Approaching the Study of Politics Flashcards
What is politics?
The practice of attempting to influence the decisions of a collective to act or not to act in a particular manner
What is power and what are the 3 types of power?
Power is the ability of an actor to impose its will on another to get what it wants.
The three types of power are influence, coercion, and authority.
What is influence?
The ability to persuade others to do your will voluntarily through appeals to intellect, passions, self-interest and/or group solidarity. (Influential leaders often are charismatic and are respected)
What is coercion?
The ability to make others do your will through the use of fear or threats. When influence doesn’t have the desired results, coercion may be used.
What are inducements and manipulation?
Inducements are the use of rewards or bribes, and manipulation involves the use of misleading of false information.
What is authority?
The right to make decisions, the sanctioned ability to direct the action of others.
What are the 3 types of authority?
Traditional authority (sanctioned by legal authority), legal authority, charismatic authority.
What is legitimacy?
A belief in the rightness to rule, acceptance by subjects that those in positions of authority have the right to govern.
What is government?
Government refers to the set of organizations that make, enforce and administer collective public decisions for society.
What 3 types of authority do governments exercise?
- Executive authority (enforce laws and administer public policies)
- Legislative authority (ability to create and make laws)
- Judicial authority (ability to adjudicate disputes and interpret laws)
What are the 5 analytical lenses/approaches to the study of politics?
- Institutional approaches
- State-based approaches
- Political sociology approaches
- Behavioural approaches
- Political theory
What are institutional approaches?
Institutional approaches are concerned with rules, procedures and organizational structures of political systems. It is devoted to explaining the impacts of rules, procedures and organizational structures on political practice.
What are state-based approaches?
State-based approaches emphasize the autonomy of state-actors (the political elite). This approach is dedicated to explaining the application of state power and the degree of independence or interdependence of state and society.
What are political sociology approaches?
Political sociology approaches emphasize groups and societal forces, devoted to explain the impact of social and economic contexts on public decision making. Mostly look at changes in interest groups and social movements, and determine why certain things cause more impact than others.
What are behavioural approaches?
Behavioural approaches are concerned with the political attitudes, opinions, beliefs, perceptions, expectations and action or non-action at the individual and aggregate levels. These approaches are devoted to explaining the political behaviour of individuals and groups.
