test #1 Flashcards
authoritarianism (2)
- a single leader
- one-party system or limited party
democracy (5)
- presence of political competition and civil liberties
- the people decide
- civic involvement
- rule of law
- presence of at least two parties
socialism (2)
- first phase of communism
- a little bit of property
monarchy (2)
- king/queen has absolute or constitutional power
- symbolic
communism (3)
- elimination of all property
- everything is controlled; social, economic, etc.
- far left: equal distribution of property, power, etc.
anarchy
lack of government; self-regulation of people
nazism (2)
- the state of an organic extension of the people; defined by racial and ethnic lines
- extreme nationalism
fascism
far right; controlling societal power
totalitarianism (2)
- more controlled and like a dictatorship; ultimate control
- far right
oligarchy
small group has power, rather than one; usually rich/elite have power
theocracy
governing of society on a religious basis
autocracy (non-democracy)
little or none of the two democratic attributes (political competition/rights and civil liberties)
most popular systems (2)
- democracy
- autocracy (non-democracy)
established democracies
15-20 years of democratic experience
new democracies
less than 15 years of democratic experience
why are some people richer than others in the US? (5)
- race
- education
- specialization
- social background (family inheritance)
- gender
why are some countries more democratic than others? (5)
- colonial legacy
- social cohesiveness
- economic development
- political leadership
- external factors
political system
rules and procedures of governance
substantive democracy (direct democracy) (3)
- presence of public deliberations
- presence of political equality
- Solon and Cleisthenes
procedural democracy (3)
- a means to an end
- presence of political rights and civil liberties
- indirect form of democracy
procedural democracy theorists (2)
- Joseph Schumpeter
- Robert Dahl
against procedural democracy
procedural democracy does not account for the difference in political power
for procedural democracy
anyone with ambition can assume the highest office (Bill Clinton)
against substantive democracy
modern nation-states are too big to have direct or substantive democracy
for substantive democracy
public policy decisions can be conducted by public deliberation with referendums and town hall meetings even today
political rights
the right to vote, to run for office, and fair and free elections, etc.
civil liberties
freedom of speech, press, assembly, due process, etc.
two ways of classifying political systems
- typology (dichotomy/trichotomy)
- continuum
dichotomy (3)
- political systems are either autocracy or democracy
- Giovanni Sartori
- Samuel Huntington
trichotomy 1 (three types of political systems)
- liberal (established) democracies
- transitional or new democracies
- non-democracies or autocracies
trichotomy 2 (3)
- democracies (new and established)
- partial or semi-democracies
- non-democracies or autocracies
continuum (2)
- considers democratic political development as a continuous process (Polity V & -10 to +10)
- Robert Jackman & Kenneth Bollen
two approaches in comparative politics
- case study
- comparative method
the best approach is one that combines both case study and comparative method
case study (traditional perspective) (2)
- asserts that political phenomena in each country are unique; each country needs to be studied separately
- purpose of analysis of case study is mainly descriptive; addresses mainly the ‘what’ question
comparative method (explanatory perspective) (2)
- asserts that political phenomena can be generalized across countries
- purpose of the analysis of the comparative method is mainly explanatory; it asks the why and how questions
the first comparativist
Aristotle
Aristotle’s theoretical conclusion (3)
- a mix of monarchy/oligarchy and democracy would be a stable system
- he called such a state a middle-class state
- underlining factor: income distribution –> political stability
how the comparative method works (2)
- comparative method develops causal theories
- causal theories are hypotheses that attempt to explain the relationship between variables (if X then Y; X leads to or ‘causes’ Y)
limitations of the science of politics (2)
- social science models (theories) are probabilistic (everything being equal; in general, etc.)
- natural science models (theories) are deterministic
Why did polyarchy matter to Dahl? (4)
- provides freedoms and rights such as right to vote, run for office, and organize (equality before the law)
- composition of leadership becomes diverse (historically: landlords, kings –> middle class –> lower class)
- all groups could be represented in the political system
- polyarchies in the long run could lead to a democratic political culture (accepting loss after elections, tolerance to differences in race, income, gender, etc.
paths to polyarchy in older polyarchies (before 1950s) (4)
- where liberalization or contestation preceded inclusiveness
- where inclusiveness preceded liberalization or contestation
- as a result of a revolution
- as a result of a military conquest
where liberalization or contestation preceded inclusiveness
a competitive oligarchy gradually became a polyarchy by increasing inclusiveness (ex: Great Britain, Sweden, the US)
where inclusiveness preceded liberalization or contestation
an inclusive hegemony becomes a polyarchy by increasing opportunities for contestation (ex: Germany from 1919-1933)
as a result of revolution
a closed hegemony becomes a polyarchy instantly by increasing both contestation and inclusiveness (ex: France between 1789-1792)
as a result of a military conquest
the old regime is transformed into a polyarchy instantly by military conquest (ex: Japan, Germany after WWII)
two scenarios that Dahl did not explore?
- a regime can make gradual changes in both contestation and inclusiveness and become a polyarchy (ex: South Korea; Taiwan)
- some regimes have become a polyarchy right after decolonization (ex: India, Botswana, Jamaica)
Freedom House’s definition of democracy
the presence of political rights and civil liberties
Freedom House’s political rights checklist (6)
- chief authority/legislature elected by a meaningful process
- fair election laws, freedom to campaign
- fair distribution of power among branches of government
- multiple political parties
- alternation of power
- significant opposition vote; at least 30%
Freedom House’s civil liberties checklist (6)
- freedom of media, discussion, assembly, organization
- independent judiciary
- freedom of religion
- personal social rights; right to marry, form family, own property
- socioeconomic rights/freedom from gross economic inequality
- freedom from government corruption/unjustified punishment
Polity V defines democracy as a system in which: (3)
- no one can choose himself
- no one can invest himself with the power to rule
- no one can abrogate to himself unlimited power
Polity V attributes of democracy (4)
- competitiveness of political participation (parties, voting)
- openness of executive recruitment
- competitiveness of executive recruitment
- level of constraints on the chief executive
Polity’s typologies (3)
- autocracies: -10 to -6
- anocracies: -5 to +5
- democracies: +6 to +10
Polity Trends (2)
- the number of democracies has increased over time
- the number of autocracies significantly increased from 1950-1975 but decreased significantly after 1975
Przeworski et al.’s democracy index (3)
- democracy is a regime in which those who govern are selected through contested elections (purely political)
- democracy and dictatorship are measured as binary concepts (yes = 1; no = 0)
- runs from 1946- 2008
Przeworski’s attributes of democracy (4)
- the chief executive must be elected
- the legislative must be elected
- there must be more than one party
- alternation of power
two assumptions of modernization theory
- all societies change from traditional to modern way of life over time
- economics, politics, and culture change together over time
thinkers believed to have contributed to the development of the modernization theory (5)
- Aristotle: a large middle class would lead to stable politics
- Hegel: moral values and spirits of the time influence politics and political change
- Karl Marx: economics determines politics and political change
- Max Weber: culture determines politics and political change
- Seymour Martin Lipset
Karl Marx (3)
- land-based economy –> feudal or autocratic political system
- capital-based economy –> bourgeois democracy
- public-based economy –> communist political system
Karl Marx - historical materialism (5)
- primitive communal society: no significant classes existed during this time
- slavery system: slave owners and slaves
- feudal system: landowners, the middle class, tenants
- capitalist system: capital owners and workers
- communist system: a classless society
two facts that made Marx’s prediction not feasible
- capitalism has become more humane
- the emergence of a large middle-class
Lipset’s definition of democracy
a political system which supplies constitutional rights for changing the governing officials
Lipset compared democracy within two regions:
- European/English-speaking countries (democracies = 25 years or more of uninterrupted democracy; unstable democracies/dictatorships = < 25 years of democracy)
- Latin America (democracies = presence of some free elections; dictatorships = no elections)
Lipset measuring economic development (independent variable) (4)
- education (literacy rates; primary and high school enrollment)
- wealth (GNP/capita; newspapers, radios, telephone/1000 people)
- industrialization (% of people employed in agriculture; energy consumption/capita)
- urbanization (% of people in urban areas)
Lipset’s findings (2)
- democracies of Europe/English-speaking countries had higher economic development
- more democratic Latin American countries had higher level of economic development
Lipset’s conclusion
the higher the level of economic development, the higher the level of democracy
how economic development impacts democracy: education
broadens tolerance, moderation, and capacity to make rational electoral choices
how economic development impacts democracy: wealth (4)
- helps the lower classes to hold gradualist views of politics
- increases the size of the middle class (pyramid shape v. diamond shape)
- helps to humble the views of the upper class (would support some form of redistribution)
- helps to foster intermediary associations like the media, trade unions
how economic development impacts democracy: industrialization (3)
- promotes the availability of well-paying jobs
- promotes a higher quality of life
- enhances the presence of the welfare state
how economic development impacts democracy: urbanization
provides mechanisms for associational life, including the formation of political parties, interest groups
purpose of Jackman’s work
to evaluate linear and non-linear models explaining impact of economic development on democracy
Jackman’s concerns with previous research (2)
- we have to define democracy precisely in order to measure it accurately
- definition of democracy and its measurements should be consistent
linear models (3)
- Seymore Martin Lipset (1959): Jackman said that Lipset used dichotomous as opposed to continuous measure of democracy; also criticized for using democratic stability as a measure of the level of democracy
- Phillips Cutright (1963): criticized for combining the level of democracy with democratic stability
- Deane Neubauer (1967) did not find a statistically significant relationship between the two variables
Neubauer’s conclusions (2)
- not including less democratic countries in the model led to insignificant results
- had he done that, he would have found democratic development might be a “threshold phenomenon” (threshold is the limit)
Jackman’s Findings (non-linear models) (3)
- the variance explained by the curvilinear and log-linear models is greater than the linear model
- the variance explained by the curvilinear and log-linear models is about the same
- however, based on theoretical grounds, the log-linear model should be chosen (consistent with Neubauer’s threshold thesis)
Dependency Theorist Andre Frank & World-System Theorist Immanuel Wallerstain
these theories asserted modernization theory failed to account for external factors impeding development
Barrington Moore’s (1966) The Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy) (4)
- argued that who led the modernization process in a country was key in the plausibility of democracy
- when the modernization process was led by the landed aristocracy, it led to fascism
- when the process was led by workers or their vanguards, it led to communism
- only when the process was led by the bourgeoisie it led to democracy
Guillermo O’Donnell’s (1973) Theory of Bureaucratic Authoritarianism (2)
- modernization in Latin America led to bureaucratic authoritarianism, not to democracy
- bureaucratic authoritarianism refers to a military regime, with some support from some civilian groups
critics of modernization theory in the 1990s and 2000s (3)
- Todd Landman (1999)
- Adam Przeworski et al. (1997)
- Joseph Siegle et al. (2004)
Todd Landman critiques of modernization theory (6)
- modernization theory is deterministic and teleological (development and democracy are inevitable)
- without proper political institutionalization, development could lead to political instability
- from a regional perspective, the theory is seen to be ethnocentric
- modernization theory is ahistorical; it does not account for countries’ historical timing of development
- empirical tests of modernization theory are done on the global, not regional, level to achieve significance
- the relationship between economic development and democracy is not clear-cut
Adam Przeworski critique of modernization theory
economic development does not cause democracy but helps democracy to stabilize
Joseph Siegle critique of modernization theory (3)
- democracy influences economic development, not the other way around
- development is hard to achieve; so, not wise to tell poorer nations to wait until development to become democratic
- they claim poor democracies once established outperform poor autocracies in economic growth
normative democratic theory (4)
- norm
- value judgment
- ought to be vs. what is (descriptive)
- classical democratic theory vs. contemporary normative democratic theory
main features of classical democratic theory (3)
- direct democracy
- political equality
- Solan and Demosthenes
main tenets of classical democratic theory (3)
- the interests of the community come before the interests of the individual
- the good citizen, the highest moral type of human being, is one who actively participates in politics
- the goal of the state is to produce the good citizen (civic education)
Mark Warren’s (1992) Expansive Democracy (contemporary normative democratic theory) ()
- expansive democracy entails participatory democracy and democratic socialism
- participatory democracy refers to: voting, civic associations, town hall meetings, and referendums
- democratic socialism includes fairness in economic redistribution (taxes), helping individuals’ self-development through education (investing in public education)
Joel Westheimer (2004) The Democratic Government Should Produce Good Citizens (contemporary normative democratic theory) (3)
- are personally responsible (working, paying taxes, recycling, giving blood, obeying laws)
- are participatory citizens (being active in helping the community, caring for those in need, voting)
- are justice-oriented citizens (opposing injustice be in economic, political, or social)
critics of normative democratic theory (3)
- rise of empirical or scientific analysis of politics since the 1950s
- popularity of Joseph Schumpeter’s procedural definition of democracy - being simply a mechanism for electoral competition
- rise of the Rational Choice Theory (professor William H. Riker)
main assumptions of the Rational Choice Theory (2)
- individuals are naturally self-interested
- individuals are rational (do cost/benefit analysis when making decisions)
Mark Petracca - revival of normative democratic theory (3)
- self-interest weakens commitments to family and community; leads to narcissism
- humans are mainly social beings, not just individuals beings
- civil associations should be fostered because they:
a. help overcome the sense of isolation and powerlessness
b. are the functional equivalent of the classical polity - community-oriented (American Civil Liberties Union - ACLU, National Organization for Women - NOW, National Rifle Association - NRA)
Joseph Schumpeter democracy definition
democracy is a procedure for winning competitive elections
Robert Dahl’s Theory of Democracy (2)
- democracy is a political system that is completely or almost completely responsive to all its citizens
- democracy is more of an ideal concept; what is possible is a polyarchy
a polyarchy is a political system short of the ideal democracy (8)
- freedom to form and join organizations
- freedom of expression
- right to vote
- eligibility for public office
- right of political leaders to compete for support and votes
- alternative sources of information
- free and fair elections
- citizens’ preferences weighted equally in the conduct of government
Dahl’s two attributes of polyarchy
- contestation: public contestation or liberalization refers to competitive elections
- inclusiveness: or participation refers to universal suffrage or voting rights
closed hegemonies
regimes with no public contestation and inclusiveness (dictatorships, absolute monarchies) (ex: North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain)
competitive oligarchies
contestation is present without much inclusiveness (ex: South Africa, 18th century US, Great Britain
inclusive hegemonies
a system has inclusiveness but not contestation (ex: Soviet Union, China)
polyarchy
a country has high levels of public contestation and inclusiveness (rule by the majority)
near-closed hegemonies
political systems close to closed hegemonies (ex: Russia)
near polyarchies
political systems close to polyarchies (ex: Pakistan)
democratization
the movement of regimes from closed hegemonies to polyarchy
Salvador Allende (4)
- Marxist president who nationalized private industries and banks, collectivization, and land expropriation
- domestic production declined, several severe shortages, inflation reached 1000% per annum
- protests and violence ensued
- a military coup overthrew Allende
Augusto Pinochet
- leader of the military group that overthrew Allende
- declared him president and dictator; years of human rights violations followed
- a new constitution in 1980 led to him being confirmed as president
- in 1988, he was denied a second 8-year term
Operation Condor
a political repression campaign that resulted in the disappearance of over 100 Chilean leftists
John Cabot
Italian explorer who arrived in Newfoundland (Canada) in 1497 - beginning Canadian colonization
Statute of Westminster of 1931
the UK gave Canada full legal freedom and equal standing with Great Britain and other Commonwealth countries; but Britain still had the power to amend the Canadian constitution
Justin Trudeau (2)
- elected as the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada in October 2015
- part of the Liberal Party