Science in Political Science Overview

Study Notes

Political science explores how things are and how they work in practice, unlike normative political theory which focuses on how things ought to be.
Political science often uses models to simplify reality, focusing on essential variables rather than specific details.
Przeworski emphasizes replacing country names with variable values to understand underlying relationships.
Models are simplified representations designed to answer specific questions, with different levels of detail depending on the purpose.
Institutions are humanly devised constraints that shape social, economic, and political interactions, encompassing both formal rules (laws, constitutions) and informal norms (customs, traditions).
Institutional rules are important because they map individual actions into outcomes. Examples include electoral systems, constitutions, and legislative rules.
Three main approaches in political science: institutionalist, structural/materialist, and cultural/psychological.
The mainstream approach currently integrates elements from all three perspectives.

Max Weber defines the state as an organization that monopolizes the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.
The Contractarian View of the state posits a "social contract" where individuals sacrifice autonomy in exchange for order.
This view faces issues of enforceability and collective action problems, making it less useful for understanding real-world state behavior.
The state can utilize coercion to extract resources, playing a role similar to a "bandit" who can provide law and order but also plunder.
The question arises: why doesn't the state take everything?
Roving bandits, who lack a stable territory, have no incentive to encourage investment and production within a population.
States, as stationary bandits, have an interest in promoting economic growth to extract more resources.
This creates a "Leviathan" problem, where the state's power is limited by the need to maintain a productive population.

The rise of the state is often attributed to the emergence of agriculture and specialized labor, leading to increased population density and the need for conflict resolution.
Warfare is often cited as a crucial factor in state formation, as competition for resources requires centralized power and organization.
States provide public goods, such as infrastructure, defense, and legal institutions, but also extract resources in the process.
The state's role in protecting property rights and enforcing contracts facilitates economic development.
The state's power can be limited by internal and external factors, such as social movements, international pressure, and competing power centers.