L2 - State & Democratic Regimes Flashcards
What is the definition of a modern state
A polity characterized by a complex set of institutions, territorially bound, which enjoys authoritative rule-making authority backed up by a monopoly of the means of violence.
State most important
What are States Key features:
Territory: Every state has a territory that it consider its own
Sovereignty: There is no other authority higher than the state that rules over the territory and the people in the territory. (Defines its borders)
- Internal : Autonomy from the external forces sovereignty in the internal borders.
- External: It is recognized from other states.
Monopoly of the means of violence: The state has total/exclusive control and employ territorial violence on the border
- Ensures the stability of the state (without it fails to be a state)
Why and how did state emerge ? (Tilly)
War made the state, and the state made war
- Arrival of gun powder : expensive (important)
- States emerged as a result of the need for rulers to increase their power and wealth, which was achieved through conquest, colonization, and the establishment of larger, more complex bureaucracies.
In sum: States emerged from conquest, colonization and bureaucracy to increase power and wealth of rulers.
What are the patterns of state emergence
- Transformation: The process of graduation change of an independent strong monarchy into a powerful state (ex: France)
- Unification: Process of getting together of smaller political units into larger states (ex: Italy)
- Secession: The breakdown of large territories into smaller
- (ex: The ‘velvet divorce’ b/w Czech Republic & Slovakia, 1993 (peaceful), the dissolution of Yugoslavia, 1991-92 (violent))
- Decolonisation: The restoration of territory to its original country. Largest reason for the formation/emergence of the state.
In sum: The patterns of state emergence include transformation, unification, secession, and decolonization. Decolonization is the largest reason for state formation.
Explain State Power (Micheal Mann 1984)
2 types
- Despotic power: Actions the state can take without consulting society.
- ex: (confiscate your property, invade privacy etc. -democracy limits such power)
- Infrastructural Power: Capacity of the state to impact decisions on society.
- It is the ability of the state to carry out its policies effectively and exert its influence on society.
Ex: State’s ability to collect taxes, build infrastructure, maintain law and order, provide education and healthcare, and regulate economic activity.
Types of Democratic Regimes:
Liberal (Full) Democracy
Electoral (Flawed) Democracy
Representative Democracy
Direct/Deliberative Democracy
What is Representative Democracy
(most democracies are representative)
- There is no perfect representative democracy. Flaws in RD can vary in lack competitiveness or inclusivity
A system where citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf and hold them accountable through regular elections.
- Rulers are chosen in competitive, free and fair elections.
Is representative democracy self-evident
‘self-evident meaning obvious - universally accepted’
No, representative democracy is not self-evident: it is not necessarily obvious or universally accepted as the best system of government
What are the two dimensions of democracy (Robert Dahl) + give their definition.
Contestation - The extent to which citizens have unlimited opportunities to formulate and express their political preferences and have those preferences translated in the action of government.
Inclusiveness - The proportion of the population which is entitled to participate (equally) in the political system.
What are alternatives to representative democracies
In the form of radical visions on how democracy can be organized.
- Direct Democracy: Members of the political system take a direct role in decision-making.
- Deliberative democracy: A political system requiring long deliberation over representation in decision-making. (find census by deliberation)
What were the 3 waves of Democracy
(Important: know the date, 2 longest ones, main particular events)
1st Wave: 1828 - 1962
- Longest wave
- Mainly Europe + US , New Zealand and Australia
- Gradual expansion of the rights to contest and participate in the political process.
2nd wave: 1943 - 1964
- Post-WW2 reconstruction (mainly in Europe) and the emergence of democracy (in ex: Germany, Italy, Japan).
- Decolonization in former European colonies (large parts of Africa, and India)
3rd wave: from 1974 onwards
- Long wave
- A wave with global scope and reach, affecting all parts of the world.
-Fall of Soviet Union, collapse of Communism, and other world events.
