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summary Comparative Political Institutions | Universiteit Antwerpen | 2026/27

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71 pagina's
2025/2026 Geschreven voor schooljaar
Instelling Universiteit Antwerpen (UA)
Vak Comparative political institutions (1200PSWCOP)
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Voorbeeld 4 van de 71 pagina's

Summary of all the lectures of the course Comparative political institutions given by Petra Meier. I got an 15/20.

Voorbeeld van de inhoud

lecture 1
comparative politics:
-​ systematic study of domestic politics
-​ we can only understand our political context if we can put it in perspective
-​ discussion of topics: democracies, legislatures,...

= empirical questions and interactions within political systems

3 traditions:
1.​ country focus: description of systems of countries
2.​ methodological focus: establish rules and standards for comparative analysis
3.​ analytical focus: combo of substance and method: explain similarities and differences
between and within countries
→ aim=explain, comparison=method

-​ Describe similarities and differences
→ Classifications, typologies

-​ Explain similarities and differences
→ Formulate/test hypotheses

-​ Make predictions
→Formulate expectations (of interventions/with respect to change)

evolution of comparative politics

initial: limited, focus on: western europe, north america, formal state institutions (=3state
powers), legal documents and texts

around ww2: new cases and behavioural revolution, focus on → breakdown of democracies,
populism in Latin America, socialism in Eastern Europe, decolonization, empirical behaviour,...

Consequences:
-​ More recognition of different political systems (not just one model)
-​ Greater focus on non-state actors (parties, interest groups, civil society, voters)
-​ Shift to empirical methods → data, statistics, large-N studies
-​ Move from case studies → variable-based analysis
-​ Higher level of theoretical abstraction
-​ Development of systemic functionalism (e.g. David Easton, Karl Deutsch)
-​ Emergence of the concept “political system”



Reaction to abstraction

●​ From universal → middle-range theories
●​ Focus on institutions (new institutionalism)
●​ Shift to small-N & case studies (QCA)
●​ Rise of Rational Choice Theory (rational, self-interested actors)

,And now

●​ Broader view of institutions
●​ Focus on output & throughput
●​ More interdependence between systems
●​ Mix of methods (quant + qual)
●​ Combine cases + variables
●​ Attention to differences (divergence)


What to compare

●​ Spatial → across countries/regions
●​ Functional → policies, actors, ideologies
●​ Longitudinal → over time


Role of theory in comparative politics

●​ Move beyond description → explanation
●​ Theories help analyze data
●​ Link micro (individual) ↔ macro (system)
●​ Two main types:
○​ Positivist (facts = observable)
○​ Constructivist (facts = socially constructed)


Empirical/comparative political theory

●​ Explains political phenomena
●​ Generates research questions
●​ Uses data + methods to test theory
●​ Triangulation = multiple methods/data/theories


Perspectives: Institutions

●​ Institutions shape behaviour
●​ Types: presidential vs parliamentary, unitary vs federal
●​ Path dependence (past choices matter)
●​ Weak at explaining change


Perspectives: Interests

●​ Politics = who gets what
●​ Focus on self-interest (Rational Choice Theory)
●​ Importance of groups (corporatism, networks, identity groups)


Perspectives: Ideas

●​ Culture, ideologies, policy ideas matter
●​ Political culture = hard to measure
●​ Examples:

, ○​ Gabriel Almond & Sidney Verba
○​ Robert Putnam (social capital)
●​ Ideas shape policy choices

Lecture 2


Democracy – basics

●​ Democracy = ideal + historical + real system
●​ Today = main source of legitimacy
●​ Often = liberal/representative democracy


Definitions of democracy

●​ Procedural (Schumpeter) → elections
●​ Substantive (Dahl) → participation + contestation (polyarchy)


Core features

●​ Free & fair elections
●​ Universal participation
●​ Civil liberties
●​ Accountable government


Measuring democracy

●​ Dichotomy → democracy vs dictatorship
●​ Continuous scale (e.g. Freedom House, V-Dem)
●​ Hybrid regimes / illiberal democracies


Types of democracy

●​ Parliamentary vs Presidential
●​ Consensus vs Majoritarian


Parliamentary vs Presidential

●​ Parliamentary → flexible, weaker head of state
●​ Presidential → strong president, strict separation of powers
●​ Semi-presidential → mix


Consensus vs Majoritarian

●​ Majoritarian → decisive but polarizing
●​ Consensus → inclusive but slower (veto players)
●​ Consensus often performs equal/better

, Polarization (article)

●​ Institutions affect polarization levels
●​ Consensus systems → less polarization
●​ PR, coalitions, federalism reduce polarization


Classifying systems

●​ Gabriel Almond & Sidney Verba → political culture
●​ Arend Lijphart → consensus vs majoritarian
●​ Gerring → centripetal vs decentralist


Democratization & backsliding

●​ Transition vs preservation
●​ Backsliding = gradual erosion
●​ Risk: executive power concentration


Factors stimulating democracy I

●​ Economic development (not always sufficient)
●​ Inequality → hinders democracy
●​ Institutions matter (e.g. presidential instability)


Factors stimulating democracy II

●​ Actors → leaders, social movements
●​ Non-violent resistance works better
●​ International influence (diffusion, aid)


Nature of democracy

●​ Not one thing → set of institutions
●​ Gradual differences (not yes/no)
●​ Many possible combinations


Performance of democracy

●​ Democracy ≠ automatically well-being
●​ Governance matters more than institutions alone


Governance

●​ Key = state capacity, rule of law, low corruption
●​ Strong impact on:
○​ well-being
○​ trust
○​ legitimacy

Inhoudsopgave

  1. 01 Reaction to abstraction 1
  2. 02 And now 2
  3. 03 What to compare 2
  4. 04 Role of theory in comparative politics 2
  5. 05 Empirical/comparative political theory 2
  6. 06 Perspectives: Institutions 2
  7. 07 Perspectives: Interests 2
  8. 08 Perspectives: Ideas 2
  9. 09 Democracy – basics 3
  10. 10 Definitions of democracy 3
  11. 11 Core features 3
  12. 12 Measuring democracy 3
  13. 13 Types of democracy 3
  14. 14 Parliamentary vs Presidential 3
  15. 15 Consensus vs Majoritarian 3
  16. 16 Polarization (article) 4
  17. 17 Classifying systems 4
  18. 18 Democratization & backsliding 4
  19. 19 Factors stimulating democracy I 4
  20. 20 Factors stimulating democracy II 4
  21. 21 Nature of democracy 4
  22. 22 Performance of democracy 4
  23. 23 Governance 4
  24. 24 Final takeaway 5
  25. 25 1. Definition of authoritarian regimes 5
  26. 26 2. Totalitarian regimes 5
  27. 27 3. Difference between totalitarian and other authoritarian regimes 5
  28. 28 4. Typologies of authoritarian regimes 6
  29. 29 5. Types of authoritarian regimes 6
    1. Personalist dictatorships 6
    2. Single-party regimes 6
    3. Military regimes 6
    4. (Absolute) monarchies 7
    5. Hybrid regimes (electoral authoritarian) 7
  30. 30 6. Durability of authoritarian regimes 7
  31. 31 7. Legacies of autocratic regimes 8
  32. 32 8. Inclusionary vs exclusionary regimes 8
  33. 33 9. Citizens after authoritarian rule 8
  34. 34 10. Performance of authoritarian regimes 9
  35. 35 11. The future of authoritarian regimes 9
  36. 36 1. What is a legislature? 9
  37. 37 2. Types of legislatures 9
  38. 38 3. Roles of legislatures 10
  39. 39 4. Linkage and representation 10
  40. 40 5. Oversight and control 11
  41. 41 6. Policy-making 11
  42. 42 7. Internal organizational structure 12
  43. 43 8. Chambers 12
  44. 44 9. Members 12
  45. 45 10. Committees 13
  46. 46 11. Hierarchy and decision-making 13
  47. 47 12. Power and influence of legislatures 13
  48. 48 13. Institutional autonomy 14
  49. 49 15. Combining autonomy 14
  50. 50 16. Legislative speech and debate 15
  51. 51 17. Institutions matter 15
  52. 52 1. Meaning of government 15
  53. 53 2. Types of government 16
    1. Presidential government 16
    2. Parliamentary government 16
    3. Semi-presidential government 16
    4. Other types (exceptions) 17
  54. 54 3. Government’s internal working 17
    1. Presidential systems 17
    2. Parliamentary systems 17
    3. Coalition governments 18
  55. 55 4. Government autonomy 18
    1. Parties 18
    2. Bureaucracy 18
  56. 56 5. Government’s political capacity 18
    1. Majority vs minority government 19
    2. Single-party vs coalition government 19
  57. 57 6. Stability of minority governments 19
  58. 58 7. Government’s political capacity (key factors) 20
  59. 59 8. Bureaucratic capacity 20
  60. 60 9. Problems of bureaucracy 21
  61. 61 10. Controlling bureaucracy 21
  62. 62 1. Why elections? 22
  63. 63 2. Components defining an electoral system 22
    1. Electoral formula 22
    2. Electoral districts / constituencies 22
    3. Legal threshold 23
  64. 64 3. Types of electoral systems 24
  65. 65 4. Majoritarian systems 24
    1. Plurality vote (FPTP) 24
    2. Party block vote 24
    3. Majority vote 24
  66. 66 5. Semi-proportional systems 25
    1. Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) 25
    2. Mixed-Member Majoritarian (MMM) 25
  67. 67 6. Proportional systems 26
    1. Party-list PR 26
    2. Single Transferable Vote (STV) 26
    3. Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) 27
  68. 68 7. Effects of electoral systems 27
  69. 69 8. Dimensions of representation 28
  70. 70 9. Electoral systems and representation 28
  71. 71 10. Strategic voting 29
    1. FPTP 29
    2. Two-round system 29
    3. PR systems 30
  72. 72 1. Political culture 30
  73. 73 2. Social roots of regimes 30
  74. 74 3. Cultural differences around the world 31
  75. 75 4. Theory of modernization 31
  76. 76 5. Industrial phase: the allegiant citizen 32
  77. 77 6. Post-industrial phase: the assertive citizen 32
  78. 78 7. Affective polarization 33
  79. 79 8. Sources of affective polarization 33
  80. 80 9. Social sorting 34
  81. 81 10. Social sorting and affective polarization 34
  82. 82 11. Connecting back: emancipation and tribalism 35
  83. 83 1. Relevance of e-voting in comparative politics 35
  84. 84 2. What is voting? 36
  85. 85 3. What is electronic voting? 36
  86. 86 4. Types of non-electronic voting methods 36
    1. Voice vote / acclamation 36
    2. Paper ballot 37
    3. Mechanical voting methods 37
  87. 87 5. Types of electronic voting methods 37
    1. Paper ballot + electronic counting 37
    2. Electronic voting machines in polling stations 38
    3. Direct-recording electronic voting (DRE) 38
    4. Ballot marking device voting (BMD) 38
    5. Remote electronic voting 38
  88. 88 6. Trade-offs of voting methods 39
  89. 89 7. Trade-offs of paper ballots 39
  90. 90 8. Trade-offs of optical scan voting 40
  91. 91 9. Trade-offs of DRE voting 40
  92. 92 10. Trade-offs of BMD voting 40
  93. 93 11. Trade-offs of internet voting 41
  94. 94 12. Politicisation of voting methods 41
  95. 95 13. Why countries continue or stop e-voting 42
    1. Estonia 42
    2. Belgium 42
    3. India 42
    4. Netherlands 42
    5. Germany 43
    6. Nigeria 43
  96. 96 14. Electronic voting in authoritarian regimes 43
  97. 97 15. Russia, Belarus and Ukraine 44
    1. Ukraine 44
    2. Russia 44
    3. Belarus 44
  98. 98 16. Hypotheses 45
  99. 99 17. Implications 45
  100. 100 1. Defining political parties 46
  101. 101 2. Party functions 46
    1. Coordination 46
    2. Conducting electoral campaigns & structuring competition 46
    3. Selection & recruitment of personnel 47
    4. Representation 47
  102. 102 3. Katz & Mair: Three faces of party organization 47
    1. Party in public office 47
    2. Party on the ground 47
    3. Party central office 47
  103. 103 4. Parties as effective governors? 47
    1. Almond & Powell classification 47
  104. 104 5. Initial party models 48
    1. Cadre / elite / caucus party 48
    2. Mass party 48
  105. 105 6. Party models I 48
    1. Cadre parties 48
    2. Mass parties 49
  106. 106 7. Party models II 49
    1. Catch-all parties 49
  107. 107 8. Party models III 49
    1. Cartel parties 49
    2. Anti-cartel parties 49
  108. 108 9. Party models IV 50
    1. Niche parties 50
    2. Business-firm parties 50
  109. 109 10. Party regulation 50
    1. Special rights & privileges 50
    2. Oversight & restrictions 50
    3. Regulating electoral participation 50
    4. Regulating party finances 51
  110. 110 11. Defining a party system 51
  111. 111 12. Party system origins I 51
    1. Industrialization 51
    2. Formation of liberal state 51
  112. 112 13. Party system origins II 52
    1. International revolution (1917 Soviet Revolution) 52
    2. Post-industrial revolution (1960s–1970s) 52
    3. Freezing hypothesis 52
  113. 113 14. Types of party systems 52
    1. Dominant party system 52
    2. Two-party system 53
    3. Multi-party system 53
    4. Bipolar system 53
  114. 114 15. Morphology of party systems 53
    1. Determining number of parties 53
  115. 115 16. Party system dynamics 54
    1. Centripetal competition 54
    2. Centrifugal competition 54
  116. 116 17. Party responsiveness 54
  117. 117 1. What is a constitution? 55
  118. 118 2. Constitutions 55
  119. 119 3. Constitutionalism 55
  120. 120 4. Absolutist constitution 56
  121. 121 5. Legislative supremacy constitution 56
  122. 122 6. Higher law constitution 56
  123. 123 7. New constitutionalism 57
  124. 124 8. Fundamental rights 57
    1. -​Absolute vs balanced rights 57
    2. -​Negative vs positive obligations 57
  125. 125 9. Why did higher law constitutions become dominant? 58
  126. 126 CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW 58
    1. 10. Constitutional review 58
  127. 127 AMERICAN MODEL 59
    1. 11. Judicial review 59
  128. 128 EUROPEAN MODEL 59
    1. 12. Constitutional review 59
    2. 13. Types of European review 60
  129. 129 IMPLICATIONS FOR THE POLITICAL SYSTEM 60
    1. 14. Judicial review vs constitutional review 60
  130. 130 POWER OF CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW 61
    1. 15. Constitution as incomplete contract 61
    2. 16. Legislative supremacy vs higher law constitution 61
    3. 17. Zone of discretion 62
  131. 131 AUTOCRACIES & HIGHER LAW CONSTITUTIONS 62
    1. 18. Why do autocracies adopt higher law constitutions? 62
  132. 132 EFFECTIVENESS OF CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW 62
    1. 19. Effective constitutional review 62
  133. 133 IMPLEMENTATION OF COURT RULINGS 63
    1. 20. Implementation of rulings 63
    2. 21. Strategic timing & diffuse support 63
    3. 1. Multilevel governance 64
    4. 2. Why dispersion of authority? 64
    5. 3. The multilevel extent of states 65
  134. 134 MODELS OF STATE ARCHITECTURE 65
    1. 4. Unitary state 65
    2. 5. Federal state 66
  135. 135 MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE IN UNITARY STATES 66
    1. 6. Decentralization 66
    2. 7. Devolution 67
    3. 8. Home rule 67
    4. 9. Confederation 68
  136. 136 TRENDS IN MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE 68
    1. 10. Trends since WWII 68
    2. 11. Drivers of multilevel governance 69
  137. 137 EFFECTS OF MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE 69
    1. 12. Democracy I 69
    2. 13. Democracy II 70
    3. 14. Conflict 70
    4. 15. Social policy 71

Documentinformatie

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Social Economic Sciences
Geüpload op
30 augustus 2026
Aantal pagina's
71
Geschreven in
2025/2026
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