comparative politics first exam

The State

organization that maintains a monopoly of force over a territory

“a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory” - weber

sovereignty + weber’s definition

the ability to carry out actions and policies within a territory independently of external actions

weber: human community that possesses legitimate use of physical force over a defined territory.

Regime

oftentimes in a regime, there is a constitution that the regime follows that establishes the framework of the government and defines its powers, structure, and limitations. There is an institution, but it can be altered

government

leadership to run the state

• weakly institutionalized and often composed of officials

  • makes and enforces laws, operates on different branches of organizations under the govt.umbrella

ranked from most institutionalized to least institutionalized

most: state, regime, government

How do we get states?

consensus + coercion

consensus

individuals band together to protect themselves, there is protection through cooperation

coercion

individuals are brought together by rulers who impose authority + monopolize power. there is security through domination

Legitimacy

a nebulous trait where something or someone is recognized as right and proper. Legitimacy relies on consensus (ex. you pay taxes because you believe the state has the right to ask that of you)

monarchy legitimacy (or traditional legitimacy)

build by habit or custom. highly institutionalized. where rulers are accepted because "it has always been that way

charismatic legitimacy

built on ideas and leaders presence. weekly institutionalized. ex. revolutionary leader

rational legitimacy

legally built on rules and other procedures. There is a strong institution. ex. the president

federalism

dispersal of powers within the state. powers are devolved to regional bodies, local legislatures help to control state territories. There are representative locals + checks and balances

assymetric federalism

power is unevenly divided by regional bodies

Unitary states

power concentrated on the national level

• local interested can be repped without regional institutions. Local and regional politics have very little power or authority within the state

state capacity

the ability of the state to wield power in order to carry out basic trasks of providing security and freedom. The 3 capacities are strong, weak, and failed

strong states

able to fulfill basic tasks such as defending territory, making + enforcing rights/rules, collection of taxes, and keeping the economy afloat

weak states

cannot effectively execute the tasks, there is some performance of tasks

failed states

their structures are weak and/or broken down. Key examples include Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan, often driven by, or causing, civil war and widespread instability.

state autonomy

the ability of the state to wield its power independently of the public or initial actors

Social contract according to hobbes

to have protection + resources from the sovereignty, you must abandon your natural rights

Society (hobbes)

a "civil state" created through a social contract, where individuals, driven by fear of death, surrender their natural rights to an absolute sovereign to escape the chaotic "war of all against all" Broad term that refers to a complex organization or collection of people bound by a shared institution.

Ethnicity

relation to other members of a society through their common culture including language, religion, customs, or history. ethnicity is not a political identity, it is a social identity!

• ascriptive, assigned at birth

nation

a group that desires self-governance. Often independent state and it is usually political identity vs. ethnicity which is a social identity

national identity

how people are bound through similar political aspirations

citizenship

defined as an individual’s relation to state and who they swear allegiance torwards

nation-state

sovereign state encompassing one dominant nation that is claiming to embody + represent the political/national goes of the state

jus sanguinis

(Latin for "right of blood") is a legal principle where citizenship is determined by the nationality of a person's parents rather than their place of birth.

jus soli

(“right of the soil") is a legal principle granting automatic citizenship or nationality to a person born within a country's territory, regardless of their parents' citizenship

radicalism

desire for fundamental, rapid, and comprehensive change to existing social, economic, or political structures, it seeks to address perceived systemic flaws at their core rather than through moderate, incremental reforms. Complete dismantle of the current system

political attitude: liberalism

high value placed on political and economic freedom. It emphasizes democratic governance, secularism, free markets, and the rule of law.r

conservativism

political and social philosophy advocating for the preservation of traditional institutions, established social order, and gradual, rather than radical, change. It emphasizes authority, organic society, property rights, and limited government intervention, often rooted in historical continuity.

reactionism

s a far-right, illiberal political attitude favoring a return to a previous, idealized social or political order, actively rejecting modern progress and the current status quo. It is characterized by intense dissatisfaction with the present, a desire for radical, "reverse"

political ideology: liberalism

Liberalism is a political and moral ideology centered on individual liberty, consent of the governed, equality before the law, and the protection of individual rights (such as speech, religion, and property)

communism

Communist ideology is a far-left political and economic doctrine aiming to establish a classless, stateless, and moneyless society based on common ownership of the means of production

socialism

Socialism is a political and economic ideology advocating for social or collective ownership of the means of production, rather than private ownership, to reduce inequality and enhance the common good.

fascism

a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology that emerged in early 20th-century Europe, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and the subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race. contains extreme nationalism

anarchism

Anarchism is a political ideology that advocates for the abolition of all coercive, centralized, and hierarchical authority, particularly the state and capitalism, replacing them with voluntary, self-governing, and cooperative associations. Rooted in the belief that human cooperation is natural, it emphasizes individual liberty, personal freedom, and mutual aid as the foundation of social organization.

democracy

system in which political power resides within the people through participation, competition, and liberty

republicanism

emphasizes the separation of powers within a state. ex. roman empire

modernization theory

as societies become more sophisticated + economically advanced, they need and desire greater control over the state to achieve and defend interests

civil society

fabric or organization to help define people’s interests. It is not necessarily political!

horowitz argument on ethnicity

there are no true defining characteristics that separate ethnicities. Ethnic conflict is pervasive, but varied.

activities of a state (According to Tilly)

• war making - neutralizing rivals outer state

• state making - neutralizing rivals inner state

• protection - neutralizing enemies of rival clients

  • extraction - acquiring means for activities above

direct democracy

a form of government in which policies and laws are decided by a majority of all those eligible rather than by a body of elected representatives. Historically in small communities

indirect democracy

also known as representative democracy, is a system where citizens exercise power by electing officials to make laws and policy decisions on their behalf, rather than voting on them directly

tilly mechanisms

pls ask contreras to explain

social contract theory: locke

John Locke’s social contract theory posits that individuals consent to surrender some, but not all, of their natural rights to a government to better protect their life, liberty, and property. Developed in his Two Treatises of Government, this philosophy argues that legitimate government rests on the consent of the governed, ensuring the rule of law and the right to revolution if the state breaches this trust.

3 paradoxes of Anderson in Imagined Communities

1. objective modernity of nations (to historians) vs the antiquity of it to nationalists

2. in the modern world, everyone should have a nationality (universal concept) but every nation is unique

   1. “political” power of nationalism vs philosophical poverty (ironic since Anderson wrote all about it)

political attitudes

speed of political change and methods used to achieve it

political ideology

basic values + individuals beliefs about the goals of the state and political freedoms

desirable consequences for Dahl’s democracy

equality in voting, effective participation, enlightened understanding, final control over the agenda, and inclusion

what are the problems that chandra finds in the conception of identity

• common ancestry or a myth of common ancestry

• common “region of origin”

• descent rules (ex. judaism is only from mother’s side)

  • common culture + common history