Chapter Outline

• 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What When, Where, How, and Why

• 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power

• 1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics

• 1.4 Normative Political Science

• 1.5 Empirical Political Science

• 1.6 Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations

Example: Your Phone

• Politics has an impact on all aspects of our lives.

• Smartphones as an example of political influence in daily life.

• Ways politics affects ownership and use of smartphones:

  • Access to content (legally restricted, based on region, demographics, personal needs).

  • Access to applications (App Stores).

  • Phone plans.

• Understanding the role of politics prepares individuals to navigate life's challenges, making them better consumers, employees, and citizens.

1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What When, Where, How, and Why

Learning Outcomes

• Define and describe politics from various perspectives.

• Identify behavior that qualifies as political.

• Discuss the three core elements of any political event:

  • Rules

  • Reality

  • Choices

• Define and discuss varieties of constitutions.

Definition of Politics

• Politics exists wherever people interact to make decisions affecting them collectively.

• Core definition: Politics is defined as "who gets what when and how."

Other Definitions of Politics

• Harold Lasswell: "Who gets what, when, how."

• David Easton: "The authoritative allocation of values for a society."

• Vladimir Lenin: "The most concentrated expression of economics."

• Otto von Bismarck: "The capacity of always choosing at each instant, in constantly changing situations, the least harmful, the most useful."

• Bernard Crick: "A distinctive form of rule whereby people act together through institutionalized procedures to resolve differences."

• Adrian Leftwich: "Comprises all the activities of cooperation, negotiation, and conflict within and between societies."

Rules

• De jure rules: Formally written and established policies.

• De facto rules: Informal policies that affect enforcement or people's behavior.

• Example contrasting de jure and de facto rules regarding voting.

Political Institutions

Definition and Description

• Political institutions: Organizations with rules and practices informing members about their relationships and interactions with one another.

• Can be formal (e.g., national governments) or informal (e.g., family, gangs).

• Political institutions often subject to significant conflict.

Types of Political Institutions

• Legislatures: Composed of individuals who propose, deliberate, and adopt laws.

• Executives: Responsible for executing decisions and policies, such as defense or mail delivery.

• Courts: Apply laws and protect rights.

Reality

• Political reality's nature can be perceived differently, although facts themselves are not debatable.

Choices

• Political actors shape their reality through their choices:

  • In democracies, voters hold power to make crucial decisions.

  • Definition of political participation as action that expresses an individual's political will or leaning.

Factors Influencing Political Participation

• Research indicates that several factors predict political participation:

  • Age

  • Income

  • Education

  • Gender

  • Race

  • Ethnicity

  • Voter fatigue.

1.2 Public Policy and the Public Interest

• Definition of public policy: Decisions aimed at influencing human behavior.

• Policies formulated by executives, legislatures, and judges.

• Both democracies and non-democracies; political actors assert policies are in the public interest for public well-being.

Government and Power

• Power: The capacity to compel actions an individual may not naturally undertake.

• Sovereignty: Highest power held by an entity with no higher authority.

• Government: Recognized legal entity with authority to use power in a specified geographic area.

• States and Nations:

  • States can refer interchangeably to countries or smaller governmental units in a federal structure.

  • Nations consist of populations connected by common history and culture.

Bargaining

• Essential aspect of political conflict, driven by scarcity and diverse values.

• Bargaining: Negotiation process for groups in conflict to change the status quo.

• Compromise may resolve differences.

1.3 The Systematic Study of Politics

• Political scientists employ theory, logic, and evidence to explore questions or make predictions.

• Some focus on understanding fundamental laws; others develop interventions to enhance institutions or increase participation.

The Scientific Method

• Political science views human behavior probabilistically.

• The objective is not certainty but finding data to accept or reject hypotheses:

  • Example: Does voting behavior differ among female students at UTRGV?

• Two branches: normative and empirical political science.

1.4 Normative Political Science

Learning Outcomes

• Understand normative political science's purpose.

• Discuss major methods political philosophers utilize.

• Identify three main approaches to questions such as : “What is a good citizen?”

Definition and Focus

• Emphasis on theory and philosophical queries: What should be vs. what is.

• Normative political science addresses questions about good citizenship:

  • Three areas of focus: consequences, rules, virtue.

1.5 Empirical Political Science

Learning Outcomes

• Differentiate empirical from normative political science.

• Discuss the nature of facts and the disputes surrounding them.

• Define generalizations and when they can be useful.

Main Focus

• Concerned with explaining and predicting current realities.

• Challenges in portraying empirical facts due to differing perceptions.

• Example hypotheses with potential methodologies such as surveys and interviews.

Generalizations

• Help in descriptions, explanations, or predictions but must avoid reinforcing stereotypes and assigning blame.

1.6 Complex Individual Behavior

• Human behavior often strategic, rational, and instrumental when pursuing goals, yet also serves expressive and emotional needs.

Political Ideology

• Political ideology: A systematic collection of concepts aiding individual understanding of the world and their roles.

• Individual ideologies link individuals based on shared beliefs regarding citizens' roles in governance.

Group Behavior

• Public Opinion: Aggregation of individual opinions on specific empirical questions.

• Bridges between individual actions and group behaviors include political participation and public opinion.

• Types of political groups: interest groups, political parties, social movements.

Importance of Understanding Public Opinion

• Public opinion expresses the governed consent in representative governance.

• Research shows correlations between public opinion and policy outcomes.

• Polls assist in explaining electoral results and international perspectives.

Polling Public Opinion

Definition and Methodology

• Public opinion polls: Scientific tools measuring collective opinion.

• Sample: Representational group from a population.

• Types of sampling methods:

  • Probability Sampling: Random selections ensuring equal chances.

  • Random Digit Dialing: Computer-generated selection of phone numbers.

  • Convenience Samples: Inexpensive sources often leading to inaccuracies.

  • Cluster Samples: Dividing populations into clusters with shared traits for selection.

Challenges in Polling

• Sampling Error: Larger samples yield greater accuracy.

• Selection Bias: Non-representational samples.

• Measurement Error: Mistakes in opinion assessment.

• Influences on results:

  • Question wording effects.

  • Interviewer bias.

  • Response bias (truthful reporting issues).

  • Social desirability bias: Responses dictated by perceived societal expectations.

Global Public Opinion

Interpretation of Poll Results

• Example table comparing differing national responses to American presidential actions.

• Sources: Pew Research Center surveys.

Political Socialization and Culture

• Political Socialization: The developmental process of individual belief systems.

• Political Culture: Collective beliefs characterizing groups (countries or communities).

• Collective dilemmas arise during group decision-making processes, often facing collective action problems due to misaligned incentives.

Importance of Voting as Participation

• Voting: A vital component of self-governance ensuring representative leadership.

• Functions of voting:

  • Electing capable candidates.

  • Supplying public officials with insights into voter preferences.

  • Promoting fairness despite representation barriers.

Political Participation Beyond Voting

Types and Barriers

• Engagement in various forms of political participation beyond voting includes:

  • Contacting Legislators: Affecting barriers from knowledge.

  • Volunteering: Identifying obstacles.

  • Political Discussions: Engaging online or offline barriers.

  • Donating: Financial barriers.

  • Protesting: Identifying resistance to activism.

  • Direct Activism: Influencing collective behavior barriers.

Importance of Understanding Political Participation

• Statistics on global political participation and trends.

• More individuals engage digitally than in traditional forms (e.g., volunteering, rallies).

Big Questions in Political Science

1. Why do conflicts escalate?

2. How do political ideologies shape current perceptions?

3. The impact of power sources on policy development.

4. The effects of globalization on political landscapes.