Module 2 PDF

MODULE 2 I - Questions of science What is science? A “distinct type of knowledge” and a distinct way of acquiring knowledge (Smith & Malici, 2019) Science “is the body of knowledge that describes the order within natu...

MODULE 2 I - Questions of science What is science? A “distinct type of knowledge” and a distinct way of acquiring knowledge (Smith & Malici, 2019) Science “is the body of knowledge that describes the order within nature and the causes of that order”, as well as “an activity dedicated to gathering knowledge about the world and organizing and condensing it into testable laws and theories” (Hewitt, 2015) Scientific knowledge “Scientific knowledge is based on careful and comprehensive observation of the data (systematic), collected and analyzed in such a way that others can reproduce the analysis (replicable). Scientific knowledge often evolves over time as multiple methodologies are being used and new data is examined (cumulative). Finally, scientific knowledge must be open to questioning and the possibility of being disproven by new data (falsifiable)” (Malici & Smith, 2019). What is a scientific theory? A system of interconnected abstractions or ideas that condenses and organizes knowledge aimed at explaining or answering questions concerning the “how” and “why” of the social world Parts of a theory Concepts Assumptions Relationships A scientific theory is a simplification, “a model that ignores facts and details that are not essential to explain some general process or a class of events” (Bond, 2007: 900). The goal of scientific inquiry: The production of generalizable theories that explain, and predict the occurrence of a phenomenon (Cf Bond, 2007). A science of politics (?) “Political science is training in the calm, objective analysis of politics” (Roskin, 2017: 8). “Part of the reason for the lag in our development as a science is that political science is a truly ‘hard’ science. The challenges to observation and measurement of our key concepts seem greater than those facing other sciences” (Bond, 2007: 904). BROAD ONTOLOGICAL POSITIONS Foundationalism There is a real world which exists independently of our knowledge of it Position the existence of objective, absolute, and unconditional truths Anti-foundationalism Realities are local and specific, varying between individuals/groups Realities are actively constructed Realities are constructed through the interaction of agents and structures BROAD EPISTOMOLOGICAL POSITIONS Scientific Empiricist tradition Social science as (generally) analogous to natural science Identification of causes of social behaviour, and emphasis on explanation Objective, detached observer  Hermeneutic Focus on meanings of behaviour Social science is not analogous to natural science Emphasis on understanding Observer is involved in what is being observed (the ‘double hermeneutic’) II – STRUCTURE FUNCTIONALISM AS APPROACH TO POLITICS A tool for comparing political systems Based on the notion that all political systems had political structures and that the same functions needed to be perfoemed in all poltical systems THE POLITICAL SYSTEM Inputs Demands: for goods and services, for regulation of behavior, for participation in the political system, and for symbolic inputs Supports: material, obedience to laws and regulations, participation, and manifestation of deference to public authority, symbols, and ceremonials  Sources of Inputs: Domestic society Political elites International environment Ouputs Extractions Regulations of behavior Allocations or distributions of goods and services Symbols TYPES OF FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS Capabilities functions: The systems total function vis-a-vis other systems (or its environment) Conversion Functions: functions internal to the system System maintenance and adaptation Capabilities Functions Extractive Regulative Distributive Symbolic Responsive Conversion Functions Interest articulation Interest aggregation Political communication Rule-making Rule-execution Rule-adjudication System maintenance and adaptation Political recruitment Political socialization  DYSFUNCTIONAL INPUTS Inputs that can cuase changes in the political system Varies in terms of Quantity substance/content Intensity Source Kinds POLITICAL MACHINES AS INPUTS Political Machines specialized organizations intended to influence electoral outcomes through distribution of benefits to the electorate, often organized along familial and/or personal, clientelist lines (Teehankee, 2015; Hicken et.al., 2019, cited in Eusebio 2023). Developmental Machinery Political machines directed towards: 1.) the direct delivery of goods and services, and 2.) the close and intimate mobilization of critical constituencies” (Eusebio 2019, 183 - 184 cited in Eusebio 2023, 87). III.i - BEHAVIORALISM Core characteristics Focus question: Why do people behave in the way they do? Emphasis on: Observable behaviour Explanations of observable behaviour should be susceptible to empirical testing (Popper’s logic of falsifiability) Commitment to: Systematic use of all relevant empirical evidence rather than a limited set of illustrative supporting examples Logic of falsification Importance of operationalization Empirical theory A set of interconnected abstract statements, consisting of assumptions, definitions and empirically testable hypotheses, which purports to describe and explain the occurrence of a given phenomenon or set of phenomena Characteristics of a good empirical theory Internal consistency: Should not make statements such that both the presence and absence of a given set of antecedent conditions are deemed to ‘cause’ the occurrence of the phenomenon being explained External consistency: Consistent with other theories that seek to explain related phenomena Predictive: Capable of generating empirical predictions that can be tested against observation Criticisms Objections to the claim that statements which are neither definitions (useful tautologies) nor empirical are meaningless Tendency towards mindless empiricism Assumed independence of theory and observation III.ii - RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY Core assumptions “[The economic man] can think like Albert Einstein, store as much memory as IBM’s Big Blue, and exercise the willpower of Mahatma Gandhi. Really” (Thaler &cSunstein, 2009: 6) - Maximization of gains with minimization of costs - Unlimited cognitive capacity - Complete information - Clear link between decisions and outcomes Self-interest Maximization of gains with minimization of costs for the individual alone Preference for order, stability, predictability, and survival within a context of volatility Equilibrium In game theory, a set of strategies, one for each player, such that no player can increase his/her payoff by changing strategy given that no other player changes strategy COORDINATION PROBLEMS Collective action problems Individual incentives fail to produce the optimal outcome for the group, even if everybody would in principle be willing to do their share in exchange for a promise that others will also do their share.  Rise of free riders: Individuals who attempt to enjoy the benefits of the collective good without contributing to its production. Solving collective action problems Latent groups No single individual’s action has any perceptible effect on others. Will fail to produce collective goods except through the use of ‘selective incentives’—rewards or punishments which are tied to individual contributions rather than to the group as a whole. Intermediate groups Lack any individual willing to provide the collective good unilaterally, but the contribution of each individual has a significant and perceptible effect on the provision of the collective good. Success in providing collective goods depends on formal or informal coordination of some sort. Privileged groups Those in which at least one member values the collective good highly enough to be willing to pay the full cost of providing the collective good themselves regardless of whether anyone else contributes to it. Privileged groups will produce collective goods, since no collective action problem arises. Criticism Bounded rationality - Limited cognitive capacity. - Incomplete information. - Unclear link between decisions and outcomes. Decisions are bounded, not by cognitive or environmental constraints, but instead by patterns or biases in individual information processing.  Logic of rationality Logic of consequences (substantial rationality) Rational decisions are consequential because actions based on those choices anticipate preferred future consequences, results, or ends. Logic of appropriateness (procedural rationality) Decisions are appropriate when choices are based on shared understandings of the decision situation, the nature or ‘identity’ of the organization, and accepted rules of what is expected in particular situations. IV - PREOCCUPATION WITH INSTITUTIONS Institutionalism Contexts Institutionalism was a political science - Dominant until the 1950s - Traditional institutionalism Institutional turn in politics and development - The 1990’s decade of institutions - The emergence of the new institutionalisms Traditional institutionalism Normative being concerned with ‘good government’ Structuralist positing that formal structures determine political behaviour Historicist positing the central influence of history Legalist positing that law plays a major role in governing (esp. constitutions) Holistic being concerned with describing and comparing whole systems of government  Political Development as Institutionalization Political Development institutionalization of political organizations and procedures Institutions stable, valued, recurring patterns of behavior Huntington 1965 Insitutionalization “Effective establishment of authority over society through specially created political structures and agents” Kamrava, 2000 Social Mobilization Political Institutionalization High High High Civic Corrupt Low Contained Primitive Whats new in the “new” institutionalisms 1. Defining Institutions Institutions are “durable social rules and procedures, formal and informal, which structure – but do not determine – the social, economic, and political relations and interactions of those affected by them Leftwich & Sen 2011 Institutional Rules are - Specific to a particular political or governmental setting - Recognized by actors (if not always adhered to) - Collective (rather personal in their effect) - Subject to some sort of third-party enforcement (formal or informal)  Economic Institutions From formal definitions and protections of property rights, to norms, traditions, convention governing access to opportunities Political Institutions From formal defitinitions on “how power is obtained, used, and controlled, and by whom”, to informal definitions on “how authoritative decisions are made (and not only at the level of the state)” Social Institutions Includes cultural and/or religious (i.e., collective) patterns of behavior INSTITUTIONS - Distinct from organizations - Organizations are the “formally or informally co-ordinated vehicles for the promotion or ptoection of a mix of individual and shared interests and ideas) - Organizations “play a key role in the politics of institutional information, implementation and change Leftwich & Sen 2011 2. Systemative explanation on how institutions affect behavior Modes of institutional constraint - Rules - Practices - Narratives Embody Values and Power - Shaping ideas, interests, beliefs and incentive structures - Frame likely policy choices Booth 2011  3. Making sense of institutional persistence, and change Institutional genesis and change might be acquainted for by - Intentional design - Accident - evolution