First 3 chapters Flashcards
Politics
The pursuit of power by a group within a community
Power
The ability to influence the freedom of others
Puzzle
The starting question of a political science/comparative politics enquiry, with “no obvious answer”
Inductive Reasoning
First case study -> hypothesis
Causal relationship
A cause-effect relationship between two variables (one phenomenon causes the other)
Correlation
A relationship between two associated variables are affected by one another/ positive- negative
Variable
In the field of political studies, a measurable phenomenon (eg number of women accessing primary education)
Multicausality
Many variables interact to produce particular outcomes
Endogeneity
An unclear cause-effect relationship in which one variable is both cause and effect of another - l’uovo e la gallina
“The motor of history”
Endogeneity (l’uovo e la gallina)
Modernization theory
A comparative politics school of thought that argues that the more economic development a country experiences, the more democratic it gets
Behavioural revolution
A shift in political thought that privileges the analysis of individual behaviour over institutional action
Area study
A regionally focused enquiry in political science
Institutions
Organizations or patterns of activity that
are self-
perpetuating
and valued for their own sake. Emmbedded into people’s life so much that they are not easily changed or surpassed
Informal Institutions
Institutions whose importance is not established by formal rules, but bear significance/power nontheless (eg The World Trade Center)
Formal Institutions
Institutions whose importance is sanctioned by formally established rules (eg The Penthagon)
Legitimacy
A feeling that a prectice is justifiable/morally righteous
Freedom
The ability of the individual to act independently without fear or restrictions by the state or other parties within a society
Equality
A material standard of living shared by all within a community
Ideal
An idea on how things should go
Justice/Unjustice
The measure in which our ideals have been met
Macro-level approach
How biology (of a population) interacts with social forces
Micro-level approach
How the cognition of the individual shapes their actions
Foxes
Forecasters that submit their opinions to frequent revision and hold a variety of ideas that do not follow a certain world view (better forecasters)
Hedgehogs
Forecaster that tend to give general explanations based on the values they hold about the world
State
A monopoly of power/a set of institutions with the ability and scope of trasforming freedom and equality (as other possible ideals ) into action
Categories of legitimacy (3)
Traditional, Charismatic, Rational-legal
Relationship the state ensures
Balance between individual freedom and collective equality
Asymmetric federalism
Power is devolded unevenely to regional bodies
“kind of a protection racket”
the state
Regime
the set of fundamental rules that regolate freedom and equality in a state
Consensus
A group of individuals agree on a regime
Coercion
Ruler imposes their authority to maintain the regime
Max Weber
made the division in types of legitimacy
Federalism
Power is devolved to regional bodies
Charismatic Legitimacy
It’s valid because it abides to a belief or idea (M5S)
Charismatic Legitimacy
It’s valid because it abides to a belief or idea (M5S)
Rational-legal legitimacy
It’s valid because they got power in the way we established we would get power (Lega claiming to have won the elections)
Stateness
What makes a state a state
Unitary state
State where political power is concentrated at the national level
Ethnicity
Provides group identity
National identity
a shared political inspiration
Ethnicity
a set of institutions forming a common culture that binds people together
National identity
a shared political inspiration
citizenship
relationship between a group and a state
ascription
assignining a certain quality to an individul at birth
A social and not a political identity
Ethnic identity
Exists when people aknowledge and are aknowledged by outsiders to be part of a specific group
Ethinicity
Political Ideology
set of political values that are considered the fundamental goal of politics
Society
People bound by shared institutions that define how life should be lived
National identity
common political aspirations (?)
Civic Nationalism
based on certain political ideals
Ethnic Nationalism
Based on a shared ethnicity
Political and not social form of belonging to a group
citizenship
Ethnic conflict
fight for benefits of own’s ethnic group /fight for priviledge
National conflict
fight for the sovereignity (independence conflicts)/ fight for mere power over a region
Political attitude
Views regarding the pace and aim of the balance of freedom and equality
Radicals
believe in dramatic change of the status quo
Liberals
believe in evolutionary change: not breaking the system and building it up from scratch, but chnging it from within
Conservatives
change is not necessary
Radicals
change is necessary but the solution is to restore the previous order of things that has been lost
Liberalism (ideology)
Individual political and economic freedom
liberal democracy
a system of political, social, and economic liberties supporte by contestation, competition, and partecipation
Communism
Equality over individual freedom
Social democracy
protects invidual politicl nd economic freedom but regulates it for the sake of equality
Fascism
No notion of equality; individual freedom is in function of a hierarchy of superior nd inferior
Anrchism
No state can solve the problem of equlity; complete individual freedom as the means to equality
Political culture
political activity is an institution
