Comparative Politics: Major Theoretical Approaches

Comparative Politics: Major Theoretical Approaches

Structuralism (Institutions)

• Focus: Investigates how historical conditions, institutions, and systemic forces influence political behavior.
• Core Ideas:
  • Political and social outcomes are shaped by inherited structures like institutions and economic systems.
  • Historical constraints affect choices and behaviors of political entities.
• Applications & Examples:
  • Educational Inequality: College major choices are influenced by parental income and access to resources.
  • Jim Crow Laws in the U.S.: Institutionalized segregation limited African American opportunities for generations.
  • Easter Island Collapse: Environmental degradation due to inherited resource constraints led to population decline.

Rationalism (Interests)

• Focus: Explores how individuals act strategically to maximize their political and personal gains.
• Core Ideas:
  • Politics can be likened to a marketplace where actors evaluate costs and benefits.
  • Individual choices may lead to collectively detrimental outcomes despite rational intentions.
  • Strategic models, like game theory, are useful for explaining political behaviors.
• Applications & Examples:
  • Prisoner’s Dilemma: Highlights cooperation challenges as self-interest often leads to defection.
  • Easter Island Case: Immediate tree-cutting for benefit resulted in long-term environmental disaster – a rational but harmful decision.
  • Democratic Decision-Making: Politicians prioritize reelection over socially optimal policies due to individual incentives.

Culturalism (Identities)

• Focus: Considers how cultural norms, traditions, and beliefs influence political choices and institutions.
• Core Ideas:
  • Political behavior is rooted deeply in cultural traditions.
  • Social movements and changes in regime often hinge on cultural rather than purely rational forces.
  • Cultural narratives can persist across generations impacting political identities.
• Applications & Examples:
  • Anti-Semitism in Germany: Linked historical prejudices to political persecution from the Black Death to the Nazi era.
  • Civic Culture in Italy: Cooperation and trust in Northern Italy led to robust democratic institutions, while lack of engagement slowed development in the South.
  • Revolutions (Soviet Union Collapse): The fall was driven by shifting norms toward individualism and skepticism of authority, not just structural factors.

Comparative Politics & Applications Across Theories

• Comparing Theories:
  • Structuralism: Focuses on long-term constraints shaping behaviors.
  • Rationalism: Emphasizes cost-benefit calculations for immediate decisions.
  • Culturalism: Examines the influence of entrenched traditions on political choices.
• Stag Hunt Game:
  • Represents tension between self-interest and collective action, relevant in International Political Economy (IPE).
  • Highlights the necessity of mutual trust for achieving collective benefits, akin to challenges in global trade negotiations.

International Political Economy (IPE)

• Economic Liberalism (Adam Smith):
  • Advocates free markets as a pathway to prosperity.
  • Minimal government intervention in economic matters is preferred.
  • Example: Multinational Corporations (MNCs) fostering global trade.
• Mercantilism (Jean-Baptiste Colbert):
  • Aims for national wealth to enhance state power.
  • Supports protectionism as a means of economic survival.
  • Example: 19th-century British Empire enforced import restrictions to bolster domestic industry.
• Economic Nationalism:
  • Views trade as a zero-sum game; one nation’s gain is another’s loss.
  • Strong states secure economic competition using interventionist tactics.
• Marxism (Economic Radicalism):
  • Class struggle is central to economic relations.
  • Wealthy elites are seen as exploiting labor within capitalist frameworks.
  • Example: Dependency Theory illustrates how underdeveloped nations remain impoverished due to wealthy nations’ control over trade rules.

Trade & Development

• Comparative Advantage (Ricardo):
  • Suggests that nations should specialize in efficient production and trade with others.
  • Example: The UK focusing on financial services, while China specializes in manufacturing.
• Structural vs. Rationalist Explanations of Poverty:
  • Structuralism: Claims that global wealth distributions inhibit the growth of poorer countries.
  • Rationalism: Argues that poor nations make choices under constraints that impact their development.

Democracy & Political Systems

• Defining Democracy:
  • Schumpeter: Characterized by free elections.
  • Held: Democracy must ensure political equality and freedom.
  • Boix et al: Political leaders are chosen via free and fair elections that meet suffrage thresholds.
• Measuring Democracy:
  • Polity IV Index: Evaluates constraints on executive power.
  • Vanhanen’s Index: Assesses competition and levels of suffrage.
• Democratic Transitions:
  • Lipset (Modernization Theory): Claims industrialization and wealth foster democracy.
  • Barrington Moore: Argues that class struggles are pivotal for democratic success.
  • Rustow & O’Donnell: Attributes political transitions to elite alliances.