Comparative Politics

Politics

the subset of human behavior that involves the use of power or influence

Comparative Politics

Three definitions 1. The study of political phenomena in every country except the one in which the student resides, 2. The study of political phenomena through the comparative method, 3. The study of political phenomena that are predominantly within country relationships

International politics include

Conflict, foreign policy, international organizations

Comparative Politics include

Elections, party systems, executive-legislative relations, interest groups, legislatures

International and comparative politics both include

Revolution, Political economy, environmental politics

Why study comparative politics

Comparison is the basis for all (scientific knowledge), evaluate theoretical claims, identify causes and effects, not always possible when looking at one country, also a great way to learn about your own country

What is science

A method of gathering information about the world, a process of obtaining knowledge, gathering empirical evidence and making inferences about the world

Science is

Objective, self-critical, humble, never-ending

Problem oriented

Causes and consequences of democracy and dictatorship, causes and consequences of democratic and dictatorial institutions, Why does the state exist and where does it come from? Why are some countries democracies and others dictatorships? Why do some regimes treat their citizens better than others? Why do some countries have many parties but others have few? Explanation rather than description, Focus on how to think rather than what to think

Strategic

Strategic approach to studying political phenomena. Political outcomes result from the interaction of individuals seeking goals in an environment in which goal attainment is constrained by their resources and complicated by the choices of other actors. Strategic behavior is central to politics

Ideology

A set or collection of ideas, beliefs, values, and attitudes such that the elements of the set form a pattern in the sense that particular ideas tend to occur alongside certain beliefs, the ideas and beliefs are associated with some attitudes and values and not others, ideologies imply that the values and attitudes we hold constrain, in some sense, the ideas we use and the beliefs we hold and vice versa

Political Ideologies

Not all collections of ideas, beliefs, values, and attitudes are political ideologies. A political ideology is used to influence the distribution of power in society

Conservatism

Found in traditional societies such as medieval England, hierarchy arranged by God. Purpose of life is found in fulfilling one’s position within the hierarchy, individual happiness is not the goal, glorifying God, meeting assigned responsibilities, conditioned on accepting one’s station. Ideology that has changed the most over time, defense of status quo or ideas of traditional institutions

Liberalism

Associated with modernity, reformation, scientific revolution, Enlightenment Age. Propensity to question traditional ideas, Argued for freedom, “negative” freedom- ie freedom from interference by others. Emphasis on individualism, rationalism, freedom, individuals are prioritized over nations, races, classes, capacity for reason, deciding interests, right to own property

Socialism

Spurred by the Industrial Revolution and the creation of an industrial working class, wage labor stratifies property rights and privileges owners, socialist say fundamentally unjust. Capital should be controlled by workers, state ownership of industry, “positive” freedom, resources, pursuing goals, pursuit of (economic) equality

Ideologies vs science

Political ideologies don’t fit with our emphasis on scientific theories and empirical evidence, political ideologies typically involve contradictory statements , this interferes with our ability to use observation to evaluate the truthfulness of the assertion so that a political ideology makes about the world. The purpose of a political ideology isn’t to understand the world, it is to motivate political action, give meaning to the world, and justify a particular system of power

What is science

A method of gathering information about the world, a process of obtaining knowledge, gathering empirical evidence and making inferences about the world, science is always provisional; a work in progress

Empirical

Based on observation or experience

Science is

A quest for knowledge that relies on criticism, the thing that allows for criticism is the possibility that our theories or claims might be wrong

Scientific statements must be

Falsifiable: it must be possible to envision some kind of evidence that could falsify or refute the statement, testable: at least potentially. This doesn’t mean that our scientific statements will ever be falsified, only that they could be

Two main non-scientific statements

Tautologies and statements about unobservable phenomena

Tautologies

Are statements that are true by definition. Ex. Triangles have three sides (the def of a triangle is a three sided figure), or strong states are able to implement policies

Statements about unobservable phenomena

Claims that cannot be falsified. Ex. “God exists” or “God created the world” are claims that can’t be falsified. They are not scientific, this does not mean that non-science is nonsense or that these claims are necessarily false

The scientific method

Describes the process by which scientists learn more about the world

1. Question

2. Theory or model

3. Implications(hypothesis)

4. Observe the world (test hypothesis)

5. Evaluation

Step 1:Ask a good question

Scientific studies always begin with a research question: “why did that occur”, research questions are based upon observable phenomena, research questions ask about cause and effect- why are some transitions to democracy successful while others fail?, why do some countries have many political parties while others have few?

Step 2: develop an argument

Theory, a set of logically consistent statements that tell us why the things that we observe occur , provide an answer to the research question/answer to the question “why”, simplified/abstracted view of the world, point causal relationships, often referred to as a “model”

Model

A simplification of the world, what a model needs to contain depends on the question, models are useful or not useful, right or wrong, models are like maps

Step 3: hypothesis

Once we have our model we must deduce implications from our theory other than those we set out to explain in the first place, “if the prior world we created to explain the phenomenon we originally found puzzling really did exist, what else ought we to observe?”, testable implications derived from the argument, these implications must be falsifiable, must NOT be tautological, there must be some possibility of discovering evidence that rejects the hypothesis and proves the argument wrong

step 4: evidence

Test the hypothesis with (new) observations from the world. Methods of hypothesis testing:

quantitative- large N(umber of observations

Qualitative- small N(umber of observations), case studies, methods of comparison

Step 5: evaluation

If you find evidence against your theory, you can conclude your theory is false, if u find evidence in support of your theory, you can conclude your argument is not necessarily false, why can’t you ever prove your theory?

Case of smart female athletes

A professor has noticed that women who engage in athletic activities frequently outperform the average student in their classes, this is surprising because female athletes often have to miss class for competitions, could work ethic play a role in the case?

Spurious Relationship

Observed relationship between two variables that have no causal relation, observed relationship between two variables that are both caused by a different variable

Science and values

Science must proceed from an objective perspective, but this is not to say that science is value free, normative motivations, policy implications

An argument

A set of logically connected statements typically in them form of a set of premises and a conclusion

A premise

A statement that is presumed to be true within the context of an argument leading to a conclusion

A conclusion

A claim that is thought to be supported by the premises

Valid argument

An argument is valid when accepting the premises compels us to accept its conclusion

Invalid argument

An argument is invalid if, when we accept the premises, we are free to accept or reject it’s conclusions

The major premise

Typically a conditional statement such as “if P, then Q”

-the “if” part is called the antecedent

-the “then” part is called the consequent

Ex. If a country is wealthy(Antecedent), then it will be a democracy (consequent)

The minor premise

Consists of a claim about either the antecedent or the consequent of the conditional statement

The conclusion

A claim that is thought to be supported by the premises

Four categorical syllogisms

Four types of conditional arguments can be represented by a syllogism

1. Arguments that affirm the antecedent

2. Arguments that deny the antecedent

3. Arguments that affirm the consequent

4. Arguments that deny the consequent

Valid arguments: Affirming the Antecedent

Major premises: If P, then Q

if a country is wealthy, then it will be a democracy

Major premise: P

conclusion: therefore Q

The country is wealthy, therefore the country is a democracy