Politics and Government

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Politics and Government
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Politics Government

• Politics
• The social institution that distributes power,
  sets a societys agenda, and makes decisions
• Power
• The ability to achieve desired ends despite
  resistance from others
• Government
• A formal organization that directs the political
  life of a society

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AuthorityPower People Perceive As Legitimate,
Not Coercive

• Traditional
• Power legitimized through respect for long
  established cultural patterns
• Rational-legal
• Power legitimized by legally enacted rules and
  regulations
• Charismatic
• Power legitimized through extraordinary personal
  abilities that inspire devotion and obedience
• Routinization of charisma
• The transformation of charismatic authority into
  some combination of traditional and bureaucratic
  authority

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Evolution of Political Systems

• Hunting and Gathering
• Like family specialized roles
• Agrarian Societies
• Small elite gaining power
• Political States
• Restricted governing
• Modern Nation-States
• Modern technology brought about larger-scale
  political systems referred to as nation-states

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THE MONARCHYRULE BY A SINGLE FAMILY OVER
GENERATIONS TYPICAL OF ANCIENT AGRARIAN SOCIETIES

• ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
• Rulers monopolizing power based on divine right
• Modern Example Saudi Arabia
• CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHIES
• Modern-day monarchies
• More figure head than ruler
• Political principles rule
• Elected official actually rules
• Modern Example Great Britain, Spain, Denmark,
  etc

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DemocracyLinked to Rational-legal Authority

• Democracy A political system which gives power
  to the people as a whole
• Representative Democracy Authority in hands of
  elected leaders, accountable to the people
• The U.S. Is not truly democratic
• extensive use of unelected bureaucratic officials
• rich have more political clout than poor
• Capitalist societies claim to be democratic
  because of personal liberties while socialist
  countries claim to be democratic because of
  economic equality

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Global Map 17-1 Political Freedom in Global
Perspective
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Other Forms

• Authoritarianism
• A political system that denies popular
  participation in government
• Totalitarianism
• A highly centralized political system that
  extensively regulates peoples lives

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Lobbies

• SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
• POLITICAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE INTERESTED IN SOME
  ECONOMIC OR SOCIAL ISSUE
• NRA, AARP, AFL-CIO, ACLU, Christian Coalition
• POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES
• ORGANIZATIONS FORMED BY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS,
  INDEPENDENT OF POLITICAL PARTIES, TO PURSUE
  POLITICAL AIMS BY RAISING AND SPENDING MONEY

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Theoretical Analysis

• Pluralist model
• Power is dispersed among many competing interests
  groups
• The power-elite model
• Real power is concentrated among the very rich
  in America
• Can the wealthiest in America ever encounter
  pressure to not act in their own best interests?
• Marxist model
• Power is divided along the lines of a political
  economy
• Bias is rooted within the nations social
  institutions
• Revolution is the only answer

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Critical Evaluation

• Research evidence can be cited that supports all
  there perspectives. In conclusion what we can
  say is
• Nearly all are allowed to participate in the
  political process, but large numbers dont
• Major parties and their candidates tend to be
  supported and support capitalist interests of the
  powerful few
• Third parties are marginalized and excluded from
  major debates

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Political Revolution

• Political Revolution The overthrow of a
  political order in order to establish another
• Coup detat one leader disposing another
• Political Revolutions have common traits
• Rising expectations
• Tend to happen when quality of life is improving
• Unresponsive government
• Government unwilling or unable to reform
• Radical leadership by intellectuals
• Revolution is often university centered
  students play crucial role
• Establishing new legitimacy
• Guarding against the counterrevolution

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Characteristics of Terrorism

• Acts of violence, or the threat of violence,
  employed by an individual or a group as a
  political strategy
• Define violence as a legitimate political tactic
  while bypassing established channels of
  negotiation
• Used by governments as well as individuals
• State Terrorism use of violence generally
  without the support of law, by government
  officials
• Democratic countries are especially vulnerable to
  terrorism
• It is a matter of definition, one persons
  terrorist is another's freedom fighter

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Quincy Wrights Five Factors That Promote War

• Perceived threats
• Threats to people and territory
• Social problems
• Internal problems and frustration
• Political objectives
• Show of force and protecting ones own property
• Moral objectives
• Rallying people around morality
• Absence of alternatives
• Limited options

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Figure 17-4 Deaths of Americans in Eleven U.S.
Wars
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Militarism

• The worlds nations spend 1 trillion annually
• 160.00 for every person on earth
• The politics of war
• Military industrial complex the close
  association between the federal government, the
  military, and the defense industry
• Follow the money and the careers of pentagon
  officials after they leave the military as see
  where the two end up
• Nuclear weapons
• 25,000 warheads worldwide
• Nuclear proliferation the acquisition of
  nuclear-weapon technology by more and more nations

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Reducing Chances For War And Increasing Chances
Of Peace

• DETERRENCE
• BALANCE OF POWER BETWEEN SOCIETIES
• HIGH-TECHNOLOGY DEFENSE
• STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE
• DIPLOMACY AND DISARMAMENT
• KEEP TALKING ABOUT REDUCING ARMS
• RESOLVING UNDERLYING CONFLICT
• INCREASE SPENDING ON PROMOTING PEACE RATHER THAN
  BUILDING UP MILITARY