test one

Question 1

what is politics?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

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

Answer 2

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

Question 3

what is multi-causality?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

what is selection bias?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

what is endogeneity?

Answer 5

when it is unclear what is cause and what is effect

Question 6

what is inductive reasoning?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

what is deductive reasoning?

Answer 7

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

Question 8

what is qualitative?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

what are the weaknesses of qualitative study?

Answer 9

• lacks generalizability
• hard to replicate
• unable to control important variables

Question 10

what is quantitative?

Answer 10

study that uses statistical data from many cases

Question 11

what are the weaknesses of quantitative studies?

Answer 11

• simplifies political phenomena

- often uses proxy measures

Question 12

what is game theory?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

what is rational choice?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

what are formal institutions? examples?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

what was behavioral revolution in political science criticized for?

Answer 15

behavioralism emphasizes methodology over knowledge

Question 16

what is legitimacy?

Answer 16

something/someone recognized as right and proper.

Question 17

when would a political institution be considered legitimate?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

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

Answer 18

traditional
charismatic
rational-legal

Question 19

what is traditional legitimacy?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

what is charismatic legitimacy?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

what is rational legal?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

what is state capacity?

Answer 22

• ability to wield power to carry out basic tasks

- mobilization of resources

Question 23

what is state autonomy?

Answer 23

• ability to would power independently of the public

- relates to sovereignty

Question 24

what is a high capacity, high autonomy state?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

what is a high capacity, low autonomy state?

Answer 25

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

Question 26

what is a low capacity, high autonomy state?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

what is low capacity, low autonomy?

Answer 27

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

Question 28

what is ethnicity?

Answer 28

- 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

Question 29

what is nationality?

Answer 29

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

Question 30

what is a state?

Answer 30

organizations that maintains a monopoly of violence over a territory

Question 31

what is sovereignty?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

what is a nation-state?

Answer 32

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

Question 33

what are thomas hobbes views?

Answer 33

- 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

Question 34

what are jean jacques rousseau’s views?

Answer 34

- 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

Question 35

what are john lockes views?

Answer 35

- in between | - stare protects property rights and promotes economic growth

Question 36

what is government?

Answer 36

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

Question 37

what is a federal system?

Answer 37

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

Question 38

what is a unitary system?

Answer 38

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

Question 39

what is asymmetric federalism?

Answer 39

power divided unevenly between regional bodies

Question 40

what is citizenship?

Answer 40

- 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

Question 41

what is modernization theory?

Answer 41

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