Comparative Politics Midterm

Political Theory

Ethical and foundational ideas in political science.

International Relations

Politics between countries and intercorporation, impacting domestic events. ex: Terrioism

can have an impact on domestic events

American Politics

Study of elections, political parties, media, and federalism within the United States. Elections Political parties, US Media, Federalism, Power between states, The study of politics within the United States International politics and its influence on American ideals

Comparative Politics

Study of politics within countries to understand political phenomena.

American Politics influence comparative politics, Democratic backsliding and erosion, Global trends reflected in American politics

Democratic Backsliding

Erosion of democratic institutions and practices, often reflected in global trends.

Arab Spring

A series of protests in 2011 that led to political revolutions and civil unrest in several countries.

Sparked political revolution - toppling multi decade dictatorships causing them to fall, Outbreak of Syrian Civil war (opposition still in major power)

Economic differences between a higher class with major wealth vs. poor citizens, Oppressive government, Young citizenship who struggled to get jobs - resulting in further economic disparity, Democratic backsliding after Arab Springs

Military Influence

The military's control over the economy and politics can hinder democratic transitions.

Economic Disparity

Economic differences can lead to civil unrest and revolutions.

Method of Difference

A method to study cause and effect by comparing cases while holding other factors constant.

Looking at cases with different outcomes finding the one factor that is different

State

An organized political community under one government.

Government

The system or institutions by which a state is governed.

Regime

The type of government that controls a state.

Weak States

States lacking governmental and territorial control, often leading to state failure.

Somalia Case Study

Examines the consequences of state failure, including civil war and famine.

Contractarian View

The state emerges from a social contract between the people and the government.

Strong States

States with effective control over territory, coercion, and the ability to provide services.

Modernization Theory

Economic development and industrialization lead to democratization.

Resource Curse

Abundance of natural resources can hinder economic growth and democracy.

Civic Culture

The shared values and norms that influence political behavior and support for democracy.

Electoral Authoritarianism

Regimes that hold elections but violate democratic norms.

Measurement of Democracy

The process of quantifying and defining democracy for systematic comparison.

Democratization in England

Historical shifts leading to increased citizen control over governance.

Political Culture

The attitudes and beliefs that shape political behavior within a society.

Preference Falsification

The act of concealing true feelings about a political regime due to fear of repercussions.

Four spaces of political science

Political Theory, international relations, American politics Comparative politics

Deep State

the military controls 30% of the economy and controls almost everything behind the scenes 

network of especially nonelected government officials and sometimes private entities

Scientific Method

1) Indentify a question or puzzle 2) Develop a theory 3)State Testable Hypothesis 4)Test Hypothesis 5)Evaluate Results

1. A proposed explanation for how cause lead to an effect 

2. A cause = an independent variable (explanatory variable) 

3. An effect = a dependent variable (outcome variable)

   1. Ex: Powerful militaries cause democratic revolutions to fail IV: Powerful Military DV: Democratic revolutions (inductive theory)

4. Good theories → simplified explanation, develops the because, the mechanism, “a cause leads to an effect by/because”, Inductive or deductive 

Inductive

observation of the world

Deductive

 thoughtful “what would happen if…?” reasoning through first principles

State a Testable Hypotheses

1. A statement derived from the theory, that can be tested

2. Theory Ex: Powerful militaries cause democratic revolutions to fail because they try and prevent institutional change that jeopardizes their power

3. Hypotheses: Countries with powerful militaries 

4. Have to falsifiable (able to disproved with evidence) 

5. Tautology (true by definition cannot be falsifiable)

   Pick cases that are outside where you got your theory from

   You want to test cases that hold constant factors that might also contribute to the outcome

   Method of difference: 

   To fine evidence for cause and effect → study the relationship between your treatment and outcome and holding all other factors that could impact outcome constan

Falsifiable

able to be disproved with evidence

tautology

true by defintion cannot be falsifiable

Test Hypotheses

1. Types of Data: 

2. Qualitative: Interviews archival research, focus groups, news stories

3. Quantitative: Numerical measures of powerful military and democratic revolution across countries & over time 

Qualitative

Interviews archival research focus groups, news stories

Quantitive

Numerical measures of powerful military and democratic revolution across countries & over time

Evaluate results

Does Data confirm your hypothesis or not

treatment group

A subset of participants in an experimental study that receives the treatment or intervention being tested

Mill’s Method of Difference

Determines the cause by finding an attribute that is present when an outcome occurs but that is absent in similar cases when the outcome does not occur. Compares and contrasts cases with the same attributes but different outcomes, and determines causality by finding an attribute that is present when an outcome occurs but that is absent in similar cases when the outcome does not occur.

Method of Agreement

When several cases share an outcome but have only one attribute in common, that attribute is the cause of the outcome. Compares and contrasts cases with different attributes but shared outcomes, seeking the one attribute these cases share in common to attribute causality.

Empirical evidence

information obtained through observation and documentation of certain behaviors and patterns or through an experiment.

Experiment/Randomized Control Trial (RCT)

An experimental study where a treatment group is compared to a control group, and subjects are randomly assigned to each group. Known as the gold standard because it is a true experimental design and has all three elements - control, randomization, and manipulation.

Causation/Correlation

Causation, means that one event caused another. In other words, a certain event, let's call it X, led to or is responsible for a second event, Y. Correlation, on the other hand, simply means that two events are associated. That is, they are often, or even always, seen at the same time.

Correlation does not always mean causation

State of Nature

the condition of people living in a situation without man-made government, rules, or laws

Strong States

Control over territory, Effective threat of force/coercion, Capacity to collect taxes , Capacity to provide needed goods and service

weak state

Limited control over territory, Limited ability to use force, Limited capacity to collect taxes, Limited capacity to provide needed goods services

Contractian view of the state (Hobbes)

the creation of the state results from a social contract between individuals in the state of nature in which the state provides security in exchange for obedience from the citzen

• People give up autonomy for security 

• Social Contract

• States enforce cooperation among individuals (security, public goods)

Public Goods

a commodity or service that every member of a society can use without reducing its availability to all others. Typically, a public good is provided by a government and funded through taxes (schools,roads etc)

Public goods are Non-excludable: people cannot be excluded from using it Non-rival: One person’s use of it does diminish another person’s use

Free Rider

Someone who uses the good/service without paying for the cost of the benefit

Predatory view of the state (Tilly)

States exercising an effective control over the use of violence are in the position to threaten the security of citzens: states can exploit the citzens who, according to the contractarian view of the state, they have a duty to protect

• Rulers want to extract resources from citizens to strengthen themselves

• Racketeers 

• States are unintended by product of war

“War Makes States”

Tilly - a leading theory of state formation that argues that war is the primary driver of the development of modern territorial states. States were formed as an unintended consequence of competition for control over resources and territory between- led to the development of the modern European-style state

Quasi-voluntary compliance

When Citizens comply with the demands and laws of the state in part voluntarily (e.g because they are getting something from the state in return) and in part because of the state’s coercive power)

Why states are not purely oppressive…Popular resistance, Constant coercion is hard, Ruler have incentive to make concessions, These incentives result in a social contract

Empirical state

States that meet Weber’s definition → exists in reality and meets the criteria Weber - a human community that successfully claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory

Judicial States

(Jackson & Rosberg) States that do not meet Weber’s definition but were granted statehood not international law, political system where the judiciary has a significant role in addressing public policy and political controversies

Characteristics of Judicial States

Do nor project power to borders

Are weak internally, dominated by personal ties not strong institutions

Weak externally

International conflict is more common than conflict between countries

Military invasions → but these weak v strong countries are not supposed to fight each other

Taxation → allows people to be able to take an active role in their gov.

Dependent on foreign aid → do not rely on taxes (so they don’t have to tax their population allowing citizens to have a role in their government) they rely on foreign aid and natural resources

With the absence of taxation the cycle of allowing people to join have an active role in their gov does not exist

Political Regime

is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc., that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society

Democracy

a way of governing which depends on the will of the people

Dahl’s three necessary conditions for democracy

Formulate preferences → we don’t have to know but we have the freedom to develop our preferences 

Signify their preferences → protest, writing letters, social media 

Have preferences weighted equally

Polyarchy 

regime identified by Dahl as having high levels of
both contestation and participation. It takes the form of neither a dictatorship nor a democracy

Contestation

The extent to which individuals are free to organize themselves into competing blocks 

Participation

Who gets to participate in the democratic process (inclusivity) 

Election

a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office 

Transparency

disseminates accurate political and economic information

accountablity

refers to the mechanisms and processes through which political leaders, institutions, or governments are held responsible for their actions and decisions by citizens or other political actors.

Przeworski et al.'s conditions for contestation

1. Ex ante uncertainty - there is some probability the members of ruling party will lose

2. Ex Poste irreversibility - the results of the elections cannot be reversed

3. Repeatability - Elections have to be held multiple times (cannot come in by democratic means and then change the rules)

Totalitarian regime

Uses ideology to motivate people and ensure control, limits social and political pluralism, Uses coercion (threat of punishment) to ensure control

Authoritarian regime

Power is concentrated in the hands of a single ruler or ruling party, Uses coercion (threat of punishment) to ensure control, Limits political pluralism

Four Types, Military dictatorship, Monarchic,

Monarchic dictatorship

Autocracy where executive holds power bases on hereditary family networks 

Military dictatorship 

Effective head of gov is current or former armed forces, Single person or military groups (juntas)

Dominant party dictatorship

Refers to a political party that consistently holds power and influence in a particular country or region

Personalistic Dictatorships

Built around a cult of personality & the worshiping of one leader

Civilian dictatorship 

a form of government different from military dictatorships where the ruling dictator does not derive their power from the military. Among civilian dictatorships, dominant-party dictatorships tend to outlast personalistic dictatorships, government by a single political party controlling all insulation (china)

Electoral authoritarianism

Leaders hold elections and tolerate some pluralism and interparty competition but also violate minimal democratic norms so they cannot be classified as democracies. Two Types: Hegemonic electoral regimes & Competitive authoritarian regimes

Hegemonic electoral regimes

Incumbent holds elections but they win but such a large majority that no contestation

Competitive authoritarian regimes

Opposition parties win majority of seats and office but never win enough to take over the legislature (and remove the incumbent) → there is contestation but it does not remain competitive enough

Winning coalition

The winning coalition, also referred to as the essentials, are those whose support translates into victory

Competitive Authoritarian regimes - Keeping a winning coalition happy → dictators need it to stay in power & hold controlled elections

Glorious Revolution

Parliament asserts supremacy over the monarchy, first case of citizen control over monarchy the peaceful overthrow of King James II in 1688 by William III and Mary II shift towards constitutional monarchy in England and led to important political changes such as increased parliamentary power.

Modernization theory

Economic development and modernization/industrialization cause countries to transition to democracy and remain democratic → inevitably going to happen in countries with major economic change

Why - Society becomes more complex, Urbanization and social mobilization, Growing political power, Middle class

Critiques- Eurocentric, Too general, Can't explain outliers like China, Saudi Arabia, Overlooks elite strategy

Survival story

predicts that the likelihood of becoming a democracy is unrelated to income.

Redistribution

the transfer of wealth, resources, or services from one group to another, often with the aim of promoting social equity and reducing economic inequalitie

Elites’ democratization dilemma

challenges faced by political elites in transitioning from authoritarian regimes to democratic governance. This dilemma arises because elites often hold significant power and privileges under authoritarian systems, and their interests may conflict with the demands for democratization

Rational actor (cost/benefit)

individuals or groups make decisions based on a systematic evaluation of the costs and benefits associated with different options People will do something if the benefits outweigh the costs, People will participate if the benefits of participating outweigh the costs

Credible commitment problem

difficulty parties face in making promises or agreements that they will honor in the future. This problem arises when there is a lack of trust or assurance that one party will adhere to its commitments, especially in situations where future actions may undermine those commitments

Resource curse

when an abundance of natural resource (gas, oil, minerals) has an adverse economic, social, and political effects - Results in Slow economic growth, Survival/persistence of authoritarian regimes, Weak accountability in democracies Corruption, under -provision of public goods, Civil war

Three characteristics of oil revenue

Scale- Massive amounts of revenue flowing directly to central government

Secrecy - Amounts are easy for the central government to hide; hard for citizens to know, Lack of transparency → hidden contracts with international oil companies and domestic oil companies, Private deals between companies → not really know by the citizens

Source- Oil revenue replaces tax revenue altering the fiscal foundation of the state → no pressure to try and make citizens to pay taxes in result gov don’t have a responsibility to their people

Tax affect

Governments tax the poeple in order to gain money but in turn they fund public goods and it holds them accountable to democracy

Spending effect (oil social contract)

Scale → spending effect, huge revenues for government that leaders use to buy political support, They give people things they want in turn for political support

Repression effect

Scale & Secrecy → Leaders can divert revenue to pay for repression

Information effect

Secrecy → Oil revenues go directly to the government; often in secrecy, Citizens do not know how much the government is getting and how much is going to citizens → might think 1 million is going to public goods but in actuality there is 20 million going elsewhere Lack of information undermines accountability and facilitates corruption

Primordialism

a theory that ethnic or national identities are natural, ancient, and fixed

Culture is inherited, innate and fixed → unable to be changed and does not change due to outside pressure

Culture precedes politics and shapes political behavior

Some cultures are not conducive to democracy

Constructivism

Culture is constructed, not inherited → does not believe culture is fixed,

Cultures change in response to economic, political, social change, Culture is not an impenetrable barrier to democracy

Cultural modernization theory

Socio Economic development produces cultural changes that produce democratic reform

Clash of Civilizations

a thesis that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world

Islam and democracy

Violence → violence is extremism and does not reflect mainstream Islam, other religions are also associated with violence

Lack of separation between church and state → some islamic doctrine could be the basis of democratization, does not cover all aspects of modern legal systems, some western democracies also lack separation

Mistreatment of women → not Islam per se but an interpretation - major variation between muslim countries and the treatment of women

Political culture

a set of specially political orientations → attitudes towards the political system and its part and attitudes towards the role of the self in the system - Civic Culture (the best political culture for democracy)

Civic culture

1. Influencing political decisions → People have to feel like they can influence change within their institutions 

2. Supporting the existing system → Trust for the existing political system - people would not prefer to live in an alternative political system 

3. Prefer gradual non-violent, non revolutionary change → Do not support revolutionary violent overthrow - through legal means 

4. Interpersonal trust → We trust our government and civics environment and community - trust that everyone in our community share values for a culture of democracy over individual beliefs

   Two Hypothesis 

   1: Having a strong civic culture makes a country more likely to transition to democracy 

   2. Having a strong civic culture makes a country more likely to support democracy 

World Values Survey

a non-profit research program that studies the values and beliefs of people around the world, and how they impact social and political life:

What it does - The WVS is a global network of social scientists that conducts surveys every five years in representative samples of people in over 100 countries. The surveys cover a wide range of topics, including attitudes toward democracy, religion, the environment, and mo

Social desirability bias

When a person does not answer truthfully on a survey but instead responds in a way that conforms to a socially acceptable to desirable behavior Ex: voter turnout, criminal behavior, support for Trump (Pew)

People may change their responses depending on who or how their being interviewed

Top-down transitions

A democratic transition in which the “dictatorial ruling elites introduce liberalizing reforms that ultimately lead to a democratic transition

Bottom-up transitions

transitions to democracy in which people rise up and overthrow and authoritarian regime in popular revolution