IPPS Week 2 - Week 2 notes from IPPS under Devin Joshi PDF

Preview

Summary

Week 2 notes from IPPS under Devin Joshi...

Description

Political science terminology

Key Terms Political scientists rely on several important concepts: 

Power: The ability to get others to do what you want. Power can take many forms, from brute force to articulate persuasion.



Government: The organization of power within a society, specifically how power is divided and used. Example: The government of the United States is a democracy established by the Constitution.



Regime: Any particular government.



Legitimacy: Occurs when citizens accept the political decisions made by the governing body. A government is consideredlegitimate if its citizens think it right, lawful, and proper that the government should hold power. A threat to legitimacy seriously undermines the power of the government.



Authority: The ability of the government to exercise power without resorting to violence. A government with a high level of legitimacy tends to have a high level of authority. Its citizens usually obey the law because they think it is the right thing to do, not because they are afraid of punishment. Example: When asked by a police officer to clear the street, most Americans will do so because they respect the right of the officer to use power.



Sovereignty: The right to exercise political power over a group of people or a geographical area. A government is consideredsovereign if it has the final word on political decisions within its boundaries. When citizens can appeal to a higher body, the government is not sovereign.

Example: State governments in the United States have a great deal of power, but ultimately they are not sovereign because the federal government can overrule them. Defining power in political science Conventional meaning of power- to do things

Pol science (and power in a social sense)- power, over others When a person/group gets another person/group to do/think something That they wouldn’t have done without the instruction/command

Questions: Does power exist only if we see an outcome? OR does it exist even if we don’t see the outcome? What about Power in the things we cannot see? Consider giving 2 choices even though only 1 choice can be made (sub point of second face of powermanipulation tactic) Or, presenting 2 choices that remove the possibility of choosing a larger over-arching choice, thereby confining the two choices to an area, closing of other areas as possible permutations. Consider illusion of choice, 1 choice must be made because the second choice is just too difficult/detrimental to make OR threat to make either 1 Consider silence as a political tool, it is power, especially when used to maintain the status quo; “there won’t be any changed if no one makes a big deal out of it”- this retains form of rule

 

Power to Power over

Power = A gets B to do/think something they otherwise wouldn’t do 1) Sticks and Carrots -> Rewards + Punishment Observable (obvious) -> Prof is involved in decision making

2) Observable (not that obvious) -> Non-decision making -> Is it Significant?

There is a conflict of interest where it involves the 2 points on top, one more point to discuss So, if there’s no conflict of interest at all, would there be any power involved? Depends on what we mean by “interest”? (What is in our interest? Do we KNOW what’s in our interest?) (Like child abductors bribing children with candy OR a dentist giving candy to children)

There may be a difference between subjective interest and objective interest; meaning to say what is perceived to be interest: Example: Dentist serving candy to child patient Subjective: the kid likes the Candy Objective: Healthy Teeth

Example: Child abductor gives candy to child Subjective: the kid likes the Candy Objective: Her safety and well-being

Two Faces of Power points: 1) A participates in decisions that affect B (gets B to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do)



2) A devotes his energies to creating or reinforcing social and political values and institutional practices that limit the scope of the political process to public consideration of only those issues which are comparatively innocuous to A (To do with power in choice, controlling the number of choices available; the political process limits what B can do) [To the extent that A succeeds in #2, B is prevented, for all practical purposes, from bringing to the fore any issues that might in their resolution be seriously detrimental to A’s set of preferences] (Source: Bachrach and Baratz 1962, p. 948)

3) The Mobilization of Bias  “To the extent that a person or group – consciously or unconsciously - -creates or reinforces barriers to the public airing of policy conflicts, that a person or group has power.  “All forms of political organization have a bias in favor of the exploitation of some kinds of conflict and the suppression of others because organization is the mobilization of bias. Some issues are organized into politics while others are organized out.”

“How to study Power” 1) One must analyze the dominant values, myths and established political procedures and rules of the game 2) One must make a careful inquiry into which persons or groups, if any, gain from the existing bias and which, if any, are handicapped by it. 3) One most investigate the dynamics of non-decision making (the rest from page 952) examine the extent to which and the way the status quo oriented persons and groups influence those community values and those political institutions (still, go back to p952 again)

Three-Dimensional view 3Rd face of power: A also exercises power over B by influencing, shaping, or determining his very wants. One can secure other’s compliance by controlling their thoughts and desires

Thought control as 3rd face of power:

    

How thought control is exercised Through the control of information Through the Mass Media Through the Process of Socialization Indoctrination through the Schools

Some remarks: “We don’t see obvious conflict because we’ve all been socialized to believe there isn’t one”

Deeply Hidden Power: “It is not the supreme and most insidious exercise of power to prevent people, to whatever degree, from having grievances by shaping their perceptions, cognitions, and preference in such a way that they accept their role in the existing order of things, either because they can see or imagine no alternative to it, or because they see it as natural and unchangeable, or because they value it as divinely ordained and beneficial”

What are some examples of this? View recording (31/8/17 Part A)

Definition of curfew

Crime aspect Family aspect Affecting babies Productivity aspect

Diagnostic: Examples: alcohol was banned because of its misuse at night – higher incidences of crimes and accidents Why is it so difficult to implement? Age group: younger people going out Why are people opposed to this? The Young are opposed to this, why? Energy, all their friends are doing this, affecting their school work Sleep would help them be more productive

Some qualifiers to be made? What happens when you have to work late? What about people who are used to the routines? BUT, can still party and chill at home; just not in the streets between 12-5

Motivational: Personal- Higher tendencies of doing bad shit; drugs and stupid stuff/body clock – health issues Enforcement: Weather/traffic accidents(speeding etc.) Police aren’t everywhere at every instance – number of incidences up + response to incidences affected. Familial- not worrying so much, parents staying up late to wait for child to be home Traffic affects children Affects productivity of people who need to work during the day Cultural

Country wide- reputation/ Global

Safety for women What happens from 12am to 5am Clubbing drinking(1030pm drinks outdoor bad) parties Worrying parents and family about our whereabouts The importance of sleep

Framing Activity

Prognostic Framing

Diagnostic Framing -> Defining the Problem

Motivational Framing

Framing is involved in social movements process Framing and social movements: 1) Framing processes 2) Resource mobilization 3) Political opportunity processes (timing: period of election)

Collective Action Frames: Frames: a) b) c) d)

Define a situation in need of change Make attributions regarding who or what is to blame Articulate an alternative set of arrangements Urge others to act in concert to affect change

Locate, perceive identify and label

Simplify the world to mobilize potential adherents, garner bystander…(refer to slides online)

Look at the walk with me campaign- 45mins in recording part B

Types of frames: -

Diagnostic Framing Prognostic Framing Motivational Framing Counter-Frames

-

Master Frames Examples: refer to slides

Where do frames come from? -

Discursive processes

Chatting with others and trying to get to an agreement; its how you trade ideas and discuss them -

Strategic processes Contested processes

When do frames succeed? Frame resonance (depends on the culture) Frame credibility Frame diffusion (rest on slides)...