Political Science

Politics

Process by which collective choices are made, shaping governance and conflicts.

State

A community bound by a social contract, with a legal-administrative structure.

Political Science

The scientific study of politics, applying empirical and theoretical approaches.

Power

The ability to influence decisions and define concepts (directive, gatekeeping, conceptual).

Legitimacy

The acceptance of authority without direct consent (Weber’s three types).

Institution

A set of formal and informal rules that shape political, economic, and social interactions.

Political Regime

The formal and informal structure of power in a country (democratic vs. authoritarian).

Democracy

A system characterized by free and fair competition for power (Lipset).

New Institutionalism

A modern approach that considers institutions and actor preferences together.

Rational-Choice Institutionalism

Institutions exist to solve collective action problems.

Directive Power

Power to make decisions and enforce them.

Gatekeeping Power

Power to control what is debated or discussed.

Conceptual Power

Power to define categories and influence thought.

Weber’s Three Types of Domination

Charismatic, Traditional, Legal-Rational.

Foucault on Power

Power is diffused, not just top-down, and influences knowledge itself.

Robert Dahl on Power

A has power over B to the extent that A can get B to do something B would not otherwise do.

C. Wright Mills' Power Elite

A small group of elites concentrates power in modern societies.

Colin Gordon on Power

Power isn’t just coercion but also about teaching and shaping behavior.

Old Institutionalism

Focused on legal structures, descriptive comparisons.

Behavioralism

Focused on empirical studies of individual political behavior.

Historical Institutionalism

Institutions evolve through historical path dependency.

Sociological Institutionalism

Institutions shape behavior through cultural norms and ideas.

Schumpeter’s Minimalist Democracy

Democracy is just a competition for power, not broader participation.

Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem

It is impossible to design a voting system that perfectly reflects everyone's preferences.

Condorcet’s Paradox

Majority preferences can be inconsistent, leading to cycles.

Anthony Downs' Median Voter Theorem

Parties move to the center to maximize votes.

Marxist View of Ideas

Ideas are rooted in material conditions and social class structures.

Social Constructivism

Ideas shape political action and are socially created.

Newton & van Deth’s Features of Ideology

Complexity, Empirical Explanation, Normative Prescription, Plan for Action.

End of Ideology Movement

Claims that major ideological conflicts are over, replaced by technical governance.

Hall on Policy Paradigms

Policymakers operate within pre-existing ideological structures.

Pluralism

Power is dispersed among competing interest groups.

Stigler on Political Competition

Political goods are mutually exclusive, unlike economic goods.

Montesquieu on Regimes

Regimes differ based on their separation of powers (limited vs. despotic).

Hans Kelsen on Lawmaking

Systems are either autonomous (self-made laws) or heteronomous (external laws).

Larry Diamond’s Typology

Liberal democracy > Electoral democracy > Competitive authoritarianism > Politically closed authoritarianism.

Jorgen Møller’s Alternative Typology

Defines regimes based on elections and rule of law.

Siaroff’s Types of Authoritarian Regimes

Totalitarian, Post-totalitarian, Sultanistic, Traditional Authoritarian.

Bertelli on Public Engagement

Most people agree on broad goals but don’t want to engage in policymaking details.

Narratives & Institutions

Narratives shape rules and influence change.

Max Weber on Legitimacy

Domination is effective only when recognized by those subject to it.

Michel Foucault on Power and Knowledge

Power perpetually creates knowledge and, conversely, knowledge constantly induces effects of power.

Joseph Schumpeter on Democracy

The democratic method is an institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people's vote.

Sheri Berman on Political Science

Political scientists prefer to study things that they can see, measure, and count, and ideas seem to be the opposite.

Kathryn Sikkink on Ideas

It is paradoxical that scholars whose entire existence is centered on the production and understanding of ideas should grant ideas so little significance for explaining political life.

Hungary’s Democratic Backslide

Hungary under Viktor Orbán transitioned from an electoral democracy to a competitive authoritarian regime.

Poland’s Fluctuating Democracy

Poland has oscillated between electoral democracy and liberal democracy, facing challenges to judicial independence.

George Stigler’s Economic vs. Political Competition

Political goods are mutually exclusive, unlike economic goods, making voter preferences harder to satisfy.

Arrow’s Theorem Extension

No ranked voting system can simultaneously satisfy fairness criteria like universal admissibility and non-dictatorship.