POLS242 Mid-Term Exam
New Self-determination
Advanced by the US post ww1: Conditioned US assistance to allies on their commitment to recede their powers and that indigenous communities could govern themselves--all African states were established
Freedom
Any adult can run for government
Charles Tilly's Theory of the State
Around the Treaty of Versailles: States needed the capacity to go to war Empires, monarchs, other polites had the capacity Technological advancement increased the scope of war, needed the mobilization of resources Need for expansive bureaucracy that collected taxes Institutions to extract resources, create rules
Issue with nationalism
As much as a system attempts to be civic, there will always be an ethic component of your citizenship
Methods of Mass Membership
Attach access to resources (bigger housing etc.) with party membership--"access to a better life"
Creation of Nationhood
Attributed to Gellner's Theory
Personalistic Rules
Authoritarianism and Monarchies
Civil Society
Autonomous public society beyond control of the state. Operates between family and state, voluntary membership
Ethic Nationalism
Based on cultural nationalism: Based on perception of shared history, boundaries are high (conversion of religion, renunciation of ethnic background)
Rational Choice
Begins from assumption that groups/individuals are driven by interest, are strategic and conduct a cost benefit analysis that guides their actions/political behaviour
Accountability
Being constitutionally responsible to the public--Schmitter and Karl find it important
Imaginative communities
Brings together otherwise disparate people--The image in our minds that gives us a sense of nationhood to individuals we do not know i.e. Canadian World Juniors
Example of civic nationalism
Canada: religion/ethnic/linguistic aspect irrelevant, once youre a citizen you are Canadia
Political behaviour
Caused by institutional framework, which determines how political actors will behave
Patrick O'Neil's definition of Authoritarianism
Centralized power without being constitutionally responsible to the public: No competition, accountability, or representativenes
Examples of Single Party Regimes
China, North Korea, Fascist Italy, Germany
Nationalism
Claim that sovereignty should be congruent with a national community--the political state should express the national self determination of a nation
Benedict Anderson
Coined the term imaginative communities
Single Party Communist Regimes
Combined with other types of authoritarianism, exist with totalitarian regimes, but ideology is no more than just "lip service"
Dahl's Seven Indicators of Democracy
Competition Inclusive Suffrage Elected Officials Freedom of Speech Freedom of Expression Freedom of Association Freedom of Media/Press
Sierra Leone
Considered a collapsed state, but has managed to resurrect
Totalitarian Regimes
Control the interes
Lebanon 1975-90
Country consumed by civil war that challenged the legitimacy of central authority. Resurrected in 1990, but still a weak state, but surviving
Cause and Effect Analysis
Creating a hypothesis of a political phenomena, and implementing it into other cases to test its strength
Two types of regimes
Democracy and authoritarianism
Recency of democracy
Democracy is still relatively recent--women did not have the right to vote in Switzerland until 1971
Cause and Effect with Similar Example
Democratization in Poland (1990s) vs. Tunisia (2011)--Different policies, successful democratization Canada vs. UK--Similar System, different government
Gellner's Political Economy Theory
Describes the emerges of states and nations. Purpose is to meet the needs of industrial economy: mobile workforce, required education, standardized language The need to homogenize the culture
Authoritative Policies (allocation of values)
Easton: Web of decisions that allocated values, ois authoritative with the people whom is intended to apply, must be/forced to obey
Example of Military Regime
Egypt 2012-13: Overthrew government to protect their position in Egyptian economy--put veil over regime to legitimize takeover by essentially banning competition-President behind bars
Examples of Civil Society
Environmentalist groups, Sports Team, Women's rights group, NRA, ANti-Gun lobbysits
Difference between Tilly and Gellner
Focus on industrialization and taxation, and the focus on educating systems
Issue with civil societies
GRoups are not always "civil" with each other and can engage in serious disputes i.e. Pro choice vs. Pro life
Creation of nations
Gellner: Homogenization of culture created nations: South France and Paris did not speak the same language, homogenization created unity
Illegitimate Force
Groups that attempt to exert authority to make rules that are different from those of the state, and exercise physical force to enforce their rules
Example of Ethic Nationalism
Hungary: You have to be born in Hungary to be Hungarian, you cannot immigrate and take on the culture to be a citizen
Robert Dahl's Polyarchy
Ideal type of an institutional order: When one state holds a majority of the constitutional order, it holds a democracy (Synonym for democracy)
Political Culture vs. Rational Choice
If one believes in diversity, they support parties for immigration, if one is worried about their safety, they will support those against
Freedom of media/press
If the government controls the media, citizens will not have the sufficient knowledge to vote for representatives
Institutionalism
Institutions are defined as the rules of the game in society
Example of Revolution
Iran 1979: Replacing government apparatus as well as restructuring society from a secular to religious one
The "how"
Lasswell: Power dynamics in politics: How do varying power dynamics view varying distributional effects?
The "who"
Lasswell: Powerholders or elites who are in a position to determine resource allocation: They have the most of what there is to get. Lasswell views elites as main power holders of society and who decides resource distribution
The "when"
Lasswell: Time matters. Different points of time mean different powerful actors, meaning different values will be gained/lost
The "what"
Lasswell: Varies from society to society. What is valuable can vary over time.
Examples of modern weak/failed states
Lebanon 1975-90, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Syria
Political Sociology
Looks at the political characteristics of society as the main attributes of it. You can predict political outcomes based on demographics/education/gender etc.
Failed State
Lost its capacity to expect anything we'd expect the government to do, consumed by civil war and violence, cannot provide services to its inhabitants, unable to provide security, judicial system, effective judiciary, transportation, communication services, unable to collect taxes, and ultimately becomes illegitimate in the eyes of many
Absolute Monarchy
Monarch owns state and society
Coup de ta
More common occurrence than a revolution, involves irregular overthrow of government by the military
Revolution
More comprehensive and less common than coup de ta, involves irregular overthrow of government
Civic nationalism
National identities that claim to be exclusive: Do not discriminate, is congruent with citizenship. "If they are a citizen of the state, they are members of the nation
Totalitarian regimes
Neither social or political pluralism. Controls the identities of the people. Referred to as personal rule
Values (Easton)
Normally associated with norms or codes of appropriate behaviour but Easton uses values to refer to what society attributes value (Can be material)
Easton's Definition of Political System
Not a structure, but a functional set of interactions. Conceived as a continuous feedback loop. Authorities->Output->Policies->Feedback
Issue of new state emergence
Not nationally homogenous, inorganic institution development, unreflective of social reality
Political spectrum
Notion that regimes can experience characteristics of both democracy/authoritarianism, but not considered one or the other
Examples of illegitimate force
Organized crime, rebel groups, occasionally religious groups
Military-Party Coup
Parties and Military combine to join a coup Personnel in party and military officers overlap
Taxation (Easton)
People accept paying taxes as authoritative as a penetrative and interventionist policy in our lives--our money is being authoritatively allocated for us
David Easton
Political Scientist who focused on the functionality of society
Harold Lasswell
Political Scientist who focused on the power of society
Theocratic regimes
Political power and source of authority of leadership is said to derive from divine authority—the right to rule on grounds of their religious standing--only accountable to "god"
Lasswell's Definition of Politics
Politics is about who gets what, when, and how
Impracticalness of Democracy
Populations are too large to have the entire population "govern themselves"
Periods of new political systems
Post WW1, Post WW2, post Soviet Union
Society
Refers to the entire population within the boundaries of the state
Sovereignty
Refers to the ultimate legal authority over and responsibility for the conduct of domestic affairs within a territory defined by geographical borders i.e. US and Canadian jurisdiction
Hybrid Regimes
Reflects some characteristics of democracy i.e. universal suffrage but places limits on other freedoms (media, election control) i.e. Venezuela
Competition
Regular free and fair election
Democracy
Rule by the people
Military Regimes
Ruling apparatus that comes from the highest officer ranks. Common in weak/failing states. Military intervenes in politics through a coup de ta, overthrow civilians, take over state
Representation
Selection of individuals to make decisions on behalf of the people--crucial underlying of democracy
Types of Military Regimes
Short term (1-3 years)Turkey 1960, 1971, and long term (3+)
Authoritarian Regimes
Social pluralism, not political pluralism
List of Military Regimes
South Korea & Taiwan (late 1980s) Spain, Italy Greece (late 1990s) Zimbabwe since 1917 Fiji 06-14
Example of National Identity
Spain targeted the Catholic community to gain support, and dismissed the Muslims/Jews In South Africa/Brazil is revolved around race
Strong states
States that are able to exert their authority, and they have the capacity to function according to Weber's definition, able to use a legitimate use of force, and can overcome challenges by alternative rulemakers (organized crime etc.) i.e. Canada, US, etc.
Migdal's Corrective Definition of the State
Suggests a distinction between the image and actual practice of the state: The state projects an image of a coherent, controlling organization (more diverse), differing states practice control
Example of a party/military coup
Syria in the '60s: Bath party and military overthrew regime (still in power): Bashar Al-Asad became president
Regime
System of government
Reasons for Military Intervention
TO restore order in unstable governments Protect organizational interests in and of itself
Taxation (Weber)
Taxation is an enormous task because individuals would rather not pay at all, or pay less than obliged to. People pay because of the state's compulsory legal authority due to the fact that avoiding taxation will lead to further consequences (fully taking away liberty/freedom)
Political Culture
The accumulation of values, norms, and ideas within a society
Easton's Definition of Politics
The authoritative allocation of value for a society.
Schmitter & Karl's Addition to Dahl's theory
The control over government decisions is constitutionally protected elected officials must be able to exercise their constitutional authority without being over run by unelected officials Democracies can become disillusioned because they do not work well
Comparative Politics
The dealing of interaction within political systems. Dealing with political phenomena as they occur in the real world. Evidence based
Inquisition
The delineation of the boundaries around religion in order to consolidate support
Anthony Marx's Theory on the Formation of National Identity
The formation of national identity is caused by political elites who manipulate and mobilize cultural (sometimes physical) features and they do so instrumentally to consolidate their political power and authority
Easton's definition of the regime
The stability in the rules and structures which demands are processed. Defined as a system of government.
Weber's Definition of the State
The state is a community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of legitimate use of physical force within their territory. A compulsory association that organizes relationships of authority and domination. ALl government person's are legally subject to the state
nation state
The state that belongs to a population i.e. American Nation State
Saudi Arabia
Theocratic regime: Elected institution is the Magisch, where potential candidates are screened by clergy/Supreme leader. Supreme leader serves for life and has veto power over ALL decisions
Problem with Tilly/Gellner Theories
These theories approach the modern state formation in places where the state was established very early on. States emerged at different times in different places
State's Survival of the Fittest
Tilly: Those who were able to successfully extract resources (men, arms, supplies) were able to create a central organizational concept of states, and survive the war. Those who could not no longer exist
Democratic Peace Theory
Two democratic countries are more likely to get along if they are democratic and that two democratic countries will not go to war with each other
Weak States
Unable to exert their authority, and do not have the capacity to function by Weber's definition, the challenges they face by alternative rule makers (i.e. Warlords) are ongoing, and they struggle i.e. Lebanon
Essential Power of the State
Weber: Authority, sovereignty, and legitimacy
Legitimacy of the state
Weber: Do not rely on force. Rely on their ability to convince the people on the nature/power of their authority. Believed to be "the way things should be"
Authority
Weber:Exists when subordinates recognize the right of superiors to give orders, even when they are not favourable--To comply does not mean to agree
Emergence of States
Western Europe: Late 16th century China: 15th century Latin America (second principle period): 19th century
Distinction of states, regimes, and governments
institutions that we believe are sovereign—the monopoly to the legitimate use of force A system of government by which ultimate authorities of government—bureacracies, authoritarianism, presidencies These change usually in a regulated way, and democracies change using elections, although some do not
Constitutional monarchy
monarchy is sovereign, but there are restrictions over what they can do
Free & Fair Elections
not rigged, everyone can vote, elections are held regularly
Mass Membership
single parties encourage this to enhance legitimacy
Bureaucratic Authoritarianism
when military identifies conventional politics as motivated by personal ambitions sourced by state dysfunction/corruption
