Unit 2

Industrialized democracies The USA, Great Britain, France Germany and the EU Largest restraints on political power Current & former Communist Regimes Russia, China Less Developed Countries (LDCs) India, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, and Mexico Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) are countries that may have been LDCs but are gaining industry and developing TYPES OF STATES

 Strong states – one with the capacity and political will to make and implement effective public policy.  Weak states – one without this capacity STRONG VS WEAK STATES

 Definition: Government is the institutions and processes through which public policies are made for society.  This definition leads to two basic questions:  How should we govern?  What should government do?  Governments typically maintain a national defense, provide services, collect taxes, and preserve order. 4 GOVERNMENT

 The core of politics is about human beings making important decisions for themselves and for others  Comparative Politics: Two Elements  It is a subject of study  comparing the nature of politics and the political process across different political systems  It is a method of study  Involving how and why we make such comparisons WHAT IS POLITICS?

 Politics deals with human decisions, and political science is the study of such decisions  We will examine the political process and its impact on the citizens WHAT IS POLITICS?

WHY GOVERNMENTS?  Community- and nation-building  Help create a national political culture  Security and order  Protecting property and other rights  Promoting economic efficiency and growth  Public goods  Externalities  Social justice  Protecting the weak

A state (small ‘s’) is defined as a body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically and has the power to make and enforce law ◦ Political systems are a particular type of social system - makes authoritative public decisions  Elements within it are institutions of government, political organizations, mass media, schools, churches, families, corporations, foundations, think tanks. 8 POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND STATES A state (BIG ‘S”) refers to a particular state like Oklahoma

THE STATE 9 The state can be defined as having these four characteristics:

 Sovereignty Having supreme, independent authority over a territory Power – the ability to get people or groups to do what they otherwise would not do. Politics – the process through which a community, state, or organization organizes and governs itself. Not exclusively about power

The Force Theory  The force theory states that one person or a small group took control of an area and forced all within it to submit to that person’s or group’s rule. The Evolutionary Theory  The evolutionary theory argues that the state evolved naturally out of the early family. The Divine Right Theory  The theory of divine right holds that God created the state and that God gives those of royal birth a “divine right” to rule. The Social Contract Theory  The social contract theory argues that the state arose out of a voluntary act of free people. 11 ORIGINS OF THE STATE

THE DIVERSITY OF STATES  Since WWII 125 new countries have join the 68 states that existed in  Largest group of new states is in Sub-Saharan Africa  More than 20 new countries formed in the 1990s  Mostly the successor states of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia  These states share many characteristics, but they also vary in many ways that shape their politics.

THE DIVERSITY OF STATES  Big and small states  Vatican City - smallest legally independent entity in geographic size and population  Russia - largest landmass  China and India - largest populations  Political implications of geographic and population size?  Big countries not always most important  Small ones can be: Cuba, Israel, Vatican City, Iraq  Area and population do not determine a country’s political system.  Geographic location can have strategic implications.

14 There are more than 190 recognized states in the world today Russia is the largest state in the world at 6.6 millions sq miles Vatican City is the smallest, with only 109 acres and about 850 people

15 SEALAND Buy a country for 750 million.

POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND STATES  Nation-states  Cases in which national identification and sovereign political authority coincide.  European Union and United Nations  Supranational organization.  Diminishes sovereignty of member states

THE DIVERSITY OF STATES  All states face common challenges:  Building community  Fostering economic and social development  Advancing democracy and civil liberties

IDEOLOGIES

 A political ideology is a consistent set of values and beliefs about the proper purpose and scope of government… How far should government go to maintain order, provide public goods, and promote equality. 22 IDEOLOGY AND THE SCOPE OF GOVERNMENT

 Totalitarianism is the belief that government should have unlimited power and control all sectors of society and individual behavior, such as in business, labor, education, sports and the arts. 23 IDEOLOGY AND THE SCOPE OF GOVERNMENT

 Socialism is a theory of government that believes the scope of government extends to ownership or control of the basic industries that produce goods and services. Socialism allows for more private ownership of productive capacity than Communism. 24 IDEOLOGY AND THE SCOPE OF GOVERNMENT

 Capitalism is an ideology that supports free enterprise and private business operating without government regulation.  Communism involves a theory that gives ownership of all land and productive facilities to the people; the government (the “state”). 25 IDEOLOGY AND THE SCOPE OF GOVERNMENT

 Libertarianism is an ideology that opposes all government action except what is necessary to protect life and property.  Anarchism is an ideology that opposes all government, in any form and values freedom above all else. 26 IDEOLOGY AND THE SCOPE OF GOVERNMENT

 Without using the word ‘legitimate’ define the word LEGITMACY  When the government allowed a free press to operate it gained legitimacy. LEGITIMACY

 Defined as citizens belief in the government’s right to rule  IT IS THE VIEW OF THE GOVERNMENT FROM THE BOTTOM UP!—THE PEOPLE’S VIEW OF THEIR GOVERNMENT.  A belief that a regime is a proper one and that the government has the right to exercise power  In the contemporary world, a state is said to possess legitimacy when it enjoys consent of the governed, which usually involves democratic procedures and the attempt to evenly distribute resources  Legitimacy of the political system also provides foundation for a successful political process  Legitimacy is based on different things in different countrie

 Traditional Legitimacy  People gain legitimacy through tradition, e.g. the same royal family ruling for hundreds of years  Charismatic Legitimacy  Based on the personality of the leader or small group  Rational-Legal Legitimacy  Based on well established laws and procedures, voting, etc. TYPES OF LEGITMACY

CITIZENS SOCIETY AND THE STATE

CLEAVAGES  SES  Region  Ethnicity/Race  Religion  Ideology  Gender  “‘Cleavages are the criteria which divide members of a community or subcommunity into groups...’”

CROSSCUTTING CLEAVAGES Political Power Wealth The cross-cutting cleavage is a concept that recognizes that most people have multiple interests and identities that affect their political views. A person who considers himself a "worker" doesn't necessarily define his political identity exclusively by this characteristic.

COINCIDING CLEAVAGE WEALTH EDUCATION POWER two cleavages are reinforcing to the degree that they divide society into the same two groups of people

POLITICAL CULTURE  The collection of history, values, beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, traditions, and symbols that define and influence political behavior within a nation-state  If want to manipulate the populace, focus on manipulating the populace by exploiting its political culture.

CONSENSUAL POLITICAL CULTURE  Citizens tend to agree on the appropriate means of making political decisions and to agree on the major problems facing society and how to solve them

CONFLICTUAL POLITICAL CULTURE  The citizens are sharply divided, often on both the legitimacy of the regime and solutions to major problems.  When a country is deeply divided in political attitudes, distinctive political subcultures may develop.

POLITICAL SUBCULTURES  When a country is deeply divided in political attitudes, distinctive political subcultures may develop.  The citizens of these subcultures may have sharply different points of view on some critical political matters, such as the boundaries of the nation, the nature of the regime, or the correct ideology.  They may affiliate with different political parties and interest groups, read different newspapers, and even have separate social clubs or sporting groups.  Thus, they are exposed to different information about politics  Examples: India, Russia, China

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

40  Political Socialization:  “the process through which and individual acquires [their] particular political orientation”  Orientation grow firmer with age  The Process of Political Socialization  The Family  Political leanings of children often mirror their parents’ leanings How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization

41  The Process of Political Socialization (continued)  The Mass Media  Chief source of information as children age  Generation gap is viewing television news  School  Used by government to socialize young into political culture  Better-educated citizens are more likely to vote and are more knowledgeable about politics and policy  Political Learning Over a Lifetime  Aging increases political participation and strength of party attachment. How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization

42 POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION  Continuing Socialization includes newspaper and television news for the older American’s source of political news, while younger Americans are more likely to rely on radio, magazines or the Internet.

43 SOCIAL GROUPS AND POLITICAL VALUES  No two people are influenced by precisely the same socialization agents or in precisely the same way. People with similar backgrounds, however, do tend to develop similar political opinions.

44 THE PROCESS OF FORMING POLITICAL OPINIONS  The self-interest principle—the implication that people choose what benefits them personally—plays an obvious role in how people form opinions on government policies.

 REFORM  Reformers want to change some of the methods used to reach goals that society generally accepts  REVOLUTION  A major revision or overthrow of existing institutions  Usually impacts more than one area of life POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE

PARTICIPATION

47 DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION Political participation consists of the actions of private citizens seeking to influence or support government and politics. Conventional participation consists of relatively routine behavior that uses the established institutions of representative government, especially campaigning for candidates and voting in elections.

48 CONVENTIONAL PARTICIPATION  The two categories of conventional participation are:  Actions that show support for government policies.  Those actions that try to change or influence policies.  Citizens should not have to  risk their life and property to participate in politics  take direct action to force government to hear their views

49 DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION Unconventional participation includes relatively uncommon behavior that challenges or defies established institutions or the dominant culture (and thus is personally stressful to participants and their opponents).  Examples:  Sit ins/sit down strikes  Using violence/ terrorism  Boycotts

50 POPULAR PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS

51 CONVENTIONAL PARTICIPATION  A test of the democratic nature of any government is whether citizens can affect its policies by acting through its institutions.  If people must operate outside governmental institutions to influence policymaking, the system is not democratic.

52 CONVENTIONAL PARTICIPATION  The objective of democratic institutions is: oTo make political participation conventional oTo allow ordinary citizens to engage in relatively routine, nonthreatening behavior to get the government to head their opinions, interests and needs.

53 CONVENTIONAL PARTICIPATION  Supportive behaviors include actions that express allegiance to government and country.  Influencing behaviors are behaviors that seek to modify or reverse government policy to serve political interests.

54 VOTER TURNOUT IN DEMOCRATIC NATIONS,

FOSTERING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT  Two major forces transforming political systems and nations  Process of economic development  Political democratization  A political system cannot satisfy its citizens if it does not foster these social and economic development.  Living standards  Globalization, democratization, and marketization  HDI- Human Development Index  Structure of the labor force  Agriculture  Urbanization  Wide gap in living standards still exists across nations of the world.  Productivity requires resources to develop a skilled and healthy labor force and an infrastructure that supports material welfare.

PROBLEMS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT  The unequal distribution of resources and opportunities are among the most serious causes of political conflict.  Large GNP may conceal significant differences in distribution of these resources.  Country’s politics affected by internal divisions of income, wealth, etc.  Some countries work to limit these divisions: India  Economic inequality in America is as great as several poor nations, such as China and Egypt.  First stages of industrialization may actually increase income inequality even though economic development may narrow the differences eventually, but that is not guaranteed.

PROBLEMS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT  Another correlate of development is population growth.  Generally population growth occurs when positive things, like health care improvement, increased living standards, occur.  Rapid population growth, however, can pose policy challenges for many developing nations.  Fertility rates  Coercive policies: China  Economic growth can also create environmental costs.  Despoiled forests, depleted soils and fisheries, polluted air and water, nuclear waste, endangered species, and ozone questions.  Shortages of clean water, air, and adequate sanitation.

COMMAND AND MARKET ECONOMIES  Command Economy  The Govt owns most if not all of the industries and retail outlets  Highly centralized, highly planned  Market Economy  Private ownership of Property, with little or no interference from the govt  Mixed Economies  A mixtures of both planned and controlled economies and free enterprise  Regulations, punishments etc.  The move from a command economy to a market economy is often referred to had economic liberalization.