Midterm 1

Question 1

Hypothesis

Answer 1

an argument that links cause to effect; a specific proposed explanation for why an outcome occurs
- includes causal relationship
- testable and falsifiable

Question 2

Independent Variable

Answer 2

the one that we expect to change the value of the dependent variable (X)
- CAUSE

Question 3

Dependent Variable

Answer 3

the one we expect to have its value altered by the independent variable (Y)
- EFFECT

Question 4

Most Similar Systems Design

Answer 4

identify key features that are different among similar cases
- method of difference

Question 5

Most Different Systems Design (MDSD)

Answer 5

cases in which the outcomes doesn’t vary across different cases
- goal is to identify what these different cases have in common
- method of agreement

Question 6

Quantitative Research

Answer 6

Study through statistical data from many cases; excel in testing whether patterns are generalizable
- breadth over depth

Question 7

Qualitative Research

Answer 7

study through in-depth investigation of a limited number of cases; excel in detail-oriented theory development
- depth over breadth

Question 8

Institutions

Answer 8

Structure/mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given community

Question 9

Endogeneity

Answer 9

The issue that cause and effect are not often clear, in that variables may be both cause and effect in relationship to one another

Question 10

State

Answer 10

A human community that claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory
- has territory, institutions, clear membership rules

Question 11

Regime

Answer 11

the fundamental rules and norms of politics, embodying long-term goals regarding individual freedom and collective equality

Question 12

Government

Answer 12

the set of people who run the state or have the authority to act on behalf of the state at a particular point in time

Question 13

Sovereignty

Answer 13

Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states.

Question 14

State Strength (Fukuyama)

Answer 14

The ability and capacity of a state to
- plan and execute policy
- administer public business with relative efficiency
- control corruption and bribery
- enforce laws

Question 15

State Scope (Fukuyama)

Answer 15

• the goals and functions that a state takes on in the first place
• the range of activities that a state carries out
  Ex: The U.S. has a limited state scope in terms of healthcare compared to Western European countries

Question 16

Head of State/Head of Government

Answer 16

Representative of a nation

Question 17

Modern International State System

Answer 17

territory is
- consolidated
- unified
- centralized
- under a sovereign government

Question 18

State Making Through Marriage

Answer 18

states made by the marriage of the prince/princess/heir to both

Question 19

State Making Through Wars

Answer 19

states made after wars
Ex: Germany and Austria-Hungary before WW1 and after WW2

Question 20

The Peace of Westphalia

Answer 20

the peace treaty that ended the Thirty Years’ War in 1648
- the emergence of sovereignty
- kings recognize each other

Question 21

Fragile States Index

Answer 21

Measures a state’s ability to handle normal pressures and how those pressures affect their capacity to do so

Question 22

Federalism - Federal States

Answer 22

a system in which significant state powers, such as taxation and security are devolved into regional/local bodies

Question 23

Asymmetric Federalism

Answer 23

a system in which power is divided unevenly among regional bodies
Ex: Spain

Question 24

Unitary States

Answer 24

a system in which most political power exists at the national level with limited local authority; central government possess sovereignty and subnational governments are subordinated to the central government
- central government makes most significant policy

Ex: France, UK, Japan, Turkey, Germany

Question 25

Decentralization/Devolution

Answer 25

a process in which political power is "sent down"to lower levels of state and government Ex: the UK

Question 26

Dual Federalism

Answer 26

national and state governments operate independently and each level of government acts autonomously Ex: The U.S.

Question 27

Cooperative Federalism

Answer 27

there's more cooperation between central and state governments, overall leadership of central government, and try to find which level of government is more appropriate to deal with a certain issue Ex: Germany

Question 28

Nation

Answer 28

A group thought of as sovereign and equal, comprised of a large, bounded population; a group of people bound together by a common political identity

Question 29

Nationalism

Answer 29

Belief that the nation has a unique, sovereign political destiny

Question 30

(1) Nation Building In States Already Created

Answer 30

States develop national identities to become more legitimate (public education, traditions, conscriptions) - solid states, weak nations (Ex: France, Spain) - large influx of immigrants (Ex: USA, Argentina, Canada)

Question 31

(2) Xenophobic Nationalism In Nation-States

Answer 31

Against foreigners and immigrants - ride of extreme far-right parties in Europe Ex: Europe's far-right

Question 32

(3) Irredentism

Answer 32

Seeks to create a greater nation that exists beyond the limits of an already existing political unit Ex: Greater Serbia

Question 33

(4) Nationalism Seeking Autonomy

Answer 33

Seeking to reform the political system of a state to give more autonomy to a national minority Ex: Quebec seeking autonomy from Canada

Question 34

(5) Nationalism Seeking Independence

Answer 34

Seeking independence for a national minority locked within another nation Ex: Catalonia seeking independence from Spain/Scotland's independence from the UK

Question 35

The state is the machinery of politics and the ________ operates that machinery

Answer 35

government

Question 36

Constructivist View of the Nation

Answer 36

Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson (1983) Print culture is the main element in the creation of these communities

Question 37

Communities are both ______ and ______

Answer 37

imagined and real

Question 38

Challenge 1: large number of variables

Answer 38

what to control and can all of them be controlled?

Question 39

Challenge 2: controlling the interaction of variables (multicausality)

Answer 39

difficult to identify

Question 40

Challenge 3: limited number of cases to research

Answer 40

limited by the number of countries in the world and is hard to find a perfect pair for comparison

Question 41

Challenge 4: limited access to information from cases

Answer 41

need time, effort, money, and luck Ex: North Korea and authoritarian regimes

Question 42

Challenge 5: uneven research across cases and religions

Answer 42

language, resource availability, etc.

Question 43

Challenge 6: cases selected on the basis of effect and not cause

Answer 43

Selection Bias cannot falsify our hypothesis Ex: to test a relationship between the civic culture and democratization, one might only look at democratized countries

Question 44

Challenge 7: variables may be either cause or effect (endogeneity)

Answer 44

Cannot tell if one causes the other or the reverse is true Ex: a relationship between economic development and democracy