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Comparative Politics Methodology All comparative methods are scientific; therefore, all scientific method is comparative.
Methods of Analysis
Clinical MethodControlled settings, operate within confinement (lab climate). Highly objective, very analytical, devoid of personal, emotional interference. Manipulate variables to shape experiment Statistical MethodGather random data, look for correlation, hopefully diagnose causation Case Study1 element. Good that it relates to that element only. Ex: Marxism believes that economy is the most important; not always true Comparative MethodContains old and new methods
The third level focused on the role of systemic factors, or the effect that international anarchy was exerting on state behavior. "Anarchy" in this context is meant not as a condition of chaos or disorder, but one in which there is no sovereign body that governs nation-states.
Prisoners dilemma
Two prisoners are accused of a crime. If one confesses and the other does not, the one who confesses will be released immediately and the other will spend 20 years in prison. If neither confesses, each will be released. If both confess, they will each be jailed 5 years. They cannot communicate with one another. Given that neither prisoner knows whether the other has confessed, it is in the self-interest of each to confess himself. Paradoxically, when each prisoner pursues his self-interest, both end up worse off than they would have been had they acted otherwise Demonstrates how many conflicts are caused by system-level factors, although all 3 levels of analysis offer insight into why war happens
Political systems Economic systems range from USA market capitalism protected capitalism in JPN socialism in SWE Culture (GER, ITY, FRA, JPN have penchant for strong father state. Huntington claims culture makes democracybut if this is true, why are these countries different? Foreign Policy orientations (sanctions on Iraq)
(Ronald Inglehart, U-M) In the industrial world, there are 2 kinds of people: Post-Materialist
Post-Materialism:
Materialist:
Wealthy, well educated Poor UC/MC Uneducated Concerned with Older, environment, feminism, concerned with consumer protection, civil living from day liberties, support peace to day movements. They think about selfactualization
Western Europe
What is Western Europe? Cultural distinction Religion Languages: Slavic, Romantic, Germanic Pre-iron curtain Post-iron curtain NATO EU creates in/out division Neutrals? Austria, Switzerland, Sweden Borders: Turkey? EU requires democracy and human rights Legal systems based on Common Law, Roman Law, Napoleonic Code
European Ideology
Classical Liberalism Classical Conservatism Pro-Status quo Economic Inequality Opposed excesses of French Revolution and its emphasis on personal freedom, wants to restore power of the State, Church, and aristocracy Doesnt favor EUR integration Thatcherite Conservatism different, more like American Conservatism Against State Intervention in Economy Favors personal and economic liberty. Would have supported free market and opposed government regulation of trade
History of the UN
Formed after the fall of the League of Nations which could not successfully rule as a governing body and WW II Has the ability to maintain and deploy its member nations' armed forces as peace keepers. The term "United Nations" was suggested by Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, to refer to the Allies. From August to October 1944, representatives of France, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union met to elaborate the plans at the Dumbarton Oaks Estate in Washington, DC. Those and later talks produced the framework of the UN (finalized in San Francisco) Originally 51 member countries in 1945 Now over 200 members
UN Financing
Financed by two methods: Assessed and Voluntary
Assessed is decided by how large and wealthy the member country is, therefore determining the amount of money it is able to allocate to the UN (decided when the UN makes its budget every two years).
There is a ceiling rate for countries so the UN is not dependent one country for its money. The ceiling rate is now 22%. Only the United States meets this amount.
UN General Assembly
Meets in regular yearly sessions under a president elected from among the representatives. Only UN organ in which all members are represented, Serves as a forum for members to discuss issues of international law and make decisions on the functioning of the organization. Begins on the third Tuesday in September and ends in mid-December President elected at the beginning of each session Hold special session under request of Security Council if majority of members or majority of a single member Uniting for Peace Resolution has not been effective
Security Council
Security Council has the power to make decisions which member governments must carry out under the United Nations Charter. decisions of the Council are known as UN Security Council Resolutions. Presidency of the Security Council is rotated and lasts for one month. Members must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet at any timeweakness in League of Nations president sets the agenda, presides at meetings and oversees any crisis - alternates in alphabetical order Permanent Members (5) Republic of China, French Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America Elected Members.(10) elected to 2 year terms
The Secretariat
One of the main organs of the UN
Headed by the Secretary General, and other civil servants, and provides information for UN Assembly meetings. It also carries out tasks as directed by the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the UN Economic and Social Council, and other U.N. bodies.
The United Nations Charter provides that the staff be chosen by application of the "highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity," with due regard for the importance of recruiting on a wide geographical basis
The Secretary Generals duties include: -helping resolve international disputes, -administering peacekeeping operations, -organizing international conferences, -gathering information on the implementation of Security Council decisions, and -consulting with member governments regarding various initiatives. The Secretary General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter that, in his or her opinion, may threaten international peace and security.
UN Secretaries General
Trygve Lie, Norway (1945-1953)
Democratic Theory
Democratization: Spread of democracy Standards of democracy:
Process versus outcome: (Fareed Zakaria)
Procedural (Illiberal) versus substantive (liberal) democracy
Three Waves of Democratization (Huntington) But lets examine the causes of democracy before we 40 get to Huntington
Causes of Democracy
Wealth. A higher GDP per capita correlates with democracy and the wealthiest democracies have never been
observed to fall into authoritarianism. There is also the general observation that democracy was very rare before the industrial revolution. Empirical research thus lead many to believe that economic development either increases chances for a transition to democracy (modernization theory), or helps newly established democracies consolidate. Some campaigners for democracy even believe that as economic development progresses, democratization will become inevitable. However, the debate about whether democracy is a consequence of wealth, a cause of it, or both processes are unrelated, is far from conclusion. Education. Wealth also correlates with education, though their effects on democratic consolidation seem to be independent. Better educated people tend to share more liberal and pro-democratic values. On the other hand, a poorly educated and illiterate population may elect populist politicians who soon abandon democracy and become dictators even if there have been free elections. Fewer Natural Resources. The resource curse theory suggests that states whose sole source of wealth derives from abundant natural resources, such as oil, often fail to democratize because the well-being of the elite depends more on the direct control of the resource than on the popular support. On the other hand, elites who invested in the physical capital rather than in land or oil, fear that their investment can be easily damaged in case of a revolution. Consequently, they would rather make concessions and democratize than risk a violent clash with the opposition. Capitalism. Some claim that democracy and capitalism are intrinsically linked. This belief generally centers on the idea that democracy and capitalism are simply two different aspects of freedom. A widespread capitalist market culture may encourage norms such as individualism, negotiations, compromise, respect for the law, and equality before the law. These are seen as supportive for democratization. By contrast, many Marxists would claim that capitalism is inherently undemocratic, and that true democracy can only be achieved if the economy is controlled by the people as a whole rather than by private individuals.
Social equality. Acemoglu and Robinson argued that the relationship between social equality
and democratic transition should be nonlinear: People have less incentive to revolt in an egalitarian society (Singapore), so the likelihood of democratization is lower. In a highly unequal society (South Africa under Apartheid), the redistribution of wealth and power in a democracy would be so harmful to elites that these would do everything to prevent democratization. Democratization is more likely to emerge somewhere in the middle, in the countries, whose elites offer concessions because (1) they consider the threat of a revolution credible and (2) the cost of the concessions is not too high. This expectation is in line with the empirical research showing that democracy is more stable in egalitarian societies. Middle class. According to some models, the existence of a substantial body of citizens who are of intermediate wealth can exert a stabilizing influence, allowing democracy to flourish. This is usually explained by saying that while the upper classes may want political power to preserve their position, and the lower classes may want it to lift themselves up, the middle class balances these extreme positions. Civil society. A healthy civil society (NGOs, unions, academia, human rights organizations, LINKAGE INSTITUTIONSMEDIA, POLITICAL PARTIES, ELECTIONS, INTEREST GROUPS) are considered by some theorists to be important for democratization, as they give people a unity and a common purpose, and a social network through which to organize and challenge the power of the state hierarchy. Involvement in civic associations also prepares citizens for their future political participation in a democratic regime. Finally, horizontally organized social networks build trust among people and trust is essential for functioning of democratic institutions.
Civic culture. In The Civic Culture and The Civic Culture Revisited, Gabriel A. Almond and Sidney Verba
conducted a comprehensive study of civic cultures. The main findings is that a certain civic culture is necessary for the survival of democracy. This study truly challenged the common thought that cultures can preserve their uniqueness and practices and still remain democratic. Culture. It is claimed by some that certain cultures are simply more conductive to democratic values than others. This view is likely to be ethnocentric. Typically, it is Western culture which is cited as "best suited" to democracy, with other cultures portrayed as containing values which make democracy difficult or undesirable. This argument is sometimes used by undemocratic regimes to justify their failure to implement democratic reforms. Today, however, there are many non-Western democracies. Examples include India, Japan, Indonesia, Namibia, Botswana, Taiwan, and South Korea. Human Empowerment and Emancipative Values. In Modernization, Cultural Change and Democracy, Ronald Inlgehart and Christian Welzel explain democratization as the result of a broader process of human development which empowers ordinary people in a three-step sequence. First, modernization gives more resources into the hands of people, which empowers capability-wise, enabling people to practice freedom. This tends to give rise to emancipative values that emphasize freedom of expression and equality of opportunities. These values empower people motivation-wise in making them willing to practice freedom. Democratization occurs as the third stage of empowerment: it empowers people legally in entitling them to practice freedom. In this context, the rise of emancipative values has been shown to be the strongest factor of all in both giving rise to new democracies and sustaining old democracies. Specifically, it has been shown that the effects of modernization and other structural factors on democratization are mediated by these factors tendencies to promote or hinder the rise of emancipative values. Further evidence suggests that emancipative values motivate people to engage in elite-challenging collective actions that aim at democratic achievements, either to sustain and improve democracy when it is granted or to establish it when it is denied.
Homogeneous population. Some believe that a country which is deeply divided, whether by ethnic group,
religion, or language, have difficulty establishing a working democracy. The basis of this theory is that the different components of the country will be more interested in advancing their own position than in sharing power with each other. India is one prominent example of a nation being democratic despite its great heterogeneity. Previous experience with democracy. According to some theorists, the presence or absence of democracy in a country's past can have a significant effect on its later dealings with democracy. Some argue, for example, that it is very difficult (or even impossible) for democracy to be implemented immediately in a country that has no prior experience with it. Instead, they say, democracy must evolve gradually. Others, however, say that past experiences with democracy can actually be bad for democratization a country, such as Pakistan, in which democracy has previously failed may be less willing or able to go down the same path again. Foreign intervention. Some believe that foreign involvement in a democratization is a crucial factor in its success or failure. For some, foreign involvement is advantageous for democracythese people believe that democracy should be actively promoted and fostered by those countries which have already established it, and that democracy may not otherwise take hold. Others, however, take the opposite stance, and say that democratization must come "from the bottom up", and that attempts to impose democracy from the outside are often doomed to failure. The most extreme form is military intervention to create democracy, with advocates pointing to the creation of stable democracies in Japan and Germany (disputed) [12] after WWII, while critics point out, for example, the failures of colonialism and decolonization to create stable democracies in most developing nations, where dictators often quickly took power after a brief democratic period following independence. Age distribution. Countries which have a higher degree of elderly people seems to be able to maintain democracy, when it has evolved once, according to a thesis brought forward by Richard P. Concotta. When the young population (defined as people aged 29 and under) is less than 40%, a democracy is more secure.
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Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man (1992)
The end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government. Fukuyama's thesis consists of 2 main elements: The empirical argument: Since the beginning of the 19th Century, there has been a move for States to adopt some form of liberal democracy as its government. The philosophical argument: Fukuyama examines the influence of thymos (or human spiritedness). His argument is democracy hinders risky behavior. Enlightened rational thought shows that the roles of master and slave are unsatisfying and selfdefeating and hence not adopted by lofty spirts. This type of argument was originally taken up by Hegel and John Locke.
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Francis Fukuyama The End of History and the Last Man (1992)
"What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government. But not so fast.
Huntingtons Civilizations
Analysis of Huntington
Rejected by most scholars in the 1990s After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Huntington has been increasingly regarded as having been prescient in light of: The United States invasion of Afghanistan. The 2002 Bali Bombings. The 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The 2004 Madrid train bombings. The 2006 cartoon crisis. The 2005 London bombings. The ongoing Iranian nuclear crisis. The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. The 2008-09 Israel-Gaza conflict.
Learning Objectives
Define democracy Explain variations in democracies in different countries Define rule of law Describe characteristics of civil society and civic culture Outline support for and exceptions to the hypothesis that capitalism and affluence are prerequisites of democratic political cultures Outline the development of democratic states in Western Europe since the 18th century Define political legitimacy and explain its role in democratic civil societies Explain the roles of social capital and tolerance in democratic civil societies Outline the characteristics of the types of political parties found in Western democratic states Describe characteristics of presidential and parliamentary regimes Explain the primary roles of bureaucracies in democratic regimes Define and apply the concept of an integrated elite Describe an interventionist state and its primary characteristics Define feedback within the context of political systems
Learning Objectives
After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to: Describe and define state, nation, regime, and government. Understand the definition of a nation-state. Gain introductory knowledge of the process of comparative political analysis. Comprehend the difference between globalization and imperialism. Recognize the essence of political system and system theory and be able to apply this theory in comparative analysis. Describe the input-output process of political system operation. Identify roles and positions of states and nation-states in international politics. Explain the applicability of the international political economy. Understand the three-way classification of states and regimes. Define the fundamentals of the public policy and the process of its analysis.
Learning Objectives
describe comparative politics as a field of political science. explain at least one rationale for comparing political systems. explain why generalizations and theories are goals of comparative politics. describe how comparativists use scientific method. define state in the context of comparative politics. explain why the state is a focus of comparative politics in this textbook. distinguish between the types of states described in this chapter and offer examples of the types. recognize and offer initial definitions of other core concepts identified in the chapter. describe a generic political system and label its most important elements. identify historical, contemporary, domestic, and global factors that determine basic patterns of politics and government.
Learning Objectives
After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to: Gain knowledge of democracy as a political system. Become aware of the latest electoral results and their impact on political realities in the USA, Great Britain, France and Germany. Understand concepts and criteria of democracy, such as rights, elections, the rule of law, civil society and capitalism in the free market. Define liberal and liberalism. Describe and define the origins of the democratic state empowered by the evolution of political thoughts on democracy. Differentiate between philosophical positions of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Recognize the process of democracy building Understand the challenges of democratization. Define and explain legitimacy and the process of political legitimization. Comprehend the role of political parties in political system. Identify different political ideologies and recognize the difference between left and right political ideologies and parties.
Learning Objectives
Classify leading political parties in France, Germany and Great Britain. Understand political positions of Liberals, Radicals, Social Democrats and Christian Democrats. Define catch-all political parties. Understand postindustrialism and post materialism and their affect on the development of the political system. Recognize mechanisms of party dealignment and realignment. Describe interests groups and understand factors contributing to the political protest. Recognize differences between presidential and parliamentarian forms of government and their impact of government formation, duration, stability and effectiveness. Define cabinet responsibility and vote of confidence in parliamentarian systems. Recognize the role of bureaucracy. Define the law of iron triangle. Describe the process of public policy formation and implementation. Define the interventionist state. Understand challenges of economically liberalized democratic state. Describe the impact of foreign policy on international relations. Recognize balances that democratic states should achieve to be more effective and efficient.
Learning Objectives
After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to: Discuss the summary of the book, including the summary of the current economic and political situation in the world. Understand the definitions and components of crisis, danger, and globalization. Comprehend the basics of global warming challenges in the contemporary world. Define the concept of interdependence in the process of globalization. Recognize the key elements of the historical formation and impact of imperialism. Understand the concept of challenges in the way of thinking. Discuss differences between zero-sum and positive-sum outcomes. Gain complete understanding of the whole book and recognize the importance of studying politics and international affairs, especially in comparative prospective.