INTRO TO COPO STUDENT NOTES 7

Elite Recruitment Refers to the selection of people for political activity and government offices In a democracy, competitive elections play a major role in political recruitment In authoritarian systems, recruitment may be dominated by a single party, as in China, or unelected religious leaders, as in Iran

Supranational Organizations ► Supranational Organizations are those who have been given some sovereignty because nations have shifted their powers upwards to them. This shift took place after WWII. ► *Even though these organizations are important, the state is still the most important political system in the world!* EXAMPLES: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) European Union OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) United Nations

IV. CITIZENS, SOCIETY & THE STATE Civil society: Formal and informal organizations that are NOT part of the state but operate in public The web of membership in social and political groups that some analysts believe is needed to sustain democracy A society in which people are involved in social and political interactions free of state control or regulation Social, charitable, religious, community – advance own cause

Voluntary Associations and Organizations Professional and Business Organizations Trade Unions CharitiesSocial Clubs Environmental Groups Churches Women’s Groups Community Associations Youth Clubs Consumer Groups Arts, Science, Leisure, Sports Clubs Civil Society: arena outside of the state and family (i.e., mainly voluntary organizations and civic associations) that permits individuals to associate freely and independently of state regulation

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Global civil society Examples: Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, Red Cross

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION The process by which individuals acquire their political attitudes and behaviors Family, school, media

POLITICAL CULTURE History, culture, values, beliefs, traditions that influence political behavior Defines the public’s expectations toward the political process and its role within the process

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY A set of political values about what the goals of government should be

LIBERALISM An ideology that favors a limited state role in society and the economy and places a high value on individual freedom – SUPPORTS limited government individual freedom social toleration the redistribution of resources

LIBERTARIAN Prefers little government interference in the economy or personal freedoms

CONSERVATISM A political attitude that questions the need for change and supports the current order

RADICALISM Favors dramatic and revolutionary change

REACTIONARY Someone who seeks to restore the institutions of a real or imagined earlier political or societal order

CLEAVAGES Factors that separate groups May be based on ethnicity, religion, social class, region, etc The wider and deeper the cleavages, the less unified the society

CROSS CUTTING CLEAVAGE Divisions that cut across differences When the groups that are divided share a common interest on one or more issues Crosscutting cleavages bring groups together in a society that might not otherwise have much in common – The PRI in Mexico united rural peasants and urban dwellers for much of the 20 th century – Religion in some societies – like Iran and Mexico – can be a crosscutting cleavage

COINCIDING (CUMULATIVE) CLEAVAGES Divisions that strengthen feelings of difference and discrepancy Cleavages which reinforce each other (pit the same people against each other on many different issues Coinciding cleavages create tension in a political system – Religion in Nigeria – Class in most countries

POST MATERIALIST The theory that younger voters tend to favor issues such as the environment and feminism Propelled by the idea that in advanced societies basic needs are met so citizens can concentrate on higher goals

V. P OLITICAL & ECONOMIC CHANGE ECONOMIC VARIABLES ECONOMIC VARIABLES political economy – There is an intimate relationship between politics and economics, such that there is an entire field of study—political economy—that examines the links. Political economy: Political economy: The relationship between political activity and economic performance. gross domestic product (GDP). – The most fundamental comparative measure is economic size; this is expressed using gross domestic product (GDP). Gross domestic product (GDP): Gross domestic product (GDP): The total value of all goods and services produced by a state in a given year.

PURCHASING POWER PARITY PPP An estimate of buying power using the US as a benchmark

MARKET ECONOMY An economy that relies on the interaction of supply and demand to allocate resources and set prices

NEOLIBERAL ECONOMICS Focuses on introducing free market reforms and has few restrictions on economic and property rights Economic liberalization

MARXISM A political/economic system based on public ownership of the means of production Goal: classless country and the “withering away of the state”

V. P OLITICAL & ECONOMIC CHANGE Communism Values equality over freedom Believe that the inevitable outcome of competition for scarce resources is that a small group will come to control the government and the economy. (i.e. “the rich”) Advocate a takeover of all resources and abolishing private property to ensure true equality Socialism Values equality of communism BUT promote private ownership of property and free market principles. The state should have a strong role to play in regulating the economy and providing benefits to the public sector.