chapter 1 comparative politics. why and we compare?

1. Chapter One
Challenge and Change
in Comparative Politics

2. Learning Objectives
• 1.1 Briefly describe the public and authoritative aspects of political
decisions.
• 1.2 Discuss the challenges of building a national identity for a
nonhomogeneous population.
• 1.3 Explain the processes and challenges of economic
development, giving specific examples from various countries.
• 1.4 Describe the characteristics of representative democracy and
the connections between economic development and
democratization.
• 1.5 Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalization.
• 1.6 List five ways in which a government can help its citizens.
• 1.7 List five ways in which a government can harm or hinder its
citizens.
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3. Issues in Comparative Politics
• In the past few decades, the world has
undergone a fundamental transformation.
• Three forces drive this transformation:
• Democratization
• Socioeconomic modernization
• Globalization
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4. What Is Comparative Politics?
• Political decisions are social, public, and
authoritative.
• They take place within a political system.
• The public sphere deals with collective decisions
that extend beyond the individual and typically involve
government action.
• Private sphere deals with actions that do not bind
anyone outside a group (e.g., family, friends).
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5. What Is Comparative Politics?
• Politics is authoritative.
• Formal power rests with individuals or groups
whose decisions are expected to be carried
out and respected.
• Decisions are binding on the political system.
• Politics: activities associated with the control of
public decisions among a given people and
within a given territory.
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6. Challenges
• Despite their diversity, states face common challenges:
• Building community and identity;
• Securing economic development and growth; and
• Advancing democracy and civil liberties.
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7. Building Community
• Absence of common identity can have severe political
consequences.
• Conflict over national, ethnic, or religious identities
can cause political turmoil.
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8. States and Nations
• “Nation” refers to the self-identification of a
people with a common identity.
• Built upon a common language, history, race, or
culture, or simply upon the fact that this group
has occupied the same territory.
• May or may not have their own state or
independent government.
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9. Nationality and Ethnicity
• Ethnicity is an important part of identity
• The German sociologist Max Weber argued that ethnic
groups are usually defined by common physical traits,
languages, and cultures that individuals believe
separates them from other people.
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10. Language
• Language and social division
• 5,000 different languages in use in the world today
• 200 languages have a million or more speakers
• Only 8 classified as world languages
• Political systems cannot avoid committing themselves to
one or several languages.
• Conflicts over educational policies or language use in
government
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11. Religious Differences and
Fundamentalism
• States vary in their religious characteristics.
• Religion may be basis of national identity.
• Religion can be rallying point for political movements.
• Religion can be a source of intense disagreement:
• religious groups can coexist peacefully
• some may commit acts of violence, cruelty, terrorism
• fundamentalism has emerged in all major faiths
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12. Fostering Economic Development
• Two major forces transforming political systems and
nations
• Process of economic development
• Political democratization
• Globalization, democratization, and marketization
• HDI- Human Development Index
• Structure of the labor force
• Agriculture
• Urbanization
• Education levels
• Increased productivity requires skilled, healthy labor
force and infrastructure that supports material welfare.
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14. Problems of Economic Development
• Unequal distribution of resources and
opportunities are among the most serious
causes of political conflict.
• Large GDP may conceal significant
differences in distribution of these resources.
• Country’s politics affected by internal divisions
of income, wealth, etc.
• Economic development improves the equality
of income over time, but first stages of
industrialization may increase income
inequality.
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16. Problems of Economic Development
• Population growth:
• Population increases due to health care improvement,
increased living standards, increased life expectancy
• Rapid population growth can pose policy challenges
for developing nations.
• Environmental costs:
• Despoiled forests, depleted soils and fisheries,
polluted air and water, nuclear waste, endangered
species, and ozone questions.
• Shortages of clean water, air, and adequate
sanitation.
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17. Fostering Democracy, Human Rights,
and Civil Liberties
• Democratization:
• second major force transforming political
systems
• includes enhancement of human rights and
expansion of freedom
• Democracy:
• political system where citizens enjoy basic
civil and political rights
• political leaders are elected in free and fair
elections and are accountable under the law
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18. Fostering Democracy, Human Rights,
and Civil Liberties
• Democratic systems versus authoritarian systems
• Authoritarian: lack defining features of democracy
• Oligarchy, Dictatorship, Totalitarian
• Waves of Democratization:
• First: first half of the 20th century- Western states
• Second: 1943 -1960s: newly independent states
and defeated authoritarian powers
• Third: 1974- Southern Europe, East Asia, Latin
America, a number of African states.
• Result: democracy a common goal of the global
community
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20. The Contribution of Globalization
• Positive Effects
• Negative Effects
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21. What Governments Do?
• Community and Nation Building
• Security and Order
• Protecting Rights
• Promoting Economic Efficiency and Growth
• Public goods
• Externalities
• Social Justice
• Protecting the Weak
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22. When Does Government Become the
Problem?
• Destruction of Community
• Violations of Basic Rights
• Economic Inefficiency
• Government for Private Gain
• Vested Interests and Inertia
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24. Looking Forward
• Average child born today can look forward to a
longer, better, freer life than his parents.
• Still, problems remain and some result from
progress that is made.
• Environmental quality, changing lifestyles,
challenges of globalization and
multiculturalism.
• More affluent and better informed citizenry
may be less inclined to trust political parties,
interest groups, parliaments, political
executives.
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