New #1 test for Comparative Politics

Politics

The Process by which a community selects rulers and empowers them to make decision, take action to attain common goals, and reconcile conflicts withing the community

Ex: Electing a presidential candidate into office in hopes that they complete their campaign objectives

Power

The capacity to influence or control the behavior of persons and institutions, whether by persuasion or coercion

• the ability to get things done - Professor Kantor

Authority

Command of the obedience of society’s members by a government

Ex - covid -19 mandates

Legitimacy

The exercise of political power in a community in a way that is voluntarily accept by the member of that community

Ex: The American government replacing the articles of confederation with a new constitution and accepting its practice and elections.

Legitimate Authority

The legal and moral right of a government to rule over a specific population and control a specific territory; the term usually implies a widely recognized claim of governmental authority and voluntary acceptance on the part of the populations directly affected

Ex: The American government replacing the articles of confederation with a new constitution and accepting its practice and elections

Order

In a political context, an existing or desired arrangement of institutions based on certain principles such as liberty, equality, prosperity, and security. Also often associated with the rule of law and with conservative values such as stability obedience and respect for legitimate authority

Ex: The three Branches

Society

An aggregation of individuals who share a common identity usually that identity is at least partially defined by geography, because people who live in close proximity often know one another, enjoy shared experiences, speak the same language and have similar values and interest

Ex: The breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, after more than seven decades as multinational states, suggests new communities are often fragile and tend to fall apart quickly if not strong cultural and psychological bonds under the political structures.

Social Contract

A concept in political theory most often associated with Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke: an implicit agreement among individuals to from a civil society and to accept certain moral and political obligations essential to its preservation.

Ex: Civil liberties in this type of community are a matter of natural law and natural rights - that is , they rather are inherent in Nature.

Government

The persons and institutions that make and enforce rules or laws for the larger community

Ex: Republics, monarchies, and tyrannies

Republics

A form of government in which sovereignty resides in the people of that country, rather than with the rulers. The vast majority of ———— today are democratic or representative ———-, meaning that sovereign power is exercised by elected representatives who are responsible to the citizenry

Ex: America it is capitalist, well established political institutions, and more stable political systems

State

In its sovereign form, an independent political administrative unit successfully claims the allegiance of a given population, exercises a monopoly on the legitimate use of a coercive force, and controls the territory inhabited by its citizens or subjects. In its other common form, the major political administrative subdivision of a federal system. which is not sovereign but rather depends on the central authority (sometimes called the “national government”) for resource allocations (tax transfers and grants) , defense (military protection and emergency relief), and regulation of economic relations with other federal subdivisions (non-sovereign ) and external entities (sovereign)

Ex: Powers which they have are levies and collects taxes’ regulate trade and commerce; establishes courts, judges, and magistrates to settle disputes and punish

Sovereignty

A government’s capacity to assert supreme power successfully in a political state

Country

A a political term, a sovereign state; it is roughly equivalent to nation or nation state. ______ is often used as a term of endearment for example, in the phrase “ My _______ tis of thee sweet land of liberty: in the patriotic song every US child learns in elementary school; ______ has an emotional dimension not present in the word state

Ex; Using the word with a patriotic connotation

Nation-state

A geographically defined community administered by a government of which the overwhelming majority of the people form a dominant in-group who share common cultural, ethnic, and linguistic characteristics

Ex: Iceland and Japan

Nation-Building

The process of forming a common identity on the notion of belonging to a political community separate and distinct from all others.

Ex: Successful - Germany, Not successful, the Igbo in Nigeria

Stateless Nations

People (or nations) scattered over the territory widely and who have no autonomous, independent, or sovereign governing body of their own

Ex; Palestinians and Tibetans

Methodology

The way scientists and scholars set about exploring, explaining, proving, or disproving propositions in different academic disciplines. The precise methods vary according to the discipline and the object event, process, or phenomenon under investigation

Ex: Positivism or Behaviorism

Justice

Fairness; the distribution of rewards and burdens in society in accordance with what is deserved

Ex: Rule of Law

Positivism

A philosophy of science, originated by Auguste Comte, that stresses observable ,scientific facts as the sole basis of proof and truth; a skeptical view of ideas or beliefs based on religion or metaphysics

• relies on observation

Behaviorism

An approach to the study of politics that emphasizes fact-based evaluations of action

• Study of political behavior

• Use quantitative analysis

Normativism

Applying moral principles, rooted in logic and reason to problems of politics and government; putting moral theory into political practice through good laws, wise legislation, and fair judges

Ex: Speculation about Congress having special interests influence health care reform in 209-2010

Scientific Method

The objective study of nature and society using empirical methods, data collection, and statistical analysis; results of scientific experiments are generally not considered valid or definitive unless they can be repeated and verified

Ex: Behavioral scientists develop mathematical models to attempt to explain voting behavior, coalition-building, decision making, and even the causes of war.

Political Culture

The ideas, principles, moral values, beliefs , and myths that animate the civic life of a society and unify a nation

Cold War

The hostile relations that prevailed between the United States and the Soviet Union from the late 1940s until the demise of the latter in 1991.

Populism

A style of mobilization by a political party or movement that seeks to gain popular support by emphasizing antiestablishment rhetoric, decrying elite concentrations of power as the source of national decline and promising to be responsive to the needs of ordinary people

Ex: was key to the success of centrist leaders in the 1990s like Bill Clinton in the US, Tony Blair in the UK, and Fernando Henrique Cardoso in Brazil

Comparative Politics

The field withing political science what focuses on domestic politics of countries and analyzes patterns of similarity and difference among countries countries.

Critical Juncture

An important historical event when political actors make critical choices that shape institutions and future outcomes in both individual countries and international system

Ex: The Fall of the Berlin Wall or The US Civil rights movement

International relations

The field of political science that focuses largely on how states interact with each other, or the role of international organizations of networks in politics, rather than the internal politics of each country

Ex: United Nations

Globalization

The intensification of worldwide interconnectedness associated with the increased speed and magnitude of cross border flows of trade, investment and finance and processes of migration, cultural diffusion, and communication

Ex: Global Supply Chains and Multinational Businesses

Countries

A territory defined by boundaries generally recognized in international law as constituting an independent state have their own cultures, economies, and collective identities.

State

The most powerful political institutions in a country, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, as well as the police and armed forces

Ex; can be German State and or California State

Government

The specific people in charge of the political institutions of a country at a given time

Ex: Obama was president (in gov )

Regime

The overall system of governance, and the rules for who gets to be the government at a given time.

Ex: Monarchies, democracies, and dictatorships

Executive

The agencies of government that implement or execute policy. The chief executive, such as a prime minister or president, also plays a key policy making role

Ex: Prime Minister, President, and Cabinet

Cabinet

The body of officials who direct executive departments presided over by the chief executive

Ex: Ministers and Secretaries

Bureaucracy

An organization structured hierarchically, in which lower-level officials are charged with administering regulations codified in rules that specify impersonal, objective guideline for making decisions

Ex: DMV

Legislature

The political institutions in a country in which elected or appointed members are charged with responsibility for making laws and usually for authorizing the taxation and expenditure of the financial resources enabling the state to carry out its functions

Ex: Congress

Judiciary

The political institutions in a country that are responsible for the administration of justice and in some countries for determining the constitutionality of state decisions

Ex: Supreme Court

State Formation

The historical development of a state, often marked by major stages, key events, or turning points (critical junctures) that influence the contemporary character of the state

• how a state has evolved historically

Legitimacy

A belief by powerful groups and the broad citizenry that a state exercises rightful authority

Ex: Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria, and Egypt proved ——— is more secure when there is some measure of democracy

Nation

A group of people that claims a right to sovereignty on behalf of a shared identity

Ex; Netherlands

Nation-State

A distinct, politically defined territory in which the state and national identity (that is, as sense of solidarity and shared values based on being citizens of the same country) Coincide

Ex; When state Boundaries and national identity coincide, States in Europe, North America, and East Asia

Democracy

From the Greek demos (the people) and kratos (rule), a political system that, in its ideal form, features selection to major public offices through free and fair elections, the right of all adults to votes; political parties that are free to compete in elections; government that operates by equitable and relatively open procedures protection of political rights and civil liberties; an independent judiciary (court system); and civilian control of the military

Institutional design

The institutional arrangements ’ that define the relationships between executive, legislative, and judicial branched of government and between the national government and subnational units, such as states in the US

Ex; Checks and balances within the three branches

Social Movements

Large-scale grassroots action that demands reforms of existing social practices and government policies

Ex: Civil rights movement

Social Class

A group whose members share common worldviews and aspirations determined largely by occupation, income, and wealth

Ex: Middle Class

Distributional Politics

The use of power, particularly by the state, to allocate valued resources among competing groups

ex: National Agenda and who gets what, when ,and how

Communist Party-State

A type of nation in which the _____ party attempts to exercise a complete monopoly on political power and controls all important state institutions

Ex; early 1990s big collapse of this party surviving states include People’s republic of China and republic of Cuba

Typology

A method of classifying by using criteria that assign cases to categories whose members share common characteristics

Ex: Classifying Britain and the US are consolidate democracies

Consolidated Democracies

A democratic political system that has been solidly and stably established for an ample period of time and in which there is relatively consistent adherence to core democratic principles

EX: Britain and Germany

Hybrid States

A country whose political systems exhibit some democratic and some authoritarian elements

Ex: Mexico and Nigeria

Authoritarian Regimes

A form of government in which power is highly concentrated at the top, political freedom is limited, and those with authority area not accountable to those they govern. Power depends not on popular legitimacy but on the coercive force of the political authorities

Ex: Nazi Germany (1933-1945) during Adolf

Liberal Democracy

A democratic system of government that officially recognizes and legally protects individual rights and freedoms and in which the exercise of political power is constrained by the rule of law

Ex: US

Public Good

The shared beliefs of a political community as to what goals government ought to attain ( for example to achieve the fullest possible measure of security prosperity equality liberty or justice for all citizens )

ex: economical growth

Ideology

Any set of fixed, predictable ideas held by politicians and citizens on how to serve the public good

Ex: Conservatism and Liberalism

Monarchism

A system based on the belief that political power should be concentrated in one person (for example a king) who rules by decree

Ex: United Kingdom

Facism

A totalitarian political system that is headed by a popular charismatic leader and in which a single political party and carefully controlled violence form the bases of complete social and political control. _______ differs from communism in that the economic structure, although controlled by the state, is privately owned.

Ex: Italy led by Benito Mussolini - 1922-43

Nazism

Officially called National Socialism; a form of fascism based on extreme nationalism, militarism, and racism; the ideology associated with Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust

Capitalism

An economic system in which individuals own the means of production and can legally amass unlimited personal wealth. _____ theory holds that governments should not impose any unnecessary restrictions on economic activity and that the laws of supply and demand can best regulate the economy. In a ______ system. the private sector (mainly business and consumers), rather than government, makes most of the key decisions about production, employment, savings, investment, and the like such as system is the opposite of a centrally planned economy such as existed in the Soviet Union under Stalin and Stalin’s successors

Liberatarianism

The belief that the state is a necessary evil best kept small and weak relative to society; _______ typically value individual liberty above social services and security

Socialism

A public philosophy favoring social welfare and general prosperity over individual self-reliance and private wealth

ex: Barnie Sanders does not oppose being called a ______

Communism

An ideology based on radical equality; the antithesis of capitalism

• interchangeably used with Marxism

Marxism

An ideology based on the writings of Karl Marx (1818-83), who theorized that the future belonged to rising underclass of urban industrial workers whom he called the proletariat

Bourgeoisie

In Marxist ideology, the capitalist class

Proletariat

In Marxist theory, a member of the working class

Marxism-Leninism

In the history of the Russian Revolution, ____’s anticapitalism rationale for the overthrow of the czar (absolute monarch) and the establishment of new political order based on Communist principles set forth in the writings of Karl Marx

Democratic Socialism

A form of government based on popular elections, public ownership and control of the main sectors of the economy, and broad welfare programs in health and education to benefit citizens

Ex: Mamdani

Welfare State

A state whose government is concerned with providing for the social welfare of its citizens and does so usually with specific public policies, such as health insurance, minimum wages, and housing subsides

Ex: brainchild of European social democracy

Liberal

A political philosophy that emphasizes individualism, equality, and civil rights above other values

American - gov involvement in the economy but not the private sphere

European: free markets, individual autonomy, small state gov, individual liberates

Conservatives

A political philosophy that emphasizes prosperity, security, and tradition above other values

American - gov involvement in the private sphere but not the economy

European - government social welfare, regulation and communitarian values

Comparative Method

The systematic comparison of cases in order to draw specific interferences from similarities or differences within them

Comparativists

A political scientist who studies the similarities and differences in the domestic politics of various countries

Normative

Claims, arguments or theories about how things ought to be and/or are fundamentally about opinions or values

Ex; used in literature that lead to Eurocentric and pro-democracy biases

Empirical

Claims, arguments or theories about the relationship between facts and or objective phenomena

Ex: which health care system is the most effective?

Most different systems

A research design that explores relationships between variables by comparing two systems that are as different as possible

Ex: communist and capitalism

Most Similar Systems

A research design that explores relationships between variables by comparing two systems that are as similar as possible

(Mexico and Nigeria)

Cases

Any of the specific countries, subnational units, or historical events that is being compared within a study

Casual theory

Any theory that involves trying to explain what if x happens then Y is the result

Independent Variable

The variable symbolized by X in the statement that “if X happens, then Y will be the result “ in other words, the _____ variable is a cause of Y

Dependent Variable

The variable symbolized by Y in the statement that “if X happens, then Y will be the result “ in other words, the _______ variable is the outcome of X

Probabilistic Relationships

A relationship between two variables where a change in the value of X is shown to make Y more or less likely but does not guarantee the outcome

Correlation

An empirical relationship where a change in one variable corresponds to changes in other variables, whether or not there is a cause and effect relationship

ex: COVID-19 = grater trust in public institutions

Democratic transitions

the process of a state moving from an authoritarian to a democratic political system

Ex: Spain

Case Study

An in-depth study of a particular case, in order to provide significant detail. However, it almost always makes theoretical comparisons to other cases

Quantitative methods

Research methods that generate numerical data

Qualitative Methods

Research methods that generate empirical data that cannot be easily quantified or may be misleading when quantified often requiring more description and context

Empirical data

Any data which represent or capture objective, real phenomena in the world. This need not be quantifiable and include more complicated phenomena like accurate descriptions of political actors’ beliefs - whether or not those beliefs themselves are true

Different types of Comparatists studies

1. A single case (Country)

2. Study a process such as law or issue

3. Study public opinion or national movement

4. Comparing institution policy or process throughout diff countries

What is necessary for democracy

1. Civilian run military

2. Rule of law

3. Democratic elections

4. secure national boundaries

5. stable state

6. level of economic development

What are the 4 parts of classical Liberalism

1. Individualism - to be your own person and have fluidity

2. Responsibility - Stewart Mill - people and government are responsibillity of their own actions

3. Rights and liberites - 1st amendment

4. Government should not be involved in the lives of the citizens - economies and personal life