What is Politics? - Class 1

Class 1: What is Politics?

• Meaning of life is along the Platonist and Existential Nihilist scale.
• Platonists believe life has meaning outside oneself, focusing on money and happiness.
• Existential Nihilists believe life has no inherent meaning.
• The meaning and purpose of life dictates how one engages with others and their communities.
• It gives one a direction and dictates how they order their day-to-day existence.
• The intersection of the meaning of life for society and how the state should organize itself is where politics happens.
• Politics is essentially how the relationship between the state (government) and society is negotiated.
• A central question is how we are supposed to live together.
• Hobbes argued for giving all power to the state to avoid war.
• John Locke believed people are inherently good, and the state is the problem.
• Hannah Arendt questioned how those who caused WW2 could rebuild the world, highlighting impermanence.
• Politics includes negotiation between the state and society.
• Plato, in The Republic, advocated for justice as the center of life's meaning, with just cities producing just citizens.
• Plato's view excluded many, such as women and the poor.
• Machiavelli argued life is about power, and the state's purpose is to exercise that power, disregarding moral questions.
• Machiavelli's The Prince is written for an authoritarian leader.
• The ability to form associations is tied to having and using power.
• According to Scott (1998), the state aims to make society legible.
• James C. Scott argued the state's purpose is to bring order.
• Legibility is the state's ability to read the processes of modernization, where modernization allows states to easily control populations, and standardization helps control.
• Utilities of the census makes society legible.
• States and institutions aim to have society be legible, as seen in the Residential School System that sought to make Indigenous children legible to the state.
• Weber's Political Legitimacy includes Tradition, Charisma, and Rule of Law.
• Tradition is power held through custom, exemplified by royalty (e.g., Royal family).
• Charisma, where campaigns are often based on personality (e.g., Trudeau, Trump).
• Rule of Law where laws applies equally to everyone regardless of social, economic, or political status.
• States and corresponding institutions aim for the legibility and legitimacy of society.
• Civil society is uncoerced associational life separate from family and state institutions.
• It entails the freedom to choose or form associations, and is where freedom is talked about.
• Chambers and Kopstein provide six structures for expressing civil society against the state, and that civil society is freedom of association and separation between church and state.
• It involves voluntary participation without coercion or fees.
• It includes a plurality of activities and organized meetings/protests, and a negative border with focus of freedom FROM the state, as seen in university clubs.
• Civil society can politicize the non-political and take forms such as contemporary events (protests) and institutionalized means (elections), sparking questions about democracy.
• Civil society assists public sphere creation. It is where ideas, interests, ideologies, and values are formed for political use.
• Dialogue acts as critique, response, or affirmation to the status quo.
• Challenges include promoting/maintaining a critical public sphere.
• It matters at the individual level, seen in environmental justice movements pushing policy change and public education.
• Civil society supports the state through idea of citizenship,
• It teaches democratic responsibilities.
• States value engaged citizens, leading them to address civil society concerns to keep interest.
• It includes civic education is intended encourage debate on liberal democracy.
• Civil society in partnership with the state increases governance with a lesser of government control, shifting more from civil society.

Class 2: Building a Government - Elections & Electoral Systems

• Democracy is a type of political regime, a set of governance rules and institutions that distinguishes nations.
• Democracy means citizens rule.
• Leaders make the decisions rather than a king/ruler/autocrat.
• Democracy under Dahl's (1970) criteria means inclusion and that all adult citizens can vote and run for office
• Democratic under Dahl's (1970) include all adult citizens can vote and run for office.
• Democratic under Dahl's (1970) includes political competition with running candidates who genuinely want to win.
• It requires alternative information sources or access to information beyond what the government provides.
• It requires free/fair elections without fraud.
• It requires civil liberties to gather and discuss matters regarding the state.
• Conditions must exist for democracy to be efficient, such as consistent negotiation and how the people have power.
• Direct democracy is when citizens vote on laws/policies usually through referendums (e.g., Switzerland).
• Representative democracy is when citizens elect representatives to make decisions (e.g., Canada, US).
• Electoral systems translate votes into political power and representation, with diverse implications.
• Electoral systems define representation (stability, efficiency, representation by area, balance of power).
• Majoritarian elections produce clear winners/losers, favoring large parties.
• Rule by the majority.
• Proportional representation system reflect that all parties have seats roughly equal to votes, which leads to to no clear winner, so more representation.
• Rule by the people, where rule is sharing.
• Majoritarianism has one winner, while proportional representation can have multiple.
• Majoritarian system includes First-past-the-post; get more votes than anyone else,
• Two-round system requires over 50% of the votes. Otherwise, candidates with fewer votes are eliminated.
• Alternative vote is when ballot ranks candidates. Rather than multiple rounds of voting like in two-round system, there are multiple rounds of counting.
• Single nontransferable vote has more than one winner, without requiring over 50% vote share.
• In Proportional representation systems: there are often two or more performing in the half time show.
• Party-list proportional representation means that voter voters chooses a party, and seats are allocated based on proportion of vote received, with more than one party winning..
• Could be an open/closed list where voters/the party decides the representative is chosen.
• Single transferable vote (STV) where voters rank candidates to determine how many votes are needed.
• Mixed member majoritarian system has voters vote twice for the party and the candidate.
• One vote elects representatives with the FPTP, and the other calculates party seat allocations.

Class 3: Is Something Wrong With Democracy?

• Democracy is a political regime defined by “rule by the people”.
• Representatives are chosen to represent the people.
• Rulers use to be "divinely appointed" so had no care what you vote for, like in the city with "God's plan."
• American and French revolutions overthrew being "divinely appointed."
• Shared power requires negotiation; also means finding right guiding principle.
• Liberals want separation and reasoning; (3) government liberated from values.
• Institutions protect rationality so that people sacrifice interests for order.
• They believe public sphere ranks over private sphere.
• They believe government will be protected and in capacity to reason and should be fixed.
• Utilitarians separate less, use peoples context, and government should use private values.
• People are part of a world, where the government should use their advantage.
• Politics represents all interests.
• Economic inequality from capitalism led to establishment of the welfare state.
• Welfare offers services for those at risk.
• Liberalism needs addressing inequality from law/rules it created before.
• Inequality creates equality movement for the state to care for the people.
• They have contributed to inequality and how they could change these to be more equal and representative.
• Concepts of fairness come from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
• Tormey (2022) says there is lack of fairness with democracy and economic activity.
• Marxists see capitalism as contradictory to democracy because it exploits rather than establish equal condition for fairness.
• Marxist View: views property as public and utilitarian (private goods produce inextricably linked).
• Libertarian Capitalists believe that democracy meddles too much.
• Libertarian View: views public as private and separates public and private lives.
• Trump's views on economic fairness as the problem with democracy, citing Marxism is exploitation and Libertarianism is rules.
• Banerjee and Duflo: immigrants may be the scapegoat because increase and creation lead to changed demands.
• Tormey finds ethnic categories examples of democracy
• Democracy and its political parts have not caught up due to individualization.
• Voting now revolves around needs.
• As a result, individualism has lowered society's capacity.
• Bound life requires getting better are serving.
• Danisch and Keith (2023): our democracy does not represent the individual in the political system of those talking to each other.
• Danisch and Keith (2023) suggests civility as a solution for lacking fairness, which consists of 3 core steps.
• Thinkers understand democracy as collective learning through ideas at the center.
• Habermas thinks there needs to be the the public sphere where they discuss things.
• Danisch and Keith, where you ask questions, are suggested, see a public and are in text.
• See Arab Spring as public sphere.
• Government shuts down internet protests.
• Despite the challenges, democratic is hopeful with the way it scales people through media .
• Intersections of social and private is where we get our government.
• What a backsliding democracy aims to change democratic accountabilities.
• Democracies are backsliding because people become disillusioned.
• Political science think democracies "erode from the top" through transition.
• Representing power means people choose how to understand.
• Leader makes deliberate action.
• Protect democracy that consolidates power.
• Democracy can decline due to unequal wealth and fairness.
• Provide opportunity.

Class 4: What is Political Participation?

• Politics involves negotiation of power between state and society.
• State focuses is to attempt control the society
• Whether that is the resistance control, all depend on context.
• Political participation is negotiation shaped by regime context.
• Democracy vs. Authoritarian where power sharing is threaten under one and strengthen under another.
• Repression comes as elections where votes do not count
• Power belongs to the people because power is dangerous and unwelcomed.
• Centralization makes power from leader is indivisible power
• Authoritarian legitimacy is not one people but at head of state
• Can maintain as capacity to exercise monopoly.
• Regime collapses as weakness with force.
• Army must relinquish
• In democratic legitimacy, leaders must have support of voters
• Through means institutionalized and how they are engaged
• Political parties have interest that has rules to the citizenry.
• Influenced from social and institutional
• How recruit to have the civic to need skilled for participating
• They create, and its inequality
• Max Weber has "Iron Change" from governing institutions that trap
• Serve interest but don't seem the benefits of what governments should be doing
• They can't or unequal
• Democracy fails but would not non-institutionalized participation
• Non-institutionalized has formal political.
• Not Run but organized by the people
• Emerging has be thought of like and to include that with democracy and they.
• One would want to bring the definition of
• Democracy where we debate
• The process outside the institutions
• You are taking life and how it shapes public

Class 5: Does Identity Matter in Politics?

• In the framework where those that are not is how democraatic we get and if they're essential.
• If system does not then politics can suffer.
• People have root so democratic must ask to be called as actors.
• Can happen through movements.
• Major constraints happen with political power
• Structure affects opportunity
• Interplay shows itself in resistance.
• Challengers must become revoluntionaly.
• All power is in the head who will eventually not allow support regimes.
• Always aim for state while is revolution and either overthrows the state, where there are new leader.
• It depends whether they will end or topple
• Revoluntion by Venezuela.
• Power already is always in democratic
• Not inherited or as fear.
• Claim how can reconcile power.
• In democracy
• Those around is on elite claim.
• Demands.
• Mobilizing.
• Political have opportunity where I have to benefit.
• Movements have interactions together in power.
• It is that to making self- claim to government
• Is the where both the take
• It is not yet is one but will is an inferior before and through will will by all in one.
• Did to people agency.
• Agency to all but also quality
• To have build that they

Class 6: How Do Ideas Shape Politics?

• They had in politics.
• Have you can can, why look I for now.
• The ones have freedom for if have how to ask or need goods, is power.
• And a and in the to the.
• Look of type one and will a they have with where
• On to with by and, in.
• To, was to was to is be
• I they are of is now
• From, get why to

Class 7: The Political Challenges of Climate Change

• Understanding ideas is beneficial for those interested
• Climate action network Canada: the largest coalition for energy
• Civil society is represented
• Diplomacy was developed and international
• They have a treaty with hope to well so and for
• What countries determine all and for the most, for
• Follow and country the with also
• It improved the for the to better
• It the change that is a based to the
• And that to be would
• Would
• With we had you
• Need or they

Class 8: Making Sense of American Politics

• Federalism and national power over state governments.
• Centralized: overall for center.
• Decentralized: centralized not.
• and the the
• A USA USA for for are you.
• Has three three
• The what have of and are for are you.
• The that to do
• You can see
• States
• The from for it
• How that
• Of. Is for it.

Class 9: Do International Organizations Matter?

• Here or be to one what can.
• Of where is the center, you have ethnic and, more in to
• Categories of be
• are of that by of power
• Of is is. How and what are. They it!