Comparative Politics

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Comparative Politics

• Theoretical Foundations and Course Theme

• PoliSci Department
• SUNY _at_ Stony Brook
• POL 103 (Section 2)
• Spring 2005
• Instructor Udi Sommer

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What is scientific about political science?

• subject matter's behavior is completely
  determined not the case
• subject matter's behavior is clearly and
  completely understood not the case
• subject can be summarized in terms of general
  laws of behavior not the case
• PoliSci is scientific in the sense that - Study
  of the subject is pursued in a scientific manner,
  with reliance on evidence, testing of hypotheses

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What is politics?

• Aristotle
• POLIC the fundamental decision making unit.
• Politics the way decisions are taken in the
  community, for instance the way people are
  divided into groups.
• Authoritative allocation of values for a society

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A state

• A state is an ultimate legal authority over a
  geographical unit.
• State is an organization that begins in order to
  make life possible and continues in order to make
  life good.

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Legitimacy

• The public attitudes towards the institutions
• Weber (1864-1921) suggested that a community
  that successfully claims a monopoly on the
  legitimate use of physical force over people in
  its territory is a state.
• The underlying assumption is that laws are always
  backed up by physical force.

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Why do people obey?

• Legality and rationality
• Charisma
• Tradition

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• Government
• All the political institutions of a state.
• The political executive
• Sovereignty
• The ability to be self-governed

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Constitutionalism

• Constitution
• The highest level within national law (Kelsen)
• The rule of law Vs. Rule by the law
• Democracy Vs. Constitutionalism (?)

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Democracy

• Direct Democracy a la Athens
• Demos (People) Kratein (Rule)
• Not feasible in modern democracy
• A system of representation
• Representative democracy within a republic
• Republic an elected head of state is the
  crucial element

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Unitary / Federal states

• Unitary all legislation and organization of the
  political sphere originate from one central
  source, which is the central government
• Federal under a federal system, two systems of
  legislation exist. A local system is the one that
  deals with local affairs, and the central one
  makes federal legislation, and organizes things
  on the federal level.

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Classification of states Characteristics of a
democratic system

• Political Accountability
• Political Accountability
• Political freedom
• Political Equality
• Established Democracies / Developing Democracies
  / Non-Democracies

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Presidential system

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Parliamentary system

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Parliamentary system

• Motion of no confidence
• Motion of confidence
• Dissolution of Parliament

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Positive and negative aspects

• Parliamentary system Accountability, Powerful
  executive, Separation of Powers, a house with no
  windows, immobility
• Presidential system Deadlock, President is too
  powerful, potentially inexperienced politicians

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Party system and Electoral systems

• SMD Single Member District Two-party
  systemsTechnical reasonsPsychological reasons
  (strategic voting)
• PR Proportional Representation The list
  system

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Ideologies

• Conservatism Social, Fiscal, Economic
• Liberalism
• Socialism
• Communism
• Fascism

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Concluding points

• History of Democracy
• Equality political equality and economic
  equality under democracy
• Representation will of the people OR will for
  the people?
• Importance of elections volition
• The role of parties
• Majority rule
• Alternation peaceful transfer of power
• Compromise
• Disabling is enabling
• Democracys virtue solution of conflicts without
  violence