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A Shrinking World
• Events around the world affect us all– Globalization– how international economic, social, cultural,
and technological forces are affecting events inside individual countries.
• We live in a time of crisis
• The world is changing significantly and quickly
Why we compare?
• Alexis de Tocqueville
• Democracy in America
• “Although I very rarely spoke of France in my book, I did not write one page of it without having her, so to speak, before my eyes”
• “Without comparisons to make, the mind does not know how to proceed”
Why we compare?
• Comparison is fundamental to all human thought
• Comparison is the methodological core of scientific study of politics– compare the past and present– compare experiences of various nations– develop explanation– test theories
How we compare?
• Description of political phenomena– conceptual framework
• Explanation of political phenomena– causal relationship– test theories:
• large numbers (large “n”): statistical studies• small numbers (small “n”): case studies
• Prediction of political phenomena
Politics
• public decisions
• within a community– political system
• authoritative– Power: ability to get people or groups to do
what they otherwise would not do
• coercive means– force and monetary resources
Political system
• System– interdependent parts and boundaries
• Political system– set of institutions and agencies
• government• political organizations (parties, interest groups)
– formulate and implement collective goals of a society or of groups within it
State
• State– a particular type of political system– has sovereignty (independent legal authority)
• “night watchman state”
• police state
• welfare state
• types and strength of states
Government
• Government– organizations of individuals– authorized by formal documents– make binding decisions on behalf of a
particular community
• philosophical debates– why government exist?– state of nature
Government serve functions
• community-building– nation
• large-scale communities• common perceived identity
– political culture• public attitudes toward politics and their role within
the political system
– political socialization
Government serve functions
• providing security, law, and order– external security
• national defense forces
– internal security• police forces
– government monopoly
• protecting economic, social, and political rights
Government serve functions
• promoting economic efficiency and growth– market failures in capitalist economies
• property rights, competition, and information
– undersupply of public goods• parks, roads, national defense, environment
– negative externalities• environmental degradation
– natural monopolies
social justice
• redistribute resources– equal opportunities
