Political Systems Flashcards
David Easton
David Easton (1917-2014) – was the first political thinker to use the system analysis to understand the political proces. He explained this theory in his books The Political System and A Framework for Political Analysis
Political System
David Easton: “Political system is that system of interaction in any society through which binding or authoritative allocations are made.”
The political system consists of individuals who fulfill various roles such as nationals, subjects, or voters, and interact with legislators, bureaucrats, and judges. These individuals also participate in other social systems like the economy, religious communities, families, and voluntary associations.
Political System and Regime – [broader term] - ‘encompasses not only the mechanisms of government and the institutions of the state, but also the structures and processes through which these interact with the larger society’ (A. Heywood).
Government
refers to the institutional processes through which collective and usually binding decisions are made’
System
“A set of objects together with relationships between the objects and between their attributes.” (Hall and Fagan)
“A whole which is compounded of many parts […] an ensemble of attributes.” (Colin Cherry)
“A system implies the interdependence of parts…” Gabriel Almond
Policy
Laws that define how a society will be governed.
Policy implementation - This is a critical stage after policy formulation. This stage requires the use of available resources to ensure that the people are provided with the best services. This stage is completely different from policy formulation because most of the policies fail to push through at this stage.
Inputs (David Easton’s Model of Political System)
Inputs are in the form of demands and supports each having four categories of activity. D. Easton defines demands as „the raw materials out of which finished products called decisions are manufactured”.
1. Demands for allocation of government and services such as wage and hour laws, educational opportunities, roads and transportation, medical facilities etc.
2. Demand for regulation of behaviour such as provisions for public safety, control over markets and labour relations, rules pertaining to marriage and families etc.
3. Demands for participation in the political system such as right to vote, to seek election, to petition against public officials, organise political associations etc
4. Demand for communication and information such as communication of policy intent from the political elites or display of the power of political system in periods of threats or ceremonial occasions.
Support (David Easton’s Model of Political System)
Support: supports are divided into 4 types
1. Material support such as payment of taxes
2. Obedience to law, rules and regulations
3. Participation, such as voting, political discussion, joining organisations and other forms of political activity
4. Attention paid to government communication and giving respect to public authority, symbols and ceremonials.
Outputs (David Easton’s Model of Political System)
The outputs of the political system - decisions and policies – fall into 4 categories:
1. Extractions such as taxes or personal services
2. Regulations of behaviour
3. Allocations or distributions of goods and services, opportunities and honors
4. Symbolic outputs such as political statement, affirmations of values, display of political symbols
Feedback (David Easton’s Model of Political System)
Feedback – a communication process
The feedback is a dynamic process through which information about the performance of the system is communicated back to it in such a way as to affect the subsequent behaviour of the system. Outputs are not the terminal points. They feedback in to the system and thereby influence its subsequent behaviour.
David Easton’s Model of Political System
Inputs -> Demands, Support -> POLITICAL SYSTEM -> Decisions or policies -> Outputs
Components of political system
According to David Easton (1965) “political system is that system of interaction in any society through which binding and authoritative allocations of value are made and implemented”.
A political system is fundamentally made of three major components:
* a political community -> all those persons who are subject to the authoritative allocation of values,
* a regime - > the set of rules that contribute to the formation and the maintaining of the system;
* the authorities (government) -> those who have the possibility, the right, the power to allocate values imperatively for their society.
These three elements obviously interact. These three elements change through time. These three elements define all the political systems
Three main characteristics of political system
According to Almond, a political system has three main characteristics:
* Comprehensiveness:
political system includes all the interactions-inputs as well as outputs,-that affect the use of political coercion.
* Interdependence:
political system also includes the political aspects of various sub-systems. Interdependence of various sub-systems is one of the most important elements of the political system. For example, the changes in the means of communications have transformed the electoral process, the characteristics of political parties, the legislature and the executive.
* Existence of Boundaries:
It implies that there are points where the political system ends and other systems begin. The boudaries between society and polity differ from one political system to another. But the boundaries of a political system change from time to time
Origins and development of the state
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)
Signed in 1648, Peace of Westphalia formed the first well-structured international order, based on realist understanding of politics. The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 can be seen as the point when the ideas of statehood were formally established. The treaty gave a birth three essential principles, which became a foundation of Westphalian sovereignty:
- “Whose realm, his religion” - A sovereign defines religion in a certain area (Sole jurisdiction over their territory)
- “Every king is the emperor in his kingdom” - Unrestricted control over domestic affairs
- „No one can be stronger than others” - Freedom to engage in foreign relations with other powers equal).
The Peace of Westphalia served as an exemplar of peace reached by a diplomatic forum and a new system of political order focused on the concept of co-existing sovereign states. Today the concept of sovereignty and recognition of other states’ sovereignty lays at the foundation of International law.
State
Max Weber: “The state is the central political institution that exerts a “monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.”
“A state is a territory marked by borders, that contains a population, and that is overseen by a government whose authority is recognised by the citizens of the state and by the governments of other states” (Jessop, 2016).
State capacity
States consist of government offices that ensure security, manage resources, and make rules within a territory. They fund their operations through taxation, establish conflict resolution rules, and allocate resources. States enforce their rules through force, persuasion, manipulation, or exchange to maintain control over their population.
State capacity is the measurement of a state’s ability to accomplish its goals. The ability of the state to achieve its objectives, especially the abilities to control violence, effectively tax the population, and maintain well-functioning institutions and the rule of law
A state has high capacity when :
1. it has established a monopoly on the use of force;
2. it has a properly functioning bureaucracy, with relatively low levels of corruption and irregularity, accomplishing tasks such as coordinating defense, maintaining infrastructure, and managing projects in education and public health;
3. rule of law is maintained, producing a predictable and manageable environment for citizens as they go about their business.
