100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Previously searched by you
Previously searched by you
logo
Poli 201: Full Semester Notes CA$11.10
Add to cart
Quickly navigate to
Preview
  2.  
  3. University Of Calgary (UCalgary )
  4.  
  5. Political Science
  6.  
  7. Poli 201 (POLI201)

Class notes

Poli 201: Full Semester Notes

1 review
 124 views  2 purchases

Poli 201: Intro to Government & Politics These notes are incredibly comprehensive. They contain the foundational information necessary for any political science theory class and more. They are organized by topic and further by sub-topic, making them very easy to follow. Note: finished course wit...

[Show more]

Preview 4 out of 37  pages

Document information

  • January 22, 2020
  • 37
  • 2015/2016
  • Class notes
  • Voth
  • All classes

Subjects

Written for

All documents for this subject (1)

1  review

review-writer-avatar

By: colbyhowatt1212 • 1 year ago

Seller

avatar-seller
alse547

Reviews received

Content preview

Introduction 15-12-17 11:56 AM

The Problem of Definition
• The study of politics is so multifaceted that finding a clear definition of the
field is difficult
• Is it a noble calling or corrupt enterprise?
• To what extent does the discipline revolve around the issue of conflict?
• How does one make collective decisions in a complex society? How does
one distribute the resources of that society?

Harold Lasswell (1936)
• Politics can be understood as the mechanism used to determine “who
gets what, when, how”


The Inevitability of Politics
• is conflict and politics inevitable?
• Karl Marx claims that politics is “merely the organized power of one class
for oppressing another”
• To eliminate the basis for classes is to eliminate the need for
politics
• Francis Fukuyama’s “end of history” thesis envisions a liberal democratic
triumph that puts an end to ideological conflict

Aristotle’s Classifications of States
Number Ruling Good Form (for the Corrupt Form (for the
benefit of all) benefit of the ruler)
One Monarchy Tyranny
Few Aristocracy Oligarchy
Many Polity Democracy


Power and Authority
• Once a decision is made, how is it enforced?
• Power: the ability to force behavior upon those who would not otherwise
choose it; implies coercion
• Authority: associated with legitimacy; rule by consent of the ruled

Where Does Politics Begin and End?

,• A narrow definition of politics focuses on the institution of the state
• Max Weber: the state has a “monopoly on the legitimate use of
physical force in enforcing its order within a given territorial area”
• The state is sovereign, the highest authority in a society

Politics at Levels Other Than the State
• Ranges from the family to the international community
• Recent interest in politics at the supranational level
• Effects of globalization, such as economic interdependence, increasingly
constrain the “sovereignty” of states


What Kinds of Actions Count as Political?
• Some see politics as the art of negotiating peaceful settlements to conflict
• Others see war and conflict as “politics by other means” (Clausewitz)
• Politics does need to speak about cooperation, compromise, and
consensus
• BUT it also needs to address force, violence, and military conflict

Normative Analysis - ought
• Central focus of discipline prior to the mid-20th century
• Asks value questions such as:
• What is the good life?
• Should we value something?
• How ought we live together?
• Normative judgments are not resolvable by an appeal to empirical facts
(the “is/ought” problem), so how are we to decide between them?
• Stems from problem based theory
• Interested in collective problems
• Interested in individual problems
• Interested in the way they intersect
• Some argue this makes political science unique
• Uses the word ought

Empirical Analysis - is
• Seeks to identify observable phenomena in order to establish what is
rather than what ought to be

,• Emerges in the 1950s with the rise of behaviorism
• Envisions itself as value-neutral or “objective”
• Modeled largely on the hard or natural sciences
• Studies what is tangible

Semantic Analysis
• Focuses on meaning and origin of the concepts used by discipline
• Asks why and how they are used the way they are
• Many of the concepts have no commonly accepted definition and are
“essentially contested”


Three Types of Political Analysis
• Normative: asks value questions
• Empirical: focuses on observable phenomena
• Semantic: concerned with meaning
• The three types do not operate mutually exclusively of the others, and
are instead often implied in each other

, The State, Sovereignty, and State Theory 15-12-17 11:56 AM

Defining the Sovereign State
• Central concept in the study of politics
• Jean Bodin (1529-96): sovereignty is “the most high, absolute, and
perpetual power over the citizens and subjects in a commonwealth”
• Max Weber: the state has a “monopoly on the legitimate use of physical
force in enforcing its order within a given territorial area”
• Must have a population as well

Night-Watchman State
• Sees the role of the state as minimal
• Typically restricted to the provision of security and property rights
• Minimization of state interference to maximize freedom
• Security
• Life, liberty, and threat against property

Interventionist or Developmental State
• Government and private business partner together to concentrate on
rapid economic growth, or on greater social and economic equality
through growth
• Prevalent in East Asia following world war two
• State owned companies

A Typology of the State
• States can also be classified according to how subject the leaders are to
the will of the people:
• Liberal democracy
• Illiberal democracy
• Authoritarian state
• Totalitarian state

Liberal Democracy
• Free and fair elections, universal suffrage, personal liberty and the
protection of individual rights
• Ex. Canada, US, India

Illiberal Democracy

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller alse547. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for CA$11.10. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

56326 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now

Start selling
CA$11.10  2x  sold
  • (1)
Add to cart
Added