midterm 1 Flashcards
solid def of politics
“who gets what, when, how?” Lasswell (1946)
civil society
intermediary positions between the individual and the stae
what was the study of politics before the 19th century?
study of values; philosophy
end of ideology theory (Bell, 1960; Fukuyama, 1992)
liberal democratic values have gradually assumed a position of dominance across the world
Gamble’s (2000) argument means that globalization signals the end of ____ ____ (causing shrinking of politics)
national autonomy
crisis of politics
declining political participation and the emergence of an anti-politics discourse in Western democracies
anti-politics
distrust of career politicians, a rejection of partisan politics as embodied in dominant party system, a disengagement with mainstream politics and a turn to populism
politics is usually predicated on the existence of _____ ______ and ____ in all societies of any complexity
competing interests and values
politics is likely _____ because all societies contain _____ that have to be tackled in some way
inevitable; differences
‘endism’ proclaims the dominance of ___ ___ ___, but this cannot be sustained in the face of ongoing ____ conflicts around the world.
liberal democratic values; ideological
Aristotle (384–322 BC) argued that a symbol of good government was the….
degree to which the rulers ruled in the interests of all and not a sectional interest
Aristotle has a ___-fold classification system with ___ proper forms of govt and ___ deviant forms of govt
6; 3; 3
Aristotle’s preferred form of govt was a ____
monarchy
Aristotle regarded democracy as a ____ form of govt because it constituted _____ ____
deviant (however he considered it the least bad); mob rule
power
able to cause those without power to behave in a way they would not otherwise have done
authority
legitimate power in the sense that rulers can produce acceptance by the ruled, not because they can exercise coercion but because the ruled recognize the right of the rulers to exercise power
goal of rulers should be to convert ____ into _____
convert power into authority
Assuming differences of values and interests, politics becomes a study of ….
which values and interests come to dominate, who is responsible for these decisions, and with what justification.
Politics involves the exercise of power, but issues of ____ and ____ moderate the manner in which it is exercises
authority and legitimacy
narrow understanding of politics focuses with on activities of….
the state and the public realm, or with a particular type of decision-making based on building compromise and consensus.
highest form of authority in a society
state
Max Weber (1864–1920), the ____ has a ‘monopoly of the ____ use of physical force in enforcing its order within a given territorial area’
state; legitimate
The state is ____in the sense that it is the supreme law-making body within a particular territory.
sovereign
difference between state and govt
state is a much larger entity, containing not just political offices but also bureaucratic institutions, the judiciary, military, and police and security services
main question of political obligation
why should be obey the state?
concern of freedom
what limits ought to be placed on the state
concern of justice
what distribution of goods ought the state pursue
dark green ecology
extend the boundaries of the political to encompass the whole of the natural world
defining politics is beset by ___ problems and concerns about the ____ ___
boundary; subject matter
normative analysis
questions of a valuational kind (what is good or better)
behavioural revolution
empirical political science and analytical political philosophy
the growth of ____ is associated with the decline of political philosophy in the normative sense (as well as ____ ____)
secularism; consensus politics
consensus politics (50s-60s)
widespread agreement on fundamental political principles was accompanied by economic prosperity
positivism
an approach that seeks to apply the scientific methodology (observable; fact vs value) of the natural sciences to social phenomena; normative analysis is meaningless
logical positivism
centring around a group of philosophers known as the ‘Vienna Circle’; only statements which are empirically verifiable and those which seek to say something about the meaning of concepts and the relations between them are legitimate.
normative political philosophy made some comeback in the ___ and ___, because of a decline in ___ ___ and the emergence of new an innovative work (eg. Rawl’s theory of Justice)
60s and 70s; consensus politics
non-ideal theory: any political philosophy which does not take account of the ______ world is normatively deficient (because ought implies can)
‘non-ideal’
a valid theory of justice must be relevant to the _____ of at least some current _____
eradication; injustices
normative statements cannot come purely from ____
empirical observation
empirical analysis
seeks to identify observable phenomena in the real world with a view to establishing what is, rather than what ought to be (positivism; natural sciences)
semantic analysis
concerned with clarifying the meaning of the concepts we use
forms of political analysis (3)
(1) normative, (2) empirical and (3) semantic
comparative methods
seek to develop testable generalizations by examining political phenomena across different political systems or historically within the same political system
deductive (top-down) method
starts from a general theoretical proposition and works down to the specific, aiming to test the theory in question by examining the relevant data (rational choice for ex)
inductive (bottom-up) method
moves from the observation of specific data to general propositions, aiming to generate rather than test theories (behaviouralism for ex)
division of empirical methods
inductive and deductive
behaviouralism
stresses the importation of the scientific method in the study of social phenomena. Objective measurement of the social world is the goal (post 1945 period)
rational choice approach
start by making certain fundamental assumptions about human behaviour from which hypotheses or theories are deduced before being tested against the facts in the real world
assumption of rational choice theory
human beings are essentially rational, utility maximizers, who will follow the path of action most likely to benefit them.
disadv of deductive method
assumptions are simplifications
disadv of inductive method
hard to generate theories (easier to falsify; can’t determine for sure if something is true); no causation
is politics as a science?
depends on def of science
ontology
asks what is there to know?
epistemology
asks what can be known about what exists?
interpretivist approach
challenges positivism; rather than seeking to discover an objective reality that does not really exist, we should seek to examine the meanings that human beings themselves impose. From this perspective, then, a science of politics is impossible
challenges to thinking of politics as a science (2)
(1) are the methods transferable from natural science and (2) is scientific enterprise valid and useful at all
when was the advent of the welfare state
post 1945 period
Weber def of the state
an institution claiming a ‘monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force in enforcing its order within a given territorial area’
who developed concept of sovereignty
Jean Boden and Willian Blackstone
sovereign state
the highest form of authority in a particular territory; no external challenge to this authority
when did sovereign states emerge?
15th and 16th centuries in Europe
what did sovereign states replace
feudal societies
feudal socieities
shared authority between the aristocracy and the Catholic Church
in what way do stateless societies still exist?
some small communities of people, such as nomadic tribes
de jure sovereignty
a legal right to rule supremeley
de facto sovereignty
the actual distribution of political power
in what context is the concept of sovereignty of little use?
failed states (eg Somalia); because the state is unable to perform the functions sof sovereignty
how are states usually classified?
the degree to which it intervenes in society and the economy
night-watchman state
the state concentrates on ensuring external and internal security, playing little role in civil society and the economy where the economic market is allowed to operate relatively unhindered; protective role, seeking uphold the rights of life, lib and prop of individuals against external and internal threats
central to classical liberal thought
played a large part in shaping 19th century British politics
developmental state
strong relationship between state and private economic institutions with the goal of securing rapid economic development
where are developmental states prevalent
East Asia; Japan, South Korea (even the illiberal dem of Malaysia)
social democratic states
associated with attempts to secure greater social and economic equality
difference between developmental states and social democratic states?
SD states have a broader social and political objective (beyond just economic development)
liberal democracies
characterized by free and fair elections involving universal suffrage, together with a liberal political framework consisting of a relatively high degree of personal liberty and the protection of individual rights
iliberal democracies
characterized by elections but relatively little protection of rights and liberties, and state control over the means of communication. This creates a situation where opposition leaders and parties are disadvantaged and, as a result, there are relatively few transfers of power through elections
authoritarian regimes
characterized in terms of the absence of fair elections and therefore the accountability of political rulers
ex of liberal dem
USA, UK, Germany
what is the dominant state form in much of the world?
lib dem
ex of illeberal dem
Russia, Malaysia
how much of the world lives under authoritarian regimes?
1/3
ex of authoritarian regimes
China, many Middle East states
totalitarian state
state intervenes—often through a brutal and oppressive state police—in all aspects of social and economic life, under the guise of a transformative ideology; civil societies is eclipsed
20th century phenomenon
in what authoritarian regime style does the state intervene the most?
totalitarianism
ex of totalitarian states
Nazi Germany, Stalin’s Soviety Union, East Germany (Iran maybe)
_____ is a key, defining feature of the state, although it is a concept that, arguably, has greater ____ than _____ importance.
sovereignty; legal; political
empirical typology of the state from the minimalist nigh-watchman state: what are the two extremes?
nineteenth-century capitalist regimes
totalitarian state of the twentieth century
major theories of the state (3)
pluralism, elitism, and Marxism
created of pluralism
Robert Dahl (1963, 1971)
classical pluralism
society is seen as being composed of thousands of activities that have the effect of creating many different groups of all shapes and sizes
competing groups is a natural feature of all societies of any complexity
there are no predominant classes or interests within society, that all groups are able to make their voices heard in the political process, and that all groups get at least something of what they want
political pluralism
the state’s role is to regulate and mediate between competing groups that are inherent in society
state = neutral arbiter
OR
state = one of the groups in competition
polyarchy (Dahl) vs democracy
minorities rule vs majority rule
role of polyarchy in pluralism
politics is based upon the permanent interplay of numerous groups each constituting a minority.
what is a successful political party in pluralist society?
those that are able to forge a majority coalition of minority groups.
pluralism: power is fragmented: arguments (3)
(1) the bases upon which power rests are variable, (2) even though it may seem that in a particular issue area one group or small set of groups is influential, the same groups are not influential in other issue areas, and (3) an influential group in a policy arena is challenged by a ‘countervailing influence’
elite pluralism or democratic elitism
1950s-60s
C. Wright Mills
power is concentrated in the hands of a powerful elite, dominating the economic, military, and governmental spheres; multiplicity of competing elites
corporatism
top-down model where the state incorporates economic interests in order to control them and civil society in general
shares, with pluralism, the belief that groups are a crucial part of the political system. Denies, however, that the competition between groups was as widespread, equitable, and fragmented as pluralists had suggested (economic elites instead)
tripartite relationship between elites in government, business, and the trade unions.
continuum of empirical theories of the state from pluralism to elitism
pluralism -> elite pluralism -> corporatism -> elitism
Neo-corporatism
a way of incorporating, and modifying, the key interests within civil society. It is argued that it has served a vital aggregation function.
criticisms of neo-corporatism
(1) govts tend to be unduly influenced by business interests (pluralist side of argument) and (2) New Right argues it fails to allow the market free rein
elitism
society, whatever democratic rhetoric proclaims, is ruled by a single, unified, and self-conscious elite
a ruling elite is an inevitable feature of all complex societies
diagrammatical rep of elite pluralism vs elitism
elite pluralism -> series of pyramids
elitism -> one pyramid with elite and masses
the original elitism came from Italian scholars refuting ___
Marx’s idea of a future egalitarian society
iron law of oligarchy
Michels elitist idea that within organizations of any complexity, whether they be political parties or interests groups, there will always be a dominant group controlling them
difference between elitism and ruling-class theory
no one resource is necessarily crucial, so that it is possible to conceive of elites based upon military, administrative, and religious factors, as much as economic ones.
modern elitism is no longer ____; not it is a critiques of _____
anti-marxist; pluralism
modern elitist thinkers such as James Burnham (1941) and C. Wright Mills (1956) have identified empirically the rule of elites but, rather than regarding this as inevitable or desirable…
have argued that it is illegitimate and ought to be challenged
what do Marxism and elitism share?
an acceptance of the fact that modern capitalist societies are dominated by a united, self-interested ruling group. Democracy in such societies, therefore, is a sham. Despite elections, the influence of the masses is minimal
differences between elitism and Marxism (2)
(1) character of the ruling class (elitists thing it’s ruling groups with a variety of resources and max thinks it is those who control the means of production), and
(2) what is possible (Marxism argues a communist rev can bring an egalitarian society whereas elitists argue hierarchy is inevitable)
when was the New Right popularized
1970s
New Right
the state has a tendency to expand its activities far beyond what is healthy for society; tends to lead to governing failure
The end result is ‘a hyperpluralism of powerful groups confronting weak governments
economic consequences of dem (New Right perspective)
competitive electoral politics encourages politicians to offer ever-increasing benefits in order to attract votes, and once elected, governments then find it very difficult to meet the promises made to individuals and groups, sometimes sailing perilously close to bankruptcy
over-supply thesis (New Right perspective)
the state bureaucracy has a tendency to expand because it is in its self-interest to do so.
To increase intervention and ‘big’ government, bureaucrats will forge relationships with interest groups. Both the bureaucrats and the groups have a vested interest in governments offering more, mainly financial, benefits.
