Final - readings Flashcards
Maioni
Canada adopted universal, government-financed health insurance, while the United States implemented a means-tested, dual-tiered system through Medicare and Medicaid.
*Means-tested Programs: Welfare programs limited to individuals or families below a specified income threshold.
Posner
*In Malawi, Chewas and Tumbukas are large enough to form separate coalitions, making their division politically useful.
*Political salience depends on group size and usefulness for coalition-building, not the intrinsic nature of cultural differences.
*Cultural Cleavage: Divisions in society based on cultural or ethnic differences.
Putnam
- argues that regions with a strong civic community tend to have more effective governments, while those with patron-client networks and less civic involvement struggle with governance.
*regional governments in italy natural experiment
Civic Community: A social structure characterized by active participation in public affairs and a sense of shared responsibility.
Public Goods: Services or commodities that are made available to all members of a society, often provided by the government.
Binderkrantz
*Role of Corporative Resources: Groups with corporative resources tend to be more effective in administrative strategies, while other groups excel in media influence.
Groups with corporative resources (e.g., trade unions and business associations) focus on administrative strategies, targeting bureaucrats and leveraging corporatist structures.
Public interest groups (e.g., environmental and humanitarian organizations) predominantly employ publicly visible strategies, such as engaging the media and mobilizing public support, due to their diffuse membership and ideological stance.
Interest Groups: Organizations that seek to influence public policy and decision-making.
Tragedy of the commons
Amsden
East Asian Miracle: A term used to describe the rapid economic growth and development of East Asian countries, particularly in the late 20th century.
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Civic Engagement: The participation of individuals in political and community activities, which can influence governance and policy outcomes
Iversen and Soskice
Majoritarian System: An electoral system where the candidate or party that receives the most votes wins, often leading to a two-party system.
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Proportional Representation (PR): allocates seats based on the percentage of votes each party receives, allowing for multiple parties to gain representation.
PR have less inequality
Chattopadhyay and Duflo
*Women are underrepresented in political positions globally and in India.
*India introduced a reservation policy to improve women’s representation in local governance.
*Women leaders prioritize public goods like drinking water and roads that align with women’s expressed needs. - Male leaders invest more in goods like irrigation and education.
*women more likely to be in local gov when women are already in gov
Public Goods: Resources like roads, water, and education that are provided collectively for a community.
Levitsky and Way
*Defining Competitive Authoritarianism:
-A regime type where democratic institutions
exist and are functional but heavily
manipulated
by incumbents to disadvantage opposition.
-Elections are competitive but not fair; civil
liberties are partially respected but
frequently violated.
*The collapse of Cold War alliances destabilized traditional dictatorships and encouraged formal adoption of democratic institutions.
Hybrid Regime: A political system blending democratic and authoritarian elements.
Civil Liberties: Fundamental rights like freedom of speech, press, and assembly, which are unevenly protected in competitive authoritarian regimes.
Pierson
Path Dependence:
*Decisions or events at critical junctures heavily influence future outcomes.
*Small initial advantages can snowball into significant long-term impacts.
Increasing Returns:
*Positive feedback loops make certain paths more attractive over time, increasing the cost of switching to alternatives.
*Key characteristics: unpredictability, inflexibility, nonergodicity (past events matter), and potential inefficiency.
*Politics centers on collective action and public goods, which are difficult to provide without authority.
Critical Juncture: A moment of significant decision or change that sets a trajectory for future developments.
Sujian Guo
China is a one state nation, democratically centralized, appearing as democratic but really authoritarian
Party-State: A system where the political party and state institutions are deeply intertwined, with the party holding ultimate control.
Democratic Centralism: A Leninist organizational principle that combines centralized control with nominal democratic practices.
