CPO2001 Essential Readings

What is Max Weber known for?

his definition of the state and the three forms of legitimacy

According to Weber, what do states require?

power, territory, people, and external recognition

What is Herbst known for?

definition of a weak state, how war helps to form a state, and how African states are unlikely to develop out of weak states

What were the previous expectations of developing states?

it was guessed that modern states would strengthen over time, though this is not the case

Why might war help a state develop?

it provides necessity for state strengthening institutions, like higher taxes and nationalism; war necessitates the creation of a strong cultural and economic state

What happened to weak states over time? (prior to the modern age)

they were wiped out by stronger states, leaving only strong states in their wake

Why do weak states persist in the modern age when they died out in the past?

the modern international community provides external support to weak states; support that will not help the states become strong but prevents them from collapsing, AND the world has seen an overall decline in expansionist conflict, the kind that would originally destroy weak states and inoculate strong states

Why are strong states unlikely to ever form in Africa?

they have little to no ability to effectively impose extractive policies like taxes, they are limited in their central administration and bureaucracy, and there is a weak national identity, likely due to the vast ethnic diversity within states

What is Rotberg known for?

a state that has internal violence (uprisings, rebellions, revolts), limited central territorial control, limited or non-existent extractive capacity (like taxes), and a nonexistent or reduced ability to provide core services to citizens

How are failed states created?

they evolve from weak states, usually result out of human action, and are sometimes spurred by unsustainable terrain factors or ethnic/religious differences

What are the consequences of a failed state?

they can lead to collapsed states (in-turn creating a regional power vacuum), create bastions for lawless or unlawful activity, and can cause regional instability past its own borders

What are Fearon and Laitin known for?

what causes civil war, research on insurgency, and how ethnicity and GDP plays into the likelihood of civil war

How does ethnic diversity affect the activity of civil war?

according to the study, ethnic diversity had little to no impact on the ignition of civil wars

What is insurgency?

a military strategy in which small, often lightly armed units engage in hit-and-run attacks against military, government, and civilian targets

What causes civil wars according to Fearon and Laitin?

insurgencies birthed due to low per capita income and/or low state capacity

What are Alesina and La Ferrara known for?

how ethnic diversity affects the economy, ethno-linguistic fractionalization, and the importance of clear definitions and contextualization in terms of state and diversity

How does ethnic diversity affect the economy?

ethnic diversity reduces the utility of public goods while productivity is more dependent on context

What is ethno-linguistic fractionalization (ELF)?

the probability that two people are the same ethnicity within a random set

Why does context matter in terms of diversity and its economic effects?

background information such as a state's level of democracy, wealth, development and size help manage diversity whereas a lack of resources combined with ethnic tensions in government can make it more of an impetus to economic growth rather than the theorized "variety of economic output"

What are the implications of Alesina and La Ferrara's study?

globalization may have a negative impact whereas modernization and development may have a positive impact

What are Baldwin and Huber known for?

relationship of state capacity & level of inequality between groups, between group inequality (BGI)

What is the relationship between the ability of a state to provide public goods and the level of inequality between groups?

group inequality overall lowers the ability of the state to provide public goods, strongest in less developed states, however level of diversity in a state is not equal to the level of inequality in a state.

What is Adam Smith known for?

Wealth of Nations (greatest improvement in labor is the division of labor), laisez-faire,

Why is division of labor beneficial to the whole?

it leads to specialization in simple tasks, is much more efficient in terms of personnel and time, and leads to the industrialization of simple tasks.

If division of labor is not natural, where does it come from?

it arises from self interests in profit maximization

what are Adam Smith's thoughts on the regulation of commerce?

one cannot increase quantity of industry beyond domestic capital, it can direct and divert industry for better or worse, and that there are individual and domestic "natural advantages" in the production of goods

What is meant by the "invisible hand?"

it is part of laisez-faire liberal economics, let natural advantages and self-interest guide the market

What is Acemoglu known for?

what causes differences in prosperity, how geography influences prosperity, and how institutions affect prosperity

According to Acemoglu, what are the two fundamental causes of differences in prosperity?

they are geography (a fixed cause) and institutions (a malleable cause)

To Acemoglu, approximately what makes up prosperity?

levels of education, development of market economies, poor/out dated infrastructure, etc.

How does geography affect prosperity?

the fixed attributes of a state, such as forces of nature, geography, climate, and resources all leave little room for agency or change over time and serves as the impetus or basis of what a people of the region can achieve

How do institutions affect prosperity?

the created attributes of a state, such as the government, contract stability, infrastructure, and capital depend on human agency and can change over time, thus creating the driving force for prosperity

What conclusion did Acemoglu come to?

institutions can overcome geography, but human agency is critical

what are schmitter and karl known for?

they are known for what makes a democracy a democracy and for what makes it not

According to schmitter and karl, what concepts make democracy possible?

it must have consent of the governed, contingent consent (no rigging the rules), and uncertainty over future outcomes

According to Schmitter and Karl, how do democracies differ?

they differ in a myriad of ways, but they don't necessarily make them better or worse democracies, just "differently democratic" (think parliamentary vs. presidential or SMD vs PR)

(Stepan, Liz & Yadav) known for?

they are known for the idea of the state nations

According to Stepan, Linz & Yadav, how does a state nation differ from a nation state?

it has more than one nation or cultural identities but maintains internal cohesion as a state

According to Stepan, Linz & Yadav, what are the types of states?

they consist of ones with strong cultural diversity (Canada, Belgium, Spain), moderate cultural diversity (Switzerland, USA), and low cultural diversity (Japan, Portugal, Poland)

According to Stepan, Linz & Yadav, what are the political implications of state nations?

they have the potential to arouse conflict between groups (hindering democratic consolidation), whereas single-group states face fewer obstacles to building democracy and the state simultaneously

According to Stepan, Linz & Yadav, what are the nation-state solutions to diversity?

they might try to develop a common or shared 'national' identity, voluntarily assimilate minority groups into the large majority or force assimilation through violent coercion (up to ethnic cleansing)

According to Stepan, Linz & Yadav, what is the state-nation solution to diversity?

they may introduce political institutional solutions ( holding together vs coming together, governing institutions, complimentary identities) basically focusing on working with diversity rather than against it

What are Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way (Levitsky & Way) known for?

they are known for coining the term "competitive authoritarianism" as hybrid regimes

According to Levitsky and Way, why is it important to distinguish hybrid regimes?

it is because they have proliferated in recent decades and are not simply a residual category or transitional stage

According to Levitsky and Way, what are the types of hybrid democratic regimes?

they consist of semi-democracies, virtual democracies, electoral democracies, pseudo-democracies, and illiberal democracies

According to Levitsky and Way, what are the types of hybrid authoritarian regimes?

they consist of semi-authoritarian, soft-authoritarian, and electoral-authoritarian regimes

According to Levitsky and Way, what are the four arenas of democratic contestation?

they consist of the electoral arena (tampering, bias, undue pressure, obstructions, etc.), Legislative arena (executive contests legislative), judicial arena (constraints on executive), and the media (can mitigate executive repression)

According to Levitsky and Way, what are the paths to competitive authoritarianism?

they consist of the decay of previous full authoritarian regimes, the collapse of previous authoritarian regimes, or the decay of previous democratic regimes

What are Barbara Geddes, Erica Frantz, and Joseph G. Wright (Geddes, Frantz, and Wright) known for?

they are known for their research on military rule

According to Geddes, Frantz, and Wright, what is military rule?

it is a specific type of authoritarian governance that tends to be fragile in duration and has no standard pattern or ideological characteristics

According to Geddes, Frantz, and Wright, where do military regimes come from?

they are usually the result of grievances in the military liked to economic structures (tensions of industrialization or modernization), culminating in a coup d'état and are unlikely to represent the elite/wealthy in a give society

According to Geddes, Frantz, and Wright, where geographically has military rule been prominent?

they usually pop up in Africa or Latin America

According to Geddes, Frantz, and Wright, what are some emerging problems with military rule?

they have a higher propensity for war and human rights violations and could be resistant to democratic transition (usually the ultimate result of military rule)

What is Theda Skocpol known for?

she is known for her study of social revolutions in France, Russia, and China (Agrarian Bureaucracy), tries to develop a predictive explanation as to when revolutions will occur

According to Skocpol, what are social revolutions?

they are revolutions from below that result in regime change

According to Skocpol, what is Agrarian Bureaucracy?

it is an agricultural society in which social control rests on a division of labor and a coordination of effort between a semi-bureaucratic state and a landed upper class (state reliance on the elite which relies on the peasantry)

According to Skocpol, how/when can revolutions occur?

it may occur from external pressures which in turn cause internal reform, leaving open a window for revolution (modernization can exacerbate this)

According to Crenshaw, what is terrorism?

it is the systematic inducement of fear and anxiety to control and direct a civilian population and challenge authority of the state (the target isn't of value, but its impact is)

According to Crenshaw, what is the setting for terrorism?

there must exist concrete grievances, a lack of political opportunities, and a precipitating event

According to Crenshaw, what are the reasons for terrorism?

it could be to dramatize a cause (gain public support), demoralize the government (provoke retaliation to gain popular support), and expose/act upon relative weakness, impatience, or threatened actors

According to Crenshaw, what are the individual motivations for terrorism?

it may include "in group" allegiances, high risk tolerance, or a desire for vengeance

What are Daron Acemoglu et al (Acemoglu et al) known for?

they are known for investigating the link between per capita income and democracy (is there a causal relationship between the two?)

According to Acemoglu et al, is there a causal link between heightened per capita income and heightened democracy?

there is no direct causal relationship between the two

According to Acemoglu et al, what could instead explain the correlation between increased GDP and Democracies?

it might be explained by converging development paths, whereby the two might be jointly caused by similar congruent events (the opposite is true for authoritarianism and poverty)

What is Maurice Duverger known for?

he is known for examining what systems lead to what system of parties

What is Duverger's Law?

it is the idea that a single ballot, simple majority electoral system leads to a two-party system

According to Duverger, what is the mechanical effect of single ballot, simple majority systems?

it results in substantial overrepresentation of the two largest parties, although this could be mitigated for regionally concentrated parties

According to Duverger, what is the psychological effect of single ballot, simple majority systems?

it discourages voters from "wasting votes" on weaker third parties, discouraging their presence in general