POL101 Notes PDF

**5 "I"s** Institution Interests Individuals Ideas International Environment **Lecture 2** **Key issues in Comparative Politics** What is politics? - Public: Public decisions belong to the public, decisions made within the community, or within a system that apply to members of a certa...

**5 "I"s** Institution Interests Individuals Ideas International Environment **Lecture 2** **Key issues in Comparative Politics** What is politics? - Public: Public decisions belong to the public, decisions made within the community, or within a system that apply to members of a certain territory. - Private: Your relation with your partner, kids, neighbours, private matters. (idiotes) What's the difference? What American presidents used to do in their personal time used to be private, separate to what their roles were as presidents. Nowadays, we almost know too much. Nowadays this applies to present day monarchs - Authoritative: Politics is this because politics are binding to what they do, and force can be used to implement it. What is happening in the private force, you cannot force your private sphere to do, but with public policy, it can be forcefully implemented - Voluntary Politics is the competition for public power, and power is the ability to extend one's will. Politics is contested because people are competing, because they have different objectives, interests and they want to do different things. It is compulsory. Harrold Lasswell: Politics is Who Gets What, When and How Who can do this? The governments are organizations of individuals who are legally empowered to make binding decisions on behalf of a particular community. It is typically universal. Governance involves establishing goals for society, finding the means for reaching those goals, and then learning from successes or failures of their decisions. If the five Is' are independent variables, they all affect governance, and affect whether it is sound. Why governments? 1. We believe we need governments to create and maintain a stable and peaceful community (Nation building) 2. Protect property and other rights (even protect our lives) 3. Promote Economic Efficiency and Growth 4. Promote Social Justice and Protect the Weak Critics of the government 1. Destruction of natural communities (the government is destroying these natural communities, with all of their social policies) (anarchism) 2. Violation of basic rights, you are born free and can make up your mind on what you can do, and don't want a government to say what I can and can't do. (extreme individualism, liberalism) 3. Economic inefficiency. Only a completely free market will deliver the results. 4. Will always govern for private gain (corruption) even if all the other points are good, people are just awful when they get into power, they use public power for private gain. **How do we study Politics?** We are interested in empirical facts, how does corruption start? We want to gather empirical data on that so we can know why, or how it starts. Corruption is the abuse of public power for private gain. Research Hypothesis: "Lack of democracy leads to corruption" - If there's no election, why should I care - They'll never find out, I never have to release a budget Dependent variable (what can be explained) - Corruption Independent variable (explanatory factor): - Democracy High Democracy leads to low corruption and vice versa Research Hypothesis Research Method Answer 4 Empirical methods 1. Statistical methods 2. Experimental approach (they manipulate variables and then they find answers, problematic in social science since there are moral problems.) 3. Case study method. (risk: generalizing for all from one case) 4. Comparative method a. Synchronic comparisons across space (comparing two countries) b. Diachronic comparisons in one setting across time (Same country, different time periods) *The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.* L.P. Hartley **How do we compare Political Systems** Two designs: - The "Most Similar Systems" Design - You pick two cases that are so similar in everything except for differences on the independent variable (Level of Democracy) - An example is the two Koreas, one is democratic, the other is authoritarian - The "Most Different System" Design - You look at the comparisons of political systems that are for the most part different in all aspects but similar on the dependent variable (Corruption) - If almost everything is different (example, location, religion, colonial history) but if the dependent variable is the same, you cannot say these things are responsible for (ex: that level of corruption). So the similar things can be the cause for the dependent variable. **What do we Compare in Political Systems** 1. Public Policies 2. Political Behavior - Voting behavior (87% of Danes vs only 60% of CAD) Behavior of political leaders 3. Governmental institutions **Why do we Compare Political Systems** 1. To widen our understanding of politics in other countries - We assume countries do the same thing as years ago. If you don't know anything about politics, you may think other people are better than others, rather than affected by wider processes in a country 2. To enable us to learn from other countries - Scandinavian used to be homogeneous, they used to produce immigrants, but nowadays it has a positive net immigrant country. They looked to countries like Canada to learn to manage immigration. Helps to learn consequences of actions from other countries 3. To develop more sophisticated understanding of politics in general **Potential Shortcomings of Comparisons** 1. Problems of overgeneralizations - Individualist fallacy (when you take information at the individual level and generalize to the entire population) - Ecological fallacy (you take information from the broad level, and you apply it to the individual) 2. Problems of over-assumption - Political ethnocentrism (ex: Bush assumed the Iraqi would embrace liberal democracy, that it was the best, but didn't think the people would prefer peace over liberal democracy being forced upon them.)Challenges or problems in Comparative Research **Challenges or problems in Comparative Research** 1. Controlling a large number of variables 2. Controlling for the interaction between variables 3. Limited number of cases to research - We have limited cases, 200 countries in the world, and if you want to study a smaller group (ex: Africa) the number of cases you can use becomes very small 4. Limited access to information from cases - If you want to do proper international studies, you probably want to travel to those spaces. Language problems. 5. Uneven research across cases and regions - Over the past 50 years, there have been more than 30x more political articles about Sweden than about India 6. Cases selected on the bases of effect and not cause (selection bias) - We selected cases on the corruption they had, then we said that democracy is the independent variable 7. Variables may both be cause and effect in relation to each other (endogeneity) - For example is it possible that the level of corruption actually determines the level of democracy in a country Freedom vs. Equality Efficiency vs. Legitimacy - For example, in a dictatorship, they can wake up and immediately change the law, but is it legitimate? In a pure democracy, the process can take a very long time, but it is very legitimate. However, it may take so long that it becomes illegitimate. States, Regimes And Governments The Concepts: States, Regimes and Governments A practical Classification of States and Regimes A state is: - The organization that maintains the monopoly of force over a given territory - A set of political institutions that generates and executes policy - Must be able to deal with internal and external threats State power and state legitimacy - A country needs a large military and police force, if they don't have much legitimacy - Some states are strong, and some are weaker - A country like Nigeria is uncertain whether it will stay as one, or collapse into multiple pieces - Legitimacy can be defined as whether a state is accepted by the public, as right and proper - The more you're legitimate, the easier it is to gain taxes, and to have them listen to the rules - The more legitimacy you have, the less power you need - State legitimacy can be internally with the people in your country, or externally by other countries Why are some states more legitimate than others? - Traditional, charismatic and legal-rational legitimacy - Traditional is based on habits, customs, and historical traditions - Queen Elizabeth was seen as a legitimate, her stature was based on traditional legitimacy - Also in North Korea, the leader is following his father and his grandfather before that - Charismatic is based on the qualities of the person in charge, the force of ideas of certain leaders - Donald Trump and Hitler and Gandhi are all examples of charismatic leaders - Can be good or bad - Legal-rational is based on the rules and procedures that we are following, usually written down in a constitution, sometimes has a parliament, and elections A regime is the fundamental norms and rules of politics regarding where power should reside and how it should be used - Democratic and Non-democratic regimes - Democratic regimes should have the power in the people - A constitution is a basic rulebook or a state that limits the powers of all authorities, including the legislators, and recognizes citizens common fundamental rights - Serves as an expression of ideology and philosophy - Serve as an expression of basic laws of the regime - Provide organizational frameworks for political systems - How a country should be run - Horizontal dispersion of power (parliamentary vs. presidential systems) - Legislative, executive and judicial systems - Vertical dispersion of power (unitary vs. federal systems) - National, regional, and local A government is the leadership or elite in charge of running a state Politicians - Who are they? Most common professions for politicians worldwide in 2009 - Law \~20% - Business \~16% - Diplomacy \~12% - Military \~11% - Journalism \~7% - Economics \~7% - Medicine \~7% - Academia \~7% - Engineering \~6% A practical classification of States and Regimes 3. Democratic Regimes - Representative Democracy - Representative system - Electoral system - Degree of equality among citizens - Equality between systems - Grant freedoms to your citizens - Parliamentary democracies - Presidential democracy - Presidential-parliamentary democracy 4. Transitional Regimes 5. Hybrid regimes 6. Non-democratic Regimes - Traditional regimes (monarchies and theocracies) - Military (Sudan, Myanmare) - Dominant-Party regimes Political identities Identity: The fact of being what or who a person is - Separate identities - Nested/Embedded identities - Complementary - Exclusionary (Zero-sum) - For some, the more Quebecois you are, the less you're Canadian Ethnic versus National identities - Ethnic identity: a set of specific attributes and societal institutions that make one group of people culturally different from others - Language, religion, geographic location, history, etc... - Ethnic identity is a social identity, and not a political one - National identity - A sense of belonging to a nation and a belief in its political aspirations - In Quebec, it can be the French language, Catholicism, different history, might make you have a different national identity, and push it further or perhaps create a separate states Nation: a group that desires self-government through an independent state Alternative definition of a nation: people with a common culture and history that produce an identity - Nations within the political boundaries of a country (Quebec, and FN nations within Canada) - Nations which cross over political boundaries (Abenaki, going from Trois Riviere, down to Vermont) - Nations with same geographical boundaries as countries (closest example is Japan, as it is homogeneous) Political Culture Political culture refers to the basic norms for political activity in a society - In Scandinavia, three basic norms are 1. Local democracy, all decisions should be taken as closely to the people affected 2. Consensus, try to reach consensus, even with a majority government, try to have as wide of a consensus as possible 3. Egalitarianism, make the results of policies bring people as close as possible. Political culture includes the citizens' orientation towards - Political system - Political process - Policy outcomes Consensual or Conflictual Political Culture (Everyone agrees or many people disagree) Political violence - Violence outside of state control that is politically motivated - Why are there more ethnic and national conflicts in some countries than others? - Institutional explanations - If existing institutions exclude some groups from participating, that can lead to violence - Ex: This ethnic group isn't allowed to vote, stand for election, run for representative - Ideational explanation - Some countries that have adopted ideologies that not only uses violence, but even see it as legitimate - Individual explanations - Can be psychological issues - Some believe they are allowed to use violence to achieve political objectives Societal divisions between groups in terms of: - Class - Religion - Territory Cross-cutting vs. Mutual reinforcing divisions - Are these divisions cross-cutting each other (cancel each other out) or running along the seperate lines clashing together In Nigeria, the two biggest groups are Hamsa and Igbo - You can say: - Hamsa live in the north and Igbo in the south, so you can say these two groups live in different territories - Hamsa are muslim, Igbo are Christian - Hamsa is significantly poorer than the Igbo - This is a recipe for violence and conflict, these are mutually reinforcing divisions - Probably why there was violence in Quebec earlier - Anglophones and French used to live in different places - Anglophones used to be wealthier - Anglophones tended to be protestant and francophones Catholic Political socialization refers to the process by which individuals acquires attitudes, beliefs, and values relating to the political system 4. Political socialization can be direct or indirect 5. Political socialization continues throughout an individual's life 6. Patterns of political socialization in a society can be unifying or divisive Agents of socialization Institutions and organizations that influence political attitudes: 1. Family 2. Schools 3. Religious institutions 4. Peer groups 5. Mass media 6. Interest groups 7. Political parties 8. Political elites (legislators/executives) Political Ideologies Political ideology: the basic values held by an individual about the fundamental goals of politics Trygve: And fundamental processes and goals, these values to a certain extent they compose a system of values that fit together, so definitions vary Ideologies defined by the textbook - Communism - Liberalism - Social democracy - Fascism - Anarchism Also: - Marxism - Socialism - Populism - Environmentalism - Nationalism - Conservatism - Libertarianism Is Islamism a possible ideology? Lgbtq rights, can that be an ideology? The ideological map has become complex, and it has become more important to understand how political ideologies work Is it possible to compare political ideologies? And if so, is it desirable to do so? Yes it is comparable, but we need to understand them Political Liberalism Political Conservatism 1\. a tendency to favor change 1. Resistance to (drastic) change (when It is not necessary to change, it necessary to not change) When you need change, change as little as possible 2\. Great belief in human reason When they were pushing for voting rights, 2. More skeptical of human reason Liberals were saying give people a right to vote, More belief in tradition Conservatives said "they don't know politics, most Can't even read" liberals said that they'd get 3. More skeptical of the use of government to Engaged in politics improve human condition 3\. Willingness to use government to improve Human condition. Associated with the Creation of welfare states **Lecture 4** Politics in developed democracies 1. Separation of powers 2. The legislative 3. The executive 4. The judiciary 5. Political parties 6. Voting and elections Separation of Power Democracy: A political system in which political power is exercised either directly or indirectly by the people Developed Democracy: A country with institutionalized democracy and a high level of economic development Separation of Powers - The clear division of power among different branches of government and the provision that specific branches may check the power of others - The idea is that concentration of power is dangerous Three Branches of Government: - The legislative (law-making) - The executive (law implementing) - Judiciary (dispute resolution) The Legislature (also called the parliament, houses, senates, congress) Among the oldest institutions we have If we compare parliaments, we can compare: - Size - What is the perfect size? That depends if you prioritize legitimacy, or efficiency. If every citizen was in the parliament, it would be very legitimate, but it would become extremely inefficient - Representative to population ratio vs proportional representation - Time - Chinese house of representatives meet for 1 month during the summer, but in Canada they meet January to June, then September to mid-december - For how long should a term be? 2 years, 4 years? Early election problem: What about the Joe Clark time period where he couldn't even get the house to agree on a budget? - Structures and organization - Unicameral or bicameral - Bicamel are most often found in large and federal states - The lower house is most often the most important, has most power - Most cases they are selected differently, through different mechanisms - Party Groups - Committees - Functions - Legislate (law making) - Scrutinize the behaviour of the executive - Debate - Communication with the public - Recruitment - It's very seldom that people that come in as prime ministers without experience in the parliament Question: Is the Canadian parliament, since it is a representative democracy, is it a representative for the Canadian population 3\. The Executive Most countries have Multiple executive - Symbolic role performed by the "head of state" - Kings - Political role performed b the head of government - Prime Minister - Chancellor - State representative Two Basic Models for Political Executives: 1. Parliamentary system (Westminster system) 2. Presidential system Hybrid: Presidential-parliamentary systems (semi-presidentialism) 4\. The Judiciary\ Judicial review:\ The power of a court to declare a law or regulation invalid because it conflicts with a country\'s constitution.\ Not all countries have it In Canada, it has a significant role\ In Sweden, it is not as significant (As well as Israel) Special constitutional court or ordinary court? Legal Cultures: Deeply rooted, historically conditioned attitudes about the role of law in society 1. Romano-Germanic Systems (Civil Law Systems) 2. Common Law Systems 3. Non-Western Legal Systems - Sharia Law 5\. Political Parties Organizations that seek to place their designated representatives in governmental positions - Competitive Elections - Dominant-Party Elections - It's obvious that the specific party will win so it isn't competitive - Candidate Choice Election - Acclamatory Election Party models: - Particularistic parties - Trying to appeal to one specific segment of the population - "Catch-All" parties - Tries to appeal to as many as possible - Tone down your ideology Analyzing Party Systems - Number of parties - Multi-party systems Elections and Voting - Electoral systems 1. President election - Direct Election - Electoral college system 2. Parliament elections - Single-member district / plurality system - What you have in Canada - Proportional representation 3. Referendums Plurality Systems Proportional Systems \- single or multi-member constituencies Multi-member constituency \- one or two rounds of voting One round of voting \- simplicity / stable governments ("effectiveness") Many small parties- difficult to form a stable government \- Closeness between representatives and the people People don't know their representatives \- unrepresentative for the voters' wishes (might be, Proportional results ("fair") also lack of legitimacy) Britain, Canada, US, Mexico, and Russia X and Y **Term Paper, Paper Outline & Exam Advice** How to write a political science essay/term paper? - Argumentative - 2000 words - 6 Academic, peer-reviewed sources Process: 1. Choose a topic 2. Specify the topic a. Specify into a question you can address in 2000 words b. be specific c. feasible d. something that has happened 3. Draw up a tentative outline of the essay e. Think about an introduction f. Separate your text into parts g. How can I frame this in an interesting way 4. Research 5. Draw up a new outline 6. Start the first draft 7. Edit the paper Different sections: - Introduction - What is the essay about? - Why is this topic interesting and important - Spell out the research question/thesis in a clear and concise manner (this is where you get specific) - Outline the structure of the essay (how you will proceed and what follows) - Context Section - Theoretical/Analytical/Empirical context - Define/Explain/Clarify key concepts - Provide historical background/context - Analysis/Discussion (Of thesis/research question) - Present the arguments - Weigh different sides of the debate - Look for similarities and differences - Discuss why they are similar/different - Discuss what consequences of these similarities and differences are - Conclusion - Summaraize and extract the principal argument worked out in the essay - Is it possible to say something about the significance or implications of your findings? - Do not go beyond the arguments addressed in the text - Reference/Bibliography - APA Remember: 1. There should be an argument in your essay a. It is difficult to be completely original b. Try to discover how authors differ about a particular subject, weigh the different sides carefully, and come to a reasoned conclusion 2. Each section of the essay should lead logically to the next 3. Proofread (check for proper spelling, phrasing and sentence construction) 4. Can be submitted via e-mail One Page Outline 1. A paragraph introducing the topic and leading to a clear and concise research/question a. A short paragraph introducing the topic 2. Annotated bibliography b. Alphabetical list of resources c. 1-2 sentences explaining an assessment of its value or relevance d. 5 sources on the outline Midterm Exam 80 minutes Two Parts: - Part 1: Short Answers - Answer all ten questions as briefly as possible. Write the answers in your exam booklet - If you can answer in one word - 2 points per question; 20 points total - Part 2: Essay Questions - Answer four of the following six questions in approximately one page per question in exam booklet Part1. 1. IS a diachronic comparison a comparison across time or space? a. Across Time Part 2 - Explain what we mean by... - Definition - Theoretical context - Relationship to other theoretical concepts - Empirical context - History, time, place, contemporary examples - Ex: direct democracy - Direct democracy is when the law is directly in the hands of the people. It is when you don't use representatives to work on your behalf. It was used in ancient Greece, but nowadays it is used in referendums Remember: 1. Read and address the entire exam question 2. Plan your answers before starting writing 3. There are many ways to answer the question He will look for: - Content (too short) - Precision (unclear / errors) - Focus (are you answering something else?)