Midterm Flashcards
forming theories
idea that “A” will result in “B”
what is each theory trying to do
trying to explain why each thing is happening
rational choice model
argues all human behavior can be explained as the product of rational decisions; self interested
what does rational choice assume
that all people behave as rational, self-interested actors
what is rational choice founded on
that self interest drives everything and makes it okay
examples of rational choice
§ The goal of a politician is to win or hold on to political office
A business person wants to maximize profit
what are some critiques of rational choice
○ Narrow perception of human behavior
○ Institutions may constrain your actions
○ Culture can shape people’s behavior
○ May not have full or perfect information
May not have the ability and time to weigh every choice against every other choice
what isn’t rational choice
not always accurate; dont have all the information or time all the tiem
what is structuralism
based on the idea that human actions are largely constrained by institutions, over which individuals have little or no control
examples of structuralism
rich to poor, worker to boss, etc
breakdown of structuralism
must act the way your position in your society tells you; feel trapped
what is feudalism
contends that structures are enduring, but not permeant
what is wrong with structuralism
does not and cannot account for change/
what is culturasim
culture drives politics and shapes beliefs/behaviors
what is a culture
a set of shared values, beliefs, ideas, identities, and attitudes
what does culture do
§ It shapes and influences our perceptions and behavior
It is constantly transmitted and reproduced
weaknesses of culturalism
what is a culture; do not do a good job at laying it out; then how do you know if it has an impact
what does culture become
intersubjective; dont really know when it exists
what are institutions
organizations or activities that are self perpetuating and valued for their own sake; shape political behavior; IRS, NRA, constitution
what is sovereignty
Ability to carry out actions or policies within a territory independently from external actors or internal rivals
what are the three factors of treaty of west phalia
states have control of border/
secular government will be the decision makers (dont have to listen’ ling has the authority/
every country is equally protected by this; first idea of modern state
what is sovereignty
do you control your area
what is internal sovereignty
state is the sole authority within a territory; whether or not there are internal groups trying to cause troubles
how can you increase internal sovereignty
plice forces to bring uprises down/
listen to them and their changes
external sovereignty
are your borders secure; is anyone trying to invade you; are you under attack
factors of sovereignty
legitimacy
what is legitimacy
do people accept your leadership
what are unitary states
power is concentrated at the highest level; local needs will be taken care of, efficient; concentrates power
what are federalists system
still central government and still most powerful of the bodies; but it is now not only the only one with real authority; lots of other smaller bodies with real power
who has power in federalist
states (central can’t know everything), ; when you cross border into new state then laws can change
what is devolution
transfer of power from central to smaller ones; trend is more toward the federalist than it is unitary
what is point of devolution
for central governments to gain legitimacy; connect with the people/
connect with ethnic people
wha tis power
measure of sovereignty; more or less power if you are more or less sovereign
how do you measure power
autonomy and capacity within a system
what is autonomy
freedom to act; are there groups trying to create uprises or not
what is capacity
do you have the resources to do what you want to do; do you have the money, brain power, well trained military police, roads, etc.
what are attitudes
different from place to place; describes views related to the speed with which change should occur and how much change is needed to the political, social, or economic order
what do ideologies do
stay the same
what are ethnic identity
things you re born with; race, identity, gender
what is a national identity
that your nation is based around an idea; America
can identity overlap
yes, can be both national and ethnica
what is citizenship
the individual; how do you relate to it
what is nationalism
pride in your people and the belief in their sovereign political destiny separate from other; your country, your people, separate from others
what is patriotism
pride in your country; believe that your country is a good place; does not have to be around people
difference between nationalism and patriotism
the curds; can be nationalistic that they need a country and deserve own country, but can’t be patriotic; nationalism can be a desire to be free political
7 components of a political economy; what is a regulation
rules and orders that set the boundaries of any given procedures; laws or policies that limit what you can do in a political run
what are the four types of political economies
liberal, social democratic, communist, mercanitilist
what is liberalism
freedom; you make your choices and rise and fall on your own; tradiiotnla capitalists
what is social democracy
also capitalist; borrows some economic policies from communism; also care about equality
what are in social democracy
social safe guards and ways for people to be safe and equal
what is mercantilism
focus is only on the needs of the state; state exists to build the economy; but it is not to help you, it is to help the state become powerful
what does mercantilism do it
with a capitalist space; pick a space they want to do well in and then they focus on it; because of this they have a mixed relationship with trade
mercantilism with trade
dont trade in areas they dont want to; like when they didn’t allow us cars because they wanted Japanese car companies to grow
what are the ways to compare political economic systems
GDP, purchasing parody parity, human development index
what is GDP
overall value of country
what is purchasing power parity
measure of how far your money goes within your economy; how much you can get with your money
what is human development index
look at health, education, and economics
what are causes of political violence
revolutions and the theories around them
what is relative deprivation model
is no one thing that can point to a revolution; can be a gap between actual conditions and public expectations; public perception and reality can be different
what is structuralist model
rivalry; understand revolutions in terms of rivalry; leads to anger and political paralysis, opening door for revolution
example of structural model
US and USSR; USSR changed policy to try and catch up to the US; changed who had power and then got anger and revolution; emerged from the gap and caused the weaker country to have to try and adapt to the changes
what is terrorism
use of violence by a non-state actor against civilians in order to attempt to achieve a political goal
what is democracy
two main forms; direct and indirect
what is direct
people vote on policies (doesn’t exist in world today inc country, but does in ballot initiatives)
indirect democracy
go and select someone to speak for us; president, governor, mayor, etc; is dominate form
what is a presidential system
President is directly elected for a fixed term
strengths of presidential systems
checks and balances/
• Not reliant on the party or coalition
• Public directly elects leader
Can claim a national mandate (if they win one)
weakness of presidential systems
slow and hard to make policies and decisions because of all the checks and balance/
nearly impossible to remove bad leader, no power sharing
what is a parliamentary system
Head is the Prime Minister; • Elected by the legislature
• Cabinet is made up of other elected officials
Vote of No Confidence and Early Elections
strengths of parliamentary
elected by legislature, efficient, autonomy, easy to remove bad leaders
weaknesses of parliamentary
bad checks and balances, public does not directly select leader, public has less direct representation
what is a constitution
contract between citizens and a government; what the rules are moving forward
what does executive do
put law into practice; make it happen
legislative
create the law and write the alw
judiciary
enforces the law and determined what laws are allowed
what are two pieces of electoral systems
single member, proportional
what is a single member
winner take all; you get one more vote than other person and you win; however runoff can occur; where you need certain percent
single member problems
parties can grow further and further away, tend to be more extreme, tend to get two parties cause third party votes can’t win
what is proportional
nationwide vote based on parties; seats awarded based on share of the vote; leads to many small parties gain seats
what are political parties
try to push a goal and represent citizens
what are cause of democratization
modernization theory, civil society, role of elite, international relations
what is democratization
process a country becomes a democracy
what is modernization theory
no middle class, no democracy; as middle class grows, it will look to defend its interest and want government to do particular things; as more and more demands occur, democracy happens and wants ability to protect itself
what is civil society
groups where people get together and talk; teaching you that your voice matters and that you have a say; as groups grow stronger, they want to make demands on governments, place pressure on them, and topple regime and people rise up
what is role of elite
who has the power?; if there is an elite, if you want democracy you have to change their interests; elite need to leave power
how to get elite to leave power
threaten economic interest, can kill them
what is international relations
regime change; come in and topple democracy/
pressure nad incentives
pressure and invectives
offer something that could be valuable, or punish them
what is the rule of law
everyones equal under the law, doesn’t matter background; successful country people will be equal under law; also cannot be punished if there is no law about it
what is rule of law considered
cornerstone of democracy
america
foreign policy swings back and forth; isolation and engagement/
first successful major rebellion
UK elects
house of commons elects prime minister
Japan elects
house of representatives; same as US
UK magna carta
first turn towards democracy , deal between feudal lords and king; took some power from the king; lead towards democracy
Japan 3 D’s
deflation, debt, deficit
Japan potential solutions to population decline
add women right add women to workforce/
increase immigration
