Introduction to Political Science

Introduction to Political Science

• Political science studies political behavior, processes, and institutions.
• It employs empirical science to create theories and uses a comparative, wide-lens approach.
• Politics involves collective decision-making in society, addressing conflicts over power, resources, and ideologies.
• Governments are central to political systems and Hobbes argued anarchy would exist without government.

Core Concepts in Politics

• Power is the capacity to bring about intended effects
• Authority, the right to exert power
• Legitimacy requires power and authority to be accepted by the community.

Dimensions of Power (Max Weber)

• Who prevails over political outcomes
• Who controls preference expression
• Who shapes preferences.

Authority

• Traditional authority rests on holiness of tradition or succession.
• Charismatic authority stems from perceived extraordinary individual characteristics.
• Legal-Rational authority is based on formalistic belief in law or natural law.

Waves of Democratization

• First Wave (1826–1922): Democratization spread in the US and Western Europe, increasing democratic nations from 0% to 35%.
• Second Wave (1942–1958): Allied victory in WWII and decolonization in Africa and Latin America raised democratic nations from 15% to 35%.
• Third Wave (1975–1990): Democratization in Southern Europe, Asia, and Africa, plus the Soviet Union's collapse, increased democratic nations from 27% to 45%.
• In 2024, 60% of nations are democratic, but the quality is declining.

Direct Democracy

• Citizens directly participate in decision-making and lawmaking, such as voting on laws and policies.
• Direct democracy can be slow and impractical for large populations.
• Examples include ancient Athens and modern referendums in Switzerland.
• It carries the risk of uninformed decisions or mob rule.

Representative Democracy

• Citizens elect representatives to make decisions and pass laws on their behalf.
• Citizens vote for representatives, is efficient for large societies
• Examples include the United States, United Kingdom, and India.
• Carries a risk of corruption or officials not representing citizens' interests.

Three Dimensions of Democracy

• Electoral democracy emphasizes free, fair, and competitive elections, ensuring universal suffrage and transparency.
• Participatory democracy promotes citizen involvement beyond voting, such as activism and local governance, aiming for high voter turnout.
• Liberal democracy protects civil liberties, minority rights, and the rule of law, with a separation of powers and an independent judiciary.

Democracy Index Classifications

• Full Democracy includes nations with strong political freedoms, civil liberties, independent institutions, free elections, and high participation such as Norway and Sweden.
• Flawed Democracy includes nations with free elections, basic civil liberties, but weak governance, political culture, or participation such as the USA, India, and Brazil.
• Hybrid Regime includes nations with some democratic aspects but with government pressure, judicial bias, and corruption such as Turkey, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
• Authoritarian Regime includes nations with no political freedom, controlled elections, censorship, and lack of civil liberties such as North Korea, China, and Saudi Arabia.
• Nigeria is considered a hybrid regime is based on a Western perspective

Types of Political Systems

• Liberal Democracy has strong institutions, legal protections, and free elections (U.S., Germany).
• Illiberal Democracy has elections but weak legal limits allowing abuses (Hungary, Turkey).
• Liberal Authoritarianism has limited democracy but a strong legal system (Singapore).
• Authoritarian/Hybrid Regimes have weak limits and low democracy, often with centralized rule (North Korea, Russia).

Autocratization/Democratic Decline

• Autocratization occurs when democratic institutions weaken and leaders centralize power which causes civil liberties to erode, leading to a decline in democracy.
• Weaken checks and balances and silencing opposition
• Spreading misinformation and can be accelerated by economic crises.

Function of Political Culture

• Political culture includes shared attitudes, values, beliefs, and norms about politics and governance within a group of people.
• It is hard to measure, complex in multicultural societies, and prone to stereotypes.

Types of Political Culture (Almond and Verba)

• Parochial Culture: Citizens disinterested in politics, seeing the government as corrupt, and relying on smaller structures.
• Subject Culture: Citizens engaged but compliant with government outputs, leading to stability but less democracy, common in dictatorships.
• Participant Culture: Citizens see themselves as participants in government tasks, believing they influence change, common in democracies.
• A successful society requires a mix of all three cultures.
• A civic or civic political culture resolves tension in democracy, characterized by both acceptance of state authority and a belief in participation in civic duties.

Critique of Almond & Verba

• Active civic participation is NOT the only dimension of participant political culture.
• Government openness to civil society is also a dimension commonly absent in a society.
• Civic culture does not address individual norms or values, rather general orientations towards the state.

Post-Materialist Values

• Post-materialism values political freedom, self-actualization, relationships, creativity, and environmental care over economic security and stability.
• A societal shift occurs in prosperous societies where basic needs are met, leading to increased emphasis on education, self-expression, and quality of life.

Political Trust

• Political trust reflects citizens' confidence in government, institutions, and actors to act in the public's interest and maintain stability.
• Political trust decreases due to national emergencies and crises.
• Political science focuses on the performance side of political trust and responds to societal needs.
• High levels of political trust are in Northern and Central Europe (Scandinavian countries).
• Low levels of political trust are in Southern and Eastern Europe, due to communism legacies, weak transparency, corruption, and economic instability.

Mechanisms of Political Trust Include

• High competence and qualifications
• Caring (intrinsic motivation)
• Accountability (extrinsic motivation)
• Predictability, reliability, and consistency

Aspects of Political Trust

• The strongest economic performance enhances political trust by demonstrating the government's ability to provide stability, jobs, and prosperity.
• Economic downturns erode trust as citizens lose confidence.
• High electoral system proportionality translates votes into seats, increasing trustworthiness
• Low electoral system proportionality creates exclusion and distrust.
• Citizens in long-standing democracies tend to exhibit higher political trust due to stable institutions and consistent governance.
• Rationality of education correlates with political trust
• Informed voters better understand institutions, policy, and government failures.
• Availability of direct democracy instruments increases political trust because Citizens feel empowered and included in decision-making.
• Use of direct democracy instruments decreases political trust because Direct democracy tools may lead to disillusionment if abused or ignored.

Direct Democracy Impact

• No clear relationship between direct democracy and political trust.
• Direct democracy risks oversimplifying complex issues into binary choices and Participation is often skewed toward highly educated individuals.

Political Communication

• Political communication involves exchanging information, messages, and ideas related to politics, governance, and public affairs among political actors, media, and the public.
• Includes campaign communication, government communication, media, journalism, public opinion and political discourse, and activism

Relevance to Political Science

• Maintains a connection between politics and citizens, enabling dialogue, representation, and accountability.
• It provides information and awareness about political events.
• Influences political behavior by shaping voting patterns and public opinion.

Development of Political Communication

• Newspaper communication (1910s–1930s) was challenged by illiteracy.
• Radio (1930s–1940s)
• TV (1950s–1990s)
• Social media (2000s–2025)

Recent Trends in Political Communication Include

• Commercialization as Politics has become market-driven and The rise of influencers/content creators.
• Fragmentation due to divided audiences.
• People consume news, content, tailored to their beliefs, leading to echo chambers and ideological polarization.
• Globalizatio, wherePolitical communication is no longer confined to national borders and Foreign interference is a major concern.

Aspects of Social Media

• Enables direct communication between politicians and citizens.
• Allows Increased engagement through online petitions and townhalls.
• Growth of political apathy caused by growing distrust in institutions.

Media influence

• Reinforcement strengthens opinions, agenda-setting defines debate topics, framing shapes issue perception, and priming influences subsequent interpretation.

How Social Media Influences Voting

• Direct engagement can increase voter engagement, interactive use can increase transparency, and campaigns that balancing professional and personal content can create strong connections.

Populism

• Appeal to "the people" against a corrupt elite, It is an approach emphasizing nationalism and anti-establishment sentiments.
• Populism is utilized differently than mainstream politicians and Twitter provides an ideal platform.
• Populists often use heavy unfiltered use, emotional appeals, reinforcing echo chambers, and political polarization.