cps midterm Flashcards
how have dictators managed to survive?
consolidate power by alienating large swaths of population // social revolution
Way
how to form a theory
social science theory; must be falsible, concrete, and have observable implications
King, Keohane, Verba
how to conduct comparative analysis
most occurances can be explained through historical & contextual factors (Mill’s Method of Difference/Mill’s Method of Agreement)
Mahoney, Villegas
what causes social revolutions?
occurs when there’s a major upheaval driven by a revolt from lower social classes -> France, Russia, China -> military threats from int’l community + slow economic growth + administrative/military breakdown + class conflicts -> leards to mass movements that challenge existing power structures
Skocpol
s: indicates profound changes in a society’s class & social structure
what historical developments permit state formation?
“war makes the state and state makes war”
Bates
last generation = no tragedy of the commons
make this the last generation
Singer
competitive authoranitism
democracies can be deceptive; have democratic rules on paper but lack true democratic practices. the presence of democratic institutions does not guarantee genuine democratic governance (ex. Russia; has democratic elections but limited media freedom, restrictions on opposing parties, etc)
Levitsky, Way
democracies can be deceptive; they can have democratic rules on paper but lack true democratic practices
personal rule
“Big man” image deeply embedded in political culture (coups, plots, purges, corruption, succession → typically seen as defects, but in Africa are viewed as integral elements of the personal rule system)
Jackson, Rosber
insight into the dynamics of presidential leadership
conflict between groups produce pressures for individual liberty
development of human liberty (Product of series of power struggles (church/state, protestant/catholic, business/state))
Zakaria
what is a state/citizen
citizens make up the state, humans are political animals, citizens ahve to play a role in govt. (not jsut as spectators, ie. Ancient Greece), true forms of govt. emerge when leaders prioritize common interest
Aristotle
s: understanding active particiption in government
what is politics
politics serve the state; “a monopoly on the legitimate use of force”, 3 types of legitimacy: 1) tradition (customs & ancient recognition) 2) legally 3) charasmatic (personal confidence/heroism)
Weber
what is science/true knowledge?
knowledge is built by refuting false claims (make bold claims and do everything you can to refute them)
Popper
political gap/decay // why do countries differ with government efficancy?
social mobilization & economic growth outpace political organizations, creating a political gap & mismatch between social & economic factors, leading to instability & disorder (ex. Africa)
Huntington
s: refers to the disparity between social & economic factors that political systems struggle to address simultaneously
what is a nation?
imagined political community that is inherently limited & soverign, members will never know all other members so “imagined”, community; horizontal comradeship exists, cultural identity but not governing a soverign territory -> Kurds in Western Asia, an Iranian ethnic group
Anderson
coordination game
ppl work together based on shared identity & mutual interests (ex. Spain; ppl have diverse backgrounds but the shared identity of speaking spanish becomes a unifying factor), tipping models (when ppl see a critical amount of ppl going from point A to B, many will follow to B)
Laitin
s: reveals a fundamental concept in understanding how societies cooperate
like-over-like // nationalism
!! to address identity-based needs to promote peace & stability within socieities, ppl tend to associate w those they percieve as similar to themselves, ppl tend to prefer govt. from those who share their identity, and can lead to conflicts when their preferences are not met (ex. the American Revolution)
Wimmer
s: teaches us about the complexities of social harmony, emphasizing the importance of addressing identity-based needs to promote peace and stability within societies
why comparative politics should take religion more seriously
religion provides mechanisms which symbols, traditions, and rituals can influence social and political interactions
Grzymala-Busse
clash of civilizations
gone is ideological war; now there’ll only be cultural clashes, pessimistic view on globalization; no more ideological or eocnomic differences, only cultural (Pakistan and India)
Huntington
s: teaches us about the nature of global conflicts
tragedy of the commons
s: encourages institutions
challenges of shared resources (ex. overpopulation, climate change, pollution), free-rider problem -> nobody wants to suffer if others aren’t
Hardin
end goal of humanity is to reach point of democratic society
final end goal of humanity is to reach point of democratic society (“providential fact”); used America as a prime example of such democracy
De Toqueville
electoral, plurality, majority, and proportional representation systems
electoral system - how votes translate into seats
plurality systems - “winner take all” (could win with less than 50% as long as it’s more than others)
majority systems - require majority of votes to win (more than 50%)
proportional representation - if party wins 40% of votes it gets 40% of seats (party list system and single transferable vote, rank choice)
King
parliamentarism is better than presidentialism for developing countries
due to presidentialism issues (deadlock, lack of coalitions, individualistic strategies, two party system, more likely to collapse)
Cheibub
groups must share power and democracy/a presidential system is the best way to go
Power sharing all notable groups have a share in decision making, group autonomy, authority of groups over their own internal affairs.
Lijphart
E: what creates national unity?
!! McNamara, banal authority: idea that authority is increasing overtime behind the scenes that people don’t necessarily recognize (symbols, physical space)
! Wimmer: shared history, shared political future
Nationalism elevated the status of the common people by making them the new source/center of sovereignty.
! Anderson: nations are imagined communities that are inherently limited and sovereign, “horizontal sovereignty, horizontally integrated” -carnes
AGAINST:
Laitin: self interest, nationalism creates national unity, coordinated set of beliefs
Huntington “states of war” “like over like” people choose to associate themselves they feel most similar, creating a national identity
