CPS final - Notes de cours Complet PDF

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Notes exhaustives relatives au coursde sciences politiques dispensé Barthetpar Mme ...

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Cours based on slides, readings, 14 May a mock exam. Written exam in 2 parts, multiple choice questions and 2 open questions and we have to chose between 2 without a negative point system. Questions on basic concepts and notions for example difference between parliamentary and presidential system and difference between some systems. Will be judged on capacity to emphasise concepts and answers ought to not pass 1 page. Additional and recommended readings, Caramani comparative politics and Lijphart A patterns of Democracy. Wednesdays 14h to 16h permanence. " What is comparative politics ?" Class outline sonra al. " I Introduction comparative politics" A)Defining the concept : Comparative politics is one of the 3 disciplines in political science along side with political theory and international relations. The differences between them ? First of all, the difference between PT and CP is that, PT deals with normative and theoretical questions like democracy and justice, while CP deals with empirical questions. For exemple if on study the concept of political participation, PT will look at it from a theoretical point of view while CP would be concerned with the forms of political participation or the tools that are used by different groups to participate or even the differences between participation because of the socio economic inequalities or age. What is the difference between CP and IR ? IR look into the interactions between political systems, for exemple balance of power between different countries or trade or war between them while CP look into the interactions within the countries in the political system. Whether it is power relations between individuals or groups, organisations and the political power or what kind of electoral constituency, why vote for certain partis. So in other words, CP deals with internal political structures like parlements and executive bodies and deals with individual or collectif actors and also deals with processes like socialisation, political cultures etc. " B) The objective of comparative politics The 3 main goals of CP, is to describe, explain and predict differences or similarities across political systems whether it is a country, a region or empire etc. 1) Describe, CP describes the world that is being observed and based on that, it establishes classifications or typologies. And based on these descriptions, similarities and differences in a political system and explain them, why an event occurs in a given context and not in an another. For exemple why social revolutions occur in Tunisia or Egypt and not in Chezch republic or Germany. Or another question would be, why is the electoral turnout lower in the USA rather than others. 2)To answer these questions, hypotheses will be formed to explain the differences and than empirical data will be collected and ED will be used for checking if hypotheses are real or not in reality. And after these 2 steps, we will be able to infer casualty, ability to link the question, the phenomenon with the reality. We will be able to infer reality and produce generalisations and will be able to develop and improve on theories and the only what to do so is by collecting data and analysing it. 3) Another goal, is to predict, what may happen in a given process, whether it is electoral or societal. But it is to be noted, that CP is not an exact science and that a prediction is not always easy and most of the times is flawed. For example failure of specialists of middle east to predict the emergence of revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia so prediction is a part of the comparative political analyses but it is something hard to do so describe and explain are easy. Polls for example tend to predict but reality isn’t always like that. " C) The methods of comparative politics How can these goals be achieved ? There are 3 different méthodes. We can use a single case study, small-n, small case study, or large-n with a lot of cases. Secondly, the data collection can be done by synchronic logic, (data is collected at one point of the time), or by diachronic logic(data is collected by the passage of time so it is collected in a period of time). Finally, there are 2 different types of data collection methods, qualitative ou quantitative. First one, it would be fields observations or one on one interviews while the second focuses on statistical analyses or on large number of interviews. " II The Substance of CP(25,28), what is being compared ? " The most classical cases of CPS are national political systems which are the most studied political units but they are not the only cases analysed. For example we can analyse also non national or sub national, regional political systems or supranational, geographical regions,

compare latin America or Western Europe or ME. We can also compare empires such as the Russian empire or OE and we can also study supranational organisations such as NATO or EU. We can also compare types of political systems for example what are the difference between democracies and autocraties regarding the freedom of press. We might also compare single elements of a political system rather than the whole system for example, comparing structures of parlements in different countries or some policies in EU. " Theoretical approaches : " 1) Institutionalist approach(1880-1920) In this trend, CPS focuses on analysing the states and institutions and the institutions are very narrowed and overlapped with the powers like executive and with the administration and bureaucratie. The emphasis is also put in particular geographical areas mainly western European and north America and studies focus on single case studies. CPS was mainly interested in that time in the formal and legal aspects of institutions making it so similar to the law so it was focused on giving a description rather than applying a critical approach. These were the pioneers of comparative research but there was also a desire to break away from this legal approche to analyse political phenomenon. " 2) Behaviouralism (30-60) It focuses on informal procedures and behaviours of political actors, political socialisation, voters so this new approach shifted the substance of politics away from institutions and was influenced by different disciplines such as sociology or anthropology and biology. And this new way of analysing broke with the past by rejecting the emphasis of the developed countries with new research topics and broader comparisons. KA was one of the pionniers and he analysed other aspects rather than formal institutions like the citizens and the public opinion, interactions between interest groups and power. So the main difference between the institutionnalists and behavioralists is that, the IN were convinced that the world would converge towards a western model of politics and with this in mind, their main focus was on the western countries thinking that the others would follow suit but with the rise of communists regimes and with the breakdown of democracies such as Weimar, it became clear to researches that other types of political orders could existe and it needed to be studied. So this new approach lead to a decline of interest in the institutions and the focus was moved on lower levels such as citizens and the voters and they were emphasising larger frameworks which focused on voting behaviour etc " 3) Neo institutionnalist approach( 70-) It still prevails today. There are similarities between the trends but NI refuse to only focus on individual behaviour and reaffirm the centrality of institutions, the rejection of an impurity form of vision of institutions so unlike the focus put on institutions defined by law, NI considers political institutions to refer to all formal and informal laws of practices that guide individuels in their actions. So structures and institutions were seen central whether here and now or in the past and there were a lot of studies towards the past. The most important thing to understand NI is that they put the state as an actor with its own interests in the same way of other actors. So the state is an actor in the political process and it has its own interest. So States are now thought to be shaping political interactions in addition to having their own interests before there was a top down interaction but now state as an actor now interacts with the lower levels just as the lower levels do with the state. Finally, the institutions are seen as determining the opportunity and the structures as well as the limits in which the individuals operate. Within the NI approach, there are various versions who emerged like Historical NI who focuses on the developments over time, sociological NI who focuses on institution as the model to shape politics of and preferences of individuals and Rational instituionnalism. " A table for the overview of pre-behavioural and post-B politics. The most important is that the data and the subject used are different. Also lack of theoraition prior to 1930 and its subsequent wave. We will not perform with a large number of quantitative datas but to understand mechanisms of studies and compare them based on some criteria which will give the keys to understand the studies." III) The methods of CPS : CPS relies not on one element but on many because of 4 reasons." 1) The method used will depend on the number of variants. It will also depend on the type of data, is it quantitative or qualitative. It will also depend on the time period. In other words, the research

method will depend on the research question. For example, Large n Small n, diachronic vs synchronic, Quantitative Qualitative. So it depends on the question, once the question is formulated, we look at the data set. " 2) The dimensions of comparisons can be diverse. The first dimension of comparassions is to compare states for example but not all are cross sectional(which compares 2 countries or more). We also have non spatial studies for example we decide to start a comparative study on leadership trends so we decided using the feminist mouvements and environmental mouvement so we have cases and we chose datas and methods to answer the question and we analyse in termes of associations and not in geography. A 3rd dimension can be longitudinal studies, were we compare institutions actors or process over time for example if we compare the evolution of party organisations, we look at a couple of centuries. " 3) The units of analyses can be diverse. We can either study single actors or entire political systems that is why in what unit we have to decide on research method. " 4) The focus on similarities and differences MSSD(cases who share a wide number of similarities) MDSD( cases with differences)" 2 exemples " 1)Why did social revolutions take place in Chine Russia and France ? Skocpol 1979. MSSD or MDSD ? The second one, because these are cases different but they share a point, idea is to explain the similar outcome by looking at differences " 2) Why did the Uk s democratisation’s process start earlier than Germany’s ? MSSD, outcome Is different, D took longer in Germany Than the UK, similarities in historical background. So the objective is to really understand the underlying logics in diff cases studies and apply them to other cases, for exemple in an exam to a case that we dont know." Seance 2 : Regimes typologies (19.20) Refresher : What is Comparative Politics? Definition: It is thestudy of the internal political structures (institutions such as Parliament and executive bodies); of individual and collective actors (voters, parties, social movements, interest groups); and processes (policy making, political socialisation, political culture)." Introduction : There are 3 types of regimes :" 1) Democratic regimes 2) Authoritarian regimes 3) Totalitarian regimes" Definition of a political regime : It is the way in which public authorities are organised : which contains the mode of appointment of respective competences, legal and political rules governing their relationship. Historically and even contemporarily, authoritarian regimes are the norm. However, there have been recent developments towards democracy Another thing is that the limite between different types of regimes are non linear and not ambiguous so it is not easy to define with what kind of regime we are dealing with. We can divide regimes in 2 categories, democratic and non democratic regimes. " Within the category of democracy: We have direct democracy and representative democracy and the difference between them is based on the question, who exercices the power ? In direct democracies, exercising the power is done directly by the people. In representative democracies, the people delegate power to representatives through elections. There is a sub category of RD which is electoral democracies and the most commun form of electoral democracy is liberal democracy which means the protection of the rule of the law as well as the fundamental rights. " The non-democratic regimes : There are 2 sub categories, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. The distinction not easy to make between them. Within the authoritarian framework there are 4 subtitles but depending on the source or the literature different sub categories may existe

because there are various applications of these regimes so we will have just an idea. Patrimonialism and Theocracy, Populist Autocraties, Electoral Autocracies, Military rule." 1) Democratic regimes" Abe Lincoln defined the democratic regime : It is the gouvernement of the people, by the people and for the people. This refers to another thinker who is Herodotus. Herodotus refers to different types of regimes which are Monarchy Oligarchy and democracy. The definition of Lincoln was directly opposed to Herodotus’ monarchy which was the most commun form of political regime at that time. However the problem is, the definition of Abe is vague, what is meant by people ? Who are they ? Who is a citizen ? Government for the people, by the people, what do these words mean ?" Historically there are 2 types of democracies, representative and direct democracies as we saw. " A) Direct democracy : It is mainly characterised by the fact that there is an absence of mediation between rulers and the subjects so there is no middle man between those who chose and those who make decisions. For example in ancient Greece, the people in charge were randomly elected by 2 conditions. The 1st one refers to the people Abe was talking about. So you need to be a greek citizen, not everyone was a citizen in Greece. 2nd condition, you need to be free and be at least 18 years old. Another example of this type of democracy we have JJR, who argue against the idea of monarchy because monarchy justifies the right to rule by the divine power. So JJR believed that the people was powerful to fix the laws and to find the general and common good as a sovereign mass. This refers to the idea that a sovereign mass of people willingly choose a representative body by having one commun rule which is the common preservation and general well being. " There are limits to this conception of democracy ; " 1st limit : on a technical level : Limitation due to the number and scale problems, it is difficult to apply DD to large scales. So on the technical level, it is difficult to apply DD on large scales. For example in Canada and USA is not possible ." 2nd limit, philosophical level: We give too much power to the active minority, how do you guarantee that all those who participate, participate regularly in the process ?" 3rd limite, linked to the majority principal : This means that the majority rules so we have the risk of marginalising the minorities " Referendums : So in effect DD could be a theoretical idea but can it be put into the practice ? An alternative to this would be to say lets combine certain tools of DD to the RD. For example the referendums were citizens are called upon to express themselves through popular voting, on a specific issue/measure taken/to be implemented by an authority. However the referendums can also be based on citizen initiative so the proposal is put forth by a group of citizens. The types are : Mandatory, voluntary/optional, repealing/revoking, plebiscitary. Various scales : national , regional, provincial and local." Referendum throughout the world : At the federal level, it has never been done in USA but they have done it at the state or municipal level. In Switzerland, it is often used and it is integrated to their model which is a consociational democracy, Referendums every 3 months on average" In Europe referendums are linked to various EU treaties between 90-2010. Also a R organised after the Maastricht treaty in France and Denmark. Regarding the Euro currency, it was voted in some countries like in Danemark but in 2008 rejected by Ireland. Also Brexit referendum and the Hungarian issue of the migrants, where 90% of participants voted against the mesure but the participation to the Referendum was under 50%. Exemple of a ballot used in the R of Brexit." Pros and Cons of the referendum ;" Cons"

• Risque of applying the will of the majority so a little space for minorities which poses a problem for multi ethnic states where we might forget about the minorities. " • A second issue would be sociological bias, regarding education, finances, no control over who votes, is it really representative of the society as a whole. It can also be a sociological biais in a communication campaign in favour or against. " • 3rd issue, what happens if there is a low level of participation, does the minority decide ? Like it was in Hungry. Or we put an average cota of approval and under that quota, the referendum is not acceptable ? " We are also dealing with a different electorate than the other elections regarding the population. " • There are also types of conservative measures. For exemple, Ireland in 1983 included the foetus’ right to life by the ruling party and than it was brought up by others and they decided that it would be subjected to referendum in 2018 it was rejected and the mesures were taken out. This issue of the questions and the measures that need to be taken is linked to the next questions, which is that the specific questions may derive from global problems and have negative effects in the future. There is also the issue of limiting legally what subject is subjected to a referendum, an international treaty can be subjected ? Should we have political limits to the themes of referendums, can we allow referendums on homosexuality or migration ? Etc. " Populist paradox : It is the idea that in a positive way, the referendum offers a more direct link between the citizens and the decision makers and they have control on the decision making process. But on the negative side, the referendum also brings the risk of manipulation of the public opinion through communication campaigns and fake news. " The role of emotions and context is a specific issue where the referendum could awake a special emotion so we have to be aware of that. However, the referendum reinforces the legitimacy of the decision making, providing a debate to the society and enabling its participation." B) Representative democracy : RD is based on the principal of representation. It entails that the legislative and the executive bodies represent the opinion of the electors/representatives which is achieved through the electoral process. In this framework, elections are the main mode of expression for 2 reasons : 1) The conflits and cleavages are projected directly in electoral field. 2) The bases of the system is competence rather than the representativeness so on vote for people who are competent and not only for the representatives." Principles" a) Accountability : of the elected official towards the voter " b) The idea that the representative mandate or the elective representative acts in the name of nations interests which is directly opposed to the imperative mandate where the representative must obey the opinion of his/her voters which is impossible to achieve in realty so rather than listening directly the voters, it acts in the name of the nations interest " c) Pacification of conflit and institutionnalisation of dissensus. ( Which is the fact that the conflicts are projected directly in the electoral field)" Some conditions of RD" 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)

Universal suffrage" Elections organised on a regular basis" Alternatio...