Political Science - PART 1 terms to repeat

Question 1

What is the public sphere according to Habermas (1989)?

Answer 1

The public sphere according to Habermas is a place where citizens can discuss and debate about matters pertinent to public interest without state interference.

Question 2

What are empirical approaches and briefly describe them?

Answer 2

Empirical approaches are:
behavioralism - studying the behavior of different actors and then developing theories based on that behavior.
rational choice - people will always make the most rational choice for society (not always true)
new institutionalism - institutions are important and the main actors
critical approaches

Question 3

Explain the medium voter theory.

Answer 3

The medium voter theory states that the party closer to the center will win more votes in a two party system.

Question 4

What are the four approaches on why states have developed?

Answer 4

constitutional approach
pluralist approach
conflict approach
ethical and moral approach

Question 5

What are failed states?

Answer 5

Failed states are states which have lost control of their territory and are unable to fulfill the basic obligations of a sovereign state.

Question 6

What are some of the important elements for the definition of democracy?

Answer 6

It is a form of self-government, there must be a free and fair mandate to govern, with open procedures and voting is done by qualified citizens (which raises the question who are qualified citizens).

Question 7

What are thick definitions of democracy?

Answer 7

Thick definitions of democracy means that there are free and fair elections, there is freedom of speech and constitutionally protected civil rights; plurality; existent, strong and protected opposition; free and independent, pluralistic media

Question 8

What are the four signs of a democracy in crisis?

Answer 8

The four signs of a democracy in crisis are: declining trust in the democracy/government, declining participation rates, young people are giving up on democracy and there is a growing success of radical right/left parties.

Question 9

What are the criticisms of ideologies?

Answer 9

The criticisms of ideologies are that they aren’t susceptible to change/reason/disproof, they are a blinding kind of political religions, and they justify the interests of the elites, and disregard the interests of the working class.

Question 10

Describe the origins and development of Christian democracy, and its main characteristics.

Answer 10

19th century, response to the growing popularity of socialism and secular liberalism; family, church, community; natural law, subsidiarity; BUT protection of the weak and poor, life harmony and integration

Question 11

Describe the origins and development of Socialism, and its main characteristics.

Answer 11

Socialism originated in the 19th century as a reaction to poor working and living conditions of the working class, and in the 20th century as a result of colonial oppression. Socialism has an optimistic view on human nature; social class; participatory democracy; equality of opportunity; reform/revolution/ active role of the state in the economy.

Question 12

What are the four types of policies?

Answer 12

The four types of policies are: regulative, distributive, redistributive, and constitutive.

Question 13

Describe the main components of the policy cycle.

Answer 13

Policy initiation (deterministic and agency models) - policy formulation - policy adaptation (rational model, incremental model, belief system model)- policy implementation - policy evaluation

Question 14

What is political behavior?

Answer 14

Political behavior encompasses all political activities citizens engage in. There are two functions of political behavior: giving information, and exerting pressure.

Question 15

What are interests?

Answer 15

Interests are something that individuals or organizations have at stake in the political process.

Question 16

What determines the power of PG/SM?

Answer 16

The determining factors of power in PG/SM are: group features and political environment.

Question 17

What are the differences between pluralism and corporatism (systems of pressure groups)?

Answer 17

Pluralism: has many small groups, is fragmented and domain-specific, no group has privileged access, there is competition between groups, and the system is relatively open to new groups.
Corporatism - fewer, larger groups, concentrated and not domain specific, peak organizations have privileged access, cooperation between groups, and the system is relatively closed off to new groups.

Question 18

What is social capital?

Answer 18

Social capital includes features of society such as trust, social norms and social networks which improve governmental efficiency by encouraging cooperation.

Question 19

What is political culture?

Answer 19

Political culture is an entire set of values, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions about government of politics. (DIVISIONS: explicit/implicit; patterned/persistent)

Question 20

Describe the cultural shift from materialism and post materialism and the consequences.

Answer 20

The cultural shift from materialism to post-materialism is a result of rapid economic development and increased material well being. The consequences of that shift are more and new forms of political participation, and new political issues.