Midterm #1 chp 1-6 Flashcards
Politics
Politics is derived from the word “city state, politics refers to how groups of people in a society compete and collaborate to achieve interests and make decisions. Competition and collaboration are the two components of politics, we look for solutions to the problem, but it might not be everyone’s choice, so we compromise. Ex: pipelines, some want, some don’t so we compromised with one.
Government
Government is the specialized activity of individuals and institutions that make and enforce public decisions that are binding upon the whole community. A system of social control under which the right to make and enforce laws is vested in a particular group. Government is different than politics which can occur anywhere in society and among any individual or group. Government is the formal institutions that make decisions on behalf of a state. Government is important to politics because it is the process through which competing interests are resolved and collective decisions are made in society
Define “Coalition” and explain the 3 types
Coalition is defined as: the joining of forces by 2 or more parties during a conflict of interest with other parties. Cooperation takes place in order to gain advantage over an external opponent.
Type 1 “personal relationships”
- in small scale settings coalitions are based on personal relationships among individuals ex: Obama and Trudeau had a coalition and were able to sit down and talk about decisions where as Trudeau and Trump don’t have a coalition.
Type 2 “Formal Alliance”
- two or more institutions or organizations joining forces Example: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (stable example) Example: In BC Green party & NDP formed a coalition govt
Type 3 “Informal/mass politics”
- Building of coalitions happens in mass politics of modern democracies. Large groups of society that combine together, without formal agreement. Example: In the states white southerners, and roman catholics pledge allegiance to the Republican Party and make it known that is whom they form a “coalition” with, but there is no formal agreement, it’s just what they do.
define Power and explain the 3 broad categories
Power is the ability to achieve your interests. Power is relational to other people or actors and is the ability to make others do things they would not otherwise do. There are three types of power. Coercion involves the threat or use of force, either physical or otherwise, and the actor fears the repercussions of not complying. Influence, involves persuading or convincing people that an action is in their interest, so they comply voluntarily. Finally, authority occurs when people obey a command because they find it legitimate and feel obligated to comply. Power is important to politics because who has power determines how competing interests are resolved and collective decisions are made.
Explain the 3 subcategories of authority:
Traditional Authority
- Inherited positions ex: monarchies “it has always been done that way”
ex; crown clip saw in class, countries where traditional authority exists (Saudi Arabia)
Charismatic Authority
- A leader has authority based upon their extraordinary personal qualities (likeable, attractive, command a room) ex: Pierre Trudeau
Legal Authority
- Have authority because it exists in a position, organization or law. Often referred to as a rule of law.
Constitution or bill of rights that serve to limit or restrain power of gov’t.
Explain Sovereignty
Latin for “superior”
- a power that can override all other authority (absolute and perpetual) We view people who are superior with elevation and we lower ourselves to recognize authority (Monarchy ex:bow before the king/queen)
Explain the three types of sovereignty
1) Personal Sovereignty
- One person holding the absolute power ex: Monarch or Emperor
they have traditional form of authority (hereditary) “I am the state” - Louis XIV
2)Parliamentary Sovereignty
- small group of leaders
- elected lawmakers are the ultimate authority
- still bound/constrained by constitution
(Canada has personal and parliamentary sovereignty to ensure not one institution has all the power)
3) Popular Sovereignty
- supreme or ultimate authority rests in the people themselves
- constrained by society (conformity)
- hard to enforce
- gov’t authority is fragmented we often see all 3 types of sovereignty
State
You need population, territory and sovereignty to be considered a state. A state exists when sovereign power effectively rules over a population residing within the boundaries of a fixed territory.
Nation
A nation is an identity shared by a group of people based on one or more common factors such as race, languages, religion, culture, customs. Gov’t emerged in Europe during the French Revolution a nation can become a political force ex: french revolution
- a nation and state are closely associated but not the same thing a nation is just a group of people that share some commonality, but a state has government.
define ethnic nation
An identity shared by a group of people, the identity centres upon heritage, language, race or religion ex: Chinese, Argentinian
define civic nation
: A nation is an identity shared by a group of people based on one or more common factors, such as race, language or religion. A civic nation is one whose shared identity is developed around public institutions and government. In multicultural countries, with different ethnic backgrounds, acceptance of these institutions binds people together. For example, in the U.S. students swear allegiance to the flag and citizens revere the Constitution. Civic nations are important because they represent a more recent form of nation that is different from those based on ethnicity.
Citizenship
How do you know who is part of a state’s membership? Citizenship comes with certain rights regarding aspects such as 1) entering, exiting and living in the country 2) personal freedoms 3) voting and standing for election. having citizenship in a particular state comes with rights and also responsibilities ex: paying taxes, military service etc.
jus soli- (right of soil) anyone born within the borders of the state can become a citizen
jus sanguinis- (right of blood) only the children of citizens can acquire citizenship by birth ex: germany
naturalization- an adult becoming a citizen after living in the country for a specific period of time
ethnic groups in canada: Francophones, Indigenous people, Immigrants
Francophones- 13.6% of canadian population reported french ancestry
Quebecois are located in Quebec, but french speakers are also concentrated in places like manitoba and new brunswick
Indigenous peoples- 6.2% of the total canadian population
rights recognized under section 35 of the canadian constitution, over 600 recognized first nation governments and bands
Immigrants- individuals coming to and living in canada, may have previous established national identity. Give up connection to previous country when they come to canada but many still have strong identification with culture, traditions etc
explain private vs public law
Private law
- governs relationships between individuals Ex: contracts, suing someone
Public law
- the legal rules that establish the relationship between people and the state ex: taxation laws ie: carbon tax
criminal laws like assault and murder are considered public law because its violence is considered a crime against humanity.
explain common law vs formal legislation
common law
- common law is the sum of a vast number of cases decided by english courts since the middle ages. develops slowly over time because it’s based on precidense or prior cases. Used in private law in 9 provinces in canada
formal legislation
- abstract and not applied to any particular case, more concrete and simple then common law. Used in Quebec (civil code) that goes back to Napoleon
Constitution
highest law of the land
the constitution is important because it outlines who has power over what (what levels go gov’t are responsible for what)
British Unwritten
- not codified in a single document
- much of it is convention
- what is written is flexible and can be changed by statute
American Written
- written in a single document
- interpreted by court decisions
- rigid and specific rules for amending sacred document, big deal to change
Canadian Hybrid
- group of statuses form core
- conventions + judicial decisions
- cannot be amended by statue, specific formula
- combination of us + british
- we have convention + several documents
Rule of Law
“the rule of law, not men”
people should not be ruled by others but rather law, a shield that protects citizens against the abuse of power
relies on:
1. judicial independence
2. equality and efficiency of the court system
3. access for all citizens ex: having a lawyer even if you can’t afford one
ideology
also known as a worldview/paradigm
- is a value and belief system or family (set of assumptions about the world
value = value hard work
belief= markets create efficiency in our economy
ideology comes from: family, social groups, education, political conditions, age, geographical location
Liberalism
the history of liberalism reveals 4 principles that relate to freedom
1) personal freedom- free speech, right to private property etc
2) limited government- state serves a function in society but doesn’t control it
3) equality of right- implies that all must abide by the same laws, which the state enforces with impartiality
4) consent of the governed- means that government emanates from the people, is responsible to them
classical liberalism
classical liberalism came from john locke (1690) and john stuart mill
- Locke became famous for the idea that there should be a separation between church and state, as well as the idea that religion should be a personal choice. Mill is greatly recognized for the harm principle (idea that gov’t shouldn’t infringe on rights unless it constitutes harm to somebody else.
Classical liberalism is an ideology that favours free trade, private property, preserving the status quo, freedom of religion, market economy and having as much rights as possible. Classical liberals fought against slavery, unequal institutions, discrimination etc.
Classical liberal values are now coined as “conservative”
Originally Answered: What’s the difference between classical liberalism, reform liberalism and conservatism? ?
Classical liberalism advocates for civil liberties to be protect by the rule of law. The majority of classical liberals believed that government should have little to no say in economic affairs. Ex: John Locke
personal freedom- absence of coercion
-equality of rights
reform liberalism
is an offshoot of classical liberalism that argues for the intervention of government in protecting individualism, protecting civil liberties, and taking a central role in promoting the public welfare. This came from a small proportion of liberals but has grown in popularity. The term “progressive” today is synonymous with this term.
- extension of voting rights
- industrial revolution
- ok to restrict some freedoms if it increases some freedoms for others
- equality of rights and opportunity
neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a new take on classical liberal principles that emerged in the late 20th century
- reinforced primacy of the market over the state
- concern about gov’t spending and deficits
- favours free market capitalism and the privatized sector.
Neoliberalism has recently been adopted as a middle ground between left and right
- focuses on economic efficiency
conservatism
conserve or preserve the way things are (sceptical but not adverse to change) “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
liberalism and conservatives look at human nature in different ways
liberal- can achieve perfect society
conservative- people are inherently greedy doesn’t work that way
father of conservatives (Edmund Burke) Burke was hesitant against dramatic shifts in change, he favoured slow change over time to ensure safety.
modern conservatives:
- conserve the classical liberal approach
share a lot of the same principles as liberals
- modern conservatives are conservatives because they are skeptical of changes liberalism went through, return to classical liberalism
social conservativism
social existence demands that our behaviour be restrained by institutions such as the church, the school, and if all else fail then the state (society can’t be a collection of pleasure seeking individuals.
form of conservativism
libertarianism
Libertarians are really classical liberals in the spirit of John stuart mill they follow his principles on “liberty” that say we should leave people alone unless they are harming someone else. fear government will regulate activities that should be freedoms i.e: abortion, drug use, gambling.
form of conservativism
Populism
populism refers to the ideology that the world’s elite are corrupt and self serving. populists advocate for “the people”
environmentalism
political ideology focused on the natural environment
- incremental changes at the individual level
- conserativism (light green)
human welfare ecology (light green)
light green= small changes an individual can make ex: recycling)
Dark green=big changes/fundamental changes at the societal level
deep ecology (dark green)
Feminism
ideology which views politics and the exercise of power through a gendered lens
- early 1900’s issue: political rights
-mid 20th century issue: economic equality
2010’s issue: sexual harassment and violence
all feminists hold the belief that society is disadvantageous to women, they look for solutions to the issues
- want gender equality
Nationalism
feeling of patriotism and loyalty to a particular nation and the promotion of national identity
often involves symbols like flags, historical dates and heroic leaders
you can identify with a group/nation but that doesn’t mean you subscribe to their nationalism
there are two general concerns of nationalism; loyalty to the nation and quest for the nation state.
Nationalism to the extreme=facism ex:hitler
nation state
A nation state is a state in which a great majority shares the same culture and is conscious of it. The nation state is an ideal in which cultural boundaries match up with political ones.
that the nation and the nation state should coincide in the nation state is not a universal belief of nationalism
Rene Levesque the 1st separatist premier of quebec, he defended separatism by saying it was natural for a nation to aspire state hood
Political culture
widely shared beliefs, values attitudes and practices, traditions and norms about politics
Canadian political culture:
canadas constitution says peace, order and good gov’t
respect and deference for he social and political order
social stratification necessary to preserve order
multiculturalism
official bilingualism and multiculturalism became for Trudeau the institutional means of allowing Canada’s people to coexist under the political condominium
