reading 2 (chapter 3 and 5)

Question 1

5 defining qualities of states

Answer 1

• government (with recognized authority to administer and represent the state in dealings with other governments)
• population
• territory (marked by borders, and control the movement of people, money, and goods across borders)
• sovereignty (sole authority to impose laws and taxes)
• legitimacy (recognition + acceptance of the state by residents and other states)

Question 2

states differ from one another in terms of
3

Answer 2

• population numbers
• wealth (WB classifications: high income, upper middle income, lower middle income, low income)
• reach/levels of political authority

Question 3

Max Weber definition state

Answer 3

a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory

Question 4

difference state and government

Answer 4

state = political community
government = agency that manages the community (the state)

Question 5

sovereignty

Answer 5

the unfettered and undivided power to make laws
- Jean Bodin

sovereign body = the one institution unrestricted by higher authority

sovereign body is by definition the state

*notion of sovereignty is weaker when authority is shared (e.g. regional and central governments), then the idea of sovereignty is diluted

Question 6

(roles of states)
- table p. 116

Answer 6

• law and order
• national security (external threats)
• money (supply and interest rates)
• taxes
• trade
• regulation
• welfare (in the form of public health care, unemployment benefits, educational subsidies and assistance to farmers)
• infrastructure
• legal obligations (international law + IOs)
• citizenship (defining and protecting rights of citizens)

Question 7

mapping states
- issue
- benchmark of reference

Answer 7

Benchmark = UN membership
problems

• includes EU enclave states (legally states, but practically part of larger surrounding states)
• excludes several territories that function like states but lack sovereignty or legitimacy
• few remaining colonies or overseas territories that lack sovereignty required to be states
• not all states are equal in terms of the degree of control over territories and populations

conclusion: a simple map of the world does not tell us the whole study of states

Question 8

origins and evolution of states

Answer 8

16-18th century = emergence modern idea of the state (based on Western ideas about sovereignty and autonomy)

main force responsible for emergence state= war
- 14th century invention gunpowder -> arms race + standing armies = requires some administration = foundation bureaucracy

~1850 protectionist trade policies (due to eco. depressions) -> function of states grew (education, factory regulation, etc.)

WW1 = invention passports

important waves of state formation =

• 1648 Peace of Westphalia => adjustments borders + new definition idea of sovereignty + helped make secular authority superior to religion = Westphalian system
• end WW1: end great empires (only Turkey became strong and stable)
• end WW2: welfare state + end colonial era + globalization
• collapse communism and Soviet Union (a Russian empire) = new states (mixed experiences/success)

now: seemingly quiet era in terms of state formation, but can still change (e.g. because post-colonial states struggle to stay together)

Question 9

quasi states

Answer 9

Jackson: states that won independence from a former colonial power but have since lost control over much of their territory

are recognized by the international community, but barely exist as a functioning entity

e.g. Somalia (civil war 1991 -> collapse centralized government + emergence autonomous regions)

Question 10

de facto states

Answer 10

Pegg: states that control territory and have their own governments, but are mainly unrecognized by the international community

e.g. Kosovo, Abkhazia, Transnistria, Somaliland, Taiwan

Question 11

nation-state vs multinational state

Answer 11

nation-state = state that contains only the people belonging to a single nation (rare, e.g. Iceland)

multinational state = multiple national groups live under a shared government (most European states

Question 11

nation

Answer 11

cultural and historical concept

Anderson: nations are imagined communities

more precise:
- peoples with homelands (nation (Latin): place of birth)
- claims a right to self-determination (seeks sovereignty) = political character

nations have symbiotic relationships with states: states have incentives to encourage national unity so that citizens are loyal

Question 12

nationalism

Answer 12

2 different meanings:

• originally/classically (19th/20th centuries): nations had a right to shape their own destiny (e.g. also in UN Charter: peoples’ right to self-determination)
• promotion of nationalist groups of their interests through assumed superiority and exclusion (e.g. Nazis lebensraum, Trump anti-immigrant)

many scholars (e.g. Mearsheimer, Walt, Greenfield) see nationalism as main/important force in the world

Question 13

the future of the state

Answer 13

different views on the future:

• states are as strong as ever
• security state (new tools for states to monitor + broader power)
• grip of states is weakening (interstate cooperation dilutes sovereignty, globalization, states criticized for failures)

Question 14

failed/fragile/failing state

Answer 14

states that have so many internal problems that they have stopped functioning + have weak state features as described by Rotberg (authority little control + criminal violence worsens + political institutions are ineffective)

now: approx. 20-60 of such states (see e.g. Fragile States index)

causation for failure of states = debated (e.g. blame institutions V environmental factors V luck)

Question 15

state

Answer 15

legal and political authority of a territory containing a population and marked by borders

Question 16

different types of democracy

Democracy Index

democratic regime types

Answer 16

Full democracies

• regimes containing: respect for political freedoms and civil liberties, a political culture conducive to the functioning of government, efficient government, independent and diverse media, effective system of checks and balances and an independent judiciary
• 23 states (e.g. Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Uruguay, South Korea, Denmark, Norway etc.)

Flawed democracies

• regimes that meet most democratic conditions, but have significant weaknesses (e.g. media freedom, participation, democratic culture)
• 52 states (Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia)

Question 17

evolution of democratic ideas (waves of democracy described by Samuel Huntington)

Answer 17

First wave = 1828-1926

• earliest representative democracies (30 countries)
• first reverse wave = some backsliding due to fascist, communist or military dictatorships
• distinctive = gradual transition + sequential character + ongoing struggles of those who fought for change

Second wave = WW2 - early 1960s

• defeat in war + allied occupation -> promotion democracy in some European states
• trends towards democracy in Latin America
• reverse wave: military coups

Third wave = 1974-1991

• end right-wing dictatorships in Europe, military in Latin America retreated from power, democracy spread to several Asian states, communism collapsed
• transformed the global political landscape
• depth of changes was variable (some states that seemed more democratic lacked the structural conditions needed (e.g. high income and education, large middle class and private sector)

Question 18

four main forms of democracy

Answer 18

• direct sovereignty (Athenian)
• representative democracy
• liberal democracy
• illiberal democracy

Question 19

relation rights and democracy

Answer 19

individual rights are critical to the idea/quality/existence of democracy

different kind of rights (that often overlap)

• human rights = rights from below (natural rather than political)
• civil liberties = vertical (relative to government) = e.g. right to liberty, privacy, life, security, fair trial, speech and expression
• civil rights = horizontal (citizens relative to one another) = e.g. protection against discrimination

*limitations are often hard to define + sometimes hard to decide whether or not they are broken

Question 20

Norway’s democracy

Answer 20

closest country to achieving the modern ideal of democracy

• model of democracy works well: Norway is stable and egalitarian
• oil wealth + good resource managment

Question 21

democracy

Answer 21

multiple/inconsistent definitions (Dahl)

core principle = self-rule

Question 22

polyarchy

Answer 22

democracy with political limits: control over policy is vested in elected officials

Dahl argued that there was in practice no perfect democracy (all citizens have equal role), but polyarchy

Question 23

direct democracy

Answer 23

all qualified citizens participate in shaping collective decisions in an atmosphere of equality and deliberation and in which state and society become one

Athens 461-322 BCE
- flaws: limited citizenship, low turnout, time-consuming, expensive, complex, not always coherent policy, lack of permanent bureaucracy (ineffective governance)

rare in modern political systems (limited to referendums + initiatives + decision-making local community level)

e.g. e-democracy: online voting, petitions, demonstration organization (expression of the idea of the public sphere)
*has problems such as control by large companies, over-representation of frequent posters, privacy concerns, accessibility problems, ‘‘experts’’ are partisan/provocative

Question 24

representative democracy

Answer 24

citizens agree to cede governing powers to elected officials based on: majority rule with minority rights _ rule of law

necessary when states became bigger

problems: elitism, inequality, restrictions of rights of certain groups (system creates barrier between rulers and ruled)

one of the first who looked into it: Thomas Paine
critics: e.g. Schumpeter (people not smart enough)

Question 25

features of democratic rule

Answer 25

• well-defined, stable, accountable institutions based on a system of political checks and balances
• participation (multiple parties, interest groups etc.)
• rights: limits government + protects individual rights and freedoms
• regular, fair, competitive elections
• active, effective, protected political opposition
• diverse and independent media

*event he most successful democracies have had a mixed record in achieving these ideals

Question 26

consolidated democracy

Answer 26

one of the terms that describes the most democratic states (others: electoral democracy, full democracy)

Linz and Stepan:

• transition to democracy has completed
• citizen rights are protected by the rule of law
• leaders govern democratically

problem: does democracy have an end-state that can’t be reversed?

Question 27

electoral democracy

Answer 27

one of the terms that describes the most democratic states (others: consolidated democracy, full democracy)

system in which voters choose their leaders and hold them accountable for their policies and actions while in office

*this is a narrow definition of the idea of democracy

Question 28

(democratization)
using theory chapter 5

Answer 28

process is not fully understood

O’donnell et al. 1986: four-step template democratization

1. liberalization of an authoritarian regime
2. arrangements for new system of government (e.g. opposition, constitution reform)
3. consolidation (democratic practices become habitual + accepted, alternatives aren’t considered/thought about)
4. deepening of democracy

Question 29

liberal democracy

Answer 29

both representative and also liberal: based on the idea of limited government

liberalism ensures that representative governments respect the will of the people, who are protected from the rulers

principle of majority rule with minority rights + governance by law rather than by people

liberal democracy: freedom is more than a device to secure democracy, it is valued above/alongside democracy

Question 30

illiberal democracy

Answer 30

idea introduced by Zakaria

elections, but winners often bypass their legislatures and impose restrictions on free speech and media freedom

• often associated with populism

e.g. Turkey (Erdogan limits free speech and political opposition)

Question 31

The future of democratic rule

Answer 31

Fukuyama: end of history + triumph of democracy (end cold war)
- criticized: Western-centric, end cold war brought incertainty, disservice to comparative polsci

Kagan: return of history (struggles for status and influence back + competition liberalism and autocracy)

Rosenberg: democracy is hard work (seeing others as equal)

challenges to democracy: eg.
- social disintegration
- voter alienation
- tension individual rights and democracy
- manner in which competitive politics and economics undermine the sense of community
- women representation
- radical and religious intolerance
- income gap

!most important challenge = falling faith and trust in government (concern about the way democracy is practiced, not the concept itself)

current state of democracy = debated (authoritarian surge?)
- goals/ideals are widely shared
- democracies have internal inequalities, divided within themselves

democracies need to do better in terms of meeting the core principles and making clear the benefits of democracy