Intro to Comparative Politics

1. Intro to Comparative Politics

2. What is political science? • the study of governments, public policies, political processes, systems, and political behavior

3. States and Nations • Nation = a group of people with a common identity, including a common history, ethnic, linguistic, religious bonds • State = political system that has sovereignty based on a recognized right of self-determination • Nation-states = when national identification and the scope of legal authority in a territory coincide

4. Regime vs. Government • Government – the people currently in charge • Ex.) Obama in the White House, Democrats in the Senate, Republicans in the House • Regime – institutions and practices that typically endure from govt. to govt. • Ex.) Democratic regime; authoritarian regime • Regime change in Iraq different from change in government in US

5. Regime Types • Constitutional republic • Single party republic • Constitutional monarchy • Absolute monarchy • Theocracy • Dictatorship • Oligarchy • Totalitarian

6. Political and Economic Change • Two major forces transforming political systems and nations: • Process of economic development (marketization) • Political democratization

7. What causes democratization?

8. Corporatism vs. Pluralism • Corporatism – economic policy is negotiated among elites in government, labor, and business • Usually outside of the regular electoral legislative process • Patron-client relationship – relationship b/w powerful people seeking support and less powerful people seeking benefits • Pluralism – many different interests compete to influence government policy

9. Electoral Systems: Single Member Districts vs. Proportional Representation • Single Member District (First-Past-the-Post / Winner-Take-All) – only one representative is chosen from each constituency/district • Tends to produce two party system • PR – parties receive a number of seats in legislature proportionate to their share of the vote • Tends to produce multiparty system

10. Liberal vs. Illiberal Democracies • What’s the difference?

11. Criteria for Liberal Democracies • Civil liberties • Rule of law • Competitive, fair, free elections • Possibility of alternation of parties in government • Neutrality of judiciary • Open, strong civil society – web of membership in political and social groups (voluntary associations) • Civilian control of the military

12. Illiberal Democracies • = Countries that have regular elections but are missing others of the above qualities • Ex.) Russia and Nigeria

13. Substantive vs. Procedural Democracy • Democracies may have elections (procedural) but may lack the rule of law and civil liberties (the substance of democracies) • All substantive democracies are procedural, but not all procedural democracies are substantive • Ex.) elections but no independent judiciary + no civil society allowed to exist

14. Democracy is NOT a Dichotomy • Most countries cannot be easily categorized as absolutely democratic or authoritarian • There will often be characteristics of both • It is better to think of democracies as existing along a continuum/spectrumDemocratic------------------Authoritarian

15. Where do each of the 6 core countries fall on the continuum? Democratic------------------Authoritarian • China • Iran • Mexico • Nigeria • Russia • United States • United Kingdom • North Korea

16. Role of Bureaucracies in Modern Nation-States • Bureaucracies = agencies that implement govt. policy • Size and number greatly increased throughout 20th century • Bureaucracies have assumed increasing rule-making powers in most political systems

17. Fragmentation

19. Democratization