POLSI 2500 FINAL EXAM

Political Theory

The study of what motivates policymakers to make decisions and how to justify actions that may force people to comply against their will.

Veil of Ignorance

• John Rawls argues for the creation of a just society by assuming that individuals do not know their own status or characteristics

  • When making political system, the people making it don't know what position they will have in system (rich or poor)

  • By being ignorant of our circumstances, we can more objectively consider how societies should operate.

pros and cons: veil of ignorance

Pros

• may work for new country

Cons

• cannot be applied practically in the real world

• could undermine personal responsibility and accountability

Utilitarianism

seeks to see morality or action or system based on overall happiness that it marks 

Jeremy Benthalam’s Principle of utility

• something is good if it maximised happiness for greatness number

• If pleasure of overall majority exceeds pain of minority means it is just 

  • However, if 90% only slightly happy, but 10% very unhappy then this is wrong 

• Hedonic calculus = math he used to decide this 

Cons

• Individual rights are not respected due to good of the many = tyranny of majority

• Behind veil of ignorance certain things might be bad 

Categorical imperative- simple def

Immaneul Kant

• If you do one thing you should generalise it to whole world 

  • Move beyond particular situation and then generalise to whole world 

  • Ex. if someone is hungry and they steal food from a store, have to ask themselves if this is okay in wider society

Principle of Utility

Jeremy Bentham’s concept that an action is good if it maximizes happiness for the greatest number of people.

Hedonic Calculus

A method used by Jeremy Bentham to calculate the overall pleasure and pain produced by an action, assisting in determining its moral rightness.

Categorical Imperative

Immanuel Kant's ethical principle stating that one should only act according to that maxim which they can will to become a universal law.

Social Contract

• An implicit agreement among individuals to form a society and government, surrendering some of their freedoms in exchange for protection of their remaining rights.

• Thombas Hobbes, Leviathan

• State of nature: state where no government, no society = people naturally bad, so agree to have government to control them 

  • Ex. no art, industry, war all the time, no rights at all  

• No right to physical safety, or property

• Leviathan = the state that can enforce set of rules or regulations 

• Even most tyrannical state better than state of nature  

Cons of Social contract- Hobbes

• Can turn into a dictatorship and make unfair rules, randomly take away right

• Worse government worse than worst state of nature 

• Assumption that people are bad 

• What is law is not what is moral 

• Did not consent to this “contract” 

Nash Equilibrium

• A concept in game theory where optimal outcomes can be achieved when individuals cooperate rather than competing.

• Prisoner’s dilemma: either confess or stay silent, nash equilibrium is to both remain silent due to 5 years in jail for both but not for life for either 

• Nash equilibrium: both should go and coordinate actions

• Patriot act: violates individual rights but better for collective good in theory 

Tacit Consent

John Locke's idea that individuals show consent to government authority through their actions, such as using public services.

• Ex. Walking on the street = streets maintained by state so tacit consent

David Hume, issue of consent: 

• Tacit consent does not exist, people don't have a choice 

  • Don't have money to leave, have connections there, their job is there 

• Consent in order to be valid it has to be given voluntarily and have had other options

  • eg: being born into a society

Right wing politics: 

• Support for view that certain social orders and hierarchy are inevitable, natural or desirable 

  • Low taxes, few welfare, little social security and state focus on essentials 

Left wing politics: 

• Hierarchies are bad, state should get rid of hierarchies 

  • Does with higher taxes, welfare and social security
    

• Ex. economic status, the right thinks that hierarchies are natural (less intervention in welfare) and left wing something has to be done (more redistribution of wealth and taxes)

Fascism: 

• Extreme right wing 

• Idea of hierarchy to extreme through coercion  

  • Nationalism to justify, military is important, racial hierarchies, gender roles 

Communism: 

• Extreme left wing 

• Takes idea of eliminating hierarchies to extreme

• All people should have same outcome, elimination of class hierarchy 

• Persecutes those that are elitist such as rich peasants in Russia 

• Caused poverty and death

Liberal then vs now:

• Modern: Liberal is left wing (lots of taxes)

• Classical liberalism: used to be conservative = due to association with freedom, wanted more economic and social freedoms 

• People developed a hierarchy over time but it is good because it is freedoms

  • Ex. American Bill of rights 

• Neoliberalism for this reason is most free trade occurs 

Neustadt “Presidential Power”

Describes that the US president is a like clerk, not a dictator and can't pass things quickly. Like a clerk as he is weak and needs congress to make laws 

• No proactive power:can not really make policies and decrees

• Have a lot of reactive power: can veto things 

• In Foreign policy presidents have a lot of power  

• Little formal power: written power

• Informal power to persuade people (g on tv, use favilities, prestige)

Economic intergration: The EU

• Founding father Jean Monet: thought economic integration would end conflicts in Europe

  Pros

  • Free movement of goods (no tariffs) 

  • Common tariff rate for imported goods  

  • Free movement of people and work 

• Cons

  • Open borders can’t regulate 

  • Lose sovereignty due to EU commission, parliament and court of justice

  • Contribute to common EU budget 

Schengen Zone

• Countries in Europe; don't need to use a passport and no border guards

  • Most are part of it except Bulgaria, and Ireland

• Common visa policy = if from a country that isn't from Schengen u can stay 90 days, every 180 days

Eurozone

• Countries that use the euro 

• Countries that don’t = Denmark and Switzerland 

• To join = deficit has to be under control, debt to GDP ratio has to be low

Political union:

•  states give up some sovereignty to a supranational entity with legislation that includes aspects of both foreign and domestic policy 

• Ex US federal government controls the individual states 

  • EU is not one because it doesn't have much power and influence compared to US federal government  

Fiscal union

 common budget and states make decisions together with taxation and spending 

• Ex together Canadian province make collective decisions on taxation 

• EU is not one since there is no EU tax and budget is small 

Monetary union:

states that have the same currency and central bank determines supply of it 

• Ex Eurozone is one since they have Euro 

EU Growth after WWII

1st trend

• Post WW2: Fast and exponential growth Western Europe

• Currently slowed down

2nd Trend:

• Nationalist leaders

  • 2016 referendum, most voted to leave the EU

• caused by economic issues

  • people who voted for brexit suffered losses in manufacturing

3rd trend

• Russia is a “rouge state”; not conforming to international law or conduct

• Eurpoe depends on Russia for gas

• NATO cannot go to war with Russia, as they would cut off gas

2005 Constitution referendum

EU worked well until this time, France and netherlands rejected so showed issues in EU

• creation of European constitution

  • rights of citizens,

• netherlands and france both rejected the constitution in fear that national control would be compromised to europes power

• 2008 Financial Crisis

• hurt members of EU hard, especially Eurozone

  • PIIGS = Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain affected  

  • Contagion effect = if Greece went bankrupt then investors devalue currency of Eurozone 

  • Why:

  • Greece had fake stats to join Eurozone (i.e deficit 5 times over max) 

  • The Troika = the EU commission, central bank and IMF bailed out Greece

  • IMF told Greece to cut spending = Greece didn't like 

  • Greece didn't leave though = because if one country left then permanent currency image shatter as others could leave

Assad family

ruled since 1971, president is Bashar al-Assad

Syrian state vs radical rebels vs moderate rebels 

• Arab spring 2011: Assad used chemical weapons on people, conflict went from street fighting to a civil war with three actors 

• peaceful protests against president led to viokent crackdown, escalating to a brutal civil war to this day

  • The government, the moderate rebels (US supported), radical rebels (ISIS, Al-Mousra front) 

  • Leading up to protests there were a lot of droughts and food prices went up 

• Provinces hardest hit had most protests

Arab Spring events

Tunisia

• Self immolation of a street vendor who faced police harassment, highlighting economic harship and police brutality

  • Sparked widespread protests, demanding the end to Ben Ali’s auth rule

  • he left HAHA bozo

• Revolution: sucessful protests in tunsia often seen as catalst for arab spring movement

• Egypt 2011: demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, IT WORKED

  • Libya (2011): Gaddafi's dictatorship ended, his regime using brutal force- results in civil war

  • NATO intervined, Gaddafi was killed by rebel forces in oct 2011

  • Yemen followed 2011: calling for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh., led to civil war to this day

Bellins= Bellin “Reconsidering Robustness of Authoritarianism”

Institutionalised industries:

• in regimes, generals are chosen on how qualified they are, not vested in survival of dictator

• Will not fire on protesters

Patriomal- auth regimes

•  loyalty in choosing generals, don’t care for qualifications, vested in survival of dictator 

  • Will fire on protestors to support government

Belins argument

most militaries in Middle East are patrimonial  

Themes of Latin America

• Inefficient, corrupted, governments can not control territories

• It is the most unequal region in the world (8 of most unequal countries in Latin America) 

• Violence 

•  Inflation (too much money in circulation, money made valueless, hurts poor) 

• Political instability

Hyper-Presidentialism

• strong Presidential Power

• Weak Institutions

• Erosion of Checks and Balances

• Delegative Democracy (authority that does not consult other branches of government, can pass laws as please)

Monroe doctrine and American intervention

• Cold war much intervention in Cuba, Guatemala to Chile

• Monroe doctrine: US views Latin America as their sphere of influence, so can intervene 

  • Especially if turning Communist 

Clientelism

A political system where voters are rewarded with material benefits in exchange for their political support, often undermining democratic accountability.

• Ex Buying votes = money to vote for 

  • Ex Bribing people = provide them with goods or services 

• Bad for democracy

• Perverse accountability: Keep people poor to pay them again next election  

  • No incentive to make you better off but make you poor 

Argentina

Juan Peron and Eva Peron

• Juan Peron

• Working class angry at oligopoly government for mismanagement and inequality 

• Came to power in coup, pro-working class used their language 

• What he did: 

• Made paid vacation, Labour laws, Unionsation, Public transports, Subsides expanded, Society security coverage 

• Eva Person: 

• Wife, in charge of labour ministry, held informal power, gave women right to vote and liked her due to being good speaker, died of cancer  

• What happened to them:

• Personism: controversial, made lots of debt, printed money economy collapsed 

• Military kicked out of office 1955

Chile

Salvador Allende 

• Marxist, won presidential election

• What he did:

  • Price controls

  • Social spending

  • Nationalised banks

• Causes economy to collapse due to printing money 

1973 Military Coup

• 1973 September 11th, military surrounded palace, bombed building and killed himself 

• Pinochet came to power after

Colombia

• FARC

• Marxist guerrilla groups wanted to take power by force

  • Cocaine

  • Illegal resource extraction 

• Landowners had to fight against them due to state incompetence and corruption

3 way civil war 

• United Self Defence Forces of Colombia (landowning paramilitary group)

• Government 

• FARC

Alvaro Uribe 

• Determined to get rid of FARC

• FARC reduced in first year, less homicides and kidnappings

• Won reelection in 2006 

Mexico

Porfirio Diaz

• Autocratic dictator of Mexico between 1889 - 1911

• Created army and opened up for trade and made railroads 

• Jailed people and closed news, oligarchy and inequality increased

Mexican Revolution 1910

• Toppled him but changed balance of power with progressive constitution and equal pay and let land reform 

PRI: 

• Hegemonic party made by centrist Lazaro Cardenas, support from working people

• Owned police and judges, wouldn't give money to governors who didn't like

• 1980s and 1988 elections burned ballots due used military to unpopularity = caused economic failure 

• By 1990s PRIs hegemony ended and 2000s non PRI president won

Peru

• Shining Path

  • Was a terrorist Marxist guerrilla group that terrorised people

  • Wanted to overrun state 

• Alberto Fujimori  

  • Dictator, came to power in 1990s, did not like congress, did not like judges, preferred to govern by decree

  • What he did: 

  • Got rid of Shining Path and fixed economy with neoliberalism 

Venezuela

Hugo Chavez: 1999 - 2013 Quasi-communsit, Bolivarian Revolution, packed judiciary with allies, poverty rates fell 

• What he did:

• Nationalised health care 

• Healthcare 

• Education 

• Problem:

• Couldn't pay for this, and didn’t invest in anything but oil 

Nicolas Maduro

• Assumed office after Chavz died

• After oil prices fell in 2014 the economy went into trouble since relied on it too much

• Ever since they have done poorly 

Inflation or shortages 

• Hyperinflation because money became valueless

• 2019 inflation was 1 million percent 

• Chronic shortages for basic goods due to price controls 

• Bread, milk, toilet paper, detergent all short 

Brazil

Bureaucratic authoritarianism during 1964-1985 mode of authoritarianism, happened in Uruguay and Argentina

• Non personalistic

  • not centred on one person 

• Legalistic

  • Used law to respress you, like using unfair trials for charges if don’t like you 

  • Military didn't shut down congress and had elections 

• Not overly corrupted

  • Technocratic

• Rule by experts (risen through ranks of treasury) 

• Emphasis on concrete policy goals 

• Do not come to power to steal money but have goals  

Brazil: concrete goals goal was economic development and opposing communism, some repression but was legally as could have judges 

King Leopold II of Belgium 

• 1865 - 1909

• Wants to colonise for ivory and rubber so Africa sent explorers 

  • Claim did for philanthropy, building roads, commerce and outlawed slavery

Stanley

• Explorer he recruited to explore

• Thought would be easy since no government, got land from chiefs with bribes

• Tyrant = he beat people with whips and used slaves 

E.D Morel 

• Wrote articles about horrors of Congo to rally church and public

• Leopauld tried to make self look good sent rigged committee of friends to Congo in commission to say not bad, said opposite 

Why Congo poor:

• Few doctors or engineers and most civil servants were European

• Van der Wall = neopatrimonialism (corruption) 

• Low state capacity (absenteeism, bad tax collection)

• Foreign aid 

• Pros:

• Can help make healthcare, basic education 

• Cons:

• Can cause overreliance on it and squanders money

Stanford Prison Experiment 

• 1971 wanted to see if normal peoples environment that made violent 

• Some people were guards, and pretended to arrest, some were criminals and guards had absolute power over them 

• Guards abused them and led to physical violence 

• It if environment that people are in that cause them to be abusive

Low population density and state capacity

• Fukuyama State capacity vs size 

• If can governed territory then strong state 

• Herbst - one of big factors that stopped from making good states in Africa was low population density 

• As population density goes up cost to control people decreases since people more far apart

British East India Company

1700 - 1858

• Privately owned cooperation to establish trade 

• Monopoly on exotic goods by Queen Elizabeth I into Britain 

• British East India Company started to use standing army to get new territory

1858 Sepoy Rebellion: 

• Caused British to resume direct control, Queen Victoria was then the ruler of India 

Pros:

• British left a state, army, civil service, limited democracy 

• Many Indians learned about democracy from Britain 

Mahatma Gandhi and nonviolent resistance 

• Gandhi Congress Party started resistance against, used nonviolent civil disobedience 

• Salt march, since they couldn't collect salt, illegally made salt from seawater

• 1947 got independence 

Nehru

• 1947 - 1964 Congress party and Nehru was in power 

• Marked by nationalism fused with socialism 

What he did: 

• Neglected agriculture in favour of heavy industry

• Land reform failed

• Neglected primary education in favour of university led to illiteracy  

Indira Gandhi

• 1966 - 1984 Congress party 

• Nehru's daughter, chosen because name recognition and thought woman was weak

• Was a populist and socialist   

• 1975 emergency declaration

  • She felt threatened politically so issued one and curtailed civil liberties but then restored democracy 

  • People didn't like this so lost elections  

  • She got back power in 1980 

  • After this was capitalist but was assassinated in 1984 

Rajiv Gandhi

• Indira Gandhi's son 

• Open up economy to business 

• Also assassinated  

Declaration of Independence 

US history: July 4th 1776 was a British colony, sick of taxes, and got independence with revolutionary war with George Washington who became first president

US constitution 1789 

Constitution: 1789 controversial due to autonomy of states interference

Bill of rights: 1791 James Madison, created to restrict power of federal government to convince colonies to join

• Inspired other nations like Canada's charter

First amendment: freedom of speech, assembly, and religion

• Limits are defamation, obscenities, blackmail  
  

Second amendment: right to bear arms 

• Can increase homicides, but can defend people, defend from invaders  

• Exceptions are automatic firearms 

Third amendment: prohibits quartering soldiers in peoples homes  

Fourth amendment: search warrant needed that is specific (what you are allowed to search) 

• Doesn’t apply at the border 

Fifth amendment: no double jeopardy, speedy trial, no self incrimination 

Sixth amendment: right to a trial by jury if accused of a crime 

• Harder to be biassed with people, issue is usually plea deals 

Seventh amendment: right to jury in civil matters

Eighth amendment: protect against cruel and unusual punishment 

Ninth amendment: gives rights not in constitution if not specifically outlined, so can have more rights not in there 

• Right to privacy 

Tenth amendment: creates federalism in US, which divided power in national and state government, and if constitution did not give specifically feds right then thats goes to state

The presiden

elected for 4 years, elected by electoral college 

How the electoral college works:

 each state has number of electors based on pop, 538 in total and needs to have 270, in each state candidate with most vote gets electors 

• Created to give all adequate say 

Battleground states: state where people switch between who they vote for 

• Pennsylvania and Nevada 

Executive order and the veto: 

• Effective orders are decrees, limited to less important policies 

• Power to nominate judges that is approved by senate

• Pardon power or reduce years in prison (committing sentence)

• Foreign policy

• Can veto policies from Congress   

FDR and his importance

Great Depression to World War 2 

• Got rid of prohibition

  • the bran on alcohol

• Security Exchange Commission and FDIC to prevent bank runs

• Social security for pensions and unemployment 

• Helped win World War Two 

• New Deal with public works program 

• ran for 4 terms

Congress

1. House of reps: current speaker Mike Johnson, 435 reps reelected 2 years and need 218 votes to pass legislation and is by population  

• Propose the budget 

• Minority party no protection
  

2. Senate: 100 senators, all states 2 seats, elected for 6 years

• Can approve judges picks 

• Filibuster, senate 60 votes to block laws from senate, budget reconciliation can’t be or judges 

• Minority party protected 

Congressional budget office: allows to assess impact on policies or budget without may rely on analysis from president which is biassed  

Judicial branch: 

• Federal and state courts 

• Run parallel to each other and do own thing independently

• Federal courts enforce federal law and state courts enforce state laws 

crimes

state crime

• stealing, speeding

federal crime

• treason, terrorism

Federal law precedence

 federal courts are more powerful than state laws and can overturn 

Supreme court

• Most important courts in the US with 9 judges and appointed for life  

• Precedence made by supreme court

• Can shape law to some extent due to unclarity of some laws 

Federal reserves

the bank of the US responsible for money supply and nominated by President and approved by senate 

• Lowered supply leads to recession but less inflation 

• Increase supply leads to boom but inflation 

Social security:

• FDR made it, pension program and diabetes 

• Pays as you go, part of salaries are taken for it 

• Problems with it:

• Population issues as can not support due to ageing pop, declining birth rate and retirements 

Declining trust in US government:

• Only 24% of Americans trust the government and bipartisan

• Was higher in 60s and 70s like 60+ 

• Issues: 

• Creates toxic environment such as during pandemic 

Increasing political polarisation in the US: 

• Three prints = New York TImes and Washington Post and Wall Street journal

• Fox News and CNN

• Two Americans with Democrats and Republicans

• These are two different world in own country 

• Disasters 

• Pandemic such as vaccines with democrats or republican 

• Foreign policy

• Before it was unaffected by party in power, people knew what was in interests

• Ukraine for example 

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: 

• Manhattan project under FDR and then Truman 

• To end war quickly use bomb to make  surrender 

• August 6th 1945 plane dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and many died 

• Did not surrendered so dropped another on Nagasaki 

• Then surrendered 

Economic growth after WW2: 

• Japan had large economic growth after WW2

• Devastated but rebounded quickly

• 1961 to 1969 the GDP growth = 10% a year 

• 1970s slowed, but still good 

• 1987 higher GDP per capita than USA 

Japanese asset bubble:

Asset bubble: when the prices of an asset astronomically overvalued 

• One consequence of growth, made asset bubble 

• Japan had  a housing bubble and stock market tripled

  • Value of all land was 4x as much as all US land

• Bubble burst when realized not worth it 

• 1990s there was stagnation and has never recovered 

Douglas MacArthur:

• General placed in charge of country after WW2 and emperor subjected to his authority 

  • Made reforms that people liked

Japanese Constitution

• 1947

• Made democracy with rights and women's rights

• Emperor almost no power

Article 9: 

• Forfeits Japan’s right to war or army 

• 1951 security treaty that says US has to aid Japan if attacked but not other way around 

• Lets the US keep a check on China

Mao Zedong:

• Found of PRC 1949 

• 1949 Mao declared founding of PRC 

• Before Mao

  • Two main political from Kuomintang (Chan kai-shek) and the Communists (Mao) 

  • Communists won 

  • Good at revolution but reckless when having to make government policies  

  • Good, gender equality, abolished foot binding, made people more literate  

Great Leap Forward: 

• Caused by Mao, incompetence of his policies, little dissident 

• Mao knew nothing about economics  

• 1958 - 1961 

• Mao wanted to double steel production in year 

• Prove that communists could achieve great targets 

• Led to famine

  Causes: 

  • Diverted resources from agriculture to manufacturing

  • Ordered all sparrows to die, led to no natural predators 

Deng Xiaoping

• Mao's death created conditions for change 

• Less repression, economic freedom

• Didn't like democracy so shot at  Tiananmen Square 1989 protests

• Led to more authoritarian hardliners in party

Xi Jinping: 

• Concentrating power in past years and most powerful leader since Mao 

• What he did:

• No term limits, anti-corruption drive, predecessor was forced out of room and more repression

• Uses surveillance to control population like Xighurs 

• Legitimacy kept by economic growth but if recession then people will hate

China Situation with Taiwan:

• Taiwan was where nationalists went after war and was backed by the US 

• Eisenhower vowed to protect them, until 1979 where the US recognized the CCP for trade purposes

• One China policy: 

• China claims Taiwan is part of them

• US could not recognize Taiwan then and most do not recognize

• Works like country with passports and government  and US had relations with them through and external organisation  

• Us gives military aid to Taiwan 

Hyperinflation

An extremely high and typically accelerating inflation rate, resulting in the currency losing its value rapidly.

Patriomal Military

A military system where loyalty to the ruler is prioritized over qualifications, often leading to repression.

Delegative Democracy

A form of democracy characterized by a strong executive power with few checks from other governing bodies, allowing leaders significant freedom.

Economic Integration

The process of reducing trade barriers and increasing cooperation between nations, often leading to the creation of unions like the EU.

Bureaucratic Authoritarianism

A form of authoritarianism characterized by the presence of bureaucratic institutions that govern through legal and policy frameworks.

Salvador Allende

The first Marxist president elected in Chile, whose policies led to a military coup in 1973.

Great Leap Forward

A campaign initiated by Mao Zedong aimed at transforming China’s economy but resulted in widespread famine.

One China Policy

The diplomatic acknowledgment by the US and other countries that there is only one China, which includes Taiwan as part of its territory.