What is Politics and How should we analyze it?

Question 1

Why is politics hard to define?

Answer 1

1. It’s a vast and many-sided study area

2. Often seen through both negative (conflict and corruption) and positive (improving people’s lives) views

Question 2

Why can politics be defined as “the process by which groups representing divergent interests and values make collective decisions”?

Answer 2

Because complex societies contain different interests and values and economic scarcity causes the need to decide how the limited goods will be distributed

Question 3

Is a greater level of cooperation achievable in which politics isn’t necessary?

Answer 3

No one agrees on goals for society or means of achieving them and there isn’t enough of everything to go around, making it so that decisions have to be made despite the disagreement on how to make them, therefore politics seems necessary for society to function

Question 4

Who defined politics as “merely the organized power of one class for oppressing another”, what did they say and what is wrong with this definition?

Answer 4

1. Marx and Engels;
2. Eliminating inequality between classes would lead to eliminating conflict between them and, therefore, politics would be unnecessary;
3. Unrealistic expectations of an ideal society; doesn’t take into consideration human difference, ambition, and competition.

Question 5

Explain what is the “end of history” thesis, who it belonged to and what is the problem with it.

Answer 5

1. Francis Fukuyama;
2. Liberal democratic triumph in society would put an end to ideological conflict, representing the end of sociocultural revolutions and the last form of government;
3. This vision is problematic because there is no agreement about one system of government being superior to all others, nor is it likely to ever be.

Question 6

Who defined politics as the decisions of “who gets what, when, and how”?

Answer 6

Harold Dwight Lasswell

Question 7

What is power, coercion, authority, and influence?

Answer 7

1. Power -
2. Coercion -
3. Authority -
4. Influence -

Question 8

What is power, coercion, authority, and influence?

Answer 8

1. Power - ability to force behavior usually with coercion
2. Coercion -
3. Authority - rule by consent of the ruled; not directly forced upon people, but works due to internalized notions of duty to comply with authorities; usually works due to influence
4. Influence -

Question 9

Can coercion and democracy coexist?

Answer 9

Yes, but the use of coercion must be used in the name of an overriding value

Examples:
1970 FLQ Crisis (October Crisis)
National security measures after 9/11 in the U.S.

Question 10

What are the 2 narrow definitions of politics?

Answer 10

1. Focus on the state
   a. “The state has a monopoly on the use of physical
   force in enforcing its order within a given territorial
   area” (Max Weber)
   b. State X Civil Society
2. Politics at levels other than the state
   a. Ranges from family unit to the international
   community
   b. Supranational level (eg.: European Union)
   c. Globalization

Question 11

What are the 2 a little wider definitions of politics?

Answer 11

1. Leftwich
   a. Politics is at the heart of all social activity and
   therefore
   b. Should encompass “all collective social activity,
   formal and informal, public and private, in all human
   groups, institutions and societies”
2. Governance
   a. Politics should include all inputs that influence
   social decisions (the market, universities, interest
   groups, churches, sports groups, family, etc)
   b. Broader than government

Question 12

What are the 4 even wider definitions of politics?

Answer 12

1. Feminists
   a. Tend to equate the personal and the political as
   the latter directly affects the former because of the
   continued dominance of men in personal relationships
   and in the family
2. Marxists
   a. See politics as economic dominance of one group (bourgeoisi) over another (working class)
3. Animal Rights Activists
   a. See politics as extending beyond the human
   societies; their main arguments are:
   b. Animals and humans are both conscious beings
   capable of enjoying life and experiencing pain and
   suffering
   c. Animals are innocent and therefore don’t deserve
   human cruelty
   d. Treating animals well helps create a more benevolent society
4. Environmentalists
   a. See politics as encompassing the whole natural world

Question 13

What are the 4 even wider definitions of politics?

Answer 13

1. Feminists
   a. Tend to equate the personal and the political as
   the latter directly affects the former because of the
   continued dominance of men in personal relationships
   and in the family
2. Marxists
   a. See politics as economic dominance of one group (bourgeoisi) over another (working class)
3. Animal Rights Activists
   a. See politics as extending beyond the human
   societies; their main arguments are:
   b. Animals and humans are both conscious beings
   capable of enjoying life and experiencing pain and
   suffering
   c. Animals are innocent and therefore don’t deserve
   human cruelty
   d. Treating animals well helps create a more benevolent society
4. Environmentalists
   a. See politics as encompassing the whole natural world

Question 14

When did politics become an independent discipline?

Answer 14

20th century

Question 15

What are the 3 streams of political study?

Answer 15

1. Political theory and philosophy: the study of political ideas
2. Comparative politics: study of institutions and processes within states
3. Global politics/International relations: relations between states

Question 16

What are the 3 types of political analysis?

Answer 16

1. Normative
   a. Asks value questions
   (What kind of society & polity do we want?
   What is good? What do we ought to want?
   Should we always obey the laws of the state?)
2. Empirical
   a. Identifies observable phenomena
   b. What is opposed to what ought to be
3. Semantic
   a. Meaning of the concepts we use
   b. Where, why and how we use them

Question 17

How does deductive reasoning work?

Answer 17

1. Based on rational choice analysis
   a. This approach originated in the field of
   economics and became a tool for political science as
   well in the 70s
   b. Assumes that humans are essentially “utility
   maximizers” rational beings, who will follow the path
   of action most likely to benefit them
2. Game theory
   a. Individual behaviour applied to particular
   situations
   b. Reveal how difficult it can be for rational
   individuals to reach optimal outcomes
3. Starts with certain fundamental assumptions about human behavior from which hypotheses or theories are deduced before being tested
   a. They’re simplifications at best and inaccurate at
   worst
   b. Tends to fall short on empirical tests
   c. Better at predicting outcomes than developing accurate theories

Question 18

How does inductive reasoning work?

Answer 18

1. Starts with empirical observations from which explanatory generalizations are drawn
2. Whereas in deductive reasoning the theory comes first and then later observations, inductive reasoning comes first from observations and then later theory
3. Follows the method of scientific inquiry and focuses on importance of scientific method and data collection
4. Correlation>Causation
5. An example is behaviouralism (eg.: voting behavior)

Question 19

Can politics be a science by Stoker & Marsh’s definition of science as a subject which “offers ordered knowledge based on systematic enquiry”?

Answer 19

Yes, politics is a science based on this definition.

Question 20

Can politics be a science by Hay’s definition of science as “the ability to generate neutral, dispassionate and objective knowledge claims”?

Answer 20

Requires that the methodology of the natural sciences be applied to the political realm (what behaviorists tried to do), however An objective, value-free account of politics would allow us to identify the “truth” about political phenomena, allowing predictions to be made more accurately, however
Human beings are unpredictable (non-consistent political behaviour)
Social sciences “deal with conscious and reflective subjects, capable of acting differently under the same stimuli” (Hay 2002, p.50)

Question 21

Can politics be a science by Hay’s definition of science as “the ability to generate neutral, dispassionate and objective knowledge claims”?

Answer 21

Requires that the methodology of the natural sciences be applied to the political realm (what behaviorists tried to do).
If it was, it would allow us to identify the “truth” about political phenomena, allowing predictions to be made more accurately, but A) Human beings are unpredictable (non-consistent political behavior); B)
Social sciences “deal with conscious and reflective subjects, capable of acting differently under the same stimuli” (Hay 2002, p.50).
In conclusion, a truly scientific account of politics is unlikely.