Studied by 0 people
Looks like no one added any tags here yet for you.
Politics
Exercise of power
Public allocation of things that are valued
Resolution of conflict
Competition among individuals and groups pursuing their own interests
Determination of who gets what when and how
Process through which power and influence are used in the promotion of certain values and interests
Political science
the academic field that takes as its sole and general task the analysis of politics, especially the politics of the state
Interpretive
the field of political science that deals with historical and political aspects of politics; seeks detailed, nonnumerical information on a few cases
Behavioral
the field of political science that looks for broad patterns across cases; uses statistical analyses of numerical information
Political theory
a statement linking specific instances to broader principles
Empirical theory
a theory describing how things work in the world we observe
Normative theory
a theory involving making a judgement about the world without describing how it works
American political behavior
the study of individual and nongovernmental organizations involved in politics and of why they do what they do, eg. public opinion, elections, interest groups, political parties
American political institutions
the study of national governmental bodies, eg. Congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, and to some extent, the courts
American public law
the study of legal reasoning and of why courts hand down the decisions that they do
American public policy
the analysis of the product of politics (policies)
American state and local politics
the study of all of the above, but at the level of “states” and localities rather than the country as a whole
Comparative politics
the study of all of the above in any place but the United States
International politics
the study of politics between states; the making of common decisions for a group of states, eg. war, diplomacy
Political theory
the history of ideas about politics and critical discussion of political values
Levels of analysis
Global, state, regional, local, familial; governmental vs. non-governmental
Power
the ability to compel someone to do what one wants them to
Authority
what makes it possible to concentrate power
Government
a group of people with ultimate authority over a territory
Legitimacy
the belief that whoever has authority should have authority (by results, habit, or procedure)
State
an organized territory with authority over its borders, security, the economy, the welfare of its citizens, etc. (the thing which a government controls)
Positive
Questions concerning what is and can be answered with data
Normative
Questions concerning what should be and cannot be answered with data
The Scientific Method
Observe the world
Propose a theory or story
For why/how the world works the way it does or how it could
Operationalize concepts and identify variables
Independent/explanatory variables → dependent/response variables
Derive hypotheses
Gather data and test hypotheses
Draw conclusions
Collective action
the coordinated efforts of a group of individuals or organizations working together to achieve a common goal or address a shared problem
Involves collective decision-making, collaboration, and joint activities aimed at bringing about social, political, or economic change
Eg. protests, strikes, boycotts, advocacy campaigns
Collective action problem
when there is conflict between individual interest and the group interest; if an individual pursues their own self-interest, the entire group is worse off
First-order
A collective action problem caused by free riding
Second-order
A collective action problem caused by flaws in coordination and enforcement
Public good
a good or service that everyone can enjoy regardless of whether they contribute anything
Non-rivalrous (supply is not impacted by consumption)
Non-excludable (one cannot prevent someone from using the public good)
Tragedy of the Commons
a situation in which everyone has access to a common resource and, in acting in their own interest, deplete the resource
Ideology
an organized set of related ideas that modify one another
Inform personal opinions and public activity
Helps to make sense of politics and gain allies for public debate
Based on assumptions about how the world works and our prioritization of different basic values
How individuals make sense of personal views and how they correlate with broader societies
Liberalism
the ideology that all individuals should be able to develop their capacities to the fullest
The Social Contract
individuals willingly give up some of their natural rights and freedoms in exchange for the benefits and protection that the government provides
Substantive justice
any conception of justice that emphasizes people receiving what they need and deserve
Procedural justice
a type of substantive justice as embodied in the procedures by which decisions are reached about people
Arbitrary governmental action
when decisions are made and communicated capriciously
Effective policy
a policy that gives the state and the people of the state the greatest benefits at the least cost
takes into the social cost of government action, including positive and negative externalities (indirect results) of policy
Externality
a social cost or benefit beyond the individual costs and benefits associated with a policy
Internal sovereignty
the absolute and ultimate power of the state over the population within its borders
External sovereignty
the ability of a country to conduct its own foreign affairs and make decisions about its relationships with other countries
Nation
a large group of people with strong bonds of identity based on shared culture, religion, history, language, or ethnicity
Corruption
the use of public resources for private gain
Codetermination
an institution that typifies economic relationships
Structural functionalism
IR theory that emphasizes governmental structures and a state’s key functions (not unique to democracies)
Political socialization
the process through which individuals acquire their orientation toward the political world
Political recruitment
the process through which individuals are drawn to roles in the political world
Political communication
the process through which political information flows through society
Selectorate theory
theory that in all states, a group can be identified whose support the government needs to maintain to keep power
Regime
the general form of government of a state
Includes constitution, rules of government
Generally outlives individual lawmakers
Democracy
a regime intended to embody a government of the people
Electoral democracy
a regime under which all fully qualified citizens vote at regular intervals to choose the people who will be in charge of setting the state’s policies
Authoritarian democracy
a regime under which states are at the margin between elected government and military regimes
Monarchy
a system under which the power to rule is inherited through descent in a family
Theocracy
a state ruled by a set of religious leaders who derive their power from their positions in the religion
the government’s legitimacy is derived from the faith of its citizens in the religion it seeks to uphold
Power
the ability to influence an outcome to achieve an objective or the ability to influence someone to act in a way contrary to the way he or she would choose to act
Involves the exercise of volition/will
When involving another, involves altering the other’s volition/will
Can be latent or manifest
Different types of power are generally blended together where power is made manifest
Force
power by physical means
Persuasion
power by convincing via argument
Manipulation
power by changing the incentive structure
Exchange
power by offering something for something else
Face 1
Face of power concerning the exercise of power on critical issues
Recognized by politicians; actual lobbying
Ability to create the agenda
Face 2
Face of power concerning restrictive and non-decision making power
Equally important but often overlooked
Ability to keep things off of the agenda
Face 3
Theoretical/debated face of power concerning manipulation so deep that people don’t even know that they’ve been influenced
Ideological power
Survey
Type of observational research
Ask people about their opinions and behaviors
Types of bias include non-response and voluntary response bias
Statistical analysis
Type of observational research
Utilization of statistical techniques to control for extraneous factors
Good when you have lots of data points for lots of cases
Qualitative methodology
Type of observational research
Good for gathering an in-depth understanding of the subject matter and exploring causality
For theory building and [limited] theory testing
Eg. case studies, interviews, process tracing
Behavioral revolution
the scientification and modernization of political science, specifically as it relates to studying political psychology and behavior
Rational choice theory
the idea that people will act in their own self-interest
Note
Flashcard