events are still the material basis in the historical structure ( Arab Post, 2016 ).

Islamic history represents a key to understanding political problems and introduction to the laws available to solve these problems. Since historical events and political processes interact with each other, this interaction results in making appropriate decisions and managing crises. Political science concerning history helps determine the type of political decisions taken and the extent of their application to reality ( Arab Post, 2016 ). The Islamic golden age is traditionally dated from the mid-7 th century to the mid-13 th century when Muslims established the largest empires in history. During this period, artists, engineers, scholars, physicians, poets, philosophers, geographers and traders in the Islamic empires contributed immensely to agriculture, economics, sciences, technology, sociology, political sciences, philosophy, industry, law and literature. They preserved earlier traditions and added inventions, discoveries and innovations. At the time, the Muslim world became a major intellectual center for sciences, philosophy, medicine, sociology, psychology, culture and education ( Tahir, Abubakar, & Kabara, 2015 ). So for Arab student sot is learning about Islamic history reinforces their understanding of their roots and their sense of identity.

This study aimed to shed light on the importance of studying history and Islamic history and identify their effects on students’ political awareness. To achieve these objectives, a questionnaire was used to collect data from 315 Saudi university students. The study found that studying history positively related to the political awareness of students.

However, this study was limited to a relatively small sample of students in Saudi universities. Thus, it would be interesting if the study could be extended to other Arab and Muslim countries, as the study of history and Islamic history in Arab nations gives sufficient awareness to the next generation who will have the ability to secure, preserve, develop and inherit it. It would also be interesting if the study could be extended to university academics, administrators, politicians and decision-makers as they are the ones that can put adequate emphasis on the study of history in academic curricula.

The findings of this study have significant practical implications for university students. It is important for universities to open communication channels and encourage discussion among decision makers with students and teachers to find mechanisms and strategies that may help increase the level of students’ political awareness. Teachers can be trained on how to present the history course in an attractive way for students and help them to enjoy the course and benefit from it. Teachers may also place importance on this issue by asking how they can evaluate and reward the students who have good achievements. Through the curriculum and education system, the university has a great responsibility in providing students with programs that help them increase their political awareness and prepare them as future leaders. The education system should prepare students to accomplish their desired goals. University management should provide a history room that offers history activities and make it attractive for students. It should provide a library in each faculty that includes different types of historical books, stories and documents. This will give students opportunities to perform scientific research and increase their level of historical information. It should also offer and organize competitions to encourage students to study history.

Studying the past could help students live better in the present and prepare for the future. Moreover, studying history aims to develop and increase the level of political awareness among students that will prepare them as future leaders. Therefore, educational policymakers and practitioners should pay special attention to students’ self-identity, awareness and political awareness in particular and the context in which it is formed when seeking to train an inclusive national identity in the classroom.

Demographic variables of the participants ( N  = 315)

Descriptive statistics for studying history ( N  = 315)

Descriptive statistics for political awareness ( N  = 315)

Varimax rotated factor loadings of the studying history items ( N  = 315)

Varimax rotated factor loadings of the political awareness items ( N  = 315)

Correlations between studying history, the importance of history, Islamic history and political awareness

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Jeddah University in Saudi Arabia for supporting them to prepare this article.

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5 Reasons Why Political Awareness Is Crucial for Our Generation

Politics have always been the largest driving force in the world. Those in charge dictate what happens, who it happens to and what will happen to everyone else. It is the very core of where the world stands today and where it may end up tomorrow. Politics affect everyone, whether they’d like to believe it or not. And yet, there seems to be a troubling pattern among people claiming to be “non-political,” an entirely implausible notion in this day and age.

How does someone fail to get involved with a system that affects them on a day-to-day basis? How do you ignore reality as it happens right in front of you? There are many reasons why you should go about your life as a politically active person, especially if you are young. A political understanding of the world formulates your values, beliefs and the very matter that translates into your own identity. Don’t be someone who doesn’t care. Need convincing? Here are five reasons why you should be politically aware.

1. It Affects You and Everyone Around You

Contrary to popular belief, politics don’t exclusively concern middle-aged white men in poorly ironed suits; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. By definition, politics are the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power. In this sense, politics is what dictates everything that happens around you.

The same white men — an unfortunate circumstance, I know — are the people making and breaking policies, legislation, laws and court cases. It’s simply impossible to say politics don’t affect you; an argument like this serves as the foundation for a destructive “ignorance is bliss” mindset.

Since the Brett  Kavanaugh hearing I’ve talked to multiple people who had no idea the future-altering testimony was going on. Some didn’t even know who Kavanaugh was, which is haunting to say the least. The outcome of the Kavanaugh testimony affects women everywhere.  Women who are sexually abused, silenced and who live everyday with the predetermined bias from men that their statements are invalid. If it’s not you, it’s someone you know, a friend of a friend, a mother, a teacher, the list goes on. The same goes for every other political event in history.

#BlackLivesMatter and police brutality may not affect you directly, but it is certainly changing the very future of the people around you, as well as the future of race-relations. Politics keeps you accountable, for yourself and for everyone else.

2. Political Debates Help You Navigate Your Own Values and Beliefs

Understanding politics, or specifically the topics that tend to collect in the political zone for analysis and debate, is a definitive way to navigate your own moral and ideological compass. Knowing where you stand on subjects such as abortion, health care, gun control and immigration can only benefit you in the end. If you give yourself the time to research and explore the sides of what’s being debated, you’ll likely find yourself naturally pulling toward one viewpoint or another.

Existing as a human in the world means existing in a time and space in which the entanglement of political conflict manifests itself in the day to day. What do you think if your friend doesn’t get hired because of her appearance? How do you feel when cyber bullying grows in your school? Does the record-breaking number of school shootings make sense to you? Why? Why not?

Practically every moment, controversial or not, that occurs in our world can be traced back or examined using a political lens. Creating your own values and having the tools to defend them is one of the strongest forms of self-expression. Everyone’s political identity aids in shaping important decision making and establishes the roots of your own personal beliefs. If you have something to believe in, you have something worth fighting for.

3. It’s One Step Closer to Being Less Ignorant

They say ignorance is bliss, but is that not just falsely justified apathy? It’s easier, sure, to erase politics from your immediate surroundings: curate your own Facebook feed, unfollow people who post about Trump , turn on HGTV instead of the news. Young and old people alike tend to follow this narrow path of artificially selected goodness, saturating themselves in wholesome, peaceable thoughts.

While this may seem harmless at first, the truth of the matter is that pretending everything is okay doesn’t make it disappear. In fact, it only serves to disrespect the people that are affected by the issues plaguing the country. To put it bluntly, so what if you don’t care? People are being hurt, wronged, tormented, slaughtered, rejected and are facing heaps of injustices each day. If you argue that a world without politics makes your life happily uncomplicated, then you are likely one of the lucky, unaffected few. Such a mindset is like sitting in a beach chair, sipping a margarita while a shark attack unfolds in the ocean right in front of your eyes; people are getting massacred, but you don’t mind because it’s not you or anyone you know that’s drowning.

Ignorance is not bliss. It is the highest form of selfishness. Understanding politics, harnessing the simple notion of caring about what’s going on in the world, is how human beings are able to feel for one another. Whether that be hate or compassion, it’s up to you, but it is feeling nonetheless.

4. It Perpetuates the Myth That Young People Don’t Care

Younger generations are especially susceptible to the ignorance trap and existing inside a bubble impenetrable by political conflict, because they often aren’t expected to follow politics. It’s something that must be sought out and researched, often beyond the typical high school social studies course.

This has led to the idea that young people don’t care about politics or the future of the country because they just don’t understand it, or don’t feel the need to. There’s a misconception that young people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about, but being able to discuss political issues and keep up with the news is another way to stick it to these adults sharing uninformed political posts on Facebook, claiming they know so much because they’re above the age of 50.

Young people are savvy. In many ways, they know way more methods of accessing and obtaining information that older generations are simply unaware of. I, for instance, get news alerts sent right to my phone. It’s all right there, you only need to reach out and grab it.

The newer generations are tremendously smart, and they do care, regardless of what some people think. Nearly everyone I interact with deliberately goes out of their way to express their views on political subjects and isn’t afraid to be heard. But the progress completed by the youth who are involved is often diminished because there’s a population of young people who don’t associate themselves with being politically active.

Older folks love to believe that every kid is like this, and therefore, in their eyes, none of them have any substantial thoughts or ideas worth listening to. Breaking down this stereotype by attempting to engage yourself in politics is a great way to enforce the idea that young people are aware of what’s going on in the world and they want to be a part of it. Young voices deserve to be heard with dignity and respect. A majority of what occurs nationally and internationally affects their population directly, and everything enacted will be a part of their future.

5. You’re Missing Out on History As It Happens

Rosa Parks. Roe v. Wade. Gay marriage. Aleppo. Global warming. #MeToo. #BlackLivesMatter. Loving v. Virginia. This is only the tiniest fraction of the thousands of terms related to momentous history-changing events and policies in the last century alone. When picking up a history textbook it almost feels surreal. How could these things have happened? The grandness of history seems almost unfathomable, and perhaps that’s one of the reasons why people tend to gravitate toward the stories of their ancestors, the people who have seen it all and lived to tell the tale. It’s like talking to a real-life textbook. History becomes tangible.

And yet, some people, younger generations in particular, are completely unfazed by the idea of history slipping past them unnoticed. To be fortunate enough to live in a time when movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter are in full swing, which are sure to take up chapters in the history books of the future, is unreal. Yes, it is a time of chaos and injustice, but it’s also a time of hope and resilience.

If you could go briefly go back in time to the 1963 March on Washington just to say that you supported what Martin Luther King Jr. stood for, wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you want to tell those people in the streets that what they were fighting for mattered, that it had an impact they couldn’t even begin to imagine? To be active in politics is to be on the front lines, to witness change as it happens, to be part of a greater whole you helped contribute a piece to. Saying you “aren’t political” isn’t only selfish, it’s foolish.

• Political Activism
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Lexi Anderson, Pratt Institute

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Youth in Politics: Challenges, Importance, Role (Essay and Debate)

Political participation: overview and faced challenges

“Where few take part in decisions there is little democracy; the more participation there is in decisions, the more democracy there is” (Verba & Nie, 1972). The present statement proves that the political presence of different individuals has a huge impact on democracy and policy. Hence, the present article will attempt to tackle the political participation of youth in the field of politics.

• Table of contents
• Introduction

What is youth political participation?

Must the youth participate in politics.

• Obstacles to youth participation

Meaningful political participation

So, what is the role of youth in politics after all.

Political participation refers to “those voluntary activities by which members of a society share in the selection of rulers and, directly or indirectly, in the formation of public policy” (McClosky, 1968). In other words, it encompasses citizens’ activities that affect politics in general. These participatory activities include voting, demonstrating, contacting public officials, boycotting, attending party rallies, guerrilla gardening, posting blogs, volunteering, joining flash mobs, signing petitions, buying fair-trade products, and even suicide protests (Jan W. van, 2021). According to Weiss (2020), even though “existing definitions of political participation are adequate to capture youth participation; the current literature is inconsistent in the inclusion of new modes of participation that are increasingly common among young adults.” In the same vein, Dan Maxon believes that in the youth field, political participation is used loosely to indicate activities, phenomena, and practices. He also points out that some forms of participation have a limited impact on policy-making such as youth activism and youth social action; the alternative use of public spaces; and political memes and online political debates. The latter forms of participation can take place away from political institutions, which makes political participation a challenging term to define.  Apparently, almost every activity by some citizens somehow can be understood sometimes as a form of political participation (van Deth, 2001).

Youth constitute a large portion of the population in every community. Consequently, it is imperative to give them a voice and include them in political decision-making. Not only is inclusiveness “a fundamental political and democratic right” but it is also “crucial to building stable and peaceful societies and developing policies that respond to the specific needs of younger generations.”(Goudie et al, 2018).

According to the OECD’s guide, many benefits can come from “putting youth at the heart of the government’s strategies and initiatives”:

• Taking advantage of the demographic transition : the youth represent a large portion of the population, which means that their participation can have a great impact on the balance of power. As a result, empowering the youth to take action socially, economically, and politically is of great importance.
• Encouraging innovation and economic development : youth is a great source of innovative and original ideas. Hence, engaging them and encouraging their active participation can boost the development of societies.
• Building active citizenship : only through taking on the duty to make important decisions will the youth understand how crucial their role is. When policymakers address their needs and demands, civic behaviour is strengthened and trust and transparency are promoted between the government and the citizens.
• Encouraging an online debate: living in a digital age, and understanding how technology works are useful to improve youth interaction and engagement.

Bárta (2021) points out that there are four main aims of youth political participation:

• Right-based aims: youth actually have access to mechanisms that enable them to participate effectively.
• Empowerment aims : youth speak their minds and express themselves freely regarding decision-making and political processes.
• Efficiency aims : allow the youth to develop informed processes and regulations.
• Developmental aims : enable the youth to acquire the necessary skills and competencies to become efficient actors.

It is safe to conclude that supporting the acquisition of commitment and participation from an early age through the reinforcement of civic education and citizenship as well as community involvement is very important.

Obstacles to youth in politics

According to The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network website, youth political engagement occurs at several levels and in various contexts, namely on structural, individual, and organizational levels:

On the structural level, the following elements are included: age requirements to vote or run for office, age restriction in campaigning in some countries, lack of political finance, Social and cultural traditions, and women’s discrimination based on their age and gender.

On the individual level, there exists Distrust in political institutions, a sack of confidence and trust in EMBs, lack of access to/knowledge about political processes, and social and economic exclusion/marginalization.

On the organizational level, there is limited data on youth political participation and a lack of an exclusive EMB youth policy and sustainable funding.

Also referred to as ‘effective practice or participation’, meaningful political participation is a concept with many definitions across the literature. However, the following aspects are common in most definitions according to Bárta et al (2021):

Information and communication : in order to achieve favourable results, young people should have access to the latest information at all times. This fosters their knowledge and hones their awareness about different matters. The implementation of youth-focused conferences, workshops and other capacity-building formats can also facilitate a great deal achieve meaningful political participation.

Authority and voice: giving young people the authority to express their ideas and thoughts publicly is not enough. Other stakeholders in political involvement procedures must also hear and respect their voices.

Power sharing : young people should also have the opportunity where they can actively participate in decision-making processes alongside stakeholders. This obviously should be executed in a transparent environment to attain efficiency.

Transparency and accountability: these elements are imperative to achieve meaningful participation. Young people should be fully briefed on the procedures and mechanisms that are taking place and affecting them. They should be aware of the roles they play, as well as the other players that are engaged and in what capacity.

Material and non-material support : no matter what their background, status, gender, or identity, young people should be able to participate freely and safely. They should also feel welcomed and appreciated during their political activities. Stakeholders should also recognise their efforts and engage them.

According to the Palestinian News and Info Agency ( Wafa ), conforming to democratic standards, young people are to fulfil their role in politics as follows:

• Strengthening the collective spirit between the youth to value the teamwork experience.
• Selecting experienced youth with qualified competencies, such as modern management methods.
• Enhancing a sense of belonging in young people to render them conscious of regulations and laws.
• Encouraging initiatives among young people by unleashing their energies to get creative and innovative results. Awarding them can be a great incentive too.
• Pushing young people to open up to other cultures through meetings with youth organizations in different countries, will promote relations of solidarity and cooperation between nations as an alternative to war and aggression tendencies.
• Enhancing the role of youth in public service through volunteering in different sectors to have a better understanding of their communities. 
• Discovering and adopting the different talents and potentials of young people by giving them opportunities to give, innovate and develop in various practical, scientific, artistic and other fields. Investing in their capacities would have many benefits in the future
• Promoting the values of tolerance, goodwill, and acceptance of the “other” from a position of difference and acknowledging their existence.
• Supporting the plurality of ideas and convictions in society as part of the values and principles of democracy creates a safety valve for the promotion of the general community and the official political environment.

To conclude, creating a legitimate, accountable, democratic system requires parity of the political presence of its members. The more all parties in society are involved in the political aspects, the more the country will strive. Young people, who make up an important party usually in countries, play a huge role in the future of politics. Not only do they come up with innovative solutions, but also one can notice a number of positive outcomes such as enhanced social skills, better conduct, higher academic performance, higher self-esteem, and higher self-efficacy. As a result, it is time for decision-makers to act in order to involve the youth in policy-making, enabling them to participate meaningfully.

Bárta, O. et al (2021). Meaningful Youth Political Participation In Europe: Concepts, Patterns And Policy Implications. Council of Europe and European Commission.

Faire Participer Les Jeunes Au Gouvernement Ouvert. Guide de communication. OCDE.

• Jan W. van Deth. (2021). What is political participation?
• Weiss, J. (2020). What Is Youth Political Participation? Literature Review on Youth Political Participation and Political Attitudes
• Young people’s role in the process of societal change. Link: https://info.wafa.ps/ar_page.aspx?id=3202
• Youth, Political Participation and Decision-Making. The United Nations.

Kawthar Marchli

Kawthar Marchli is a freelance translator translating from and into Arabic, English, and French. She got her Master thesis from King Fahd School of Translation in 2020. Since her graduation, she had the opportunity to translate a number of lengthy works (reports, guides, drafts, documents research, advertisements, surveys, manuals...) in the three languages, related to the political field administration, banking, etc. In her free time, she loves to read books, listen to podcasts, watch movies or take pictures.

• Research article
• Open access
• Published: 20 March 2021

The contribution of political skill to the implementation of health services change: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

• Jenelle M. Clarke   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2061-9287 1 ,
• Justin Waring 1 ,
• Simon Bishop 2 ,
• Jean Hartley 3 ,
• Mark Exworthy 1 ,
• Naomi J. Fulop 4 ,
• Angus Ramsay 4 &
• Bridget Roe 1  

BMC Health Services Research volume  21 , Article number:  260 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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The implementation of strategic health system change is often complicated by informal ‘politics’ in healthcare organisations. Leadership development programmes increasingly call for the development and use of ‘political skill’ as a means for understanding and managing the politics of healthcare organisations. The primary purpose of this review is to determine how political skill contributes to the implementation of health services change, within and across organisations. The secondary purpose is to demonstrate the conceptual variations within the literature.

The article is based upon a narrative synthesis that included quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research papers, review articles and professional commentaries that deployed the concept of political skill (or associated terms) to describe and analyse the implementation of change in healthcare services.

Sixty-two papers were included for review drawn from over four decades of empirically and conceptually diverse research. The literature is comprised of four distinct literatures with a lack of conceptual coherence. Within and across these domains, political skill is described as influencing health services change through five dimensions of leadership: personal performance; contextual awareness; inter-personal influence; stakeholder engagement, networks and alliances; and influence on policy processes.

There is a growing body of evidence showing how political skill can contribute to the implementation of health services change, but the evidence on explanatory processes is weak. Moreover, the conceptualisation of political skill is variable making comparative analysis difficult, with research often favouring individual-level psychological and behavioural properties over more social or group processes.

Peer Review reports

The implementation of organisational change within health and care services is notoriously difficult. Of the many contextual factors shown to influence change processes there is growing, but still relatively limited, recognition that organisational politics can have a significant bearing on the implementation of change. Although more formal (big ‘P’) political institutions and policy-making processes are commonly studied as triggering or shaping health services change, the more informal (small ‘p’) politics of care services can also influence change processes. Bate et al. [ 1 ] illustrate the ‘political challenge’ of implementing quality improvement in terms of securing buy-in, dealing with conflict, building relationships and agreeing a common agenda. In similar ways, the burgeoning field of implementation science highlights how stakeholders’ divergent interests can shape how new models of service organisation are implemented and sustained [ 2 , 3 ]).

Growing recognition of the informal politics of healthcare services has led to corresponding calls for health and care leaders to acquire and utilise a distinct set of skills and capabilities specifically tailored to understanding and dealing with the ‘political arenas’ of health service change. Pre-dating the current focus on health and care leaders, research since the mid-1970s called for members of the nursing profession to develop forms of political astuteness when seeking to influence policy-making [ 4 ]. More recently, Montalvo’s [ 5 ] integrative review of the nursing literature shows that ‘political skill’ can enhance nurses’ career development and impact on group performance through increased personal resilience, inter-personal influence, and influence within organisational networks. Similarly, Gilson [ 6 ] calls for greater attention to organisational politics and political skill in healthcare leadership development so that leaders are better equipped to understand the multiple agendas and interests that impact on everyday service organisation. Such ideas have now become integral to formal leadership development programmes. The ‘Leadership Qualities Framework’ used by the United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service Leadership Academy [ 7 ] emphasised the importance of ‘political astuteness’ in terms of a) the capacity to understand the climate and culture of the organisation; b) knowing who the key influencers are and how to involve them; c) being attuned to national and local strategies; and d) understanding the inter-connected roles of leadership. Although reviews in the nursing field provide some evidence for these skills in terms of nursing objectives and agendas, there is wide variation in the definition and conceptualisation of political skill, astuteness, savvy and intelligence, as well as variations in how such concepts can help inform or explain the implement of health service change.

Developed alongside the literature on healthcare politics, but as we show, with only partial cross-fertilisation, the management and leadership studies literatures offer a well-developed source of theoretical and empirical understanding of organisational politics and political skill. Pfeffer ([ 8 ],p7) describes such politics as “… those activities taken within organizations to acquire, develop, and use power and other resources to obtain one’s preferred outcomes in a situation in which there is uncertainty or dissensus about choice ”. He also describes the importance of leaders utilising ‘political skills’ to manage with and through politics, including ‘political strategies’ to control the agenda, build coalitions and co-opt resistant groups; ‘political language’ to frame ideas, shaping meaning and persuade others; and ‘controlling resources’ to dis/able activities or incentivise change. In recent years, the concept of political skill has been developed by Ferris and colleagues who define it as the “… ability to effectively understand others at work, and use this understanding to influence others to act in ways that enhances one’s personal and/or organizational objectives ” [9,p127]. This is elaborated along four dimensions, including social astuteness (the ability to observe situations and adjust behaviours accordingly), inter-personal influence (the ability to change the behaviours of others), networking ability (having access to information and resources through connections), and apparent sincerity (to be perceived as having integrity). A recent review of this broader literature shows that a range of further definitions and concepts are used to describe the different facets of political astuteness, intelligence, and savvy [ 9 , 10 ].

Although there is little doubt health and care services are inherently political and people act politically in the organisation of care, it is important to clarify the conceptual premise of ‘political’ and ‘politics’ before considering the specific concept of ‘political skill’, especially as this clarification can provide a basis for conceptual critique and extension. First, we draw on the work of Carl Schmitt [ 11 ], whose suggests that social groups are distinguished by distinct beliefs, values and ideologies that represent their underlying ‘political’ differences, and from which groups come to be regarded as ‘friend or foe’. These existential ‘political’ differences provide the basis of a political community motivated to engage in political activities, which become the substance of ‘politics’ whether in the form of judicial-political systems, or other social or organisational processes. The substance of politics can therefore involve multiple ‘arenas’ and ‘processes’ through which such political differences are articulated; the form of which clearly varies between time and culture.

From this broad conceptualisation two further points of clarification are relevant to the study of organisational politics. The first is around the interests and agenda that define and distinguish social groups. As shown below, much of the writing on organisational politics and political skill stems from organisational psychological and tends to portray interests and agenda in relatively narrow or self-serving terms, i.e. people engage in organisational politics for their own advancement [ 12 ]. In contrast, more critical sociology and public policy research tends to see interests as more cultural, social and structural in character, being acquired through socialisation and reflecting social institutions and ideological imperatives [ 13 ] for example shared professional agendas [ 14 ]. Rather than reducing analysis to either position (agency or structure), this research is attentive the interplay between the two; for example, where engaging in organisational politics can be driven to advance the personal advancement of the professional leader, the collective agenda of a profession, and the ideological imperatives of professionalism.

The second point of clarification deals with the ontology of organisational politics and political skill. It is noteworthy that the term ‘micro-politics’ is also used to describe this aspect of organising, which more clearly indicates a concern with ‘micro-level’ actions and interactions. From this perspective, ‘micro-politics’ is not confined to a particular organisational or social hierarchy, i.e. shopfloor or board room, but rather to the level of actions and interactions, whether on ward or board; whilst recognising these are situated within particular social and cultural contexts. However, the term ‘micro-politics’ (more than organisational politics) inevitably implies some notion of ‘macro’, and returning to the above discussion of interests, this notion of ‘macro’ does not deal with the hierarchies of organising or policy-making (i.e. national politics), rather the term macro is used in a more sociological sense of being institutional, structural and societal. This therefore connects the idea of macro structural or political interests to the micro actions and interactions of organisational politics; in ways that is less obvious in much of the literature on ‘organisational politics’. As such, the concept micro-politics focuses on the micro-level actions through which different interests and agendas are played out, recognising that these interests can be both self-serving and also structural interests.

The primary purpose of this article is to review the health service research literature to determine how political skill contributes to the implementation of health services change. The secondary purpose is to demonstrate the conceptual and methodological variations within the health services research literature and to understand how these can lead to different interpretations of change.

Narrative review

Given that the topic under review was known to comprise diverse theoretical, methodological and empirical orientations, a systematic review with a narrative synthesis methodology was adopted [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Rather than seeking to synthesize and analyse statistical results, as in a traditional systematic review, a systematic review with a narrative synthesis aims to develop a thematic summary of multiple diverse research sources involving interpretation and critique. Although sometimes criticized for selecting judicious sources, narrative synthesis reviews are not necessarily un-systematic but, as described below, followed a step-wise and transparent approach [ 18 ].

Search strategy

A preliminary task involved clarifying the search terms for ‘political skill’ and the boundaries of the ‘health services research’ literature. As described above, defining what is meant by ‘political’ within healthcare is challenging, and our focus is concerned with the micro-level politics. Within the management studies field, a number of conceptual definitions define the field, such as political ‘skill’, ‘astuteness’, ‘savvy’ or ‘intelligence’, although the concept developed by Ferris and colleagues [ 19 , 20 ] over the last decade has become the more prominent. For the purpose of this review, an explicitly inclusive approach was taken to consider the variety of ways political skill has been deployed within the health services research literature to understand the implementation of service change, inclusive of terms found within the wider management literature. Nonetheless, by focusing on ‘political’ in our search strategy, we recognise that our review is dependent upon authors choosing to label their organisational phenomena as political. The field of ‘health services research’ was defined following the Association for Health Services Research and the Academy of Health Services Research and Health Policy , which describe it as a multidisciplinary field that studies how ‘social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies and personal behaviours affect access to health care, the quality and cost of health care and ultimately … health and well-being’ ([ 21 ],p16).

Taking into account the above clarifications, the search and selection criteria were refined through a deliberative process amongst all authors and a panel of research experts drawn from the fields of health services research, public policy, organisation studies, health psychology and medical sociology ( n  = 8). Through this process we established the broad parameters of our search in terms of concepts that describe and explain how organisational actors develop and use particular skills, behaviours or strategies to understand, influence or manage the informal political context of their organisation or workplace. Working with the expert panel, the following search terms, Boolean operators were identified: political skill OR political astuteness OR political savvy OR political acumen OR political nous OR socio-political intelligence OR political leadership AND health OR healthcare OR health service OR health policy OR health policies (see Additional file  1 : Appendix 1 for a search example). Using these search terms, a systematic literature search was undertaken using seven well-established databases to offer coverage across the health services research literatures: MEDLINE , Web of Science , PsychInfo , ProQuest Social Science, PubMed, CINAHL Plus, SCOPUS. No time restrictions were placed. The searches were run between October and November 2018. We also carried out hand searches based on consultation with the expert panel, and through reviewing the bibliographies and references of included literature for further sources, and literature recommended by domain-relevant experts. In total, the database and manual searches identified 1718 records.

The primary basis of inclusion was whether an article explicitly deployed and/or reported on political skill (or similar term) as part of research addressing the implementation of change within the organisation of healthcare services. The review was inclusive of empirical and theoretical papers, evidence-based commentaries, and prominent grey literature. All included papers were written in English. No time restrictions were applied. Three independent reviewers (anonymized for review) screened the results (titles and abstract review), excluding 837 papers. Two authors then independently reviewed 96 articles (full text), excluding a further 35, with 62 identified [ 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ] for inclusion (Fig.  1 ) [ 80 ].

PRISMA Flow Diagram [ 79 ]

Where disagreements between reviewers occurred, authors deliberated viewpoints with the third reviewer contributing to the selection process.

Extraction and analysis

A standardized spreadsheet was used to extract relevant data thematically [ 80 , 81 ]. Characteristics included: the full citation, method of study, disciplinary perspective, theoretical background, phenomenon of interest in regard to the change agenda or political issues, context for study, methodological position, analytical approach, key findings, interpretation and explanation related to the study of change, and theoretical contribution. Extracted information was discussed on a regular basis between all authors. Preliminary findings were presented to the full team and panel of experts for further refinement. Narrative analysis of the papers involved interpretation of prominent themes within and across the selected literature. First, the structure of the literature was summarised in terms of main disciplinary fields and areas of study, which related to distinct policy context and professional domain over a four-decade period. Second, analysis focused on how political skill or related concepts was shown to contribute to the implementation of health services change, identifying the main explanatory accounts along five thematic lines: personal performance; contextual awareness; inter-personal influence; stakeholder engagement, networks and alliances; and influence on policy processes. Supplementary analysis considered the different theoretical and methodological approaches informing health services research. Following Millar et al. [ 15 ], Popay et al. [ 80 ] and Dixon-Woods et al. [ 81 ], we prioritized papers along two lines of enquiry related to our review questions: quality and relevance (Table  1 ).

Structure of the literature

The review found that the health services research literature was structured along four lines when deploying the concept of political skill in the study of health services change, each reflecting different policy and professional contexts that have been the focus of research over the last four decades (Table  2 ).

Emerging in the 1970s, the first literature deals with nurse leaders’ use of political skill when seeking to influence formal policy processes. This literature reflects broader goals to enhance the professional status of nursing. From the 1980s, the second deals with the use of political skill by health service administrators, managers and, later, leaders in the implementation of organisational change. This literature coincides with the broader managerialisation of healthcare services throughout the 1980s; and shows growing influence of theories and models derived from the management studies literature. Earlier articles utilise a generic and un-theorised concept of political skill, but from the 1990s papers draw more explicitly on the work of Ferris and colleagues. The third (more dispersed) literature deals with the use of political skill by other (non-nursing) sections of healthcare workforce in the implementation of change. In many ways this mirrors the earlier research in the nursing field, and over time has become informed by various conceptualisations of political astuteness, intelligence and savvy, but with the work of Ferris and colleagues again becoming the more prominent. The fourth literature deals with the use of political skill in the context of more recent debates on ‘system leadership’ and the recognition that contemporary service change involves working with multiple stakeholders located within and across different organisational and occupational boundaries. Although political skill is rarely conceptualised in a formal way, research describes elements of system leadership as involving forms of political skill. The thematic review described below details the different dimensions and qualities of political skill (and associated terms) as deployed within the health services research literature to understand the implementation of health services change. This thematic review does not emphasise any particular prior theorisation of political skill, but does acknowledge where included research papers do draw on a particular conceptualisation.

Thematic analysis

Personal performance.

A relatively small number of research papers describe political skill as a form of personal competency, self-belief and self-efficacy that is strongly associated with enhanced personal performance and career development in the context of prevailing patterns of organisational politics (e.g. Montalvo [ 5 ], Taylor [ 58 ], Young [ 67 ], Lussier [ 64 ], Carroll [ 24 ]. The majority of these papers focus on nurse administrators and leaders and being initially based upon relatively generalised notions of political skill, but over time becoming informed by the conceptual work of Ferris et al. [ 19 ]. For example, Montalvo’s [ 5 ] integrative review of the nursing literature describes political skill as a form of personal mastery and security for navigating inter-personal relationships and influencing group dynamics in the workplace. This is associated with personal resilience, accumulated influence and career progression. The theme of resilience, coping and survival in the face of competing interests is also discussed in the parallel literature on hospital managers. Taylor [ 58 ] describes the importance of managers’ self-awareness or knowing one’s capabilities in the context of prevailing lines of power. Similarly, Young [ 67 ] describes the importance of laboratory managers developing personal routines and political style to deal with the political behaviours of others. Political skill is further invoked to explain different approaches to workforce management; for example, Lussier [ 64 ] focuses on the use of political skill to enhance job performance and advance personal agendas. Whitman et al.’s [ 55 ] surveys of nurse supervisors found that political skill can act as a self-regulatory mechanism to discourage supervisors from adopting assertive and abusive behaviours with subordinates. This theme therefore deals with the personal and psychological aspects of political skill, showing how these relate to other forms of inter-personal and organisational influence when implementing change.

Contextual awareness

A substantial theme within the literature describes political skill in terms of health service leaders’ ability to understand the prevailing political dynamics within their local service environment (e.g. Berger [ 61 ], Crow and Hartman [ 34 ]; Gilson [ 6 ]; Montalvo any Byrne [ 25 ]; Smaltz et al. [ 66 ], Taylor [ 58 ]). Three linked aspects of such contextual understanding are described in the literature. The first is to understand the prevailing ‘lines of power’ manifest amongst different stakeholders, especially which of these are more influential, dominant or likely to resist change [ 34 , 58 , 66 ]. The second aspect, although less developed in the literature, deals with leaders ability to understand the underlying interests or motivations of these groups [ 6 ]. As an example, Taylor [ 58 ] considers how health managers must use political skills to engage with wider community groups, especially when building networks around change agenda. The third aspect is to determine how best to respond to or manage these lines of power when seeking to implement change, i.e. to draw support from some groups and manage the resistance of others [ 61 ]. For instance, Berger [ 61 ] examines the need for social workers to gain awareness of power and politics within a hospital organisation in order to exert influence over patient management, particularly during discharge planning. Berger highlights how social workers use political skill to manage the competing interests amongst hospital doctors and nurses, and also carers and family members. She offers three recommendations for social workers: identifying power sources, successfully interpreting an organisation’s political environment, and using power effectively.

A number of studies describe this contextual awareness in terms of inter-professional working, i.e. understanding the power differences between nurse leaders, hospital administrators, senior executives and medical doctors (e.g. Montavlo [ 5 , 44 ]; Montavlo and Byrne [ 25 ]; Berger [ 61 ]; Taylor [ 58 ]. That said, some studies similarly describe the need for medical leaders to utilise similar skills when implementing change, vis-a-vis other healthcare professionals and managers (Comber et al. [ 56 ]; Wilber and Coberly [ 59 ]). Reviewing this literature, research before the 1990s offers a relatively atheoretical, descriptive view of nurse leaders’ and hospital managers’ ability to ‘read situations’ and assess ‘lines of power’; whilst more recent research is more explicitly informed by Ferris et al.’s [ 19 ] idea of ‘social astuteness’ or similar concepts of ‘situational awareness’ drawn from the public management and organisational psychology literatures [ 9 ].

Inter-personal influence

Nearly all identified studies describe political skill as involving forms of inter-personal influence, but this was especially the case for studies or review articles that deployed the Ferris et al. [ 19 ] conceptualisation of political skill [ 5 , 58 , 66 ]. These papers tend to focus on ability of Person A to use particular inter-personal tactics to influence the behavioural responses of Person B in a given change context. For example, Smaltz et al. [67,p11] discuss how chief information officers need to develop political savvy, defined as the ability to ‘negotiate, influence and persuade’, in order to convince colleagues of information technology (IT) opportunities, to identify risks to projects delivery and to have more control over resources for IT projects. The studies describe inter-personal influence in a number of slightly different ways, such as persuasion, negotiation and coercion [ 5 , 34 , 61 , 65 ]. However, the research studies rarely elaborate or theorise the specific types, features or boundaries of inter-personal influence.

The more recent literature of ‘system leadership’ highlights the importance of transformational and distributed leadership when seeking to engage and influence others. Turner et al.’s [ 71 ] study of major system change describes the importance of balancing an assertive or directive approach with an inclusive and delegated approach as two complementary approaches to inter-personal influence, i.e. where leaders set very clear parameters and expectations for change whilst also creating opportunities for engagement. Although this literature focus on different occupational relations (e.g. managers influencing doctors) and contexts (e.g. the implementation of information technology innovations), the underlying conceptualisation of political skill in relation to the implementation of change tends to emphasise individualised skills and abilities that are associated with individual psychology or capability and manifest in inter-personal influence, rather than more shared occupational or professional competence.

Stakeholder engagement, networks and alliances

Building on the themes of contextual awareness and inter-personal influence, the literature describes political skill in terms of a broader form of stakeholder engagement and network building. This is associated with the ability to understand and mediate the divergent interests of stakeholders in order to engage and align them positively with a given change agenda. McAuliffe et al.’s [ 70 ] study of health system change highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement as an element of more general change management activities, in which healthcare leaders should clarify the purpose, scope and timing of change in ways that aligns with the prevailing expectations of stakeholders. It also relates to a more prominent feature of the literature dealing with the importance of healthcare leaders’ communication strategies [ 59 ]. Again, the literature is very general in its description of these engagement and communication strategies, offering little in the way of detail on presentational style or framing techniques that might be used in the interactions between different professional groups. Mateo et al. [ 65 ] and Rafferty and Traynor [ 50 ] describe the importance of nurse leaders’ information processes (and stewardship) skills, especially for communicating national policy changes into local service contexts. Wilber and Coberly [ 59 ] similarly describe the importance of doctors’ different communication skills when working with internal and external stakeholders. In their study of major system change, Turner et al. [ 71 ] highlight the importance of using information systems and feedback loops to maintain stakeholder engagement during change processes. The ubiquity of communication and engagement strategies to healthcare management, in general, and change management, in particular, might account for the relative lack of empirical detail provided in the identified literature; although the wider health services research literature shows growing sophistication in its analysis of framing strategies but in ways that is not explicitly associated with political skill [ 2 ]. More recent research further demonstrates the importance of building networks and alliances at the inter-organisational level in the context of system change [ 58 , 71 , 73 ]. Although this still involves developing connections between clinical teams or departments the level of activity moves to the inter-organisational level, with commensurate recognition that hospitals and other healthcare organisations will often hold divergent priorities and drivers for strategic change that need to be reconciled and aligned with seeking reconfiguration of inter-agency care systems. This includes both reconciling differences between healthcare organisations such as in the centralisation of stroke services [ 71 ] and increasingly health and social care organisations [ 61 ].

Common to much of this research is the idea of an individual leader, often as part of group, extending their influence beyond the inter-personal level across clinical teams, professional communities or organisational departments. Although rarely made explicit, the assumption seems to be that change required forms of collective action that goes beyond the inter-personal influence described above, and therefore offering an important analytical shift in the conceptualisation of political skill (albeit one that is rarely made explicit in the literature).

Influence on policy processes

Lastly, extending beyond the arena of organisational politics, a significant and early stand of research describes how political skill can facilitate improved influence on formal policy and management processes. Whilst this study was concerned with studying the forms of political skill within the organisation of healthcare services, rather than more formal policy-making, the identified literature did suggest that political skill can extend beyond the organisational context and reach into more formal policy processes. Importantly, this highlights the important interface between healthcare policy making and healthcare organisations that is arguably less central to other business contexts and perhaps why it is little discussed in the wider literature. Of note here is the way that political skill, and its associated terms, have been used by the professions to advance their ideological agenda and professional power through influencing policy. This is exemplified by the seminal work of Clark [ 4 ] that set out an operational definition of nurses’ ‘political astuteness’ in terms of their participation in formal democratic voting processes, membership of political bodies, understanding of formal (US) political institutions and processes, and use of channels to engage in policy decision-making. This research seems concerned with advancing the professional status and position of nursing, vis a vis other professionals and groups in policy-making processes. Subsequent research has both developed and specified the work of Clark. For example, Byrd et al. [ 23 ] use the Political Astuteness Inventory to examine nursing students’ awareness of policy processes; whilst Benton et al. [ 30 ] describe nurses’ influence on policy-making as a form of ‘political competence’ including awareness of political processes and understanding of the procedures through which to influence legislative processes. Outside of nursing, Wilber and Coberly [ 59 ] examine gerontologists as professionals proficient in public policy, and advocate for more engagement in legislation and policy. Significantly, this literature talks of political skill as a form of ‘upward’ influence on formal policy processes, rather than influence in more local organisational processes, which is a marked difference to the studies discussed above.

Looking outside of professional domains, more recent research on major system change also describes the importance of system leaders having forms of political skill or intelligence through their awareness of and ability to navigate changing ‘top-down’ policy expectations that routinely influence efforts to reconfigure regional care services [ 58 , 69 , 71 ]. In particular, efforts to implement change within regional care systems can be facilitated through aligning with and using the expectations and financial inducements made available by national policy. Unlike the earlier literature, this research portrays political skill in terms of understanding of informal organisational or inter-organisational politics in the context of more formal national politics drivers.

Over the last four decades, concepts such as political astuteness, skill and savvy have been used to describe, or advocate for, the use of particular skills, behaviours and tactics when seeking to implement change in healthcare services. An initial point for discussion is that over this time, different professional and policy contexts have provided the impetus or backdrop for research. Defining political skill is therefore challenging. This review shows that the nursing field has provided the initial and main focus of health services research, including review articles summarising the influence of nurse leaders on policy-making and organisational change [ 5 , 30 ]. By taking an inclusive approach that extended beyond a given clinical or professional domain, our review shows how political skill is also used by hospital managers and other health professionals when seeking to introduce organisational change, and, more recently, system leaders’ implementation of major system change. What seems to unite some of these studies (e.g. Montavlo [ 5 , 44 ]; Montavlo and Byrne [ 25 ]; Berger [ 61 ]; Taylor [ 58 ]) is the idea that healthcare leaders need to develop and deploy political skill because of the perceived dominance of other healthcare professionals, who are often presented as resistant to change and having institutionalised power in the division of labour. However, more research is needed to understand the forms and use of political skill across the wider healthcare workforce and other stakeholders, including in different service settings and career stages.

The second point for discussion relates to the way political skill, or associated terms, have been conceptualised and deployed across the health services literature. To some extent, there is limited definitional or conceptual agreement. Much of the earlier research, especially in nursing, uses terms such as political astuteness and skill in largely descriptive and generalised ways drawn from observational studies and with limited theoretical underpinning. Subsequent use of these terms becomes infused with concepts and ideas drawn from management studies, but it is only later that the Ferris et al. [ 19 ] conceptualisation of political skill becomes the dominant framing for research [ 5 ]. We thus notice a shift from a relatively ‘loose’ descriptive concept to a ‘tighter’ analytical concept. As discussed below, whilst this shift results in enhanced clarity, it is also rigid and risks marginalising certain aspects in favour of others; notably the Ferris conceptualisation does not address leadership as an interpersonal process but rather focuses on individuals. The concept of political skill, as largely shaped by organisational psychology, speaks to the distinct capabilities and actions of engaging in organisational or micro-politics, in much the same way that broader concepts such as social skill or managerial skill, speak to the processes of engaging in field change or organisational change; where these are not regarded as mutually exclusive concepts but opportunities for varying levels and forms of analysis. The five aspects of political skill presented in this review (personal performance; contextual awareness; inter-personal influence; stakeholder engagement, networks and alliances; and policy influence) are directly comparable with the work of Ferris et al. [ 19 ], but they also highlight factors beyond individual skills in ways that places the individual within the wider organisational and system context of healthcare services, and public policy environment. Future research might therefore benefit from drawing upon alternate conceptualisations that are more relevant to issues of leadership and change in complex organisational contexts. For example, the conceptualisation of ‘political astuteness’ offered by Hartley [ 9 ] and Hartley and Bennington [ 10 ] not only deals directly with leadership, including healthcare leadership, but also describes skills, judgements and activities that are wider that interpersonal influence and which set these in the context of the demands of the job and the organisational context.

The third point for discussion addressed the variable levels of evidence underpinning these different dimensions and, more importantly, the relationships between these dimensions. Our review has focused on the organisational or micro-politics within healthcare services. As stated earlier, the micro-level analysis is concerned with the interactions between actors and groups, their differences and competing interests. Micro-politics is not limited to an organisational level, such as front line staff or executive board members, nor does it exclude macro-level institutional agendas or ideologies. This understanding of micro-politics stemming from macro-political interests is where our work arguably departs from the narrower psychological work on organisational politics and re-engages with the wider political theory. Where one foregrounds agency and behaviours the latter emphasises structures and ideologies. Based on our findings, we argue for attending to both, and the interplay between the two, in a non-reductionist sense.

The review finds there is more descriptive evidence on the importance of leaders’ ‘contextual awareness’ of prevailing lines of power, and in more general ways, the importance of ‘stakeholder engagement’ and effective ‘communication’. In other areas, however, the evidence-base appears relatively thin and under-developed. Although ‘inter-personal influence’ features across much of the literature, there is surprisingly little analytical detail how what form or impact this takes beyond relatively general accounts of negotiation, persuasion and coercion. For example, how is persuasion realised through the use of evidence or the use of incentives and sanctions. Moreover, there is little detail of how such inter-personal influence varies between occupational groups and organisational contexts. As discussed below, much of the review literature describes political skill in terms of individual or personal qualities, rather than necessarily professional or organisational in character.

The existing literature rarely explores the inter-connections between the different aspects of political skill. For instance, individuals’ use of ‘stakeholder engagement’ appears to be collapsed alongside building ‘networks and alliances’; however these might better be thought of as two related, but distinct, processes that require different skills. Even those studies drawing explicitly on the framework of Ferris et al. [ 19 ] tend to treat the different dimensions of political skill as relatively discrete variables with only a small number of papers elaborating the inter-connections between the constituent parts of political skill. One example being Montalvo’s [ 5 ] integrative review that shows political skill as operating first through ‘the self’, then through influence on ‘others’ and then on the performance of the ‘organisation’.

Thus, we recognise that organisational politics can encompass relatively narrow or self-serving interests as often depicted in the organisational psychology literature, but also deeper or broader interests associated for example with professional power in the division of labour or broader political governing rationalities manifest in social discourse. As such, the interests driving organisational politics can be seen as operating on multiple dimensions simultaneously. This can include highly personal interests for career advanced or organisational priorities for improved efficiencies or quality, and may also reflect deeper professional agenda or structural interests around challenging dominant groups or maintaining the status quo; further still these can reflect deeper ideological imperatives around the social value of care. When individuals and groups interact around a change initiative it is important to see the politics and political skill as motivated by these multiple intertwined interests, some of which will be espoused, some hidden and other subconscious, so that the implementation of change may be presented as advancing some social good, but at the same time enhancing the reputation of the change leader or advancing the shared m agenda of a profession and also reflecting deeper ideological assumptions about contemporary public service.

Through our review of the health service research literature, we sketched out the foundations for a more integrative conceptual heuristic (Fig.  2 ).

Conceptual heuristic of political skill ‘in action’

Specifically, extant literature suggests a close connection or interplay between ‘personal performance’ and ‘contextual awareness’, in that leaders need to effectively understand their own skills and capabilities relative to the political landscape, lines of power and systems of influence. This provides the orientation and basis for ‘inter-personal influence’, in terms of understanding who to influence and how to influence them, given the leader’s given position and skills. In turn, such influence extends from the individual to the group level, to include ‘stakeholder engagement’ and in parallel ‘network building’ which provides the basis for coordinated and collective ‘organisational change’, often in the context of resistance or opposition. Moreover, stakeholder engagement and networking and alliances can provide positive feedback loops for enhancing inter-personal influence with other stakeholders. Finally, and somewhat tangentially, the literature also suggests leaders can also seek to use political skill to engage in more formal ‘policy influence’; perhaps to reinforce the more informal forms of political skill. We also argue that in light of the findings that do discuss policy, it is important for leaders to be aware of and consider any policy influences within their wider context.

As indicated above, the shift towards a tighter and more specific conceptualisation of political skill affords more comparative and analytical sophisticated research, but also emphasises certain dimensions of organisational politics and political skill to the exclusion of others. The influence of Ferris and colleagues might offer a more precise conceptualisation, but by drawing primarily on social psychology, this presents a highly individualised and behavioural understanding of political skill. Such a conceptualisation is associated with a person’s psychological qualities to read people and situations, their behavioural skills and competencies to influence others, and their self-reflective skills to assess their own behaviours in relation to others. While this may include consideration of an actor’s inter-personal relations, the underlying assumption is that individuals are able to navigate conflict or politics in the workplace in pursuit of relatively narrow personal motives and organisational agendas. This approach underpins a major strand in contemporary leadership development that encourages leaders and aspirant leaders to reflect upon their psychological qualities and fine-tune their inter-personal skills to influence others. In contrast, there remains a substantial body of health services research that does not use the term or concept of political skill (or associated terms), and hence was not included in this review; but importantly this alternate literature analyses the micro-politics of health service organisation in ways that goes beyond individual skills and behaviours. This includes, for example, a long tradition of research on the negotiated order of healthcare organisation [ 83 , 84 ]. In addition, more critical and interpretative perspectives on micro-politics bring to the fore the influence of prevailing institutional and ideological forces on the local manifestations of change, such as the divergent agendas around professionalism and managerialism [ 2 ]. Importantly, this literature demonstrates the importance of looking beyond individual skills and capabilities to understand the social and cultural context of ‘political action’ together with more explicit recognition of the structural inequalities that frame organisational politics related, for instance, to issues such as profession, gender, ethnicity or class. Bridging the conceptual divide between the mainstream health services research literature deploying the concept of political skill and this more critical sociological literature offers extended insights for examining political skills and practices in the context of wider social and political forces. The heuristic we derive from the literature points to the complex interplay between actors, context and processes of change, but so far there has been little explicit research which tries to examine these factors within specifically designed studies.

There are lessons arising from this research for implementing healthcare change. As we have argued above, conceptualisations of political skill should include individual qualities, wider structural, cultural and ideological issues, and processes of change, along with the interplay between them. This is especially important, as rather than a framework of what works well in what context, it is clear from the literature that effectively implementing change requires leaders to move rapidly and simultaneously from the level of individuals, groups, structures and policies, whilst also remaining sensitive to their context and power dynamics. Treating each of these as separate entities or having a tight framework of success criteria significantly weakens a leader’s ability to implement change. It is the fluidity between these, and the ability to reflect, process changes and adapt strategies that is a central component to implementing healthcare change. Such attention enables leaders to effectively exercise their influence on the individual and group level, knowing who to influence, how and in what contexts.

Limitations

There are inevitable limitations to this review. Because of the wide variety of terms used for political skill, and how it is often incorporated within wider leadership literature, it is possible that some papers may have been missed that use un-specified terms. Specifically, some healthcare studies and literature may describe organisational phenomena that is similar to political skill, but it is not labelled as ‘political’ and therefore not captured in our search strategy. A parallel limitation relates to the boundaries between health services research and related disciplinary fields. For example, research within the management studies fields might use healthcare organisations as one of multiple case study sites to compare leadership differences, but with limited detailed account of the health service context. In this review, the researchers discussed the inclusion of such papers based upon the detail and novelty of conceptualization and application, but again there is scope that some studies could have been excluded. Further, the review is limited by the quality and quality assessment of empirical papers, especially as many of the included studies do not define the concept of political skill and were vague with their methodological approaches. A more significant limitation of the review process is the exclusion of many seminal and influential texts in the field of healthcare policy and politics, such as Alford’s [ 85 ] Healthcare Politics or Klein’s [ 82 ] The New Politics of the National Health Service . Although service change does involve policy, these works informed the framing and initial specification of this research they were excluded on the grounds that they rarely, if ever, explicitly talk of political skill or related terms, even though they focus on the manifestation of broader political interests and process on the everyday organisation of care. Further research could include an analysis of the use of political skill in relation to policy. A number of other prominent commentaries and essays were identified that talked at length about the concept of political skill and astuteness [ 86 , 87 ] but were excluded because they were primarily review essays and offered limited detail or empirical substance. Lastly, there were some papers that discussed system change (e.g. Maun et al. [ 88 ]), but did not discuss political skill or its related terms. As we discuss above, future research building upon these concepts could determine the extent to how they influence organisational change.

This review identifies that health service leaders’ use of political skill in the implementation of change arises and operates within five thematic dimensions, namely: personal performance; contextual awareness; inter-personal influence; stakeholder engagement, networks and alliances; influence on policy processes. Going forwards, engaging stakeholders and building networks and alliances could be more usefully conceptualised as distinct, but related, processes that influence organisational change. More significantly, the review shows how these dimensions can be inter-connected to accumulate influence in the context of prevailing lines of power in the organisation of care. These dimensions can be instructive to the development of current and future healthcare leadership programmes that seek to support healthcare leaders better understand and navigate the organisational politics of healthcare services. The review also highlights that the evolution of the empirical and conceptual research over the last four decades has led to a view of political skill as highly individualised and based on psychological attributes to the neglect of more social skills or collective actions undertaken in the context of wider social, cultural or political factors. As such, future research could better understand and evidence these additional factors to offer a more developed and social understanding of how political skill contributes to the implementation of health services change.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Information technology

United Kingdom

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This research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research Programme (study reference NIHR HS&DR 16/52/04).

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Open University Business School, Open University, Walton Hall, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BH, UK

Jean Hartley

Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK

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JC and JW conducted the literature search, with SB assisting with the inclusion and exclusion of identified articles. Analysis and overall synthesis of findings for the review, and the paper write-up, were conducted by all authors (JC, JW, SB, JH, ME, NF, AR, BR). All authors have approved the manuscript for submission.

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Correspondence to Jenelle M. Clarke .

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Clarke, J.M., Waring, J., Bishop, S. et al. The contribution of political skill to the implementation of health services change: a systematic review and narrative synthesis. BMC Health Serv Res 21 , 260 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06272-z

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06272-z

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• The Mystery of Political Awareness essay

Recently, large numbers of people have been moving into urban centers in former communist and Third World nations. This situation is causing one primary problem: governments are not recognizing that this shift to urban centers is the potential source of promise, not problems. The failure to recognize this essential fact is compromising how governments deal with the situation. De Soto devotes most of this chapter to discussing two blind spots that have caused people to misidentify the primary problem.

The first blind spot is that most people do not recognize that though the majority of the world’s citizens live outside the bell jar of legal capitalism, they have created their own systems for conducting business. The success of these extralegal activities often runs counter to failures in legal business ventures of the same nature. For example, the legal construction industry in Brazil has shown only a very small percentage of growth while the extralegal construction industry, as measured by concrete sales, is booming.

Most of this extralegal construction, in Brazil as in other poorer countries, occurs around city centers. Increased migration to cities has been caused by several factors: road construction, new methods of communication such as radio, agricultural crises including problems related to rural property ownership, lower infant mortality rates in urban environments, higher wages in cities, and educational opportunities. These numerous migrants, however, have been welcomed with hostility, particularly from the legal system.

The legal systems in poorer countries have excluded these migrants, forcing them to engage in often costly extralegal activities in order to survive. De Soto refers to these legal barriers as legal apartheid. The sheer size of these extralegal systems, which hold almost 80% of real estate in Latin America, places them in direct competition with existing legal systems. Governments in these countries do not have the power to compete with these extralegal entities, and they must recognize that existing laws conflict with the way of life of their country’s citizens.

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This conflict is the source of much corruption, violence, and poverty. Governments must, then, work to legitimize extralegal assets by reforming the legal framework. The second blind sport is that people largely do not recognize that the situation facing former communist and Third World nations is not new. There are important precedents in European history, and the way these challenges were met can provide clues as to how contemporary governments should act.

When workers initially began to move from agricultural areas into European cities in the seventeenth century, governments responded first by passing laws designed to stop the migration and then with violence. The numerous migrants who remained in the cities faced challenges in finding legal work, and they opened extralegal businesses. These new businesses were not welcomed by those who had lived in the cities for a long time, and punishments were harsh for those who were caught. These businesses, however, continued to function and competed successfully against legal businesses.

Governments changed their tactics and began to accept these extralegal businesses once it was seen that they were more efficient and successful than those controlled by the guilds. Laws were changed to meet the needs of these successful entrepreneurs. De Soto argues that the European past resembles the current situation faced in today’s poorer countries. In order for capitalism to succeed in these countries, governments must realize that there are substantial problems with the legal system, and this system must be changed to integrate the potentially profitable extralegal businesses.

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A REVIEW ON THE POLITICAL AWARENESS OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OF ST. PAUL UNIVERSITY MANILA.pdf

The recent news about the different happenings in the politics of the Philippines, the younger generations are expected to participate in the discussions related to the matter because they're exposed to different forms of media. The study aimed to review the political awareness of senior high school students of St. Paul University Manila. The research focused on: (1) the current political awareness status of senior high school students. (2) the knowledge of the students about political related topics and its effects to their willingness to join in different discussions about politics, interest and awareness of current Socio-Political Issues and involvement in political civic, and economic life of the community. (3) how this assessment help in forming their leadership capabilities in school and community. The study uses descriptive research design and used a questionnaire to gather data. The respondents of the study were 25 random senior high school students of St. Paul University Manila (SPUM). Based on data interpreted, it shows that the students use social media to inquire information about politics. The senior high school students are politically aware but do not intend to give their opinions about politics and they do not have an interest on joining any discussions in this matter. With these results, the researchers proposed various school activities that could help the students express themselves about politics and for them to be more politically aware.

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International Journal of Current Science Research and Review

Nikko Ederio

The study is aimed to assess College Students' Political Knowledge and their Political Involvement in Public Affairs. It was conducted to the 320 college students across all college departments at St. Paul University Surigao, Surigao City, during the second semester of AY 2021-2022. The study employed a descriptive quantitative survey method. The findings revealed that there is no significant degree of relationship between the students’ Political Knowledge and their Political Involvement which means that the student’s level of political involvement is not dependent on the level of their political knowledge. Political knowledge in this study is measured according to public policies, political leaders, political processes, and political issues while political involvement is measured from the perspective of voting, public forums, and political activism. Students were rated highly knowledgeable in all dimensions; however, they were rated seldom and not involved in voting, public forum, and political activism.

kritiya rujichok

The purposes of this research were to examine and study political communication factors affecting university students’ political participation. The population was 2,613 university students. The quantitative methodology was applied in this research by surveying students’ opinions. The research instrument was a questionnaire. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, standard deviation and factor analysis. The factors affecting political participation were analyzed and used to find an effective activity strategy to promote political participation. The results were suggested as guidelines for developing students’ political participation. The research results showed that the factors affecting knowledge building in politics were family, university and classmates. The effective activities to promote knowledge management in politics were activities outside the classroom which combined knowledge giving and relaxation. Students’ political decision making was based on their role models, e.g. idols, actors and musicians. The students did not agree with vote buying; however, they could not stop family or community leaders from doing it because of the seniority-based culture. As for guidelines in developing political participation, the government sector could use this activity strategy to give political knowledge to the students or make political knowledge one of the core subjects at the university level.

Proceedings of the Annual Civic Education Conference (ACEC 2018)

Azwar Ananda

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This study focused on the concept of leadership and political engagement of students. Thus, it determined the respondents' conceptions of leadership and knew their current political engagement. Further, it determined the gaps between the notions about leadership and current political engagement of the respondents, which served as the basis for identifying the implications of the conceptions of leadership and current political engagement in teaching Philippine Politics and Governance. The study used an open-ended survey questionnaire, and the data gathered was analyzed with topical and thematic analysis. The students have knowledge and conceptions about leadership and the qualities and characteristics attributed to it. It was found that most of the students are engaged in elections, digital platforms, political discussion, and civic matters. Furthermore, gaps show that their political engagement does not reflect their conceptions of leadership and vice versa. What the students view and think is not the same as what they are doing or actualizing. Their concepts negate what they are engaged in. The existing gaps show that leadership conceptions and political engagement can be further improved by incorporating varying teaching-learning approaches aligned to the Philippine Politics and Governance curriculum.

Journal of Adolescence

Adrian Furnham

Journal La Edusci

Muchlas M. Tahir

This article aims to discuss the political activity of beginner voter education for high school students to realize the awareness of novice voters to participate in elections, understanding the importance of the role of novice voters in the democratic process, and knowledge of political developments for novice voters. The results achieved are the emergence of student enthusiasm in discussing matters related to political issues. It is quite visible that this is marked by the topics they discuss about elections that produce trustworthy leaders and then enlightenment given in understanding the importance of novice voters in participating the election was well received and the enthusiasm for conducting the election received a positive response from the students, but it was interesting because it turned out that students' understanding of the general election was more influenced by the media they watched such as TV and social media

wayan gede suacana

In general election, people have role to vote and determine who candidate better to win the political contest, both adult and youth should participate in. Moreover, youth hold a potential ballot because they are beginner in politics and general election. This issue affected by knowledge and political education that youth have. The aim of this research is provide a knowledge and understanding of politics about General Election to youth at Negari village, also as a media of learning to youth to face general election. The method in this research is lecturing method. This method is used with the consideration that the lecture method combined with images and animations can provide material that is relatively easier and faster. The result of this activity includes target number of participants, activity purpose, discourse, participant ability.

American journal of multidisciplinary research and innovation

Kenedy Navarro Flores

Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi

Political socialisation refers to a process in which every individual who is born into a society learns the basic values, institutions, and rules of that society and becomes amenable to its political culture. In this process, the individual learns the boundaries of their own society unconsciously, the roles in that society, the forms of behaviour deemed legitimate and political beliefs. In political socialisation as a learning process, institutions such as family, friendship networks, school, mass media, and religion have constructive and transformative roles in the process. Political socialisation processes of individuals are shaped by these institutions worldwide. This study claims to reveal the factors affecting the political socialisation processes of political science students in Türkiye. The field research part of the study was carried out with quantitative research methods and survey design. In this context, a survey was administered to 426 students who continue their education in the department of political science in Türkiye. The hypotheses determined for the study were tested by analysing the survey data in the SPSS package program. The findings of the study show that students who continue their undergraduate education in political science in Türkiye frequently discuss politics with their families, but their families do not want to support their children in joining a political organisation. Political science students do not respond favourably to invitations from their friends to attend political meetings, and although they frequently follow politics through mass media, they avoid interacting even online platforms. In addition, the hypotheses of the study show that there is a significant relationship between political socialisation and gender and political ideology.

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