POL101 EXAM REVIEW SHEET

What are the critiques of land acknowledgements from the left?

• Land acknowledgements are symbolic without material change

• They allow settlers to feel moral without addressing land return, power, or colonial structures

What are the critiques of land acknowledgements from the right?

• Land is private property, owned by current legal owners

• Land acknowledgements undermine property rights and strengthen Indigenous claims

What are the four key institutions of democratic accountability?

Legislature, Executive, Judiciary, Media

Legislature

(creates laws, oversees executive)

Executive

(implements policy, reports on actions)

Judiciary

(ensures rule of law/interprets laws)

Media

(informs public, acts as a watchdog)

why is Judiciay important?

• interprets and applies the law

• protects the constitution

• checks the power of the executive and legislative branches

• defends individual rights

why is executive important?

• implements and enforces laws

• runs the day-to-day operations of government

• makes key policy decisions

• responds quickly in crises

why is media important?

• informs the public

• holds government accountable

• exposes corruption and abuse of power

• enables citizens to make informed political decisions

why is legislative important?

• makes laws

• represents the people

• holds the executive accountable

• debates and approves public policy

Why isn’t the constitution sufficient to safeguard democracy?

A constitution is not sufficient to safeguard democracy because it is incomplete, open to interpretation, and can be manipulated or ignored by political actors. It relies on people in power to follow not just its rules, but its spirit, and without democratic norms (like mutual toleration and institutional forbearance), those rules can be abused to undermine democracy.

What norms operate as the soft guardrails of democracy?

• Mutual toleration

• Institutional forbearance

mutual toleration

Seeing your political opponents as:

• legitimate participants in politics

• entitled to win elections

• NOT enemies, traitors, or threats to the nation

Why is mutual toleration important for democracy?

it ensures political opponents are seen as legitimate, which allows for peaceful competition for power and prevents democratic breakdown.

institutional forbearance

Choosing not to use your full legal power, even when you’re allowed to.Just because you can doesn’t mean you should

Why is institutional forbearance important?

because it prevents political actors from abusing their legal powers, helping maintain fairness, stability, and the integrity of democratic institutions.

What are the “institutions of democracy?”

• Free press (media)

• Civil society (e.g., social movements, NGOs)

• Courts (judiciary)

• Universities / knowledge institutions

What were the differences among the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd waves of democracy?

• 1st wave: slow historical evolution (revolutions + reforms)

• 2nd wave: post-WWII expansion (decolonization + reconstruction)

• 3rd wave: modern global spread (collapse of dictatorships)

what caused 1st wave of democracy ?

• Began in the 19th century

• Spread mainly in Western Europe and North America

• Rooted in gradual reforms and revolutions against monarchy

• Limited suffrage at first (not fully inclusive democracies)

what caused 2nd wave of democracy ?

• Occurred after World War II

• Spread through decolonization and Allied influence

• Some countries were pushed toward democracy after defeat or independence

• Many democracies were new and unstable

what caused 3rd wave of democracy ?

• Began in the 1970s and peaked in the late 20th century

• Spread through collapse of authoritarian regimes

• Influenced by:

  • economic development

  • civil society movements

  • Cold War dynamics ending

• Included transitions in Latin America, Eastern Europe, parts of Asia and Africa

Why do people participate in politics?

1. civic duty (belief they should participate)

2. policy outcomes (wanting to influence decisions)

3. social incentives (friends, community, identity)

4. collective/public goods (benefits like roads, education, safety)

5. despite the free rider problem, where people benefit even if they don’t participate

What is a public good?

• non-excludable (you can’t stop people from using it)

• non-rivalrous (one person’s use doesn’t reduce another’s)

What is a free rider?

someone who benefits from a public good without contributing to its provision or cost.

How does this article prove that rational choice theorists are wrong about political participation?

even though individuals could free ride and still benefit from public goods, many people still participate in politics anyway, meaning political participation is not driven only by narrow self-interest or cost-benefit calculations.

What is a limitation of institutionalized participation?

it is controlled and structured by the government, meaning citizens can only participate in pre-set, limited ways and have little ability to change the political agenda itself.

How do you measure the success of a social movement?

• changes in public opinion

• policy or political outcomes (laws, reforms, decisions)

• level of attention or visibility the issue receives

How do different social movement theories explain the success or failure of a movement? (Political opportunity, etc.)

• Political opportunity: depends on openness of system

• Resource mobilization: depends on resources/organization

• Framing: depends on message and public perception

What is Woodly’s overall argument in the chapter you read?

Social movements are democratic institutions because they:

• allow participation outside formal politics

• keep democracy accountable

• expand democratic engagement

What can non-institutionalized participation do that institutionalized participation cannot?

Non-institutionalized participation can:

• apply pressure outside formal channels

• change political agendas

• force issues into public debate

Ryan states that liberals’ political concerns have altered over the past three centuries. How have they altered, and what has that led to?

From:

• limited government + individual rights
  To:

• welfare, equality, social justice, state intervention

👉 Led to expansion of the welfare state and modern liberalism

Classical liberalism

minimal state, free markets

modern liberalism

active state, welfare, equality

Classical liberals believe in minimal government. What does that mean?

State intervenes as little as possible in economy and personal life.

Positive freedom

ability to actually act and achieve goals

Negative freedom

• freedom from interference

Is there a liberal theory of society? What is it?

Society is made of free individuals interacting through markets and institutions.

How is a constitution a conservative political instrument?

It limits change because it is:

• hard to amend

• restricts majority power

How do Wiedeman and Wise link access to credit to race?

Access to credit is shaped by historical and structural racial inequality, affecting who gets loans and financial mobility.

What is the connection between conservative political stances and easy access to credit?

Easy credit supports conservative ideology by shifting responsibility to individuals instead of systemic reform.

Sandel says “The liberal left’s pursuit of meritocracy has betrayed the working classes.” How?

It creates the belief that winners “deserve” success, leading to:

• blame on the poor

• growing inequality

• loss of social solidarity

How does Sandel critique the left-liberal consensus on merit?

Meritocracy is unfair because it ignores structural advantages and legitimizes inequality.

Define critical race theory.

Critical race theory argues that race is a social construct embedded in institutions and laws, not just individual prejudice.

How do liberals deal with racial discrimination?

Through colourblindness and legal equality frameworks.

What is colourblindness?

Ignoring race under the belief that everyone is equal,

Give 2 examples of ostensibly neutral institutions or policies that are actually racist.

• Immigration/citizenship laws that favour certain groups

• Criminal justice systems with disproportionate sentencing for racialized groups

What is the difference between ethnic and civic citizenship?

• Ethnic: based on ancestry/culture (e.g., Japan, Germany historically)

• Civic: based on legal membership and laws (e.g., Canada, USA)

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What is a liberal citizenship regime?

A system where citizenship is based on legal equality, rights, and civic participation, not ethnicity.

How do countries integrate immigrants?

• equal rights, inclusion, access to institutions

How do countries fail to integrate immigrants?

• exclusion, racism, economic/legal barriers

What does it mean to relocate the source of citizenship rights from the state to personhood?

Citizenship rights are based on being a person with rights, not membership in a nation or ethnic group.

How will immigration change in the next thirty years?

• increase due to climate change and inequality

• become more politically contested

• require more integration policies

What is an independent variable?

the cause

What is a dependant variable?

• the effect/outcome

What is the “democratic peace,” theory

what level of analysis does democractic peace theory fit into

why does democratic peace theory fit into this level of analysis?

Three levels of analysis in War

individual, state, international system level

What is just war theory

determining when it is morally justifiable to go to war (jus ad bellum) and how that war should be fought (jus in bello)

what are the elements of a just war?(What things would you look at to decide whether a war was just or not?)

• just cause

• legitimate authority

• proportionality

• last resort

• discrimination (protect civilians)

What’s the overall argument Green makes in her article?

Climate change is not just a collective action problem, but a political problem shaped by power, especially fossil fuel industries, vulnerable populations, and clean energy actors.

How does the “existential politics” framework propose solving the climate change problem?

It proposes addressing climate change by treating it as a political struggle over survival, where urgent political action targets institutions and power structures (not just individual behaviour).

What is the negative impact of ISDS on climate policy?

ISDS allows fossil fuel companies to sue governments for climate policies, which:

• discourages strong environmental laws

• chills policy innovation

• protects corporate profits over public climate action

Why is it better to think of the political problem of climate change as a global fractal problem instead of a collective action problem?

Because climate change happens at multiple interconnected levels (local, national, global), not just one global coordination issue.

What is a fractal carbon trap?

A situation where carbon-producing systems are embedded at multiple levels of society, reinforcing emissions through repeated patterns across institutions and scales.

There is an example in Bernstein and Hoffman’s article of how framing climate change as a matter of _____________responsibility can be problematic

individual

What are Canada’s goals in the politics of reconciliation?

• To move beyond the past

• To create a shared national future

• To restore legitimacy and moral authority of the state

• To rebuild trust and strengthen Canadian nationhood

What are the goals of many Indigenous people in the politics of reconciliation?

• Fundamental transformation of colonial systems

• Restoration of land, sovereignty, and self-determination

• Addressing ongoing (not just past) injustices

What is the overall point of the lecture on political hope?

The lecture argues that people often fall into political despair, but political hope is essential because it shows that meaningful political change is possible over time, even if it is slow or uneven.

examples of reasons for political hope.

• Major expansions of rights (e.g., civil rights movements)

• Improvements in gender equality and representation

• Social movements successfully changing public opinion and policy

What is the value of political hope for democracy?

Political hope motivates people to participate in politics, believe change is possible, and sustain democratic engagement instead of giving up in despair.

Land acknowledgements are criticized by the right for undermining __________ rights.

property rights

The left critiques land acknowledgements as being merely __________ without structural change.

symbolic/performative

For land acknowledgements, From the right perspective, land is something to be __________ and sold.

owned

From the left perspective, land acknowledgements fail to address __________.

colonialism / land return / structural inequality

Canada uses reconciliation to restore its __________ authority.

moral

Reconciliation is linked to __________-building in Canada.

nation

One goal of reconciliation is to “move on” from the __________.

past

Reconciliation helps rebuild public __________ in government.

trust

Many Indigenous people seek __________ transformation of colonial systems.

fundamental

Indigenous critiques emphasize that injustice is __________, not just historical.

A key Indigenous demand is the return of __________.

land

Indigenous goals include greater __________ and self-determination.

sovreignty

Canada’s view of reconciliation focuses on __________ and national __________

closure, unity

Indigenous perspectives on reconciliation emphasize __________ and __________ justice.

transformation; structural

A constitution alone cannot safeguard democracy because it is __________ and open to __________

incomplete; interpretation

Institutional forbearance means choosing not to use legal power when it would be __________ or __________.

unfair; harmful to democracy

Without an independent judiciary, constitutional rights would be __________.

unenforced / meaningless

The judiciary protects democracy by __________ laws and limiting __________ power.

interpreting; government

If your rights are violated: you go to :

the judiciary is where you go for protection

If the government passes a law or takes action that is unconstitutional________________________

courts can strike it down This prevents abuse of power.

Laws are often vague or unclear. AND SOOOOO

Judges decide what they actually mean in real situations.

out of the four branches of power the judiciary is the_____________-

referee

Parliament (legislature) makes laws, but who puts into action??

the executive (Prime Minister + cabinet + bureaucracy)

Without the executive…..

• laws would just sit there

• nothing would actually happen

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The executive controls:

• ministries (health, education, finance)

• public services

• administration

how does the executive have decision-making power :

because it :

• sets policy direction

• proposes legislation

• leads governance

In emergencies (war, pandemics, etc.) which branch acts?

executive because :

👉 the executive can act quickly
👉 other branches are slower