PS2 IDs: 1st bunch
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- - Weber’s three types of legitimacy - 2
- o German sociologist Max Weber said that there were three types of legitimacy: traditional: it’s always been that way (monarchies); charismatic: based on gift of grace and power of ideas; rational-legal: based on highly institutionalized system of laws and procedures (modern states) o Monarchies, such as Great Britain, have traditional legitimacy. Leaders such as Nelson Mandela in South Africa and Gandhi in India have charismatic legitimacy. Finally, most modern states have rational-legal legitimacy, including the United States with our elected officials.
- - Ethnic identity - 3
- o Sense of belonging to an ethnic group; Anthony Smith’s six aspects:  Group has to have a name and be recognized as a group to both insiders and outsiders  Believe that they have common ancestry  Have common group stories: struggles, history, downfalls, etc.  Have common culture: dress, music, food, religion, language, customs, etc.  Attachment to a specific territory  Sense of solidarity: union of sympathies, interests, and purpose o Members of many native tribes in Africa have their own ethnic identity, and even if their practices seem the same as another group’s, they still feel that they are separate from anyone else.
- - Institutions - 4
- o Mechanisms of social cooperation that structure human behavior. o The Roman Catholic Church is a religious institution followed world wide. Plus, most aspects of the government are considered institutions, like the IRS. In addition, there are also informal institutions, such as marriage and family, that reflect culture and customs.
- - “Keynesian Revolution†- 5
- o John Maynard Keynes took Adam Smith’s idea about the invisible hand that will regulate the economy, and completely nullified it. He says that the influence of the state is needed to get the economy going, especially after hard times. o After the Great Depression, private businesses wouldn’t create jobs for people, since it would only drag them further into debt. The US government was needed to intervene and use public works projects to give people jobs, and in turn money to put back into the market again, so that the economy could pick back up.
- - Import-substitution industrialization - 6
- o The process of industrializing the factories within your own country, so as to spend and depend less on importing goods from other countries. In Latin America, many countries turned to ISI when it became difficult to import industrialized goods after the Great Depression. This plan seemed to work for a while, but the Latin American countries did have to import the machinery and tools to industrialize their own countries first. Eventually, though, ISI wasn’t very successful for Latin America.
- - The “Asian Tigers†- 7
- o This is the nickname for four countries (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan) who, from the 1960s-1990s, experienced major economic growth through the new model of export-oriented industrialization. There was increased growth and decreased inequality. This growth was possibly brought about by free trade, a strong and autonomous state, and their culture (Confucianism). Eventually, though, the countries started failing and declaring bankruptcy, starting with Thailand, because the asset price bubble burst. o The success of the Asian Tigers caused many Latin American countries to switch to EOI as their method of industrializing. Plus, it also caused many lenders to think that African countries should be doing better, because if these Asian countries could have that success, then anyone could.
- - Sultanistic Regime - 8
- o This regime type is characterized by unrestrained personal rule, with loyalty inspired by fear. It is very unpredictable, since everything is based off of the whims of leader. Plus, any elections there might be are a sham, and there is no political pluralism. o The Dominican Republic under the dictator Trujillo was a sultanistic regime, as Trujillo had complete power and did with it whatever he wanted.
- - “Maximalist†definition of democracy - 9
- o The maximalist definition includes Dahl’s procedural minimum (democracy requires free and fair elections, plus protection of civil liberties) and the expanded procedural minimum (which adds the need for effective power to govern) and adds even more. This definition states that accountability participation and social equality are also needed for a state to actually be a democracy. o Smith states that if people can’t actively participate in the democratic process, then it isn’t a true democracy. Bollen, meanwhile, says the power of non-elites must be maximized, giving a voice to the voiceless. o Since this definition is more precise, it limits which countries could fit into the democratic title. For instance, it could be argued that Afghanistan is in no way a democracy, since their country doesn’t have the greatest social equality.
- - Transition by collapse - 9
- o Occurs when the leaders have no options and are pretty much just forced to give up power, plus they don’t have any control over who is going to govern after them. This generally results in an unstable democracy. o In Argentina, everyone was against the government because of the human rights abuses that had occurred, so the government reacted by repressing the people. Then, they tried to unify the country through war (against the British to take back the Falkland Islands), which they lost anyway, and as a result lost their hold on the country.
- - Catch-All Parties - 10
- o These parties were formed when they no longer needed funding from electorate, so they just sought support in elections. They are very centrist and moderate in order to appeal to more people, but they don’t have as stable an electoral base. (Duverger’s Law: States that plurality will favor a two-party system, while proportional representation has conditions that favor multiple parties. In plurality, party ideology will become increasingly moderate and centrist in order to appeal to a larger electoral base.) o In the United States, the Democrat Party has liberal, moderate, and conservative wings, in order to appeal to more people. On the other hand, their policies are becoming increasingly similar to those of the Republican Party, as their views become more and more centrist.
- - Civil society – 11/12
- o A broad sphere of organizations, apart from private individuals, the market, or the state, that includes civic groups, political parties, interest groups for business/religious purposes, occupational groups, and think tanks and mass media. These organizations can influence political parties and politicians in favor of their own interests. o A civic group such as a neighborhood watch committee might lobby the local branch of government for streetlamps or better lighting in the area; this would be how their group is working in favor of their own interests.
- - Social movement – 11/12
- o Political scientist Sidney Tarrow defined a social movement as a group of ordinary people, possibly joined by more influential citizens, that engages in sustained confrontations with authority in order to achieve social change. o The American Civil Rights Movement is just one example of a social movement. African-Americans engaged in multiple sustained confrontations with authority, from boycotts to freedom rides, and eventually found success with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
- - Fascism - 13
- o Fascism is a nationalist utopian ideology with strong national identity to defeat threats to prosperity, as well as a glorification of war. It stresses four things: a single party state, a socialist economic system, corporatist social relations, and the natural superiority of a particular group. o Originating as a subset of Marx’s totalitarianism, fascism became the dominant regime in Soviet Russia through Lenin.
- - Gorbachev - 13
- o Khruschev’s successor, he tried to fix the corruption and inefficiency in Soviet Russia. Using glasnost (transparency) and perestroika (restructuring), Gorbachev tried to make the public aware and more involved instead of just passive. It didn’t really work, and the Soviet Union collapsed.
- - Muslim Democrats - 14
- o The majority of Muslims have no problem with democracy, and even admire the political freedoms of the West, though they also don’t see separation of church and state as necessary. o Some states, like Morocco, are democracies, but the king has the complete last word and can veto anything; makes it a delegative democracy: vertical accountability, but no horizontal accountability.
- - Three reasons why the rule of law is important - 15
- o It makes the actions of the government predictable, increasing their legitimacy. It helps make the market economy more trustworthy, and in turn helping economic development. It is necessary if countries want to implement international agreements that they enter into. o The rule of law legitimizes governments and helps with economic development. The rule of law helped countries to agree upon and work towards the Millennium Development Goals, as an international agreement.
- - “Boomerang†theory of transnational activism
- o A local group might put pressure on local politicians, but sometimes the politicians don’t need that support, and so they aren’t going to respond to that pressure. It might be more successful to turn to an international organization to help to bring the issue to light on an international level and to lobby on your behalf. o In Brazil, the favelas of Rio de Janeiro are working with international organizations in an attempt to bring their current situation to the attention of politicians who don’t require the favelas’ support.
- - Interest intermediation
- o It is the process of bringing the interests of ordinary people to the attention of those with the ability to address those interests in the political arena, as in elected officials and policymakers. o Traditionally, parties and unions have acted as interest intermediators. However, as parties and unions are less effective in this role due to programmatic and coalitional challenges, other organizations (such as NGOs, social movements, and neighborhood organizations) are seeking to act as interest intermediators.
- - Correlation vs. causation - 1
- o Correlation: two events occur together, and as one variable changes, another does simultaneously, predictably; causation: one action causes that of another: a change in one variable changes another.
- - Marx’s original vision - 13
- o Marx said that the working class, as they grew larger and more repressed, would revolt against the bourgeoisie, and a Communist workers’ utopia would ensue. There would be no social classes, no private property, no government (there’s no need), and everyone would work. (To each according from his need, from each according to his ability).
- - Three of O’Donnell’s “flaws†in the rule of law - 15
- o It must be possible to follow (not too dense or complex); laws might not be equally applied in practice (powerful society members not having to follow the laws the same as others; no one is above the law); the people must have access to the law, through courts and state agencies