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