Political Science 1010
Introduction to Political Science
First Exam Review


Politics and Political Science

• Definition of politics
• Power
• Legitimacy, sovereignty and authority
• Explanations of power
  • biological, psychological, cultural, rational and irrational
• Scientific study of politics
  • empirical v. normative
  • hypotheses

Approaches to the study of politics
-Understand each approach and what each entailed

Classical theories Early Philosophers Plato Aristotle Machiavelli Contractualists Hobbes Locke Rousseau Marxist theory "Traditional" political science

Modern theories Behavioralism Post-behaviorialism Systems theory Moderization theory Rational choice theory Neo-insititutionalism

The nature and problems of collective action

• collective goods
• free-riding
• coordination
• prisoner's dilemma

Nations and States

• definitions of each
• essential elements of nationhood
• crises of nationbuilding

Classifying governments

Aristotle's six types Monarchy - Tyranny Aristocracy - Oligarchy Polity - Democracy

Control of economy and redistribution of wealth Statist Socialist Laissez-faire Welfare State

Robert Dahl's influence terms

• rational persuasion
• manipulative persuasion
• inducement
• power
• coercion
• physical force

Constitutions

• Purposes and elements of a constitution
  • statement of national ideals
  • formalizes structure of government
  • establishes legitimacy of government
• Government limits and individual rights and liberties
  • liberty v. order tension
  • types of rights
    • human rights
    • civil rights
    • economic rights

Government power continuum

• Democracy
• Limited Democracy
• Authoritarianism
• Totalitarianism

Essential elements of democracy popular accountability political competition alternation in power ("two turnover test") popular representation right of dissent and disobedience political equality popular consultation free press

Essential elements of totalitarianism all-encompassing ideology single party organized terror monopoly of communications monopoly of weapons controlled eonomy

Models of democracy

• Elite model
• Pluralist model
• Polyarchy model

"Iron Law of Oligarcy"
Theory of democratic peace

Key terms you should know:

anarchy authoritarian authority autonomy behavioralism bourgeois civil rights civil society constitution democracy democratic peace descriptive economic rights

elites empirical general will human rights hypothesis laissez-faire legitimacy mandate nation nationalism normative pluralism positivism

postbehavioralism proletariat representative democracy sedition social contract socialism sovereignty state state of nature statism superstructure totalitarian welfarism