ps0300-- state; economic/cultural determinants of democracy and dictatorship

state

legal and political authority of a territory containing a population and marked by borders; defines the political authority of which gov. is the managing authority; authority is recognized as both sovereign and legitimate by citizens of the state and governments of other states

sovereignty

(westphalian system) ultimate source of authority w/i a society; premise of non-interference

contractarian view

sovereign is created by a social contract btwn individuals; state becomes third party enforcer

• “state of nature” exemplifies there is a need for common, sovereign power to keep people in line through “the terror of some punishment greater than the benefit they expect” by disobeying

contractarian view caveats

• punishment imposed by the nature for stealing is sufficiently large that individuals prefer to refrain rather than steal

• tax rate charged by state for acting as the policeman is not so large that individuals prefer the state of nature to civil society

social contract

(contractarian) individuals exchange their natural rights (rights given to them by nature such as life, liberty, and property) with civil rights (rights given to them by laws)

predatory view

states face a security dilemma because rivals can take their place; state can be viewed like organized crime—demands taxes and obedience from citizens within its jurisdiction in return for protection from other things and itself

microstates

states that are small in both population and territory

failed/quasi-states

states that exist and are recognized under international law but whose governments control little of the territory under its jurisdiction

de facto states

states that are not recognized under international law even though they control territory and provide governance (exist in “fact” rather than under law)

nation-state

sovereign political association whose citizens share a common national identity

self-determination

legal (?) right of people to decide their own destiny in the international order

diaspora

population that lives over an extended area outside its geographical or ethnic homeland

multinational state

state consisting of multiple national groups under a single government

globalization

(challenge to state) international borders have been weakened by the extension of economic ties among states through _______________

intergovernmental organization

cooperative bodies whose members are states that are established by treaty; possess permanent secretariat and legal identity; cooperate according to stated rules and w/ some autonomy

regional integration

process by which states build economic and political ties that result in some pooling of authority over areas of policy where they believe that cooperation is better than competition

security state

state that makes efforts to follow the activities of its citizens through such means as closed-circuit television and the monitoring of phone calls and internet use

contestation

extent to which citizens are free to organize themselves into competing blocs in order to press for the policies and outcomes they desire

inclusion

extent to which citizens get to participate in the political process

modernization theory

model of a progressive transition from a pre-modern/traditional society to a modern society; assumes state will become more democratic as it develops economically

(traditional society —> preconditions for takeoff —> takeoff —> drive to maturity —> high mass consumption)

credible commitment problem

a ruler can renege on negotiations with the economic elite after a crisis has ended

• solutions: enforceable contracts, repeated interactions, institutions that alter distribution of power

exit, voice, loyalty theory

• economic elites w/ (mobile vs. fixed) assets demand reforms altering the distribution of power and demonstrated (a credible exit threat vs. no credible exit threat) led to either (development of proto-democratic institutions vs. continuation of predatory behavior)

political resource curse

theory predicting countries dependent on revenue from natural resources are unlikely to democratize and are prone to corruption, poor governance, and civil war

primordialist arguments

treat culture as something thats objective and inherited, fixed since “primordial” times

constructivist arguments

treat culture as something that’s constructed or invented than inherited

cultural modernization theory

predicts socioeconomic development does not directly cause democracy; rather, economic development produces certain cultural changes (ex. emergence of a civic culture) which will eventually produce democratic reform

civic culture

a shared cluster of attitudes that are thought to promote democracy and democratic performance

differential item functioning

different items (ex. particular survey questions) may function differently across individuals/groups; exists when individuals or groups understand survey items differently and evaluate survey items using different scales

traditional values

(compare w/ secular-rational values)

secular-rational values

(compare with traditional values)

survival values

(compare w/ self-expression values)

self-expression values

(compare with survival values)