[2] The dialogue begins immediately after the Sophist ends, with Socrates (the elder) and Theodorus briefly reflecting on the discussion before the Eleatic Stranger proposes to begin a dialectical investigation with Socrates the Younger into the nature of the statesman.
The Eleatic Stranger and Socrates the Younger resume using the method of division employed in the Sophist, pausing to reflect on dialectical methods and a myth similar to the myth of ages.
[3] According to John M. Cooper, the dialogue was intended to clarify that to rule or have political power called for a specialized knowledge.
[4] The statesman was one who possesses this special knowledge of how to rule justly and well and to have the best interests of the citizens at heart.
The Stranger takes great pains to be very specific about where and why the divisions are needed in order to rule the citizenry properly.