Answer: By definition, government is explained by the American Heritage Dictionary as, "The act or process of governing, especially the control and administration of public policy within a political unit." Simplified, this means that government is responsible for the exercise of authority and oversight of management within a political setting.
Because of its interconnectivity with government, it makes sense to also define "politics." Once again, looking to the American Heritage Dictionary, politics is said to be "the art or science of government or governing, especially that of a political entity (e.g., nation) and the administration with respect to its control of internal and external affairs."
Because both of these structures, governments and political entities, are composed of people and affect people through their decision-making procedures, they both qualify as topics worth exploring from a sociological perspective.