further notes Flashcards
what is a punctuated equilibrium?
feedback from policy decisions generates change which builds up critical problems over time
What is path dependency?
suggests when a commitment to an institution has been established and resources devoted to it, over time it produces ‘increasing returns’ and it effectively becomes increasingly costly to choose a different path
what is historical contingency?
refers to the extent to which events and decisions made in the past contributed to the formation of institutions that influence current practices
what is a critical juncture?
the point at which certain events and decisions were made which led to the development of an institution
what is an institution?
institutions are the arena in which policymaking takes place.
they include the political organisations, laws and rules that are central to every political system and they constrain how decision-makers behave
what is fully rational behaviour?
aiming to optimise your actions
what is bounded rationality?
about finding a satisfactory solution to a policy problem not necessarily an optimal one
what are veto players?
any institutional or partisan actor whose agreement is required to adopt a policy proposal
what does rational choice institutionalism regard politics as?
individuals acting to maximise their utility in ways that are likely to produce an outcome that is collectively suboptimal
what is the prisoner’s dilemma?
involves conflict and cooperation between actors.
despite the availability of better outcomes, the suboptimal one is chosen due to the lack of trust in the other player
what is game theory?
a device used to analyse decision-making in situations in which two or more rational players interact, and where the outcome depends on the choices made by each
what is the cleavage approach?
based on the idea that certain enduring socioeconomic problems exist in societies and that affect policy choices by means of creating lasting divisions between social groups which possess different perceptions about these problems and the ways of solving them
what does the cleavage approach emphasise?
Historical developments
what are the 6 social cleavages?
centre-periphery
state-church
rural-urban
workers-employers
materialists-post-materialists
open-closed societies
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what does the socioeconomic school regard as the main driver of public policy?
social and economic developments
what does classical institutionalism contend that a functioning state depends on?
economic and social conditions but also on the design and effectiveness of political institutions
what are the 2 categories of political systems?
majoritarian and consensus
what are the 4 families of nations which differ in policymaking (particularly economic and social policy)
English-speaking nations
Continental (Austria, Belgium, France, etc)
Scandinavian
Southern family (Greece, Portugal and Spain)
what are the criticisms of classical institutionalism?
doesn’t open the black box between formal institutions and policy choices.
political institutions in a country tend to be stable even though public policy is constantly being modified
what are the varieties of new institutionalism?
sociological institutionalism
historical institutionalism
what does sociological institutionalism purport?
defines institutions very widely and argues that they shape actors’ perceptions of their preferences, which, in turn, affects their behaviour, so that it becomes based on the logic of appropriateness and/or on legitimacy
what does historical institutionalism emphasise?
the structuring impact of institutional lock-ins and path dependence
what does bounded rationality assume?
that the actors are goal-oriented but takes into account their cognitive limitations
