Comparative Politics Final

deals with various economic theoriest, practices and outcomes within the state and among states in the global system

political economy

comparting states economies

comparative political economy

studying global system

international political economy

what does political economy allow

• production of public goods

• production of private goods

what are public goods

• available to everyone

• cannot be denied to anyone

what are private goods

• property, property rights, owned by a group or a person, potential scarcity 

a resource or commodity that a person legally owns ( can be tangible or intangible)

property

the legal authority to dictate how property sued or mangaged

property rights

competition = higher quality of the good

potential scarcity 

exchange of goods and services within a given territory (forces of supply and demand)

market

occurs when market fails to perform efficiently or preform accordingly to other widely held social values

market failures

monopolies sides 

• evil greed

• natural monopiles (where competition is not visible)

• when a single company dominates the entire market 

rent is 1,000 a month and you make 100 cookies, you would charge 10 per cookie, if you make 1,000 cookies per mouth you can charge 1 per cookie

economy of scale

how countries’ goods, investments, properties, and resources are divided amongst its population

wealth distribution

fiscal policies 

• deal with taxing and spending 

• taxation 

• tax scales

taxation

the process of government collecting money from its citizens, corporations, and other entities

higher income → higher % taxes

progressive

same % taxes regardless of income 

flat tax

sales tax

regressive tax

levied on products that are deemed harmful to society

• tobacco, soda tax, alcohol, etc

sins tax

higher price on things that are feminine 

pink tax

monetary polices

• actions taken by the state’s central bank to affect money supply

• manipulation of intrest rates

who manipluates interest rates

federal bank

what does low interest rates do 

• easier borrowing → more spending → economic growth → inflation 

what does higher interest rates do

lest borrowing → less spending → recession

what happens with inflation

the purchase power decrease, things are more expensive

how to tell a recession is happening

two consecutive quarters of declining economic activity

• setting the rules of the game

• the power to break up monopolies

• international trade

regulations

one state produces goods and provides service more cheaply and easily than other states

comparative advantage

import > export 

trade deficit ( less money in the country but lower consumer prices)

export > import

trade surplus (more money to spend on projects but higher consumer prices 

taxes imposed on foreign products with the purpose of making those products more expensive and domestically produced more competitive

tariffs

restriction on the number/volume of foreign goods can enter the country non-tariff regulatory barriers

quotas

non-tariff reglatory barriors 

financal

technical 

what is a financial non-tariff regulatory barriers

• The government provides subsidies and tax breaks for specific domestic industries

a direct financal payment or other form of aid from the government to an individual or business to reduce cost and encourage a specific activity

subsidies

a government reduction in a taxpayer’s total liability through deductions, credits, or exemptions to incentivize certain behaviors like investments or charitable giving

tax breaks

what are technical non-tariff regulatory barries

rules or standards imposed on by the destination country on the exporting country

what are the political economic systems

• laissez-fair

• statism

• command

what is it called when the government leaves the economy alone 

laissez-fair 

what is it called when the goverment tasks on enterprising role on the economy

statism

what happens when the government takes full control on everything in the economy

command

• seeks to maximize a country’s wealth through increasing exports and limiting imports

• economic nationalism

  • protectionism 

mercantilism 

attempts by a state to protect or bolster its economy for nationalist goals 

economic nationalism 

polices designed to stimulate a county’s domestic industry through subsidies, tax breaks, and tariffs on foreign competitors

protectionism

• the expectation is that forces of supply- demand will adject the market, and the state doesn’t need to interfere

• private rights (state cannot take your private property) + self interest + completion

• market failures

free- market capitalism (economic liberalism)

• deregulation 

• privatization 

elements of modern economic liberalism 

reduction of rules and restrictions on industries

• more markets, less government involvement

deregulation

selling of government assets

• transfer what was owned by the state to individual companies 

privatization

• a system where the means of production are collectively owned by workers rather than privately owned by individuals

• explicit critique of capitalism as destructive, corrupt and unsustainable

• class conflict between workers and capital owners over the means of products

• Marxism can take forms of communism or socialism

Marxism and class conflict

• the state (usually one-party) is in complete control of the poltical economic system, including the property

• over time, the state will disappear altogether and give a way to socialism

  • government is there as a manager then will be gone

• russia was the first country to try and fail

communism

marx expects the communist revolution would begin in

industrialized capitalist countries

• a system in which property and the means of production are collectively owned

  • The closest we can come in the modern world is having the state own all production

• The government levies high taxes on businesses and wealthy individuals

• robust social welfare programs

• never happened before

socalism (socail democracy = democratic socailism)

• attempts to explain persistent underdevelopment and poverty in certain regions of the world

• focuses on inequalities inherent in the global economic system

• import-substitution industrialization (ISI)

Economic structuralism and global trade

 a country’s attempt to reduce its dependence on foreign companies through increased domestic product

import-substitution industrialization (ISI)

• group size: makes the value of your vote small, higher the group number is less you want to participate

• free riding: when people do not participate but reap the benefits because you know other people will do it for you

• incentives for noncooperation:

collective action negatives

• goal must be clear

• existence of an organized structure

  • need to have people with certain roles

• first movers

  • people or groups who are willing to take the first steps to move forward

    • ex: MLK, Malcom X, etc.

• repeated scenarios

  • if the same individuals find themselves in the same situations with the same people, they learn how to cooperate and its beneficial

how to overcome non-cooperation

organized around grand ideas that cannot be achieved without collective action

social movements

success factors in social movement

• political opportunity

• organization and mobilization 

• forms of social movements

• framing

• social movements are most successful when the broader political context is receptive to the ideas of the movement

• structure

• you can always trace a social movement back in time

• the more you repeat the idea in society the more they are receptive to the idea

political opportunity

what is structure in political opportunity

larger social forces at play during a given moment: the institutions and norms, or widely shared beliefs and practices (AKA right place, right time)

• social movements cannot be sustained without a strong organizational structure in place

  • leader (MLK, Navalny)

  • centralized management

    • ex: HQ, people responsible for the little details (printing, scheduling, etc.)

• the Internet: the “liberation technologies” or “armchair activism”

• International Influence

organization and mobilization 

what is the internets role in organization and mobilization 

• misinformation 

• goverment interferance

• weak bonds of trust between participants 

what is the international influence when it comes to organization and moblization

• Diffusion: the spread of ideas, strategies, and resources across international borders

  • institute for Democratic and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) - social movement

    • advocates for fair and just elections (the US is not a part of this)

what are the forms of social movemements

non-violent/ violent

what are the non-violent ways of social movements

• increases the legitimacy of the movement 

• constrain government’s response 

what are the violent ways of social movements

once turned violent it gives the governemnt the chance to be more brutal 

• ways in which a social problem is defined by, presented to, and resonates with members of a social movement and society more broadly

• the cause must be relatable and make society feel sympathetic towards the movement

  • needs to be simple

    • ex: “eat the rich”

• must be culturally appropriate and meaningful

  • right place and right time

• binds together psychological and emotional elements

  • the D in voting (voting is not rational but you love democracy, so you participate in it)

framing

What is political violence?

• Deliberate infliction of harm on people motivated by political intentions

  • Physical 

  • Social 

  • Economic

• Occurs to destroy or preserve the existing social and political order

  • The border between violence and political violence can be tricky

    • Ex: Mexico drug cartels (the line can be blurred)

Border of political violence

• Political violence happens within one state

• terrorism has become transnational since the 19190s

  • It might not originate in that one state

• R2P (responsibility to protect)

• if a state refuses to protect its own citizens, then other states and international organizations are expected to intervene 

  • It's a hit or miss for situations

responsibility to protect

who are the participants in political violence 

• state, non-state actors, insurgents, Gurellia groups, terrorist 

what are non-state actors

any political actors not associated with the government

what are the forms of violence

• terrorism, assassinations, coups, battles, riots, explosios, protest.

• the state has the monopoly on the use of violence when necessary

• official government support for policies of violence, repression, and intimidation 

• terrorism 

state-sponsored political violence 

a violent act that targets noncombatants for political purposes

terrorism

who decides to use political violence

executive branch (both democratic and authoritarian regimes)

why is there less political violence in democracies 

• executive branch uses poltical violence → opposition actors condemns → executive leaders may be punished at the polls/ through parliaments VONC/ impeachment 

what happens in non-democracies when it comes to political violence

• executive uses political violence → no opposition → no free and fair elections (they are scared of punishment)

threat to the existance of the state itself

• somone who is making too many waves or someone deem as troublesome for the government

• very subjective and depends on the context

existential threat

violence represented in policy

• the more violent and visual, the better

• they do it to intimidate decent people, so they do not stand up to the government

• USSR under Stalin and Germany under Hitler are example of

overt state violence

violence without formal state’s support

• implict governmetn support for milita and paramilitary groups

• the governmetn does something to incite violence, but they do not directly do the violence themselves

covert state violence

what is patronage model of state-sponsered terrorism

when the government funds a violent group in another country

what are the external state-sponsered political violence

• patrongae model of state-sponsered terriorism

• assistance model of state sponsered terrorism

unofficial hush hush activities 

assistance model of state sponsered terrorism

• volience perpertated by non-state political actors

  • actors not assocated with government

  • most often targets of the government itself

non-state politcal violence

what causes no state poltical violence

• grievances

what is the grievances explantion

• communiteis that have been deep-seated ___________ about the status of their group are more likely to rebel

what are the factors of non state poltical violence

• past history of rebillons

• low income among rebels

• montainous terrian

• natrual resource rich lands

• strength of the government

• the scale of destruction and participation

• aim to change regime

• almost entire population

rebellion and civil war

violent challenges of the government in order to bring attention to status quo witch which rebels are dissatisfied

• usually minorty groups

rebellions 

• insurrection

• insurgency

• gureilla warfare

• terrorism

• revolutions

types of non state politcal violenc e

• a sudden, often spontaneous uprising agaisnt authority or government

• typically short- lived and less organized

• focused on immediate grievances or symbolitc acts

• may lack clear leadership or long-term goals

insurrection

prolonged, organized movement

• sabatages, ambushes, attacks on military/government targets

insurgency 

what is the goal of insurgency

undermine the state’s control, challenge the legitimacy of government, establish control of a territory

spanish (little war) - a form of irregular warfare where small groups use hit-and-run tactics agaisnt larger, traditonal military forces

• ambushes, raids, and mobility-focused operation in difficult terrian (mountans, jungles)

guerilla warfare

what is the goal of guerilla warfare

wear down the enemy over time without direct confrontation

the use of violence against civilians or noncombatants to instill fear and achieve political aims

• bombings, assasinations, hostage-taking

terrorism

what is the goal of terrorism

psychological impact; pressure governments or societies and concessions

• public particpantss in the movement

• public seizure of the state

• rarely successful

revolutions