1 five principles of politics. making sense of government and politics two fundamental questions...
TRANSCRIPT
1Five Principles of
Politics
Making Sense of Government and Politics• Two fundamental questions about government and politics:– What do we observe? An empirical question– Why? Requires building a theory around principles
• Two objectives in this introductory chapter:– Explain what we mean by government and politics
– Introduce our five principles of politics
What is Government?
• The institutions and procedures through which a land and its people are ruled
• Governments may be simple, like a tribal council that makes all decisions, or they may be complex, like our own system of separate branches and levels of government
Discussion: Government in a Farming Society• Imagine that everyone in this room is a farmer in our own self-contained society
• We’re all equal in every respect
• One of us proposes to build an irrigation system
• How do we make decisions?
Forms of Government:Inclusiveness• Autocracy – A single
individual rules• Oligarchy – A small group of
landowners, military officers, or wealthy merchants rules
• Democracy – A system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process
Forms of Government:Recognition of Limits• Constitutional – Formal and effective limits are placed on the powers of government
• Authoritarian – No formal limits are placed on government but government may be effectively limited by other social institutions
• Totalitarian – No formal or effective limits on government’s power of any kind
What is Politics?
• The conflicts and struggles over the leadership, structure, and policies of government
• Politics takes many forms – voting, running for office, joining groups and parties, lobbying, and even speaking to friends and neighbors
• The 5 principles of politics can be used to explain political action
Clicker Question
Imagine a hypothetical society in which a king has almost total power but is constrained in his coercive power by the church. This government would best be described as a(n):
A.authoritarian democracy.B.constitutional autocracy.C.totalitarian oligarchy.D.authoritarian autocracy.
Introducing the 5 Principles of Politics• All political behavior has a purpose
• Institutions structure politics• All politics is collective action• Political outcomes are the products of individual preferences, institutional procedures, and collective action
• History matters
Rationality Principle
• All political behavior has a purpose
• Political behavior is instrumental– Not random– Done with forethought– Calculation
• Political actors pursue policy preferences, reelection, power, and to maximize their agency budgets
Institution Principle
• Institutions structure politics• Institutions are the rules and procedures that provide incentives for political behavior
• Remember that institutions themselves are not necessarily permanently fixed. Rules may change; they just don’t change easily
Institutions Provide Authority in Four Ways• Jurisdiction – The domain over which decisions may be made
• Agenda and Veto Power – Gatekeeping power and the power to say “no”
• Decisiveness – Rules for decision making
• Delegation – Transmission of authority
Collective Action Principle• All politics is collective action• Collective action is difficult and the difficulty mounts as the number of people and interests involved grows
• Sometimes there are collective action dilemmas – situations in which individually rational incentives do not align with shared, collective interests
A Collective Dilemma
Collective Action is Difficult• Collective action becomes even more difficult as the number of parties involved increases or as the ability to bargain face-to-face is hampered. Examples:– Free Riding– Tragedy of the Commons
• Institutions are the solutions to these problems
Policy Principle
• Political outcomes are the products of individual preferences and institutional procedures
• The policy principle is the logical combination of the first three principles
History Principle
• How we got here matters• Path dependency – certain possibilities are made more or less likely because of the historical path taken
Clicker Question
A member of Congress seeks to bring additional dollars home to his districts for construction of roads and bridges. This is an example of the:
A.Institution Principle.B.Rationality Principle.C.History Principle.D.Collective Action Principle.