POS1101-M4

Political system

A network of relationships through which the government generates outputs (policies) in response to inputs (demands or support) from the public.

State

A political organization distinguished by its purpose of establishing order and security, methods of law enforcement, defined territory, and sovereignty.

Inputs

Demands and supports that originate from the public and are processed by the political system.

Outputs

Actions made by the political system, including decisions and policies.

Feedback

The public's reaction to the outputs, which influences future demands and support.

Environment

The external factors that influence the inputs and outputs of a political system.

System Functions

The processes that shape the political self and influence the inputs in a political system.

Socialization

The process through which political culture and attitudes are developed and reinforced in society.

Recruitment

The selection of individuals for political activity and government positions.

Interest Articulation

The expression of needs and demands by individuals and groups.

Communication

The flow of information within the political system and society.

Interest Aggregation

The combination of various demands into policy proposals supported by political resources.

Policy-making

The process of deciding which policy proposals become authoritative rules.

Policy Implementation

The execution and enforcement of public policies.

Sovereignty

The principle of absolute and unrestricted power held by the state over its territory.

Legitimacy

The acceptance of the state's decisions as representing the common good.

Coercive Power

The state's monopoly on legitimate violence, as defined by Max Weber.

Pluralist State

A theory that views the state as a neutral arbiter among competing groups and interests.

Capitalist State

A Marxist perspective that sees the state as an instrument of class oppression serving the capitalist class.

Leviathan State

A New Right perspective that views the state as self-serving and intrusive in personal and economic life.

Patriarchal State

A feminist perspective that argues the state reinforces male dominance and maintains patriarchy.

Minimal State

A classical liberal view that advocates for a state that provides security and enforces contracts while minimizing intervention.

Developmental State

A state that actively promotes industrial growth and economic development.

Social-Democratic State

A state that intervenes to achieve social justice and reduce inequality.

Totalitarian State

A state that controls all aspects of life, including economy, education, and culture.

Globalization

The process that challenges state sovereignty and autonomy through increased interdependence and the emergence of supranational bodies.

Civil Society

The private sphere independent of state authority, consisting of families, businesses, and associations.

Thomas Hobbes

A philosopher who argued for absolute sovereignty to prevent chaos, depicted in his work "Leviathan."

John Locke

A philosopher who advocated for a limited state focused on protecting natural rights.

Karl Marx

A theorist who viewed the state as a tool of class oppression and argued it would eventually "wither away" in a communist society.

Max Weber

A sociologist who defined the state by its monopoly on legitimate violence and its role in maintaining social order.

Government & Religious institutions

Institution that has authority

political system

a multi-actor model that goes beyond the purview of the State (non-traditional)

Goals, Means

Policy reflects the ______, Agencies provide the_______

1. Idealist

2. Functionalist

3. Organizational

Approaches of the state

State

focuses on the bureaucratic institutions and apparatus it yields (traditional).

State

ability to make policies

1. Input

2. Output

3. Feedback

4. Environment

Elements of Political System according to Easton

Political System by Easton

Concentrated on Democratic System

Political System by Almond and Powell

Biased to Neoliberal Agenda

Political System by Almond and Powell

Model often used in comparative politics

1. System Functions

2. Process Functions

3. Policy Functions

4. Feedback

5. Environment and Interdependence

6. Structures and Functions

Functions within the diagram by Almond and Powell

Interest Articulation

individuals/ groups expressing their needs and demands

Policy Functions

Implementation of the process

1. Extraction of resources

2. Regulation of behaviors

3. Distribution of services

Functions of Policy

Government

policy making parts of the political systems

International and Domestic environment

environments that political system exists

Idealist by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

The state is an ethical community that embodies universal altruism. Hegel saw the state as the highest expression of freedom, where individuals realize their ethical roles

1. State

2. Civil Society

3. Family

3 moments of social existence

State

universal altruism (highest expression of freedom) = for the common good

Civil Society

universal egoism = place individual interest before others

Family

Particular altruism = encourage to set aside interests for the good of their children and relatives

criticism for idealist approach

uncritical reverence of the state, by defining ethical terms, it failed to distinguish between institutions part of the state and those that are outside the state

Funtionalist

Focuses on the role or purpose of the state institutions • Purpose: Maintain and uphold social order and deliver social stability.

Organizational

defines state as the apparatus of government • institutions recognizable ‘public’, responsible for collective organization for social existence

• Social security system

• Bureaucracy

• Military

• Police

• Courts

Examples of institutions within the state

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

This brought an end to the:

• 30 years war (May 23, 1618 - October 24, 1648)

• Holy Roman Empire (Catholicism) vs. Protestant Reformation

• due to the 16th century reformation within the HRE.

Westphalian Sovereignty

or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law, states that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory

SOV-PUB-LEG-DOM-TERR.

1. Sovereignty

2. Public

3. Legitimation

4. Domination

5. Territorial Association

KEY FEATURES OF THE STATE:

Domination

State authority is backed up by coercion

Territorial Association

Jurisdiction is geographically defined

State

• exercise impersonal authority

• permanent

• represent the common good and general will

Government

• part of the state

• temporary

• associated with administrative

1. Pluralist

2. Capitalist

3. Leviathan

4. patriarchal State

Rival Theories of the State

State

umpire’ or ‘referee’ in a society

1. Political Obligation

2. State of Nature

3. Anarchy

Where origins of pluralist theory can be traced back to the Social Contract.

Political obligation

The duty of the citizen towards the state; the basis of the state’s right to rule

State of Nature

A society devoid of political authority and formal(legal) checks ON THE INDIVIDUAL

Anarchy

without rule; often used pejoratively to suggest instability and chaos.

Capitalist State

Marxist Interpretation:

a. The state cannot be understood separately from the economic structure of society.
b. The state is nothing but an instrument of class oppression: the state emerges out of, and in a sense reflects, the class system

The Communist Manifesto

The executive of the modern state is but a committee for
managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.

The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte →

the state could enjoy what has become to be seen as ‘relative autonomy’ from the class system

Leviathan State

From what state argument is this:

a. The New Right is distinguished by a strong antipathy towards the state intervention in economic and social life

b. The state is a parasitic growth that threatens both individual liberty and economic security

c. The state as an independent or autonomous entity that pursues its own interests.

1. Liberal Feminism

2. Radical Feminism

3. Instrumentalism

The kinds of patriarchal state

LIberal Feminism

State as a means for redressing gender inequality and enhancing the role of women

Radical Feminism

State power reflects a deeper structure of oppression in the form of patriarchy.

Instrumentalism

State as little more than an ‘agent’ or ‘tool’ used by men to defend their own interests and uphold the structures of patriarchy.

1. Minimal State

2. Developmental State

3. Socio-democratic states

4. Collectivised State

5. Totalitarian State

The roles of the state

Statism

the belief that state intervention is the most appropriate means of resolving political problems or bringing about social and economic development.

Minimal State

State as a protective body

Developmental State

→ one that intervenes in economic life with the specific purpose of promoting industrial growth and economic development.

Social-Democratic States

→ State as an Active Participant

Collectivised States

→ Bring the entirety of economic life under state control

Totalitarian State

→ Everything is controlled by the state

1. Globalization

2. Privatization

3. Substate Governance

Challenges to the existence of the state

Globalization

made the state irrelevant; the hollowing out of the state. As the world have become more interdependent and interconnected with each country; Asean, The European Union.

1. Economic Interdependence

2. Emergence of Supranational Bodies

Privatization

is the transfer of state assets from the public to the private sector, reflecting a contraction state’s responsibilities.

Substate Governance

• Decentralization is the transferring of responsibility from national or central bodies to a local community level.

• Multi-Level governance is a complex policy process involving subnational, national, and supranational levels and governments and non-government actors.

Charles Tilly

ARGUES that "war made the state, and the state made war" emphasizes the role of military power in state formation.

Max Weber

defines state as an entity that holds a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence within a given territory is foundational to understanding state power.

1. Structural= This approach focuses on the institutions that make up the state and how these structures interact with society.

2. Agency = This approach emphasizes the role of individual actors, leaders, and elites in shaping state policies and decisions.

3. Cultural = Focuses on the role of ideology, identity, and culture in legitimizing state power.

Comparative Approaches to the state

1. Absolutist States: Characterized by centralized control and the consolidation of power in the hands of a monarch or ruling elite. These states emerged in Europe during the early modern period.

2. Democratic States: The modern democratic state is based on principles of popular sovereignty, rule of law, and political equality. The transition from absolutist to democratic states is a key area of study in comparative state theory.

3. Authoritarian and Totalitarian States: These states are characterized by the concentration of power in the hands of a single ruler or a small group, with limited political freedoms for the population. Totalitarian regimes, such as Nazi Germany and Stalinist USSR, are extreme forms of authoritarianism.

Types of states

Social Movements

play a key role in shaping state policies and political change. The state’s response to social movements can vary from repression to incorporation into formal political processes.

1. Traditional Authority: Based on long-established customs and practices (e.g., monarchy).

2. Charismatic Authority: Based on the personal qualities and leadership of an individual.

3. Legal-Rational Authority: Based on legal rules and procedures (modern bureaucratic states).

Weber’s Types of Authority: Max Weber categorized authority into three types:

relationship between the state and civil society

is crucial in understanding how states maintain legitimacy and control

Legal -Rational Authority

This type of authority is being the most prominent in modern states.

1. Marxist Theory: Views the state as an instrument of class domination, where the ruling class uses the state to protect its economic interests. The state serves to maintain the capitalist system by repressing the working class.

2. Pluralist Theory: The state is seen as a neutral entity that mediates between competing groups and interests in society. Power is dispersed, and no single group dominates state decisions.

3. Elite Theory: Emphasizes that power in the state is concentrated in the hands of a small group of elites, who control the major institutions and decision-making processes.

Theories of State Power:

State Autonomy

: Refers to the state's ability to act independently of social forces and interest groups. Some theorists argue that the state has its own interests and can act in ways that are not entirely determined by societal pressures.

Political System as a Framework

o Politics involves understanding how authoritative decisions are made and executed.

o Easton suggests that all parts of a political system are interrelated, and none can be fully understood in isolation.

Political Life as a System:

o He argues that studying political systems as isolated entities helps reveal how inputs (demands and support) are processed into outputs (policies and decisions).

o The system approach helps analyze political behavior by looking at it as a cycle of inputs and outputs.