It may be pointed out that the concept of ‘political technology’ is different from many other forms of politics, which often are long or short-term, legal, ephemeral, specific, secretive and vague like strategy, policy, diplomacy, manipulation, technique, appeal, and other several similar expressions.
They may, however, be observed as various forms of ‘political technologies’ in making. Future research on them will encompass both an evolving philosophy and a range of techniques. Its primary objective will be to assist decision makers to understand better the potential consequences of present Social Sciences. This concept has to be expanded further.’
The proposed concept of ‘political technology’ is made of two terms, viz., ‘technology’ and ‘polities’. Politics usually is the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs. It includes the activities or affairs engaged in by a government, politician, or political party and also the methods or tactics involved in managing a state or government.
In a broad liberal-moderate way, politics also is the regulation and government of a nation or state. It also means the preservation of its safety, peace, and prosperity, the defense of its existence and rights against foreign control or conquest, the augmentation of its strength and resources, and the protection of its citizens in their rights, with the preservation and improvement of their morals. Pejoratively, it also means intrigue or manoeuvring within a political unit or a group in order to gain control or power, often internally conflicting interrelationships among people in a society.
Politics, in its non-pejorative sense, is a specific kind of activity concerning ‘Who gets, What, When and How?’ It pertains to power, influence, and control or activities relating to governing of man by man. When broadly viewed, it is an ensemble of certain types of activities within, and related to a political system, including the environment in which the latter operates.
The concept of ‘Political technology’ directly relates to politics wherein power is generated and employed to gain rewards, and through which the interests of broad segments of population are affected. ‘Technology’, in human terms, is a relational activity including interpersonal relationships to realize certain goals and values. It is knowledge and a pattern of activities used to manipulate physical environment in order to achieve desired practical ends.
It is generally used in some rational, settled and dispassionate manner. Political technology means mastery and utilisation of the art of politics for directing political operations and manipulating political methods. It implies systematic application of knowledge to practical tasks. But political technology, as such, is different from ‘technique’, which is a personal skill. It is a method of doing something expertly for realising a given end. Techniques are learned, and require the acquisition of specialised skills.
Political technology concerns political goals and values, related to power relationships and/or deals with specific forms of interpersonal activities relating to politics. On the basis of past and present experience, and in view of changing goals and objectives, it prepares and applies new patterns of relationships or triggers off appropriate sets of activities. It involves interest-relationship between two or more ends of political actors or groups.
Conceptually, at its bare minimum, each political relationship has one end, on the left hand, and the other end, on the right hand. As a cluster of interest-relationship, it can also have many ends or hands. Interest-relationship connects one with the other. This relationship can be concrete or abstract. It may appear in the form of human, moral or material interests.
A wider concept of political technology involves three types of relationships. One is the player or actor, second is that which is played or acted upon, and the third is the connection or relation emerging out of the two. When there are three ends or hands in a political relationship, the third one can be called as the connecting or interpersonal relationship, bond, link or engagement operating in a cluster of interrelationship.
The person or the user, who has the need of having a political technology, can be seen as the client, operator, customer, player, receiver, and political leader or simply as an activist. However, for all of these persons, the term ‘political leader’ (PL) has been used here.