Political Theories

1. Political Theories By Alex Woo

2. What are Political Theories? • Proposed explanations that describe and evaluate future patterns of a group or nation. • This includes the political orientation of a group • Ex: Socialist, Communist, Conservative Purpose • Allow us to predict political behavior • Compare governments

3. Important to Note: • For every theory, there are always several other theories that criticize the theory and oppose it. • These are THEORIES not laws or rules so there is almost always deviation from these rules • Results in lots of argument and angry politicians

4. List of Political theories • Structural Theory • Rationale Expectation Theory • Deterrence • Vs. Cultural Theory • Systems Theory • Vs. Structural- Functional Theory • Dependency Theory • Vs. Free Market Ideology • Others

5. Structural Theory • Interpreting aspects of human cognition, behavior, culture, and experience that focuses on relationships of contrast between elements in a conceptual system that reflect patterns underlying a superficial diversity. • Areas of Study: • Why societies formed/ what holds them together • Religon • Suicide • Deviance/ Crimes • Affirmation of cultural norms and values • Clarification of right and wrong • Unification of others in society • Promoting social theory

6. Rationale Expectation Theory • When faced with a decision, people will always choose the route that yields the highest benefit • Balancing costs against benefits to arrive at best action • Utilitarian • Political realism • Acting for ones own interest • “Zero-sum” Assumptions: • Motivated by the wants/ goals that express preferences • Act based on balance of benefits to attaining goal vs. the costs • Act on the basis of the information that they have about the conditions

7. Criticism/ Opposing Theory • Culture Theory • Nature of politics is based from culture • Individual ideas usually does not influence decisions • To understand political behavior, look at the culture of the ethnicity • Deterrence • The presence of a threat of punishment/ promise of reward may motivate people just as much as the punishment or reward itself • Rational calculations would lead offenders to not commit crimes • Ex: Death penalty

8. Criticism/ Opposing Theory • Democracy-Peace Theory • Will try to maintain peace among different countries, even though it may be more beneficial to attack the country.

9. Dependency Theory • Critiques the relationship between developed and developing countries • As time goes on developing nations depend more on developed nations • Developing countries must stay in a in economic ruts for developed nations to grow and thrive. • Developing nations provide resources/ goods for Developed Nations • Kept in ruts buy economic sanctions and free-trade policies.

10. Free Market Ideology • Goes against Dependency Theory • Claims that developed nations actually help developing nations when they buy the recourses from them. • Opens the market for developing nations and provides some economic stability • Short Run: Painful and lots of conflict Long Run: Economic stability • Many times results a problem of developed countries forcing democracy on developing ones

11. Modernization Theory • Argues that societies develop in a predictable stages through which they become increasingly complex • Depends primarily on the importation of technology and the resulting political/ societal changes believed to come as a result Fosters Increased levels of schooling & Development of mass media Democratic political institution Extended family declines in importance Increasingly sophisticated transportation & communications Organizations become more bureaucratic Religion declines in public influence Cash-driven markets take over as primary mechanism for goods exchange

12. Systems Theory • Politics should be seen as a whole, not as a collection of different problems that need to be solved • Step 1: Changes in society produce demands and supports (inputs) towards the political system. • Step 2: these demands and supporting groups stimulate competition in a political system, leading to decisions (outputs) answering the demands • Step 3: The decision “interacts” with society, and if it produces change in the environment, there are "outcomes." • Step 4: These outcomes may generate new demands or supports and groups in support or against the policy ("feedback") or a new policy on some related matter. • Step 5:Rinse and Repeat

13. Other Political Theories • The “Great Man” Theory—history is decided by a few influential and powerful individuals • Game Theory: Views politics in terms of a game: everything is either a player, strategy or payoff • Strategic decision making • Prisoners Dilemma • Risk versus reward

14. Works Cited • Almond, Gabriel A., et al. Comparative Politics Today. Vol. 7. New York: Longman, n.d. • ""Dependency Theory: An Introduction," Vincent Ferraro, Mount Holyoke College, July 1966." N.p., Web. 5 Jan. 2014. • "Structuralism." Missouri University of Science and Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014. • “What is System Theory?” Principia Cybernetica Web . 26 Apr. 2009 <http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/systheor.html>. • Department of Sociology - Iowa State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014. • "Rational Choice and Deterrence Theory." University of Missouri-St. Louis. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014. • "Great man theory." Princeton University - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014. • "What is Game Theory?" David Levine's Economic and Game Theory Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014. • Prisoner's Dilemma - A Game Theory Simulation." Copy / Paste by Peter Pappas » Dedicated to relinquishing responsibility for learning to the students. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014. • "Modernization Theory." About.com Sociology. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.

15. Prisoner’s Dilemma