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comparative politics wwu > test one > Flashcards

test one Flashcards

1
Q

what is politics?

A

struggle in any group for power that will give one or more person decision ability for the larger group

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2
Q

what are the major limitations/challenges political scientists face when conducting their studies?

A
  • difficult to control variables
  • multi-causality
  • area studies over emphasize europe
  • selection bias
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3
Q

what is multi-causality?

A

aka interaction effect. how multiple causes of one phenomenon interact with each other.

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4
Q

what is selection bias?

A

the idea that proper randomization is never achieved. this ensures the sample obtained is not representative of the population.

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5
Q

what is endogeneity?

A

when it is unclear what is cause and what is effect

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6
Q

what is inductive reasoning?

A

specific to general. cases and real life observations and then generating a hypothesis.

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7
Q

what is deductive reasoning?

A

general to specific. starting with a hypothesis and then testing it with cases.

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8
Q

what is qualitative?

A

study that uses in depth investigation of a limited number of cases or even a single case.

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9
Q

what are the weaknesses of qualitative study?

A
  • lacks generalizability
  • hard to replicate
  • unable to control important variables
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10
Q

what is quantitative?

A

study that uses statistical data from many cases

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11
Q

what are the weaknesses of quantitative studies?

A
  • simplifies political phenomena

- often uses proxy measures

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12
Q

what is game theory?

A

approach that emphasizes how actors or organizations behave in their goal to influence others

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13
Q

what is rational choice?

A

approach that assumes that individuals weigh the costs and benefits and make choices to maximize their benefits

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14
Q

what are formal institutions? examples?

A

formal institutions are based on sanctioned rules and laws that are relatively clear. EX: citizenship, electoral systems, federal vs. unitary systems

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15
Q

what was behavioral revolution in political science criticized for?

A

behavioralism emphasizes methodology over knowledge

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16
Q

what is legitimacy?

A

something/someone recognized as right and proper.

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17
Q

when would a political institution be considered legitimate?

A

when the pubic accepts the idea that they have the right to exist. and, when the state relies on consent not coercion.

18
Q

what are the three forms of political legitimacy according to weber?

A

traditional
charismatic
rational-legal

19
Q

what is traditional legitimacy?

A
  • people obey out of habit
  • cultural value
  • evolves out of history and continually (difficult to change)
  • sometimes a person chosen by god
20
Q

what is charismatic legitimacy?

A
  • built on force of ideas embodied by a leader
  • ties to a specific person
  • relies on the way a person’s ideas are presented
21
Q

what is rational legal?

A
  • based on laws and procedures
  • highly institutionalized
  • generally depersonalized
  • ex. U.S. presidency
22
Q

what is state capacity?

A
  • ability to wield power to carry out basic tasks

- mobilization of resources

23
Q

what is state autonomy?

A
  • ability to would power independently of the public

- relates to sovereignty

24
Q

what is a high capacity, high autonomy state?

A
  • strong state
  • able to fulfill basic tasks
  • minimum public intervention
  • highly centralized power
  • may undermine democracy
  • EX. china
25
Q

what is a high capacity, low autonomy state?

A
  • state able to fulfill basic tasks
  • public helps determine policy & limits state power
  • states may be unable to develop new policies
  • EX. united states
26
Q

what is a low capacity, high autonomy state?

A
  • state lacks basic ability to fulfill tasks
  • state acts with minimum public control
  • state is ineffective, slow development, public unrest
  • EX. russia (1990s)
27
Q

what is low capacity, low autonomy?

A
  • weak state
  • lacks basic ability to fulfill tasks
  • subject to direct public control and interference
  • power highly decentralized
  • risk of internal failure
  • EX. somalia
28
Q

what is ethnicity?

A
  • 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
29
Q

what is nationality?

A
  • individuals feeling of belonging to a state
  • can define nationality as citizenship
  • generally bound together through shared identity, culture, and political aspirations
30
Q

what is a state?

A

organizations that maintains a monopoly of violence over a territory

31
Q

what is sovereignty?

A

ability to carry out actions/policies within a territory independent of external actors and internal rivals

32
Q

what is a nation-state?

A

type of state where a large majority of the population is conscious of the same identity and shared culture

33
Q

what are thomas hobbes views?

A
  • 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
34
Q

what are jean jacques rousseau’s views?

A
  • 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
35
Q

what are john lockes views?

A
  • in between

- stare protects property rights and promotes economic growth

36
Q

what is government?

A

the institution that runs the state. limited by the existing regime. government may come and go.

37
Q

what is a federal system?

A
  • powers such as taxation, law making, and security are devolved to regional bodies (like u.s. states)
  • helps represent local interests
38
Q

what is a unitary system?

A

political power is concentrated at national level and local authority is limited

39
Q

what is asymmetric federalism?

A

power divided unevenly between regional bodies

40
Q

what is citizenship?

A
  • 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
41
Q

what is modernization theory?

A

it connects capitalism and democracy. it explains the process of a society changing from traditional to modern. this came with the post WWII shift

comparative politics wwu (3 decks)

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