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74 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is comparative politics? |
the examination of similarities and differences in politics within countries and around the world - goal is to find the causes of similarities and differences |
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What are theories? |
explanation of empirical phenomena - explanations about how the world operates - casual explanations that link two concepts |
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What are the two main components of theories? |
1. A casual statement (higher economic development causes more democracy) 2. A casual explanation (x causes y because...) |
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What is a hypothesis? |
A specific prediction (derived from a theory) that can be tested against evidence - "educated guesses" |
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Example of theory versus hypothesis |
Theory: Political apathy in manydeveloped democracies leads to decreasing levels ofpolitical participation because citizens don’t think thatvoting matters.
Hypothesis: Low turnout in recentelections in Western Europe is the result of low levels of interest inpolitics. |
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What are the four steps to comparative methodology? |
1. defining the concepts 2. operationalizing/measuring the concepts 3. gather empirical evidence for the cases 4. compare/contrast the cases (quantitive vs. qualitative) and test your hypothesis |
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what is democracy? |
“agovernment in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised bythem directly or indirectly through a system of representation usuallyinvolving periodically held free elections”
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What is a "case?" |
- an example of a phenomenon to be studied - could be a revolution, institution, election or country |
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what is qualitative evidence? |
- evidence in a narrative form - historical records, interviews |
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what is quantitative evidence? |
- large numbers of cases, numerical data - goal is to mathematically make out the relationships between variables - stats and figures |
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differences between quantitative and qualitative |
quantitative: - as many cases as possible - broad scope to max generalization - statistical approaches qualitative: - few cases - narrow scope (goal is not to generalize) - cases are compared through process tracing, historical records |
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What is the basic problem when trying to compare countries? |
countries are very different from each other and its hard to isolate potential explanatory factors |
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what are the three effective tools to make comparisons? |
1. Most-similar-systems design 2. Most-different-systems design 3. Within-case analysis goal: rule out the plausible explanations for certain phenomena |
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What's the logic behind the Most-similar-systems design? |
- the two very similar cases should have similar political outcomes - if they have different outcomes, we look for the variations that can explain it |
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What is within-case comparison? |
track developments in one country over time or look at certain regions in the country seperately |
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What is the logic behind the Most-different-systems design? |
- we use 2 cases that have the same outcome but are otherwise very different - if the 2 variables are different, they can't contribute to the observed difference |
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what is the goal of quantitative analyses? |
to find stable and high correlations between dependent and independent variables |
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what are dependent and independent variables? |
dependent: (outcome), effects independent: (explanatory), causes |
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what are the three ways the "state" can be used in context? |
1. subnational units in a federal system - state of Idaho 2. political institutions governing a society - the centralized state - the American state (government) 3. country - "sovereign state" |
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Historically, states are... |
a relatively new phenomenon - nomadic empires, medieval Europe - indivudals likes were hardly ever effected by the decisions of kings - "monte python and king arthur" |
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what are the three features that characterize a modern state? |
1. bureaucracy 2. impersonality (if the president died America would live on) 3. sovereignty (states are the ultimate authority within their territory) |
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how does dickovick and eastwood define the modern state? |
"the most important form of political organization in modern politics" |
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how does rotberg describe modern states? whats their purpose? |
“Nation statesexist to provide a decentralized method of delivering political (public) goodsto persons living within designated borders."
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What are the functions of modern states? (4) |
1. Taxation - creates sense of belonging among citizens, share of ownership - creates funds for public goods 2. Supply of human security - security from external threats - one of the most visible functions of a modern state 3. Policing / rule of law - important for economic development - different systems of punishment 4. Order, administration and legibility - states gather info about their country - administer and study population |
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what are the four theories that try to explain the emergence of modern states? |
1. economic theories 2. cultural theories 3. conflict theories 4. diffusion theories |
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what are the economic theories? |
- modern states came about when important coalitions had an interest in giving up their own prerogatives - happened in exchange for protection (rule of law) - law = better economic development and social responsibility |
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what are the cultural theories? |
- cultural changes led to state building - greater acceptance to accept state scrutiny and taxation? 1. through nationalism and national identity 2. through religion (Calvinism created "disciplined" societies) |
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what are the conflict theories? (charles tilly) |
In Europe, near-constant threat of war led to... - increased need for resource extraction - citizens are more likely to accept taxation when nation is at war - presence of external threat generates nationalism and undermines power of non-state actors (like nobility) - warfare creates strong states |
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what are the diffusion theories? |
- modern states are everywhere on the planet through some sort of "spreading" - three perspectives: 1. colonization brought the idea of "states" to all corners of the world 2. states spread because it allowed colonial powers to exploit developing countries 3. the idea of the state is cultural: societies are "supposed" to be governed by states because its just what you do as a society |
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what is the key component of being a modern state regardless if they fit the three main characterizations? |
sovereign states require other countries to "recognize" them |
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what is the political economy? |
linkages between politics and economics - mostly advanced inudstrialized countries |
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We measure the economy through... (4) |
1. income per capita 2. poverty rate 3. inflation 4. inequality |
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What are the three ways to measure income? |
1. Gross Domestic Product 2. Gross National Income 3. Purchasing Power Parity |
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What's the difference between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Income (GNI)? |
GDP: market value of goods and services produced within a country GNI: income of all goods and services earned by a country's producers |
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Why can GDP and GNI look better than it actually is? |
Cost of living varies in different places |
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Explain the purchasing power parity? |
- "basket of goods" approach - cuts through manipulation and adjusts for differing costs of living - "big mac index" |
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how much of the wealth does the top 1% make up for in the nation? |
43% of the wealth is owned by the top 1% of households |
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What's the problem with income in America? |
- only upper-income families have made wealth gains in recent decades - the middle class is shrinking - leads to political polarization |
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What is the new state function? |
- Welfare - state functions have changed over time - provision of welfare for its citizens is a new responsibility of the state |
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What factors lead to the creation of strong welfare states? |
1. pressure from domestic populations (China/India/Indonesia) - co-optation of the poor (alleviating political pressures) 2. political institutions in some countries empowered Labor Union parties that represent the poor 3. international learning effects... - Asian countries -> focus on European experience - latin american countries have considered "learning" from existing programs like Brazil and Mexico |
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what are the pros of welfare? |
- life satisfaction is higher in countries with expansive welfare - lower income inequality, which leads to... 1. better provision of public goods 2. higher levels of social cohesion 3. more effective political institutions |
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what are the problems of welfare? |
1. free riding 2. long term sustainability is hard with aging populations and more people 3. taxation |
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What are the ways to measure "development" in a society? |
- GDP/GNI - poverty rates - life expectancy - infant mortality - literacy rates - cultural development (retaining and deepening one's own culture - life satisfaction/happiness - environmental sustainability |
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GDP as a measure of development: |
Benefit: -easy to measure Shortcomings: - doesn't tell us anything about the quality of life - doesn't take into account environmental degredation |
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Life Satisfaction/happiness as a measure of development: |
Con: - harder to measure than income or social outcomes Pro: gets the real "ends" of development rather than simply the "means" |
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Explain the Triple Bottom Line approach |
1. Profits - personal income - job growth - percentage of firms in each sector 2. People - average commute time - female labor force participation - violent crimes per capita 3. Plant - sulfur dioxide concentration - electricity consumption - fossil fuel concumption |
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Whats the state of development like today? |
- global convergence on several dimensions, but its not for everyone - some countries lag behind - huge within-country variation (gender, race/ethnicity, geographics) |
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what's the difference between China and the US's paths of development? |
US has economic development before social development (health) China had social development (health) before economic development |
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The world is becoming less unequal except.... |
1 billion people in the poorest countries of the planet "the bottom billion" 58 small countries in Africa and Asia (Somalia, North Korea, Yemen) |
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How can we explain different levels of development? |
- institutions - culture - structure |
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what is an institution? |
man-made rules, laws and constitutions that influence the behavior of individuals in a society - "economic institutions" govern the economy of a country |
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What are examples of economic institutions? |
1. rule of law 2. education systems 3. dictatorships/democracy 4. labor market (slave versus capitalist) 5. property rights |
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explain "exclusive institutions" (Far left of spectrum) |
1. no rule of law 2. underdeveloped education systems 3. slave labor 4. no property rights 5. dictatorship |
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explain "inclusive institutions" (Far right of spectrum) |
1. rule of law 2. well-functioning education systems 3. people choose their own careers 4. property rights 5. democracy |
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how do inclusive economic institutions help the state? |
1. reduce brain drain 2. encourage investment by... - reinforcing property rights - placing constraints on elites - increasing "human capital" 3. encourage innovation - individuals can live up to their full potential |
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Why is "trust" important for economic development? |
- investors don't want to be cheated - goods and services are provided in exchange for future payment - employers ask employees to perform tasks that are difficult to monitor ECONOMIES STRUGGLE IF THE CITIZENS DON'T TRUST EACH OTHER |
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what is strategic trust? |
- highly situational - created through information and used for daily situations - "Jack believes that Emma will cooperate because she has in the past" |
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what is generalized trust? |
- world view - not created through information - depends on the structure of your brain and divisions within societies - what you were raised to believe about human character - naturally "trusting" or "distrusting" people |
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What is the most trustworthy and least trust worthy nation? |
Norway and Brazil |
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societies with more "trusting" citizens have.... |
.... faster economic growth rates - trust is especially important in societies with weak political institutions - no government to enforce contracts |
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what is the procedural definition of democracy? |
- emphasizes minimal standards and procedures that a country should have, like: 1. political rights, right to vote in free and fair elections, right to join association 2. civil rights/liberties, freedom of assembly and speech, access to info and equal access to institutions |
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whats the substantive definition of democracy? |
- certain substantive ends need to be satisfied in order for a country to be democratic 1. public knowledge and awareness 2. equality by gender/race and other groups 3. participation, social inclusion and civil society involvement 4. low income inequality 5. clear accountability and high institutional performance |
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what is a representative democracy? |
politicians and institutions represent the electorate - constitutionality - political rights (right to vote) - civil rights and civil liberties (political life outside of elections) |
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what is a direct democracy? |
emphasis on direct citizen involvement in politics - referenda (popular votes on specific issues) - citizen assembles and community councils |
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what are the benefits of direct democracy? |
1. directly translates the "will of the people" into policy and increased feeling of political efficacy 2. transparency of decisions 3. provides clear accountability to government officials |
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what are the drawbacks of direct democracy? |
1. many political decisions require political expertise - boiling them down to a simple yes/no question is hard/unwise - political entrepreneurs may be able to "mislead" the public 2. tyranny of the majority (leave out minority needs) 3. Question wording matters |
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what are the stages of democratization? |
1. Democratic transition (change from one regime type to another) - can be really fast or very slow - can happen in different ways 2. Democratic consolidation (the nation's process of strengthening its democracy) - achieved when democracy is "the only game in town" |
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What is the modernization theory about democracy? |
As citizens' prosperity grows, their desire for political freedom will grow as well wealth = citizen power = citizen political involvement |
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what is the cultural theory about democracy? |
democracy works based on culture - some countries (Asian) disagree with democracy because they value efficient and honest governments over the freedom and liberties of the individual (singapore) |
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what is the problem for cultural theories about democracy? |
- culture is not static - culture can (and does) change over time |
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What does the INTL system do? |
societies force their way to democracy with violence? (international) |
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Big international players effect democracy how? |
influence of communism by soviets in third world influence of democracy by US in LA Chile ex: Nixon backed the coup in 1973 with CIA because we didn't want another "Cuba" |
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Agents and actors influence democracy... |
through publicity and national influence, taking a stand for the public |
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Comining theories for democracy |
no one theory will explain all democratization - empirical records say... minimum level of economic wealth is necessary for democracy to work BUT only in times where great international powers don't actively oppose democratic movements |
