Module 6

Question 1

Describe the Political Construction of “Crises”

Answer 1

• SCAPEGOATING
  illiberal leaders often blame immigrants, ethnic/religious minorities, or “outsider” groups for societal problems
• EXPLOITING CRISES
  economic recessions, terror threats of migration waves are framed as existential dangers

(crises become pretexts for emergency measures, expanding executive power)

• DECLARING MORAL PANICS
  public morality or “traditional values” invoke to demonize progressive voices or alternative lifestyles

(consolidation of power is justified as necessary to “defend” the nation in a perpetual state of crisis)

Question 2

What makes-up the illiberal leader playbook?

Answer 2

1- “Us vs Them” Retoric
2- Discredit Institutions
3- Consolidate Loyalists
4- Claim Popular Mandate

Question 3

Describe the Mechanism of Mistrust

Answer 3

ACCUSATION OF ELITISM
branding scientists as disconnected from people using academic jargon

“FAKE NEWS” / MEDIA CAPTURE
discredit mainstream reporting of scientific consensus by claiming bias or corruption

CHERRY-PICKING UNCERTAINTY
emphasizing minor data gaps or normal scientific debates to suggest a conspiracy on broad unreliability

Question 4

Describe Oreske’s Counter to Distrust

Answer 4

TRANSPARENCY ABOUT VALUES
personal and societal values shape research priorities being open about these undermines claims of “Hidden Agendas”

COMMUNITY SCRUTINY
show how multiple labs, varying viewpoints and replicative studies converge on robust findings

HISTORIC TRACK RECORD
stress how, over time, scientific inquiry correct mistakes and improves methods

Question 5

Describe Social Systems and Functions

Answer 5

(Explaining, Holism)

SYSTEM THINKING:
treats society as INTERCONNECTED SYSTEM of parts (institutions, norms, roles) that interact and shape stability and change

Question 6

Define Functional Explanations and state their strengths

Answer 6

FUNCTIONAL EXPLANATIONS
social institutions or practices persist because they serve a function

STRENGHTS
- Helps explain persistence of social patterns that appear irrational at the individual level but beneficial at the group/system level

• Emphasizes integration, how parts contribute to the stability or adaptation of the whole
• Holism and systems thinking underscore that STRUCTURAL AND MACRO PROCESSES shape individuals just as individuals shape structures
• Functional Explanations highlight the stability or adaptability of social systems, but critics call for NUANCE regarding power, conflict and change

Question 7

Describe Social Meaning Theory

Answer 7

(Understanding, Holism)

An interpretive approach to understanding human behavior and social phenomena by focusing on the meanings individuals and groups assign to actions, interactions, and structures

!! emphasized that social reality is not objectively given but CONSTRUCTED THROUGH COMMUNICATION, SYMBOLS AND SHARED INTERPRETATIONS !!

Question 8

Define Total Institutions, the mechanisms involved, and the norms within such

Answer 8

A single authority controls every aspect of daily life

MECHANISMS
strict segregation and uniform procedures unify inmates/patients into a COMMON COMPLIANCE (rules overshadow personal identity)

NORMS:
- Hierarchical Authority
staff wields all the power

• Rituals & Cerimonies
  routine group activities reinforcing collective identity
• Forbidden vs Allowed Behaviour
  staff punishes or rewards behavior according to the institutions’s moral code