1. Dr. Tabakian’s Political Science 2
Modern World Governments – Fall 2012
Power Point Presentation – September 4th & September 6th
2. COURSE LECTURE TOPICS
This Week’s Lecture Covers:
•Why And How We Compare
•Most Similar Systems & Most Different Systems
•Political System Formation
Political Systems & Their Environments
Structures & Functions
Policy Performance & Consequences
•Approaches To Comparing
Rational
Structural-Functionalism
Cultural
3. COURSE LECTURE: WEEK #2 (2)
•The Policy Level
Performance
Outcome
Education
•Globalization
World Capitalist Economy
Power Of Technology
Interdependency & Peaceful Relations
•International Relations Versus Comparative Politics
Future Of Comparative Politics
Future Of International Relations
Will Both Schools Merge?
4. COURSE LECTURE: WEEK #2 (3)
Reading Assignments For Week #2
•Textbook: “Comparative Politics Today”
Chapter 2 From “Comparative Politics Today”
Review Key Terms For Chapter 2
•Course Pack Article:
“The Future In Comparative Politics” By: Robert H.
Bates
7. WHY WE COMPARE
We compare to accomplish the following:
1. Compare to control. This is done in order to see if our
claims hold merit. Our arguments may be about social,
political, or economic phenomena.
2. To understand and explain. Understanding means
one is interested primarily on one case. The
researcher will draw from various cases and theories
to learn more about the case of interest. Explaining
requires comparison while understanding that the
world is not a controlled laboratory. Theories help us
on our quest for truth.
8. HOW WE COMPARE: MSS & MDS
The two basic comparative strategies are called
the Most Similar Systems (MSS) and Most
Different Systems (MDS) Design.
•MSS: Find key differences between two similar
systems.
•MDS: Find key similarities between two or more
dissimilar systems.
9. MOST SIMILAR SYSTEMS DESIGN (1)
MOST SIMILAR SYSTEMS (MSS) is based on
comparing two or more social systems that are
similar. It is important to understand that
researchers must compare two more systems
that possess a large number of commonalities,
but also differ in some areas. At least two of the
cases should possess an independent variable
and dependent variable that are different.
10. MOST SIMILAR SYSTEMS DESIGN (2)
Dependent Versus Independent Variables
Independent variables affect the dependent
variable or the outcome itself. Let us look at this
statement: “Democracy can only take root in
capitalist societies”.
Dependent Variable: Democracy.
Independent Variable: Capitalist Societies.
11. MOST DIFFERENT SYSTEMS DESIGN
MOST DIFFERENT SYSTEMS
The key difference between MDS and MSS is that
in an MDS design, the dependent variable should
be the same for all chosen cases. Identify the
different independent variable(s) to make your
case. Theory comes in very handy when
summing up your arguments.
12. POLITICAL SYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENT AND INTERDEPENDENCE (1)
• To utilize a structural-functional systems framework to
compare political systems we need to discuss three
general concepts:
– System: suggests an object having interdependent
parts, acting within a setting or an environment
– Structure
– Function
• Political system: a set of institutions and agencies
concerned with formulating and implementing the
collective goals of a society or of groups within it.
13.
14. POLITICAL SYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENT AND INTERDEPENDENCE (2)
• Governments are the policymaking parts of political systems.
– Decisions of governments are normally backed up by legitimate
coercion; obedience may be compelled.
• A political system exists in both an international environment and a
domestic environment.
• A system receives inputs from these environments.
– International
• Exchanges among countries may vary in many ways: small
to great.
• Interdependence has increased enormously in the last
decades.
– Globalization
– Domestic
• Economic and social systems
• Political culture of its citizens
15. POLITICAL SYSTEMS
STRUCTURES AND FUNCTIONS (1)
• Structures: parliaments, bureaucracies, administrative agencies, and
courts
• Structures perform functions, which in turn enable the government to
formulate, implement, and enforce its policies.
– Policies reflect the goals; the agencies provide the means.
– Six types of political structures: political parties, interest groups,
legislatures, executives, bureaucracies, and courts.
• Formal organizations engaged in political activities.
• Some structures, such as ruling military councils or governing
royal families, are found in only a few countries.
• Similar structures may have very different functions across
political systems.
– Example: China and Britain
16.
17.
18. POLITICAL SYSTEMS
STRUCTURES AND FUNCTIONS (2)
• Three additional functions which are not directly involved in making
and implementing public policy - socialization, recruitment, and
communication, are fundamentally important.
• These are SYSTEM functions.
– They determine whether or not the system will be maintained or
changed.
• Political socialization: involves families, schools,
communications media, churches, and all the various political
structures that develop, reinforce and transform the political
culture, the attitudes of political significance in the society
• Political recruitment: refers to the selection of people for
political activity and government offices
• Political communication: refers to the flow of information
through the society and through the various structures that
make up the political system
19. POLITICAL SYSTEMS
STRUCTURES AND FUNCTIONS (3)
• Outputs = the implementations of the political process.
– Substantive impacts on the society, the economy, and the
culture
– Regulation of behavior; extraction of resources;
distribution of benefits and services
– Reflect the way the policies interact with the domestic
and international environments
• Example of structures and functions in Russia before and
after the breakdown of communist rule in the Soviet Union
– Approach - structural functional comparison
• Allows us to examine how the same functions are
performed in different countries, or in the same
country at two different points in time
20. POLITICAL SYSTEMS
STRUCTURES AND FUNCTIONS (4)
• Process functions are performed by political structures.
• The structural-functional approach stresses two points:
– In different countries, the same structure may perform
different functions.
– While a particular institution may have a special
relationship to a particular function, institutions often
do not have a monopoly on any one function.
• Ex: Presidents and governors may share in the
policy-making function (veto powers), as do the
higher courts (judicial review).
21. RATIONAL CHOICE (1)
Rational Choice Analysis: This theory argues that self-interests
guides all behavior, which involved conducting a cost benefit
analysis. Individuals weigh the cost along with the benefits and
then decide to pursue something if the benefits outweigh the
costs. If we assume that everyone basis their actions on self-
interest then we have to come to terms with situations
involving actions that are not beneficial. This depends on the
quality of information one has been able to accrue.
22. RATIONAL CHOICE (2)
Decision makers rarely have access to perfect information, as
they simply don’t possess viable access to the information
required to make a rational decision. This includes a lack of
experience, limited data, lack of education, inability to assess
actions of others, lack of knowing future developments, or
even just bad luck. Strategic interaction also comes into play,
which is the implication that indecisions made by one
individual is made according to decisions made by others,
which leads us to game theory. Prisoner’s dilemma is one
aspect of strategic interaction.
23. STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM
Structural-Functionalism: This theory utilizes micro-
interpretation to suggest that given the issue, individuals may
unite temporarily to defend its interests. Structural-
functionalism helps to explain how political leaders can deal
with citizen demands that are hard to fulfill. Instead of
providing the actual goods sought, political leaders may instill
loyalty based on symbolic or cultural goods. The structural-
functional approach maintains two points:
1. In different countries, the same structure may perform
different functions.
2. Absolute power is impossible and no one institution, or
individual entity, no matter how powerful, may be able to
control all facets in society.
24. CULTURAL APPROACHES
Cultural Approaches: This theory is likely to accept the
arguments of rational choice or structural analysis as both are
seen as helping to construct societal norms. Culturalism
begins with the premise that culture matters in any
explanation. It is important not to state grand assumptions
when using culture as a variable. For example, statements like
“Muslim countries are resistant to democracy,” or
“Confucianism helps explain capitalist development in East
Asia” are not appropriate. The problem with these claims is
that it generalizes culture as clear-cut, uniform, and basically
static. The majority of Culturalists would argue today that
culture is multi-vocal and multidimensional.
25. STATE INTERDEPENDENCY (1)
Societal interdependence addresses situation in which events
within one society affect events in another. Government
involvement in instigating these events does not have to take
place for this to occur. Transnational relations helps to
encourage interdependency between states. States
interdependent on one another presents each with economic
and political trade-offs, whereas gains in one may lead to the
weakening of another. One may argue that an interdependent
world of liberal-democratic states can at some point in time
lead to world peace. Adopting current rules of the game, even
among nation-states that may not be democratic, does present
a situation where the success and or survival of one country is
dependent on the success and or survival of its peer.
26. STATE INTERDEPENDENCY (2)
Societal and economic interdependence can interlink
the domestic policies of two nation-state. Take the
example of Canada and the United States. The high
degree of societal interdependence assures that
Canada will be strongly affected by American
policies. The most powerful nation-state can more
affect the policies of another country interdependent
on its society as this example shows. Underlying
most analyses of world politics and international
organizations is the state-centric approach:
1. Governments are the most significant actors in
world politics.
2. Governments are unified actors.
27. PREVENTING A MAJOR WAR
Interdependent linkages among nation-states
results in the trade of products, services,
ideas, culture, etc. The greatest advantage of
this global trade is not just cheap
merchandise for our people. Many argue we
have not had a major war for over 60 years
thanks to complex interdependency. Some
students may believe that Persian Gulf War I
& 2 is a major war. That is inaccurate, for a
major war results when at least two major
powers attack each other. The result would
be millions dead in less than an hour. Watch
this video presentation of America nuclear
weapon tests. Ask yourself this question,
“Why does the United States not use these
weapons?”
28. GLOBALIZATION (1)
Globalization is a process that seems to create a more unified
world united in a single economic system. Globalization
continues to be cited as a cause for the withering away of the
state. Technology has allowed mankind to realize globalization.
Liberalism and its market-based order continue to be the
primary motivator for technological innovation that in turn has
rendered previous norms obsolete. One can argue that this
constant drive may in time render international strife, conflict
and other assorted calamities obsolete. Liberals would argue
that globalization is a trend toward the transformation of world
politics with states no longer remaining sealed units.
29. GLOBALIZATION (2)
Globalization may be seen as a homogenization process that
equalizes prices, products, wages, wealth, rates of interest
and profit margins. It is a movement that can spark resistance
both within the United States as well as around the world. This
can come from religious fundamentalists, labor unions and
other types of special interest groups. Globalization has so far
only encompassed western countries, Israel and certain Asian
countries like Japan, South Korea and China. Most of the
world has been left out, including Africa, Latin America,
Russia, Middle East and swaths of Asia.
30. GLOBALIZATION (3)
This political piece explores the
effects of globalization. One can
argue that globalization has
extended people’s buying power.
Dollars can be stretched must
further thanks to lower labor
costs found in distant lands. “Big
Box-Mart” argues that cheap
goods does present a serious
side effect. Does the message
relate to your personal belief
about our present global
economy?
31. DEFINING COMPARATIVE POLITICS (1)
Comparative politics inspires students to establish linkages
between international relations with domestic politics.
Structural-functionalist approaches had failed to recognize the
interactions between international and domestic issues.
Comparative politics deals with complex systems issues that
can include comparing capitalism to communism, democracy
to totalitarianism, free markets to planned economies, etc.
Scholars saw many avenues open to comparison from the
1960s to 1970s when comparative analysis started to take
notice. Nothing seemed to be beyond these scholars as they
pursued every conceivable option including democracy,
authoritarianism, Marxism, revolution, corporatism,
totalitarianism, fragmentation, disintegration, and civil war.
32. DEFINING COMPARATIVE POLITICS (2)
Comparing to control is perhaps the major point of interest for
students as it relates to case studies. Control means to test
our hypothesis. An example would be a claim that “Democracy
cannot be imposed on society by an external power.” How do
we know if this is a strong or weak claim? The first thing to do
is look for other cases where democracy has been imposed on
another society. Looking at two cases like Germany and Japan
after World War II reveals that we may need to adjust our main
thesis statement. This is why it is a good idea to look at even
more cases to evaluate the strength of our argument. Though
we cannot ignore any evidence, we can explain why different
results occurred.
33. DEFINING COMPARATIVE POLITICS (3)
Comparative Politics used to be focused mainly on Western
Europe until the Cold War compelled American policymakers
to pay attention to “lesser” countries, regions and former
colonies. The concern was that these countries represented
either future enemies or allies. This concern propelled
American policymakers to learn more about these countries.
Cases are usually based on a specific issue or concern like
industrialization, social revolution, terrorism, democracy, or any
other issue of interest. They are also delimited graphically as
time can be a focal point of analysis.
34. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (1)
International Relations focuses mainly on conflict in the world system
and how to prevent chaos from ensuing by managing power relations
through the use of deterrence. Foreign policy decision makers examine
problems by equating five variables:
(1) the societal and individual values of their state and that of the case
being examined;
(2) their own and the world’s understanding of the problem at hand;
(3) those capabilities available on hand and what the goals of their
nation in correlation to other nations;
(4) the bureaucratic and organizational framework where decisions
affecting foreign affairs are constructed; and
(5) how that individual defines the international system, whether it may
be bipolar, multipolar, classical balance of power, unilateral, etc.
35. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (2)
International relations is like the philosophy of science as both are
defined as, “a symbolic construction, a series of inter-related constructs
or concepts, together with definitions, laws, theorems and axioms.” The
field of study came about following World War I by those who sought to
understand what causes conflict so that the barrage of conflict may not
be repeated again. The field consists of contending theories that some
have argued has not been able to reign uncontested. One can argue that
the field as a whole is wrought with contesting theoretical approaches,
which have yet to achieve recognition as a new paradigm or standing as
a law that all researchers can depend on. Found within the natural
sciences are certain laws retaining equal standing among researchers in
that field. None of the subfields of IR or the entire discipline for that
matter have yet achieved this state. All of the competing theoretical
approaches and methodologies applied in IR depend on each other to
form a nucleus of knowledge that researchers may utilize in different
configurations to strengthen or attack hypotheses.
36. COMPARATIVE JOINING WITH IR?
Domestic politics may influence foreign relations, which in turn
may influence the domestic politics of a respective nation-
state. Existing linkages have been found to exist between
external and internal factors. External factors like security
threats may affect a state’s economy. This is why students may
discover that boundaries are evaporating between
international relations, which looks at how the external actions
of an actor affects those actions undertaken by another actor.
