1. What is political science?

Question 1

Who were the first political scientists

Answer 1

Aristotle

20th century: Max Weber (Germany), Robert Micheals (Italy), Lord Bryce (Britain), Woodrow Wilson (USA)

Question 2

What was the initial focus of political science

Answer 2

Institutions (executives, parliaments, constitutions and political parties)

“Institutionalism”

Question 3

What shift occurred in political science in the mid-20th century

Answer 3

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).

Question 4

Describe the rational choice approach

Answer 4

1940s-60s

Behaviours of voters, parties, interest groups, legislators and bureaucrats is driven by self-interest and strategic calculation

Question 5

Describe the sociological approach

Answer 5

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

Question 6

What is new institutionalism

Answer 6

1980s-90s

Convergence of the rational choice approach with sociological approach

Question 7

What is political behaviour

Answer 7

Beliefs and actions of political actors

Takes place within a political system

Question 8

What are political outcomes

Answer 8

Specific policy outcomes (economic growth) or broader political phenomena (social equality)

Political behaviour and political institutions interact to produce political outcomes

Question 9

What is a theoretical explanation

Answer 9

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

Question 10

How does the rational choice approach explain why enforcing international environmental treaties is difficult

Answer 10

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

Question 11

What are the main criticisms of the rational choice approach

Answer 11

• 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)

Question 12

What is the Institutional approach

Answer 12

Formal and information institutions restrict actors behaviour in political situations, and so shape political actions and outcomes

Question 13

What are some examples of formal institutions

Answer 13

• Provisions in a constitution
• Rules of procedure in a parliament
• Electoral systems
• Campaign finance regulations
• Rules on how a party chooses a leader

Question 14

What are some examples of informal institutions

Answer 14

• Social structures (such as class)
• Social norms and cultural practices
• Metaphysical beliefs
• Ideological values

Question 15

What influence does a majoritarian parliamentary system have on policy-making

Answer 15

Since the government has a majority, they can dominate policy-making and make radical changes

Question 16

What influence does a political system with many veto players (presidency with competing party in legislature, coalitions…) have on policy-making

Answer 16

Policy change is more difficult

Compromise and collaboration is required

Question 17

What is the Ultimatum game and what does it demonstrate

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What is path dependency

Answer 18

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

Question 19

How do the rational choice and institutional approaches interract

Answer 19

Today most political scientists combine ideas from both approaches

Question 20

What are qualitative methods

Answer 20

Describes how a variable is related to another

Non-numeric

Question 21

What are quantitative methods

Answer 21

Describes whether a variable is related to another

Statistical measures to identify correlations and causal relationships between variables

Question 22

What is a dependent variable

Answer 22

Variable representing the outcome that is trying to be explained

Question 23

What is an independent variable

Answer 23

Factors which the researcher believes cause variation in the dependent variable

Question 24

What is a hypothesis

Answer 24

A proposed explanation for a causal relationship between dependent and independent variables

Question 25

Name 2 qualitative methods

Answer 25

• Case study
• Comparative method

Question 26

What is a case study

Answer 26

Close observation of one particular case or phenomenon

Question 27

What is a theory-generating case study

Answer 27

The researcher looks closely at a particular case or event to try to come up with an explanation to be tested

Question 28

What is a theory-testing case study

Answer 28

A researcher takes an existing theoretical idea and tries to test the theory by closely studying one particular case

Question 29

What is a critical case study

Answer 29

A theory-testing case study where the hypothesis is supposed to hold

Called critical since its failure will disprove the theory

Question 30

What is the comparative method

Answer 30

Careful study ofo a small number of cases

Question 31

Describe the Method of Agreement Comparative Method

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Describe the Method of Agreement Comparative Method

Answer 32

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

Question 33

What is a necessary condition in the comparative method

Answer 33

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

Question 34

What is a suffient condition in the comparative method

Answer 34

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

Question 35

What is process tracing

Answer 35

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

Question 36

What is regression analysis

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Describe 4 types of relationship in regression analysis

Answer 37

Question 38

Describe 3 advantes of quantitative methods

Answer 38

1. Allows the testing of theoretical propositions about causal relationships across a large number of observations
2. Enables researchers to control for multiple causes of of variation
3. Easy to replacate

Question 39

Describe 4 weaknesses of quantitative methods

Answer 39

1. Requries phenomena to be quantified - raises concerns about how things have been measured across very different contexts
2. Assumes a constant causal effect where the average effect of X on Y should be the same for all cases
3. Assumes X causes Y but it could be the other way around
4. Doesn’t explain why