The Political Dimension of Europe
Semester 1, Term 2
2017-2018
List of Concepts
(concepts with * are found in the Heywood dictionary)
Week 1
Politics
From the Greek “politika”: affairs of the city or “polis”.
Politics in its broadest sense, is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend
the general rules under which they live.
Politics is inextricably linked to the phenomena of conflict and co-operation. The heart of
politics is often portrayed as a process of conflict resolution, in which rival views or
competing interests are reconciled with each other. However, politics in this broad sense is
better thought of as a search for conflict resolution rather than its achievement, as not all
conflicts are, on can be, resolved.
Politics is about
Conflict and cooperation
The process of resolving conflicts in which rival views and competing interests are
reconciled because “we are not all alike” and “there is never enough to go round”.
The public sphere of the state
struggle for power and leadership that gives an individual or a group the ability to make
authoritative decisions for the public as a whole, for society.
Pursuit and exercise of power
It provides the focus for understanding the production, distribution and use of resources.
Who gets what, when, how, why and where?
State
A state is
A geographic territory with internationally recognized boundaries,
An identifiable population that lives within these boundaries,
A recognized government.
All states have sovereignty: The ability to act within a territory, independently from internal
or external rivals.
- Internal: supreme authority domestically
- External: independence internationally
,What does the state do?
1. Protects its territory and the population within it,
- Max Weber: “monopoly of legitimate violence.” Important phrase!
- An internal part of what the state does. The state provides a security through the
monopoly of legitimate violence. The state (police) is the only one entitled to use
violence. The law reflects the will of the people, thus the state is the only one that the
people give the power to use violence.
2. Provides “collective goods”, has institutions that help society function (laws,
regulation, taxation, infrastructure).
Collective goods
Healthcare
Infrastructure
(Legal system)
Education
Money
States differ based on:
1. Territorial organization
Unitary: most power at the national level, little regional authority
France
Spain (has federal aspects: Catalonia)
United Kingdom
Federal: significant power given to regional bodies by constitution. In Federal states,
regional states have their own structure of power.
Germany
United States of America
Russia
, 2. Strength (What makes a state strong or weak?)
Size:
- Geographic spread
- Population (Ex: China versus Monaco)
Strength of the economy:
- Germany versus Slovenia
Military might:
- USA versus Iraq
Robustness of state institutions:
- Extent to which they can withstand pressure from society and they can effectively
implement decisions. Russia vs. USA
- Operate / disconnect with society: are they controlled by society or can they operate
outside of pressure of society; if a country can operate on its own it is considered a
strong state
Legitimacy:
- “right to rule” - consent to rule on the part of the people. Ex: lack of legitimacy:
communist regimes in EE and USSR
Government
Government: leadership that runs the state.
To govern, in its broadest sense, is to rule or exercise control over others. Government can
therefore be taken to include any mechanism through which ordered rule is maintained, its
central features being the ability to make collective decisions and the capacity to enforce
them.
A form of government can be identified in almost all social institutions; schools, families,
businesses, trade unions etc.
However, ‘government’ is more commonly referred to as the formal and institutional
processes that operate, usually at the national level, to maintain order and facilitate collective
action.
In that sense, government is the part of the state that guides and controls, using the
instruments of law and policy.
The core functions of government are to make law (legislation), implement law (execution)
and interpret law (adjustication).
, Sovereignty
Sovereignty: The ability to act within a territory, independently from internal or external
rivals.
- Internal: supreme authority domestically
- External: independence internationally
Sovereignty, in its simplest sense, is the principle of absolute and unlimited power. However,
a distinction is commonly made between legal and political sovereignty.
Legal sovereignty refers to supreme legal authority; an unchallengeable right to demand
compliance, as defined by the law.
Political sovereignty refers to unlimited political power; the ability to command obedience,
which is typically ensured by a monopoly of coercive force.
The term sovereignty is used in two senses, usually understood as internal and external
sovereignty.
- External sovereignty relates to a state’s place in the international order and its
capacity to act as an independent and autonomous entity.
- Internal sovereignty is the notion of a supreme power/authority within the state,
located in the body that makes decisions that are binding on all citizens, groups and
institutions within the state’s territorial boundaries.
Monopoly of legitimate violence
Max Weber: “monopoly of legitimate violence.” Important phrase!
An internal part of what the state does. The state provides a security through the monopoly of
legitimate violence. The state (police) is the only one entitled to use violence. The law
reflects the will of the people; thus, the state is the only one that the people give the power to
use violence.
Collective goods
The state provides “collective goods”, it has institutions that help society function (laws,
regulation, taxation, infrastructure).
Collective goods
Healthcare
Infrastructure
(Legal system)
Education
Money
