LET Comparative Government and Politics

LET ENHANCEMENT REVIEW 2015
CED, WPU-PPC SOCIAL STUDIES
Subject : Comparative Government and politics

Resource Person : DR. DAVID R. PEREZ
Nature of Lecture : Review for Licensure Examination for Teachers
Venue : WPU PPC Review Center
Comparative Government and Politics
I. What is Politics?
A. Politics – having to do with human decisions
1. Political Science – the study of human decisions
a. public
b. authoritative
 Politics inherently social, no such thing as political solitaire
 Political decisions always take place within community we call a political
system
 Most social decisions however, made in private sphere
 Public vs. Private spheres/ Totalitarian vs. Democratic
 Authority – power vested in individuals or groups with expectations that
decisions will be carried out & respected
 Those who have political authority – access to force and monetary
resources, the “means of coercion”
 Politics refers to use of authoritative and coercive means – who gets to
employ them and for what purposes
B. Governments & the State of Nature

1. Governments – organizations of individuals empowered to make decisions on behalf
of a community
 Night-watchmen state
 Welfare State
 Police State
 Regulatory State
2. State of Nature – theoretical existence of the world if there was no government
(Philosophical) (Nature of Man)
a. Social Contract Theorists
 Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau
C. Why Governments?
1. Community/Nation-Building
- political culture – fostered through homogenization by government’s.
2. Security/Order
3. Protect Property & Other Rights
4. Promote Economic Efficiency & Growth
 Public goods
 Externalities
 Susceptibility to Market failures
5. Social Justice
6. Protecting the Weak
D. When Government Becomes a Problem?

1. Critics of Government
a. libertarians – individualists who see society as composed of individual human
beings with fundamental rights that must be protected.
b. anarchists – communitarians who believe governments and power leads to
corrupt communities, oppression, & alienation
2. Destruction of Community
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 Government creates “client society” and “patronize” it’s citizens

 Prevents human from forming bonds to maximize potential
3. Violations of Basic Rights
4. Economic Inefficiency
 Monopolies, Job Protection (Public v. Private)
5. Government for Private Gain
 Rent-seeking – self-interested political pursuit of private gain
 Rents – benefits created through government intervention in the
economy
6. Vested Interests and Inertia
 Individuals, groups, or firms that benefit from specific government jobs,
contracts, or policies have a “special” interest in existing government
 Once established, agencies and policies tend to live on far beyond their
usefulness
Ex. Great Britain, House of Lords, made up of social groups that
dominated society before the Industrial Revolution
7. Markets & Voluntary Coordination (Alternatives to Gov’t)
 Free Markets (Libertarians)
 Voluntary Coordination (Communitarians)
 Anarchists – transparent gov’t/ people make decisions
 Restricting government exist in economy (Deregulation of industries,
ex. Transportation, Telecommunications)
 Gov’t regulation has been strengthened in protection of environment &
children’s rights
II. Political Systems

A. Properties of Systems
1. Set of interdependent parts
2. Boundaries toward outside environment
B. Political Systems – a set of institutions, such as parliaments, bureaucracies, courts, that
formulates and implements the collective goals of a society or of groups within it.
1. Rule of legitimacy preferred over rule of force.
a. Poor legitimacy results in public policy failure.
2. Outside institutions such as churches, schools, corporations, media, etc. makeup outside
“environment” of political systems
*Comparative politics is the study of political systems through generalizations and comparison. STATES
are key unit of analysis.
III. States
 Political systems that have sovereignty – independent legal authority over a population in a
particular territory, based on self-determination. Sovereignty rests with political decision-makers.
a. Internal Sovereignty
b. External Sovereignty
 Sovereignty is never absolute, every state has constraints on their internal/external sovereignty
1. Nation-States – sizable and contiguous territories and a common

national identity. (Treaty of Westphalia, 1648)
2. Nation-Building
a. Common language
b. Common education
c. Common religion
3. Supra-national Organizations
a. EU
b. United Nations (193 independent nation-state members)
A. Classification of States
 First, Second, Third World
 North & South
 Geographic Size & Location
IV. Building Community & Identity
 Conflict over national, ethnic, or religious ties.
A. States & Nations
 Nation – group of people with common identity
1. One nation, one state ( Japan, Sweden)
2. Multinational State ( US, Russia, Nigeria)
3. Nations w/o states ( Kurds, Basques, Palestinians)
B. Nationality and Ethnicity

 Groups that are physically quite similar but differ by language, religion, customs and
historical memory (Serbs, Croats, Bosnian Muslims)
 Colonial legacies lead to ethno-religious conflicts (Hutus/Tutsis – Rwanda;
Muslims/Hindus – Pakistan/India)
C. Language
D. Religious Beliefs & Fundamentalism

 Fundamentalism is backlash against modernity.
E. Cumulative & Cross-Cultural Cleavages

 When national, ethnic, religious, & linguistic differences systematically affect political allegiances
and policies we refer to it as a political cleavage
V. Fostering Development
 Social & Economic Development
1. Gross National Product (GNP) – total economic output per person
2. Comparing Economies
a. Computed according to exchange rates of national currencies
b. Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) – differences in price levels from one country to
another.
 Stats skewed regarding economies, underestimate goods & services
produced and consumed in subsistence agriculture
3. Criteria for “developed” countries
 Lower percentage of population involved in agriculture industry
 Higher literacy rates & education levels attained
 Low infant mortality rates
 Higher life expectancy
 Communication media (More telephones, radios, TVs per person)
A. Economic Inequality
 Income distribution often varies significantly across regions of the same country
1. Industrialization & Economic Equality
 Industrialization & high productivity usually go along with equitable income distribution
 First stages of industrialization/modernization may actually increase income inequality – dual
economy – rural sector & urban industrial/commercial sector.
 Inequalities will then tend to increase as education and communication spread
 Political instability results from growth of income inequality and awareness of it
 Income inequality tends to diminish in later stages of development, but it can not be taken for
granted.
B. Population Growth, Economic Development, & Environment
VI. Securing Democracy, Human Rights, and Civil Rights

 Democracy – a political system in which citizens enjoy a number of basic civil and political rights,
and in which their most important political leaders are elected in free and fair elections and
accountable by the rule of law.
 Oligarchies – “rule of the few”, important rights withheld from the majority
 Totalitarian systems
 Democratization – currently is the movement of Third World countries towards democracy (3 rd
Wave)
 Democracy does not guarantee human rights and civil liberties for everyone
RESEARCH IN COMPARATIVE POLITICS AND THE COMPARATIVE METHOD
 The scientific method is used in political science to find general explanations for the often narrow
phenomena that comparativists examine in their research.
 In political science the focus is usually on causality, “If X happens, then Y will be the result.” A
theoretical framework which argues that two or more variables are causally related transforms
observations of what happened into an explanation of why it happened.
 A theory is a set of generally accepted information about how and why phenomena relate to one
another in a variety of settings.
 A hypothesis is a tentative statement by a researcher about the expected relationship between

what the researcher is seeking to understand and what the researcher is examining as a potential
cause or causes.
LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
 The phrase “levels of analysis” relates to where one looks for the answer to the research question
that is posed. For comparativists this may include individuals, localities, regions, groups, the state, a
region of states, or the international system.
 The state level, including its institutions and society, is the most common level of analysis used in
comparative politics. Here, different states are compared to one another, though one could also look
at a single state at different periods in its history.
 Comparativists often use the structural approach (middle-level theory) when the level of analysis is
the state, the political system, society, or the international community. In contrast to the structural
approach is the choice approach (rational-choice theory), in which the level of analysis is most often
the individual and the key focus is on the concept of decision making.
 Rational-Choice Theory – is an approach to analyzing political decision-making and behavior that

assumes that individual actors rationally pursue their aims in an effort to achieve the most positive
net result.
 Middle-level theory – seeks to explain phenomena in a limited range of cases, in particular, a specific
set of countries with particular characteristics and particular types of institutions.
NUMBER OF CASES – LARGE “N” VS. SMALL “N”
 Comparative politics research can be divided into two categories, quantitative and qualitative studies,
based on the total number of cases evaluated. In comparative politics, a “case” is usually a country.
Quantitative studies, often referred to as “large N” research with the “N” referring to the number of cases,
allow for statistical analysis of the data that is gathered. Qualitative studies involve a small number of
cases, identified as “small n” research.
 A research project that looks at only one case is called a case study. Being able to see causal processes in
action gives case studies strong internal validity. Internal validity is the sense that the claims of the
researcher about a causal relationship in the case or cases examined are well founded. The ability to be
objective however, is an even greater challenge for researchers in case studies because of the amount of
time and effort invested in such a project.
 Another drawback of the case study approach is the limitations of the researcher to generalize based upon
their findings. Case studies are, in general, weak on external validity. External validity is the sense that the
claims of the researcher about a causal relationship in their research study would apply to cases the
researcher did not examine. Despite these limitations single case studies can be valuable because the case
itself is important to understand.
 An important advantage of large N studies is that the analysis can incorporate an element of control,
similar to that in experiments but absent in case studies. Large N studies also allow for greater
generalizability, this makes the external validity of large N studies one of their important strengths.
 Large N research studies also have limitations. The most basic disadvantage is that information about each
case is limited. Large N studies lack the depth of knowledge about each case that is the key to the case
study approach.
 The comparative method attempts to combine the best aspects of both the case study and large N statistical
analysis. The comparative method typically looks at a small number of cases, between three and ten
usually, to allow for both the detailed analysis of the case study combined with the generalizability of the
large N approach. However, the comparative method cannot provide the depth of understanding that
exists at the single case level and it does not allow for the same level of statistical analysis that large N
studies provide. (This is what our textbook does)
 These small type or “cluster” studies used in the comparative method can result in typologies. Typologies
facilitate comparison both within the same type of states as well as between types of states. This is known
as the most-similar approach. Comparativists also compare across clusters or types. Comparativists call
this the most-different approach; here, the attempt is to analyze what produces the substantial difference
we observe.
 The comparative method is a research design which seeks to understand the effects of a particular
dependent variable by examining a small number of cases.
 The most-similar approach to the comparative method examines cases that are very much alike, but the
dependent variable in the study varies from one case to the next. Their general similarities allow the
researcher to control for a large number of variables, ruling them out as possible explanations for the
varying dependent variable.
 The most-different approach to the comparative method examines cases that are very different from one
another, but the dependent variable in the study is similar from once case to the next. Their general
differences allow the researcher to control for a large number of variables, ruling them out as possible
explanations for the dependent variable, which is consistent across the cases.
POLICY PROCESSES
 One of the most important aspects of government is the formation and execution of policy. Therefore, it
comes as no coincidence that one of the major focus topics for comparativists is public policy and its role
in the political processes of various countries.
 Another significant approach to research in political science is systems theory, adapted for political
science from the natural sciences by David Easton, it is particularly relevant when discussing public
policy.
 Systems theory revolves around five specific concepts: inputs, decision-making, outputs, feedback, and
the environment. Inputs are the ways that average citizens and the groups they form engage in political
life. There are two types of citizen’s activities that makeup inputs, those that support the state and those
that place demands on the state.
 Decision making involves the institutions responsible for carrying out the processes of government,
often synonymous with the concept of the state. These decisions lead to the “outputs” or public policies
that are developed. There are three types of policy that political scientists are concerned about. The first
of these are regulatory policies, or those that regulate the behaviors of individuals or groups. An example
of these kinds of policies would be tolls placed in strategic locations throughout a city to manage and
control urban traffic.
 The next types of policies are those that determine how resources are distributed; they are referred to as
redistributive policies and include such as examples as welfare programs, pension payments, and
healthcare services.
 Policies can also be used for symbolic purposes. Symbolic policies can include the recognition of a
certain symbol such as a flag or the implementation of a new national anthem in order to build support
for the state.
 Systems analysis is a useful model for comparativists because it incorporates feedback, which is the
process through which people find out about public policy and the ways in which their reactions to
recent political events help shape the next phase of political life. Feedback makes systems analysis
particularly useful, because it forces us to focus on how a system changes over time.
 The environment includes everything outside the political system. There is no system that is completely
autonomous, there are always external forces influencing how a system functions. All politicians and
citizens within a particular political system must react to forces beyond their control. Some of these forces
include a country’s unique history, its domestic social, economic, and physical conditions, and
globalization.
POLITICAL CULTURE AND SOCIALIZATION
Political culture is the underlying set of values and beliefs about politics and the system of
meaning for interpreting politics among a given population. There are five major
components of political culture:
1. Beliefs about Authority
2. Group vs. Individual
3. Liberty vs. Security
4. Political System Legitimacy
5. The Political Community
Each of these components raises particular questions regarding political beliefs and
practices of the individuals in a certain society.
1. Social Relations and Authority – these beliefs address whether the masses accept
the authority of social elite and, consequently, whether social relations are vertical
or horizontal.
a. Vertical social relations exist in societies that emphasize an authority

hierarchy
b. Horizontal social relations highlight equality among members of
society to help shape political and social decisions.
2. Group Welfare versus the Interests of the Individual – Is the society individualistic,
or is the fate of the collective more important than that of individuals?
Individualistic political cultures discourage governments from implementing
policies that protect groups or level the economic playing field in society.
Collective political cultures tend to favor government programs that benefit the
majority of society.
3. Liberty versus Security – Where freedom is more important than order and
security there will be an emphasis on “negative rights” or citizen freedoms from
government action. If security and order are valued over freedom then the state
will be allowed to intrude into the personal lives of individual citizens in the name
of maintaining order.
4. Legitimacy of the Political System and its Leaders – Do individuals accept the
existing political regime as having the right to rule? Can political leaders be
trusted, or must the activities of government be monitored closely by society?
5. Political Community – What political unit does the population most identify with?
Does the population as a whole have a strong sense of national identity? Other
identities within a country can be more influential than national identity. People’s
loyalties may lie with other parts of their identity, such as their ethnic group or
region of residence.
Political scientists have generally focused on three factors that shape political culture:
defining events, repeated experiences, and socialization.
1. Defining Events – provides a shock to society that overwhelms the tendency of political
culture to resist change. A perfect example of a defining event was the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, for many Americans values regarding security versus personal freedoms
shifted significantly following the attacks.
2. Repeated Experiences – smaller events that reoccur or are sustained over time may also alter
political culture. Such as the political and economic view of those people who come of age
during the Great Depression or Cold War.
3. Political Socialization – is the process of transmitting the components of a political culture
from one generation to the next through social institutions. The most important institution in
regards to political socialization is the family. Other important institutions in the socialization
process include religious institutions, education systems, the workplace, the media, and
government.
Interest Articulation
 The way for citizens and social groups to express their needs and demands to the government in the
political system
I. Citizen Action
A. How Citizens Participate
1. Voting
2. Discuss Politics
3. Participate in Political Parties
4. Citizen Interest Groups
5. Sign a Petition
6. Protest/Demonstration
II. Interest Groups

A. Anomic Groups – spontaneous groups that form suddenly when many individuals respond
to frustration, disappointment, or strong emotions.
 Spontaneous demonstrations, acts of violence
B. Nonassociational Groups – rarely organized, similar to anomic groups but are based on
common interests and identities such as ethnicity, region, religion, occupation, or perhaps
kinship.
1. Large, disorganized groups (collective action problems)
2. Small village or economic/ethnic subgroup
C. Institutional Groups – are formal groups and have other political or social functions in
addition to interest articulation.
 Strength usually based on size of membership or income (Ex. Military-
Industrial complex, Roman Catholic Church)
D. Associational Groups – formed to represent the interests of a particular group (Ex. Trade
unions, ethnic and religious associations)
1. Organized/Procedural
2. Full-time professional staff
 Civil Society – society in which people are involved in social & political interactions free of state
control and regulation
Anomic group – spontaneous group of working-class individuals living in the same neighborhood
Nonassociation group – working-class as a collective
Institutional group – labor department within the government
Associational group – labor union
III. Interest Group Systems

A. Pluralist Interest Group Systems
 Multiple groups may represent a single societal interest
 Group membership voluntary and limited
 Groups often have a loose or decentralized organizational structure
 A clear separation between interest groups and the government
B. Democratic Corporatist Interest Group Systems

 A single peak association normally represents each societal interest
 Membership in the peak association is often compulsory and nearly universal
 Peak associations are centrally organized and direct the actions of their members
 Groups are often systematically involved in making and implementing policy
C. Controlled Interest Group Systems

 A single group for each social sector
 Membership is often compulsory
 Each group is normally hierarchically organized
 Groups are controlled by the government or its agents in order to mobilize support for government
policy
IV. Access to the Influential

 Channels of Political Access
1. Legitimate
2. Coercive
A. Legitimate
1. Personal Connections 4. Legislative lobbying
2. Mass Media 5. Government Bureaucracies
3. Political Parties 6. Protest/Demonstration
B. Coercive/Illegitimate
1. Protest/Demonstration
2. Political Violence
3. Political Terror Tactics
IV. Policy Perspectives on Interest Articulation

View Table 4.3 in Chapter
Interest Group Development

 Modernization
 Specialization
 Post-Material values
 Social Change
Forms of Citizen Interest Articulation
Form Scope of Interest Degree of Pressure on Elites

Voting, Broad, collective Modest, but focused
Participation decision on government
leaders and programs
Informal group, Collective action focused High Pressure

Social movement on a common interest
Personal Interest Normally deals with Low pressure

Contact specific, personal problem
Protest Activity Highly expressive support High Pressure

for specific interests
Interest Aggregation
&
Political Parties
 Interest Aggregation – the activity in which the political demands of individuals and groups are
combined into policy programs.
 Interest aggregation also helps create a balanced government program, as competing goals must be
compromised to produce a single governing program
 Patterns of interest aggregation linked to government stability as well as their ability to function and
adapt
 Political Parties – important agents in interest aggregation

 In democratic system two or more parties compete to gain support for their alternative policy
programs
 In authoritarian systems a single party or institution may try to mobilize citizens’ support for its
policies
 Interest aggregation takes place within political parties: In authoritarian systems the process is
frequently covert and controlled; interests are mobilized to support the government, rather than the
government responding to public interests.
I. Personal Interest Aggregation

 Personal Connections
 Patron-Client Network – structure in which a central officeholder, authority figure, or group
provides benefits to supporters in exchange for their loyalty
 Patron-client aggregation usually confined to the less economically developed countries
 Patron-client politics characterized by a static political system
II. Institutional Interest Aggregation

A. Associational Groups – operate to express demands and support political contenders such as
political parties
B. Institutional Groups
1. Bureaucracies
 May negotiate with various groups to identify their preferences or mobilize support
 Desire to expand their organization often leads to creation of client support networks
2. Military Factions
 Special control of physical force aids in interest aggregation
III. Competitive Party Systems & Interest Aggregation

 Competitive Party Systems – primarily try to build electoral support
 Authoritarian Party System – seek to direct society
A. Competitive Party Systems & Elections

 In two-party systems both groups target the “center.”
1. Single-member District Plurality election rules – “first past the post”
2. Proportional Representation – the number of legislative representatives a party wins depends on the
overall proportion of the votes it receives
Key Characteristics
 Party Platforms
 Voting/Voter Choice (Strong representation of interest aggregation)
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 Voter/Electoral Participation
B. Classifying Competitive Party Systems

1. Majoritarian Two-Party Systems – either dominated by just two parties (U.S.) or they have two
substantial parties and election laws that usually create legislative majorities for one of them
(Britain)
2. Majority Coalition systems – where parties establish open pre-electoral coalitions so voters know
which parties will attempt to work together to form a government.
3. Multiparty Systems – combinations of parties, voter support, and election laws that virtually
ensure that no single party wins a legislative majority. Interest aggregation by party bargaining
after the election is critical for shaping policy directions. (France & Germany)
 There is a degree of antagonism & polarization among the parties in the following systems.
1a. Consensual Party Systems – parties controlling the legislature are not too far apart on policies and have a
reasonable amount of trust in each other and the political system. (The system itself is rarely threatened
despite intensive bargaining)
2a. Conflictual Party Systems – the legislature is dominated by parties that are far apart on issues or highly
antagonistic toward each other and the political system. (EX: Russia)
 Accommodative – system has characteristics of both consensual and conflictual political systems.
(Consociational)
 Consensual Majoritarian Party Systems – (EX: U.S., Great Britain)

 Consensual Multiparty Systems – (EX: Norway & Sweden)
 Majoritarian Conflictual Party Systems – (EX: Austria 1918-1934)
 Conflictual Multiparty Systems – (EX: France, Italy, Eastern Europe, Russia)
*Although the number of parties affects the degree of stability, the degree of antagonism among parties is
more important for political stability.
IV. Authoritarian Party Systems

 Aggregation takes place within the ranks of the party or in interactions within the business
groups, landowners, and institutional groups in the bureaucracy or military
 Citizens have no opportunity to shape aggregation by choosing between party alternatives,
controlled elections often exist
A. Exclusive Governing Parties

 Control over political resources by the party leadership
 No free activity by social groups, citizens, or other governmental agencies
 Totalitarianism – penetrates all aspects of society
 Power struggles may erupt in times of crisis, with leaders mobilizing backing for themselves and
their positions
 EX: China, Soviet Union, North Korea, Cuba

B. Inclusive Governing Parties

 Recognizes and attempts to coordinate various social groups in the society
 Accepts and aggregates certain autonomous interests, while repressing others and forbidding any
serious challenges to their own control
 Authoritarian corporatist systems
 Party attempts to gather various social groups under the party umbrella and negotiate with
groups and institutions outside the party.
 Electoral authoritarianism (EX: Mexico, PRI)
V. Military & Interest Aggregation

A. Military Governments
 Control instruments of force
 Effective contender for power in post-colonial era
 Monopolizing coercive resources give military great potential power
 Military organized for downward processing of commands under threat of coercion
 Usually lack legitimacy
 Tend to create military or bureaucratic form of authoritarian corporatism (EX: Brazil 1960s-
1980s, Argentina 1970s)
VI. Trends & Significance of Interest Aggregation

A. Trends
 Drift away from single-party systems
 Increase in competitive party systems and movement toward democracy
B. Significance
1. Narrowing of policy options
2. The pattern of polarization in the political culture often carries over to the policy
making body. (Workings of government are often reflections of the interest patterns
of a society)
3. Representations & adaptability of the government. (Stability)
Government and Policymaking
 Policymaking – conversion of social interests and demands into authoritative public decisions
I. Policy making as a pivotal stage when political demands become policy

 Point at which bills become laws
 Edicts are issued by the rulers
 To understand public policy we must know how decisions are made.
 Where is power effectively located in a political system? What does it take to change public policy?
 Government agencies at the core of policymaking
II. Constitutions and Decision rules

 Constitution – set of rules and principles (written document, customs & principles, or both)
o Very important in governments based on rule of law
o Rule of law – government can take no action that has not been authorized by law and that
citizens can only be punished by violating an existing law
 Decision-rules – basic rules governing how decisions are made, setting up agencies and offices
with specific powers and jurisdictions
A. Making Constitutions
1. Creation or Transformation of Decision-rules
2. Break with the past
 War
 Revolution
 Rebellion
B. Democracy and Authoritarianism

1. Direct & Representative Democracies
 Elect representatives to make policy
2. Authoritarian Regimes
 Policymakers chosen by military councils, hereditary rulers, & dominant
political parties
 “Third Wave” of Democratization: 1975 – present (1st wave – 19th cent. to
WWI) (2nd wave – post-WWII)
C. Separation of Government Powers

1. Separation of Powers of Different Branches
 Locke & Montesquieu
 Federalist Papers
 Check against abuses by either executive or legislative branches
a. Democratic Presidential Regimes
 Executive and Legislative branches separately elected by the people
 Each branch has fixed terms & specific powers
 In U.S., both legislative & executive have key roles in policymaking
 Brazil, “emergency decrees” of president can limit the authority and role of
the legislature
 Coordination between two branches necessary to make policy
b. Parliamentary regimes
 Executive & Legislative branches interdependent
 Only legislature is independently elected, prime minister-cabinet emerge
from the legislative branch
 Vote of No Confidence – when parliamentary majority expresses a lack
of confidence in prime minister, the P.M. and Cabinet must resign
 Prime minister can dissolve parliament and call for elections at any
time
 Parliamentary system more efficient than presidentialism, lacks issues
of gridlock
 Chief executive becomes agent of parliamentary majority – Cabinet
dominates policymaking
 Confidence relationship between prime minister & parliamentary
majority (dismissal/dissolution powers)
 Party discipline stronger in parliamentary systems
c. Mixed Presidential regimes

 President & Legislature separately elected
 President has power to dissolve legislature
 Cabinet appointed by president but subject to dismissal by the
legislature
 Independent Central Banks – limit chief executives ability to
formulate economic policy
III. Geographic Distribution of Power

A. Federal
 Government power & authority divided between the regions and national governments
 Federal states account for 1/3 of world’s population and 41% of its land mass
 Check on ambitious rulers and protects markets and citizen freedoms
 May help protect ethnic, linguistic, or religious minorities
 Allows subunits to experiment with different policy programs

 Citizens can “vote with their feet”
 Less egalitarian in terms of treatment of citizens
B. Confederal
 European Union & the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation
 Weak central government
 Ultimate powers rests with the states
C. Unitary
 Government power located in the central/national government
 About 9 out of every 10 states is unitary
 More egalitarian in theory
 Usually better at redistributing resources to and from regions
IV. Limitations on Government Powers in Democratic Regimes

 Legal or customary limitations on the exercise of power
A. Provision of Civil Rights
 Constitutional regimes – civil rights protected and government powers limited except
under specified circumstances
B. Establishment of Courts
 Government’s with power to coerce citizens that is relatively unlimited by the courts
(Unlimited powers: Example – China, Nigeria, Egypt)
 Other government’s courts not only protect the rights of citizens but also police other
aspects of government (Limited powers: Example – U.S., India, Germany, France)
 Judicial Review
 Some constitutional regimes have independent courts that protect persons against the
improper implementation of laws and regulations, but can not overrule the assembly or
political executive (Example: Great Britain)
 In authoritarian systems policymakers do not usually allow courts to constrain their use
and abuse of power
C. Amending Procedures
 Certain constitutional arrangements may not be amended
 Some amendment procedures are complex, others are quite simple (Example: Great Britain,
ordinary parliamentary statute can alter the constitution – Parliamentary Act of 1911
 “Rigid” vs. “Flexible” constitutions
D. Checking Top Policy Makers

 Vote of No Confidence – Parliamentary systems
1. Impeachment
 Offenses identified as presenting unusual danger to the public good or safety
 Penalty is removal from office
 Cases decided by legislature, with possible involvement from judiciary
V. Assemblies
A. Structure
1. Bicameral vs. Unicameral
 Two Chambers or One Chamber (Representation based on population and
representation based on geographic units)
 Bicameralism within unitary systems where the responsibility of the second house
is to provide check on policymaking

 Prime Minister in most parliamentary systems is responsible only to the more

popularly elected chamber, which therefore has more important position in
policymaking
 Internal Structure
- Party groups
- Formal assembly subunits (committees)
- Inverse relationship
B. Functions
 Deliberate, debate, and vote on policy
 Budgetary decision-making
 Appointment powers
 Enact legislation
 Elite recruitment
 Interest articulation & aggregation
C. Representation: Mirroring and Representational Bias

 Descriptive Representation – government officials should mirror the characteristics of the
citizens (Mirroring)
 Should serve the interests of the citizens, whether or not they share their background
characteristics
1. Recruitment of Legislators
 Male
 College-educated
 Wealthy
 Older in age
VI. Executives
A. Structure
 Chief executives – officials who sit at the very top of the often colossal executive branch
1. Head of State and Head of Government

 Head of State – Ceremonial leader who represents the nation on formal occasions
 Head of Government – determines public policy, makes decisions regarding the execution
of government
B. Recruitment
 Party
 Voters
 Military
C. Cabinet
 Most important in parliamentary systems where formation depends upon selection of
Prime Minister
 Most significant collective decision-making body
 In presidential systems, selecting Cabinet members is typically a presidential prerogative
which may require legislative approval
 In parliamentary system the cabinet must maintain the confidence of the parliamentary
majority
 Multiparty system: Election results – Majority situation results vs. Minority situation
results
 Majority situation
1. Majority Single Party Cabinet
 Minority situation
1. Majority Coalition Cabinet
2. Minority Coalition Cabinet
3. Minority Single-Party Cabinet
D. Function of the Chief Executive

1. Policy making
2. Veto Powers
3. Decision-maker Foreign Policy
4. Recruitment
5. Political Appointments
6. Parent-figure/Develop trust in the system
E. The Bureaucracy
 Large agencies in charge of implementing government policy
 Government agencies seek growth for their own sake
1. Structure
a. Civil Service
 Higher civil service – permanent political policymakers who work
within different government agencies (About 3,000 individuals in
Great Britain)
b. Political and Technocratic Appointments
 Military officers, diplomats, doctors, scientists, etc.
 In 2004, 17% of the labor force in the U.S. were public employees
2. Functions
a. Implementation of Laws, Rules, and Regulations
 Enforcement of general legislation
b. Articulation and Aggregation of Interests

 Departments & Agencies
1. Labor
2. Defense
3. Education
4. Welfare
5. Transportation
6. State
c. Communicating and withholding information
 The art of “Spin Control” has replaced the protocols of “classified
information” and “executive privilege”
d. Budgeting
3. Bureaucracies as a form of organization required for
implementation of policy
Ideas of Max Weber
1. Decision- making based on fixed and official jurisdictions, rules, and
regulations
2. There are formal and specialized educational or training requirements for
each position
3. Hierarchical structure
4. Decisions made on the basis of “Standard Operating Procedures”, including
extensive written records
5. Officials hold career positions and awarded on basis of merit

 Drawbacks of bureaucracies: Stagnation, Rule bound, Inflexible, and

Inefficiency
 Ombudsmen – job is to prevent bureaucrats from doing injury or injustice to

individuals. Ombudsmen now investigate citizen claims that they have suffered
injury or damage as a result of government action. They report to the legislature
for remedial action.
Public Policy
 Public policy – all authoritative decisions that governments make. They are referred to as the outputs
of the political system.
 Public policy is normally chosen for a purpose; they are meant to promote end results known as
outcomes.
 The relationship between political outputs and outcomes is the basis for determining government
efficiency, whether the outcome is good or bad usually depends on political goods and values.
I. Government & What It Does

A. Governments as Producers
1. Law enforcement/Security
2. Postal Service
3. Utilities
4. Mining/Manufacturing
 In capitalist societies such as the U.S. the government produces far
fewer consumer goods than other societies.
 Socialist democracies and communist societies have governments that
are far more active in production than capitalist societies
B. Public Policies
1. Extraction(resources) - money, goods, persons, and services – from domestic
and international environments
2. Distribution – of money, goods, and services
3. Regulation (human behavior) – the use of compulsion and inducement to
enforce extractive and distributive compliance or otherwise bring about
desired behavior
4. Symbolic policies – political speeches, holidays, rites, public monuments and
statues – used by governments to exhort citizens to desired forms of behavior,
often to build a sense of community or celebrate exemplary conduct
C. State Design
1. Night-Watchman State (Lockean)
2. Police State
3. Welfare State
4. Regulatory State
II. Extraction
A. Taxation
 Efficiency – extracting the most tax revenue possible at the lowest cost to economic
production
 Equity – taxing in such a way that no one is unfairly burdened, particularly so that those
who have the least are spared
1. Direct Taxes – directly levied on persons and corporations, this includes

personal and corporate income taxes and taxes on capital gains and wealth.
2. Indirect Taxes – include things such as sales and value-added taxes, excise
taxes, and customs duties. The distributive effect depends on who purchases
the relevant commodities and services. (Can be either regressive or
progressive)

Ex: food & clothing, purchased by poor (regressive); luxury items purchased by
wealthy (progressive)
 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – the total value of goods and services produced by a country’s
residents in a year. (The average country extracts one-fifth of its GDP in taxes)
 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

a. Heavy social security tax systems (Germany, Netherlands,
Austria, France, Italy)
b. Direct tax systems (U.S. and Japan)
c. Compilation (direct, indirect, and social security tax systems)
ie. Sweden and Norway
III. Distribution
A. Welfare State
1. Education
2. Health Care
3. Unemployment Services
4. Child care
5. Housing Subsidies
6. Accident Insurance
IV. Regulation
 Domain – What can the government regulate? Public vs. Private
 Subjects – Who can the government regulate? Citizens, immigrants, social groups
 Instruments/Mechanisms – How the government regulates? Laws, licenses, security
V. Community-Building & Symbolic Policies

 Appeals to courage, wisdom, and noble behavior
 Appeals to values or ideologies
 Promises of future accomplishments and rewards
*Symbolic outputs are intended to enhance other aspects of performance: ie. Paying taxes, comply with
laws, accept sacrifice, hardship, or dangers.
EX: Public buildings, plazas, monuments, parades, civic/patriotic indoctrination in schools.
VI. Outcomes
A. Domestic Welfare
 Growth in Private Consumption
 Share of population living on less than $2
 Life expectancy
 Infant mortality
 Health of children
 Fertility
 Access to communication & info (newspapers, telephones, TV’s, and personal computers)
 Education levels & literacy rates
 Access to safe water and sanitation
*Kuznet’s Curve – in early stages of modernization, the large sector of traditional farmers tends to get left
behind as industry and commercial agriculture grow. At higher levels of economic attainment the number
of poor farmers is reduced compared with the industrial and service sector. When trade unions and
political parties develop they tend to bring about public policies that make income distribution more
equal through taxation, wage policy, and welfare state policies.
*Women and children affected by “domestic welfare” issues more than men.
B. Domestic Security
1. Crime
 Urban migration
 Breakdown of nuclear family
 Immigration
 Inequality of income & wealth
 Unemployment
 Hopelessness of life in the big cities
2. Reduction in Crime in last 10 years
 Strong economy
 Stricter law enforcement
 Decrease in the number of youth aged 15-25
VII. International Outputs and Outcomes
 Warfare (Costs in military/civilian lives)
 Economic costs of National Security (Debt from warfare, costs to maintain national defense)
 “Security Dilemma” – guns vs. butter
VIII. Political Goods & Values

1. Systems goods – citizens are most free and able to act when their environment
is stable, transparent, and predictable.
2. Process goods – goods associated with the political process: citizen
participation, free political competition, due process, compliance, procedural
justice.
 Effectiveness
 Efficiency
3. Policy goods – such as economic welfare, quality of life, freedom, and personal
security. The promotion and preservation of fairness and freedom.
(Check Table 7.7, pg.150 “Political Goods”)
IX. Strategies for Producing Political Goods

A. Industrialized Nations
 Rise of service economy
 Environmental challenges
 Governments have grown in size, cost, and inefficiency
 The credibility of social welfare systems has declined in comparison to market economies.
(Globalization)
 Reconsidering issues such as taxes, welfare, and regulation
B. Preindustrialized Nations
1. Neotraditional Systems – emphasize stability, maintaining established order.
(EX. Saudi Arabia, sheikdoms of Persian Gulf) Oil wealth may lead to some
modernization, but traditional politics dominate
2. Personal Rule – ruler or chief has a “proprietary” relation to the regime, its
institutions and agencies, and often exploits it for personal gain. Rent seeking is
a major problem. Rulers maintain control through police suppression,
patronage, spoils, and privileges distributed through clientelistic networks.
(EX: Sub-Saharan Africa, Mobutu in Zaire) Characterized by low standards of
living, unproductive economies, lack of legitimacy, and military coups.
3. Clerico-Mobilizational Regimes – religious authority that attempts to mobilize
support. “Fundamentalist” who are anti-secular, restrict civil society, and are
authoritarian, but neither traditional nor technocratic. They control and
manipulate media. (EX: Islam – Shia in Iran, Sunni in Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Iraq.)
4. Technocratic-Repressive – promoted economic growth, usually through a
coalition of military and civilian technocrats and business interests. Suppress
participation in favor of growth-oriented investment. Can lead to greater
income inequality. Many evolve into democracies, economic or democratic

failures however can lead to change in repressive strategies.(EX: Indonesia,

Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Syria, and Egypt)
5. Technocratic-Distributive – a more egalitarian version of a modernizing
authoritarian regime. (EX: South Korea before democratization)
6. Technocratic-Mobilizational – found in predominantly pre-industrial
communist countries. Single political party mobilizing & involving citizens in
the political process. Competitive participation suppressed or limited. (EX: PRI
in Mexico, Vietnam, China, Cuba, North Korea. Taiwan is an example of a
combination of economic growth and distributive equity.
C. Democratization in Developing Countries

 Importance of leadership, choice and bargaining
 “Democratic consolidation” – condition in which the main elites have accepted
democracy and in which participatory behavior has been widely adopted among the
general population
 Stable Democracy – needs “civil society”, free media, and associational life.
 Literacy
 Rising economic standards
 Taiwan & South Korea examples that industrialization, urbanization, education, and
communication can foster democratic consolidation
 India example that even relatively underdeveloped nations can sustain democracy
*Trade-offs/Opportunity Costs – although different political goods may all be desirable they cannot
all be had simultaneously. Political systems often have to trade-off one value to obtain another.
 Guns vs. Butter
 Education vs. Welfare
 Security vs. Liberty
 Stability vs. Adaptation

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LET ENHANCEMENT REVIEW 2015

CED, WPU-PPC SOCIAL STUDIES

Subject : Comparative Government and politics

B. Governments & the State of Nature

D. When Government Becomes a Problem?

 Government creates “client society” and “patronize” it’s citizens

II. Political Systems

1. Nation-States – sizable and contiguous territories and a common

B. Nationality and Ethnicity

D. Religious Beliefs & Fundamentalism

E. Cumulative & Cross-Cultural Cleavages

B. Population Growth, Economic Development, & Environment

VI. Securing Democracy, Human Rights, and Civil Rights

RESEARCH IN COMPARATIVE POLITICS AND THE COMPARATIVE METHOD

 A hypothesis is a tentative statement by a researcher about the expected relationship between

 Rational-Choice Theory – is an approach to analyzing political decision-making and behavior that

NUMBER OF CASES – LARGE “N” VS. SMALL “N”

POLITICAL CULTURE AND SOCIALIZATION

1. Beliefs about Authority

2. Group vs. Individual

3. Liberty vs. Security

4. Political System Legitimacy

5. The Political Community

a. Vertical social relations exist in societies that emphasize an authority

II. Interest Groups

Nonassociation group – working-class as a collective

Institutional group – labor department within the government

Associational group – labor union

III. Interest Group Systems

B. Democratic Corporatist Interest Group Systems

C. Controlled Interest Group Systems

IV. Access to the Influential

IV. Policy Perspectives on Interest Articulation

Interest Group Development

Forms of Citizen Interest Articulation

Form Scope of Interest Degree of Pressure on Elites

Informal group, Collective action focused High Pressure

Personal Interest Normally deals with Low pressure

Protest Activity Highly expressive support High Pressure

 Political Parties – important agents in interest aggregation

I. Personal Interest Aggregation

II. Institutional Interest Aggregation

III. Competitive Party Systems & Interest Aggregation

A. Competitive Party Systems & Elections

B. Classifying Competitive Party Systems

 Consensual Majoritarian Party Systems – (EX: U.S., Great Britain)

IV. Authoritarian Party Systems

A. Exclusive Governing Parties

WPU-PPC COLLEGE OF EDUCATIONWPU-PPC COLLEGE OF EDUCATION WPU-PPC COLLEGE OF EDUCATION 20014-2015 11 | P a g e

B. Inclusive Governing Parties

V. Military & Interest Aggregation

VI. Trends & Significance of Interest Aggregation

I. Policy making as a pivotal stage when political demands become policy

II. Constitutions and Decision rules

B. Democracy and Authoritarianism

C. Separation of Government Powers

c. Mixed Presidential regimes

III. Geographic Distribution of Power

 Allows subunits to experiment with different policy programs