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Which is correct, "politics is out of scope" or "politics are out of scope?"

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The correct form is:

Politics is out of scope.

Politics, like mathematics, linguistics, economics, and other domains ending in -ics, is syntactically singular.

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    By itself, when referring to the academic topic of politics, politics is singular, but when referring to political affairs or opinions it is plural: office politics, Iranian politics, her politics, etc.
    – nohat ♦
    Sep 13, 2010 at 21:17
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    To provide an example for @nohat's excellent comment: "I used to enjoy coming to work, but office politics are wearing me down."
    – oosterwal
    Mar 22, 2011 at 17:39
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    @oosterwal Not only a good example, but a true one! ;)
    – ankush981
    Apr 16, 2014 at 2:52
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    I don't get this. If I have 1 politic and then buy another politic, does that equal 2 politics?
    – user3847
    Jun 17, 2014 at 17:35

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