Politics does not occur in a vacuum. Although political actors are free to make choices to fulfill their values, they must make these choices in an environment not entirely of their own choosing. Politics is embedded in a physical, social, and cultural environment. This chapter addresses the key question, How does the larger environment influence politics and political science?

The physical world we inhabit has a number of characteristics that impact politics. Currently, our planet supports approximately 7.2 billion people, and estimates of future population levels run as high as 9 billion people by the year 2050. This population tidal wave will likely put enormous strains on political systems in the future as governments seek to assist in the fulfillment of human needs. Finite resources pose another problem. There is only so much arable land, fossil fuel, and critical minerals. Even the availability of renewable resources can be threatened if those resources are mismanaged. Forests, arable land, safe drinking and irrigation water, and breathable air can be squandered and polluted to the point of seriously threatening health and raising additional problems for political systems.

In addition to the influence of our physical environment, human nature significantly influences our political values, behavior, and judgments. Many political values are rooted in human needs. We do not have to believe that biology is destiny to recognize that cooperation and conflict may have some relation to our human endowment. Furthermore, awareness of ourselves as human beings is critical to understanding our propensity to adopt or resist certain forms of behavior, such as racism and sexism—behaviors that pose enormous challenges to our political systems.

In addition to the behavior of human beings as individuals, how we form and behave in social communities is important to understanding political behavior. Our cultural history, our economic and religious philosophy and institutions, our racial and ethnic origins, and our class structures all provide context for our political behavior.

Finally, modern science and technology have significantly affected the world in which we live. They have facilitated industrialization and urbanization. They have brought people and goods closer together through rapid transportation and communication. And they most certainly have increased our economic independence. Modern medicine, science, and technology have assured population growth. Most dramatically, science and technology have intensified war’s destructive powers. Ensuring that science and technology be harnessed for beneficial ends has been and will continue to be an enormous challenge for political leaders.