Comparative Politics and the Welfare State Political economics Comparative Politics and the Welfare State Lecture 1 AY 2009-2010 Paolo Graziano

Brief introduction Politics: power struggle for the distribution of resources Policies: specific instruments of regulation and resource distribution from the political to the economic and civil society Political regimes: systems where politics and policies take place, and specific power relations are established

Democracy: a definition (Dahl, 1971) Right to vote Right to be elected Political (party) competition Free and fair elections Freedom of expression Freedom of association Media pluralism Accountability

Political regimes: typological criteria Pluralism: presence of several political actors in competition for power Ideology: cognitive and normative framework of the political regime Mobilization: mode of political participation Leadership: modes of selection of governmental bodies

Authoritarian regimes I Pluralism: political system with limited, not responsible political pluralism. Often quite extensive social and economic pluralism. Ideology: political system without elaborate and guiding ideology but with distinctive mentalities.

Authoritarian regimes II Mobilization: political system without extensive or intensive political mobilization except at some points in their development Leadership: political system in which a leader or occasionally a small group exercises power without formally ill-defined but actually quite predictable norms Example: Spain between the ‘50s and the ‘70s

Totalitarian regimes I Pluralism: no significant economic, social, or political pluralism. Office party has de jure and de facto monopoly of power Ideology: elaborate and guiding ideology that articulates a reachable utopia. Commitment to some holistic conception of humanity and society.

Totalitarian regimes II Mobilization: extensive mobilization into a vast array of regime-created obligatory organizations. Private life is decried. Leadership: totalitarian leadership rules with undefined limits and great unpredictability for members and nonmembers. Often charismatic. Example: USSR before 1953

Post-totalitarian regimes I Pluralism: limited, but not responsible social, economic and institutional pluralism. Almost no political pluralism because party still has monopoly of power. Ideology: guiding ideology still officially exists and is part of the social reality. But weakened commitment to or faith in utopia.

Post-totalitarian regimes II Mobilization: progressive loss of interest by leaders and nonleaders involved in organizing mobilization. Routine mobilization of population within state-sponsored organizations. Leadership: growing emphasis by post-totalitarian political elite on personal security. Checks on top leadership via party structures, procedure, internal democracy. Example: Hungary, 1982-1988

Sultanistic regimes I Pluralism: economic and social pluralism exists but is subject to unpredictable and despotic intervention. Ideology: highly arbitrary manipulation of symbols. Extreme glorification of ruler. No elaborate or guiding ideology or even distinctive mentalities outside of despotic personalism.

Sultanistic regimes II Mobilization: low but occasional manipulative mobilization of a ceremonial type by coercive or clientelistic methods without permament organization. Leadership: highly personalistic and arbitrary. No rational-legal constraints. Strong dynastic tendency. No autonomy in state careers. Example: Romania under Ceausescu (1965-1989)

Democratic regimes I Pluralism: responsible political pluralism reinforced by extensive areas of pluralist autonomy in economy, society, and internal life of organizations. Ideology: extensive intellectual commitment to citizenship rights and procedural rules of contestation.

Democratic regimes II Mobilization: participation via autonomously generated organization of civil society and competing parties of political society guaranteed by a system of law. Leadership: top leadership produced by free elections and must be exercised within constitutional limits and state of law. Periodical free elections. Example: several existing political regimes