What is Politics?

Aristotle defines politics as the philosophy of human affairs.

I was recently asked to define “politics” which should come easily since I was a political science undergraduate. But I was not a very good student. And I was left wanting when the question was asked.

I have since come up with a preliminary definition:

Political philosophy is the anticipation of the influences necessary to result in a given state, or the state resulting from given influences. Politics, then, is the individual influence or influences producing the resulting state.

In this context, Influence either the situational maneuvering of an individual or a group, and State is either a governing structure or a group's condition (including any condition but the State of Nature).

There's my draft definition.