Political Science Summary
Lectures - Book - Additional summary
Lecture Slides
Lecture 1
Key subjects in politics are:
- Political concepts
Politics, power, state, government, political regime, democracy, autocracy.
- Political institutions
Democratic models, legislatures, executives, elections, sub-national government.
- Political actors and behaviors
Voters, political parties, political ideologies, political participation, political culture.
- Political outcomes
Quality of government, good governance.
Political science is the study of government, public policies and political processes, systems
and political behavior.
This was the master science according to Aristotle.
Politics is the process by which people negotiate and compete to reach and enforce collective
decisions.
Concept versus Conception
A term, idea or category such as A broader understanding or interpretation of a concept.
power or democracy.
2 approaches on what politics is:
1. Politics as an arena: behavior becomes political because of where it takes place.
- Art of government.
- Public affairs (divide public and private).
2. Politics as a process: behavior becomes political because of distinctive qualities.
- Politics as compromise and consensus.
- Politics as power.
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,Politics as conflict and compromise
- Politics is exciting because people disagree.
- Conflict and cooperation
- Conflict and resolution
- There is diversity and scarcity
- Politics is a social activity
Politics as power
- Politics is who gets what, when and how? (Harold Lasswell)
- Study of shaping and sharing power.
Power is the capacity to bring about intended effects.
Sources of power can be:
- Political/legal
- Economic
- Physical
- Information
- Social norms
- Personal
- Numbers
6 approaches to study politics (i’s):
1. Institutions - institutional approach
A historical approach about discipline. In this approach, the positions are more important that
the people in those positions. Institutions make the rules and are the pillars of society.
2. Individuals - behavioral approach
Individuals are more important that institutions. This is about generalisation and uses
techniques from the social sciences. It is very objective.
Criticism: It uses too much science and too little politics.
3. Interests - rational-choice approach
Is about rationality and self-interest. It supports ahistorical economics and is based on the
universal model of human behavior.
Criticism: The Collective Problem: Self-interest leads to a bad collective outcome.
People are not always rational beings.
4. Interrelations of groups - structural approach
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,About the interrelations between social groups. It fixes the problem from the individual
approach, and is easy for changements. Groups are more important than individuals and social
structure and relationships make a society. Comes from the comparative history methodology.
5. Influence of societal cultural values - cultural approach
Cultural norms and actions influence politics. This supports multiculturalism.
Criticism: It gives off a sense of stereotyping and ethnocentrism.
6. Ideas - interpretive approach
Structures in human behavior comes from shared ideas and views. This is a social approach
that puts the meaning of things above the law.
Criticism: This is more an aspiration than a prestation.
Lecture 2
Power to
The capacity to bring about intended effects; ability to achieve goals.
Power over
Forceful mode of influence; focusses more on relationships.
The ability to influence or force others to do something that they would not otherwise have done.
3 dimensions of power
- Power as decision-making
Who prevails when preferences conflict?
- Power as agenda setting
Who controls whether preferences are expressed?
- Power as thought control
Who shapes preferences?
Political power is the ability held by individuals and groups in a society that allows them to
create and enforce laws and policies for the community.
4 elements of political power / interconnected concepts
- Power
The ability to bring about intended effects.
- Authority
The right to exercise power and influence of a particular position that comes with that position.
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, - Legitimacy
Citizens believe that the power-holders have the right to exercise power and authority.
- Jurisdiction (sovereignty)
The territory or sphere of activity over which the legal authority of power extends.
Typology of political power
- Legislative
The power to make laws and policies
- Executive
The power to put plans, policies or laws into effect and enforce them
- Judiciary
The power to interpret laws and punish who breaks them
Typology on how to get political power
- Heredity
Power and authority is passed on to one who is a member of the family.
- Affiliation
Power and authority is passed among members of a group/ party.
- Election
Power-holders are chosen by an electoral process.
State
A territory containing a population and marked by borders, having the legal and political
authority known as government, that is regarded as both sovereign by the citizens of the state
and the government of other states.
People/ citizens are a mass of population living within the state.
Territory is a fixed portion of the surface of the earth inhabited by the people of the state.
Government is managing authority through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed
and carried out. (With constitutions for collective decisions)
Sovereignty is the supreme source of authority of the state to command and enforce obedience
(internal sovereignty); which is recognized by other states (external sovereignty).
Citizen is a full member of a state, entitled to the rights and subject to duties associated with
that state.
Nation is the term interchangeably with state, country, ethnic group, race.
- Cultural groups
- Political groups
Nationalism is self-determination
- Cultural nationalism
- Political nationalism
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