PSC 1001 Midterm States and Nations

Comparative Politics

• Definition:  The study of comparing the institutions and the systems between two different countries. The comparison of domestic politics between countries.

• Significance: system for testing political theories 

• Example: comparing parliamentary systems between Germany and the UK

• Inglehart and Welzel

Comparative Method

• Definition: the means by which social scientists make comparisons across cases. 

• Significance: Why some outcomes occur some places not others 

• Example: Comparing North Korea and South Korea to understand how different political and economic institutions affect development.

• Inglehart and Welzel

Correlation versus Causation

• Definition: when two variables change at the same time vs cause and effect when one variable changes because of the other

• Significance: two factors may be related without one causing the other. Researchers use the comparative method to determine whether a relationship is truly causal.

• Example: development doesn't necessarily lead to democracy “How Development leads to Democracy” Inglehart and Welzel

• Inglehart and Welzel

State

• Definition: A political authority that exercises a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within a given territory and possesses the capacity to make and enforce laws and policies. Drawing on Max Weber, Francis Fukuyama emphasizes that the essence of the state is its ability to enforce rules.

• Significance: tate strength and institutional capacity are essential for development, public health, security, law enforcement, and economic growth. Weak states linked to: poverty, disease, terrorism, etc

• Example: The United States is presented as a state with relatively limited scope but strong institutional capacity, demonstrated by its ability to enforce laws and maintain the rule of law.

Francis Fukuyama

Neo-patrimonialism

• Definition: system in which political power is used to serve a clientelist network of supporters rather than the public interest

• Significance: Fukuyama argues that neopatrimonialism weakens state capacity because resources are diverted away from public goods and effective administration.

• Example: Mobutu's Zaire (now non-existent)  is cited as a neopatrimonial state that became predatory, using political power to benefit ruling networks rather than strengthen public institutions.

Francis Fukuyama

Bureaucratic Rational State

• Definition: A state characterized by a modern, professional, Weberian bureaucracy (merit-based administration)  that carries out public administration through formal rules, administrative expertise, and institutionalized procedures.

• Significance: effective bureaucracies are a key component of state capacity

• Example: refers to the Weberian rational bureaucracy found in many African states during the colonial period

Francis Fukuyama

State building 

• Definition: process of strengthening state institutions so they can effectively govern and uphold the rule of law 

• Significance: the authors argue that Latin American democracies must strengthen state institutions to prevent organized crime from capturing parts of the state, corrupting public officials, influencing elections, and undermining democracy. Stronger institutions are necessary to enforce the rule of law and curb violence.

• Example: The authors call for reforms to police forces, prosecutors' offices, and prisons throughout Latin America as part of a broader transition to the rule of law.

Corrales and Freeman

Fragile states

• Definition: States that lack the rule of law, effectiveness, autonomy and legitimacy. States that are extremely close to becoming a failed state and devolve into anarchy. A lot of neo-patrimonialism, can't fulfill basic functions and public goods

• Significance:  Weak institutions create opportunities for organized criminal groups to bribe officials, influence elections, capture local governments, and provide alternative forms of governance, weakening democracy and public trust in government.

• Example: The article describes areas where criminal organizations exercise territorial control and effectively coopt local government institutions, creating what the authors call "malgoverned spaces”

Corrales and Freeman

Sovereignty

• Definition: the ability to carry out actions and policies within a territory independently of external and internal forces, authority to rule within a territory

• Significance: Important to note the differences between international versus domestic sovereignty and that they are not always the same thing. A state may have one but lack the other leading to issues of legitimacy and development.

• Example: Palestine and Phantom States

Corrales and Freeman

Organized Crime in Latin America

• Definition: The illegal trafficking of goods and services, often across borders, carried out by organized groups such as drug cartels and mafia-style organizations with identifiable leadership, membership, and territorial influence.

• Significance: The authors argue that organized crime is currently one of the greatest threats to democracy in Latin America. Criminal organizations corrupt state institutions, interfere in elections, erode the rule of law, encourage authoritarian responses to crime, and undermine democratic governance

• Example: Major operations in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia 

Corrales and Freeman

Nation

• Definition: a group that desires self-government through an independent state 

• Significance: According to Andreas Wimmer, the nation became the basis of political legitimacy in the modern world. Nationalism argues that members of the nation should rule the state and govern in the interests of the nation 

• Example: The article describes how former multinational empires gradually dissolved into nation-states, with the spread of nationalist principles following the American Revolution and French Revolution

Wimmer

Nationalism

• Definition: pride in one’s people and the belief that they have a unique, sovereign political destiny

• Significance: Wimmer argues that nationalism has provided the ideological foundation for modern institutions such as democracy, welfare states, and public education. It also fueled anticolonial movements and helped replace empire and dynastic rule with nation-states.

• Example: Nationalism motivated many anticolonial movements after World War II, helping colonized peoples achieve independence from European empires.

Wimmer

Ethnic Nationalism 

• Definition: built more on a loyalty to ethnic identities than certain political values 

• Significance: The article notes that ethnic nationalism defines membership through ancestry, language, or ethnic background. When political power is monopolized by one ethnic group, excluded groups may see the state as illegitimate, increasing the risk of conflict, secession, or civil war

• Example: Syria is presented as a case where state institutions were dominated by the Alawite minority, contributing to conflict with the Sunni Arab majority.

Wimmer

Civic Nationalism 

• Definition: built more on a loyalty to certain political values than on ethnic identities 

• Significance: The article explains that civic nationalism treats all citizens as members of the nation regardless of cultural background. Inclusive forms of nationalism can reduce ethnic conflict and promote political stability by incorporating multiple groups into the national community.

• Example: Switzerland integrated French-, German-, and Italian-speaking populations into a lasting power-sharing arrangement, creating an inclusive national identity.

Wimmer

Self-determination

• Definition: The principle that a people or nation should govern itself rather than be ruled by outsiders.

• Significance: Self-determination's significance is that it plays a huge role in nationalism. People often determine through nationalism that they desire a separation from another state and the ability to control their own territory. They take their national identity and push for independence and self-determination.

• Example: Ukraine splitting from Russia

Wimmer

Secession

• Definition: attempt by a group or region to break away from an existing state and form its own independent political identity 

• Significance: The reading notes that excluded ethnic or national groups may pursue secession when they view the state as illegitimate or controlled by another group. Secessionist conflicts have been a common source of violence since 1945.

• Example: The article notes that nationalist minorities have fought secessionist civil wars against existing states and states that exclude them from political power; Somaliland 

Wimmer

Irredentism

• Definition: Territorial claims made by state to lands that lie within another state

• Significance: An outward consequence of nationalism. A group or state believes the lands of another state belong to them because of national identity and ethnic ties. This causes conflict over regions and people which can result in violence and warfare.

• Example: Russian annexation of Crimea saying they are ethnically and linguistically Russian

• Wimmer