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Politics and Government
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The ability to achieve desired ends despite resistance from others
Power The ability to achieve desired ends despite resistance from others Government–A formal organization that directs the political life of a society Governments demand compliance from the population. Weber: Most governments don’t openly threaten their people. Every government tries to make itself seem legitimate.
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Power that people perceive as legitimate rather than coercive.
Authority Power that people perceive as legitimate rather than coercive. Traditional–Power legitimized through respect for long established cultural patterns Rational-legal–Power legitimized by legally enacted rules and regulations
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Power that people perceive as legitimate rather than coercive.
Authority Power that people perceive as legitimate rather than coercive. Charismatic–Power legitimized through extraordinary personal abilities that inspire devotion and obedience Routinization of charisma–The transformation of charismatic authority into some combination of traditional and bureaucratic authority
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Monarchy Absolute monarchy Constitutional monarchy
A political system in which a single family rules from generation to generation Absolute monarchy Rulers claiming power based on divine right Modern examples: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain Constitutional monarchy Symbolic heads of state Political principles rule Elected official actually rules Modern examples: Great Britain, Spain, Denmark
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A political system that gives power to the people as a whole
Democracy A political system that gives power to the people as a whole Representative democracy–Authority in hands of elected leaders, accountable to the people The US isn’t truly democratic . Extensive use of unelected bureaucratic officials Wealthy have more political clout than the impoverished. Political economy The interplay of politics and economics Capitalist societies claim freedom while socialist societies claim security.
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Global Map 17.1 Political Freedom in Global Perspective
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Other Political Systems
Authoritarianism–A political system that denies popular participation in government Authoritarian government is indifferent to people’s needs. Examples: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Ethiopia Totalitarianism–A highly centralized political system that extensively regulates people’s lives Seeks to bend people to the will of the government Vietnam, North Korea
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Figure 17.1 The Size of Government, 2005
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The Rise of the Welfare State
Individualism Welfare state–Government agencies and programs that provide benefits to the population One in six US workers is a government employee. The US welfare state is still smaller than those of many other high-income nations.
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The Political Spectrum
Ranges from extremely liberal on the left to extremely conservative on the right Economic issues Social issues Class, race, and gender Party identification
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Figure Left-Right Political Identification of College Students, Student attitudes moved to the right after 1970 and shifted left in the late 1990s. College women tend to be more liberal than college men. Sources: Astin et al. (2002), Sax et al. (2003), and Pryor et al. (2006)
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Special-Interest Groups
People organized to address some economic or social issue Special-interest groups Strong in nations where political parties tend to be weak Employ lobbyists to work on their behalf Political action committee (PAC)–An organization formed by a special-interest group, independent of political parties, to raise and spend money in support of political goals
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Voter Apathy Americans are less likely to vote today than a century ago. Only half of all registered voters participated in the 2000 presidential election. Participation rose to 60% in 2004. Women slightly more likely than men to vote Over 65 much more likely to vote than college-age Non-Hispanic whites more likely to vote than African Americans Hispanics least likely to vote People with a bigger stake in US society are more likely to vote
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Voter Apathy Conservatives: Apathy is political indifference.
Liberals: Apathy is alienation.
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National Map The Presidential Election, 2004: Popular Vote by County George W. Bush won the 2004 presidential election with 51 percent of the total popular vote, but he received a majority in about 80 percent of the nation’s counties. John Kerry, who gained 48 percent of the popular vote, did well in more densely populated urban areas. What social differences do you think distinguish the areas that voted Republican and Democratic? Why are rural areas mostly Republican and urban areas mostly Democratic? Source: Copyright (c) by The New York Times. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
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Theoretical Analysis of Power in Society
Pluralist model–An analysis of politics that sees power as spread among many competing interest groups Power-elite model–An analysis of politics that sees power as concentrated among the rich Marxist political-economy model–An analysis that explains politics in terms of the operation of a society’s economic system
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Applying Theory Politics
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright 2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
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The overthrow of one political system in order to establish another
Political Revolution The overthrow of one political system in order to establish another Political revolutions have common traits: Rising expectations Tend to happen when quality of life is improving Unresponsive government Government unwilling or unable to reform Radical leadership by intellectuals Thomas Hobbes: Intellectuals provide the justification for revolution. Establishing new legitimacy Guarding against the counterrevolution Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright 2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
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Terrorism Characteristics:
Acts of violence or the threat of violence used as a political strategy by an individual or a group Characteristics: Define violence as a legitimate political tactic; bypasses established channels of negotiation Used by governments as well as individuals Democratic countries are especially vulnerable to terrorism because of broad civil liberties. One person’s terrorist is another's freedom fighter.
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War and Peace Wright’s five factors that promote war:
Perceived threats Threats to people and territory Social problems Internal problems and frustration Political objectives Show of force and protecting one’s own property Moral objectives Rallying people around morality Absence of alternatives Limited options
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Figure 17. 3 Deaths of Americans in Eleven U. S
Figure Deaths of Americans in Eleven U.S. Wars Almost half of all U.S. deaths in war occurred during the Civil War ( ). Sources: Compiled from various sources by Maris A. Vinovskis (1989) and the author.
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War and Peace Social class and the military
"America's military seems to resemble the makeup of a two-year commuter or trade school outside Birmingham or Biloxi far more than that of a ghetto or barrio or four-year university in Boston." Is terrorism a new kind of war? Conventional warfare is symmetrical. Terrorism is asymmetrical.
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War and Peace The costs and causes of militarism
Military-industrial complex–The close association of the federal government, the military, and the defense industry Regional conflict as a reason for continuing militarism Nuclear weapons Nuclear proliferation–The acquisition of nuclear weapons technology by more and more nations
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War and Peace Mass media and war
The power of the mass media to provide selective information to a worldwide audience means that television and other media are almost as important to the outcome of a conflict as the military that is doing the actual fighting.
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Pursuing Peace Deterrence High-technology defense
Balance of power between societies High-technology defense Strategic defense initiative Diplomacy and disarmament Keep talking about reducing arms Resolving underlying conflict Increase spending on promoting peace rather than building up military
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Controversy and Debate Democracy in Countries with and without Islamic-Majority Populations Today, democratic government is much less common in countries with Islamic-majority populations. Fifty years ago, the same was true of countries with Catholic-majority populations. Source: Karatnycky (2002).
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