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College aantekeningen State, Power And Conflict
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State, Power and Conflictlecture notes
,Lecture 1 (06/09)
What is politics?
Origins: The Greek word polis (=city-state).
In Ancient Greek society: politics is ‘what concerns the city state?’
In modern times: politics is ‘what concerns the state?’
Why politics matters, is not the same as what politics is.
Some common definitions:
Politics is …
about government
exercise of power (Bureaucracy and international organizations become part
of this)
the public allocation of values. (How governments respond to pleasures
within societies)
the resolution of conflict. (This can be done through elections or through
diplomacy)
the competition and cooperation among individuals, or states pursuing their
interest. (e.g., feminism)
What is political science?
Political science is often understood as the science of government, as affairs of the state.
But …
The state is rooted in society.
The state maintains a particular social order.
Politics outside the state is also important.
Interaction between the state and society are the core of politics.
Hence, to scientifically understand politics, one must examine the entire fabric of social
relations of cooperation and conflict between individuals, groups, and classes.
How do we study it?
1. Philosophical tradition (How should politics be organized?)
Deals with normative questions (i.e., is prescriptive).
2. Empirical tradition (How and why is politics organized in a specific way?)
Deals with descriptive questions.
,What is political ideology?
The distinction between left and right goes back all the way to revolutionary France.
Back in the days those who were loyal to the aristocracy (royalists) and wanted to keep
things as they are they were sitting to the right of the presiding officer.
The commoners (revolutionaries) who want to change or want more social liberties were
sitting to the left.
There are more dividing lines then just left or right.
“A more or less coherent set of ideas that provides a basis for political action, whether this is
intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing systems of power relationships.”
- Heywood, 2013
All 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 (core (or thick) ideologies):
1. Liberalism
2. Conservatism
3. Socialism
Others: Anarchism, Cosmopolitanism, Fascism, Feminism, Green politics
Liberalism
Individualism: Supreme importance if 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.
Equality: Individuals are born equal, at least in terms of moral worth. Principle of
meritocracy.
Toleration: Belief in pluralism and diversity of thought and beliefs.
Consent: Authority should be based on willing agreement, a contract (consent by
government).
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 and 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: Authority is exercised from above, which provides clarity and a basis for social
cohesion.
Property: Property ownership is vital as it gives people security and independence from
government.
Socialism
Community: Humans are linked by existence of a common humanity. Importance of social
interactions and collective bodies. 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.
Need: Redistribution of material benefits based on need rather than merit of 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 recourses to the
common good. Private property may lead to social division/selfishness.
How far are politics and political ideology (and the scientific study thereof) linked?
Beyond ideology
Francis Fukumaya’s argument Anthony Giddens’ argument:
After the end of the Cold War and The Third Way: reconciling right-wing
the fall of communism, liberal and and left-wing politics.
capitalist values would be Synthesizing center-right economics
universally accepted. policies and center-left social policies.
End of the ideological debate: Re-evaluating political policies due to
Western liberal democracy had doubts about: (1) the economic viability
triumphed. of the state and (2) economic
“The universalization of Western interventionist policies (Keynesianism).
liberal democracy as the final form
of human government.”
Ideology is not just divided in left or right but also in cosmopolitan and parochial.
Left: More equality through state-led provisions.
Right: Less equality through state-led provisions.
Cosmopolitan: Everyone belongs to the political community.
Parochial: Own group belongs to the political community.
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