PS 1400 Exam 1 Study Guide

Definitions of politics

1) The authoritative allocation of values, such as representation 2) Who gets what, when, and how? 3) The struggle in any group for the power to make decisions for the rest of the group

Basic definition of comparative politics

Simply studying politics outside of the United States - who gets what, when, and how, but not just in the United States

Better definition of comparative politics

The process by which we use evidence from many cases to try and make general statements about politics and political life

Generalization and the importance of comparison

This method allows researchers to identify trends and test theories across different political systems, enhancing our understanding of how things are related in politics

States

Almost always means “countries” in modern comparative politics, sometimes called “nation-states”, institutions of centralized political authority

Legitimacy

A governing authority is viewed as rightful and valid to rule by the population (domestically and internationally)

Sovereignty

Ability to carry out actions independently - states are not subject to external control and can do whatever they want

Tony Sopranos’s mobster metaphor

States provide protection, but for a cost (taxes) similar to how mobsters offer protection, shaking you down every week for payment

Mother Bunny metaphor

Although states prevent you from leaving, placing limitations on what you can do, they provide protection and enforce the rule of law (like receiving a carrot)

State capacity / state-ness

The extent to which states can accomplish core objectives such as defense and policing based on how much resources they have (this term is something they either have, or lack)

Bureaucracy

Modern states follow a rational, universally applicable system for operating

Impersonal political power in a bureaucracy

Authority is rooted in institutions and offices, not people

Bellicist theories

Conflict and war caused states to form

Economic theories

Modern state is represented by the interests of economic elites such as Marx and Beard

Cultural theories

States require lots of obedience from citizens, which emerged from nationalism (loyalty to nation)

Diffusion theories

How did the states become the central unit of political identification, rather than the nations as a whole? This was influenced by factors such as warfare, colonialism, and economic expansion

Political regimes

A durable set of formal and informal rules for allocating political authority at the national level. Typically institutionalized, but not as durable as states

Difference between states and regimes

A set of rules that determine how a country’s politics work (ex: football rulebook) vs. a political territory with a defined territory and population (ex: football field)

The government for a comparative political scientist

The leadership or elite in charge of running the state, weakly institutionalized (lacks strong, established rules/procedures)

Normative statements

How things “should” be

Empirical statements

Drawn from real world, based on observation, focused on understanding relationships.

Example of normative vs. empirical statements

What major is the best vs. what major has the highest job placement

Concepts and operationalization

Clearly defining abstract political ideas such as democracy or political instability in a way that allows them to be measured and compared across different countries

Independent variable

A factor that researchers manipulate to see its effect on the dependent variable that can be falsified (the cause)

Dependent variable

The outcome of changing the independent variable (the effect)

Saying that X causes Y implies that

A person who gets X also gets Y, a person who does not get X, also does not get Y

Deterministic vs. probabilistic laws

Laws are deterministic and always hold true based on specific conditions, theories are probable, explaining how things work based on observations but don’t guarantee outcomes in every case

Hypotheses

Testable statement or prediction connecting independent variable (cause) to dependent variable that (outcome) that can be falsified (can be contradicted)

Induction

Starting with specific observations or data and using them to form a general theory or conclusion

Deduction

Starting with a general theory or hypothesis and testing it with specific observations or data to see if it holds true

Falsifiabiliy / Testability of a hypothesis

The ability for a hypothesis to be proven false through evidence or experimentation

A “case” in comparative politics

A specific example, like a country, event, or political system, that is studied to understand how politics works in different places

Quantitative methods

Using numbers and data to study political phenomena and make comparisons across cases

Qualitative methods

Understanding political situations through non-numerical data, like interviews, case studies, or historical analysis

Most similar approach

Compares cases that are alike in many ways but have different outcomes, to figure out what caused the differences.

Most different approach

Compares cases that are very different but have similar outcomes, finding the different things that led to similar outcomes cannot be what caused them

Confounders

When the potential causal effects of different elements can’t be considered separately because of some other variable can be affecting the relationship that we don’t know about

Correlations / Associations vs. Causation, especially in observational data

Correlation does not equal causation. In comparative politics, correlations/associations show a relationship between two things, while causation means one thing directly causes the other, but in observational data, we can usually only identify correlations, not causation.

Reverse causation/Endogeneity

We cannot rule this concept out in the case of mask-wearing and COVID case rates. Higher case rates may have led to mask mandates, rather than mask-wearing causing higher case rates.

Intervening process

The middle step of something occurring in the process of one factor (cause) leading to another (effect). For example, economic growth leads to democracy, but in the middle the economic growth causes education to increase, which causes democracy

Omitted variable bias

Some other factor explains the original correlation

Selection Bias Type 1

When the cases chosen for study are not representative, leading to misleading or biased conclusions. Ex: basketball NBA study

Democracy process

This term is a process rather than a set of outcomes

Liberal democracy

Clasically is regarding individual rights and freedoms, constitutional means inalieanble rights

Electoralism

Holding elections allows for true democracy - one person, one vote, one time only

Schumpeter’s focus on the “competitive struggle”

The basis of democracy is where leaders acquire power through the competitive struggle for the people’s vote.

Problems with simple “process” definitions

They focus only on elections and procedures but ignore key democratic elements like individual rights, checks and balances, and government accountability.

Fallacy of electoralism

The mistaken belief that simply holding elections is enough to make a country democratic, even though real democracy also requires rights, freedoms, and ongoing political competition.

Electoral Democracy / Procedural Minimal Definitions

A system where leaders are chosen through fair, repeatable elections with universal suffrage, basic political freedoms, and a shared commitment to following democratic rules.

Clasically liberal ideas

Regarding individual rights and freedoms

Rule of Law

A system where laws apply equally to everyone, rights are protected, and an independent judiciary ensures government power is limited.

Representative democracy

Modern democracies are this way, as they all tend to rely on some process where voters empower leaders to act on their behalf

Direct democracy

Citizens vote directly on laws and policies instead of electing representatives to decide for them

Democratic transition vs. Consolidation

The shift from a non-democratic to a democratic system, vs. when democracy becomes stable, accepted, and the only legitimate way to govern.

Waves and reverse waves of democracy

Periods where many countries become democratic, while reverse means when countries shift away from democracy

Explanations of the third wave

The global shift toward democracy beginning in the 1970s.

Has there been a third reverse wave?

This asks whether democracy has seen another decline after the third wave

Legitimacy and spread of democracy

When people accept democracy as the valid way to rule, helping democracy spread

Demonstration effect

Countries are more likely to adopt democracy after seeing others successfully do so

Causes of Democracy

A mix of economic development, social changes, and political choices

Modernization theory (many different versions):

As countries develop economically, they become more likely to democratize

Lipset hypothesis (endogenous vs exogenous distinctions)

Argues that wealthier nations are more likely to maintain democracy; endogenous factors come from within, while exogenous factors are outside influences.

Selection bias/Survivorship bias

When we only study successful cases, ignoring those that fail

Inequality and Asset Mobility version of modernization theory

Inequality rises during early stages of modernization, but reducing inequality and increasing asset mobility promote democracy

Median Voter Theorem

Policies in a democracy are shaped by the preferences of the middle voter

Fiscal Bargain / Natural resources and modernization theory of democracy

When rulers can’t rely on taxes from fixed assets, they offer deals to citizens, which can lead to democratization

Cultural theories of democratization, democratic performance, and democratic survival

How values and beliefs influence the development and survival of democracy

Fundamental problem of causal inference

We only observe one state of the world. The causal impact of a variable requires comparing the observed state of the world to a counterfactual state of the world that does not exist. Example: we can watch Tom Brady play football, but we can’t see what would have happened if he had never played or chosen a different career.