STUDENT NOTES 2

INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS

GLOBALIZATION

• Intensification of worldwide interconnectedness (interdependence) of economies, political systems, and societies on a GLOBAL scale

• Associated with speed and magnitude of cross-border flows of trade, investment and finance, processes of migration, cultural diffusion, and communication

• Economic, political, social

CASE STUDY: MEXICO

• Economic globalization– NAFTA – bilateral trade agreement with

United States and Canada– Economic liberalization – minimizing

government intervention for private enterprise

• Social globalization– Backlash – indigenous population

(CHIAPAS) protest negative effects

II. Sovereignty, Authority, Power• SOVEREIGNTY: The ability to

carry out actions independent of internal or external actors

• Rests with those who have ultimate right to make political decisions

II. Sovereignty, Authority, Power• Government is the leadership or the

elite in charge of running the state.–Organizations of individuals who have

the power to make binding decisions–Operators of politics–Weakly institutionalized – not seen as

irreplaceable• THINK: Government are the people,

politics is the process by which they make decisions.

II. Sovereignty, Authority, Power

• Governments may be democratically elected or it may be ruled by dictators.

• However they are structured, each government holds its own ideas about freedom and equality and uses the state to realize these ideas.

• Governments are less institutionalized than states or regimes because they may come and go, whereas, states and regimes tend to have more staying power.

II. Sovereignty, Authority, Power• A State is a political system that has

sovereignty over a population in a particular territory, based on the recognized right to self-determination. It is one of the most basic units of study in comparative politics.

• Early-forming states tend to be more economically developed and peaceful while late-forming states tend to be less economically developed and have yet to consolidate their sovereignty

II. Sovereignty, Authority, Power

• Regimes are the fundamental rules and norms of politics.

• Stems from regimen – guidance, rules

• Regimes can be institutions and/or individuals.

– Examples of changes in regimes: • French Revolution overthrowing the monarchy• South Africans overthrowing apartheid white rule• Louis XIV “I am the state”• Iraq and Saddam Hussein.

INSTITUTIONS• Executive, legislative, judiciary, and

bureaucracy• Organizations that are self-

perpetuating and are intrinsically valued

• The US has a democratic regime in which the people are sovereign but give authority to levels of government – the government are the people in charge of the regime, implementing the rules. Institutions can be thought of as procedures and tools used to support the regime in a state.

“The state is the machinery of politics and the regime is its programming, the government is the operator."

Benwari Singh

I like this slide - I think I will steal it.

POLITICS

• The struggle in any group for power that will give a person or people the ability to make decisions for the larger group

REVOLUTION

• Uprising of the MASSES• Usually followed by fundamental

change

COUP D’ETAT

• Conducted by MILITARY forces• Few individuals• Often leads to military rule

LEGITIMACY

• Acceptance of the government’s right to rule

• The popular and voluntary acceptance of an authority

• Usually a blend of three types of legitimacy

TRADITIONAL LEGITIMACY

• The way its always been• Rooted in tradition, historical myths

and legends

CHARISMATIC LEGITIMACY

• Legitimacy based on the power of ideas and the ability to sell those ideas

RATIONAL-LEGAL LEGITIMACY

• Legitimacy based on the rule of law

Constitution

• A supreme law that defines the structure of a nation-state’s regime and the legal processes governments must follow

• When followed, this establishes rule of law

• Needn’t be one document• Contains a set of decision rules

Rule of Law

• A governance system operating predictably under a known and transparent set of procedural rules (laws)

• Also know as, constitutionalism• In all disputes, no matter how

important or influential the person is, “the piece of paper wins!”

II. Sovereignty, Authority, Power

• Nation: Refers to a reasonably large group of people with a common culture that occupy a particular territory

• Bound by unity arising from shared beliefs and customs (religion, language, values, institutions)

NATIONALISM

• Pride in one’s people and the belief that they have a unique political destiny

II. Sovereignty, Authority, Power

• Some NATIONS do not have STATES– Can you provide an example? – Nation-state: territory of a state is

occupied by only one distinct nation or people

– Japan, Poland, Denmark