Ch. 1 - intro to comp. pol.

Comparative Politics and International Relations

- Comparative politics focuses on power and decision making within national boundaries - International relations focuses on the interactions between national governments

comparative politics

- Diversity of political, economic, and social life among nations exists in every period of history. - Comparative politics attempts to understand this diversity, assessing current events in the light of fundamental and long-standing questions. - A major subfield of political science

politics

- competition for public power, and power is the ability to extend one's will. - The process by which human communities make collective decisions

comparative method

A comparison of states that are similar on most issues but differ on a key question. i.e.: Most Similar Design- Michael Bratton and Nicholas van de Walle (1997) on transition to democracy in Africa; Different Systems Design- Revolutions around the world

Democracy

A regime in which citizens have basic rights of open association and expression and the ability to change the government through some sort of electoral process

Authoritarian regime

A regime lacking democratic characteristics, ruled by a single leader or small group of leader

Political ideology

A systematic set of beliefs about how a political system ought to be structured

Theory

An abstract element that provides a systematic explanation of some phenomena

Normative theory

An argument explaining what ought to occur rather than what does occur

political actor

Any person or group engaged in political behavior Individual motivation Culture and ideology Underlying structures

rational choice theory

Assumes that people are rational, have self-defined interests and the knowledge and ability to pursue those preferences - oil company vs environmental group

Civil Society (participation & representation)

Civil Society: Organizations outside of the state that help people define and advance their own or common interests. Why and how do people participate in the political process? How do strong "identity politics" affect the stability of democracy? What is the role of civil society, interest groups, and political parties?

problems in comparative research

Controlling a large number of variables Multicausality- controlling the interaction of variables Limitations to access of information from cases Area Studies focus- uneven research across cases and regions Researcher/selection bias Endogeneity- variables may be either cause or effect

Regime type and change

Democratic and authoritarian regimes

Political Economy

Do some types of regimes produce better economic outcomes than others? Some authoritarian systems provide strong economic growth (i.e. China) and others do not (i.e. Nigeria) Some democracies are capable of achieving beneficial economic outcomes, while others do not.

marxism

Economic structures largely determine political behavior

Political Institutions

Embody norms or values that are considered central to people's lives and thus not easily changed. - Formal institutions - Informal institutions (Guiding Concepts and Ideals)

single case studies

Examining a particular political phenomenon in just one country or community.

Policy Making

How do different regimes decide on which policies to pursue? Who is most influential in the policy-making process? Do decisions reflect the will of the people?

Rational-choice institutionalism

Institutions are the products of the interaction and bargaining of rational actors

psychological theory

Look for non-rational explanations: individuals' psychological experiences or dispositions - political leaders

Freedom and Equality

People may struggle for political power, but what are they fighting for? What is it they seek to achieve once they have gained power? Politics is driven by the ideal of reconciling individual freedom and collective equality. (Guiding Concepts and Ideals)

Major Topics in Comparative Politics

Political development Regime type and change Participation and representation Policy-making processes Political economy

why study comparative politics?

Political scientists conduct cross-country comparisons in order to answer the variations that can exist in political institutions, democratic and non-democratic regimes, the role of government in economic and social affairs, citizens' participation, and political behavior. Comparing countries can help us make arguments about cause and effect by drawing evidence from across space and time. - Can focus on the politics of one specific country (at the national or local level) - Can focus on comparing several spaces ( ie: urbanization of capital cities, regional development etc.) - Can focus on comparing issues and processes in one or more places through time

pluralist theory

Power dispersed among various political groups in society ex: patron-client relationships

elite theory

Societies ruled by elite with effective control over virtually all power ex: Marxism, neocolonialism, patriarchy

Where do particular political phenomena occur and why do they occur where they do?

Sweden vs US on welfare

how to approach comparative research

The best comparativists are aware of their own biases but still can use various methods to generate the most systematic evidence possible to come to logical conclusions. We approach the subject without normative concerns, our own ideas about what a "good society" should be, and what role government should have in it. We try to do research on interesting questions as scientifically and systematically as possible to develop the best evidence we can provide a solid basis for government policy. (p.13)

case studies

The eleven countries include a majority of the most populous countries in the world and provide a representative sample of different kinds of modern political history. Four wealthy democracies (US, UK, Germany, Japan) Two post-Communist countries (Russia, China) Largest and most enduring democracy (India) World's only theocracy (Iran) New democracies after lengthy authoritarian rule (Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria)

political science

The systematic study of politics and power

Comparative Politics helps us:

To understand political issues in various countries. To examine the decision making process and its actors within national boundaries. To understand political events in various countries and to generate lessons that can be applied elsewhere. To develop broad theories about how politics works.

big questions

What explains political behavior? Who rules? Where and why? Focus is on why and how did modern nations and states arise

what explains political behavior

Why do political actors act as they do in the political arena? Political actor: Any person or group engaged in political behavior - Individual motivation - Culture and ideology - Underlying structures

Political culture theories

Widely held values and beliefs help explain political behavior, and influences the various dimensions of power. - modernists - postmodernists

Empirical theory

an argument explaining what actually occurs

modernists

believe clear attitudes, values, and beliefs can be identified within a political culture ie: Almond & Verba (1963) The Civic Culture

Participation and representation

civil society represent the interest of citizens in the political process

power

first dimension second dimension third dimension

guiding concepts and ideals

freedom and equality political institutions

inductive reasoning

means by which we go from studying a case to generating a hypothesis.

political development

modernization: the transformation of poor agrarian societies into wealthy industrial societies - some countries have rapid economic transformation and establish electoral democracies (south korea) - Some poor countries are democratic (Ghana) Some nondemocratic countries achieve great economic change (Vietnam)

Political development

nation-states go through a process of economic development or modernization.

Policy-making

national and/or local government. make policies that govern society.

who rules? theories

pluralist theory elite theory

structuralism

political behavior is influenced & limited & determined by socioeconomic or political structures - marxism - rational-choice institutionalism

culture and ideology

political culture theories - modernists postmodernists political ideology

major topics in comp pol- the big issues

political development regime type and change participation and representation policy making political economy

individual motivation

rational choice theory psychological theory

Postmodernists

see culture as sets of symbols that political actors can use ie: Inglehart (1971) on quality of life > economic issues

Political economy

seek economic policies that are most likely to be beneficial in cultural, social and political contexts.

research methods

single case studies comparative method quantitative statistical techniques inductive reasoning deductive reasoning

Deductive Reasoning

starts with a puzzle and from there generate some hypothesis about cause and effect to test against a number of cases. i.e: Case of North Korea

scientific method in developing a theory

theory empirical theory normative theory

Quantitative statistical techniques

used to systematically compare a large number of cases. i.e.: Collier and Hoeffler (2001 ) on ethnic divisions, who often seem to be the cause of civil war, are not as important as assumed.