Grigsby slides 3
- 1. Grigsby 3 Key Concepts in Political Science
- 2. Power • Distinguishing feature of political science • Ability of one person to get another to do something
- 3. Types of Power • Force • Persuasion • Manipulation • Exchange
- 4. Force • The exercise of power by physical means • Restraining • Assaulting • Assassinating • Impeding access • Other
- 5. Persuasion • Nonphysical power in which the person using power makes its use of power clear and known to the person over whom power is exercised.
- 6. Manipulation • Nonphysical power in which the person using power conceals the use of power.
- 7. Exchange • The use of power through incentives.
- 8. Robert Dahl’s “Influence Terms” • Rational persuasion • Tell the truth and explain why something should be done. • Doctor tells you to quit smoking. • Manipulative persuasion • Lying to get someone to do something • Politicians during elections • Inducement • Rewards/Punishments to get someone to do something. • Bribery
- 9. Robert Dahl’s “Influence Terms” • Power • Threaten severe punishment. • Jail or loss of job • Coercion • Power with no way out. • You have to do it. • Physical Force • Backing up coercion with use or threat of bodily harm. Best governments influence on the higher end of scale.
- 10. Key Power Concepts • Legitimacy • Sovereignty • Authority
- 11. Legitimacy • The legal right to govern • The psychological right to govern • An attitude in people’s mind • The government’s rule is rightful • Legitimacy established by • Time • Governing well • The structure of government • National symbols
- 12. Sovereignty • To rule over • The power to provide security and rules • Closely linked with legitimacy
- 13. Authority • The psychological ability of leaders to get others to obey them. Max Weber’s three types of authority: • Traditional Authority • Charismatic Authority • Legal-Rational Authority
- 14. Political Politicians Scientists • Skeptical of power • Love power • Seek accuracy • Seek popularity • Abstract thinking • Practical thinking • Reach tentative • Hold firm views conclusions • Offer many causes • Offer single causes • See long-term • See short-term payoff consequences • Plan for next publication • Plan for next election • Seek good of whole • Respond to groups • Seek professional • Seek name recognition prestige
- 16. Confederal System • Highly decentralized • League of mutual support or common action
- 17. Rivals to State Power • Multinational Corporations (MNCs) • Have transactions in different states • Wal-Mart, Sears • Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) • Nonstate, voluntary groups that pursue political objectives • Red Cross, Doctors without Borders • Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) • Membership exclusively by states • United Nations, NATO
- 18. Nation or State? • A nation is a population with a certain sense of itself, a cohesiveness, a commonality of attitudes and ideals, and often a common language. • A state is a government structure, usually sovereign and powerful enough to enforce its writ.
- 19. Who is a Nation? • Gay nationalism • African-American nationalism • The Southern Nation • Should nation be applied only to groups identifying with or striving for the creation of their own state? • Multinational states
- 20. Territory is but the body of a nation. The people who inhabit its hills and valleys are its soul, its spirit, its life. -- James A. Garfield
- 21. One Nation, Underprivileged Rank 3: Poverty as a Structural Failing
- 22. “The trouble with the profit system has always been that it was highly unprofitable to most people.” ~ E. B. White Author of “Charlotte’s Web” and “Stuart Little”
- 23. U.S. View Poverty a consequence of individual failings and deficiencies.
- 24. Underlying Dynamic • U.S. poverty is largely a result of structural failings at the economic, political, and social levels
- 25. Structural Vulnerability • Lack of adequately paying jobs • Ineffectiveness of the social safety net in preventing poverty • U.S. allocates smaller proportion of GDP to social welfare programs than any other industrialized country except Japan • Risk of impoverishment experienced by a majority of Americans
- 26. Impact of Social Class • While some social mobility occurs, social class tends to reproduce itself • Impacts children’s ability to acquire valuable skills and education • Differences in human capital
- 28. Poverty Correlated With: • Lower levels of education • Lack of marketable skills • Physical disability
- 29. American Economy • Larger numbers of • Low-paying jobs • Jobs that are part- time • Jobs that lack benefits
- 30. Musical Chairs • There will never be enough quality “living- wage” jobs for all • There will always be losers in the “game”
- 31. “It is a tragic mix-up when the United States spends $500,000 for every enemy soldier killed, and only $53 annually on the victims of poverty.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.