130 likes | 220 Views
Unit 1: The Themes!. Sovereignty, Authority, & Power Political Institutions Citizens, Society and the State Political & Economic Change Public Policy. Theme 1: Sovereignty, Authority, & Power. Nation State A group of people claiming a A group of people org-
E N D
Unit 1: The Themes! Sovereignty, Authority, & Power Political Institutions Citizens, Society and the State Political & Economic Change Public Policy
Theme 1: Sovereignty, Authority, & Power Nation State A group of people claiming a A group of people org- common identity + the right anized under a govern- to be a state. May share ment. They must share the following (to varying degrees): • Culture Government • Territory Budget • Language Borders • Ethnicity Currency • Religion Police Force/Military
Nation: The Kurds Palestine Kosovo (until this year) Chechnya Cherokee Scotland ? State: United Kingdom Russian Federation PRC United Mexican States Federal Rep. of Nigeria Islamic Rep. of Iran Examples of each…
Regimes & Institutions • Regime: A country’s institutions, rules, and practices that carry over across time, even though leaders and issues change. (the system of government in a country) • Institutions: Stable, long-lasting organizations that help to turn political ideas into policy. Examples: bureaucracies, legislatures, judicial systems, political parties, military
DemocracyAuthority is based on the will of the people • Direct people have immediate say over governmental decisions • Representative people choose representatives to make political decisions for them
Legitimacy(the right to rule, as determined by their own citizens) • Traditional: tradition should determine who rules and how (Ex: monarchies, G.Britain) • Charismatic: dynamic personality of an individual leader or small group. Often doesn’t go past its founder. (Ex: Revolutionaries) • Rational-legal: based on a system of well-established and institutionalized laws and procedures. Based on the acceptance of rule of law. (Ex: U.S.)
Theme 2: Political Institutions! Unitary/Federal/Confederate Supranational Organizations (UN, EU, NAFTA) Globalization/Fragmentation Executives (Head of State/Head of Government) Bureaucracies Legislatures (unicameral vs. bicameral) Judiciaries (judicial review) Linkage Institutions (parties, interest groups, media) Electoral Systems (proportional, first-past-the-post) Political Elite & Recruitment (leader succession)
Theme 3: Citizens, Society and the State! • Society cleavages: ethnic, religious, linguistic, regional, class, political, etc.. • Civil Society: organizations outside of the state that help people define and advance their own interests.
Theme 4: Political & Economic Change! • Reform:does not advocate overthrow of basic institutions. • Revolution: major revision or overthrow of existing institutions. • Coup d’etat: “blows to the state”. Replacement of leaders by force.
3 Trends in Change… • Democratization • Movement towards Market Economies • Revival of Ethnic or Cultural Politics
Democratization Liberal Democracies: • Civil liberties (such as freedom of speech, belief, assembly….) • Rule of Law (equal treatment of citizens) • Neutrality of the judiciary • Open Civil Society • Civilian control of the military
Theme 5: Public Policy! • Economic Performance • Social Welfare • Civil liberties, rights, & freedoms (Freedom House) • Environment • Corruption (Transparency Int’l) • Disease/HIV/AIDS • Nationalization/Privatization