Chapter One Review Issues in Comparative Politics Tiananmen Square, Beijing China 1989

What is Politics? Politics – all human decisions Political Science – study of these decisions Decision are public, not private Decisions are authoritative, done w/ formal power

Governments Governments – legally empowered to make decisions Night Watchman State – protect property, safety, that’s it Police State – authoritarian Welfare State – provide social services, education, safety net, healthcare, retirement Regulatory State – Rules and regulations State of Nature – pre-government, free but unsafe

Why Governments? Political cultures grow around values, symbols into a nation-state Need for security and order – to protect property rights Promote economic growth and efficiency To provide public goods – goods that people can’t provide easily on their own in a private market e.g. police, fire department, military To protect against externalities or market failures such as pollution To promote social justice – tax and welfare policies To protect a society’s weakest members

When Does Government Become the Problem? Critics: libertarians who want very little government and anarchists or communitarians who want NO government Argue government harms community, violates rights, inefficient economically, promotes private gain through rent – seeking Rent seeking: seeking benefits for individuals or groups using government policies e.g. taxation Government merely caters to vested interests Voluntary associations and private markets would do better

Political Systems An authoritative systems with interdependent parts and boundaries that make decisions Political systems contain governments And also contain political parties, interest groups, mass media, think tanks (private research institutions), universities, etc. State – a political system w/ sovereignty Sovereignty – independent legal authority over a territory/group of people Nation-state – state with contiguous territory and common national identity 196 in the world at last count

Building Community State and nation are used interchangeably, unfortunately Nation = self-identification among a people, culture, language, may cross borders States = may contain single national identity or may have more than one Ethnicity = identification based on racial, cultural or historical characteristics – based on subjective belief Language – 5000 exist, but only 8 truly international, English considered most international, source of conflict Religion – big source of conflict, Christianity most wide- spread, Islam most rapidly growing Religious fundamentalism – use of religion to ward off modern world

Cumulative and Cross- Cutting Cleavages Political cleavages – systematic use of linguistic, religious, cultural divides affect political allegiances and policies Cumulative – pits the same people against each other on many issues (Northern Ireland, Lebanon) Cross-cutting – group that agree on one issue, but disagree on another (The Netherlands)

Fostering Development Gross National Product – total economic output for a nation Gross Domestic Product – total economic output for a nation w/in its borders Per capita GDP/GNP – economic output per person Used to compare rich versus poor countries Measure industrialization, income, education, life expectancy, birth rates, access to health care in addition to GNP/GDP Income inequality can lead to political instability Population growth, economic development and environmental problems also impact political systems

Securing Democracy Human Rights, and Civil Liberties Democracy – system where citizens enjoy basic civil/political rights – “rule by the people” Elections, free political parties, free mass media, representative assemblies Authoritarian – lack basic elements of democracy Oligarchy – “rule by the few” Totalitarian – rights severely restricted, government intrusive Nations becoming more free through democratization Tyranny of the majority – use of democratic processes to suppress minorities