1. What is political science? Flashcards
Who were the first political scientists
Aristotle
20th century: Max Weber (Germany), Robert Micheals (Italy), Lord Bryce (Britain), Woodrow Wilson (USA)
What was the initial focus of political science
Institutions (executives, parliaments, constitutions and political parties)
“Institutionalism”
What shift occurred in political science in the mid-20th century
Shift in focus from political institutions to political behaviour
Because of collapse of democracy in much of Europe and new methods to study political behaviour (ex: representative opinion polls).
Describe the rational choice approach
1940s-60s
Behaviours of voters, parties, interest groups, legislators and bureaucrats is driven by self-interest and strategic calculation
Describe the sociological approach
1940s-60s
Adapted theoretical ideas in sociology about the social and cultural determinants of behaviour to try to explain the formation of states, the behaviours and organization of political parties, how citizens voted, and why some countries became stable democracies and others did not
What is new institutionalism
1980s-90s
Convergence of the rational choice approach with sociological approach
What is political behaviour
Beliefs and actions of political actors
Takes place within a political system
What are political outcomes
Specific policy outcomes (economic growth) or broader political phenomena (social equality)
Political behaviour and political institutions interact to produce political outcomes
What is a theoretical explanation
A set of assumptions about how political actors behave and how political institutions influence and shape this behaviour, from which a set of propositions is derived, which can then be tested against empirical observations
How does the rational choice approach explain why enforcing international environmental treaties is difficult
Similar to the prisoners dilemma
2 states
Cost of cutting emissions = -3
Benefit of cutting emissions = +4 (2 each)
- If both countries cut emissions then each country has +1 benefit
- If one state cuts emissions then the one that cuts has -1 and the one who doesn’t cut has +2 benefits
- If neither cuts, they both have 0 benefits
So, each country will always have an incentive not to cut emissions
What are the main criticisms of the rational choice approach
- A citizen may be influenced by a social norm or habit and not vote rationally
- Deciding to vote in of itself isn’t rational since the benefit of voting (how likely it is that your vote will change the outcome) is much smaller than the cost of voting (taking the time to go)
What is the Institutional approach
Formal and information institutions restrict actors behaviour in political situations, and so shape political actions and outcomes
What are some examples of formal institutions
- Provisions in a constitution
- Rules of procedure in a parliament
- Electoral systems
- Campaign finance regulations
- Rules on how a party chooses a leader
What are some examples of informal institutions
- Social structures (such as class)
- Social norms and cultural practices
- Metaphysical beliefs
- Ideological values
What influence does a majoritarian parliamentary system have on policy-making
Since the government has a majority, they can dominate policy-making and make radical changes
What influence does a political system with many veto players (presidency with competing party in legislature, coalitions…) have on policy-making
Policy change is more difficult
Compromise and collaboration is required
What is the Ultimatum game and what does it demonstrate
Rules:
- 2 players
- Player 1 proposes how to devide a dollar between them
- Player 2 can accept or reject (then neither of them will get anything)
If both players are purely rational:
- Player 1 will over a 99 to 1 cent split to maximize their profit
- Player 2 will accept since 1 cent is greater than nothing
In practice this is rarely the outcome
The outcome also differs in different cultures
This proves that the rational choice approach is not always accurate
What is path dependency
An aspect of the institutional approach
Once formal or informal institutions influence a particular policy or political outcome, they tend to be “locked-in” for a long term
For example:
In western Europe, though the 1990s brought 2 world wars and significan economic and social change, the same political parties dominate in all countries
How do the rational choice and institutional approaches interract
Today most political scientists combine ideas from both approaches
What are qualitative methods
Describes how a variable is related to another
Non-numeric
What are quantitative methods
Describes whether a variable is related to another
Statistical measures to identify correlations and causal relationships between variables
What is a dependent variable
Variable representing the outcome that is trying to be explained
What is an independent variable
Factors which the researcher believes cause variation in the dependent variable
What is a hypothesis
A proposed explanation for a causal relationship between dependent and independent variables
Name 2 qualitative methods
- Case study
- Comparative method
What is a case study
Close observation of one particular case or phenomenon
What is a theory-generating case study
The researcher looks closely at a particular case or event to try to come up with an explanation to be tested
What is a theory-testing case study
A researcher takes an existing theoretical idea and tries to test the theory by closely studying one particular case
What is a critical case study
A theory-testing case study where the hypothesis is supposed to hold
Called critical since its failure will disprove the theory
What is the comparative method
Careful study ofo a small number of cases
Describe the Method of Agreement Comparative Method
Researcher examines 2 similar cases and identifies variables where they are different
For example:
- You have 2 democracies where 1 is rich and the other poor
- This suggests that economic wealth is not a necessary condition for democracy
Describe the Method of Agreement Comparative Method
Researcher examines 2 cases that differ and identifies variables where they are the same
For example:
You have 2 countries where one is democratic and the other isn’t but both are ethnically homegenous
This suggests that ethnic homogeneity is not a sufficient condition for democracy
What is a necessary condition in the comparative method
A condition which must be present in order for another condition to occur
For example:
In order for John to be a bachelor, the following variables are necessary
- John is male
- John is unmarried
- John is an adult
All 3 variables are necessary for the statement to be true
What is a suffient condition in the comparative method
A condition which when present always causes another condition to occur
For example:
John is a bachelor, this is a sufficient condition in order to determine that he is unmarried
What is process tracing
A process used in both case studies and the comparative method
Involves carefully mapping the pathway from one variable to another to discover causal mechanisms and sequences to explain the relationship
What is regression analysis
Aims to identify how far a dependent variable changes when any 1 independent variable changes (having all other variable remain the same)
Example:
- The line crosses the Y axis at a
- For every increase in the value of X, Y increases by an average of b
- The closer the points are to the line, the more statistically significant the relationship
Describe 4 types of relationship in regression analysis
Describe 3 advantes of quantitative methods
- Allows the testing of theoretical propositions about causal relationships across a large number of observations
- Enables researchers to control for multiple causes of of variation
- Easy to replacate
Describe 4 weaknesses of quantitative methods
- Requries phenomena to be quantified - raises concerns about how things have been measured across very different contexts
- Assumes a constant causal effect where the average effect of X on Y should be the same for all cases
- Assumes X causes Y but it could be the other way around
- Doesn’t explain why
