State, Nation, and Democracy: Political Structures and Theories

What is a state?

A human community that claims the monopoly of legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.

What distinguishes a state from a nation?

A state has a defined territory, while a nation is a group of people sharing a common identity.

What is the role of force in a state?

States use the threat of force to control inhabitants and organize public life.

What are failed states?

States that cannot effectively control their inhabitants or territory.

Give examples of failed states.

Yemen, Somalia, Sudan.

What is the contractarian view of the state?

The state is created from a social contract among individuals in a state of nature.

What is the predatory view of the state?

States exercise control over violence and may exploit their citizens.

What is a dominant strategy in game theory?

A strategy that is the best response regardless of what the other player does.

What is a Nash equilibrium?

A situation where all players have chosen a strategy and no player can benefit by changing their strategy unilaterally.

What is the dominant strategy Nash equilibrium in the state of nature game?

(steal; steal) with both players receiving a payoff of 2.

What solution did Hobbes propose to escape the state of nature?

The creation of a Leviathan with overwhelming means of violence.

What is a social contract?

A hypothetical agreement among individuals to create a state that outlines rights and responsibilities.

What must the punishment for stealing be for the state to be effective?

The punishment must be sufficiently large so that individuals prefer to refrain from stealing (p > 1).

What is the tax rate condition for a state to function effectively?

The tax rate charged by the state must be less than the societal benefit it provides (t < 1).

How did early modern European rulers emerge?

They emerged from a period of lawlessness, offering protection to peasants in exchange for rents.

What are economies of scale in the context of violence?

Unit costs decline as the number of units produced increases, affecting the balance of power.

What is the potential of every state according to the predatory view?

Every state has the potential to engage in predation, even if not every state does.

What is the fear associated with societal actors opposing state institutions?

The fear that the state might gain too much knowledge about its citizens.

What are possible solutions to avoid living in a violent state of nature or an oppressive state?

Having multiple providers of security, such as militias or gangs, to prevent any one from becoming too powerful.

What is a government?

A government is a set of people who run the state or act on behalf of the state at a particular point in time.

What is a regime?

A regime is the set of rules, norms, and institutions that determine how the government is formed, organized, and how major decisions are made.

What characterizes early democracy?

Early democracy usually involved a ruler governing jointly with a council or assembly composed of independent members of society.

What is direct democracy?

Direct democracy allows those participating in politics to decide on policies for themselves without intermediaries or representatives.

In what types of societies was early democracy more common?

Early democracies were more common in small-scale societies, particularly among hunter-gatherer groups.

What happened to early democracies as societies grew?

Early democracies tended to disappear as societies grew in size, making direct democracy less practical.

What is modern democracy?

Modern democracy is a representative democracy where people choose representatives to act on their behalf.

What are the three waves of democracy?

W1: 1828-1926; W2: 1943-1962; W3: 1974 onwards.

What is the Democracy-Dictatorship (DD) measure?

DD classifies democracies as regimes where governmental offices are filled through contested elections.

What are the criteria for a regime to be considered democratic under the DD measure?

The chief executive and legislature must be elected, there must be more than one party competing, and there must be an alternation in power under identical electoral rules.

What does Freedom House measure?

Freedom House measures political rights and civil rights, classifying countries as 'Free,' 'Partly Free,' or 'Not Free.'

What are the two dimensions Freedom House is based on?

Political rights and civil rights.

What is the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project?

V-Dem provides sophisticated measures of cross-national variation in democracy.

What are some types of democracy defined by V-Dem?

Electoral democracy, liberal democracy, participatory democracy, deliberative democracy, and egalitarian democracy.

What factors contribute to a country's electoral democracy V-Dem score?

Freedom of expression, freedom of association, clean elections, percentage of the population with suffrage, and extent to which officials are elected.

What is the role of norms in society according to the notes?

Norms can help create group solidarity and coordinate actions, although they can also be oppressive.

What is the 'cage of norms'?

The 'cage of norms' refers to the societal expectations that can restrict individual behavior.

What is the significance of the concept of exit options in governance?

Exit options allow citizens to leave a society, making it harder for rulers to impose control.

What is the minimalist view of democracy proposed by Dahi?

A view that classifies political regimes based solely on their institutions and processes.

What does 'contestation' refer to in the context of democracy?

Contestation refers to the extent to which citizens are free to organize into competing blocs to advocate for policies and outcomes they prefer.

What is autocratization?

The move from a democracy to an autocracy.

What does modernization theory propose?

It suggests that all societies develop through a series of stages and that political change often accompanies economic development.

What characterizes the earliest states in history?

They were agrarian or 'grain' states built on farming, which allowed elites to exploit farmers.

Why are grains significant in agrarian societies?

Grains are highly susceptible to taxation and exploitation by the state.

How is economic development measured?

Through GDP per capita, which represents the value of all goods and services produced in a country in a given year.

What correlation exists between GDP and democracy?

Countries with higher GDP tend to be more democratic, with exceptions like Saudi Arabia.

What does Adam Przeworski argue about democracy and income?

He argues that democracy is more likely to survive in higher income countries, but wealth does not guarantee a transition from dictatorship to democracy.

Why might poor individuals support dictatorship?

They may have little to lose and see a chance to gain wealth by entering the dictator's inner circle.

What are credible commitment problems?

Situations where an actor making a promise has an incentive to not keep it in the future.

What are two features of credible commitment problems?

1. An actor who makes a promise today has an incentive to not keep it in the future. 2. Power is held by the actor making the promise, not by those expecting to benefit.

How can actors overcome credible commitment problems?

By restructuring deals, creating enforceable contracts, or through repeated interactions.

What role do institutions play in democracy?

They help solve credible commitment problems and alter the distribution of power.

What happens as agriculture becomes more popular?

Economic power shifts from traditional elites controlling land to a class of producers.

What is the relationship between democracy and economic development?

Democracy is more common in developed countries than in undeveloped ones.

What is the significance of the inner circle in a dictatorship?

Individuals within the inner circle may prefer to maintain a dictatorship to protect their wealth.

What is the impact of repeated interactions on promises?

If the actor making the promise cares about the future, they are more likely to keep the promise.

What is the significance of enforceable contracts?

They require an outside agency, like a court, to ensure promises are kept.

What is the basic idea of modernization theory?

All countries pass through the same historical process of economic development.

What is a major argument against the stability of poor democracies?

Przeworski argues that poor people do not have stable democracies due to their limited options and potential gains from dictatorship.