Comparative Politics Quiz 1

Aristotle

Was a student of Plato and studied the ancient city states of Greece, making him the world’s first comparative political scholar

Woodrow Wilson

The only president to have also been a political science professor

Inductive reasoning

Starting with a specific case study and then trying to generate broader conclusions based off of it

Deductive reasoning

Starting with a general theory or hypothesis and then trying to find case studies or examples that support it

Law-like theory in political science

Democratic peace theory—— holds that democracies tend not to go to war with other democracies

Modernization theory

All countries are in stages of development, and go through levels en route to becoming more democratic. In general, greater economic development leads to a higher chance of democracy taking root. Some argue that a per capita GDP greater than $5,500 means that there is a good chance that the country will be a democracy.

Civil society

A group of associations that are working to protect their assets. They are also notably not for profit

Revised modernization theory

If a country is democratic and is also continuing to grow economically, that country is more likely to stay democratic. If a country is autocratic, and is growing economically, it may not necessarily transition to democracy.

Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

Achieved three main goals: Brought an end to a thirty year war over religion, considered to be the beginning of the modern state system, and transferred power to the leaders of each principality.

Thomas Hobbes

Believed that man was living in a state of nature that was rooted in anarchy. “In the state of nature, the life of man was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and shot.”

Veneer theory

Below the surface, humans have a ton of power to dominate and cause violence. However, rules created by the government can protect against this fate and help maintain peace.

Max Weber

Defined a state as the entity with a monopoly on the legitimate use of force.

Capacity vs. autonomy

A state with capacity will be able to carry out its basic functions while autonomy refers to a state’s ability to operate independent of the public and its wishes.

Social contract

Makes economic development possible which generally also leads to increased technological advancements.

Hard power

Refers to the ability of a military or police force to use force to achieve a goal.

Soft power

The ability of a state or leader to rely on pure attraction or charisma to coerce people into doing what they want.

Rentier states

States that generate revenue primarily from a natural resource (Saudi Arabia, Dubai). Wealth in these countries is often extremely unevenly distributed.

Multi-nation states

A country that contains two or more distinct nations or cultural groups within its borders. The US is a multinational state.

Consociationalism

Comprises of four pillars to create a political setup that minimizes conflict between groups: Grand coalition government (all groups have representation), allocate resources in a proportional manner, community autonomy (so each group can live how they want) and mutual veto (any entity can veto a piece of legislation)

Adam Smith

Father of liberalism and his book “Wealth of Nations” laid out the political ideology

Edouard Bernstein

Proponent of social democracy and his book “Evolutionary Socialism” was extremely influential

Tariffs

Taxes on imports that are directly tied to mercantilism

Relationship between inequality and violence

Greater inequality within a country creates a greater risk of violence within that country as well

Easterling paradox

Happiness only increases with income up to a certain point

Behavioral Movement

Social sciences should borrow the methods from hard science to make it more observable. This includes using more systematic and empirical methods