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Summary State Power And Conflict (STPC)
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State, Power & Conflict Lecture 1What is politics?
Ø Origins: the Greek word polis: city-state
Ø Greek society was organized in city states with self-government
Ø In Ancient Greek society: politics is ‘what concerns the city-state’
Ø In modern times: politics is ‘what concerns the state?’
What is politics?
Ø One of the best-known definitions of politics was given by Harold D. Lasswell (1950)
Ø But why politics matters is not the same as what politics is.
Ø Which people institutions, and social activities are ‘political’? And which are ‘non-
political’?
Ø Should we think of politics as an arena or as a process?
Some common definitions of politics:
• Politics is about the government (prime minister + parliament) à very narrow
definition of politics
• Politics is the exercise of power à a bit broader international organisations and
bureaucracy become a part of this aswell
• Politics is the public allocation of values à David Easton how governments respond
to pressures within societies about what is important and how they make policy
• Politics is the resolution of conflict à through diplomacy or elections
• Politics is the competition and cooperation among individuals, groups, or states
pursuing their interests.
Public Private
The state: Civil society:
Apparatus of Autonomous bodies – businesses, trade unions, clubs, families, etc.
government
Public Private
Public realm: Personal realm:
Politics, commerce, work, art, culture, etc. Family and
domestic life.
Political science is often understood as the science of government, as affairs of the state. As
a political scientist we are interested in the public sphere, not the private sphere.
But
• The state is rooted in society
• The state maintains a particular social order
• Politics outside the state is also important.
• Interactions between the state and society are at the core of politics
,Hence, to scientifically understand politics, one has to examine the entire fabric of social
relations of cooperation and conflict between individuals, groups, and classes.
Studying politics
1. Philosophical tradition
• Deals with normative questions (i.e., is prescriptive)
• How should politics be organized?
2. Empirical tradition
• Deals with descriptive questions
• How and why is politics organized in a specific way? à almost studied like a natural
science, huge turning point.
Comparative politics (first half course) International relations (second half
course)
Domestic politics International politics
2 things:
1. Referring to politics of foreign
countries
2. Method of analysis à comparing
different states, through that
comparison you try to find regulation
or patterns > theories/hypothesis
National politics, international politics, local politics and regional politics are all connected,
also because of globalization.
What is political ideology?
The ideologies offer an account of:
1. The existing order (a worldview)
2. The desired future (a goal, the alternative to 1)
3. The roadmap (process, how to get to 2)
The big three:
- Liberalism
- Conservation
- Socialism
Liberalism
• Individualism: Supreme importance of the human individual (rather than the social
group)
• Freedom: Individuals should enjoy maximum possible liberty consistent with a like
liberty for all
, • Reason: The world has a rational structure, which can be uncovered through reason
and critical enquiry. Focus on progress. à no god given right to rule; really based on
reason and rationality
• Equality: Individuals are born equal, at least in terms of moral worth. Principle of
meritocracy à if you want to and you have the talent you’ll get there. Work hard and
you can achieve what you want. Born equal but outcome will be unequal
• Toleration: Belief in pluralism: multiple legitimate interest perspectives in society
and diversity of thought and beliefs.
• Consent: Authority should be based on willing agreement, a contract (consent by the
governed) à social contract van John Locke à staat als nachtwakerstaat
• Constitutionalism: Belief in limited government: ensure (by means of checks and
balances) that power does not corrupt or gets misused)
Conservatism
• Tradition: Desire to conserve; respect for accumulated wisdom of the past, and
practices and institutions that have endured the test of time.
• Pragmatism: Belief in limitations of human rationality; faith in experience and
history and in ‘what works’
• Human imperfection: pessimistic view of human nature (morally corrupt): strong
focus on law & order
• Organicism: There is a fabric of society (families, communities, the nation) which is
key for stability and upheld by shared values/common culture
• Hierarchy: Gradations in social position/status are natural and inevitable, but foster
responsibility of care for the less fortunate
• Authority: is exercised from above, which provides clarity and a basis for social
cohesion à unequal: own place in society
• Property: property ownership is vital as it gives people security and independence
from government.
Socialism
• Community: humans are linked by the existence of a common humanity. Importance
of social interactions an collective bodies and individual behavior can be explained in
terms of social factors.
• Fraternity: Humans bound by comradeship. Cooperation over competition. Focus on
collectivism
• Social equality: The primacy of equality over other values > importance of class, it
really matters if you are born in a rich or poor family
• Need: Redistribution of material benefits on the basis of need rather than merit or
work.
• Social class: Analyzing society in terms of income/wealth (social class). Specific
interest in the oppressed/exploited working class
• Common ownership: The aim of common ownership is to harness material resources
to the common good. Private property may lead to social division/selfishness
, Politics and ideology: always linked?
Dutch prime minister Wim Kok in 1995: ‘’Het afschudden van ideologische veren is voor een
politieke partij als de onze niet alleen een probleem, het is in bepaalde opzichten ook een
bevrijdende ervaring’’
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte 2013: ‘’Visie is als de olifant die het uitzicht belemmert.
Als visie een blauwdruk voor de toekomst betekent, dan verzet alles wat liberaal is in mij zich
daartegen.’’
Beyond Ideology
Francis Fukuyama’s argument:
• After the end of the Cold War and the fall of communism, liberal and capitalist values
would be universally accepted.
• End of the ideological debate: Western liberal democracy has triumphed
• ‘’The universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human
government’’
Anthony Giddens’ argument:
• The third way: reconciling right-wing and left-wing politics
• Synthesizing center-right economics policies and center-left social policies
• Re-evaluating political policies due to doubts about: (1) the economic viability of the
state and (2) economic interventionist policies (Keynesianism)
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