Exam 1 Flashcards
What is politics
“the ability to influence others or impose one’s will on
them.”
What is power
“the ability to influence others or impose one’s will on
them.”
deductive reasoning
which then starts with a hypothesis and seeks conclusions or answers to the statement through evidence.
inductive reasoning
examining one country to draw conclusions and create a hypothesis
Challenges in using Comparative research for politics
Common problems may begin at having varying variables, but little cases, throughout the country due to the vast number of them and their drastic differences they all have. Which inherently can cause the narrowing of research due to the inability of having to compare countries too similar or those that are different. As well, with almost anything, can be the bias through research. Yes, one of the methods is to distinctly look for their hypothesis to answer their statement. Though, with this can come bias for looking within positives and negatives, leading to an unfair prejudice upon countries being used for study.
What is a state
“the organization that maintains a monopoly of force over a territory.”
What is a regime
“the fundamental rules and norms of politics”
What is government
“the leadership that runs the state”
Sovereignty
the ability to carry out actions and policies within a territory
independently of external actors and internal rivals.
Benefits of the state
1) States encouraged economic development (property rights) 2)States encouraged technological innovation for use by private citizens 3)Stability through development of Nationalism
Treaty of Westphalia
1648: end of the 30 year war. The restriction of the power of the
Catholic Church, the rise of states and sovereignty.This outlined what the state does
and what it is. We still use largely
this structure today.
Traditional Legitimacy
It has always been this way
• God has ordained their dominance
• Ex. Monarchs
Charismatic Legitimacy
The power of ideas and beliefs as well as the way these ideas are presented
• Ex. Napoleon, Lenin, Hugo Chavez
Rational-Legal Legitimacy
System of rules and procedures deemed to be neutral or rational
• The office holds the power, not the person
• Ex. Presidents, Prime Ministers
Centralized
often have unitary governments
– Ex. UK government
Decentralized
often have federal governments
– Ex. US/Canada
state capacity
the extent to which the state can exert its authority Strong State vs Weak State
– Weak states have limited capacity to
enforce laws they enact
failed state
A state with little to no control
over its population
– Ex. Somalia, Pre-911 Afghanistan?
state autonomy
refers to the extent that a state is not beholden to anyone else
to enforce its authority (internally or externally)
Magna Carta (1215)
Limited the powers of the Monarch (John I), gave more
independent power to landed elites (barons).
Henry VIII
When the Catholic Church would not grant Henry VIII a
divorce with Catherine of Aragon, he used Parliament to pass laws that removed England from Catholic Church control. The
Anglican church was weaker, thereby separating religious control in mainland Europe
from regal control in the England. This also gave greater control to Parliament.
English Civil War (1642-1651)
Charles I killed
– For 10 years afterwards England was a republic led by
Oliver Cromwell
James II became next king…but he
was Catholic.
James II was exiled, and Mary, his Protestant daughter,
and her Dutch Husband William, became the new
monarchs (The Glorious Revolution 1688).
– This led to the Bill of Rights 1689 which further limits the
powers of the monarchy.
King George I
1714- George I of Hanover crowned: He
was German and barely spoke English.
Most of his duties were taken up by the
Prime Minister Robert Walpole.
Suffrage
opened up voting to 10% of adults in 1832.
– Women (over 21) granted suffrage in 1928
ethnic identity
“a set of institutions that bind people together through a common
culture.”
national identity
“a group that desires self-government, often through an independent state”
citizenship
“an individual’s or group’s relation to the state.”
Origin of social identity
Trade and security led to greater traveling, led to greater linguistic homogeneity, which led
to shared identities based on imagined connections of ethnicity.urns leads to greater desire to self government based on shared connections,
leading to nationalism
Origin of Political Identity
This in turn grants the state greater legitimacy as the “defender
of national values” and bound the state to a society with a shared identity by citizenship. The rise of the nation-state came as a result in Europe.
Parliamentary
democratic form of government in which the party (or a coalition of parties) with the greatest representation in the parliament (legislature) forms the government, its leader becoming prime minister or chancellor.
Bi-Cameral Parliamentary System
– House of Lords – Upper House (758 members currently)
– House of Commons – Lower House (650 members)
Uk Elections
Single Member Districts, plurality voting, Districts are decided every 8-12 years by a government commission, no majority- most votes, vote every 5 years or called earlier
Brexit
– Brexit was decided by referenda (public voted on policy) by narrow majority
– Created issues with supply chains, labor supply
– Biggest issue that still is being decided is the border of Ireland with Northern Ireland
Enthic Conflict
“conflict between ethnic groups that struggle to achieve certain political or economic goals at each other’s expense”
National Conflict
“conflict to gain (or prevent others from gaining) sovereignty, autonomy, or independent state”
Societal Explanations
- ethnic, heterogeneity, integration, and polarization
Economic Explanations
Struggle for resources, inequality
Political Explanations
state capacity, representation in the state
Political attitudes
“describe views regarding the necessary pace and scope of change in the balance between freedom and equality”
Radicals
believe in dramatic change to the regime of a state.
Liberals
believe in evolutionary change to the institutions of the state
Conservatives
believe in maintaining the status quo
Reactionaries
believe in taking societies back to when things were better
Religious fundamentalism
(political attitude) Refers to being religious (not bad, it’s a social phenomenon)
Religion was supposed to go away with the rise of secular reason (“the disenchantment of the world”). It didn’t, though religious power isn’t what it used to be for many counties.
Political Culture arguments
“a society’s norms for political activity”
Modernization theory: religion would eventually be replaced with secular, rational, individualistic values.
The world can be divided by political cultures (Confucian, Islamic, Europeans, etc.)
Political Ideology
“Sets of political values held by individuals regarding the fundamental goals of politics”
Liberalism
Origins: Enlightenment
High Freedom, Low Equality
Limit the autonomy of the state to prevent dictatorship
Liberal Democracy- Competition, contestation, and participation
Innovation and education more important that inequality
Private property and market forces
Communism
Origins: Karl Marx
High Equality/low freedom
Liberal societies will always lead to a few owning all the wealth and power, requires the state to overcome this problem
Social Democracy
Origins: the compromises made by communists and liberals in specific societies (late 1800s, early 1900s)
Hard to define as a clear set of principles since it is a compromise made by liberals and communists in each country, so it changes based on the country’s history of political struggles
Tray to balance the mix of equality and freedom to find a stable middle ground
Fascism
Origins: Nazism, Europe a conceptualizations of racial superiority
There are natural inequalities between people, trying to fix them would go against the laws of nature and power
The purpose is to make the body as strong as possible
Anarchism
High Freedom/ High equality
Origins: Emerged out of dissatisfaction with communism after the dissolution of the Paris Commune in 1871
The state is the cause of the problems, it will only reinforce inequality and limit freedom
Democracy
“political power exercised either directly or indirectly by the people through participation, competition, and liberty”
Origin of Democratic regimes
Greeks: Early public participation in policy
Romans: republicanism- separation of powers and the selecting of elected officials
Senate
Britain: Magna Carta
Liberal Democracy: US and French Revolutions
Empire
Contemporary theories of democracy
Modernization Theory
Elites
Society
International Relations
Culutre
Modernization Theory
Went out of favor in the 1970s, largely due to the democratization they expected not occurring in all cases.
Still a link between level of development and democracy
Elites Theory
Tries to understand why elites would allow democratization to occur and under what conditions
If there is a middle class, the elites might be forced into democratization
Elites might hang on or give up power based on how transferable their wealth is (natural resources vs cash/investments)
Society Theory
Civil Society: Alexis de Tocquville
The association allows people to articulate, promote, and defend what is important to them.
Civil society is not necessarily political and usually starts with organizations that people join due to common interests. But these groups teach organization and expression of ideas to others which in turn might lead to demands for democratization in politics.
International Relations Theory
oreign investment, globalization, and trade
Prerequisite for membership to important organizations: ex. EU
By force: Germany and Japan, Iraq and Afghanistan
Foreign influence can also strengthen non-democratic leaders
Culture Theory
Democracy emerges from historical, religious, and philosophical foundations
Confucian ideals and democracy? Islamic/Catholic culture and democratic values
Worries about historical lock-in with these theories
