Midterm POLI 359 Introduction to Comparative Politics Flashcards
1
Q
Political Science
A
- Academic discipline whose members address themselves to the analysis, explanation of politics.
- High degree of definitional variation.
2
Q
Politics
A
- Essentially contested concept.
- No consensus on how to define the term and no consensus on how to analyze politics (operationalization) and the unit of analysis.
- Contested because multiparadigmatic: multiplicity of theories, each with different focuses and definitions, can’t decide what should be included and excluded.
- Common denominator in politics is the study of power in one way shape of form.
3
Q
Power
A
- Politics is about power, but this is also an essentially contested topic.
- Operative in a multiplicity of domains, but those domains are interactive.
- Brings consequence, the absence of power is characterized by a lack of consequences.
- How power is acquired and exercised and the competition for power: struggle within any group for power, that gives and individual or a subset within a group to make decisions on behalf of that group that are binding on the group as a whole.
- Operationalization of power makes things happen, an individual or group do what they normally would not do if they had the volition or agency to do otherwise. If empowered, have your own free will and agency relative to opposition.
4
Q
Power and Conflict
A
- The relationship between power and conflict
- How/why power is acquired and how it is exercised, how/why source of conflict. essence of political struggle.
- How/why power resolves or fails to resolve conflict
5
Q
Why is the study of politics important?
A
- Governance function: way in which order is established and maintained so that a social group remains stable, integrated and cohesive. Why some groups cohere and others disintegrate
- Assume power is integral to explaining order v.s disorder. How power is exercised and the way in which power has been distributed.
- Analytical questions regarding the governance function, can be questions of life and death like in Yugoslavia and Syria.
- Why are some disintegrations relatively peaceful and other violent.
6
Q
Domestic Political Systems
A
- Governance with government
- Governance function or dysfunction is related to the state apparatus which is the composite of institutions within a state in which the power of sovereign state is located, exercised (exec, leg, jud, admin, repressive)
- Need to be animated by the people holding these offices and thus operationalizing that power.
- The government exercises the power of the sovereign state that is resident in the state apparatus.
7
Q
What is comparative politics?
A
- Subdiscipline of polisci whose members share some substantive concerns and ask the same analytical questions as counterparts in other sub fields.
- How and why power is used and acquired. struggle for power leads to binding decisions on group as a whole, power and conflict. Still concerned with governance function. Compares pursuit of power across countries.
- Institutions: organizations or activities that are self-perpetuating and valued for own sake.
- Why distinct? subject of study is domestic political systems other than comparatives own. method: study and comparison of domestic political system across societies. belief that the explanation of political phenomena is enhanced by analyzing more than one setting.
8
Q
International Relations v.s Comparative Politics
A
-Intl: international systems,
governance without government,
how power is used to effect governance in an international system characterized by anarchy, governance in relation to anarchy,
no supranational authority,
no consequences independent of state/actors that constitute the intl system,
theories, methods and concepts capable of explaining governance in the context of an international space characterized by anarchy
-Comparative: government in relation to governance,
domestic government can impose consequences independent of individuals in the state,
-But power multi-level/multi-dimensional so not insensitive to each other
9
Q
Theda Skocpol
A
-States and Social Revolutions 1979
-
10
Q
Case Study Method
Method
A
- Method: an investigative technique applied/operationalized that allows the analyst to produce data, acquire knowledge and explain the social world.
- Idiographic v.s nomoethetic studies, the one you choose has ideological influence or bias.
- Idiographic: on a particular case to explain something about that particular case. to explain something peculiar about it. say something about one country in particular. not as useful.
- Nomoethetic Studies: studies based on one, but focus on a specific policy, process, inst, social change. purpose seeks to learn something within a country context that can be applied in other places. can be theory infirming or confirming. good
11
Q
Comparative Method
A
- Diachronic comparison v.s Synchronic comparison
- Minimum sample of two, something specific to two or more cases.
- Diachronic: conducted at difference points in time, times picked must be meaningful. can be crossnational or just one.
- Synchronic: conducted at the same time, doesn’t have to be contemporary
12
Q
Cross National Comparison
A
- Most Similar Systems: two or more effectively similar in important aspects then explain a difference that exists between them. Why are they different despite similarity.
- Most Different Systems: explain similarity in spite of difference. 2 or more very difference cases save for on glaring similarity. Why the same in spite of difference
13
Q
Controlled Comparisons
A
- Want to control for false causes, want to mitigate focuses on wrong cause/explanations
- Controls negate false cause in explanation
- Most Similar Systems: control for the similarities when trying to explain differences. similarities will not yield the answer.
- Most Different Systems: control for the difference. Look at similarity.
14
Q
Focused Comparisons
A
- N is the number of cases being looked at
- Small “N” Study, small number of cases. easier to operationalize and doesn’t take as long. not as expensive, move in depth analysis, yield more meaningful results. Theda Skocpol. USSR, France, China, small N study, detailed analysis.
- Large “N” Study, entire universe of cases. explanations across all cases, makes that explanation stronger. how can you generalize without looking at all the cases? dataset not accurate or detailed enough.
15
Q
Inductive Reasoning
A
-Examine one country closely and generate a hypothesis. Foundation on which to build theories , starts with evidence to uncover hypothesis
16
Q
Deductive Reasoning
A
-Start with a puzzle, hypothesis then seek out evidence, test using a number of countries
-Can find either correlation or causation.
Correlation: apparent association between variables or factors. Causal: cause and effect relationship.
17
Q
7 Challenges Comparativists Face
A
- difficulty controlling variables. can’t make true comparisons because cases are different.
- interactions between variables. multicausality
- limits to information gathering
- access to limited cases available.
- area studies are distributed unevenly around the world
- bias, case selection. randomization is not entirely possible.
- search for cause and effect, which is which
problem with distinguishing = endogeneity
18
Q
Aristotle v.s Machiavelli
A
-Aristotle’s comparison of proper and deviant regimes. separated philosophy and politics
-Machiavelli, comparative approach emerges. analyze political systems applied to statesman to avoid predecessors mistakes
Cold War turning point. 1. movement to apply more rigorous methods to study human behavior. 2. World Wars, serious questions about meaningful contributions. 3. rivalry, need to understand comparative politics to survive
4. tech innovations
19
Q
Modernization Theory
A
-societies develop in to capitalistic democracies. converge around shared values and characteristics. catch up unless diverted by alternate systems. a hypothesis on country development
20
Q
Behavioral Revolution
A
- shift from studying political institutions to individual political behavior.
- aimed to help generate theories and predict behavior
21
Q
Hobbes Montesquieu Rousseau Marx Weber
A
Hobbes: notion of social contract, surrender liberties in favour of order. powerful state
Montesquieu: separation of powers
Rousseau: citizens inalienable, can’t be taken by state. civil rights development
Marx: economic development predicted the eventual collapse of capitalism and deocracy
Weber: bureaucracy, forms of authority, culture on development.
22
Q
Political Institutions
A
- command and generate legitimacy, give meaning to human activity
- need to understand differences amount institutions
- formal: officially sanctioned rules that are relatively clear
- informal: unwritten, unofficial, equally powerful
- institutions influence politics, combines behavioral and institutional
23
Q
Freedom and Equality
A
- politics struggle between individual freedom and collective equality, driven by reconciling the two.
- freedom: ability to act independently. no restriction or punishment. autonomy
- equality: material standard of living shared by individuals
- typically measured through justice/injustice. measuring whether ideals have been met, unclear whether one comes at expense of the other but not a necessarily zero sum game.
24
Q
State
A
- centralized authority, locus of power
- max weber: organization that maintains a monopoly of violence over the territory
- set of institutions wield the most force within a territory. establish order and maintain control, deter challengers, create and implement policy, resolve conflict, viewed as legitimate, vital and appropriate
- machinary of politics
- sovereign entities, most powerful actor
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Sovereignty
- ability to carry out functions/actions/policies within a territory independent of external actors and internal rivals. primary authority over people and authority
- to do this states need physical power: must be armed to secure control but not only physical
- de jure: legal-juridical. recognition. acquire sovereignty when government can act on behalf of state.
- de facto: effective statehood. capacity function of power. actually being able to carry out the rights and obligations of sovereignty.
- ideally want both international recognition and capacity to enforce that.
26
Regime
-essentially contested concept. negative connotation
-mode or governance method determines:
where power is located
how power is used
whose interests/goals that power serves
transitions of power from one government to another
process of decisions making
patterns of repression
-fundamental rules and norms of politics. embodies long term goals guide state with regard to individual freedom and collective equality.
-establishes the proper relationship between freedom and equality.
-democratic: rules and norms are that the public play a large role in governance, individual rights and liberty
-non-democratic: limits public participation, favors those in power.
-machine programming
-determines form of state, type of system is function of regime
-democratic (republic, presidential, parliamentary) or autocratic (civilian, military, dictatorship)
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Government
- the leadership that runs the state, often composed of elected officials.
- attempt to realize ideas regarding freedom and equality through the state but not with complete autonomy. confront existing regime.
- operates the machinary
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Country
-combines political entities. state, regime, government and the people who live in that system
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Thomas Hobbes on the origins of political organization
- humans submit to authority to overcome anarchy because anarchy ensure neither freedom not equality. gain security and the foundation to build a civilization.
- assumed primordial individualism but actually family and tribal organization, states emerge out of this history of violence.
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Jean Jacques Rousseau on origins of political organization
- humans are noble savages, instinctively compassionate and egalitarian. civilization and rise of the state, corrupted them by institutionalizing a system of inequality
- assumed primordial individualism but actually family and tribal organization, states emerge out of this history of violence.
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Consensus on the origins of political organization
- individuals band together to protect themselves and create common rules. security through cooperation democracy
- individuals are brought together by a rules, impose authority and monopolies. security through domination authoritarian rule
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Rise of the Modern State and why
- collapse of the Roman empire lead to a reversion to anarchy.
- emerged from and in reaction to what was organized crime and constant warfare
1. states encouraged economic development and property rights.
2. encouraged technological innovation. used to increase economic and military power, stimulate economic development
3. domestic stability, increased trade and commerce, interaction and share understanding of identity standardization of language and ethnicity
- 1648 Treaties of Westphalia, concluded the 30 years war (in part Catholics v.s Protestants)`
33
Forms of Comparing State Power
| Study and Compare States
-Max Weber
-legitimacy: value whereby something or someone is recognized and accepted as right and proper. widely accepted and recognized by the public. central component of stateness.
-when there is legitimacy the state is able to carry out basic functions, people obey the law, can provide security, people think they have authority (reciprocal benefits)
-when there isn't , state must use coercion, weakly institutionalized, state can only be a predatory impostion
-traditional, charismatic, rational legal
assess LEGITIMACY
assess DISPERSAL OF POWER
how states reconcile freedom and equality
34
Traditional Legitimacy
- something is legit because it has always been that way. strongly institutionalized
- accepted because it has been built over long periods of time
- historical identity
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Charismatic Legitimacy
- opposite of traditional power of ideals or beliefs.
- individuals embodying these ideals or beliefs not institutionalized
- weakly institutionalized overall
- tenuous but can be transformed in to traditional through the creation of rituals/values meant to capture spritit or intent of leaders power. Weber: routinazation of charisma
36
Rational-Legal Legitimacy
- system of laws and procedures presumed to be neutural or rational.
- strongly institutionalized
- figures/leaders gain legitimacy through rules they come to office abide by institutionalized rules offices hold the authority not the people who occupy them.
- world of modern states, but can see a mix throughout history.
37
Centralization/Decentralization of Power
-individual freedom- decentralized
-collective equality- centralized
-dispersal of power within a state
federalism: some powers devolved to regional powers. overcentralization seen as dangerous
asymmetrical federalism: power divided unevenly between regional bodies
unitary state: power concentrated at the national level, federalism weakens state efficiency
-Devolution: tendency to decentralize in recent years, viewed as a way to increase state legitimacy by moving political power close to the people.
38
Power (strong v.s weak states)
- strong states: fulfill basic tasks such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules/right, collect taxes, manage the economy. high degree of capacity
- weak states: capacity deficit. cannot execute tasks well. rules are haphazardly applied if at all. economic development is low, not well institutionalized, lack of authority and legitimacy. weak or failed.
39
Capacity and Autonomy
capacity
- ability of a state to wield power in order to carry out basic tasks of providing security and reconciling freedom and equality.
- requires organization, legitimacy, effective leadership.
- can formulate and enact policy, stable and secure if high capacity.
- continium of states from strong to weak.
autonomy
-ability of a state to wield its power independently of the public/international actors. tied to sovereignty.
-formal and legal independence. may act on behalf of public without strong opposition.
-low autonomy: captured by interests that control specific issues or policies
high capacity and high autonomy cost individual freedom
CAD/US lower autonomy and higher individual freedom
40
High/Low Autonomy Capacity Matrix
high A and high C: state fulfill basic tasks wit minimum public intervention. centralized. strong state too high, prevents democracy
low A and high C: state fulfills basic tasks, public plays a role in determining policy and limits state power. organized opposition, struggle to develop new policies
high A and low C: function with minimum public interference. fulfill basic tasks is limited. state is ineffectual, limits development and provokes public unrest.
low A and low C: states lack the ability to fulfill basic tasks. weak state, highly decentralized. too low, lead to internal state failure.
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3 Features of States
1. social formation matured 17-18th century
2. emerged in a particular time space (1648 Europe according to Western explanation)
3. impermanent, state is a novel entity, product of a range of historical processes.
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State Apparatus and Government
= state
- state apparatus: institutions in which power of the state resides, power exercised through institutions (exec, leg, jud, admin, repressive functions executed). matrix of institutions where power resides and flows. inert till humans operationalize them
- government: leadership of a particular state, inhabit offices and exercise the power resident in the state apparatus. human animation.
43
What are the forms of sovereignty and who came up with them?
1. domestic: forms of domestic ability of the state to carry out governance function. law and order, development and standard of living
2. interdependence: forms of domestic capacity of those who govern over the state to control borders. border regulation.
3. westphalian: mutual respect for territorial sovereignty, recognized as legal actors internationally, border manipulation, recognition of formal equality of sovereign states, non-intervention and self determination
4. international legal: international agreements (right to participate to participate in every aspect in theory) and international institutions (right to participate in)
Stephen Krasner American Political Scientist
2 domestic 2 international
janus faced, face looks in and face looks out
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Nation
- inherently political concept that refers to a group of people bound together by common political aspirations, the desire for self government, self government, self determination and sovereign statehood.
- share a common national identity, precursor to the nation state
- state does not precede humans, they are a productive of collective human action.
45
Nation and Nation State
| State-Nation
- nation as the precursor to the nation state. contrast with state nation
- humans determine the institutional framework, goals and objectives. group that comes together and does that is a nation. foundation for state, more stable because founded on common consensus. sovereign state encompassing one dominant nation that it claims to embody and represent. distinct ethnic groups and political identities.
- state-nation: developing world, reverse of nation state. after wave of decolonization, states precede consensually based political aspirations. state forms imposed externally without consultation. unstable.
46
Ethnicity and Ethnic Group
- not inherently political but can be
- refers to group to people bound by common set of socio-cultural characteristics such as language religion, customs and taboos. common historical experience
- share common ethnic identity. shared sense of belonging to an ethnic group, shared set of ethnic characteristics and historical experiences that differentiate them from other ethnic groups.
- gain common identity through ascription: assigning of particular quality at birth.
47
Ethnicity and Nation Intersections
Ethnic and national identity emerged in Europe end of 18th century. Linked to formation of the modern state, first emerged Athens/Rome. National identity States mobilize public in ways never before possible. fight and die for abstract political concept first time Napoleon
1. ethnic nation: associated with Michael Ignatieff. product of an ethnic identity that has been politisized. could arise from being treated unequally within the state, desire self gvt/determination, shared set of political. can manifest in a bi or multi national state. state comprised of two or more nations vying for control of state apparatus
2. civic nation: Michael Ignatieff refers to a group of people who despite their ethnic difference share inter subjectively, a common national identity grounded in acceptance of political order. can fight over control of the state apparatus
3. stateless nation: share common national identity by whose political aspiration for sovereign statehood remains unfulfilled
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Citizenship
-social contract
-legal membership in the state endows its possessor with rights and obligations which differ from state to state
-citizenship rights: civil rights, political rights, social/econ rights. explicitly developed accepted or rejected
-civil rights: enable to participate within state community
-political rights: participate in politics in a meaningful way. in order to enact political rights need civil rights. need to express self, participate politically.
social/econ rights: pursue/achieve/enjoy quality of life, standard of living. access government programs.
-obligations of citizenship differ but common ones include observance of the law, taxes and allegiance.
-conditions, status and revocation determines and enforced by the government and support personnel enacting the sovereign power of the state.
-jus soli: law of soil. born
-ju sanguinis: right of blood. legally because the parent is a citizen
-naturalization: fulfill other criteria. move and live for a while.
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Society
complex human organization, collection of people bound by shared institutions that define how human relations should be conducted.
50
Nationalism
pride in one's people and belief in their own sovereign political destiny separate from others. national identity can create this, ethnic identity often leads to political identity built on nationalism
51
Patriotism
pride in one's state, political system and seek to defend ad promote it. being a citizen doesn't automatically make you patriotic
52
Ethnic and National Conflict
- ethnic: conflict between ethnic groups that struggle to achieve certain political or economic goals at each others expense. try to gain control over political institutions state or gvt. Afghanistan
national: gain/prevent others from gaining sovereignty. clashes over autonomy. American Revolution
53
Political Attitudes
- focus on context of political change in given country. views regarding the necessary pace and scope of change in the balance between freedom and equality.
- categories: radical, liberal, conservative, reactionary
54
Radicals
-dramatic, often revolutionary change of existing order. violence unavoidable, destroy old order.
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Liberals
-evolutionary change, progressive change don;t need to overthrow the system. use current institutions must happen overtime.
56
Conservatives
- skeptical of the benefits of change, view it as disruptive and leading to unforeseen circumstances
- existing inst key to order and continuity.
57
Reactionaries
-opposition to further evolution/revolution any change. current order fundamentally unacceptable, restore values and change back to old regime. restore old institutions. violence to advance cause.
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Political Ideology
- set of political values held by individuals regarding the fundamental goals of politics.
- concerned with ideal relation between freedom and equality for all individuals and the proper role of political inst in achieving or maintaining this relation.
59
Liberalism
| Liberal Democracy
-as an ideology, high priority on individual political and economic freedom. seek to maximize degree of liberty for all people. state with low autonomy and capacity because lower the ability to intervene in public's affairs. (conservative)
-liberal democracy: system of political, social and economic liberties. supported by competition, participation and contestation. high degree of freedom will produce the greatest amount of general prosperity for the majority.
high freedom low equality
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Communism
-rejects the idea that personal freedom will ensure prosperity for the majority. small group dominate state and market, eliminate exploitation by state controlling a;; resources and providing true economic equality. high autonomy and capacity. (radical)
low freedom high equality
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Social Democracy
-socialism, draws on comm and lib
-strong role for private ownership and market forces, emphasis on economic equality, may limit freedom but recognizes importance of ind liberty complementary to equality. (liberal)
central freedom and equality
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Fascism
-hostile to the idea of individual freedom and rejects the notion of equality. people and groups are classified in terms of inferiority and superiority. high autonomy and capacity. hierarchical. rejects democracy. (reactionary)
low equality and low freedom
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Anarchism
-rejects the state, private property = inequality. eliminate authority and government guardianship. like liberals, view state as threat to freedom and equality. people cooperate without a state to reinforce inequality or limit personal freedom. close to libertarianism (radical)
high equality high freedom
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Fundamentalism
- affirmation of religious authority as holistic and absolute, expressed through collective demand that specific ethical dictates derived from scriptures be publicly recognized and legally enforced.
- ideology that unites religious with state to make faith the sovereign authority > create a theocracy
1. not the same as religiosity, puritanism or religious conservatism
2. not a pre modern view
3. base beliefs on failure of modern state and failures of ideology. critique of modernity itself.
65
Fundamentalism as a political attitude
- can appear reactionary, radical, mixture of both.
| - want to return to a golden age of faith and solve problems of the modern worl
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Culture and Political Culture
- culture: content of the institutions that help define a society social road map providing norms and priorities, guide people as they organize themselves. repository for activity and ideas that are proper/normal
- political culture: refers to a society's norms for political activity
- in the past, economic and political dev of countries explained as a function of culture/religion, lost favour over time bc
1. religion lost authority 20th century
2. modernization theory, culture transforming to secular values
3. problems with how to measure and compare culture
67
Hunt v.s Inglehart
Hunt: Clash of Civilizations, resurgent interest in culture and the rise or return of religion. goes against modernization/secularization
Inglehart: differences in societies along two dimensions, traditional and secular rational values.
traditional: emphasis religion, family values, deference to authority and national pride.
secular-rational: less emphasis on same values
Survival v.s Self-expression
survival: economic and physical security, low levels of trust
self-expression: higher levels of tolerance and demands for individual participation in politics
68
Patrimonialism
- system that distributes political and economic power to a small group of regime supporters within a state while holding society in check by force.
- in Syria, why the regime did not give way like Tunisia or Egypt.
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Political Violence
- outside of state control
- phenomena that operates beyond state sovereignty, neither war nor crime that seeks to achieve some political objective through the use of force. lines between domestic international war, crimes often blurry
70
Why Political Violence
1. Institutional : deterministic, people as shaped and directed by larger structures, they don't control violence. particularistic. stressing the combination of inst. not generalized and applied elsewhere
2. Ideational: in between, ideas influenced by inst actively taken and molded by ind to justify violence. middle, generalizing importance of ideas and distinct lessons that different ideas impart
3. Individual: people are the primary makers of violence. personal/psych attributes common to all, universal
- All approach free will differently. to what extent people are primary actors in political violence
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Institutional Explanations for Political Violence
- inst: self perpetuation organizations or patterns of activity that are valued for own sake. specific qualities or combinations are essential to political violence, can be political, economic or societal
- values and norms implicitly or explicitly encourage political violence. constrain human activity, provoke political violence
- looking for root source of violence , change inst structure, eliminate motivation for violence
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Ideational Explanations for Political Violence
- Rationale behind the violence. having to do with ideas, could be institutionalized concepts rooted in some institutions or uninstitutionalized
- ideas: set out a worldview, diagnose a set of problems, provide a resolution and describe a means of getting there, justification of violence
- associated with political attitudes, ideas in relation to the domestic political status quo
73
Individual Explanations for Political Violence
- who carries out the violence, personal motivations, who leads people to carry out violence toward political ends
1. psychological factors: conditions that draw ind. to violence. as an expression of desperation, desire fro liberation or social solidarity
2. rational/strategy: violence as an effective tool or strategy rather than despair driving those actions.
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Revolution
- type of political violence
- the existing government and regime, dramatic, mostly positive connotations
- political change because of revolution: participation, leaders, organizers and instigators
- work to gain control of the state, remake inst of pol/econ/societal
- dramatic so violence but not all
- revolutions often foundation for a modern state but come at a high cost
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What Causes Revolution:
1. Pre WWII, describe rather than explain, often unsystematic, blame bad policy and leaders
2. Behavioral Revolutions of 50's-60's. Social scientists more generalized explanations. economic and social change or disruption. spark revolutionary events, view focus on individuals as revolutionaries. Relative Deprivation Model: rev less a function of specific conditions than of the gap between actual conditions and public expectations, so improving conditions may still lead to revolution
3. Inst Approach: less focus on public reactions, more focus on target: state. ignores role of leadership, civil society and ideology.
Theda Skocpol- States and Revolutions, looked at France, China and Russia. revolutions require a specific set of conditions:
1. competition between rival states as they vie for military and economic power in the international system. costly
2. results of this competition, weaker states often seek reform to increase autonomy and capacity. changes to institutions to boost international power, but threaten status quo, discord and creating resistance
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Terrorism
-misused, stigmatized
-use of violence by non-state actors against civilian to achieve a political goal. target civilians because seen as a more effective way to achieve political ends
-State sponsored: extend power by proxy to sponsor non-state terrorist groups. instrument of foreign policy.
-Guerilla warfare: non-state combatants but accept traditional rules of war and target state
State acting against State = war
Non-state acting against State = Guerilla warfare
State acting against Civilians= State sponsored terrorism/HR violations/war crimes
Non-state acting against Civilians= State Sponsored terrorism or terrorism
-Understood in a revolutionary nature is a means towards revolutionary end. revolutionaries embrace terrorism as an expression of desire to use violence to achieve political goals.
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Causes and Effects of Terrorism
1. Institutional: background critical to understanding terrorists motivations. deprivation compounded by inst. opportunity when state autonomy/capacity weak
2. Ideational: provides a justification. nihilism: a belief that all inst and values meaningless only value is violence. destroy and purify a corrupted world.
3. Individual: personal motivation, injustice or a way to give life meaning. identity or solidarity
Effects: mostly unsuccessful in achieving their goals. has economic and societal effects. countering terrorism, costly with little to show for itself. counter terrorism is costly and has little show for its efforts, can bring down a regime or provoke international conflict
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State Formation
- inquiry in to the phases and processes of social change associated with development of the modern state.
- where, when, why and how the state has come in to existence
- critical junctures that influences emergence and maturation of the modern state ex) colonial subjugation, revolution
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Statualization
- Process of becoming a state, where the state is the final project
- GiannoFranco Poggi
- Process through which non-state social formations acquire and develop the practices of rule and general characteristics associated within modern state. form of state related to regime type.
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Regime Type and Sub-Type
- Type: Democratic v.s Autocratic
| - Subtype: examples of autocratic: Authoritarian (Civil, Military, Civiltary) v.s Totalitarian (One Party Ideological)
81
Constitutional/Institutional Design
- regime is a product of constitutional or institutional design. provisions or arrangements identify the leg exec jud admin repressive inst of the state are.
- define respective functions or powers, also define how through their inter relation they produce political outcomes. Unitary: transfer power to sub national inst. v.s Federal: con. permanent division of power.
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How do regime transitions vary?
| Types of Transitions
- process of change/transition from one regime to another mode of governance.
-pace: rapid (central/eastern europe) v.s protracted (gradual or lengthy, CL transition in europe)
-degree, what they produce: extensive v.s limited
extensive: consolidated. elites are devoted to new mode of governance and public comply/support, able to withstand major crisis
unconsolidated/transitional: weak, may collapse. may reverse transition or may transition to something else. short duration .
-Democratic transitions: go from non-democratic to democratic
-Non-democratic transitions: go from democratic to non democratic
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Feudalism, Narrative and Debates
- Eurocentric, a European innovation, states in the west starting with Europe.
- state formation a product of dissolution of the feudal system, non-state social formation
- Feudalism, contested concept, regional variation. no common agreement on when or why feudalism collapsed
- Not necessarily a distinctly European phenomenon China's Zhou Dynasty, Tokugawa Shogunite
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Characteristics of Fedualism
-Agrarian mode of production, derived form Latin feodum, from German fee meaning cattle or property
-Roman Empire in its period of decline adopt inst of fee, property holding.
-Based on land holding, agricultural production and how to produce surplus, extraction and distribution of agricultural surplus, social status and access to political power based on relationship to landholding and agricultural production, extraction and distribution of surplus
Vassalage: land holding relationship to land based on the vassalage system
-pyramidal structure of politco-mil social and econ relations.
-premised on personal bonds of loyalty and obedience to ind rather than to identifying with a regime and its institutions.
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Demise of the Feudal System
- Primogeniture: empowers lower levels. inheritance based system change in transfer.
- political conflict, vassals want greater autonomy within fief no interference from over lord, get greedy. war within secular hierarchy.
- innovations in military tech, draw more into territorial domain. increase destruction and legality. ability to destroy fortifications which were political symbols of authority and refuge.
- peasant revolutions: indentured labour, tied to land contractually and generationally.
- religious schisms: Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation: hegemonic ideology that legitimized feudal system being questioned. Protestantism as a religious and feudal alternative.
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30 Years War
- Struggle between church and state. group of nobles, support feudal system and other nobles feel disenfranchised. against because want self-determination for land and religion. decide for selves what religion will be practiced in their realm.
- European wide war, nobles that support feudalism v.s nobles that don't v.s peasants.
- People against universalism won. transition out of feudal system to more self-determinism. product is the Absolutist State
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Absolutist State and its Significance
- reflection of those against feudal absolutism
- form of state that developed between the 15th-18th centuries. 1400's -1700's. Russia/East continued longer.
1. instrumental in the development of the modern state. non-state social form to absolutism. Westphalia 1648, reorganization of Europe in to sovereign territories with legally recognized borders. emergence of interstate system.
2. Instrumental in the development of the Westphalian Inter State System. sovereign absolutists states coexisted and interacted with each other in an anarchical inter state system. anarchy socially constructed, brought in to fruition by conscious human beings. nobles not going to replicate the oppressive system they freed themselves from.
3. Precursor to the liberal democratic form of state. democracy in Europe a product of absolutist crisis.
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Characteristics of Absolutism
1. sovereignty centralized in person/inst of the monarch. prior, multi-sovereign territoriality one parcel of land has vassals, higher vassals, lords. primogeniture continues. Louis XIV first in Europe, declared I am the State. Divine right of Kings, monarch determines which god.
2. centralized bureaucracy subordinate to the monarch. staffed and paid by monarchs inspires them to be loyal. drawn from disenfranchised nobles. make sure they don't destabilize.
3. standing (permanent and professional) military apparatus dependent on and loyal to the monarch. paid by treasury, prior mercenaries. no longer dependent on lower levels for protection
4. centralized state-wide taxation administered by bureaucracy, enforced by military. before rely on nobles.
5. centralized and uniform system of law enforced throughout the territory
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Mercantilism
- foreign economic policy practiced by absolutist states. combination of assumptions and practices.
- high state capacity and autonomy
assumptions: worldview of leaders. 1. resource scarcity, earth doesn't regenerate bc of divine creation. gain access to scarce resources, deny to other.
2. bullionism = previous metals (specie). Gold and silver, access in raw form mint in to specie which is coined money
3. empire building, resource scarcity leads to imperialism, colonialism and intra-imperial trade.
- parastatals: partial or full ownership of specific industries
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Difference between Imperialism and Colonialism
- imperialism: construction of empire, involves ideas that justify building and maintaining empire.
- colonialism: processes, colony = non-sovereign possession. enact processes to subjugate peoples and territories previously independent.
- settler colonies: relocate your own nationals, displacement.
- occupational colonies: leave indigenous pop in tact, govern indirectly or indirectly.
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What functions does empire building serve?
1. provides resources no longer available in Europe due to over exploitation
2. intra imperial trade. transfer out raw materials, import value added, manufactured products. extra source of markets. enable more rivalry/comp
3. Autarky, self sufficiency within own empire. most preferred state of being ideally. highest level of independence. never achieved, asymmetric interdependence was next best thing: balance of trade surplus and balance of payments surplus
4. Statism: national economy trumps individual interests. economy serve state interests, state intervene. protectionism. tarrifs, quotas, devaluation of currency, subsidies
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Causes of Mercantilism
1. war making. Charles Tilly: state made war, war made state. Guerrison States: perpetually preparing for engaging in war due to resource scarcity and anarchy.
2. state building: consolidation of power and institution building was required to effectively fight wars and finance the fighting of these wars.
3. resource depletion, forced to go elsewhere for resources after max exploitation of own
4. tech innovations: maritime navigation enabled trans-oceanic empire building. enabled subjugation of thousands
5. social pressures: over population/unemployment. pressure on weakened inst. example = Spain: reconquista: product of Spanish liberating themselves from Moores. weakened and engaged in imperial expansion abroad, internal resource problem and interstate resource competition and anarchy. conquistadors: military class bred to fight for liberation, once objective won, unemployed and alienation. turned to imperialism to keep them occupied.
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Debates about democracy
- contested, some consensus based on characteristics
- can't replicate in other places because didn't have same historical experience.
- can export because already have the blueprint, can expect reasonable facsimiles.
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Core Characteristics of Democracies
1. political accountability, those who govern are responsible to the state/society they govern over and only them
2. political competition, free, frequent and fair. elections are necessary but not sufficient.
3. political freedom: political rights and civil liberties to enable meaningful participation.
4. political equality: all adult citizens have the right to participate in any degree. regime censitaire: suffrage based on property ownership and or income level principe capacitaire: educational attainment + property. what it was before. can't have barriers to people trying to access franchise. vote equality
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Supporting Characteristics of Democracies
1. Civil Society (contested)
autonomous, school for democracy learn to organize, form express political interests, learn, negotiations, and compromise, constraint on arbitrary state action. private sphere, social action and interaction. organized citizen based institutions established individual and autonomous from the state.
Antonio Gramsci: critical theorist, neo-marxist can't separate anything from state interference.
2. Rule of law: fundamental to liberty of individual and society. associated with limited government. meaningful constraints on state intervention in to the private sphere. constitutionalism
3. Compliant Bureaucracy: Max Weber, bureaucracy is a-political and specialized and meritocratic. a-political: no political affiliations, serve the elected. hired based on specialization and promotion based on performance rather than on the basis of job affiliation.
4. Autonomous Economic Sphere: can be part of civil society or not, power resources act as a check on political power. some argue democracy can't exist without developed capitalist economy. market society seen as a a catalyst for democratic systems. actors develop wealth, diverse economic actors, pressure politics to be more democratic to ensure they are able to use, protect wealth as they wish. mutually reinforcing.
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Domestic Democratic Development
1. democratic political culture. attitudes, values, beliefs, relative to the political regime and relative to power dispersion. regime as a reflection of the political culture. need a pro-democratic and pro-free market culture. society AND political elites
2. civil-military relations, balance of power asymmetrically favoring politically responsible civilian leaders. accountable to society. meaningful democratic control, use power for the good of the democracy. civilian supremacy. military leaders imbued with dem pol culture.
3. economic development. pluralism: diverse ideas. diverse occupational categories. ideologies of equality, less likely asymmetric concentration. opportunity for upward mobility. , deconcentration of power resources.
4. social homogeneity. more likely to agree if ethno-culturally similar. ethno-cultural cleavages v.s ethno-cultural compromise
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Consociational Democracies
-Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands
-high degree of ethno diversity but still highly developed democracies. "knit together" successfully.
-governments based on coalition
-meaningful vetos
-proprtionality
federalism
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International Factors for Democratic Development
Neighbourhood. regional space shared by states. geographical proximity promotes necessary transfers and reinforces regime type.
-instigates regime transition
-demonstration effect
International Organizations. rules of membership, incentive to states to democratize.
-example EU membership Copenhagen Criteria: already existing capitalist economy/meaningful effort towards one , already liberal/dem meaningful effort towards one.
Democracy Promotion. explicit programs/policies states undertake to promote democratic transitions in non-democratic states.
-in national interest of democratic states and global interest
-methods of promotion: conditionalities: non dem states receive aid on condition that begin democratization process. democratic assistance: actively assist state in building democracy through insertion of pro-democratic factors.
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Democratic Peace Theory v.s Coser-Simmel Thesis
- Democratic Peace Theory Kant: system with more democracies will be more peaceful as democracies don't go to war with each other. cooperative and tolerant political culture and relative/variable sum game. regimes accountable so war more difficult due to risk of losing publics support.
- Coser-Simmel Thesis/Scapegoat: states go to war for domestic reasons, identity of target state is irrelevant.
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Globalization
- network of connections across democratic and non-democratic that bring them together. easier to diffuse democracy to non-democratic states.
- maintaining linkage can be a conflict. Tiananmen Square Incident: refusing to maintain connection with China to punish military violence would de-incentivise democratization. better to keep conduits open, trading short term for long term gains. can compete and better deal with democratic states rather than challenge a non-democratic one.
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Democratization
- democratic transition, increase openness, less repressive, can be deconsolidated or consolidated.
- decomposition of non-dem and transition to a democratic state form.
- gradually embeds core and periphery characteristics, immediate outcome = transitional democracy. newly formed democracy that exhibits core and supporting characteristics but not fully institutionalized political culture.
- consolidated: strong democracy, 4 core and 4 periphery characteristics embedded institutionally. public and elites support, fully mature democratic political culture. can withstand crisis.
- deconsolidated: reversal. characteristics not embedded. regime illegitimate in eyes of population and sectors of political leadership. could lead to democratic breakdown or democratic re-equilibration
- breakdown: non-democratic transition. re transitions in to non-dem state form ex. Russia.
- re-equilibration: have consolidation, temporary legitimization. democratic forces hold on and reverse the trend.
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What was the successor to the Absolutist state form?
- Classical Liberal state, first democratic state form. characterized as minimalist or night watchman state.
- outcome bonafide democratic transition
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Characteristics of the Classical Liberal state
1. popular sovereignty: sovereignty vested in population of a state rather than in the owns state monarch. preserve interests and proprietary rights.
2. Rights based **capitalism
a. right to private property. individuals have the right to choose how they wish to live their lives, must hold leaders accountable. individual right to buy/sell at will. individual right to accumulate as much wealth as they wish, provided they do not harm others.
3. consent of the governed
a. political accountability
b. political competition, free frequent fair
c. political freeomd
d. political inequality CL states are not liberal democracies: limited suffrage. regime censitaire based on property ownership and/or income level. principe capacitaire based on gender and/or education. logic those with greatest stake in the system
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Reasoning behind the Classical Liberal state
- CL response to Absolutist state, and the question why popular sovereignty.
- Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations. Increase standard of living, max impact for least cost
- rational individuals
- self-regulating market
- critique of mercantilism
- separate private and public sphere.
- constraint on ability of state to operate arbitrarily.
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Hugo Chavez
- Venezuela
- implemented Bovarian socialism, meant to improve standard of living and increase sovereignty.
- nationalization of oil and financial sectors.
- Post Chavez, unstable, weakened inst, high inflation
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Economy
| Components
array of inst enable the exchange of goods and services, becomes self perpetuating
arena for fight between freedom and equality
-markets: interaction of supply and demand to allocate resources
-property: ownership of goods and services exchanged through markets, accompanied with rights
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Liberal Economic System
- individual political and economic freedom, advocated limiting state power
- Adam Smith
- best state is weak, constrained autonomy and capacity
- secure property rights. minimal public goods
- capitalism/laissez-faire
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Social Democracy Economic System
- temper extreme equality or freedom
- state creator of social rights
- wide array of public goods, basic benefits, taxes, higher regulation, partial state ownership
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Rights, Obligation, Enfeoffment Feudalism
-reciprocal rights and obligation between vassals and lords. obedience up, rights down. oaths of fealty, religious sanctification and legitimacy. binding for life unless renounced mutually.
Enfeoffment: investiture of a fief which is a tract of land
-land estate derived income sufficient to feed clothe and arm himself. subdivided in to manors the lords of which were free men who owed feudal obligations to the lord of the fief.
-obligated to loyalty, mil service, provision of counsel, maintenance of law and order, tax collection on behalf of lord, payment of titches, protection of ecclestiastical lands and privileges on those lands.
-right to reside in the manor, retention of a portion of tax revenue, right to retain one's own retinue of vassals, subdivision of fief in to smaller fiefdoms
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Serfdom, Ecclesiastical Authority Fedualism
Serfdom: reciprocal contract with vassals.
- obligated to pay rent, work demesne land (work land on behalf of the lord) produce a surplus, pay taxes and tithes. right to law and order, military protection and work tenement land (owned by lord and allows serfs to work lands and keep surplus in free time.)
Ecclesiastical Authority: grounded in the Roman Catholic Church, own hierarchical administration. system of clergy, courts and canon law. "universal church". 5th century inherited their authority over Western Christendom directly from St. Peter. sanctifies secular system and legitimizes inequitable hierarchy. reciprocal, act of heresy to go against the secular system.
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Rational Individuals CL Reasoning
rational individuals: state has no insight in to individual needs, shouldn't be making decisions. defer to individuals. opposite of mercantilism.
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Self Regulating Market CL Reasoning
self-regulating market: produce greatest good for greatest number. laws of supply and demand, invisible hand. limited state intervention
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Critique of Mercantilism CL Reasoning
critique of mercantilism: infringes on rational individuals
pursuit of autarky leads to inefficient use of resources. impair self-regulating greatest good for greatest number,. comparative advantage over protectionism which is irrational. mercantilistic competition leads to war whereas interdependence produces a cycle of growth for everyone.
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Separate Private and Public CL Reasoning
-separate private and public sphere. narrow public sphere restricted to: enforcing rules of contract , providing services which capitalists need to make profit but which are unprofitable for capitalists to provide themselves (public transport), national security function.
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Constraint on Arbitrary Power CL Reasoning
constraint on ability of state to operate arbitrarily. abide by rules not whims, legal constraints. constitution: defines power of exec, leg, jud of state apparatus. divide power between different levels of government, rights and obligations of citizens between each other and state, amendment formula.
