Midterm 2 Flashcards
institution
regular patterns of behaviour that provide stability and regularity in social life; sometimes these patterns are given organizational form with specific rules of membership and behaviour
2 types of institution
- informal: no clear written rules
- formal: codified rules and organization
Anthony Gidden’s structuration theory
distinguish between system, structure, and structuration
political system
large arena within which institutions such as parties or bureaucracies compete or cooperate for influence
structuration
factors that both constrain a political system and provide the resources required for it to function
structure
the impact of a particular group of institutions
agency
impact of actions taken by one or more agents (individuals or groups of them)
state
the structure of rule and authority within a particular geographical area
colonialism
a mode of domination involving the subjugation of one population group and their territory to another, usually established by settling the territory with sufficient people from the colonizing group to impose direct or indirect rule over the Indigenous population and to maintain control over resources and external relations
state capacity
the ability of a government to administer its territory effectively
4 forms of state capacity
- extractive capacity
- steering capacity
- legitimation capacity
- coercive capacity
extractive capacity (form of state capacity)
the capacity to mobilize financial resources from the society to pursue what the central policy makers perceive as the ‘national interest’
steering capacity (form of state capacity)
the capacity to guide national socioeconomic development
legitimation capacity (form of state capacity)
the capacity to dominate by using symbols and creating consensus
coercive capacity (form of state capacity)
the capacity to dominate by the use of threat or force
6 innovations associated with the American Revolution
- the deliberate formulation of a new frame of govt by way of a popular convention
- a written constitution
- a bill of rights enshrined with it
- guaranteed protection for these rights through judicial review
- the separation of powers along functional lines
- the division of powers between national and state governments
empires
a system in which one country or centre or power directly or indirectly dominates and controls other, weaker countries
purposes of colonialism
- exploitation (take riches from Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Americas to Europe)
- spread of Christianity and aspects of European identity
Adam Hoschild and his book
King Leopold’s Ghost - critique of colonialism and Belgians colonialism in Congo and Congolese genocide
patrimonial states
a state in which power flows directly from the leader, and political elites take advantage of their connections to enrich themselves and their client
balance of power
a system of relations between states in which the goal is to maintain an equilibrium of power (usually military and economic), thus preventing the dominance of any one state
Treaty of Westphalia established 3 principles
- the sovereignty of states and their fundamental right to self-determination
- legal equality between states
- nonintervention of one state in the affairs of another
2 functions of state
- internal
- external
internal function of state
functions they perform in respect to their own population
external function of state
functions they perform with respect to other states
3 internal roles of state
- role of partisan
- role of guardian
- a tool lacking autonomy
2 external functions of state
- manage relations with other states
2. protect their people and territory against attacks from outside
strong states
states in developed world who perform functions to satisfy their citizens
weak states
in the developing world that don’t function as well as they could
what makes a state strong or weak?
- size
- economic strength
- military might
- legitimacy
- robustness of state institutions
democratic
one that holds elections for some or all of the leading positions in the state or govt
- democratic government is genuinely accountable to elected representatives
illiberal democracy
have elections and political parties, but they operate on more definite views
legal positivism
a form of legal theory according to which law is simply what the state says it is
secularism
in political terms, the principle that religion does not enjoy a privileged position in the state
monism
the view that there are no fundamental divisions in phenomena
rule of law
the principle that everyone in a society, is expected to obey the law and (at least in theory) everyone is equal under it
constitution
the body of principles governing relations between a state and its population, including the understandings that are involved. In most countries these principles are codified in a single document
- narrow or broad sense
constitutionalism
the principle that assigns a special significance to constitutions and rule of law in national life
4 basic differences revolve around different interpretations of “justice”
- legal positivism
- a second approach to the social function of law was typified in communist states
- a third approach to law and society can be seen in many islamic states, where in general there is no doubt about the traditional importance of justice and the law
- Western approach
procedural justice
the fairness of a process by which an outcome is reached, regardless of what the outcome is
federalism
a form of government in which power is constitutionally divided between different authorities in such a way that each exercises responsibility for a particular set of functions and maintains its own institutions to discharge those functions
problems of state alleviated by federalism
- territory size
2. experience of federation isn’t always positive
consociationalism
a form of rule practiced in some divided societies whereby the elites of different communities within society share power
4 characteristics of consociationalism
- government by grand coalition
- segmental or subcultural autonomy
- proportional representation
- agreement on minority vetoes for certain types of legislation
asymmetric decentralization/asymmetric federalism
combination between a unitary and federal system
legislatures
crucial institutions that checks on executives
3 areas of parliament
- representational
- governmental
- procedural
gerrymandering
when the political party that dominates the legislature will redraw boundaries to favour its own party
packing (manipulating boundaries)
packing supporters of the other party into as few districts as possible (to reduce the number of seats the opposition can rake)
cracking (manipulating boundaries)
dividing opposition supporters into as many districts as possible (so they never gain a majority vote)
2 ways of manipulating boundaries
- packing
2. cracking
descriptive representation
number of women in a particular legislature
substantive representation
refers explicitly to the representatives’ politics
presidentialism
the principle that the president of a republic is the head of the government
- ex. the US
parliamentarianism
the principle that governments are formed by prime ministers (as opposed to heads of state) and are therefore primarily responsible to parliament
- ex. Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the UK
2 procedural functions that legislatures perform
- ritualizing conflict
2. ensuring transparency
5 types of legislature (based on ability to stand up to the executive)
- active
- reactive
- vulnerable
- marginal
- minimal
active legislature
centre of the political system and has the power to say “no” to the executive
- US Congress
reactive legislature
less power to withstand the govt, but can set parameters within the govt that has to act and it can impose sanctions on a govt that infringes these parameters
- HOC in Canada
vulnerable legislature
more pliant (yielding), because of local political cultures that tolerate legislators’ pursuit of their own material interests - Phiippines
marginal legislature
important legislative functions but has the best tentative support from social elites, and sometimes the executive concludes they can do without the legislature
- Pakistan, Peru
minimal legislature
meets rarely and serves mainly to symbolize national unity and regime legitimacy, does not exercise checks on the govt
- communist states, ex. China
unicameral
a form of government in which the parliament consists of just one chamber
- smaller more unitary states
bicameral
a system of govt in which the legislature is divided between two separate chambers
- Canada (HOC and Senate)
3 reasons for bicameralism
- tradition
- federalism
- expectation that an upper house will lead to better legislation
Arrow’s impossibility theorem
a mathematical theorem, formulated by the economist Kenneth Arrow, that shows the impossibility of determining the “optimal” ranking of preferences when none of the options voted on receives an absolute majority of votes
elections
a method of assessing preferences through votes
2 basic types of electoral systems
- plurality
2. proportional representation
plurality (electoral system)
a simple majority of votes, as distinct from an absolute majority (50% + 1)
proportional representation (electoral system)
any of various voting systems designed to achieve a close approximation between the number of votes received by each party and the number of seats into which those totals translate in parliament
2 alternative electoral systems
- alternative member/mixed-member proportional model
2. alternative to the alternative is what I call this
alternative/mixed-member proportional model
a hybrid voting system that combines the strengths of majoritarianism and PR: votes are cast both for individual candidates within a constituency and for a general list of candidates from separate parties
- Japan, Germany, NZ
alternative to the alternative
a second round of elections is held in constituencies where the first round doesn’t produce an absolute majority. In the second round, only the two most successful candidates remain on the ballot, preventing strategic voting and ensures no doubt about the preference of majority
- France
party self-inerest
when threatened by challenges from newcomers, parties generally prefer to minimize the risk of complete extinction
mass parties
political parties (typical of the first half of the 20th century) that attracted millions of grassroots members
catch-all parties
parties that devote less attention to ideology and more to strategies to win over the median voters who make the crucial difference in general elections
cartel parties
a type of political party that has a relatively limited membership and is dominated by professional politicians
political party
a group of political activists who aspire to form or be part of the government on the basis of a program of policies
7 general functions of parties
- legitimation of political system
- integration and mobilization of citizens
- representation
- structuring popular vote
- aggregating of diverse interest
- recruitment of leaders for public office
- formulation of public policy
3 things that affect party function
- constitutional framework in which they operate
- the way the nation organizes elections
- the communication technologies available to them
Duverger’s Law
he idea (proposed by french poli scientist Maurice D) that FPP system lead to two party systems
civil society (broad)
community of citizens
civil society (modern)
institutions such as interest groups and nongovernmental organizations that stand in an intermediary position between the individual and the state
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
organizations that are independent of government, whether at the local, national, or international level
perestroika
the attempted restructuring of the Soviet political system under Mikhail Gorbachev
interest groups
groups within civil society that seek to press specific interests on governments (pressure groups)
insider group
interest groups that enjoy a privileged relationship with government
outsider group
interest groups that enjoy no special relationship with the government and thus seek to press their case from the outside
modern corporatism
a model in which the state formalizes its relations with the “insider” groups that it considers most important
2 types of modern corporatism
- societal corporatism
2. state corporatism
political anthropology
examines the connections between political behaviour and cultural contexts
infrapolitics
the subtle ways in which the less powerful subvert or undermine the authority of the powerful
infotainment
consequence of media’s dependence on audiences for survival, a growing preference of human-interest political stories only, rather than dry dissections of policy
public space
the arena (real/virtual) in which any member of society is free to express views on any issue of interest to the public
3 functions of public space
- horizontal communication
- everyones a journalist
- electronic decision making
political culture
the aggregate attitudes of members of a society toward the institutions of rule and how they should operate
polyarchy
a term coined by Robert Dahl to refer to a society where government outcomes are the product of the competition between groups. The rule of minorities, not majorities, is postulated as the normal condition of pluralist democracies
civic culture
the particular set of attitudes that allow citizens to feel capable of taking an active part in politics
amoral familism
the promotion of family interests above all other moral consideration; the term was coined by Edward Banfield to describe social relations in Sicily and was later used by Robert Putnam
social capital
the aggregate of attitudes and networks that enable members of a society to cooperate in joint projects
globalization
the ongoing movement toward economic, political, social and cultural interdependence
