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Politics final exam summary
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Preparation for POL lecture Feb 3, 2019Chapter 1 – Introduction
What can political science tell us that we don´t already know?
Unexpected political changes that do not correspond to expected patterns, such as
liberalisation of USSR being unexpected and expected democratisation of the middle east
o Arab spring also unexpected but with small start and huge impact
Thus many questions unanswered
Learning objectives: methods of political scientists to understand politics, can comparative politics be
more scientific and predict outcomes?, role and importance of political institutions in political life,
compare freedom and equality
No pattern and prediction has been proven by now
Comparative politics crucial and focuses on domestic issues mostly
Following: basic structures and concepts as
o Analytical concepts: assumptions and theories guiding our research
o Methods: ways of studying and testing theories
o Ideals: belief and values for preferred outcomes
What is comparative politics?
Politics as struggle for power in any group that will give persons the ability to decide for
the larger group
o Can also refer to a non-political group
o Crucial: power: ability to influence others and to impose one´s own will on others
o Politics as competition for public power
Comparative politics compares the pursuit of power across countries
o Questioning assumptions and challenging and informing ideals
The comparative method
Comparative method with criteria and guiding necessary to compare cases for solutions
Close inquiry to explain and answer questions
Inductive reasoning: first examining and then based on that drawing a conclusion from that
o The hypothesis then must be tested in other countries on whether it holds there
Deductive reasoning: start with a puzzle and a hypothesis and then testing that hypothesis
against other cases
Result:
o Correlation: apparent association
o Causal relationship: finding cause and effect
Outcomes of inductive and deductive reasoning to can help explain and in ideal cases even
predict political outcomes
Many different challenges in reasoning in comparative politics
o Each case is different due to different variables and thus comparing is difficult:
difference between correlation and causal relationship
o Variables are uncontrollable and not all are accountable; thus many diverse cases,
but hard to compare
Multicausality: particular outcomes for many variables
1
, o Limited number of cases
o Limited access to information due to many different reasons (political, logistical,
financial, …)
o Too narrow focus of researchers which might inhibit reasoning
Also concerning entire regions
Regional bias
o Selection bias: Biases in choice of cases, especially as random samples are
impossible
This also includes not examining all the examples of the dependant or the
independent variable
o Distinguishing cause and effect: endogeneity
Can we make a science of comparative politics?
Theory: integrated set of hypotheses, assumptions and facts
Many different issues as well as own concerns about being a science drives political science
Political science has a long pedigree
o For a long time focus on ideals
o More pragmatism only with Machiavelli
o Idea of politics as rational, rigorous science
Later more and more political science and retreat from religion and philosophy
o Often synthesis of political ideals and systematic study
Later more drive towards a rigorous political science
o With science seen as being able to solve all problems
o Mostly conservative: democracy and liberalism as goals: modernisation theory
Behavioural revolution with a focus on individual behavior as pattern, ideal of a grand
theory
o Deductive reasoning promoted
Behavioralism and modernisation theory aimed at improving political science and studying
politics for certain policy outcomes
Lack of breakthrough led to a lack of confidence in political science becoming a rigorous
science
With postcolonialism criticism against modernisation theory: served political will of the USA
Lack of consensus
Research methods
Field of conflict: methodology
Qualitative study: narrow, but deep
o Mostly narrow and single focus
o Typically inductive
o Criticism: lack of rigorous data examination and lack of testing of hypotheses
Quantitative study:
o Wider use of cases and use of statistics and mathematics
o Mostly Use of deductive reasoning
o Rely on numerically quantifiable measures
o Criticism: important questions are easily avoided
Theory
related with individuals behavior
rational choice theory or game theory
o associated with quantitative methods
2
, o criticism: western/American assunptions
still often lack of ability to predict
sloppy and good research however possible both with deductive and inductive reasoning and
with qualitative and quantitative studies
o optimism about use of hybrids
political science as scientific and in touch with people
try to reach people and empower
A guiding concept: political institutions
institutions as organisations or patterns of activity that are self-perpetuating and valued
for their own sake
o Command legitimacy and embody rules, norms and values that give meaning to
activities
o Institutions are defended and contribute to identity
o Institutions as crucial to comparative politics
o E.g.: national sports, buildings, ideals like democracy, …
Formal institutions based on officially sanctioned rules
Informal institutions: unwritten and unofficial, but also powerful
Combination is possible
Changes and elimination are very difficult
o Even in society
o But that also makes necessary changes difficult
o Persistent
o Institutions might decline in the face of alternatives
Politics full of institutions: taxation, army, …
o Successful when people believe it is a rightful thing to do
Institutions crucial as they only allow for political activity
o Institutions influence political activity
Used to be a regular focus
o But then more on actors and strategies, less the institutions themselves
Institutions as results and causes of politics
Use as methods of gaining a sense of political landscapes
A guiding ideal: reconciling freedom and equality
Core debate about what people fight for: freedom and equality
Freedom: individuals ability to act independently without fear of restrictions and
punishment
o Connotation: autonomy
o With free speech, freedom of assembly
Equality: refers to material standard of shared by a group
Both often seen in terms of justice and injustice
Both interrelated
o Both can come at the expense of each other or can support each other (no zero-sum
game)
o Both concepts contingent
o Reconciliation is crucial
In sum: Looking ahead and thinking carefully
3
, Politics as pursuit of power
Comparative politics: examines pursuit of power around the world
o Focus on research, explaining politics and predicting changes
Prediction almost impossible
Comparativists needed due to the last dramatic changes
Institutions crucial for examination
Competition between freedom and equality
Theories:
o Hedgehogs: theory and contradicting facts rejected
o foxes: adaptations and changes more common
dropping assumptions and analyse and think
Institutions in action: Can we make a science of politics?
Macro-level approach to human nature: biology shapes partly the view on institutions; larger patterns
Micro-level: focus on cognition and subconscious
Tetlock: hedgehogs look for an explanation and reject contradicting factors and foxes are less
confident and adapt
POL Lecture Feb 3, 2020
What is politics? – about this course
different from IR
use of blackboard
lectures and tutorials
focused on different regions; mostly focused on the west as key
textbook: essentials of comparative politics
focus on state – nation – diversity and democracy – authoritarianism
more and more difficult differentiation between democracy and authoritarianism:
hybrid/illiberal regimes
goal: develop a critical, comparative approach to the study of politics of the regions of
choice; elaborated in tutorials and area courses
o no country can do politics/have a political system in isolation: interdependency
o other goal: comparing between global political phenomena and regional and national
specificities
course overview
Week 1: What is Politics, what is Political Science?
Week 2: Political Philosophy
o Norms, values and governance
Week 3: States as most important institutions in IR and Comparative Politics (CP)
o Too much state is harmful, but no state is the worst case for human rights
Week 4: Nations and Society
o Thatcher: There is not such thing as society
o Nation and state as equivalent in USA; here difference between nation (collective;
culture? Biological features? Citizenship?) and state (government and institutions)
Week 5: Youth and Social Change
Week 6: Developing Countries
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