Week 2 Flashcards
Intro to Politics
Political Science
seeks to understand governance of social units
Skepticism
doubt of the truth of something
Healthy skepticism is good, as it keeps us informed and focused on improving our system
Cynical
the belief that people are motivated by purely self interest, distrustful of human sincerity
Empirical vs Normative
Empirical = what is
Normative = what ought to be
Why study Politics?
- What do people want out of life?
- How do some individuals benefit from social and political institutions, while others do not?
- Politics allows for our collective survival
5 Subthemes of Politics
- Political Philosophy
- Canadian Politics
- Comparative Politics
- International Relations
- Public Policy and Administration
Political Philosophy
Seeks to describe politics and to make normative claims about how politics should be conducted
Who does Political Philosophy stem from?
Aristotle and Plato
Aristotle thought politics was inherently human; That only humans possess “language” and “reason”
Two political Institutions of Canadian Politics
- Parliament
legislature
- Federalism
division of powers between Canadian and provincial governments
Comparative Politics
compares phenomena in different countries
can be designed using most similar systems or most different systems
International Relations major theories + issues
Theories:
Realism
Liberalism
Marxism
Issues:
Security (war/violence)
Terrorism
Food Security
Public Policy and adminstration
Study of certain policies / how they are made or theories of the policy-making process
State of Nature
(meaning + person)
Thomas Hobbes
humans in a “state of nature” (without political organization) would be motivated only by self interest, leading to a life that is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”
How to escape “state of nature” ?
By organizing into political units, humans can escape this “state of nature” through a process of socialization and work to share the benefits of creating a social unit
Who gets What, When, How
(meaning + person)
Harold Lasswell
politics is interested in how essential public goods are distributed among members in society
politics as competing scare resources often leads to unequal distribution of resources from money to representation
The State
recognized political unit, considered to be sovereign, with a defined territory and people and a central government responsible for administration
Sovereignty
sovereignty is the absolute governmental authority of a political community over a territory that is recognized as legitimate and rightful by other political authorities
Nation
group of persons who share an identity based on, but not limited to, shared ethnic, religious, civil, cultural, or linguistic qualities
Power vs Influence
Power:
ability to achieve goals in a political system and to have others do as you wish them to
Influence:
ability to change behaviour in others without exerting direct power over them
Hard Power vs Soft Power
Hard power:
incentives and punishments used to exercise control
- coercion and force
- use of military power, money
Soft power:
persuasion to exercise control
- uses media, culture, ideologies to persuade
Three forms of authority
(meaning + person)
Max Weber
Traditional (monarchy)
Rational-legal (laws, norms)
Charismatic
Liberal Democracy
Liberal:
political system emphasizing freedom
Democracy:
government requires the support of its citizens through voting / elections
Both focus on individual liberty and political rights
Rights
socially acceptable, morally correct, and just privileges granted to members of a political community
ex. right to vote, elect, expression, protest
Liberty
freedom from despotic control (using power unfairly)
