Comparitive Politics 9/15 Flashcards
Ethnic Identity
A set of institutions that bind people together through common culture. Passed down generation to generation; social, not political, identity; differences can be institutionalized: language religion, customs, appearance, etc.
Ascription
The assigning of a particular quality at birth
Rwanda
Tutsis and Hutus were of the same language, religion, geographic area but showed minimal differences (diet and looks). Caused ethnic conflict in 1990; 800,000 people were killed in 100 days; Hutu elites wanted to keep power from Tutsi
Nation
A group of people bound together by a common set of political aspirations, the most important which is self-government and sovereignty
Independent State
Most people think members should govern themselves, it is less accessible to have outsiders rule
Citizenship
A formal recognition of a person’s relationship to the state
Ethnic Conflict
Struggle between ethnic groups that aim to achieve certain political, social, and/or economic goals at each other’s expense (zero-sum game)
National conflict
Groups seek to gain (or prevent) sovereignty clashing with one another over the quest to form an independent state
Elite Manipulation
A system of means of means of ideological spiritual and psychological influence on the mass conscienceness in order to impose certain values or ideas
Ecological Resource Scarcity
Scarcity of resources coupled with very high population density
Sociopsychological and Cultural Dynamics
Obedient and conformist nature to follow orders
Political Economy
The study of the relationship between states and markets, how political and the economy are related
Markets
Communities of buyers and sellers, interaction between supply and demand, allocation of resources
Goods
Things people enjoy
Private goods
Possible to exclude from consuming; consumption reduces availability
Public goods
Impossible to exclude others from consuming; consumption does not reduce availability
Spending and taxing
Taxes come from a variety of sources (income taxes, value aded (or sales) taxes, property, etc); taxes directly affect the economy and society
States Contribution
Spending and taxing, Creating money, regulation markets, regulation international commerce, spending on public goods and transfers (social security, medicaid, etc.)
Money
A medium of exchange: people use it to trade things; a social institution because they expect others to do the same
Store of value
Waiting until later to buy something
Unit of account
Knowing how much wealth you have
