POL 103: Comparative Politics Midterm

Stony Brook University with Prof. Kline

Within

Comparative Politics is the study of political phenomena that occur predominantly _______ countries, excluding the one in which the student resides.

State

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

Contractarian View of the State

the creation of the state is voluntary and viewed as a “contract” between individuals

• the state’s role is to prevent/resolve conflicts of interest and maintain social order

Predatory View of the State

states emerge as an unintentional by-product of individuals seeking increased power

• unless countered by competing forces, individuals seeking power will look to create a centralized political hierarchy that concentrates power into an elite few 

Failed State

a state-like entity that cannot coerce and is unable to successfully control the inhabitants of a given territory

Regime

 a set of rules, norms, or institutions that determine how the government is constituted, organized, and major decisions are made

Government

a set of people who run the state; they are the means through which state power is exercised 

• ex: administrations

Mobile Assets

resources that can be moved

• ex: money, computer code, gold bars

Immobile Assets

resources that cannot move

• ex: wheat fields, oil rigs, land, natural resources

Security Dilemma

states face potential internal/external rivals that are always vying to take their place

Game Theory

the study of strategic interaction

Nash Equilibrium

The set of strategies such that no player wants to unilaterally switch to another strategy, given their beliefs about what the other players are playing 

Dominant Strategy

stealing is always the best option, no matter what the other player does

Ultimatum Game

a theoretical variant of Nash Equilibrium

• Player 1 proposes the smallest possible amount for Player 2, and Player 2 accepts

Social Contract

an implicit agreement among individuals in the state of nature to create and empower the state

• in doing so, it outlines the rights and responsibilities of the state and citizens in regard to each other

The dominant strategy is no longer to steal

Why must the sovereign make punishments for stealing larger than 1?

Rates are too high

In what circumstance will tax rates imposed by the state deter people from entering into society?

• Players

• Strategies

• Payoffs

• Beliefs

What are the 4 components of the EVL Game?

credible exit option and the government is independent of the citizen

When should a citizen exit?

credible exit option and the government is dependent of the citizen

When should a citizen use voice?

no credible exit option

When should a citizen be loyal?

• want democratic reforms

• be able to credibly threaten to withdraw aid if reforms aren’t met

What are the 2 conditions for donor countries when trying to utilize foreign aid to promote democracy?

Economic Modernization Theory

All countries pass through the same historical stages of economic development 

• Contemporary underdeveloped countries are merely at an earlier stage in this linear historical process

Political Modernization Theory

Since all the countries pass through the same historical stages of economic development, all countries will pass through the same historical stages of political development 

Modernization Story

countries are more likely to become and remain democratic as they become richer

Survival Story

democracy is more likely to survive as countries become richer, not emerge

Cultural Modernization Theory

• Socioeconomic development does not directly cause democracy 

  • Economic development produces cultural changes which then produce democratic reform 

• Occurs in 2 phases = industrialization and post-industrialization 

Industrialization and Post-Industrialization

What 2 phases occur within the cultural modernization theory?

• Traditional v. Secular-Rational 

• Survival v. Self-Expression

What are the 2 major dimensions (values) of cross-cultural variation?

Mobile Asset Theory

It is not income per se that encourages democratization 

• It is the changes in the socioeconomic structure that accompany increases in income in the modernization process

• Helps to explain why countries that are dependent on revenue from natural resources tend to be dictatorships rather than democracies

Credible Commitment Problem

the issue that states encounter of committing to not being predatory in the future

• Enforceable Contracts

• Repeated Interactions

• Institutions that Alter the Distribution of Power

What are 3 solutions to the credible commitment problem?

Participant

Which type of political culture is suitable for democracy?

Civic Culture

Almond & Verba:

• US and UK were the most stable democracies and had political cultures closest to civic culture

Concluded what was necessary for democracy?

Procedural/Minimalist View of Democracy 

classifies political regimes in regards of their institutions and procedures; elections are free and fair

Contestation and Inclusion

What are the 2 dimensions of Robert Dahl’s continuous, minimalist democracy?

Contestation

A dimension of Dahl’s minimalist democracy; associated with who is able to run

Inclusion

A dimension of Dahl’s minimalist democracy; associated with who can vote

Substantive View of Democracy

classifies political regimes in regard to the outcome that they produce; civil rights and liberties

Survey Techniques for Sincere Answers

• Using demographic peers to increase trust in surveyors

• Randomized response techniques

• List experiments

• Use anchoring vignettes to address differential item functioning in cross-cultural survey research

Democracy-Dictatorship (DD) Measure

dichotomous measure of democracy that is classified by 4 conditions; places emphasis on contention, not inclusion

1. The chief executive is elected

2. The legislature is elected 

3. There is more than one party competing in the elections

4. A transition in power to another party under identical electoral rules has taken place

What are the 4 conditions of the Democracy-Dictatorship Measure?

DD is dichotomous

How does DD Measure differ from Dahl?

Dichotomous Measure

only has two categories or values such as ‘tall’ and ‘short’; require a particular cutoff

Continuous Measure

take on any intermediate value within a given range, such as ‘height in centimeters’

Freedom House Measure

measure of democracy that is based on political and civil rights; classifies countries as “free,” “partly free,” or “not free” based on their answers 

Political Rights

Which condition of Freedom House Measure do the following criteria apply to?

• Electoral Process

• Political Pluralism/Participation

• Functioning of Government 

Civil Rights

Which condition of Freedom House Measure do the following criteria apply to?

• Freedom of Expression/Beliefs

• Associational and Organizational Rights

• Rule of Law

• Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights

Employs a substantive view

How does FH Measure differ from Dahl?

Varieties of Democracy Measure

measure of democracy based on 4 core components; mix of minimalist and procedural measures; conceptualizes democracy along a continuum

1. Freedom of Expression

2. Freedom of Association

3. Clean Elections

4. The Percentage of the Population with Suffrage (inclusion)

5. Elected Officials  

What are the 5 components of V-Dem?

Accounts for inclusion and contestation

Why does V-Dem capture Dahl’s beliefs?

1. War Making

2. State Making

3. Protection

4. Extraction

What are the 4 ways lords/kings in early modern Europe maintained power?

• Charles Tilly