PS 111 UO Midterm Short Answer Questions

what is citizenship, and why is it important and/or problematic?

A citizen is a member of a political community or state; citizenship is an individuals relationship to the state. Citizenship is important to have because it provides a relationship to the possible state one may be in. Being a citizen provides one with better benefits. Its problematic because if one is not a citizen in the state they are residing in then they may have a harder time getting along, since they will reap less benefits. It also causes problems within states regarding how to handle those with citizenship and those without.

what are the three types of legitimacy, and what is significant about each one?

There are three types of legitimacy. They include: traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal. Traditional legitimacy is when historical myths like legends, long-standing practices, and assigning authority are justified. They are seen as justifiable because its what is the foundation of peoples identity since its all they know. We can see traditional legitimacy when it comes to things such as kings and queens. Charismatic legitimacy is the justification of people being appealed by a leader due to their charisma; and a peculiar quality that may break tradition and change their world. We can see charismatic legitimacy when we see people such as MLK. Lastly, rational-legal legitimacy is the justification that the rules that are being presented are logical, systematic, and evenly applied. It uses some sort of process that people understand to be reasonable. we can see rational-legal legitimacy when it comes to democracies and people selecting presidents.

what are the core elements of a liberal democracy?

There are two core elements when it comes to liberal democracy. They are representation and rights. The idea of representation in liberal democracy refers to things such as citizens participating in selecting their leaders. Representation can also be seen with the competition people enact to gain governmental positions. Fair elections are held at specific and consistent intervals. During such elections no one is excluded from electing and no one is forced to elect. As for rights liberal democracy believes in a classical element, which is a commitment to individual rights. Rights also ensure a civil society, where everyone at least tries to get along. There is also a possible danger of tyranny of the majority.

using examples, compare and contrast two types of non-democratic regimes

One example of a non-democratic regime is totalitarian ruling. In which, there is a highly centralized state and well-defined ideology. In this type of state they want to make everything that is institutional, economical, or social fabric related align with their ideologically defined goals. They believe that violence is acceptable to reach those goals. We can see this type of state when looking into history at things such as Hitler's Germany. Another non-democratic regime is monarchy. In monarchy one person is seen fit to rule a whole country on their own. It is based off of tradition. There is no regime or rules that limit that ruler in any way.