Lectures Law, Power and Politics
Lecture 1
What is a concept?
Concept = a general idea expressed in a word or phrase.
Key concepts: the essence of politics
State
- Population within defined territory
- Government
- Legitimacy – internally (population excepting the government) and externally (other
states accepting that it is a state)? Externally = a contested question.
- Unit of comparison
Legal mandate state
Government is authoritative in the sense that it can enforce rules by legitimate use of
violence.
Government v. Governance
- Institutions, offices - Process, activity
- Top- Down - Public regulations instead of command and
control
Model political system
Easton: Canadian scientist
In the middle, the ones that take formal decisions. The left (demands) comes from the
different parts of society (different groups). Support is meant (do the people support the
government)? Do they pay the taxes, not strike on the streets etc. that’s support for political
system.
Process: society directs their demands to political system and also support or not support it.
In the political system it is processed. New input results.
,Political system
- Government plus wider forces through which
➢ Collective decisions
- Are reached
- Are enforced
- What are the wider forces?
Politics
In the one sight you can see it as a good thing in the common interest, but on the other side
you can also see it a competition for power.
- Arendt: politics is acting in concert to make the best of ourselves.
- Dahl: politics in resolving inevitable conflict, in a peaceful manner.
- Machiavelli: founding father of political science as something we should describe by how
things are. So not how things should be, but how things were.
- Easton: politics is the authorative allocation of values by government.
- Hague et al p.4: process by which people negotiate and compete in order to make and
execute shared or collective decisions.
, *Left is democratic, and right is authoritarian.
Classification political systems
There are different types of indexes in the textbook, p.11 chapter 1 The Hague for example.
Hybrid regimes
- Democratic appearance
- Institutions, processes, laws and policy are manipulated by leader to stay in office
IN 2016 the Turkish military tried a coup to get power, they did not succeed. Erdogan called
the Turkish citizen to go to the street. It succeeded, was by this democracy confirmed or
authoritarianism? Erodogan expelled all the people whp he expected of were in favour of
the coup, so supportive of the coupe, including judges, government people etc.
High tolerance of opposition demand:
- Institutions that foster competition in elections
- Institutions that protect civil liberties
- Behavioral and cultural dimensions: honest political leaders and a healthy civil society
Lecture 1
What is a concept?
Concept = a general idea expressed in a word or phrase.
Key concepts: the essence of politics
State
- Population within defined territory
- Government
- Legitimacy – internally (population excepting the government) and externally (other
states accepting that it is a state)? Externally = a contested question.
- Unit of comparison
Legal mandate state
Government is authoritative in the sense that it can enforce rules by legitimate use of
violence.
Government v. Governance
- Institutions, offices - Process, activity
- Top- Down - Public regulations instead of command and
control
Model political system
Easton: Canadian scientist
In the middle, the ones that take formal decisions. The left (demands) comes from the
different parts of society (different groups). Support is meant (do the people support the
government)? Do they pay the taxes, not strike on the streets etc. that’s support for political
system.
Process: society directs their demands to political system and also support or not support it.
In the political system it is processed. New input results.
,Political system
- Government plus wider forces through which
➢ Collective decisions
- Are reached
- Are enforced
- What are the wider forces?
Politics
In the one sight you can see it as a good thing in the common interest, but on the other side
you can also see it a competition for power.
- Arendt: politics is acting in concert to make the best of ourselves.
- Dahl: politics in resolving inevitable conflict, in a peaceful manner.
- Machiavelli: founding father of political science as something we should describe by how
things are. So not how things should be, but how things were.
- Easton: politics is the authorative allocation of values by government.
- Hague et al p.4: process by which people negotiate and compete in order to make and
execute shared or collective decisions.
, *Left is democratic, and right is authoritarian.
Classification political systems
There are different types of indexes in the textbook, p.11 chapter 1 The Hague for example.
Hybrid regimes
- Democratic appearance
- Institutions, processes, laws and policy are manipulated by leader to stay in office
IN 2016 the Turkish military tried a coup to get power, they did not succeed. Erdogan called
the Turkish citizen to go to the street. It succeeded, was by this democracy confirmed or
authoritarianism? Erodogan expelled all the people whp he expected of were in favour of
the coup, so supportive of the coupe, including judges, government people etc.
High tolerance of opposition demand:
- Institutions that foster competition in elections
- Institutions that protect civil liberties
- Behavioral and cultural dimensions: honest political leaders and a healthy civil society
