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Correlation-
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- apparent association between
- certain factors or variables.
Ex. “Does the Internet Breed Killers?”
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Institutions-
organizations or activities that are self-perpetuating and valued for their own sake.
- Ex.
- “Red Cross pressing for aid access in Syria”
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Qualitative Method
– deep, long-terminvestigations of particular countries or regions. Ex. “Slavery’s lastStronghold.”
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Quantitative
- a greater use ofstatistical analysis as well as mathematical models often drawn from economics.
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Rational Choice/Game Theory-
Ex. “The iReport Debate: Tell us what
matters”
study the rules and games by which politics is played and how we seek to realize ourpreferences (like voting, choosing a party, or supporting a revolution).
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Freedom
the ability of an individual toact independently, without fear of restriction or punishment by the state orother individuals or groups in society. Ex. “Columbia Prostitute Reveals $800 Cash Row with U.S. Agent”–prostitution is legal in Columbia
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Equality
- a shared material standard ofindividuals within a community, society, or country. Ex. “IHOP Sued After 4 MuslimManagers Are Fired”
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State:
1) the organization thatmaintains a monopoly of violence over a territory. 2) A set of political institutions togenerate and carry out policy. 3) Sovereign. 4) Typically highlyinstitutionalized—army, police, taxation, a judiciary, and a social welfaresystem. Ex. “Putin to Quit Top United Russia Post”
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Sovereignty:
the ability to carry outactions or policies within a territory independently from external actors orinternal rivals. (An element of a state)
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Regime:
: the fundamental rules and normsof politics. More specifically, a regime embodies long-term goals regardingindividual freedom and collective equality, where power should reside and howit should be used.
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Government:
1) the leadership or elitein charge of running the state. 2) weakly institutionalized. 3) Oftencharacterized by elected officials, such as a president or prime minister, orunelected officials, such as in authoritarianism. 4) Limited by the existingregime. Ex. “French election contenders wrap upcampaigning”
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Legitimacy:
a value whereby something orsomeone is recognized and accepted as right and proper. Ex. Mass-murderer Breivik dressing up as a police man gave him anadded edge before starting his killing spree.
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Traditional Legitimacy:
often embodies historical myths andlegends as well as the continuity between past and present. Built by habit andcustom over time, stressing history; strongly institutionalized. (QueenElizabeth)Ex. “QueenElizabeth II marks 86th Birthday”
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Charismatic Legitimacy:
in many ways the very opposite oftraditional legitimacy. Based on the power of ideas and the presence of theleader; weakly institutionalized. (ex.Jesus, Muhammad, Hitler)Ex. “Mitt RomneyIs Too Good Of A Man To Be Elected President”
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Rational-Legal Legitimacy:
: is based not on history or rituals or on theforce of ideas, but rather on a system of laws and procedures that are highlyinstitutionalized. (It is not the personwho is important or even that individual’s particular values or ideas, but theoffice he or she holds. The office is legitimate, rather than the person in it.Ex. Barack Obama)Ex. “More SecretService employees resign amid scandal”
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Strong States:
those that are able to fulfill basic tasks: defend their territory,make and enforce rules and rights, collect taxes, and manage the economy. Ex. United States ability to maintain their own borders while goingto war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Weak States:
cannot execute the abovetasks very well. Rules are haphazardly applied, if at all; tax evasion andother forms of public noncompliance are widespread; and armed groups maycontrol large chunks of territory or the economy.
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Capacity:
the ability of the state towield power in order to carry out the basic tasks of providing security andreconciling freedom and equality.
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Autonomy:
the ability of the state towield its power independently of the public or international actors. Ex.“U.N. Mission does nothing to change Endgame in Syria”
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Society:
A broad term that refers tocomplex human organization, a collection of people bound by shared institutionsthat define how human relations should be conducted.Ex. “Building SocietiesPunish Savers”
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Nation or National Identity:
Based onthe concept of a nation: a group of people bound together by a common set ofpolitical aspirations, especially self-government and sovereignty. Often, butnot always, derived from ethnic identity. Inherently political. The basis fornationalism: pride in one’s people and belief that they have a unique politicaldestiny. Ex. “Freedom Tower, Risingfrom Ashes
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Ethnic identity or ethnicity:
A person’srelationship to other members of society. It is a set of institutions that bindpeople together through a common culture. Institutions can include language,religion, geographical location, customs, and history, among other things. Generallyassigned at birth. Not inherently political. Ex.“Mexican Immigration to U.S. Slowed Significantly, Report Says
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Ethnic conflict
: Conflict between ethnicgroups that struggle to achieve certain political or economic goals at eachother’s expense. Each may hope to increase its own position by gaining greatercontrol over existing political institutions like the state or government.Ex. “Sudan and South Sudan:Border War still Threatens”
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Political attitudes:
Concerned with thespeed and methods of political change. Generally classified as radical,liberal, conservative, or reactionary. Particularistic: relative to thespecific context of a given country. A view that is “radical” in one countrymay be “conservative” in another. Distinct from political ideologies. Ex. “America’s EconomicWorries: Jobs, Debt, and Politicians”
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(Political attitude) Radicals:
Believe in dramatic, often revolutionary change of the existingpolitical, social, or economic order. Radicals believe that the current systemis broken and cannot simply be improved or repaired but must be scrapped infavor of a new order. As a result, most radicals do not believe in slow,evolutionary change. Politics will be improved, they believe, only when theentire political structure has been fundamentally transformed, remaking thepolitical institutions of government, regime, and state. Ex.“France Expels Radical Islamists after Merah Killings”
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(Political attitude) Liberals:
Liberals, like radicals, believe that there is much that can bechanged for the better in the current political, social, and economicinstitutions, and liberals, too, support widespread change. However, instead ofrevolutionary transformation, Liberalsfavor evolutionary change. Ex.“Barack Obama is trying to make the U.S. a more Socialist State”
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(Political attitude) Conservatives:
Question whether any significant or profound change in existinginstitutions is necessary. Conservativessee existing institutions as key to providing basic order and continuity;should too much change take place, conservatives argue, the very legitimacy ofthe system might be undermined. At best, they believe, change will simplyreplace one set of problems with another, and at worst, it will actually createmore problems than it solves. Ex.“What really Kills Family Values”
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(Political attitude) Reactionaries:
Seek to restore political, social, and economic institutions. Theyadvocate a restoration of values, a change back to a previous regime or statethat they believe was superior to the current order. Ex. Thisencompasses many of the things Ron Paul advocated in his run for thepresidential nominee. He hoped to return things to how they were—to give thepower back to the people.
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Political Ideologies:
Setsof political values regarding the fundamental goals of politics. Exemplified byfive dominant modern ideologies: liberalism, communism, social democracy,fascism, and anarchism. Universalistic: not specific to one country or time.Distinct from political attitudes. Ex.“Barack Obama’s new campaign slogan: Forward”
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(P.I.) Liberalism:
Liberalism as an ideology (rather than as a political attitude)places a high priority on individual political and economic freedom. Adherentsof a liberal ideology believe that politics should seek to create the maximumdegree of liberty for all people, including free speech, the right ofassociation, and other basic political rights. This goal requires a state witha low degree of autonomy and capacity so that it can be easily controlled orchecked by the public should it begin encroaching on individual rights. Ex. “The Debate on makingMarijuana Legal”
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(P.I.) Communism:
Emphasizes limitedpersonal freedom and a strong state in order to achieve social equality;property is wholly owned by the state and market forces are eliminated; statetakes on task of production and other economic decisions.Ex. “Change is coming toChina: but will Beijing lead a social Revolution”
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(P.I.) Social Democracy (sometimes called socialism):
Supports private property and markets but believes that state has astrong role to play in regulating the economy and providing benefits to thepublic; seeks to balance freedom and equality.Ex. “Obama’s New SloganRaises Issues of the ‘S Word’” (referring to socialism)
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(P.I.) Fundamentalism:
An ideology that seeksto untie religion with the state, or rather, to make faith the sovereignauthority- a kind of theocracy. This definition implies several things. First,fundamentalism is not the same as religiosity, Puritanism, or religiousconservatism. Second, fundamentalism is not a premodern view.Ex. “In Egypt, even theIslamists are Playing Nice: The Country’s Voters—and even Politicians—seemeddetermined to Prevent a Theocratic Takeover”
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Culture:
Culture acts as a kind ofsocial road map, telling people what is and is not acceptable and providingguidelines and priorities for how people should organize their lives.Ex “Mormons Take Steps to Welcome Gay Community”
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Political Culture:
The basic norms forpolitical activity in a society. A determining factor in what ideologies willdominate a country’s political regime. Unique to a given country or group.Distinct from political attitudes and ideologies. Ex.In the United States we have our electoral college which is unique to the U.S.
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