POLS 229 Comparative Politics Exam 1

political development

the processes through which modern nations and states arise and how political institutions and regimes evolve

modernization

the transformation of poor agrarian societies into wealthy industrial societies, usually seen as the process by which postcolonial societies become more like societies in the West

regimes

sets of political institutions that define a type of government; classified into two broad categories: democratic and authoritarian

democracy

"minimal definition": a regime in which citizens have basic rights of open association and expression and the ability to change the government through some sort of electoral process; can be further classified by organization like presidential or parliamentary systems

authoritarian regime

a regime lacking democratic characteristics, ruled by a single leader or small group of leaders

electoral authoritarian regime

includes some elements of democracy such as elections, but the ruling party has sufficient control over seemingly democratic processes to ensure that it remains in power; mostly emerge out of attempts to create new democracies during the last two decades:

ex: Russia

civil society

the sphere of organized, nongovernmental, nonviolent activity by groups larger than individual families or firms; ex: interest groups in the US

political economy

the study of the interaction of political and economic phenomena

politics

the process by which human communities make collective decisions; communities can be of any size, from small villages or neighborhoods to nations and international organizations

comparative politics

one of the major subfields of political science, in which the primary focus is on comparing power and decision making across countires

political science

the systematic study of politics and power

first dimension of power

the ability of one person or group to get another person or group to do something it otherwise would not do; i.e. making someone do something

second dimension of power

the ability not only to make people do something but to keep them from doing something

third dimension of power

the ability to shape or determine individual or group political demands by causing people to think about political issues in ways that are contrary to their own interests

theory

an abstract argument that provides a systematic explanation of some phenomenon

empirical theory

an argument explaining what actually occurs; empirical theorists first notice and describe a pattern and then attempt to explain what causes it; first describe a pattern and then attempt to understand what causes it; should also allow theorists to predict what will happen as well

normative theory

an argument explaining what ought to occur rather than what does occur; contrast with empirical theory; discipline of comparative politics focuses on empirical theory

research methods

systematic processes used to ensure that the study of some phenomena is as objective and unbiased as possible

single case study

examines a particular political phenomenon in just one country or community; allows a political scientist to look at phenomenon in great depth and come to a more thorough understanding of a particular case (usually a country)

comparative method

examines the same phenomenon in several cases, and they try to mimic laboratory conditions by selecting cases carefully; retains some, but not all, depth of single case study and gains the advantage of systematic comparison from which more generalizable conclusions can be drawn

quantitative statistical techniques

research method used for large-scale studies that reduces evidence to sets of numbers so that statistical analysis can systematically compare a huge number of cases; can show broad patterns, but only for questions involving evidence that can be presented numerically, and provide little depth on any particular case

case studies vs. quantitative techniques

case studies are best at generating new ideas and insights that can lead to new theories; quantitative techniques are best at showing the tendency of two or more phenomena to vary together such as civil war and the presence of valuable resources

political actor

any person or group engaged in political behavior

rational choice theory

an explanation that assumes that individuals are rational beings who bring to the political arena a set of self-defined preferences and adequate knowledge and ability to pursue those preferences

psychological theories

explanations for political behavior based on psychological analysis of political actors' motives

political culture

a set of widely held attitudes, values, beliefs, and symbols about politics; provides people with ways to understand the political arena, justifications for a particular set of political institutions and practices, and definitions of appropriate political behaviors

political socialization

the process through which people, especially young people, learn about politics and are taught a society's common political values and beliefs

modernists

theorists of political culture who believe that clear sets of attitudes, values, and beliefs can be identified in each country that change very rarely and explain much about politics there

civic culture

a political culture in which citizens hold values and beliefs that support democracy, including active participation in politics but also enough deference to the leadership to let it govern effectively

subcultures

groups that hold partially different beliefs and values from the main political culture of a country

postmaterialist

a set of values in a society in which most citizens are economically secure enough to move beyond immediate economic (materialist) concerns to 'quality of life' issues like human rights, civil rights, women's rights, environmentalism, and moral values

postmodernist

an approach that sees cultures not as sets of fixed and clearly defined values but rather as sets of symbols subject to interpretation

political discourse

the ways in which people speak and write about politics; postmodern theorists argue that political discourse influences political attitudes, identity, and actions

political ideology

a systematic set of beliefs about how a political system ought to be structured; Political ideologies typically are quite powerful, overarching worldviews that incorporate both normative and empirical theories that explicitly state an understanding of how the political world does operate and how it ought to operate

ideological hegemony

the ruling class's ability to spread a set of ideas justifying and perpetuating its political dominance; ideology is a means by which the ruling class convinces the population that its rule is natural, justified, or both

structuralism

approach to explaining politics that argues that political behavior is at least influenced and limited, and perhaps even determined, by broader structures in a society such as class divisions or enduring institutions

Marxism

structuralist argument that says that economic structures largely determine political behavior; the philosophical underpinning of communism

bourgeoisie

the class that owns capital; according to Marxism, the ruling elite in all capitalist societies

proletariat

a term in Marxist theory for the class of free-wage laborers who own no capital and must sell their labor to survive; communist parties claim to work on the proletariat's behalf

institutionalism

an approach to explaining politics that argues that political institutions are crucial to understanding political behavior

political institution

a set of rules, norms, or standard operating procedures that is widely recognized and accepted by the society, structures and constrains political actions, and often serves as the basis for key political organizations; the 'rules of the game' within which political actors must operate; can be informal as well (George Washington's two term presidency tradition lasted 150 years)

rational choice institutionalists

institutionalist theorists who follow the assumptions of rational choice theory and argue that institutions are the products of the interaction and bargaining of rational actors; political actors will abide by a particular institution only as long as it continues to serve their interests

historical institutionalists

theorists who believe that institutions explain political behavior and shape individuals' political preferences and their perceptions of their self-interests, and that institutions evolve historically in particular countries and change relatively slowly

pluralist theories

explanations of who has power that argue that society is divided into various political groups and that power is dispersed among these groups so that no group has complete or permanent power; contrast to elite theory

elite theories

theories that all argue societies are ruled by a small group that has effective control over virtually all power; contrast to pluralist theory

ruling class

an elite who possess adequate resources to control a regime; in Marxist theory, the class that controls key sources of wealth in a given epoch

neocolonialism

a relationship between postcolonial societies and their former colonizers in which leaders benefit politically and economically by helping outside businesses and states maintain access to the former colonies' wealth and come to serve the interests of the former colonizers and corporations more than they serve their own people

patriarchy

rule by men

state

an ongoing administrative apparatus that develops and administers laws and generates and implements public policies in a specific territory

characteristics of the modern state

territory, external and internal sovereignty, legitimacy, bureaucracy

territory

an area with clearly defined borders to which a state lays claim

external sovereignty

sovereignty relative to outside powers that is legally recognized in international law

internal sovereignty

the sole authority within a territory capable of making and enforcing laws and policies

sovereignty

quality of a state in which it is legally recognized by the family of states as the sole legitimate governing authority within its territory and as the legal equal of other states

legitimacy

the recognized right to rule; legitimacy has two sides- the claims that states and others make about why they have a right to rule, and the empirical fact of whether their populations accept or at least tolerate this claimed right

traditional legitimacy

the right to rule based on a society's long-standing patterns and practices; ex: European 'divine right of kings'

charismatic legitimacy

the right to rule based on personal virtue, heroism, sanctity, or other extraordinary characteristics; ex: revolutionary leaders

rational-legal legitimacy

the right of leaders to rule based on their selection according to an accepted set of laws, standards, or procedures; ex: leaders who come to power through electoral process

bureaucracy

a large set of appointed officials whose function is to implement laws of the state, as directed by the executive

feudal states

premodern states in Europe in which power in a territory was divided among multiple and overlapping lords claiming sovereignty

absolutism

rule by a single monarch who claims complete, exclusive power and sovereignty over a territory and its people

ideal type

a model of what the purest version of something might be

strong state

a state that is generally capable of providing political goods to its citizens

weak state

a state that only partially provides political goods to its citizens

failed state

a state that is so weak that it loses sovereignty over part or all of its territory

resource curse

occurs when a state relies on a key resource for almost all of its revenue, allowing it to ignore its citizens and resulting in a weak state

quasi-states

states that have legal sovereignty and international recognition but lack most domestic attributes of a modern state

clientelism

the exchange of material resources for political support

strongest states examples

Germany, UK, US, Japan

moderately strong state examples

Brazil, Mexico, China, India, Russia

weakest state examples

Iran, Nigeria

regime

a set of formal and informal political institutions that defines a type of government

citizen

a member of a political community or state with certain rights and duties

citizen vs. subject

as the state was separated from the person of the monarch and its apparatus was modernized, states gained both the ability to make their people more than just subjects; citizens, unlike subjects, were the inhabitants of states that claimed that sovereignty resided with the people

civil rights

those rights that guarantee individual freedom as well as equal, just, and fair treatment by the state; ex: right to equal treatment under the las, habeas corpus and freedom of expression and worship

political rights

those rights associated with active political participation- for example, to free association, voting, and running for office

social rights

those rights related to basic well-being and socioeconomic equality; ex: public education, pensions, or national health care

regime change

the process through which one regime is transformed into another

coup d'etat

when the military forcibly removes an existing regime and establishes a new one

why do military coups happen?

military coups occur when all efforts to keep the military loyal to (or at least under the control of) the regime fail

transition to democracy

a regime change typically involving a negotiated process that removes an authoritarian regime and concludes with a founding election of a new, democratic regime

pact

in a transition to democracy, a conscious agreement among the most important political actors in the authoritarian regime and those in a civil society establish a new form of govt

founding election

the first democratic election in many years (or ever), marking the completion of a transition to democracy

democratic consolidation

the widespread acceptance of democracy as the permanent form of political activity; all significant political elites and their followers accept democratic rules and are confident everyone else does as well; ANTONYM- democratic backsliding

two-turnover test

one party must win the founding election, then a different party must win a later election and replace the first party; South Africa not considered a consolidated democracy according to test

Nigeria's 1999 transition to democracy began with

grassroots protests

political liberalization

the opening of the political system to greater participation

difference between a revolution and terrorism

terrorists and revolutionaries often pursue different ends

most common form of regime change

military coup

why do military coups occur?

military wants to restore order, military wants greater control, or specific leaders want to gain power for their own social group or for themselves

difference between a military coup and a revolution?

military coups merely change the regime, while revolutions also change the social order

event that marks the completion of a country's transition to democracy is referred to as

founding election

elections

essential to liberal democracy

Magna Carta

first document to limit the power of a monarch

core principle of social contract theory

individuals gather together and give consent to be governed

fascists

argue that the interests of the state should dominate

technocratic legitimacy

the idea that power should be held by those who understand how the modern world works

social citizenship

civil rights but not political rights

semi-authoritarian

regime type characterized by the presence of elections but also the systematic violation of the fairness of elections