Political Science Exam Review PDF

Preview

Summary

Review of all content prof said would be on the final exam...

Description

Political Science – Final Exam Review Chapter 1 Political Science: The study of the institutions and processes through which, and the ideas on the basis of which, individuals and groups make decisions that have consequences for the recognition, production and allocation of public and private goods. Political Dimensions:  Contested  Complex (Complex nature of politics)  Cooperative: International politics and trade agreements  Crucial *Possible question: Provide an example of cooperative politics. Harold Laswell: Defining Politics  Who is involved  What kinds of goods/conditions/ends  When to achieve goals  How to achieve goals  Why explanatory drive Democratic Deficit:  The perceived gap between the theoretical principles of democracy and the actual practice of democratic institutions, including national governments and international organizations. Political Authority and Decision making Chapter 2 Political Theory: The Subfield of the discipline of political science that involve, rather simple, thinking about politics. Thomas Hobbes:  State of Nature: Natural condition without authority will be a constant state of war.

 Only rational thing for humans is to quit the state of natural and mutually agree to a sovereign power. John Stuart Mill: Liberty  “The purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others” (Harm Principle vs Democratic majorities)  He believed in liberty of conscience, of thought or feeling, of expressing or publishing feelings.  Absolute freedom of opinion, and to unite for any purpose. “Tyranny of the majority”  The greatest threat to personal freedom comes from unwanted interference from other people, including government action on behalf of the people. Machiavelli:  Order had to be imposed by a spirited and ruthless prince.  His realistic analysis of how things are and how a cunning prince could take the effect of fate and fortune.  His advice was offered to a monarch, his discourse reveal republican sentiments and a paramount interest in liberty. Karl Marx:  The greatest threat to personal freedom comes not from other people per se, but from an insufficiency of resources, wealth, or the opportunity to act freely. *Possible Question: Draw comparisons between theorists and later chapters. Liberalism: The ideology based on the paramount value of individual liberty. It assumes that all humans are free and equal by nature, and that society is a vehicle for the protection and enhancement of our natural rights. Conservatism:  Traditional: An idea that defends the status quo against major social, economic and political change. Order and Authority is played about liberty and equality in their hierarchy of values.  Neo: A term applied to politicians on the political right who combine neoliberal economic policies with conservative social policies. A major focus also on foreign policy initiatives that favor increased military spending, pronuclear weapons, and vigilant war on terror. Socialism:

 Economic equality of the classes and the use of government to serve the collective good of the whole society. Advocates for public ownership of key industries, regulation of the market, redistribution of resources and protection of fundamental social rights and freedoms. Chapter 3 Defining a state:  Range of political institutions  Established territory one which to govern  Ability to function within a community of states  Monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force  Constitutive population Branches of government:  Legislature (Making laws, parliament, “changing the rules”)  The executive (Caucus, members of parliament, cabinet)  The judiciary (Courts and Justice System) Democracy:  What is Democracy? o Free and democratic elections to establish and replace governments o Active Citizenry o Rule of Law  Democratization: A group of transitions from non-democratic to democratic regimes involving the o Realization of authoritarian political control by political leaders, o The expansion of political and civil liberties, o And the creation of institutional mechanisms that open up the political system to greater public representation and participation. A democracy must be based on the rule of law, through which both citizens and that state are subject to fair judicial proceedings. o Human rights: rights enjoyed by individuals simply because they are human beings, primarily including prevention of discrimination or coercion on ground of ethnicity, religion, gender or opinion. *Possible questions: Democracy in the context of social movements.

 How do social movements affect the hard rules of democracy Failed and Fragile States: Terrorism: The threat or use of violence, usually directed at civilian populations, in order to create some form of political change.  Failed or failing states could provide a safe haven for terrorists when no central authority was willing or able to confront them. State Failure:  A state is no longer a state when it loses one or more of the five characteristics of statehood. o Territory, Population, Monopoly use of legitimate force, Political institutions and Functions within a community of states Indicators of state fragility:  Social Indicators: 1. Mounting demographic pressures 2. Massive movement of refugees or internally displaced persons creating complex humanitarian emergencies. 3. Legacy of vengeance-seeking group grievance or groups paranoia. 4. Chronic and sustained human flight  Economic Indicators 1. Uneven economic development along group lines 2. Sharp and/or severe economic decline  Political Indicators 1. Criminalization and/or delegitimization of the state 2. Progressive deterioration of public services 3. Suspension or arbitrary application of the rule of law and widespread violation of human rights. 4. Security apparatus operates as a “state within a state” 5. Rise of factionalized elites 6. Intervention of other states or external political actors.  A Left-wing approach to handling failed and fragile states would be to provide funds for the global south and give support.

 Right-winged approach would maintain domestic interests over those of other countries. Like Donald Trump’s idea of Protectionism. Chapter 4 Nationalism: An ideology used by state leaders to promote the interest of the nation. Including defence of the state in times of war. Alternatively, in can be used by secession movements against the state. Nations  The world is divided into nations.  A nation should be able to establish its own institutions, law and government and to determine its future.  Contains certain identified populations which contain characteristics to make them nations. Connotations of Nationalism:  As a positive force: the existence of nations is associated with the existence of ties of love or kinship.  Nationalism has been associated with hatred – destructive force of the 20th century. o Ethnic cleansing: The removal of one or more ethnic groups from a society by means of expulsion, imprisonment, or killing.  Denotation of Nationalism: 3 assumptions o Certain identified populations contain characteristics that make them nations. o The world is divided into nations. o A nation should be able to establish its own institutions, law and government and determine its future. (Self-determination)

STATES: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Population Territory Governing institutions A government that claims a monopoly of legitimate force.

Multi-Nation States: A state that contains more than one nation  Canada is a Multi-Nation state  Contains 3 nations: the French, the British and Aboriginal peoples. o Even multiple aboriginal traditions and beliefs.  Also, different levels of government and different forms of government all within one nation. o Aboriginal self-government: Diverse arrangements whereby the authority of Aboriginal or Indigenous groups to govern themselves is recognized; such authority would have to be consistent with the laws of operation within existing states. Universalising comparisons:  Trying to establish that all forms of nationalism follow the same pattern or rules.  Developing generalizations to be applied to all societies at all times.  Euro-centric  Orientalism: (Edward W. Said) The west’s patronizing representation of “the east” – the societies and peoples who inhabit the places of Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East.  Orientalism is inextricably tied to the imperialist societies (Colonialism) who produced it, which make must Orientalist work inherently political and servile to power. Canada: Cultural Pluralism:  The coexistence of many cultural groups within a country  Such diversity is a starting point in arguing that all groups in a society can maintain their linguistic, cultural and religious distinctiveness without being relegated to the economic or cultural margins, and is achieved through the creation of a common set of values and institutions.  Canada reflects cultural pluralism.  Canada’s commitment to a variant of the model of cultural pluralism aims at promoting peaceful cooperation and recognition among groups. The model suggests that groups can maintain distinct features without being marginalized economically or socially.

 It contends that the cultivation of differences does not necessarily produce conflict; rather it can produce peaceful coexistence through overarching values and institutions. Dominant conformity:  A model of ethnic group integration holding that all groups in a society should conform to the language and values of the dominant group.  In the case of Canada, the is the idea behind historical policies emphasizing Anglo conformity, which aims to have all groups assimilate by speaking English and holding the blue of the dominant British-origin group.  The idea is that all groups should assimilate to the language, culture and values of the dominant group, and in the case of Anglo conformity in Canada, that all groups should conform to the British Group. Chapter 5 Political Economy: The study of the relationship between the state, as the leading authoritative actor in affluent societies, and the economy, the site in these societies where wealth is produces and exchanged. Corporatist versus Pluralist countries: Corporatist:  A political economy in which formal bargaining and compromises among leading societal interests, above all business and labour, are very important for social and economic outcomes.  Highly organized business, labour unions and other economic interests.  Well-staffed national organizations.  Certain amount of power over low-level business and labour groups  Strong labour unions.  Generally, are stronger states Pluralist Countries:  Business and labour are not well organized above the level of individual companies.

   

Lack of strongly developed national organizations. Business more likely to get what it wants Weaker labour unions. Generally, are weaker states

Canada is pluralist: (Maybe more for this)  Staple thesis: An interpretation of Canadian economic development that holds that, unlike most other now-affluent countries, the production of raw materials for export markets has remained central for the Canadian economy. It has not been replaced by a focus on manufactured goods and then services.  Weak-state -> Laissez-faire economic model o Laissez-faire: “Let do,” intellectual foundation for the system of free-market capitalism. The economy works best when there is no government intervention. The theory rejects state ownership or control advocates a free market, values individualism, and promotes free trade.  Globalization induced change. Chapter 6 Constitution: The body of fundamental laws, rules, and practices that defined the basic structures of government, allocates power among governmental institutions and regulates the relationship between citizens and state. Functions of a constitution:  To define the structure of major institutions of government  To divide powers and responsibilities among the various institutions of government  To regulate the exercise of power by the state in relation to individual citizens or minority groups  To serve as a political symbol  To specify a method for amending the constitution. Written versus **Unwritten constitutions: Written Constitutions: one whose fundamental rules have been reduced to a single document or limited set of documents.

Unwritten Constitution: one whose subject matter is dispersed across a variety of statutes, court rulings, and unwritten political practices.  Since only a handful of states today have an unwritten constitution – notably the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Israel – it follows that the overwhelming majority of constitutions cannot be usefully classified under this scheme.  The term unwritten constitution wrongly implies that most if not all of the state’s constitutional rules exist in the form of conventions. Yet, much of the “unwritten” British constitution is written down, chiefly in leading common law cases and various acts of parliament, such as the Bill of Rights. (1961)  At the same time, many of the constitutional rules of states having a written constitution exist in unwritten form. Confederal states:  Confederation: An association of sovereign states that have agreed by treaty to delegate certain powers to a central governing authority. In principle a loose political union than a federation, a confederation’s member-states retain the right of secession.  In a confederal state sovereignty is retain by numerous existing states that agree to cooperate in order to achieve certain common purposes.  Confederal constitution, the central government exercises only such powers as are delegated to it by the constituent states. That is to say, any powers transferred to the central government may be modified or revoked by the subnational governments. Typically, the powers of the central government are limited in number and scope.  The European Union embodies many characteristics of a confederation: o Any member state may opt out of key decisions agreed to by the others.

 Federal States:  Federalism: A form of government in which the sovereign powers of the state are formally divided under a constitution between two levels of government, neither of which is subordinate to the other.

 Under a federal constitution, sovereignty is formally divided between two levels of government: a national (or central) government and a number of subnational governments.  Both levels of government exercise legislative authority over the territorial units that make up the federation.  Territories known as provinces or states.  Federalism allows the territorial units to retain their separate identities and to continue to exercise decision-making authority over a range of local matter.  Canada is a federal state. Unitary States:  Under a unitary form of government, sovereignty is vested in the central government alone.  Other levels of government, such as regional, county or municipal governments, exercise only those powers that have been delegated to them by the national government.  A unitary state enables the national government to make decision on a full range of matter of importance to the nation as a whole, by centralizing constitutional authority. Pros:  The potential for uniformity and consistency in the design of social and economic policies.  Promotes national unity and a stronger sense of allegiance. Cons:  The national government may be insensitive to regional differences arising from diverse local conditions.  Uniform national policies may provoke resentment and undermine the legitimacy of the national government and ultimately that of the constitution itself.

Chapter 7 and 8 Executive: The branch of government conceded with the implementation of laws and other authoritative decisions of the state. The executive also formulates public policy and provides political leadership

Legislature: The major lawmaking institution in a democracy. Legislatures can either be unicameral or bicameral. The executive:

Functions: 1. 2. 3. 4.

To provide political leadership to the nation To implement laws formally approved by the legislature To make rules and regulations To administer government departments and other agencies

Bureaucracy: The expert, permanent, non-partisan, professional officials employed by the state to advice the political executive and to implement government policy. Associated with a rigid adherence to routine, a lack of imagination and compassion in dealing with ordinary citizens, and an obsessive preoccupation with arcane rules and procedures. Max Weber’s characteristics of a bureaucracy:      

Hierarchical organization of public offices Specialization of labour Decisions based on the application of impersonal rules A clear demarcation of legal authority between public offices. Recruitment to the public service on the basis of technical qualifications` Promotion based on seniority or achievement.

Head of state versus Head of Government:

*** Guarantee on the final Head of State: Officeholder, such as a constitutional monarch, who symbolizes and represents the state but does not exercise effective political power. Roles of the head of state: 1. To carry out ceremonial duties. a. Lightens the burden of the prime minister, allowing them to concentrate on government business. 2. To serve as the nonpartisan representative of the state. a. Represents the nations as a whole. National unity. 3. To act as a guardian of the constitution. a. If the prime minister seeks to undermine the constitution, the head of state may take corrective action by using the wide legal powers at their disposal. Powers: 1. Appoint/ Dismiss the Prime Minister 2. Dissolve parliament Head of Government: Officeholder, such as the prime minister in a parliamentary system, who is in effective charge of the executive branch of government. (Example: Prime Minister)  In parliamentary and semi-presidential systems, these posts are filled by separate office-holders. (Dual-executive) o The office of head of state is either by a constitutional monarch or an elected president are carried out by her representative, known as the governor general. o In the United Kingdom. The queen’s duties in the countries of the commonwealth are  In presidential systems, the two positions are combined and held by a single office-holder. (Single executive) Parliamentary versus Presidential Systems: Parliamentary Systems:  Dual Executive (Separate head of state and head of government.)  Fusions of legislative and executive powers and personnel in the cabinet.

 Doctrine of responsible government; on losing a vote of confidence, PM and Cabinet must resign or request early elections  PM may seek a dissolution of parliament even though retaining support in parliament. Advantages:  Governments with a stable majority have the capacity to act decisively in the public interest  Concentration of power in the cabinet clarifies political responsibility.  Non-confidence vote allows for removal of a government that has lost support in parliament. Disadvantages  Excessive power vested in hands of a majority government  Stringent party discipline contains backbench MPs  Government may be unstable if no part secures majority support in parliament. Presidential system:  Single (or unitary) executive: President is head of state and head of government.  Separating of powers among the legislative, executive and judiciary.  Reciprocal checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches.  No equivalent of the confidence rule.  Fixed-date elections for both branches; President may not dissolve congress. Advantages:  Presidential executives are stable because of their constitutionally fixed terms.  Congress can defeat executive sponsored bills without bringing down the government.  Diffusion of political authority safeguards individual liberty against unreasonable encroachment by the state. Disadvantages:  Absence of dissolution power denies President the means to end statement with congress.  Dispersed dec...