Ethnic Politics
Q1: What is the relationship between democracy and ethnic conflict?
Synder: “popular-rivalries” vs. “elite persuasion”
Rational choice theory dominates approaches to ethnicity and politics in democratic systems. In Senegal, Benin, Zambia’s: “Clientalist democracies”, Voters make choices based on whether they will received benefits from leaders, not on ideology. Posneralso argues ethnic identities are not just situational but instrumental (voters identify with the most “useful” ethnic coalition). Further, Institutions play an important role in determining which identities are meaningful and which are not.Koterargue ethnicity is not a default for communal identity in democratic polities (strategic choice). Strong local or regional elite structures will allow forcross-ethnic mobilization (Senegal). Weak structures result inethnic mobilization (Benin).
First, they shape the repertoires of potentially mobilizable ethnic identities that individuals possess. That is, they determine why some of the myriad objectively identifiable bases of cultural difference in society come to be viewed as at least potentially politically salient, and why others do not. Second, they shape peoples' incentives for selecting one of these potentially salient ethnic identities rather than another, and then coordinate these choices across individuals so as to produce a society-level outcome.
There are two distinct models no programmatic electoral mobilization:1. Solely from voters' ethnic background 2.indirectly working through electoral intermediaries-- local leaders who command moral authors or resource control. 3. The choice of electoral mobilization affect national electoral outcomes.
On discussing ethnic mechanism, shared ethnicity is supposed to ensure that politicians do not renege on their electoral promise. Presenting oneself as a member of a certain ethnic group does not require much effort, thus these conditions create benefits to politicians. However nominal ethnic ties with a national politician might not guarantee access to resources, thus for voters ethnicity might not be the best strategy. Intermediaries gain leverage to acquire promise of resource on behalf of their followers. Thus voters have simple logic to follow. Due to the fact that politicians are hard to guarantee validity by distribute cash before the election since there is no clear enforcement mechanism. They ask for subcontract mobilization with local leaders. Meanwhile,given the uncertainty of post electoral payoffs, intermediaries have the incentive to receive rewards before the polls. Thus they become the means of forge ties with non-coethnic politicians. However, once intermediaries enter the electoral arena, it is likely that they will deal with the highest bidder from across the ethnic spectrum, undermining politician's efforts to invoke ethnic solidarity.
Q2: Does the nature of ethno-political and/or national identities determine whether democracy can be effective in the developing world?
If a person is free to choose identity to select the one that will be most advantageous given the situation in which she finds herself, since ethnic identities are not just situational butinstrumental.The emotional bond is not likely to be an adequate explanation for his identity become politically significant rather than another. Thus political institutions matter because boundaries of arena of any coalition is defined by institutional rules. Further, institutions coordinate these choices when individuals make a decision. Thus ethnic identity that people use to define who they are could also be traced to specific state policies, regulations and administrative structures; identity construction is separate from identity choice since this is also the difference of sociological institutionalism and rational choice institutionalism. Also, state policies and regulations will generate menus of ethnic coalition options, which might further combine with formal rules of political game, and further lead to coalition choice of political actors andethnic cleavages outcomes.
Q3: If the amount of violent ethnopolitical conflict has declined in the developing world as a whole, why is such conflict still so strong in some countries?
Nationalism
Q1: What is a nation?
Q2: Do nations create states or vice versa?
Q3: What does it mean to say that nation is an
“imagined community”?
• Anderson Imagined communities .
None
• Misuse of key concept of nation and nationalism
Definitions of nation and nationalism are consistently misused and loose used.This article explains some points that where theses concepts are misused and loose-used.
There are two misuse and loose use of nation. Nation is not equal to state and country as it is in political science. Nation is also more than an ethnic group since a nation's belief is territorial control. Another point is that nations are self determined since nation is not knifed only by culture but sense of purpose that controlling the territory that the members of group believe to be theirs.
There are several misuse and loose use if nationalism as well. Firstly ,Nationalism is anidea or belief but not the action which result in. Beliefs could not be regarded as translated into behavior automatically, but they are closely reassured. Thus a more practical approach is takes nationalism as a process that both the creation of unifying feature of the nation and the result from the belief. Secondly, nationalism is not patriotism. Nationalism requires passionate identification of state on the part of its citizens. Thirdly,nationalism could not bedefined only either on territory and unified identity at the same time, since it requires both. Finally, nationalism is not ethic politics, though it might be used to mobilize people and simulate them to engage in it,butpoliticization of ethnicity is not the same things as nationalism.
• Politics of ethnicity and nationalism
This article aims at describing the relationship between culture and politics by arguing 1. The purifying culture and cultural social exclusion 2. Universalization of ethnic closeness engenders national solidarity 3, terrorization of collective memory inspires historical homelands and sacred sites.
Authoritarism Middle East
Q1: What are the similarities and differences between different types of authoritarian systems?
“Competitive authoritarianism”(Levitsky and Way):
elections are the primary means of attaining power, however,ruling parties use their power in government to constrain opposition parties
Hybrid regimes: authoritarianism with democratic features
Q2: What explains the resilience and longevity of many authoritarian regimes?
There are mainly five reasons. 1.Civil societies are weak，thus there is inefficient competition of democracy. Labor unions are empty shells, businessmen’s associations lack credible autonomy.NGOs lack of grounding. Popular preference could not be developed. 2.State-led economy. Public sectors continues to share the majority of GNP after the structural adjustment. The legacy of static ideology and rent-seeking undermines the power in society against state. 3.People are poor, literacy rates are low,inequality are significant.Thus there is a compromised condition between elites and masses: masses did not prioritize it, the elite has no reason to be frightened by it.
4. Countries are geographically remote from epicenter of democratization.Few countries’ borders directly on successful models of democratic rule,except Turkey. 5. Islam and other culture factorsdistinguish the region since Islam could be considered as unfriendly to democracy.
Q3: How do we understand the lessons of the Arab Spring?
None of the factors above in Question 2 are satisfied since democracy is a complex process. No single factors could be universal sufficient and essential to it. Thus the accumulated failure might be an explanation, however, it is still not enough since countries with such failure also nonetheless made democratization successfully.
Thus this region’s true exceptionalism is therobustness of coercive apparatus; it is not the absence of democratic prerequisites but rather the presence of conditions that fostered robust authoritanism. The robustness of the coercive apparatus is directly linked to maintenance of fiscal health. Democratic transition is possible when military could not pay its recruits and security forces could not secure its arm supply.
International support networks. Withdraw of international backing triggersboth an existential and financial crisis for the regime that often devastates both its will and capacity to carry on.
Level of institutionalism is positively related to amenability of political reform. Institutionalism have more tolerance for reform compared to patrimonialism (power flows directly from the leader). After institutionalization, elites have a sense of corporate identity separate from the state, thus they will not fear to be ruined by reform. Conversely, they are more likely to be ruined by holding the office too long since the inevitable division among elites will triggered by political failure. Further, broader national mission that serves the public good, eg. National defense exits in institutionalism than in patrimonialism. Thus it is good for democratic transition while elites still are maintaining on power.
Level ofpopular mobilizationwill also influence coercive apparatus since violent repression is always costly even it is within the capacity of security force.
After the Arab Spring, the author provide another explanation:
Coercive apparatus could be defection(背叛）rather than loyalty sometimes by considering the institutional character of military. When the system is established upon strict delineation of public and private that forbids predatory behavior in society, the discipline is maintained through the inculcation of service ethic and strict enforcement of merit based hierarchy rather than the balanced rivalry between primordial groups. Thus military elite will have to imagine separation of identity from the regime. However, when the military is organized through patrimonial lines where career advancement might governed by political loyalty, which means the distinction between public and private is blurred. Military elites become heavily invested in the regime’s survival and perceives regime change as possibly detriment. Thus the violence against civilians might be used by military leadership.
Though Egypt’s military is professionalized, Egyptian military still involved in crony capitalists links with the regime; thus military’s economic ventures, blessed and protected by the regime, accounted for a significant share of its economic privilege. Other cases like Syria and Bahrian was also considered by the author.
Low level of social mobilization is another factor that there have not been any protest in Arab world. However, in the case of Arab Spring, four factors might be used to explain the sudden surge of popular mobilization: long standing grievances, emotional trigger, sense of impunity and access to new social media.
Ordinary people take to the streets when they feel compelled by some strong emotions such as anger fear or euphoria.Cost-benefit calculation is also impaortant to mass participation that if they feel they will be hurt or killed they will not choose to participate. In Tunisia case, people choose to protest one of the most important factor is that military would not shoot, in their sense. People believe they could protest with impunity.
Social movements
• Q1: What is a social movement? What is its relation to interest groups, political parties,and the media?
• Q2: Describe the three major models for the analysis of social movements and discuss the weaknesses of each.
Refers to a set of theories with common hypotheses.
1. Classical Model: Society and politics are normally integrated. Social movements triggered bysocietal breakdown. People participate to deal with breakdown
Critique: Too deterministic; Movements based on interaction networks
2. Resource Mobilization: Movements can only emerge and mobilize if they have sufficient resources at their disposal. Movements are normal, rational, consisting of capable and empowered people. Shift of focus on individuals and groups
Critique: Normalizing protests; Overemphasis of role of elites
3. Political Oppurtunitires: Resources are important but 1) … politicalcontext facilitates/ contains mobilization 2) …subjective meaning people attribute to their situationimportant to explain mobilization
The political opportunity structure model is most promising for comparative politics.
Critique : Too broad a concept / too many actors, Not all movements depend on politics
Political opportunity structures influence the choice of protest strategies and theimpactof social movements:’Open’ vs ‘closed’ political system: Centralization vs decentralizatio: Separation of power.
Prevailing ‘cultural models’ for dealing with challengers
Deep reaching cleavages constitute political conflict
International context
- Nation states integrated into international systems
- Transnational activism
- Global Civil Society
• Q3: When do social movements have success, i.e. under what conditions are they able to reach their goals?
Political Culture
Q1: How is culture conceptualized and the methodology using to Political Culture?
Political culture simply stands in for culture itself: an essential cultural element that determines politics
Syndromes:specific constellations of attitudes;
Attitudes: longitudinal survey data
Some argues that exploring how ideas norms and culture functions as dependent and independent variables, however, ideas and culture could be both dependent and independent variables at the same time. Further , there is a status quo bias that ideas and norms are considered as preexisting part of the landscape, and focus haas only been on how they influence political outcomes. This literature focus on explaining why political actors remains stubborn in reproducing traditional behavior. However, political life is not always stable, thus continuity and change should be considered at the same time.
In discussing how ideas, norms and culture affect political life, it is easy toconfuse its affect in political life and idea itself. There is no way of investigating whether we have uncovered correlation or causality between the culture and its outcome. Political behavior is a product of their belief and ideas. However, ideas could influence political behavior even if political actors haven't internalized them.Also, state interest are conducted through interaction since it does not exist to be discovered by self interest actors but constructed by external society and interaction.Process tracing is also important in studying ideas and belief in decision making since it closely look at the way the decisions are made.
Q2: Is ‘civic culture’ crucial for democratic governance?
“the development of a stable and effective democratic government depends upon more than the structures of government: it depends upon the orientations that people have to the political process, upon the political culture’
2. Sort of civic culture:
Interpersonal trust (participation and loyality)
Democratic sentiment (life satisfaction)
Support for the status quo (non-revolutionary)
3. “the greater thedensity of associational membership in a society, the more trusting its citizens. Trust and engagement are two facets of the same underlying factor—social capital”
Q3 What is authoritansim nostogia in Asia? Why USA Social Capital is declining?
Socialization:The communism collapsed, but a crisis or a shock is not necessary to open up a political space since political space often open up because of changing material conditions.New ideas fill in the political space by carriers and entrepreneurs, or agencies who are capable to persuade others to reconsider the way of thinking and act.Identity formation is shaped by culture entrepreneurs who take advantages of new oppounities within a payoff structure. Others argue that under rapidly changing situation, actors might also adapt a road map that helps to guide their behavior. For example, monetarism is a good guide for economic problem. Since new ideologies did not accepted in a vacuum, it should be considered into political space which is already full of other historical formed ideologies.
2.Institutionalization:The process of institutionalizations is why some ideas remain significant over time. Some political scientists focus on how ideational variables become embedded insocial norms, patterns of discourse and intangible institutions which characterized by intersubjective understandings and shared belief systems.Institutionalization might be considered as an aging process, since this is a socialization process in early years which might affect later political behavior across regime change. In dealing with tangible institutions, the problem is easy. However, intangible institutionsare easily treated as background andhabitual. It could not be reduced to material factors. Institutional analysis is essential for studying ideas since only through which jt become influential.
3. Legitamacy: Why Asian countries staying authoritarian? This should be answered by analyzing legitimacy. For democratic legitimacy, there are four most important factors should be considered. First is thedesire for democracy, second is thesuitability of democracy. Third is the efficacyof democracy, the democratic regime in addressing the country's major problem. The lastly it is the priority that citizens placed on democracyas compared to other societal goals.Roseand his colleagues argues that democracy often survives not because people believe in its intrinsic legitimacy, but rather because most people haveno better preferable alternatives（path dependency and opp cost). This suggests that aversion to authoritarianism weights as heavily as attachment to democracy in sustaining a democratic regime. Firstly, East Asia has been significantly joint in the third democratic wave. East Asia might be the only region that newly democratic country has been economicallyintegrated with non democraticcountries like China. Secondly, few of authoritarian regime has been discredited due to theexcellent economic performance and social stability.Finally, dominate East Asiancultural traditionspose an obstacle to the acquisition of democratic values.
In America, neo-Tocquevillean have found the quality and quantity ofpublic life has declined.Social capital such as neighborliness, social trust has declined sharply. Reasons includes 1.the movement of woman into labor force. 2.decliningresidential stability. 3.Demographic transformations such as fewer marriages, more divorces, fewer children, lower real wages and so on since middle-class parents are more socially involved than others. 4.Technological transformations of leisure are more privatizingand individualizing than ever.
Parties
Q1: Is democracy conceivable without political parties?
Political parties are in many ways the keystone effort to construct a well-functioning democracy. In developing democracies, parties are symbols of democracy and provide legitimacy support of it. Parties are important for managing the conflict and upheaval. Finally parties could create viable organizational alternatives to military cliques.
The link between parties and democracy consolidationis complex, since it includes extent of ideological polarization within party system, the number of parties, and degree of party nationalization.
Q2: Do political parties play the same role in new democracies as in the established democracies?
Q3: What can you say about the genealogy of party systems? What is the effect of electoral systems on the shape of party systems?
- Dominant-party systems (Single-party systems), Two-party systems, Multi-party systems
- electoral system shape party system: SMD system: Geographical subdivisions.PR system: Proportions of seats parties win
Democracies with SMD electoral systems, often end up with two-party systems
Democracies with PR electoral systems, often end up with multi-party systems
- Social Cleavage shape party system
1) National revolution:
-Center-periphery cleavage
-State-churchcleavage
2) Industrial revolution:
- Rural-urban cleavage
- Workers-employers cleavage
3) Communism-socialism cleavage
4) Materialism-post materialism cleavage
5) Globalization cleavage
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Party systems in Indonesia, Thailand and Philippinesare allweakly institutionalized.
Opinions about their democratic government has fallen short of hopes and expectations. One criticism is there is short of political parties and the party system. In the eyes of many people,political parties have become the biggest obstacle to democratic consolidation in Southeast Asia.
Dimensions of party system institutionalization could be measured in patterns of party competition, party-society links, views of parties by major political leaders and party organization (not surbordinate interest to a few ambitious leaders.
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Religion Norris Smith
What are the characteristics of religious insurgence in the developing world and how are they important politically?
Religious fundamentalismis the characterstics.
Failure of secular state to deliver goods and services
Modernization has resulted in decline of‘moral values’
God may be superseded by “gospel of technical progress”
Critique on use of term ‘fundamentalism’
- Used by “Western liberals to refer to a broad spectrum of religious phenomena which have little in common except for the fact that they are alarming to liberals”
Broad range of opposition and not necessarily all is ‘fundamentalist’.
2. Discuss, using examples from the developing world,whether and how religion revive.
Religion remains important in many developing countries. Global religious revitalization include Increase in religious ideas and Religious movements. Reasons of such revivial includes uneuqal modernization, religious Market theory and demographic factors.
1. Religious upsurge closely linked to modernization sinceModernization has allocated opportunities inhighly unequal ways. Grievanceshas turned people towards religion.
2. The problem ofIndian Hindu resurgence. India national congress established on a base of secular system. Over the past decade the force of national congress decline. A most important factor is the ecclesiastical structure of Hinduism. The caste system is central to Hindu conception of society,anddisruptive to united Hindu identity.
3. Religious market theory: supply and demand of religion. Supply side theory arguescompetition between religion is positive for religion involvement. The more churches, denominations compete in local community, the harder rival leaders need to strive to maintain their congregations.
4. The death of religion was the conventional wisdom in the social sciences during most of the twentieth century. It has been regarded as the master model of sociological inquiry (eg.Weberian rational modernization and Durkheim functionalism) . However, the resurgence of religion worldwide (e.g. High ratio of church attendance in USA, fundamentalist movements in Muslim world, evangelical revival sweeping in Latin America, and ethnic conflict in international affairs.) This indicate thesecularization theory doctrine failed interpret both present and past. All countries with high level of secularization show fertility rate far below the replacement level.
5. Further,religiosity is systematically related to levels of social modernization, human security, economic inequality, generational shift in values, demographics and fertility rate.
3. Do all religions have profound implications for politics in the developing world? Are some religions more liable than others to have consequences that are politically destabilising ?
I argue when there is vague political agenda, lack of specific reform blueprint and violation to fundemental modern state principle( eg. Islam’s Sharia Law), it is political destabilizing. Depoliticizing religion such as in China and France will not lead to political destability.
In the 1980s we are witnessing a global revival of religion in Islam, Latin America etc. Religion is important to know some society since clergy have a important role in social control,and thelegitimacy of government rested squarely on religious notions, since the traditional ruler was seen as either god or agent of god.
Not all religion influence politics in developing world since in secular countries such as China, religion is banned from public administration.Similarlyin France, the Laicistmodel: which Seeks to completely dominate and privatize religion, thus religion could not have influence on politics. Catholic society where faith was crucial to country’s identity, but Religion came to be associated with ‘old regime’ after 1789 French revolution, which tried to create its own ‘secular’ ideology.
-Prolonged struggle between Monarchy/ Church and Democratic Republicanism
- Religion asSocial fabric of societyis undermined by ‘Westernization’
1. InSiri Lanka and Burma, Monkscame to stage of political activism. Buddhist intervention to politics is intense but temporary. Despite other factors, Buddhists themselves are not good at ... all mundane activities of Sangha Buddhists are contrary to Vinaya code of monastic discipline. Further,there is built in obstaclefor monks that if monks want to serve as cabinet minister since if they do so they need to leave Sangha. Early Buddhismhad no divine blueprint for society.Social Reform was not the Buddha’s purpose. There is too muchvagueness of political agendaand guidelines about Buddhist ideals of equality, justice and compassion. In other words, they are capable of effective political mobilization to the extent of replacing governments, but no inclination to change structure of society in any fundamental way.
2. Islamic Revolution: Islamic resurgence undoubtedly presents the most serious Challenge to modern conceptions of the state, primarily because of the centrality of law,sharia law in Islam. It rejects fundamental legislative state on principle and states all law is the expression ofAllah's will. Such fundamentalism cause the failure of various secular movements such as nationalism socialism and capitalism.
Security
Q1: What are the key approaches to the study of security? Walt
“Security studies may be defined as the study of the threat, use and control of military force” (Walt). Military threats to the state and Interstate conflict and relations among “Great Powers”.
Non traditional security studies include Environmental problems, Threats from nationalism, Migration, Disease and International organized crime.
Definitions of security issues in developing world often different from those in developed world because the definition is defined by the west.
Q2: How does international organized crime affect the security of peoples and states in the developing world? Explain with reference to either narcotic trafficking or human trafficking.
Human trafficking : Forced labor, including child labor, Slavery, Selling of orphans, Sex trafficking. These are threats to human security.
Q3: What are the dangers in securitizing or conversely not securitizing health?
Traditionally treated within frameworkof development studies and human rightsSecuritization of transnational diseasesinclude Link between diseases and development, and Undermining political, economic, social stability. Traditional security could be threatened by diseases as well. Health policy could be a tool of foreign security politics.?
I take AIDS as example. Militaryis a primary connection between AISD and conflict. Besides spellers are disconnecting from traditional societal controls,they are also separate from traditional sexual partners. They are stressed and often richer than local population but little to spend on. Finally soldiers live and work inside an institution and culture that tends to encourage risk taking. Thus is this sense ALDS killed skilled work force in military and increase the risk ofdomestic instability.
AIDS and state failure:AIDS could cause lack of skilled workers in a number of countries. The disease increase budgetary needs at the same time as shrink the tax base. The disease is concentrating in areas already undergoing tenuous political transitions such as Africa and the former Soviet Union, only heights the risk of instability and state failure. Thus further lead to refugee flows. Recent research have found the a strong correlation between violent outbreaks, ranging from wars to terrorism,and the ratio ofyoung male population in relation to its more mature segments since young men are more aggressive compared to other social group when there is resource conflict. Orphans and child soldiers are also products of HIV.
HIV also weakens global stability, for example,it reduce the Frequency of deployment. Military will be unable to peacekeeping operations.
AIDS also makes the impact of war more catastrophic. It become part of organized political purpose. Rape is now being intentionally used to transfer AIDS to target populations. Disease also become part of cost of war. For example, most deaths in Napolenic wars were from typhus as well as in Crimean war and American War. Further, In war AlSS spread with the interaction between groups which are less likely to interact before.