Midterm: Key Terms

Politics

Politics

• Exercise of power

• Public allocation of things that are valued

• Resolution of conflict

• Competition among individuals and groups pursuing their own interests

• Determination of who gets what when and how

• Process through which power and influence are used in the promotion of certain values and interests

Political science

the academic field that takes as its sole and general task the analysis of politics, especially the politics of the state

Interpretive

the field of political science that deals with historical and political aspects of politics; seeks detailed, nonnumerical information on a few cases

Behavioral

the field of political science that looks for broad patterns across cases; uses statistical analyses of numerical information

Political theory

a statement linking specific instances to broader principles

Empirical theory

a theory describing how things work in the world we observe

Normative theory

a theory involving making a judgement about the world without describing how it works

American political behavior

the study of individual and nongovernmental organizations involved in politics and of why they do what they do, eg. public opinion, elections, interest groups, political parties

American political institutions

the study of national governmental bodies, eg. Congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, and to some extent, the courts

American public law

the study of legal reasoning and of why courts hand down the decisions that they do

American public policy

the analysis of the product of politics (policies)

American state and local politics

the study of all of the above, but at the level of “states” and localities rather than the country as a whole

Comparative politics

the study of all of the above in any place but the United States

International politics

the study of politics between states; the making of common decisions for a group of states, eg. war, diplomacy

Political theory

the history of ideas about politics and critical discussion of political values

Levels of analysis

Global, state, regional, local, familial; governmental vs. non-governmental

Power

the ability to compel someone to do what one wants them to

Authority

what makes it possible to concentrate power

Government

a group of people with ultimate authority over a territory

Legitimacy

the belief that whoever has authority should have authority (by results, habit, or procedure)

State

an organized territory with authority over its borders, security, the economy, the welfare of its citizens, etc. (the thing which a government controls)

Positive

Questions concerning what is and can be answered with data

Normative

Questions concerning what should be and cannot be answered with data

The Scientific Method

1. Observe the world

2. Propose a theory or story

   1. For why/how the world works the way it does or how it could

3. Operationalize concepts and identify variables

   1. Independent/explanatory variables → dependent/response variables

4. Derive hypotheses

5. Gather data and test hypotheses

6. Draw conclusions

Collective action

the coordinated efforts of a group of individuals or organizations working together to achieve a common goal or address a shared problem

• Involves collective decision-making, collaboration, and joint activities aimed at bringing about social, political, or economic change

  • Eg. protests, strikes, boycotts, advocacy campaigns

Collective action problem

when there is conflict between individual interest and the group interest; if an individual pursues their own self-interest, the entire group is worse off

First-order

A collective action problem caused by free riding

Second-order

A collective action problem caused by flaws in coordination and enforcement

Public good

a good or service that everyone can enjoy regardless of whether they contribute anything

• Non-rivalrous (supply is not impacted by consumption)

• Non-excludable (one cannot prevent someone from using the public good)

Tragedy of the Commons

a situation in which everyone has access to a common resource and, in acting in their own interest, deplete the resource

Ideology

an organized set of related ideas that modify one another

• Inform personal opinions and public activity

• Helps to make sense of politics and gain allies for public debate

• Based on assumptions about how the world works and our prioritization of different basic values

• How individuals make sense of personal views and how they correlate with broader societies

Liberalism

the ideology that all individuals should be able to develop their capacities to the fullest

The Social Contract

individuals willingly give up some of their natural rights and freedoms in exchange for the benefits and protection that the government provides

Substantive justice

any conception of justice that emphasizes people receiving what they need and deserve

Procedural justice

a type of substantive justice as embodied in the procedures by which decisions are reached about people

Arbitrary governmental action

when decisions are made and communicated capriciously

Effective policy

a policy that gives the state and the people of the state the greatest benefits at the least cost

• takes into the social cost of government action, including positive and negative externalities (indirect results) of policy

Externality

a social cost or benefit beyond the individual costs and benefits associated with a policy

Internal sovereignty

the absolute and ultimate power of the state over the population within its borders

External sovereignty

the ability of a country to conduct its own foreign affairs and make decisions about its relationships with other countries

Nation

a large group of people with strong bonds of identity based on shared culture, religion, history, language, or ethnicity

Corruption

the use of public resources for private gain

Codetermination

an institution that typifies economic relationships

Structural functionalism

IR theory that emphasizes governmental structures and a state’s key functions (not unique to democracies)

Political socialization

the process through which individuals acquire their orientation toward the political world

Political recruitment

the process through which individuals are drawn to roles in the political world

Political communication

the process through which political information flows through society

Selectorate theory

theory that in all states, a group can be identified whose support the government needs to maintain to keep power

Regime

the general form of government of a state

• Includes constitution, rules of government

• Generally outlives individual lawmakers

Democracy

a regime intended to embody a government of the people

Electoral democracy

a regime under which all fully qualified citizens vote at regular intervals to choose the people who will be in charge of setting the state’s policies

Authoritarian democracy

a regime under which states are at the margin between elected government and military regimes

Monarchy

a system under which the power to rule is inherited through descent in a family

Theocracy

a state ruled by a set of religious leaders who derive their power from their positions in the religion

• the government’s legitimacy is derived from the faith of its citizens in the religion it seeks to uphold

Power

the ability to influence an outcome to achieve an objective or the ability to influence someone to act in a way contrary to the way he or she would choose to act

• Involves the exercise of volition/will

• When involving another, involves altering the other’s volition/will

• Can be latent or manifest

• Different types of power are generally blended together where power is made manifest

Force

power by physical means

Persuasion

power by convincing via argument

Manipulation

power by changing the incentive structure

Exchange

power by offering something for something else

Face 1

Face of power concerning the exercise of power on critical issues

• Recognized by politicians; actual lobbying

• Ability to create the agenda

Face 2

Face of power concerning restrictive and non-decision making power

• Equally important but often overlooked

• Ability to keep things off of the agenda

Face 3

Theoretical/debated face of power concerning manipulation so deep that people don’t even know that they’ve been influenced

• Ideological power

Survey

Type of observational research

• Ask people about their opinions and behaviors

• Types of bias include non-response and voluntary response bias

Statistical analysis

Type of observational research

• Utilization of statistical techniques to control for extraneous factors

• Good when you have lots of data points for lots of cases

Qualitative methodology

Type of observational research

• Good for gathering an in-depth understanding of the subject matter and exploring causality

• For theory building and [limited] theory testing

• Eg. case studies, interviews, process tracing

Behavioral revolution

the scientification and modernization of political science, specifically as it relates to studying political psychology and behavior

Rational choice theory

the idea that people will act in their own self-interest