This document discusses key concepts in political science, including: 1) Politics involves the struggle for power and decision-making within a political community like a country. 2) Power is the ability to influence or impose one's will on others. 3) Government is the system for exercising authority over a group of people. 4) Political culture refers to the widely shared attitudes and traditions around the role of government in a particular group or region.

1. PO 202
Spring 2017

4. REVIEW
How could the issues in the Governing article tie into the
four distinctions made between states in Chapter 1?
1) Sociodemographics
2) Culture and History
3) Economy
4) Geography andTopography

7. Why is politics an important topic to study?

8.  Deal with various social and political issues:
 Education
 Taxation
 Racial Tensions
 How do we effectively deal with these issues?

9. What words, concepts, ideas, etc. come to mind
when you see the following words?
“politics”
“politicians”
“power”

10.  Many definitions of politics:
 Lasswell: “Who gets what, when and how”
 “The resolution of conflict”
 “The competition among individuals, groups, or states
pursuing their interests”
 Characteristics of Politics:
 Struggle for power
 Emphasis on decision-making
 Political scientists study power as it relates to the
political community
 Political party, legislature, city, region, country

13.  Power:
 Ability to influence others or impose will on them
 HowTo Know ifYou Have Power?
 Get someone to do something they would not do
 Prevent someone from doing something they would do
 Influence how people think

16. POLITICS
 Process or activity through
which power and resources
are gained and lost
GOVERNMENT
 System or organization for
exercising authority over a
body of people

18.  Determine how we try to get the things we
want in politics
 Peaceful, democratic elections
 Violent revolutions
 Who decides on the rules is important
 Rule by the elite (Aristocracy)
 Rule by the wealthy (Plutocracy)
 Rule by royalty (Monarchy)
 Rule by the people (Democracy)

19.  Organizations where governmental power is
exercised
 State constitutions define institutions of govt.
 Legislative, Executive, Judicial Branches
 Different arrangements in other countries:
 Parliament
 Ruler
 Council
 Goal: Prosperous political environment

21.  How do states vary?
 Diversity leads to “Why?” questions
 Why do states choose to either place or not
place certain taxes on their citizens?
 Why do some states resist federal policies while
others embrace them?

22. GOV. MARTIN O’MALLEY
(D-MD)
GOV. DAVE HEINEMAN
(R-NE)

23.  Value in explaining differences
 Qualitative Analysis
 Historical or narrative accounts
 Quantitative Analysis
 Use of numbers, statistics, etc.

24.  What is variance?
 What are units of analysis?

27.  #1: Description
 #2: Classification
 #3: HypothesisTesting
 #4: Prediction

28.  Idea of variables
 Change between cases
 Theory Development
 What is a theory?
 HypothesisTesting
 What is a hypothesis?

29. CORRELATION
 Association between two
variables
 Example:
 Illegal Immigration
 Border State
 How might these be
correlated 0r associated
with one another?
CAUSATION
 One variable causes another
 Example:
 Illegal Immigration
 Border State
 Do we have causation?

31.  What are concepts?
 Examples: 1) Social Mobility, 2) Quality of Life
 Features of Good Concepts:
 #1: Clarity and Coherence
 #2: Consistency
 #3: Usefulness

33.  Absence or presence of a concept
 How can we operationalize “social mobility”
and “quality of life?”

35.  Attitudes and beliefs broadly shared about the role
and responsibility of government.
 Historical styles and traditions in states’ politics.
 What people in a group or region:
 Generally believe about government and politics
 What they think government ought to do
 How people should act toward it

36. DANIEL ELAZAR

37.  Product of U.S. founding
 MainTypes of Political Culture:
 Moralistic
 Individualistic
 Traditionalistic