Cases and Concepts in Comparative Politics

Cases & Concepts in Comparative Politics: Introduction - - - - Introduction - Comparative Politics is the study and comparison of domestic politics across countries - International Politics is a field in political science that concentrates on relations between countries, such as foreign policy, war, trade and foreign aid - Institution is an organization or activity that is self-perpetuating and valued for its own sake What is Comparative Politics? - Politics is the struggle in any group for power that will give one or more persons the ability to make decisions for the larger group - Power is the ability to influence others or impose one’s will on them The Comparative Method - Comparative Method is the means by which social scientists make comparisons across cases - Inductive reasoning is research that works from case studies in order to generate hypotheses - Deductive reasoning is reading that works from a hypothesis that is then tested against data - Correlation is an apparent relationship between two or more variables - Casual relationship is cause and effect: when a change in one variable causes a change in another variable - Multicausality is when variables are interconnected and interact together to produce particular outcomes - Area studies is a regional focus when studying political science, rather than studying parts of the world where similar variables are clustered - Selected bias is a focus on effects rather than causes, which can lead to inaccurate conclusions about correlation or causation - Endogeneity is the issue that cause and effect are not often clear, in that variables may be both cause and effect in relationship to one another Can We Make a Science of Comparative Politics? - Theory is an integrated set of hypotheses, assumptions and facts - Modernization Theory is a theory asserting that as societies developed, they would take on a set of common characteristics, including democracy and capitalism - Behavioral revolution is a movement within political science during the 1950s and 1960s to develop general theories about individual political behavior that could be applied across all countries - Research Methods - Qualitative Method is study through an in-depth investigation of a limited - - number of cases - Quantitative Method is study through statistical data from many cases - Theory - Rational Choice is an approach that assumes that individuals weigh the costs and benefits and make choices to maximize their benefits - Game Theory is an approach that emphasizes how actors or organizations behave in their goal to influence others; built upon assumptions of rational choice A Guiding Concept: Political Institutions - Formal Institutions are institutions usually based on officially sanctioned rules that are relatively clear - Informal institutions are institutions with unwritten and unofficial rules A Guiding Ideal: Reconciling Freedom & Equality - Freedom is the ability of an individual to act independently, without fear of restriction or punishment by the state or other individuals or groups in society - Equality is a shared material standard of individuals within a community, society or country Cases & Concepts in Comparative Politics: States - - Defining the State - State (1) the organization that maintains a monopoly of force over a given territory. (2) a set of political institutions to generate and execute policy regarding freedom and equality - Sovereignty is the ability of a state to carry out actions or policies within a territory independently from external actors or internal rivals - Regime is the fundamental rules and norms of politics, embodying long-term goals regarding individual freedom and collective inequality, where power should reside, and the use of that power - Government is the leadership or elite in charge of running the state - Country the term used to refer to state, government and regime and the people who live within that political system Comparing State Power - Legitimacy is a value whereby an institution is accepted by the public as right and proper, thus giving it authority and power - Traditional Legitimacy is legitimacy that accepts aspects of politics because they have been institutionalized over a long period of time - Charismatic legitimacy is legitimacy built on the force of ideals embodied by an individual leader - Rational-Legal Legitimacy is legitimacy based on a system of laws and procedures that are highly institutionalized - Centralization or Decentralization - - Federalism is a system in which significant state powers, such as taxation, lawmaking and security, are developed to regional or local bodies - Asymmetric Federalism is when power is divided unevenly between regional bodies - for example, some regions are given greater power over taxation or language rights than others - a more likely outcome in a country with significant ethnic divisions - Unitary State is a state in which most political power exits at the national level, with limited local authority - Devolution a process in which political power is “sent down” to lower levels of state and government Power, Autonomy & Capacity - Strong state is a state that is able to fulfill basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes and managing the economy - Weak state is a state that has difficulty fulfilling basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes and managing the economy - Failed state a state so weak that its political structures collapse, leading to anarchy and violence - Capacity is the ability of the of the state to wield power to carry out basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes and managing the economy - Autonomy is the ability of the state to wield its power independently of the public Cases & Concepts in Comparative Politics: Nations & Society - - - - Ethnic Identity - Ethnic Identity/Ethnicity are specific attributes and societal institutions that make one group of people culturally different from others National Identity - Nation is a group that desires self-government through an independent state - National identity is a sense of belonging to a nation and a belief in its political aspirations - Nationalism is pride in one’s people and the belief that they have a unique political density Citizenship and Patriotism - Citizenship is an individual’s relationship to the state, wherein citizens swear allegiance to that state and the state in return is obligated to provide rights to those citizens - Patriotism is pride in one’s state Ethnic Identity, National Identity and Citizenship: Origins and Persistence - - Nation-State is a state encompassing one dominant nation that it claims to embody and represent - Ethnic and National Conflict - Ethnic conflict is a conflict in which different ethnic groups struggle to achieve certain political or economic goals at each other’s expense - National conflict is a conflict in which one or more groups within a country develop clear aspirations for political independence, clashing with others as a result Political Attitudes and Political Ideology - Political Attitudes - Political Attitude is the description of one’s views regarding the speed and methods with which political changes should take place in a given society - Radicals are those with a political attitude that favors dramatic, often revolutionary change - Liberals are those with a political attitude that favors evolutionary change and who believe that existing institutions can be instruments of positive change - Conservatives are those with a political attitude that is skeptical of change and supports the current order - Reactionaries are those who seek to restore the institutions of a real or an imagined earlier order - Political Ideology - Political Ideology is the basic values held by an individual about the fundamental goals of politics or the ideal balance of freedom and equality - Liberalism (1) a political attitude that favors evolutionary transformation; (2) an ideology and political system that favors a limited state role in society and the concomy and places a high priority on individual political and economic freedom - Liberal Democracy is a political system that promotes participation, competition, and liberty and emphasized individual freedom and civil rights - Communism (1) a political-economic system in which all wealth and property are shared so as to eliminate exploitation, oppression and ultimately, the need for political institutions such as the state; (2) a political ideology that advocates such a system - Social Democracy (Socialism) (1) a political-economic system in which freedom and equality are balanced through the state’s management of the economy and the provision of social expenditures; (2) a political ideology that advocates such a system - Facism is a political ideology that asserts the superiority and inferiority of different groups of people and stresses a low degree of both freedom and equality in order to achieve a powerful state Anarchism is a political ideology that stresses the elimination of the state and private property as a way to achieve both freedom and equality for all Religion, Fundamentalism and the Crisis of Identity - Fundamentalism is a view of religion as absolute and inerrant and that should be legally enforced by making faith the sovereign authority Political Culture - Culture is basic institutions that define a society - Political culture is the basic norms for political activity in a society - - - The Origins of the Modern State (Lecture) - - - State today = national organizing principle… - 1. Has not always been this way - Not the only way to structure social and political relations The Number of Political Units/States in the World, Over Time Time Period # of Units/States Location 1500-1800 100s Early modern states in Europe Early 1800s +10 to 20 Latin America states emerge 1850-1895 80 consolidation of many small states, mostly in Europe 1897 56 Worldwide low in # of states Interwar (1918-1945) 68 New states in Central Europe, Balkans; also in North Africa & Middle East 1946-2012 192 +/- 2 Sub-Saharan Africa in 1950s-60s, and former Communist block in the 1990s The “Inevitable” State? - Until 17th Century - No territorial states; localized power - Use of force shared: monarch, nobles, Catholic Church - No common legal system, currency, language, symbols States & Nations (Lecture) - - - The “Inevitable” State? (cont) - Until 17th Century - No territorial states; localized power - Use of force shared: monarch, nobles, Catholic Church - No common legal system, currency, language, symbols - But: economic activity necessitates - Centralization of power in the hands of monarchs - Gives rise to larger and more unified states - Charles Tilly (1992) “How War Made States, and Vice Versa” - Constant warfare requires large standing armies - Armies require money - Money requires efficient taxation - Efficient taxation requires public administration - And voila you have a modern state States vs Nations - Nation (social, cultural concept): group of people who feel strong affinity for each other (like language, religion, etc) - Also: common aspiration, especially self-government, sovereignty - Nation-state: area with - Territorial boundaries of single state - Citizenry who share primary national identity The Rise of the Nation-state - Until 1900s, nation = elite concept - Nation = mass concept Country Ethnolinguistic Fractionalization Score Portugal .007 Hungary .013 Ireland .029 Germany .111 Italy .114 France .318 Belgium .589 Latvia - Legitimacy (Lecture) - - - .61 How Nations Relate to States - Nation-States - Borders of nation and state largely congruent - E.g. Iceland, Poland, Portugal - Multinational States - More than one nation lives in a state - E.g. USSR, Yugoslavia, Canada - Stateless Nations - Nations without States - E.g. Kurds, Basques, Palestinians - Nations Larger Than States - Parts of nation lives outside of state - E.g. Russians, Hungarians, Chinese Why Do People Accept Authority - Why do people accept decisions of the state as binding? - National Identity - Law - Tradition - Charisma of Particular Leaders - Social Contract - Individual Utility - Fear of Sanction Legitimacy: Max Weber - Max Weber’s three forms of legitimacy - Traditional: “it has always been that way” - History. continuity - Charismatic: revolves around individual (s) - Who represents certain ideas - Rational-Legal: Institutionalized laws and procedures - Legitimacy of modern state = ration-legal Legitimacy: Fritz Sharpf - Input Legitimacy - Citizens believe that political authority is properly constituted and exercised - Political choices are legitimate because they reflect the “will of the people” - Output Legitimacy: - Citizens view political choices are legitimate because they produce - desirable results Choices are legitimate because they promote welfare of the people Challenges to the State (Lecture) - Challenges to the State - Ethnic, religious, regional conflict - Increasing heterogeneity of societies - Globalization - Regional integration/supranational governance National Identity (Lecture) - - - - Despite challenges: modern state = resilient, stable Important pillar: national identity - Based on concept of nation - Usually derived from Ethnic Identity - Attributes that make a group culturally distinct - Based on customs, language, religion, etc - Not inherently political - National Identity = inherently political - Basis for nationalism Nationalism - Nationalism - “The nation” is important part of one’s identity - Nation = worthy of pride and personal sacrifice - Powerful commitment to advancement of one’s nation’s interests and welfare - Movement of collective protest and self-assertion - Aimed at existing distribution of power within and between states - Often paired with disregard for concerns of outsiders - One of the most powerful and social political forces National Self-Determination - Principle that: - Nation-state is only legitimate form of political organization - Nations have right to their own independent nation-state - Nation-state has right to include the whole nation - Principle = universally recognized - But: often difficult to apply - Only very few ethnic communities have obtained nation-states of their own - Assertion can lead to war (one more recent example: RussianUkranian conflict) Clarifying Terminology - Nationalism = devotion to the interest or culture of one’s nation - - Patriotism = about ethics, law, devotion to the common good; pride and love for a country; not about the nation Chauvinism = exaggerated, fanatic nationalism or patriotism Xenophobia = extreme distrust and hatred of foreigners Ethnic Conflict - Ethnic groups struggle for power - Do not seek independent state - E.g. Afghanistan National Conflict - Group develops aspirations for political independence - Clashes with other groups as a result - E.g. American Revolution What is Democracy (Lecture) - - What is Democracy? - Rule by the people; or: collective self-rule - Citizens act indirectly through the competition and cooperation of their elected officials (Schmitter & Karl) - Rules are held accountable by citizens - Key elements (Dahl) - 1. Elected representatives of the people - 2. Free, fair and frequent elections - 3. Freedom of expression - 4. Alternative sources of information - 5. Freedom of association - 6. Inclusive citizenship A democratic system… - Allows for free formulation of preferences - Through the use of basic freedoms (association, information, communication) - For the purpose of free competition between leaders… - Whose claim to rule is validated at regular intervals by nonviolent means - A demoncratic system does this… - Without excluding any political office from that competition, and… - Without prohibiting any members if the political community from expressing their preferences - How do we recognize a democracy? - Democracy = continuum… Why? - Significant variation within category of “democracy” - Meaning has been evolving, both as concept and as reality e.g.: - Universal Suffrage, including women and minorities - Germany 1918 - Australia 1964 - USA 1965 (“Voting Rights Act”) - Switzerland 1971 Populism vs Liberal Democracy (Lecture) - - - - Liberalism - State power should be limited and certain freedoms guaranteed by law - Government is legitimate only if it has consent of the governed - Focus: protecting individual freedoms and limiting government power Liberal Democracy - Regular, contested elections plus - Set of institutions that… - Prevent any one person or group from amassing enough power to freely violate individual rights and freedoms - Guarantees rule of law and basic freedoms, including of minorities (electoral, ethnic, religious, etc) - Reconcile the interests of different societal groups - Assumes political - Democratic institutions ensure that the privileged and powerful cannot trample the rights of the rest - Liberal institutions prevent “tyranny of the majority” and ensure that everyone can freely and effectively participate - Democracy and liberalism seem to go in hand. But do they? Liberal Democracy in Crisis - Liberal democracies have come under increased stress in the recent past - “Democracy Facing Global Challenges” (2019, V-Dem Annual Democracy Report) - # of liberal democracies: 44 in 2008, 39 in 2018 - Almost of the world’s population affected by “autocratization” (opposite of democratization) - 415 million in 2016, 2.3 billion in 2018 Populism - A ‘set of distinct claims’ or ‘thin ideology’... - “... that considers society to be ultimately separated into two homogenous and antagonistic camps,... - … ‘the pure people’ versus the ‘corrupt elite’ - … and which argues that politics should be an expression of the ‘general will’ of the people” (Mudde and Kaltwasser 2017) - 3 Core Concepts - - The People - “The Pure People” - Key part of populism: adulation of “the pure people,” who are unjustly excluded from power. - Means of uniting and mobilizing a particular group of people against “the establishment” - Highly flexible, may refer just as easily to: - Left-wing appeals to the socioeconomically disadvantaged - Right-wing appeals to a racially or ethnically defined “national community” - Malleable concept that can be - Used to include or exclude groups of people at will - Framed to articulate different demands and to appeal to different constituencies - The Elite - “The Corrupt Elite” - Basis for distinction between “the people” and “the elite”: power and morality (pure vs corrupt) - Essential to populist claims: the political/economic/social/cultural/media elite = - Homogenous group - Shadowy, fraudulent, illegitimate forces beholden not to the “general will,” but to “special interests” - Those of other elites and anyone not deemed part of the “real people” - The General Will - The “General Will” - The capacity of the people to join together into a community and to jointly identify and pursue their singular common interests - Crucially: populist leaders claim the unique ability to know the “general will” - They know and say “what everyone is thinking” - This makes them uniquely suited suited to pursue and help realize it Ambiguity is Key - There is no objectively defined “pure people,” “corrupt elite,” or “general will.” - Populist logic = convenient and opportunistic - Anyone the populists dislike can be excluded as not being part of the “pure (or real) people” Anyone who opposes them can be delegitimized as part of the “corrupt elite” - Anything they don’t like does not reflect the “general will” - Populism can be merged with both left-wing and right-wing ideology Populism and Democracy - Populism (on both left and right) poses danger to democracy - Liberal, representative institutions are delegitimized as instruments of “the corrupt elite” - Neither independent institutions nor individual rights should obstruct the “general will” - The “general will” does not need to be mediated because there are no divergent interests to be reconciled - Engaging in political compromise = betrayal of the “general will” of the “pure people” - Hence: liberal institutions stand in the way of “true democracy” and must be dismantled - In effect: since only populists know and can help realize the “general will,” individual rights and independent institutions should be subordinated to the whims of the populist leader Populists in Power - Once in power, populists (try to) re-create the political system such that institutions function entirely to their benefit - Stack legislature, courts, civil service, media with loyalists - Change rules of the game such that ruling party cannot realistically be removed from power - “Competitive authoritarianism” or “illiberal democracy” Back to… Liberal Democracy - Is there such a thing as “illiberal democracy”? - It would always be in danger of descending into dictatorship - If rights can be taken away from one group, there is little to stop rulers from taking away rights from other groups - If rights can be taken away indiscriminately, there is little to stop rulers form disregarding the popular will (e.g. once they are no longer popular) - - - -