test one Flashcards
what is politics?
struggle in any group for power that will give one or more person decision ability for the larger group
what are the major limitations/challenges political scientists face when conducting their studies?
- difficult to control variables
- multi-causality
- area studies over emphasize europe
- selection bias
what is multi-causality?
aka interaction effect. how multiple causes of one phenomenon interact with each other.
what is selection bias?
the idea that proper randomization is never achieved. this ensures the sample obtained is not representative of the population.
what is endogeneity?
when it is unclear what is cause and what is effect
what is inductive reasoning?
specific to general. cases and real life observations and then generating a hypothesis.
what is deductive reasoning?
general to specific. starting with a hypothesis and then testing it with cases.
what is qualitative?
study that uses in depth investigation of a limited number of cases or even a single case.
what are the weaknesses of qualitative study?
- lacks generalizability
- hard to replicate
- unable to control important variables
what is quantitative?
study that uses statistical data from many cases
what are the weaknesses of quantitative studies?
- simplifies political phenomena
- often uses proxy measures
what is game theory?
approach that emphasizes how actors or organizations behave in their goal to influence others
what is rational choice?
approach that assumes that individuals weigh the costs and benefits and make choices to maximize their benefits
what are formal institutions? examples?
formal institutions are based on sanctioned rules and laws that are relatively clear. EX: citizenship, electoral systems, federal vs. unitary systems
what was behavioral revolution in political science criticized for?
behavioralism emphasizes methodology over knowledge
what is legitimacy?
something/someone recognized as right and proper.
when would a political institution be considered legitimate?
when the pubic accepts the idea that they have the right to exist. and, when the state relies on consent not coercion.
what are the three forms of political legitimacy according to weber?
traditional
charismatic
rational-legal
what is traditional legitimacy?
- people obey out of habit
- cultural value
- evolves out of history and continually (difficult to change)
- sometimes a person chosen by god
what is charismatic legitimacy?
- built on force of ideas embodied by a leader
- ties to a specific person
- relies on the way a person’s ideas are presented
what is rational legal?
- based on laws and procedures
- highly institutionalized
- generally depersonalized
- ex. U.S. presidency
what is state capacity?
- ability to wield power to carry out basic tasks
- mobilization of resources
what is state autonomy?
- ability to would power independently of the public
- relates to sovereignty
what is a high capacity, high autonomy state?
- strong state
- able to fulfill basic tasks
- minimum public intervention
- highly centralized power
- may undermine democracy
- EX. china
what is a high capacity, low autonomy state?
- state able to fulfill basic tasks
- public helps determine policy & limits state power
- states may be unable to develop new policies
- EX. united states
what is a low capacity, high autonomy state?
- state lacks basic ability to fulfill tasks
- state acts with minimum public control
- state is ineffective, slow development, public unrest
- EX. russia (1990s)
what is low capacity, low autonomy?
- weak state
- lacks basic ability to fulfill tasks
- subject to direct public control and interference
- power highly decentralized
- risk of internal failure
- EX. somalia
what is ethnicity?
- attributes or societal institutions that make one group of people culturally different from others
- no blood relation is necessary to identify with an ethnic group
what is nationality?
- individuals feeling of belonging to a state
- can define nationality as citizenship
- generally bound together through shared identity, culture, and political aspirations
what is a state?
organizations that maintains a monopoly of violence over a territory
what is sovereignty?
ability to carry out actions/policies within a territory independent of external actors and internal rivals
what is a nation-state?
type of state where a large majority of the population is conscious of the same identity and shared culture
what are thomas hobbes views?
- pessimist
- life without rulers is solitary, nasty, brutish, and short
- talks about internal conflict of all against all, barbarism, and fear
- believes state protects against violence
what are jean jacques rousseau’s views?
- optimist
- state of nature means freedom
- man is born free and everywhere they are in chains
- government means power, inequality, and corruption
- people are “noble savages” before king robbed them of liberty
what are john lockes views?
- in between
- stare protects property rights and promotes economic growth
what is government?
the institution that runs the state. limited by the existing regime. government may come and go.
what is a federal system?
- powers such as taxation, law making, and security are devolved to regional bodies (like u.s. states)
- helps represent local interests
what is a unitary system?
political power is concentrated at national level and local authority is limited
what is asymmetric federalism?
power divided unevenly between regional bodies
what is citizenship?
- individuals legal relationship to the state
- citizens swear allegiance to the state
- the state in turn provides rights to citizens
- more easily changed than ethnicity
what is modernization theory?
it connects capitalism and democracy. it explains the process of a society changing from traditional to modern. this came with the post WWII shift
