INTRODUCTION TO

POLITICAL SCIENCE: POS 201

PROFESSOR CHAHINE A. GHAIS

 Main Historical Events

• Old Feudal Empires: China, India, Persia, Egypt, Phoenicia, Greece, Rome,
Islamic Caliphate …
• Westphalia Treaty (1648): End of the 30 year Religious War and Start of the
Nation-State System. It separated the Church Hierarchy from Government and
Established 3 basic rules of Int’l Law: State Sovereignty, Legal Equality and
Noninterference in internal affairs of other states.
• Spread of Liberalism along with the Industrial Revolution.
• American Revolution (1776) and French Revolution (1789).
• Developments of the 19th Century: Rise of Nationalism, Ideology and Conflict,
and Technology and Conflict. It was the Golden Age of Diplomacy and Balance
of Power.
• Rise of Germany in 1870, Italy and Japan.
• Turn of the Century: Rise of the US and American involvement in world affairs
under Realist Teddy Roosevelt.
• WWI: European stalemate, American intervention under Wilson, withdrawal of
the Bolshevik Soviet Union and the Creation of the League of Nations based on
Collective Security and Liberal World Order that ends Imperialism and grants
legal Right to National Self-Determination, International Law and Institutions. 2
• American Isolationism, Roaring Twenties, Financial Crash of 1929 and
the Great Depression.
• German and Japanese dissatisfaction, Mercantilism and Social-
Nationalism.
• WWII: Allies victory ending Social Nationalism and founding the UN,
decline of Europe and the rise of the Bipolar System by US and USSR.
• Nuclear Weapons and Cold War between Superpowers with a series of
regional and local wars: Korea, Berlin, Cuban Crisis, Vietnam, Middle
East, Africa, …, Afghanistan; ending the Détente and renewed tense
competition: Reagan and Gorbacheve.
• The Collapse of Communism in 1989, end of the USSR on Christmas
1991, and the Globalization of Liberalism as the only remaining
Ideology.
• Globalism and Rel. Fundamentalism and Terrorism: Afghanistan &
Iraq.
• Rise of China as an economic power and increased militarization.
• American withdrawals, Russian assertiveness and ISIS.
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 Political Science

• Poli. Sci.: is the systematic study of political and governmental institutions and
processes.
• What's Politics: common perception of Politicians as liars and bad corrupted people:
A statesman is viewed positively.
• Politics as Policy making: decision making & enforcing processes within a group.
• Politics is the process of making government policies. The example of Acid Rain &
its policy alternatives. There are costs and benefits for every policy.

Some Universal Characteristics of Politics:

• Politics is conflict: a form of struggle among people trying to achieve different goals
to satisfy opposing interests (Electoral Law).
• Conflict in human nature?
People have different values, acting to realize those values.
Limited resources (scarcity): some values must go unsatisfied ==> competition
• Political conflict in society: government is to set the rules of who gets what & when
==> a conflict about government (politics).

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• Group conflict in Politics: Between groups
• Pressure group: an organized interest group that acts to achieve some of its goals by
influencing Gov. officials & policies.

Tactics of Political Action: Lobbying, working inside political parties, mass propaganda,
litigation, demonstrations, strikes and boycotts, non-violent civil disobedience, and
violence.

Some Characteristics of Political Conflict:

• Multiplicity: ex: class, occupation, gender, ethnicity, religion, morality, ideology, age?
• Opposition: every I.G. (INTEREST GROUPS) has opposition
• Overlapping Memberships: the more complex the society more inclusion in I.G.
• Imperfect mobilization: not all group members support all the causes. Problem of
"Free Rider"

Politics & Gov.: civil societies & Gov. due to overwhelming shared interests.
(The notion of Social Contract) & (Madison)

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 Government & Governing

• What Gov's do? Primitive & advanced Societies: the Gov. is everywhere; license for
everything: Birth to Death and everything in between.
• Def: Gov. is the body of people and institutions that make and enforce laws for a
society
• Anarchy: a society with no Gov. (Hobbes' State of Nature)

Different types of Gov. & treatment of the people.

How Gov. differs from other social orgs?

• Gov. has Comprehensive Authority: rules apply to all citizens

• Involuntary Membership: born into it; Citizenship.
• Authoritative rules: binding upon all: Gov. rules prevail over any others.
• Legitimate Monopoly of Force: a general belief that Gov.'s powers to make and
enforce rules are proper, lawful, & entitled to obedience.
• Highest stakes: life & death decision for entire societies.

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Basic Tasks & Tools of Gov.:

• Basic duty: Nation’s survival and security: Internal and External: prevent civil war
• Interest Articulation: forming and expressing demands to gov. authorities.
Pol. interest: the stake of a person or group in gov. policy
• Interest Aggregation: the process of combining the demands of different interest
groups into public policies.
• Coercion and Compromise: Imposition of force & sanctions -- from denying a
license to the monopoly of the Death Penalty
Compromise: Gov. gives each group something of what it wants.
No total victory or defeat for the conflicting groups.
An illustration: Abortion in the US: Pros. & Cons.

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Nationalism and the Birth & Death of Nations

• Nation-states are the basic units of the system; Different levels of Gov.'s; the national
level is the most imp.; it is the sovereign & has no superior authority over it
• What are nations? How are they born? & How do they die?
• Nature of Nation-states: 195 in the Int'l System. They differ in size, populations, natural
resources, economic productivity, military power & culture.

Common characteristics:
• Particular territory: recognized boundaries that do not overlap
• Definite population: certain people are citizens &others are aliens?
- Citizen: a person who has the legal status of being a full member of a
particular state. (The Rights & Responsibilities of each citizen).
• Government: Unitary and federal. Each nation has a government: a set of
persons & institutions.
Types of Gov.'s:
- Unitary => national Gov. is legally supreme over regional and local Gov.'s.
Centralized authority that may be temporarily delegated to the provinces; ex: France.
- Federal => division & sharing of powers between national & regional local Gov.'s. Each
is supreme in its own sphere. Usually the constitution clearly defines each Gov.'s powers
& guarantees its authority. (Representation of Groups).
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The United States is the oldest example of federalism. Others are Australia, Canada,
Germany, & Switzerland.
• Formal Independence: Sovereignty: Def.: the full and exclusive legal power to
make and enforce laws for a particular territory. Legally all nations are equal
irrespective of size. The principle of "Sovereign Equality of Nations" in Int'l Law.
In reality smaller & weaker nations are more exposed to external pressures. Canada &
the US.
• Nationalism: all nations are rooted in nationalism. It is a people's psychological
attachment to a particular nation, based upon common history, language, culture
& aspirations.
- A nation is the largest unit a person is willing to die for. Nationalism is the highest
allegiance & loyalty to a nation. Even wars are fought between nations; not classes or
races.
Nationalism could be good or bad! (The story of nationalism: Westphalia, French
Revolution, Wilson, Germany, colonialism, and now).
- The Birth of Nations: originally part of other nations and they would then achieve
independence.
- The Death of Nations: Either be conquered & absorbed by another Nation, like Tibet and
China in 1951; Or Break up into a number of new nations (U.S.S.R. & Yugoslavia)
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Political Psychology, Socialization, & Culture:

Pol. Psychology:
What forms people's political beliefs & behavior?
From psychology, psychiatry, biology, socio, criminology we get our
understanding of how people think and behave politically.

Biological Nature & Needs

By nature people want to live rather than die. Basic needs: Eat, drink, clothe,
shelter, sleep, & defend themselves. Also people want to reproduce. Most of us
want to satisfy those needs with a certain level of comfort & pleasure. So we
tend to support the policies that help us achieve that.

Psychological Processes and Cognitive Maps

The emphasis is on the person & his/her interaction with their environment. To
understand that we use "Cognitive map": a mental picture of what the
physical and social worlds are like and how we relate to them .

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Three main elements of all individuals' cognitive maps:
• Perception
• Conceptualization
• Affect
(Info => perception => attitude => behavior)

Perceptions: An awareness of an aspect of reality derived from sensory

processes. Our senses do not record the reality of what we see & we hear,
instead we have "perceptual screens" to transform reality into a suitable
cognitive image. Ex: (what party I belong to). (My job is to let discover those
screens, to distinguish between reality & perceptions => your self awareness =>
know yourselves & life in general => enable you to achieve a better life).

Levels of Conceptualization: We filter whatever signals we receive & we

put them into conceptual categories that give those signals (info) meanings.
A study in the 1950 by CPSS concluded that people conceptualized on one of
four main levels:

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1. Ideological: liberal vs. conservative (12%) now higher
2. Group benefits: good or bad for Me or Us (42%)
3. Nature of the times: If the times are good, why change?(24%) If it is not broken, do not
fix it)
4. No issue content: like the person, or I am a democrat (22%)

Affect (attitude): “the emotion attached to an idea or object”.

Group Memberships & Pressures to conform (girl & boy). Each group has its own
perceptions & rules & members are expected to conform. "Primary groups"; regular face-
to-face-interaction: family, friends have a strong effect on the opinions of the members. In
every social group, there are pressures for the uniformity of opinion of all members.

Sources of pressure
• Membership in a group limits the info we receive => limits our ideas of understanding.
• People want to be regarded as normal, like the others of their peers. Many psychologists
believe that courage in war comes from the desire to get peers approval & not nationalism
(Kennedy & his advisor).
• If you derive satisfaction or benefits from being a member of a group, you would be afraid
to lose that satisfaction if you oppose them.
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Types of Groups
Families and Ethnic Groups, Friends & Age Groups.
Congregation and Religious groups, schoolmates & Education.

• Work Associates and Occupational Groups: College professors, Engineers.

• Neighbors, Income Groups and Social Classes: Marx's definition or Capitalist definition:
as person who share the same socioeconomic status.
• Variable impact of group membership:
• How important is that specific group membership to us. Membership imp. => How
influence on political behavior.
• Perceived Political Relevance of the Group: we don't really care about the group, but we
want the benefits. Ex. Religion and Politics: in the name of God we hate, kill, and, make
war.

Political Socialization:
• We learn our political views: this learning process is Pol. Socialization.
• Pol. Soc.: Is the developmental process from which people acquire their political
orientations and patterns of behavior.

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• Pol. Soc. Begins early in Life and continues: children at 3 & 4 begin to perceive of political
objects: President, Police, and Army.
By the time they are 7, children begin saying we are republicans, Christians.
By 14 the political perceptions are fully developed.
• Adolescence 13-18: the need to cleanse & change the world
• Adulthood
• Old Age: Mid sixties

Agents of Socialization: Families, Schools, peers, Mass Media

Political Culture: a broadly shared set of ways of thinking about politics & gov. the
Psychological Environment 2 main components: Cognitive & affective

Cognitive orientation: what people believe about how things really work in the political
world.
A very low level of info about political affairs.

Affective orientations: like it or dislike it; Political preferences may contradict with the
factual beliefs: Leb. as ex. Benefits & Costs; Rights & Responses.

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 What do you think of the Leb. Pol. Culture?

Some Differences among Political Cultures:

• Patriotism: Identification with the nation: Identity for pol. stability, the
primary loyalty should be to the nation, not the religion, class, region, tribe.
• Trust in people: Comparative study of some states about the statement:" most
people can be trusted!" what do you think?
• Confidence in Institutions: Gov. must rely on the voluntary compliance of
their citizens and employees.
Legitimate authority => for the people: qualified people to serve the public
interest (ex. Drivers license). Where confidence in gov. is high, a minimum force
would be required when the legitimate authority is highly questioned => Major
problem & revolution is possible (Arab Spring?).
• Citizen's obligations: one of the most imp. elements in every political culture
is the sense of citizen's obligations: Patriotism or loyalty, obeying the laws, &
participation.
Modern Political Ideologies:
Nature of Ideologies: A set of ideas (coherent) view of life.
Roy Macridis' 4 criteria to distinguish ideologies from ideas:
1. Comprehensive, 2. Pervasiveness, 3. Extensiveness & 4. Intensiveness
 
Intellectual components of an ideology:
2. values: ideology is rooted in the conviction that some values' are more imp. than
others. Ex. Liberty & equality.
3. Vision of the ideal policy: what would it be like? (ex. Marxism).
4. Conception of human nature: Good or Bad; Self-interest.
5. Strategy of action: plan for victory & the replacement of the existing bad polity with
the ideal polity.
6. Political tactics: violence vs. persuasion

Ideologies of limits on Gov.

- Constitutionalism: gov.'s power should be limited to protect human rights. It's different
from democracy in terms of definition.
The classical-liberal foundations of constitutionalism: liberalism meant maximum freedom
for individual from gov. Now liberalism means enhanced role for gov. to guarantee a min.
standard of living for its citizens.
The quote from US Declaration of Independence.

Rights as Ends: gov. exists to protect the rights of its citizens. John Locke was the leading
scholar in this area.
Rights as Means: the end is to help each person achieve his/her potential. Guaranteed rights
are necessary for human development.

- Totalitarianism: gov. control of all aspects of citizens' lives so that they will become the
kind of people the nation needs.
Citizens' lives are not private. Ex. Hitler Germany, Stalin.
• The 6 essential characteristics of modem totalitarian regimes:
1. An official ideology for all citizens
2. A single mass party, led by one person
3. A system of police control
4. Party control over mass media
5. Control of the military & any means of armed combat
6. Central control of the entire economy
Ideologies of economic control

• Capitalism & Laissez faire => min. gov. intervention in economy => private ownership of most
resources. Capitalism protects & maintains order & justice & allows the market forces to regulate the
economy. (Adam Smith, John Locke & US Fathers)
The idea: society is like the physical universe, governed by natural laws. Gov. Interference destroys the
natural balance. (Adam Smith: Specialization, Comparative Advantage & Invisible Hand)

• Socialism: an economic system in which the means of production, distribution, & exchange are publicly
owned & operated. (the opposite of capitalism)
To socialists: capitalism is the greatest source of injustice (private property). They believe in Democracy &
peaceful means (ex. name the socialist parties), contrary to communists

• Marxism, Leninism, & communism

Difference between socialism & communism is "how," but recently socialists seem to have moved to the
center.
Communists:
1- Violent revolution & liquidation of capitalists
2- "Dictatorship of the proletariat"; Comm. party
3- Soviet Union must be the center of world comm..
- Comm. In China: 1949-76 under Mao Zedong (Power) (Farmers). After 76, under Deng Xiaoping some
sweeping reforms in the economy (restructuring)
- Collapse of Comm. after Perestroika (restructuring) & Glasnost (openness)

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Democracy & Authoritarianism: Principles & Models
Almost everybody claims to be "democratic" => positive emotions

Principles for a definition:

Democracy is a form of gov. organized in accordance with principles of:
1. Popular sovereignty, 2. Political equality, 3. Popular consultation & 4. Majority rule

Popular Sovereignty: power to make decisions is vested in all people. Sovereignty: the full & exclusive legal
power to make & enforce laws for the people in its territory (In the hands of a gov). Popular: the people have the
ultimate power, “delegated” to gov. => Indirect Democracy. People are the Adult Citizens.

Political Equality: each adult citizen has the same opportunity to participate in the political decision-making
process. "One person, One vote" (opp. to participate is equal, only)

Popular Consultation: an institutional mechanism for representation.1st know the people's preferences, 2nd put
the peoples‘ preferences into effect. (what is representation? Can representatives make decisions for us?)

Majority Rule: unanimity: is it possible? 50%+1 In democracy: choices among alternative policies =>
some win, others lose. The alternative supported by the majority should win.
- limited majority rule: a 50% + 1 can't destroy other principles of democracy, self-limited majority rule: how to
prevent majority dictatorship?
- Minority veto vote or qualified majorities of 2/3 & 3/4ths those who say no, have more (unequal) power
=> a conservation system that favors the status quo.
So, short term majoritarian democracy, or long lasting stability.
Models of Democracy
• Participatory Model
Some argue a valid model of democracy must provide for the maximum possible degree of direct popular
participation. How? Small units => delegate power to local gov. based on Subsidiarity & use of
Initiatives & Referenda

• Accountable Elite Model

In most cases, only few are mobilized & interested: the elite
Elite: people who are most interested, active, and influential in making an organization's decisions. Essence of
democracy lies not in the absence of elites, but in popular control of elites (hold them accountable).
First let them compete, select winners, limit their power & remove them when they fail to represent you.
 
• Presidential and Parliamentary Models
Pres. Model => separation of powers & checks & balances between Executive, Legislative, and judicial
branches of gov.
Parliamentary Model => Fusion of powers: all in the Legislature; the winning party chooses a cabinet to
exercise executive powers.

• Majoritarian and Consensual Lijphart Models

Majoritarian Model: Mostly 2 parties: whichever gets the majority of votes gets to form the executive cabinet
for a specific term, while the minority party can only oppose by criticizing .
Consensual Model: based on proportional representation & multiparty system with no single party majority.
The cabinet is a coalition of the leaders of several parties. Policies are made by consensual agreements among
several parties.
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Authoritarianism & Dictatorship
• A form of gov. in which the ruling authority imposes its values and policies on society regardless of the people's
wishes.
• The authority may be one person or an oligarchy
• Authoritarianism is dictatorship: dictator's origin in Rome in emergency situations to defend the city. Then
Dictators began to capture the power & retain it.
• An autocrat has absolute power also, but he got it legitimately.

Now authoritarian means all non-democratic gov.s: Decisions are decreed by the authority, no constitution, &
personal claim to authority
The surge of Democracy after 1989: the greatest in History: some success, failures and setbacks. (The Transition)
Elections don’t make Democracy?!!!

Public Opinion: It matters in both democracies & authoritarian regimes.

 Nature of Public Opinion: not everybody expresses his /her opinion, not all have same feelings & equal
commitments to all issues => the public is not everybody (only who participate)
 
 Definition: Public opinion consists of those opinions held by private persons which gov.s find it prudent to heed."
It is specific to particular political issues and is not a body of ideas on all issues held by all members of the
community as the Public.
Dimensions of Public opinion: Preference & Intensity:
Preference: simply prefer some one or something
Intensity: how strongly people feel about their preferences.
Polls measure level of intensity: strongly for, to strongly against
•  Measurement by Public Opinion polls:
Significance: a major concern for every democratic gov.
Democratic philosophers, like Rousseau, want "plebiscitary" democracy.
It is very hard to achieve => replace it with representation & elections &
initiatives & referenda
• Rise of the Polls
Sample survey: a study of public opinion conducted by asking questions of
a representative sample of the population.
It is becoming a very imp. tool of democratic politics.
• How the polls work:
1st choose a sample; It has to be representative of society &
the divisions of opinions among all adults. It has to be "random.”
2nd draw a set of unbiased questions to avoid wrong answers (esp. by telephone)
3rd analyze the answers by computer; Ex: Exit polls & tracking polls

(how accurate are polls? how much influence they have).

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Opinion Distribution in Western Democracies:
 
• What concerns people: US, UK, Germany & France. Economic well being, fighting crime,
maintaining law & order. Only US: strong forces; only France: more fraternal, friendlier society.
Social preferences change from country to country & with time
•  Ideology:
Left & right in western nations, liberals & conservatives in the US: 19% Lib; 38, Cons, & 44 Moderates
Increased conservatism: Lib. 60s. Based on gender, religion, income, ethnicity & age.
• Does college make a difference?
A perception that U. professors are leftists: 64% Lib, 20% cons. Students are substantially more liberal
than their uneducated people
•  Domestic policy: Economic and social responsibilities of gov. Reagan's conservative message:
“gov. is too big,” “it is part of the problem”, “get the gov. off our backs” to have a better nation.
People want smaller gov, (taxes) in general, but increased specific services. Less socialism in the
US then Europe (private prop. & economy). Race & gender relations & immigrants: Equality of
Opportunity or Conditions (Trump)
•  Foreign Policy: Public opinion is less informed; it is mostly left to the elites, unless there is war & a
question of intervention (the whole issue of Vietnam).

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Political communication
Is one of the most imp. aspects of governing in the modem world. Through TV, Radio, Print press &
Digital Media.
• The nature of political Communication
What is communication?: it is the transmission of meaning through the use of symbols. (Expression
of ideas). Communication is essential for society, without it no awareness of common interests. It is
essential for politics: groups are formed through it, that try to influence public policy.
• Elements of Political Communication
- Communicators: persons or groups that try to influence public policy. Those include parties,
pressure groups and gov. agencies themselves.
- Messages: convey the idea to the minds of the targeted receivers.
- Media: communicators need some kind of medium, a way of transmitting their messages:
conversations to papers, radio, TV, & social media.
- Receivers: persons who become aware of a communicator's message.
- Responses: messages are intended to produce some response from the receivers. Four kinds of
favorable responses:
1. Initiation: unaware of the topic; new ideas with no previous thoughts.
2. Conversion: convince the listeners to change positions.
3. Reinforcement: eliminate doubts and confirm their beliefs.
4. Activation: Call for active participation in promoting the cause.
Mass Communications Media:
Messages to a large # of receivers with whom they have no face-to-face contact.
TV, Radio, newspapers, movies, magazines, books & social media.
TV: ownership, organization, & Regulation.
In US: TV is regulated by FCC, licensing power. (every 5 years)
Rules of the kind :"equal-opportunities rule." & how many stations can
be owned by one person. (no censorship)
In Belgium, Ireland, & Norway: all TV & Radios are owned by gov.
In most democracies, a combination of both private & public
ownership.
France, UK, & Canada; (also Sweden by a monopoly of both)
Presentation of Political News and Info.
TV producers and 15-30 seconds "sound bytes". Their objective is to
make the story interesting and not the whole truth (Mystery). Either allow
candidates & parties to buy time for commercials or give them some free time. (In
US, add news shows).

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Political & Structural Bias in TV News

TV networks are always accused by conservatives to be biased against

them.
The left accuses of bias in favor of the big business & establishment.
Scholars say: bias is not political but structural: the game scheme, short
time, excitement, competition, & money (short public attention
spans).

Newspapers: since the 1960s, over taken by TV. Still, TV producers

read newspapers to decide what stories are imp.
In democracies: privately owned; in dictatorships: by & for gov.
Main objective is to increase circulations => what people want to hear
Papers increase with development: 80% of circulation is in Europe &
N. America.
Radio: 3rd medium (distant) changes from the past
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Political Impact of Mass Communications
On Mass Publics: what kind of impact & how much?
Many argue good ads make people do what ever they want them to do. They site Reagan's
communications skills to make people see things his way. (substance Vs Style?)
Also Hitler & Khomeini as great convincers of people. Others say the Pol. communication is
not an irresistible weapon. In 1984, media treated Reagan badly & his popularity kept
increasing.
• Kind of Communication
1- Reporting: simply present or state the known facts! It is very influential
2- Editorial: evaluates what has happened and speculates about the future: it is less
convincing to people
Ex: telling Americans that "terrorists want to intimidate their leaders" & showing them the
explosions
•  Kind of issue: Communication is most effective when it deals with unstructured issues
before strong opinions are formed => on relatively unimportant issues.
• Kind of Audience: Whether they read or not; have strong views on the issue
• Kind of Conditions: Whether you control all media or have to compete with adverse
messages
• Kind of Effects: 1. conversion (rare), 2. initiation (frequent), 3. reinforcement (more
frequent) 4. activation (most frequent)
You only preach to your own people (believers) to mobilize them.
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On Political and Governmental Leaders
In Election campaigns: if democracy => campaigns: 1-6 months.
Again the 4 types of "receivers” or eligible voters in this case: 1. hostile voters (to convert),
2.uncommitted voters (to personate), 3. loyal voters (to reinforce), & 4. all potential supporters
(to energize)
In the past, parties did the campaigning (owned their own papers). Now, it is the candidates who
campaign
(mainly on TV) they use experts to poll voters and measure the acceptance of their messages
(Macron). Candidates also use the debate technique (Nixon & Kennedy)
In Gov.: Handouts, backgrounders, and leaks.
(Presidents’ main source of power). Every agency has a public relations office to "get their story
out". US president has a press secretary to deal with more than 5000 journalists & reporters
covering the White House. The press offices give hand outs & backgrounders off the record to
support their policy.
- Backgrounders: off the record tell the truth => Do not mention source
- Leaks: is an officially unauthorized transmission of confidential gov. Info to the news media. Ex:
"Deep throat" in Watergate, and WikiLeaks and Panama Papers nowadays. Leaks are to support a
policy they favor or kill a policy they oppose.

Communications Revolutions, Past & Future

It affects politics like anything else: in the past to watch a debate => go to the actual location: now
millions can watch US or French presidential debates live; Diplomats can get immediate
feedback and not fight battles after peace treaties. Social media & future technology & public
response (Trump and Twitter).
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The Electoral Process
As long as free elections are held => people hold the ultimate ruling power, not the leaders. Even though,
democracy requires much more than free elections (Rights and the rule of law).

Essential Characteristics of Free Elections:

1. Regular elections: Time Limits
2. Meaningful choices: at least two viable candidates for the office
3. Freedom to put forth candidates: all citizens have the right to form political parties & run
candidates
4. Freedom to know and discuss the choices: candidates should be able to present their views to
the electorate. This may mean financial support and media coverage, to balance rich and poor.
5. Universal Adult Suffrage: all adult citizens have the right to vote: (crazy ones, also?)
6. Equal weighting of votes: political equality one vote for each
7. Free registration of choices: no coercion or fear of reprisal => secretly
8. Accurate Counting of Votes & Reporting of Results

Qualifications For Voting: (old American South qualification)

• Citizenship: only those with declared loyalty to the nation: citizens
• Age: Certain minimum age 21 to the 1970s, now 18 (Leb?)
• Residence: live in the nation & the particular district for a period
• Registration: to prevent Fraud: (motor voter) a list of eligible voters. It is very
imp. to know who registers the voters (gov. officials, or voters themselves)
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 Nonvoting & compulsory voting
Early advocates of democracy Locke, Rousseau, & Jefferson
had high expectation of voting. The reality: not all vote.
Two measures of Turnout: % of voters of the voting age or %
of registered voters.
The main influences on turnout:
• Competitiveness: the closer the election => increase turnout
• Proportionality; the closer the # of offices won to the share
of popular votes => increase turnout
• Clear winners: a winner with full powers (not coalitions) =>
increase turnout
• Unicameralism: one house of Parliament => increase turnout
Is not-voting a disgrace and threat to Democracy?
Compulsory voting (Australia, Italy & Belgium) to remedy the
problem of turnout?
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 Nominations & Candidate Selection: (how to put your name on the Ballot)
Two steps:
1. Nomination: the legal procedures used by election authorities to certify
persons as qualified candidates for office.
2. Candidate selection: outside the legal realm, parties decide which persons
will be designated on the ballot as their candidates.
Significance of candidate selection: you can vote only for someone on the
ballot. In the US more than 200 million individuals who can nominate
themselves, the choice normally is from 20-30 candidates and actually 2-
3. Voters need to know the qualification of the candidates.
Formal nominating procedures:
3. Petition: in UK any regular citizen can fill a form with two witnesses
(proposer and seconder) and eight voters from the district + a set fee (if 5%)
2. Party-list designation
3. Unique American Direct primary: now other countries

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Principal Democratic Electoral systems:

Single-member-district system:
“First-Past-The-Post” system: Electoral districts that elect one representative with plurality: like a
race
Absolute majority system: 50%+1 run off between top 2. French elections (Macron and Le Pen)

Multi-member-proportional systems (PR)

Rationale: first past the post is undemocratic: it does not represent. To represent; assembly should
be to the nation's pol. divisions as a map to its territory.
In "First past the post" only a two party system with many wasted votes. To the contrary a PR
system allows for representation of all.
- Two types: party list system & single transferable-vote system
• Party list system: Parties are the basic units of representation. The voters vote for the lists.
Seats are given to parties in accordance with each party's share of the total popular vote (The
Netherlands & Israel). Some countries allow the voters to rearrange the numbering of the party
candidates, or to vote for specific candidates from another list. (New Lebanese law?)
• Single -Transferable-Vote system: candidates are the basic units of rep. & individual voters
have the freedom to select their candidates. The Irish system as an example numbering of
choices &"electoral quota". The excess votes go to 2nd choice.

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Political Effects of Electoral Systems:
PR: criticized for encouraging splinter parties, deep divisions & conflict.
PR also produces weak gov.s of weak and quarreling coalitions & no popular mandate
to decide on pressing political issues.

Apportionment of Electoral Districts

Israel & the Netherlands have national districts.
Apportionment: is the process of assigning to local areas the number of representatives
to be elected to the national legislature.
Apportionment is very imp. It becomes a part of the pol. conflict between groups.

Problems:
1. the principles of Political Equality => equal size districts & equal # of people.
That is hard to achieve.
2. The districts are drawn by incumbent representatives => self interest
3. Gerrymandering: the drawing of electoral district boundaries so as to advantage a
particular political party or interest group
 

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Referendum Elections: questions of public policy are voted upon directly by citizens.
Rationale: direct Vs indirect democracy: Rousseau

Four forms of Referenda:

1. Gov. controlled ref.: the ruling party or leaders control the timing and the topics &
the wording of the question
2. Constitutionally required ref: changes or amendments that have to be approved by
the people.
3. Ref. by popular petitions: if there is public rejection of a law or a policy, the citizens
would get enough signatures on a petition, then public majority vote on the issue.
4. Popular initiatives: the public initiates a legislation on an issue the gov. is not
considering. The petitioners determine the wording & put the issue to a vote in the
next election (Switzerland & US) mostly local not national.
• Dictators use referenda too. Hitler, Egypt & peace 99%, Saddam with 100%
The purpose is enhanced legitimacy by using democratic processes to do undemocratic
things.
- Ref. are politically neutral devices: neither cons. nor Liberal

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Voting Behavior

Two Intervening variables in voting behavior: 1- Preferences & 2- Voting & non-voting (what makes them)
- Issue orientation: disputed question about what gov. should do.
- Candidate orientation: personal qualities.
Four Theories of Voting:
1. Party Identification Model: sense of attachment to a party. It's different from membership.
2. Sociological Model: Based on Group Membership and Class
3. Rational Choice Model: Individual cost-benefit analysis
4. Dominant Ideology Model: Based on Education, Gov. and Mass Media.

Political Parties & Systems

 
Political parties in democratic systems:
A political party has the following characteristics: Label, organized, recognized as legitimate, work in
representing the people in gov., select candidates.
 
Party identification and membership
 Identifiers, Supporters, and Members.
- Party membership rules: dues of (5-10$ a year). in general only 1-3% of the adults are party
members in Europe & US.
- Members & Activists: feel especially strongly about their party's goals, devote much time & energy to its
affairs, and consequently have the most to say about what the party does.
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1-3% of members are activists. Activists are generally more extreme than others in the
electorate.
A dilemma for party leaders: they need the activists to win party posts, & they need the
moderate public to win elections.

Principle Activities of Parties:

• Selecting candidates: most imp. role. In democracies, parties virtually monopolize
Nominations => power to shape gov. Selecting candidates is vital for winning
elections & it is an essential source of power for any party.
Two types of processes: centralization or participation: Party leaders vs rank & file
• Election Campaigning: After selecting the candidates, parties try to get them elected.
Parties conduct & finance the Campaigns. Today, parties are being replaced to a
great extent by "political consultants" who employ very expensive techniques to
raise money by computerized direct-mail solicitation, ads, & polls & whole
"packaging" process. (Started in US & spreading, France and Macron)
• Organizing Government: party organizations within gov. by winning candidates,
esp. in the legislature. Parties organize caucuses & committees that regulate & set the
rules for the operations of institutions.

36
Differences among Parties:

In the nature and role of ideology: Platforms & programs: how candidates will use power if
elected. Could be based totally on an ideology or on specific solutions for present problems
Two main types of Parties:
1. Missionary parties: concerned with ideology ex. SWP in US
2. Broker parties: main goal is to win elections => appeal to a wide range of ideas

In Centralizations: National-regional-and local levels. Parties differ in how they distribute power
among the various levels. US & Switzerland on one end & European parties on other

In discipline: the leader's control of the members obtained by dispensing rewards and imposing
sanctions. Again US vs. Europe. Presidential vs Parliamentary systems.

In cohesion: the extent to which party members holding public office act together on policy issues
& programs within the parties.

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Fractionalization of Democratic Party Systems:

Party Fractionalization: the degree to which a nation's votes and offices are evenly divided among
a large number of parties. One-party system, two-party system, & multi-party

Characteristics of the more fractionalized system:

The same debate about PR effects on democracy & functions.
Coalition gov: arrangements in which the gov is managed by an alliance of two or more separate
parties, each of which has members in the top ministerial posts.
 
Characteristics of the less fractionalized systems: (English world)
1. Broker parties: concerned with winning election (weaker ideology)
2. General Appeal to all major groups
3. Moderate parties: mid way programs
4. Narrow differences between the parties: alike programs
 
 Authoritarian one-party systems:
5. Monoparty system (Communist: elite 10% only)
6. Hegemonic system
7. Dominant system

38
The Legislative Process

Again Presidential vs. Parliamentary systems: division vs. fusion of power.

Doctrine of separation of power: Madison & Tyranny. Two things to be avoided:
anarchy & strong gov. (lasting mid ground)
Doctrine of Checks & Balances: each has constitutional powers to check the others
Crossing boundaries: each of the branches does some functions of the other two

Functions of Legislatures:
• Statute Making: a law formally enacted by a legislature. A law: is any rule by any gov. agency.
Legislatives => statutes
• Constitution Making & Amending
• Electoral Functions: in many countries, legislatures elect the top executive officials
• Financial Functions: "power of the purse". They control taxes & appropriations Now, executive
branch participates
• Quasi - executive functions: confirming nominees
• Quasi -judicial functions: Impeaching & convicting. US, Brazil, France & UK
• Investigative functions: probe into scandals by committees
• Informational functions: investigate to collect information necessary for new
legislation, also to inform the public & gov. agencies

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Structure & Procedures
Number of houses: 2/3 of all democratic nations have bicameral legislatures.
Main steps in handling bills: introduction, gov. bills & private members, consideration by committee; &
final action by the executive.
 
Leg. Committees: the size of leg. & # of bills are prohibitive of collective consideration. In US
congress,10,000-12,000 bills are introduced every session. Only 500 to a 1000 pass.
The job of committees is to weed out unqualified bills. A # of standing committees (permanent) according
to subject matter. Select committees (temporary) make special inquiries into, and recommendations on
particular questions. Joint committees of both houses.
 
- Activities & Power: review, change, & make recommendations. Committees may shelve a bill => killing
it. Their powers vary from country to another. Very powerful in the US.
 
Party Organizations: Principle agencies: Caucus for all party members (deputies)
Executive committees selected by caucuses. (to lead them)
Floor leaders like majority leader to be spokesperson & organizer; & whips: assistant leaders or managers.
Back benchers: regular members (a trend of loosing the initiative to executive, but increase power as
checkers & supervisors)

 Representative- Constituent Relationships: (two theories)

1. Mandate theory: only register the policy preferences of the popular majority
2. Independence theory: representatives initiate policies. All people may not & cannot know everything
about all.

How does a Bill become a Law? 40

Executive as the Core of Gov.

Gov. started out as monopolized by Exc. To limit the power of gov., some
institutions were made independent to check it.
 Two Fundamental Functions
1. Head of state: official who acts as the gov.'s formal head and spokesperson
2. Head of gov.: official who leads and supervises the officers and agencies
that initiate and enforce the gov.'s policies

As chief of state (Four principal types)

3. Hereditary Monarchs (43 Nations)
4. Elected "Monarchs"(presidents with no power over policy making,
5. Elected heads of gov.
6. Collegial Executives (Switzerland 7)
Principal Functions
• Symbolic and ceremonial: as a symbol for National unity and aspirations
reflecting the image of the Nation.
• Reigning: provide the formal channel through which power is passed in a peaceful &
orderly way from one head of gov, to another.
• Separation and mingling of roles: overlap as in US & Leb? 41
As Head of Gov.: Chancellor, Premier, or Prime Minister. Normally elected
by majority in Parliament & appointed by chief of state.
It is easy in a two party system. In a multi party system, it goes to leader who can
form a majority coalition. When the President is head of gov. also, as in France,
Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Leb. --, it does not matter how he is elected, he serves a
full term independent of legislature.
 
US Presidential Roles
• Chief of state: symbolic & ceremonial functions
• Chief executive: heads all agencies charged with enforcing the laws. He is the
boss of all gov. employees (3 millions).
• Chief diplomat: foreign policy is his alone: treaties & communications
• Commander in chief: civilian supremacy over military
• Emergency leader: emergency powers in crises
• Party leader
• Chief legislator: issues decrees & orders, sign or veto legislations

42
The Prime Minister as Head of Gov.:
Structure of the British Executive: Three sets of officials make gov.
1. Prime minister: chosen by the Monarch, must be the party leader with the largest # of
seats in parliament.
2. Ministry: the PM recommends to the Monarch the names of top & secondary
executive posts. Top ministers include the heads of the 20 different departments.
(They must be members of Parlia)
3. Cabinet: normally includes the top ministers chosen by P.M. It is described as "a
committee of the top leaders of the majority in parliament.
 
Cabinet status, Functions, and Power:
Cabinet remains in office for 5 years or as long as it "commands“ the confidence of the
house of commons => its policies are being approved by parliament.
The cabinet is a policy-making body. Its members draft the bills to be adopted by parlia.
as laws. They debate in parlia & defend their proposals & accept or deny any
amendments. The Cabinet generally controls what parlia. does.
The most imp. power is that of the PM to dissolve Parlia. That insures party support for
cabinet's policies.

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Prime ministers & Cabinet:
It started out with the PM being "first among equals", but now the PM enjoys much greater powers
due to increase centralization:
 1st: centralization => majority leader in control of party & policy
2nd: modern, mass communication => voters vote based on personal popularity of the leader
3rd: PM is the "emergency leader" & commander
PM is more powerful than US president, control over party & parlia.
Prime Ministers in Coalition Gov.s: A different ball game. PM's first concern must be, not the
voters but what the coalition partners want. This gives too much power to the leaders of smaller
parties & weaken the PM & gov.

Executives in Non-democratic Systems:

Non democratic => all the power is centered in the Executive & no legislature (just a figure for
legitimacy). The courts of law operate as arms of the executives & not as checks upon them.

Law and the Judicial Process

Each person, & society, has specific patterns of behavior

We do things in ways that differ from other members of society. If we contradict these norms, they
would disapprove & punish us.

The norms of behavior are based on: 1- Moral precepts, 2- Customs. & 3- Laws
• Moral Precepts: rules of behavior based on ideas of right & wrong.
Mostly from religious commandments: "thou shall not kill".
Or may be secular virtues: personal philosophies of what is wrong.
• Customs: rules of behavior based on long-established and widespread ways in
which most people actually behave. (Powerful regulators: we behave consistently
as we think others in society expect of us). Ex: college students, & insurance
executives or bank mangers.
• Law: is the body of rules emanating from gov. and enforceable by the courts.
(Laws are necessary for civil society) (gov. of laws not of men).
 
Types of Law:
- Classified by Source:
1. Constitutional Law: a body of fundamental rules, written and unwritten, by
which gov. operates. It super seeds all other laws. It defines Gov. and its relations with the people.
2. Statutory Law: all the rules enacted by the legislature.
3. Administrative Law: Executive and administrative agencies are authorized by
constitution & legislature to make rules & regulation within certain limits.
4. Common Law: based on the "customs of the realm". Then the legal notion of stare decisis (let
the decision stand): obliged to follow precedent => follow the old ruling, instead of making
new one. Over time, that body of rulings in England became known as "the common Law"

45
5.Equity Law: also old English source: it covers matters like administration of trusts,
mortgages, and other financial obligations that are not governed by other laws.
6.Roman & civil law: redeveloped from old roman laws on orders by Napoleon in 1804.
Basically, in the non-English speaking world. It consists of rules expounded by theorists
of jurisprudence and has a more rationalistic and deductive tone than the common law.
 
 - Classified by Subject Matter:
7.criminal Law: deals with crimes: any wrong committed against the whole community,
either felonies or misdemeanors
2.civil law: deals with wrongs committed by one private individual against another, but not
damaging to the whole community
 
Court Structures in Democratic Nations
- Special Judicial Functions:
•Law Enforcement: gov. agencies that detect instances in which "persons" have violated
the general rules and then punish the offenders.
•Dispute Settlement: between plaintiff and defendant making sure to protect the interests of
the community also.
•Judicial Review: is the power of a court to render a legislative or executive act null & void
on grounds of unconstitutionality. Started in the US by Marshall in Marbury v. Madison
(not all nations)
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- Two Basic Systems of Justice:
• Adversarial: Anglo-American: a system in which a neutral court hears the
arguments and evidence presented by the plaintiff and the defendant and
makes its decision on the basis of what it has heard.
• Inquisitorial: French: A system in which the court takes an active role in
obtaining evidence and questioning witnesses as the basis for its decisions.
 
- Hierarchies of Appeal:
The principle of Hierarchy in the process: the loser can ask a higher court to
review the manner in which the trial was done.
The appellate process is possible only if all the courts are related in a clear
hierarchy structure.
- General structure of Hierarchies of Appeal (4 levels)
1. Preliminary courts: for small civil cases & misdemeanors
2. General Trial Courts: (District courts);
3. Courts of Appeal: (do not try)
4. Supreme courts: A national court: Final court of appeal (can try) & Constitutional
Court.

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Global Politics
- The International System: History and Present

Definition: An int’l system is a collection of independent political entities—tribes, cities, nations,

states, or empires—that interact with considerable frequency and according to regularized
processes.
There are five analytical aspects for int’l systems:
• Boundaries
• Main characteristics of the political units (type of gov.)
• Structure
• Common forms of interaction
• Rules and customs that govern the system
Examples of Int’l Systems include the Chinese Chou Dynasty (1122 BC –221 BC), the Greek City-
States (800 BC – 322 BC), and Renaissance Italy in the 15th century

The Contemporary Global System is an extension of the Westphalia European System,

with differences: Number of the states, WMDs and total destruction, Increased
Interference, Rise of NGOs, Powers outside Europe, and High dependence and
interdependence between actors. 48
- Understanding World Politics: Realism, Idealism, Marxism
- World Order in the 21st Century
 From Bipolar to Unipolar: Structure of Power Distribution
 The War on Terror
 Rise of Multi-polarity
 Globalization: Dynamics and Debates
 Regionalization: EU
 Global Governance: World Government? The UN?

- The Common Objectives of States:

•Security: (Isolation, Self-reliance, Neutrality, and Alliance)
•Autonomy: Make policies according to gov.’s own priorities
•Welfare: Social and Economic Security through Max of Wealth (Autarky, Mercantilism, Free
Trade and Comparative Advantage, Economic Coalitions, Cartels, Regional Free Trade, and
New Protectionism)
•Status and Prestige: Military and Economic Power, Cultural standing, Science and Technology,
and Sports…
49