PS 210

Shane Stevens

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Political Institutions

One approach is centered on understanding institutions

• Defined as organizations or patterns of activity that are self-perpetuating and valued for their own sake

• Embedded in people’s lives as a norm or value• Not easily dislodged or gotten rid of• Rules, norms, values that give meaning to our

actions

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Why Study Institutions?

Set the stage for political behavior• Generate norms and values• Allow for certain kinds of political activity and

not others• How they are constructed will shape how politics

unfolds• Brings us back to early studies in political science,

but also tries to emphasize explanation, not just description

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Freedom and Equality

Institutions as our approach to studying politics—how structured

Freedom and equality as the basic content of politics—to what end

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Freedom

• Ability of an individual to act independently• No fear of restriction or punishment by state

or other actors

Examples:• Free speech• Free assembly• Other examples?

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Equality

• Shared economic standard within community, society or country

Examples:

• Wages

• Healthcare

• Housing

• Others?

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Matrix of Freedom and Equality

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Reconciling Freedom and Equality

• Can you have both high freedom and equality?

• Why or why not?

• How might one impinge on the other?

• Which is more important? Why?

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Politics, Institutions, Freedom and Equality

• Politics must balance freedom and equality• Politics the struggle over these two values• Institutions reflect our preferences for the

balance between the two• Use this knowledge to make your own

decisions about politics• Which political values do you believe are

the best to pursue?

The State

• Difficult term for most Americans

• Tend to think of local government—this a function of federalism and early confederation

• Instead, we are thinking of centralized authority

Defining the State

• Max Weber: Monopoly of violence over a given territory

• Sovereignty: ability to carry out actions independently of internal/external challengers

• State is thus institution that wields force to ensure order within and resisting threats from without

Are States Just Rackets?

Not unlike organized crime!

• Provide protectionProvide protection

• Demand paymentDemand payment

• Punish violatorsPunish violators

• Adjudicate disputesAdjudicate disputes

• Battle rivalsBattle rivals

States Make Policy

Turning ideas into political practice

• Laws and regulations

• Social welfare

Realizing public goals regarding freedom and equality

States and Regimes

How is a regime different from a state?

• Regimes as the fundamental rules and norms of politics

• Long-term goals regarding freedom and equality

• Where should power reside? How should it be used?

Ways in Which Regimes Differ

• Democratic or authoritarian: How different?

• United States versus Canada: How different?

• Can trace these differences in constitutions, but also in informal practices and rules

Regimes As Institutions

• Often institutionalized

• Not easily changed

• Dramatic events, revolutions or crisis, removal by war: “regime change” (Iraq)

• Sometimes not institutionalized, leader operates as she or he sees fit: “L’Etat, c’est moi” (Louis XIV—”I am the state”)

States and Regimes, Hardware and Software

• States as machinery or computer of politics

• Regimes as political “software,” setting the basic range of actions for the computer

• Each state is “programmed” differently

What Is Government?

• The leadership in charge of running the state

• The operator of the hardware and software!

• May be democratic or undemocratic

• Weakly institutionalized—removed by public, by force, by mortality…

State, Regime, Government

Origins of Political Organization

Where did states come from?

Did not exist for vast majority of human history:

• Tribes

• City-states

• Empires

Now only states rule the earth. Why?

Early Political Organization

• Nomadic groups become sedentary—agriculture

• Creation of surplus, specialization

• Creation of inequality

• Growth in population

• Need to resolve dilemmas of freedom and equality—had not existed before

Emergence of Political Organization

Development of societies required political organization

• Make and enforce rules

• Protect citizens

• Set collective goals

Consensus or Coercion?

Is political organization the result of public consensus (bottom-up) or elite coercion (top-down)?

• Consensus: social contract between rulers and ruled (Hobbes)

• Coercion: those few with political power force their rule onto others (Marx)

• Both are true, depending on time and place

From Complex Organization to The State

Mentioned the diversity of political organizations

A thousand years ago, there were no states!

Arose in Europe in Middle Ages. Why?

Collapse of Roman Empire

• Europe fragmented into many rival territories

• No central authority

• Decline of basic institutions, political, economic, social

• “Dark Ages,” 500-1000 C.E

Europe, Twelfth Century CE

Dark Ages and Political Change

• Hypercompetitive environment

• Constant warfare, rapid organization evolution

• Small states emerge as warlords consolidate territory

• Also shaped by geography—hard to unify Europe (unlike China)

The Advantages of States

• Encouraged economic development as way to gain revenue, fight rivals

• Encouraged technological innovation or application for same reason—gunpowder, cartography

• Homogenization of peoples within territories—common language, customs, identity (a nation)

European States Expand Outward

• Remove rivals in Europe (such as Catholic Church

• Begin to voyage outside of Europe for new markets and resources

• Creation of empires across globe

• Even after end of empire, former colonies themselves become states

Comparing State Power

How do we compare and evaluate states?

• Forms of legitimacy

• Relative centralization of power

Legitimacy

Defined as a value where someone or something is recognized or accepted as right and proper

• Confers authority• Confers power• Legitimate behavior is seen as “right thing

to do”. Taxes?• Consensus over coercion.

Forms of Legitimacy

According to Max Weber:

• Traditional

• Charismatic

• Rational-Legal

Traditional Legitimacy

• Valid because “it has always been done this way”.• Accepted over a long period of time• Historical myths and legends• Continuity between past and present• Example: Monarchy. • Highly institutionalized

Charismatic Legitimacy

• Opposite of traditional

• Charisma as the force of ideas

• Embodied in a single individual

• Example: Hitler, Martin Luther King

• Weakly institutionalized

Rational-Legal Legitimacy

• Based not on rituals or force of ideas• Based on laws, procedures• Rules are key—how did someone come into

power?• Example: George Bush, though some might

contest this! Bumper Sticker: “He’s not my president” Questioning election process

• Strongly institutionalized

Centralization/Decentralization

How much power does a state have, and where does that power reside?

• Federalism/unitary

• Strong/weak/failed states

Federalism Versus Unitary States

• Federalism: significant powers devolved to the local level by constitution, not easily taken away.

• Examples of powers: Taxes, education, security (local police, militia

• Examples of federal states: United States, Germany, Russia, Canada, Mexico

Unitary States

• Power resides with central government

• Can devolve powers to local level, but also take them away if it chooses

• Examples of unitary states: Britain, Japan, France, Sweden

Strong Versus Weak States

• Strong states are able to carry out basic tasks expected of them: security, public policy, basic goods and services

• Weak states less able to fulfill tasks, and may face rivals (organized crime, guerrilla movements, other states)

• Failed states have lost most of their ability to monopolize force and provide services

Another Cut: Capacity and Autonomy

• Capacity: The ability of states to get things done. Fulfill tasks

• Autonomy: ability to act free from direct public interference. Act on their behalf, not at their behest

• Too high autonomy and capacity leads to authoritarianism; too low, to state failure

• Both depend on the issue at hand—might have autonomy or capacity in one area, not another.

Weak or Strong State?

US?

• Capacity: high or low? Examples?

• Autonomy: high or low? Examples?

China?

• Capacity: high or low? Examples?

• Autonomy: high or low? Examples?