QUALTYA Midterms

Political

public, governmental, state

political

private, extra governmental, society

Political Analysis

defined in such way as to encompass the entire sphere of the social

Political Analysis

one which draws attention to the power relations implicated in social relations

1950-1960s

Old Institutionalism

1960-1980

Behaviouralism

1970-2000

Rational Choice Theory

1990-2000

New Institutionalism

1980-2000

New Institutionalism

Mainstream political science

old institutionalism; new institutionalism; behaviouralism; post behavioralism; rational choice theory

International relations theories

idealism; neo-liberalism; realism; neorealism; constructivism; postmodernism

Political analysis

One’s analysis of political issues, events, and topics comes from a certain perspective and position. This position—acknowledged or not—forms or shapes our knowledge about politics

Ontology

the nature of being

Ontology

“What do we know? What are its aspects?”

Epistemology

philosophy of knowledge

Epistemology

refers to the nature of the relationship between the observer/knower and the observed/known reality

Epistemology

“How do we know/perceive what we know/perceive?”

Foundationalism/Objectivism [Ontology]

Reality is objective

Anti-foundationalism/relativism [Ontology]

Reality is subjective and socially constructed

Positivism [Epistemology]

Explain general theory/causal relationships. Predict political reality

Interpretivism

Have a deeper understanding. Interpret reality through narrative/story telling

Structure

Context and setting within which social, political, and economic events occur and acquire meaning. Ordered nature of social and political relations. Political institutions, routines, and conventions appear to exhibit regularity or structure over time.

Agency

Action or political conduct. The ability or capacity of an actor to act consciously and realize intentions. Implies free will, choice, or autonomy.

Structuralism

Defines that political effects, outcomes, and events happen exclusively in terms of structural or contextual factors.

Intentionalism

Political outcomes in terms of intentions of actors

Structuration [Structure-Agency Debates]

Anthony Giddens

Structuration [Anthony Giddens]

Structure and agency are internally related or ontologically intertwined, comprise a duality Structure and agency are mutually dependent, mutually constitutive.

Strategic-relational approach

Concentrates on the dialectical interplay of structure and agency in real contexts of social
and political interaction. Distinction between strategic action and strategic selective context

Structural Contexts

provide opportunities or constraints to actors. Factors like knowledge and capital are key determinants.

Conduct or behavior of actors

can also define change and development. Actors can either reproduce or radically transform their contexts.

Ideational

significantly mediate processes of political change, whether in relation to structure or agency.

Dahl

proponent of Power as decision making in the “Faces of Power Debate

Bachrach and Baratz

proponent of Power as agenda-setting in the “Faces of Power” Debate

Lukes

proponent of Power as shaping preferences in the “Faces of Power Debate

Foucault

rejects mainly the Habermasian notion that there is an “undistorted” or liberated form of critique can be separated from power relations

Power

is diffuse, embedded in discourse, social institutions, and practices. Power shapes identities, knowledge, and therefore social structures.

Ideas, discourses, beliefs, norms

Shapes political phenomena

Ideas

used by actors to interpret their interests and understand institutions

Constructivism

Political reality is socially constructed. Norms and identities shape behavior. Institutions persist because people believe in them. Wendt’s _____________ perspective of international
relations: “anarchy is what states make of it”

Postmodernism

as an aesthetic and cultural sensibility. ______________as an intellectual stance. Challenges universal truths, objective knowledge, stable identities, grand narratives

Modernism’s ontology of totality

identity, unity, generality, metonymy, connectedness, organicity, coherence, totality

Postmodernism’s ontology of difference

difference, singularity, specificity, uniqueness, diversity, individuation, dissonance, fragmentation

Dangers of relativism

if nothing is real, meaningful critique is impossible

Critical political analysis

reality exists independently of perceptions

Behavioralism

Mostly positivist, objective, quantified approach to explaining political behavior

Observation on behavioralism

focus on analysis

explanation on behavioralism

is subject to empirical testing. (Key philosopher: August Comte)

Behavioralism

Statements on metaphysics, theology, aesthetics are devoid of analytical meaning

Behavioralism

Deals with these questions:
Why do people behave (do/think/say things) the way they do?
What can we conclude from what we observe

Rational Choice Theory

Emphasis on rationality and self-interest of political actors (individuals, groups, states). Assumption that actors are utility maximizers. They behave/act to achieve their goals based on self-interest. Rationality is a matter of calculating the optimal solution (equilibrium) to a given problem. Examples: Game theory (rules, players, strategies)

Approaches to Rational Choice Theory

Party competition
Principles guiding rent-seeking behavior,
redistribution, political business cycles
Principal-agent relationships
Veto players
Constitutional rules
Collective action problems

Traditional Institutionalism

Focus was describing formal, legal, governmental rules and institutions (“Institutionalism was political science.”)

New Institutionalism

Politics is not just about formal political and legal institutions and organizations because informal political institutions also matter; what is an institution: “stable, recurring pattern of behavior” or simply, rules or constraints that influence political behavior.

Normative institutionalism

political institutions shape values, norms, interests, identities, beliefs

Normative Institutionalism [New institutionalist schools]

political institutions shape values, norms, interests, identities, beliefs

Rational choice institutionalism [New institutionalist schools]

political institutions affect the context in which actors pursue strategies

Constructivism

Action/behavior is based on social constructs—ideas, beliefs, norms, identities—rather than/not just material factors. Importance of culture as what defines society (Durkheim)

Constitutiveness [Constructivism]

Central to constructivism; Reality is constituted by social constructs, intersubjective meanings.

Socialization [Constructivism]

norms or ideas spread in a relatively incremental, evolutionary way generated by repeated
interaction within groups.

Persuasion [Constructivism]

Arguments (e.g. speech acts) are made by actors who invent new ideas and sell them to
others

Bricolage [Constructivism]

This happens when resulting patterns of action or behavior are characterized by complex overlapping or combining of ideas, norms, meanings, and practices

Feminism

Emerged as a movement/body of ideas that aimed to enhance women’s status and power. Called into question power relations between men and women that were conventionally defended as ‘natural’.

Feminism

Ontological position is mainly focused on women’s experience and gender relations

“Feminist standpoint” as epistemological position

How to analyze social reality from the perspective of gender, in response to/as a critique of the dominance of the male perspective

Liberal Feminism

based on liberal notions of individual rationality, the public-private distinction, reform

Marxist Feminism

social classes are highly characterized by gender relations

Radical Feminism

focuses on political struggle in a patriarchal society; the state as gendered

Marxism

Examines how capitalism operates at social, economic and political levels and affects and is affected by the role of the state, international relations, spatial relations and culture

Marxism

Capitalism introduces a complementary and contradictory/dialectical relationship between wage labour and capital. Society/Human existence is defined by the means of production that allows for inequalities among social classes (between bourgeoisie and the proletariat).

Examples of Marxism in practice

Gramscian approach to international relations; Wallerstein’s world system theory

Basic or Pure Research

produce new knowledge, including the discovery of the nature of relationships between variables

Applied

do a study that can be useful to a policy maker who seeks to eliminate or alleviate a social problem

Types of Relationships in Research

Positive, negative, curvilinear, no relationship

Purpose of research

exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, evaluative

Types of ethics

voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity

Variables and attributes

independent, intervening, dependent

Introduction of the Research

is the part of the paper that provides readers with
the background information for the research reported in the paper. Its
purpose is to establish a framework for the research, so that readers
can understand how it is related to other research" (Wilkinson 1991,
p. 96)