Comparative political institutions
,Part I: introducti on
Class 1: Introduction
The distinction
Political theory= tries to deal with certain questions about how to structure our society, tackling
normative questions: How do we reach justice? Quality? Equity?
Comparative politics= not tackling normative questions but empirical questions, tackling real world
issues and explaining them in politics explaining them within one structure and system (which can be
influenced by external factors)
International relations= interactions between systems, tackling questions like how interact the US
system with the EU-system.
!! Not comparative because it is between different systems, nevertheless comparative politics
tackle questions how and why does Trump act in that certain way? Which structure makes that
possible ?
What is comparative politics?
Politics seen as the human activity of making public authoritative decisions (the power)
Trump signing an order that stimulating plastic cubes
Not only the power itself but in addition: That is, politics is about acquiring and maintaining power
which produces conflict and competition
"at the root of all politics is the universal language of conflict” - Elmer Schattschneider
Power produces certain clashes of perspectives resulting in competition
Ex. the most classical example is elections where different politicians, parties are in
competition with each other
Important questions in comparative politics
1. Which decisions are made (e.g. invest in renewable energy, changing constitution, higher
spending for military)
2. How are decisions made (e.g. referendums, elections, protests, lobbying)
3. Who makes or influences these decisions (e.g. parties, lobby groups, voters)
,Aims of comparative politics
Describe
- Differences and similarities between political systems
- Classifications and typologies
- For example: Two-party vs. Multiparty systems
Explain
- Explain why these differences and similarities occur
- Formulating hypotheses (expectations)
- For example: First-past-the-post electoral system leads to two-party dominance
Papers studying and explaining, creating hypotheses
Predict
- Which factors could cause such outcomes
- For example: Changing to a first-past the-post system will result in two major parties
- Not exact
Definition of comparative politics
Comparative politics is one of the three main subfields (political theory, international relations,
comparative politicss)of political science focusing on internal political structures, actors, and
processes, and analysing them empirically by describing, explaining, and predicting their variety
(similarities and differences) across political systems (ex. GER, BE, US,…! Not between them, but
within) and over time—be they national political systems, regional, municipal, or even supranational
systems.
In short: Comparative politics studies internal politics empirically by comparing it across systems
…national political systems predominantly.
But keep in mind:
- Sub-national regional political systems (e.g. states in the US)
- Supranational units (e.g. EU)
- Types of system (e.g. democracy vs. autocracy)
- Single element of system (e.g. parliaments)
History of comparative politics
State and institutions (before WW2)
- Focus on formal institutions and legal documents and texts (strict distinction executive,
legislative and judicial)
- Western world
- Normative in nature
Behavioral evolution (30s and 60s)
- Focus on processes that take place within institutions (based on sociology)
- Cases and phenomena beyond the West (populism in Latin America; socialism in Eastern
Europe)
, - Empirical: collect and analyse data
New institutionalism
- Shaped by behavioral evolution
- Institutions shape how individual formulate preferences
Institutions are still important (as we cannot imagine America without a congress) but exist of
individuals. Institutions like elections determine the individuals behavior.
Mid-range theories
- Removing abstraction in concepts (less ambitious theoretical perspectives)
- Narrowing geographical focus
- Advantage of studying few countries
Explaining certain phenomena (why do some countries have had access/ entered the EU more
early than others) not the general political behavior.
Case-oriented analysis
- Stem from mid-range theories – focus on analysis of small number of cases
- Advantage for explaining phenomena that are not widely present
One phenomenon existing of smaller cases (One country who entered at a certain time the EU)
Rational-choice (end of 80s)
- Focus on individuals (but also organizations such as parties) that are rational (maximization
of preferences)
- Impacts how decisions are made
Politicians are mostly driven by their own interests which helps to understand and explain
political behavior.
Comparative politics today
David Easton (1953) The Political System: An Inquiry into the State of Political Science
We all act in an environment: We are surrounded by
different values, beliefs, social background. These
factors create a certain imput which finds supports
and demand. Subsequently a certain decision will
be produced a certain decision. Each decision has
an output, this output will provide feedback to all
the previous imput.
Examples: Social housing in a local community; The
election of Trump as a consequence of Biden’s
policies. The election of Trump being the output of
the policies of Biden (being the imput).
! Memorise the scheme, be able to apply examples explaining it
,Part I: introducti on
Class 1: Introduction
The distinction
Political theory= tries to deal with certain questions about how to structure our society, tackling
normative questions: How do we reach justice? Quality? Equity?
Comparative politics= not tackling normative questions but empirical questions, tackling real world
issues and explaining them in politics explaining them within one structure and system (which can be
influenced by external factors)
International relations= interactions between systems, tackling questions like how interact the US
system with the EU-system.
!! Not comparative because it is between different systems, nevertheless comparative politics
tackle questions how and why does Trump act in that certain way? Which structure makes that
possible ?
What is comparative politics?
Politics seen as the human activity of making public authoritative decisions (the power)
Trump signing an order that stimulating plastic cubes
Not only the power itself but in addition: That is, politics is about acquiring and maintaining power
which produces conflict and competition
"at the root of all politics is the universal language of conflict” - Elmer Schattschneider
Power produces certain clashes of perspectives resulting in competition
Ex. the most classical example is elections where different politicians, parties are in
competition with each other
Important questions in comparative politics
1. Which decisions are made (e.g. invest in renewable energy, changing constitution, higher
spending for military)
2. How are decisions made (e.g. referendums, elections, protests, lobbying)
3. Who makes or influences these decisions (e.g. parties, lobby groups, voters)
,Aims of comparative politics
Describe
- Differences and similarities between political systems
- Classifications and typologies
- For example: Two-party vs. Multiparty systems
Explain
- Explain why these differences and similarities occur
- Formulating hypotheses (expectations)
- For example: First-past-the-post electoral system leads to two-party dominance
Papers studying and explaining, creating hypotheses
Predict
- Which factors could cause such outcomes
- For example: Changing to a first-past the-post system will result in two major parties
- Not exact
Definition of comparative politics
Comparative politics is one of the three main subfields (political theory, international relations,
comparative politicss)of political science focusing on internal political structures, actors, and
processes, and analysing them empirically by describing, explaining, and predicting their variety
(similarities and differences) across political systems (ex. GER, BE, US,…! Not between them, but
within) and over time—be they national political systems, regional, municipal, or even supranational
systems.
In short: Comparative politics studies internal politics empirically by comparing it across systems
…national political systems predominantly.
But keep in mind:
- Sub-national regional political systems (e.g. states in the US)
- Supranational units (e.g. EU)
- Types of system (e.g. democracy vs. autocracy)
- Single element of system (e.g. parliaments)
History of comparative politics
State and institutions (before WW2)
- Focus on formal institutions and legal documents and texts (strict distinction executive,
legislative and judicial)
- Western world
- Normative in nature
Behavioral evolution (30s and 60s)
- Focus on processes that take place within institutions (based on sociology)
- Cases and phenomena beyond the West (populism in Latin America; socialism in Eastern
Europe)
, - Empirical: collect and analyse data
New institutionalism
- Shaped by behavioral evolution
- Institutions shape how individual formulate preferences
Institutions are still important (as we cannot imagine America without a congress) but exist of
individuals. Institutions like elections determine the individuals behavior.
Mid-range theories
- Removing abstraction in concepts (less ambitious theoretical perspectives)
- Narrowing geographical focus
- Advantage of studying few countries
Explaining certain phenomena (why do some countries have had access/ entered the EU more
early than others) not the general political behavior.
Case-oriented analysis
- Stem from mid-range theories – focus on analysis of small number of cases
- Advantage for explaining phenomena that are not widely present
One phenomenon existing of smaller cases (One country who entered at a certain time the EU)
Rational-choice (end of 80s)
- Focus on individuals (but also organizations such as parties) that are rational (maximization
of preferences)
- Impacts how decisions are made
Politicians are mostly driven by their own interests which helps to understand and explain
political behavior.
Comparative politics today
David Easton (1953) The Political System: An Inquiry into the State of Political Science
We all act in an environment: We are surrounded by
different values, beliefs, social background. These
factors create a certain imput which finds supports
and demand. Subsequently a certain decision will
be produced a certain decision. Each decision has
an output, this output will provide feedback to all
the previous imput.
Examples: Social housing in a local community; The
election of Trump as a consequence of Biden’s
policies. The election of Trump being the output of
the policies of Biden (being the imput).
! Memorise the scheme, be able to apply examples explaining it
