Political science lecture notes
lecture one
- political science is engaged in analysing and describing how political institutions
work and how the political processes take place within these institutions and how the
political behaviour fits in this.
● it studies the theory and practice of politics.
- politics the process by which people negotiate and compete.
● the process of making and executing shared or collective decisions.
- why is it relevant to study political science?
1. understand the behaviour of both politicians and fellow citizens.
2. know about the consequences of political transformations the rise of illiberal
democracies and populism.
3. understand how to interpret political information.
- political systems: is an agreement between national government and citizens
however it is much bigger because many other factors play a role, like political
parties, local authorities, business interest groups, civil society organizations, media
and international organisations.
● all these different actors interact and influence each other.
● the focus though stays on the national government.
- the relevance of governments, governments play a central role in political science
and politics because without a common power to keep all in awe.
● hobbes says the government has to take care of the safety but als dykes,
roads, clean air etc.
● the governments have to be kept from fully using their power to issue it
against the people.
- core concepts in politics:
1. power the capacity to bring about intended effects.
2. authority the right to exert power, legitimate power
3. legitimacy power of a government is accepted by those subject to its rules
and by the community.
- three dimensions of power, who prevails political outcomes/who controls what
preferences are expressed/ who shapes preferences?
- first dimension of power when someones manages to make you agree on
something which you did not agree with at first. debates.
● in democratic regimes, voting behaviour/parliamentary debates/judicial
constraints.
● in authoritarian regimes, political elite/political violence.
- second dimension of power control over the issues/ policy alternatives discussed
during the decision making process
, ● agenda setting powers
● control of the expression of preferences.
● in democratic regimes government/initiatives by parliament and
citizens/issues with high salience.
● in authoritarian and hybrid regimes laws that ban public protests/state
owned media restricting the air time of opposition leaders.
● different newspapers also have different headlines, so you can see what their
topic preference is.
- third dimension of power control over the preferences of politicians and citizens, so
controlling the thinking of people.
● often done by social cleavages, political ideology, political communication and
media.
● in democratic regimes political communication, the rise of social
media/public debates and ope deliberation processes.
● in hybrid and authoritarian regimes propaganda through state owned
media.
- implications:
1. strong relationship between different dimensions of power, preference
fromulation >> preference expression >> policy outcomes.
2. authoritarian hybrid regimes, centralization of all three dimensions of power in
one party or a leader.
3. democratic regimes, power over the three dimensions is dispersed across
different actors.
- three types of authority by Max Weber:
1. traditional sanctity of tradition, often passed down through heredity.
2. charismatic perceived extraordinary characteristics of an individual.
3. legal rational formalistics belief in the content of the law or national law.
- recap lecture one
● power (three dimensions)
● authority (three types)
● legitimacy
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
lecture two
- types of political regimes, democracies vs authoritarian regimes, authoritarian
regimes has the most centralized regime of all.
● authoritarian states
● hybrid regimes
● representative democracy
● liberal democracy
lecture one
- political science is engaged in analysing and describing how political institutions
work and how the political processes take place within these institutions and how the
political behaviour fits in this.
● it studies the theory and practice of politics.
- politics the process by which people negotiate and compete.
● the process of making and executing shared or collective decisions.
- why is it relevant to study political science?
1. understand the behaviour of both politicians and fellow citizens.
2. know about the consequences of political transformations the rise of illiberal
democracies and populism.
3. understand how to interpret political information.
- political systems: is an agreement between national government and citizens
however it is much bigger because many other factors play a role, like political
parties, local authorities, business interest groups, civil society organizations, media
and international organisations.
● all these different actors interact and influence each other.
● the focus though stays on the national government.
- the relevance of governments, governments play a central role in political science
and politics because without a common power to keep all in awe.
● hobbes says the government has to take care of the safety but als dykes,
roads, clean air etc.
● the governments have to be kept from fully using their power to issue it
against the people.
- core concepts in politics:
1. power the capacity to bring about intended effects.
2. authority the right to exert power, legitimate power
3. legitimacy power of a government is accepted by those subject to its rules
and by the community.
- three dimensions of power, who prevails political outcomes/who controls what
preferences are expressed/ who shapes preferences?
- first dimension of power when someones manages to make you agree on
something which you did not agree with at first. debates.
● in democratic regimes, voting behaviour/parliamentary debates/judicial
constraints.
● in authoritarian regimes, political elite/political violence.
- second dimension of power control over the issues/ policy alternatives discussed
during the decision making process
, ● agenda setting powers
● control of the expression of preferences.
● in democratic regimes government/initiatives by parliament and
citizens/issues with high salience.
● in authoritarian and hybrid regimes laws that ban public protests/state
owned media restricting the air time of opposition leaders.
● different newspapers also have different headlines, so you can see what their
topic preference is.
- third dimension of power control over the preferences of politicians and citizens, so
controlling the thinking of people.
● often done by social cleavages, political ideology, political communication and
media.
● in democratic regimes political communication, the rise of social
media/public debates and ope deliberation processes.
● in hybrid and authoritarian regimes propaganda through state owned
media.
- implications:
1. strong relationship between different dimensions of power, preference
fromulation >> preference expression >> policy outcomes.
2. authoritarian hybrid regimes, centralization of all three dimensions of power in
one party or a leader.
3. democratic regimes, power over the three dimensions is dispersed across
different actors.
- three types of authority by Max Weber:
1. traditional sanctity of tradition, often passed down through heredity.
2. charismatic perceived extraordinary characteristics of an individual.
3. legal rational formalistics belief in the content of the law or national law.
- recap lecture one
● power (three dimensions)
● authority (three types)
● legitimacy
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
lecture two
- types of political regimes, democracies vs authoritarian regimes, authoritarian
regimes has the most centralized regime of all.
● authoritarian states
● hybrid regimes
● representative democracy
● liberal democracy
