Political Science 102: Introduction to Political Science

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• Attendance
• Issues
• Papers

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I. Political Science as Science (from wk 1)

• Fields of Political Science (5 spokes)
• Political Theory
• Public Administration Public Policy
• International Relations
• Comparative Government
• National Politics
• Research Methods

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VIII. Democracy
A. What is democracy (democ)?
1. political system, not an economic system 2.
definitions a. literal rule by the people
(not enough) b. conceptual free elections with
universal suffrage secret ballot with open party
competition (still not enough!!) c. complete
system of governance in which rulers are held
accountable for their actions in the public realm
by citizens, acting indirectly through the
competition and cooperation of their elected
representatives.
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VIII. Democracy
B. key elements of democ
1. effective participation a. participants 1.
citizens adult possessing the political rights
and obligations society grants 2. aliens adults
living in (legally) but not possessing political
rights. a. usually enjoy most rights of
citizens b. unable to participate in politics
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VIII. Democracy
B. key elements of democ 1. effective
participation
b. what drives participation? 1. attitudes
opinions 2. interests values
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VIII. Democracy
B. key elements of democ 2. interest groups (IG)
a. IG pluralism (defined) condition when all
groups have equal right opportunity to develop
promote their viewpoint influence
decision-makers. 1. acceptance and encouragement
of diverse political actors 2. exits in most
democracies 3. multiple points of citizen
access 4. develops the most equitable policies
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VIII. Democracy
B. key elements of democ 2. interest groups (IG)
b. democratic corporatism (defined) inclusion
of interest groups in formal governmental
procedures. C. other IG types 1. institutional
IGs (non-membership) 2. memberships IGs 3.
non-associational IGs 4. associational IGs
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VIII. Democracy
B. key elements of democ 3. civic
developmentalism
a. enlightened understanding b. civic
participation voting 1. retrospective
voting 2. prospective voting
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VIII. Democracy
B. key elements of democ 4. protection of civil,
political, social rights
a. majority rule, minority rights b. civil
rights The rights of citizens to vote, to
receive equal treatment before the law, and to
share equally with other citizens the benefits of
public facilities c. freedom of speech, assembly
press d. protection against excessive govt
intrusion
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VIII. Democracy
B. key elements of democ 5. economic performance
a. economic well-being is often essential to a
sustained system b. benefits of economic system
should be democratically shared c. quality of
life measures technology health
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VIII. Democracy
B. key elements of democ 6. civic order
a. peaceful transition of power between
regimes b. use of political processes to seek
incorporate domestic political change c. use of
political processes to seek foreign relations
changes d. limited military engagements
(democracies dont fight each other)
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VIII. Democracy
C. Pre-conditions of democ (non-absolute)
1. Modernization wealth 2. Political culture
emphasizing egalitarianism tolerance 3. Strong
middle class 4. External factors (foreign aid or
control)
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VIII. Democracy
D. Value of democ
1. quality of life
2. participation is VERY appealing 3. democ is a
peaceful system 4. democ cannot a. eliminate
corruption b. guarantee efficiency or order c.
prevent social conformity
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VIII. Democracy
E. Political parties
1. variation on organizational power
(centralization) 2. extreme variation in s of
relevant parties 3. party power by elections a.
majoritarian outcomes b. multiparty outcomes c.
consensual party relations d. consociational
party relations 4. multi-party activity 5.
straight ticket voting
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VIII. Democracy
F. Election processes
1. single member plurality - highest vote
wins 2. proportional representation 3. single
transferable vote 4. equitable campaign procedures
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VIII. Democracy
G. Media structures
1. Free press is fundamental, but varies 2.
Ownership of media outlets
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VIII. Democracy
H. Evaluating democ systems
1. inherently subjective 2. elements are not
always harmonious 3. elements are not always
congruent 4. more than govt strong civil
society 5. democ systems are extremely diverse
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VIII. Democracy
I. nondemoc systems
1. Basic definition people are not
self-governing 2. Nondemoc ? totalitarianism
continuum 3. elements a. anti-participatory b.
maintain power through suppression c. no nexus
between govt the people d. decision-making in
hands of elites
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DO NOT PACK UP 1. attendance. 2. Read chapter 9
(dovetails with 8) in Grigsby Comparative
Politics II for next week and start on 1984
instead of watching re-runs of South Park. 3.
Papers due April 2, 2004.