Exam 1 Flashcards
1
Q
American politics
A
Focuses on domestic politics in the U.S.
2
Q
International relations
A
Focuses on relations among states (trade, wars, etc.)
3
Q
Political theory
A
Focuses on the history of political thought, the meaning of terms such as “rights,” “justice,” and “freedom,” and on how we “ought to structure politics
4
Q
Normative
A
Q: What should be done, A: Value-based judgement
5
Q
Predictive
A
Q: What will happen?
A: Prediction about the future
6
Q
Descriptive
A
Q: What happened?
A: Description of events (necessary when we know little about a subject)
7
Q
Casual (“positive”)
A
Q: Why did it happen?
A: Casual argument (X was caused by Y)
8
Q
State (Political Science)
A
The totality of a country’s government, institutions, and organizations that generate and carry out policy
9
Q
State (Weber)
A
“A human institution that successfully claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory”
10
Q
State vs. regime vs. government (state)
A
Institution successfully claiming the monopoly of legitimate use of physical force within a territory (most enduring)
11
Q
State vs. regime vs. government (regime)
A
Fundamental norms and rules of politics (ex: democratic, authoritarian, etc., or dominant ideology)
12
Q
State vs. regime vs. government (government)
A
The leadership in charge of running the state (least enduring)
13
Q
State vs. regime vs. government (civil society)
A
Non-state/non-government organizations
14
Q
Political authority before the 1500s
A
Thousands of overlapping realms of authority, lives defined by personal and commercial relations, borders not defined clearly (before Cartesian maps), armies were fragmented and local, no common legal system across the territories
15
Q
Where do states come from? (war)
A
Wars make states (better than rival organizations); wars with external rivals create pressure for rulers to raise funds, eliminate internal rivals for power, develop capacity for extraction (mapmaking and clearly defined borders), legitimacy (better able to harness the power of nationalism)
16
Q
Where do states come from? (schools)
A
States make schools (better than rival organizations); industrial revolution created a need for unified language and standardized education, states replace religious institutions as main educator (standardized language fostered the concept of citizenship and even more legitimacy)
17
Q
Dimensions of state strength (sovereignty)
A
Ability to carry out actions within its orders independently of external rivals and authorities)
18
Q
Dimensions of state strength (legitimacy)
A
The right to rule; exists when people believe that their rulers have the right to rule
19
Q
How do states elicit compliance? (legitimacy)
A
Coercion, benefits, or legitimacy
20
Q
“Ideal” types
A
Theoretical tool, derived from observable reality but they do not conform to it in detail, “yardstick” for evaluating reality
21
Q
Legitimacy type (charismatic authority)
A
Relies on the force of ideas; the presence of the leader; breaks rules and makes new ones; ex: George Washington, Nelson Mandela, Adolf Hitler
22
Q
Legitimacy type (traditional authority)
A
Relies on habit, custom, tradition; “it has always been this way”; reciprocal relationships and obligations; ex: Don Corleone, Queen Elizabeth, King Abdallah, Pope Francis
23
Q
Rational-legal authority
A
Relies on clear rules and procedures; impersonal; ex: Tony Evers, Narendra Modi
24
Q
Capacity
A
Ability to fulfill basic tasks (such as providing secruity, taxing) and to implement policies
25
Autonomy
Ability to wield power independently of the public and of organized interests
26
High capacity, low autonomy
State able to fulfill basic tasks, but public plays a direct role in setting policy and can limit state power and scope of activity. Functioning democracies (ex: USA)
Downside: organized opposition and vested interests make policy change difficult
27
High capacity, high autonomy
State able to fulfill basic tasks with a minimum of public intervention; power highly centralized. Functioning authoritarianism (ex: China)
Downside: Too high levels of capacity and autonomy may prevent/undermine democracy
28
Low capacity, low autonomy
State lacks ability to fulfill basic tasks and is subject to direct public control; power highly decentralized among state and non-state actors. State breakdown (ex: Afghanistan, Somalia)
Downside: too low a level of capacity and autonomy may lead to state failure
29
Low capacity, high autonomy
State able to function with a minimum of public interference, but has a limited capacity to fulfill basic tasks. Non-functioning dictatorships (ex: North Korea)
Downside: State is ineffectual, limiting development that may provoke public unrest
30
Challenges to the state
Globalization, technological change, regional integration/supranational governance, ethnic/religious/regional conflict, climate change
31
Identity politics
Organized around social identities (defined by shared membership in a category or constellation of categories) rather than around individuals
32
Identity politics examples
Ethnicity, national identity, gender, religion, etc.
33
Content of social identity
What it means to be in the group (i.e., membership in a category or constellation of categories), meaning of group membership is often contested and changes over time
34
Identity politics and social identities
Social identities differ from mere groups because the meaning (content) is inter-subjectively shared
35
Why might social identities matter politically?
Invidious distinctions, group-based political competition, alternative foci of loyalty, tap into emotions, want to control own political destiny (nations!)
36
When does mobilization along social identities happen?
(1) A real difference (ex: differential access to resources) (2) Leadership who successfully link differential access to identity (3) Existence of an organization used for identity-based mobilization (4) Structural and institutional conditions favorable to identity-based mobilization
37
Common strategies for mobilization (identity politics)
Once mobilized, dealing with identity-based politics (cultural pluralism) is one of the persistent challenges in nearly all societies; common strategies include: repression, power sharing (representation, federalism, etc.), incentivizing cross-group cooperation, assimilation
38
What are nations?
An imagined community that is imagined as both limited and sovereign; nations do not equal states
39
State
An institution that claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory
40
How nations relate to ethnicities (membership)
Nations are not necessarily based in ethnic groups (may have other membership criteria)
41
How nations relate to ethnicities (goal)
Nations seek control of their political destiny (autonomy, independence, etc.) (ex: Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland, IRA)
42
How nations relate to ethnicities (struggle)
Ethnic groups may struggle for power and resources, but not for control of their political destiny as a group (ex: Irish Catholics in the United States)
43
How nations relate to ethnicity (territory)
Nations always have a territorial component, ethnicities may not
44
How nations relate to ethnicity (becoming a nation)
Ethnic groups may become nations (and vice versa)
45
Nation-states
Borders of the nation and state are largely congruent; often the product of deliberate state policy, ex: Iceland/Poland/Japan/France, Political questions(s): how to homogenize/maintain the nation?
46
Multi-national states
More than one nation lives in a state; ex: Canada/Israel/Great Britain/Belgium/Indonesia/Spain, Political question: how to deal with the other(s)?/how to transform into a nation-state?
47
Stateless nations
Nations without states; ex: Kurds/Basques/Palestinians/Scots/Catalans, Political question: how to actualize the national project?/how to engage with the state in which we live?
48
Nations larger than states
Part of the nation lives outside of the state; ex: Russians/Germans/Hungarians, Political question: how to relate to co-nationals abroad?
49
Ethnic identity
A subset of social identity categories in which descent-based attributes are necessary for membership; also large enough to be impersonal and constitute a section of a country's population rather than the whole
50
What is ethnic identity? (implications)
Ethnic identity is subject to "constrained" change, ethnic identity is always visible
51
Nationalism
Collective action designed to render the boundaries of the nation congruent with those of its governance unit; an ideology, a political project, a legitimating strategy
52
Nationalism (ideology)
Problem, solution, imperative to action
53
Nationalism (political project)
Political project defining the bounds of the political game (who are we? where is our homeland? what is our collective mission?)
54
Nationalism (legitimating principle)
Serves as the dominant legitimating principle of the modern era; movements for "national" liberation, most states claim/aspire to be nation-states; states that are not nation-states work hard to become so (nationalizing states with economic incentives, education, roads, internal homogeneity, ethnic cleansing, repression)
55
National self-determination
The nation-state the only legitimate form of political organization; nations have the right to their own independent nation-state; the nation-state has the right to include the whole nation; this principle is universally recognized but difficult to implement (can lead to war- self-determination for one group now comes at the explicit expense of the homeland of another group and only very few mobilized identity communities have obtained nation-states of their own)
56
Citizenship
Legal category indicating membership in a state
57
Patriotism
Love of the state
58
Xenophobia
Extreme distrust and hatred of foreigners
59
Chauvanism
Extreme support/prejudice for a particular identity category
60
Racism
Extreme support/prejudice for a particular race
61
Ideology
A coherent set of ideas and guidelines that defines the nature and goals of politics; they provide the intellectual basis of regimes and political movements (identify a problem, offer a solution, imperative to action), universal (vary little from country to country/region to region), can be the basis of social identity content (groups may hold particular ideologies)
62
Classical liberalism (the problem)
Absolutist state/religious wars
63
Classical liberalism (context)
Formed in late 17th-early 18th century Britain, challenged the monarchy
64
Classical liberalism (the solution)
Prioritization of individual liberty
65
Communism (the problem)
Exploitation and inequality arising form alienation from the means of production
66
Communism (context)
A reaction to 19th century European free enterprise and industrial revolution
67
Communism (the solution)
Common ownership of the means of production achieved by revolution
68
Social democracy (the problem)
Inequality; dislocation caused by revolutionary communism
69
Social democracy (context)
Emerged in the late 19th-early 20th century as an alternative to communism
70
Social democracy (the solution)
Gradual use of parliamentary means to ameliorate capitalist excess
71
Fascism (context)
Emerged between WWI and WWII in Europe
72
Fascism (the problem)
Nation facing grave danger (usually total war, but also dire economic danger, etc.)
73
Fascism (the solution)
Complete mobilization of society under one authority
74
Populism (the problem)
Small number of elites are mistreating the virtuous people
75
Populism (the solution)
Power to the people
76
Anarchism (the problem)
Hierarchical organizations (including the state) inherently repress those at the bottom
77
Anarchism (the solution)
Eliminate all hierarchies (including the state)
78
Fundamentalism (the problem)
Moral decay
79
Fundamentalism (the solution)
Return to a putative golden age of religious observation and rule
80
Classical liberalism (individual liberty)
High
81
Classical liberalism (equality)
Low
82
Classical liberalism (role of state in society)
Low
83
Classical liberalism (potential drawbacks)
Inequality, monopolies
84
Classical liberalism (examples)
US, UK
85
Communism (individual liberty)
Low
86
Communism (equality)
High
87
Communism (role of state in society)
High
88
Communism (potential drawbacks)
Inefficiency, authoritarianism
89
Communism (examples)
Cuba, N. Korea, China
90
Social democracy (individual liberty)
High
91
Social democracy (equality)
High
92
Social democracy (role of state in society)
High
93
Social democracy (potential drawbacks)
Inefficiency, costly programs
94
Social democracy (examples)
Western Europe
95
Fascism (individual liberty)
Low
96
Fascism (equality)
Low
97
Fascism (role of state in society)
High
98
Fascism (potential drawbacks)
Authoritarianism, racism, inequality, monopolies, violence
99
Fascism (examples)
Germany and Italy in the 1930s
100
Populism (individual liberty)
Low
101
Populism (equality)
High
102
Populism (role of state in society)
High
103
Populism (potential drawbacks)
Scapegoating, instability, authoritarianism
104
Populism (examples)
Peronist Argentina, Italy under Berlusconi
105
Anarchism (individual liberty)
High
106
Anarchism (equality)
High
107
Anarchism (role of state in society)
None
108
Anarchism (potential drawbacks)
Chaos
109
Anarchism (examples)
None
110
Fundamentalism (individual liberty)
Low
111
Fundamentalism (equality)
Low
112
Fundamentalism (role of state in society)
High
113
Fundamentalism (potential drawbacks)
Authoritarianism
114
Fundamentalism (examples)
Saudi Arabia
115
Political attitudes
Beliefs about the speed and methods with which political changes should take place in a given society
116
Political attitudes (types)
Radical, moderate, conservative, reactionary
117
Pluarlistic
Content of attitudes varies across countries; something that is "radical" in one country can be "conservative" in another, can be informed by different idoelogies (not hte same as policy positions), can be a part of social identity content (groups and political movements hold particular political attitudes)
118
Conservative
Not seeking a change in existing political and economic system
119
Moderate
Not seeking dramatic change(s) through violence
120
Radical
The goal is not to replace a current system with a previous regime or past ideal
121
Reactionary
The goal is to replace a current system with a previous regime or past ideal
122
Culture
The ideas, values, and beliefs about what is appropriate in a society (usually informal rules or norms that operate in a society); provides a context for identities, ideology, and attitudes; may transcend particular identity or attitudes
123
Religion
A common source for discussions of what is right, good, and just; always multi-vocal, often exists alongside other religions; questions: what role should religion play in society? which ones? which versions?
124
Democracy
Political power is exercised either directly or indirectly through participation and competition (these require a certain level of liberty)
125
Direct democracy
People vote on all decisions, thus rule directly; maximum form of popular sovereignty (ex: Athens, early 6th-mid 4th century BCE; town hall meetings; ballot initiatives/referenda)
126
Representative (indirect) democracy
Public rules indirectly through elected representatives; decisions are made by these representatives, who are subject to recall/re-election (ex: most contemporary democracies)
127
Direct democracy (drawbacks)
Unchecked majority can violate the rights of minorities (tyranny of the majority); masses can be too ignorant or incompetent to rule, can even be dangerous' high transaction costs (especially at national scale)
128
Representative democracy
Limited government benefits small, privileged groups; how to select representatives; principal-agent problem
129
Principal-agent problem
A conflict in priorities between a person or group and the representative authorized to act on their behalf
130
Minimalist definition
Focus on repetitive, contested elections; democracy if.. chief executive and legislature are elected, more than one party competes in elections, alteration of power
131
Minimalist definition (advantages)
Relatively simple, easy to do, easy to understand
132
Minimalist definition (drawbacks)
Omits relevant information? (ex: who has the right to vote?, procedural vs. substantive democracy?)
133
Expansive definition
Competitive elections plus... no reserve domains of power for non-accountable actors (ex: military), horizontal accountability across offices (i.e. checks and balances), extensive politcal and civic pluralism (freedom of speech/assembly/belief, independent mass media, universal suffrage, minority rights)
134
Political parties
An autonomous group of citizens having the purpose of making nominations and/or contesting elections in hope of gaining control over governmental power through capture of public offices and the organization of government
135
Political parties (main functions)
Compete for power in the government, aggregate interests and channel demands, serve as gatekeepers
136
Types of parties
Pluralistic, programmatic, clientelist, and catch-all
137
Pluralistic
Identity group or specific issue, exclusive and may be extreme
138
Programmatic
Ideological, multiple issues, moderately inclusive
139
Clientelist
Patronage of other goods in exchange for political support
140
Catch-all
Vague goals, most inclusive
141
One party system
Only one party has the right to form the government, not a democracy
142
Dominant party system
The same party always wins the elections and forms of government; (Japan (1955-93), Mexico (1929-2000), Israel (1949-1977), South Africa (1994-present); democracy?
143
Two party system
Two political parties dominate politics; United States, Great Britain (?), India (?)
144
Multi-party system
Multiple political parties have the capacity to control the government, separately or in a coalition; Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Scandanavian states
