1. Unit 1

2.  Gaining an understanding of major comparative political concepts, themes, and trends.  Knowing important facts about government and politics in Great Britain, Russia, China, Mexico, Iran, and Nigeria.  Identifying patterns of political process and behavior and analyzing their political and economic consequences.  Comparing and contrasting political institutions and processes across countries  Analyzing and interpreting basic data for comparing political systems.

3.  The concept of politics has two key aspects: ◦ Positive View: politics is understood as an activity that helps organize individuals, systematically resolves disputes, and maintains order in society. ◦ Negative View: politics is a process that decides "who gets what" and tends to label people as "winners and losers."  Comparative politics is a subfield of political science as well as an approach to the study of politics. It focuses on the domestic politics of various countries or peoples. comparative politics then compares domestic political institutions, processes, policies, conflicts, and attitudes in different countries.

4.  Define: ◦ Government ◦ Politics  Government is a reference to the leadership and institutions that make policy decisions for the country.  Politics is basically all about power. Who has the power to make the decisions? How did they get power What challenges do the leaders face in keeping power?

5.  Course Topics: ◦ The Comparative Method ◦ Sovereignty, Authority, and Power ◦ Political and Economic Change ◦ Citizens, Society, and the State ◦ Political Institutions ◦ Public Policy

6.  Several approaches ◦ Empirical data method  Based on factual statements and statistics  Example: Comparing Economic development using GNP, per capita income, and the balance of trade ◦ Normative method  Value judgments  Example: Comparing Economic development – would not ignore above but would focus on whether or not the statistics bode well or ill for the countries.

7.  Comparative Politics relies on the Scientific Method to objectively and logically evaluate data. ◦ Hypothesis ◦ Variables  Dependent Variables  Independent Variables ◦ Causation ◦ Correlation

8.  How do we go about comparing countries? ◦ Three World Approach (1990s)  largely based on Cold War Politics.  1 st World: US and Allies  2 nd World: Soviet Union and Allies  3 rd World: Nations that did not fit in the first two categories and were economically underdeveloped and deprived.  Today, while using this approach, comparisons are based on Democracy v. Authoritarianism and Communism v. Capitalism

9.  How do we go about comparing countries? ◦ The Impact of informal politics  Connecting Civil Society to how the formal government operations  Civil Society: the way that citizens organize and define themselves and their interest  Informal politics takes into consideration not only the ways that politicians operate outside their formal powers, but also the impact that beliefs, values, and actions of ordinary citizens have on policy-making.

10.  How do we go about comparing governments? ◦ The importance of political change  Since there is no longer 2 superpowers, there are consequences… compare the impact of change on different countries. ◦ The integration of political and economic systems  The attitude and behavior of citizens are affected in many ways by economic inefficiency, economic inequality, and economic decision making.  Citizens turn to the government for solutions to economic problems, what happens if the government does not respond?

11.  Three Types of Countries we will study ◦ “Advanced” Democracies  Well established democratic governments and a high level of economic development ◦ Communist and Post-Communist Countries  Countries that have sought to create a system that limits individual freedoms in order to divide wealth more equally ◦ Less Developed and Newly Industrializing Countries  Traditionally “Third World”  Newly Industrializing: Experiencing rapid economic growth, have shown a tendency toward democratization and political and social stability.  Less Developed: lack significant economic development and tend to have authoritarian govnerments

12.  Power is territorially organized into states that control what happen within their borders.  The state defines who can and cannot use weapons and force and sets the rules to how violence is used.  States typically sponsor militaries that legitimately use power and sometimes violence. Individual citizens are restricted in their use of force.  States include institutions. ◦ List some institutions.

13.  By their very nature, states exude sovereignty.  If a state is unable to exercise sovereignty it lacks autonomy (not independent)  typically exploited by leaders/organizations that see the state as a resources to use for their own ends. Result: Corruption. ◦ Why group/type of countries do you feel would fall into this category?

14.  States, Nations, and Regimes ◦ Nation: a group of people that are bound together by a common political identity. ◦ Nationalism: sense of belonging to that identity (distinguishing one nation from another) ◦ List some examples of  Nations  Nation-States

15.  States, Nations, and Regimes ◦ Regime: the rules that a state sets and follows in exerting its power are referred to collectively as a regime.  Endure longer than individual leaders  When a country’s institutions and practices carry over across time, even though leaders and particular issues change.  Regimes can be compared using these categories  Democracies  Authoritarian Systems

16.  States, Nations, and Regimes ◦ Democracies  Authority/will of the people  Indirect v. Direct democracies  Typically have 3 branches (legislative, executive, and judicial)  Parliamentary v. Presidential  Parliamentary: where citizens vote for legislative representatives, which in turn select the leaders of the executive branch.  Presidential: where citizens vote for legislative representatives as well as executive branch leaders. The 2 branches function with separation of powers

17.  States, Nations, and Regimes ◦ Regimes  Democracies  Presidential v. Parliamentary Reading and Pro/Con

18.  States, Nations, and Regimes ◦ Regimes  Democracies  Some countries (Russia) combine elements from both the presidential and the parliamentary systems (Semi- presidential system).  Semi-presidential systems: Prime Minister co-exists with a President.

19.  States, Nations, and Regimes ◦ Regimes  Authoritarian Regimes  Decisions are made by political elites w/out much input from citizens.  Can be ruled by:  Single dictator  Hereditary monarch  Small group of aristocrats  Single political party  Economy is usually tightly controlled by the political elite.

20.  Nations, States, and Regimes ◦ Regimes  Authoritarian Regimes  Communism  a theory developed by Karl Marx and altered in the early 20 th century by Lenin.  The communist party controls everything (political, social, economic)  Corporatism  An arrangement in which government officials interact with people/groups outside the government before they set policy.  These outside contacts are generally business and labor leaders, or they may be heads of huge patron-client systems that provide reciprocal favors and services to their supporters.

21.  Nations, States, and Regimes ◦ Regimes  Authoritarian Regimes  Common Characteristics of Authoritarian Regimes:  A small group of elites exercising power over the state  Citizens with little or no input into selection of leaders and government decisions  No constitutional responsibility  Restriction of civil rights and civil liberties

22.  Nations, States, and Regimes ◦ Regimes  Authoritarian Regimes  Totalitarianism  Seek to control and transform all aspects of the political and economic systems of society.  Generally have a strong ideological goal than many authoritarian systems lack.  Use of violence  Military Regimes  Begins with a coup d'état  Military leaders often restrict civil rights and liberties, and, in the name of order keep political parties from forming and elections from taking place.  Lacks specific ideology and leaders lack charismatic or traditional source of authority

23.  Nations, States, and Regimes ◦ Regimes  Corporatism in Authoritarian and Democratic Systems  Business, labor, and/or interest groups bargain with the state over economic policy  Often, non-sanctioned groups are banned  Gives the public a limited influence in the policy-making process (interest groups are funded and managed by the state)

24.  Nation, State, and Regime  Regimes  Corporatism in Authoritarian and Democratic Systems  A less structured means of co-optation is patron- clientelism, a system in which the state provides specific benefits or favors to a single person or small group in return for public support.  Clientelism relies on individual patronage (rather than organizations that serve a large group of people).  Responsibilities and obligations are based on a hierarchy between elites and citizens.

25.  Nation, State, and Regime  Regimes  Corporatism in Authoritarian and Democratic Systems  In democracies corporatism comes into play as the state considers economic policy planning and regulation.  Social and economic policies are crafted through negotiations between the representatives of interests and government agencies… OR  (Democracies w/nationalized industries) the directors are safe officials who are advised by councils elected by the major interest groups involved… OR  (Democracies w/out nationalized industries) regulatory decisions are made through direct cooperation between government agencies and interests.

26.  Nation, State, and Regime  Regimes  Corporatism in Authoritarian and Democratic Systems  Basic principle of democracy is pluralism which is an important way citizens express their needs to the government.  Democratic Corporatism is different in 2 ways:  In DP, the formation of interest groups is spontaneous, in DC, interest representation is institutionalized through recognition by the state (new groups can only form if the state allows it).  In DP, the dialogue between interest groups and the state is voluntary, and the groups remain autonomous; in DC, organizations develop institutionalized and legally binding links with the state agencies, so that groups become semi- public agencies, acting on behalf of the state. As a result, groups and individuals lose their freedoms.

27.  Legitimacy ◦ The right to rule, as determined by their own citizens. ◦ According to political philosopher Max Weber, legitimacy can be categorized into 3 basic forms  Traditional Legitimacy  Charismatic Legitimacy  Rational-legal Legitimacy

28.  Legitimacy ◦ Traditional Legitimacy  Tradition determines who rules and how.  Often involves important myths/legends (i.e. Ancestor was born a god)  Rituals and ceremonies reinforce traditional legitimacy  Monarchies  symbol of authority is through crowns, thrones, scepters, specific colored robes, or deep- seated ancient beliefs.  Can be shaped by religion

29.  Legitimacy ◦ Charismatic Legitimacy  Based on the dynamic personality of an individual leader or small group  Set of qualities that make people want to follow a leader, sometimes to the point that they are willing to give their lives for the leader.  Notoriously short lived because it usually does not survive its founder.

30.  Legitimacy ◦ Rational-legal Legitimacy ◦ Based on a system of well-established laws and procedures. ◦ Highly institutionalized, or anchored by strong institutions (legislatures, executives, judiciaries) carry over through generations of leaders ◦ People obey laws because they believe in the rules that brought them to office and they accept the concept of a continuous state that binds them together as a nation ◦ 2 forms:  Common law (tradition, past practices) GB, US, etc.  Code law (written rules of law divided into commercial, civil and criminal codes). China, Mexico, Russia

31.  Legitimacy ◦ Which of the three types of legitimacy is most often used today? ◦ What type do you think is the most powerful type of legitimacy? Why? ◦ Can any one country have more than one type of legitimacy? Why or why not?

32.  Legitimacy ◦ Many factors contribute to legitimacy ◦ Example: Democracy – based on fair, competitive elections and open political participation by citizens. ◦ When was legitimacy of the US government last challenged?

33.  Legitimacy ◦ Factors that encourage legitimacy (in Democratic and Authoritarian regimes)  Economic well-being  Historical tradition/longevity  Charismatic leadership  Nationalism/shared political culture  Satisfaction with the government's performance/responsiveness

34.  Political Culture ◦ Refers to the collection of political beliefs, values, practices, and institutions that the government is based on.  Historical tradition shapes a country’s concept of who has the authority to rule and its definition of legitimate political power.  Political Culture can be analyzed in terms of social capital (the amount of reciprocity and trust that exists among citizens, and between the state).  Societies with low amounts of social capital may be more inclined towards authoritarian and anti-individual governments and vice versa.

35. Consensual Political Culture Conflictual Political Culture  Accepts legitimacy of regime and solutions to major problems.  May disagree on some political processes and policies, they tend generally to agree on ◦ How decisions are made ◦ What issues should be addressed ◦ How problems should be solved  Citizens are sharply divided on legitimacy of the regime and solutions to major problems.  Political subcultures can erupt.  Divisions could make it difficult to rule effectively.

36.  Political Culture ◦ Political Ideologies  Liberalism  Communism  Socialism  Fascism  Religions

37.  Usually, political and economic change occur together and influence one another.  If one occurs without the other, tensions are created that have serious consequences  Example: rapid economic change in china have strongly pressured the government to institute political change.

38.  Types of Change ◦ Reform  Doesn’t advocated the overthrow of basic institutions.  Reformers want to change some of the methods that political and economic leaders use to reach goals that the society generally accepts. ◦ Revolution  Involves either a major revision or an overthrow of existing institutions.  Impacts more than one area of life. ◦ Coup d'état  Most limited of the 3 types.  “blows to the state” – replace the leadership of a country with new leaders.  Occurs in country where government institutions are weak and leaders have taken control by force.

39.  Three Trends Reading

40.  Economic systems may be categorized as command economies, market economies, and mixed economies. ◦ Explain 2 differences between command and market economies. ◦ Identify and explain two factors that have promoted the movement away from command economy toward market economies since the mid-20 th century. ◦ Identify and explain one reason why a government might choose to maintain a mixed economy.

41.  Divisions in society  social cleavages ◦ Bases of Social Cleavages  What mix of social classes, ethnic and racial groups, religions, and languages does a country have?  How deep are these cleavages, and to what degree do they separate themselves from one another  Which of these cleavages appear to have the most significant impact on the political system? ◦ Cleavages and political institutions  How are cleavages expressed in the political system?  Is political party membership based on cleavages  Do political elites usually come form one group or another?  Do these cleavages block some group from fully participating in government?

42.  Bases of Social Cleavages Reading

43.  Comparing Citizens/State Relationships ◦ Attitudes and beliefs of citizens  Political efficacy ◦ Political socialization ◦ Types of political participation  Participant, Subject, Parochial ◦ Voting behavior ◦ Factors that influence political beliefs and behaviors ◦ Level of transparency

44.  Social Movements: organized collective activities that aim to bring about or resist fundamental change in an existing group or society. ◦ Try to influence policymaking to support their goals. ◦ Typically take stands on issues that push others in mainstream society to reconsider their position ◦ Even if they fail, they often influence political opinion.

45.  Civil Society: voluntary organizations outside of the state that help people define and advance their own interests. ◦ Strong in liberal democracies ◦ Organizations can represent class, religious, or ethnic interests or they can cross them, creating stronger bonds. ◦ Groups may be unpolitical – but they serve as a cornerstone of liberty by allowing people to articulate and promote what is important to them. ◦ Helps check the power of the state and prevent tyranny of the majority.

46.  Civil Society ◦ Recently a global civil society has emerged, with human rights and environmental groups providing international pressures that have a significant effect on government-citizen relations ◦ Global Cosmopolitanism is emerging  Universal political order that draws its identity and values from everywhere ◦ Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)  National and international groups, independent of any state, that pursue policy objectives and foster public participation.

47.  Civil Society ◦ Authoritarian Nations do not promote civil society (feel their power is threatened by it) ◦ During authoritarian rule, civil society does not disappear, it is just weak. ◦ Civil society is generally weak in most less developed and newly industrializing countries ◦ Civic education furthers civil society

48.  Under what conditions does political culture change? Give current examples of where the nation’s political culture is currently changing and explain why it is changing.  Analyze the relationship between civil society and modern democracies. Be sure to define civil society and the implications of the changing nature of civil society.

49.  The structure of a political system that carry out the work of governing.  Just because you see the same type of institution in two different countries, it doesn’t mean that they serve the same functions for the political system.

50.  Levels of Government ◦ Unitary System  Concentrates all policymaking powers in once central geographic location ◦ Confederal System  Spread power among many sub-units (states, provinces), and has a weak central government. ◦ Federal System  Divides the power between the central government and the sub-units.

51.  Levels of Government ◦ Supranational Organizations and Globalization  Most countries in the world today must cope with influences form the outside and interactions with others  Trend toward integration (pooling their sovereignty to gain political, economic, and social clout)  binding states together with common policies.  NATO  EU  NAFTA OPEC  UN (International Organization)

52.  Levels of Government ◦ Supranational Organizations and Globalization  Globalization: an integration of social, environmental, economic, and cultural activities of nations that has resulted from increasing international contacts.  Local events can have ripple effects throughout the whole world.  TECHNOLOGY!  News can spread far and fast

53.  Levels of Government ◦ Modern Challenges to the Nation-State Configuration  Is it possible that larger regional organizations (i.e. EU) will replace smaller state units as basic organizational models.?  Will international organizations (i.e. UN) come to have true governing power over the nation-states?  If the answer is yes… the very nature of sovereignty may be changing (abiding by rules of supranational organizations for all major decisions/rules)

54.  Levels of Government ◦ Modern Challenges to the Nation-State Configuration  Centripetal v. Centrifugal Forces  Centripetal forces: Bind together the people of a state making it stronger. (i.e. nationalism, encouraging allegiance, promotes loyalty)  States promote this by flags, rituals, holidays  Institutions aiding: schools, armed forces, religion  Fast, efficient transportation and communication systems unify nations

55.  Levels of Government ◦ Modern Challenges to the Nation-State Configuration  Centripetal v. Centrifugal Forces  Centrifugal Forces: destabilize government and encourage it to fall apart  Countries that are not well organized stands to lose the loyalty of citizens  Strong outside institutions can influence citizens  New loyalties can be created (not to the government) leading to separatists movements

56.  Levels of Government ◦ Modern Challenges to the Nation-State Configuration  Devolution: Ethnic, Economic, and Spatial Forces  Ethnic: well-developed sense of belonging to the same culture. (mix of language, religion, and customs)  Ethnonationalism – E-group to see itself as a distinct nation with a right to autonomy/independence  Devolution  Economic: inequalities may destabilize a nation-state (esp. if regional)  Spatial: devolutionary events most often occur on the margins of the state. Distance, remoteness, and peripheral location promote devolution (water, desert, mountains)

57.  Executives  Executive office carries out the laws and policies of a state.  Head of State: role that symbolizes and represents the people  Head of Government: deals with the every day task of runnign the state, directs the activities of other members of the executive branch

58.  Executives  Functions of the Chief Executive  Most important person in the policymaking process (usually)  Initiates new policies, oversees policy implementation  Presidential systems – vetoing legislation  Make foreign policy and crisis decisions.  The Cabinet  In a parliamentary system it is the most important collective decision-making body. Leaders of the ruling party  Presidential systems – cabinets are chosen by the president and have more independence from the President (but the president has the power to remove them.

59.  Bureaucracies ◦ Agencies that generally implement government policy (part of the executive branch)  Size has been increasing since the 20 th century (due to govt efforts to improve health, security, and welfare of their populations)

60.  Bureaucracies ◦ Characteristics  Hierarchical Authority Structure  Task Specialization  Extensive Rules  Clear Goals  The Merit Principle  Impersonality (job performance is judged by productivity.

61.  Legislatures ◦ Bicameralism  Bicameral (2 houses) v. Unicameral (1 house)  Traced back to GB (House of Lords and House of Commons)  Upper and Lower House – does not necessarily mean “Upper House” has more power.  Federalism encourages bicameralism  Membership can be determined in MANY different ways!

62.  Legislatures ◦ Functions of Legislatures  Formulate, debate, and vote on political policies.  Often control the country’s budget (fundraising and spending)  Some appoint important officials or serve as courts of appeal.  Different in all countries and hold varying degrees of power.

63.  Judiciaries ◦ The role of the judiciary in the political system vary considerably from one country to another ◦ In authoritarianism, courts have little or no independence and decisions are controlled by the chief executive. ◦ Constitutional Courts serve to defend democratic principles of a country against infringement by both private citizens and the government are much more recent phenomenon. ◦ Growth of Judicial power through the 20 th century was in response to protect human rights. ◦ It is still a relatively weak branch in most countries. ◦ Judicial Review  Allows courts to review laws and executive actions for their conditionality

64.  Linkage Institutions ◦ Groups that connect the government to its citizens, such as political parties, interest groups, and print and electronic media.

65.  Linkage Institutions ◦ Parties  Array of parties in a particular country and the nature of the relationships among them  party system.  Functions of Political Parties  Bring different people and ideas together to establish the means by which the majority can rule.  Provide labels for candidates to help citizens decide how to vote  Hold politicians accountable to the electorate and other political elites

66.  Linkage Institutions ◦ Political Parties  Two-Party Systems  Rare  15 countries  Due to plurality electoral system  Multi-Party Systems  Usually strong parliamentary systems  Due Proportional Representation method

67.  Linkage Institutions ◦ Electoral Systems: rules that decide how votes are cast, counted, and translated into seats in a legislature.  Democracies – divide populations by electoral boundaries  First-Past-The-Post: Single-Member Districts in which candidates compete for a single representative’s seat (also called: plurality system, winner-take all system)  Proportional Representation Systems: multi-member districts where votes cast their ballots for a party rather than for a candidate. % vote received = % of seats in legislature  Some Countries have a mixed system (Mexico, Russia) where some is FPTP and Some is PR

68.  Linkage Institutions ◦ Electoral Systems and Elections  Plurality systems encourage large, broad-based p[arties because no matter how many people urn in a district, the person with the largest number of votes wins.  Proportional Representation Systems encourages multiple parties because they have a good chance of getting some of their candidates elected.

69.  Linkage Institutions ◦ Electoral Systems and Elections  Election of Public Officials  Referendum  Public votes on particular policy issues where the public makes direct decisions about policy itself.  Initiative  Vote on a policy that is initiated by the people (less common)

70.  Linkage Institutions ◦ Interest Groups: like minded people whose goal is to influence and shape public policy.  Any type of common interest (occupation, labor, business interest, agriculture, community action, advocacy for a cause)  Can have nonpolitical goals  Operate on the Local or National level

71.  Linkage Institutions ◦ Interest Groups  Differences between Parties and Interest Groups  Parties influence government primarily through the electoral process  Parties always run candidates for public office  Interest groups (often) support candidates  Parties generate and support a broad spectrum of policies.  Interest groups support one or a few related policies.

72.  Linkage Institutions ◦ Political Elites and Recruitment  Political Elites  Leaders who have a disproportionate share of policy- making power.  In democracies, they are selected in competitive elections  Elite Recruitment  Ways to identify and select people for future leadership  Succession  The process that determines the procedure for replacing leaders when they resign, die, or are no longer effective.

73.  Interest groups and political parties (typically) play large roles in policymaking.  Policy is generally directed toward addressing issues and solving problems.

74.  Common Policy Issues (include) ◦ Economic Performance  Measured by:  GDP: Gross Domestic Product (all goods and services produced by a country’s economy in a year  GNP: GDP + income citizens earned outside the country.  GNP per Capita: divides the GNP by the population  PPP: what people can buy using their income ◦ Social Welfare  Health, employment, family assistance, education  Gini Index  Human Development Index (HDI) ◦ Civil liberties, rights, and freedoms  Civil Rights: Promotion of Equality  Civil Liberties: Promotion of Freedom ◦ Environment