Midterm 1 Flashcards
Hypothesis
an argument that links cause to effect; a specific proposed explanation for why an outcome occurs
- includes causal relationship
- testable and falsifiable
Independent Variable
the one that we expect to change the value of the dependent variable (X)
- CAUSE
Dependent Variable
the one we expect to have its value altered by the independent variable (Y)
- EFFECT
Most Similar Systems Design
identify key features that are different among similar cases
- method of difference
Most Different Systems Design (MDSD)
cases in which the outcomes doesn’t vary across different cases
- goal is to identify what these different cases have in common
- method of agreement
Quantitative Research
Study through statistical data from many cases; excel in testing whether patterns are generalizable
- breadth over depth
Qualitative Research
study through in-depth investigation of a limited number of cases; excel in detail-oriented theory development
- depth over breadth
Institutions
Structure/mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given community
Endogeneity
The issue that cause and effect are not often clear, in that variables may be both cause and effect in relationship to one another
State
A human community that claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory
- has territory, institutions, clear membership rules
Regime
the fundamental rules and norms of politics, embodying long-term goals regarding individual freedom and collective equality
Government
the set of people who run the state or have the authority to act on behalf of the state at a particular point in time
Sovereignty
Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states.
State Strength (Fukuyama)
The ability and capacity of a state to
- plan and execute policy
- administer public business with relative efficiency
- control corruption and bribery
- enforce laws
State Scope (Fukuyama)
- the goals and functions that a state takes on in the first place
- the range of activities that a state carries out
Ex: The U.S. has a limited state scope in terms of healthcare compared to Western European countries
Head of State/Head of Government
Representative of a nation
Modern International State System
territory is
- consolidated
- unified
- centralized
- under a sovereign government
State Making Through Marriage
states made by the marriage of the prince/princess/heir to both
State Making Through Wars
states made after wars
Ex: Germany and Austria-Hungary before WW1 and after WW2
The Peace of Westphalia
the peace treaty that ended the Thirty Years’ War in 1648
- the emergence of sovereignty
- kings recognize each other
Fragile States Index
Measures a state’s ability to handle normal pressures and how those pressures affect their capacity to do so
Federalism - Federal States
a system in which significant state powers, such as taxation and security are devolved into regional/local bodies
Asymmetric Federalism
a system in which power is divided unevenly among regional bodies
Ex: Spain
Unitary States
a system in which most political power exists at the national level with limited local authority; central government possess sovereignty and subnational governments are subordinated to the central government
- central government makes most significant policy
Ex: France, UK, Japan, Turkey, Germany
Decentralization/Devolution
a process in which political power is “sent down”to lower levels of state and government
Ex: the UK
Dual Federalism
national and state governments operate independently and each level of government acts autonomously
Ex: The U.S.
Cooperative Federalism
there’s more cooperation between central and state governments, overall leadership of central government, and try to find which level of government is more appropriate to deal with a certain issue
Ex: Germany
Nation
A group thought of as sovereign and equal, comprised of a large, bounded population; a group of people bound together by a common political identity
Nationalism
Belief that the nation has a unique, sovereign political destiny
(1) Nation Building In States Already Created
States develop national identities to become more legitimate (public education, traditions, conscriptions)
- solid states, weak nations (Ex: France, Spain)
- large influx of immigrants (Ex: USA, Argentina, Canada)
(2) Xenophobic Nationalism In Nation-States
Against foreigners and immigrants
- ride of extreme far-right parties in Europe
Ex: Europe’s far-right
(3) Irredentism
Seeks to create a greater nation that exists beyond the limits of an already existing political unit
Ex: Greater Serbia
(4) Nationalism Seeking Autonomy
Seeking to reform the political system of a state to give more autonomy to a national minority
Ex: Quebec seeking autonomy from Canada
(5) Nationalism Seeking Independence
Seeking independence for a national minority locked within another nation
Ex: Catalonia seeking independence from Spain/Scotland’s independence from the UK
The state is the machinery of politics and the ________ operates that machinery
government
Constructivist View of the Nation
Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson (1983)
Print culture is the main element in the creation of these communities
Communities are both ______ and ______
imagined and real
Challenge 1: large number of variables
what to control and can all of them be controlled?
Challenge 2: controlling the interaction of variables (multicausality)
difficult to identify
Challenge 3: limited number of cases to research
limited by the number of countries in the world and is hard to find a perfect pair for comparison
Challenge 4: limited access to information from cases
need time, effort, money, and luck
Ex: North Korea and authoritarian regimes
Challenge 5: uneven research across cases and religions
language, resource availability, etc.
Challenge 6: cases selected on the basis of effect and not cause
Selection Bias
cannot falsify our hypothesis
Ex: to test a relationship between the civic culture and democratization, one might only look at democratized countries
Challenge 7: variables may be either cause or effect (endogeneity)
Cannot tell if one causes the other or the reverse is true
Ex: a relationship between economic development and democracy
