1. IREU 407 Comparative Politics Politics and Society: Political Culture, Political Communication, Political Economy (Chapters 6, 7, 8)
Dr. Dragoş C. MATEESCU
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2. Examples of TERMS OF COMPARISON
The relations between state and the society (political freedoms; freedom of the media; free-market conditions); specific policies.
The types of electoral and party systems and the condition of interest groups, with a focus on the freedom, fairness and representativeness of elections, and the actual representation of the people in the decision-making (law-making) process;
The systems of checks and balances between powers (legislative, executive, judiciary) in different political systems and the independence of the judiciary; corruption.
The type of government (presidential, parliamentary, and semi- presidential) and the accountability of the executive (transparency, responsibility to the legislative, other limitations to the executive power); unitary and/or federal systems; bureaucracies.
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3. Political Culture
UNESCO 2002 definition (p. 104 in textbook): a set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group [encompasing], in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.
Political culture: overall pattern of beliefs, attitudes and values in a society towards the political system.
Culture ≠ Nature
Culture = Ideology??
Political culture (long term values) ≠ political opinion (specific, short term reaction).
Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, Civic Culture (1963).
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4. Political Culture – Civic Culture (Almond and Verba)
5000 interviews between 1959 and 1960 in the US, UK, West Germany, Italy, and Mexico.
Three main types of political culture: participant, subject, parochial, and mixtures of these.
Main parameters: knowledge/understanding of and expectations from the political system.
Political culture (long term values) ≠ political opinion (specific, short term reaction). A country’s political culture changes more slowly than its public opinions, and certain underlying elements of political culture persist for generations, perhaps for centuries.
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5. Political Culture – Civic Culture (Almond and Verba)
Three crucial questions:
What impact do people feel that government has on their lives?
What obligations do people feel that they had towards the government?
What do people expect from the government?
INPUT
OUTPUT
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6. MODEL OF A POLITICAL SYSTEM
OUTPUTS
(laws,
policies,
regulations,
court decisions,
etc.)
INPUTS
(demands,
support,
apathy)
POLITICAL
SYSTEM
FEEDBACK
Important names: David Easton, Gabriel Almond, Sidney Verba
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7. The Civic Culture by Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba
Dimensions of political orientation
The System as general object
Input objects
Output objects
Self as object
Cognition
Affect
Evaluation
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8. The Civic Culture by Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba
Types of political culture
The System as general object
Input objects
Output objects
Self as active participant
Parochial
Subject 1
Participant
But there is no “pure” political culture in any society!
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9. Civic Culture (Almond and Verba)
A mix of parochial, subject and participant political cultures: active majorities but passive (parochial or subject) minorities.
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10. Political Trust, Social Capital
Robert Putnam’s study of Italy: positive (North Italy) vs. Negative (South Italy) political cultures.
Positive political culture: a tradition of trust and cooperation resulting in high levels of social capital.
Social capital: a culture of trust and cooperation which makes collective action possible; it enables a community to build political insitutions with a capacity to solve collective problems.
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11. Extremes Political culture and social capital in: Allienation
Authoritarian (including totalitarian) states
Illiberal democracies
Allienation
Elitism: plural societies; consociational democracies; elite compromise
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12. Examples of TERMS OF COMPARISON
The relations between state and the society (political freedoms; freedom of the media; free-market conditions); specific policies.
The types of electoral and party systems and the condition of interest groups, with a focus on the freedom, fairness and representativeness of elections, and the actual representation of the people in the decision-making (law-making) process;
The systems of checks and balances between powers (legislative, executive, judiciary) in different political systems and the independence of the judiciary; corruption.
The type of government (presidential, parliamentary, and semi- presidential) and the accountability of the executive (transparency, responsibility to the legislative, other limitations to the executive power); unitary and/or federal systems.
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13. Political Communication
Communication: key political activity.
Communication is politics.
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14. Media effects in liberal democracies (pp. 128-134 in textbook)
Reinforcement
Agenda-setting
Framing
Priming
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15. Public Opinion Definition (p. 134 in textbook)
Measuring public opinion:
Opinion poll
Sample survey
Focus group
Deliberative opinion poll
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16. Political communication
See the case of Spain (pp ).
See p. xvi in textbook for sources helping comparative analysis.
Check also the rich information at
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17. Political communication
Central question: WHO CONTROLS COMMUNICATION? How do we ask this question though???????
Five components of political communication:
Sender (who?)
Message (what?)
Channel (how?)
Receiver (to whom?)
Impact (with what effect?)
Freedom of speech
Freedom of thought
Freedom of communication means (media, telecom, etc.)
Local political culture (tendencies in courts regarding political communication)
Level of systemic transparency
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18. The media in authoritarian states
Limiting media freedom by declaring states of emergency
Restrictive licensing of publications and journalists
Heavy taxation of printing and distribution equipment
Various forms of censorship
Restricted access to newsprint
Threats of losing government subsidies and/or advertising
Poor (too restrictive or too permisive) libel laws
State propaganda dominates the media content
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19. The media in illiberal democracies
See the case of Russia (pp in textbook).
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20. Political Economy State (politics) – Market (economy)
Adam Smith ( ); John Maynard Keynes ( ); Milton Friedman ( ).
Liberalism? Social-Democracy? Socialism?
The focus of comparative politics is NOT the ideological approaches in different states, but the traditional relations between the state and the market there. Political economic culture.
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21. Political Economy Varieties of capitalism (see pp. 146-149):
liberal market economy;
coordinated market economy.
Shareholder capitalism (US tradition)
Stakeholder capitalism (German tradition)
Developmental state (South Korea, Japan)
The convergence thesis
Political economies of authoritarian states: command economies (debate theme on p in textbook)
Rentier states
Political economies of illiberal democracies (see the case of Venezuela, pp )
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22. Regimes Liberal democracy (Hague and Harrop 2007, p. 44):
“A version of representative democracy in which the scope of democracy is limited by the constitutional protection of individual rights, including freedom of assembly, belief, speech and property.”
Limited state authority in relation with individual (rights).
These include freedom of thought, expression, speech, protest, the freedom to work and perform economic activities. (Think Locke’s theorisation!)
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23. Regimes Liberal democracy (Hague and Harrop 2007, p. 49):
It is a compromise, which requires a culture of compromise.
“By definition, liberal democracy is limited government. The goal is to secure individual liberty [...]. In this way, the population can be defended against its rulers and minorities can be protected from democracy’s inherent risk: tyranny by the majority (Held 2006).”
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24. Regimes Illiberal democracy (Hague and Harrop 2007, p. 44):
“A version of representative democracy in which rulers, once elected, govern with few limits and little respect for individual rights. To assist re-election, the president ensures favourable media coverage and often harasses political opponents, precluding any need to falsify the count [of votes]”.
Falsification of votes can also be found.
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25. Regimes Illiberal democracy (Hague and Harrop 2007, p. 49):
“In this type of regime, the elected ruler or rulers pay little attention to individual rights, at least when dealing with political opponents. [...] democracy does not extent far beyond the election itself. Even the election outcome is conditioned by the ruler’s influence over the media and by the use of state resources to favour his own organisation [...]”.
Also called electoral democracy, or semi- democracy. Or, electoral authoritarianism.
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26. Regimes Illiberal democracy (Hague and Harrop 2007, pp. 49-51):
Limited sense of constitutional limitations for the ruler(s).
Powerful leadership, personalised.
Weak judiciary, particularly regarding the protection of individual rights.
State intervention in the market.
Partly free society, partly free market.
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28. Regimes Authoritarian regimes (Hague and Harrop 2007, pp. 61-81):
Any form of non-democratic (representative) rule.
Unlimited power placed in the hands of a leader, usually supported by a single, centralised group (party).
Leaders seek to preserve power by limiting the scope of law and the participation of the people in politics. Explicit and implied (unspoken) limits.
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29. Regimes Authoritarian regimes (Hague and Harrop 2007, pp. 61-81):
Ineffective judiciary and legislative.
Oppression of the powerless, especially minorities (ethnic, religious), intellectuals and women.
Media dominated by the state authority.
Weak protection of the private property.
Low level of public trust in the state = low legitimacy. Vulnerable state (high risk of instability).
High spending with the protection of the state (internal and external security).
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32. TERMS OF COMPARISON (examples)
The relations between state and the society (political freedoms; freedom of the media; free-market conditions); specific policies.
The types of electoral and party systems and the condition of interest groups, with a focus on the freedom, fairness and representativeness of elections, and the actual representation of the people in the decision-making (law-making) process;
The systems of checks and balances between powers (legislative, executive, judiciary) in different political systems and the independence of the judiciary; corruption.
The type of government (presidential, parliamentary, and semi- presidential) and the accountability of the executive (transparency, responsibility to the legislative, other limitations to the executive power); unitary and federal state systems; bureaucratic traditions.
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33. L E J IDEAL TYPE The political system OUTPUTS INPUTS POLITICAL SYSTEM
DEMANDS
INPUTS
DECISIONS
OUTPUTS
SUPPORT J
FEEDBACK
IDEAL TYPE
DAVID EASTON
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34. INSTITUTIONALISATION - BUREAUCRACY
Toward LAW
POLITICS
DEBATES
POLICY L E
ISSUE-
ORIENTED
STRATEGIES
POWER
STRATEGIES
WORDS
CONFLICTUAL
DEBATES
AIMS/TARGETS
MEASURES/OBJECTIVES
From WORDS to FACTS
IMPLEMENTATION
CONFLICT
CRISIS
VIOLENCE
INSTITUTIONALISATION - BUREAUCRACY
BUDGET
FACTS
INSTITUTIONAL CONTROL
(plus Courts of Justice/Audit) J
RESPONSIBILITY/ACCOUNTABILITY
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35. CAUSES (including historical background) EVIDENCE:
RELEVANT LEGISLATION (LAW)
LAW IMPLEMENTATION (EXAMPLES)
ACADEMIC INTERPRETATION
YOUR EVALUATION
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36. Next
Political participation, elections and voters, interest groups, political parties
17 august 2019