page_title: Outline of political science
section_title: Political institutions
hierarchical_section_title: Outline of political science / Political institutions
caption_attribution_description: English: The Supreme Court of the United States. Washington, D.C. Français&#160;: La Cour suprême des États-Unis. Washington D.C., États-Unis. Norsk bokmål: Høyesterett i USA. Washington, D.C.
context_page_description: The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to politics and political science:
  Politics – the exercise of power; process by which groups of people make collective decisions. Politics is the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the corporate, academic, and religious segments of society.
  Political science – the field concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior.
caption: Institutions are often the framework within which politics happens. Pictured is the Supreme Court of the United States.
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