Lecture Notes on Comparative Politics: Mexico, Russia, China, UK, Nigeria, and Iran

Mexico

• The Saxena Rule: Discussed in the context of defining a corporate system.

• Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI): A development strategy. Mentioned with structural adjustment.

• Structural Adjustment: Economic reforms often involving the IMF and World Bank. Linked to privatization. It is mentioned once in the CED, along with the IMF and the World Bank assistance. Structural adjustment policies require privatizations

• Zapatista Uprising: An example of challenges during economic liberalization within a one-party dictatorship.

  • Coincided with NAFTA, involving migration, globalization, and economic liberalization.

  • Related to social cleavages and legitimacy.

• Political Reform: The fall of the PRI involved reforms such as the creation of the National Electoral Institute (INE).

  • INE as an example of an electoral regulatory organization.

• Transition: Mexico's shift from corporatism to pluralism.

• Leaders: Names not in CED, but important for context.

• Government Structure:

  • Presidential with a single executive.

  • Federal and symmetrical bicameral system.

  • No runoff elections and single six-year term.

  • Senate approves appointments; Chamber of Deputies deals with revenue bills.

  • Civil law system.

• Pemex:

  • State-owned oil company.

  • Reforms to create competition were reversed by AMLO.

• Multiparty System:

  • Mexico is a good example because the UK has two main parties, Iran's parties don't matter, and only on party matters in Russia.

  • Transition from PRI to PAN, back to PRI, and then Morena.

• Social Cleavages:

  • North-South divide.

  • Indigenous vs. mestizo population.

  • Rural vs. urban divide.

• Media Freedom: Threatened by drug cartels.

• Civil Society: Transitioning from corporatism to pluralism, but still weak due to historical one-party rule.

  • AMLO and Sheinbaum seen as potentially undermining civil society.

• Foreign Direct Investment: The maquiladoras as an example, especially in Northern Mexico.

• Comparison: Mexico and Nigeria:

  • Similarities: Single executive, federalism, bicameral system.

  • Drug cartels connect to rule of law, military involvement, journalistic freedom, and civil liberties.

  • Civil liberties have declined due to drug cartel violence.

• IMF and Austerity: Structural adjustment policies may require privatizations. Austerity may be related to it.

• Oil (Pemex vs. Gazprom): Good to know nationalization of resources and countries policies in regards to it.

  • Pemex is completedly owned by the state.

• Federal Structure:

  • Constitutional division of power.

  • Fairly weak during PRI due to one-party rule.

  • Strengthened with a multiparty system.

  • Abortion policies as an example of states making their own decisions.

• Zapatista Uprising Causes and Effects:

  • Causes: Indigenous rights, anti-globalization.

  • Effects: Negotiated end, violence, promises unfulfilled.

• Independence of Judiciary:

  • CED says Nigeria and Mexico have greater independence and power of judiciary.

  • Recent changes may affect this.

• Senate and Chamber of Deputies Election:

  • Mix of first past the post and proportional representation.

  • Senate: Three senators per state, two from one party, one from another.

  • Chamber of Deputies: 300 first past the post, 200 proportional representation.

• International Organizations:

  • NAFTA (now USMCA) is an agreement, not an organization.

  • IMF as a relevant organization.

Russia

• Political Systems: The course is organized from substantive democracy, to so-so democracy, and then to authoritarian democracy to highlight democracy versus authoritarianism.

• Yeltsin Era: Rapid economic liberalization led to failure, corruption, and the rise of oligarchs.

• Putin Era:

  • Centralization of power under a single-party dominant system.

  • Manipulation to stay in power (switcheroo with Medvedev).

  • Constitutional changes to extend terms of office.

  • Renationalization of natural resources.

  • Conflicts with other countries to distract from domestic issues.

• Semi-Presidential System:

  • Mix of presidential (separate elections, checks and balances) and parliamentary (prime minister appointed by president) elements.

  • Weaker upper house (Federation Council representing regions).

• Judiciary:

  • Rule by law, not rule of law.

  • Power to review, but not used against executive power.

• Asymmetric Federalism:

  • Accommodating regional differences, especially for ethnic minorities.

  • Federalism is generally weak due to the dominant party.

• Electoral System:

  • Mixed system, similar to Mexico superficially.

  • Winter protests as an example of protesting fraudulent elections.

• Society:

  • Ethnic cleavages, such as the Chechens, coinciding with region, ethnicity, religion, and political violence.

  • Orthodox Church emphasizing religion for legitimacy.

  • Renter state and the resource curse.

  • Reliance on a natural resource (oil), which creates fluctuations in the economy, there is corruption, and there are hurts on democracy.

  • Involved in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) to extend regional influence.

  • State-owned media used for political visualization.

• Parliamentary System Result in More Efficiency and Lawmaking? Because there is no chance of divided government. The executive is chosen from within the legislature.

• How Did the Chechen Civil War Increase Putin's Legitimacy? By being able to exercise sovereignty over the territory. Then was able to resolve that and increase nationalism by able to resolve the conflict, conduct a referendum solidify his control.

• In What Ways Does Russia Maintain the Appearance of Democracy? Elections, with a high voter turnout and large margins and election results generally accepted by the public. Also following the constitution of constitutional amendments.

• Elite Structures: Patron clientelism, or clientelistic network.

China

• Deng Xiaoping:

  • Economic liberalization, such as Special Economic Zones (SEZs) leading to migration to Eastern cities.

  • No political liberalization, as exemplified by Tiananmen Square.

• Xi Jinping:

  • Fight against corruption to solidify power.

  • Reversed the one-child policy.

  • Cult of personality and crackdown on Hong Kong.

• Political System:

  • Emphasis on the party over government institutions.

  • Key institutions: Politburo and Standing Committee, General Secretary, President, Premier, National People's Congress (NPC).

  • Politburo shapes policies and chooses leadership.

  • NPC grants legitimacy.

  • Premier implements laws.

  • General Secretary wears three hats.

• Civil Society: Limited, with tight control.

• Political Parties: A one-party system and non opposition parties because those eight parties all have the ideology of socialism with China characteristics for a new era. Those parties represent segments of the population, such as people that the professors and represent the aspirations of reuniting with Taiwan..

• Elections: Only village elections are direct.

• Unitary State: Central government has all power, but can grant autonomy to regions, such as autonomous regions and special economic zones.

• Rule by Law: Legal system used to enforce the party's will.

• Ethnic Cleavages:

  • Tibetans and Uighurs facing coinciding cleavages of region, religion, and ethnicity.

  • Totalitarian state in Xinjiang with mass surveillance and concentration camps.

• Hukou System: Restricts migration and creates urban-rural cleavages.

• One Country, Two Systems: Hong Kong's autonomy being diminished.

• One Child Policy: Demographic challenges and aging population.

• Media: The Great Firewall illustrating control and censorship.

• Economy: State control, but member of WTO.

• China's Legislature: Rubber stamp. The NPC is the most powerful on paper but the same committee is the one that's at at the center of power.

• Cleavages in the Hukou System?: Creates urban rural cleavage where the system reinforces inequalities..

UK

• Wellandourg State: Important concept

• Corporatism vs. Pluralism: The U.K. is an example.

• Northern Ireland: Example of cleavages with religion and national identities, leading to the Good Friday Agreement.

• Thatcher Era:

  • Economic liberalization, including privatization, deregulation, and reduced power of unions.

  • Led to economic growth but also inequality.

• Blair Era:

  • Mix of socialism and neoliberalism.

  • Devolution and anti-immigrant sentiments.

• Conservatives: (2010 - 2024):

  • Austerity

  • Coalition governments.

  • Coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

  • Prime ministers were very disposable and had very little job security.

• Brexit:

  • Not specifically in the CED, but involves sovereignty, immigration, referendums, and anti-immigrant parties.

• First Past the Post:

  • Disadvantages the minor political parities.

  • Conservatives and labor are the two dominate parities.

• Government Structure:

  • Ceremonial head of state (king) and head of government (prime minister).

  • Various checks on the prime minister, like Prime Minister's Questions and votes of no confidence.

  • BBC and the government operates independently from each other.

• Civil Service: Less ideological bureaucracy.

• Constitution: Unwritten, based on precedent and parliamentary sovereignty.

• Parliamentary Sovereignty: Parliament's actions are automatically constitutional.

• House of Lords: Revisions, but gives good suggestions, mostly by revising laws, not outright blocking them.

• Supreme Court: Relatively new, with limited judicial review.

• Unitary State and Devolution: Central government can choose to devolve powers to regions like Scotland and Wales, but can also revoke them.

• Demographic Shifts: Aging population and post-materialism.

• Coalition Governments: A partnership between other parties because one parity does not have outright majority.

• Parliamentary System: The Cabinet members are selected from within the legislature.

  • Is the UK Pluralist or Corporatist?: Pluralist, but during the era of the collectivist consensus before Margaret Thatcher in which there was the strong power of the labor unions within nationalized industries they were corporatist.

Nigeria

• Comparisons: Mexico and Nigeria are a popular pair for comparing and contrasting.

• Ethnic Groups: Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo, are the three main ethnic groups.

• Biafran Civil War: Illustrates the potential for ethnic conflict and separatist movements.

• Frontier State: Demonstrates the effects of corruption and authoritarianism. Nigeria had a bunch of military coups before then and there was tons of regime changes.

• Niger River Delta: Features oil extraction, civil society activism, and public-private partnerships.

• Transition Since 1999: Has been a continuous republic and democracy .

• Political Parties: PDP and APC are the two dominant parties.

• Government Structure:

  • Similar to Mexico:

    • Residential, single executive, federal, bicameral.

  • Ethnic quotas, called federal character quotas, are used in the bureaucracy.

  • There are also mechanisms in place to make sure the different ethnicities are represented.

  • Senate represents the regions, with three senators per state.

• Federalism:

  • Allows different ethnicities to be represented and provides regional autonomy.

  • Accommodates Sharia law in the North.

• INEC: Nigeria and Mexico both have independent national electoral commission, unlike the UK and Russia.

• Social Movements: These are MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.) The anti SARS protest are police force that was that was doing police violence.

• Media: Relatively free, but faces violence against journalists.

• Renter State: Nigeria is the best example of the resource course and the impacts a rentier state has.

• Demography: A high fertility rate leads to a high dependency ratio and a youth-dominated population.

• ECOWAS: Is a member of this regional trade organization and they have been involved with some peacekeeping operations and security.

• Patron Clientelism: or Clientelistic network is how elite structures work

  • The three main ethnic groups are Hausa Fulani group the Aruba's and the Igbo those names need to be known. Which one is in the north with Muslim, west with mix, Southeast, and christian.
    *. How Federalism has created for a Federal system accommodations for Sharia law in the North so also has an application connection to religion in the course but also political systems and civil unrest as an example of accommodating regional tensions through a system of federalism.

• OPEC: The organization of petroleum exporting countries Nigeria is number

Iran

• Revolution: Illustrates a total transition of the system and dual sources of legitimacy from religion and elections (Islamic Republic).

• Government Institutions: The modulates. The president. The assembly of experts. The supreme leader. The military and the guardian council. I need to go ahead and start memorizing these.

• President: Head of government, not head of state. Does not have control of the military or Foreign affairs.

• Election: Get majority of the vote.

• Modulates: The Islamic consultative assembly. It is Unit camerola. Which means there is another legislative and what is the chamber is directly elect. They have limited power. . It does say though they are official identified for religious minority

  • Assembly of Experts: Are elected and they choose the supreme leader.

• Supreme Leader: Chief executive ultimately control everything military foreign policy religion Culture etc.
  *. Guardian council is going to be on the a P Exam. The reason why this could. Is supervisor elections like like ice a N EC.

• Pat. The candidates reduces electric competition for the Guardian Council.

  • Has power to remove some officials, even present.
    *. It also gets to decide that laws compatible with the Constitution in their interpretation of Sharia there.

• Resolves Differences Between The Modulelets In The Guardian Council with the expediency council.
  *. There is a mix of conservatism in reformist for the Guardian's Council. But what the Supreme late chosen some.
  *. The party system does not matter. There is for farmers are there in concept conservative. The election serve as a pressure valve, I mean it's a lot about the stem of the election from Green ment.
  *. High percentage should faith should add Iris or shake pretty well connected.

• Strong restriction on civil society like many countries.
  *. The reliance on national resources like with sanctions have created a resource curse.