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This does not always mean that you use force. Hard (Military Power, Police) and Soft power (leading by example without exerting force). Authority: “Employed to denote power that is viewed as proper and is voluntarily accepted by those who are governed. Authority usually rests with a legitimate gobo. X: Democracies. Legitimacy: “When people freely accept those who yield power over theme, power is legitimate. ” If a gobo is seen as legitimate, even when they coerce power over you, they have the right, but there is a limit to the use of power. Institutions: Organizations or patterns of activity that are self perpetuating and valued for their own stake. The rules and norms that governs a place. Formal and Informal Institutions (look in the intro reading) Comparative Politics as a Subject of Study Political Theory: How do you live a good life?
How can we know what a good state looks like? What is good and proper behavior? They ask normative questions. International Relations: There is a bit of overlap b/n IR and COP Comparative Politics (COP): study of domestic politics across countries. Public Policy: Look at public administration American Politics: IN US, American politics is a sub-field These are studies you can find w/n filed of COP 1. Ideas a. Democracy b. Authoritarianism c. Totalitarianism 2. Issues a. Political Economy b. Immigration 3. Institutions a.
Electoral Systems b. Constitutions c. Party Systems Comparative Politics as a Method (Ask) 1. Experimental Method: Scientific Method . As a result of ME, you can hold other variables constant b. However, you can’t control variables in COP because true comparisons cannot be made as each case is different. Countries, economies, culture and geography is so diverse it is difficult to control for these differences. 2. Statistics a. Try to achieve same rigor as experimental method b. Gather data on world as is, then run statistical analysis c.
Can tell “correlation” (2 variables related to each other) and “Causation” (when one variable causes the other) d. Small-n problem- there is only 196 countries in the world and that is barely enough for statistical robustness Problems with these Methods? (Ask) Three main problems with the social sciences: 1. Free-will?? 2. Cannot run real life in a laboratory? 3. Ethical a. Stanford prison experiment 1973 b. Malaria experiment, Yale, 1961 -Study on obedience to authority. 3. Components of a Comparative Research Design a. Research Question b. Hypothesis c. Variables d. Organization e. Analysis f.
Conclusion Categories of Comparison 1) Political Culture/ Political Development: When did democracy come to France and how? 2) Actors, Institutions and Process- Constitutional/governmental arrangements, arties/representations Thursday September 18, 2014 The History of the Filed Roots of the Field Early Example Aristotle idea True Constitutions Perverted Constitutions One Ruler Kingship Tyranny Few Rulers Aristocracy Oligarchy Many Rulers Polity Democracy Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, Smith, Hobbes, etc Rousseau, Hobbes, Locke: Different visions of what social theory can and is like.
Commonalities (between the above) Normative- these philosophers were normative ex: “A woman ought to do this” Blurred Lines- they blurred the lines between the different filled. They did not have a specific course of study. The modern university (late 19th, early tech) Cities are starting to grow Different ideologies More people going into the sciences 1903 Political Science created as a field in USA WWW Disastrous After war, many come out saying we can do better than this. Political Science and IR gets more attention Many new theories, moment to re-evaluate and come up with a solution to prevent this from happening again.
AS is now there to improve the world After WWW we get a more structural analysis of human behavior etc>>MODERN Birth of modern political “science” – sass After WWW II Questions such as How do we democratic becomes important? Communism Modernization Theory Dominant in the sass and sass Structural Functionalism Sees politics as a system (regardless of where you are the state performs a function) Performs certain functions: l. Input (society to government) II. Process Ill. Output(policy) The ideal according Modernization Theory is to establish British Type/ American type democracy all over the world.
At this time people are now going to get their Degreed in COP, and study a country government and advise on how that government can be like that of US or British Democracy Modernization Theory Example A) Seymour M. Set, “Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy’ (1959) Democracy depends upon Development Legitimacy 4 indicators of economic development l. Wealth II. Industrialization Ill. Education IV. Arbitration If a country has the above 4 the more democratic it will be .
B) Gabriel Almond And Sidney Verbal, “The Civic Culture” )1963) Civic Culture (the independent variable) explains political structure (democratic stability, dependent variable) 3 types of culture Subject Parochial Participatory 3 types of polity Authoritarian Traditional Democratic The Collapse of Grand Theory Failures of Modernization Theory Third World- stays poor despite all the developmental systems thrown at it. Many countries made authoritarian even after election. Vietnam- a failure from an American perspective. Vietnam falls to pieces despite all the advisors were sent there.
Behavioral Revolution- this goes hand in hand with modernization theory. Power and politics recognized as factors Bigger forces at play. The role the state plays in society “Islands of Theory’ We no longer have grand theories or ambitions to create grand theories that explain the world we live in. There are limits to them. Modernization Theory Critique Adam Oppressors & Fernando Liming “Modernization: Theories and Facts (1997) Democracies are increasingly stable as per capita income rises Development does not have to breed democracy Above a GAP of $6000, dictatorships are very stable (also below $1000).
Islands of Theory 1. Rational Choice Borrowed from Economics On aggregate people are rational People have rational preferences that they purse Useful Theory because Clear and parsimonious Game Theory Mathematically precise Can be applied comparatively Criticisms of Rational Choice Theory Theory can’t be falsified Emotions matter- this is what cultists would say. Ex: Scotland voting to leave B. Economically makes no sense, but the sentiments of the people matter. Retreat from fields where theory does not perform well Models can create diametrically opposing predictions. . Cultural Problem with terminology- Abstract, slippery term Some definitions A system of meaning people use to manage their daily world Basis of social and political identity that affects how people line up to act on a wide range of matters Frames the context in which politics occurs Cultural Theorists: Example -Samuel Huntington Clash of Civilization: Dividing the World Criticism of Political Culture Poor at explaining rapid change Unit of analysis is unclear Much variation within culture Difficult to make parsimonious theory 3.
Institutionalism Uses branches of theory to build upon: I. Historical Institutionalism 1 . Path Dependence- explains how the set of decisions one faces for any given circumstance is limited by the decisions one has made in the past, even though past circumstances may no longer be relevant ii. Sociological Institutionalism 1 . Culture- here we see agency being lost. The individual gets lost and is about how you perceive the world. The individual actors role gets lost in this whole process. Al. Ration Choice Institutionalism 1 .
Game Theory- Close to rational choice approach Criticisms It is too broad to be theory: anything is an institution Institutions easily explain preferences, but not change. KAVA (Keenan, King, Verbal) Science according to KAVA 1 . Inference-make descriptive deductions based on what you see happening in the real world 2. Public procedures- what you have to do has to be public, because otherwise the public would not know if your stats or research is reliable 3. Method is key- You have to explicit. State your methods and hypothesis. 4. Falsifiable theory- Theory can be contradiction
They argue that the same rule of the hard sciences applies to the social sciences. Sunday Seep 21 THE STATE Online English Dictionary- “a territory considered as an organized political community under one government Components: Territory People Government Sovereignty The World Before States “State of Nature” A state of being in which there is no state to speak of. Society before the state. Thomas Hobby: Bleak view- Humans are bad by nature and need the state to protect you Locke- Optimistic view of nature- but we need state to protect private property. Locke and Hobby living in different times. State arises when:
Society becomes bigger, more complex Divided by private property Then you need an overarching authority to impose law on others Evolution of Society Bands- blood ties, kinks and very communal living. Hunter gatherer society Tribes- As animal domestication sets in and agriculture grows, we see tribes. Blood lines, kinks, Vikings. Chiefdom- Complex and need a leader>>CHief State- When society begins to grow even further>>City>>State The state appears approximately 5000 years ago. Egypt, Mesopotamia etc. The Success of the Modern State Modern Nation-State Roots in Europe Peace of Westphalia, 1648 Ends 30 years war. Creation of sovereignty. This was 2 treaties. Rulers agreed to two principles. A) You as a ruler get to choose your own state religion without outside interference. B) You as a ruler have a say what happens in your domain. Components Complex institutions I. E. Bureaucracy, etc. The Success of the Modern State cont’d. 1. Rise in productivity in human labor- ex: Per capita income growth in Europe. Massive wealth creation because of Capitalism. 2. Demographic Growth-all over the world. 10,000 years ago only about 5 to 6 million people, now an average middle sized city in China has this population.
Today billion Pl on earth. 3. Arbitration- Demographic growth brings with it Arbitration. 5000 years ago is when cities begin to appear and over time more and more people have been living in cities. By 2030 60% of the population will be living in cities. Structural Explanation: Jarred Diamond “Guns, Germs, and Steel” His book looks at the obvious tools that the Europeans had when they went to the New World. They Had disease, weapons and steel, superior technology to the natives. Why did Europe get there first vs.. Other countries? He comes up with an interesting explanation that has to do with domesticated mammals.
Most of these large domesticated mammals live in Eurasia whereas in Americas only the llama. This gives Eurasian power over others. This gives them more resources and allows them to sustain large populations and dominate others. This is how the western state came to be Counter Argument: Fauvism which is about Institutions and another Example is Animal Ferguson Institutional Explanation: Animal Ferguson and Fauvism (Reading) Civilization: The West and the Rest Europeans had different and better institutions that helped them get far. Ideas and institutions are important. 1 .
Competition- Competition between corporations existed in England. Not in China 2. Scientific Revolution- Different from science that had been achieved in the Oriental world. It gave men control over nature in a way that was not possible before>>Accurate Artillery. There is no scientific nowhere else while its happening in Europe 3. Property Rights- Rule of law based on private property rights. Comparison between North and South America. By sass in Mexico they were able to have some private property whereas Canada was way ahead. 4. Modern Medicine-Lower mortality rates due to modern Medicine 5.
Consumer Society 6. Work Ethics- Institutions create incentive to work. West has lost its work ethics today. Someone in Korea works 1000 hours more per year than an average person in Germany. Any society can adopt these institutions and when they do, they can achieve what the west achieved after the sass. However, each nation has to follow a particular sequencing of these institutions best suited for their needs. Failed States Components: Loss of physical control of territory Erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions An inability to provide reasonable public service
Demographic pressure Massive movement of peoples Legacy of vengeance-seeking group grievance Chronic and sustained human flight ECONOMIC Uneven economic development along Group lines Sharp and/or severe economic decline POLITICAL Crystallization and or De-legitimizing of the state Progressive deterioration of public services Widespread violation of Human rights Security apparatus operates as a state within a state Why Care? Failed states often lead to civil war Could lead to Spillover
Breakdown of public health and infrastructure>>famine and epidemics Illicit trade (ex: weapon trade) Terrorism (once there are large uncontrolled areas non-state groups emerge such as ISIS or AH-Qaeda) Sheer loss of Human life Discussions Do you believe that the state will remain the main unit of political organization for the foreseeable future? Opinions Vary: My opinion: State will remain in power. What does Herbs Argue? He argues taxation: war is incentive for taxation- need security, you have to pay taxes. We need to be able to sustain an army to fight the enemy. Nationalism: “the other” – enemy.
Ex: French are attacking us we need to unite and fight them. In Africa they don’t have threat from “other” therefore no unity, different clans and tribes. Do you believe propping up weak states is a good policy? It is good, but not based on a western model. One size doesn’t fit all. SAPs= PROBLEMATIC. Stronger states might take advantage of weak states. There is a difference between good politics and good policies. Don’t give them assistance, but help them set up institutions that could help theme et stronger. Is the Western State model worth replicating? What are its strengths?
What are its weaknesses? Thursday September 25, 2014 The Democratic State Democracy: What is it? What is needed for it to flourish? Some suggestions by political scientists 1. Secure national boundaries 2. Stable states 3. Large acceptance of democratic value-if we are having an election and if you lose you are not going to immediately run into the street with guns and fight the other candidate. 4. Agreement to the rules of the game- 5. Economic Requirements Common Components of Representative (Liberal) Democracy 1 . Popular accountability of gobo. – leaders must be freely and fairly elected 2.
Political competition- voters need to have a choice between party or candidates 3. Alternation in Power- change in party / candidate 4. Popular representation- generally speaking the gobo has to be responsive to the wants of the population at large 5. Majority Decision/Minority Rights- 6. Right of Dissent-You have to be able to protest. 7. Political Equality-One person one vote. 8. Popular Consultation-Gobo has to be responsive and consult with others,