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Law, Power and Politics summary with cases
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Law, Power and Politics-Week 1:
-> State criteria;
- population
- defined territory
- legitimate government;
- legitimate internally and externally;
-> internally as in population of state accepts the government
-> externally as in other states accept/recognise that state
-> State needs to be a legal mandate state: be authoritative in the sense that it can enforce
rules through legitimate use of violence
-> States provide a legal mandate for governments to work and allow the State’s authority to
be used by the Government; need authority and legitimacy to function effectively
-> a state is legitimate when its authority is accepted by its citizens and other states
-> Authority is the acknowledged right to act # Power is having the capacity to act
-> 3 ways to accept authority after Webber:
1. by tradition: it always having been accepted
2. by charisma: intensely following a leader and its message
3. by appeal to legal-rational norms: by agreeing with the rule-governed powers of an
office more than with the leader
-> The Political System:
-> Easton’s concept represents a Political System that is receiving inputs aka demands and
support while having to put these two into a decision or governmental actions aka outputs
-> but political systems are much broader; collective decisions are reached enforced
through wider forces - inputs are demands or support (like votes, taxes or use of no
violence) from society (people and orgs)
-> Problem with Easton’s model is:
1. too focussed on the formal institutions; no wider picture or other actors involved
2. assumes that all demands are taken as facts; often demands of the people are
incoherent or not possible
3. citizens impact the government but the government also influences the citizens
-> Political science # Politics
-> Political science is the study of theory and practice of government and politics focussing
on the structure and dynamics of institutions, political processes and political behavior
-> Politics is the process by which people negotiate and compete in order to make and
execute shared or collective decisions; form political systems
-> can be about common interests; individuals can participate in politics or
competition for powers; institutions are too powerful and there needs to be a balance
-> Common interest models:
-> Arendt’s theory: “Politics is acting in concert to make the best of ourselves”
-> Dahl’s theory: “Politics is resolving inevitable conflicts, in a peaceful manner”
-> Competition for power models:
-> Machiavelli’s theory: “Fear works better than love” - Politics and power are related,
founding father of politics as an empirical science
, -> Governance entails 3 parts; government, civil society and private sector (government is
only one of the players)
-> government describes the institutions and offices that govern, authorities make
decisions and communicate them down - through what the population is governed
-> governance describes the process of collective decision-making, not only about
formal actors but also supranational actors and int organizations - through what the state is
governed + economic market and networks
-> State parties follow specific ideologies; systems of connected beliefs, a shared view of the
world or a blueprint for how politics, economics and society should be structured - the
relationship society should have with the state and the position of individuals in the state
order - Main ideologies:
Ideologies Meanings
Anarchism no governmental authority - society is
governed by voluntary cooperation and free
association
Marxism elimination of the state system - elimination
of private property to create a classless,
non-exploitive and self-governing society
Liberalism government that is limited but freely elected
- advocates a tolerant society that
maximizes personal freedom
Conservatism decentralized government - traditional
institutions and practices work best, the free
market is most efficient at meeting societal
needs and government should be
decentralized to the max
Fascism authoritarian state - national unity, strong
leader, mobilization of society, military and
nationalism is important
-> Era of explicit ideologies died after collapse of communism, nowadays contemporary
ideas or values form ideologies such as environmentalism, feminism or Islamism but not
ideologies in the classical sense
-> ideologies are now placed through political parties; spectrum between right and left
-> left is associated with equality, human rights and reform - reduce inequality
-> right is associated with traditions, established authority and pursuit of the national
interest - more accepting of natural inequalities
-> Legitimacy of a state depends on the legitimacy of the system of government; ones
authority and those subject to its rule recognising its right to make decisions
-> legality is an issue of legitimacy; how a political system wins, keeps and
sometimes loses public faith
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