Politics as object of reflection Flashcards
What are politics?
Decision-making in general in groups, or other forms of power relations. Fx Individuals there with status or the right of resources.
Institutions
An institution is a group of people, which makes special rules, legislation or regulation.
Ex, Courthouses, EU, or universities.
Normative approach
Is when someone thinks about what he/she wants things to be, based on values, ethics and political ideas. So a subjective approach.
Opposite of the Empirical approach.
Traditional approach
The evaluation and justification of government institutions through time. Focus on how institutions should work by observing action and activities.
A bit in relation with the normative approach.
Traditional approach
The evaluation and justification of government institutions through time. Focus on how institutions should work by observing actions and activities.
A bit in relation to the normative approach.
Empirical approach
This approach focus on describing the facts. How governmental institutions act, without talking about how they should act.
In contrast to the normative approach.
Behaviourism
Focus on the individual, not the institution. It´s based on facts like the empirical approach, when it looks at the daily behaviour of the individual.
Behaviourism views the individual in a neutral view, without looking at his values. This is criticized by the Post Behaviourism. They argue, that the study of the society, was to basic and missed the important topics
Post Behaviourism
Look at both the individual and the institutions, as well as their values and ethical part. The approach argues, that it would be more relevant for the study of society.
Why is politics relevant in the contemporary world?
Because it affects everything, ex our education, our freedom, the trade, the enviroment and so on.
Should politics be value-free?
The discussion of who’s values there is gonna decide the lives of other people.
We can´t be value-free, we are affected by our surroundings (anti-foundationalism). Values should be representative and discussed. But sometimes the majority will choose the wrong values, in your thought.
But how could politics be value-free, because the status quo is also based on specific values.
What is a state?
A state is a social and political organisation on a given territory, whit a population, there is ruled by a government or individual through given laws.
They have soverignty
- Political independence
- Territory laws
Are states given or created organizations?
The mainstream opinion is that states are created but over a long period.
Fx. Aristotle believed that states are given because people are political beings.
Who do states serve?
They should serve the people, but normally they would also serve the interest of people with power and money.
But this is a specific “liberal-western” opinion.
Marxism vs Functionalism
Marxism is seen as the revolution with status quo, which is known as a critical theory. Institution that cares for the interest of the masses. Class conflict.
Functionalism is pro-status quo and continuity, which is known as a problem-solving theory to preserve certain ideas. Preserve the system, because it works! Benefits the few.
United Nations is an example of a functionalistic institution, which is used to maintain the US ideas of a “liberal-democratic” worldview.
Rulers and the ruled
Western perspective - for a long time ago, people saw the rulers as the ones in power, monarchy and dictatorship. Now somewhere it has shifted. The people are in the power and don´t have to follow blindly the people in power.
When was the first state created?
In some of the eraliest text, Aristotle, Plato and Socrates talks about the definition of a state and its citesens. Polits (city-state).
Machiavelli is the first one to really talk abot nation states. How to use force to preserve and increase the state.
Perspective on the state
Perspective on the state
- Laws - legal formal organisation. Normative approach,
- Philosophy - the different ideas of big thinkers, and their views on this.
- Sociology - social organization.
- Political theory - normative - ethics, values and the perfect government.
- Political science - empirical research - facts, relations between humans and what moves them. They don´t look at what the perfect government is.
Law and sociology are opposite. Sociology criticises law for creating rules, which are not always followed.
Perspective is important - because different perspective on the state and the laws gives different understanding.
continuity and discontinuity perspective
State consist since the beginning of the society, through the continuity perspective.
Discontinuty perspective says that modern states has something different then the old “states”. New ideas was introduce, the nation state. The state has soverignty, which include political independence and territory-laws and monopoly of power, which include that the state is the only one to prefrom justice and law in the the state.
