Chapter 1: Comparative Politics

What are the theoretical explanations of authoritarianism?

-economic explanation: authoritarianism is the expression of economic forces -cultural explanation: democratic values are not necessarily universal

What is a regime?

-a form of government -the set of rules and procedures, both formal and informal, that guides the operation of state institutions

What is ethnicity?

-a form of group identification or distinctiveness -often based on a perceived common biological ancestry in the distant past

What is fascism?

-a form of radical, aggressive nationalism -glorifies one's own people above all others -emphasizes intense racism and devotion to an all-powerful, heavily militarized state -these movements typically organize into parties with paramilitary (unofficial military) organizations and excessively praise their maximum leaders

What is liberalism?

-a philosophy of government -emphasizes guarantees of liberty -ideal political regime: liberal democracy -ideal economic system: free-market capitalism

What is socialism?

-a political and economic system -private enterprise (capitalism) is abolished and replaced by some form of common ownership of factories, farms, and other productive enterprises

What is authoritarianism (dictatorship)?

-a political regime type that places the governing authorities above the people -the people have little, if any, say in who governs them or how they are governed -non-representative government -restriction of individual freedoms/civil liberties -not necessary that the regime be correlated with a specific economic system

What is a monarchy?

-a type of authoritarian regime, in which a king, queen, emperor, or prince, often flanked by blood-related aristocrats, weilds effective power -sovereignty is embodied in a single individual

What is corporatism?

-an example of clientelism -a system in which the state sanctions a limited number of organizations to represent the interests of the public, and restricts those not set up or approved by the state -organizations are expected to further support for a politician -opposite of civil society

What is rent-seeking?

-an example of clientelism -an entity (person, company, special interest group) uses political influence to obtain some economic gain for themselves

What is pork?

-an example of clientelism -publicly funded projects promoted by legislators to bring money and jobs to their own districts, as a political favor to local politicians or citizens

What is totalitarianism?

-an exceptionally intrusive form of authoritarianism -regime in which the state monopolizes control not only over all institutions of government but also over the educational system, the media, science, and the arts -leaves little room for private liberty

Describe the facets of the rational choice approach to comparative politics.

-assumes all humans make decisions that are best for them -draws from the discipline of economics -unit of analysis: individuals -political behavior depends on individual decisions -reliance on data to draw conclusions -asssumes individuals' behavior is going to be rational and self-interested

Describe the facets of the structuralist approach to comparative politics.

-broader structures in society determine political behavior- (structure: larger environment in which actors/governments/countries operate) -unit of analysis: systemic level -does NOT study individual behavior -example: a country's behavior will depend on its position in the global economic system -nutshell: economics determines politics

What are the problems with the cultural approach?

-culture is ever-changing, subjective, vague -chicken and the egg scenario- what is the origin of culture and systems/institutions? --> does culture or institution come first?

What is a state?

-organization that monopolizes the use of violence within a territory in order to command the obedience of those living there with the laws and policies it has issued -the totality of a ocuntry's governmental institutions and officials, guided by the laws and procedures that structure their activities

What is class?

-the economic or status position of an individual or group in society -implies a hierarchy of status positions, with some persons having higher status and others lower status based on occupational and income differences

What is democracy? What is a democracy?

-the idea that the people should have the right to determine who governs them, and that there should be legal limits on the government's authority through guarantees that citizens will enjoy certain rights and freedoms -a political regime that offers regular opportunities for peaceful competition for political power, thereby allowing the people, no segment of which is forcibly excluded from participation, to hold their political leaders accountable

What are politics?

-the process by which societies decide how to authoritatively allocate the goods, services, and nontangible items they calue -is about who gets what, when, and how -involves the process by which individuals and groups come to hold power in society so that they are able to authoritatively allocate those items society values

What is political economy?

-the study of how people pursue collective economic goals and deal with conflicts over resources and other economic factors in an authoritative way by means of government -the relationship between the economy and the political system within a particular country or abstractly, in theory

What is political sociology?

-the study of the relationship between social identity and political behavior -how political power is distributed among social groups

What are 2 examples of structurist theories? Describe them.

1) Marxism -for Karl Marx, the (capitalist) economic system shapes political behavior, determines who has power, and how they can use it 2) Institutionalism -political behavior is influenced primarily by political institutions (both formal and informal rules)

What are the three approaches to comparative politics?

1) Rational choice approach 2) Structuralist approach 3) Culturalist approach

What are 3 examples of clientelism covered in class?

1. Rent-seeking 2. Corporatism 3. Pork

What are the 3 main ways authoritarian rulers maintain power?

1. Violence (use or threat) -costly in terms of reputation and finance -almost impossible to maintain power solely through violence 2. Clientelism- complex chain of personal bonds between political patrons and the governed based on mutual advantage -generally material advantage is exchanged for political support 3. Personality cults -the leader/dictator is promoted almost as a religious figure

What is the Gini coefficient/index?

a statistical measure of the relative *degree of socioeconomic inequality* within a particular country

What is ideology?

coherent set of ideas and guidelines that defines what the nature and role of government should be

What is the culturalist approach to comparative politics?

politics is a function of culture or value systems

What is science?

set of rules and methods for investigating reality logically and systematically

What are cleavages?

social divisions that are meaningful enough to shape political preferences

What are values?

spiritual or moral principles, ideals, or qualities of life that people favor for their own sake

What is a theocracy?

state run by religious authorities

What is international relations?

subfield of political science: -that examines relations between countries -whose main topics are diplomacy, international law, international economic relations, war, and peacemaking

What is transnationalism?

the concept that emphasizes the increasing movement of people and ideas across borders as the result of globalization

What is globalization?

the growing interconnectedness of governments, nonstate actors, and populations throughout the world through a variety of political, economic, technological, cultural, environmental, and other actions

What is comparative politics?

the subfield of political science that: -engages in the comparative examination of the political realities in countries all over the world -looks at the many ways governments operate and the ways people behave in political life -considers the actions of governments and individual political behavior comparatively -draws inferences and conclusions by comparing and contrasting

What is democratization?

the transition from nondemocratic to democratic forms of government