Introduction to Political Science
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Introduction to Political Science
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Introduction to
Political Science
SENIOR CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
MARK CARL ROM, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
MASAKI HIDAKA, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
RACHEL BZOSTEK WALKER, COLLIN COLLEGE
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COLOR PAPERBACK BOOK ISBN-13
978-1-711470-68-9
B&W PAPERBACK BOOK ISBN-13
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DIGITAL VERSION ISBN-13
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ORIGINAL PUBLICATION YEAR
2022
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Introduction to Political Science Foundations
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- The curriculum begins by defining politics through the lens of power, public interest, and the systematic study of who gets what, when, and how.
- A significant portion of the material focuses on individual political behavior, exploring the predictability of human choices and the influence of environmental context.
- The text outlines a comprehensive study of political ideologies, ranging from classical liberalism and social contracts to contemporary movements like fascism and religious extremism.
- The framework introduces the fundamentals of group activity, specifically how political socialization and collective dilemmas shape group decision-making.
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CONTENTS
Preface
1
UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE
CHAPTER 1
What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
9
Introduction
9
1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
11
1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
15
1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
20
1.4 Normative Political Science
22
1.5 Empirical Political Science
24
1.6 Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations
28
Summary
33
Key Terms
34
Review Questions
35
Suggested Readings
38
UNIT 2 INDIVIDUALS
CHAPTER 2
Political Behavior Is Human Behavior
39
Introduction
39
2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
40
2.2 Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do?
51
2.3 Human Behavior Is Partially Predictable
58
2.4 The Importance of Context for Political Decisions
62
Summary
65
Key Terms
66
Review Questions
67
Suggested Readings
68
CHAPTER 3
Political Ideology
69
Introduction
69
3.1 The Classical Origins of Western Political Ideologies
70
3.2 The Laws of Nature and the Social Contract
72
3.3 The Development of Varieties of Liberalism
76
3.4 Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism
78
3.5 Contemporary Democratic Liberalism
84
3.6 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left
88
3.7 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Right
95
3.8 Political Ideologies That Reject Political Ideology: Scientific Socialism, Burkeanism, and Religious
Extremism
99
Summary
101
Key Terms
102
Review Questions
104
Suggested Readings
106
CHAPTER 4
Civil Liberties
109
Introduction
109
4.1 The Freedom of the Individual
110
4.2 Constitutions and Individual Liberties
114
4.3 The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas
119
4.4 Freedom of Movement
128
4.5 The Rights of the Accused
130
4.6 The Right to a Healthy Environment
131
Summary
133
Key Terms
134
Review Questions
135
Suggested Readings
137
CHAPTER 5
Political Participation and Public Opinion
139
Introduction
139
5.1 What Is Political Participation?
140
5.2 What Limits Voter Participation in the United States?
144
5.3 How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting?
149
5.4 What Is Public Opinion and Where Does It Come From?
158
5.5 How Do We Measure Public Opinion?
160
5.6 Why Is Public Opinion Important?
163
Summary
166
Key Terms
167
Review Questions
168
Suggested Readings
170
UNIT 3 GROUPS
CHAPTER 6
The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity
171
Introduction
171
6.1 Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political
173
6.2 Political Culture: How People Express Their Political Identity
178
6.3 Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions
183
Political Institutions and Global Relations
- The text outlines the structural foundations of political systems, focusing on the roles of interest groups, political parties, and the mechanics of elections.
- It details the core institutions of government, including the functional differences between parliamentary and presidential systems and the internal workings of bureaucracies.
- A significant portion is dedicated to the judiciary, exploring various legal systems, the concept of judicial review, and the necessity of due process.
- The role of the media is examined as a political institution, highlighting the impact of the changing digital landscape and declining global trust.
- The final sections transition to international relations, categorizing governing regimes and exploring theoretical worldviews like realism and liberalism.
- The curriculum addresses the challenges of collective action and the protection of civil rights within majority-minority dynamics.
The Decline of Legislative Influence
6.4 Collective Action Problems: The Problem of Incentives
189
6.5 Resolving Collective Action Problems
193
Summary
200
Key Terms
201
Review Questions
202
Suggested Readings
203
CHAPTER 7
Civil Rights
205
Introduction
205
7.1 Civil Rights and Constitutionalism
206
7.2 Political Culture and Majority-Minority Relations
209
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7.3 Civil Rights Abuses
212
7.4 Civil Rights Movements
220
7.5 How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change?
226
Summary
233
Key Terms
234
Review Questions
235
Suggested Readings
237
CHAPTER 8
Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
239
Introduction
239
8.1 What Is an Interest Group?
240
8.2 What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest Groups?
243
8.3 Political Parties
247
8.4 What Are the Limits of Parties?
250
8.5 What Are Elections and Who Participates?
252
8.6 How Do People Participate in Elections?
257
Summary
262
Key Terms
263
Review Questions
265
Suggested Readings
268
UNIT 4 INSTITUTIONS
CHAPTER 9
Legislatures
269
Introduction
269
9.1 What Do Legislatures Do?
270
9.2 What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems?
284
9.3 What Is the Difference between Unicameral and Bicameral Systems?
290
9.4 The Decline of Legislative Influence
292
Summary
296
Key Terms
296
Review Questions
298
Suggested Readings
300
CHAPTER 10
Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
301
Introduction
301
10.1 Democracies: Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Regimes
302
10.2 The Executive in Presidential Regimes
306
10.3 The Executive in Parliamentary Regimes
310
10.4 Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes
312
10.5 Semi-Presidential Regimes
316
10.6 How Do Cabinets Function in Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes?
319
10.7 What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies?
323
Summary
330
Key Terms
331
Review Questions
332
Suggested Readings
338
CHAPTER 11
Courts and Law
339
Introduction
339
11.1 What Is the Judiciary?
340
11.2 How Does the Judiciary Take Action?
346
11.3 Types of Legal Systems around the World
349
11.4 Criminal versus Civil Laws
354
11.5 Due Process and Judicial Fairness
364
11.6 Judicial Review versus Executive Sovereignty
368
Summary
370
Key Terms
372
Review Questions
373
Suggested Readings
376
CHAPTER 12
The Media
377
Introduction
377
12.1 The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter?
378
12.2 Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape
384
12.3 How Do Media and Elections Interact?
390
12.4 The Internet and Social Media
395
12.5 Declining Global Trust in the Media
400
Summary
404
Key Terms
405
Review Questions
406
Suggested Readings
407
UNIT 5 STATES AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
CHAPTER 13
Governing Regimes
409
Introduction
409
13.1 Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority
410
13.2 Categorizing Contemporary Regimes
422
13.3 Recent Trends: Illiberal Representative Regimes
431
Summary
433
Key Terms
434
Review Questions
435
Suggested Readings
437
CHAPTER 14
International Relations
439
Introduction
439
14.1 What Is Power, and How Do We Measure It?
440
14.2 Understanding the Different Types of Actors in the International System
444
14.3 Sovereignty and Anarchy
447
14.4 Using Levels of Analysis to Understand Conflict
449
14.5 The Realist Worldview
453
14.6 The Liberal and Social Worldview
458
14.7 Critical Worldviews
461
Summary
464
Access for free at openstax.org
Key Terms
465
Review Questions
466
Suggested Readings
469
CHAPTER 15
International Law and International Organizations
471
Introduction
471
Global Governance and Open Education
- The text outlines the structural framework of global governance, including international law and the role of the United Nations.
- It explores the influence of non-state actors and regional intergovernmental organizations in shaping global policy.
- The curriculum transitions into International Political Economy, tracing its origins from the liberal economy to the Bretton Woods institutions.
- Modern challenges in political economy are highlighted, specifically focusing on poverty, inequality, and the environmental crisis.
- OpenStax introduces its mission as a non-profit initiative aimed at breaking down barriers to knowledge through free, customizable educational resources.
Because we believe that everyone should and can have access to knowledge.
15.1 The Problem of Global Governance
472
15.2 International Law
473
15.3 The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
477
15.4 How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance?
484
15.5 Non-state Actors: Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
491
15.6 Non-state Actors beyond NGOs
495
Summary
503
Key Terms
503
Review Questions
504
Suggested Readings
508
CHAPTER 16
International Political Economy
509
Introduction
509
16.1 The Origins of International Political Economy
511
16.2 The Advent of the Liberal Economy
513
16.3 The Bretton Woods Institutions
515
16.4 The PostâCold War Period and Modernization Theory
523
16.5 From the 1990s to the 2020s: Current Issues in IPE
525
16.6 Considering Poverty, Inequality, and the Environmental Crisis
531
Summary
536
Key Terms
537
Review Questions
539
Suggested Readings
541
References
543
Index
619
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Preface
About OpenStax
OpenStax is part of Rice University, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable corporation. As an educational
initiative, itâs our mission to improve educational access and learning for everyone. Through our partnerships
with philanthropic organizations and our alliance with other educational resource companies, weâre breaking
down the most common barriers to learning. Because we believe that everyone should and can have access to
knowledge.
About OpenStax Resources
Customization
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Errata
Introduction to Political Science Overview
- The textbook utilizes a holistic approach that integrates subfields like comparative politics and international relations rather than treating them as silos.
- OpenStax maintains a dynamic, web-based platform allowing for periodic updates to address errors and the rapidly changing legal and political landscape.
- The curriculum focuses on political actors at all levels, from individual behaviors and beliefs to the complex interactions of states and global institutions.
- A significant emphasis is placed on diversity and inclusion, incorporating perspectives from underrepresented, oppressed, and dissenting voices alongside foundational ideas.
- The text aims to show students their personal role in civil society by connecting political concepts to their daily lives and future careers.
- Special features highlight evolving global trends, such as the rise of women in legislatures and international efforts to combat racism.
Introduction to Political Science is designed so that students will see themselves as a part of the world of politics and political science, emphasizing the role that politics and government play in studentsâ lives and how students can further contribute to civil society.
All OpenStax textbooks undergo a rigorous review process. However, like any professional-grade textbook,
errors sometimes occur. In addition, the wide range of topics, data, and legal circumstances in political science
change frequently, and portions of the textbook may become out of date. Since our books are web-based, we
can make updates periodically when deemed pedagogically necessary. If you have a correction to suggest,
submit it through the link on your book page on OpenStax.org. Subject matter experts review all errata
suggestions. OpenStax is committed to remaining transparent about all updates, so you will also find a list of
past errata changes on your book page on OpenStax.org.
Format
You can access this textbook for free in web view or PDF through OpenStax.org, and for a low cost in print.
About Introduction to Political Science
Introduction to Political Science introduces the broad scope of the political science discipline in a holistic
manner via logically connected conceptual building blocks. Rather than discussing theory, comparative
politics, and international relations in a purely siloed manner, Introduction to Political Science incorporates
major themes from the various subfields of the discipline in a more inclusive fashion. The text focuses on
actors, beginning with an examination of individual political actors and then moving on to discuss the actions
Preface 1
and interactions of political groups, institutions, and states and international relations. Introduction to
Political Science focuses on how and why political realities unfold, from the beliefs and behaviors of
individuals to the policies and practices of states.
Introduction to Political Science is designed so that students will see themselves as a part of the world of
politics and political science, emphasizing the role that politics and government play in studentsâ lives and
how students can further contribute to civil society. Rather than focusing exclusively on the United States, text
chapters discuss politics and government within the United States as a part of a discussion of larger concepts
that apply around the world. The text uses a diverse range of international examples to illustrate these
concepts. It seeks to include a variety of perspectives and scholarship, including both widely accepted
foundational ideas and prominent views from underrepresented, oppressed, and dissenting voices. The
Changing Political Landscape features discuss topics such as the growing numbers of women in legislatures
and on high courts around the world, changing family structures, and United Nations efforts to involve young
people in the fight against racism. In addition to providing thorough explorations of traditional Western
perspectives, Introduction to Political Science introduces students to feminism, indigenism, conservative
populism, fusionism, and critical race and gender theory. Diversity concerns are inherent in much of the
discussion, as the ways in which majorities and minorities interact are central to political decision-making
and public policy.
Because not all students who take an introduction to political science course will go on to major in political
science, Introduction to Political Science makes connections to broad concepts that transcend course
boundaries and emphasizes how the skills students build when learning about political science apply in other
fields, in the workforce, and throughout life.
Pedagogical Foundation
Learning Outcomes
Textbook Features and Author Profiles
- The textbook utilizes modular learning outcomes to guide students and instructors in measuring subject mastery.
- Key features like 'The Changing Political Landscape' and 'Show Me the Data' focus on demographic shifts and data literacy.
- The 'What Can I Do?' and 'Meet a Professional' sections bridge academic theory with practical career skills and professional networking.
- End-of-chapter resources include section summaries, key term definitions, multiple-choice review questions, and curated reading lists.
- Senior contributing author Mark Carl Rom brings extensive experience from the U.S. House of Representatives, the GAO, and the Brookings Institution.
What Can I Do? outlines political science skills and âsoft skillsâ connected to chapter material that are in demand in todayâs job market, both within and outside the field of government and politics.
Every module begins with a set of clear and concise learning outcomes that can guide instructors and students
and that they can use to measure understanding. After completing the module, students should be able to
demonstrate mastery of the learning outcomes.
Key Features
⢠The Changing Political Landscape highlights and illustrates how changing demographics affect politics
and political science.
⢠Where Can I Engage? provides specific ideas and connections to organizations involved in civic
engagement.
⢠What Can I Do? outlines political science skills and âsoft skillsâ connected to chapter material that are in
demand in todayâs job market, both within and outside the field of government and politics.
⢠Show Me the Data presents and dissects data visualizations to help students develop their data
interpretation skills as well as their substantive knowledge of politics.
⢠Connecting Courses links chapter content and concepts to other courses in the general curriculum as well
as to common electives.
⢠Meet a Professional introduces students to a diverse variety of professionals working in fields related to
politics and political science.
Section Summaries
End-of-chapter summaries, broken down by chapter sections, distill the information in each chapter.
Key Terms
Key terms appear in bold and are followed by a definition in context. Key terms are also listed, with definitions,
at the end of the chapter.
2 Preface
Access for free at openstax.org
Review Questions
Multiple-choice review questions at the end of each chapter provide opportunities for students to apply and
test the information they learn.
Suggested Reading
These curated suggestions offer students classic and contemporary resources for further learning.
About the Authors
The authors wish to express their deep gratitude to Terri Wise for her skillful editing and gracious shepherding
of this manuscript.
Senior Contributing Authors
FIGURE 1
Mark Carl Rom, Georgetown University
Dr. Mark Carl Rom is an associate professor of government and public policy at the McCourt School of Public
Policy and the Department of Government. His recent research has focused on assessing student participation,
improving grading accuracy, reducing grading bias, and improving data visualizations. Previously, Rom has
explored critiques and conversations within the realm of political science through symposia on academic
conferences, ideology in the classroom, and ideology within the discipline. He continues to fuel his
commitment to educational equity by serving on the AP Higher Education Advisory Committee, the executive
board of the Political Science Education section (ASPA), and the editorial board of the Journal of Political
Science Education. Prior to joining McCourt, Rom served as a legislative assistant to the Honorable John Paul
Hammerschmidt of the US House of Representatives, a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, a senior
evaluator at the US General Accounting Office, and a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research
at the University of California, Berkeley. His dissertation, âThe Thrift Tragedy: Are Politicians and Bureaucrats
to Blame?,â was the cowinner of the 1993 Harold Lasswell Award from the American Political Science
Association for best dissertation in the public policy field. Rom received his BA from the University of Arkansas
and his MA and PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1992.
Preface 3
FIGURE 2
Masaki Hidaka, American University
Academic Contributors and Reviewers
- Masaki Hidaka brings a background in public policy and communication, with specific research into media coverage of tribal gaming and internet issue publics.
- Rachel Bzostek Walker contributes expertise in international relations and Middle Eastern politics, having researched the preemptive use of force.
- The text lists a diverse group of contributing authors from various institutions who authored specific chapters on American government and politics.
- A comprehensive list of reviewers from colleges and universities across the United States ensures the academic rigor of the material.
- The contributors represent a wide geographical range of institutions, from the University of Maine to Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
She also worked as a press aide for former San Francisco mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. (and she definitely left her heart in San Francisco).
Masaki Hidaka has a master of public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University,
where she wrote her thesis on media coverage of gaming ventures on Native American tribal lands. She
completed her PhD at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, where her
dissertation examined the relationship between issue publics and the Internet. She is currently a professorial
lecturer at the School of Public Affairs at the American University in Washington, DC, but has taught in
numerous institutions, including the National University of Singapore, University College London, and
Syracuse University in London. She also worked as a press aide for former San Francisco mayor Willie L.
Brown Jr. (and she definitely left her heart in San Francisco).
FIGURE 3
Rachel Bzostek Walker, Collin College
A native of Fort Worth, Rachel Bzostek Walker is the associate dean of academic affairs at Collin College
Technical Campus in Allen, Texas. She earned her PhD in political science from Louisiana State University and
has a masterâs in Israeli politics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her dissertation focused on the
preemptive or preventive use of force, and she continues to research in this area as well as exploring the use of
active learning in the classroom. She taught full-time for over 15 years at colleges and universities in Missouri,
California, and Texas, teaching a wide variety of classes on subjects including international relations,
American foreign policy, and Middle Eastern politics, as well as introductory classes in American and Texas
government.
4 Preface
Access for free at openstax.org
Contributing Authors
Emilia B. Carvalho, Lone Star College (Chapter 16)
Rebecca Eissler, San Francisco State University (Chapter 9)
Terri Susan Fine, University of Central Florida (Chapter 7)
Cassandra Khatri, Lone Star College (Chapter 14)
Timothy Lim, California State University, Los Angeles (General Contributor)
Brenda Norton, Angelo State University (Chapter 11)
Robert Postic, University of Findlay (Chapter 10)
Joseph Prudâhomme, Washington College (Chapters 3 and 13)
Shyam Krishnan Sriram, Gonzaga University (Chapter 7)
Victoria Williams, Alvernia University (Chapter 15)
Reviewers
Danny M. Adkinson, Oklahoma State University
Maneesh Arora, Wellesley College
Brittany Arsiniega, Furman University
R. R. Asaadi, Portland State University
Brian Blanchard, Collin College
Shawna M. Brandle, City University of New York
Mark D. Brewer, University of Maine
Sharon Deubreau, Rhodes State College
Brian Dille, Mesa Community College
Kyle Estes, Occidental College
Terri Susan Fine, University of Central Florida
Leah Graham, University of North Alabama
Margaret Hanson, Arizona State University
Bill Joseph, Wellesley College
Jared Larson, Texas A&M University-San Antonio
Daniella Mascarenhas, Xavier University of Louisiana
Jeffrey Moyer, visiting lecturer, Northeastern University
Carolyn Myers, Southwestern Illinois College
Todd R. Patterson, Northampton Community College
Robert Postic, University of Findlay
Jessica Roisen, St. Ambrose University
Jacob Shively, University of West Florida
Preface 5
Shyam Krishnan Sriram, Gonzaga University
Joseph Stewart, Clemson University
Harvey Strum, Russell Sage College
Rosalinda Valenzuela, Collin College
Francesca Vassallo, University of Southern Maine
Answers to Questions in the Book
Instructor Resources and Course Materials
- OpenStax provides a comprehensive instructor manual featuring chapter overviews, classroom activities, and data resource links.
- A test bank of 400 questions is categorized by Bloomâs Taxonomy to help educators customize assessments for various cognitive levels.
- Verified instructor accounts are required to access sensitive materials like answer keys and test banks to maintain academic integrity.
- The Community Hubs on OER Commons allow faculty to share, upload, and download peer-created teaching materials and multimedia.
- Low-cost technology partnerships offer integrated tools designed to enhance the accessibility of high-quality learning materials.
The 400 multiple choice and true/false questions in our test bank are correlated to the six levels of Bloomâs Taxonomy, allowing instructors to customize tests to support a variety of course objectives.
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6 Preface
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Preface 7
8 Preface
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FIGURE 1.1 Students attend a pro-EU rally in Kiev. (credit: âStudents are shouting out for the EUâ by Ivan Bandura/
Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
1.4 Normative Political Science
1.5 Empirical Political Science
Politics in Everyday Life
- Personal technology, such as smartphones, serves as a primary intersection between individual lives and government regulation or surveillance.
- Governments utilize digital platforms for diverse purposes, ranging from direct benefit distribution to total internet shutdowns during elections.
- Politics extends beyond technology to influence fundamental human experiences, including reproductive rights, marriage, and environmental safety.
- Active and informed citizen engagement is presented as the essential requirement for achieving government integrity and public-interest policies.
- Adopting the mindset of a political scientist involves using evidence-based reasoning to protect oneself from misinformation and manipulation.
Whether or not you care about politics, politics has an interest in you.
1.6 Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations
If you own a smartphone, you are involved with politics and itâs involved with you. Wherever
you live, the political decisions your government makes are likely to affect what is on your phone and how you
can use it. China has banned apps like Facebook and Google. Before the 2021 Ugandan election, the
government simply shut down the internet entirely.1 In India, the government distributes benefits directly to
citizens through their phones.2 In the United States, government regulationsâone type of rules that are
created through political actionâtouch virtually every aspect of your phoneâs production, sale, and
communications.3
1
What Is Politics and What Is Political
Science?
FIGURE 1.2 You can engage in politics through your phone, and politics can influence how your phone is designed
and operated. (credit: âMobile Phoneâ by Marco Verch Professional Photographer/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Your phone also enables you to engage in political action. You can use your phone to talk about politics or to
call your local representative to express your views. You can organize a campaign through WhatsApp, share
videos of police brutality or of peaceful protest, or Venmo contributions to your favorite political cause.4 You
can use your phone to learn about politics, political engagement, and what politicians are doing at home and
around the world.
The political decisions of local and national governments and international organizations can affect the water
you drink, the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and the dwelling you call home. Politics and policy can play a
role in the most intimate details of your life, including your reproductive rights, marriage rights, and even how
your body will be treated after you die.
Politics is everywhere. Whether or not you care about politics, politics has an interest in you.
When you develop a competent understanding of politics and political science, you are a better-prepared
citizen, political actor, and job seeker.
With a more sophisticated understanding of politics and political science, you can better understand questions
of who gets what, when, how, and perhaps most important, why. The quality of our politics depends to a large
degree on the quality of citizen engagement. Want a better government, with politicians who possess greater
integrity and policies that more closely reflect the public interest? These things will not happen automatically
or on their own. They will happen if informed citizens work together to make them happen.
When you think like a political scientist, you seek evidence and carefully scrutinize that evidenceâin politics
as well as in other areas of your life. Doing so helps to inoculate you from misinformation and manipulation.
When you are asked âWhy did [this political event] happen?â or âWhat do you think will happen?â you are able
to respond âThe evidence suggests . . .â or âResearch indicates . . .â or even âI do not know. But in similar
circumstances. . . .â Scientific thinking enables you to navigate the complex political world.
This chapter will introduce you to the world of politics and the systematic study of political science. You will
learn some of the fundamental principles of politics as well as core concepts.
10 1 ⢠What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
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1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define and describe politics from various perspectives.
⢠Identify what makes a behavior political.
The Essence of Politics
- Politics is a fundamental human condition arising from scarcity and the need to resolve conflicting beliefs and preferences.
- The term carries a dual nature, ranging from Aristotle's view of humans as 'political animals' to modern associations with manipulation and trickery.
- Adopting Harold Lasswell's definition, politics is broadly defined as the process of 'who gets what, when, how' across all social interactions.
- Political activity is not limited to government; it exists anywhere collective decisions are made, including within families and schools.
- Every political event, regardless of its unique context, can be analyzed through three core elements: rules, reality, and choices.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle argued that humans were âpolitical animalsâ in that only by engaging in politics could humans reach their highest potential.
⢠Identify and discuss the three core elements of any political event: rules, reality, and choices.
⢠Define and discuss varieties of constitutions.
Politics has existed as long as humans have faced scarcity, have had different beliefs and preferences, and have
had to resolve these differences while allocating scarce resources. It will continue to exist so long as these
human conditions persistâthat is, forever. Politics are fundamental to the human condition.
Politics means different things to different people. Politics, and related terms like political and politician, can
have both positive and negative connotations. The Greek philosopher Aristotle argued that humans were
âpolitical animalsâ in that only by engaging in politics could humans reach their highest potential.5 Yet often,
the terms political and politician can be used in disparaging ways to refer to individuals using trickery or
manipulation to obtain or preserve their status or authority. More formally, a politician is someone running for
elective office or serving in it or as a person who is using the skills of a politician in other social interaction. A
political actor is anyone who is engaged in political activity. Politics involves all the actions of government and
all the people who work for, serve, or challenge it.
This book takes the broadest view, adopting the guidance of political scientist Harold Lasswell, who defined
politics as âwho gets what, when, how.â6 Politics exists wherever people interact with one another to make
decisions that affect them collectively. Politics exists within families. When parents decide where the family
will live: politics. The family (who) gets a place to live (what) at the point of decision (when) based on the
parentsâ choice (how). When your school decides what tuition to charge: politics. When the government
imposes taxes or funds education: politics. Most generally, politics is any interaction among individuals,
groups, or institutions that seek to arrive at a decision about how to make a collective choice, or to solve some
collective problem. Political science focuses primarily on these interactions as they involve governments.7
Every political event is different. The mass protests in Hong Kong in 2020, inspired by those seeking to protect
their political rights, were not exactly the same as the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States or the
climate change actions animated by Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Yet as varied as political
situations can be, there are commonalities across these events and over all political activities. Whenever you
seek to understand a political eventâwhether an election in Tanzania, a protest in Estonia, or a public health
program in Indonesiaâit is useful to focus on the following:
What are the most important rules? What is the reality of the existing event or environment? What choices do
the participants make? Political outcomesâfor example, which candidate wins an electionâare based on the
interaction of these rules, realities, and choices.
Rules
The Power of Rules
- Success in any human endeavor, especially politics, requires a deep understanding of how to use or manipulate rules to one's advantage.
- Rules are categorized into 'de jure' (formal written laws) and 'de facto' (informal practices or the 'hidden curriculum').
- Political rules regarding voting access are rarely neutral; they are often shaped by those who stand to benefit from specific turnout levels.
- Even seemingly neutral rules, such as height requirements for pilots, inherently allocate resources to some while excluding others.
- Ignorance of the rules, whether precise like chess or flexible like social norms, significantly hinders the ability to accomplish goals.
The de jure rules are the rules as they are written, the formal rules. The de facto rules are the ones actually practiced or enforced, the informal rules.
The importance of rules in politics or in life cannot be overstated. In virtually every human endeavor, the most
successful individuals are likely to have a keen knowledge of the rules and how to use (or break) the rules to
the advantage of their cause. Ignorance of the rules makes accomplishing your goals more difficult.
Rules can be highly precise or open to interpretation. In chess, for example, the rules are completely known to
all players: each piece can move in certain directions but in no other ones. Each player takes a turn; thatâs the
rule. Although chess is highly complex, each playerâs options at any given time are known. Chess
championsâin fact, all championsâknow how to use the rules to their advantage.
College campuses have their own sets of formal and informal rules, and not all of them are as precise as those
in chess. The de jure rules are the rules as they are written, the formal rules. The de facto rules are the ones
1.1 ⢠Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why? 11
actually practiced or enforced, the informal rules. For example: a sign might state that the (de jure) speed limit
is 55 miles per hour, but if police do not give tickets to drivers unless they are driving 65 miles per hour, then
that is the de facto rule. To thrive at college, it is useful to understand not only the formal rules but also the
informal rules, which have been called âthe hidden curriculum.â8
FIGURE 1.3 The de jure speed limit is on the sign, but the de facto speed limit is the speed at which the police are
likely to pull you over. (credit: âSignage 55 speed limitâ by David Lofink/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The rules in any political environment affect who has power and how they can use it. Consider the rules that
determine who can vote and how. These rules can be permissive or strict, making voting either easier or
harder to do. The harder it is to vote, the fewer people will actually cast their ballots and vice versa. Voting rules
influence who shows up to vote. Politicians who believe they have a better chance of success under permissive
voting rules are likely to advocate for such rules, while politicians who believe they are more likely to prevail
under restrictive voting rules will advocate for them instead.
Rules might appear to be neutralâthat is, they may seem fair and not designed to favor one group over
anotherâbut this is not entirely true. Until recently, to become a pilot in the US Air Force, a person had to be no
shorter than 5 feet 4 inches and no taller than 6 feet 5 inches: the short and the tall were excluded from this
opportunity. The rule might be in place for a good reasonâin this case, to ensure that pilots can fit properly
into their seatsâbut rules like these allocate opportunities and resources to some while withholding them from
others. Because this rule excluded over 40 percent of American women from becoming pilots, it has been
modified.9
Rules and Political Institutions
- Rules are the foundational elements of all political and social structures, ranging from family units to national immigration systems.
- Institutions are defined as sets of rules governing rights and responsibilities or organizations where collective action is rule-bound.
- Constitutions serve as the most fundamental set of rules, defining government structure, duties, and the rights of the citizenry.
- The length and format of constitutions vary wildly, from Monaco's 4,000 words to India's 150,000, with some nations relying on unwritten sources.
- The power of a constitution is not inherent in the paper itself but depends on the willingness of political actors to uphold and respect its limits.
- Political actors frequently struggle over the creation and interpretation of rules because these rules dictate the allocation of power and resources.
Constitutions are perhaps the most important set of rules in a country because, after all, they are just pieces of paper.
Rules are everywhere in politics. Your family has rulesâeven if the main rule is âno rulesââas does your
school. Rules, such as Robertâs Rules of Order,10 govern legislatures, and the criminal justice system, the tax
system, and the national immigration systems are all based, at least in principle, on rules.
Rules and institutions are closely related. The institution of marriage or the institution of the family, for
example, are the sets of rules (rights, roles, and responsibilities) by which those within the marriage or family
live. Alternatively, institutions can be organizations, which are groups of people working together for a
common purpose whose actions are governed by rules.
Perhaps the most important set of rules for any institution or organization is its constitution. The constitution
affirms the most basic legal principles of a country or a state. These principles typically include the structure
of the government, its duties, and the rights of the people. Constitutions can be quite general or extremely
detailed. The Constitution of Monaco has fewer than 4,000 words, while the Constitution of India has nearly
150,000 words.11 Unlike the United States, some countries, including Canada, New Zealand, and the United
Kingdom, do not have a single document they call the constitution but instead rely on other written and even
12 1 ⢠What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
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unwritten sources. In most countries the constitution is called just thatâthe constitutionâalthough Germany,
Oman, Saudi Arabia, and a few other countries call their constitutions the basic law.12
VIDEO
What Is a Constitution?
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/1-1-defining-
politics-who-gets-what-when-where-how-and-why)
Constitutions define the relationship between people and their government. They give powers to and place
limits upon the government and serve as the basis for any other laws or government activities.
Constitutions are perhaps the most important set of rules in a country because, after all, they are just pieces of
paper. The true importance of a countryâs constitution depends on the politics of that country. In the United
States, the Constitution is venerated almost as if it were a religious document. Most of the biggest conflicts
throughout US history have involved disputes over what the Constitution requires, allows, or prohibits. When
the US Supreme Court rules that a political action is unconstitutional, the violatorâwhether it be the president,
the Congress, or any other group or individual in societyâis expected to comply with the ruling and stop the
action.13 But this is not always the case everywhere. Politicians in any country may be tempted to ignore their
constitutions, especially when it comes to the rights they ostensibly guarantee, and whether those politicians
prevail depends on whether other political actors are willing and able to uphold the constitution.
Because rules affect the allocation of power and other scarce resources, political actors spend substantial time
and effort fighting over them. In general, political actors seek to establish rules that benefit them and their
allies.
FIGURE 1.4 Rules are powerful, and those who set them have power. (credit: âFollow the Rulesâ by pocketcultures/
Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Reality
The Game of Politics
- Political outcomes are shaped by the interplay between established rules, objective reality, and individual choices.
- While facts are indisputable evidence of conditions, the interpretation of those factsâsuch as the success of an organizationâremains a matter of opinion.
- Real-world factors like incumbency and campaign funding act as significant variables that influence a candidate's probability of success.
- Politics functions similarly to a game like chess, where players make strategic moves based on the current state of the board and the constraints of the rules.
- A unique and critical distinction of politics is that the participants have the power to change the rules of the game while it is still in progress.
- Political outcomes are inherently contingent and never certain, though they can be reasonably predicted by analyzing human behavior and existing constraints.
A key difference between chess and politics is that, in politics, the players themselves can change the rules of the game while they are playing.
Rules guide and constrain behavior, but the reality on the ground at any specific time also impacts political
outcomes. Realityâfactsâis not a matter of opinion, although people can dispute the nature of reality.
Something is a fact, for example, when there is compelling evidence that an event has happened or a condition
exists. The sun rises in the East: reality. The United Nations is an international organization: fact (reality).14
Has the United Nations made the world a better place? That is a matter of opinion, although those who say
âyesâ or ânoâ can provide facts that support their views about reality.15
How candidates can raise and spend money on their electoral campaigns may be limited by campaign finance
1.1 ⢠Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why? 13
laws, but if one candidate raises twice as much money as the other candidate, that is an important fact. If one
candidate is the incumbentâa politician already serving in office and running for reelectionâand the other is
not, that is an important fact. These are important facts because whether or not a candidate is an incumbent
and how much campaign money they raise may affect their chances of winning the election. In US elections,
for example, incumbents generally have a better chance of being elected (although the strength of this
relationship has varied over time), while the impact of fundraising on electoral success is open to question.16
In chess, the rules are constant, never changing during the game. The reality changes as play proceedsâat any
moment each player has a specific number of pieces in particular places on the board. What happens then
depends on the choices the players make. This is as true for politics as for any other game. A key difference
between chess and politics is that, in politics, the players themselves can change the rules of the game while
they are playing.
FIGURE 1.5 Politics has many of the characteristics of a game. (credit: âRisk Board Gameâ by Rob Bertholf/Flickr,
CC BY 2.0)
Politics can be thought of as having the characteristics of a game. The playersâanyone involved in political
actionâmake strategic choices, given the rules and the current conditions, in an attempt to âwinâ the game by
obtaining their goals.
Choices
Rules provide constraints and opportunities. Reality presents resources and challenges. The choices
participants make in the face of rules and reality determine political outcomes. Choice exists whenever
political actors face options, which they always do. If there are two candidates in an election for a single
position, the voter has to choose between them, not being able to vote for both. Even if there is only one
candidate, the voter still has an option: to vote for the candidate or to abstain.
In a democracy, the winning candidate wins because more voters chose to vote, and vote for that candidate,
than for other options. The very definition of democracy is that it is a form of government in which the people
have the ability to choose their leaders or, in some cases, the policies that they will adopt.17
14 1 ⢠What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
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Political outcomes are always contingent; they cannot be predicted with certainty in advance. That does not
mean, however, that outcomes are completely unpredictable. By accounting for the rules, how human behavior
works, and existing realities, it is possible to reasonably predict what is likely to happen and explain what does
happen.
1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
Public Policy and Power
- Public policy encompasses all decisions made by government branchesâlegislative, executive, and judicialâto influence human behavior.
- The public interest is a subjective concept often defined as the general welfare or what a society 'should' want rather than just what it desires.
- Power is defined as the capacity to compel individuals to act against their original inclinations or choices.
- While power itself is invisible and cannot be measured, it is manifested through visible 'accoutrements' like titles, salutes, and formal ceremonies.
- Power is partially psychological, existing to the extent that people believe someone has authority over them and act accordingly.
Power is, in part, a matter of belief: if you believe someone has power over you, they do, at least to the extent that you do what they want.
⢠Define public policy, public interest, and power.
⢠Define sovereignty.
⢠Distinguish among the terms country, state, nation, and nation-state.
⢠Define political conflict.
⢠Define the status quo.
⢠Identify three bargaining outcomes.
Public policy is one of the main products of politics. Public policy includes all the decisions governments make
to influence behavior. When a legislature enacts legislation, an executive issues an order, or a court announces
a ruling, they are all making public policy.
In making public policy, political actors typically invoke the public interest (also called the common good or
the general welfare). The public interest is an amorphous concept, although it is generally defined as the well-
being of the public.18 It is invisible to our senses, and it is possible to maintain that it does not exist because
there is no interest (or good or welfare) beyond what individuals want for themselves.
Those who claim to seek the public interest typically believe that it is not just what people want, however, but
what they should want. It would not be in the public interest, in this view, to create a society in which those in
power can exploit others or one that legitimizes cruelty, even if a majority of the population wanted these
things. It is in the public interest to create a good society, one with social justice, in which the government
serves the people. Such a society would provide for the common good and promote the general welfare.
Power, a fundamentally important term in the study of politics, can be defined as the ability to compel
someone to do something that they would not otherwise choose to do.19 Those with power are the ones who get
to make public policy. Power cannot be counted, weighed, or photographed. Though it is invisible, the
accoutrements of powerâfor example, being addressed as president of the United States or having people
salute youâcan often be seen. Some people have a lot of power, while others have very little. Power is not a
constant force, as politicians sometimes increase their power, while at other times their power slips away.
Power is, in part, a matter of belief: if you believe someone has power over you, they do, at least to the extent
that you do what they want.
1.2 ⢠Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power 15
FIGURE 1.6 Upon his arrival in Israel, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was greeted with many accoutrements of
power, including military presence, flags, and a red carpet. (credit: â31/03/2019 CerimĂ´nia Oficial de chegadaâ by
PalĂĄcio do Planalto/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Sovereignty and Governmental Power
- Sovereign power represents the highest form of authority, where no external entity holds power over a state.
- In democracies like the United States, sovereignty resides with the people rather than elected officials, who can be unseated through elections or impeachment.
- The actual power of governmental institutions is determined by both de jure (legal) and de facto (practical) rules, varying from absolute monarchies to systems of checks and balances.
- The government is unique among institutions because it possesses the exclusive legal authority to use coercive power to compel behavior.
- A state is defined by four essential elements: territory, population, sovereignty, and a functioning government.
- States can be categorized by their primary functions or methods of control, such as police states that repress dissent or welfare states that provide social benefits.
If you break your familyâs rules, your family can punish you, but only your government can imprison you for breaking government laws.
The highest form of power is called sovereign power. If no other entity (person or institution) has authority
over a state, that state is said to have sovereignty, and the supreme authority in that state is called the
sovereign.20 In many countries, the sovereign is the highest-ranking individual leader, such as the queen or
king. In the United States and in other democracies, the people are sovereign, not their elected officials. The
people elect their leaders, and the people can unseat them either by selecting others in the next election or by
removing themâfor example, through impeachment, a legal process for removing elected officials from their
posts for misconduct.
The power of any governmental institution depends on the de jure and de facto rules of the country. In Saudi
Arabia, for example, the Consultative Assembly has neither the power to pass nor to enforce laws. Its members
are appointed by the king, who is an absolute monarch (the sovereign), and he can remove them at his
pleasure.21 In the United States, as discussed in Chapter 9: Legislatures, the Congress has substantial powers:
only it can approve the spending of governmental money or declare war. The president can veto legislation
approved by Congress, but Congress has the power to override a presidentâs veto.
Government and the Legitimate Use of Power
The government is the most important institution in any discussion of politics because it is the only one with
legal, legitimate authority to use coercive power to compel behavior within a defined geographic area.
The government of a place typically exercises its powers over individuals who live within its borders or who are
otherwise subject to its laws (for example, a citizen of the country who is currently living abroad). If you break
your familyâs rules, your family can punish you, but only your government can imprison you for breaking
government laws. Your church may ask you to contribute money, but only the government can compel you to
pay taxes. Your business can encourage you to uphold their rules and fight for their interests, but only the
government can require you to serve in the military and sit on juries.
A government is one of the four elements that, along with territory, population, and sovereignty, make up a
state (or its synonym, country). The United States is a state, and so are the individual territories, from Alabama
to Wyoming, within it. Afghanistan and Zimbabwe are states too, as are all the other 190 some countries
between them alphabetically.22 State has other meanings that are also relevant to politics and political science.
For example, a country might be called a police state. In a police state, the government uses force, often
imposed by the military or the secret police, to repress dissent and maintain order. In a welfare state, the
government provides extensive social benefits like child care, education, housing, and pensions. Countries are
16 1 ⢠What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
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Defining Statehood and Authority
- All modern nations exist on a spectrum between police states and welfare states, with North Korea and Nordic countries representing the extremes.
- The terms country, state, nation, and nation-state have distinct meanings based on geography, sovereignty, and shared cultural identity.
- A nation refers to a population connected by history and culture, such as the Kurds, who may exist without a sovereign country of their own.
- Governmental authority is defined by jurisdiction and the recognition of power within specific, limited circumstances.
- Legitimacy is determined by whether authority is exercised according to institutional rules and ethical standards.
- Political struggle often centers on whether a policy's legitimacy is derived from legal enactment or from fundamental moral principles.
As a condition for passing this course, your teacher can require you to read this book but not to do their laundry.
more or less police and welfare states, as all countries use a police force to maintain order and all countries
offer their citizens some social benefits.
North Korea, where the government monitors virtually every aspect of life and imprisons or executes those
who oppose its leaders, is perhaps the most extreme example of a police state. Nordic countries, including
Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden, are generally considered to be the most generous welfare
states.
The terms country, state, nation, and nation-state are sometimes used synonymously, but they are not at all
identical. A country is a defined geographic territory with a sovereign government. The term state is often
used to refer to a smaller area within a country, as in the case of the individual American states, which all
together make up the United States of America, the country. The term state can also be used to refer to an
entire country. For example, India is a state. A nation, in contrast, refers to a population connected by history,
culture, and beliefs that generally lives in a specific area, such as Kurdistan in the Middle East, where the
Kurdish are the dominant ethnic group even though they do not have a country to call their own.23 A nation
that also is a country is sometimes called a nation-state. The United States, France, Pakistan, China, and many
others are generally considered simultaneously to be countries, states, nations, and nation-states.
A government has authority when those subject to its power recognize that power. In a class, you accept your
teacherâs power to give assignments and assign gradesâor, at least, your school recognizes these powers.
Authority is generally limited to specific circumstances and places where the authority is said to have
jurisdiction. As a condition for passing this course, your teacher can require you to read this book but not to do
their laundry. Your government can require you to pay your taxesâit has this authorityâbut it cannot require
you to do things that are unlawful.24
When authority is used in ways that are consistent with the duties or rules of the institution, that authority is
said to be legitimate. If a police officer pulls your car over because you are speeding, that is a legitimate use of
authority; if that officer pulls you over because you are âdriving while black,â that would be an illegitimate
use.25
FIGURE 1.7 Pulling over drivers because of their skin color is an illegitimate use of governmental authority. (credit:
âRideâ by Krista Baltroka/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
In politics, there is a continual struggle over which uses of authority are legitimate and which are not, and, as
discussed in Chapter 13: Governing Regimes, governments resolve these conflicts in different ways depending
1.2 ⢠Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power 17
on how democratic they are. What can a government compel you to do, allow you to do, or prohibit you from
doing? One possible answer is that if a government enacts a policy in accordance with its own rules, then that
policy is legitimate. In this view, individuals could enslave others so long as governmental policy allowed this
practice, as some countries have. Another answer is that some policies, such as slavery, are fundamentally
illegitimate, even if they are lawfully enacted.
Conflict and Bargaining
The Nature of Political Conflict
- Conflict is an inherent part of politics driven by the scarcity of resources and the persistence of human desire.
- Differing values and beliefs regarding social issues ensure that no single political decision can satisfy all citizens.
- Politics serves as a non-violent alternative to brute force for resolving disputes over resources and morality.
- While political processes can resolve specific issues, they cannot eliminate the underlying disagreements that cause them.
- Increasing political polarization creates distrust between groups and poses a significant risk to peaceful conflict resolution.
- Bargaining is the primary mechanism through which political actors negotiate changes to the status quo.
When violence is used to solve disputes, it represents the failure of politics, or at least the deep frustration of those whose aspirations are thwarted by politics.
Disagreementâthat is, conflictâis fundamental to politics for two primary reasons. As long as there is desire
and people want things they do not have, there will be conflict. Millions of people lack clean air, access to
potable water, and even basic necessities such as food and shelter. Scarcity is not limited to human needs.
Even if every family in the world was wealthy enough to buy as big a mansion as (they thought) they wanted,
differences would still exist that would make some people want what others haveâsay a better view, a bigger
lot, or proximity to certain amenities.
In addition to desire, conflict will always exist because people have differing beliefs and preferencesâthat is,
differing values. Should abortion be legal? A spectrum of passionate views on the subject exists, and there is no
way one political decision will satisfy all individuals at every point along that spectrum. Should governments
spend taxpayer money on bike trails, mass transportation, or roads? The answer might not be a matter of deep
belief, but it still elicits differing preferences. Again, no one political action is likely to satisfy everyone.
Throughout history, the resolution of conflicts has often involved brute force. Violence can resolve conflicts, at
least temporarily, with the strong getting what they want through brutality.
Politics is the process for resolving conflicts over scarce resources and differing values without resorting to
violence. When violence is used to solve disputes, it represents the failure of politics, or at least the deep
frustration of those whose aspirations are thwarted by politics. Politics can determine how scarce resources
will be allocated and which values will prevail. Through political processes, a country can decide whether
abortions will be allowed in all cases, some cases, or no cases. This does not mean that everyone will now agree
on whether the policy is good or not; politics can resolve issues, but it cannot eliminate the underlying
conflicts that cause them.
In recent decades the world has gotten richer and more peaceful.26 That does not mean conflict is
disappearing; several countries are experiencing open military conflict, and many other countries are
experiencing high levels of violence. Even in countries without open, violent conflict, political polarization is
increasing.27 Political polarization occurs when groupsâpolitical parties as well as ethnic or religious
groupsâbecome divided (âpolarizedâ) in ways that increase cohesion within the groups and also increase
suspicion and distrust across the groups. The United States today is more polarized than it has been in many
years.28 The greater the polarization, the greater the difficulty of resolving conflicts: polarization is a risk to
peaceful politics.
How does politics resolve conflicts? Most often, through bargaining. When parties involved in a conflict
engage in negotiations concerning the status quoâthat is, the existing set of circumstances involved in the
conflictâthey are bargaining. Political bargaining determines whether existing rules and reality will be
changed.
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FIGURE 1.8 Bargaining at the market is like bargaining in politics: each participant wants a solution that benefits
The Status Quo Bias
- Political bargaining often results in a total failure to reach an agreement, leaving the existing situation unchanged.
- Negotiations typically collapse when parties hold diametrically opposed goals, such as conflicting views on taxation.
- Those who benefit from current rules act as active winners when negotiations fail, giving them a strategic incentive to sabotage deals.
- Political change is inherently difficult because there are always stakeholders who profit from the existing problems.
- Bargaining is essentially a struggle to rewrite rules that currently favor specific groups.
Although you might see a world full of problems that obviously need to be fixed, you should always assume that there are those who benefit from the current circumstances who will work to thwart change.
themselves. (credit: âLearning to Haggle at the Nubian Marketâ by Bonnie Ann Cain-Wood/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
In political bargaining, there are three likely outcomes. The first is that those bargaining simply cannot come
to any agreement. When this happens, and it often does, the status quo prevails. Negotiations are almost
certain to collapse when those bargaining are unwilling to give an inch because they have diametrically
opposed goals. If one side seeks to raise taxes, for example, and the other to lower them, then there is no deal
that would be acceptable to both sides. In this situation, those who favor the status quo are the winners, so
those who favor the status quo have reason to prevent the negotiations from succeeding.
This point bears repeating. Although you might see a world full of problems that obviously need to be fixed,
you should always assume that there are those who benefit from the current circumstances who will work to
thwart change. This bias in favor of the status quo is one of the reasons political change is often so difficult to
achieve. Think of it this way: bargaining seeks to change the rules, and there are almost certainly those who
benefit from those rules and want to keep them.
VIDEO
The Importance of Political Compromise
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public-interest-and-power)
The Mechanics of Political Negotiation
- Compromise requires the ability to see gray areas and accept partial progress, but modern digital discourse often pushes individuals toward extremes.
- Successful compromise is most likely when participants share a common goal but disagree on specific details or implementation.
- Logrolling allows parties to trade items of different value to each side, resulting in an outcome where both are better off than before.
- Political outcomes are shaped by the governing rules, current realities, and the strategic choices of the negotiators involved.
- Negotiations often involve a mix of high-minded persuasion and coercive tactics like bullying or buying influence.
- While dealmaking can be criticized as 'selling out' or corrupt, it can also be framed as a pragmatic success where participants get what they value most.
Political negotiations are often a combination of high-minded principles and skullduggery.
Compromise requires the ability to see gray areas and possible points of connection or overlap. It requires a
willingness to accept partial progress toward a desired goal. Increasingly, everyday public discourse has
moved in the direction of extremes and oversimplification (think of Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and short
online articles), exacerbating political polarization and making compromise increasingly difficult, both for
individuals and for their representatives in government.
A second possibility involves compromise, in which the various participants in a conflict give ground on what
they seek in order to arrive at an agreement. Compromise is most likely to occur when those bargaining
generally agree on the goals but have disagreements on the specific details. If some countries seek to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions to limit global climate change while other countries seek faster economic growth
that increases their emissions, the participants are seeking different goals and compromise is unlikely.
However, if all countries want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they are in general agreement about their
goals. In this case, compromise is more likely. If no country has the power unilaterally to set emission limits,
the countries may have motivation to split the difference. If your country wants to lower emissions by 10
percent and my country wants to lower them by 5 percent, the two countries might make a deal and lower
them by 7.5 percent. Each country gets part, but not all, of what they want.
1.2 ⢠Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power 19
A third outcome results from what is called logrolling. If you have something I want and I have something you
want, we each have something with which to bargain. For example, suppose you have a peach and an apple, as
do I. We each like both fruits and want more of bothâthere is scarcity. But you really like apples and I really
like peaches. Through logrolling, I give you my apple, and in exchange you give me your peach. This is not a
perfect solution, as we both wanted more apples and more peaches. But in the end we each are better off than
we were before the bargaining.
The outcome of political negotiations depends again on the core principles of politics discussed earlierâthe
rules governing the negotiation, the reality at the time of the negotiation, and the strategic choices those
involved in the negotiation make.
Political negotiations are often a combination of high-minded principles and skullduggery. Negotiators will
seek to persuade others and, if persuasion does not work, sometimes to bully or buy them. If any participants
in a negotiation have the power to force the others to give ground, they very likely will use it.
If the status quo prevails, those participants who sought change may be seen as weak and be blamed for their
failure. If compromises are achieved, participants may be criticized for âselling outââfor compromising not
only their policies but also their principles. Logrolling can create the impression of impropriety, of corrupt
dealmaking, or of unseemly quid pro quo, as in âyou scratch my back and Iâll scratch yours.â
Yet each outcome has an alternative explanation. If the status quo prevails, those who defended it will laud
their accomplishments. When compromises succeed, each side can claim that âit is better to get half a loaf of
bread than no loaf at all.â After a successful logroll, the negotiators can say, âWe got what we valued most.â
Negotiations can produce winners and losers, but they can also produce outcomes that leave the participants
at least relatively satisfied with the outcomes.
The Systematic Study of Politics
- Political science is the systematic investigation of who gets what, when, and how, focusing on the reasons behind government decisions.
- Even in totalitarian regimes where power is concentrated, bargaining and negotiation occur among leaders and advisors.
- Political scientists utilize theory, logic, and evidence to answer questions and make predictions, similar to other scientific disciplines.
- While some seek universal laws of political behavior, most focus on identifying patterns rather than deterministic outcomes.
- The field examines the reciprocal relationship between individual influence on government and the impact of government decisions on individuals.
Political scientists may not have lab coats or electron microscopes, but like other types of scientists, they use theory, logic, and evidence in an attempt to answer questions, to make predictions, or to arrive at conclusions.
If all political power were concentrated in a single person, with the government proceeding by fiat, or
command, and the supreme leader giving the orders, bargaining might seem unnecessary. Yet even in
totalitarian countries the supreme leader will have advisors, and those advisors will negotiate among
themselves and the ruler as they seek to influence how power is used.
1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define political science.
⢠Describe the scientific study of politics.
The systematic study of the process of who gets what, when, and howâpolitical scienceâinvestigates the
reasons behind the decisions governments make. For example, political scientists investigate the degree of
control governments choose to exercise over various forms of communication, like your smartphone. Political
scientists examine both the ways individuals and groups seek to influence governmental action and the ways
governmental decisions in turn affect individuals and groups.
Political scientists may not have lab coats or electron microscopes, but like other types of scientists, they use
theory, logic, and evidence in an attempt to answer questions, to make predictions, or to arrive at conclusions.
Some political scientists strive to understand the fundamental laws of politics in much the same way
theoretical physicists seek to comprehend the cosmos for pure knowledge. These political scientists try to
uncover the universal principles of how humans and their institutions aim to prevail in political conflicts. But
most political scientists accept that human behavior is not entirely deterministic (that is, perfectly
predictable), so they instead look for patterns that may enable them to predict in general how humans and
their institutions interact.
20 1 ⢠What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
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VIDEO
What Logic Brings Palestinian and Israeli Women Together to March for Peace?
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science-the-systematic-study-of-politics)
The Science of Politics
- Political science can be used both to improve government institutions and to manipulate or suppress vulnerable populations.
- Unlike physics, politics lacks universal laws because human behavior is rarely constant across all conditions.
- Political science is probabilistic rather than deterministic, focusing on what is likely to happen rather than what must happen.
- The 'scientific' nature of the field is defined by its adherence to the scientific method rather than the discovery of unchanging laws.
- Researchers use systematic data collection and hypothesis testing to find evidence-based answers to political questions.
If one defines science as a body o f universal laws about an unchanging universe , then politics is not and cannot be a science.
When women on both sides of the conflict in Israel grew weary of its human consequences, they decided to
take matters into their own hands in 2017. In human societies, there are many sources of and paths to political
conflict and its resolution.
Other political scientists are more like chemists, who may use their knowledge to develop and improve
medicines or create more deadly toxins. These political scientists aspire to improve the institutions or
processes of government.
Some uses of political science are not so benign. Motivated actors can and have used political science
knowledge to manipulate voters and suppress vulnerable populations. When people understand how political
science works, they are less susceptible to such manipulation and suppression.
So what is scientific about politics?
One way to think about whether politics is âscientificâ is to focus on the content of politics. Does political
behavior follow general lawsâthat is, does it align with universal statements about nature, based on empirical
observations? Does politics have the equivalent of Isaac Newtonâs laws of motion (for example, Newtonâs
second law is âforce is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration,â and his third law is âto every action there is
an equal and opposite reactionâ)? Not precisely, although political scientists have at times claimed that such
laws exist.
The sticking point is the word âuniversal.â Force always equals mass multiplied by acceleration. To every
action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. In politics, it seems, virtually nothing is always the case.
If one defines science as a body of universal laws about an unchanging universe, then politics is not and cannot
be a science. Politics is not the same as physics. Empirical political science seeks to identify regularitiesâwhat
is likely to happen given certain conditions.
Political science is probabilistic rather than deterministic. An event is deterministic if it is possible to say, âIf
this happens, that will happen.â Events are probabilistic if one can say only, âIf this happens, that is likely to
happen.â The sun coming up in the east? Deterministic. Will it rain in the morning? Probabilistic. Will
incumbents win their next bid for reelection? Political science gives us the ability to estimate the probability
that they will win (again, given the rules, the reality, and the choices those incumbents make).
So science does not require universal laws that explain an unchanging universe. What science does require is
a way to learn about the world around us: this way is the scientific method. The scientific method seeks to
understand the world by testing hypotheses (for example âThe world is roundâ) by systematically collecting
data sufficient to test that hypothesis and by making these hypotheses and data available to others so that your
work can be challenged or verified. Political science uses the scientific method to understand the political
world; political science carefully and methodically uses logic and evidence to find the answers to political
questions.
A hypothesis is a tentative statement about reality that can be tested to determine whether it is true or
falseâor, in practice, supported or unsupported based on the evidence. âA candidateâs ethnicity influences the
likelihood that they will be electedâ is an example of a hypothesis: ethnicity either does or does not influence
election outcomes. An important task of the political scientist is to determine whether the evidence supports
the hypothesis that they test.
1.3 ⢠Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics 21
VIDEO
Neil Degrasse Tyson: Analogy for the Scientific Method
The Nature of Political Inquiry
- Scientific findings in politics are inherently tentative and subject to change as methods improve or new data emerges.
- Political behavior is unique because it can adapt and change once individuals learn about the theories describing their actions.
- The field is divided into two primary branches: normative political science (theory) and empirical political science.
- Normative political science focuses on defining the 'good' and the 'right,' seeking to understand the purposes and goals of political life.
- Political philosophers address fundamental questions regarding social justice, the ideal constitution, and the definition of a good citizen.
- Unlike empirical studies, normative questions cannot be resolved through evidence alone or definitive scientific testing.
The specific knowledge ('politicians in this situation will behave in that way') may become obsolete even if a broader general principle ('politicians will act strategically to advance their goals') still appears to be true.
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/1-3-political-
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In this video clip, astrophysicist and author Neil Degrasse Tyson relates a humorous anecdote about an
everyday experience in a coffee shop that illustrates the basic principles of the scientific method.
The answers scientists find are always tentative, or uncertain. A hypothesis is supported rather than true or
unsupported rather than false. Additional research may yield different answers as theories or methods
improve or better data emerges, but also because political behavior itself can change in response to what
people learn about it. The knowledge, for example, that politicians are likely to act in a certain way given
certain circumstances might lead politicians to change their behavior if they believe that doing so will gain
them an advantage. The specific knowledge (âpoliticians in this situation will behave in that wayâ) may become
obsolete even if a broader general principle (âpoliticians will act strategically to advance their goalsâ) still
appears to be true.
There are two main, interrelated types of political science: normative political science (also called political
philosophy or political theory) and empirical political science.
1.4 Normative Political Science
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Identify what normative political science seeks to do.
⢠Discuss the primary methods political philosophers use to answer their questions.
⢠List the three main ways normative political scientists have tried to answer questions like âWhat is a good
citizen?â
In politics, what is good and what is right? How should power be used? What is the public interest? These are
tricky questions with multiple answers. One might think of the âgoodâ as that which is beneficial or helpful and
ârightâ as what is true or just. Power should be used to promote the public interest so that those in power use it
to benefit the people. Normative political science seeks to understand the meaning, purposes, and goals of
politics. It seeks to define how individuals should behave or how institutions should be constituted. Those who
study these issues are referred to as political philosophers and share common interests with the broader
discipline of philosophy.
Normative political science considers an endless array of questions. What is a good citizen? Do human rights
exist and, if so, what are they? Who should rule? What purpose should governments serve? Is there an ideal
constitution and, if so, what is it? What is social justice?
These questions cannot be answered by presenting evidence alone: there is no test that would prove beyond a
Defining the Good Citizen
- Normative political science relies on logic and reason rather than empirical evidence to define ideal political concepts.
- The definition of a 'good citizen' is a central debate, often contrasting those who strictly obey laws with those who challenge injustice.
- Theorists generally categorize civic goodness through three lenses: the consequences of behavior, adherence to moral rules, or personal virtue.
- One consequentialist view posits that good citizens are those whose actions, like voting or paying taxes, directly benefit the stability of society.
- Aristotle argued that just constitutions must aim for the common advantage rather than the personal gain of the rulers.
Is a good citizen the one who always obeys the laws or the one who challenges the laws they see as unjust?
reasonable doubt what a good citizen is or that any constitution is in fact ideal. So normative political science
typically proceeds primarily by appealing to logic and reason. Consider the question âWhat is a good citizen?â
Evidence alone cannot tell us what constitutes a good citizen. Is a good citizen the one who always obeys the
laws or the one who challenges the laws they see as unjust? Reasonable people canâand doâdisagree on this
and almost all other questions in political theory. But in order to determine through logic and reason what it
means to be a good citizen, evidence can guide judgments of whether citizens are good (for example, if citizens
are observed doing bad things, they would not be good citizens).
Normative theorists have tried to answer questions like âWhat is a good citizen?â in three main ways: focusing
on the consequences of behavior, moral rules, or virtue.
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FIGURE 1.9 These new American citizens are being sworn in at a naturalization ceremony. What is a good citizen?
(credit: ââCelebrate Citizenship, Celebrate Americaâ Naturalization Ceremony at College of DuPage 2015 48â by COD
Newsroom/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
One definition of a good citizen is someone who acts in ways that benefit society; that is, the benefits are a
consequence of the citizenâs actions. A good citizen votes and pays taxes, for example, because both actions
help to create stable and prosperous societies. In contrast, a bad citizen is one who breaks the law, to the extent
that breaking the law harms other people. In this view, someone who speeds would be a bad citizen because
speeding increases the likelihood of causing a crash and harming others, but someone who commits a
âvictimless crime,â such as smoking marijuana, would not be a bad citizen because they would not be harming
anyone else. According to normative political science, a person should behave in ways that benefit society and
do not harm it, and individuals should strive to be good citizens. A good ruler is one who helps the ruled rather
than harming them. According to Aristotle, constitutions that âaim at the common advantage are correct and
just . . . whereas those which aim only at the advantage of the rulers are deviant and unjust, because they
involve despotic rule which is inappropriate for a community of free persons.â29
VIDEO
Philippines: What It Takes to Be a Good Citizen
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political-science)
In this clip from the World Bank, Filipinos attending a conference answer the question âWhat does it take to be
a good citizen?â
Normative and Empirical Political Science
- Normative political science evaluates politics through three primary lenses: consequences, universal rules, and inherent virtues.
- The consequentialist approach struggles with defining and weighing benefits against harms, such as the trade-off between personal pleasure and public risk.
- Rule-based ethics attempt to establish universal moral principles, yet face dilemmas when lying or deception might be necessary for national security.
- Virtue ethics focus on the character of citizens and governments, arguing that actions should be taken because they are inherently 'good' rather than just beneficial.
- Empirical political science shifts the focus from 'what should be' to 'what is,' relying on verifiable facts to describe, explain, and predict political behavior.
Does a good government not, as a rule, have an obligation to do just that? But does this then create a slippery slope in which governments believe they are justified in lying as a matter of course?
Two challenges are central to this type of theorizing. What actions produce more benefit than harm, and what
evidence supports these claims? For example, speeding is a risk to the driver and to others, but it may bring
pleasure to the driver and enables them to get where they are going faster. Do the costs outweigh the benefits?
Moreover, what counts as a benefit or a harm? Is it beneficial or harmful for citizens to monitor one anotherâs
behavior for potential lawbreaking, for example?
Philosophers, and not just political philosophers, attempt to identify a set of moral principles that good citizens
should adopt.30 Similarly, they have attempted to identify principles governments should adhere to because
those principles are moral. For example, a good citizen would treat others as they themselves would want to be
treated (the so-called Golden Rule). A good citizen would not lie because lying is wrong. In practice, it has
proven hard to identify rules that are universally consistent or accepted. Is it always wrong to lie? What if a
government decides it must lie to an adversary in order to protect its own citizens? Does a good government
not, as a rule, have an obligation to do just that? But does this then create a slippery slope in which
1.4 ⢠Normative Political Science 23
governments believe they are justified in lying as a matter of course?
Some normative political scientists seek to identify and understand character traits that are admirable in their
own right. Rather than arguing that good citizens should tell the truth because lying harms the public interest
or violates a universal moral principle, they argue that good citizens should tell the truth because a good
person does not lie. According to this line of thinking, a government protects its citizens because doing so
improves their lives and because it fulfills the duties of government, but also because doing so is what makes a
good government. That is what good governments do.
Political philosophers studying virtue seek to identify and define the virtues, as well as to discover their
limits.31 For example, traits like bravery, integrity, humility, and kindness have been identified as possible
sources of virtue. A good person, and a good citizen, is brave enough to stand up for the right, in opposition to
the wrong. To do otherwise would be a sign of cowardice. But can a person be too brave, becoming foolhardy or
rash, when standing up for what is right?
These three types of normative reasoningâemphasizing consequences, rules, and virtueâoverlap, but they
represent distinctly different ways of thinking about politics and what ideal politics would be like. Although the
questions they raise have been studied since ancient times, they remain relevant for us today and are still
worthy of careful reflection.
1.5 Empirical Political Science
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Distinguish empirical political science from normative political science.
⢠Explain what facts are and why they may be disputed.
⢠Define generalization and discuss when generalizations can be helpful.
Unlike normative political science, empirical political science is based not on what should be, but on what is.
It seeks to describe the real world of politics, distinguishing between what is predictable and what is
idiosyncratic. Empirical political science attempts to explain and predict.32
Empirical political science assumes that facts exist: actual, genuine, verifiable facts. Empirical questions are
Empirical Political Science and Evidence
- Empirical political science relies on the scientific method to answer questions through factual evidence and data analysis.
- While political science historically relied on repeated observations, such as election cycles, it is increasingly utilizing true experiments.
- Determining facts can be difficult due to the complexity of variables or the secrecy of actors, such as in cases of foreign election interference.
- A correct factual reality exists for empirical questions, even when current evidence is insufficient to reach a universal consensus.
- Motivated reasoning often leads individuals to decide on a truth first and then selectively filter evidence to support their preconceived biases.
Humans often use motivated reasoning, first deciding what is trueâfor example, âGun control makes us saferâ or âGun control makes us less safeââand then finding evidence that supports this belief while rejecting data that contradicts it.
ones that can be answered by factual evidence. The number of votes a candidate receives is an empirical
matter: votes can be counted. Counting votes accurately so that each candidate receives the actual number of
votes that were cast for them can be difficult. Different ways of counting can lead to slightly different counts,
but a correct number actually exists.
Empirical political science, as described here, is not different from other applications of the scientific method,
whether one is examining rocks in geology, birds in botany, or the human mind in psychology. In every science-
based course you take, you will observe systematic efforts to develop knowledge by using data to test
hypotheses.
OpenStax Biology, a text generally assigned in introductory college biology courses, begins with a description of
science and the scientific method, noting that âone of the most important aspects of this method is the testing of
hypotheses . . . by means of repeatable experimentsâ33 Until recently, few political science theories could be
tested through repeated experiments, so instead political scientists had to rely on repeated observations.
Congressional elections in the United States are held every two years, for example, and they generate substantial
data that can be used to test hypotheses. In recent years, however, political scientists have conducted more and
more true experiments.34 Political science is connected to biology, and all other courses in science, through the
CONNECTING COURSES
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use of the scientific method.
A fact may be disputed. There may be genuine uncertainty as to what the facts really areâwhat the evidence
really shows. Sometimes it is extremely difficult to gather the facts. Do space aliens exist? That is an empirical
question. Either space aliens exist, or they do not. Some researchers claim to have evidence that space aliens
are real, but their evidence is not universally, or even broadly, accepted. One side of this argument is correct,
however, and the other is not. Evidence has not yet conclusively determined which is correct.35
Does the Russian government seek to interfere with American elections, and if so, does its interference affect
the outcome? The first part of the question is difficult (but not impossible) to answer because when a country
interferes in another countryâs domestic affairs it tries to do so in secret. It is difficult to uncover secrets.36 But
the second part of the question, does the interference affect the outcome, is almost impossible to answer.
Because so many factors influence election outcomes, it is extremely challenging to determine which
individual factors made any consequential difference.37
There are thus empirical debates in which people of good faith disagree about what the facts are. In many
cases, however, people do not want to acknowledge what the evidence shows, and because they do not want to
believe what the facts demonstrate, they insist the evidence cannot be true. Humans often use motivated
reasoning, first deciding what is trueâfor example, âGun control makes us saferâ or âGun control makes us
less safeââand then finding evidence that supports this belief while rejecting data that contradicts it.38
VIDEO
Motivated Reasoning in Politics: Are Your Political Opinions as Rational as You Think?
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political-science)
Motivated Reasoning and Empirical Science
- Motivated reasoning involves seeking evidence to support pre-determined conclusions rather than building conclusions from evidence.
- Self-interest often drives individuals or corporations, such as Big Tobacco, to deny clear facts to protect profits.
- The persistence of claims regarding 2020 election fraud despite a lack of evidence illustrates a refusal to accept empirical reality.
- Empirical political science focuses on observable data, such as the correlation between education levels and voting patterns.
- Unlike normative political science, empirical study avoids making moral judgments about whether observed behaviors are 'good' or 'bad'.
- Empirical findings allow scientists to make predictions about future behavior without prescribing how society 'should' function.
The evidence is also clear that Big Tobacco, the largest cigarette companies, denied these facts for years because to admit them would have put their profits at risk.
Social psychologist Peter Ditto contrasts motivated reasoning with science, where scientists build conclusions
based on evidence, and those employing motivated reasoning seek evidence that will support their pre-
determined conclusions.
In other cases, individuals and interests may actually know what the facts are, but they are motivated by
reasons of self-interest to deny them. The evidence is clear, for example, that nicotine is addictive and harmful
to human health. The evidence is also clear that Big Tobacco, the largest cigarette companies, denied these
facts for years because to admit them would have put their profits at risk.39
Former President Donald Trump, along with many of his supporters, claims that he won the 2020 presidential
election and that President Joe Biden was declared the victor only because of massive voter fraud. All attempts
to prove that fraud led to Bidenâs victory have failed: no evidence has been found to support Trumpâs claims.40
That these claims continue can be attributed to the fact that some individuals are simply unwilling to accept
the evidence, while others benefit from denying the validity of it.41
Empirical political science might findâbased on the available evidenceâthat individuals with more education
or more income are more likely to vote. Empirical political science would not consider whether this is good or
bad; that would be a normative judgement. Empirical political scientists might explain the link between
education, income, and voting by positing that better educated, more prosperous individuals are more likely to
believe that their views matter and that because of that belief they are more likely to express those views at the
ballot box. These political scientists might also use their findings to make a prediction: an individual with
more education or higher income is more likely to vote than an individual with less education or lower
income.42
Based on this finding, empirical political scientists make no claims as to who should participate in politics.
Questions about âshouldâ are the domain of normative political science. Moral judgments cannot be made
1.5 ⢠Empirical Political Science 25
Empirical Generalizations and Their Limits
- Empirical political science relies on factual statements about group behavior rather than normative judgments of value or desert.
- Generalizations describe typical cases and average results, such as the observation that older adults vote at higher rates than younger ones.
- A significant risk of using generalizations is the tendency to lapse into stereotyping individuals based on group-level data.
- While empirical data allows for political predictions, these forecasts are prone to error due to factors like dishonest polling responses or low voter turnout.
- The 2016 U.S. presidential election serves as a primary example of how political science models can fail to predict specific outcomes despite accurate popular vote data.
- The principle of ceteris paribus, or 'all other things being equal,' is essential for isolating specific variables in political analysis.
In using generalizations, it is important to remember that they are descriptive of groups, not individuals.
strictly on the basis of empirical statements. That members of one group vote at higher rates than another
group, for example, tells us nothing about whether they deserve to vote at higher rates or whether government
policies should be based more on their views as compared to those who vote at lower rates.
From this finding, however, empirical political scientists may infer a generalization. Generalizations are based
on typical cases, average results, and general findings. Younger adults, for instance, typically vote less often
than older adults. This does not mean that any specific young adult does not vote or that any specific older
adult does, but that these statements are generally true.43
FIGURE 1.10 Empirical political scientists may study the impact of age, sex, ethnicity, education, and other factors
on the likelihood that citizens will vote. (credit: âSuper Duper Tuesdayâ by Josh Thompson/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Generalizations can be helpful in describing, explaining, or predicting, but there is a downside to
generalizations: stereotyping. If the evidence shows that political conservatives in the United States are
opposed to higher levels of immigration, this means neither that every conservative holds this belief nor that
one must hold this belief to be conservative. If data suggests supporters of abortion rights tend to be women, it
is not possible to infer from the evidence that all women seek more permissive abortion laws or that no men
do. In using generalizations, it is important to remember that they are descriptive of groups, not individuals.
These are empirical statements, not normative ones: they cannot by themselves be used to assign blame or
credit.
Empirical political science can be used to make predictions, but predictions are prone to error. Can political
science knowledge be useful for predicting the outcome of elections, for example? Yes. Given a set of rules
about who is eligible to vote, how votes can be cast, and what different categories of voters believe about the
candidates or policy options on the ballot, political science knowledge can be useful in predicting the outcome
of the election. Our predictions might be wrong. Maybe people did not tell the truth about who they were
planning to vote for. Maybe the people who said they were going to vote did not.
In 2016, most political polls predicted that Hillary Clinton would be elected president of the United States.44
Clinton did indeed win the popular vote, as the pollsters anticipated, but Donald Trump won the electoral vote,
against the pollstersâ expectations. Political science is imperfect, but it seeks to learn from and correct its
mistakes. You will learn more about public opinion polling in Chapter 5: Political Participation and Public
Opinion.
Many of the terms in this book, like incumbent, are relevant mainly for the study of politics. Other terms, like
ceteris paribus, are useful across a broad range of studies that use the scientific method. Ceteris paribus can
be translated as âall other things being equal.â If the ethnicity of a political candidate does not influence their
probability of getting elected to office, ceteris paribus, if there are only two candidates and if they are alike in
26 1 ⢠What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
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Empirical Science and Political Power
- While theoretical models often assume 'all other things are equal,' real-world political outcomes are heavily influenced by correlated inequalities in wealth, health, and education.
- Empirical political science focuses on observable data, while normative political science addresses moral arguments about how the political system should function.
- Empirical research is frequently driven by normative concerns, such as identifying systemic disadvantages to advocate for their reduction or elimination.
- The 2020 US Senate split demonstrates how a single vote, such as the Vice President's tie-breaking power, can radically shift the balance of political control.
- The election of Kamala Harris marked a historic shift in the American political landscape as the first woman and person of color to hold the tie-breaking vote in the Senate.
If empirical research discovers that certain groups are systematically disadvantaged in the political process, the researchers may also argue that these disadvantages are harmful or wrong and make a moral argument that the disadvantages should be reduced or eliminated.
every relevant aspect (e.g., age, experience, ability to raise campaign funding) except their ethnicity, then the
candidateâs ethnicity by itself does not affect the outcome of the election.
In real life, however, âall other thingsâ are almost never equal. To the extent that our societies have inequalities
of wealth, health, education, and other resources, the inequalities tend to be correlatedâthat is, mutually
relatedâto each other. For example, wealth and health are correlated with each other in that wealthier people
tend to have better health and poorer individuals tend to have poorer health. In the United States, Whites tend
on average to have more wealth, health, education, and other social resources than do persons of color.45 This
does not mean that every White person is wealthier and healthier, but that on average, in general, they tend to
be.
Empirical political science and political philosophy (or normative political science) are distinct modes of
inquiry. But this is not to say that they are conflicting, that one is better than the other, or that political
scientists do not use both in their research. If empirical research discovers that certain groups are
systematically disadvantaged in the political process, the researchers may also argue that these disadvantages
are harmful or wrong and make a moral argument that the disadvantages should be reduced or eliminated.
Empirical research is often inspired by normative concerns. Those who believe that human rights should be
better protected may undertake research to understand the political factors that limit the protection of rights.
A Slim Majority
The 2020 election in the United States resulted in a 50-50 split in the US Senate.46 Until the election, the
Republicans, whose 53 seats gave them a 6-seat advantage over the Democrats, were able to call the shots. With
the Senate split 50-50, the US Constitution gives the vice president the power to break tie votes. Vice President
Kamala Harris is a Democrat, so the Senate makeup became effectively 51-50. That one vote enormously increased
the powers of the Senate Democrats. When you are in the minority, it can be difficult to move the political system in
the direction you want. Once you gain the majority, getting what you want tends to be easier, at least in a democracy.
FIGURE 1.11 US Vice President Kamala Harris is the first woman and the first person of color to hold this office.
(credit: â59th Presidential Inauguration [Image 17 of 20]â by DoD/US Air Force Senior Airman Kevin Tanenbaum/
Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, Public Domain)
The 2020 election not only changed the balance of power in the US Senate, but it did so in an unprecedented way.
The tie-breaking vote was held, for the first time in US history, by a woman and a person of color. Harrisâs mother
immigrated to the United States from India, and her father from Jamaica.
THE CHANGING POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
1.5 ⢠Empirical Political Science 27
Political power is not a constant; the political landscape is constantly changing.
1.6 Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain why it makes sense to begin learning about political science with a study of individual behavior.
⢠Discuss what human motivations, political ideologies, and public opinion have in common.
⢠Distinguish between civil liberties and civil rights, and explain why the former are examined in the section
on individuals and the latter in the section on groups.
⢠Identify the key types of groups and institutions involved in politics.
Foundations of Political Science
- The study of politics begins at the micro-level by analyzing individual human behavior and decision-making processes.
- Human behavior in politics is driven by a tension between instrumental rationality and expressive emotional needs.
- Political ideology serves as a systematic framework that connects individual beliefs to broader social and group identities.
- Human rights are categorized into individual civil liberties and collective civil rights, both of which face frequent political disputes.
- Political participation ranges from voting to information consumption, though passive consumption is often critiqued as mere hobbyism.
Two ideas stand out. First, humans act instrumentally, or strategically or ârationally,â as they pursue their goals. Second, much of human behavior serves expressive and emotional ends.
⢠Identify the central themes in international relations and globalization.
To develop your understanding of the key concepts and content in politics and political science, this book
begins with the micro, focusing on the smallest political unit, the individual, in Part II. Part III turns to
individuals acting collectively through groups. When groups become formalized by establishing rules and
developing common practices, they become institutions, the focus of Part IV. Finally, Part V examines how
clusters of institutions, whether within the government of a single country or across countries through
international organizations, comprise a macro-level view of politics.
All politics is based on human behaviorâon how individuals interact with each otherâso that is where our
political exploration begins. Chapter 2: Political Behavior Is Human Behavior considers questions in political
philosophy, such as âWhat are human rights?â and âWhat is social justice?â The chapter then examines
empirically how individuals generally make decisions, whether in political action or in any other context. Two
ideas stand out. First, humans act instrumentally, or strategically or ârationally,â as they pursue their goals.
Second, much of human behavior serves expressive and emotional ends.
Chapter 3 explores political ideology. Ideology is a set of beliefsâa systematic set of conceptsâthat helps
individuals make sense of the world and their place in it. Ideologies help guide an individualâs decisions
regarding what is right and wrong, good and bad, and appropriate and inappropriate. Your political ideology
determines, in part, how you see the proper roles of citizens and their governments. Although ideology is
individualâonly you can determine your political ideologyâit connects you to many others in the same way
that those with similar religious beliefs gather together. Ideology is both an individual and a group
phenomenon.
The essential freedoms and rights to which all humans are entitled, human rights, can be divided into two
categories. Chapter 4 examines the first category, civil liberties, which involve individual freedoms to think
and act without government interference. Later, Chapter 7 considers the civil rights groups have to do certain
things, like voting or gaining access to public buildings. Citizens around the world ask their governments to
protect and defend their human rights, both as groupsâtheir civil rightsâand as individualsâtheir civil
liberties. Yet the boundaries of these human rights are disputed, and they are frequently under attack.
VIDEO
What Is a Human Right?
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/1-6-individuals-
groups-institutions-and-international-relations)
This United Nations video introduces a basic definition of human rights and how governments and the UN
work to promote and protect them.
The last chapter in Part II explores political participation and public opinion. Political participation includes
all the various ways you and others can engage in the political process. In democracies, voting may be the most
28 1 ⢠What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
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important and most common form of political participation, but there are countless other ways to participate.
Even watching or reading political information is a form of participation, although, as Tufts University
professor Eitan Hersh warns, if people only consume political news rather than acting on it, they are hobbyists
rather than engaged citizens.47
Public Opinion and Group Dynamics
- Individual political opinions are aggregated into group categories to create valid measures of public opinion.
- Political participation bridges individual behavior and group identity through parties, interest groups, and social movements.
- Political socialization is the gradual process of developing a political personality influenced by family, friends, and social networks.
- Political culture represents the shared attitudes and behaviors that characterize a specific country or community.
- Collective dilemmas arise when group members disagree on solutions or the decision-making process itself.
- Collective action problems occur when individual incentives discourage cooperation, even if the group would benefit from working together.
Collective action problemsâexists when individuals have incentives not to cooperate with others even though cooperation would benefit the group as a whole.
Individuals also have their own political opinions (typically, a political poll will ask questions like âDo you
believe . . .â), but these opinions are aggregated into group categories and reported as public opinion. Chapter
5 examines how polls are constructed and how they convert individual views into valid measures of public
opinion.
Political participation and public opinion bridge individual and group behavior. When individuals vote as
Republicans or Democrats, contact public officials on behalf of the Sierra Club or the NRA, or march in support
of Black Lives Matter or the Right to Life, they are also participating as members of a political party, interest
group, or social movement. A political pollster asks questions of individuals, but their answers are reported by
group affiliations like âA majority of Republicans believe . . .â or âSupporters of BLM generally favor. . . .â
Political action invariably involves groups, and Part III examines different aspects of group behavior, rights,
and forms of political action.
Chapter 6: The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity, should remind you of Chapter 2: Political Behavior Is
Human Behavior. Both chapters consider two aspects of human behaviorâ the âirrational,â expressive, and
symbolic elements, as well as the rational, instrumental, and strategic components. The first part of the
chapter examines political socialization and political culture. Political socialization is the gradual process by
which individuals develop their political personality over time, and this personality is heavily influenced by
others in their environmentâtheir family and friends, people in their schools and places of worship, and more
broadly, people in their social networks. Political culture is the common set of political attitudes, beliefs, and
behaviors characterizing a group, whether the group is a country or a community of any sort. The second part
of the chapter introduces the concept of collective dilemmas, the logic underlying our difficulty in overcoming
them, and potential ways to resolve these dilemmas. Collective dilemmas occur whenever multiple individuals
interact with one another to make a group decision. Problems arise when they disagree on what the solutions
should be or even how to decide what to do. A special form of collective dilemmasâcollective action
problemsâexists when individuals have incentives not to cooperate with others even though cooperation
would benefit the group as a whole.
Chapter 7 focuses on civil rights. Governments must take action for these rights to exist in practice, and
Civil Rights and Political Interaction
- Civil rights require proactive government action and infrastructure, such as polling places and ballot counters, to be effectively realized.
- The extension or withdrawal of rights is typically targeted at specific demographic groups, making them subjects of intense political debate.
- Interest groups and political parties are inextricably linked, with the former seeking to influence policy and the latter seeking to gain office.
- Political science is fundamentally the study of interactions between actors and the resolution of conflicts through communication.
- The discipline equips students with transferable communication skills, such as translating complex data into meaningful conclusions for non-experts.
Because governments must take action for civil rights to be realized, they are matters of intense political debate.
governments typically extend these rights to certain groups. Consider the right to vote. For this right to be
exercised, the government must provide places to vote, ballots, and ballot counters. When voting rights are
extendedâor withdrawnâthey are extended to or withdrawn from specific groups. Voting rights were extended
to African Americans in 1870 in the United States and to women in Switzerland in 1971; in Ethiopia,
Nicaragua, and Scotland, 16-year-olds have the right to vote. Because governments must take action for civil
rights to be realized, they are matters of intense political debate.
Contests over civil rightsâin fact, political battles over every issueâusually involve group conflict, competition,
and cooperation. Chapter 8 focuses on interest groups, political parties, and elections. Interest groups are
organizations of individuals united by common identities and goals who seek to obtain their objectives
through political action. Political parties are organizations that try to gain political power, most often in
democracies by running their candidates for office. The main goal of interest groups is to influence public
policy, including by supporting political parties as they try to win elections. Political parties seek to win
elections in order to set public policy as their candidates enter office. Interest groups, political parties, and
elections are inextricably linked.
1.6 ⢠Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations 29
Communication Skills and Political Science
FIGURE 1.12 Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (right) talks with the editor-in-chief of Native News Network.com
Levi Rickert (left) at the National Congress of American Indians Tribal Nations Legislative Summit in 2012. (credit:
â20120307-OSEC-LSC-0144â by US Department of Agriculture/Flickr, Public Domain)
Political science is fundamentally about interactions between different actors. When we study political science, we
learn how to explain and describe those interactions. We can also think about political science as the study of how
various conflicts (both actual and metaphorical) are resolved. In both conceptualizations, effective communication
plays a fundamental role. We cannot understand how relationships work if we cannot effectively describe those
relationships, and we cannot truly understand the conflict process without being able to analyze the communication
between adversaries. Communication skills, therefore, become an essential part of the political scientistâs toolbox.
These communication skills are among the most widely desired by employers and utilized in the workforce,
regardless of field. While you may learn how to write a detailed analysis of a particular policy or situation in a
political science class, you may end up applying that skill as a city manager or journalist. In political science, you
may also learn how to translate large, often complex, amounts of data into understandable conclusions or findings.
This form of communication is applicable to multiple different professions outside of political scienceâyou are
learning to translate data into something meaningful for non-experts.
Part III moves to yet a higher level of complexity: political institutions. An institution is an organization with a
The Structure of Political Institutions
- Institutions are defined as sets of rules and practices that govern how members of a group interact, ranging from informal families to formal governments.
- Legislatures serve as the law-making bodies of a state, existing as either unicameral or bicameral systems depending on the country.
- The executive branch, led by a president or prime minister, manages the government through a cabinet and a bureaucracy that executes daily functions.
- Judicial institutions interpret and apply laws, with their power often tied to their level of political independence from other branches.
- The news media is frequently characterized as the 'fourth branch' of government due to its significant role in the political system.
The courts and the judges or justices are more powerful when they are politically independent.
set of rules and practices that inform its members about their relationships with one another and how they
should interact. Institutions may be formal, with written rules, or they may be informal. Your family is an
institution, and if you belong to a religious faith, it is an institution too. Gangs are institutions, as are
businesses. Our main interest in this book is institutions that are part of the political system either because
they are part of the government or they seek to influence it. The first three chapters in Part IV introduce you to
three types of institutions likely to exist within any government: a legislature, an executive branch, and a
judiciary.
As discussed in Chapter 9: Legislatures, a legislature is an institution composed of individuals who have the
power to propose, deliberate on, adopt, and alter the laws of a state. Parliaments, congresses, and national
assemblies are all examples of legislatures. In democracies, legislators are elected. In nondemocratic states,
they may be appointed by a supreme authority. The United States, like about 40 percent of the worldâs
democracies, has a bicameral, or two-chamber, legislature; the other democracies have unicameral, or one-
WHAT CAN I DO?
30 1 ⢠What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
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chamber, legislatures.
Chapter 10 turns to executives and the executive branch, which includes cabinets and bureaucracies. The
chief executive of a country goes by various titles, such as president, premier, or prime minister, and their
responsibilities vary from country to country. This person may be the head of the government, with the powers
of a chief executive officer; the head of state, with ceremonial powers; or both. A chief executiveâs cabinet,
composed of the leaders of the various governmental ministries (sometimes called departments) such as
defense, treasury, or interior affairs, supports the chief executive. The bureaucracy executes most of the
functions of a government, from defending the country to delivering its mail, serving under the direction of the
chief executive and their cabinet.
The courts are institutions established to interpret and apply a countryâs laws regarding criminal, civil, and in
some cases constitutional disputes. They can be either appointed or elected. The courts and the judges or
justices are more powerful when they are politically independent. This means they can decide cases and issue
rulings without facing retribution from the voters or the legislative and executive branches. In the United
States, for example, the Supreme Court can void laws and policies of the legislative and executive branches
that it deems unconstitutional. In other countries, the courts largely serve at the direction of other politicians.
Chapter 11: Courts and Law describes what courts do, the different types of legal systems, and questions
regarding their power and its limits.
Chapter 12 introduces the news media and its role in politics. The news mediaâoften called the fourth branch
Institutions and International Relations
- The news media has evolved from traditional outlets to a decentralized 'fourth branch' where anyone with a smartphone can influence political discourse.
- Social media platforms have introduced unprecedented speed and scope for the spread of misinformation, challenging the democratic necessity of a factual press.
- Political regimes are categorized by the concentration of power, ranging from democratic distribution to authoritarian concentration.
- Structural governance varies between unitary systems with centralized authority and federal systems with shared national and state powers.
- International relations are shaped by diverse perspectives such as realism, liberalism, and constructivism to explain how countries wield power.
- Global stability relies on international organizations and alliances to manage collective dilemmas and threats from non-state actors like cartels and terrorists.
Today, with the rise of social media platforms that allow users to share and stream videos, images, and text, the news media is almost literally anyone with a smartphone and internet access.
of governmentâis itself an institution. The news media, whether owned or controlled by a government or
commercial businesses, is evolving rapidly. Thirty years ago, the news media could be defined as including
television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. Today, with the rise of social media platforms that allow users to
share and stream videos, images, and text, the news media is almost literally anyone with a smartphone and
internet access. And although misinformation and disinformation have always been part of the political world,
social mediaâs speed and scope for spreading âfake newsâ is unprecedented. Democracies require a free
pressâone that operates without government interferenceâbut they also require a press that reports real, not
fake, news.
Legislatures, executives, and courts are the institutions that together compose the three formal branches of a
countryâs government, with the media as the fourth branch serving to keep the other three branches honest by
reporting on their activities. Part V moves beyond individual institutions to explore the politics of countries
and the relations between them.
Chapter 13 looks within individual countries, or states, to describe the different types of governing regimes, or
systems of government, that exist around the world. The chapter highlights two main regime characteristics:
how concentrated or distributed governmental power is, and how the government is structured. The broader
the distribution of government power, the more democratic the country. The more concentrated the
distribution, the more authoritarian the regime. Structurally, governing regimes can be unitary, where all legal
authority resides with the national government, or they can be federal, like the United States, where national
and state governments each have their own legitimate sources of power.
Big questions concerning the relations among countries are at the heart of Chapter 14: International Relations.
The chapter begins by discussing the different ways political actors wield power in the international system.
The structure of the system and the different actors within it are then examined. Political scientists have
different perspectives on how to interpret the motivations and behavior of countries in their relationships with
each other, and the most prominent of these perspectives, including realism, liberalism, and constructivism,
as well as critical theories that challenge traditional viewpoints, are outlined.
As the countries of the world have interacted with each other, they have developed institutions to help
overcome their collective dilemmas. Chapter 15: International Law and International Organizations introduces
the purposes and work of the most important international organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), the
1.6 ⢠Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations 31
European Union (EU), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The chapter goes on to
examine military alliances like NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization). These organizations all have
countries as members, but the international political environment also contains important ânon-stateâ actors,
including legal ones, such as multinational corporations and financial institutions, and non-legal ones like
drug cartels and terrorist groups. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the threats to the international
order posed by terrorism and revolution.
The final chapter focuses on the international political economy. International political economy concerns
itself with the impact of political actions on domestic and international economies.
Defining Politics and Power
- International Political Economy (IPE) identifies the winners and losers in the distribution of resources and the tactics used to maintain positions.
- Politics is defined as the process by which societies resolve disagreements over scarce resources and differing preferences.
- Political outcomes are determined by three key factors: the rules of the system, the reality of the environment, and the choices made by actors.
- The classroom can be viewed as a political environment where power, legitimacy, and consent dictate the allocation of grades.
- Current global crises regarding poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation present stark choices for both winners and losers.
Classrooms raise questions regarding power, legitimacy, and consent.
If politics is about who gets
what, when, where, how, and why, IPE tells us who the winners (who got) and losers (who didn't get) are, how
they got that way, and analyzes the tactics they may employ to maintain or improve their position. Winners
and losers may be governments, private interests, or social classes, among many others, and the chapter
concludes with a discussion of current widespread crises confronting winners and losers with stark choices
regarding poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation.
Mark Carl Rom, Associate Professor of Government and Public Policy at the McCourt School of
Public Policy and the Department of Government, Georgetown University
Â
Please explain what you do for your organization.
I teach courses in US politics, public policy, data visualizations, and the role ethics and values play in politics. I have
conducted research and published books and articles on many different topics: sex education, same-sex marriage,
financial regulation, and welfare reform, among others. Some of my current research focuses on the college
classroom as a political environment.
What did you study in school?
I majored in political science at the University of Arkansas. Before becoming a political scientist, I worked as a
janitor, a field hand, a waiter, a ticket taker, a library clerk, a gas station attendant, an assembly-line laborer, and a
backpacking guide, among other odd jobs.
What did you learn as an undergraduate that helps you in this position?
Classrooms raise questions regarding power, legitimacy, and consent. The allocation of grades depends on the
classroomâs rules, its reality, and the choices that teachers and students make. How should grades be allocated, and
how are they allocated? I want to find the answer to those questions.
MEET A PROFESSIONAL
32 1 ⢠What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
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Summary
1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Politics involves the activities of individuals who are cooperating or competing with others to resolve
disagreements over scarce resources or different preferences. Politics is the means by which societies decide
who gets what, when, and how. Anyone engaged in political activity is a political actor, while politicians are
those running for elective office or serving in one. To understand political activity and outcomes, it is useful to
focus on the rules that determine what the actors can and cannot do, the reality of the political environment,
and the choices that the political actors make.
1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Power, Policy, and Political Science
- Public policy represents the primary output of politics, often framed by actors as serving the public interest rather than self-interest.
- Power is defined as the ability to influence others' actions, with sovereign power being the highest form where an actor is ruled by no one else.
- Political science utilizes the scientific method to systematically study political phenomena through logic, reason, and verifiable evidence.
- The field remains inherently tentative, acknowledging that conclusions must be revised as new data or techniques emerge.
- Normative political science, or political philosophy, addresses fundamental questions of morality and purpose that cannot be answered by empirical data alone.
Power is the ability of one political actor to get other actors to do things they would not otherwise choose to do or not to take actions they otherwise would.
Public policyâall the actions that governments take that are designed to influence individual, group,
institutional, or national behaviorâis one of the main products of politics. Those seeking to make public policy
typically invoke the public interest, claiming that the policies they seek will benefit the broader society (rather
than merely their own self-interest). Policies are made by those with power.
Power is fundamental to the study of politics, although it is impossible to accurately measure or observe.
Power is the ability of one political actor to get other actors to do things they would not otherwise choose to do
or not to take actions they otherwise would. The highest form of power is sovereign power, which means that
the actor with sovereign power is ruled by no one else. Sovereign power is usually associated with a single
person (an emperor), a national government, or in democracies, with the citizens themselves. A political actor
has authority if they have the power to enforce rules, and that authority is seen as legitimate if the power is
used in ways consistent with those rules.
Disagreements over resource allocation and values are fundamental to politics. Bargaining is the attempt to
resolve these conflicts.
1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
Political scientists systematically study political phenomenaâthe actions of individuals, groups, institutions,
and countries as they seek to obtain their goals or express their identities. That those who study politics are
scientific does necessarily not mean that they can identify universal laws, although many have tried. What is
important is that political scientists use the scientific method to understand the political world. In the
scientific method, researchers try to develop accurate depictions of the world through logic, reason, and
evidence while making their techniques and data open to scrutiny and verification by other researchers. In
their research, political scientists must always be tentative about their conclusions: further study might
indicate that their conclusions need to be revised in the light of new evidence or techniques.
1.4 Normative Political Science
Normative political science, also called political philosophy, seeks to answer questions regarding the meaning,
purposes, and goals of politics, such as âWhat is a good citizen?â or âWhat purposes should governments
serve?â The answers to these questions cannot come from examining evidence alone; instead, political
philosophers rely on reason and logic. Three common approaches to normative political science involve a
focus on consequences (for example, the purpose of government is to provide benefits to its citizens), rules (for
example, the purpose of government is to protect rights), or virtue (so that the purpose of government is to
produce virtuous citizens). Some of the main questions in normative theory are rooted in antiquity, but they
remain relevant today.
1.5 Empirical Political Science
Empirical Science and Political Frameworks
- Empirical political science focuses on how the political world actually functions through evidence and measurement rather than how it should work.
- Researchers seek to establish probabilistic generalizations that allow for the description, explanation, and prediction of political behavior.
- Political analysis follows a micro-to-macro framework, starting with individuals as the fundamental building blocks of all political action.
- Individual behaviors aggregate into groups, which become formal institutions like legislatures, courts, and bureaucracies when governed by set rules.
- The study of politics extends to international relations, covering global interactions regarding war, peace, and the international political economy.
- Key concepts such as collective action problems and bargaining illustrate the inherent tensions between individual incentives and group benefits.
Nothing happens in politics unless individuals are engaged in political activity.
Empirical political science, in contrast to political philosophy, attempts to answer questions (or test
hypotheses) on the basis of evidence. Unlike political philosophers, empirical political scientists are curious to
learn about how the political world actually works rather than how it should work and about how politicians
1 ⢠Summary 33
actually behave rather than how they should behave. Empirical political science is based on factsâthat which
can be counted or measured and verified to be true. It is not always easy to determine what the facts are, in
part because political action can be so complex and difficult to observe.
A key outcome of empirical research is generalizationsâthat is, statements about political behavior that are
typically true or are correct in general even if not for every individual or each event. Generalizations are
probabilistic rather than deterministic. Generalizations are helpful because they allow us to describe, explain,
and predict.
1.6 Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations
This text examines politics using a âmicro (individuals) to macro (relations between countries)â framework. It
begins by focusing on individuals, the building blocks of all political action: nothing happens in politics unless
individuals are engaged in political activity. While all political behavior is ultimately individual behavior, in
politics individuals typically band together with others to form political parties, interest groups, or even social
movements. When groups are formalizedâwith set rules and practices, for exampleâthey become institutions.
The text examines the most important governmental institutionsâlegislatures, executives and executive
agencies, courts, and bureaucracies. These are the institutions present in every government in the world. The
news media is the most important nongovernmental institution. International relations involves the
interactions among countries on matters of war and peace, as well the international political economy and
globalization.
Key Terms
authority the entity (person or institution) holding legitimate power in a specific realm
bargaining the process of negotiating with the goal of reaching agreement
civil liberties human freedoms with which the government may not interfere
civil rights opportunities to which all humans are entitled that governments must act to protect
collective action problem a collective dilemma in which the group would benefit if its members cooperated,
but they have incentives not to do so, and these incentives ultimately harm not only the group but the
individuals themselves
collective dilemmas problems that arise when multiple individuals interact with one another to make a group
decision
compromise in bargaining over a single issue, each participant agrees to move in the direction of those they
are bargaining with (for example, the car seller lowers the price and the car buyer increases what they are
willing to pay)
conflict disagreements between individuals, groups, institutions, or states regarding the allocation of
resources or the determination of values
constitution a collection of the most basic principles of a country (or state)
country a populated geographic area with a sovereign government
courts an institution for resolving disputes
Foundations of Political Science
- Politics is fundamentally defined as the process of determining 'who gets what, where, when, and how' through the allocation of scarce resources.
- Political science is divided into empirical study, which tests hypotheses based on evidence, and normative study, which explores ideal goals and philosophy.
- Institutions serve as the structural framework of society, utilizing rules and practices to inform how members interact and relate to one another.
- Power is characterized as the specific ability to compel individuals to perform actions they would not otherwise choose to do.
- A state is defined as a specific geographic area governed by a unified political authority that holds sovereignty over its domain.
politics âwho gets what, where, when, and howââthe process for resolving disputes and allocating scarce resources
democracy a system of government in which citizens elect their leaders
empirical political science the systematic study of political behavior, generally based on developing
hypotheses and testing whether these hypotheses are supported based on the evidence
executives the persons responsible for leading an institution
fact something that is true because it can be verified by evidence
government the set of institutions that make and implement decisions for a political collective, most often for
a specific geographic area
human rights liberties and opportunities that humans have by virtue of their humanity
hypothesis a tentative explanation for a reality that can be tested
institutions organizations with a set of rules and practices that inform their members about their
relationships with one another and how they should interact
34 1 ⢠Key Terms
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legislature an institution composed of individuals who have the power to propose, deliberate, adopt, and alter
the laws of a state
legitimate authority used in ways that are true to the rules
nation a population connected by history, culture, and beliefs that generally lives in a specific area
normative political science the systematic study of ideal goals, principles, and behaviors in politics; also
called political philosophy
political ideology a set of beliefs (or a systematic set of concepts) that helps individuals determine how they
see the proper roles of citizens and their governments
political science the systematic study of political phenomena using empirical or philosophical methods
politics âwho gets what, where, when, and howââthe process for resolving disputes and allocating scarce
resources
power the ability to compel someone to do something they would not otherwise choose to do
public interest that which benefits a state and those who reside there
public opinion in empirical political science, the sum of individual opinions on the question being asked
public policy any decision by a government, such as a law, regulation, or ruling, that attempts to guide human
behavior
reality the world as it is, as verified by observations and measurements
rules instructions regarding what behaviors are required, forbidden, or allowed
scientific method the processes used to conduct empirical research
sovereign the entity (person or institution) that holds supreme authority over a domain
state a defined geographic area with unified political authority
status quo the existing state of affairs
Review Questions
1 . Politics can be defined as ________.
a. how things happen now
b. who gets what, when, and how
c. when what happens, and why
d. what should be
2 . The de facto rule is the rule ________.
a. as it is in practice
b. as it is written
c. as it is designed
d. as it is in intention
3 . Political events involve ________.
a. guidelines, reality, and prerogatives
b. procedures, educated guesses, and rules
c. rules, reality, and choices
d. directions, procedures, and choices
4 . Perhaps the most important set of rules for any institution is ________.
a. its code of conduct
b. its constitution
c. its judicial guide
d. Robertâs Rules of Order
5 . What is a fact?
1 ⢠Review Questions 35
a. Something I believe to be true
b. Something that an authority says is true
c. Something that can be verified by compelling evidence
d. Something that appears on a website that I trust
6 . What is not an example of public policy?
a. A law
b. A court ruling
c. An executive order
d. A papal edict
7 . One of the main sources of political conflict is ________.
a. plentiful opportunities
b. scarce resources
c. complex systems
d. multiple groups
Political Science Fundamentals Review
- The text outlines foundational concepts in political science, distinguishing between normative reasoningâfocused on logic and virtueâand empirical science, which seeks to explain and predict.
- Key definitions are explored through multiple-choice questions, identifying legitimacy as the highest form of political power and the status quo as the current state of affairs.
- Methodological principles are highlighted, noting that political science is typically probabilistic rather than deterministic and relies on tentative hypotheses about reality.
- The scope of the field includes the study of individual behavior as the basis for all political action and the recognition of the media as the 'fourth branch' of government.
- The material introduces diverse theoretical perspectives for understanding international relations, including realism, constructivism, and feminism.
Political science is usually probabilistic.
8 . Power is ________.
a. measurable
b. observable
c. visible
d. real
9 . Which term is most closely associated with âcountryâ?
a. Nation
b. Nation-state
c. State
d. Community
10 . The status quo is ________.
a. the current state of affairs
b. the person who is most respected
c. the future state of affairs
d. the emperor or king
11 . What is the highest form of political power?
a. The president
b. Authority
c. The sovereign
d. Legitimacy
12 . What is one likely outcome of bargaining?
a. Compromise
b. Concurrence
c. Contempt
d. Catharsis
13 . The study of politics can be scientific only if ________.
a. politics has universal laws
b. political phenomena can be precisely measured
36 1 ⢠Review Questions
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c. the researcher uses certain methods
d. the researcher uses quantitative analysis
14 . Political science is usually ________.
a. probabilistic
b. statistical
c. deterministic
d. random
15 . Hypotheses are ________.
a. statements of research methods
b. principles that guide research
c. tentative statements about reality
d. statements that are proven to be true
16 . Normative political science seeks to understand political ________.
a. meanings, purposes, and goals
b. attributes, inferences, and consequences
c. beliefs, attitudes, and preferences
d. heroes, villains, and enablers
17 . Questions in normative political science can be answered by ________.
a. facts and figures
b. data and analysis
c. logic and reason
d. power and authority
18 . Three types of normative reasoning emphasize ________.
a. countries, states, and nations
b. consequences, rules, and virtue
c. legislatures, executives, and judiciaries
d. sovereigns, citizens, and refugees
19 . Empirical political science seeks to ________.
a. analyze and postulate
b. experiment and inoculate
c. hypothesize and extrapolate
d. explain and predict
20 . Facts ________.
a. tell us what is right and wrong
b. exist but may be disputed
c. are determined by those in power
d. are based on political ideology
21 . Generalizations ________.
a. are always true
b. are never right
c. can be useful if frequently true
d. are always harmful
1 ⢠Review Questions 37
22 . All political behavior is based on ________.
a. national behavior
b. party behavior
c. group behavior
d. individual behavior
23 . The âfourth branchâ of government is ________.
a. the media
b. ASEAN
c. the judiciary
d. parliament
24 . Which perspective is not a theory used to understand international relations?
a. Feminism
b. Constructivism
c. Realism
d. Socialism
Suggested Readings
Bagge, Peter. Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story. Montreal, Canada: Drawn and Quarterly, 2013.
Coates, Ta-Nahesi. We Were Eight Years In Power: An American Tragedy. London: OneWorld Publications,
2018.
Cohen, Cathy. Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics. Oxford, UK: Oxford
University Books, 2013.
Hersh, Eitan. Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real
Change. New York: Scribner, 2020.
Roy, Arundhati. My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2019.
Thomas, Gillian. Because of Sex: One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years that Changed American Womenâs Lives at
Work. New York: Picador Paper, 2017.
38 1 ⢠Suggested Readings
Access for free at openstax.org
FIGURE 2.1 What do people seek, and how do they behave? (credit: âWoman Exploringâ by Matt Bango/stocksnap,
CC0 1.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
2.2 Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do?
2.3 Human Behavior Is Partially Predictable
Human Behavior and Political Context
- International conflicts, such as those in the South China Sea, are fundamentally driven by the individual behaviors and decisions of political leaders and citizens.
- Understanding politics requires looking beyond observable actions to discern the underlying moral aspirations and visions of how the world should be structured.
- Political action is motivated by a combination of material self-interest and normative principles regarding justice and social rules.
- Normative political theory uses logic and persuasion to explore what people should do, rather than just describing what they currently do.
- The study of politics must bridge the gap between empirical observations of 'down-and-dirty' actions and the philosophical 'lofty dreams' of political philosophy.
Politics involves both lofty dreams and down-and-dirty actions.
2.4 The Importance of Context for Political Decisions
Tensions are growing in the South China Sea. China, seeking to expand its sphere of
influence, is building up its military capacity and presence. Taiwan considers itself an independent country;
China considers Taiwan a breakaway Chinese province. The United States watches warily: it has been the
dominant military and economic power in the region since World War II, it is a major trade partner with China,
and it has a special relationship with Taiwan.1 Will conflict lead to war, or can peaceful relations prevail?
2
Political Behavior Is Human
Behavior
FIGURE 2.2 Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks. (credit: â14/11/2019 SessĂŁo PlenĂĄria da XI CĂşpula de LĂderes do
BRICSâ by PalĂĄcio do Planalto/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The grandest conflicts in international relations are ultimately based on the behavior of individual humans:
political leaders, the citizens who support (or oppose) them, the decisions they make, and the actions they
take. To understand politicsâto understand who is doing what, when, and howâit is necessary to understand
humans.2
Understanding humans requires more than simply observing how they behave, however; it is also useful to
attempt to discern their moral aspirationsâto learn what they believe to be their higher goals. In this view,
however China, Taiwan, and the United States choose to act, their actions will be about more than merely
defending their material interests. These countriesâ leaders are also pursuing their ideas of how the world
should be structured, of what principles they espouse, and of what they believe political rules and goals ideally
should be.
This chapter will consider matters both normative and empirical, both philosophical and practical. Politics
involves both lofty dreams and down-and-dirty actions. First the chapter considers aspirations, and then it
turns to behavior.
2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Identify four major questions in political philosophy.
⢠Define key terms in political philosophy.
⢠List major conceptions of social justice.
⢠Distinguish between political philosophies in principle and their application in practice.
Humans seek a wide variety of goals through political action. Many of these goals are based on self-interest,
including the pursuit of power. But is pursuing self-interest the highest and best goal for political action? Or is
it possible to identify goals that go beyond âgive me more of what I wantâ? Efforts to define these goals take us
into the realm of normative political theoryâpolitical philosophy, which was introduced in Chapter 1: What Is
Politics and What Is Political Science?. As it is not possible to demonstrate empirically what people should
seek, normative political theory relies on logic and persuasion. Normative political theorists are less interested
in describing who people are and what they do, and more concerned with who people could be and what they
should do.
The distinction between how the world is and how it should be is not always clear. For the big questions posed
40 2 ⢠Political Behavior Is Human Behavior
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The Nature of Human Rights
- Political theorists debate whether human rights are inherent discoveries of nature or social inventions created by human action.
- The United Nations defines human rights as inalienable and universal, existing simply because one is human rather than being granted by a state.
- A social constructionist view argues that rights are not like gravity; they require active political creation and protection to exist in reality.
- A third perspective suggests rights are inherent but often ignored, placing a moral obligation on political actors to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
- The text distinguishes between civil liberties, which protect individuals from government interference, and civil rights, which are often affirmed for specific marginalized groups.
In this view, unlike gravity, which exerts its force whether or not humans recognize it, political action is necessary to create and protect human rights.
below, some have argued that answers exist, and that it is the human task to find them. Others contend that
humans create the answers to our biggest questions. A nonpolitical analogy is the question âDoes mathematics
exist independently of human minds so that humans discover it, or do humans actually create it themselves?â
This question cannot be answered by evidenceâthere is no proof regarding the origin of mathematical
proofsâso advocates of each position appeal to our moral intuitions and our ability to reason.
What Are Human Rights?
Which rights should be called human rights is a core question in political theory. Human rights can be thought
of in three main ways. One is that human rights exist; although unobservable, they are real, just as gravity is
real. It may not be possible to know their source, but various philosophers have contended that they exist
through God, nature, or human reason. From this perspective, people do not create human rights, nor must
they earn them. Human rights are inalienable: they cannot be denied, taken away, or transferred to anyone
else.3
The United Nations (UN) takes this position, describing human rights as ârights we have simply because we
exist as human beingsâthey are not granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to us all,
regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They
range from the most fundamentalâthe right to lifeâto those that make life worth living, such as the rights to
food, education, work, health, and liberty.â4
Alternately, human rights can be seen as a human inventionâa social construction or a creation. In this view,
unlike gravity, which exerts its force whether or not humans recognize it, political action is necessary to create
and protect human rights. The basis for this view comes from observing the world around us. If you look
around you will see poverty, homelessness, discrimination, and violence. Billions of individuals can attest to
the fact that they do not themselves have access to the human rights that are often called inalienable. From this
perspective, human rights are created through political action: they are what people define them to be.
There is yet a third possibility: that human rights (like gravity) are inherent, but too often ignored. Human
rights are not created, but discovered. One of the tasks of political theory is to discern what these rights are,
and one of the obligations of political actors is to bring these rights into practice. That countries have often
failed to protect these rights reveals the flaws of political action, not the absence of the rights themselves.
Human rights are so important to politics that this book examines them in multiple places. Chapter 4 focuses
on civil libertiesâfreedoms of conscience, worship, and speech, as well as the rights to privacy, among others.
Civil liberties involve the freedoms that humans have (or, alternately, should have) to live their lives according
to their own directions and purposes, without governmental interference. Chapter 7: Civil Rights examines
civil rights, another form of human rights that are most often considered rights that are affirmed to specific
groups that have previously been denied their rights, such as for example when African Americans in the
United States were guaranteed the right to vote through the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution and when
the 19th Amendment extended voting rights to women.
2.1 ⢠What Goals Should We Seek in Politics? 41
FIGURE 2.3 Freedom of expression is a human right. (credit: â2018 Freedom of Expression Awardsâ by Index on
Censorship/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Defining Social Justice and Utility
- Human rights are foundational to international law and organizations like the United Nations, which promotes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Social justice is broadly defined as the equitable or fair distribution of opportunities, resources, and rights within a society.
- Utilitarianism posits that a just society is one that maximizes 'net happiness,' calculated by subtracting total unhappiness from total happiness.
- Governments apply utilitarian principles through cost-benefit analysis to determine if the social and financial benefits of a policy outweigh its costs.
- A major critique of utilitarianism is the difficulty of measuring happiness, as seen in complex trade-offs like environmental preservation versus human displacement.
- Libertarianism opposes utilitarianism by arguing that individual liberties must never be violated, even if doing so would increase the overall happiness of the majority.
As with human rights, it is worth asking whether such a thing as social justice actually exists, or whether, in the words of the philosopher Friedrich Hayek, social justice is a 'mirage.'
Consideration of human rights is central to international law, organizations, and treaties, so the book again
turns to these rights in Chapter 15: International Law and International Organizations. The United Nations has
been a leading voice advocating for human rights, especially through its Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR), although many other national and international organizations have also made the definition
and promotion of human rights central to their activities.5
What Is Social Justice?
As with human rights, it is worth asking whether such a thing as social justice actually exists, or whether, in
the words of the philosopher Friedrich Hayek, social justice is a âmirage.â6 Rather than engaging in the debate
as to whether social justice is a human invention or an eternal verity, this chapter instead explores the most
important, often competing, definitions of social justice that have been proposed.
There are as many different definitions of social justice as there are differing conceptions of justice itself. The
common element across the various perspectives is that social justice is achieved when the distribution of
opportunities, resources, and rights is equitable, or in simpler terms, fair. A brief, general outline of some of
the most prominent conceptions of social justice in the Western tradition is helpful before turning to critiques
and alternative views.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is the belief that there is one measure of worth in society: âutilityâ (hence the name
utilitarianism), or what one might call happiness or well-being.7 In the utilitarian view, the goal of society is to
maximize human happiness and human welfare. This is sometimes summarized as calling for âthe greatest
happiness for the greatest number,â but that description is not quite complete. Utilitarians also want to avoid
unhappiness if possible. What matters is net happiness, that is, the sum of all happiness minus the sum of all
unhappiness, so increasing happiness and reducing unhappiness are both valuable social goals. A just society
maximizes human happiness. This implies that a good government is one that chooses policies that maximize
âutility.â
A central challenge to utilitarianism is how to measure human happiness.8 Like power, happiness cannot be
measured directly. Imagine that a countryâsay, Kenyaâis deciding whether to create a new national park with
a diverse ecosystem and magnificent vistas, preserving these in perpetuity.9 Creating this park will also
prevent economic development on those lands and, unfortunately, displace those who live there. Will creating
the park increase net human happiness? Depending on how the calculations are done, the answer could be
either yes or no, so it is not always possible to know which answer is correct.
42 2 ⢠Political Behavior Is Human Behavior
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Utilitarianism has had a profound impact on public policies around the world. Governments use cost-benefit
analysis, which is based on utilitarian principles, to analyze their policies and policy proposals.10 As the name
implies, cost-benefit analysis tries to identify all the various costs (e.g., financial, environmental, and social)
and benefits of a policy. If total benefits exceed total costs, the policy is seen as enhancing utility and so should
be adopted.
Libertarianism
Libertarianism rejects the idea that maximizing net happiness produces a just society.11 Libertarians claim
that individual rights should not be violated, even if doing so increases net social utility. Social justice, in the
eyes of libertarians, results when individual liberties (hence the name libertarianism) are most fully protected
Utilitarianism versus Libertarianism
- Utilitarianism may justify wealth redistribution if it increases the net happiness of society.
- Libertarians reject redistribution on the grounds that it violates individual property rights regardless of social benefit.
- From a libertarian perspective, government actions like taxation and environmental regulations are viewed as forms of theft.
- Libertarians argue that social justice is achieved only through a system that maximizes individual liberty and protects private property.
- A libertarian state would limit government functions to essential services like police and military, leaving education and healthcare to the open market.
A libertarian would respond that almost any action by governments or individuals that deprives us of our liberty or property is thievery.
from the state and from others.12
Here is a simple example. If a Robin Hood steals the belongings of one rich person and gives them to the poor,
society as a whole may be happier because those who received the goods are now much happier (âhigher
utilityâ), and only the one rich person is now unhappy.13 In its simplest form, utilitarianism might approve of
Robin Hoods, to the extent that their actions increase net happiness. Libertarians reject this, arguing that the
rights of the rich person were violated, and that this is impermissible even if it makes society in general
happier.
FIGURE 2.4 Is social justice served when Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor? (credit: âRobin
Hoodâ by Itâs No Game/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Our instant reaction might be that, of course, thievery is wrong. A libertarian would respond that almost any
action by governments or individuals that deprives us of our liberty or property is thievery. Taxes? The
government is stealing my money. Environmental regulations? The government is robbing me of my rights to
use my property as I wish. Speed limits and gun regulations? The government is depriving me of my liberty to
drive as I wish or use guns as I please so long as my driving or gun use does not directly threaten others.14
As a result, libertarians claim that social justice is created through a political system that maximizes individual
liberty and protects individual rights, with a government dedicated to securing those goals with minimal rules
2.1 ⢠What Goals Should We Seek in Politics? 43
at minimal cost. A libertarian country would require military and police forces because these are necessary to
protect rights and preserve order, and citizens must be taxed to pay for these protections. According to the
most ardent libertarians, virtually all other government functions (such as education, health care, and welfare
programs) are illegitimate if they require taxes to pay for them because taxes are seen as theft. Rather than the
government providing these goods and services, individuals should have the freedom to purchase them
through the open market.15
Marxism
Marxist Views on Social Justice
- Marxism defines social justice through the equitable distribution of resources based on individual needs rather than market demand.
- The theory rejects capitalism as a coercive system where the means of production are privately owned and the working class is exploited for profit.
- Marx argued that the state is not a neutral arbiter but a machine used by the capitalist class to oppress labor and protect private interests.
- A truly just society requires a radical revolution to eliminate class distinctions, eventually making formal government unnecessary.
- While few countries remain officially communist, Marxist principles continue to influence global politics through socialist and labor parties.
the State is nothing more than a machine for the oppression of one class by another.
âFrom each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.â16 This is the essence of the social justice
views of Marxism, an ideology associated with the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels. Although these theories are wide ranging and complex, the core element of Marxism that relates to
social justice concerns how material resources should be produced and distributed. According to Marxists, a
society is just when both economic and labor contributions and needed resources are distributed properly,
without discrimination.
In his writings, Marx explicitly rejected capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system in which the âmeans of
productionâ (raw materials, facilities, machinery, tools, and so forth) are privately owned, and individuals are
assumed to be motivated primarily by acquisitiveness. The production of goods and services is based on
supply and demand, with the vast majority of the population selling their labor to the capitalists in return for
wages. Marx considered capitalism to be fundamentally coercive and unjust, with the working class exploited.
Under capitalism, government and politics serve only the interests of the capitalists, as âthe State is nothing
more than a machine for the oppression of one class [that is, labor] by another [the capitalists].â17 According to
Marx, political systems do not create economic systems. Instead, the âeconomic structure of society [is] the
real foundation on which rise moral, legal and political superstructures,â18 and âthe modern state, no matter
what its form, is essentially a capitalist machine.â19
The creation of a just society, according to Marx, thus calls for a radical reordering of society, a revolution.
Class distinctions, and hence the conflict between workers and capitalists, must be eliminated. In a just
society, government would no longer be needed, as the only real purpose of government is to protect the
interests of the capitalists. In such a society, communism, in which all people share equally in the creation and
allocation of goods, and within which all people are truly free because they are no longer subject to class
repression, would prevail.
Today there are only five countriesâChina, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnamâthat label themselves as
communist.20 In none of these countries do all residents share goods equally, as political elites (discussed in
Chapter 6: The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity) ultimately control the allocation of resources. Yet the
principles that motivate advocates of Marxism have had a profound impact on countries around the world,
especially through well-established political parties (variously named some permutation of socialist, social
democratic, or labor) in many countries as well as prominent advocates such as Senator Bernie Sanders in the
United States.21
Rawlsâs Theory of Justice
Rawls and Social Justice
- John Rawls proposed a theory of justice based on the 'veil of ignorance,' where rational individuals design a society without knowing their own status within it.
- Under this framework, rational actors would prioritize equal basic liberties to avoid the risk of being part of a deprived or oppressed group.
- The 'difference principle' suggests that social and economic inequalities are only permissible if they benefit the least advantaged members of society.
- Rawlsâs logical framework mirrors the 'Golden Rule' found in many world religions, emphasizing fairness and reciprocal treatment.
- African American leaders like Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King Jr. shifted the focus from theoretical definitions of justice to the practical pursuit of institutional reform.
- The lived experiences of these activists in a discriminatory society highlighted the gap between national ideals of liberty and the reality of racial inequality.
In designing it, you would be operating from behind a 'veil of ignorance.'
One of the most influential political philosophers of the 20th century was John Rawls, who offered a
comprehensive theory of justice.22 To understand Rawlsâs ideas, imagine that you (or any other rational
person) could design the allocation of rights and resources for all the citizens of the world, and that you would
then be placed in this world. However, while designing this world you would not know who you would actually
be in the world you created; in designing it, you would be operating from behind a âveil of ignorance.â
What kind of world would the rational person create? Not one with great poverty or other large inequalities,
because it is possible that the designer could be poor or the victim of those inequalities. As a result, any
rational person would design a world using two basic principles. First, not knowing who you would be in this
44 2 ⢠Political Behavior Is Human Behavior
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world, you would give everyone the same basic liberties and rights (you wouldnât want to design a world in
which you would be deprived of your rights, would you?). Second, as a rational person you would distribute
resources (income, wealth, responsibility, power, respect, etc.) so that inequalities would be allowed only to the
extent that they would benefit the least well off. For example, an inventor could earn a higher-than-average
income if the invention served to improve the lives of those with less income.
These ideas give us a tool to evaluate the policies and practices of countries. Would a just society allow racial or
ethnic discrimination? No, because the person designing the society from behind the veil of ignorance would
not know which racial or ethnic group they would be in once placed in the world: as a result, the rational
designer would ensure that no such discrimination existed. Rawlsâs theory of justice implies that anyone acting
rationally behind the veil of ignorance would create a just world. Rawls makes a logical case for adopting his
principles, and they are closely related to the âGolden Ruleâ (âdo unto others as you would have them do unto
youâ), elements of which have been a common feature of the worldâs religions since antiquity.
African Americans and Social Justice
Countless African Americans devoted their lives to advancing the cause of social justice, but the ideas and
activism of four African AmericansâBooker T. Washington, Ida Wells, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Martin Luther King
Jr.âmerit special attention regarding social justice.23 Anyone thinking and writing about social justice will be
influenced by their own specific experiences, and these four individuals came of age in a country that
proclaimed a view of the good society (âwith liberty and justice for allâ) that was denied to them because of
their race. These thinkers were also activists; they were less concerned with how to define social justice than
with how to obtain it. In their focus on social justice, these individuals recognized that institutional reform was
essential, as justice could not prevail unless the branches of government supported it.
FIGURE 2.5 Martin Luther King Jr. (center left) and Malcolm X (right) both sought social justice, though they differed
regarding what that required. (credit: âMartin Luther King and Malcolm X after Kingâs press conference at the US
Capitol about the Senate debate on the Civil Rights Act of 1964â by Marion S. Trikosko/US News & World Report
Magazine Photograph Collection/Library of Congress, Public Domain)
Visions of Social Justice
- Booker T. Washington emphasized Black empowerment through property ownership, industry, and character as the foundation for freedom.
- W.E.B. Du Bois argued that full civil rights and political representation were essential preconditions for justice and universal human rights.
- Ida B. Wells utilized investigative journalism to document lynching and expose it as a systemic tool of racial oppression.
- Martin Luther King Jr. viewed the struggle for equality as a radical challenge to the structural flaws of racism, poverty, and militarism.
- King advocated for a total reconstruction of society to address systemic rather than superficial social ills.
The black revolution is much more than a struggle for the rights of Negroes. It is forcing America to face all its interrelated flawsâracism, poverty, militarism, and materialism.
Booker T. Washington (1856â1915), who was born into enslavement but advanced to become perhaps the most
politically influential African American of his period, called for Black empowerment through education and
entrepreneurship.24 In Washingtonâs eyes, âpolitical activity alone cannot make a man free . . . he must have
property, industry, skill, economy, intelligence, and character.â25 W.E.B. Du Bois (1868â1963), an early leader
in the struggle for racial equality in the United States, advocated for a social justice that would recognize
2.1 ⢠What Goals Should We Seek in Politics? 45
universal human rights while also incorporating a special concern for those groups who had been oppressed
and marginalized.26 As one of the founders of the NAACP, Du Bois conducted path-breaking research on Black
communities and wrote The Study of the Negro Problem, Souls of Black Folks, Black Reconstruction in
America, and many other books. He insisted that full civil rights and political representation for African
Americans were preconditions of justice.
Ida Wells (1862â1931) was also born into enslavement. As a freed adult, she was a journalist and an advocate
for rights for African Americans and women, as she helped establish the NAACP as well as other organizations
supporting womenâs rights.27 She was best known for documenting the lynching of African Americans and the
use of lynching as a tool of racial oppression, and for inspiring the anti-lynching movement.28 One of her many
legacies is the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, which encourages journalists to expose
governmental injustices and to defend the vulnerable.29
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. (1929â1968) was a radical advocate for social justice. He said of the
uprisings in the late 1960s: âThe black revolution is much more than a struggle for the rights of Negroes. It is
forcing America to face all its interrelated flawsâracism, poverty, militarism, and materialism. It is exposing
evils that are rooted deeply in the whole structure of our society. It reveals systemic rather than superficial
flaws and suggests that radical reconstruction of society itself is the real issue to be faced.â30 Social justice
required societies to simultaneously address all their social ills, to actively work to end all forms of
discrimination. Still, King was hopeful that âwe will be able to . . . achieve the ideal, the goal of the new age, the
age of social justice.â31
Gandhiâs Philosophy
Gandhi and Western Critiques
- Mohandas Gandhi's vision for a just society integrated political science, spirituality, and ethics through a nonviolent framework.
- Unlike many Western philosophers, Gandhi prioritized human duties over rights, defining civilization as the path of duty.
- Gandhi advocated for a minimalist government and resource allocation based on individual need rather than accumulation.
- Most dominant theories of social justice, including utilitarianism and Marxism, originate from Western male perspectives.
- Western theories typically center on the individual, whereas non-Western and feminist critiques suggest these universal claims may marginalize alternative goals.
- While Western concepts like Rawlsian justice influence U.S. policy, they are often accused of being exported to cultures where they may not fit.
Civilization is that mode of conduct that points out to man the path of duty.
Influential political ethicist Mohandas Gandhi (whose first name came to be changed by his many supporters
to "Mahatma," a term used in Indian culture to describe a person widely admired and respected) (1869â1948)
led the nonviolent struggle in India against British rule. Although he never wrote explicitly about social justice,
his writingsâa âmixture of political science, spirituality, religion, and ethicsââframe his understanding of what
a just society would look like.32 Like Western political philosophers, Gandhi emphasized the dignity of the
individual and a respect for human rights. Unlike most Western writers, however, Gandhiâs vision focused not
just on rights but also on duties: âCivilization is that mode of conduct that points out to man the path of duty.â
Similar to Marx, Gandhi called for resources to be allocated so that âeach man shall have the wherewithal to
supply his needs and no more.â Seeing the state as a source of violence against its people, he favored a
minimalist government, with the long-term goal of harmonious local rule. But political freedom would mean
little without social and economic freedom. For Gandhi, a just society would arise not through an armed
revolution, but only through a nonviolent one.
Non-Western and Feminist Critiques
The astute reader will note that these conceptions of social justice have all been proposed by men from Europe
and the United States (with the exception of Gandhi, who nonetheless received a Western education, but
remember also that Malcolm X embraced Islamic principles). They seek to make universal claims applicable to
all people in all places at all times. These ideas have had broad, deep, and lasting impacts on politics around
the world. Principles of utilitarianism and libertarianism have become embedded in the constitutions and
policies of virtually every country. Marxism has influenced revolutions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Although not as influential worldwide (at least not yet), the Rawlsian conception of justice has had a broad
impact on policy in the United States, including policies addressing racism and economic inequality. Western
theories of social justice generally begin with the individual, so, for example, social justice is obtained when
individual happiness or personal liberty is maximized.
These Western and male conceptions of social justice hardly exhaust the possibilitiesâmaximizing happiness
or liberty are not the only goals of social justiceâand non-Western voices have been marginalized or
ignored.33 Westerners have been accused of exporting to Africa their notions of social justice that were âout of
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Alternative Perspectives on Social Justice
- African and communitarian scholars argue that true social justice prioritizes the community over the individual, emphasizing social solidarity and cultural rights.
- Islamic principles of justice reject Western individualism, positing that justice is achieved by following divine guidance and fulfilling the purpose of worshipping God.
- Feminist scholars critique traditional Western political philosophy for justifying the subordination of women and ignoring gendered experiences of oppression.
- The purpose of government is a contested topic, with Thomas Hobbes famously arguing that its primary role is to provide security and escape a 'brutish' state of nature.
- Modern visions of justice include a collective obligation to provide for essential human needs and ensure that all people are included in the decision-making process.
For Hobbes, then, the principal purpose of government would be to remove the people from the state of nature and to promote their security.
tune with the local context [and] based on an individualized view of justice.â True social justice, in contrast to
Western philosophy, would recognize âthe primacy of the community over the individualâ[with an] emphasis
on diversity and the rights of cultural communities (defined in terms of traditions and languages), as well as
respect for human rights within each community.â34 As University of Cape Town professor Vivien Taylor puts
it, âThe values of competitiveness, individualism, survival of the fittest, and overconsumption . . . are at odds
with the values of social justice. These values . . . are based on social solidarity, communitarianism, social and
economic inclusion, and subsidiarity.â35 University of Chicago professor Martha Nussbaum expands this
vision of social justice to argue that humans have a collective obligation to care for each other, to provide the
essential needs required for humans to have lives of dignity, and to live cooperatively with others.36 Moreover,
excluding or marginalizing people from the process of determining the principles of social justice is itself an
injustice.37
In alignment with African scholars, Islamic principles of justice, which emphasize altruism and helping others,
also reject the Western preoccupation with individualism. According to Islamic scholars, Western theories of
social justice are incomplete because they fail to identify the ultimate source of what is right and wrong. These
scholars argue that Allah, who knows what is best for all humans, provides. âHuman beings are created for the
sole purpose of worshipping the One God through the engagement of good things and avoidance from
engaging in wrong things.â38 Social justice is obtained when humans abide by Allahâs words.
Feminist scholars have criticized the ideas of Western thinkers Hobbes and Locke as relying on âarguments of
social convenience and menâs superior strength to justify the continued subordination of women.â39 Feminist
academics have used Marxist ideas to analyze the oppression of women under capitalism, although other
scholars have argued that Marxism is based on a male viewpoint that ignores the reality women experience.40
Feminist political philosopher Susan Moller Okin has argued that, if Rawls were to be taken seriously, for
example, the inequities women face in society and within the family would be considered unjust.41 In short,
male views of social justice do not necessarily represent female perspectives, and there is a diverse literature
by feminist scholars.42
What Is the Purpose of Government?
There is no unanimity on the question of the proper purpose of government, as different individuals have
proposed different answers at different times. In the mid-1600s, the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes
argued that if governments didnât existâthat is, if individuals lived in a âstate of natureââthen the lives of
humans would be âsolitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.â43 For Hobbes, then, the principal purpose of
government would be to remove the people from the state of nature and to promote their security.
FIGURE 2.6 The European Parliament building is located in Strasbourg, France. The European Union is an attempt
to bring multiple countries together to govern themselves. (credit: "Outside the building of the European Parliament
2.1 ⢠What Goals Should We Seek in Politics? 47
in Strasbourg" by European the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourgâ by European Parliament/Flickr,
CC BY 2.0)
Foundations of the Social Contract
- Thomas Hobbes proposed that governments arise through a metaphorical social contract where individuals trade personal freedoms for collective security.
- John Locke viewed the social contract as a mechanism to protect God-given rights to life, health, liberty, and possessions from potential disputes.
- David Hume expanded the role of government to include the provision of public goods that individuals lack the incentive to produce privately.
- Public goods are defined as resources that benefit everyone, cannot be withheld from individuals, and are not depleted by use.
- To fund these public goods, Hume argued that governments must possess the authority to impose taxes and provide incentives to the citizenry.
First, the individuals involved decide to collectively give up some of the freedoms they had in the state of nature, such as the freedom to commit violence against each other.
But how would a government arise? Hobbesâs answer was that governments would be established through
what is called a social contract. A business contract is an agreement between two or more parties regarding
the specific rights and obligations of each party. You likely signed such a contract for your phone: you agreed to
provide a set amount of money to receive a specific package of phone services. A social contract, in contrast, is
not an actual contract but a metaphorical one. It contains two main elements. First, the individuals involved
decide to collectively give up some of the freedoms they had in the state of nature, such as the freedom to
commit violence against each other. Second, they delegate the authority and power to enforce this contract to a
person (such as a king) or assembly of people (say, a parliament)âthat is, to the state.
English philosopher John Locke had a more benign view of human nature. He believed that in the state of
nature, humans would have complete liberty to live their life as they saw fit, without interference from
others.44 In Lockeâs view, all Godâs children are forbidden to deprive each other of âlife, health, liberty, or
possessions.â Disputes could nonetheless arise, leading to violence, which would become self-perpetuating
unless there was an entityâthe state, again created through a social contractâto prevent wars from breaking
out and to end them when they do. Because conflicts could arise over life, health, liberty, and possessions, the
social contract would need to protect them.
In the 1700s, Scottish philosopher David Hume reasoned that the primary purpose of government was to
provide public goods. A public good is a resource that a) benefits everyone, because it cannot be withheld from
anyone and b) is not used up when individuals benefit from it. Streetlights, clean air, and national defense are
examples of public goods. Everyone using streets benefits from streets that are well lit, and the light cannot be
withheld from anyone traveling down that street. Because streetlights (and other public goods) can be
expensive, no one has a personal incentive to put them up. Unless some collective entity (such as a
government) provides public goods, they will not be produced in sufficient quantities. To provide public goods,
governments impose taxes, issue threats, or provide incentives. For Hume, the social contract expanded its
purpose to include the governmental provision of public goods, with governments having the power to impose
and collect taxes on the public to pay for these goods.
Purpose in Principle
The Tension of Governance
- The social contract requires citizens to exchange specific liberties and resources for government-provided protection and public goods.
- A fundamental challenge in political design is balancing the desire for total freedom with the necessity of social order.
- While the US Constitution's preamble outlines idealistic goals like justice and liberty, these protections were historically denied to women, Native Americans, and Black people.
- The gap between a nation's foundational documents and its actual practice is often wide, as seen in the Confederate States' adoption of similar constitutional language.
- Constitutions are products of human authors influenced by personal economic interests, class biases, and competing ideological beliefs rather than objective ideals.
Constitutions are not written by angels: they are written and implemented by groups of individuals who have their own self-interests and biases as well as their own view of the common good.
If Hobbes, Locke, and Hume are correct, one might conclude that the two most fundamental purposes of
government are to protect individuals from one another and to provide public goods (taken together, to
promote the general welfare). Through the social contract, citizens agree to give up some of their liberties and
their resources in return for protection and public goods. This raises the social contract question: How much
liberty should people give up, and how much government (protection and public goods) do they need? If there
were no law enforcement, people might have near-total freedom (I can do anything I want without fear of
arrest!) but presumably very little order. If there were law enforcement officers at every corner, there might be
lots of order but at the cost of highly restricted liberties. What is the right balance? There is no simple answer.
This tension between liberty and order, which Hume identified in his essay on the âOrigin of Government,â45
remains one of the most important challenges to designing governments and choosing public policies and the
major point of disagreement between those wanting freer societies and those wanting more orderly ones.
One of the most eloquent statements regarding the purposes of government can be found in the preamble to
the United States Constitution:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure
domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
According to the preamble, the governmentâs purpose is to serve the people, provide for peace and prosperity,
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protect liberty, and promote justice. Has the American government succeeded in providing all of these things
to all of its citizens? Certainly it did not initially; when the Constitution was written, women and Native
Americans were not protected by its provisions, and Black people were considered property, without any
citizenship rights. Even today there is heated debate as to whether the US government has fulfilled its
fundamental purposes.
Purpose in Practice
Did you know that the powerful concepts embedded in the US Constitution also formed the preamble to the
Constitution of the Confederate States of America, the enslaving states that broke away from the United States
prior to the American Civil War?46 Just as no country completely fulfills the goals of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR), there is no guarantee that the high aspirations and purposes incorporated into a
nationâs foundational documents will be put into practice or even that people will agree on what these
foundational documents truly say.
Constitutions are not written by angels: they are written and implemented by groups of individuals who have
their own self-interests and biases as well as their own view of the common good. Regarding the US
Constitution, evidence suggests that the economic interests of the founders were certainly importantâthe
framers had their own class interests to protectâbut that other factors, such as their ideological beliefs, the
opinions of their constituents, and their view of what was best (in the public interest) for their state were
equally important.47
Power Preservation and Authoritarianism
- Historical evidence suggests government officials prioritize expanding their own power over the public interest.
- President Recep ErdoÄan serves as a case study for consolidating authority under the guise of national security.
- The COVID-19 pandemic provided a global pretext for many regimes to demand obedience and curtail individual rights.
- Citizens often voluntarily trade liberty for security when faced with perceived external or internal threats.
- While some state actions are made in good faith, power expansion typically benefits the rulers rather than the ruled.
History is replete with evidence that the actual purposes of those serving in government align most with preserving or expanding their power, even though they may claim they are acting in the public interest.
History is replete with evidence that the actual purposes of those serving in government align most with
preserving or expanding their power, even though they may claim they are acting in the public interest.
Consider Turkish President Recep ErdoÄan. Ostensibly to protect the country from perceived external and
internal threats, ErdoÄan has dramatically consolidated his power and the power of his inner circle, leading
the formerly democratic country in the direction of authoritarianism. Around the world, numerous countries
have used the pretense of the COVID-19 pandemic to become more authoritarian, emphasizing obedience to
rulers at the expense of the rights of the citizens.
Individuals are often willing to sacrifice some liberty if doing so helps protect them from real or perceived
danger (think about increased screening at airports with the stated goal of preventing terrorist attacks), and
governments can take good-faith steps to protect their citizens. Still, it is likely that governments expand their
powers primarily for their benefit, not for the benefit of their citizens.
VIDEO
ErdoÄan Moves to Consolidate Power After Failed Military Coup
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The Dilemma of Governance
- The spectrum of governance ranges from absolute rule by a single individual to collective decision-making by all citizens.
- Authoritarian regimes often justify their power through claims of divinity, virtue, or the unique ability of a single party to represent the people's will.
- Democratic theory centers on the concept of 'we, the people,' yet countries vary significantly in how they define who is included in that collective.
- Most modern democracies function as representative systems rather than direct ones due to practical logistical constraints and concerns over voter expertise.
- Critics of democracy argue that it can devolve into 'mob rule,' where an uninformed majority might exploit minorities or make unwise public decisions.
- The 2016 Turkish coup attempt serves as a modern example of how leaders may use political instability as a pretext to consolidate personal power.
Since antiquity, political philosophers and practitioners have worried that democracy will inevitably become mob rule, with citizens whoârather than make wise decisions in the public interestâseek to exploit minorities, rob the wealthy, and otherwise favor policies and leaders who are nasty and brutish.
Questions regarding the unsuccessful July 15, 2016 attempted military coup in Turkey suggest that Turkish
president Recep ErdoÄan may have had some role in arranging the coup to provide a pretext for his efforts to
consolidate his political power.
Who Should Rule?
If governments exist to protect their citizens and those citizensâ rights, who should rule the government?48 The
possibilities range from a single person with sole and supreme power, to all citizens, with each participating
with equal importance in making decisions. In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs ruled for thousands of years under
the accepted belief that they were gods. To early Greek philosophers, the rulers should be those best fit to rule:
the virtuous philosopher-kings. Today, those countries ruled by a single personâcountries such as North
Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkmenistanâjustify this on the basis of divinity, virtue, or both.
Many countriesâChina, Cuba, and North Vietnam, for exampleâare constituted on the belief that one party
2.1 ⢠What Goals Should We Seek in Politics? 49
should rule because only that party can represent the true will of the people. The Chinese Communist Party
believes that it is the sole legitimate source of political power in that country and thus should make all political
decisions.
The view that âwe, the peopleâ should rule is at the heart of democratic political theory. Most countries in the
world today proclaim that they are democracies. But labeling a country a democracy does not answer three
main questions each country must ask about who should rule.
Who comprises the âweâ? All countries limit their âweâ to certain groups. The United States did not grant the
voteâthe ability to participate in making ruling decisionsâto African Americans or to women for much of its
history, and even today many states are trying to make it harder to vote. Most countries only allow citizens to
vote; some countries expand this right to noncitizens.
How much power should citizens have? In a pure direct democracy, all political decisions are made
collectively by all voters. No country today practices pure direct democracy, for both practical and
philosophical reasons. Practically speaking, how do you get millions of people together to discuss and vote on
every issue? Philosophically, many believe it is reasonable to ask whether voters are wise and knowledgeable
enough to make all of a countryâs political decisions and still have time and room in their lives to do all the
other things that make a society. Instead, most democratic countries are representative democracies, in
which voters elect individuals to represent their interests within a legislature.
Is democracy better than other forms of government? This is debatable. Former Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom Winston Churchill is famously quoted as saying that âdemocracy is the worst form of Government
except for all those other forms.â49 Since antiquity, political philosophers and practitioners have worried that
democracy will inevitably become mob rule, with citizens whoârather than make wise decisions in the public
interestâseek to exploit minorities, rob the wealthy, and otherwise favor policies and leaders who are nasty
and brutish, as Hobbes feared regarding the absence of government. According to some, rather than
expanding the right of the people to rule, âignorant and incompetentâ votersâthat is, most of themâshould be
excluded from political decision-making.50
Political Psychology and Human Behavior
- Political philosophy provides theoretical frameworks for justice and rights, but actual political practice is determined by the behavior of real people.
- Political psychology is a specialized subfield that examines the mental processes influencing why individuals engage in or withdraw from political activity.
- The 1950 study 'The Authoritarian Personality' remains a foundational text, linking childhood character traits to a preference for ultranationalist and fascist leaders.
- Social science aims to describe, explain, predict, and change behavior, goals that political science adopts within the realm of governance.
- Because human behavior is as unique as a fingerprint, researchers must simplify complex individual actions to identify broader patterns in decision-making.
- Human political choices are categorized into instrumental (strategic) and noninstrumental (expressive) motivations.
It tries to answer questions like 'What makes a fascist? Are there character traits that make someone more likely to vote for the far right?'
Political philosophy seeks to comprehend the answers to questions concerning the nature of human rights,
social justice, and the purpose of government. Political philosophy is not automatically translated into political
practice. In practice, human rights, social justice, and governmental purposes are determined by real people in
real situations. As a result, it is necessary to turn to the actual behavior of actual humans.
As you will learn if you take a course in psychology, social science has four main goals: to describe, explain,
predict, and (sometimes) change behavior in general. To the extent that political science seeks to do the same
things in the more limited realm of political behavior, it both relies on psychological principles and contributes to
them. Political psychology is the subfield of political science that focuses on the mental processes that
determine how individuals behave when they engage in or withdraw from political activity.
One of the most influential studies in political psychology (cited over 20,000 times by other scholars), written in
1950 but especially relevant today, is The Authoritarian Personality.51 It tries to answer questions like âWhat
makes a fascist? Are there character traits that make someone more likely to vote for the far right?â The authors
answer their question by claiming that a fascist is a person with certain character traits developed in childhood
(such as aggressiveness, destructiveness, and cynicism, among many others) and that people with these traits
will be more likely to vote for candidates who are ultranationalist, authoritarian, and nativist. This book
unleashed a massive amount of research on whether there are political personalities, how to define them, and
what impacts they have on political behavior. Should you take a course in psychology, you will learn more about
human personality.
CONNECTING COURSES
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2.2 Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Identify the principal forms of human decision-making.
⢠Distinguish between instrumental, or strategic, and noninstrumental, or expressive, elements of human
behavior.
⢠Identify the two main interests people have in their political decisions.
Human behavior is incredibly complex and not entirely understood, and it varies from person to person. Like
fingerprints, each person is unique. No description of human behavior can possibly encompass the total
behaviors of every individual. In order to describe human behavior, it is necessary to simplify. In simplifying, it
is not possible to explain everything about human behavior, but it is possible to highlight its main features.
Humans Make Decisions in Two Main Ways
Cognition and Political Rationality
- Empirical political science distinguishes between directly observable behaviors and the indirectly observable mental processes that drive them.
- Human decision-making is divided into 'thinking fast' (intuitive and reflexive) and 'thinking slow' (deliberate and cognitively demanding).
- Political actors often rely on fast thinking and snap judgments to avoid the high energy cost of slow, reflective analysis.
- In political science, 'rationality' is strictly defined as being self-interested, strategic, and calculating in pursuit of personal goals.
- An 'irrational' person in this context is defined as someone who is not primarily motivated by strategic self-interest or the maximization of their own well-being.
In political science, rational does not simply mean reasonable, and irrational does not simply mean rash or lacking in good judgement.
Empirical political science tries to understand two main elements of human political behavior: the directly
observable and the indirectly observable. Behaviors themselves are directly observable. Understanding why
individuals act as they do when they engage in political action or when they refrain from participating requires
an inquiry into mental and psychological processes, which, in the absence of brain scans, are not directly
observable. In the real world of politics, it may not be possible to say why individuals do what they do, but it is
usually possible to see what they do.
Humans make decisions in two main ways, what psychologist Daniel Kahneman characterizes as âthinking
fastâ and âthinking slow.â52 Thinking fast is intuitive; when thinking fast, people donât realize they are doing it.
Thinking slow takes cognitive energy, as when you solve a complex math problem. When politicians craft their
speeches, they think slow; when they ad-lib parts of their speeches during delivery, they think fast. When you
compare the policy proposals of different political parties in trying to decide how to vote: slow. If you
reflexively vote for âyourâ party: fast.
FIGURE 2.7 Humans think fast, and they think slow. (credit: âEphemera, The Hare and the Tortoiseâ by Frederick
2.2 ⢠Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do? 51
Stuart Church/Smithsonian Design Museum, Public Domain)
Thinking slow is more difficult than thinking fast. It requires focus and takes time and cognitive energy. Not
surprisingly, humans often avoid the hard work of thinking slowly and rely heavily on snap judgments, which
are especially prone to all sorts of biases and errors. What is true for human behavior is also true for political
behavior, which involves a combination of snap and reflective decisions.
Rationality and Thinking Slow
Political and other social scientists use the terms rational and irrational in specific ways that may differ from
the ways you hear these terms used in conversation. In political science, rational does not simply mean
reasonable, and irrational does not simply mean rash or lacking in good judgement. Instead, in political
science a rational person is self-interested and strategic. The rational person makes decisions in pursuit of
self-serving goals and is calculating in their assessment of which actions are most likely to obtain those goals.
The rational person is defined as one who seeks to maximize their own well-being, however they define it.
In contrast, in political science an irrational person is one who is neither selfish, nor strategic, nor calculating.
An irrational person is not necessarily unpredictable: on the contrary, in many ways such a person can be
The Limits of Human Rationality
- Humans are predictably irrational, often failing to act in their own best interest regarding health, finances, and education.
- Voters frequently bypass complex analysis of candidates in favor of heuristics, which are cognitive shortcuts used to make decisions quickly.
- While average citizens often rely on intuition, skillful political actors are typically rational and strategic in their pursuit of specific goals.
- Successful politicians exploit the human tendency for noncognitive decision-making to manipulate public behavior.
- The 'thinking fast' mechanism simplifies the world but leaves individuals vulnerable to misinformation and appeals to emotion rather than logic.
Politicians, seeking your support, are less likely to appeal to your head than to your (metaphorical) heart.
predictably irrational.53 Even when people know that they should take better care of their health, save more
for the future, or study sooner rather than later, they tend not to do these things. Why not? Because humans
often do not act in their own best interest.
Consider voting decisions. One might think that a rational voter would study the candidates, compare them
against each other, and then vote for the one most likely to maximize that voterâs happiness (or welfare or
satisfaction). Research indicates that most voters donât act this way, instead relying on âfactors that enable
them to make choices relatively quickly and easily.â54 People tend to use heuristics in making decisions. A
heuristic is a cognitive shortcut for making decisions, in which someone substitutes simple, practical rules for
more complex methods. Whatâs the best thing to order off the menu? You could carefully scrutinize every
option or say, âIâll have the daily special.â Thatâs using a heuristic. In deciding for whom to vote, individuals
could examine the records of all the candidates or decide âIâll vote for the candidate from my party.â
Humans are not always, or perhaps even generally, rational. But if you wish to understand political behavior,
and especially if you want to become actively involved in politics, it is helpful to assume that the most skillful
political actors tend to be rational: they make strategic decisions, as discussed in Chapter 1: What Is Politics
and What Is Political Science?, given the rules and the reality, to maximize their chances of obtaining their
goals. Skillful political actorsâa political actor is anyone engaging in political activityâwill also know the value
of exploiting the human propensity for noncognitive decision-making.
Intuitive Decision-Making (Thinking Fast)
Think about something you do that, at times, you can do automatically, without thinking, but that at other
times requires cognitive effort. Maybe for you that is commuting to school or work or doing the laundry. On the
first day of your commute, you were almost certainly thinking slowly, reading bus schedules or street signs,
paying close attention to finding the right exits, and so forth. If you have been commuting to and from the same
place for a while, however, you may know what itâs like to commute on âautopilot,â thinking fast. On the one
hand, itâs amazing that you accomplish the complex tasks of navigating without deep concentration; on the
other, youâve got this.
Thinking fast simplifies the world for us, but it leaves us prone to many risks. Political actors who are skilled in
the psychology of persuasion canâand often doâseek to take advantage of the human biases and prejudices
associated with thinking fast to further their aims. Conspiracy theories and misinformation seem to spread
faster than the truth because determining truth can require careful analysis, while succumbing to fake news
requires only the suspension of critical faculties. (For more discussion of fake news, see Chapter 12: The
Media.) Politicians, seeking your support, are less likely to appeal to your head than to your (metaphorical)
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heart.
Humans Behave in Two Main Ways: Strategic and Expressive
The Mechanics of Strategic Action
- Strategic action is defined as choosing the most effective means to achieve a specific end, independent of moral considerations.
- Even simple goals are complicated by multiple dimensions, such as whether a politician should persuade new voters or mobilize existing ones.
- Success is often hindered by imperfect information, inaccurate calculations of cause and effect, and inherent personal biases.
- The principle of 'ceteris paribus' suggests that while strategy is decisive between equals, superior resources can still outweigh superior planning.
- In competitive environments like politics or chess, the success of one's strategy is fundamentally dependent on the strategic responses of an opponent.
Note that acting strategic ally do es not necessarily imply acting morally . Acting strategic ally is quite simply choosing the mos t eff ectiv e means to achieve a specific end .
People often do things to get things. They go to the store to buy food. They study in order to learn or to get
higher grades. In other words, they take action in order to achieve their goals. In an ideal world, people would
act in ways best suited to obtaining their objectives. If their goal is to earn a high grade, they would devise an
approach to studyingâor perhaps something else, like cheatingâthat is most likely to produce the grade they
want. If their goal is to win an election, they would presumably make decisions that they deem most likely to
win votes. Note that acting strategically does not necessarily imply acting morally. Acting strategically is quite
simply choosing the most effective means to achieve a specific end.
Even when people try to act strategically, several factors may temper their success. In the first case, even
apparently simple goals may have multiple or unclear dimensions. Say your goal is to win an election. Should
you spend your time, money, and effort trying to persuade individuals to vote for you? To mobilize those
already deemed to be supportive?55 To discourage voters likely to support your opponent? Some combination
of all of these? Once you clarify your goalâsay, to mobilize those who already support youâyou have to figure
out what is the best way to do this. If you send your supporters frequent text messages, will you excite them or
turn them off? Finally, calculations may simply be inaccurate: people might believe that certain actions will
mobilize their supporters when in fact those actions do not. Now, multiply the complexities of getting any
individual to vote for you to the challenges of getting millions of voters to support you. Acting strategically
would be easy if there were a single goal, complete information, and perfect judgement. In the real world,
people often have multiple goals, highly imperfect information, and biased or otherwise inaccurate
assessments. Still, the political actor with the superior strategy is likely to prevail over an opponent with a
weaker strategy, all other things being equal.
âAll other things being equalâ (scholars often write this phrase as âceteris paribusâ) is an important phrase in
political (and all social) science. In the example above, the candidate with the superior strategy might not win if
their opponent has superior resources or support. The phrase all other things being equal means that if two
candidates have equal resources and equal supportâthat is, if the two candidates are equal in other important
waysâthe one with the superior strategy is likely to win.
Those in politics as a vocation have strong incentives to act strategically. When politicians run for office, they
ask, âWhat is the best way for me to get elected?â and then act on their answers to that question. When interest
groups consider how to get the policies they want, they try to use their resources most effectively in these
efforts. Given the multiple potential actions they could take, their uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of
their actions, and the biases they have about which activities are likely to be effective, no actorsâ strategies are
ever perfect.
Think back to the chess example in Chapter 1. You might expect both players to act strategically,
understanding that they both have one single, clear goal: to win the game. There are too many possible ways to
do this, and they cannot know them all; they have imperfect information. Beyond that, there is another, more
strategic complication at play: the success of one playerâs strategies depends in large part on the strategic
actions of the other player.
Strategic and Expressive Behavior
- Political strategy requires players to anticipate and react to the potential moves of their opponents rather than acting in isolation.
- Strategic action is not inherently ethical, as political actors often resort to corruption, intimidation, or social media manipulation to gain an advantage.
- A political system's quality can be measured by its ability to prevent and mitigate deceptive or corrupt strategic behaviors.
- Human behavior is also driven by expressive activities, which are performed to convey emotions or identity rather than to achieve a specific external goal.
- Expressive actions serve as social signals that shape how others perceive an individual's character and values.
Acting strategically does not necessarily mean acting ethically.
In plotting a strategy, then, each player must consider the strategy of their
opponent. So it is in politics. Strategic actions do not occur in a vacuum. To successfully achieve political goals,
individuals must factor in their opponentsâ anticipated strategic actions when devising their own.
Acting strategically does not necessarily mean acting ethically. Politics is full of stories of politicians engaging
in dirty tricks, employing intimidation and violence, or otherwise engaging in corrupt activities when they
believe that doing so will be to their advantage. Political candidates in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador,
Honduras, and Mexico have all been accused of engaging in dishonest social media campaignsâand thatâs just
in Latin America. (And, of course, dishonesty in social media is not unique to any one part of the globe.) 56 No
country is immune, and the savvy political observer understands that political actors around the world face
2.2 ⢠Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do? 53
temptations to engage in corrupt acts and that the quality of a political system might be judged in part by how
much it does to prevent such deception.57
FIGURE 2.8 Chess players use strategic thinking. (credit: âPlaying chessâ by Slava Myronov/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The complexity of human action goes far beyond the strategic. Sometimes people act not to get things, but to
express emotions. If you have ever sung karaoke, looked up at the stars, played in the snow, or engaged in any
of the countless activities that bring joy, demonstrate anger, or simply show you being you, you have engaged
in expressive activities. Expressive activities are not done to accomplish anything in particular, but just
because you feel like doing them. An alternate view is that all human behavior is goal oriented, and that the
goal of expressive behavior is to express emotion, as compared to strategic behavior, which has goals separate
from the behavior itself.
Expressive behavior sends out signals about the kind of person you are or want others to believe you are (e.g.,
the kind of person who sings karaoke). Humans are social beings who usually care about how they are
perceived by others. Those around us may not actually know us, but they can form perceptions of us based on
our expressive behaviors (see: Instagram).
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FIGURE 2.9 Expressive behavior can show how people want to be perceived. (credit: âI moved to Instagram
@hmoongâ by KhĂĄnh Hmoong/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Expressive Identity and Self-Interest
- Political behavior is often driven by how individuals want to appear to others rather than just what they want to accomplish strategically.
- Party identification is more closely linked to expressive choices and identity than to calculated strategic goals.
- Voting serves a dual purpose: it is a strategic act to elect a candidate and a social signal of a person's character.
- Humans balance narrow biological selfishness with broader social desires for material goods, power, and fame.
- Political support is frequently based on perceived personal benefits, which can be tangible like lower taxes or intangible like social prestige.
- Leaders often leverage intangible benefits, such as national pride or respect, to mobilize supporters beyond specific policy platforms.
Much behavior is predicated on how people want to appear, not just (or mainly) what they want to accomplish, and this is as true in politics as it is on Instagram.
Expressive behaviors are important in politics for a couple of reasons. Much behavior is predicated on how
people want to appear, not just (or mainly) what they want to accomplish, and this is as true in politics as it is
on Instagram. It is not always possible to say what strategic goals individuals hope to accomplish when they
attend political rallies, but it is clear that they wish to express their identities as supporters of a candidate, a
party, or a cause.58 What is called a personâs party ID, shorthand for the political party with which that person
identifies, is more closely associated with expressive choices than with strategic ones.59
Strategic and expressive behaviors can overlap, and at times they are difficult to distinguish. Consider, for
example, why people vote. Voting might be a strategic behavior that aims to help elect a particular candidate,
but voting is also a way to demonstrate to others what kind of person you are. Individualsâ decisions on
whether to vote or for whom to vote are also context dependent. In most democracies, voting is optional, but in
Argentina, Australia, and Austria, citizens are required to vote.
At times, what appears to be expressive behavior is deliberately strategic. Political candidates choose their
attire to send messages about who they are as well as why people should support them.
2.2 ⢠Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do? 55
FIGURE 2.10 Peruâs President Pedro Castillo always campaigns in a traditional Andean straw hat. (credit: â28/07/
2021 CerimĂ´nia de posse do Presidente da RepĂşblica do Peru, Pedro Castilloâ by Vice-PresidĂŞncia da RepĂşblica/
Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Humans Seek Two Different Interests: Self-Interest and the Interests of Others
In simple terms, humans apply intuitive and cognitive thinking and strategic and expressive actions to seek
two different types of interests: self-interests and public-spirited or altruistic interests.60
At a basic level, humans are selfish (but not only selfish: humans are also naturally cooperative and
compassionate, with individuals varying as to how selfish or cooperative they are).61 This is not a moral
judgment; itâs an empirical statement. People are selfish in both the narrow biological sense (for example, if
they are hungry, they seek food, and if they are tired, they seek rest) and in a broader social way. Although
people might seek different things in life, they tend to want more, rather than less, of the things they desire.
These desires may be for material goods (money, property) or relational ones (power, fame).
In the political world, individuals typically prefer to support the kinds of politicians and policies that they
believe will benefit them personally. The benefits can be tangible: better services, safer communities,
improved schools, lower taxes, and so forth. The benefits may also be intangible, as, for example, when voters
favor politicians who pledge to enhance the social prestige of their supporters or to make their country more
respected around the world. Candidate Donald Trump did not campaign primarily on a platform of tax cuts (or
any other policies): he campaigned on the promise to âMake America Great Again.â Chinese President Xi
Jinping vows not just to make China prosperous: he pledges to make it respected.62 As Evo Morales, the first
Indigenous president of Bolivia, put it, âIn Bolivia, Indigenous people govern completely differently. It is
something historic, unprecedentedâ[with] pride.â63
Beyond Material Self-Interest
- Political behavior often deviates from simple personal or material self-interest.
- Advocacy for endangered species or flag-burning bans provides no direct material gain to the actors involved.
- Intense political debates frequently center on symbolic and cultural issues rather than resource distribution.
- Political contests are fundamentally about competing visions for the identity and future of a nation.
- Strategic decision-making, such as during the Cuban Missile Crisis, involves modeling complex outcomes beyond immediate gain.
The contest is less about who gets what and more about what kind of country people want to live in.
Yet many political behaviors are difficult to square with the idea that political actors are solely acting in their
own personal self-interest.64 Those seeking government protection for endangered species are unlikely to
personally benefit if those species are saved from extinction. Those who want to prohibit flag burning are not
materially better off if that policy is adopted. Some of the most intense political debates occur not over the
distribution of material resources but instead over symbolic or cultural issues. The contest is less about who
gets what and more about what kind of country people want to live in.
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Political Behavior: Developing Communication Skills
FIGURE 2.11 Throughout the Cuban Missile Crisis, both the United States and the USSR considered many possible
outcomes of their actions. This game tree models how the two actors would have considered their decisions. It is
broken down into a simple form for basic understanding. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC
BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Interpretation and Political Behavior
- Political behavior is inherently interpretive because external actions like voting do not reveal the internal motivations of the individual.
- Effective communication and the ability to interpret the behavior of others are critical skills, especially in high-stakes geopolitical scenarios like the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- Human decision-making fluctuates between self-interest and public-spiritedness depending on the social context of the choice.
- It is currently impossible to directly observe the mental factors influencing behavioral choices, making it difficult to distinguish between altruism and misguided self-interest.
- People often engage in self-deception, convincing themselves their motives are public-spirited when they may actually be self-serving.
- While consumer choices are often dominated by self-interest, communal activities in families or organizations frequently require prioritizing the collective good.
People are pretty good at fooling themselves regarding their own motives.
The study of political behavior involves interpretation. While we may know whom an individual voted for, we may
never really know why they voted for that person. We can look to exit polls for clues, or we can look to
socioeconomic or demographic characteristics to make predictions about voting behavior, but in the end, this is just
our interpretation of their behavior.
Consider the tense communications involved in the most high stakes situations, like the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was
essential that President Kennedy and his advisors were able to communicate with each other the substance of and
reasoning behind potential strategies, as well as what specifically they hoped each strategy would achieve. They
based their strategies on all the information available to them about the situation and about the Soviets and their
perceived values, goals, and ways of thinking. The need for clear communication between the United States and the
Soviet Union during the crisis, and the importance of being able to interpret those communications, could not have
been greater. A misunderstanding in that situation could have resulted in nuclear conflict.
Being able to effectively communicate and being able to effectively interpret the behavior of others are skills that
can be beneficial in multiple settings. Regardless of industry, trade, or career path, being able to utilize relevant
information to be able to communicate an understanding of a particular topic is a skill that is highly prized and
sought after.
In some parts of your life you might usefully assume that self-interest dominates our decision-making. If you
are ordering a slice of pizza that only you will eat, there is no need for you to consider the welfare of others
when you place your order: âYes, please, put jalapenos on my pizza!â When you are ordering an entire pizza to
split with your friends, you might think only of yourself (âI want jalapenos, and I donât care if you donât like
themâ) or only of others (âOrder whatever you want, and Iâll eat itâ), or you might take into account some
combination of your self interest and the interests of others (âWe all like cheese, so extra cheese for the entire
WHAT CAN I DO?
2.2 ⢠Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do? 57
pizza, but put jalapenos only on one half and pepperoni on the other halfâ).
Of course, it is not possible to directly observe whether individuals care only about their own personal
interests, the interests of others, or some combination of the two. It is not possible to seeâat least not
yetâexactly what is going on in anyoneâs mind regarding the factors that influence their behavioral choices,65
nor is it possible to necessarily infer from a behavior the motivations behind it. If you order jalapenos on the
pizza because you believe that others also like them, your decision might be a public-spirited one, even if the
decision itself is misguided. Or you might just be thinking of your own interests. Or both. People are pretty
good at fooling themselves regarding their own motives.66 Did you really think your friends liked jalapenos, or
did you just tell yourself that so you could feel good about your desire to order them?
Self-interest or public spirit are more likely to dominate in different areas. When you purchase most consumer
items (say, shoes or a phone), there may be little reason for you to consider the interests of others. When you
engage in communal activities (with your family or a religious, social, or political organization), you likely put
these interests ahead of your own, at least from time to time.
Predictability of Political Behavior
- Political behavior is rarely driven by pure self-interest; it often involves strategic support for causes and expressive desires to affirm one's identity.
- While individual actions are unique, human behavior in aggregate is not random and follows predictable patterns under specific conditions.
- Political scientists utilize demographic data, such as age and education, to forecast voting likelihood and party preference.
- The predictability of political actors allows for empirical study, similar to how commercial algorithms like Netflix forecast consumer preferences.
- Politicians generally act to increase their political power, a consistent behavior that enables reliable modeling by researchers.
More likely, BLM alliesâor the supporters of any social movement, whether conservative or liberal, democratic or authoritarianâjoin because they support the cause that the movement represents (a strategic reason) and because they want to show that they are the kind of person that supports this movement (an expressive reason).
While it is generally helpful to ask âWhat is the self-interested reason why that person or group might be doing
that?â it is unwise to assume that all political behavior is purely self-interested. When Black people join in a
Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest, they are saying at least in part that MY life matters. When non-Black people
join in a BLM protest, it is possible but unlikely that they do so because they believe themselves to be the main
beneficiaries of the protest (although it is certainly possible that they will indirectly benefit from living in a
safer and more equitable society). More likely, BLM alliesâor the supporters of any social movement, whether
conservative or liberal, democratic or authoritarianâjoin because they support the cause that the movement
represents (a strategic reason) and because they want to show that they are the kind of person that supports
this movement (an expressive reason).
2.3 Human Behavior Is Partially Predictable
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe human predictability.
⢠Explain why human behavior can be predicted in general but not in specific cases.
⢠Define motivated reasoning.
Even though each person is unique, people often act in predictable ways. Given a certain set of rules and a
specific set of conditions, it is possible to make pretty good guesses (that is, predictions) about how people will
behave. This does not mean that all people act in exactly the same way every time. But it does mean that
behavior is not entirely random.
What Does It Mean to Be Predictable?
Predictability means that it is possible to guess, with some accuracy, how people will behave in certain
situations. In the commercial world, this predictability is what allows, say, Netflix to recommend movies. In
short, every time you watch a show, Netflix collects data about what you like and then combines that data with
information collected from everyone else using Netflix. If you like the same dozen films as a large number of
other people and those people have seen and liked a 13th movie, Netflix predicts that thereâs a pretty good
chance youâll enjoy the 13th movie as well.
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Political scientists use data to make predictions about political behavior in much the same way that Netflix
uses data about its usersâ past viewing habits to make predictions about their future viewing behavior.
Knowledge about human behavior makes it possible to predict how politicians, public officials, and citizens
will respond in various political settings. Political scientists can use knowledge of certain characteristicsâfor
example, an individualâs age, education, and ideology, among many other attributesâto predict how likely it is
that they will vote and which party they will vote for. It is possible to predict that politicians will typically seek
to increase their political power because they have been observed doing so time and again. One of the central
goals of empirical political science is to study how people behave politically in order to make more accurate
predictions about how they are likely to behave in the future.
FIGURE 2.12 This figure shows voting rates by age group in United States elections between 1980 and 2016.
(credit: United States Census Bureau, Public Domain)
Predicting Human Political Behavior
- Voter turnout rates in the United States are consistently linked to age, with the highest participation among those 65 and older.
- Political analysts use historical data to predict future group behaviors and help campaigns allocate resources effectively.
- Predictions are probabilistic and apply to groups with shared characteristics rather than specific individuals.
- The accuracy of behavioral predictions is limited by imperfect information and the inherent complexity of human decision-making.
- Human behavior contains an element of randomness similar to a coin flip, making individual outcomes impossible to guarantee.
- High-stakes historical events, like the Cuban Missile Crisis, illustrate the unpredictable nature of individual leadership decisions.
Whether a single flip comes up heads or tails is random. If you predict the outcome correctly, you just got lucky.
Political analysts collect data on individuals and groups to understand how, for example, voters have behaved in the
past and how they are likely to behave in the future. In the United States, votersâ ages are linked to voter turnout
rates (the turnout rate is the proportion of eligible voters that actually cast their votes).
This graphic shows turnout rates for four voter age categories in presidential elections between 1980 and 2016.
During this time, voter turnout rates were highest for voters age 65 and over and lowest for voters age 18 to 29.
What does this mean? If we know nothing about a voter but their age, we could make a prediction about their
likelihood of turning out to cast a vote. Political candidates and their campaigns might use this knowledge as they
strategize how best to allocate their resources.
Which Human Behavior Is Predictable, and Which Is Unpredictable?
The more information political scientists have about how people have behaved in the past, the better they are
able to predict how people will behave in the futureâbut only within limits, a few of which bear mentioning.
When making predictions about what people will do, the typical prediction is usually in the form of
âindividuals with characteristics like these are likely to do a certain thing,â which is quite different from saying
âthis individual will do that.â One might predict, for instance, that young, environmentally motivated activists
around the world are likely to affiliate with the Green Party of their country. This does not mean that it is
possible to accurately predict that Greta Thunberg, perhaps the most famous environmental advocate, is a
SHOW ME THE DATA
2.3 ⢠Human Behavior Is Partially Predictable 59
member of Swedenâs Green Party.67
Why is it possible to predict political behavior in general but not necessarily in individual cases? One answer is
that more and better information results in better predictions: imperfect information leads to imperfect
predictions. Just as weather forecasts can be wrong because meteorological relationships are complex and not
fully understood, behavior predictions can also be wrong. Moreover, what seems to be the sheer randomness of
human behavior should not be discounted.68 An event is random when it cannot be predicted. Consider this:
although it is possible to predict the outcomes of a coin flip in general (there is a 50 percent chance of getting
heads and a 50 percent chance of getting tails), even the most powerful supercomputers cannot accurately
predict the outcome of a single coin flip. Whether a single flip comes up heads or tails is random. If you predict
the outcome correctly, you just got lucky.
In 1962, US intelligence discovered evidence that the Soviet Union was placing nuclear missiles in Cubaâonly
some 100 miles from American soil. Tensions simmered, and at the peak of what is called the Cuban Missile
Crisis, the world was on the brink of nuclear war. US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita
Kruschev had a fateful decision to make: With the fate of the world in their hands, should each side escalate the
Uncertainty and Data Science
- The resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis is attributed more to luck and human choice than to predictable data patterns.
- Political polling remains fallible because it cannot accurately measure actual voter turnout or final decision-making in the voting booth.
- Data scientist Dennis Quinn suggests that students should focus on acquiring technical skills like Python and R to create their own roles within organizations.
- Quinn emphasizes that while undergraduate education teaches students how to argue, it often fails to teach them how to create original data.
- The text highlights a shift in political science toward computational methodologies, including data mining and machine learning.
It was just luck that [Kennedy and Kruschev] finally acted before they lost control, and before East and West were involved in nuclear war that would have led to destruction of nations.
conflict or pull back? No amount of data would have allowed anyone to predict with certainty what their
decisions would be: they could have gone either way. Fortunately, they both chose to de-escalate, and the crisis
was resolved. What explains this outcome? As the US Secretary of Defense put it, it was âluck. Luck was a
factor. . . . It was just luck that [Kennedy and Kruschev] finally acted before they lost control, and before East
and West were involved in nuclear war that would have led to destruction of nations. It was that close.â69
Despite efforts to better predict political outcomes, political polling, which will be discussed further in Chapter
5: Political Participation and Public Opinion, remains fallible. Poll-based predictions about the outcomes of
presidential elections in the United States were substantially off in both 2016 and, though they accurately
predicted the eventual winner, in 2020.70 Why? Because the polls ask, âWho are you likely to vote for?â but
they cannot precisely measure who will actually show up to vote or how they will actually vote.
Dennis Quinn, data scientist, writer, researcher, and masterâs degree candidate in Yale Universityâs
Public Policy program at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs
Â
Please explain what you do for your organization.
At the moment Iâm a graduate student at Yale, where I build data streams to address the humanitarian and national
security impacts of climate change. But before this I was on the Pew Research Centerâs data science team for about
five years. During that time I managed research projects involving data mining, machine learning, or other
computational methodologies. The job also required a lot of communication, writing, and public speaking as well.
How did you get involved in your position?
In my most recent (paying) job, I joined Pew in 2015 in a pretty standard entry-level position, which Iâm pretty sure I
was offered because I had skills in Python and R, and they knew they would be expanding into the area soon. That
expansion allowed me to build out a role for myself in the new research areaâand thatâs a big lesson I took from
that experience: donât look for the perfect job. Get the skills you want to use, find a thing you care about, and join an
organization that does that thing. Then, try to get them to make a job that you want. It might not work every time,
but itâs a solid strategy.
What advice would you give students who are interested in your line of work?
A good rule of thumb is that opinions are cheap, data is valuable, and facts are even betterâand this is a problem in
political science because undergraduate education teaches you to argue really well but not to create original
MEET A PROFESSIONAL
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Knowledge Generation and Political Behavior
- Differentiating oneself in the workforce requires moving beyond basic knowledge to active knowledge generation through tools like programming or econometrics.
- Political science provides a unique advantage by teaching students how to identify the right questions, which is the first step in problem-solving.
- Military and political leaders manage uncertainty by manipulating incentives, raising the costs of defection while promoting expressive values like loyalty.
- Motivated reasoning leads individuals to believe their own political side is public-spirited while viewing opponents as self-interested or immoral.
- Research indicates that both Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. tend to view the opposing party as less intelligent, moral, or patriotic.
- Political participation is rarely driven by a single motive; individuals on all sides generally possess a similar mix of self-interest and public spirit.
The wise military strategist will adopt the strategies believed to increase the probabilityâthe predictabilityâthat the soldier will remain faithful to their side.
knowledge. And this is an area where you can really differentiate yourself as you get into the working world: learn
how to create and communicate useful knowledge in the area you care about. In todayâs world this often means
using data, but it doesnât have to. It definitely means learning what the questions are, though, and thatâs where
political science can do really well. But make sure you take that extra leap into knowledge generationâthis can
mean a (spoken) language, programming, or certain disciplinary focuses like econometrics. All together, this creates
a really strong position for you: knowing where the questions are and having the tools to answer them.
Consider an extreme example regarding the uncertainty of making predictions and the importance of making
accurate ones. During times of war, military leaders have to ask, âWill my soldiers fight, or will they run?â The
rational soldier might be tempted to run: What fate could be worse than likely death at the hands of the
enemy?71 The expressive soldier might stay to demonstrate his loyalty and bravery. But it is not possible to
predict with certainty which soldiers will fight and which will flee. The wise military strategist will adopt the
strategies believed to increase the probabilityâthe predictabilityâthat the soldier will remain faithful to their
side.
FIGURE 2.13 Will they fight, or will they flee? (credit: âPhotograph of US Soldiers Crouching in Position in the First
Wave of Helicopter Combat Assaultâ by Department of Defense/National Archives, Public Domain)
How does the strategic political leader increase the odds that individuals will faithfully follow them? By
increasing the incentivesâthe instrumental reasonsâfor doing so: by raising the costs of defection and the
rewards for fidelity, and by raising the importance of expressive values like solidarity, loyalty, and patriotism.
It may be tempting to believe that those participating in the political causes you support are seeking the right
things or doing so for public-spirited reasonsâthat they are the good onesâand that those who you see as your
political opponents are purely self-interested, if not greedy or corrupt. This can be explained by motivated
reasoning, the human tendency to embrace those ideas one wants to believe while rejecting evidence that
challenges those beliefs.72 In the United States, for example, a large majority of both Republicans and
Democrats believe that the other party is closed-minded, and substantial proportions of both parties believe
that members of the other party are lazier or less intelligent, moral, or patriotic than the general public.73
2.3 ⢠Human Behavior Is Partially Predictable 61
Individuals participate in politics for all sorts of reasons, and there is little justification for the belief that the
motivations of those on âour sideâ are much different from the motivations of those on âtheir side.â On each
side, individuals are likely to have a mix of self-interest and public spirit.
2.4 The Importance of Context for Political Decisions
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain why political scientists use games.
⢠Describe the ultimatum game.
⢠Discuss what the ultimatum game reveals about human nature.
⢠Identify ways in which context matters in political decision-making.
How individuals behave politically depends on a wide variety of factors. These factors, considered together,
constitute the context in which the decisions take place. This section will bring these various elements
together by examining the ultimatum game.
Rules
The Ultimatum Game Mechanics
- Political scientists use game theory to interpret human behavior by analyzing rules, choices, and actual decisions.
- The Ultimatum Game involves Player A offering a portion of a sum to Player B, who can either accept the split or reject it entirely.
- If Player B rejects the offer, both players receive nothing, creating a 'take it or leave it' scenario that tests social dynamics.
- Purely rational actors would theoretically offer and accept the smallest possible amount, such as $1, rather than walk away empty-handed.
- In practice, human behavior often deviates from pure rationality, leaning toward either cooperative 50-50 splits or altruistic considerations.
- The game serves as a tool to observe how real-world circumstances and intuition influence strategic decision-making.
If Player B rejects the offer, neither player keeps any money.
Political scientists often use games to interpret and predict human behavior. A game is a set of rules, a set of
choices, and a set of decisions. The rules establish what a player is allowed to do. The choices are what the
player can do at any turn. The decisions are what the player actually chooses to do. Political scientists examine
both hypothetical games, seeking to understand what are the best moves given a set of rules and a specific
situation, and real games in which they can observe the decisions that players actually make under various
circumstances.
The ultimatum game is one way to explore the various dimensions of human decision-making. The game
involves two players, Player A and Player B. Player A is given a sum of moneyâsay, $10âand has to decide
whether and how much of this money to offer to Player B. Player A can offer none of the money, some of it, or
all of it. Player B can accept the offer or reject it; hence, the offer is a âtake it or leave itâ ultimatum. If Player B
accepts, both players keep their share of the money. If Player B rejects the offer, neither player keeps any
money. As an example, if Player A offers Player B $4 and Player B accepts, Player A keeps $6 and Player B keeps
$4. If Player B rejects the offer, neither player takes home anything.
Scholars can use these rules and choices to make predictions about what players might do and why they might
make these choices. As it turns out, this game has actually been played in a wide variety of settings, and so
there is evidence of how humans actually behave.
Situations
What do you think Player A and Player B are likely to do? How would you play the ultimatum game? You may
have a quick-thinking intuitive sense of how much you would offer if you were Player A or of the smallest
amount you would demand if you were Player B. Further slow reasoning might lead you to change your mind.
Letâs consider some possibilities. It is possible, but highly unlikely, that Player A would offer the entire $10 to
Player B, as few people are entirely altruistic. In contrast, Player A could offer Player B nothing, but this is also
unlikely because Player B would almost certainly reject that offer, leaving each player with nothing.
It is most likely that Player A will offer an amount that falls somewhere between $0 and $10. But what amount?
If both players were entirely rationalâthat is, if they were entirely strategic and self-interested, Player A would
make a very small offer, maybe $1, calculating that Player B would reluctantly accept the offer. Player A might
think that Player B would of course want a larger offer but that Player B would accept this small offer because
getting even $1 is better than getting nothing. In a perfectly rational world, players would make and accept
highly uneven offers. In a perfectly cooperative world, in contrast, players would offer and accept 50-50 splits.
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VIDEO
The Ultimatum Game
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importance-of-context-for-political-decisions)
The Ultimatum Game and Fairness
- Experimental data from the ultimatum game reveals that humans are not purely self-interested and often prioritize fairness over financial gain.
- Players frequently reject offers that deviate significantly from a 50-50 split as a way to punish those who violate social norms of fairness.
- Strategic factors such as uncertainty, repeat interactions, and face-to-face contact increase the likelihood of fair offers being made.
- The perceived value of a prize influences behavior, as individuals are less likely to reject unfair offers when the absolute monetary stakes are extremely high.
- While the ultimatum game provides a model for bargaining, real-world politics is far more complex due to shifting rules, multiple players, and the use of threats or deception.
For these players, those who violate fairness must be punished.
Experiments in which people played the ultimatum game have shown the complexity and variations in, and
therefore the difficulties in predicting, human behavior.
Experimental data demonstrates that in reality players are not entirely self-interested.74 Players routinely
reject offers that deviate substantially from a 50-50 split. The split need not be 50-50 for Player B to consider it
fair, however; players commonly offer and accept $6-4 or even $7-3 splits. Political scientists suggest a variety
of reasons why Player B might be willing to reject unfair offers, to voluntarily sacrifice any financial gain. One
key explanation is that players seek not only to maximize their own selfish interests, but also to ensure basic
fairness. For these players, those who violate fairness must be punished.
There are other strategic reasons to make fair offers or to reject unfair ones. Player A will likely be uncertain of
the minimal offer that Player B will accept: given this uncertainty, it makes sense for Player A to make offers
that are pretty fair. If they play multiple times in the same roles, it would be sensible for Player B to reject an
unfair offer because, once an unfair offer is accepted, it is possible to predict that unfair offers will continue to
be made. If I learn that Player B will accept $2, why would I offer B more? Offers are more likely to be
fairâcloser to a 50-50 splitâif players already know each other and the game is played face-to-face, as
compared to strangers playing the game remotely on computers.
The total amount of the prize also surely matters. Player B is likely to be more willing to refuse $1 in a $10
game than to refuse $100,000 in a $1,000,000 game, even though the fairness of the offers are mathematically
the same. What if the rules changed so that Player B got to keep their share of the pot when they reject the offer,
with only Player A losing their portion? This rule change would shift power to Player B, and Player A would
almost certainly make more generous offers.
The ultimatum game is a simplified illustration of interactions involving bargaining strategies, but it offers
abundant lessons for politics, whether one is looking inside parliamentary institutions, considering the
relations between politicians and their constituents, or studying mass movements. In many political
situations, there is some resourceâtangible or intangibleâthat one set of actors has and another one wants,
and the players have to decide how to share that resource. The real game of politics is much more complicated.
Usually there are many players, and those players may seek to change the rules while they are playing. The
size and nature of the resource under negotiation may not be set in stone, and the players are not limited to
making, accepting, or rejecting offers, but may also use threats and deception. The more complex a
negotiation, the more difficult it is to predict how it will play out.
Game Theory
Â
The ultimatum game is one of many strategic games that examine human decision-making given varied rules and
contexts. To learn more about them, you can explore courses in game theory. These courses can be highly
abstract and technical, or they can be more applied; they are often offered within economics departments. In a
game theory course you will have the chance to learn about the best (or optimal) strategies for winning a game.
The games studied in this course are all political: they involve two or more players seeking to obtain their goals
Foundations of Political Behavior
- Political philosophy explores fundamental questions regarding human rights, social justice, and the purpose of government, though no universal consensus exists.
- Definitions of social justice vary significantly across ideologies, ranging from Marxist class equality and Rawlsian rational choice to perspectives from feminist and non-Western scholars.
- In practice, the actual application of rights and justice is determined by those in power rather than by abstract philosophical ideals.
- Human decision-making is divided into 'fast' automatic judgments and 'slow' effortful reasoning, with most people relying on the former due to the cognitive difficulty of the latter.
- Political actions are driven by either strategic motives to achieve specific goals or expressive motives to signal identity and values.
- Individual political behavior often blends personal self-interest with broader community goals, as actors frequently view their own success as beneficial to the public interest.
Those who rule a country ultimately determine what the actual purposes of the government will be, what kinds of justice the country will embrace, and what rights will be protected for those living there.
CONNECTING COURSES
2.4 ⢠The Importance of Context for Political Decisions 63
(to win the game) given a set of rules and a specific situation. What is the best strategy, the one most likely to win
the game? In some games, at some points, the best strategy might be to be generous to your opponent; at other
times, you might want to be vengeful.
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Summary
2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
What are human rights? What is social justice? What is the purpose of government? Who should rule? Political
philosophers focus on questions like these. Various answers have been suggested. None of the answers are
universally accepted, in part because any answers are based at least in part on the context in which they are
offered.
Social justice, for example, has been defined in terms of maximizing social welfare (âutilityâ) or individual
liberty. Marxists define social justice as a system in which all people share equally in the creation and
allocation of goods and within which all people are truly free because they are no longer subject to class
repression. Rawlsâs theory of social justice is based on the concept of the choices rational beings would make
behind the âveil of ignorance.â Non-Western thinkers, feminist scholars, and Black philosopher/activists have
developed perspectives that challenge the dominant, Western, male definitions of social justice.
Real people engaging in political actionânot philosophical conceptions of human rights, social justice, the
purpose of government, and just ruleâdetermine how these concepts play out in practice. Those who rule a
country ultimately determine what the actual purposes of the government will be, what kinds of justice the
country will embrace, and what rights will be protected for those living there.
2.2 Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do?
Humans make decisions in two main ways: by thinking fast or thinking slow. People think fast when their
decisions seem almost automatic. On the other hand, there are times when people focus to make a thoughtful
decision: they think slow. Thinking slow is hard, so humans more often rely on their quick judgments about
what to do, whether in politics or in other areas of life.
When humans act, they may do so for strategic (or instrumental) or expressive (or emotional) reasons. When
people act strategically, they take actions designed to obtain their objectives. When people act expressively,
they do so not to achieve a goal but to reveal who they are (or who they want to be perceived to be). Often,
behavior can have both elements: people may vote so that their candidate has a better chance of winning, but
also to show their peer group that they are the kind of person who votes.
Whether people act strategically or expressively, they can do so either because they are acting in their own self-
interest or in the interest of a broader community, with an eye to accomplishing broader public purposes.
These motives can overlap. Often, what political actors believe to be good for the public also coincides with
what they see as beneficial for themselves. A candidate for office may understandably think that working on
behalf of their constituentsâthe public interestâwill also benefit the candidateâs electoral interests.
2.3 Human Behavior Is Partially Predictable
Predicting Human Political Behavior
- While every human is unique, behavior remains partially predictable by analyzing characteristics and past actions of similar individuals.
- Predictions often fail due to inaccurate data, shifting future behaviors, or the influence of motivated reasoning.
- Motivated reasoning acts as a cognitive bias where individuals prioritize desired conclusions over neutral evidence evaluation.
- Political scientists utilize game theory to model human decisions, treating political actions as strategic choices made under specific rules.
- The context of a 'game,' such as the size of a prize or the relationship between players, significantly alters how rational or irrational an individual acts.
- Key political concepts like civil liberties and human rights define the boundaries within which these strategic political games are played.
Motivated reasoning is a form of bias that leads individuals to arrive at conclusions that they want to believe in rather than to scrutinize the evidence neutrally.
Humans are all, literally, unique: not even identical twins are exactly alike, as they will be exposed to differing
environments over their lifetimes. Still, human behavior is partially predictable. This means that, with enough
information about certain characteristics of persons, it is possible to make predictions about what similar
individuals will do in similar circumstances.
Predictions might be wrong for any specific person. They can be wrong because individuals often, but not
always, act like other similar individuals. More generally, predictions might be wrong because of bad data (for
example, when people lie to pollsters) or because people donât act in the future as they have in the past.
The concept of motivated reasoning can explain why individuals can make incorrect judgments in politics, as
well as in other areas. Motivated reasoning is a form of bias that leads individuals to arrive at conclusions that
they want to believe in rather than to scrutinize the evidence neutrally.
2 ⢠Summary 65
2.4 The Importance of Context for Political Decisions
Political scientists use games to make predictions about how humans will behave in politics because political
action has many of the characteristics of a game, with the players making decisions under a certain set of rules
and a given set of circumstances. These predictions can be logical, based on what political scientists consider
to be rational behavior, or empirical, based on how individuals actually do behave. The ultimatum game is one
example of this. The rules allow players to make choices about how to share a resource, and the choices they
make determine the allocation. The choices they make depend largely on the contextâfor example, whether
they have a relationship with the other player, or if they will play again, or how large the prize is. Studying such
games can provide valuable insights into human behavior.
Key Terms
authoritarianism a nondemocratic form of government with centralized power and limited civil rights and
liberties
capitalism an economic system in which the means of producing and distributing goods are privately owned
and individuals are assumed to be motivated by acquisitiveness
civil liberties individual freedoms, such as free speech or freedom of religion, that are protected from
governmental interference
civil rights rights that governments must act to protect for individuals in certain groups (such as ethnic
groups or sexual identities); for example, for voting rights to exist, the government must provide ballots in
a language that the voter can understand
communism an economic system in which property is collectively owned and assumed to be used for the
common good
direct democracy a system of government in which all decisions are made, usually by voting, through the
participation of all citizens
fake news stories masquerading as actual news that lack any basis in fact
game a competition between participants who make strategic choices, under known rules, aiming to win
heuristics a cognitive shortcut for making decisions in which simple, practical rules are substituted for more
complex methods
human rights the fundamental, inalienable rights individuals have by virtue of being persons
inalienable that which cannot be taken, transferred, or withdrawn from a person
irrational human behavior that is not devoted to maximizing individual self-interest
libertarianism the political philosophy that holds that individual rights or liberties should not be restricted
unless an individualâs behavior causes direct harm to others
Political Philosophies and Human Behavior
- The text defines foundational political philosophies including Marxism, which seeks equitable resource distribution, and utilitarianism, which aims to maximize collective happiness.
- It outlines the social contract as a trade-off where individuals sacrifice specific freedoms in exchange for communal protection.
- Human cognition in politics is characterized by 'motivated reasoning,' the tendency to favor information that confirms existing beliefs while dismissing contradictory evidence.
- Rational behavior is defined as strategic action taken by individuals to maximize their own well-being based on their personal definitions of success.
- Empirical political research focuses on making predictions about human behavior and explaining the underlying nature of political systems.
- Public goods are identified as non-excludable resources that benefit all members of a society without being depleted by individual use.
motivated reasoning the human tendency to embrace ideas that we want to believe while rejecting evidence that challenges those beliefs
Marxism the term that is used to label the political philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, which holds
that a society is just when both economic and labor contributions and needed resources are distributed
properly, without discrimination
motivated reasoning the human tendency to embrace ideas that we want to believe while rejecting evidence
that challenges those beliefs
public goods resources that benefit everyone because they cannot be withheld from anyone and are not used
up when individuals benefit from them
rational behavior that strategically seeks to maximize an individualâs own well-being, however the individual
defines it
representative democracy a system of government in which citizens elect individuals to represent their
interests within a legislature
social contract a hypothetical contract in which individuals collectively give up some of their freedoms in
return for receiving protection
social justice the equitable distribution of opportunities, resources, and rights within a community
utilitarianism the political philosophy holding that the goal of society is to maximize human happiness
66 2 ⢠Key Terms
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Review Questions
1 . Human rights are ________.
a. easy to discern
b. possible to measure
c. protected universally
d. open to debate
2 . A common element in the differing conceptions of social justice is that ________.
a. each society should define social justice in its own way
b. opportunities, resources, and rights should be distributed equitably
c. those in power should produce it
d. rights should be allocated according to group membership
3 . The social contract involves ________.
a. freedom and authority
b. obligations and transfers
c. inheritances and patriarchy
d. entitlements and emoluments
4 . Which conception of social justice invokes the âveil of ignoranceâ?
a. Marxism
b. Libertarianism
c. Rawlsâs theory
d. Utilitarianism
5 . When humans think slowly, they ________.
a. use heuristics to solve complex problems
b. act altruistically to benefit others
c. use cognitive skills to make decisions
d. rely on rules of thumb to guide them
6 . In politics, rational actors ________.
a. carefully consider all possible options
b. act strategically to obtain their goals
c. vote their sincere preferences
d. identify cross-cutting issues
7 . In making decisions, humans ________.
a. think only about their own interests
b. exclusively consider only their community or tribe
c. focus solely on the impacts of their decisions
d. often consider the interests of themselves and others
8 . When we make predictions about human behavior, we are stating ________.
a. what an individual is certain to do
b. what a group is certain to do
c. what an individual is likely to do
d. what an individual will consider doing
9 . A central goal of empirical political research is to ________.
2 ⢠Review Questions 67
a. identify universal rules
b. make predictions about human behavior
c. develop better constitutions
d. explain the nature of political systems
10 . Political scientists are better able to make predictions if ________.
a. they are smart
b. they have lots of data
c. they have the latest technology
d. the events are random
11 . Motivated reasoning is ________.
a. the discipline of studying motivations
b. the reason why individuals are motivated
c. the tendency to reject inconvenient evidence
d. the ability to discern credible evidence
12 . A game is a ________.
a. set of rules, choices, and decisions
b. set of players, tokens, and wagers
c. set of customs, heuristics, and decisions
d. set of controllers, players, and scenarios
Political Ideologies and Crisis
- The text concludes a section on game theory and decision-making, highlighting how choices vary based on situational contexts.
- A comprehensive list of suggested readings spans behavioral economics, feminist theory, and political philosophy.
- The introduction to Chapter 3 focuses on the evolution of Western political ideologies and the social contract.
- Venezuela is presented as a modern case study of a country in extreme crisis, suffering from severe shortages of food and water.
- The Maduro administration faces international condemnation for human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions and torture.
- The humanitarian disaster has resulted in a massive migration crisis, with over 15 percent of the Venezuelan population fleeing the country.
The UN Human Rights Council cited Venezuelan president NicolĂĄs Maduroâs administration for crimes against humanity, including extrajudicial executions, police brutality, and torture.
13 . In the ultimatum game, the most important rule involves ________.
a. the quantity of money at stake
b. the formula for distributing the money
c. the establishment of the offer
d. the procedure for establishing the offer
14 . In any game, one would expect that decisions will vary ________.
a. as the situation varies
b. as the year varies
c. as the location of the game varies
d. as the day of the week varies
Suggested Readings
Ariely, Dan. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. New York: Harper Perennial,
2010.
Bryson, Valerie. Feminist Political Theory. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave, 2016.
Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2011.
Parekh, Bhikhu C. Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory. 2nd ed. Basingstoke,
England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
Rawls, John, and Erin Kelly. Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
2001.
Wolff, Jonathan. An Introduction to Political Philosophy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2016.
68 2 ⢠Suggested Readings
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FIGURE 3.1 Demonstrators in Venezuela protest shortages of basic goods. (credit: âCaracas Shortage Protest 23
January 2015â by Carlos DĂaz/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
3.1 The Classical Origins of Western Political Ideologies
3.2 The Laws of Nature and the Social Contract
3.3 The Development of Varieties of Liberalism
3.4 Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism
3.5 Contemporary Democratic Liberalism
3.6 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left
3.7 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Right
3.8 Political Ideologies That Reject Political Ideology: Scientific Socialism, Burkeanism, and Religious Extremism
In 2021, Venezuela was a country in crisis. According to Human Rights Watch, millions of
Venezuelans lacked adequate nutrition. The absence of accessible health care and safe drinking water
contributed to the spread of COVID-19. The UN Human Rights Council cited Venezuelan president NicolĂĄs
Maduroâs administration for crimes against humanity, including extrajudicial executions, police brutality, and
torture. The crisis led an estimated 5.5 million Venezuelansâmore than 15 percent of Venezuelaâs total
populationâto flee the country.1
Ideological Flux in Venezuela
- Venezuela's history illustrates how competing political ideologies attempt to manage vast oil wealth and economic structure.
- The transition to socialist ideology under Hugo ChĂĄvez aimed to redistribute wealth but eventually led to sharp economic decline and hyperinflation.
- Current debates center on whether Venezuela's crisis stems from socialist ideology itself or external sanctions from hostile nations.
- The global political landscape is currently defined by intense friction between socialism, liberalism, conservative populism, and religious extremism.
- Modern political ideologies are rooted in a historical evolution of Western thought dating back to classical Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle.
In many parts of the world, ideological flux defines political life, with contests between and among socialism, liberalism and neoliberalism, the center left, conservative populism, religious extremism, and a range of other ideological visions.
Venezuelaâs troubles stem from decades of efforts to make the most of the countryâs economy. These efforts
have been couched in differing political ideologiesâthat is, consciously held ideas about both how political life
is structured and how it should be structured. Venezuela is rich in oil reserves. In 1913, the Venezuelan
government contracted with the Royal Dutch Shell Group to extract those reserves. By the 1950s, Venezuela
3
Political Ideology
was a leading oil exporter, and its gross national incomeâthe total value of the goods and services in its
economyâwas the highest in Latin America.2 However, the distribution of wealth left a sizable percentage of
Venezuelans in abject poverty. In 1998, Hugo ChĂĄvez was elected president of Venezuela on a platform rooted
in socialist ideology, which he promised would improve the condition of the lower classes. ChĂĄvez placed the
oil industry under the control of the state and embarked on a program of significant wealth redistribution.
ChĂĄvezâs successor, NicolĂĄs Maduro, has kept these policies in place. While the policies substantially improved
the living conditions of the poorest Venezuelans,3 and poverty rates declined in the early 2000s,4 from 2007 to
2017 the gross national product of Venezuela declined sharply, and the inflation rate spiked.5 Since 2019,
unemployment rates have increased considerably.6 In addition, ChĂĄvez and Maduro have been accused of
suppressing political opposition and manipulating the political process to ensure their continued rule.
Defenders of the Maduro regime argue that sanctions imposed by nations hostile to Venezuelaâs socialist
ideology have been the major driver of economic decline and that human rights abuses have been exaggerated.
Opponents of the regime, both inside and outside Venezuela, allege that the problemsâboth economic and
politicalâresult from socialist ideology itself. Will opponents of the socialist regime emerge triumphant? If so,
will the political ideologies of liberalism and neoliberalism espoused in opposition to ChĂĄvez and Maduro
eventually prevail? The future of Venezuela remains uncertain.
So far, the 21st century has been marked by increasing tensions among rival political ideologies around the
world. Will the conservative populist ideology in contemporary Brazil continue to eclipse the center-left
ideology that has marked so much of Latin American politics in the past few decades?7 On the other side of the
globe, will the government of Afghanistan, which in the summer of 2021 fell once again into the hands of the
Taliban, survive as a governing regime based on religious extremism? In many parts of the world, ideological
flux defines political life, with contests between and among socialism, liberalism and neoliberalism, the center
left, conservative populism, religious extremism, and a range of other ideological visions.
The political ideologies at the center of current conflicts have evolved throughout history. This chapter begins
with a brief review of some of the core thinkers and central concepts in Western political thought that
developed from the classical period of the fifth and fourth centuries BCE to the present.
3.1 The Classical Origins of Western Political Ideologies
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Discuss the key political concepts developed by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
⢠Identify common themes in the ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
⢠Illustrate how the ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle contribute to contemporary political thought.
Classical Foundations of Political Thought
- The origins of Western political philosophy are rooted in fifth-century BCE Athens, focusing on how society should be organized.
- Socrates championed the use of reason and rigorous criticism to determine fundamental truths about life and behavior.
- Plato, a student of Socrates, argued in The Republic that political power should be held by individuals with exceptional skill and wisdom.
- Plato proposed that 'philosopher-kings' should possess unrestricted power because their knowledge of truth would prevent corruption.
- The ultimate goal of a government led by wise and benevolent rulers, according to Plato, is the achievement of true justice.
Plato believed that philosophers best fit this bill and should hold unrestricted political power.
How should people organize their lives together in society? What rules should direct individual and collective
behavior? This chapter begins in Athens, a city often seen as the apex of the Western classical world.
Socrates and Plato
In the fifth century BCE, Athenian philosopher Socrates maintained that people should seek the answers to the
most fundamental of lifeâs questions through reason, accepting as true only ideas that have withstood criticism
and can be stated clearly and precisely.
Socratesâs legacy is preserved mostly through the writings of one of his pupils, Plato (428â348 BCE). In The
Republic, Plato develops a detailed, reasoned argument that political power should be vested in individuals of
exceptional skill who possess knowledge about the true nature of the world and a genuine love of wisdom.
Plato believed that philosophers best fit this bill and should hold unrestricted political power. Such rulers
would be free from temptations to corruption and would understand what is best for the communities over
which they rule. Such a government, Plato argued, would secure true justice.
70 3 ⢠Political Ideology
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FIGURE 3.2 Plato argued for wise and benevolent rulers who would be guided by reason. (credit: âPlato. Line
Engraving by L. Vorsterman after Sir P. P. Rubens,â Wellcome Collection, Public Domain)
Aristotle
Aristotle's Ideal Political Regimes
- Aristotle identified monarchy and aristocracy as ideal forms of rule, provided the leaders prioritize the common good over personal gain.
- The philosopher warned that concentrated power often devolves into tyranny or oligarchy when rulers serve their own interests.
- Aristotle proposed the 'Politeia' as a stable form of government where a large middle class holds power and respects the rule of law.
- Political participation is viewed as essential for human development, as it requires the exercise of rational debate and judgment.
- Modern thinkers like James Fishkin argue that technology can now facilitate the large-scale deliberation Aristotle envisioned for the public good.
To reach oneâs full potential as a human, one must participate in the exercise of political power that is structured around debate and deliberation concerning the common good of society.
Platoâs student Aristotle (384â322 BCE) agreed that either rule by a supremely wise and virtuous ruler who
attends to the good of the community, which he called a monarchy, or rule by a group of such virtuous rulers,
which he called an aristocracy, would be the ideal political condition. However, both Aristotle and Plato
worried that a system in which rule was given to one man might turn into a tyranny, with one person ruling
only for their own good. Similarly, if rule was vested in a small group, that group may become an oligarchy,
defined as rule by a few in service of their own advantage. Given these possibilities, Aristotle asked if political
rule could safely be lodged in the majority of citizens in the form of a democracy. Aristotle suspected that this,
again, might result in a form of rule that would neglect the good of the whole in favor of the interests of the
majority.8 Even today, monarchs and authoritarian rulers often justify their rule based on skepticism about the
ability of the majority to pursue the interests of the whole of society.
Aristotle believed that the best hope that a majority of citizens could hold political power and rule with the goal
of securing the public good would be if the majority of citizens were what is now called the middle class.
Ideally, for Aristotle, political offices would reflect the wealth disparities that exist, with both those with more
wealth and those with less becoming political leaders,9 and the society would have great respect for the rule of
law.10 He called such a form of government a Politeia.
In a Politeia, the government would serve the public good, and society would be able to move toward fulfilling
the true human potential of its citizens. Aristotle argued that this would be so because only by exercising the
distinctly human capacity for rational debate, discussion, and judgment on matters that involve the good of a
community can people take advantage of the full human potential. Because political participation can involve
these kinds of activities, to reach oneâs full potential as a human, one must participate in the exercise of
political power that is structured around debate and deliberation concerning the common good of society.11
Inspired by Aristotle, contemporary thinkers such as Stanford University professor James Fishkin have argued
that by expanding the number of citizens engaged in political debate and decisions, a society can both
3.1 ⢠The Classical Origins of Western Political Ideologies 71
assemble perspectives in a way that advances the public good and enable citizens to realize their full potential.
Modern technology, Fishkin argues, makes this possible to achieve on a large scale.12
Â
âŚRules on Behalf ofâŚ
Self
All
Individual Tyranny
Monarchy
Few
Oligarchy
Aristocracy
Majority
Democracy Politeia
TABLE 3.1 A Summary of Aristotleâs
Categories of Political Regimes
Virtue, Reason, and Social Contracts
- Aristotelian thought emphasizes that extreme income inequality undermines the common good, positioning the middle class as the essential backbone of a stable nation.
- Aristotle argued that government must actively cultivate citizen virtues like wisdom and courage by regulating social institutions and education.
- Early Christian political thought, exemplified by Tertullian, prioritized biblical revelation and divine authority over human reason as the foundation of the state.
- Thomas Hobbes shifted the focus of political legitimacy from religious glorification to the pragmatic maintenance of social peace and safety.
- Hobbes proposed the 'social contract,' where individuals trade absolute freedom for security under a 'Leviathan' to avoid the chaos of the state of nature.
In the absence of any political authorityâwhat Hobbes called the state of natureâfollowing the laws of nature would make a person vulnerable to attacks from those who did not follow them.
Other contemporary thinkers agree with Aristotleâs assessment that income inequalities that divide the
populace into groups at both ends of the socioeconomic spectrum serve to undermine the common good.
Traces of Aristotleâs thought appear in frequent political messaging, in the United States and elsewhere, that
the middle class is the backbone of the nation and deserves government support and protection.13
Aristotle held that a properly governed regime must encourage its citizens to cultivate certain virtues, such as
wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. In order to achieve these virtues, individuals need the government,
Aristotle maintained, because government has the authority to regulate family life, school, media, the arts, and
the prevailing behaviors in the broader culture. Inspired in part by Aristotle, a number of contemporary
educational reform advocates have argued for a heightened role for character education in public schools to
instill what they consider to be the appropriate virtues.14
3.2 The Laws of Nature and the Social Contract
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain the central political concepts developed by Hobbes, Locke, Smith, and Rousseau.
⢠Identify common themes in the ideas of Hobbes, Locke, Smith, and Rousseau.
⢠Illustrate the ways in which the ideas of Hobbes, Locke, Smith, and Rousseau have contributed to the
development of political thought.
Early Christian thinkers conceived of government as a tool for advancing and securing the Christian faith.
Ultimately, many Christians concluded that the structure and function of government should be based
primarily not on what human reason suggests but rather on the Bible. One early Christian thinker, Tertullian
(155â220 CE), argued that the revelations of God should supersede human insights and should serve as the
true foundation of political order. Human reason, according to Tertullian, must always be secondary to the
Christian approach to life disclosed in scripture. In general, Tertullianâs ideas would cast a large shadow over
Western political thought until the early 17th century, when thinkers such as English philosopher Thomas
Hobbes once again championed greater reliance on human reason.
Thomas Hobbes
Most of the systems that emerged across Europe after the fall of the western half of the Roman Empire in the
fifth century CE were monarchies that promoted and defended Christianity to justify their rule. In the
mid-1600s, Thomas Hobbes (1588â1679) argued that political systems should be judged based not on their
adherence to and glorification of a particular religion but only on their role in securing social peace.
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Hobbes argued that humans can advance what he called laws of nature, or rules based on human reason that,
if all people followed them, would achieve peace and safety. However, some overarching earthly authority is
needed to enforce these laws. In the absence of any political authorityâwhat Hobbes called the state of
natureâfollowing the laws of nature would make a person vulnerable to attacks from those who did not follow
them. Therefore, it would be to each individualâs advantage to authorize what Hobbes called a Leviathanâan
enormously powerful governmental entityâto impose on all people a symmetrical fear of punishment if they
break the laws of nature. Based on this thought experiment, Hobbes argued that individuals should embrace a
social contract, agreeing among themselves to give their loyalty to a political ruler who could uphold the laws
of nature with unrestricted power.15
John Locke
John Locke's Natural Laws
- John Locke redefined the state of nature as a realm governed by moral rules discoverable through human reason.
- Unlike Hobbes, Locke argued that natural laws impose moral obligations on everyone regardless of government enforcement.
- Natural rights, such as the right to life, create reciprocal duties for others to respect those rights.
- Locke posited that individuals have moral duties to themselves, including the prohibition of suicide and the cultivation of personal talents.
- Property rights are established by mixing one's physical labor with the land, provided it does not harm the prosperity of others.
Locke argued that individuals in the state of nature would be entitled to own land only if they mixed it with what they inherently ownedâtheir bodies and their bodiesâ labor.
English philosopher and physician John Locke (1632â1704) seized on Hobbesâs concepts of the state of nature
and a social contract among people, but his conception of natural laws was very different. Locke saw natural
laws as a set of moral rules, discoverable by reason and based ultimately on the rationally provable existence of
God, that are equally applicable to all. Unlike Hobbes, Locke saw the natural laws, and related natural rights,
as placing obligations on everyone, whether or not a government imposes uniform penalties for breaking
them. The natural law establishes natural rights and associated duties to others and to oneself. For Locke, one
has, for example, a natural right to life, and as a result, all others have a natural duty to respect this natural
right. Individuals have a duty to themselves not to commit suicide or let their own natural talents go to waste.
Each individual has a duty to respect the natural rights of all other humans.
VIDEO
John Locke, Natural Rights
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nature-and-the-social-contract)
Enlightenment thinker John Locke profoundly influenced early American government.
Locke used the thought experiment of the state of nature16 to determine what individuals who are rational but
not subject to government would do. He imagined that in the state of nature each person would have the right
to punish those who violated anyoneâs natural rights. Locke argued that individuals in the state of nature would
be entitled to own land only if they mixed it with what they inherently ownedâtheir bodies and their bodiesâ
labor. However, individuals could acquire land only if doing so did not harm the ability of those who did not
own land to live and prosper.17
Locke's Social Contract and Property
- Locke argued that unequal land ownership in a state of nature benefits society by incentivizing the production of valued goods.
- The introduction of money and wage labor allows for a commercial society that raises the standard of living for everyone, including the landless.
- Despite potential prosperity, rational individuals would form a social contract to prevent chaos caused by wealth-based jealousy and vigilante justice.
- The primary purpose of government is to preserve private property and personal freedom while enforcing natural laws.
- To prevent government abuse, Locke suggested mechanisms like landowner representation to avoid arbitrary taxation.
- If a government violates natural rights, the people possess a fundamental right of revolution to depose their rulers by force.
Some would become jealous of those with more wealth, and the ability of each person to punish violations of the natural law would eventually lead to chaos.
Locke believed that in the state of nature a society would emerge in which some owned more land than others
without harming them. He argued that individuals would only put the work into owning large amounts of land
if they thought they could use that land to derive a profit by developing it to produce things that others value.
So, for Locke, the result of unequal land ownership would be a society in which a great number of the things
people want are produced.
In the state of nature, individuals would eventually agree to create money as a means of exchange. Owners
could then contract individuals to work their land in return for wages paid in money and focus even more on
producing items on which people would be willing to spend their wages. Even if landowners acquired all
previously unowned land, a commercial society would emerge based on the free exchange of goods and
services. The net result, Locke argued, would be a high standard of living for all, one much higher than in the
early stages of the state of nature. On this basis, Locke maintained that no one would be harmed by the
emergence of an economic system based on private property, even if it resulted in substantial inequality.
While Locke believed that if individuals in the state of nature focused on the natural law and on the benefits of
private property there would be peace and prosperity, he argued that it is rational to predict that tensions
would likely emerge. Some would become jealous of those with more wealth, and the ability of each person to
3.2 ⢠The Laws of Nature and the Social Contract 73
punish violations of the natural law would eventually lead to chaos. Therefore, rational individuals in a state of
nature would agree among themselves to enter into a social contract that would preserve the rights to private
property and personal freedom while transferring the power to enforce natural rights to a government whose
sole purpose would be to uphold those natural rights.18
In the state of nature, individuals would have the flexibility to determine the exact form the government should
take to execute these tasks. One way to limit the possibility that the government might abuse the peopleâs
natural rights would be through some limited degree of landowner representation in government. This would
be a safeguard against abusive property taxationâa forerunner of the principle, popularized in the American
colonies, that there should be no taxation without some measure of popular representation.19
FIGURE 3.3 Though residents of Washington, DC, must abide by all federal laws, they have no dedicated, voting
representatives in Congress. In a small act of protest, Washington, DC, license plates read âTaxation without
Representation.â (credit: âTaxation without Representationâ by Owen Byrne/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Locke contended that if the government the people created in the state of nature violated their natural rights
and the natural law, the right of revolution would entitle the people to use force to punish that government and
depose its rulers.
Based on his thought experiment, Locke maintained that the people should demand that existing governments
protect rights, protect private property and the right to sell labor for wages, be subject to the peopleâs right of
revolution, and fulfill their duties while minimizing the risks of violating the peopleâs natural rights.
Applying Lockeâs Ideas to Global Trade
Reason and Natural Freedom
- John Lockeâs philosophy laid the foundation for the Enlightenment, prioritizing reason as the primary tool for organizing social and political life.
- Adam Smith applied Lockeâs principles to economics, arguing that free trade and the removal of mercantilist barriers lead to universal prosperity.
- Smith introduced the concept of comparative advantage, suggesting nations should specialize in goods where they hold a competitive edge.
- Contrary to the protectionist views of the era, Smith maintained that a nation's wealth grows in direct proportion to its freedom of trade.
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau interpreted the 'state of nature' as a literal historical account of human development rather than a mere thought experiment.
- Rousseau posited that while humans possess natural compassion and a right to freedom, the pursuit of wealth and status has resulted in political enslavement.
Rousseau argued that âman was born free, and everywhere he is in chains.â
Lockeâs writings exerted a profound influence on the emergence of the Enlightenment (1690sâ1790s), a period
in Western history that emphasized the ordering of social, political, and religious life solely on the basis of
reason. Before the 18th century, most political regimes enacted protectionist or mercantilist policiesâthat is,
policies that discriminated against other countriesâ imports and subsidized exports. In The Wealth of Nations
(1776), Adam Smith (1723â1790) applies to international trade Lockeâs principle that the free exchange of
goods and services leads to prosperity for all. Smith argues that countries should lower their tariffs on imports,
reduce subsidies for exports, and allow a free market to emerge among all nations. This, he argues, enables
nations to specialize in those exports for which they have a comparative advantage, or a competitive edge over
other countries in producing and selling particular goods, while affording their citizens lower prices on
imports from countries that have a comparative advantage in other areas of production. As counterintuitive as
that struck many at the time, reason, Smith maintains, shows that the wealth of a nation grows in proportion to
its freedom of trade.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Prolific philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau adopted Lockeâs state of nature, less as a thought
experiment and more as an actual anthropological account of human history. Rousseau argued that âman was/
74 3 ⢠Political Ideology
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is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.â20 All humans have a natural right to be free and a natural
compassion toward others. However, humans are enslaved by the desire for wealth and social status, and that
has resulted in the creation of oppressive political regimes.
VIDEO
Introduction to Rousseau: The Social Contract
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nature-and-the-social-contract)
Rousseau and the General Will
- Rousseau proposed that a 'civil religion' is necessary to foster a collective identity and treat fellow citizens as brothers and sisters.
- He advocated for direct assembly of the people to create laws, rather than relying solely on representatives, to ensure the laws reflect the general will.
- To prevent corruption, Rousseau argued that laws must apply universally to all citizens without any exemptions for specific groups or individuals.
- The concept of the general will aims to promote the true good of every person by reducing income inequality and cultivating civic virtue over self-interest.
- Rousseau's influence persists in modern debates, such as Thomas Jefferson's call for periodic constitutional conventions and current disputes over school vouchers.
- Critics of school vouchers echo Rousseauâs concerns, fearing that state-subsidized religious education might destabilize social cohesion and common identity.
Charismatic leaders must cultivate among the people a common religious sentimentâwhat Rousseau calls a civil religionâthat defines citizens as brothers and sisters and teaches respect for religious differences.
Jean-Jacques Rousseauâs The Social Contract emerged at a time of changing relationships between the people
and their rulers.
In The Social Contract, Rousseau argues that in order to liberate themselves, a group must first develop a
heightened sense of collective identity as they confront a common challenge. Charismatic leaders must
cultivate among the people a common religious sentimentâwhat Rousseau calls a civil religionâthat defines
citizens as brothers and sisters and teaches respect for religious differences. This civil religion would deepen
the sense of collective identity among the population.
With this sense of team-spiritedness in place, the people themselvesâand not merely representativesâshould
assemble together to determine the laws that should govern them. To guard against corruption, laws can be
passed only if they apply to all, without exemptions for any particular person or group,21 and the process of
lawmaking must not involve political factions or fancy rhetoric. The people should reassemble periodically to
reevaluate their laws to ensure that they serve the people under new circumstances.
Rousseau argues that the laws such an assembly would pass would secure the general willâthat is, the true
good of each and every person in society. These laws would reduce income inequality and institute a system of
civic education that would reinforce the civic religion and seek to cultivate civic virtue, a firmly rooted
disposition to hold the good of the political community above narrow self-interest.
Rousseauâs ideas have been extremely influential. Thomas Jefferson (1743â1846) asserted that the people of
the United States should meet for periodic constitutional conventions, at which time the whole constitutional
system should be judged anew. More recently, political leader and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
has argued that the ability to amend the Constitution places a deep trust in ordinary people to revise all the
laws as they see fit, as it is a long-established principle that there is no such thing as an unconstitutional
constitutional amendment. In principle, anything is fair game for the amending process.22
One can also see echoes of Rousseau in the public nature of political life. In legal cases, for example, juries
must announce their verdict publicly, before the community.
Concerns similar to Rousseauâs over how religious differences within a community might undermine the
pursuit of the common good arise in a number of contemporary debates, including debates over public
education. In countries such as the United States that have enshrined the separation of church and state,
Rousseauâs vision of a civil religion is not possible. What is possible in the United States, however, is for the
government to give money to parents that they can use to enroll their children in any private (and often quite
expensive) religious school they choose, a program that several states have adopted in the form of educational
vouchers. Opponents of vouchers argue that public funds must be neutral with respect to any religious
teachings and that the state should not subsidize access to religious education. Some voucher opponents
assert that vouchers only foment a destabilizing degree of religious tension among the citizenryâa fear at the
heart of Rousseauâs advocacy of a civil religion.23
3.2 ⢠The Laws of Nature and the Social Contract 75
FIGURE 3.4 Opponents of school vouchers raise questions about whether public funding for private religious
education undermines Rousseauâs ideal of civil religion. (credit: âSaint John Catholic Schoolâ by Dan Keck/Flickr,
Public Domain)
3.3 The Development of Varieties of Liberalism
Foundations of Classical Liberalism
- Classical liberalism integrates natural rights, limited government, and capitalism based on private property and profit.
- The ideology distinguishes between liberty and moral license, prohibiting actions that destroy the rights of others or social peace.
- As a revolutionary force, classical liberalism inspired the American Revolution and the overthrow of King James II.
- The movement evolved from property-based suffrage to broader concepts of political equality and universal voting rights.
- Key historical figures like Benjamin Franklin and John Stuart Mill shaped the transition toward modern democratic participation.
Locke would say that classical liberalism endorses liberty, but it does not endorse moral license, or the freedom to act in ways that are destructive of the rights of others, the self, or the foundations of social peace and prosperity.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define classical liberalism.
⢠Contrast classical liberalism with the thought of John Stuart Mill.
⢠Discuss ways in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal era contributed to liberal political
thought.
⢠Assess F. A. Hayekâs contributions to liberal ideology.
Many of the of the most prominent political ideologies today have their roots in classical liberalism, a set of
ideas that emerged in the 18th century.
Classical Liberalism
Classical liberalism is a system of thought that combines elements of natural rights, limited government, and
capitalism. Capitalism is an economic arrangement based on private property and the freedom to invest oneâs
wealth or talent in pursuit of profit. Classical liberalism endorses capitalism both within a country and in free
trade among nations, as long as free trade is conducted within the moral limits of the natural law. Locke would
say that classical liberalism endorses liberty, but it does not endorse moral license, or the freedom to act in
ways that are destructive of the rights of others, the self, or the foundations of social peace and prosperity.24
Classical liberalism was revolutionary. It inspired the overthrow of King James II of England and influenced
the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution (1776â1783). Later, it inspired thinkers to
reflect on the forms of government that best prevent governmental abuse of power. Some argued that
expanding suffrage, or the right to vote, enhances the peopleâs ability to ward off such abuse. For this reason,
the framers of the US Constitution generally held that all male citizens who owned property should be entitled
to vote for representatives. Benjamin Franklin went further, arguing that all adult White male citizens should
be allowed to vote, a position the United States would adopt by the 1830s.25 Defenders of expanding the right
to vote argued that all citizens of a minimum age (excluding felons) should be entitled to vote because no
person will protect an individualâs rights more than the person themselves. Building on these ideas, an
argument emerged for prizing the intrinsic value of voting as a reflection of political equality.26 In 1870, the
15th Amendment to the US Constitution expanded the right to vote to Black Americans, and in 1920, the 19th
Amendment afforded the right to women.
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John Stuart Mill and the Expansion of Personal Liberty
Evolution of Liberal Thought
- John Stuart Mill expanded classical liberalism by advocating for the full inclusion of women and the protection of unpopular speech.
- Mill introduced the harm principle, arguing that adults should be free to make choices that cause themselves personal harm as long as others are not affected.
- The Great Depression challenged classical liberal beliefs by causing massive unemployment and economic contraction, leading to a reevaluation of government's role.
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal introduced significant economic regulations and social welfare programs like Social Security to stabilize the economy.
- FDR argued that expanding government power to create safety nets would actually preserve individual rights by preventing more radical threats to liberty.
Liberty, he argues, should be broadened not only in matters of speech and the press but also so that the law does not restrict the freedom of adultsâeven if individual adults exercise their freedom in ways that cause them personal harm.
In his work The Subjection of Women (1869), English writer John Stuart Mill (1806â1873) argues for the full
inclusion of women in the rights that were emerging in societies based on classical liberalism. In 1859, Mill
published On Liberty, advancing the argument that modern societies should expand their commitment to the
value of individual freedom. In it, Mill argues that because even great leaders supported by a broad social
consensus can make terrible mistakes, it is to societyâs advantage to encourage open debate and discussion of
all views, however unpopular. Liberty, he argues, should be broadened not only in matters of speech and the
press but also so that the law does not restrict the freedom of adultsâeven if individual adults exercise their
freedom in ways that cause them personal harm, as long as that exercise does not harm another person. In this
degree of commitment to personal liberty, Mill endorses views that classical liberals such as Locke would
reject. According to Locke, the purpose of government is to enforce the natural law, and one of the principles of
the natural law is the preservation of oneâs life and natural talents. For Mill, both legal measures and pro-
liberty cultural norms must protect personal liberty, even when the exercise of that liberty presents a risk to
the acting individual, as long as it does not harm anyone else. Mill grounds this standard, which he calls the
harm principle, on two assumptions: that freedom encourages an experimentation and open dialogue that
allows people to reject dangerous ideas, and that the high value of personal liberty demands nothing less.27
FDR and the New Deal
The Great Depression (1929â1941) had a significant impact on the classical liberal tradition. At the low point
of the Great Depression, more than 25 percent of American workers were unemployed, and a massive
contraction in economic activity led producers into waves of bankruptcy. Between 1933 and 1939, the federal
government of the United States under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) launched the New Deal, a
set of substantial economic regulations and social welfare programs designed to protect consumers, expand
the economy, improve the condition of workers, and ease the financial strain on retirees. These programs
included the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and
the Social Security Board (now the Social Security Administration).
FIGURE 3.5 One New Deal program, the Works Progress Administration, employed millions of Americans during the
3.3 ⢠The Development of Varieties of Liberalism 77
Depression. (credit: âWork Pays America! Prosperity (https://openstax.org/r/workpaysamerica)â by Vera Block/
Federal Art Project/Library of Congress)
FDR questioned the classical liberal belief that the expansion of the government should be held in check,
instead advocating for confidence in the role of government to stabilize the economy and create safety net
programs. Doing so, FDR argued, would ensure the long-term durability of classical liberalismâs commitment
to individual rights and freedom from governmental abuse. It would forestall the need for more extensive
government control of private property and tighter restrictions on individual libertyâtwo much graver threats
to classical liberalismâs emphasis on individual rights and limited government.28
F. A. Hayek
Hayek's Warning and Nationalism
- F. A. Hayek argued that extensive state economic planning inevitably leads to invasive enforcement and the erosion of individual freedoms.
- Hayek's 'The Road to Serfdom' posits that entrenched bureaucracies avoid democratic accountability and are nearly impossible to dismantle once established.
- A command economy disrupts the price signals of a free market, leading to inefficient resource allocation and a lower standard of living.
- Nationalism is defined by a spiritual attachment to a group based on shared blood, history, and soil.
- While nationalism can drive independence movements against colonial rule, it also risks fostering beliefs in national superiority and social exclusion.
The net result, according to Hayek, would be a new form of serfdomâa condition of limited freedom, entrenched hierarchies, and generalized poverty.
Several thinkers, including economist F. A. Hayek (1899â1992), were skeptical of the breadth of governmental
expansion under the New Deal. Although Hayek accepted the need to expand the role of the state in regulating
economic activity, he contended that only a sizable government with substantial and invasive enforcement
powers could regulate a large nationâs economy. In The Road to Serfdom, Hayek argues that extensive state
planning of the economy empowers the government in a way that limits freedom and could eventually lead to
government regulation of the whole of peopleâs lives. According to Hayek, expanded government creates
entrenched bureaucrats who avoid democratic accountability. Once established, he argues, state regulations
and large-scale programs are very difficult to roll back, and expanded economic regulations ultimately lead to
reduced prosperity for all. The net result, according to Hayek, would be a new form of serfdomâa condition of
limited freedom, entrenched hierarchies, and generalized poverty.29
Hayek argued that once substantial regulations became law, the government would likely create a command
economy, setting the prices of goods and services. According to Hayek, this would be a further detriment to
economic prosperity because such prosperity depends on the efficient and rational allocation of resources by
producers and consumers, and this can only happen in a free market, where prices are set by supply and
demand with little to no government regulation. The free market communicates to both producers and
consumers, via product pricing, the supply of and demand for various products. Prices go up when a demand
is not being met, and producers shift production to make the products that consumers demand. Prices go
down when a product is overproduced, and production shifts to making other products. To rely on the
government to set prices, Hayek maintained, would lead to the overproduction of some goods, the
underproduction of others, and a decline in the overall standard of living.30
3.4 Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Analyze nationalism.
⢠Discuss the central concepts of Marxâs political thought.
⢠Trace the development of Marxism-inspired political ideologies in the West.
⢠Assess the varieties of fascism and authoritarianism.
⢠Describe the core tenets of contemporary Chinese communism.
Nationalists see a national group as endowed with a distinctive culture and set of ties with other members.
These ties often stir a nearly spiritual attachment to the national group. This attachment is often based on
shared blood, history, and soil. One of the first defenders of nationalism as a political ideology, German
philosopher Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744â1803), argued that if each nation looked inward and
celebrated its own distinctive contributions, the world could enjoy international peace.31 Other defenders of
nationalism have seen it as a rallying cry for independence movements that freed non-Western regions from
Western control, as in Vietnam and Algeria, both of which fought long wars to end French colonial rule.
However, nationalism has also been used to assert that one nation is superior to all others, and this has
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stimulated social exclusion and war.
The Development of Marxism in the West
Marxism and Creative Freedom
- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels criticized nationalism as a distraction from internal economic exploitation and class struggle.
- Marx envisioned a global revolution that would dismantle modern society to establish a classless communist state.
- The ultimate goal of communism was defined as a condition of peace, justice, and material equality without political supervision.
- Marx believed that removing economic classes would allow humans to realize their inherent potential for solidarity and creativity.
- In a communist society, individuals would be free from specialized labor roles, allowing them to pursue diverse interests daily.
In communist society, where . . . each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic.
In the 19th century, German writer Karl Marx (1818â1883) and his collaborator Friedrich Engels (1820â1895)
condemned nationalism for its power to distract people from the economic struggles within and across nations
and from how some individuals economically exploit members of the same ânation.â
Marx predicted that a global revolution would upend the whole of modern society and eventually result in
communismâa condition of peace, justice, freedom from repressive laws and political supervision, and
equality of material resources in a society without economic classes. Inspired in part by Rousseau, Marx held
that in such a society, the inherent human potential for living in peaceful solidarity with all and exercising
creative freedom would be fully realized. When Marx sought to sketch the nature of communism, he
emphasized this creative freedom:
âIn communist society, where . . . each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society
regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another
tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise [poetry, art,
music, etc.] after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or
critic.â32
Marxist Theory and Cultural Hegemony
- Marx and Engels argued that the internal mechanics of a free-market economy, specifically competition and labor-saving machinery, make the transition to communism inevitable.
- The drive for lower prices leads to increased unemployment and the impoverishment of the masses, eventually forcing the majority of society into the proletariat.
- Class consciousness arises when workers recognize their shared misery, leading to a violent seizure of state power known as the dictatorship of the proletariat.
- During the transition to communism, the proletariat is expected to control political speech and dismantle social norms, such as marriage, shaped by capitalism.
- Antonio Gramsci explained the failure of the expected revolution by identifying 'hegemony,' where the ruling class uses media and education to manufacture cultural consent.
- Cultural hegemony distracts the oppressed with rags-to-riches stories and conspicuous entertainment, encouraging them to view the status quo as a land of opportunity.
They manufacture a set of cultural norms through their control of the media, churches, and schools, asserting what Gramsci called hegemony, or domination by means of the prevailing culture.
Unlike Locke, for whom the free market worked to ensure overall prosperity for all, for Marx and Engels, the
internal operations of a free-market economy grounded on private property and the free exchange of goods
and services made communism inevitable. According to this vision, in a free market society, most people must
sell things to secure money to buy the necessities of life. This creates competition among producers, who
eventually compete to offer the lowest prices. One way to do this is to invest in labor-saving machinery that
lowers the cost per product by lowering the producerâs labor costs. This leads to growing unemployment, and
those who retain their jobs are paid lower and lower wages, all to keep product costs low. This results in the
general impoverishment of the mass of society.
FIGURE 3.6 The Masses, published monthly in New York from 1911 to 1917, focused on labor struggles, womenâs
3.4 ⢠Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism 79
rights, and other issues that were considered radical at the time. (credit: âThe Masses, July 1916â by The Masses
Publishing Co./The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University, Public Domain)
According to Marx, in an industrialized society, most people become members of the proletariat, or those who
sell their labor to a few large companies. A few are among the bourgeoisie, a group of middle-class merchants,
accountants, lawyers, and other professionals who sell small consumer products or professional expertise, but
their numbers will eventually shrink. Marxist theorists today see this process playing out as mechanized
production and the vast use of information technology renders many once relatively high-paying jobs obsolete.
As the workers and those struggling to find steady work become increasingly numerous and increasingly
miserable, they will inevitably bond over a recognition of their common economic conditionâwhat Marx calls
class consciousnessâand will come together to demand change.
They will seize the privately held technologies and swiftly and violently act to capture government power. This
represents what Marxists call the dictatorship of the proletariat, a temporary period when the workers would
organize, take control of the state, and engage in the cleanup operations needed to usher in communism.
During this period, the proletariat should control all political speech to prevent counterrevolution and work to
upend the social relations of productionâthat is, social norms such as marriage that have been shaped by the
capitalist economy.
Marx believed that the forces of capitalism were well advanced in Germany, and he anticipated that German
workers would realize his vision for a workersâ revolution, which in turn would extend to neighboring
countries. Yet this revolution failed to occur. Why?
Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci (1891â1937) argued that the owners of the means of production weaponize
culture against the workers. They manufacture a set of cultural norms through their control of the media,
churches, and schools, asserting what Gramsci called hegemony, or domination by means of the prevailing
culture. Hegemonic cultural norms define it as unacceptable to be a revolutionary and acceptable for workers
to be content with their lot in life, with their small holdings of private property and the freedoms they enjoy in
their private lives, and with the conspicuous entertainments on offer (which are full of rags-to-riches stories
that distract them from their oppression and encourage them to view the economic status quo as one of
economic opportunity).
The Evolution of Communist Strategy
- Antonio Gramsci argued that the wealthy elite maintain power through a 'hegemonic culture' that uses patriotism and religion to instill passivity in the working class.
- Gramsci proposed that a communist triumph requires capturing culture-producing institutions like schools and media to transform societal consciousness.
- Vladimir Lenin believed a revolution required a 'vanguard'âa small, dedicated group of activists to seize the state by force on behalf of the workers.
- Leninists in Russia prioritized rapid industrialization and the suppression of resistance to create the material conditions for a communist society.
- Under Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union shifted toward 'totalitarianism,' demanding rigid ideological conformity and state control over all aspects of life.
- Stalin focused on building 'socialism in one country,' prioritizing Russian industrial and military strength over the immediate global revolution envisioned by Lenin.
A small group of dedicated activists, on the other hand, could seize power by the force of their revolutionary zeal and then act on the workersâ behalf to break the neck of the capitalist state.
The hegemonic culture also celebrates patriotism, which creates a false sense that
owners and workers are on the same team. Perhaps most dangerously for Marxists, the prevailing culture
manufactured by the wealthy elite reinforces religious beliefs and practices, which only divert attention from
worker oppression and instill passivity in the system of private property by preaching such commandments as
âthou shall not steal.â In his Prison Notebooks, Gramsci argues that communism as a political cause âwill
triumph by first capturing the culture via infiltration of schools, universities, churches and the media by
transforming the consciousness of society.â33 By capturing these culture-producing institutions, the wealthy
elite can transform culture so that it celebrates ways of thinking and acting that undermine the norms that
discourage a communist revolution.
The Russian Marxist Vladimir Lenin (1870â1924) developed a somewhat different answer to the question of
why a revolution had failed to occur in the industrialized nations of Europe. Lenin argued that the workers
needed a vanguard, a small set of dedicated and merciless revolutionary activists working on their behalf to
seize the state and take control of the economy. Without a vanguard, the capitalist forces that controlled the
economy would always be able, as Lenin believed they did in Germany, to forestall the general impoverishment
of the masses. A small group of dedicated activists, on the other hand, could seize power by the force of their
revolutionary zeal and then act on the workersâ behalf to break the neck of the capitalist state.34
VIDEO
Inside Gates of Soviet Russia (1914â1919)
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This newsreel footage shows what life was like for peasants in Soviet Russia under Lenin.
Lenin advocated for this position in Russia, which was underdeveloped in terms of industrial machinery.
Because the Leninists who seized power in Russia in November 1917 believed that highly productive
machinery was necessary to provide such plenty that people would think it natural to share with one another,
their key tasks were rapid industrialization, consciousness-raising among the workers, and the suppression of
any forces resisting the move toward communism. Lenin still held an international vision and hoped to see
parallel revolutions in the industrialized world.
After Leninâs death in 1924, his successor, Joseph Stalin, and later rulers of the Soviet Union took these
objectives to greater extremes, demanding rigid conformity with Marxist ideology and conducting a state-
mobilized commitment to build Russian industry, no matter the cost in lives or to the natural environment.
Stalin advanced the idea that while worker revolutions in states outside the Soviet Union may take a very long
time to arise, in the meantime, a society based on shared wealth and collective prosperity could be built in
Russia. The Soviet Union could defend itself from the foreign interventions that Lenin had argued would
inevitably come from capitalist countries.35 In pursuit of these objectives, the Soviet Unionâs government
under Stalin effectively became a form of totalitarianism, where the state sought to control the totality of its
citizensâ lives as a means to achieve state objectives.
20th-Century Fascists
The Rise of Fascism
- Fascism emerged in Italy and Spain during the 1920s as a response to the perceived inefficiency and fragmentation of parliamentary governments.
- The ideology centers on extreme nationalism, reverence for the state, and the consolidation of power under a single forceful leader.
- Nazism, a particularly virulent form of fascism, rejected traditional freedoms and hereditary aristocracy in favor of industrialization and state-controlled religion.
- Unlike traditional nationalism, Nazism incorporated a pseudo-scientific racial hierarchy that prioritized 'Aryans' and sought to eliminate those deemed inferior.
- The Nazi regime orchestrated the Holocaust, the most devastating genocide in human history, resulting in the systematic murder of millions.
Nazism opposed much in modern lifeâespecially the freedoms that Germans enjoyed under the Weimar Republic (1919â1933), which Hitler found decadent.
Soviet communism was not the only form of totalitarianism that marked the 20th century. In the early 1920s,
fascism, an ideology that combines reverence for the state with nationalism, anti-communism, and skepticism
of the parliamentary form of government, first emerged in Italy and Spain. Under a parliamentary form of
government, parties are elected to a legislative chamber, and the chamber, by a majority vote, selects members
of the executive branch. By the 1900s in Italy, Spain, and other European nations, an array of different parties
had emerged and been elected to parliament, making it very hard to form parliamentary majorities and select
an executive branch capable of achieving results that would satisfy large sections of the population. In part in
response to the challenges of governing under such fragmented parliaments, fascism sought to inspire
nationalist loyalty to a single leader who would forcefully get âpositiveâ results.36
The Nazism that governed Germany from 1934 to 1945 was a particularly vile expression of fascism. Inspired
by the Italian Fascist Benito Mussolini, who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943, Germanyâs Adolf Hitler (1889â1945)
developed a fascist ideology that sought to consolidate political power in the hands of one ruler. Nazism
opposed much in modern lifeâespecially the freedoms that Germans enjoyed under the Weimar Republic
(1919â1933), which Hitler found decadent. But in other ways, Nazism was very modern. It embraced
industrialization and rejected any lingering privileges of hereditary aristocracy in Germany. It sought to
undermine culturally entrenched forms of religion in Germany, going so far as to advance its own modified
form of the faith, led by the Nazi-controlled Reich bishop, which it called German Christianity.37 A form of
totalitarianism, Nazism sought the coordination of the whole of society around Nazi ideology.
To these views, Nazism added a horrific form of race-based hatred of Jews and other races, such as Slavs (the
native population of eastern Europe). It justified this racism on the basis of what it saw as modern âscience.â
Nazi racism mitigated its commitment to nationalism and supplemented it with an appeal to all âAryans,â
seeking alliances beyond Germany with other âAryanâ nations. Fueled by extreme hatred, the Nazis carried out
the Holocaust, the systematic and partially successful attempt to exterminate all Jews and others they deemed
inferior, resulting in the murder of many millions of people in Europe.38 To date, the Holocaust is the worst
genocide in human history.
VIDEO
Mein Kampf: Hitlerâs Nazi Philosophy
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3.4 ⢠Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism 81
communism-fascism-and-authoritarianism)
In his manifesto, Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler articulated Nazi philosophy, which aimed, under the unquestioned
authority of the fĂźhrer, to exterminate those who did not belong to what Nazis considered to be the master
race.
Mid-20th-Century Western Authoritarianism
The Persistence of Authoritarianism
- During the 20th century, Portugal under AntĂłnio Salazar adopted authoritarianism as a 'middle way' to avoid the extremes of both fascism and communism.
- Salazarâs regime permitted some economic and personal freedoms, including religious tolerance and asylum for Jews, while strictly prohibiting political challenges to the ruler.
- Modern authoritarianism in Egypt, led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, mirrors Salazarâs logic by claiming that the public cannot be trusted to choose appropriate leaders without risking extremism.
- The Arab Spring initially sought to dismantle authoritarian structures in the Middle East, but in many cases, it resulted in a return to unchecked military or autocratic rule.
- China remains the most prominent example of persistent communism, though Maoism adapted Marxist-Leninist theory to focus on the peasantry rather than the industrial working class.
Defenders justified the principle of authoritarian rule on the basis that the democratic selection of rulers was just too dangerous.
Several European countries in the 20th century sought to avoid fascism and communism, yet resisted
adopting the liberal tradition. During the 20th century, Portugal came to be governed by the principles of
authoritarianism, an ideology that may allow freedoms in nonpolitical life but does not permit any political
challenge to the ruler. From 1932 to 1968, the authoritarian prime minister of Portugal, AntĂłnio Salazar,
attempted to create a state ruled exclusively by his own party that would permit a substantial (though
incomplete) measure of economic and personal freedoms and respect for human rights. Portugal was
considered a safe haven from Nazi oppression, and the government undertook efforts to grant false visas and
asylum for Jews, especially those from eastern Europe. Portugal tolerated religious dissent, and it had a
relatively free and open economy.39 Defenders justified the principle of authoritarian rule on the basis that the
democratic selection of rulers was just too dangerous. Would the people be consumed by the passions aroused
by the Nazis as they sought to defeat communism and protect what they called the higher race? Or would they
be captivated by the call for equality, spearheaded by the working class, and embrace Soviet-style
communism? To avoid either, Portugal instituted an undemocratic authoritarian system governed by a leader
who, it was hoped, would rule with moderation and sensitivity to basic rights.
Contemporary Authoritarianism: Egypt
In recent years, authoritarianism has expanded in parts of the world. In 2011 and 2012, the Arab Spring
emerged in countries such as Egypt and Tunisia to remove authoritarian leaders and transform these states
into representative democracies. In Egypt, uprisings led to the removal from office of longtime authoritarian
ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011. In the elections that followed, Mohamed Morsi, a member of an Islamic
extremist organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, was elected president. Amid protests following his election,
former military general Abdel Fattah el-Sisi seized power. Sisi has since consolidated his power to ensure his
unopposed rule, having justified this assumption of unchecked power with the same argument advanced by
the authoritarian ruler AntĂłnio Salazar: the people cannot be trusted to select appropriate leaders. This
judgment is advanced as a serious ideological position in large parts of the world.
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The Arab Spring started with a single protest in Tunisia in 2011 and spread throughout the Middle East and
Northern Africa.
Contemporary Chinese Communism
Although the Soviet Union, which based its government on ideas inspired by Marx, collapsed in 1991,
communism persists as a political ideology. In fact, the most populous country on Earth, the Peopleâs Republic
of China, is currently governed by a regime committed to a version of communist ideology. In China, no
individual who is not a member of the Chinese Communist Party may hold political office.
Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the Communist Party seized power in 1949. Mao, who served as the
premier of China until his death in 1976, developed a distinctive form of Marxist-Leninist ideology that came
to be known as Maoism. Maoism held that the Chinese peasantry, and not the industrial workers, could and
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Maoism and the Peasant Revolution
- Mao Zedong identified the peasantry rather than the urban proletariat as the primary agents for ushering in communism in China.
- He believed the peasants' poverty and ignorance made them uniquely malleable and open to revolutionary struggle.
- To compensate for a lack of class consciousness, Mao emphasized the necessity of a powerful vanguard party to mold the masses.
- Mao maintained a deep suspicion of urban intellectuals, leading to their persecution by Red Guard battalions during the Cultural Revolution.
- Following Mao's death, Deng Xiaoping justified economic experimentation by arguing that China was still only in the initial stages of socialism.
Mao contended that the peasantsâ poverty made them miserable, their ignorance made them malleable, and their supposed natural combativeness made them open to embracing change through revolutionary struggle.
should be the agents ushering in communism; all that they needed was to be led, shaped, and molded by a
sufficiently powerful political party. The peasants, Mao argued, had many of the attributes that Marx believed
would lead to a revolution and to the creation of the communist condition. Mao contended that the peasantsâ
poverty made them miserable, their ignorance made them malleable, and their supposed natural
combativeness made them open to embracing change through revolutionary struggle. What the peasants
lacked that Marx believed the urban industrial workers had was a team-spiritedness and a shared class
consciousness. Hence, for Mao, what the masses needed to mold them into a revolutionary force was a strong
revolutionary party (what Lenin called a vanguard) with exclusive political power.
Mao viewed urban, intellectual groups with special suspicion, and from 1966 to 1976, he made them targets
for persecution in the Cultural Revolution, a movement led mostly by student-run battalions of militant
activists known as Red Guards who worked to silence dissent. Because China during Maoâs reign had a
population of over 800 million, Mao felt that these measures were the only way to achieve the goals of the
Chinese Communist Party.
FIGURE 3.7 In this Chinese propaganda poster, peasant workers, soldiers, and students all follow Mao and his
teachings, as symbolized by the book bearing Maoâs likeness that the worker carries in the foreground. (credit:
âAdvance Courageously under the Guidance of the Red Flag of Mao Zedong Thoughtâ by Pang Ka/Thomas Fisher
Rare Book Library, University of Toronto/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Before Mao died in 1976, he declared that China was in the âinitial stage of socialism.â His successor, Deng
Xiaoping, argued that although great work had been achieved under Mao, the goal of a classless society was
still a ways off, and therefore, economic experimentation in alternative ways to achieve the communist goals
was justifiable.40
China's Path to Communism
- Deng Xiaoping introduced controlled private property and free markets as a pragmatic strategy to increase economic productivity.
- The Chinese Communist Party views limited religious and economic freedoms as temporary tools to enhance life satisfaction and efficiency.
- Deng's theory posits that once productivity meets all needs, the profit-based economy and religion will disappear, leading to true human liberty.
- Current leader Xi Jinping has reaffirmed this long-term goal while simultaneously tightening state control over religion, education, and media.
- The regime promotes Confucianism and Marxist ideals to maintain social order and hierarchy while touting poverty reduction to bolster party support.
For communist states, at least in theory, the ultimate goal is liberation; repression is not an intrinsic value, only the necessary means to the desired end point of genuine human liberty.
Instead of controlling every aspect of economic production, Deng instituted a policy, still ongoing in China
today, that allows private property and free markets in a controlled manner. The policy primarily allows
consumer items (always under the strict supervision of the Communist Party) as a way to achieve increased
economic productivity. The Chinese government has also introduced limited religious freedoms to enhance
individualsâ life satisfaction in order to increase their economic efficiency. After the productive forces of
society become sufficient to meet everyoneâs needs, Deng promised, communism would emerge.
As communism arose, Deng argued, China would shift away from a profit-based economy to one in which
creating and distributing products people need, rather than profiteering, would drive economic output.
According to Deng, at this final stage, religion would also disappear because the product-based economy would
alleviate human misery, eliminating the need for the âopiateâ of religion. Finally, the Communist Partyâs firm
control over the population would come to an end. This is similar to Rousseauâs suggestion that when people
3.4 ⢠Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism 83
become liberated from the drive for personal profit, they will be freed not only from economic and political
repression but also from the way it warped their psychology. For communist states, at least in theory, the
ultimate goal is liberation; repression is not an intrinsic value, only the necessary means to the desired end
point of genuine human liberty.
When the current leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, assumed office in 2012, he reaffirmed
Chinaâs adherence to utilizing market freedoms to achieve the final goal of communism. At the same time, he
emphasized the importance of maintaining strong party control. To this end, he has increased state regulation
of religion, education, and the media. Most religions face increasing persecution under Xi, but because he sees
the traditional Chinese belief system of Confucianism, which emphasizes social cooperation, order, and
hierarchy, as a complement to Communist Party goals, he has tolerated its reemergence. Primarily, Xi has
encouraged the Chinese populace to derive meaning and moral guidance from a firm attachment to Marxist
ideals. To deepen support for the Communist Party, the regime has touted the dramatic reduction in poverty
that has occurred in China over the last several decades.41
3.5 Contemporary Democratic Liberalism
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define contemporary democratic liberalism.
⢠Describe the center left and the center right.
⢠Identify key differences between the center left and the center right.
The Rise of Democratic Liberalism
- The 'third wave' of democratization began in the mid-1970s, transitioning nations like Portugal, Spain, and South Korea from authoritarianism to democratic systems.
- Democratic liberalism synthesizes classical liberal values, such as individual rights and capitalism, with a commitment to egalitarianism and representative governance.
- To protect minority rights from the 'tyranny of the majority,' democratic liberalism utilizes representative elections and counter-majoritarian judicial power.
- The ideology supports a mixed government structure where executive, legislative, and judicial powers are separated to prevent the consolidation of authority.
- Economically, democratic liberalism maintains a capitalist framework but advocates for state regulation and social safety nets to mitigate inequality.
- In the late 20th century, this ideology manifested as center-right and center-left movements that collectively reject socialism, communism, and fascism.
Democratic liberalism looks to the courts to exercise some measure of counter-majoritarian power, shielding minorities from abuse by numerical majorities.
In the mid-1970s, Portugal shifted away from authoritarianism when it adopted a constitution that created
democratic elections for public officeholders. In a development that has been called the third wave of
democratization, a number of other authoritarian regimes in the 1970s, especially Spain, Taiwan, and South
Korea, also made this shift. By the early 1990s, the Soviet Union and other communist states of eastern Europe
had also fallen.
In the 20th century, democratic liberalism, which merges classical liberalismâs endorsement of capitalism
and individual rights with a high regard for equal treatment and democratic decision-making through elected
representatives, became the predominant form of political thought in the United States, Canada, Europe, South
Korea, and a range of other nations. Democratic liberalism, not to be confused with the Democratic Party, is an
ideology and is not limited to one political party.
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A recent wave of populist sentiment has led some to question the future of liberalism.
Following skepticism of direct democracy, in which the populace decides political matters by a direct majority
vote, democratic liberalism focuses on the election of representatives who act on the peopleâs behalf. This
distance between the people and political decisions reflects the concern that in a direct democracy, the
majority may deprive those in the minority of their rights. Democratic liberalism looks to the courts to exercise
some measure of counter-majoritarian power, shielding minorities from abuse by numerical majorities. While
specific systems vary, most democratic liberal regimes embrace some measure of mixed government,
ensuring that the powers of the courts, the legislature, and the executive are not all in the hands of one
governmental body.
In addition, democratic liberalism advocates for the government to advance some measures to reduce
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economic inequality, such as providing a social safety net for the unemployed and taxing inheritance.
Democratic liberalism has endorsed a robust role for the state in regulating the nationâs economic activity
while remaining within a capitalist economic system.
Throughout the second half of the 20th century, two main expressions of democratic liberalism emerged in
Western countries: the center right and the center left. In part as a result of their shared commitment to
principles such as representative democracy, individual rights, and a free-market economy based on
capitalism, both the center right and the center left repudiate socialism, communism, and fascism.
Democratic Liberalism and the Center Right
The Ideology of Fusionism
- The center-right is defined by political fusionism, which blends moderate economic libertarianism with moderate social conservatism.
- Rooted in classical liberalism and the philosophy of John Stuart Mill, libertarians prioritize individual freedom of speech and personal behavior.
- Economic libertarianism advocates for minimal government regulation, lower taxes, and the elimination of income redistribution policies.
- Libertarians view the right to move labor and property across international borders as a fundamental human right.
- Under this framework, corporations have no moral obligation to maintain domestic operations if offshoring provides greater economic efficiency.
- The ideology favors permissive immigration laws to ensure a steady supply of labor for the private sector.
Loyalty to any particular state is relatively unimportant in contemporary libertarianism.
The center right constitutes the ideological core of what, in a US context, is the contemporary Republican
Party.42 It largely sees itself as providing an updated form of the political thought of classical liberalism. This
connection with classical liberalism is evident in center-right parties outside the United States. In Australia,
for example, the center-right party is called the Liberal Party. The core of the center right is what is called
political fusionism, a combination of moderate economic libertarianism and moderate social conservatism.43
Libertarianism is an ideological vision that promotes limiting government to enhance personal freedom.
Libertarians are the heirs of John Stuart Millâs philosophy as developed in On Liberty. They therefore prize
freedom of speech and expression and liberty with respect to personal behavior, including sexual practices,
sexual orientations, and drug use.
Libertarians endeavor to eliminate or at least scale back government regulation of the economy and policies
that redistribute income. Libertarianism also sees the right to travel internationally to sell oneâs labor
(economic migration) as a basic human right. According to the libertarian Future of Freedom Foundation,
âopen borders is the only libertarian immigration position.â44 However, in addition to the free flow of labor
across borders, for most libertarians, the right to move oneâs property overseas in search of greater economic
gainâas, for example, by closing factories in the United States and reopening them in parts of the world where
labor costs are lower, a practice known as offshoringâis also a basic human right. Loyalty to any particular
state is relatively unimportant in contemporary libertarianism. For libertarians, this means that corporations
have no moral obligation to keep factories open in the United States if production can be done more cheaply
overseas. Libertarians support the development of international trade, the reduction of governmental
regulations that they see as impeding the free use of private property, and the lowering of taxes to encourage
economic growth. They tend to emphasize the need for generous immigration into the country to provide
companies with a steady supply of labor and to favor permissive systems of immigration law that allow large
numbers of new people to enter countries each year.
FIGURE 3.8 Migrant workers harvest corn in Gilroy, California, in 2013. (credit: â20130828-OC-RBN-3316,â by US
3.5 ⢠Contemporary Democratic Liberalism 85
Department of Agriculture/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Moderate Libertarianism and Social Conservatism
- Moderate economic libertarians accept existing government frameworks like Medicare but oppose the expansion of new programs like the Affordable Care Act.
- Social conservatism emphasizes natural law and local traditions to uphold moral standards, distinguishing liberty from the license to engage in immoral behavior.
- Moderate social conservatives may accept some expansions of personal autonomy, such as civil unions, while resisting further government support for nontraditional values.
- A key concern for social conservatives is judicial activism, which they view as judges exceeding their authority through creative constitutional interpretation.
- Originalism is the preferred judicial philosophy for these conservatives, arguing the Constitution should be interpreted based on its meaning at the time of adoption.
- Social conservatives believe state governments should have the power to regulate morality, including the restriction of pornography, through democratic processes.
Although they value personal freedom, they seek to ensure, in Lockeâs terms, that liberty is not replaced with a license to engage in immoral behavior.
Unlike what one might call pure libertarians, moderate economic libertarians accept the scope of the role that
government has come to play in the contemporary world while still seeking to minimize governmentâs growth
into new areas. They accept, for example, President Lyndon B. Johnsonâs Great Society policies, such as
Medicare and Medicaid, while rejecting the expansion of further governmental programs such as the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, better known as Obamacare.
The school of political thought that emphasizes the need for the government to uphold traditional moral
standards based on the natural law or on the long-standing traditions of a given area is known as social
conservatism. Moderate social conservatives adhere to this general viewpoint, but most do not call for
integrating directly religious teachings into the body of civil law. Typically, they prefer to uphold social
conservative values on the grounds of natural law or by deference to local norms and customs, which in certain
areas include deeply entrenched religious values.45 Although they value personal freedom, they seek to
ensure, in Lockeâs terms, that liberty is not replaced with a license to engage in immoral behavior.
A moderate form of social conservatism accepts some expansions of personal autonomy rights, such as the
right of same-sex couples to engage in civil unions or even civil marriages, while at the same time seeking to
limit the further expansion of government support for nontraditional values. Moderate social conservatives
see contemporary schools as doing a relatively poor job of instilling moral virtue in children and seek to
improve character education in schoolsâa claim that goes all the way back to Aristotle.
In the United States, moderate social conservatives are often concerned with judicial activismâthat is, courts
deciding cases using what social conservatives see as a creative reimagining of what the Constitution means.
Social conservatives view such activism as beyond the scope of the judgesâ constitutional authority. These
conservatives often embrace originalism, the view that the Constitution should be interpreted in light of the
understanding of its meaning at the time of its adoption. Most moderate social conservatives in the United
States argue that the framers affirmed the power of state governments to uphold standards of morality that
include prohibitions on various forms of personal liberty (such as pornography production and distribution).
Social conservatives therefore see Supreme Court decisions that restrict states from upholding traditional
moralityâsuch as the Supreme Courtâs decision in Roth v. United States (1957), which effectively legalized
pornography on the basis of the First Amendmentâas a form of judicial activism that put the courts on the side
of immoral behavior. They see these decisions as overturning long-standing laws against pornography and
undermining the ability of state governments, through democratic elections, to define the most beneficial
moral ecosystem.
It is worth noting that adherents of other political ideologies sometimes have similar concerns about the courts
deciding cases and overturning established law in ways that contradict those ideologies.
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Post-War Republican Ideology
- Originalism serves as a primary judicial philosophy for interpreting the Constitution based on its historical meaning.
- The center-right ideology is defined by a fusion of moderate economic libertarianism and moderate social conservatism.
- This ideological blend became the dominant force within the Republican Party following World War II.
- The established center-right consensus remained largely unchallenged until the political emergence of Donald Trump.
- The rise of the New Right represents a significant shift away from traditional post-war Republican norms.
The center rightâs fusion of moderate economic libertarianism and moderate social conservatism emerged as the dominant ideology within the Republican Party in the United States in the decades after World War II.
Originalists attempt to interpret the Constitution in alignment with its original meaning.
The center rightâs fusion of moderate economic libertarianism and moderate social conservatism emerged as
the dominant ideology within the Republican Party in the United States in the decades after World War II, and
it has largely remained soâat least, until the rise of Donald Trump, which is explored in the discussion of New
Right ideology later in this chapter.
Democratic Liberalism and the Center Left
The ideological core of the contemporary Democratic Party in the United States can be thought of as
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Center-Left Democratic Liberalism
- Center-left liberalism traces its intellectual lineage to John Locke and Mill's harm principle, seeking to maximize personal liberty while balancing community needs.
- The movement prioritizes LGBTQ+ rights by framing them as compatible with traditional morality, as seen in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
- A core tenet is the 'living Constitution' philosophy, which empowers a robust judiciary to reinterpret legal texts to meet contemporary social and equality needs.
- While endorsing private property and capitalism, the center-left views the market through its potential to improve the lives of the least well-off.
- The ideology supports significant government intervention to reduce economic inequality through progressive taxation and funded services like healthcare and education.
- Unlike socialism, the center-left maintains that the government's role in addressing poverty is important but ultimately limited within a capitalist framework.
Supreme Court justice William Brennan (1906â1997) was well known for advocating the view that the Constitution is a 'living' document, which requires judges to interpret the constitutional text in a way that renders it capable of resolving issues in light of contemporary understandings of equality.
embodying center-left democratic liberalism.46 Like the center right, this view traces back to the political
thought that emerged with Locke and developed through the 19th and 20th centuries. This lineage can be seen
in Canada, for example, where the center-left party is called the Liberal Party.
The center left seeks to maximize personal liberty to the extent that doing so is seen as feasible in light of the
needs of the broader community. Center-left advocates tend to avoid sweeping efforts to extend personal
liberty, such as legalizing hard drugs and prostitution, yet they do tend to seek to move in a direction similar to
Millâs harm principleâthat is, moving to generally broaden personal autonomy as long as no other person is
harmed. The rights of LGBTQ+ individuals have moved to the forefront of the center left. The center left tends
to highlight how the LGBTQ+ community is similar to rather than in tension with traditional morality, as the US
Supreme Court did in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) when it required all states to recognize same-sex marriage
as a legal institution.
Another important point for the center left is the value of a robust judiciary that can update the words in the
Constitution to ensure equality (or to meet what it considers other pressing social needs). Supreme Court
justice William Brennan (1906â1997) was well known for advocating the view that the Constitution is a âlivingâ
document, which requires judges to interpret the constitutional text in a way that renders it capable of
resolving issues in light of contemporary understandings of equality.47
The center left, like the center right, endorses an economic system defined by private property and a free-
market capitalist society. There is a tendency on the center left to look at capitalism from the perspective of its
ability to improve the conditions of the least well-off individuals in society. They see capitalism as creating new
industries that allow the economically disadvantaged to secure well-paying jobs and as improving the quality
of life for all. However, the center left supports a more robust role for the government in alleviating the
difficulties faced by those in the lowest levels of society than is found in the classical liberal tradition and the
center right. Because the center left supports the goal of government working to reduce economic inequalities,
it emphasizes policies such as government grants that allow low-income individuals to attend college at low or
no cost and expanded state services to provide low-income individuals with low- or no-cost medical care. The
center left also supports higher taxes on inheritance and capital gains (the increase in the value of
investments) and higher personal and corporate tax rates, as long as taxes target the wealthiest in society and
tax revenues are used to reduce economic inequality and improve the lives of the less fortunate. The center left
does not endorse socialism, seeing the governmentâs role in addressing poverty and inequality as limited,
though important.
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Evolution of Contemporary Leftist Ideologies
- The American center-left has increasingly advocated for majority rule, including the abolition of the Electoral College to ensure the popular vote winner becomes president.
- The New Left emerged in the 1960s as a diverse movement that views center-left liberalism as insufficiently progressive.
- Multiculturalism, a core component of the New Left, posits that world cultures deserve equal respect and provide essential identity to individuals.
- Multiculturalists argue that societies do not require a common underlying culture to function and are instead enriched by cultural diversity.
- Critics like John Rawls suggest that intense multiculturalism might conflict with center-left requirements for shared liberal democratic values.
- Some radical multiculturalists believe groups should retain their identity even if their cultural practices reject prevalent Western norms.
Still, some multiculturalists believe so strongly in the benefit of allowing groups to retain their cultural identity that they contend that even cultures that may reject prevalent Western normsâfor example, allowing women to workâshould not be.
Social safety nets are designed to help people in need.
A recent tendency of the center left in the United States has been to argue for greater majority rule in the
institutions of the federal government. The United States Constitution created the Electoral College to select
the president in order to temper the power of the numerical majority in the operations of the federal
government. This process allows a candidate who has not secured the most votes to win a presidential
election. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, in his 2020 work Trust, argues for a constitutional
amendment to elect presidents by a majority vote, eliminating the Electoral College.48
3.5 ⢠Contemporary Democratic Liberalism 87
3.6 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Discuss the ideology of the New Left and define a number of key movements within it.
⢠Assess the relationship among New Left movements.
⢠Assess the relationship between the New Left and the center left.
In the 1960s, a new form of liberalism emerged in Western countries. The New Left is a somewhat vague
amalgam of movements on the left of the political spectrum, united in the belief that the center left is
insufficiently progressive. The major elements of the New Left are outlined below, but keep in mind that the
exact line between the center left and the New Left is unclear and in flux.
Multiculturalism
One of the earliest New Left movements was multiculturalism. Multiculturalists argue that all or almost all of
the cultures of the world are deserving of respect and that many individuals derive a great sense of their
identity and self-worth through their membership in a particular culture. On these two bases, multiculturalists
argue that contemporary governments should not seek to impose any society-wide cultural norms beyond the
minimal norms to which all or almost all cultures already subscribe. A corollary of multiculturalist thought is
that contemporary states do not need a common underlying culture in order to function effectively. Instead,
multiculturalists tend to argue that a diversity of cultures enriches a society.49
FIGURE 3.9 The all-women percussion band Batala celebrates Afro-Brazilian music and culture. (credit: âWomen
Percussion Bandâ by Pabak Sarkar/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
For example, many multiculturalists in countries with large numbers of recent Muslim immigrants, such as
Canada and Germany, see Islam as endorsing socially beneficial values such as sustained religious charity, the
search for Ijma or consensus, the flourishing of family life, the protection of the poor, and a focus on the unity
of humanity. Multiculturalists hold up values such as these as evidence of the ways in which historically non-
Western cultures can enrich Western societies.
Others argue that too intense a focus on multiculturalism may be incompatible with traditional center-left
thought. John Rawls (1921â2002), who is generally seen as a defender of the center left, argues in his
influential work A Theory of Justice (1971) that a stable regime requires that the people share a significant
proportion of liberal democratic values intrinsic to the center-left ideology. Still, some multiculturalists believe
so strongly in the benefit of allowing groups to retain their cultural identity that they contend that even
cultures that may reject prevalent Western normsâfor example, allowing women to workâshould not be
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Environmentalism and Animal Rights
- Environmentalism emerged as a prominent movement in the 1970s, initially focusing on overpopulation and food supply concerns.
- The movement shifted its primary focus toward global warming following the agricultural advancements of the Green Revolution.
- Environmentalists argue that the world's climate is in a crisis state that threatens both biodiversity and human populations.
- Critics within the movement claim that center-left ideologies fail to address the climate crisis due to their focus on private property and limited government.
- The concept of animal rights, pioneered by Peter Singer, challenges the 'speciesist' nature of traditional liberal politics.
Animal rights activists see the center left, by contrast, as narrowly speciesist, or unjustly concerned primarily with human well-being.
condemned. They argue that these cultural values are important aspects of their membersâ identity and that
they pose no serious threat to the larger society.
Environmentalism
Environmentalism, a movement that aims to preserve and protect the natural environment, gained
prominence in the 1970s due in part to concerns about overpopulation and shrinking world food supplies. The
environmentalism movement built on earlier conservation movements, and after the Green Revolution of the
1970s, which saw agricultural production grow exponentially due to pesticide control and new farming
techniques, environmentalists turned their attention to global warming. Environmentalists point to the now
widely accepted research findings of a broad array of scientists that show the worldâs climate is in a crisis
condition that imperils not only animal biodiversity but also the well-being of human populations around the
world. The environmentalist movement argues that the center-left focus on maintaining private property and
limiting government prevents it from adequately addressing this climate crisis.
FIGURE 3.10 In governments around the world, the Green Party advocates for policies that promote and preserve
the well-being of the natural environment. (credit: âGreen Jobs â a Way Out of the Crisisâ by greensefa/Flickr, CC BY
2.0)
Other environmentalists have gone even further from the center left. Center-left democratic liberalism has its
roots in the concern for individual human rights. Some contemporary environmentalists advance the concept
of animal rights, a position pioneered by the Australian philosopher Peter Singer. This position argues that
nonhuman animals have rights that governments must also protect. Animal rights activists see the center left,
by contrast, as narrowly speciesist, or unjustly concerned primarily with human well-being.50
Feminism
Evolution of Feminist Ideology
- The New Left's commitment to feminism blurs traditional political boundaries between the center-left, center-right, and classical liberalism.
- First-wave feminism focused on legal and democratic rights, such as suffrage and the right to enter contracts, which align with classical liberal values.
- Second-wave feminism, sparked by Betty Friedan, addressed systemic sexism and personal freedoms including abortion, no-fault divorce, and domestic safety.
- Third-wave feminism emerged in the 1990s to challenge embedded cultural patriarchy and upend traditional societal norms.
- Modern feminist movements advocate for a fluid conception of gender, sex positivity, and the elimination of gender differences in all areas of public life.
- The political classification of feminism is shifting, with second-wave ideals now firmly rooted in the center-left while third-wave goals remain a subject of debate.
The publication of Betty Friedanâs The Feminine Mystique in 1963 marked the popular emergence of second-wave feminism.
Another major aspect of the New Left is its commitment to feminism, and here the lines between the center
left and the New Left once again become blurryâas do the lines between the New Left, the center right, and
classical liberalism.
Feminism emerged as a well-developed and distinct ideology in the late 18th and the 19th centuries,
championed with special force by Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill in England and advocates such as
Elizabeth Cady Stanton in the United States. Efforts in the 19th and 20th centuries such as the womenâs
suffrage movement and the movements to secure womenâs rightsâfor example, the right to enter into
contracts and to work in certain professionsâhelped expand the ideology of democratic liberalism and bolster
first-wave feminism. Contemporary supporters of classical liberalism, who, along with those in the center
right, see the equality of women in the workforce as the natural extension of their commitment to individual
rights, affirm these gains.51
3.6 ⢠Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left 89
The publication of Betty Friedanâs The Feminine Mystique in 1963 marked the popular emergence of second-
wave feminism. In its first three years in print, The Feminine Mystique, which argued for the existence of a
systemic sexism that taught women that their place was in the home and that any deviation from that role was
unnatural, sold three million copies.52 Second-wave feminism focused primarily on bodily freedoms and
safety surrounding sex and personal relationships, especially the right to abortion, the right to divorce without
having to show cause (a change in divorce laws that developed in the 1970s), the prevention of domestic
violence, and the critique of pornography as dehumanizing of women.
FIGURE 3.11 Betty Friedan (second from left) converses with members of the National Organization for Women
(NOW) in the 1960s. (credit: â(Left to Right): Billington; Betty Naomi Goldstein Friedan (1921-2006); Barbara Ireton
(1932-1998); and Marguerite Rawalt (1895-1989)â by Smithsonian Institution/Flickr, Public Domain)
In the early 1990s, third-wave feminism emerged, developing claims of embedded cultural patriarchy and
working to upend what it sees as patriarchal norms in the wider society. Recently, third-wave
feministsâpotentially the vanguard of a fourth wave, according to some theoristsâhave condemned the
concept of a rigid gender binary in favor of a more fluid conception of gender; have advocated to reduce or
eliminate differences between men and women in all areas of public life, including the military; and have
endorsed sex positivity as a way for women to express sexual autonomy and to eliminate cultural norms of
female sexual self-control.53
Second-wave feminism is arguably now a firmly rooted aspect of the center left. The degree to which third-
wave feminism is now considered part of the center left remains a topic of debate.
Critical Race and Gender Theory
Critical Race and Gender Theory
- Proponents of critical race and gender theory advocate for equity through policies that compensate for past injustices, such as targeted federal grants.
- The theory incorporates a unique epistemology suggesting that oppressed groups possess a more comprehensive understanding of the world than their oppressors.
- Oppressed individuals must understand both their own condition and the perspective of the dominant group to survive, resulting in an 'epistemologically richer' viewpoint.
- Intersectionality posits that overlapping identities, such as race and gender, exacerbate the degree of oppression an individual experiences.
- Some theorists argue that the insights of those at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities are the most socially and politically insightful.
- Equity-based solutions may include specialized programs restricted to specific demographic intersections, such as Black or Hispanic women.
The oppressed, on the other hand, have to cultivate both an understanding of their own condition and an understanding of their oppressorsâ perspective in order to develop strategies of resistance.
Advocates of critical race and gender theory seek to expand not only rights but also equity by compensating
past victims of injustice through law and public policy in order to achieve a current condition that is judged to
be fairer. For example, because Black Americans experienced discrimination in public services in the past, the
Biden administration proposed in 2021 that the federal government issue special equity grants to Black
Americans and other racial minorities in certain sectors, such as farming.54
An additional aspect of critical race and gender theory involves epistemologyâthat is, the way one comes to
know. In their understanding of epistemology, critical race and gender theorists draw on the views of feminist
philosopher Allison Jagger, who argues in her pioneering 1983 work Feminist Politics and Human Nature that
oppressors (in Jaggerâs discussion, men) experience the world as favorable to their unjust desires and are
therefore unmotivated to consider alternative points of view. The oppressed, on the other hand, have to
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cultivate both an understanding of their own condition and an understanding of their oppressorsâ perspective
in order to develop strategies of resistance. Consequently, they must develop a wider knowledge of the world,
and thus their viewpoint is epistemologically richer and allows them to develop greater knowledge than those
who oppress. Critical race and gender theorists use these ideas to argue that the oppressed tend to have clearer
and surer knowledge than do those of the dominant race (Whites) and gender (cisgender men).
Additionally, critical race and gender theory places emphasis on intersectionality, or the belief that
individuals may have characteristics that make them members of more than one oppressed group and that
these groups intersect, exacerbating the oppression such individuals experience. For example, although
feminism has focused on womenâs oppression, critical gender theory argues that Black and Hispanic women,
whose identity exists at the intersection of race and gender, experience oppression to a deeper degree. In turn,
some critical race and gender theorists, such as Nora Berenstain, argue that the understanding of society that
Black and Hispanic women express is more epistemologically insightful than the insights of other groups55
and that equity may require special programs available only to Black or Hispanic women.
VIDEO
KimberlĂŠ Crenshaw at TED + Animation
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3-6-contemporary-ideologies-further-to-the-political-left)
Structural Racism and Intersectionality
- KimberlĂŠ Williams Crenshaw introduced the concept of intersectionality to describe overlapping systems of oppression.
- Critical race theorists argue that racism is structural and can exist independently of individual intent.
- Past racist decisions are embedded in the legal, political, and cultural fabric of modern society.
- Systems like merit-based college admissions are viewed as complicit in racism due to historical inequities in schooling and housing.
- Standardized testing is seen as a tool that perpetuates systemic racism by ignoring the legacy of past discriminatory practices.
- Individuals must consciously subvert accepted norms to avoid participating in these inherited racist systems.
These past racist actions, critical race theorists maintain, have become a part of the fabric of the environment that shapes how people act.
Columbia Law School and UCLA Law School professor KimberlĂŠ Williams Crenshaw is a lawyer and critical
race theorist. She coined the term intersectionality in 1989.
Last, critical race theorists hold that the oppression exacted against minority communities, especially racial
minorities, is structural in nature. They argue that structural racism manifests regardless of personal racist
intent. An action or decision can be racist simply because it is taken within a legal, political, and cultural
context that has been shaped by the past racist decisions of others. These past racist actions, critical race
theorists maintain, have become a part of the fabric of the environment that shapes how people actâthat is,
unless individuals consciously act in ways that subvert the accepted standards, norms, and beliefs that the
legal, political, and cultural system has created. Critical race and gender theorists argue that merit-based
college admissions that rely in part on standardized testing are an example of systemic racism. Although the
tests attempt to be race neutral, using them makes one complicit in racism because racist decisions in the past
led to substandard minority schools (through school segregation), family environments not conducive to
learning (through segregated housing laws and the over-policing of minority communities), and lower income
levels (through discriminatory employment practices). Therefore, to expect test scores to be a fair measure of
worthiness for admission is to participate, even if unintentionally, in a system still marred by the continuing
legacy of previous racist actions, and thus is to think in a racist way.
Contemporary Socialism
Principles of Contemporary Socialism
- Socialists advocate for a transition away from capitalism, arguing that center-left reforms are insufficient to achieve true material equality.
- The ideology is built on the premise that individual success is a product of societal support, justifying high taxation and wealth redistribution.
- Contemporary democratic socialism integrates New Left priorities like environmentalism and critical race theory with traditional socialist economic goals.
- A core tenet is the rejection of market-based solutions for essential services, such as healthcare, in favor of government-administered systems.
- Democratic socialists assert the state's right to take ownership of private companies in critical sectors like energy or housing if they fail to meet public needs.
Socialists argue that âno man is an islandâ and, therefore, that the material success of any individual or group is the result of innumerable societal supports.
Adherents of socialism promote transitioning to a socialist economy, arguing that any changes ushered in by
the center left will be inadequate in a capitalist economic system. The goal of socialism is to remake society to
ensure more or less equal material wealth, especially the equal possession of the goods that individuals need
to reach their full potential. Socialist thinkers argue that a cooperative and communal social existence is
achievable and that, given this achievability, there is little reason not to pursue it. Canadian philosopher G. A.
Cohen argued that to realize a society based on cooperative sharing would require the slow but persistent
building of well-established political structures in which people can channel natural instincts and aspirations
for cooperative living. Although they are critical of the center left, contemporary socialists generally reject the
communist ideology advanced in China and other communist nations such as Cuba and Vietnam.
Socialists argue that âno man is an islandâ and, therefore, that the material success of any individual or group
is the result of innumerable societal supports. Hence, socialism judges as unproblematic high rates of taxation
3.6 ⢠Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left 91
by which some of the wealth of those with the most money is transferred to those in need; without societal
support, the wealthy would never have acquired so much wealth in the first placeâa conclusion that takes on
added force in terms of inherited wealth and structural advantages enjoyed at birth. In this way, socialists call
for an activist state that aims to move society toward high rates of equality and human fulfillment.
Contemporary democratic socialism seeks to combine all or most of the New Left positions with a renewed
appreciation of socialist ideology.56 This movement appears to be making some progress in American
electoral politics, as evidenced by the popularity of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic
socialist representing New Yorkâs 14th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives. It is also a
major political ideology in Scandinavia and in areas of Latin America.
In addition to advancing New Left ideas such as environmentalism, second- and third-wave feminism, and
critical race and gender theory, democratic socialists question the center-left attachment to capitalism.57 It is
not enough, democratic socialists argue, to let the free market address certain needs, such as health care, on
the condition that the government will provide a safety net for those with the very least economic resources,
funded with tax revenues from the wealthiest in society. Instead, the very idea that health care should be
provided through the free marketâby, for example, individuals purchasing health insurance from private for-
profit health insurance companiesâneeds to be rethought. Most democratic socialists argue that the
government should administer and dispense health care to each person on an equal basis. The state, acting on
behalf of society, should assert a right to take ownership of private companies that serve critical needs. For
example, private companies that serve the energy needs of the country should be state-run if they fail to invest
adequately in renewable energy resources to meet the challenge of climate change. Democratic socialists make
a similar argument concerning private housing companies that fail to invest in affordable housing units.
Although often expressed only as a last resort, democratic socialists assert the right in principle for
Democratic Socialism and Labor
- Democratic socialists advocate for government intervention in private industry to ensure specific societal outputs.
- The ideology supports the temporary or permanent nationalization of private companies when necessary for the public good.
- Critics of the current U.S. federal minimum wage argue it is insufficient to keep a family above the poverty line.
- Advocates propose a 'living wage' mandate that requires private employers to pay higher rates than standard minimums.
- Global economic data shows significant variation in minimum wage standards, with some nations lacking a legal minimum entirely.
Democratic socialists are willing to require companies to offer not merely a minimum wage but what advocates call a âliving wage,â guaranteeing to each employee a higher pay rate by imposing broad mandates on private employers.
government to take ownership of privately owned companies, either temporarily or permanently, to ensure
that they develop the desired output. Noting, for example, that a person who is paid the federal minimum wage
in the United States does not earn enough to keep a family above the poverty line,58 democratic socialists are
willing to require companies to offer not merely a minimum wage but what advocates call a âliving wage,â
guaranteeing to each employee a higher pay rate by imposing broad mandates on private employers.
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FIGURE 3.12 As of 2018, countries such as France, Portugal, and New Zealand had minimum wages well over 50
percent of the median full-time salary in those countries. Note that some countries, including Italy and Sweden, do
not have a minimum wage. (source: OECD; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0
license)
Varieties of Modern Socialism
- Democratic socialism prioritizes human rights over national borders, advocating for easier entry for immigrants in need.
- Unlike Marxist or Maoist ideologies, democratic socialists reject violent revolution and one-party rule in favor of the democratic political process.
- The movement emphasizes community organizing and political mobilization to empower marginalized individuals to demand systemic change.
- Bolivarian socialism, or Chavismo, defines itself through opposition to neoliberalism and the perceived foreign influence of international financial institutions.
- The Venezuelan model utilizes state ownership of natural resources, like petroleum, to fund income redistribution and social safety nets.
- To maintain their model, Bolivarian leaders often seek control over the media and judiciary, which can lead to the violation of human rights.
ChĂĄvez and Maduro see neoliberalism as outside pressures that amount to foreign rule.
Democratic socialism also expresses skepticism regarding the importance of national borders, seeing easier
entry for immigrants into a country as a matter of meeting the human rights of people in need.
Despite these criticisms of the center left, democratic socialists, like democratic liberals and many earlier
socialists, reject Marxist notions of violent revolution and the need for a workersâ dictatorship and Maoist ideas
of a one-party state controlled by a communist party. They instead advance their agenda through the
democratic political process. Indeed, democratic socialists emphasize how their movement empowers
individuals to use their political influence to demand change. Community organizing and political
mobilization play important roles in marshaling the political influence of those whom society has
marginalized.
Other forms of socialism include the ideology of the contemporary Venezuelan government mentioned at the
beginning of this chapter. This ideology is alternately referred to as Bolivarianism, or Bolivarian
socialismâafter the early 19th-century leader SimĂłn BolĂvar, who led successful revolutions in Latin America
against the Spanish Empireâand Chavismo, after presidents ChĂĄvez and Maduro, and it can be defined both by
what it opposes and what it supports. Chavismo opposes what scholars call neoliberalism. Neoliberalism is
usually defined as the efforts advanced by international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the World Bank, and supported by most of the worldâs largest industrialized nations, to encourage
developing countries to adopt a free market, open their economies to international trade, and avoid significant
inflation. Along with these economic goals, neoliberalism encourages respect for the right of political
participation and other individual rights such as freedom of speech and religion. ChĂĄvez and Maduro see
neoliberalism as outside pressures that amount to foreign rule. So, like a new SimĂłn BolĂvar, ChĂĄvez and
Maduro see themselves as freeing Latin America from foreign control in the form of pressures advanced by
SHOW ME THE DATA
3.6 ⢠Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left 93
international financial institutions. Following the Bolivarian socialist view, ChĂĄvez and Maduro want to lead
Venezuela to chart its own course, utilizing its own natural resources, refusing offers of loans from institutions
such as the World Bank, and rejecting criticism of its political processes. Exploiting Venezuelaâs national
wealth through state ownership of major industries such as the petroleum industry, they seek policies that
redistribute income and create a generous social safety net. Brigham Young University professor Kirk A.
Hawkins notes that, convinced that their model is just and in the best interests of the majority of Venezuelans,
they seek to ensure broad support among the masses through control over the media and the judiciary, risking
the violation of human rights.59
Globalism and Indigenous Federalism
Globalism and Indigenism
- Globalism advocates for the empowerment of international institutions like the United Nations to address worldwide issues such as climate change and economic inequality.
- The ideology of cosmopolitanism encourages individuals to identify primarily as citizens of the world rather than as members of a specific nation.
- United Nations ideology seeks to bypass national or regional biases, aiming to eliminate colonial tropes like the 'White savior' in international development.
- Indigenism emphasizes the preservation of tribal communities, arguing that they foster higher levels of trust, reciprocity, and ecological sustainability than modern states.
- Indigenists often propose a federalist model where a central state provides modern resources and security while allowing tribes to maintain self-governance.
- A central tension in Indigenist thought is the extent to which a central government should intervene in tribal areas to protect what it defines as basic rights.
The United Nations ideology liberates its supporters from any narrow viewpoint tied to a particular country, region, or religious belief.
Both economic libertarianism and democratic socialism de-emphasize national borders. As an ideology,
globalism focuses on this more international emphasis, calling for either enhancing the power of existing
global institutions, such as the United Nations, or creating new international bodies with effective governing
authority. Such international institutions have both concrete and symbolic importance. Concretely, they can
mobilize forces around the world to address global issues such as climate change, economic inequalities
among nations, and the repression of minorities within particular regimes. Symbolically, global governmental
entities highlight a moral aspiration among globalists toward cosmopolitanism, the idea that one should
define oneself primarily as a citizen of the world and not of any particular nation. One scholar, UniversitĂŠ de
MontrĂŠal professor Jean-Philippe ThĂŠrien, has identified an ideology centering on the United Nations itself.60
This ideology posits that because the United Nations represents the best in human endeavor, it should be the
primary vehicle through which international problems are addressed. The United Nations ideology liberates
its supporters from any narrow viewpoint tied to a particular country, region, or religious belief. Because
neither the West nor any one group or section of the world determines truly global responses to global
problems, the United Nations ideology eliminates the concern that foreign aid and development initiatives will
surface old colonial tropes of the West such as the âWhite savior.â
Like the United Nations ideology, Indigenism stresses the importance of seeing beyond the contributions or
actions of White people, arguing that Indigenous tribal communities have special virtues and that these
communities must be preserved. According to Indigenists, tribal membership permits higher levels of trust
and reciprocity among group members than broader loyalties, such as loyalty to a nation, to a political
movement like communism, or to a world religion like Islam, Buddhism, or Christianity. The tribe and its
distinctive religious and cultural understandings encourage mutual caregiving and a stable and rooted sense
of identity. Further, Indigenism contends that Indigenous communities have developed over the course of their
long existence ways of living that respect the natural environment and are ecologically sustainable.
FIGURE 3.13 Members of the Xolon Salinan tribe participate in a smudging purification ceremony before they visit
the Stony Valley Arch in California in 2018. (credit: âSmudging Purification Ceremonyâ by Cynthia McIntyre/Fort
Hunter Liggett Public Affairs Office/Department of Defense, Public Domain)
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Most advocates of Indigenism do not seek to leave Indigenous communities entirely isolated from the
inexpensive and highly effective medicines, famine-reducing high-yield agriculture, and transportation
systems of the modern world. Instead, Indigenists usually argue for a form of federalism. Federalism allocates
some powers to local governments and some to a central or national state. The central administration, most
Indigenists argue, should be connected to the modern global world and should be able to provide food
surpluses, medical care, and other services, including protection from foreign invasion, while at the same time
allowing Indigenous tribes to govern themselves in most other matters. The degree to which the central
government should intervene in tribal areas to protect what it sees as basic rights remains an important
question in Indigenous political thought.
The Rise of New Right
- The New Right represents a significant ideological shift away from center-right democratic liberalism.
- This movement has achieved global political success in countries including the United States, Brazil, and Hungary.
- Unlike the Old Right, the New Right does not advocate for monarchical authoritarianism or inherited aristocracy.
- The movement appeals to those who feel their traditional religious or classical liberal values are under siege.
- Adherents argue that the center-right is insufficiently protective against perceived cultural and political threats.
The New Right has enjoyed political success not only in the United States but also in Brazil and Hungary.
3.7 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Right
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Discuss the ideology of the New Right and define a number of key movements within it.
⢠Assess the relationship among New Right movements.
⢠Assess the relationship between the New Right and the center right.
Just as a New Left diverged from center-left democratic liberalism, a New Right is veering off from democratic
liberalismâs center right. The New Right has enjoyed political success not only in the United States but also in
Brazil and Hungary. The exact line between the center right and the New Right, like that between the center
left and the New Left, is unclear and in a state of flux.
This New Right is not a simple revival of the Old Right, which represents views not held by many in the West
today. These views include support for monarchical authoritarianism; inherited aristocracy, in which, unlike
in Aristotleâs sense of the word aristocracy, political power is conferred not because a group is virtuous but
because they have inherited land and privilege; an extreme form of nationalism; a formal union of church and
state; and an alliance with landowners and those with entrenched long-held wealth to the conscious detriment
of the middle and lower classes. So what defines the New Right?
One important element of the New Right is the way that it speaks to those who identify with traditional
Judaism, evangelical Christianity, classical liberalism, and the center right who feel beleaguered and under
siege. In response to these perceived threats, adherents of the New Right maintain that the center right is
insufficiently protective, just as the New Left sees the center left as insufficiently progressive.61
Concerns about Culture
The New Right and Cultural Marxism
- The New Right identifies 'cultural Marxism' as a primary threat, viewing it as the weaponization of culture against traditional values.
- Herbert Marcuse's 'One-Dimensional Man' is cited as a foundational text for the counterculture, arguing that consumerism pacified the working class.
- Marcuse advocated for minorities, outsiders, and the radical intelligentsia to lead a revolutionary overthrow of capitalism in place of the proletariat.
- Critics like Os Guinness argue that this counterculture has become the dominant ethos in Hollywood and social media, leading to moral decline.
- Figures like William Barr use the term metaphorically to link critical race and gender theories to Marxist 'us versus them' revolutionary tactics.
Marcuse argued that the working classes have become immersed in consumerist culture and, needing jobs to fulfill their consumerist appetites, have lost their ability to think in a revolutionary way about their oppression.
The New Right sees what it calls cultural Marxismâthat is, Gramsciâs theory that culture must be weaponized
against the upper classesâas one major danger. Many in the New Right feel that the culture has been
weaponized against all they hold dear, just as many in the New Left feel that society has suppressed their
values and principles.
English author and social critic Os Guinness, for example, places special emphasis not only on Gramsci but
also on German-American philsopher and political theorist Herbert Marcuse (1898â1979), who argues in his
1964 book, One-Dimensional Man, that the working classes have become immersed in consumerist culture
and, needing jobs to fulfill their consumerist appetites, have lost their ability to think in a revolutionary way
about their oppression. Marcuse argued that growing movements in the 1960s for sexual liberation and for
more radical forms of social change represented the forces that could initiate a communist revolution, and he
advocated for dramatic cultural change. As UCLA professor Douglas Kellner remarks, âMarcuse championed . .
. minorities, outsiders, and radical intelligentsia [writers, professors, and artists] and attempted to nourish
oppositional thought and behavior through promoting radical thinking.â62 According to Marcuse, this radical
thinking would galvanize calls for a revolutionary overthrow of capitalismâa feat that the working class was no
longer able to effectuate. As a result, Marcuse became one of the most prominent champions of what in the
3.7 ⢠Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Right 95
1960s was termed the counterculture.
Thinkers such as Os Guinness argue that the counterculture has come to represent the dominant ethos of such
prominent and now mainstream culture-influencing arenas as Hollywood and social media, which they see as
routinely mocking and belittling traditional values. Guinness views the use of this increasingly mainstream
counterculture as an attempt to effectuate Marxist objectives. Such a movement, Guinness argues, has created
only rapid cultural and moral decline.63
Other members of the New Right use the term cultural Marxism more metaphorically. For example, in a May
2021 speech, the former attorney general for the Trump administration, William Barr, argued that critical race
and gender theory share with Marxism a divisive âus versus themâ mentality and an attachment to social
change similar to the communist call for a workersâ revolution.64 According to these social conservatives,
these features make critical race and gender theory a socially destructive force, just like Marxism.
Political Ideology and Critical Thinking
Â
VIDEO
The Political Spectrum
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ideologies-further-to-the-political-right)
Ideology and Equity Concerns
- Political ideologies serve as frameworks for making sense of the world and evaluating various government policy options.
- The study of diverse political perspectives is a tool for sharpening critical-thinking skills and problem-solving abilities.
- Modern conservatives increasingly view equity-based policies as a direct challenge to the principle of equal treatment under the law.
- The New Right perceives the emphasis on marginalized groups as an assault on the social and demographic influence of Christianity.
- Critics argue that Judeo-Christian values are the foundational support for individual rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
- The adoption of diversity and inclusion agendas by large corporations has intensified the conservative sense of being under cultural attack.
Many among the New Right see calls for equity, understood as calls to extend greater legal and political emphasis to historically marginalized groups, as an attack directed primarily against the social influence of Christianity.
Political beliefs fall across a broad spectrum, and even individuals with seemingly very different perspectives may,
upon closer inspection, agree more than they disagree.
At their core, political ideologies help people make sense of the world and can help people understand the various
policy options available to governments. Different ideological perspectives advocate for different policy approaches,
or even for different governmental systems. When a writer, thinker, or politician says that problem X can be solved
with solution K, they are usually basing this statement on analysis that is the product of critical thinking. Critical
thinking helps people use data, ideas, and different perspectives to look at the specific problem at hand, understand
the arguments being presented, and come to a conclusion about what they think is the best solution. Not everyone
will agree on a âbestâ solution to a problem, and when one looks at political ideology, one is offered multiple
different answers informed by the different ideologies and their perspectives. By studying these ideologies,
understanding their points of view, and seeing how they are translated into the political sphere, you are sharpening
your critical-thinking skills. Critical-thinking skills are essential for helping you solve problems by looking at things in
different waysâand this is one of the most valuable skills that you can have in any field.
Concerns over Equity
Increasingly, conservatives see calls for equityâa view that sees it as fair to extend more services or benefits to
individuals who are members of marginalized groupsâas an assault on the principle of equal treatment under
the law. Many among the New Right see calls for equity, understood as calls to extend greater legal and political
emphasis to historically marginalized groups, as an attack directed primarily against the social influence of
Christianity, which, in demographic terms, has constituted the majority religion in the United States since the
countryâs founding and in many other parts of the world. Critics contend that this is problematic because they
see Judeo-Christian values as providing important support for such things as individual rights, democracy,
and the rule of law.
That a number of large corporations have recently embraced the agendas of diversity, equity, and inclusion
further contributes to the sense among a number of conservatives that they are under attack. Legend has it
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The Rise of Conservative Populism
- The traditional alliance between big business and conservative politics is fracturing as the New Right accuses major corporations of becoming 'woke capitalists.'
- New Right thinkers argue that large firms prioritize global profits and New Left social values over the traditional center-right coalition's principles.
- Critics like J.D. Vance contend that corporate investments in China betray Western values and create a dependency that prevents firms from challenging the Chinese Communist Party.
- Conservative advocacy groups have launched targeted media campaigns to pressure CEOs into abandoning progressive political stances.
- The New Right has embraced conservative populism, a movement seeking to reclaim government power for 'ordinary people' against perceived elite overreach.
- While American populism was historically a left-wing force focused on economic fairness for farmers, it has evolved into a powerful right-wing ideology.
Those on the New Right see these âwoke capitalistsâ as violating the close connection between economic freedom, free markets, social conservatism that defined the center-right coalition for decades.
that the former CEO of General Motors and secretary of defense in the administration of Republican president
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Charlie Wilson, said, âWhat is good for General Motors is good for the United Statesââa
quote that has been taken, along with tax cuts on large companies advanced by many Republican
administrations, as a sign of the close connection between big business and conservative politics in the United
States. However, many in the New Right maintain that numerous large companies are now âwoke capitalistsâ
who want free markets to maximize their own profits while they espouse and impose New Left social values to
which the New Right is opposed. Those on the New Right see these âwoke capitalistsâ as violating the close
connection between economic freedom, free markets, social conservatism that defined the center-right
coalition for decades. As part of this growing rift between the New Right and many major corporations, New
Right thinkers such as conservative author and venture capitalist J. D. Vance see the massive investments that
âwoke capitalistsâ make in countries such as communist China, a country that they see as subtly but effectively
undermining the foundation of Western, Judeo-Christian, and classically liberal values,65 as a betrayal of the
long-standing social values of their countries of origin (such as the United States, Canada, and the countries of
western Europe). For these thinkers, such investments mean these firms dare not offend the Chinese
Communist Party, lest their manufacturing facilities and the profits they generate be shuttered or they lose
access to hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers.66
VIDEO
Conservatives Push Back on CEOs with âWoke Capitalismâ Campaign
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/
3-7-contemporary-ideologies-further-to-the-political-right)
Conservative nonprofit Consumerâs Research ran an ad campaign aiming to apply pressure on the CEOs of
specific companies to force them to re-evaluate their companyâs progressive political stances.
Conservative Populism
In response to these perceived threats, the New Right has adopted a variation of populism, a political view that
emphasizes the need to win elections in order to install a government that will respond to the demands of
âordinary people,â who, according to populists, should be given a much greater role in how governmental
policy is set to ensure that their interests are adequately served. This New Right ideology is known as
conservative populism.
In the United States, populism has a long history, primarily focused on reducing what is perceived as the
excessive power of certain elites. In the past, populists rallied against the owners of nationwide railway
networks and processing plants for what they believed to be their unfair treatment of farmers. They
denounced the financial experts who set fiscal policy (the policies that determine the amount of money in
circulation) for what the populists believed to be excessive efforts to avoid inflation. Until the middle of the
20th century, populist movements in the United States tended to be on the left of the political spectrum. In
Europe, populist movements have tended to divide between left and right. Bolivarian socialism is widely seen
as a variant of left-wing populism.67
The Rise of Conservative Populism
- Conservative populism advocates for using government power to regulate media and corporate elites to protect traditional Western culture.
- The movement marks a shift from traditional center-right libertarianism toward an expansive role for government in the economy and social regulation.
- Key policy pillars include tighter immigration enforcement to protect domestic wages and a non-interventionist foreign policy that prioritizes national resources.
- While sharing a distrust of social media giants with the left, conservative populists specifically seek to reduce content restrictions they view as biased.
- Global leaders like Viktor OrbĂĄn and Jair Bolsonaro exemplify the movement's focus on national heritage and the integration of religious values into public law.
Nevertheless, while the center right has historically sought to minimize government regulations, the New Right sees an expansive role for government.
Conservative populism is a movement on the right that calls for winning elections so that the government can
regulate media and corporate elites in order to protect traditional Western culture and the interests of what
adherents see as âordinaryâ citizens. Recently, conservative populists have called for the regulation of large
social media companies, such as Twitter and Facebook, which they accuse of limiting conservative views on
their platforms. In this sense, conservative populists and a number of center-left and New Left advocates share
a common concern about social media companies, although the reasons for this concern often differ. Left-of-
center advocates, for example, are increasingly concerned that social media allows for the spread of
disinformation, while conservative populists seek government regulation of social media companies so as to
mandate reduced restrictions on content.68 Nevertheless, while the center right has historically sought to
minimize government regulations, the New Right sees an expansive role for government.69
3.7 ⢠Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Right 97
More broadly, conservative populism unites fusionismâmoderate social conservatism combined with
moderate economic libertarianismâwith a call for a stronger government role in helping what it considers to
be hardworking, economically struggling Americans. One way it seeks to do this is by promoting tighter
immigration enforcement as a way to increase the wages of American workers by reducing the competition for
jobs that they see as driving down wages.70
Conservative populism seeks to limit the role of government in overseas military engagements to only those
engagements directly related to clear threats to national security, pointing out that the resources spent on wars
such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan could be spent on programs that assist the American economy and help
the American people.
Although its appeal is not limited to members of the historically dominant race or culture in a country, some
commentators worry that conservative populism may be giving voice to race-based fears about changing
demographics in the countries where this form of populism is rising.
FIGURE 3.14 Viktor OrbĂĄn, the conservative populist leader of Hungary, has been a staunch promoter of
conservative political ideology on the international stage. (credit: âViktor OrbĂĄnâ by European Peopleâs Party/Flickr,
CC BY 2.0)
Donald Trumpâs victory in the 2016 US presidential election in many ways showcased the rise of large
elements of the New Right ideology, but the movement has grown in other areas of the world as well.
Conservative populists Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Viktor OrbĂĄn in Hungary are two prominent examples.
OrbĂĄn represents the Fidesz political party, which has embraced conservative populism and a greater
identification of Hungary with its Christian heritage, including the incorporation of biblical values directly into
public law. Despite these victories for its adherents, the future of conservative populism, as with so much in
world politics, remains uncertain.
To broaden your understanding of various political ideologies, you can attend webinars or Zoom meetings hosted by
a range of ideologically grounded issue advocacy groups. Challenge yourself to watch conferences or speakers from
a diverse set of organizations. Some suggestions are listed below.
American Constitution Society (https://openstax.org/r/AmericanConstitutionSociety)
Center for American Progress (https://openstax.org/r/CenterforAmericanProgress)
The Claremont Institute (https://openstax.org/r/TheClaremontInstitute)
Rejecting Political Ideology
- Certain political movements paradoxically repudiate the concept of ideology while simultaneously expressing their own clusters of ideas about how politics should function.
- Marxists promote 'scientific socialism,' arguing that traditional ideologies are merely tools used by the ruling class to perpetuate their power through distorted reasoning.
- Followers of Edmund Burke and Michael Oakeshott reject rationalist ideologies, believing they overestimate human reason and dangerously ignore time-tested traditions.
- Burkeanism advocates for prudence and cautious innovation, prioritizing the complexity of political life over abstract ideological blueprints.
- Religious extremism represents a third category that rejects secular ideology, instead prioritizing divine revelation as the ultimate guide for political action.
Marx held that the ruling class would concoct views about the world to perpetuate their rule.
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
98 3 ⢠Political Ideology
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Democratic Socialists of America (https://openstax.org/r/DemocraticSocialistsofAmerica)
The Federalist Society (https://openstax.org/r/TheFederalistSociety)
Feminist Majority Foundation (https://openstax.org/r/FeministMajorityFoundation)
Greenpeace (https://openstax.org/r/Greenpeace)
The Heritage Foundation (https://openstax.org/r/TheHeritageFoundation)
Independent Womenâs Forum (https://openstax.org/r/IndependentWomensForum)
3.8 Political Ideologies That Reject Political Ideology: Scientific Socialism,
Burkeanism, and Religious Extremism
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Analyze the limitations of ideological thinking.
⢠Discuss alternative ways of examining political life.
⢠Assess the enduring power and influence of political ideologies.
Among the diversity that defines the global ideological landscape are movements that repudiate the concept of
political ideology itself. These movements see ideologies as deeply problematic even as they essentially
express an ideologyâthat is, a cluster of ideas about how politics is and should be that informs their political
action.
Marxism and the Priority of Science
In his 1845 work The German Ideology, Marx argues that the dominant economic forces in a society can shape
human reason. Marx held that the ruling class would concoct views about the world to perpetuate their rule. In
Marxâs thinking, careful empirical observation and rigorous study are needed to break the spell of these ideas.
Marxists, including the members of the Chinese Communist Party, label as âideologyâ any views that are not
confirmed by hard-nosed social science. For this reason, Marxists and Maoists often call their vision scientific
socialism and repudiate âideologicalâ thinking, which they view as the product of abstract thinking not
grounded in scientific reality.
Burkeanism and the Priority of Prudence
Followers of the political thought of British writer Edmund Burke (1729â1797), such as English philosopher
Michael Oakeshott (1901â1990), reject a wide swath of political visions, including Marxism. They use Burkeâs
writings to argue that political ideologies based on reason risk dismissing all that does not meet with the
approval of their rational visionâs assessment of reality. Oakeshott contended that because ideologies
overestimate the powers of human reason, they dangerously repudiate traditions and customs that have stood
the test of time and disregard the complexity of political life.
It is much safer, followers of Burke and Oakeshott argue, to test the consequences of innovations slowly and
cautiously against the most fundamental insights that have developed among thinkers over the centuries.
Religious Extremism and the Priority of Revelation
The Rise of Religious Extremism
- Religious extremism emerges as a response to the perceived failure of reason, science, and history to provide unambiguous political guidance.
- Proponents of this view reject secularism, believing that divine revelation is the only singular and clear guide for governing human life.
- Extremists often categorize all political thought outside of their specific revelation as empty human 'ideology.'
- This phenomenon is global and cross-denominational, manifesting in Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim contexts.
- Religious extremism frequently leads to the exclusion or forced removal of those deemed 'false believers' or 'foreigners' from the political community.
For religious extremists, everything outside of revelation is empty human âideology.â
Having questioned what reason and science can reveal about how politics should operate in the future, why
should one rest content with reliance on the lessons of history? Are the lessons of history really unambiguous?
If not, then they require interpretation. But if reason and science provide no guide, by what means can one
interpret the historical record?
Questions such as these have led to the emergence of the approach to politics often called religious extremism,
or the reliance on the will of God as revealed to finite and fallible minds in a book of revelation. For religious
3.8 ⢠Political Ideologies That Reject Political Ideology: Scientific Socialism, Burkeanism, and Religious Extremism 99
extremists, everything outside of revelation is empty human âideology.â For them, revelation is a clear, singular
guide to the most important questions of political life. Religious extremists reject political secularism, or the
view that explicitly religious sets of principles should not administer government.
FIGURE 3.15 Buddhist extremists in Myanmar have expelled Rohingya Muslims because they do not recognize
them as citizens. (credit: âRohingya Displaced Muslimsâ by Seyyed Mahmoud Hosseini/Tasnim News Agency/
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)
Religious extremism is not unique to any particular faith. Recently, for example, religious extremism has
played a major role in political disputes in Myanmar, where Buddhist extremists believe that celestial beings
gave the land of Myanmar to the followers of Buddha and that the Muslim Rohingya people are defiling
foreigners.71 It has played a major role in the development of Orthodox Jewish settlements in the territories of
Israel acquired during the Six-Day War of 1967. It has inspired some Christians to a vision of a godly kingdom
in which false believers have no place and can be removed by force. And it inspires Muslim members of the
Taliban who once again rule Afghanistan.
Its potency must not be underestimated.
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Summary
3.1 The Classical Origins of Western Political Ideologies
Ancient Greek political ideologies emphasized the importance of consolidating political power in the hands of
a virtuous ruler or group of rulers while also looking to design second-best models of government, usually
involving a mixed system of government.
3.2 The Laws of Nature and the Social Contract
Hobbes and Locke developed the idea of the state of nature, wherein individuals are thought of as interacting
in the absence of a ruling government. Hobbes and Locke both argued that governments should be judged
according to what individuals in a state of nature would have freely consented for government to be. Hobbes
conceived of the state of nature as one in which an unlimited ruler would be needed. In contrast, because
Locke saw individuals as possessing inherent natural rights and interacting with others according to a
rationally discernible set of moral rules known as the natural law, he argued that individuals in a state of
nature would construct a government to enhance the protection of individual rights and the enforcement of
that law. For Locke, individual rights included the right to private property and the free exchange of goods and
services. Adam Smith applied Lockeâs ideas on property rights and free markets to defend global free trade.
Rousseau added to the social contract tradition the idea of government based on the general will.
3.3 The Development of Varieties of Liberalism
Evolution of Political Ideologies
- Classical liberalism emphasizes individual rights, limited government, and capitalist economic freedom as defined by thinkers like John Stuart Mill.
- Nationalism emerged in the 19th century as an identity-based ideology, often conflicting with the internationalist goals of Marxist communism.
- Fascism and Nazism developed as extreme nationalist responses to communism, characterized by racial exclusivism and totalitarian control.
- Democratic liberalism remains the dominant ideology in industrialized nations, balancing accountable government with capitalist protections.
- The New Left encompasses diverse movements like environmentalism and critical race theory, aiming to push society toward more progressive goals.
- Authoritarianism persists in various forms, from strict communist control in China to moderate regimes that consolidate power without democratic accountability.
Marx and Engels argued that nationalism divided workers who should cooperate across national boundaries to respond to and eventually overthrow capitalism.
Classical liberals defend individual rights, limited government, and free trade. They favor capitalism, an
economic system based on the freedom of owners to deploy their assets in whatever way they deem most
profitable and the freedom of those without substantial assets to contract to sell their labor for wages. John
Stuart Mill argued for enlarging the boundaries of personal freedom to include all endeavors that do not
directly harm other individuals. In response to the Great Depression, a number of leaders advocated for
including in the liberal tradition a more robust role for governmental regulation of the economy. Writers such
as Hayek dissented, arguing for reduced government regulation of the economy and against the idea of a
government-planned economy.
3.4 Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism
Nationalism, or pride in and celebration of a national identity based on shared blood, history, and soil, usually
to the exclusion or detriment of other identities, rose to prominence as a political ideology in the 19th century.
Marx and Engels argued that nationalism divided workers who should cooperate across national boundaries to
respond to and eventually overthrow capitalism, which they argued was both inherently inhumane and
inherently fraught with internal tensions that made it vulnerable toâor even destined forâreplacement by the
coordinated revolutionary actions of the working class. Gramsci, Lenin, and Stalin took Marxist thought in new
directions. In part catalyzed by the growth of communism, new European political movements emerged,
seeking to resist communist expansion. Fascism, and especially Nazism, argued for a heightened form of
nationalism that could respond to the communist challenge, while at the same time advancing beliefs in Aryan
racial superiority tied to a hateful form of exclusivism and anti-Semitism. Both the communism of the Soviet
Union and its allies and the fascism of the Nazi regime were expressions of extreme authoritarianism known
as totalitarianism. More moderate forms of authoritarianism have soughtâand in a number of countries, such
as Egypt, still seekâto maintain some degree of individual freedom while consolidating political power in
individuals and institutions that are not democratically accountable. China has allowed some limited freedoms
of property and religion while maintaining otherwise strict communist ideals.
3.5 Contemporary Democratic Liberalism
Democratic liberalism has been the predominant form of contemporary political ideology in the industrialized
nations of North America and Europe and nations such as South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand for the
past 60 years. This ideology combines democratically accountable government with government protections of
3 ⢠Summary 101
individual rights and the promotion of a capitalist economy. Under this broad umbrella, the center left and
center right constitute primary subgroups.
3.6 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left
Since the 1960s, a range of movements on the left of the political spectrum have emerged, forming a loose
association of ideas sometimes referred to as the New Left. The New Left includes environmentalism, second-
and third-wave feminism, critical race and gender theory, contemporary democratic socialism, globalism, and
Indigenist federalism. Repudiating communism and other nondemocratic approaches, these movements seek
to make society more progressive. The line between the center left and the New Left is a blurry one, as some
New Left movements have become so mainstream among center-left advocates that they now form core
elements of center-left ideology.
Contemporary Ideologies and Their Rejections
- The New Right and conservative populism have emerged to challenge the center-right for failing to sufficiently protect traditional cultural norms.
- Movements associated with conservative populism have achieved significant electoral success in nations like the United States, Hungary, and Brazil.
- Certain political frameworks, such as Marxism and Burkeanism, reject the label of 'ideology' in favor of hard social science or historical tradition.
- Religious extremists dismiss human political reasoning entirely, favoring literal and inflexible interpretations of divine revelation as a societal blueprint.
- The text defines key ideological terms including authoritarianism, classical liberalism, and the 'dictatorship of the proletariat' to distinguish various political structures.
Religious extremists reject the idea that humans can reason to the best form of political regime, asserting that a blueprint for society is readily at hand in the form of literal and inflexible readings of divine revelation.
3.7 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Right
Just as thinkers on the political left began to argue that the center left was insufficiently progressive, the past
decade has seen the rise of a New Right that questions whether the center right is sufficiently protective of
traditional cultural norms. This movement is associated with conservative populism and has seen electoral
success not only in the United States but also in countries such as Hungary and Brazil.
3.8 Political Ideologies That Reject Political Ideology: Scientific Socialism, Burkeanism, and
Religious Extremism
Some major political thinkers see themselves as eschewing the very concept of political ideology. Many
Marxists have defined their cause as based not on philosophies about government but on the findings of hard
social science. Thinkers such as Edmund Burke and Michael Oakeshott repudiate the overly abstract nature of
political ideologies. Religious extremists reject the idea that humans can reason to the best form of political
regime, asserting that a blueprint for society is readily at hand in the form of literal and inflexible readings of
divine revelation.
Key Terms
authoritarianism an ideology that may allow freedoms in nonpolitical life but does not permit any political
challenge to the ruler
civil religion a common religious sentiment, usually promoted by the state, that defines citizens as brothers
and sisters and teaches respect for religious differences
class consciousness a recognition of oneâs membership in an economic class, which Marx argued can
engender a sense of profound camaraderie among the proletariat based on the recognition of common
economic conditions
classical liberalism an ideology emphasizing natural rights, limited government, and capitalism
communism in Marxism, the eventual condition that will emerge from the fall of capitalism, characterized by
peace, justice, freedom from repressive laws and political supervision, and equality of material resources
in a society without economic classes
conservative populism an ideology on the right that calls for winning elections so that the government can
regulate media and corporate elites in order to protect traditional Western culture and what adherents see
as âordinaryâ citizens
cosmopolitanism the idea that one should define oneself primarily as a citizen of the world and not of any
particular nation
critical race and gender theory a contemporary movement to expand rights and equity by compensating
past victims of injustice through law and public policy in order to achieve a current condition that is
judged to be fairer
democratic liberalism an ideology that merges elements of classical liberalism, especially its endorsement of
capitalism and individual rights, with a high regard for equality of treatment and democratic decision-
102 3 ⢠Key Terms
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making through elected representatives
democratic socialism a New Left movement defined by a deep appreciation of socialist ideology and
democracy
dictatorship of the proletariat in Marxist thought, a temporary period in which workers would organize, take
control of the state, and engage in the cleanup operations needed to usher in communism
direct democracy a system in which the populace decides political matters by direct majority vote
environmentalism a movement that aims to preserve and protect the natural environment
fascism an ideology that combines reverence for the state with nationalism, anti-communism, and skepticism
of the parliamentary form of government
Glossary of Political Ideologies
- First-wave feminism focused on legal and professional equality, including voting rights and the ability to enter contracts.
- The harm principle suggests that the state should only restrict individual freedom when an action causes harm to others.
- Intersectionality examines how overlapping identities can exacerbate the experience of oppression for certain individuals.
- Multiculturalism advocates for the state to affirm and respect diverse cultural identities as a source of individual self-worth.
- Nationalism emphasizes a shared identity based on blood, history, and soil, often excluding other identities.
- Maoism identifies the peasantry rather than industrial workers as the primary agents for communist revolution.
nationalism pride in and c elebra tion o f a national identity based on share d blood, his tory, and soil , usually to the exclusion or detriment o f other identities
first-wave feminism a movement in the 19th and 20th centuries to advance womenâs rights, such as the rights
to vote, to enter into contracts, and to work in all professional fields
fusionism a political movement combining moderate economic libertarianism and moderate social
conservatism
general will Rousseauâs term for laws that advance the true good of every person in society
globalism an ideology that calls for either enhancing the power of existing global institutions, such as the
United Nations, or creating new international bodies with effective governing authority
harm principle the idea advanced by John Stuart Mill that laws should not restrict the freedom of adults, even
if adults exercise their freedom in ways that cause them personal physical or moral harm, as long as that
exercise does not harm another person
hegemony the prevailing cultural norms that serve to reinforce the economic domination of the upper class
indigenism a movement asserting that Indigenous tribal communities have special virtues and deserve to be
preserved by the state
intersectionality the belief that individuals may have characteristics that make them members of more than
one oppressed group and that these groups intersect, exacerbating the oppression that such individuals
experience
laws of nature according to Hobbes, rules based on human reason that would allow people to achieve peace
and live free from worries in the state of nature
Maoism the ideology advanced by Mao Zedong that the Chinese peasantry, and not the industrial workers,
could and should be the agents ushering in communism and that the peasants need only to be led by a
powerful political party
mercantilist economic policies that discriminate against other countriesâ imports and subsidize exports
multiculturalism an ideology arguing that all or almost all of the cultures in the world are valid and should be
respected, that many individuals derive a great sense of their identity and self-worth through their
membership in a particular culture, and that the state should affirm this diversity of cultures
nationalism pride in and celebration of a national identity based on shared blood, history, and soil, usually to
the exclusion or detriment of other identities
natural rights according to Locke and other thinkers, rights that individuals have as a consequence of the
natural law
Nazism a form of fascism that governed Germany from 1934 to 1945
neoliberalism a movement to encourage developing countries to adopt a free market, open their economies to
international trade, avoid significant inflation, and enhance the rule of law and the rights of individuals
political ideologies consciously held ideas about both how political life is structured and how it should be
structured
Political Ideologies and Key Terms
- The text defines various political frameworks, including political secularism, which advocates for the separation of religious principles from government administration.
- Feminism is categorized into waves, with the second wave focusing on bodily autonomy and the third wave targeting embedded cultural patriarchal norms.
- Social contract theory and the 'state of nature' are explored as foundational concepts used by Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau to explain the origins of government.
- Structural racism is defined as a systemic phenomenon where legal and cultural contexts are shaped by past racist decisions, independent of individual intent.
- Totalitarianism is described as a system where the state seeks total control over citizens' lives to achieve specific state objectives.
- The review questions highlight classical political philosophy, including Plato's rule by philosophers and Aristotle's critique of democracy.
structural racism a form o f racism thought to b e manifest when actions are taken within a leg al, politic al, and cultural c onte xt that has been shaped by the past racist decisions o f others , reg ardles s of the individual actorsâ p endorsement beliefs or intent
political secularism the view that explicitly religious sets of principles should not administer government
second-wave feminism a form of feminism that emerged in the 1970s and focused primarily on bodily
freedoms and safety surrounding sex and personal relationships, especially the right to abortion, the right
to a divorce without having to show cause, prevention of domestic violence, and critiques of pornography
social conservatism a school of political thought that emphasizes the need for the government to uphold
traditional moral standards based on the natural law or on the long-standing traditions of a given area
social contract according to Hobbes, an agreement among the people to give power to an authority that can
3 ⢠Key Terms 103
ensure that everyone follows the laws of nature and can punish those who do not
social relations of production social norms, such as marriage, that have been shaped by the capitalist
economy
socialism an ideology committed to remaking society to ensure more or less equal material wealth, and
especially equal possession of the goods that individuals need to reach their full potential
state of nature a term used by thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau to describe what they suppose
life would be like if there were no government ruling over the people
structural racism a form of racism thought to be manifest when actions are taken within a legal, political, and
cultural context that has been shaped by the past racist decisions of others, regardless of the individual
actorsâ personal beliefs or intent
third-wave feminism a form of feminism that argues that society is marked by embedded cultural patriarchy
and works to upend these patriarchal norms
totalitarianism a political system in which the state seeks to control the totality of its citizensâ lives as a means
to achieve state objectives
Review Questions
1 . Platoâs ideal system of government is rule by __________.
a. the working class
b. military generals
c. philosophers
d. artists
2 . How does Aristotle describe democracy?
a. As a system of government directed toward the benefit of the rich
b. As a system of government that necessarily benefits all
c. As the ideal political system
d. As a defective system that works for the interests of the many at the expense of the rest
3 . What is the state of nature?
a. The condition in which government exists and serves the public interest
b. The condition before a government exists
c. A key concept in the political thought of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau
d. The condition in which government exists and abuses the rich
e. Both B and C
4 . Hobbes saw the state of nature as __________ and argued that rational individuals in the state of nature
would seek to create a(n) __________.
a. full of pleasure; limited government
b. defined by harmony; government comprised of musicians
c. full of tension, stress, and competition; limited government
d. full of tension, stress, and competition; unlimited government
5 . Locke believed that government __________.
a. must enforce the natural law
b. must be structured as a monarchy
c. must redistribute private property by taking the property of the rich and giving it to the poor
d. must develop a civil religion
6 . Adam Smith advocated __________.
104 3 ⢠Review Questions
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a. an economic system that limits international free trade
b. free trade among nations
c. eliminating private property
d. socialism
7 . According to John Stuart Mill, personal freedom is __________.
a. of limited importance
b. a relic of old and obsolete thinking
c. to be highly prized
d. destined to lead to civil war
Political Ideologies Review Questions
- The text covers foundational political concepts including the harm principle and Marxist views on the working class as a revolutionary force.
- It explores variations of Marxism, such as Gramsci's focus on cultural control and Maoism's specific perspective on the peasantry.
- Modern political alignments are examined, including the composition of political fusionism and the rise of the New Left and Critical Race Theory.
- Conservative populism is characterized as a movement that views both the New Left and the traditional center-right as threats or inadequate.
- The 'New Right' critique of 'woke capitalism' highlights a perceived betrayal of traditional social values and the breakdown of the center-right coalition.
- Alternatives to formal ideology are presented, such as the Burkean emphasis on history and tradition over abstract human reason.
Those on the New Right see âwoke capitalistsâ as betraying the long-standing social values of their countries of origin.
8 . The harm principle assumes that __________.
a. freedom encourages an experimentation and open dialogue that allows people to reject dangerous
ideas
b. freedom encourages tension, stress, and competition
c. freedom inevitably results in religious extremism
d. in the state of nature, people will always act in their own self-interest
9 . Marxism views the working class as __________.
a. the most privileged class
b. the class that will lead a revolution against capitalism
c. the owners of the means of production under capitalism
d. the perpetuators of systemic racism
10 . Gramsci believed that __________.
a. capitalists use cultural control to shape workersâ way of thinking against the goals of Marxism
b. a workersâ revolution would never happen
c. traditional religion is highly valuable and should be protected against critique
d. owners and workers are on the same team
11 . Authoritarianism always entails a complete repudiation of individual rights.
a. True
b. False
12 . Maoism alters Marxism by seeing __________.
a. capitalism as good
b. the peasantry as unable to change society
c. religion as a social force to be celebrated and promoted
d. None of the above
13 . The center left is a form of __________.
a. democratic liberalism
b. communism
c. socialism
d. populism
14 . Political fusionism combines __________.
a. Marxism and multiculturalism
b. moderate economic liberalism and moderate social liberalism
c. moderate economic libertarianism and extreme social conservatism
3 ⢠Review Questions 105
d. moderate economic libertarianism and moderate social conservatism
15 . Which of the following ideologies is not associated with the New Left?
a. Environmentalism
b. Second-wave feminism
c. Conservative populism
d. Indigenism
16 . The assertion that contemporary Western societies manifest structural racism is __________.
a. a key position of conservative populists
b. a key element of communism
c. a key position of critical race theorists
d. a key element of Maoism
17 . Conservative populism __________.
a. sees the New Left as a threat
b. sees the center right as inadequate
c. has seen electoral success in the United States, Hungary, and Brazil
d. All of the above
18 . Those on the New Right see âwoke capitalistsâ as __________.
a. betraying the long-standing social values of their countries of origin
b. violating the close connection between economic freedom, free markets, and social conservatism that
defined the center-right coalition for decades
c. embracing Marxist ideals
d. Both A and B
e. All of the above
19 . What alternative to political ideology do Burkeans propose?
a. Strict adherence to empirical social science
b. Religious extremism
c. The lessons of history and tradition
d. None of the above
20 . Religious extremists reject basing government on __________.
a. human reason
b. individual religious texts
c. national identity
d. revelations
Suggested Readings
Baradat, Leon P., and John A. Phillips. Political Ideologies: Their Origins and Impact. 13th ed. New York:
Routledge, 2020.
Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. Rev. and updated 4th
ed. Oakland: University of California Press, 2017.
Lam, Willy Wo-Lap, ed. Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Communist Party. New York: Routledge, 2018.
Niezen, Ronald. The Origins of Indigenism: Human Rights and the Politics of Identity. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 2003.
106 3 ⢠Suggested Readings
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Civil Liberties and Individual Freedom
- The chapter explores the tension between individual freedom and government authority, using COVID-19 mask mandates as a primary example of this conflict.
- Individual liberty and democracy have faced a global decline for fifteen consecutive years according to data from Freedom House.
- Political systems vary wildly in their treatment of dissent, ranging from protected protest in the United States to violent suppression in Myanmar.
- The text distinguishes between the responsibilities an individual owes to their community and the inherent rights they possess against government interference.
- Key areas of civil liberties to be examined include privacy, freedom of movement, the rights of the accused, and the right to a healthy environment.
In Myanmar, a military dictatorship, the government violently shuts down anti-government protests.
Ryan, Alan. On Politics: A History of Political Thought from Herodotus to the Present. 2 vols. New York:
Liveright, 2012.
Smith, George H. The System of Liberty: Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2013.
Toft, Monica Duffy, Daniel Philpott, and Timothy Samuel Shah. Godâs Century: Resurgent Religion and Global
Politics. New York: W. W. Norton, 2011.
3 ⢠Suggested Readings 107
108 3 ⢠Suggested Readings
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FIGURE 4.1 The Statue of Liberty in New York is a symbol of freedom around the world. (credit: âStatue of Libertyâ
by William Warby/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
4.1 The Freedom of the Individual
4.2 Constitutions and Individual Liberties
4.3 The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas
4.4 Freedom of Movement
4.5 The Rights of the Accused
4.6 The Right to a Healthy Environment
During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world asked and sometimes
required people to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus.1 Some people agreed to comply as a part of
their responsibilities to the community, while others protested, arguing that any restrictions wrongfully
impinged on their individual freedoms.2
In the United States, individuals actively protest instances of social injustice and feel it is their individual right
to express support for or criticize government officials. In Myanmar, a military dictatorship, the government
violently shuts down anti-government protests.3 Freedom House, a nonprofit organization that monitors
individual freedom and democracy worldwide, found that in 2021, for the 15th straight year, individual liberty
and democracy declined worldwide.4
4
Civil Liberties
VIDEO
Antiâface Mask Protests Take Place in Several Cities across Europe
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/4-introduction)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrators around the world protested government mask mandates in
places like Berlin, Paris, and London.
In each of these instances, individuals and the government assert that they are protecting freedom and acting
for the common good. This chapter will examine when the individual is free to act without government
interference, when the government can restrain individual expression, and how different political systems
react to the exercise of individual freedoms.
4.1 The Freedom of the Individual
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define community.
⢠Identify the responsibilities of the individual as a member of a group.
⢠Discuss the need for individual freedom in a group.
⢠Analyze how different systems treat the individual.
⢠Define civil liberties, civil rights, and human rights.
Community, Liberties, and Social Contracts
- Communities are defined as groups with shared interests and values where individual actions inevitably affect others.
- Membership in a community requires fulfilling responsibilities such as cooperation, respect, and civic engagement.
- Civil liberties are distinct from civil rights, serving as specific guarantees of freedom from government interference.
- The legitimacy of government restriction depends on whether an action is a fundamental liberty and if the limit serves the common good.
- Fundamental rights, like the right to vote in the US, can be implied by democratic identity even if not explicitly stated in a constitution.
The Constitution does prohibit denial of the right to vote on the basis of race or sex, and it states that certain people are elected to office, but nowhere does it guarantee a right to vote or say who gets to do the voting.
If all people lived separately, each person would be free to act in any way they want. However, each person lives
in many different communities based on their family, ethnicity, religion, and place of residence, and their
actions affect other people. A community is a group of people with shared interests and values. National
communities today may include people of different ages, races, educational backgrounds, and incomes. In
some of these communities, individuals or groups with weapons and economic power force people into a
community. In other national communities, people enter into agreements regarding what they can do as
individuals and what restrictions the government can set for the common good. How do community members
voluntarily decide when the government can restrict individual action for the good of that community?
An individual has community responsibilities, or duties or obligations to the community, including all things
that are expected of individuals if they wish to remain members of that community. These responsibilities
include cooperation, respect, and participation (or, as Chapter 1: What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
put it, civic engagement). Community responsibilities go beyond thinking and acting as individuals to sharing
common beliefs about societyâs order and the treatment of others. Each country guarantees certain civil
liberties to its people, but how governments interpret these liberties varies widely.
Civil rights and civil liberties are often used interchangeably, but the terms are distinct. Civil liberties are
guarantees of freedom from government interference. To determine whether a civil liberty is at stake when a
limit is placed on an action, one must ask if the action being considered is a fundamental liberty, who is
restricting the action, and whether the restriction is justified based on greater community needs.
For example, the right to vote is not explicitly stated in the US Constitution, but US citizens now view it as
fundamental to the US style of democracy. The Constitution does prohibit denial of the right to vote on the
basis of race or sex, and it states that certain people are elected to office, but nowhere does it guarantee a right
to vote or say who gets to do the voting. However, the right to vote is now seen as so fundamental to the United
Statesâ democratic identity that limits placed on that right are usually considered to be an infringement of the
fundamental implied agreement between the people and the government. Indeed, this general point about
constitution's including implied rights played a significant role in the thinking of many of the authors and
ratifiers of the US Constitution when formulated during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Although the
founders tended not to see voting as a civil liberty each adult was entitled to, they did believe that other civil
110 4 ⢠Civil Liberties
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Foundations of Liberty and Rights
- The U.S. Constitution intentionally avoids listing every civil liberty to prevent the misconception that rights are gifts from the government.
- Founders believed in natural rights derived from 'nature and nature's God' that exist independently of constitutional text.
- Civil liberties represent the freedom of individuals to act or speak without government interference, though they require government enforcement.
- Civil rights are government guarantees of equal treatment designed to prevent discrimination based on shared characteristics like race or gender.
- Human rights are considered inalienable endowments that serve as the foundation for freedom and encompass both civil liberties and civil rights.
- While human rights do not emanate from the state, they require government action to be formally recognized and protected.
Most of the founders, on the contrary, held that individuals have natural rights that entail civil liberties, which the government must not imperil.
liberties exist that are taken for granted by the Constitution without being explicitly stated within it. Indeed,
according to many of the Constitution's founders, it was important for the US Constitution not to be construed
as an exhaustive list of civil liberties. This is so because they feared that attempting to list the full range of our
rights might give rise to the view that civil liberties come only as grants or gifts from the government. Most of
the founders, on the contrary, held that individuals have natural rights that entail civil liberties, which the
government must not imperil. These natural rights can be understood by reason and so do not need an
elaborate listing in a constitutional document, especially when doing so might cause confusion about the
origin of these rights, causing some to see them as government-granted and not inalienable endowments
conferred by what the Declaration of Independence calls "nature and nature's God." This example from the
thought of the founders of the Constitution illustrates the general point that many constitutions can be seen as
containing implied civil liberties not formulated explicitly within their text.
FIGURE 4.2 This flowchart illustrates the criteria for determining whether a limit on action represents an
inappropriate infringement of a civil liberty. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA
4.0 license)
On the other hand, civil rights are government guarantees of equal treatment without discrimination based on
characteristics an individual shares with a particular population. Civil rights often refers to the right to
freedom from discrimination based, for example, on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability,
age, or national origin. To determine whether civil rights abuses are occurring, one must ask whether similarly
4.1 ⢠The Freedom of the Individual 111
situated persons are being treated differently. Chapter 7 focuses specifically on civil rights.
Civil Liberties
Civil Rights
Human Rights
The rights of people to do or
say things without
government interference.
Civil liberties depend on the
structure and action of the
government for enforcement.
The government declares
restrictions on individualsâ
liberties for the good of the
community.
Rights that the government must
safeguard to prevent discrimination
against individuals based on arbitrary
characteristics such as sex, race,
religion, or disability. The
government must ensure that each
person is treated equally. Civil rights
depend on the structure and action
of the government for enforcement.
Human rights are often called inalienable
rights, which can be neither given nor
taken away. These rights are the basis for
freedom, justice, and peace in the world.
Human rights include both civil liberties
and civil rights. They do not emanate from
a governmental structure; however, it
takes government action to recognize
The Complexity of Human Rights
- Civil liberties and civil rights are categorized as subsets of universal human rights, which are theoretically inalienable and inherent to all people.
- Philosophical foundations for these rights differ, with Locke viewing them as objective moral truths and Hobbes seeing them as necessary restraints on selfish human nature.
- Global implementation is hindered by conflicting political and legal philosophies, such as the tension between the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.
- Human rights declarations are generally nonbinding, meaning sovereign governments can choose to ignore them without direct legal consequence.
- The case of South African apartheid illustrates that significant human rights progress often requires internal governmental change rather than just international pressure.
- The primary enforcement mechanism for international human rights is social and economic pressure rather than mandatory legal force.
As part of their sovereignty, governments are free to ignore or follow human rights declarations at will.
how they apply to people.
TABLE 4.1 Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, and Human Rights: A Comparison
Both civil liberties and civil rights fall under the umbrella of human rights. Human rights activists assert that
human rights are inalienableâthat is, they can be neither given nor taken away, and they are due to all
persons. Chapter 3: Political Ideology considered this idea in the context of the philosophies of John Locke and
Thomas Hobbes. Locke viewed inalienable rights as emanating from human nature before government existed
and as objective moral truths to establish common behavior equally applicable to all persons; thus, in his view,
only minimal government was necessary. Hobbes also saw them as emanating from human nature, but he
viewed that nature as a selfish one that community and government rules must restrain.
Today, intergovernmental or nongovernmental organizations may formally recognize and enshrine statements
of human or inalienable rights. However, the protection of human rights around the world is fraught with
difficulties. Not all areas of the world share the same political and legal philosophy regarding human rights,
and individual governments implement these philosophies within specific nations.
Consider the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted in 1948.5 A number of
Islamic countries have issues with the UDHR, arguing that it attempts to impose Western philosophies on other
cultures. The members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (now the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation) adopted the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam in 1990.6The Cairo Declaration rejects
the UDHRâs right to change religions, broad freedom of expression, and broad freedoms of women and
marriage.7
These differences are symbolic of the second issue with human rights: statements of human rights are
nonbinding. As part of their sovereignty, governments are free to ignore or follow human rights declarations at
will. For example, in 1948, South Africa practiced apartheid, racial segregation, and discrimination and
objected to statements in the UDHR supporting equality and denouncing racial segregation and
discrimination.8 Apartheid raised issues of human rights, civil liberties, and civil rights; discriminating
against individuals because of their race is a violation of a civil right, and restrictions on freedom of movement
and the freedom to choose whom to marry are violations of civil liberties. After a long struggle led by Nelson
Mandela, apartheid ended in South Africa in the early 1990s, and South Africa has since come to support the
UDHR.9 However, that change came from within South Africa. While some international pressure may have
contributed to the shift, it was only when South Africaâs government changed its national civil liberties and its
stance on human rights that it agreed to the human rights declarations. Today, the South African Bill of Rights
includes portions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.10
The only power in the nonbinding nongovernmental UDHR is the weight of social and economic pressure that
those who adhere to the declaration bring to bear. No government can be forced to accept the rights
112 4 ⢠Civil Liberties
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Rights, Liberties, and Global Standards
- Human rights declarations like the UDHR serve as idealistic frameworks that can exert economic and social pressure on non-compliant governments.
- The case of South African apartheid demonstrates that international sanctions can influence a nation to eventually adopt global human rights standards.
- Civil liberties and civil rights define the regulatory relationship between the individual and the community, balancing personal freedom with communal good.
- The United States Bill of Rights extends its protections to all persons within its jurisdiction, not just to citizens.
- While the US Constitution is a primary example of civil liberty guarantees, many other countries protect rights that are not explicitly mentioned in the US document.
- The first ten amendments establish specific protections ranging from freedom of expression to procedural guarantees for the accused.
As this example illustrates, human rights declarations are primarily idealistic, but they can be used to put economic or social pressure on governments to urge them to change policies.
enumerated in the UDHR or to protect them within their territory. The world imposed economic and social
sanctions on South Africa to pressure it to change its policy of apartheid, but it was not until the South African
government changed its position that it abolished apartheid and accepted the UDHR.11 As this example
illustrates, human rights declarations are primarily idealistic, but they can be used to put economic or social
pressure on governments to urge them to change policies. People can also use them to guide the creation of
civil liberties within a particular country and to instruct governments on how to respect them.
Examining the definitions of civil liberties, civil rights, and human rights reveals how each relates to the
relationship between the individual and the community and how governments regulate that relationship. The
United States Constitution is one example of a countryâs guarantees of civil liberties. The first 10 amendments
to the Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, establish these guarantees.12 The United States
grants each of these rights to all persons, not just to citizens. Over time, the US Constitution has been
interpreted to protect more people and activities from potential government interference. Still, for the good of
the community, there are limits on individual actions. It is the job of the government to enforce these limits.
FIGURE 4.3 This human rights mural in Durban, South Africa, illustrates numerous rights commonly recognized by
governments around the world. Notice how it includes civil rights (equality) and civil liberties (speech, conscience).
The mural illustrates how the two go hand in hand throughout society. (credit: âSouth-Africa-Bill-of-Rights-Durban-
mural-06Dec2014-LBB-4697â by Lee Bob Black/Flickr, Public Domain)
At the Constitution Center (https://openstax.org/r/constitutionalrights.constitutioncenter), you can compare the
rights protected in the US Constitution with rights protected in other constitutions around the world. Which rights
guaranteed by the US Constitution are most commonly recognized around the world? Which are exclusive to the
United States and just a couple of other countries?
At the World Policy Center (https://openstax.org/r/worldpolicycenter), you can review the rights that other countries
often guarantee that the US Constitution does not.
Â
Â
Â
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
4.1 ⢠The Freedom of the Individual 113
First
Amendment
Prohibits restrictions on the free exercise of religion; prohibits the government from taking any
action ârespecting an establishmentâ of religion or infringing on free speech; guarantees the right
to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances
Second
Amendment Guarantees the right to keep and bear arms in order to maintain a well-regulated militia
Third
Amendment Guarantees that no person shall be forced to house soldiers
Fourth
Amendment Guarantees security from unreasonable search and seizure
Fifth
Amendment
Guarantees due process before deprivation of âlife, liberty, or property,â the right to indictment by
a grand jury for capital crimes, and the right to avoid self-incrimination
Sixth
Amendment
Guarantees the rights of the accused to counsel and a speedy trial by an impartial jury, to be
informed of the charges against them, and to confront witnesses
Seventh
Amendment Guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases
Eighth
Amendment Guarantees freedom from excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment
Ninth
Amendment Declares that people retain rights not enumerated in the Constitution
Tenth
Constitutions and Individual Liberties
- A constitution serves as a foundational framework or blueprint for a government's operation and structure.
- Constitutions do not necessarily have to be written in a single document, as seen in the systems of Britain, New Zealand, and Israel.
- Key functions of a constitution include defining government branches, outlining duties, and establishing principles of liberty.
- A defining characteristic of a constitution is that it must be more difficult to amend or change than ordinary laws.
- Constitutionalism involves the limitation of government power and the reservation of specific freedoms for the people.
The constitution need not be in writing, in one document, or even labeled a constitution.
Amendment
Declares that states retain all rights that have not been delegated to the federal government or the
people and have not been prohibited to the states by the Constitution
TABLE 4.2 Rights and Liberties Guaranteed in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution13
4.2 Constitutions and Individual Liberties
LEARNING OUTCOMES
⢠Differentiate between negative rights and positive rights constitutions.
⢠Define constitutionalism.
⢠Analyze how different constitutional systems treat the individual.
⢠Define due process.
⢠Explain how the rule of law and its principles are important to individual freedom.
As discussed in Chapter 2: Political Behavior Is Human Behavior most countries have a formal constitutionâa
framework, blueprint, or foundation for the operation of a government. The constitution need not be in
writing, in one document, or even labeled a constitution. Britain, New Zealand, and Israel do not have codified
constitutions but instead use uncollected writings that establish the form of government and set out the
principles of liberty.14 In many countries, a series of documents, usually called the basic laws, codifies the
government structure and individual rights.15 If a country lacks a single document labeled a constitution, how
does one know that certain writings serve as the countryâs constitution? A constitution describes the
underlying principles of the people and government, the structure of the branches of government, and their
duties. It limits government, listing freedoms or rights reserved for the people, and it must be more difficult to
amend or change than ordinary laws.16
114 4 ⢠Civil Liberties
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Negative and Positive Rights
- Constitutions are categorized by whether they frame civil liberties as negative or positive rights.
- Negative rights constitutions, like the US Constitution, focus on placing specific limitations on government power.
- Positive rights constitutions emphasize the government's active obligation to guarantee and protect the rights of its citizens.
- The German Basic Law serves as a primary example of a positive rights framework, explicitly stating that freedoms 'shall be guaranteed.'
- Most democratic constitutions drafted after World War II shifted toward positive rights to prevent the recurrence of state-sponsored atrocities.
- While the US Constitution is primarily negative, many modern documents view the government as a protector against all infringements rather than just a restricted entity.
After the Nazis used the existing German constitution to restrict peopleâs freedoms in Germany and in the countries they conquered, people in the affected countries wanted assurances that the government recognized its obligation to the people and not just the peopleâs obligation to the government.
A constitution may be expressed in a way that emphasizes civil liberties as negative or positive rights. When
political scientists say a constitution specifies negative rights, this means that it is written to emphasize
limitations on government. Consider the wording of the First Amendment:
âCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.â17 (emphasis added)
The amendment is phrased to focus not on what the government owes the people but on the limitations on the
governmentâs ability to infringe upon the rights of individuals. The US Constitution leans toward being a
negative rights constitution because most of the Bill of Rights is written in terms of restrictions on the
government.
In a positive rights constitution, rights are written in terms of a government obligation to guarantee the
peopleâs rights. For example, article 5 of the German constitution, the German Basic Law, states:
âEvery person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing
and pictures. . . . Freedom of the press . . . shall be guaranteed.â18 (emphasis added)
This positive rights constitution emphasizes the governmentâs guarantee of freedom to the individual. Though
the US Constitution is primarily seen as a negative rights constitution, like most constitutions it also describes
positive rights, as in those clauses that guarantee the right to something.19 Most democratic constitutions
written after World War II are positive rights constitutions. After the Nazis used the existing German
constitution to restrict peopleâs freedoms in Germany and in the countries they conquered, people in the
affected countries wanted assurances that the government recognized its obligation to the people and not just
the peopleâs obligation to the government. Similar fears caused many countries not occupied by the Nazis to
create positive rights constitutions.20 These constitutions make the government the protector of freedom
against all infringements. They do not just limit government action restricting the individual.
VIDEO
Positive vs. Negative Rights
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/4-2-constitutions-
and-individual-liberties)
Individualist and Communitarian Systems
- Constitutions define the scope of individual freedom by balancing government authority against personal action.
- Individualist systems prioritize the person over the community, asserting that rights are inherent and must be preserved by the state.
- Libertarianism, or classical liberalism, focuses on negative rights by placing strict restraints on government intervention.
- Modern liberalism emphasizes the government's active obligation to enforce laws that protect personal autonomy.
- Communitarian systems seek a balance that emphasizes social cohesiveness while still recognizing individual freedoms.
- The philosopher John Stuart Mill argued that power should only be exercised over an individual to prevent harm to others.
The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.
In this short clip, the Center for Civic Education distinguishes between positive and negative rights.
A countryâs constitution delineates the degree of freedom of action that the government allows the individual,
and that degree varies by political system. An individualist system emphasizes individuals over the
community, including the government, while a communitarian system emphasizes community cohesiveness
while recognizing the importance of individual freedoms. Countries vary in terms of the nature of their
systems and the degree to which they stress individualism or communitarianism.
What Are the Characteristics of Individualist Systems?
In an individualist system, individuals take precedence over the government. Society rests on the principle
that individuals inherently possess rights that the government should preserve and promote. Two major styles
of individualism are common today: libertarianism (also called classical liberalism) and modern liberalism.
Libertarianism emphasizes restraints on government. Liberalism emphasizes the governmentâs obligation to
enforce laws that protect personal autonomy and rights. Letâs review some of the different philosophies
discussed in Chapter 3 in terms of how they impact civil liberties.
In libertarianism, individualists believe that governments exist to assist individuals in achieving their private
interests. Therefore, libertarians place many restrictions (negative rights) on the government. As John Stuart
Mill observed in his essay On Liberty (1859), in a strict individualist society:
4.2 ⢠Constitutions and Individual Liberties 115
âThe only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised
community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is
not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for
him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinions of others, to do so would be
wise, or even right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning with him, or
persuading him, or entreating him, but not for compelling him, or visiting him with any evil in case he
do otherwise.â21
Individualism vs Communitarian Systems
- Libertarian-style constitutions like that of the US prioritize individual freedom, requiring clear proof of harm before the government can restrict speech or action.
- Even in negative-rights systems, the government intervenes in cases of direct threats to safety or defamation of private individuals.
- Liberal societies, such as Germany, take a more proactive approach by protecting personal honor and young people, placing more restrictions on speech to benefit the collective.
- Communitarian systems view individuals as inseparable from society, emphasizing government's role in solving public problems and protecting the common good.
- Authoritarian communitarianism, seen in countries like China and Singapore, enforces social cohesion by strictly limiting personal freedoms and prohibiting disruption of the state system.
For example, a person in the United States can say anything against any political candidate; they can even lie about the candidate.
The focus is on the individual, and the benefits to society that might flow from any restriction on the individual
must be clear and convincing. This does not mean that the government can never restrict individual action,
nor that the good of society need be wholly ignored. Still, it does mean there must be proof of sufficient
harmful effects to justify any restraint. This is where the conflict between the individual and society occurs. It
is here that the US style of âno law . . . abridging the freedom of speechâ comes into play. For example, a person
in the United States can say anything against any political candidate; they can even lie about the candidate.22
With the restriction on government action abridging free speech, no laws restrict that personâs conduct.
However, they cannot say they will kill a candidate at three oâclock on Tuesday afternoon. This is a threat to an
individualâs safety and to societyâs law and order, so the government has laws to punish the person for making
the threat. Further, some US statutes make a person liable for damages if they engage in defamationâthat is, if
they lie about and cause harm to a private personâalthough these statutes do not apply to lies about political
candidates. Thus, even with the United Statesâ negative rights libertarian-style constitution, the government is
not prohibited from imposing restrictions âabridging the freedom of speechâ in every situation at all times.
In an individualist society formed in a liberal style, the government actively protects individual rights. For
example, under the German Basic Law and its guarantees of free speech, the government can prosecute a
person for making false statements or heckling a candidate while they are making a speech. This is a violation
of the Basic Law because the rights of free speech âshall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in
provisions for the protection of young persons and in the right to personal honour.â23 Liberal governments are
more proactive than libertarian ones in protecting the individualâs rights. Because they do so to protect the
rights of all individuals for the good of society, they place more restrictions on the individual. Still,
governments in liberal societies cannot wholly deny a personâs individual liberties.
What Are the Characteristics of Communitarian Systems?
A communitarian system emphasizes the role the government plays in the lives of citizens. Communitarian
systems are grounded in the belief that people need the community and its values to create a cohesive society.
Government exists not only to protect rights but also to form a political community to solve public problems.
There is a public good, and it is the governmentâs job to protect it, even if that means restricting individual
behaviors. Communitarians oppose excessive individualism, arguing that it leads people to be selfish or
egocentric, which is harmful to a community. Individuals do not stand apart from society in discrete
autonomy; they are part of society and have a role to play in protecting society.
How countries put communitarianism into practice varies widely. Some countries, such as China, Singapore,
and Malaysia, have authoritarian governments. This style of government enforces obedience to government
authority by strongly limiting personal freedoms. These governments emphasize and enshrine in their
constitutions social obligations and the common good. The Chinese constitution states, âDisruption of the
socialist system by any organization or individual is prohibited.â24 In article 35, the Chinese constitution
Constitutional Rights vs. Practice
- The Constitution of the People's Republic of China explicitly grants citizens freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association.
- There is a significant discrepancy between the written constitutional clauses and the actual practices of the Chinese government.
- The state prioritizes the maintenance of a cohesive society over the protection of individual autonomy.
- Governmental actions focus on safeguarding the regime's vision of social order rather than personal liberties.
- Visual symbols of military power, such as those in Russia, serve as historical reminders of authoritarian governance styles.
However, comparing these two clauses with actual practices in the People's Republic of China shows that the governmentâs emphasis is not on protecting individual freedom and autonomy but on protecting the governmentâs view of a cohesive society.
provides that âcitizens of the Peopleâs Republic of China enjoy the freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly,
of association, the procession and demonstration.â25 However, comparing these two clauses with actual
practices in the People's Republic of China shows that the governmentâs emphasis is not on protecting
individual freedom and autonomy but on protecting the governmentâs view of a cohesive society.26
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FIGURE 4.4 A display of Russian military might serves as a reminder of the nationâs authoritarian past. (credit:
âGuardingâ by Tinou Bao/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Responsive Communitarianism and Constitutionalism
- Responsive communitarianism attempts to balance individual autonomy with the common good, rejecting both authoritarianism and absolute libertarianism.
- The philosophy posits that individual identity is partially constructed by the community, justifying societal restraints when individual actions challenge accepted norms.
- The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a primary case study for the tension between personal civil liberties and government mandates for public health.
- Opposition to pandemic restrictions often stemmed from a prioritization of personal risk-assessment over the collective safety of others.
- A government is only truly constitutional if it practices constitutionalism, which requires the rule of law, limited government, and guaranteed rights.
- The rule of law is defined by four key principles: accountability for all actors, just laws, clear publicity, and even application.
The individual is within society, the community, so the community constructs part of the individual identity.
Responsive communitarianism contrasts with the authoritarian style of communitarianism and the perceived
selfishness of libertarianism. It seeks to blend the common good and individual autonomy while not allowing
either to take precedence over the other. The individual is within society, the community, so the community
constructs part of the individual identity. In responsive communitarianism, individual rights are balanced
with societal norms of the good, and society or the government restrains the individual when individual action
challenges an accepted norm. For example, the majority of people living in the United States today oppose
slavery and racial injustice. However, had those people been born in the 18th century, many would have
supported such concepts. Every community has standards that it declares essential to the common goodâthe
common ground on which the community is formed. In circumstances where the common good takes
precedence over the individual, conflict can ensue, and the society, including the government, must decide
how to resolve the dispute.
The COVID-19 pandemic mentioned at the beginning of this chapter resulted in severe illness and mass deaths
around the world. Many viewed government actions restricting individuals during the pandemic as justified
because the challenge the disease posed to society was severe enough to warrant temporarily suspending
certain freedoms. People accepted or rejected these government restrictions depending on the degree to which
they accepted scientific explanations and on their views of individualism and communitarianism. Scientists
explained how the disease spread, and government leaders urged compliance. In many areas of the world, the
government instituted restrictions on movement, required that people wear face masks, and punished
persons who violated these edicts. Some individuals claimed that their rights were being violated. Some
argued that masks do not make a significant difference in transmission of the virus and are unnecessary in
most situations. Significant scientific evidence refutes this claim, but such individuals refused to accept it.
They also argued that it is their inalienable right to decide whether or not to risk becoming sick or dying,
prioritizing that right over the risk they might pose to others.27 When initial illness rates started to decline and
vaccinations became available, the argument shifted to when and how to open up the social sphere and
whether to require that people be vaccinated to enter certain places or to participate in certain activities.28
These responses to the pandemic are a perfect example of the conflicts inherent in everyday situations that
require a balance between individualsâ civil liberties and the governmentâs obligation to act for the common
good.
Whether and to what degree a system is individualistic or communitarian does not determine if the system is a
constitutional government. Simply having a document labeled a constitution does not give a country a
constitutional government; to be considered a constitutional government, a country must practice
constitutionalism.
4.2 ⢠Constitutions and Individual Liberties 117
What Is Constitutionalism?
The three main elements of constitutionalism are adherence to the rule of law, limited government, and
guarantees of individual rights. The rule of law has four principles:
1. Accountability: Government and private actors are accountable under the law, and no one is above the law.
2. Just laws: The laws are clear, publicized, stable, and applied evenly. They protect fundamental rights,
including protecting persons and property and certain core human rights.
Constitutionalism and Due Process
- Open government requires that the enactment and enforcement of laws remain accessible, fair, and efficient for all.
- Impartial dispute resolution depends on ethical, independent representatives who reflect the communities they serve.
- Constitutionalism functions by balancing limited government authority with the fundamental worth and self-determination of the individual.
- Due process serves as a legal requirement that the government respect individual rights, ensuring no person is deprived of life, liberty, or property without legal fairness.
- The concept of due process is divided into procedural guidelines for government interaction and substantive rights to fair treatment.
- Violations of due process undermine the rule of law by creating inequality or placing specific groups above the law.
Maintaining a balance between government authority and individual freedom is a challenge.
3. Open government: The processes by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced are
accessible, fair, and efficient.
4. Accessible and impartial dispute resolution: Justice is delivered in a timely manner by competent, ethical,
and independent representatives, and neutral decision makers are accessible, have adequate resources,
and reflect the communities they serve.
Constitutionalism balances limited government with the fundamental worth of each individual. The
government is limited because people have some right to make their own life decisions. The fundamental
worth of each individual means that people have some right to self-determination, as shown in a bill of rights
in a constitution. Maintaining a balance between government authority and individual freedom is a challenge.
FIGURE 4.5 In constitutional governments, the rule of law limits government and protects individual rights.
(attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Utilizing due process is part of the rule of law and constitutionalism, so it is more robustly defended in
countries that practice constitutionalism than it is in those with constitutions that do not adhere to all the
elements of constitutionalism.
Due process is a legal requirement that the government respect the rights of the people, and it is a
demonstration of the rule of law and the balancing of government power with individual rights. In the US
Constitution, the due process clause provides that no one shall âbe deprived of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law.â29 This clause applies to all persons, not just citizens of the United States. There are two
aspects of due process: procedural due process and substantive due process. Procedural due process
concerns the written guidelines for how the government interacts with individuals, while substantive due
process concerns the individualâs right to be treated fairly when interacting with the government. A violation
of due process offends the rule of law because it puts individuals or groups above the law or treats individuals
or groups without equality.
VIDEO
Due Process of Law
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/4-2-constitutions-
and-individual-liberties)
In this video clip, Randy E. Barnett, professor of constitutional law at the Georgetown University Law Center,
looks at the overarching concept of due process through the lens of US government and its British origins.
When one thinks of the due process of law as government fairness to all persons, civil rights and civil liberties
become intertwined. In the landmark same-sex marriage case Obergefell v. Hodges, the United States
Supreme Court held that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment guarantees that the government will
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Marriage, Liberty, and Privacy
- The court established the right to choose a marriage partner as a fundamental liberty protected from government interference.
- Denying same-sex marriage violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by creating unequal treatment between couples.
- Same-sex marriage serves as a dual legal issue, representing both a civil liberty and a civil rights concern.
- Liberty is defined as more than freedom from incarceration; it encompasses personal autonomy and the right to make personal decisions.
- Privacy is identified as the most fundamental aspect of civil liberty and is often implicitly or explicitly included in constitutional protections.
- Global interpretations of due process vary significantly, despite common constitutional language regarding life, liberty, and property.
To have liberty is to have personal autonomy, and to have personal autonomy, one must have the right to make personal decisions.
defend as a fundamental liberty the right to choose whom one will marry. The court also held that to deny that
liberty would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment because doing so would amount to
unequal treatment of same-sex and opposite-sex couples, thus denying a same-sex couple equal protection of
the law and amounting to a violation of the coupleâs civil rights.30
Thus, same-sex marriage is both a civil liberty and a civil rights issue. The right to marry is a civil liberty
because it is a freedom from government interference in oneâs choice of a life partner. Same-sex marriage is a
civil rights issue because to deny same-sex couples the right to marry is to subject them to unequal treatment.
The case of same-sex marriage shows how both civil rights (equality) and civil liberties (freedom from
government interference) are a part of the fair government treatment of individuals.
4.3 The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Outline the components of the rights to privacy, self-determination, and freedom of expression that are
deemed essential according to human rights norms.
⢠Analyze how different government systems around the world treat the rights to privacy, self-
determination, and freedom of expression.
⢠Describe the paradox of tolerance.
While most constitutions around the world guarantee due process, how the high courts of each state interpret
the standard of due process differs considerably from state to state.31 Most due process clauses provide that no
one shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. One often thinks of liberty as
freedom from incarceration, but it means much more than that.
To have liberty is to have personal autonomy, and to have personal autonomy, one must have the right to make
personal decisions. Thus, the most fundamental aspect of civil liberty is privacy, and in most constitutions,
liberty includes the right to privacy.
The Right to Privacy
The Right to Privacy
- Privacy is defined as the right to be free from intrusion into personal matters and the fundamental right to be left alone.
- In liberal democracies, privacy provides a space for personal autonomy, allowing individuals to think and act without government surveillance.
- The U.S. Supreme Court has used the right to privacy to protect personal decisions regarding education, reproduction, and sexual conduct.
- Key legal precedents like Griswold v. Connecticut established privacy as an implied liberty within the U.S. Constitution.
- International legal frameworks, such as the UK Human Rights Act of 1998, explicitly recognize the right to respect for private and family life.
The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime.
Merriam-Websterâs Dictionary of Law defines the right to privacy as âthe right of a person to be free from
intrusion into or publicity concerning matters of a personal nature.â32 Another way to define the right to
privacy is âthe right to be left alone.â33 In a liberal democratic system, privacy is a space separate from public
life, allowing individual personal autonomy. Privacy is the ability to think, speak, and behave without being
monitored or surveilled by another person or the government. Are you permitted to decide whether to have
children and how many? To choose whom you marry? Decisions concerning what to wear, what to study in
school, what career to pursue, and what religious beliefs to instill in oneâs children are all privacy issues. They
are all personal decisions or decisions about which there is debate on whether governments can restrict or
require certain conduct.
In their influential article âThe Right to Privacy,â attorney Samuel Warren and US Supreme Court justice Louis
Brandeis define privacy as the âright of the individual to be let alone.â34 The right to privacy has been used to
assert that liberty exists in a wide range of civil liberties cases in the United States. In Pierce v. Society of
Sisters, the Supreme Court found that the 14th Amendment prevents the state from interfering with parentsâ
choices regarding their childâs education.35 In Griswold v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade, and Lawrence v. Texas,
the court struck down several laws criminalizing sexual and reproductive decisions between consenting adults
in private activities, citing a right to privacy.36 In Lawrence, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote:
âThe petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives. The State cannot demean their existence
or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime. Their right to liberty under the
Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the
government.â37
4.3 ⢠The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas 119
VIDEO
Griswold vs. Connecticut: The Most Important Supreme Court Case Youâve Never Heard Of
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privacy-self-determination-and-the-freedom-of-ideas)
In Griswold v. Connecticut, the US Supreme Court established the Right to Privacy as a liberty implied but not
stated in numerous places across the Constitution.
Most countries explicitly recognize a right to privacy. For example, the UK Human Rights Act of 1998 states:
Right to respect for private and family life
1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in
Foundations of Privacy Rights
- International standards permit privacy limitations only when necessary for national security, public safety, or protecting the rights of others.
- While the US Constitution lacks an explicit mention of privacy, the Supreme Court recognizes it as a fundamental right derived from multiple amendments.
- Justice Brandeis famously defined privacy as 'the right to be let alone,' calling it the most comprehensive and valued right of civilized people.
- Specific constitutional protections against quartering soldiers, unreasonable searches, and self-incrimination form the legal basis for American privacy.
- The Ninth Amendment serves as a critical catch-all, suggesting that rights not explicitly listed in the Constitution still belong to the people.
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly protects individuals from arbitrary interference with their family, home, and correspondence.
the right to be let alone [is] the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by civilized men.
accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security,
public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the
protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.38
The US Constitution does not explicitly mention a right to privacy, but the right to privacy is an essential idea
behind several of the rights it specifies.39 The US Supreme Court has recognized the right to privacy as a
fundamental right.40 As Justice Brandeis wrote in the wiretapping case of Olmstead v. United States (1928),
âthe right to be let alone [is] the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by civilized men.â41
The First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and 14th Amendments do explicitly state, in what are referred to as
enumerated rights, instances for which the US Supreme Court has affirmed that a right to privacy exists.42
First
Amendment
Prohibits restrictions on free speech, peaceful assembly (association), and the free exercise of
religion
Third
Amendment Prohibits the government from requiring individuals to house or feed soldiers in peacetime
Fourth
Amendment
Prohibits the government from unreasonably searching or seizing an individual or their property;
requires the government to appear in court and show probable cause before receiving a court
order or a warrant to search or seize an individual or their property
Fifth
Amendment Guarantees the right to remain silent in a police interrogation
Ninth
Amendment States that rights not explicitly outlined in the Constitution may still exist with the people
Fourteenth
Amendment Prohibits the government from denying equal protection of the laws to all persons
TABLE 4.3 Guarantees of the Right to Privacy Embedded in the US Constitution
Implicit in the First Amendment protections of free speech, peaceful assembly (association), and free exercise
of religion is the right to participate or not participate as an individual decides,43 and the Ninth Amendment
states that rights not explicitly outlined in the Constitution may still exist.
Like many national constitutions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes an express right to
privacy. Article 12 of the declaration states:
120 4 ⢠Civil Liberties
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No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,
nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law
against such interference or attacks.44
Global Privacy and Civil Liberties
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes a right to privacy, but enforcement varies significantly across member nations.
- The United Nations utilizes a special rapporteur to monitor digital surveillance and global compliance with privacy standards.
- Privacy acts as a barrier against government intrusion, yet the threshold for permissible state interference is culturally and legally subjective.
- Societal views on personal autonomy, such as LGBTQ+ rights and interracial marriage, dictate how privacy laws evolve over time.
- Democratic systems allow societal shifts to redefine privacy boundaries, whereas authoritarian regimes impose strict interpretations of private conduct.
As societyâs interpretation of what is personal and individual and what is necessary for the good of the community changes, the interpretation of the right to privacy changes.
Even though member countries have endorsed the UDHR, how each government enacts the right to privacy it
contains varies greatly. The UN has appointed a special rapporteur (a person appointed by an organization to
report on its meetings) to monitor and report annually on how countries comply with the UN declaration of a
right to privacy expressed in the UDHR, especially as it relates to digital surveillance.45
When viewed as a civil liberty, the right to privacy erects a barrier between individuals and an overly intrusive
government. But when is government intrusion permitted?
When Does the Government Restrict Individual Privacy Rights?
Restrictions on the right of privacy or personal autonomy vary widely by country. In the United States, same-
sex relations are considered private and protected by the US Constitution. In most of Africa, LGBTQ+ relations
or orientation are illegal and considered a detriment to the welfare of the community.46
FIGURE 4.6 In most of Africa, same-sex relationships are considered a detriment to the community, and that
detriment to the community is deemed to outweigh the importance of protecting the individual right to privacy.
4.3 ⢠The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas 121
(credit: âLaws regarding same-sex sexuality in Africaâ by Haha 169/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
Personal privacy boundaries often change as societyâs views of personal liberty change. Under a democratic
government, it is a society that interprets what is acceptable and if there is a compelling reason for
government restrictions on personal decisions. For example, until 1967, many states had laws that declared
interracial marriage a crime. In Loving v. Virginia, the US Supreme Court interpreted that due process and a
right to privacy require that the choice of whom to love and marry be a personal, private one.47 It was not until
2015 that this same right was interpreted to include same-sex marriage.48 As societyâs interpretation of what
is personal and individual and what is necessary for the good of the community changes, the interpretation of
the right to privacy changes. Authoritarian governments force the people to acquiesce to the governmentâs
interpretation of personal private conduct.
Civil Liberties around the World
Global Liberties and Digital Privacy
- International organizations provide various tools and indices to track trends in human rights, freedom, and the rule of law across different nations.
- The recognition of personal autonomy varies significantly by country, with some governments restricting reproductive choices, education for girls, or clothing options.
- Societal interpretations of the 'common good' often lead to state-imposed restrictions on privacy and individualism, even in countries that claim to protect these rights.
- The rise of sophisticated cyber technologies has created new tensions between the right to privacy and the necessity of state surveillance.
- In the United States, laws like COPPA attempt to regulate how private businesses and social media platforms store and collect personal data, particularly regarding children.
- European nations generally maintain more robust and stringent data privacy laws compared to the regulatory framework found in the United States.
Thus, even in countries that declare that they will protect privacy and individualism, societyâs interpretation of what is necessary to create a community can lead to restrictions intended to contribute to the common good.
You can use one of the following online resources to compare which liberties different countries recognize. Can you
spot any trends? How do different countries interpret similar types of liberties in different ways?
Explore civil liberties around the world at the National Constitution Center (https://openstax.org/r/
constitutionalrights.constitutioncenter).
Compare statistical data about human rights at Our World in Data (https://openstax.org/r/ourworldindata).
Read up-to-date reports on the state of human rights at Human Rights Watch (https://openstax.org/r/
hrw_publications).
Track trends in freedom using the Cato Instituteâs yearly Human Freedom Index (https://openstax.org/r/human-
freedom-index.cato).
Monitor levels of freedom according to the human rights and rule of law index at TheGlobalEconomy.com
(https://openstax.org/r/theglobaleconomy_human_rights_rule_law).
The degree to which governments recognize the right to make personal, private decisions varies widely around
the world. In China, the government restricts the number of children couples may have.49 In some countries,
forced marriages are still common.50 In some countries, girls are banned from attending school or even suffer
violence for attending, and the government does not protect their right to an education, even if their parents
want them to attend school.51 Many countries have laws that require women to wear specific clothing in public
or prohibit women from wearing certain items of clothing, restricting a womanâs right to make a personal
decision.52 Thus, even in countries that declare that they will protect privacy and individualism, societyâs
interpretation of what is necessary to create a community can lead to restrictions intended to contribute to the
common good.
What about privacy in areas where security issues arise? The growing prevalence and sophistication of cyber
technologies place increasing pressure on the right to privacy in the context of freedom from surveillance.
Cyber Data Issues with Privacy
State and federal laws in the United States protect personal cyber dataâthat is, data stored electronically.53
Online users frequently utilize privately owned browsers and social media platforms, such as Facebook and
Twitter. These private businesses allow users to choose their level of privacy settings. However, in response to
increasing issues with the amount of scrutiny that private businesses provide, the federal government has
implemented several laws to regulate private companiesâ storage of personal data. The Childrenâs Online
Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), for example, permits parents to control what information websites
collect about their children.54 European countries have even more robust data privacy laws regarding
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
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information about children.55
VIDEO
The History of Internet Tracking and the Battle for Privacy
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privacy-self-determination-and-the-freedom-of-ideas)
The Global Privacy Debate
- The US government justifies digital surveillance by citing national security needs, while citizens argue for Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless searches.
- The European Union's GDPR provides some of the world's strictest data protections, applying to both private businesses and government agencies.
- UNCTAD reports that 137 out of 194 countries have enacted legislation to secure data protection, reflecting a growing global concern over unauthorized data sharing.
- While the Chinese constitution technically protects privacy, broad exceptions for state security allow for near-total surveillance of public and digital spaces.
- China utilizes mass surveillance as a tool to target specific ethnic groups and eliminate what the state defines as ideological viruses.
- The conflict between individual privacy rights and collective security remains an ongoing and unresolved global debate.
China uses mass surveillance to â eradicate ideological viruses ,â which the y identify as the religious and cultural beliefs o f certain ethnic groups .
Internet tracking may have innocent beginnings, but it has become the subject of major political debate.
Another privacy issue is the governmentâs ability to access an individualâs cyber information. US government
agenciesâ arguments that they need access to this information in the name of safety and national security have
long come up against the US Constitutionâs guarantees of the right to privacy. The government asserts that, for
the good of the community, it needs access to certain information.56 Individuals argue that their right to
privacy of digital personal data is the same as their right to privacy in the form of âhouses, papers, and effectsâ
explicitly protected under the Fourth Amendment; thus, the government must show probable cause and obtain
a warrant from a judge to look at that digital information. Individuals contend that they have the right to
confront the government and argue the issue in open court.57 US government intelligence agencies say that
protecting the privacy of this personal information compromises safety and national security58 and that any
intelligence review of a personâs digital data must be secret to avoid tipping off the individual under
investigation. This debate is ongoing in the United States and around the world.
Countries whose constitutions include a right to privacy differ in how broadly they interpret that right when it
comes to data privacy. The European Union has enacted extensive data protection laws applicable to all
member countries.59 The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides that data about citizens may
only be gathered or processed in specific instances. These rules apply to private businesses and government
agencies. The restrictions on collecting information are strictly interpreted, providing comprehensive
protection to the individual.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) actively monitors data privacy issues and laws
within its member countries. It has noted that âthe collection, use and sharing of personal information to third
parties without notice or consent of consumersâ has become a significant concern. The UNCTAD Global
Cyberlaw Tracker tracks data for 194 states on laws concerning e-transactions, cybercrime, and consumer
protection.60 According to UNCTAD, as of February 2022, â137 out of 194 countries had put in place legislation
to secure the protection of data and privacy.â61
Even though the Chinese constitution includes the right to privacy, the Chinese government has found many
reasons to interpret the right narrowly. Article 40 of the constitution of the Peopleâs Republic of China provides
for both the freedom and privacy of communication.
âFreedom and privacy of correspondence of citizens of the Peopleâs Republic of China are protected by
law. No organization or individual may, on any ground, infringe upon citizensâ freedom and privacy of
correspondence, except in cases where, to meet the needs of State security or of criminal
investigation, public security or procuratorial organs are permitted to censor correspondence in
accordance with the procedures prescribed by law.â62
However, in China, persons are subject to surveillance in almost all public places, and all cyber
communications are monitored. China uses mass surveillance to âeradicate ideological viruses,â which they
identify as the religious and cultural beliefs of certain ethnic groups. Thus, while the Chinese constitution
contains a right to privacy, the government broadly interprets the exception for safety and security. In practice,
the right to privacy in China is almost nonexistent.63
Privacy and the Paradox of Tolerance
- The rise of digital data storage has increased threats to privacy from both corporate data mining and government surveillance networks.
- China's massive surveillance system exemplifies the tension between individual privacy and state regulation through facial recognition technology.
- The International Bill of Human Rights, comprising the UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR, establishes global standards for freedom of expression and religion.
- Freedom of expression is not absolute; it is legally restricted in cases of libel, slander, obscenity, and threats to national security.
- The 'paradox of tolerance' arises when liberal democracies must decide whether to tolerate ideas that are themselves intolerant of personal liberty.
This is a developing area of tension between individual privacy and government protection or regulation of the community.
4.3 ⢠The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas 123
Â
VIDEO
China: âThe Worldâs Biggest Camera Surveillance Networkâ
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privacy-self-determination-and-the-freedom-of-ideas)
Chinaâs massive surveillance network uses facial recognition and can track any individualâs movements within
China.
As the amount of information stored digitally increases, so do the threats of that material being stolen or used
by businesses as marketing information without peopleâs consent. At the same time, governments increasingly
seek to regulate access to information that they deem unacceptable or that may pose a threat to their residentsâ
safety. This is a developing area of tension between individual privacy and government protection or
regulation of the community.
Freedom of Expression of Ideas
Another area of ongoing tension between individuals and the government is the freedom of expression of
ideas. This freedom includes the right to free speech and the right to the free exercise of religion. Article 19 of
the UDHR states, âEveryone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to
hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media
and regardless of frontiers.â64 Article 18 provides that âeveryone has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone
or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice,
worship and observance.â65
The UDHR is not itself legally binding, but the principles it sets out were implemented among UN member
countries through the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), both of which were adopted by the UN General
Assembly in 1966. Member countries agree to be monitored on their activities under the provisions of the
covenants, which echo much of the language of the UDHR, although some provisions are new. Article 27 of the
ICCPR, for example, states that members of âethnic, religious or linguistic minorities . . . shall not be denied the
right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise
their own religion, or to use their own language.â66 Together, the UDHR, the ICCPR, and the ICESCR make up
what is known as the International Bill of Human Rights.67
However, freedom of expression and religion is not absolute. Even in countries with extensive speech
protections, certain types of speech are never protected. These include libel, slander, obscenity, fighting words
or threats, incitement to lawless conduct, breach of national security or classified information, disclosures that
impact the right of privacy, and perjury. Some examples of these were discussed earlier in this chapter.
In liberal democracies, the state agrees to tolerate free expression of ideas, and restrictions on expression are
minimal; however, many of these countries place restrictions on the expression of specific ideas that do not
meet the limited exceptions to protected speech set forth above. This is referred to as the paradox of
tolerance. People who hold intolerant ideas argue that the state and society only tolerate those ideas that align
with their own viewpoint and that therefore, the government and society are not tolerant of personal ideas and
do not respect that degree of personal liberty.
124 4 ⢠Civil Liberties
Civil Liberties and Social Responsibility
- Civil liberties are often viewed as limits on government interference, but they must be balanced against the needs of a diverse community.
- Social responsibility involves recognizing that individual actions have the potential to affect the community as a whole.
- Intercultural competence is a key component of social responsibility, requiring an understanding of different perspectives and traditions.
- Different nations employ varying strategies to balance individual rights with community safety, such as Germany's strict laws against Holocaust denial.
- While the United States provides broad protections for speech, it limits hate speech in cases involving direct threats or violence.
- The 'paradox of tolerance' arises when a society must decide whether to restrict certain viewpoints to protect the dignity of its members.
Linking the ideas of civil liberties with the larger concept of social responsibility allows one to appreciate how the rights of individuals and the larger community are intertwined.
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Civil Liberties and Social Responsibility
FIGURE 4.7 While smoking is not illegal in the United States, because secondhand smoke can be damaging to all
members of the community, the government can regulate where smoking is allowed. (credit: âNo Smoking Signâ by
Jonathan Rolande/Flickr, CC BY 2.0).
Many people who hear the term civil liberties think about limits on government interference in individualsâ lives, and
they may see government acts that limit or direct their behavior as infringements of their liberties. In these
instances, it is important to remember that people live in diverse communities made up of many individuals who
may have different perspectives, traditions, beliefs, and needs. Each personâs actions have the potential to affect
other individuals in the community and the community as a whole. As discussed in this chapter, members of a
community have responsibilities to that community. Understanding the differences between groups within a society
is often referred to as intercultural competence, and it is a key component of social responsibility.
Different countries adopt a variety of strategies to address the varying needs of different groups. Within the United
States, the corporate world has recently taken up the banner of âsocial responsibility.â Whether looking at an issue
from a corporate position, an advocacy position (such as from the perspective of an interest group), the position of
an attorney representing someone whose rights have been violated, or the position of a concerned citizen, linking
the ideas of civil liberties with the larger concept of social responsibility allows one to appreciate how the rights of
individuals and the larger community are intertwined and how government actions often seek to balance the
freedom of the individual with the needs and desires of the community.
For example, in Germany, it is illegal to support the Nazi Party or to deny the Holocaust.68 Section 130 of the
German criminal code âbans incitement to hatred and insults that assault human dignity against people based
on their racial, national, religious or ethnic background.â Violations of this code carry a five-year prison
sentence. Germany has used section 14 of the law, which bans defiling the memory of the dead, to prosecute
WHAT CAN I DO?
4.3 ⢠The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas 125
Holocaust deniers.69 The German Basic Law provides that âevery person shall have the right freely to express
and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing and pictures and to inform himself without hindrance from
generally accessible sources. Freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by means of broadcasts and films
shall be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship.â70 Thus, many argue that the restrictions on expressing
particular viewpoints show limited tolerance of ideas in Germany, and a paradox of tolerance exists.71In the
United States, hate speech laws encounter the same objection. However, in the United States, speech enjoys
broad protections, and hate speech laws are limited to instances where speech involves violence, intimidation,
and direct threats.72
VIDEO
Germanyâs Online Hate Speech Laws: Protecting Free Speech While Fighting Online Hate?
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Global Speech and Religious Freedom
- Germany's Network Enforcement Act tests the boundary between regulating criminal hate speech and protecting constitutional free speech rights.
- Global approaches to political expression vary wildly, ranging from total suppression in Belarus to surprising new philosophical openness in Saudi Arabia.
- The 'paradox of tolerance' often centers on religious expression, which involves the dual issues of free exercise and government establishment.
- The US Constitution's establishment clause and free exercise clause create a complex legal framework requiring government neutrality toward religion.
- The landmark Everson v. Board of Education case established that public benefits like busing must be applied neutrally to avoid favoring or hindering religious groups.
The paradox of tolerance is a frequent issue when it comes to religious expression.
Germanyâs Network Enforcement Act allows people to report criminal hate speech online and requires
platforms to take down the content or face stiff fines. The policy has raised questions about whether it
inappropriately interferes with constitutional guarantees of a right to free speech.
While in Germany particular viewpoints on politics are regulated, in some other countries, all opposition to the
government is suppressed. In Belarus, political opponents have been sentenced to prison for opposing the
ruling government.73 Other countries are taking steps to open up the free exchange of ideas, even those ideas
that challenge traditional religious and cultural norms. For example, at a recent international symposium on
philosophy in Saudi Arabia, the speakers and audience openly discussed ideas that are usually restricted in
the country.74
The paradox of tolerance is a frequent issue when it comes to religious expression. The expression of religious
beliefs has received special consideration throughout history. Freedom of religion involves two interrelated
issues: the free exercise of religion and the government establishment of religion. While it is impossible to
separate the two completely, they can be distinguished for learning purposes.
The US Constitution contains two separate clauses about religion: one, that âCongress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion,â known as the establishment clause; and two, that Congress shall
make no law âprohibiting the free exercise thereof.â75 The complicated relationship between religion and the
government in the United States is a subject worthy of study in itself; the following is an outline of some of the
primary issues.
In Everson v. Board of Education, a landmark case with regard to the interpretation of the establishment
clause, the US Supreme Court observed that in the United States, no government should aid or hinder any
religion.76
In Everson, the court considered whether a city allowing all Kâ12 students to ride public transit buses for free
was an unconstitutional establishment of religion because some of the students receiving free rides attended
parochial schools operated by religious groups. It was argued that this amounted to an establishment of
religion because, in addition to regular school classes, these students took classes in religion and were thus
taught particular religious beliefs. According to this argument, the government assisted in the religious
indoctrination by providing free transportation, thus putting a stamp of approval on the religious instruction.
The court found that the bus rides did not violate the establishment clause because the law was neutral and
beneficial for all Kâ12 students. If the law had only given free rides to parochial school students, it probably
would have been found to violate the establishment clause, as the government would have been treating a
religious institution differently and preferentially. Conversely, suppose that free rides had been denied to
parochial school students and given only to students attending schools that did not teach religion. In that case,
the action could be interpreted as a violation of the free exercise of religion and parental privacy in childrenâs
126 4 ⢠Civil Liberties
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Religious Freedom and Legal Conflict
- The legal system must distinguish between neutral, general government actions and those that explicitly target or benefit specific religions.
- Individualist governments place limits on religious practices that are deemed harmful, such as child abuse or violent expressions of extremist views.
- A major constitutional tension exists between the right to free exercise of religion and the legal requirement for equal treatment of all persons.
- Historical and modern legal battles involve businesses attempting to use religious beliefs to justify discrimination against protected groups.
- While Western European nations have moved toward religious pluralism, global trends show a 20% increase in government restrictions and favoritism since 2007.
- The conflict between religious freedom and civil rights remains an ongoing global controversy, particularly regarding LGBTQ+ rights and state-mandated religious adherence.
This controversy is ongoing in the United States and around the world.
education. It would violate free exercise because it would explicitly target and place restrictions on schools
based on religion. This example illustrates the degree of complication in this area of the law. One must look at
specific government action and ask whether it is neutral and general or explicitly benefits or intrudes on a
religion.
Not all religious practices are acceptable, even in an individualist government. For example, in the United
States, religious practices that are deemed abusive to children are prohibited.77 Those who hold views
anathema to most of society, such as White supremacist churches, are allowed to operate as long as they keep
the expression of their opinions nonviolent and within the church. An area of controversy arises when a
person running a business refuses to comply with a customer request because it violates their personal
religious views, thus putting into direct conflict the constitutional protection of the free exercise of religion and
the constitutional requirement for equal treatment of all persons. The US Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits any
business that is open to the public from engaging in discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or religion. When
the Civil Rights Act went into effect, some for-profit businesses argued that it violated their personal and
religious principles of White supremacy by prohibiting them from barring minorities from their business or
refusing to hire employees based on their race. In the early years after the act was passed, courts across the
United States upheld the act against the religious arguments for White supremacy. They found a more
significant community good in supporting nondiscrimination than in this view of the free exercise of religion.
Today, controversies continue, with some business owners complaining that serving LGBTQ+ customers
violates their religious beliefs and that to require them to serve LGBTQ+ customers would violate their right to
free exercise of religion. This controversy is ongoing in the United States and around the world.78
In western European countries, similar issues arise. All have constitutional provisions similar to the US
Constitutionâs religious clauses, but some have officially recognized state religions. Anglicanism, as
represented by the Church of England, is the official religion of England. Up until the 20th century, people were
persecuted for not adhering to the official doctrine; however, now individuals are free to practice any religion
they want as long as it complies with Englandâs generally applicable neutral laws.79 Around the world,
restrictions on religion have been increasing. These restrictions can take two forms: government preference
for a particular religion and government restriction on religious practices. Many Islamic majority countries
limit freedom of religion and require residents to adhere to an established religion. A Pew Research study
noted:
âGovernment restrictions have risen in several different ways. Laws and policies restricting
religious freedom (such as requiring that religious groups register in order to operate) and
government favoritism of religious groups (through funding for religious education, property and
clergy, for example) have consistently been the most prevalent types of restrictions globally and in
each of the five regions tracked in the study: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East-North Africa
and sub-Saharan Africa. Both types of restrictions have been rising; the global average score in each of
these categories increased more than 20% between 2007 and 2017.â80 (emphasis in original)
VIDEO
Iran's Dilemma: Should Women Wear a Hijab or Not?
Religious Restrictions and Movement Rights
- Governments often impose dress codes based on religious or secular ideologies, ranging from Iran's mandatory hijab to France's bans on religious attire.
- State-sponsored religion in countries like Qatar can lead to the restriction of non-Islamic worship and the prohibition of minority religious symbols.
- In China, religious practices are sometimes viewed as threats to communist goals, resulting in severe restrictions and internment in reeducation camps.
- Many nations prioritize localized interpretations of civil liberties over the international norms established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Freedom of movement is a recognized human right consisting of the ability to travel within one's own country and the right to leave or return to it.
- The United States treats the right to travel as an unenumerated fundamental right, ensuring equal treatment for citizens regardless of which state they visit.
Women in Iran who appear in public without wearing an Islamic hijab can be imprisoned or fined.
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Women in Iran who appear in public without wearing an Islamic hijab can be imprisoned or fined. In recent
years, some Iranians have pushed back against this policy.
The growing tendency toward government restrictions on religion may be in opposing directions. For example,
French law prohibits women from wearing certain items of clothing that express their religious beliefs, and the
government disfavors religion.81 In contrast, in Qatar, Islam is the official state religion, and laws require
women to wear religious dress in public. Additionally, Qatar has enacted laws that restrict non-Islamic faiths
4.3 ⢠The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas 127
by limiting worship services and prohibiting the display of non-Islamic religious symbols.82 In China, specific
religious groups have been subjected to severe restrictions, even internment in prison reeducation camps, as
religious practices are considered detrimental to the countryâs communist goals.83 Thus, in both impairing
religion and fostering an established religion, some countries have opted to observe localized interpretations
of civil liberties with regard to religion, rather than aligning with the norms described in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
4.4 Freedom of Movement
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Outline the components of freedom of movement that are deemed essential according to human rights
norms.
⢠Analyze how different government systems treat freedom of movement around the world.
Freedom of movement can be divided into two categories: the freedom to move about within oneâs home
country and the freedom to move internationally. Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
recognizes both rights:
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.84
How each country interprets and applies the right to freedom of movement varies widely.
The US Constitution protects travel within the United States as an unenumerated fundamental right.85 The US
Supreme Court has identified three aspects of the right of persons to travel within the United States:
1. the right to enter and leave each state, fundamental to the founding of the United States;
2. the right to be treated equally to residents of each state, protected by article 4, section 2 of the
Constitution; and
3. the right to be treated equally to native-born citizens: âDespite fundamentally differing views concerning
Global Rights to Travel
- The Fourteenth Amendment's Privileges or Immunities Clause protects the fundamental right to interstate travel within the United States.
- Federal statutes like the Mann Act demonstrate that the U.S. government can still restrict travel associated with illegal activities.
- Sweden's constitution provides a unique 'right of public access' to nature, allowing citizens to traverse private property to experience the environment.
- China's 'hukou' system and police checkpoints create significant legal and physical barriers to internal movement for its citizens.
- The implementation of a social credit system in China further restricts travel based on an individual's government-assigned score.
This right allows travel inside the country and access to private property to experience nature as long as an individual does not cause damage to the property.
the coverage of the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment . . . it has always been
common ground that this Clause protects the third component of the right to travel.â86
While general interstate travel is a fundamental right, many federal statutes restrict activities that may utilize
interstate travel. For example, the Mann Act, enacted in 1910, bans interstate transport of females for
âimmoral purposes.â The act has since been amended to be gender neutral and to apply solely to sexual
activity that is separately illegal, such as prostitution or sex with a minor. In addition, the Supreme Court has
struck down state laws requiring one-year residency requirements for access to state services and voting. Still,
it has upheld shorter minimal residency requirements for certain activities.87
Swedenâs constitution, the Basic Laws of Sweden, contains a guarantee that âeveryone shall have access to the
natural environment in accordance with the right of public access.â88 This right allows travel inside the
country and access to private property to experience nature as long as an individual does not cause damage to
the property. Thus, the Swedish constitutionâs guarantee in this respect is even broader than the US right to
interstate travel, which does not allow access to private property without the property ownerâs specific
permission except in certain states and for particular types of property, usually beach or lakeshore access.
Chinaâs hukou (household registration) system prevents many internal migrants from enjoying full legal status
as residents in the cities where they work.89 Other Chinese citizens face obstacles to freedom of internal
movement due to police checkpoints throughout the country that restrict the movement of certain ethnic
groups.90 In addition, the government has implemented a âsocial credit systemâ by which individuals must
earn points to be allowed to travel within the country or internationally.91
128 4 ⢠Civil Liberties
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International Travel
The Right to Travel
- International travel is more strictly regulated than domestic movement, with passports serving as the primary global control mechanism for exit and reentry.
- The 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act formalized the requirement for US citizens to possess a government-issued passport for international transit.
- The US Supreme Court has recognized the right to travel as a fundamental liberty protected by the Fifth Amendment's due process clause.
- Global restrictions on movement vary significantly, ranging from standard criminal investigations to the systemic targeting of ethnic groups like the Uyghurs in China.
- Migration is legally distinct from travel due to the intent of permanent relocation, involving complex frameworks for refugee status and asylum.
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts that individuals have the right to seek asylum from persecution and the right to a nationality.
Travel abroad, like travel within the country, may be . . . as close to the heart of the individual as the choice of what he eats, or wears, or reads.
While the UDHR applies the same standard to travel within a country that it applies to international travel, the
latter is more strictly regulated around the world. In the United States before World War II, passport
requirements came and went, and immigration controls targeted particular racial or ethnic groups. Beginning
with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, all US citizens have been required to obtain a government-
issued passport to leave or enter the country.92 A citizen is entitled to due process via a hearing if the
government refuses to provide the requested passport. In Kent v. Dulles, the Supreme Court held:
âThe right to travel is a part of the âlibertyâ of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due
process of law under the Fifth Amendment. . . . If a citizenâs liberty to travel is to be regulated, it must
be pursuant to the law-making functions of Congress. . . . Freedom of movement across frontiers in
either direction, and inside frontiers as well, was a part of our heritage. Travel abroad, like travel
within the country, may be . . . as close to the heart of the individual as the choice of what he eats, or
wears, or reads. Freedom of movement is basic in our scheme of values.â93
Most countries utilize passports as a control mechanism for their citizens to exit or reenter the country.
Conditions for obtaining a passport vary widely. Even if a person has a passport, countries may still impose
restrictions on their ability to leave the country. For example, it is common for a person under criminal
investigation to not be allowed to leave the country. If a person is on a terrorist watch list, they will not be
allowed to leave the country. In some countries, specific groups of people may not be allowed to leave the
country due to disfavor by the government. In China, the Uyghurs must get permission to travel, and that
permission is rarely granted.94 Many countries require foreigners to obtain official authorization, in the form
of visas, to enter or even to leave. Further restrictions are placed on citizens immigrating to another country.
Migration and Immigration Law
Migration differs from international travel because the traveler does not intend to return to their starting point.
Migration involves a number of legal issues, including general immigration laws, refugee status, and a political
concept called open borders. The UDHR states:
Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or
from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.95
Movement and Accused Rights
- National immigration laws often conflict with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' affirmation of migration rights.
- Refugee crises create significant political and social tension regarding asylum capacity and national security concerns.
- The 'open borders' debate proposes a world where movement is unrestricted except for safety and criminal issues.
- Rule-of-law countries must provide 'rights upon arrest,' including the right to remain silent and access to legal counsel.
- Protections against unreasonable search and seizure are essential human rights norms, though many countries fail to adhere to them.
There is an ongoing debate about changing the world to one of open borders, where people are free to move about the world as they want.
Every country has laws regulating who can leave the country permanently and who can enter and stay.96 In
many countries, failure to comply with immigration laws is treated as a crime, and a person can be sentenced
to prison for violating the laws.97 Some countries welcome immigrants,98 while others actively discourage
them.99 Though the UDHR affirms human migration rights, many countries enact laws restricting the
permanent movement of people.
Refugees are one area of considerable controversy. Refugees leave areas in extreme crisis and flee to safety in
other countries, not necessarily in compliance with emigration or immigration laws.100 Specific UN programs
aid refugees, and some countries assist.101 A sudden influx of people with no means of caring for themselves
is a significant issue for most countries in which refugees seek asylum. Conflicts within these countries arise
around the number of people who can be accommodated, how long they will be allowed to stay, and whether or
not the residents of the country feel threatened by their presence.
There is an ongoing debate about changing the world to one of open borders, where people are free to move
4.4 ⢠Freedom of Movement 129
about the world as they want. When there are open borders, there are no restrictions on emigration or
immigration, except for safety and criminal issues.102 Emigration and immigration issues are complex, and
societyâs acceptance of emigrating and immigrating peoples varies widely depending on a countryâs political
climate.
4.5 The Rights of the Accused
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Outline the components of the rights of the accused that are deemed essential according to human rights
norms.
⢠Analyze how different government systems treat the rights of the accused around the world.
If the government accuses a person of a crime, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many national
constitutions guarantee that person the fair implementation of due process before the government can restrict
their liberties. The rights of the accused are intended to protect individuals if their freedom is at stake. Chapter
11: Courts and Law will explore these rights in greater depth.
Rights upon Arrest
In rule-of-law countries, police must advise individuals of certain rights at the time of their arrest. These
include the right to have an attorney assist them with their case and the right to be cautioned that anything
they say can be used against them in court. A 2016 report by the Law Library of Congress found that 108
countries require these warnings,103 and the European Convention on Human Rights and the UDHR both
contain similar provisions.104 These rights include:
⢠the right to remain silent;
⢠a warning that anything one says can be used against one in court;
⢠the right to consult legal counsel; and
⢠the right to defend oneself in court.
Search and Seizure
Another way rule-of-law systems defend the rights of individuals is through protection against unreasonable
searches and seizures. This means that law enforcement may perform reasonable searches and seizures, and
much of the litigation in this area deals with the reasonableness of the search and seizure. The UN has created
recommendations for best policing practices for all countries, including limiting the policeâs right to search
individuals, their homes, or their belongings to this standard. However, many countries do not adhere to these
limitations. In those countries, the police can search an individualâs home or belongings or interrogate them at
any time.
PODCAST
Right to Privacy: Mapp v. Ohio
Rights of Accused and Environment
- The U.S. Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio established that illegally obtained evidence cannot be used against a defendant under the Fourth Amendment.
- The writ of habeas corpus serves as a fundamental rule-of-law protection, preventing the government from holding individuals indefinitely without cause.
- Human rights organizations increasingly view climate change and environmental damage as direct violations of the right to lead a safe and healthy life.
- The UN Framework Principles outline how recognizing environmental rights can lead to stronger policies, better enforcement, and reduced social injustices.
- Over 100 nations have constitutionally codified the right to a healthy environment, while the U.S. faces landmark litigation like Juliana v. United States.
- The Juliana v. United States lawsuit, brought by children, seeks to hold the government accountable for failing to address climate change and its impact on future generations.
In countries where this right is not recognized, a person can be held indefinitely incommunicado without any right to seek their freedom or to demand that the government prove the charges against them.
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the-accused)
In this Civics 101 podcast, Vince Warren, executive director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, and
Boston University School of Law professor Tracey Maclin discuss the US Supreme Courtâs decision in Mapp v.
Ohio (1961), which decided that the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits the government from
using any illegally obtained evidence against someone in a court of law.
Writ of Habeas Corpus and the Right to Appear before the Court
In all rule-of-law countries, a person held in jail has the right to demand to be brought into court and told why
130 4 ⢠Civil Liberties
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they are being jailed. In some countries, this process is referred to as a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. In
countries where this right is not recognized, a person can be held indefinitely incommunicado without any
right to seek their freedom or to demand that the government prove the charges against them.
4.6 The Right to a Healthy Environment
THE RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Outline the components of the right to a healthy environment that are deemed essential according to
human rights norms.
⢠Analyze how different government systems treat the right to a healthy environment around the world.
Many human rights organizations are now asserting that environmental damage, including climate change, is
a violation of human rights because it impacts the ability of people to live safe and healthy lives.105 The UN
Framework Principles on Human Rights and the Environment sets forth âbasic obligations of States under
human rights law as they relate to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environmentâ and
lists âpotential benefits of recognizing the right to a healthy environment,â including:
⢠Stronger environmental laws and policies
⢠Improved implementation and enforcement
⢠Greater public participation in environmental decision-making
⢠Reduced environmental injustices
⢠A level playing field with social and economic rights
⢠Better environmental performance106
More than 100 countries have added the right to a healthy environment to their national constitutions.107
In the United States, pending lawsuits assert that failure to follow good environmental practices is causing
damages to individuals. Juliana v. United States is one such landmark suit. This suit, brought by a group of
children, alleges that the US governmentâs failure to address environmental and climate change issues is
damaging their future lives and that the government can be held accountable for damages. The case is being
closely watched worldwide.108
VIDEO
Juliana v. United States: The Climate Lawsuit
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a-healthy-environment)
Climate Change and Human Rights
- The Juliana v. United States case highlights the government's long-term knowledge of climate threats and the legal push for environmental accountability.
- Climate change is increasingly framed as a human rights issue, forcing international bodies to address the legal status of displaced populations.
- The UNHCR identifies climate change as a 'threat multiplier' that exacerbates resource scarcity and fuels potential conflicts.
- Extreme weather events and environmental degradation currently displace an average of over 20 million people within their own countries annually.
- International law must evolve to address the protection of people forced across borders by climate-related disasters.
- The tension between individual civil liberties and community responsibilities remains a foundational challenge in modern governance.
In such conditions, climate change can act as a threat multiplier, exacerbating existing tensions and adding to the potential for conflicts.
The plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States have presented such compelling evidence of the damaging effects of
climate change, and of the United Statesâ governmentâs decades-long knowledge of the threats of climate
change, that they have forced those who once dismissed the suit as frivolous to take it seriously. Still, how the
case will unfold remains unclear.
As climate change becomes an increasingly urgent issue, the implications for human rights will be a growing
area of political and legal debate. The UN is actively addressing the problem and has issued guidance on the
protection of climate change refugees, although the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) does not
endorse the term climate refugee and notes that âit is more accurate to refer to âpersons displaced in the
context of disasters and climate change.ââ The UNHCR further states:
âThe impacts of climate change are numerous and may both trigger displacement and worsen living
conditions or hamper return for those who have already been displaced. Limited natural resources,
such as drinking water, are becoming even scarcer in many parts of the world that host refugees.
Crops and livestock struggle to survive where conditions become too hot and dry, or too cold and wet,
4.6 ⢠The Right to a Healthy Environment 131
threatening livelihoods. In such conditions, climate change can act as a threat multiplier, exacerbating
existing tensions and adding to the potential for conflicts.
Hazards resulting from the increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as
abnormally heavy rainfall, prolonged droughts, desertification, environmental degradation, or sea-
level rise and cyclones[,] are already causing an average of more than 20 million people to leave their
homes and move to other areas in their countries each year.â109
Climate change and disasters have forced some people to cross borders, and these people may need
international protection in some circumstances. UN member countries send aid through UN organizations
and may even send personnel to act under UN administration. Refugee and human rights laws, therefore, have
an essential role to play in this area.110 Climate change is a growing concern, and countries will increasingly
have to address the issue of whether to recognize the right to a healthy environment.
132 4 ⢠Civil Liberties
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Summary
4.1 The Freedom of the Individual
Civil liberties are guarantees of freedom from government interference that prevent the government from
placing restrictions on many individual actions and choices. However, individuals live in communities, or
groups of people with shared interests and values, and their actions within their communities affect other
people. Community responsibilities are an individualâs duties or obligations to the communityâthose things
that are expected of individuals if they wish to remain members of that community.
4.2 Constitutions and Individual Liberties
Foundations of Constitutional Liberty
- Constitutions function as blueprints for government, categorized by their emphasis on negative rights (limiting state power) or positive rights (obligating state action).
- Political systems are defined by the tension between individualist priorities and communitarian cohesiveness, which dictates the scope of personal freedom.
- Constitutionalism relies on the rule of law, requiring that legal processes be clear, stable, and applied evenly to both private and government actors.
- Due process serves as a critical legal safeguard, ensuring the government respects individual rights through both procedural guidelines and substantive fairness.
- The right to privacy and free expression are fundamental but not absolute, often limited by national security, public safety, or the paradox of tolerance.
- Freedom of movement distinguishes between domestic travel and international migration, with the latter subject to intense debate regarding borders and refugee status.
This intolerant stance on views that a government deems intolerant is referred to as the paradox of tolerance.
Most countries have a formal constitutionâa framework, blueprint, or foundation for the operation of a
government. A constitution may be expressed in terms of negative rights, when it is written in a way that
emphasizes limitations on the government, or positive rights, when it is written to emphasize the
governmentâs obligation to guarantee the peopleâs rights. The amount of freedom of action that a constitution
guarantees the individual varies by political system.
Individualist systems emphasize the importance of individuals over the importance of the community, while
communitarian systems emphasize community cohesiveness while also recognizing the importance of
individual freedoms. Countries vary in terms of the nature and degree to which they stress individualism or
communitarianism.
Constitutionalism has three main elements: adherence to the rule of law, limited government, and guarantees
of individual rights. The rule of law requires that government and private actors be held accountable under the
law; that laws be clear, publicized, stable, and applied evenly; that the processes by which laws are enacted,
administered, and enforced be accessible, fair, and efficient; and that justice be delivered in a timely manner
by competent, ethical, and independent representatives who are accessible, have adequate resources, and
reflect the communities they serve.
Due process is a legal requirement that the government respect the rights of the people. Procedural due
process concerns the written guidelines for how the government interacts with a person, while substantive due
process concerns the individualâs right to be treated fairly when interacting with the government.
4.3 The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas
The most fundamental aspect of civil liberty is the right to privacyâthat is, the right to be free from
interference in thought, speech, and actions. Each society interprets what is acceptable and when there is a
compelling reason for the government to place restrictions on personal decisions. Interpretations of the right
to privacy change over time and vary widely around the world.
The right to free expression of ideas includes the right to free speech and the right to the free exercise of
religion. Freedom of expression and religion are not absolute. Even in countries with extensive speech
protections, certain types of speech, including libel, slander, obscenity, fighting words or threats, inciting
lawless conduct, breach of national security or classified information, disclosures that impact the right of
privacy, and perjury, are not protected.
While liberal democracies tolerate the free expression of ideas, many such countries place restrictions on the
expression of ideas that are considered intolerant and in conflict with the public good. This intolerant stance
on views that a government deems intolerant is referred to as the paradox of tolerance.
4.4 Freedom of Movement
Freedom of movement can be divided into two categories: the freedom to move about within oneâs home
country and the freedom to move internationally. Around the world, international travel is more strictly
regulated than domestic travel. Migration differs from international travel because the individual does not
intend to return to their starting point. Immigration laws, refugee status, and open borders are all areas of
4 ⢠Summary 133
intense debate surrounding the freedom of movement.
4.5 The Rights of the Accused
Rights, Law, and Environment
- Rule-of-law countries must provide specific procedural protections to the accused, including the right to remain silent and the right to legal counsel.
- The right to due process serves as a critical balance between state power and individual freedom by requiring the government to respect legal rights.
- Environmental damage and climate change are increasingly framed as human rights violations because they threaten the ability to live safe and healthy lives.
- Political systems are categorized by their approach to rights, ranging from authoritarian control to individualist and libertarian minimalism.
- The distinction between negative rights (limitations on government) and positive rights (government obligations) defines how different societies structure their legal frameworks.
As climate change becomes an increasingly urgent issue, the implications for human rights will be a growing area of political and legal debate.
The rights of the accused are intended to protect individuals if their freedom is at stake. In rule-of-law
countries, police must advise individuals at the time of their arrest that they have the right to remain silent,
anything they say can be used against them in court, they have a right to legal counsel, and they have a right to
defend themselves in court. In all rule-of-law countries, a person held in jail has a right to demand to be
brought into court and told why they are being jailed.
4.6 The Right to a Healthy Environment
Many human rights organizations assert that environmental damage, including climate change, is a violation
of human rights because it impacts the ability of people to live safe and healthy lives. As climate change
becomes an increasingly urgent issue, the implications for human rights will be a growing area of political and
legal debate.
Key Terms
authoritarian a style of government that enforces obedience to government authority by strongly limiting
personal freedom
bill of rights a list or summary of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the individual by the state; in the
United States, the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution
civil liberties guarantees of freedom from government interference
civil rights guarantees of equal treatment by government without discrimination based on characteristics an
individual shares with a particular subset of the population
communitarian describes a worldview that emphasizes the need for community and its values and the
positive role that government plays in the lives of citizens; the idea that government exists to protect rights
but also to form a political community to solve public problems
community a group of people with shared interests and values, e.g., a family, a religion, or a political group
community responsibilities an individualâs duties or obligations as a part of a community, including
cooperation, respect, and participation; goes beyond thinking and acting as individuals to common beliefs
about societyâs order and the treatment of others
constitution a framework, blueprint, or foundation for the operation of a government
constitutionalism a system of government with three elements: the rule of law, limited government, and an
element of individualism
due process a legal requirement that the government respect the rights of the people; a demonstration of the
rule of law and the balancing of government power with individual rights
human rights inherent rights that, philosophically, can be neither given nor taken away by any government;
the basis for freedom, justice, and peace in the world
inalienable describes rights that are due to all persons and, philosophically, can be neither given nor taken
away by any government
individualist describes a minimalist government system wherein individuals take precedence
liberalism a system in which government actively protects individual rights
libertarianism a system in which government exists to provide a means to assist individuals in achieving
their private interests
negative rights statements of individual rights that emphasize limitations on the governmentâs ability to
infringe on those rights
positive rights statements of individual rights that emphasize the governmentâs obligation to guarantee those
rights
privacy in a liberal democratic system, a space separate from public life where the individual has personal
autonomy to think, speak, and behave without being monitored or surveilled by another person or the
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government
Communitarianism and Constitutional Governance
- Responsive communitarianism attempts to balance the common good with individual autonomy without allowing one to dominate the other.
- The rule of law serves as a higher authority than majority rule, ensuring all leaders remain accountable to established legal frameworks.
- Civil liberties are defined as freedoms from government interference, whereas civil rights are government guarantees of equal treatment.
- Individualist systems prioritize the person over the community, while communitarian systems emphasize the collective good as defined by the state.
- Constitutionalism functions as a balancing act between individual freedom and the limitations of government power under the law.
responsive communitarianism a system that seeks to blend the common good with individual a utonom y while not allowing either to take prec edenc e over the other
responsive communitarianism a system that seeks to blend the common good with individual autonomy
while not allowing either to take precedence over the other
rule of law a philosophy of how society should be ordered in which all leaders are held accountable to the law;
a higher law than majority rule
Review Questions
1 . What is the difference between civil liberties and civil rights?
a. Civil liberties apply to everyone, while civil rights apply only to certain groups.
b. Civil liberties are guarantees of freedom from government interference, while civil rights are
government guarantees of equal treatment.
c. The two terms are interchangeable.
d. Both A and B are correct.
2 . What is a community?
a. A group of people with shared interests and values
b. A group of people who live in the same place
c. A group of people who belong in the same place
d. A formally recognized group of people
3 . What are community responsibilities?
a. The governmentâs responsibility not to interfere with any group
b. Community membersâ responsibility to help each other in times of crisis
c. An individualâs responsibility to the community in order to remain a member of that community
d. An individualâs responsibility to form a community
4 . How are community responsibilities carried out?
a. Actors, including governments, cooperate with and respect others and participate in the community.
b. Individuals act as they want and do not consider the impact of their actions on others.
c. In each nation-state, everyone votes on all rules and restrictions on conduct.
d. In each nation-state, an elite group decides what rules to create and enforce on everyone else.
5 . In political science, what are negative rights?
a. Rights in a constitution that are written to emphasize limitations on government
b. Rights in a constitution that are expressed in terms of the governmentâs obligation to guarantee the
peopleâs rights
c. Rights in a constitution that are written to emphasize the peopleâs responsibilities to the government
d. Rights in a constitution that are expressed in terms of how the government may restrict certain
liberties to punish individuals
6 . What is the major characteristic of an individualist system of government with regard to civil liberties?
a. An emphasis on the importance of individuals over the importance of the community, except with
respect to the government
b. An emphasis on the importance of individuals over the importance of the community, including the
government
c. A nationalist feeling that emphasizes the uniqueness of a country and its people
d. A system based on clan or tribal allegiances
7 . What does a communitarian system emphasize with regard to civil liberties?
4 ⢠Review Questions 135
a. Community decision-making as a form of government
b. The good of the community as defined by the government
c. The importance of individual desires over the good of the community
d. The importance of civil liberties over civil rights
8 . What is constitutionalism?
a. A system that balances the freedom of the individual with limited government under the rule of law
b. A system in which the constitution is considered sacrosanct and cannot be amended or interpreted
c. A system in which the government cannot limit the freedom of the individual to challenge the
constitution
Civil Liberties and Human Rights
- The text explores the definition of due process as a legal requirement for governments to respect individual rights.
- It identifies the right to free exercise of religion as a fundamental civil liberty within the context of political science assessments.
- The material addresses the 'paradox of tolerance' through examples of governments restricting expression deemed harmful to the community.
- It highlights how passport requirements and immigration controls can intersect as both civil liberties and civil rights issues.
- Legal protections for the accused, such as the writ of habeas corpus and the right to counsel, are framed as essential components of a fair legal system.
- The text connects environmental issues to human rights, noting that climate change threatens freedom of movement and contributes to global refugee crises.
A hypothetical government protects the free expression of ideas but restricts the expression of ideas deemed harmful to the community.
d. A system that prioritizes the survival of the fittest
9 . What is due process?
a. A legal requirement that the government respect the rights of the people
b. A standard that gives precedence to government power over individual rights
c. A standard that subjugates government power to individual rights
d. A legal requirement that a rule-by-law government cannot violate the law
10 . __________ is considered the most fundamental civil liberty.
a. The right to marry
b. The right to vote
c. The right to privacy
d. The right to free exercise of religion
11 . Governments that protect the free expression of ideas __________.
a. cannot restrict any expression
b. have never protected certain types of expression
c. can restrict expression by groups but not individuals
d. can restrict every expression
12 . A hypothetical government protects the free expression of ideas but restricts the expression of ideas
deemed harmful to the community. This is an example of __________.
a. due process
b. the rights of the accused
c. authoritarianism
d. the paradox of tolerance
13 . Some countries have laws that restrict access to private property, including natural areas such as beaches.
These laws place limits on which civil liberty?
a. Freedom of movement
b. Freedom of expression
c. Due process
d. Right to privacy
14 . Passport requirements and immigration controls have been used to target certain racial and ethnic
groups. This is an example of __________.
a. both a civil liberties issue and a civil rights issue
b. the paradox of tolerance
c. constitutionalism
d. negative rights
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15 . The right to remain silent and the right to legal counsel are common examples of __________.
a. the paradox of tolerance
b. the Bill of Rights
c. the rights of the accused
d. privacy rights
16 . Much of the litigation surrounding issues of search and seizure concerns __________.
a. the value of seized goods
b. the degree to which the search and seizure is reasonable
c. privacy rights
d. the right to legal counsel
17 . The writ of habeas corpus is __________.
a. recognized throughout the world
b. freedom from warrantless search
c. a prisonerâs right to be informed of why they are being held
d. the right of the accused to be warned that anything they say may be used against them in court
18 . Worsening climate change has contributed to __________.
a. increased individualism
b. religious persecution
c. tightening restrictions on freedom of expression
d. global refugee crises
19 . Climate change threatens __________.
a. the rights of the accused
b. freedom of movement
c. freedom of expression
d. the rule of law
Suggested Readings
Comparative Constitutions Project. https://comparativeconstitutionsproject.org/.
Costigan, Ruth, and Richard Stone. Civil Liberties & Human Rights. 11th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2017.
Donnelly, Jack, and Daniel J. Whelan. International Human Rights. 6th ed. New York: Routledge, 2020.
Douglass, Bruce. âThe Common Good and the Public Interest.â Political Theory 8, no. 1 (February 1980),
103â117, https://www.jstor.org/stable/190769.
Freedom House. âFreedom in the World.â https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world.
Merino, Neal, ed. Civil Liberties. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013.
Rossum, Ralph, and Alan Tarr. American Constitutional Law. 10th ed. Vol. 2, The Bill of Rights and Subsequent
Amendments. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2017.
United Nations General Assembly. Resolution 217 A. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A/RES/217(III),
December 10, 1948. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
Political Participation and Public Opinion
- The chapter explores the various ways individuals engage in the political process, ranging from voting to grassroots activism.
- The 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman serve as a catalyst for modern social movements.
- The Black Lives Matter movement is highlighted as a decentralized political and social network focused on eradicating white supremacy and state violence.
- Public opinion is introduced as a measurable metric that fluctuates over time, as seen in the shifting support levels for social justice movements.
- The text outlines the fundamental relationship between political participation and the concept of self-government in a democracy.
- Comparative analysis is used to examine how United States voting rates and participation methods differ from those in other nations.
The outcry over the trial led to the establishment of the Black Lives Matter movement, a decentralized political and social movement âwhose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state.â
United States Constitution. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution.
4 ⢠Suggested Readings 137
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FIGURE 5.1 A man holds up a sign at a Black Lives Matter protest in New York City in 2020. (credit: modification of
work by âBlack Lives Matter Protest Times Square New York City June 7 2020â by Anthony Quintano/Flickr, CC BY
2.0 )
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
5.1 What Is Political Participation?
5.2 What Limits Voter Participation in the United States?
5.3 How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting?
5.4 What Is Public Opinion and Where Does It Come From?
5.5 How Do We Measure Public Opinion?
5.6 Why Is Public Opinion Important?
On February 26, 2012, an unarmed high schooler wearing a hoodie walked home from a
convenience store and was shot dead by a neighborhood watch volunteer. The high schoolerâs name was
Trayvon Martin, and the shooter was George Zimmerman. A special prosecutor, appointed by the governor of
Florida, charged Zimmerman with Martinâs death. A jury acquitted him on the grounds of self-defense, and
Zimmerman was freed. While there was furious debate over the legal justifications for the acquittal and
whether the jury made the right decision, Martinâs death ignited a groundswell of support for his family and
sparked a public reckoning with questions about institutional racism and how it should be addressed in the
United States. The outcry over the trial led to the establishment of the Black Lives Matter movement, a
decentralized political and social movement âwhose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local
power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state.â1 Now known as âa grassroots,
member-led network dedicated to ending anti-black racism and preventing violence against black
communities,â Black Lives Matter has 40 chapters throughout the United States, Canada, and the United
5
Political Participation and Public
Opinion
Kingdom that work to raise public awareness of issues such as police accountability, working conditions, and
access to health care and to advocate for civil rights.2 A majority of US adults (55 percent as of September
2020, down from 67 percent in June of that year) support Black Lives Matter, particularly after repeated
publicized incidents of police brutality against minorities.3
Black Lives Matter, which is a broad movement that includes protests, advocacy, and public awareness
campaigns, is an example of how people participate in politics. This chapter will examine the various
manifestations of political participation as well as how we measure peopleâs opinions about their political
beliefs.
5.1 What Is Political Participation?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define political participation.
⢠Discuss how political participation is related to self-government.
⢠Explain why voting is an important type of political participation.
⢠Describe US voting rates.
⢠Compare US voting rates to those in other countries.
âYou might think it upset me that Paul Metzler had decided to run against me, but nothing could be
further from the truth. He was no competition for me; it was like apples and oranges. I had to work a
little harder, thatâs all. You see, I believe in the voters. They understand that elections arenât just
popularity contests; they know this country was built by people just like me who work very hard and
donât have everything handed to them on a silver spoon.â
âTracy Flick, from the movie Election
Foundations of Political Participation
- The film Election serves as a cultural touchstone for the complexities and ethical dilemmas inherent in student politics.
- Academic research indicates that school elections are vital training grounds for future civic engagement and adult citizenship.
- Participating in student government helps young people internalize democratic values and the importance of informed decision-making.
- Political participation is defined as any action that expresses an individual's political will within a society.
- Self-government is the essential prerequisite for political participation, requiring that power be derived from the people rather than a favored class.
- James Madison emphasized that a legitimate government must draw its authority from the great body of society for limited periods.
While student elections may seem relatively trivial, they are an important way for students to learn how to make politically informed decisions, understand democratic values and systems, and feel like worthy participants in the democratic process.
The 1999 movie Election, based on a novel by Tom Perrotta, is an enduring classic and dark comedy that
follows high school junior Tracy Flick (played by Reese Witherspoon) as she does anything she can to win her
school election for student government president. While Tracyâs actions as a political candidate lead her down
an unethical path, school elections play a significant role in helping us become engaged citizens. Australian
National University Professor Lawrence J. Saha and University of Sydney Professor Murray Print found that
âparticipation in school elections serves as a beneficial experience in the preparation of students for life as an
active adult citizen,â4 and a review of 75 studies on the topic also supported the idea that running for, voting in,
or otherwise taking part in student elections all had positive outcomes for future civic participation on some
level.5 While student elections may seem relatively trivial, they are an important way for students to learn how
to make politically informed decisions, understand democratic values and systems, and feel like worthy
participants in the democratic process.
Political Participation and Self-Government
Political participation is defined as action that expresses an individualâs political will. Throughout this chapter,
we will discuss the many forms these actions can take. However, it is first important to discuss the idea of self-
government. Self-government is when the people of a given country are the ones who grant the power to
govern that country, through either direct or indirect representation. Without self-government, there can be no
political participation on the part of the individual. The notion of self-government has been apparent since the
founding of our country, as evident in Federalist, no. 39, where James Madison writes that it is necessary that
the countryâs government âderives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is
administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior. It
is essential to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an
inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it.â6 As James Madison and his colleagues wrote the
Constitution that provides the framework of the American government, Madison felt that public officials must
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The Evolution of Self-Government
- Alexis de Tocqueville observed that American democracy is unique because the people control the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
- Unlike historical British systems where power was class-based, American political authority is derived from society as a whole.
- The concept of self-government is still evolving globally, with Japan being a relatively young democracy established after World War II.
- In Canada, Indigenous groups like the First Nations, Inuit, and MĂŠtis continue to advocate for self-governance as a means of cultural preservation.
- Indigenous claims to autonomy are based on their status as the original governors of the land who never willingly surrendered their rights.
- Full political participation is considered impossible without the achievement of self-government for all nations and peoples.
The American institutions are democratic, not only in their principle but in all their consequences.
come from society itself, not from a particular class, as they had for years in Britain.
French historian Alexis de Tocqueville agrees with this idea of self-government as elemental to American
political life, writing in Chapter 9 of Democracy in America (1835â1840), âIn America the people appoints the
legislative and the executive power, and furnishes the jurors who punish all offences against the laws. The
American institutions are democratic, not only in their principle but in all their consequences.â7 To be
democratic means that the people, and not kings or other authoritarian figures, decide how their government
and judicial system will function. Around the world today, some nations have only recently adopted or
continue to strive for self-government. Modern Japanese democracy and universal suffrage (voting rights for
citizens, both women and men) did not emerge until after the Second World War, which makes Japan a
relatively young democracy. In Canada, self-governance for Indigenous peoples remains an ongoing
discussion. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) works as an intermediary
between Canada and First Nations, Inuit, and MĂŠtis peoples, the three main Indigenous groups in Canada.
While Indigenous groups have persevered to create more autonomy for their people, their struggle to achieve
self-governance continues. As Canadian author and researcher Jenny Higgins writes:
âMany Indigenous people . . . see self-government as a way to preserve their culture and attain greater
control over their land, resources, and administration of laws and practices that affect their lives.
Indigenous groups argue they have an inherent right to self-government because they were the first
people to govern Canada and did not willingly surrender their autonomy to European settlers; this
argument is supported by the Canadian Constitution and was acknowledged by the federal
government in 1995.â8
While the MĂŠtis Nations of Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan came to a self-governance agreement with the
Canadian government in 2019, many people and nations still have not achieved self-government, and without
this, complete political participation cannot be realized. The next sections will discuss the various avenues of
participation that exist for people within democratic governments.
VIDEO
MĂŠtis in Canada Granted Right for Self-governance
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/5-1-what-is-
political-participation)
Voting and Self-Government
- Self-government implies that the people are sovereign and that no power exists above them.
- Voting serves as the primary mechanism for ensuring that government officials represent the will and beliefs of the people.
- The principle of 'one person, one vote' was reinforced by the Supreme Court to ensure equal representation across electoral districts.
- While voting is considered a normative and essential democratic act, voter turnout in the United States is often lower than in other industrialized nations.
- The 2020 U.S. election saw a historic 66 percent turnout, the highest recorded since the 1980s.
In self-governing states, the people elect public officials to government positions so those officials can represent the peopleâs beliefs and craft policies to express their will.
In this short video, Canadian Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett signs three agreements
granting the the MĂŠtis peoples the right to self-government.
Why Is Voting Such an Important Form of Political Participation?
Self-government also means that the people are considered sovereign, meaning there is no power above the
people. In self-governing states, the people elect public officials to government positions so those officials can
represent the peopleâs beliefs and craft policies to express their will. In this way, voting is an important
manifestation of both self-government and political participationâthe most important, some argue, because it
is the primary mechanism by which the people ensure that their government represents them. Another way to
put it is to say that voting is what makes government fair, despite the many forces that prevent it from being
fully representative. As Supreme Court justice Earl Warren wrote in his decision regarding Reynolds v. Sims
(1964), the right to direct representation is a bedrock of our democracy.9 In this case, the Supreme Court ruled
in an 8â1 majority decision that electoral districts have to be of equal population to ensure equal
representation, reinforcing the idea of one man, one vote (or rather, one person, one vote). The ideas that each
person has a vote in American democracy, that their vote is equal in power to another personâs vote, and that
each person should exercise their vote are considered not only normal but normative (desirable.)
5.1 ⢠What Is Political Participation? 141
Voter Turnout in the United States
Considering how important it is to vote, why donât more Americans vote? Voter turnout refers to the percentage
of eligible voters, or voters who meet the requirements of their localities or states, who cast a ballot in an
election. Many consider voter turnout to be low in the United States compared to other industrialized nations
(see chart below), though the 66 percent of eligible voters who cast a ballot in the recent 2020 election
represented the highest recorded voter turnout in a US election since the 1980s.10
Suffrage in the United States
FIGURE 5.2 This graph of turnout rates among the voting eligible population (VEP) in the United States shows that a
major shift occurred in the first half of the 19th century with regard to the emphasis votersâ placed on presidential
elections. (source: United States Election Project; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-
SA 4.0 license)
The Evolution of American Suffrage
- U.S. voter turnout has fluctuated significantly over time due to the gradual expansion of suffrage from white landowners to all citizens.
- Major legislative milestones like the 19th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were required to dismantle gender and race-based barriers.
- Groups such as Native Americans and Asian Americans faced prolonged disenfranchisement even after gaining theoretical citizenship rights.
- The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18 during the Vietnam War, driven by the logic that those old enough to fight should be old enough to vote.
- External crises, including world wars and the 1918 influenza pandemic, have historically hindered physical access to the ballot box.
- Voter participation remains inconsistent today, often dipping during off-year elections when the presidency is not contested.
The 26th Amendment was introduced to allow US citizens aged 18 and older the right to vote based on the principle that it was grossly unfair for the country to ask men to fight in a war when they could not vote on the representatives who were sending them into battle.
Looking at the graph of turnout in the United States, one can see that it has not been consistent over time. This
is due to factors such as the expansion of suffrage, or the right to vote. At the time of the countryâs founding,
only White landowners over the age of 21 could cast a ballot unless otherwise specified by individual states. By
1856, landowning requirements had been eliminated, expanding voting rights to all White male citizens. In
1870, the 15th Amendment recognized the right of all men to vote regardless of race, but it was not until 1965
that the Voting Rights Act addressed persistent race-based barriers to voting, such as literacy tests and poll
taxes. The crusade for full voting rights for women in the United States solidified at a convention in Seneca
Falls, New York, in 1848. It was not until 1890 that states began granting women the right to vote in national
elections in piecemeal fashion.11 Finally, in 1920, the passage of the 19th Amendment secured full suffrage for
women. Four years later, the Indian Citizenship Act granted Native Americans full citizenship, making them
theoretically eligible to vote, although they remained disenfranchised in practice in many states. Asian
Americans were not granted citizenship and voting rights until the passage of the McCarran-Walter Act in
1952. Finally, in 1971, the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. In the Constitution, the
second article of the 14th Amendment specifies voting rights for male citizens older than 21. During the
United Statesâ involvement in the Vietnam War, young men were eligible for the draft beginning at age 18; the
26th Amendment was introduced to allow US citizens aged 18 and older the right to vote based on the
SHOW ME THE DATA
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principle that it was grossly unfair for the country to ask men to fight in a war when they could not vote on the
representatives who were sending them into battle.12
Despite the historical expansion of the number of eligible voters in the United States, forces that hinder full
voter participation persist. External factors can affect voter turnout. After a voter turnout peak in the early
20th century, events such as World War I, the influenza pandemic of 1918, World War II, and the Vietnam War
affected not only how many people could vote but also whether they could access the ballot box.13 Historically
speaking, absentee voting, in which people cast a ballot by some method other than reporting to their usual
polling place, was not as common as it is today. Off-year elections, when a president is not on the ballot, also
tend to result in lower voter turnout. Later parts of this chapter will more fully examine individual and
institutional-level causes of low voter turnout in the United States.
Voter Turnout in Other Countries
Global Voter Turnout Trends
- The United States ranks near the bottom of OECD nations for voter turnout, placing 30th out of 35 countries as of 2016.
- Low political salience, where voters feel their individual actions lack a direct connection to political outcomes, is a primary driver of low participation.
- Institutional factors such as unicameralism, compulsory voting, and proportional representation are linked to higher turnout in other industrial democracies.
- Social capital, defined as the social networks connecting people, has been declining in the U.S. since the 1950s, correlating with lower voter engagement.
- Voters are significantly more likely to participate when they perceive their vote as having power or a better chance of resulting in representation.
In other words, people do not vote if they donât feel like their vote will have any effect.
How does US voter turnout compare to turnout in other countries? In 2016, out of 35 Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, the United States ranked 30th out of 35 in terms of
turnout.14 Why do other countries tend to have higher levels of participation? European University Institute
and Trinity College Professor Mark N. Franklin, in his analysis of European and American voters, found that
political salience, or the ability of voters to connect their actions (voting) with a political outcome, affected
voter turnout and that both the United States and those European countries with lower voter turnout, such as
Switzerland, exhibited low political salience.15 In other words, people do not vote if they donât feel like their
vote will have any effect. Conversely, when voters feel that their vote does have power, they are more likely to
vote. In his study of voter turnout in industrial democracies, University of California Professor Robert W.
Jackman provides a multiplicity of reasons for higher turnout in countries other than the United States,
including unicameralism (a government with a single legislative body) and compulsory voting, in which
citizens face penalties for not voting.16 Other scholars have suggested that proportional representation, a
system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them, also raises voter turnout
because voters feel as though they have a better chance of being represented within government.17 Scholars
have likewise identified a correlation between higher levels of social capital and political participation in
South Korea18 as well as in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Peru.19 Social capital, or the social networks that
optimally connect people and work with one another, has been dropping since the 1950s in the United States,
and this trend has correlated steadily with, among other things, lower voter turnout.20
5.1 ⢠What Is Political Participation? 143
FIGURE 5.3 As this graph shows, between 2015 and 2020 voter turnout rates in the United States lagged behind
those in many other OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) member nations. (source: US
News & World Report; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
5.2 What Limits Voter Participation in the United States?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain how individual characteristics can limit political participation.
⢠Explain how institutional characteristics can limit political participation.
⢠Articulate each characteristic and how it affects participation.
Demographics of Voter Turnout
- A Knight Foundation study of 12,000 nonvoters revealed that 100 million Americans abstained in 2016, primarily due to candidate dislike and low trust in the system.
- Age is the most consistent individual-level predictor of voting behavior, following a curvilinear pattern where participation peaks in middle age.
- Older voters are more likely to vote because they have established voting as a habit and typically have more time available after retirement.
- Residential stability and higher media consumption among seniors are significant factors that correlate with increased electoral participation.
- Seniors demonstrate a clearer understanding of how government policies, such as Social Security, directly impact their lives, motivating them to influence policymakers.
- Despite persistent age gaps, overall voter turnout across all demographic groups has seen an upward trend in the most recent election cycles.
The older voters are, the more likely they are to show up to the polls.
In the 2016 US presidential election, 100 million Americans didnât vote. A Knight Foundation study found that
nonvoters have less trust in the electoral system and consume less news and information compared to voters.
Notably, among nonvoters, dislike of the candidates was the most commonly cited reason for not voting.21
While this landmark study of 12,000 nonvoters sheds light on the reasons why people donât participate in the
democratic process, this chapter will further discuss in detail why full voter participation remains elusive.
What individual-level characteristics affect voter turnout in the United States? University of Montreal
Professor and Canada Research Chair in Electoral Democracy Ruth Dassonneville explains that few variables
consistently affect different aspects of voting as much as age.22 The older voters are, the more likely they are to
show up to the polls. The relationship is considered curvilinear, meaning younger voters are much less likely
to vote; likelihood of voting increases steadily as voters hit middle age, followed by a âsoftâ decline in the oldest
age categories.23 Why do older voters turn out at higher rates? Some studies suggest that as voters age, voting
becomes more of a habit, and that people are more likely to coalesce around the idea of voting.24 Case Western
Reserve University Professor Robert H. Binstock, a leading researcher on seniorsâ voting behaviors, has several
suggestions as to why age predicts voting. For one, the older a voter is, the more likely they are to pay attention
to things such as having to register, which is a precursor to voting. In addition, Binstock notes that the length of
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residence in oneâs home also predicts voting and that seniors are the most likely of all voters to have resided in
a single place for longer periods of time.25 Other researchers have found correlations between higher levels of
media consumption in older voters and a greater propensity to vote.26 In addition, people over the age of 65
tend to vote more because they better understand the relationship between governmental policies that affect
them, such as Social Security, and their ability to influence policy makers through political participation.27 On
a more basic level, older people usually have more time on their hands.28 As people retire and their children
leave the house, they have more time to become politically active. However, as the graph in Figure 5.4
indicates, turnout across all groups has risen in the last two election cycles.
FIGURE 5.4 While turnout among all groups has risen in recent US elections, older Americans still vote at the
highest rates. (source: US Census data; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0
license)
Income and Voter Participation
- Individuals earning below the median income are significantly less likely to vote than those earning above it.
- Rising income inequality further decreases the likelihood of lower-income individuals participating in elections.
- Wealthier citizens are more likely to believe their vote influences political outcomes, whereas lower-income citizens often feel their vote lacks impact.
- Lower-income voters face structural barriers such as lack of transportation, difficulty registering, and inability to take time off work.
- Economic hardship can lead to voter apathy as individuals prioritize meeting basic survival needs over political engagement.
- Higher levels of economic development correlate with increased education, which serves as a primary driver for voter turnout.
Economic hardship can result in voter apathy and lead people to withdraw from politics and focus on meeting their basic needs.
Income is another individual-level variable that helps explain voter turnout. University of Warwick Professor
Christopher J. Anderson and Duke University Professor Pablo Beramendi have found that those earning below
the median income are less likely to vote than people earning above the median income and that as income
inequality increases, people with lower levels of income are decreasingly likely to vote.29 The founding
executive director of progressive think tank Data for Progress, Sean McElwee, explains that those with lower
incomes do not believe their vote influences political outcomes, while the wealthy do believe their vote counts
and are therefore more likely to turn out to vote.30 Wealthier voters also tend to have greater access to the
polls. They donât face the same barriers to voting that many voters at lower income levels face, such as having
to rely on public transportation or experiencing difficulty registering to vote.31 A recent study of the 2020 US
election found that some of the reasons for lower participation among low-income voters were the inability to
take time off of work, missing voter registration deadlines, and not being able to find their polling places.32 The
same study also found large disparities between those making over $75,000 and those making less than
$40,000 in terms of their likelihood of voting at all. Internationally, and on a more macro level, economic
development will have an impact on participation rates âbecause economic hardship can result in voter apathy
and lead people to withdraw from politics and focus on meeting their basic needs.â In addition, economic
development affects education levels, which in turn affects voter participation.33
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5.2 ⢠What Limits Voter Participation in the United States? 145
FIGURE 5.5 Most of the growth in the electorate since 2000 has come from Hispanic, Black, and Asian eligible
voters. (source: Pew Research Center analysis of 2018 American Community Survey and 2000 decennial census.
âThe Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of the US Electorateâ; attribution: Copyright Rice University,
OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Demographics of Voter Turnout
- Race remains a significant factor in US voter turnout, with White voters historically participating at higher rates than Asian or Latino voters.
- Black voter turnout has remained steady since the 1965 Voting Rights Act and reached a historic peak in 2012, surpassing White turnout.
- The 2020 election marked a 'seismic shift' in Asian American participation, particularly in Georgia where turnout increased by 63 percent.
- Since 1980, women in the US have consistently voted at higher rates than men, a trend potentially driven by feminist movements and policy mobilization.
- A 'gender canyon' exists in voting preferences, with women generally favoring Democratic candidates while men lean Republican.
- Global gender turnout varies significantly, with the lowest female participation in parts of the Middle East and North Africa, while women lead in 21 of 58 studied countries.
The polls leading up to the 2020 US election illustrated a âgender canyon,â with a projected 15 percent gender gap between men, the majority of whom supported the Republican candidate, and women, who supported the Democratic candidate.
Race is another factor that influences voter turnout. In the United States, White people have historically voted
at substantially higher rates than voters of Asian or Latina/Latino descent, with the gap ranging from 15 to 20
percentage points.34 Asian American turnout has never reached the 50 percent mark, but the 2020 election
saw a 63 percent increase in Asian American and Pacific Islander voter participation in Georgia compared to
2016, and Joe Bidenâs win in the state is partially credited to this seismic shift.35 Black turnout has historically
been higher than that of other minority groups, and any history of low turnout among Black people can be
attributed to voter suppression policies and local laws that were not officially reversed until the passage of the
Voting Rights Act in 1965. Since then, and notably since the 1980s, Black turnout has been steady. In 2012,
Black turnout percentage reached an all-time high, surpassing White turnout in the presidential election that
returned Barack Obama, the first Black president, to office for a second term.36 Research on Latina/Latino
(Latinx) turnout has shown that the group is not a monolith and that several different factors contribute to any
understanding of Latinx voter participation. For example, the longer a Latinx voter has lived in the country, the
more likely they are to vote, and differences among Cuban American, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican
voters diminish after controlling for socioeconomic factors.37 However, as illustrated in Figure 5.5, minority
voters will only continue to grow in proportion to the population, and it is reasonable to think that their rates of
voter participation will rise as well.
What about gender? In 1980, the numbers of eligible male and female voters who reported voting were roughly
the same, around 62 percent. Since then, increasingly more eligible female voters have voted than men. By
2016, the gap had widened by 4 percentage points, with the total number of female voters exceeding the
number of male voters in every election since 1964.38 Women turn out in higher numbers for a variety of
reasons. Feminist movements have normalized female participation in politics, and the campaign platforms of
Republicans in the 1980sâalong with the rise of the Christian Right, which espoused traditional family values
at the expense of policies such as equal pay and family leaveâmay have unintentionally mobilized women to
vote in higher numebrs.39 Not only do women turn out at higher rates, but they also tend to exhibit voting
preferences that differ from menâs. While men and women showed similar voting preferences in 1964, since
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1976, the gap between their preferences has consistently widened.40 The polls leading up to the 2020 US
election illustrated a âgender canyon,â with a projected 15 percent gender gap between men, the majority of
whom supported the Republican candidate, and women, who supported the Democratic
candidate41âalthough this gap narrowed in the actual election to just 7 percentage points, a notable change
from the 13-point gap observed in 2016.42 Globally, gender as a factor in turnout depends on the country. The
lowest rates of female participation in elections are found mainly in countries in the Middle East, North Africa,
and Asia. Female participation is lowest in Pakistan, while women participate at higher rates compared to men
in 21 of 58 countries included in an International IDEA study,43 notably including Belarus, New Zealand,
Russia, and Trinidad and Tobago.44
Psychology of Voter Participation
- Individual attitudes such as local interest and a sense of civic duty are primary drivers of political engagement.
- Feelings of guilt associated with not voting correlate strongly with higher registration and turnout rates.
- Political efficacy, or the belief that one's vote matters, significantly impacts the likelihood of participation.
- Historical declines in institutional trust and interest have led to lower overall voter turnout.
- The theory of 'voter fatigue' suggests that the high frequency of elections and decisions discourages citizens from participating.
- Scholars like Arend Lijphart propose that reducing the frequency of elections could actually boost participation rates.
Multiple scholars also support the theory that voter fatigueâthe idea that voters face too many elections and too many electoral decisionsâdepresses participation.
Aside from demographic factors, other individual-level attitudes also affect who participates in politics. A 2006
Pew Research Center study found that individuals who agreed with the statements âI am interested in local
politics,â âIt is my duty as a citizen to always vote,â âThis election matters more,â and âI feel guilty when I donât
voteâ were all much more likely to be registered and regular voters than individuals who disagreed with those
statements.45 Subsequent studies found that interest and duty drive political participation.46 As mentioned
earlier in this chapter, political efficacy also affects turnout, and historically, declining levels of trust, interest,
and efficacy have been shown to lower political participation.47 Multiple scholars also support the theory that
voter fatigueâthe idea that voters face too many elections and too many electoral decisionsâdepresses
participation,48 and University of California Professor Arend Lijphart suggests that less frequent elections
would boost participation.49
Institutional Barriers to Voting
- Voter registration requirements represent one of the most significant institutional limits on political participation in the United States.
- Unlike many other democracies that use automatic registration, the U.S. system places the burden of registration on individuals and states.
- Institutional barriers such as voter ID laws and reduced access to polling places disproportionately affect minority, poor, and younger voters.
- Modern voter suppression tactics include voter roll purges, the elimination of same-day registration, and unchecked gerrymandering.
- Historical disenfranchisement methods like Jim Crow laws used literacy tests and physical violence to systematically exclude Black voters.
Of the 80 million Americans who did not vote in the 2020 election, almost 30 percent cited being unregistered as the top reason they did not go to the polls.
In addition to demographic and individual-level characteristics, institutional forces can affect political
participation. Voter registration requirements are one of the biggest institutional limits on political
participation. Unlike countries such as Japan, Australia, Belgium, Germany, and Sweden, which all have
automatic voter registration50 whereby the government automatically registers citizens to vote, the United
States relies on individuals and states to set up registration requirements and procedures. States that have
adopted automatic voter registration (AVR)âin which the state automatically registers voters, usually through
the Department of Motor Vehiclesâhave shown increases in the number of registered voters. As Figure 5.6
indicates, most voters in the United States register through the Department of Motor Vehicles. A 2019 study
showed that AVR increased voter registration in seven states plus the District of Columbia, controlling for all
other factors.51 Of the 80 million Americans who did not vote in the 2020 election, almost 30 percent cited
being unregistered as the top reason they did not go to the polls.52
5.2 ⢠What Limits Voter Participation in the United States? 147
FIGURE 5.6 According to US Census data, between 2014 and 2018 most voting-age American citizens registered to
vote at a department of motor vehicles or through a county or government registration office. (source: US Census
Bureau, Current Population Survey Voting and Registration Supplements: November 2014, 2016, 2018; attribution:
Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Sarina Vij, writing for the American Bar Associationâs (ABAâs) Human Rights magazine, notes that minorities
are disproportionately affected by institutional barriers such as voter ID laws and decreased access to polling
places and voting materials.53 Voter ID laws require individuals to present an ID, most commonly a driverâs
license or passport, in order to vote. Individuals who lack government-issued identification are more likely to
be, among other demographics, non-White. Vij indicates that lack of access to polling stations, another
institutional barrier to participation, also tends to significantly disadvantage poor and minority voters. Access
to actual voting locations goes hand in hand with availability of voting materials; younger, less educated, and
non-White voters often cannot find necessary information about what is on the ballot or where they should
vote, and they often meet with language barriers as well.
Additional institutional restrictions on voting access have resulted in what some believe to be widespread
voter suppression. A 2020 Harvard University study noted that restrictions on voter registration drives, new
restrictions on early voting and voting by felons, voter roll purges, closure of polling places, restrictions on
student voting, elimination of same-day voter registration, and unchecked gerrymandering (the manipulation
of the boundaries of voting districts in order to favor one party over another) all contribute to lowered political
participation.54 Historically, codified laws in the United States such as Jim Crow laws prohibited Black voters
from the ballot box. These laws used literacy tests, poll taxes, and stringent residency requirements to make
voting more difficult. Even more horrific, in some regions of the United States, Black voters faced the threat of
lynchings: âSlave patrols, the Ku Klux Klan and less formally organized groups of whites used beatings,
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Evolution of Political Participation
- The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 24th Amendment dismantled Jim Crow barriers like poll taxes to protect minority voting rights.
- Political institutions act as counteragents to racism by expanding accessibility for marginalized groups and people with disabilities.
- Global trends show a move toward greater inclusion, with several European nations lowering the legal voting age to 16.
- Religious organizations play a significant role in mobilization by recruiting members and framing civic involvement as having moral consequences.
- Beyond the ballot box, direct communication with elected officials is a fundamental form of participation rooted in colonial-era traditions.
- The First Amendment protects the right to criticize the government, ensuring a 'marketplace of ideas' essential for self-governance.
The presumed right of the people to instruct their elected representatives extends back to colonial times.
burnings and hangings to constantly remind blacks of their inferior status and to prevent the use of their
newly acquired freedoms to work and vote.â55 Jim Crow laws remained in effect until 1965, when the passage
of the Voting Rights Act formally outlawed racial discrimination in voting.
The Voting Rights Act reflects the power that political institutions can have both to act as counteragents to
racism and to promote political participation. In 1966, Congress passed the 24th Amendment, which
abolished poll taxes. The states ratified the amendment in 1964. In 1975, Congress added language to the
original Voting Rights Act requiring localities to provide multilingual voter information, and it further
expanded voting rights to protect Americans with disabilities in 1982.56 Globally, European Union (EU)
countries such as Austria, Malta, Scotland, and Wales have made voting more accessible by lowering the voter
age to 16. Other institutions that can affect peopleâs levels of political participation include religious groups
and organizations. Denison University Professor Paul Djupe and Southern Illinois University Professor J. Tobin
Grant found that religious institutions can encourage political participation by recruiting members to be part
of the political process and highlighting their involvement as having political consequences.57
5.3 How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Discuss forms of political participation other than voting.
⢠Explain individual-level versus group-level participation.
⢠Explain how the concept of social capital affects why people participate in political activities.
The official website of the United States Senate includes a âHistorical Highlightâ titled âConstituents Tell
Senator How to Vote (https://openstax.org/r/constituents-tell),â which notes that shortly after the first Senate
convened in 1789, its members began receiving letters about how they should vote, and that the presumed
right of the people to instruct their elected representatives extends back to colonial times.58 This is still true
today. Americans are free to call, email, or write their elected representative with their concerns or to appeal
for help, and this type of activity is considered political participation. What other forms of participation exist?
The first two sections of this chapter examined why voting is such an important form of political participation
and exposed some of the major barriers to voting in the United States. While voting is importantâand, for
some people, difficultâthere are a multiplicity of other ways to become involved in politics. This section will
discuss individual-level actions that are considered important forms of political engagement.
Writing or calling an elected official is an important form of political participation and is also part of how free
speech is understood in the United States. The First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees freedom of
speech. Part of the reason the Constitution guarantees free speech is to preserve every citizenâs right to
criticize the government. This is not true in many non-democratic countries around the world, where dictators
squash public disapproval of their actions. The ability to contact elected officials to criticize or suggest changes
is a crucial part of self-government. Free speech, and the extent to which Americans can exercise it, depends
on time, place, and content. It is crucial in part because it âaids the political processâ59 and supports the
marketplace of ideas that is essential to self-government.
Methods of Civic Engagement
- Contacting elected officials is a fundamental way for Americans to express concerns ranging from local ordinances to national executive orders.
- Volunteering serves as a critical entry point for young Americans, who engage in community service at rates nearly equal to Baby Boomers despite lower voter turnout.
- Political campaign volunteers perform essential labor such as door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, and voter registration assistance.
- Active participation in voluntary associations teaches citizens the practical skills necessary for democratic life.
- While U.S. voter turnout is lower than in many developed nations, Americans participate in non-voting political activities at significantly higher rates.
- Digital engagement has become the most common way for Americans to interact with politics, surpassing physical volunteering or attending rallies.
Volunteers help candidates and parties by knocking on votersâ doors and explaining policies one-on-one, phone banking, stuffing envelopes with campaign literature, and sometimes even transporting voters to the polls.
Contacting Your Representatives via Email, Letter, or Phone
If you are an American, it is very easy to contact your elected officials with any concerns you might have, be they
about a local ordinance, such as whether you can walk your dog off of its leash, or about one of the presidentâs
executive orders. The Internet makes it easy to email officials, though you can always write a letter or make a call as
well. The US government has a website (https://openstax.org/r/has-a-website) that allows people to find their local,
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
5.3 ⢠How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting? 149
state, and nationally elected government officials.
Another way to express political opinions and engage in political activity is through volunteering. Unlike
voting, which skews toward older individuals, âthe percentage of young Americans engaged in regular
volunteer activity nearly equals that of their Baby Boomer parents,â60 and while young people might not vote,
many participate in a variety of civic engagement activities that can be considered just as important as voting.
Volunteerism and voluntary association in groups, be they a formal political group or a neighborhood
recycling committee, are important forms of civic engagement because these types of activities teach us how
to participate in democratic life.61 What does a volunteer for a political campaign do? Volunteers help
candidates and parties by knocking on votersâ doors and explaining policies one-on-one, phone banking
(making calls to potential voters to sew up support), stuffing envelopes with campaign literature, distributing
yard and window signs, helping people register to vote, and sometimes even transporting voters to the polls.
Volunteering for a political campaign is important work because âvolunteersâ door-to-door canvassing can
make a difference in turnoutâparticularly in elections where turnout is typically low, such as those in mid-
term election years.â62 Interestingly, while US voter participation rates are lower than rates in other developed
countries, âthe rates of political participationâthat is, taking part in public life in ways other than votingâtend
to be far higher than in other countries.â63 A Pew Research Center survey of 14 countries from around the
globe showed that beyond voting, political participation rates were relatively low. The study notes that
âattending a political campaign event or speech is the second most common type of participation among those
surveyed,â while âfewer people report participating in volunteer organizations (a median of 27%), posting
comments on political issues online (17%), participating in an organized protest (14%) or donating money to a
social or political organization (12%).â64
FIGURE 5.7 Beyond voting, political participation around the world is relatively low. (source: Pew Research Center
Spring 2018 Global Attitudes Survey. Q63a-f; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA
4.0 license)
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Compare the data in Figure 5.7 for countries around the world to the data in Figure 5.8 for the United States,
where people report higher levels of political engagement across similar activities:
FIGURE 5.8 More Americans engage with politics digitally than by volunteering or attending rallies. (source: Pew
Research Center survey of US adults conducted Jan. 29-Feb. 13, 2018; attribution: Copyright Rice University,
OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Money as Political Speech
- The Supreme Court protects political donations as a form of free speech, allowing citizens to participate in the democratic process from home.
- While individual donation caps exist, contributors can also give larger sums to PACs and national committees.
- Small-dollar donations are reshaping politics, with nearly 25% of 2020 election funds coming from donors giving less than $200.
- Grassroots fundraising through micro-donations allows non-wealthy individuals to have a collective financial impact on campaigns.
- International laws on campaign finance vary wildly, ranging from strict spending and donation limits in France to no limits at all in Germany.
Political donations, which the Supreme Court has protected as a type of political speech, allow people to feel like they are participating in politics without leaving their homes or picking up a phone.
Donating money is also a form of political participation (Chapter 8: Interest Groups, Political Parties, and
Elections will discuss the role of money in elections in greater detail). Political donations, which the Supreme
Court has protected as a type of political speech, allow people to feel like they are participating in politics
without leaving their homes or picking up a phone, thanks in part to the ease of online donating. Not everyone
who donates is a millionaire. While the cap on individual donations to a single candidate is $2,900, voters can
also give up to $5,000 to a political action committee (PAC), $10,000 to state and local political parties, and
$36,5000 to the national committee.65 Individuals need not be wealthy to contribute to the candidate or party
of their choice. The Wall Street Journal profiled a 34-year-old office manager and Bernie Sanders supporter
who donated to the Sanders election campaign by giving in three-dollar increments up to 20 times a day.66 Not
everyone who contributes gives the maximum of $2,900, but their collective donations add up to a significant
amount of money: Close to a quarter of all money raised in the 2020 election cycle came from people who gave
less than $200.67 This movement toward small donors signifies a positive change in political participation:
instead of a small number of very wealthy individuals contributing money, this type of grassroots fundraising
creates a chance for broader civic participation.68
Donating money to political campaigns and candidates looks different in other countries. The United States
limits how much any individual or group can donate, and countries such as Belgium, Canada, Chile, France,
Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Poland, and Slovenia limit both how much individuals can
donate and how much campaigns can spend donations. For example, the donation limit in Canada, which
increases by Can$25 at the beginning of each year, was Can$1,650 (roughly US$1,320) total per person as of
2021.69 In France, the donation limit was âŹ4,600 (roughly US$5,300) per candidate and âŹ7,500 (roughly
US$8,650) per political party as of 2019.70 Some other countries place no limits on donations (or on spending),
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5.3 ⢠How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting? 151
including Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.71
Foundations of Political Engagement
- Low-energy activities like staying informed and using social media can be as influential as direct political action.
- Discussion serves as a primary vehicle for political learning and helps citizens identify their best interests.
- Self-education is identified as the most critical precursor to deeper levels of civic involvement.
- Effective political discourse requires specific skills such as active listening and finding common ground.
- Organizations like the Common Ground Committee aim to reduce ignorance and fear through structured public forums.
While keeping informed about politics may not seem like political participation the way that voting or volunteering does, educating oneself is perhaps the most important precursor to becoming more fully involved.
Some forms of political participation, such as being informed, discussing issues, and using social media, donât
entail the same level of energy or expense as contacting elected officials, volunteering, or donating money, but
they can be just as important and influential. Scholars note that while there are many ways to be involved in
politics, people often learn about politics through discussion, and being informed allows people to make good
decisions about how to vote in their best interests.72 While keeping informed about politics may not seem like
political participation the way that voting or volunteering does, educating oneself is perhaps the most
important precursor to becoming more fully involved. This can mean reading about politics in the newspaper
or listening to a podcast, but it may also take the form of either face-to-face or online discussions. In the run-
up to the 2020 presidential election, the New York Times created an online feature called âHow to Participate
in Politics.â73 In it, a section called âHow to Talk about Politicsâ encourages people to talk in person, find
common ground, listen, focus on the issues, and know when to stop talking. The founders of the Common
Ground Committee, an organization that sponsors public forums that bring together leaders from different
backgrounds to discuss politics,74 wrote an opinion piece in which they explained very simply that the reason
people need to learn how to discuss politics is so that we can reduce ignorance and fear and create productive
outcomes.75
Social Media and Political Agency
- Social media has fundamentally altered how Americans consume news, with nearly half of adults under 30 relying on it as their primary source for political information.
- Digital platforms are positively correlated with increased political agency, information recall, and a greater sense of efficacy among users.
- The ease of digital broadcasting allows anyone to generate news, creating a hazardous environment where falsehoods travel six times faster than the truth.
- Research indicates that falsehoods on social media are 70% more likely to be retweeted and are more effective at changing people's opinions than factual information.
- Potential solutions to misinformation include crowdsourced ratings and encouraging users to actively assess the accuracy of headlines before sharing.
- While social media use and political participation are highly correlated, the relationship is not necessarily causal.
An MIT study found that âfalsehoods are 70% more likely to be retweeted on Twitter than the truth, and reach their first 1,500 people six times faster.â
You may not be able to imagine a world without a smartphone or social media, and these two technological
advances have marked a significant shift not only in how we communicate with one another, shop, and look for
information but also in how we participate in politics. Currently, a quarter of Americans get their news from a
website or news app, and close to 20 percent use social media. More specifically, in one study conducted from
October 2019 to June 2020, 40 percent of people aged 30â49 and 48 percent of people aged 18â29 reported
that they got most of their political news from social media.76 Fake news and misinformation may proliferate
easily online, but studies have found that both information recall and short-term learning are positively
correlated with social media use.77 In terms of political engagement, scholars have found that social media
increases participation and peopleâs sense of political agency and that after being exposed to information
online, individuals tend to feel more efficacious.78 Finally, a meta-study (a study that summarizes multiple
studies on a similar topic) found that, overall, social media use is highly correlated with participation in civil
and political life.79 It is important to note that this relationship is not causalâuse of social media does not lead
to political participation, or vice versaâbut the two activities appear to be decidedly related.
But why do people turn to social media when they want to find out about politics or make their views known?
Simply put, it has never been so easy. We are all broadcasters when we have a social media account. With
social media, we feel we can both acquire information and vocalize our views, and these activities are a type of
political participation. The ease is also what makes social media a hazardous environment for political
information and participation. Almost anyone can generate news anywhere, unchecked, and that news can
travel at speeds faster than previously possible. An MIT study found that âfalsehoods are 70% more likely to be
retweeted on Twitter than the truth, and reach their first 1,500 people six times faster.â80 More problematic,
the same study found that falsehoods are also more likely to change peopleâs opinions. How do we harness
social media for goodâthat is, so that it helps us acquire information and feel more knowledgeableâwhile
fixing its problems? A separate MIT study found that crowdsourcing ratingsâin other words, asking people to
âgradeâ information they saw onlineâworks to reduce the spread of fake news.81 Another study found that
when people took the time to assess the accuracy of online headlines, they were more likely to spot fakes.82
Compared to television and radio, our relationship with social media is still nascent, and there is room for
improvement in how we use it for political purposes.
This chapter has looked at how individuals can participate in our political process, either through voting or by
engaging in a myriad of other activities. But how can we participate as part of a group? Earlier parts of this
chapter discussed how volunteering is a powerful form of individual-level participation. This section will
examine how groups and being a part of these groups also acts as a form of political participation.
152 5 ⢠Political Participation and Public Opinion
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Political Party and Campaign Volunteering
- Political parties like the DNC and RNC offer continuous opportunities for involvement through fundraising, phone-banking, and door-knocking.
- National organizations maintain active operations even between election cycles, constantly seeking volunteers to achieve long-term goals.
- Local and state party organizations often lack the funding of national campaigns, making them heavily dependent on grassroots volunteer labor.
- Active participation in local politics can serve as a career springboard, as demonstrated by figures like Nancy Pelosi.
- Campaign volunteering builds social networks and provides a practical introduction to the inner workings of the political process.
As former House Speaker Tip OâNeill once said, âAll politics are local,â and you can volunteer for state and local party organizations, many of which are not as well funded as national campaigns and rely on volunteer help.
In the United States, if you donât know which candidate you want to support, or if the next election is still far in
the future, an easy organization to become part of, support, and work for is a political party. If you take a look
at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) website (https://openstax.org/r/democratic-national), you will see
that volunteers do many different things, including hosting fundraisers and organizing local events for
politicians to attend.83 The Republican National Committee (RNC) also has a sign-up portal
(https://openstax.org/r/the-republican-national) where people can volunteer to be part of their fundraising,
phone-banking, and door-knocking efforts.84 Congressional elections take place every two years, and political
parties do not suspend their activities in the interim. They are always looking for individuals to help them
achieve their goals. As former House Speaker Tip OâNeill once said, âAll politics are local,â and you can
volunteer for state and local party organizations, many of which are not as well funded as national campaigns
and rely on volunteer help. Current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a name for herself fundraising for local
politicians, then for California state candidates, before she ran for office herself. Being part of a party can
introduce you to people with shared interests and train you for further involvement in politics.
Working for a political campaign is another form of political participation that anyone can engage in. The work
of campaigns rests on the shoulders of volunteers. Much like working for a political party, being part of the
volunteer staff for a campaign entails making and answering phone calls about a candidate, stuffing envelopes,
soliciting donations, distributing campaign literature, knocking on doors, helping register candidates, and
doing whatever other work the campaign staff needs. Many people donate their time because they believe in a
particular candidate, while others find it is a good way to introduce themselves to the work of politics.
Whatever the aim, volunteering for a campaign is an important, often rewarding form of participation that can
serve to create new social networks.
Griffin Neal, Regional Campaign Manager
Campaign Operations and Activism
- Campaign work is described as a grueling 'slog' involving long hours, constant phone calls, and minimal initial pay.
- Academic study provides policy knowledge, but hands-on extracurricular involvement in campus politics is the primary preparation for campaign operations.
- Most political campaigns are chronically understaffed, creating significant opportunities for rapid upward mobility for dedicated volunteers.
- Success in political staffing often comes from taking on undesirable projects and maintaining consistent follow-through with coordinators.
- Beyond traditional campaigning, social movements and protests serve as powerful catalysts for policy change, as seen in the 2021 surge of Asian American-led activism.
Itâs a slog: long nights, early mornings, fast food, and more phone calls than the human ear was built to withstand.
Please explain what you do for your organization.
I am a former grassroots coordinator and current deputy campaign manager for Congressman Mike Johnsonâs
(LA-04) reelection campaign.
How did you get involved in your position?
I studied public policy and journalism at the University of Mississippi. To be frank, there isnât much schooling that
can prepare you for the operational side of a campaign. Itâs a slog: long nights, early mornings, fast food, and more
phone calls than the human ear was built to withstand. However, my degree in public policy provided me with the
requisite knowledge of the policy-making processâand politics in generalâwhich allowed me to engage directly
with would-be voters on the issues. More importantly though, my degree program emphasized extracurricular
involvement, particularly in campus politics. I began volunteering on campaigns as a freshman, ran for office my
sophomore year, ran another campaign junior year, and then joined the dark side as a senior, when I became
executive editor of the campus newspaper. Ultimately (and unfortunately), campaigns arenât all too dissimilar from
campus elections.
What advice would you give students who are interested in your line of work?
Reach out to the grassroots coordinator or volunteer coordinator. Immediately. The vast majority of
campaignsâfrom city council to Congressâare understaffed. Volunteering on campaigns isnât a glamorous job, nor
will it immediately pay well. However, being affiliated with a campaign is one of the premier ways to involve yourself
in politics. Whether youâre passionate about a candidate or using it as a conduit to eventually work in politics,
campaign work offers the best insight into the political process. And because most campaign staffs are overworked,
the opportunities for growth and upward mobility are endless. I started with the Johnson campaign in August of
MEET A PROFESSIONAL
5.3 ⢠How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting? 153
2020, handling volunteer engagement and distributing yard signs; three months later I was doing election night TV
hits85 with local media. As for actually getting involved with the campaign, if youâre hoping to volunteer with an
official seeking reelection, reach out to their office. They can connect you with the requisite campaign staffers. If
youâre hoping to work with a new candidate, most campaigns have either an email or phone number connected to
their social channels, as well as on any would-be website. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the first call is all youâll
need to get involved, but itâs important to follow through on your request. If you offer to volunteer for a campaign,
make sure to outline expectations with your boss and let them know of any potential conflictsâthat way, the
volunteer coordinator will know how and where they can maximize you as a volunteer. One last piece of advice: take
the project no one else wants to take; it will pay dividends in the long run.
Another way to become involved with a political group is through protests and social movements. Earlier
sections of this chapter showed that in comparison to other demographic groups, Asian Americans have low
levels of political participation. However, in 2021, after a year of increased violence against members of the
Asian community and a shooting incident that left six Asian women dead at an Atlanta business, Asian
Americanâled protests surged across the country, leading the president, the vice president, and members of
Congress to investigate the number of rising hate crimes against Asian Americans and formulate a policy
response.86
The Power of Protest
- Collective action through protests serves as a successful method for bringing public attention to specific political causes.
- Protests are a global phenomenon, used in Latin American countries and even authoritarian regimes to express policy demands and demand accountability.
- Political participation through protest transcends demographic divides, involving both rural and urban voters regardless of education levels.
- The digital migration of activism has introduced e-petitioning as a legitimate tool that influences policymakers and presidential responses.
- Protest movements are historically and currently driven by younger generations who utilize digital savvy to mobilize for social change.
Even in authoritarian countries where freedom of expression is not protected, protests function as an important form of political participation.
FIGURE 5.9 In 2021, Asian Americans led protests against the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in the wake of
COVID-19. (credit: â03.20.21_Solidarity Against Hate Crimes (200)â by Paul Becker/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
In this way, protests are a good example of how people working collectively can participate in politics to
successfully call attention to a cause. This is not only an American phenomenon. Researchers have found that
protests continue to play an important role in Latin American countries as a way for people âto achieve certain
political objectives and to express policy demands.â87 Even in authoritarian countries where freedom of
expression is not protected, protests function as an important form of political participation. While rural and
urban voters may exhibit different characteristics, such as differing levels of education, both can still engage in
protest as a way to demand accountability from the government.88
Much like everything else in our world, protests have also migrated from the streets to the online sphere. E-
petitioningâthat is, signing petitions online as opposed to in-personâhas been found to mobilize communities
to solicit support for policy recommendations, and studies show that policy makers take these types of online
protests into account. For example, online activity after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School
spurred President Obama to explicitly and publicly acknowledge the widespread online petitions in support of
reforming gun laws.89 Protest movements are often associated with younger peopleâthink Tiananmen Square
(https://openstax.org/r/tiananmen-square) or anti-Vietnam movementsâand young, savvy protestors tend to
be active online. After the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, the
154 5 ⢠Political Participation and Public Opinion
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The Rise of Networked Citizenship
- Younger generations are shifting away from traditional social ties like family and school toward political identities shaped by self-constructed digital networks.
- The 2019 global protest wave was historically unprecedented, with more protesters active than at any other time in history.
- Digital platforms have enabled students to maintain political momentum and public support for issues like gun control without traditional institutional backing.
- Global protests are increasingly driven by systemic factors including economic stagnation, climate change, and foreign political interference.
- The Hong Kong Umbrella Movement illustrates how physical objects can become powerful political symbols and subsequently be labeled as weapons by the state.
- State responses to modern protests often involve legal crackdowns, such as national security laws and mass arrests, to quell movements for autonomy.
Having become a symbol of the resistance, umbrellas are now considered âweaponsâ by the Chinese government and are increasingly difficult to purchase online.
New York Times ran an article with the headline âHow the Parkland Students Got So Good at Social Media.â
The article described an online protest, fueled entirely by people who had yet to even enter college, that was
hugely successful in garnering public support and keeping gun control issues front and center.90 Academics
echo the notion that while younger generations may seem apathetic and unlikely to participate in traditional
ways, âthe political identity and attitudes of young citizens are . . . seen to be increasingly shaped less by their
social ties to family, neighbourhood, school or workâ and more âby the manner in which they participate and
interact through the social networks which they themselves have had a significant part in constructing,â91
thereby creating ânew forms of networked young citizenship.â92 In this way, the combination of protests and
the online world creates a new avenue for political participation that is just as important as traditional, offline
engagement.
Protest movements âswept the globe [in 2019]âso widely that some experts said there were more protests, and
more protesters, in 2019 than at any other time in history.â93
FIGURE 5.10 There was a considerable increase in global protest movements between 2009 and 2019. (source:
Samuel J. Brannen, Christian S. Haig, and Katherine Schmidt, The Age of Mass Protests: Understanding an
Escalating Global Trend Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 2020; attribution:
Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that factors such as slowing global economic
growth, worsening effects of climate change, and foreign meddling in internal politics contribute to the growth
of protest movements worldwide.94 One notable example is the Umbrella Movement, a pro-democracy
movement in Hong Kong that adopted its name in 2014 after the umbrellas that protesters used to shield their
identities from Chinese officials, block pepper spray and water cannons, and defend against police clubs.
Having become a symbol of the resistance, umbrellas are now considered âweaponsâ by the Chinese
government and are increasingly difficult to purchase online.95 Hong Kong, which was once a British colony,
reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 under a âone country, two systemsâ arrangement whereby Hong Kong would
be allowed some continued autonomy and its citizens would have more rights than those in mainland China.
However, in June 2019, the Chinese government enacted plans to allow the extradition of Hong Kong citizens
to China, a move that protesters said would subject citizens of Hong Kong to unfair trials and target activists
and journalists. Though the extradition bill was withdrawn, activists in Hong Kong believe that China will
5.3 ⢠How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting? 155
continue to dismantle their legal rights and continue to protest against Beijing in order to protect their
independence.96 Tensions between pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong and Chinese party officials only
continued to escalate as prosecutors alleged that the protests were a security threat and interfered with
government functions. By March 2021, after the protests had largely been quelled by COVID-19 pandemic
restrictions and âa harsh national security lawâ passed in June 2020, Chinese officials had arrested more than
10,000 pro-democracy protesters, and more than 2,400 had been charged.97
VIDEO
Hong Kong Protests: Why âUmbrella Revolutionâ? BBC News
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/5-3-how-do-
Global Pro-Democracy Movements
- The Hong Kong protest movement adopted the name 'Umbrella Movement' as explained by visual artist Kacey Wong.
- The Arab Spring was ignited by a single act of self-immolation by a Tunisian street vendor protesting authoritarian rule.
- While the Arab Spring led to regime changes in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, many regions still face ongoing violence and instability.
- Ten years later, Tunisia continues to struggle with civil unrest driven by economic inequality and the failure of successive governments.
- Government crackdowns in both Hong Kong and Tunisia have resulted in the mass arrest and abuse of protesters, including many minors.
- These international movements serve as a reminder that the right to advocate and protest should not be taken for granted.
This single act set off a wave of protests across North Africa and the Middle East, resulting in regime changes and modest political, social, and economic gains in several countries, but also still-ongoing protests and violence.
individuals-participate-other-than-voting)
In this video, visual artist Kacey Wong explains why the Hong Kong protest movement adopted the name
âUmbrella Movement.â
Another major international protest movement was the Arab Spring, one of the most prominent social
movements of the 2010s, which started when a Tunisian street vendor lit himself on fire as a form of protest
against the countryâs authoritarian government. This single act set off a wave of protests across North Africa
and the Middle East, resulting in regime changes and modest political, social, and economic gains in several
countries, but also still-ongoing protests and violence.98 Ten years after the Arab Spring, Tunisia remains
locked in civil unrest and protests, driven mainly by economic unease as successive governments have failed
to close the gap between the rich and the poor. As in Hong Kong, Tunisian protesters have been jailed, abused,
and prosecuted by the government, and the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) has estimated that 30
percent of the 1,400 protesters arrested so far are minors.99
FIGURE 5.11 While governments in North Africa and the Middle East pushed back against the movement, the Arab
Spring was influential, and it resulted in leadership change in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen. (attribution:
Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Pro-democracy protests such as the ones in Hong Kong, North Africa, and the Middle East show that
Americansâ ability to advocate and protest on behalf of their beliefs should not be taken for granted.
156 5 ⢠Political Participation and Public Opinion
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Social Capital and Participation
- Social capital consists of individual connections that benefit personal interests while fostering community norms of reciprocity.
- Robert Putnam defines social capital through diverse networks ranging from family and religious groups to poker clubs and professional contacts.
- Research indicates that increasing social capital directly bolsters political participation across different global cultures.
- In Japan, social networking has been found to fuel political engagement despite historically low participation rates.
- Studies in Latin America show that involvement in non-political activities often serves as a gateway to explicit political activism.
- Fostering interpersonal trust and organizational involvement outside of politics creates a foundation for a more active citizenry.
Social capital is the idea that individuals form connections that benefit their own interests and that these social networks in turn produce communities that create norms of reciprocity.
Much of this chapter has examined how people can participate more fully in democracy, whether through
voting, writing an elected official, volunteering, reading about politics, or posting their views online. But how
can we create an environment where more people participate in the political process? One answer lies in the
production of what is called social capital. Social capital is the idea that individuals form connections that
benefit their own interests and that these social networks in turn produce communities that create norms of
reciprocity. In other words, being well-connected can help you personally, but it also creates a group of
networked people who feel obligated to help one another in positive ways. As Harvard University Professor
Robert Putnam writes in his seminal work Bowling Alone (2000), âYour extended family represents a form of
social capital, as do your Sunday school class, the regulars who play poker on your commuter train, your
college roommates, the civic organizations to which you belong, the Internet chat group in which you
participate, and the network of professional acquaintances recorded in your address book.â100 All of these
groups are examples of how relationships can facilitate social interaction and participation. Studies of social
capital around the globe have shown that if we can increase social capital, we can bolster political
participation. A study on social capital and its effects on political participation in Japan, which has a
notoriously low political participation rate relative to its regional peers, found that social networking fueled
participation.101 Studies in Latin American have likewise found a robust relationship between the production
of social capital and political participation. A study of Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Argentina found that greater
involvement in nonpolitical activities leads to more participation in explicitly political ones. Fostering
interpersonal trust and organizational involvement outside of politics pushes people to be more politically
active.102
Social Media and Social Capital
- Research indicates a positive relationship between Facebook usage and the production of social capital, which facilitates political participation.
- Information seeking on social networks serves as a significant predictor for both online and offline civic engagement.
- The benefits of social media for social capital are not geographically limited, as evidenced by studies of university students in Nigeria.
- Older populations, specifically those over age 65, also experience increased social capital through platforms like Facebook.
- Social capital encourages wider participation in democratic processes, potentially rivaling the impact of voter registration reforms.
- The digital environment allows for community cohesion and constructive political reflection despite the time constraints of modern life.
Social capital produces an important political consequence by encouraging wider participation in democratic processes.
Just as social media can be an outlet for political participation, it can also increase social capital. In an early
study on Facebook and political participation, researchers found a small but noticeably positive relationship
between use of the social media site and the production of social capital.103 As social media has become
increasingly prominent in our lives, subsequent studies have revealed that it continues to play a role in social
capital and participation, possibly in more influential ways. University of Salamanca and Penn State University
Professor Homero Gil de Zúùiga, Tennessee Tech University Professor Nakwon Jung, and University of
Wisconsin Professor SebastiĂĄn Valenzuela found that seeking information via social networking sites was a
positive and significant predictor of social capital and civic and political participatory behaviors, both online
and offline. They posit that social networks show how âlearning about what happens around us and in our
community, reflecting on it, and discussing it with others constructively affects the political realm; as well as it
facilitates a cohesive community by enabling citizens to engage in civic action.â104 One study of Nigerian
university students found that social media enhanced studentsâ levels of political engagement, particularly
around national elections.105 The researchers note that their study bolsters assertions made by researchers in
the United States social media on social capital production and participation know no geographic limits.
Finally, older individuals benefit from use of social media as well; Crowdsourcing and Innovation expert Lee B.
Erickson at Penn State found that Facebook appeared to facilitate different types of social capital for users over
the age of 65.106
The creation of social capital is an important concept in political science, and that social capital can be created
in a variety of ways, even through social media. In an article in the journal Political Psychology, Ronald La Due
Lake and University of California Professor Robert Huckfeldt explain, âSocial capital produces an important
political consequence by encouraging wider participation in democratic processes.â107 The creation of social
capital is a difficult task in a world that makes multiple demands on our time, from commuting to what feels
like ever-expanding work hours. However, given the repeated evidence of the effects of social capital on
enhancing political participation, it raises the question: Is social capital as important as things like voter
registration reforms in terms of encouraging the broader public to vote?
5.3 ⢠How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting? 157
5.4 What Is Public Opinion and Where Does It Come From?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define public opinion.
⢠Describe the different types of public opinion.
⢠Detail the external influences that affect the development of an individualâs opinion.
Public Opinion and Democracy
- Political participation is a vital measure of democratic health and serves as a primary source of government legitimacy.
- While voting is a useful proxy for sentiment, it lacks the specific detail necessary for officials to understand complex public desires.
- Public opinion is defined as the aggregation of individual views that ordinary citizens are willing to express openly at a specific point in time.
- Elected officials rely on public opinion data to act as experts and representatives for a citizenry occupied by daily life and work.
- Despite political polarization, significant majority opinions exist on core values like clean water, education, and racial equality.
People have jobs, families, and other pressing concerns, and while it is always important to be involved somehowâwhether by voting, writing officials, or reading about politicsâwe elect public officials to represent our interests and to serve as experts in ways we cannot.
Political participation is an important measure of the health of a democracy, as popular involvement serves as
a source of its legitimacy. However, the public cannot be expected to carry out the responsibility of making the
government run. People have jobs, families, and other pressing concerns, and while it is always important to
be involved somehowâwhether by voting, writing officials, or reading about politicsâwe elect public officials to
represent our interests and to serve as experts in ways we cannot. But how do elected officials know what we
want? Voting is certainly a good proxy for understanding how people feel, but it does not provide a great deal of
detail for public officials to understand public sentiment on certain issues. This is where the concept of public
opinion is very important. Being able to gauge what people want is an integral part of the rationale behind
democratic government.
Public opinion is the aggregation of individual views that represent the feelings that people hold on an issue at
a given point in time. Not all people have opinions on all topics, and therefore another way to define public
opinion is to say that it represents the views of ordinary citizens that they are willing to express openly.
Peopleâs opinions can change for many reasons, so it is also important to recognize that a public opinion poll is
a measure of how people feel at the particular moment when the poll was conducted. By measuring public
opinion, elected officials throughout government gain insight into what people think should be done about
certain issues.
There are some issues where the majority of the public shares the same opinion, otherwise known as the
majority opinion. For example, in a 2020 Harvard University poll,
⢠80 percent of Americans surveyed agreed with the statement âWithout our freedoms, America is nothingâ;
⢠93 percent stated that they believe clean air and water are basic rights;
⢠92 percent supported the right to a quality education;
⢠92 percent supported racial equality; and
⢠89 percent agreed that affordable health care is a right.108
The Dynamics of Public Opinion
- A majority opinion on a specific issue does not imply that the public holds a consensus across all political topics.
- The theory of issue publics suggests the electorate is composed of small groups focused on specific interests rather than a broad, informed mass.
- Most political information is acquired secondhand rather than through direct experience, making external influences critical in shaping views.
- Demographic factors such as race, age, and gender significantly predict attitudes toward specific events like the January 6th Capitol riots.
- Education levels serve as a primary demographic divide in opinions on immigration and social acceptance, as seen in Brexit polling data.
The theory of issue publics states that the American electorate is made up of multiple small groups that care about single issues, rather than a public that cares equally about all issues.
Because each of these figures represents more than 50 percent of those surveyed, these views may be
considered representative of the majority opinion. However, this definitely does not mean that the majority of
people have opinions on all issues or even share a common point of view. For example, a farmer may have a
strong opinion on federal agricultural subsidy programs, while a dentist may not. As Stanford University
Professor Jon Krosnick writes, âAmerican citizens vary a great deal in terms of the personal importance they
attach to their attitudes on public policy issues.â109 While people may not know everything about every issue,
they are likely to hold strong opinions about the ones that are most important to them. The theory of issue
publics states that the American electorate is made up of multiple small groups that care about single issues,
rather than a public that cares equally about all issues. The opinion not of the broader public but of business,
political, and other cultural elitesâthat is, elite opinionârepresents the views of one of these small groups.
Where do peopleâs opinions come from? In one of the seminal works on the topic, aptly named Public Opinion
(1922), journalist and political commentator Walter Lippmann writes, âWe can see how indirectly we know the
environment in which . . . we live.â110 In other words, we acquire most of our information secondhand, not
through personal experience, and myriad external forces influence our opinions. We can broadly categorize
these forces. Demographic groups are one of the most influential of these external forces. Think about your
age, your race or ethnicity, and your gender. These demographic characteristics can influence how people feel
about certain issues or candidates. For example, Black Americans are twice as likely as Asian or White
158 5 ⢠Political Participation and Public Opinion
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Americans to agree with the statement that not enough attention has been paid to the January 6, 2021, riots at
the United States Capital. Black Americans are also more likely to attach a high level of importance to
prosecuting the Capitol rioters, by a margin of approximately 20 percentage points over other racial groups.111
It is not unreasonable to attribute Black Americansâ opinions to the unfair treatment they have experienced at
the hands of a historically prejudiced justice system, and through this example, we can see how self-
identification affects peopleâs opinions. On the issue of Brexit, or Britain leaving the EU, the thrust of the debate
centered on immigration, and opinion polls on the topic illustrated a stark divide based on demographics.
College-educated individuals in the UK were much less likely to hold anti-immigrant views, with 20 percent of
college-educated Britons saying they would not accept a Muslim as a family member, compared to 43 percent
of less educated Britons.112
Social Groups and Political Identity
- Social groups like family, friends, and coworkers significantly shape individual political opinions through a process called socialization.
- The concept of socialization suggests that political alignment is often more about who we stand with than the specific issues themselves.
- Sociology and political science overlap as both disciplines examine how social norms and organizations influence political institutions.
- Political ideology serves as a mental framework or doctrine that guides how individuals believe a government should function.
- Identification as a liberal or conservative often dictates a person's policy preferences before they even evaluate the specific details of a measure.
- Conservatives generally view government intervention as a threat to individual freedoms, while liberals often see it as a tool for social reform.
In other words, and to paraphrase Vincent Price, it is not so much where we stand on the issues but with whom we stand.
Social groups also affect our opinions on politics and public officials. Think about who you spend time with:
your friends, your family, a sports team, your classmates, and your coworkers. These social groups have a
strong impact on how we think about issues. In other words, and to paraphrase Vincent Price, it is not so much
where we stand on the issues but with whom we stand.113 Perhaps your parents were lifelong Democrats, and
this is why you tend to vote Democratic. If you work in the world of finance, you will likely be surrounded by
conservative thinkers, and this may lead you to espouse lower taxes. These peopleâyour social
groupsâinfluence how you think about an issue, and the opinions you form will reflect your association with
these groups. This process by which people assimilate to group values is also called socialization.
Sociology is the study of groups, human connections, social influences, and cultural forces that shape our
relationships and personal worldviews. Sociology and political science naturally overlap. Both disciplines are
considered social sciences; that is, they both examine human societies and groups. By understanding the
broader theories of sociology, political scientists can gain insight into social norms and organizations as they
relate to political institutions and actors.
The set of beliefs, principles, or doctrines that guide oneâs views of how the government should work is
referred to as their political ideology (political ideology is covered in more detail in Chapter 3: Political
Ideology). Political ideology can act as a framework that directs peopleâs thinking on political issues.
Identifying as a liberal or a conservative, for example, will influence how you feel about particular issues. As
John Hopkins University and Harvard Professor V. O. Key writes, âFor many persons the policy position of their
party, as they perceive it, may strongly affect their own policy preferences.â114 Liberals tend to support
government programs, intervention, and social reform, and thus if you view yourself as a liberal, you will also
likely support measures such as government-sponsored health care and government-sponsored programs for
minorities. Conservatives, on the other hand, generally do not believe in government intervention and tend to
maintain that governmental control means fewer individual freedoms. Therefore, individuals who identify as
conservative are likely to consider increased taxes for things such as social welfare programs unnecessary
and an infringement on peopleâs ability to make and keep the money they have earned. The title of the first
chapter of Walter Lippmannâs Public Opinion, âThe World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads,â refers to the
Sources of Public Opinion
- Political ideology acts as a mental picture or cue that dictates how individuals react to complex global ideas like Brexit.
- Opinion leaders are not just elite figures like mayors or bankers but can be 'near-by influencers' within one's own social circle.
- John Stuart Mill observed that the masses often have their thinking done for them by peers who speak in their name on the spur of the moment.
- Social strata generate opinion leaders horizontally, meaning influence often comes from people within the same social or economic class.
- Popular presidents and public figures retain the ability to sway opinions, but their influence is often mediated by local pundits or well-informed neighbors.
- The media exerts a significant short-term influence on opinion, particularly for individuals with lower levels of existing information.
Their thinking is done for them by men much like themselves, addressing or speaking in their name, on the spur of the moment.
idea that our opinions depend a great deal on the worldview we assemble for ourselves. Political ideology is
one of these âpicturesâ to which Lippmann refers; we rely on ideology as a cue to how we should react to
various ideas. In Britain, ideology also affected how people felt about Brexit. A majority of the Conservative
Party (60 percent of Tories) supported leaving the EU, while 70 percent of Liberal Democrats and 53 percent of
Labour Party members supported remaining as part of the EU.115 In this way, we see that ideology is a factor
across nations in terms of our opinions.
Sometimes we look to specific people in our lives to form opinions on politics. Social researchers Bernard
Barelson, Paul Lazarsfeld, and William McPhee quote James Bryce as saying, âThere is the active class [of
CONNECTING COURSES
5.4 ⢠What Is Public Opinion and Where Does It Come From? 159
person], who occupy themselves primarily with public affairs, who aspire to create and lead opinion.â116
Otherwise known as opinion leaders, these people can shape ordinary votersâ opinions, either purposefully or
inadvertently. Who are opinion leaders? As Barelson, Lazarsfeld, and McPhee note, opinion leaders may be
bankers or mayors, or they may be ânear-by influencers.â117 John Stuart Mill describes the idea in a slightly
different way: âThe mass do not now take their opinions from dignitaries in Church or State, from ostensible
leaders, or from books. Their thinking is done for them by men much like themselves, addressing or speaking
in their name, on the spur of the moment.â118 In other words, anyone in your social circle or someone you see
through the media, and increasingly social media, can be an opinion leader, and you may consciously or
subconsciously take their views into consideration when forming your own opinions. This is not to say that
elite public figures are not opinion leaders. Northwestern University Professor Benjamin Page and Columbia
University Professor Robert Shapiroâs study on presidential influence on public opinion, for example, found
that presidents who are popular do, in fact, have the ability to sway how people think about issues.119 However,
it is important to reiterate that anyone can be an opinion leader: âIn the course of casual daily conversation the
political pundit of the work group, the bridge-playing wife of a political âactive,â the well-informed
neighborâthese and others may well convey the relevant political sentiment to a more or less passive
audience.â120 Opinion leaders are people whose words you valueâor, as University of Pennsylvania Professor
Elihu Katz and Columbia University Professor Paul Lazarsfeld famously explain, all social strata generate their
own opinion leaders âhorizontally,â and opinion leaders in your own immediate environment can be just as
instrumental in informing your opinions.121 Sometimes these opinion leaders are people we see in the media,
and sometimes opinion leaders have influence because they are frequent media consumers. For more on this
subject, see Chapter 12: The Media.
It feels reasonable to believe that our family, coworkers, and important figures can affect our thinking, but
multiple studies have also shown that the media can influence how we form our opinions. George Washington
University Professor Robert Entman asserts that the media contributes to what people think about as well as to
their political preferences and evaluations.122 Early works from V. O. Key note that the media may exert a
particularly significant influence on opinion in the short run, on people with lower levels of information, and
Measuring Public Opinion
- The media exerts significant influence on public opinion, particularly regarding foreign affairs and the framing of political leaders and social issues.
- Historically, constituent letters were the primary method for officials to gauge public sentiment before the development of scientific polling.
- Modern public opinion measurement relies on sampling, where a small group is selected to represent the characteristics of an entire population.
- Probability sampling ensures every individual has an equal chance of selection, allowing researchers to generalize findings to the broader public.
- Traditional methods like random digit dialing are becoming less effective due to the decline of landlines and changing lifestyle patterns.
- Newer techniques, including internet-based surveys and automated interviewing, are emerging as more accurate alternatives for the digital age.
Before w e had a good way to measure public opinion , constituent letters w ere one o f the few ways officials could gauge ho w the public felt.
on opinions regarding certain issues, such as international affairs or those with which individuals have
minimal personal experience.123 Similarly, Page and Shapiro found that the media was particularly powerful
in shaping opinions on foreign affairs,124 and how the media frames stories about presidents has been shown
to influence votersâ evaluations of political leaders.125 Studies on poverty and crime have also shown that the
way the media frames an issue can influence public opinion on these issues.126 Chapter 12: The Media looks
further into the relationship between the media and politics, but suffice it to say that a plethora of research
exists to substantiate the claim that on different levels and to varying degrees, the media does influence public
opinion.
5.5 How Do We Measure Public Opinion?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe different methods of measuring public opinion.
⢠Explain the shortcomings of these methods.
Earlier in this chapter, we discussed how writing to public officials is an important facet of political
participation. Before we had a good way to measure public opinion, constituent letters were one of the few
ways officials could gauge how the public felt. The advent of public opinion polls provided a scientific way of
identifying and measuring opinions. Social scientist Jean Converse, in her history of the field, writes that
surveys can be traced back 2,000 years but were forged in the 20th century as a way to understand mass
populations and societies and to gain insight into elites.127 Over time, polls and surveys have become more
precise through careful sampling and improved techniques. A sample is a group selected by a researcher to
represent the characteristics of the entire population, and because we can never poll the entire population,
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getting the right sample is important to the accuracy of any poll. But how can we accurately gauge the opinions
of the whole country on a sample of 1,400 or 2,000 people? The way the sample is drawn affects its accuracy. In
the most common method, probability sampling, researchers randomly choose samples from the larger
population. This method requires that everyone has an equal chance of being part of the sample and that they
are randomly selected, which allows researchers to make generalizations about the larger population. If a
researcher chooses people at random from a population, it is likely that their views will match the opinions of
the larger population as a whole. These types of samples are often generated through random digit dialing, in
which respondents are chosen at random by a computerized phone number generator. Researchers then use
these randomly generated phone numbers to reach people at home and ask them about their opinions. While
random digit dialing has been the go-to for decades, the decrease in landlines, increased adoption of cell
phones, and increased time that people are at work have all contributed to the decreased reliance on home-
based phone numbers. A Los Angeles Times article found that Internet-based surveys and automated
interviewing systems (as opposed to live pollsters) were particularly accurate and may reflect a shift in how
researchers measure public opinion moving forward.128
Global Polling Challenges
- The difficulty of reaching survey respondents is a global issue, not limited to the United States.
- Japan has seen significant declines in survey participation, particularly among young urban professionals with long commutes.
- Polling in unstable regions like Ukraine and Venezuela requires dangerous face-to-face interactions rather than phone calls.
- In high-conflict zones, data must often be processed locally due to the inability of pollsters to evacuate safely.
- Quantitative skills are increasingly vital for interpreting complex political data and opinion polls across different nations.
Sampling in countries facing violence or instability can be a seriousâand dangerousâproblem for pollsters.
The difficulty of reaching people for polls is not just an American phenomenon. Researchers in Japan have
found steep decreases in responses to nationally conducted surveys, with the steepest declines in
metropolitan areas and among younger demographics. Scholars point to increased commute times, longer
work hours, and higher mobility among younger Japanese as contributing to this problem.129 Sampling in
countries facing violence or instability can be a seriousâand dangerousâproblem for pollsters. James Bell,
director of international survey research for the Pew Research Center, notes that when Pew conducted polls
during civil unrest in Ukraine and Venezuela, polls needed to be conducted face-to-face rather than by phone.
In addition, sometimes the data acquired in polls must be processed locally if pollsters cannot immediately
evacuate the area.130
The Importance of Empirical and Quantitative Skills
FIGURE 5.12 This graph shows support for political parties in New Zealand between 2009 and 2012, according to
various political polls. (credit: âFile:NZ opinion polls 2009-2011 -parties.pngâ Mark Payne, Denmark/Wikimedia
Commons, CC BY 3.0)
Measuring Public Opinion
- Public opinion data is a fundamental tool used by media, political candidates, and legislators to shape policy and strategy.
- Interpreting numerical data and observable facts is a critical workforce skill applicable to both political science and consumer marketing.
- Nontraditional sampling methods like convenience and cluster sampling offer cost-effective alternatives but lack the scientific reliability of probability samples.
- The accuracy of a poll is heavily dependent on sample size, with larger samples reducing the margin of error to acceptable levels.
- Selection bias and measurement error, often caused by outdated contact methods like landlines or poor question wording, can significantly skew results.
The smaller the sample, the larger the error.
Everyone loves a good public opinion poll. As youâll see in other chapters, data from polls are utilized throughout
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5.5 ⢠How Do We Measure Public Opinion? 161
society, from the media to candidates running for office, and even to decide what gets included in legislation.
However, being able to properly understand what the data are telling us is a skill that is developed and can be
utilized in a wide range of areas. If you can look at a set of numerical data or observable facts and reach an informed
conclusion about what is happeningâfor example, about whether a group of voters prefers a certain candidate or if a
group of residents wants a park built in their townâthis is really no different from determining if a group of
consumers prefers brand X bread or brand Y bread. In the modern digital era, we have a wealth of information at our
fingertips. Being able to properly understand and interpret that information is a skill that is becoming fundamental in
todayâs workforce.
There are also ânontraditionalâ sampling methods, which may be less scientific but offer certain benefits. One
nontraditional method is a convenience sample, which, as the name suggests, is a sample based on
convenience rather than probability. If you do not have the funds to create a poll based on a probability sample
and random digit dialing, you might instead ask your classmates or your coworkers to respond to your survey
with their opinions on the last election. While this method is both convenient and easy, we cannot extrapolate
much from the information beyond the sample from which it is drawn. Another type of polling method is
called cluster sampling, in which researchers divide the overall population into clusters, based on
characteristics such as shared cities or schools, then randomly select people from within those clusters to poll.
This type of sampling is cheaper than probability sampling, but the results are also not quite as representative
because they are not randomly drawn.
How reliable are polls? One of the most basic issues with a poll is a sample that is too small, which leads to
sampling errors. Generally speaking, the larger the sample, the less chance of error. A typical sample of 1,500
people will have a sampling error of approximately 2.6 percent, which is generally considered an âacceptableâ
margin of error in public opinion polling. This means that out of 1,500 respondents, if 60 percent say that the
LA Lakers is their favorite NBA team, due to sampling error, the true figure could be anywhere between 57.4
percent and 62.6 percent who prefer the Lakers. The smaller the sample, the larger the error.
The methods by which respondents are contacted can also affect a pollâs accuracy. According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2020, 83 percent of Americans aged 30â34, 74.5 percent of those
aged 35â44, and almost 60 percent of those aged 45â64 used cell phones exclusively.131 This trend away from
landlines can contribute to selection bias, whereby the sample drawn is not representative of the population
being studied. In this case, any sample drawn from people using landlines would probably skew heavily toward
individuals who are much older and those who are likely to be at home more often.
The design of the survey itself can limit a pollâs accuracy. Question wording, interviewer bias, and response
bias can all lead to measurement error, or limitations in response validity due to survey design problems.
Questions should be worded in a straightforward manner in order to solicit a truthful response. Studies have
shown that alterations in question wording, also known as question wording effects, change how people
The Fragility of Public Opinion
- Subtle linguistic shifts in survey questions, such as using 'global warming' versus 'climate change,' significantly alter respondent data.
- Interviewer bias occurs when the social class, race, or gender of the person conducting the survey influences the participant's answers.
- Response bias arises when individuals provide inaccurate reports of their true opinions to align with perceived social expectations.
- The 'Bradley effect' illustrates how social desirability bias can lead to polling inaccuracies, particularly in races involving minority candidates.
- Voters often provide the answer they believe they 'should' give rather than their genuine feelings to avoid appearing biased.
- These systemic inaccuracies challenge the reliability of polling as a direct reflection of the public's true political will.
The theory behind the Bradley effect is that White voters are unlikely to admit to bias against minority candidates, and as such, polls may overestimate support for a minority candidate.
respond to polls and surveys. For example, University of Chicago Professor Kenneth Rasinki found that even
the slightest changes in wording altered peopleâs support for government spending,132 while Cornell
University Professor Jonathon Schuldt, Indiana University Professor Sara Konrath, and University of Southern
California Professor Norbert Schwarz found that responses changed depending on whether they used the term
âglobal warmingâ or the term âclimate change.â133 Bias that stems from the identity of the individual
conducting the interview known as interviewer bias, can also change peopleâs opinions. For example,
Princeton University Professor Daniel Katz found that the social class of the interviewer had an effect on
survey response,134 while a study of breast cancer patients found that response rates to surveys were higher
when the race of the person administering the survey was the same as that of the respondent.135 Similar
effects have been found when interviewers are of different genders.136 In other words, people sometimes
respond differently based on the gender of the person conducting the survey.
Inaccuracies can also arise from response bias, when respondents inaccurately report their true opinions for
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one reason or another. One famous example of response bias is called the âBradley effect.â This theory refers to
a phenomenon observed in the 1982 California gubernatorial race between Tom Bradley, a Black man, and
George Deukmejian, a White man of Armenian descent. In polls leading up to this race, Bradley was shown to
be in the lead, but he ultimately lost by a narrow margin. The theory behind the Bradley effect is that White
voters are unlikely to admit to bias against minority candidates, and as such, polls may overestimate support
for a minority candidate. Also known as social desirability bias, this type of response bias occurs when
respondents give the answer they think they should give, and not what they really feel.
5.6 Why Is Public Opinion Important?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain the need for public opinion polling.
⢠Analyze the way public opinion is used vis-à -vis policy making and in politics.
⢠Discuss the role of public opinion in a globalized world.
Public Opinion and Democratic Governance
- Public opinion polls serve as a vital instrument for expressing the 'consent of the governed' as outlined in the Declaration of Independence.
- Academic research consistently demonstrates that government policy tends to respond quickly to shifts in public demand.
- The relationship between the public and officials is reciprocal: voters alert leaders to their preferences, while leaders attempt to sell specific solutions back to the public.
- The act of being polled encourages civic engagement by prompting citizens to become more informed and aware of political alternatives.
- Global public opinion acts as a strategic ally for international cooperation and provides Americans with a necessary external perspective on their own nation's policies.
In a way, we can understand public opinion and its influence on policy as a chicken-and-egg relationship: the public alerts elected officials of their preferences, and these officials then try to sell their solutions to the public as the best course of action.
Despite the potential difficulty of obtaining poll results that accurately reflect the views of the people, polls
remain an important component of participatory democracy.
The Declaration of Independence, which laid the framework for American democracy, states that governments
âderiv[e] their just powers from the consent of the governedâ (emphasis added). If the peopleâs will creates the
foundation for any representative government, then public opinion polling acts as the instrument by which the
people are heard and consent is granted. Elections are the peopleâs recourse when the government ignores
their wishes. But is there evidence that public opinion influences government policy? Studies by several
researchers, including Northwestern University Professor Benjamin I. Page and Columbia University Professor
Robert Y. Shapiro (1983),137 University of Washington Professor Paul Burstein (2003),138 and Vanderbilt
University Professor Larry Bartels (1991),139 support this assertion. In a New York Times opinion piece,
University of North Carolina Professor James Stinson writes, âWhen public opinion changes, demanding for
example more or less government, government responds in the demanded direction. And it does so
quickly.â140 One need not look far to see the simple relationship between public opinion and policy outcomes:
President Barack Obama was elected by a public that overwhelmingly agreed that the economy, jobs, and
health care were their top priorities.141 As such, his policy agenda reflected these concerns. At the top of his
list was an economic stimulus package and, of course, the Affordable Care Act. In a way, we can understand
public opinion and its influence on policy as a chicken-and-egg relationship: the public alerts elected officials
of their preferences, and these officials then try to sell their solutions to the public as the best course of action.
This relationship further underscores the importance of public opinion in our democratic process. Polls allow
voters to assess choices and, in the most idealistic sense, provoke people to think about issues and
alternatives. In this way, the very acts of polling and being polled are also important parts of the democratic
process and encourage people to become informed and aware.
Public opinion also plays a crucial role in our globalized world. In an interview with the Council on Foreign
Relations, political psychologist Steven Kull of WorldPublicOpinion.org (https://openstax.org/r/
worldpublicopinion) explained, âIf policy practitioners want to promote international cooperation, they can
pretty much see public opinion as a kind of ally in this processânot in every case, of course, but this is a
tendency on that side.â142 In simpler terms, another reason it is important for Americans to understand global
public opinion is that it gives us the ability to view the world and ourselves from a different perspective.
5.6 ⢠Why Is Public Opinion Important? 163
FIGURE 5.13 This table makes it possible to compare the results of opinion polls of French, German, and UK
citizens regarding the likelihood that recent American presidents would âdo the right thingâ in world affairs. (source:
Pew Research Center Fall 2020 Global Attitudes Survey. Q28.)
For example, the graph in Figure 5.13 illustrates how Britain, France, and Germany viewed recent US
presidents in fall 2020 and how much confidence they had in the incoming Biden administration.
Understanding how people in other countries view the United States is important âbecause popular
sentiments and resentments constrain what a government (even in a not-particularly-democratic nation) can
The Crisis of Public Polling
- Public sentiment is a vital tool for elected officials to maintain credibility and navigate international diplomacy.
- Polling serves as a primary mechanism for legitimizing governments and understanding the collective beliefs of the citizenry.
- Recent presidential elections in 2016 and 2020 exposed significant scientific failures in polling accuracy and predictive modeling.
- Modern challenges such as declining landline use and low public trust have made it increasingly difficult to reach representative samples.
- Despite technical inaccuracies, polls remain the only viable tool for explaining the 'why' behind voter behavior rather than just the 'who'.
- The failure of the polling industry suggests a future where leaders and the public may be 'flying blind' regarding social reality.
If polling doesnât work, then we are flying blind.
do.â143 In this way, understanding public sentiment is not only important within countries; it is vital when
working across nations. Public opinion is crucial for elected officials to gauge public sentiment and
understand how to engage in diplomacy because âUS leadersâ credibility in the eyes of foreign publics is
critical in shaping attitudes toward US foreign policy.â144 Public opinion is thus vital for understanding not
only how the public views its own government but also how the US government engages with other countries.
If public opinion works to legitimize governments, and if we are reliant on sound polling practices in order to
gauge public sentiment, we must care about the future of public opinion polling as an industry. As an article in
Atlantic points out, âPublic-opinion polling was one of the last ways we had to understand what other
Americans actually believe. If polling doesnât work, then we are flying blind.â145
Despite the inherent and explicit importance of public opinion, the practice and science of polling faces new
challenges. In the 2016 presidential election, an overwhelming number of pollsters inaccurately predicted that
Hillary Clinton would win the presidency over Donald Trump. Again in 2020, the polls overstated the margin
by which Joe Biden would take the White House. If polling is subject to scientific rigor, how did this happen?
Some attributed the inaccuracy of the polls to an underweighting of voters without college degrees, who turned
out in great numbers to propel Donald Trump to the presidency, and an overexuberance of Biden supporters to
respond to polls, respectively. Other explanations included the fact that large swaths of undecided voters did
not decide on their vote until the last minute, particularly in 2016.146 Accuracy in polling is increasingly
hampered by modern-day facts, including the decreasing likelihoods that people will own a landline, be at
home during the day to answer pollsters, or respond to polls in general due to lowering levels of public trust.
Another suggestion is that those people who actually respond to polls are not representative of the population
in general and that their responses skew the accuracy of polls in a way that has yet to be addressed through
advanced polling techniques.147 Despite these rational explanations, the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections
show that while both state and national polls face challenges in portraying public sentiment accurately, the
SHOW ME THE DATA
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importance of valid opinion polls is self-evident. As Vanderbilt University Professor Joshua Clinton explains,
while elections can tell us who wins, polls are the best tools available to tell us why, underscoring yet another
facet of the importance of pollsâtheir explanatory power.148
The Value of Polling
- Reaching the electorate has become increasingly difficult due to technological and social changes.
- Polling remains the most rigorous method available for measuring public sentiment in a democracy.
- The polling industry is currently evolving to adapt to new challenges in data collection and communication.
- Public opinion data is essential for humans to understand one another and achieve common goals.
- Citizens are encouraged to participate honestly in polls to ensure accurate representation of the public will.
Acquiring a knowledge of these people is an important way in which humans manage to survive, get along, and come together to accomplish common goals.
While reaching the electorate has undoubtedly become more difficult, the importance of polling within a
democracy remains. Sam Wang, neuroscience Professor at Princeton University and cofounder of the blog
Princeton Election Consortium (https://openstax.org/r/princeton-election), explains that âpolling is critically
important because it is a way by which we can measure public sentiment more rigorously than any other
method.â149 As the industry continues to reflect and evolve in response to changes in technology and the
electorate, it is important for us to remember the value of polls, understand how they are conducted, and
participate fully and honestly when called upon to do so. Editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll Frank Newport
provides a succinct explanation for the importance of public opinion polling: âHumans live with and around
other people. Acquiring a knowledge of these people is an important way in which humans manage to survive,
get along, and come together to accomplish common goals.â150
5.6 ⢠Why Is Public Opinion Important? 165
Summary
Political Participation and Public Opinion
- Political participation is defined as any action expressing an individual's political will, with voting serving as the primary mechanism for ensuring government representation.
- Despite record turnout in 2020, the United States lags behind countries like Sweden and South Korea in voter participation rates.
- Individual demographics such as age, income, race, and gender significantly influence the likelihood of an individual casting a ballot.
- Institutional barriers including complex registration laws, voter ID requirements, and gerrymandering can actively suppress or discourage voter turnout.
- Beyond voting, citizens build social capital and community reciprocity by volunteering, donating, protesting, and engaging with elected officials.
- Public opinion is a complex aggregation of views shaped by social factors and can be categorized into majority, elite, or issue-specific perspectives.
All of these activities contribute to social capital, which is the idea that individuals form connections that benefit their own interests and that these social networks in turn produce communities that create norms of reciprocity and promote more civil engagement overall.
5.1 What Is Political Participation?
Political participation is defined as action that expresses an individualâs political will, and self-government is
when the people of a given country are the ones who grant the power to govern that country, through either
direct or indirect representation. Voting is considered one of the most important forms of political
participation because it is the primary mechanism by which the people ensure that their government
represents them. Compared to other countries, the United States does not have high voter turnout. At roughly
66 percent, voter turnout in the 2020 election was high relative to other years, but compared to countries such
as Sweden, South Korea, and Turkey, which have rates close to 80 percent, US elections have room for
improvement.
5.2 What Limits Voter Participation in the United States?
Several factors prevent people from voting. In terms of individual-level characteristics, older voters are more
likely to vote for a variety of reasons, including simply having more time to go to the polls. Those with higher
incomes who are not at risk of losing their jobs or who have more flexible working hours are also more likely to
vote. Race is another predictor of voter turnout, though in the 2020 election, the share of minority voters grew.
Gender is yet another determinant of voter turnout, with women voting at higher rates than men. Institutional
factors such as voter registration, voter ID laws, gerrymandering, and voter fatigue also affect voter turnout.
Voter registration and ID requirements can affect the ease with which voters can participate in elections.
Countries with automatic registration and states that register voters automatically when they get their driverâs
licenses have higher rates of electoral participation. Gerrymandering, in which district lines are drawn to favor
one party over another, can affect whether people show up to vote, as does voter fatigueâthe idea that there are
simply too many elections for people to want to take part in.
5.3 How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting?
There are several ways to participate in politics other than voting. On an individual level, people can write to
their elected officials; volunteer for causes they believe in; donate money to candidates, causes, or campaigns;
keep informed about politics and discuss topics of personal importance; and follow elected officials or political
causes online. People can also participate as part of a group by joining political parties or campaigns and by
taking part in protests. All of these activities contribute to social capital, which is the idea that individuals form
connections that benefit their own interests and that these social networks in turn produce communities that
create norms of reciprocity and promote more civil engagement overall.
5.4 What Is Public Opinion and Where Does It Come From?
Public opinion is the aggregation of individual views that represent the feelings people hold on an issue at one
point in time that they are willing to express. Many things can affect how people form their opinions and why
they have them, including social and economic factors such as race, education level, income, or ideology.
There are different types of opinion, including majority opinion (the opinion of the numerical majority), elite
opinion (the opinion of those members of society with highly specialized knowledge or influence), and
opinions of issue publics, or those people who hold strong opinions on a few specific issues but not on every
issue.
5.5 How Do We Measure Public Opinion?
Measuring public opinion is both a skill and a science. In order to attempt to accurately capture public
The Mechanics of Public Opinion
- Public opinion serves as a vital communication channel for citizens to signal their policy preferences to elected officials.
- Politicians utilize public opinion data to strategically market their legislative agendas as the most beneficial course of action.
- Accurate polling requires probability sampling, such as random digit dialing, to ensure the sample reflects the broader population.
- Survey results can be compromised by measurement errors, including question wording effects and interviewer bias.
- Social desirability and response bias often lead participants to report inaccurate opinions rather than their true beliefs.
- Understanding global public opinion is a foundational requirement for successful international cooperation and partnerships.
Elected officials also rely on swaying public opinion in order to sell a legislative agenda to the public as the best course of action.
sentiment, researchers must draw samples from the broader public, which usually entails selecting a
probability sample using random digit dialing. Errors can occur if the sample size is too small or if the survey
suffers from measurement error. Examples of such errors include selection bias, question wording effects,
interviewer effects, response bias, and social desirability.
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5.6 Why Is Public Opinion Important?
Public opinion is important because it is the mechanism by which the public alerts elected officials of their
preferences. Elected officials also rely on swaying public opinion in order to sell a legislative agenda to the
public as the best course of action. In addition, understanding public opinion across countries allows for global
cooperation and partnership.
Key Terms
cluster sampling when researchers divide the overall population into clusters, based on characteristics such
as shared cities or schools, then randomly select people to poll from within those clusters
conservative politically speaking, an individual who generally does not believe in government intervention
and tends to maintain that governmental control means fewer individual freedoms
convenience sample a sample based on convenience rather than probability
eligible voters voters who meet the requirements of their localities or states to cast a ballot in an election
elite opinion the opinion not of the broader public but of business, political, and other cultural elites
gerrymandering the manipulation of voting districts in order to favor candidates from one party over another
interviewer bias when individual characteristics such as the race or gender of the interviewer affect a
personâs survey response
issue publics small segments of the overall public that express interest or vote based on a single issue
Jim Crow laws a set of laws enforced mostly in the southern United States from the late 1800s until 1965 that
legalized discrimination based on race, preventing Black Americans from enjoying fundamental rights
such as equal access to education and voting
liberal politically speaking, an individual who supports government intervention and social welfare programs
majority opinion the opinion of the majority of those polled
measurement error limitations in response validity due to survey design problems
opinion leaders individuals who can affect the opinions of other individuals, whether through their
prominence, influence, or experience
political ideology a set of beliefs, principles, or doctrines that guide oneâs views of how government should
work
political participation activities that express opinions on public officials and public policy; the ways in which
people can influence political outcomes
probability sampling when researchers choose samples at random from the larger population
public opinion views that individuals are willing to express openly at a specific point in time
question wording effects when the wording of the questions on a survey affects how individuals respond
random digit dialing a survey method that selects people for involvement by generating telephone numbers
at random
response bias when respondents to a survey inaccurately report their true opinions for one reason or another
sample a group selected by researchers to represent the characteristics of the entire population
sampling errors errors that occur in a statistical analysis due to the unrepresentativeness of the sample
selection bias when the method by which a sample is chosen causes the sample to be unrepresentative of the
population being studied
Political Participation and Civic Engagement
- Self-government relies on the principle that power is granted by the people through direct or indirect representation.
- Social capital, built through community relationships and networks, serves as a critical driver for effective societal functioning and political engagement.
- Voter turnout in the United States is influenced by systemic factors such as voter suppression and psychological factors like voter fatigue.
- Political participation extends beyond the ballot box to include donating money, contacting officials, and volunteering for causes.
- Public opinion is defined as the collective views that citizens are willing to express openly, encompassing majority, elite, and issue-specific perspectives.
voter fatigue feelings o f apathy that the electorate can e xperienc e under certain circums tanc esâfor example , when the y are re quire d to vote to o often or are exposed to to o much politic al inf orma tion or negative new s
self-government when the people of a given country are the ones who grant the power to govern that country,
through either direct or indirect representation
social capital the effects of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that
society to function effectively
social desirability bias when respondents answer survey questions in a manner intended to cause them to be
viewed favorably by others
suffrage the right to vote in political elections
voter fatigue feelings of apathy that the electorate can experience under certain circumstancesâfor example,
when they are required to vote too often or are exposed to too much political information or negative news
5 ⢠Key Terms 167
voter suppression discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting in order to alter the
outcome of an election
voter turnout the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election
Review Questions
1 . Writing to an elected official is a form of _______________.
a. social capital
b. majority opinion
c. cluster sampling
d. political participation
2 . Political participation is related to self-government because:
a. They are both in the Constitution
b. Without self-government, there can be no meaningful political participation
c. Self-government and political participation are the same thing
d. Both are essential for state sovereignty
3 . Voting is an important type of political participation because:
a. Voting is compulsory in the United States
b. Everyone votes
c. Voting and political participation are the same thing
d. It is the primary way that people express their will
4 . In the US, voter turnout has:
a. Risen steadily since World War II
b. Dropped and then risen slowly over time since World War II
c. Stayed the same since World War II
d. Risen and fallen sharply many times
5 . True or false: Voting rates are higher in the United States than in most democratic industrialized
countries, including Sweden and South Korea.
a. True
b. False
6 . Which groups are most likely to vote in a US election?
a. Whites, the wealthy, and the most educated
b. Minorities and those with a college education
c. Women and people who work part time
d. Everyone votes in equal proportion
7 . Voter ID laws can be a form of _____________.
a. gerrymandering
b. selection bias
c. social desirability bias
d. voter suppression
8 . Individual-level ways to participate in politics other than voting include:
a. Donating money, writing to an elected official, and keeping track of the news
b. Volunteering for a cause, following an elected official on social media, and discussing politics with a
168 5 ⢠Review Questions
Access for free at openstax.org
friend
c. Filing tax returns and paying parking tickets
d. Both A and B
9 . Which of the following cannot be considered a group-level form of political participation?
a. Being part of a political party
b. Taking part in a protest
c. Phoning your elected official
d. Working for a political campaign
10 . Social capital encourages political participation because:
a. It reinforces social bonds and networks
b. It makes people register to vote
c. It forces people to save more
d. It prevents voter suppression
11 . Public opinion can be defined as:
a. The opinion of elected officials
b. The measurement of your opinion only
c. The aggregate views of the public that they are willing to express openly
d. The opinions that people have of one another
12 . Which of these is a type of public opinion?
a. Majority opinion
b. Elite opinion
c. Issue publics
d. All of the above
Public Opinion and Political Socialization
- The text outlines fundamental concepts of public opinion polling, including statistical sampling and the identification of various biases.
- It distinguishes between interviewer bias, where personal characteristics affect responses, and social desirability bias, where respondents hide true feelings to avoid appearing biased.
- Public opinion is framed as a vital tool for elected officials to understand constituent desires beyond simple voting patterns.
- The importance of public opinion extends to global politics, facilitating international cooperation and understanding.
- The section provides a comprehensive bibliography of seminal political science texts covering civic life, political knowledge, and social capital.
- A transition into Chapter 6 introduces the mechanics of political socialization, collective dilemmas, and the challenges of group decision-making.
Social desirability bias is when: People respond to surveys in a certain way so that they donât seem biased.
13 . Which of the following has not been shown to affect an individualâs political opinion?
a. Race
b. Gender
c. Diet
d. Political ideology
14 . Which of the following is a method of public opinion polling?
a. Selection bias
b. Gerrymandering
c. Statistical sampling
d. Cluster sampling
15 . Interviewer bias is when:
a. Individual characteristics of the interviewer affect a personâs survey response
b. The interviewer is biased against the respondent
c. The poll is biased against the respondent
d. The poll is biased against the interviewer
16 . Social desirability bias is when:
a. People respond to a survey interviewer in a certain way because of their race
b. People respond to surveys in a certain way so that they donât seem biased
c. Interviewers ask questions in a way so that they donât seem biased
5 ⢠Review Questions 169
d. Interviewers ask questions in different ways depending upon what they know about the respondent
17 . Public opinion is important because:
a. It lets us understand how people feel, not just the way they vote
b. It is the only way we can understand the electorate
c. It is easily manipulated
d. It is easily measurable
18 . Public opinion enables:
a. Elected officials to understand what the public wants
b. The public to express how it feels on certain issues
c. Elites to influence government
d. Both A and B
e. All of the above
19 . Public opinion is important in global politics because:
a. It is easy to poll people from several countries at once
b. It allows us to understand how to cooperate globally
c. It reinforces the status of global powers
d. Global polling is more cost effective than domestic polling
Suggested Readings
Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Scott Keeter. What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996.
Noelle-Neumann, Elisabeth. The Spiral of Silence: Public Opinion, Our Social Skin. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1984.
Patterson, Thomas E. The Vanishing Voter: Public Involvement in an Age of Uncertainty. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 2002.
Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 2000.
Schudson, Michael. The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life. New York: Free Press, 1998.
Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman Schlozman, and Henry E. Brady. Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American
Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995.
170 5 ⢠Suggested Readings
Access for free at openstax.org
FIGURE 6.1 Greta Thunberg speaks to thousands of climate activists in front of Germanyâs parliament at the
Reichstag building in September 2021. (credit: âGreta Thunberg spricht beim Klimastreik vor dem Reichstagâ by
Stefan MĂźller/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
6.1 Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political
6.2 Political Culture: How People Express Their Political Identity
6.3 Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions
6.4 Collective Action Problems: The Problem of Incentives
6.5 Resolving Collective Action Problems
Greta Thunberg and Collective Action
- Greta Thunberg's activism evolved from personal family changes to a global movement involving 1.6 million students.
- Individual actions gain political power primarily when they inspire organized interest groups and party-level policy shifts.
- Despite widespread protests, rapid environmental policy change remains stalled by powerful opposing interests.
- A significant barrier to progress is the difficulty of reaching a consensus on specific actions even when the need for change is agreed upon.
- The 'free rider' problem and the exploitation of the global commons present persistent challenges to environmental cooperation.
To the extent that Thunbergâs individual actions will influence political choices, it will be because these actions have helped create a movement, inspire interest groups and parties, and lead governments to change their policies.
As a young teen, Greta Thunbergâs first foray into environmental activism was persuading
her parents to reduce their carbon footprint in an attempt to reduce their familyâs contribution to global
climate change. By age 15, she took to protesting alone on a bench outside the Swedish parliament, gradually
drawing attention for her persistence. Soon thereafter, Thunberg was inspiring environmental protests in
schools around the world, with as many as 1.6 million students from some 120 countries participating in
efforts to prevent catastrophic climate degradation.1 To the extent that Thunbergâs individual actions will
influence political choices, it will be because these actions have helped create a movement, inspire interest
groups and parties, and lead governments to change their policies. Despite these worldwide protests, it is not
at all clear that environmental policies will change rapidly and dramatically. One reason for this is that
powerful interests oppose taking action. Another reasonâone that this chapter will consider in some detailâis
that even when individuals agree that action must be taken, it can be difficult to come to an agreement on
exactly what those actions should be. Opportunities to free ride, or to take advantage of the global commons,
continue to be difficult to address despite the passionate efforts of so many to change them.
6
The Fundamentals of Group
Political Activity
The Power of Collective Action
- Individual political action is insufficient for systemic change without the backing of organized groups or parties.
- Even powerful figures like emperors or national candidates rely on bureaucracies and collective support to exercise authority.
- Group behavior is driven by a mix of instrumental strategic goals and expressive symbolic motivations.
- Political movements succeed only when they overcome collective dilemmas to transform individual anger into organized purpose.
- The study of group activity must account for both rational self-interest and intuitive, public-spirited emotions.
Unless individuals come together with others, their ability to effect or resist change is miniscule.
All political action is ultimately individual action, but even if you were Greta Thunberg, you would not be able
to make political change entirely on your own. Only when groups of individuals come together to take
collective action can they make political decisions that lead to change. Candidates run as individuals, but to
win elections, they typically need the backing of an organized political party withâespecially in the case of
national electionsâperhaps millions of supporters. Legislatures are composed of individual politicians, but
they act through groupsâfor example, committees, caucuses, and the party organization. Political movements
form when enough individuals come together in common purpose to seek political change. Even an emperor is
likely to receive advice from some sort of cabinet, and for an emperor to accomplish anything, they will need
the support of a military or a bureaucracy. Unless individuals come together with others, their ability to effect
or resist change is miniscule. Thunbergâs efforts will come to naught unless those seeking to mitigate climate
change are able to overcome collective dilemmas.2
This chapter focuses on group action. Humans, in all their marvelous diversity, act for all sorts of reasons.
Some of these reasons are instrumental and strategicâpeople do this to get thatâbut others are more properly
seen as expressive and symbolic. People act not to get, but to be or to display. The distinction between
expressive and instrumental actions is not precise, and these behaviors overlap (as noted in Chapter 2:
Political Behavior Is Human Behavior). Consider the mass protests against the government of Cuba that broke
out in the summer of 2021.3 Those protesting may have done so to express anger (an emotion), show solidarity
(symbolic behavior), and/or seek political change (instrumental action). Though it is not yet possible to hook
up sensors to a personâs brain to learn what triggered each element of their behavior, it is possible to recognize
the potential importance of different types of triggers.
You learned in Chapter 2 that individuals can be rational and also intuitive, strategic yet expressive, self-
interested but still public spirited. These concepts carry over to the study of group behavior, focusing on the
expressive, symbolic, or emotional aspects of individuals within groups as well as the rational, instrumental,
and strategic behaviors of individuals in group decision-making.4
FIGURE 6.2 The streets of Hong Kong are jammed with protestors in 2019. (credit: âIMG_20190616_171444â by
Studio Incendo/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
172 6 ⢠The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity
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6.1 Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define political socialization.
⢠Describe the main influences on a personâs political socialization.
⢠Analyze the ways social media has affected political socialization.
⢠Discuss the factors that determine which influences will have the greatest impact on a personâs political
The Roots of Political Socialization
- Political identity is rarely the result of a single, analytical decision but rather a gradual emergence over time.
- Political socialization is the slow process by which individuals develop their values, attitudes, and ideologies regarding government and society.
- Environmental factors, such as neighborhood safety and school quality, play a significant role in shaping an individual's political outlook.
- Emerging research suggests that genetic predispositions may also influence an individual's political leanings.
- The case of Greta Thunberg illustrates how family history, national culture, and external events like the Parkland protests converge to create an activist.
- Socialization determines not only what a person believes but also their level of interest or indifference toward political action.
Political socialization is neither premeditated nor preordained, although there is a growing body of evidence that indicates that there are genetic links to political predispositions.
socialization.
Do you consider yourself to have a political identity? Do you belong to or identify with a political party? Do you
have a political ideology, such as conservative, libertarian, liberal, or populist? Are you apolitical (indifferent to
politics), or are you deeply engaged in political action? Whatever your answers are, there is a chanceâbut a
rather small oneâthat you deliberately and thoughtfully made these choices at a single moment by analytically
comparing the various alternatives. Itâs more likely that your choices gradually emerged over time through a
complex combination of environmental and social influences interacting with your own personal biological
and psychological makeup.
It is not entirely clear how Greta Thunberg became a climate change activist, for example, although her father
Svante was named after his grandfather, a Nobel Prizeâwinning scientist who identified the link between
increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and higher global temperatures.5 She grew up in Sweden, a
country with a strong ethic of environmentalism (by some measures, it is ranked as the most environmentally
friendly country in the world).6 She reports learning about climate change by age eight and credits the
American student activists who protested gun laws after the Parkland, Florida, school shootings with inspiring
her to act.7
The gradual process of developing values and beliefs, of people becoming who they are as adults, is
socialization, and the slow development of who a person becomes as a political being is political
socialization.8 Through political socialization, people develop their political ideology in the broadest sense.
This includes not only their values and attitudes regarding the role of citizens and the government, but also
regarding issues such as social justice or climate change. Socialization also influences whether a person is
likely to have any interest in politics at all.
Political socialization is neither premeditated nor preordained, although there is a growing body of evidence
that indicates that there are genetic links to political predispositions.9 As an infant, you did not choose who
you would become as an adult. As you grew, you were subject to a wide variety of forces that shaped your
personality. Some of these forces were present in your physical environment, such as your home (Was there
lead paint on the walls?), your neighborhood (Was it safe?),10 and your school (Was it a place you looked
forward to going to?).11 As your physical environment shapes your learning, it also influences your views and
attitudes, even if you are unaware of these influences.
6.1 ⢠Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political 173
FIGURE 6.3 People who grow up under insecure conditions, like these Kurdish refugee children, will experience
political socialization differently than those who grow up in safer environments. (credit: âKurdish children bunch
together to have their photograph taken while playing at a refugee campâ by Department of Defense. American
Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center. (1994 - 10/26/2007)/National Archives Catalog,
Public Domain)
Foundations of Political Socialization
- Social and physical environments, such as neighborhood safety and school quality, significantly shape an individual's attitudes toward government.
- The family is considered the primary agent of socialization, influencing lifelong views on religion, work, education, and politics.
- Political socialization is not always a top-down process; children can influence their parents' perspectives, as seen in environmental activism.
- In certain geopolitical contexts, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, political identity is almost predetermined by inherited religious and ethnic affiliations.
- While family influence is substantial, individuals retain agency and may choose to accept, reject, or question the beliefs they were raised with.
Greta Thunbergâs activism led her parents to reconsider their own environmental attitudes, and research suggests that children often affect their parentsâ views on the environment.
The line from your social and physical environment to your political personality may be indirect. If you grew
up in a heavily policed neighborhood, attended a deteriorating school, and lacked safe drinking water, your
attitudes about government are likely to differ from an otherwise identical individual who lived in a
comfortable home with safe drinking water and attended a well-resourced school in an affluent neighborhood.
Humans are complicated, and it would be unwise to conclude that all those growing up in privilege are
identically socialized or that those raised lacking such privilege all have the same political personalities. Your
social and physical environments do not determine your political personality, but they can have an important
influence.
The Role of the Family
The family is usually considered the most important influence on both a personâs overall socialization and
their political socialization. Families profoundly affect peopleâs views about religion, work, and education.12
People gradually develop these preferences, attitudes, and behaviors as they grow from infants to adolescents
to adults. The impact families have on peopleâs lives does not vanish when they become adults. It is likely to
persist over their lifetimes. The influence need not always flow from the parents to the child. Greta Thunbergâs
activism led her parents to reconsider their own environmental attitudes, and research suggests that children
often affect their parentsâ views on the environment.13
Your family is likely to exert a substantial influence on your political views.14 In some political settings in
which a childâs identity is defined by religion, ethnicity, and place, their political views may seem almost
predetermined. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, for example, the three main groups tend to be divided by ethnicity and
religion, which largely define their political affiliations. Ethnic Bosniaks tend to be Muslim, Croats tend to be
Roman Catholic, and Serbs are mainly Orthodox Christians. These differing ethnic and religious groups largely
determine individualsâ political affiliations: there is little political intermingling across ethnic and religious
lines.15
In most places around the world, if parents raise their children in a particular religious faith, those children
are more likely than not to adopt that faith as they become adults (or, if the children are raised in no faith, they
are less likely to have religious connections as adults).16 The same is true for almost any other important facet
of life: social attitudes, beliefs about the role of the family, and yes, political beliefs. This is not to say that
beliefs are automatically transmitted: young people have agency and may accept, reject, or simply question
174 6 ⢠The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity
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what their parents believe.17
The Changing Family
Family Dynamics and Political Socialization
- Families serve as the primary agents of political socialization, though global family structures are evolving through declining fertility rates.
- China's one-child policy represents an extreme state intervention in family structure, resulting in significant gender imbalances and cultural shifts.
- Economic and social trends have led to a higher percentage of young adults living with parents, potentially extending the period of parental political influence.
- Cultural expectations regarding elder care vary significantly, with some nations viewing it as a family duty and others as a government responsibility.
- While parental influence is strong, approximately one-third of U.S. teenagers eventually adopt political ideologies that differ from their upbringing.
Under this policy, a cultural preference for male children led to sex-selective abortions and female infanticide.
Families play a key role in political socialization, and family structure is evolving in different ways around the world.
One fundamental change is family size; fertility rates have dropped in virtually every country in the past century.
The Peopleâs Republic of China (PRC) provides an extreme example. When the PRC was established in 1949, the
government encouraged families to have children to create additional workers, and by the 1960s the typical Chinese
family had six children. At that point political leaders became worried about rapid population growth, and so in 1980
they instituted a one-child policy strictly enforced through a combination of benefits and often-harsh penalties. The
policy dramatically slowed population growth, and it substantially increased both the age of and the percentage of
males in the population. Under this policy, a cultural preference for male children led to sex-selective abortions and
female infanticide. Believing that they had gone too far, the Chinese government lifted the one-child policy in
2016.18
VIDEO
What It Was Like to Grow Up under Chinaâs One-Child Policy
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/6-1-political-
socialization-the-ways-people-become-political)
In this TED talk, Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang describes her experiences as a child growing up under Chinaâs one-
child policy and as an adult making a documentary about peopleâs experiences under the policy.
Family structure involves not only how many children are in a family, but where they live when they effectively
become adults. As of 2016, a higher percentage (52 percent) of 18-to-29-year-olds in the United States were living
with their parents than at any time since 1900.19 Among wealthy countries, the percentage of 15-to-29 year-olds
living with their parents varied from about 80 percent in Italy to 30 percent in Canada.20
Given what we already know about how family members can influence each otherâs political attitudes and beliefs, it
will be interesting to see how these changing family structures and living conditions impact political socialization.
Your parentsâ political leanings and your broader family environment affect your political views. For example,
who is expected to take responsibility for caring for parents as they age varies from country to country. In
China, caring for oneâs parents is a sacred duty; in Norway, it is more often seen as an obligation of the
government. Germans and Italians are more than twice as likely as Americans to say that the government,
rather than the family, has the main responsibility for caring for the elderly.21
Note that these statements, like other generalizations, are not true for every person in every circumstance
everywhere. Some children of devout worshippers become atheists, some people raised as capitalists become
communists, and some of the children of political, social, and cultural liberals become ardent conservatives.
When making these generalizations, this chapter uses words like âgenerallyâ or âtendâ to suggest that the
statements are accurate for the bulk of the group or characteristic being discussed. For example, in the United
States, about 7 out of 10 teenagers have political ideologies and partisan affiliations similar to their parents:
liberal teens tend to have liberal parents, and conservative youth generally have conservative parents. Still,
about one-third of US teenagers adopt different political ideologies from those they were raised with.22
Â
Â
THE CHANGING POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
6.1 ⢠Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political 175
Â
VIDEO
Foundations of Political Socialization
- Parental engagement and strong party identification are primary drivers in determining whether children adopt similar political attitudes.
- Family structure, including marital status and living arrangements, creates complex socialization effects that remain partially understood by researchers.
- The influence of family on political identity is a lifelong process that continues to impact the socialization of adults, not just children.
- Schools and religious institutions serve as early environments that shape political maturation based on their specific philosophies and demographics.
- As individuals age, peer groups at school and work begin to replace parental influence, often leading to changes in language, interests, and political views.
- The internet and social media have fundamentally shifted socialization by allowing young people to find peer groups beyond their immediate physical geography.
Now, given internet access, young people can find their peer groups virtually anywhere.
Bernie Sanders Says His Childhood Shaped His Political Views
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/6-1-political-
socialization-the-ways-people-become-political)
In a 60 Minutes interview, Senator Bernie Sanders describes how his childhood experiences helped shape his
political views.
The identities of a young personâs parent(s) affect that personâs political socialization. If parental engagement
in politics is high and party identification is strong, children are more likely to adopt those attitudes and
behaviors than if parental political engagement is low and their partisanship indifferent.23 Family
structureâwhether a child is living with two parents or a single parent, and whether parents are married,
divorced, or cohabitating, for exampleâraises complex issues for political socialization that are not well
understood.24 Moreover, the impact of the family on socialization is not limited to children. Family dynamics
also impact the political socialization of adults.25
Peers
Your living situation growing up largely determines what influences you will encounter as you mature. Your
school can influence your political socialization, as different schools have differing teaching philosophies,
student bodies, and political activities. Likewise, your place of worship may have a profound influence on who
you become. When you are young, your parents or guardians probably choose your school and religion;
however, as people grow older, many of them spend less time with their parents or guardians and more time
with their peers, including friends at school, work, community, and play. You may change your language,
clothing, and interests to fit in with those in your group. And as you grow older, you are increasingly able to
make your own decisions.
FIGURE 6.4 Social peer groups can influence how individuals talk, how they communicate using physical gestures,
and how they dress, and they can play a significant role in shaping individualsâ views on politics. (credit: âGlobe
Town Massive, a Bangladeshi youth gang in Bethnal Green, Tower hamlets, London, Englandâ by Bangali71/
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0)
It is less clear whether your peers will have a lasting impact on your political socialization. Like many things
when you are growing up, your choice of peers is not entirely in your control. Most children don't pick where
they live and where they attend primary school, and those two factors play a big part in determining the pool of
people from which individuals can choose friends. In short, your parentsâ life circumstances and choices
shape who your peers are likely to be. Still, context is important. Before the advent of social media, parental
decisions would almost entirely determine your pool of peers. Now, given internet access, young people can
find their peer groups virtually anywhere.
176 6 ⢠The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity
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Digital Peers and Identity Politics
- Social media has shifted the source of peer influence from local communities to global networks based on shared interests.
- The ability to choose one's social network increases the likelihood of 'echo chambers' that reinforce existing beliefs rather than challenging them.
- Dominant ethnic groups often view their political interests as universal, while minority groups may be socialized to view the government with skepticism due to discrimination.
- Ethnic identity becomes more politically salient when it signifies an individual's status as an outsider within a society.
- Religious upbringing remains a powerful agent of socialization, significantly shaping views on social policy and party affiliation.
Oneâs ethnic identity is likely to be more salient if that identity signifies one as an outsider.
Increasingly, young people rely on social media to learn about the world and connect with others. Political
scientists are still trying to decipher what this means for political socialization. In the past, a young personâs
peers tended to be local: other members of the clan, the village, or the church. Today, a young personâs peers
can be almost anywhere in the world, assuming they understand the same language, and thus young people
(and adults) can more easily choose their peers based on common interests and beliefs than they could in the
past. To the extent that young people, and indeed all individuals, can choose their social networks rather than
being placed in them by virtue of their location, it is more likely that peer networks will reinforce existing
beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors rather than change them. The ability of individuals to choose their social
networks leads to âecho chambers,â which Chapter 12: The Media will examine further.
Other Affiliations
Your family and peers greatly influence your political opinions, attitudes, values, and behaviors, but there are
other important influences. How much these other influences affect a personâs political socialization depends,
in part, on how important they are to the personâs identity and daily life.
VIDEO
What Does Being Indigenous Mean?
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/6-1-political-
socialization-the-ways-people-become-political)
In this clip, Indigenous people in Canada explain what it means to them to be Indigenous.
Consider ethnicity. The dominant ethnic group within a countryâthe White British within the United Kingdom,
for exampleâmay not perceive their ethnicity as having much of an influence on their political socialization,
but its impact is likely to be profound. Members of ethnic majorities may be more likely to assume that politics
and government should favor their interests as a matter of course because they may (naively) believe that what
is good for them is good for everyone. Ethnic minorities, in contrast, may be socialized to feel the sting of
discrimination and to view the government as no friend. Oneâs ethnic identity is likely to be more salient if that
identity signifies one as an outsider.26
If you were raised in a devout family, that familyâs religion may have an important influence on your political
socialization.27 In the United States, for example, those individuals identifying as evangelicals are much more
likely than the rest of the population to favor socially conservative public policies such as prohibiting same sex
marriage or curtailing abortion rights, and they are much more likely to support the Republican Party. At the
opposite end of the spectrum, those raised as atheists are more likely to believe that governmental policy
should not be based on religious principles.28
Gender and Cultural Socialization
- Gender roles significantly influence political socialization, where traditional expectations may discourage female political participation.
- The presence of women in leadership roles can actively socialize young women toward greater political awareness and activity.
- The impact of schooling on political socialization is often modest because schools typically reinforce the existing values and environments of parents.
- Political culture is defined as the shared attitudes, values, and goals common to members of a political group or country.
- National cultures are not uniform and are composed of distinct mass, elite, and minority cultures that vary by country.
- Individual socialization is deeply tied to group identity, leading people to join larger groupings with common characteristics.
Socialization into âtraditionalâ gender roles may discourage women from developing interest or participating in politics, while in countries with women in leadership positions, young women may be socialized to become more politically aware and active.
Gender roles and gender identification can influence an individualâs political socialization. Socialization into
âtraditionalâ gender roles may discourage women from developing interest or participating in politics, while in
countries with women in leadership positions, young women may be socialized to become more politically
aware and active.29 The impact of gender identification and sexual orientation on political socialization is not
well understood, but it seems likely that the greater the importance a person places on these attributes and the
more intense the formative experiences they have regarding these attributes, the greater the influence these
attributes will have on that personâs political socialization.30
6.1 ⢠Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political 177
FIGURE 6.5 Socialization into gender roles, whether they be the traditional gender roles suggested by this photo or
less traditional roles, may impact your political personality. (credit: âGroup Shotâ by OakleyOriginals/Flickr, CC BY
2.0)
Even though young people spend a lot of time in school, the impact of schooling on political socialization
appears to be modest. Why? The schools children attend often reflect the choices and environment of their
parents, so they have little independent influence on socialization. For example, if you come from a religious
home and your family has the means to do so, your parents might choose to send you to religious school; this
reinforces the influence of the familyâs religion on socialization. More broadly, the schools young people attend
are likely to reflect the conditions and values that already exist in their environment.
People are socialized as individuals, and they are socialized in groups, including their family, peers, and others
in their social environments. As people are socialized, they become part of larger groupings of individuals with
common characteristics. The next sections discuss these larger groupings.
6.2 Political Culture: How People Express Their Political Identity
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define political culture, mass culture, elite culture, and minority culture.
⢠Describe the effects of the weakening of mass cultures.
⢠Explain how political cultures form.
If you have ever had the chance to travel to another country, you might have observed the behaviors, habits,
values, and beliefs that distinguish that country from your own. Those distinguishing factors are in part a
result of the way individuals in different countries are socialized. In Argentina, dinner doesnât typically start
until around 10 p.m.; in Norway, 5 oâclock is more common. The Japanese often have green tea and rice for
breakfast; in Denmark, breakfast is more likely to be smoked eel and scrambled eggs. Each country has a
different personality, or culture.
While Argentines, Norwegians, Japanese, and the Danes have national cultures that distinguish them from
each other, cultures are not uniform within these or any other countries. Every country has various cultures
within it, including a mass culture, an elite culture, and diverse minority cultures. The details of these cultures
vary from country to country, but some characteristics are typical of culture in all countries.
Culture refers to the shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices common to members of a group. The shared
political attitudes, values, goals, and practices common to members of a political group, such as a country, a
party, or any other political organization or grouping, is the groupâs political culture.31
178 6 ⢠The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity
Political Culture and Individualism
- Political culture defines how citizens perceive their roles and their relationship with the government.
- The United States is characterized by high individualism, prioritizing personal freedom over state-guaranteed security.
- Comparative research shows Americans favor freedom from state interference, while many Europeans prioritize the state's role in preventing need.
- Generalizations about political culture describe broad patterns but should not be used to stereotype specific individuals.
- Local government meetings, such as city councils or school boards, serve as primary venues for observing and participating in political culture.
- With approximately 90,000 local governments in the U.S., citizens have numerous opportunities to engage in direct political action.
The United States tends to be highly individualistic, prioritizing personal freedom and individual responsibility over more community-centered values.
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A countryâs political culture frames how individuals in that society see their roles as citizens, including their
relationship to other political actors and to the government. The United States tends to be highly
individualistic, prioritizing personal freedom and individual responsibility over more community-centered
values. This individualism can appear odd to the citizens of countries that put much higher importance on
communal values. For example, researchers asked Americans and Europeans, âWhatâs more important in our
society, that everyone can be free to pursue their lifeâs goals without interference from the state or that the
state plays an active role in society so as to guarantee that nobody is in need?â Almost six in 10 Americans
surveyed responded that individual freedom was more important, while nearly eight in 10 Lithuanians, whose
country was a part of the collectivist Soviet Union for nearly 50 years, responded that the stateâs active role was
more important.32
As with any generalization, political culture is open to unfortunate stereotyping. Not all Americans favor
individual freedom over state intervention. Not all Lithuanians prefer that the government play an active role
to protect individuals. Generalizations are helpful to describe patterns and tendencies, but they should never
be automatically attributed to specific individuals.
Public Meetings
FIGURE 6.6 At meetings like this hearing on the legislative redistricting plan in Annapolis, Maryland, in 2011,
members of the public are invited to comment on issues. (credit: âPublic Hearing on the Legislative Redistricting
Planâ by Maryland GovPics/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Local governmental meetings are excellent venues for observing group decision-making in action. Careful
observation may also yield clues about political cultures. But if you attend these meetings, you need not be a
passive observer. City council meetings, school board meetings, or other local meetings frequently offer
opportunities for public comment.
Because there are some 90,000 local governments in the United States,33 it is not possible to point to a single
source of information regarding where, when, and why local meetings will occur. A simple web search can help you
locate a wide array of local government meetings in your area.
For example, if you had been in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Monday, November 1, 2021, you could have attended a
City Council tour, a meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, or a meeting of the Animal Services
Advisory Board. Whatever meeting you choose to attend, you will have a chance to engage in local political action.
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
6.2 ⢠Political Culture: How People Express Their Political Identity 179
Elite Culture
The Dynamics of Political Elites
- The term 'elite' carries dual meanings, ranging from admiration for extraordinary skill to resentment toward those wielding disproportionate power.
- Political elites are defined by their wealth, status, and position, which grant them significant control over a nation's policy decisions and political agenda.
- The concentration of elite power varies globally, from the absolute control of North Korea's ruling class to the more egalitarian leadership seen in New Zealand.
- In the United States, elite cultures are fragmented across financial, cultural, and political spheres, often concentrated in major metropolitan hubs.
- Despite shared socioeconomic backgrounds and education, American elites are politically polarized, splitting their support between liberal and conservative causes.
- Regardless of internal divisions, political elites consistently exert a disproportionate influence on public policy compared to the general population.
North Korean elite culture is his culture, and he expects to be worshipped.
The term âeliteâ can trigger mixed reactions. Some people might hear the term and think positively of elite
athletes, elite dancers, or elite musiciansâthose who, by virtue of their abilities or accomplishments, stand out
as extraordinary. In many countries today, however, the term âeliteâ is usually less complimentary. People may
complain, âThe elites control everythingâ or âThe elites take advantage of the rest of us.â
Those within a society who, by virtue of their wealth, status, position, and power, have the greatest influence
over the countryâs political agenda, its policy decisions, and its decision-making cadre are the societyâs
political elite.34 Their political culture is the countryâs elite political culture. The degree of influence and
domination of elite culture varies from country to country. At the extreme, in North Korea, the ruling class, led
by Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, controls every aspect of political life. Kim Jong-unâs grandfather was the first
Supreme Leader of North Korea, and his father was the second. North Korean elite culture is his culture, and
he expects to be worshipped. At the other end of the spectrum is New Zealand, where Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern, whose parents were middle class (her mother was a school catering assistant and her father was a
police officer), who attended a public school, and who became one of only two elected heads of state to give
birth while in office, leads the closest thing New Zealand has to a ruling class. Even in relatively egalitarian
New Zealand, however, those with money, status, and power tend to set the agenda, influence policy decisions,
and dominate the decision-making process.
In the United States, there are multiple elite culturesâcultural, financial, and political. Members of these elite
groups tend to live in major metropolitan areas (such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, San
Francisco, Boston, and Houston), attend highly selective colleges and universities, and have high incomes.35
However, despite their commonalities, their political values and attitudes may differ sharply. The ultra-wealthy
may be devoted either to liberal or conservative causes: the âone percentâ (those wealthier than 99 percent of
the rest of the population) are divided almost equally in how much they give to Republican or Democratic
candidates for political office.36 Billionaires may be either liberal or conservative, and while at one time the
social networks of those politicians at the most elite levels within their parties might have overlapped, they do
not overlap much anymore. Still, political elites have disproportionate influence over American public policy,
and it is reasonable to believe that this finding would hold for other countries as well.37
Cultural Anthropology
Defining Cultural Anthropology
- Political science examines political culture as a specific subset of shared group values and practices.
- Cultural anthropology focuses on how human groups organize their social and physical worlds through shared belief systems.
- A defining methodology of the field is participant observation, requiring researchers to live within a community for extended periods.
- The discipline aims to create accurate descriptions of the knowledge people use to navigate their daily lives.
- Researchers study a reciprocal relationship where people shape their environments and are simultaneously shaped by them.
Cultural anthropologists study how people who share a common cultural system organize and shape the physical and social world around them, and are in turn shaped by those ideas, behaviors, and physical environments.
Political scientists are interested in political culture, a subset of the attitudes, values, goals, and practices the
members of a group share that define that groupâs culture. If you want to learn more about culture itself, you
might explore a course in cultural anthropology. According to the National Park Systemâs Cultural Anthropology
Program, âCultural anthropologists specialize in the study of culture and peoplesâ beliefs, practices, and the
cognitive and social organization of human groups. Cultural anthropologists study how people who share a
common cultural system organize and shape the physical and social world around them, and are in turn shaped
by those ideas, behaviors, and physical environments.â38
Although cultural anthropologists use both quantitative and qualitative research methods, a hallmark of cultural
anthropology is participant observation, in which the researcher spends an extensive amount of time living with
and observing a cultural community. In a cultural anthropology course, you will learn techniques to make
systematic observations so that you are able to describe and explain a culture in ways that are accurate and
appropriate. Through systematic observation you can develop a deep understanding about âthe knowledge
people use to live their lives and the way in which they do so.â39
CONNECTING COURSES
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Mass Culture
The Decline of Mass Culture
- Mass culture emerged through centralized media like newspapers and television, creating shared national tastes and political information.
- The distinction between elite and mass cultures remains, though the lines are often blurred by shared consumption habits.
- Mass political culture is weakening as evidenced by the sharp decline in viewership for presidential debates since the 1960s.
- The proliferation of media options and social media has caused mass culture to diminish while allowing specific minority cultures to flourish.
- Minority cultures and subcultures, such as doomsday preppers or anime fans, provide distinct identities that often remain unknown to the broader public.
- National political descriptions often fail to capture the diverse beliefs of the various communities existing within a single country.
As media options proliferate, mass culture diminishes and minority cultures flourish.
The broadest culture within a country is its mass culture. Where do you get your political information? What
movies do you watch, what kinds of sporting events do you attend, and where do you buy your clothes? While it
is possible to distinguish between elite and mass cultures, the lines between them are not always distinct. Still,
without too much stereotyping, it is safe to say that many members of elite cultures would generally answer
these questions differently than members of mass cultures would.
Prior to the rise of newspapers, radio, and television, mass culture (including political culture) did not exist. All
culture was local. Individuals were influenced most by those with whom they had direct personal contact. As
increasingly larger proportions of the population had access to these media, culture became increasingly
mass, increasingly shared. Those living in smaller towns came to have access to the same tastes, styles, and
information as those in the larger cities.
Mass culture was most visible when the media was limited to newspapers, radio, and television. When
television options were limited, mass culture included the shows that âeverybodyâ watched. The most watched
TV shows in the world include the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. In India, Bollywood films have
dominated the media landscape, as telenovelas have in the Americas.
Mass culture, including mass political culture, is weakening. About 60 percent of the adult population in
America watched the presidential debates between Nixon and Kennedy in 1960. In 2020, even during a highly
contentious presidential campaign between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden,
fewer than 30 percent of adults watched the debates (more on this in Chapter 12: The Media).40 This move
away from mass focused attention on the same political events through a few media outlets holds true in
countries around the world. As media options proliferate, mass culture diminishes and minority cultures
flourish. People no longer get their political information from the media that âeveryoneâ watches. Instead, they
are able to obtainâand shareâpolitical information with those in their own, sometimes very specific, political
cultures.
Minority Cultures
When the political culture of the United States is described as prioritizing individual liberty and personal
responsibility, that hardly describes how everyone in the United States thinks. Any statements about a national
political culture will be far too broad to speak for the members of all the various communities within a country.
This is especially true now that mass cultures are breaking down, with the rise of social media especially
enabling minority cultures to flourish.
FIGURE 6.7 The Japanese Visual Kei culture involves a blend of music and style. (credit: âHarajuku denizens [3]â by
Jacob Ehnmark/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
6.2 ⢠Political Culture: How People Express Their Political Identity 181
Minority cultures have their own consistency of beliefs and behaviors, of ideas and actions that bind them
together. Minority cultures can be quite specific. For example, there are the doomsday preppers in the United
States, gopniks in Russia,41 cholos in Mexico,42 and thousands of others. Subcultures can be all-consuming, as
with a cult that dominates every aspect of cult membersâ lives, but an individual need not be connected to only
one culture. Professional wrestling has its own culture, as does anime. Xavier Woodsâyou may never have
heard of him, but many prominent figures in various cultures are unknown to the broader publicâidentifies
with both.43
VIDEO
Anime Lightning Round with WWEâs Xavier Woods
Organic Origins of Political Culture
- Political cultures often emerge organically from shared lifestyles or interests rather than being intentionally designed as political organizations.
- Communities of interest, such as the gay community or environmentalists, can transition from apolitical groups to mobilized social movements in response to external crises.
- Cultural foundations, such as Black American culture or hip-hop, provide continuous links for long-term political movements like Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter.
- Cultural identity does not strictly dictate individual behavior, as people may hold strong beliefs while engaging in contradictory actions.
- The transition from mass protest to actual policy change is often hindered by the complexities of group decision-making and strategic behavior.
- Collective dilemmas and strategic interactions frequently lead to unfortunate consequences that prevent groups from achieving their stated goals.
Prior to the 1970s in the United States, the gay community (culture) was largely apolitical.
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/6-2-political-
culture-how-people-express-their-political-identity)
In this clip, professional wrestler Xavier Woods describes anime and talks about some of his favorite anime
shows and characters.
Political cultures emerge organically, in that they are not necessarily created with the intention of building
political organizations. Instead, individuals with particular interests and lifestylesâenvironmentalism, queer
identities, or gun ownership, among many other potential affiliationsâfind similar individuals, and a
community of interest forms. These communities of interest may grow into social movements or establish
formal interest groups. Prior to the 1970s in the United States, the gay community (culture) was largely
apolitical.44 State-sanctioned violence against gays and, later, the AIDS epidemic, politicized the gay
community and mobilized members of the community to organize interest groups and participate in a broader
social movement.
VIDEO
What You Need to Know about the Gay Rights Movement
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/6-2-political-
culture-how-people-express-their-political-identity)
After the US Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the right of same-sex couples to marry, CNN aired this report
on the history of the gay rights movement.
Elements of Black American cultures provided a foundation for the civil rights movement in a continuous link
from the 1960s to the Black Lives Matter movement (and the formal BLM organization) of today.45 Hip-hop is
also a distinct political culture.46 In some cases, cultural activity has led to the formation of political parties,
such as the Green parties that have spread to some 80 countries around the world.
Neither a personâs political socialization nor their cultural identity dictates precisely how they will behave in
group settings or what the outcomes of the group interactions will be. An individual might identify as an ardent
environmentalist but nonetheless engage in polluting activities like using disposable diapers or routinely
traveling by aircraft. One might ask: âWhy does an environmentalist engage in polluting activities?â Millions
(virtually or physically) marched along with Thunberg to protest climate change and the public policies that
allowed (or even spurred) it to happen. Why didnât these millions of protestors have more success obtaining
the policy changes they sought? To learn more about how individuals behave as part of a group or in group
settings and why policy change is often so hard to obtain, itâs necessary to study some essential elements of
group decision-making. This study will pay close attention to strategic behaviorâbehavior that sometimes
leads to unfortunate consequences.
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6.3 Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Discuss the major causes of collective dilemmas.
⢠Describe the major types of collective dilemmas.
⢠Explain ways to overcome collective dilemmas.
The Crisis of Collective Dilemmas
- Public approval of the U.S. Congress reached a historic low of 12 percent in 2021, reflecting a broader global trend of dissatisfaction with democratic legislatures.
- Disenchantment stems from the perception that legislative bodies are ineffective, often resulting in total government shutdowns due to political deadlock.
- A collective dilemma occurs whenever a group must reach a decision but members possess differing needs, preferences, or goals.
- Legislative failures are often the result of an inability to solve these collective problems, ranging from simple logistics to complex national policies.
- One primary cause of these dilemmas is the existence of opposing preferences where no middle ground exists, such as the binary debate over the death penalty.
The American public is pretty disgusted with the United States Congress.
The American public is pretty disgusted with the United State Congress. Public opinion polls show that, as of
July 2021, Congress had a 12 percent approval ratingâlower than any other institution rated in the poll.47 The
widespread discontentment with Congress was due in part to the publicâs view that Congress gets little done
and that what it does, it does poorly.
Public disenchantment with governments is not limited to the United States. Majorities in Mexico, Spain,
Greece, Brazil, and other countries believe their democracies are not working well.48 Wherever democratic
legislatures exist, in recent years they have struggled to impress the people who elect them.
There are lots of specific reasons for public disdain of legislative bodies, but one broad reason encapsulates
them: legislatures find it difficult to solve their collective problems. For 18 days in 2013 and then again for 35
days in 2018â2019, the US government shut down because Congress and the president could not agree on
ways to fund federal operations. The public was not amused by this deadlock: In a 2019 survey, 80 percent of
the public believed that the shutdown was a âveryâ or âsomewhatâ serious problem for the country.49
FIGURE 6.8 Federal employees attend a rally seeking to end the government shutdown in 2013. (credit: â10.4.13
CPC End Government Shutdown Rallyâ by Keith Ellison/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
If all people agreed on everything, there would be no collective dilemmas. But because individuals do have
differing needs, preferences, and goals, they have to overcome challenges to make a decision. Whenever two or
more individuals need to make a plan or resolve a conflict and those involved do not agree on the solution,
there is a collective dilemma. This is as true for two individuals deciding where to go to eat as it is for a
national congress trying to set policies for immigration, climate change, a pandemic, or the myriad other
policy choices the legislature faces.
Causes of Collective Dilemmas
Collective dilemmas exist when members of a group try to make decisions that all must agree to or comply
with. If you are trying to decide where to go to dinner by yourself, there is no collective dilemma, but if you and
a friend are deciding whether to go to dinner and where, there is at least the potential for a collective problem.
Maybe you want to go out, and your friend simply does not: one of you will be disappointed by whatever
6.3 ⢠Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions 183
decision you make. Or maybe you want to go one place, and they want to go a different place. They want to go
now, and you want to go later. They have more money than you do, but you have more time. Have you had the
experience of eating out with friends and, after the bill arrives and you all pitch in your âfair share,â you
discover that there is not enough money to pay the bill?
There are three main causes of collective dilemmas. The first is when the participants disagree because they
have opposing preferences. Think of two political parties making a decision, divided into two sides with
irreconcilable differencesâfor example, with one party favoring the death penalty and the other opposing it.
There is no compromise that will satisfy both parties: the death penalty will either be allowed or be banned.
Causes of Collective Dilemmas
- General agreement on goals does not prevent conflict, as participants often clash over the specific details and methods of implementation.
- Resolving the minutiae of collective decisions introduces significant challenges, including coordination, transaction, and conformity costs.
- Collective action problems arise when individual incentives lead members to make choices that harm the group's mutual interests.
- The rules governing decision-making, such as majority or supermajority requirements, heavily influence which side prevails in a disagreement.
- Supermajority rules and unanimity requirements protect the status quo by making it significantly harder to reach a binding agreement.
In this case, group members have a common interest or goal, but members of the group have incentives to make decisions that are actually harmful to the group and, ultimately, to themselves.
The second cause is when participants generally agree on what they want to do but disagree over the details.
General agreement does not mean specific agreement. Consider climate change policy. Should internal
combustion (gas-powered) cars be banned, or should there just be incentives to buy electric cars? Should new
houses be required to have solar panels, or should the government offer perks to encourage builders and
homeowners to have them installed? In legislatures or courts, in interest groups or within bureaucracies,
resolving the details of collective decisions creates numerous challenges involving coordination, transaction
costs, and conformity costs.
The third cause, when individual motivations are contrary to the groupsâ mutual interests, is especially
troubling. In this case, group members have a common interest or goal, but members of the group have
incentives to make decisions that are actually harmful to the group and, ultimately, to themselves. Collective
dilemmas of this sort are commonly called collective action problems.50
Solutions to Collective Dilemmas When Participants Disagree
When a collective dilemma involves participants simply disagreeing on an appropriate course of action (e.g.,
whether to allow or ban capital punishment), the rules for making a decision can have an important influence
on which side will prevail.
As Chapter 2: Political Behavior Is Human Behavior discussed, the rules by which decisions are made affect
the ease with which agreements are reached. As a result, whether the death penalty will be legal depends on
the decision-making rules and on the existing situationâthat is, the status quo. If the rule is that a decision
will be made by majority vote, the preferences of whichever voting group has the most members will become
policy. If more people oppose capital punishment than support it, then capital punishment will be banned, and
vice versa.
Many types of voting rules exist (voting rules are discussed further in Chapter 8: Interest Groups, Political
Parties, and Elections and Chapter 9: Legislatures). Perhaps the most common is majority (or plurality) voting.
Under majority rule, for a proposal (or candidate) to win, that option must receive more than 50 percent of the
votes cast (usually defined as 50 percent + 1).51 In plurality voting, the proposal (or candidate) with the most
votes wins, whether or not that person receives a majority of the votes. Supermajority rules typically require
that the measure being voted upon receive 60 percent, two-thirds (67 percent), or even three-quarters (75
percent) of votes. Whenever a supermajority rule exists, the status quo is more difficult to change.
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FIGURE 6.9 Trials in the United States generally require the 12 jurors, who sit in a jury box like this one, to
unanimously agree in order for a defendant to be convicted. (credit: âCalhoun County Courthouse, Port Lavaca,
Texas 1805151209â by Patrick Feller/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Supermajorities and Legal Stability
- Unanimity rules in jury trials represent the most extreme form of supermajority requirements in democratic legal systems.
- The necessity of a supermajority is often proportional to the severity and permanence of a decision's consequences.
- Requiring unanimous agreement in criminal trials serves as a safeguard against the state's power to deprive innocent citizens of liberty.
- Constitutions function as durable foundations that require supermajorities to change, whereas laws are more easily altered by simple majorities.
- South Korea provides a unique exception by requiring a 60 percent supermajority just to bring measures to a vote to protect minority party interests.
Think of it this way: constitutions are the foundations of the house, while laws are the paint in the rooms.
The most extreme form of supermajority is found in most US courtrooms, as well as in the courts of Australia
and Ireland. For a defendant to be found guilty in a jury trial, the jury must unanimously agree; otherwise, the
defendant will either be released or face another trial. This is called a unanimity rule.
How might these differing voting rules be explained? One sensible rationale is that the greater the
consequences of making an âincorrectâ decision or the longer those consequences will last, the greater the
need for a supermajority to guard against making rash or incorrect decisions. One of the most coercive things
a state can do is to deprive a citizen of their liberty by imprisoning them, and one of the worst mistakes is to
imprison an innocent person, so most democracies make it relatively difficult to convict suspected
criminals.52 A unanimity rule helps guard against wrongful convictions, although it does not entirely prevent
them.53
Constitutions are the core document establishing the basic structure of the state, and laws are meant to
address current problems. A constitution typically outlines the governmentâs general powers and duties, while
laws fill in the specifics regarding these matters. (For more on constitutions, see Chapter 1: What Is Politics and
What Is Political Science?.) To change a constitution generally requires a supermajority, while changing laws
requires only a simple majority. Think of it this way: constitutions are the foundations of the house, while laws
are the paint in the rooms. It is hard to change the foundation because it is meant to be durable, but it is easier
to repaint the bedroom because peopleâs taste in colors can change over the seasons. That is why voting rules
typically make constitutional changes subject to supermajority votes and laws changeable by a simple
majority. This is not true in every country, however: in an effort to ensure that legislation has support from
minority parties, in South Korea a 60 percent supermajority is required in the National Assembly to bring any
measure up for a vote.54
The Politics of Voting Rules
- Constitutional authors design rules that are difficult to change to ensure their vision for the country endures for generations.
- Making constitutions rigid serves a self-interested purpose by protecting current leaders' preferences even if they later become a minority.
- When collective decision-making reaches an impasse or fails to meet supermajority requirements, the status quo remains the default outcome.
- While rules shape outcomes, they do not determine them; shifts in public opinion, such as the rapid change in support for same-sex marriage, can drive policy changes.
- The failure of rules to resolve conflict can lead to the use of force and violence as an alternative to voting for accomplishing political goals.
Constitutional authors thus try to lock in their preferences in ways that will make it difficult for those with other preferences to change the document.
Voting rules have another, more self-interested, political rationale. Those setting the rules have incentives to
establish the kind of rules that will benefit their interests now and in the future. Those writing a constitution
want it to be durable because the constitution represents how they believe their country should be ordered for
generations to come: therefore, they make the constitution difficult to change. There is also a self-interested
reason for making constitutions difficult to change. Those writing them may be currently in power, but they
can imagine a time when they may be in the minority. Constitutional authors thus try to lock in their
preferences in ways that will make it difficult for those with other preferences to change the document.
This does not mean that it is easy to come to an agreement about how to write the constitution or other rules in
the first place. What happens when those trying to make a collective decision are simply not able to make one,
6.3 ⢠Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions 185
such as when a vote is split 50-50 or when there are not enough votes to make the required supermajority? In
those cases, the status quo prevails.
Rules shape but do not determine outcomes. When political actors disagree, it is always possible that one side
will prevail because it is able to persuade its opponents. In the United States, there has been substantial
conflict over whether same-sex marriages should be legal. As recently as 2004, the American public opposed
same-sex marriage by a 2-to-1 margin. By 2019, those numbers had reversed, with public opinion polls
showing that 61 percent favored legalization while only 31 percent opposed it.55 Decisions regarding same-sex
marriage followed public opinion, and changing minds changed policy.56
If one or both sides decide not to play by the rules but instead to use violence to accomplish their goals, then
forceâand not votesâmay determine which side prevails.
One of the reasons Greta Thunbergâs calls for climate action have not been adequately answered is that there
remains substantial opposition to the kinds of policies that would be necessary to limit climate change. But
what happens when those making decisions basically agree about what should be done? These cases may still
present other difficulties, which the following sections will examine.
Solutions to Collective Dilemmas When There Is General Agreement
The Mechanics of Group Coordination
- Coordination problems arise when a group must agree on a common course of action that affects all members, even when individual preferences differ.
- The complexity of reaching a decision scales dramatically with the size of the group, moving from simple interpersonal choices to massive logistical hurdles.
- Societies generally solve coordination issues by either delegating power to a few individuals or utilizing collective participation like voting.
- Transaction costs represent the time, effort, and resources required to reach a group decision, which increase as more people are involved.
- High transaction costs can lead to decision-making paralysis, effectively preserving the status quo regardless of its merits.
- Strategic actors can intentionally inflate transaction costs as a political tactic to prevent any changes to existing systems or laws.
Defenders of the status quo do not necessarily need to defend it. They just need to raise the transaction costs high enough so that no changes can be enacted.
If you have tried to coordinate the actions of a groupâfamily, school, church, community, or any other
gatheringâthen you have directly experienced coordination problems. Coordination problems occur
whenever a group seeks to make a decision on a common course of action, the group members generally agree
on what they are seeking, and everyone in the group will need to live with the results, but itâs not possible to
give every group member exactly what they want. Coordination problems become more complex the greater
the size of the group. Deciding what movie to watch in a group of two? Depending on the personalities of the
two, this may be a pretty easy coordination problem. If the group has 20, or 20,000, or a million, or a billion
members, the coordination challenges become increasingly complex.
There are various ways to solve coordination problems, but they boil down to two main possibilities. One way is
to delegate decision-making power to a single person (or a small set of people) who will act on behalf of all.
Another way is to have everyone participate in making decisionsâfor example, through voting or some other
deliberative methods. Each solution has its own advantages and disadvantages. Delegating power to a single
person reduces transaction costs but increases conformity costs. Group decision-making is likely to reduce
conformity costs but to increase transaction costs. The following sections discuss those concepts.
Transaction Costs
When political scientists speak of costs, they do not mean just monetary costs: they mean the use of resources
to obtain some benefit. The cost (use of resources) of making a decision (the benefit) can include monetary
costs, such as the expense of printing ballots, but perhaps more importantly, it can also involve time and effort.
The money, time, and effort necessary to make group decisions are called transaction costs.57
The more people involved in the decision-making process and the more complicated the decision, the higher
the transaction costs. The higher the transaction costs, the more difficult it is to make a decision. Think back to
the âWhere do we go for dinner?â question. With three people, the transaction costs will be modest, and youâll
probably be able to arrive at a decision. As the number of individuals in the group increases, the transaction
costsâthe costs of making the decisionâare also likely to increase.
If the costs become too highâimagine how much time and effort it would take for 300 people to agree on where
to eat and to find a restaurant that can host them!âthen the decision-making process can break down. What
happens then? The status quo prevails, which, in this example, means that nobody is going to a restaurant.
What if you are deeply committed to maintaining the status quo? You can deliberately raise transaction costs
to the point that no changes to the status quo can be made. Defenders of the status quo do not necessarily need
to defend it. They just need to raise the transaction costs high enough so that no changes can be enacted.
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Political Strategy and Critical Thinking
- Minority parties in both Texas and Washington D.C. have used procedural roadblocks to increase transaction costs and stall legislation.
- In Texas, Democratic legislators fled the state to deprive the majority of a quorum, temporarily halting new voting restrictions.
- The eventual passage of the Texas voting bill occurred only after the minority returned, thereby lowering the transaction costs of the vote.
- Collective action challenges often involve the difficult allocation of limited resources, including intangible assets like time and effort.
- Critical thinking is defined as the process of synthesizing data and diverse perspectives to reach informed conclusions on community issues.
- While critical thinking requires significant time and effort, it is essential for achieving better outcomes in public policy.
The minorityâs strategy? Flee the state capitol, depriving the majority of the quorum, the minimum number of the group that must be present for a vote to be held.
In recent years there have been major political battles over voting rights. As of July 2021, efforts to impose new
voting restrictions in the state of Texas had been thwarted by virtue of a dedicated Democratic minorityâs
efforts to increase the costs of passing legislation. The minorityâs strategy? Flee the state capitol, depriving the
majority of the quorum, the minimum number of the group that must be present for a vote to be held.
Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, Republicans were in the minority and did their best to stall measures to expand
voting rightsâalso by throwing up procedural roadblocks to the legislation. In each case, the minority party
(Democrats in Texas, Republicans in Washington) chose to raise transaction costs in order to prevent a change
from being made. Texas ultimately approved the restrictions on voting rights after the Democratic minority
gave in and returned to the state capital to vote, thus lowering the transaction costs.
Collective Action and Critical Thinking
FIGURE 6.10 The EU-funded Biodiversity Information for Development program (BID) runs workshops to help
participants learn to use data to come to collaborative decisions that direct public policy. (credit: âBID Workshop:
Data Use for Decision Makingâ by GBIF, photo by MĂŠlianie Raymond/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
One of the biggest challenges that individuals, groups, and governments face is trying to figure out how to allocate
limited resources (which may be intangible things like time and effort). As discussed in this chapter, people are often
asked to make difficult decisions with seemingly no correctâor âgoodââanswer. This is especially true when the
problem that needs to be solved impacts a community, be it a country, a city, or even a neighborhood. As you go
through the process of trying to decide which option to choose in order to solve issues related to things like resource
depletion, pollution, or reducing transaction costs, what you are really doing is engaging in critical thinking. At its
core, being able to think critically involves not only being able to describe the issue at hand, but also taking relevant
ideas, perspectives, and data about a particular problem or issue and using that information to assist in analyzing
different perspectives and arguments to reach an informed conclusion about the issue. Critical thinking is hard
workâit requires a lot of information and a lot of timeâbut it gets easier with practice, and it leads to better
outcomes.
Conformity Costs
Transaction and Conformity Costs
- Transaction costs represent the time and effort required to reach a collective decision.
- Conformity costs are the difference between an individual's ideal outcome and the actual collective decision reached.
- There is an inverse relationship between these costs: systems that minimize transaction costs, like dictatorships, often maximize conformity costs.
- Personalized systems, such as individualized education, reduce conformity costs but require massive administrative transaction costs to manage.
- Democratic processes, like city council meetings, prioritize lower conformity costs by allowing all voices to be heard, despite the high transaction costs of long deliberations.
The lowest transaction cost occurs when a single decision-maker can rule by decreeâfor example, 'We will watch this movie.'
Transaction costs are the âpriceâ of making a decision, and conformity costs are the âpriceâ those who do not
get what they want must pay to arrive at a decision. For each person affected by the collective decision, the
conformity cost is the difference between what the person wanted from the decision and what they actually got
out of it. When you were making the collective decision about where to go for dinner, you might have argued for
WHAT CAN I DO?
6.3 ⢠Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions 187
sushi. If the final decision was for tacos, your conformity cost would be the difference between the smaller
amount of satisfaction you will get from having tacos and the greater happiness you would have gotten from
having sushi. School provides another example. Your classes always meet at the same time, most likely
everyone in a class has the same assignments and takes the same tests at the same time, and so forth. These
are all factors that impose conformity costs. If every studentâs education was personalized to meet their own
preferences and goalsâwith schedules, assignments, and exams all designed for that purposeâthat would be
an educational system with extremely low conformity costs. But the establishment and monitoring of such a
system would create enormous transaction costs. How would classrooms be assigned, for example? To the
extent that education is personalizedâcollege students can choose their own majors and select electives, for
exampleâthe transaction costs are higher because this requires more complicated administration (e.g., some
official has to track your schedule to make sure that you are completing all the requirements).
Consider driving laws. When the government imposes speed limits on the driving public, the conformity cost is
the difference between how fast drivers want to drive and how fast they are allowed to drive. Speed limits apply
to everyone; they are not variable based on the skills or preferences of the driver. No one under the legal age
can obtain a driverâs license, but (almost) anyone over the legal age can. These are just a few examples of
government policies that limit transaction costs but increase conformity costs.
Transaction costs and conformity costs often move in different directions: when transaction costs are low,
conformity costs are often high, and vice versa. The lowest transaction cost occurs when a single decision-
maker can rule by decreeâfor example, âWe will watch this movie.â In Brunei and in other countries ruled by
absolute dictators, transaction costs are minimal. The Sultan speaks, and it is so. The lowest conformity costs
exist when individuals can simply do whatever they want.
Contrast the centralized power of Brunei with the city council meetings in Fayetteville, Arkansas. At those
meetings, and in similar meetings around the United States, virtually any resident may voice their concerns on
any issue before the council. Meetings do not end until everyone who wants to speak has been heard.
FIGURE 6.11 Tribal leaders in Afghanistan meet to discuss options for defusing local unrest. (credit: â101117-A-
W3011-0006 â by ResoluteSupportMedia/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Balancing Transaction and Conformity Costs
- Large group deliberations are inherently slow because hearing multiple voices increases the time and effort required to reach a decision.
- Including more voices in the decision-making process generally leads to outcomes that are better tailored to the group's collective preferences.
- The choice between minimizing transaction costs or conformity costs depends on the urgency of the situation, such as an immediate military threat versus a party platform debate.
- High transaction costs are acceptable when the goal is to ensure all interests feel heard and represented, fostering long-term group cohesion.
- Coordination problems differ from prisoner's dilemmas, where individual incentives actively conflict with the social good regardless of coordination efforts.
If a country is under surprise attack, for example, that may not be the best time for long, deliberative conferences.
If you ever have the chance to attend a group meeting in which a large number of people attempt to decide
what to doâwhether that meeting involves tribal leaders in Afghanistan, party leaders in China, or an
Indigenous deliberative assembly in Boliviaâyou will quickly learn that these meetings move slowly. Not every
voice will ultimately influence policy (those arguing to âpass the billâ and those arguing to âkill the billâ will not
both be satisfied, even if they are both heard), but when multiple voices are heard, the chances that the final
measure will be more closely tailored to the preferences of everyone in the group are higher than if those
voices were not heard.
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VIDEO
Ordinance Would Finally Allow for Public Comment at Cleveland City Council Meetings
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/6-3-collective-
dilemmas-making-group-decisions)
This news clip from April 2021 reports on an ordinance that would allow public comment at Cleveland City
Council Meetings. The Council approved new procedures for public comment in September 2021.
Is it better to have lower transaction costs or lower conformity costs? It depends. When decisions must be
made, and made quickly, it is better to minimize transaction costs. If a country is under surprise attack, for
example, that may not be the best time for long, deliberative conferences. In such a circumstance, the longer a
country deliberates, the more it is likely to lose, so quick and decisive actionâthat is, decisions with low
transaction costsâare essential. When a political party is deciding what its platform will be, on the other hand,
it makes sense for the party to listen to multiple voices in order to attract multiple voters. Under those
circumstances, expediency is less important than leading the various supporters of the party to believe that
the party seeks the same things they seek. Discussions are lengthy precisely so that all the various interests
can be heard.
Solving coordination problems is no easy task, and finding solutions with acceptable amounts of transaction
and conformity costs is often a challenge. As difficult as it can be, when people of good faith come together to
confront these challenges, they can be successful. To avoid existential threats, they must find a way to
coordinate.58
Resolving so-called prisonerâs dilemmas (discussed in the next section) is a different matter because they
contain features that make it difficult to arrive at decisions that benefit both the larger public and the
individuals involved. The problem with prisonerâs dilemmas is not coordination costs. The problem with
prisonerâs dilemmas is that individuals have strong incentives to do things that are not socially beneficial.
6.4 Collective Action Problems: The Problem of Incentives
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain the roots of collective action problems.
⢠Describe the causes of the tragedy of the commons.
⢠Use political examples to explain the tragedy of the commons.
⢠Describe the causes of the free rider problem.
⢠Use political examples to explain the free rider problem.
⢠Identify the logic underlying the prisonerâs dilemma.
Collective Action Problems
- Collective action problems occur when rational self-interest leads individuals to make decisions that harm both the public and themselves.
- Unlike classical economic theory's 'invisible hand,' collective action logic suggests that individual pursuits do not always result in mutual benefit.
- The three primary categories of these problems are the tragedy of the commons, free riding, and the prisoner's dilemma.
- The tragedy of the commons specifically involves the depletion of finite, shared resources like fisheries, clean air, and wildlife.
- Free riding creates a barrier to changing the status quo because individuals benefit from group activities without participating in them.
- The prisoner's dilemma illustrates the difficulty of cooperation among allies when strategic individual choices result in suboptimal outcomes.
Collective action logic comes to the opposite conclusion, one in which individuals acting in their own self-interest can have incentives that lead them to act in ways that harm not only the broader public but also themselves.
Collective action problems exist when individuals, acting rationally in pursuit of their self-interest, have
incentives to make decisions that are harmful to the interests of others as well as, ultimately, the individual
themselves.
Collective action problems are everywhere in politics. In classical economic theory, collective action problems
are not seen as a natural condition. Classical economic theory holds that individuals will act to benefit
themselves and that in doing so they will also benefit others through the âinvisible hand.â59 Remember the
logrolling example in Chapter 2? Two individuals each have an apple and an orange. One individual really
loves oranges; the other, apples. They each have self-interested incentives to trade that which they care for less
for that which they desire more. VoilĂ ! One person gives the other an apple, the other gives an orange, and they
both are better off even though neither acted with the interest of the other person in mind.
Collective action logic comes to the opposite conclusion, one in which individuals acting in their own self-
6.4 ⢠Collective Action Problems: The Problem of Incentives 189
interest can have incentives that lead them to act in ways that harm not only the broader public but also
themselves. Collective action problems fall into three main categories: the tragedy of the commons, free riding,
and the prisonerâs dilemma. The tragedy of the commons, which results in the depletion of a resource
available to all, poses particular threats to global health and welfare. The problem of free riding, wherein
individuals not participating in a group activity nonetheless benefit from the activity, makes it difficult to
change the status quo. Finally, the prisonerâs dilemma, a situation in which individuals act strategically in ways
that ultimately harm themselves, demonstrates why it can be challenging to get allies to work together.
The Tragedy of the Commons60
The worldâs resources are finite. In southern Africa in the 20th century, overhunting nearly led to the
extinction of the black rhino.61 Many types of fishâincluding tuna, cod, and halibut, among othersâare being
pulled out of the ocean at commercially unsustainable levels.62 The climate is changing because humans are
in effect using up the atmosphereâs capacity to absorb greenhouse gases.63
Whenever there is a resource that anyone within a group can tap, or exploit, that resource is a âcommons.â
Regarding fish and fishing, the oceans have been a commons. If anyone can withdraw water from a river, that
river is a commons; likewise, if anyone can emit air pollution, the atmosphere is a commons.
FIGURE 6.12 Commercial fishing of tuna and other species can lead to a tragedy of the commons. (credit: âTuna
fishâ by Motaz Altahir/Flickr, Public Domain)
The Tragedy of the Commons
- Individuals have a rational incentive to overconsume scarce public resources for immediate personal gain or profit.
- The paradox of the commons suggests that those who hoard resources ultimately end up with less as the resource is depleted.
- Commercial demand for high-value goods, like bluefin tuna for sushi, can drive species toward the brink of extinction.
- Strictly enforced catch quotas and regulations are necessary tools to avert resource collapse in shared environments.
- Global climate change represents the most urgent modern example of the tragedy, where no single actor has the incentive to reduce their impact alone.
In the paradox of the tragedy of the commons, those who seek to hoard resources ultimately have less even for themselves.
In each of these cases, the same principle dominates. If anyone has access to the commonsâwhether that
resource is the rhino grazing in Africa, the tuna swimming in the northern Atlantic, or the atmosphereâand
that resource is scarce, then every individual has an incentive not only to take what they need but also to take
as much as they want. Individuals have this incentive because they can sell this scarce resource (rhino horns,
tuna fish) or because they benefit today without consideration of future consequences. If everyone took only
what they needed, some renewable resources could become replenished. But if everyone has the incentive to
take as much as they can, pretty soon those resources will be depleted. No one can access a resource that has
been depleted. If everyone had shared, there may well have been enough to meet everyoneâs long-term needs.
In the paradox of the tragedy of the commons, those who seek to hoard resources ultimately have less even for
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themselves.
Bluefin tuna, highly valued for its use in sushi, carries a high price, and so commercial fisheries have strong
incentives to catch as many of them as they can. Between the 1970s and the early 2000s, the Atlantic
population of bluefins declined by an estimated 80 percent due to overfishing, and scientists warned that the
species faced extinction unless the tragedy of the commons was averted.64 Though tuna became extinct in the
Black Sea, primarily due to overfishing and other environmental pressures, strictly enforced catch quotas
helped avert the tragedy in the Atlantic.65 Sadly, there are numerous other examples, such as overfishing in
places like China and Chile, the depletion of freshwater resources in places like Australia and Saudi Arabia,
and worsening traffic congestion in places like Los Angeles and Cairo, as roads are a scarce resource that can
be overconsumed.
VIDEO
What Is the Tragedy of the Commons?
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/6-4-collective-
action-problems-the-problem-of-incentives)
This TED lesson uses a simple, step-by-step example to explain the tragedy of the commons.
Global climate change is perhaps the most pressing example of the tragedy of the commons.66 Tragedies of the
commons could be prevented if everyoneâespecially those who take the most, whether individuals or
countriesâtook less, but no single person or country has the incentive to do so.
The Free Rider Problem
The Free Rider Problem
- The free rider problem occurs when individuals or groups accept benefits without contributing to the effort required to achieve them.
- While small groups can manage free riding through peer pressure, large-scale political groups find it much harder to identify and control.
- A paradox exists where a group has a collective incentive to reach a goal, but individual members lack the personal incentive to act.
- Climate change serves as a primary example of this logic, where countries may support change rhetorically but fail to make actual sacrifices.
- The tendency to favor the status quo creates significant barriers to resolving existential global threats like rising sea levels and extreme weather.
- Despite international agreements like the Paris Climate Accord, most nations are 'barely trying' as they wait for others to bear the costs of change.
Paradoxically, the group as a whole has incentives to work together to obtain their goal, but the individual members of the group do not.
At some point you have probably been asked to work on group assignments. You might have asked yourself
how much effort you wanted to devote to this team activity. Whether you worked like crazy or did nothing at all,
you would get the same grade as everyone else in the group (though of course doing nothing would mean youâd
have no control over what that grade might be).
So what would you do? The selfish and strategic (or lazy) individual might well say: Iâll do as little as possible.
This behaviorâaccepting a benefit without contributing to its achievementâis an example of the free rider
problem. If every member of the group thinks the same way, no work will get done, and your group will receive
a well-earned failing grade. Paradoxically, the group as a whole has incentives to work together to obtain their
goal, but the individual members of the group do not.
In small groups, it is fairly easy to identify and control free riding through mutual peer pressure and the belief
that failing to contribute might actually hurt the teamâs grade. But in the political world most groups are much
larger, and free riding is much more difficult to spot and manage.
The logic of free riding creates enormous barriers to political change and complicates efforts to resolve policy
problems.67 Political change is difficult to achieve, given its tendency to favor the status quo. It requires the
willingness of political actors like individuals, groups, and parties to devote the time, effort, and other
resources sufficient to effect change.
Again, climate change provides a useful example. It poses potentially existential threats to the global
community. In the past few years, climate change has contributed to extraordinary bushfires in Australia;
floods in Indonesia, India, and Europe; and heat waves in the Pacific Northwest and Siberia. These more
frequent and intense droughts, storms, and heat waves; rising sea levels; and warming ocean temperatures are
wreaking havoc on agriculture, public health, and social stability. Given these threats, it would seem that policy
makers around the world would have sufficient incentive to work together to prevent worsening global climate
change.
Yet, they have not, at least not in ways that have actually led countries to meet their climate change
6.4 ⢠Collective Action Problems: The Problem of Incentives 191
commitments. From the perspective of any individual countryâs leaders, climate change is occurring whether
or not their country makes any changes or sacrifices. As responding effectively requires changing the status
quo, each countryâs political leaders may decide to support change rhetorically but not in practice. The Paris
Climate Accord of 2015, the agreement of 197 countries to limit global warming, called for countries to take
actions to limit average global temperatures to a rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius.68 Unfortunately, only a few
countries, including Morocco, The Gambia, and possibly India, have taken the steps necessary to do their part.
The United States, Russia, and many other countries are âbarely trying.â69 Facing an existential crisis, most
countries have not stopped free riding. Still, there is reason for hope: free riding can be limited.
To suggest that climate change politics are only a matter of free riding would be an oversimplification. Each
country has its own political dynamics, and its political leaders face internal pressures and international
ambitions. Poorer countries have produced fewer greenhouse gases than richer countriesâeconomic
development has been closely linked to the use of the fossil fuels,70 and so these countries argue that they have
The Prisonerâs Dilemma and Climate
- Global climate change efforts are hindered by individual nations' incentives to 'free ride' on the emission reductions of others.
- The Prisonerâs Dilemma illustrates how rational self-interest can lead to outcomes that are detrimental to all parties involved.
- In the classic scenario, two suspects must choose between cooperating with each other by staying silent or defecting by accusing the other.
- While the 'socially best' outcome involves mutual cooperation, the individual incentive to avoid the worst-case scenario leads both to defect.
- The predicted result of the dilemma is the worst collective outcome, such as a combined ten-year prison sentence instead of two.
- This framework explains why countries struggle to break the status quo of high greenhouse gas emissions despite the collective benefit of reduction.
The predicted outcome is the worst outcome, with 10 total years of prison time.
the right to continue the economic development linked to climate emissions. Richer countries pollute much
more per person than poorer countries, and they often find it difficult to break a status quo that favors
continued greenhouse gas emissions. True progress on combating climate change will continue to be
challenging as long as each country has incentives to free ride on attempts to reduce global climate change.
The Prisonerâs Dilemma
Imagine this scenario. The police apprehend two individuals they suspect of committing an armed robbery.
They have evidence that both suspects are guilty of carrying an unlawful weapon, and though they strongly
suspect at least one of the two individuals has committed the more serious crime of armed robbery, they have
no direct evidence to back up their suspicions.
VIDEO
The Prisonerâs Dilemma
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/6-4-collective-
action-problems-the-problem-of-incentives)
Simple scenarios help explain the idea of the prisonerâs dilemma.
The police separate the suspects so that they cannot communicate with each other, and then they tell each
suspect: We know that one of you is guilty of the robbery, but we donât know which one. We can prove you are
guilty of the weapons charge, so if we canât find out who is guilty of the robbery, then both of you are going to
prison for one year on the weapons charge. However, if you inform on your accomplice (political scientists call
this âdefectingâ; if you do not give away your accomplice, you are said to be âcooperatingââwith your fellow
suspect, not with the police), weâll drop the weapons charge, youâll be released, and your guilty accomplice will
serve an eight-year sentence. If you blame each other, we still wonât know which of you actually committed the
crime, so you both will be convicted of being an accessory to armed robbery, with a sentence of five years.71
Â
Person A
Stay silent (cooperate) Accuse (defect)
Person B
Stay silent (cooperate) A: 1 year
B: 1 year
A: 0 years
B: 8 years
Accuse (defect)
A: 8 years
B: 0 years
A: 5 years
B: 5 years
TABLE 6.1 Dilemma Schema
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Based on this scenario, both suspects would be better off if they remained silent: they would each receive a
relatively minimal one-year sentence. You can see the other possible outcomes in Table 6.1.
No matter what Person B thinks Person A will do, Person B is better off accusing them. And Person A has the
same incentives: no matter what Person B does, Person A has good reasons to accuse Person B. If both people
remained silent, they would serve a total of two years in prison. If one accuses the other and the other remains
silent, the total prison time would be eight years. If each accuses the other, they will spend a total of 10 years in
prison. The âsociallyâ best outcomeâif that is defined as the outcome with the minimum total prison timeâis
for both of the accused to remain silent. However, as each individual has a strong incentive to claim the other is
guilty, the predicted outcome is the worst outcome, with 10 total years of prison time. This is the prisonerâs
dilemma: individuals, acting strategically in their own self-interest, have incentives that lead them to take
actions that result in unnecessarily negative outcomes for both parties.
VIDEO
Golden Balls Game Show Illustrates the Prisonerâs Dilemma
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/6-4-collective-
action-problems-the-problem-of-incentives)
Resolving Collective Action Problems
- The prisoner's dilemma is a classic collective action problem where individual rational choices lead to mutually harmful outcomes.
- Strategic communication and signaling can help individuals overcome the prisoner's dilemma by building trust and aligning strategies.
- Real-world political examples include negative campaigning and preemptive military strikes, where fear of a rival's advantage drives suboptimal behavior.
- Collective action problems are significantly easier to resolve in small groups where members have long-term personal relationships.
- Small groups rely on informal mechanisms like monitoring, social pressure, and mutual trust rather than formal institutional rules.
- The resolution of these problems is never guaranteed and depends entirely on the specific decisions made by the participants involved.
If you free ride by not pitching in to keep your living space clean, those living with you are going to notice and probably try to find ways to compel you to do your fair share.
This clip from the British game show Golden Balls perfectly illustrates the prisoner's dilemma. Even though
both players would have benefitted if they had cooperated, they chose not to cooperate and so hurt themselves.
VIDEO
Game Show Contestants Overcome the Prisonerâs Dilemma through Strategic Decision-Making
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/6-4-collective-
action-problems-the-problem-of-incentives)
In this second clip, the players show how a prisoner's dilemma can be overcome through strategic decision-
making. But note that in this scenario the players were allowed to talk with each other so that they could give
signals about what their strategies were.
There are many real-life examples of prisonerâs dilemmas in politics. Two opposing political candidates may
each prefer to run only positive campaign ads, but each fears the other will âgo negativeâ to gain an advantage.
Both candidates consequently run negative ads, which tarnish the reputations of each. When tensions rise
between two countries over a border dispute, each country may feel pressure to strike first. The country that
strikes first may gain an advantage over the country that does not.
6.5 Resolving Collective Action Problems
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain why collective action problems are less common and easier to resolve in small groups.
⢠Describe the three main ways to resolve the tragedy of the commons.
⢠Describe the reasons why each resolution to a collective action problem is imperfect.
⢠Describe the three main ways to address the free-riding problem.
⢠Identify the principle solutions to the prisonerâs dilemma.
Collective action problems are pernicious. While they are difficult (but not impossible) to eradicate, failure to
do so can lead to serious consequences to peopleâs health and welfare.
Each of the three main types of collective action problems is easier to solve, at least in principle, when the
problems arise within small groups of people (such as families or tribal units) in which the members know
each other well and have to live with each other over a long period of time. If you free ride by not pitching in to
6.5 ⢠Resolving Collective Action Problems 193
keep your living space clean, those living with you are going to notice and probably try to find ways to compel
you to do your fair share. If you share a refrigerator with others, you will need to find a way (such as labeling
whose food is whose) to prevent a tragedy of the commons in which food vanishes and is not replaced. Should
a prisonerâs dilemma scenario arise, the better the âsuspectsâ know each other and the more they trust each
other, the more likely it is that they will cooperate.
For small groups, the strength of the personal relationships, the power to monitor for infractions, and the
ability to provide suitable rewards and enforce appropriate punishments are the keys to avoiding or mitigating
collective action problems. Formal mechanisms need not be established.
You cannot know the resolution of collective action problems in advance. What happens depends on the
decisions that those involved in the resolution make.
Testing Solutions to Collective Action Problems: The Evolution of Trust
Scaling Collective Action Problems
- Small group dynamics rely on personal trust and visibility, whereas large groups face anonymity that encourages free riding.
- In a group of 40 million, an individual's lack of effort is virtually imperceptible compared to the obvious impact in a group of four.
- Large-scale collective action problems, such as the prisoner's dilemma, require formal political solutions rather than personal relationships.
- Global climate change represents a massive tragedy of the commons where industrialized nations emit significantly more CO2 per capita than poorer ones.
- The four largest political regionsâChina, the US, the EU, and Indiaâaccount for over half of all global emissions.
- Averting environmental disaster requires each country to bear a fair share of the burden through monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.
If you try to free ride in a group of four, the other group members will definitely notice. If you free ride in a group of 40 million, no one is likely to perceive your absence or lack of effort.
FIGURE 6.13 This screenshot shows the first step in one of the simulations you can play at The Evolution of Trust.
(credit: screenshot of âThe Evolution of Trustâ by Nicky Case, CC0 1.0)
To see how different choices can influence the outcomes of collective action problems, you can experiment with
various scenarios using Canadian game designer Nicky Caseâs free online game theory simulator, The Evolution of
Trust (https://openstax.org/r/the-evolution).
But what works for a small group is not sufficient for larger groups, and politics typically involves large groups.
In large groups, most individuals will not necessarily trustâor even knowâeach other, except perhaps through
their cultural identifications. If you try to free ride in a group of four, the other group members will definitely
notice. If you free ride in a group of 40 million, no one is likely to perceive your absence or lack of effort.
Challenges in preventing tragedies of the commons or avoiding the worst outcomes of prisonerâs dilemmas
also grow with the numbers of individuals involved.72
Collective action problems involving large numbers of people cannot rely on personal relationships; they
require other mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement. Remedies for free riding, tragedies of the
commons, and prisonerâs dilemmas involving large groups differ, but all three types of problems require
political solutions.
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
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Â
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are a key source of the greenhouse gases that are creating a warmer and more
variable climate. This map shows per capita73 CO2 emissions across countries (view interactive map at
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/co-emissions-per-capita). Per capita emissions are calculated in order to make
fairer apples-to-apples comparisons; that is, you can compare how much a typical person in each country pollutes
to how much a typical person in every other country pollutes.
FIGURE 6.14 More industrialized, wealthier countries tend to emit higher levels of CO2 than other countries. (credit:
âPer Capita CO2 Emissionsâ by Our World in Data, CC BY 4.0)
The biggest per capita polluters are smaller, oil-producing countries such as Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab
Emirates. Other heavily populated, affluent countries that are high emitters include the United States, Canada, and
Australia, among others. Residents of these countries emit more than 150 times as much CO2 as do those living in
the poorest countries such as the Central African Republic, Chad, and Niger. The four largest political regions based
on populationâChina, the United States, the European Union, and Indiaâcontribute more than half of all CO2
emissions. Each would need to reduce their overall emissions to forestall further climate change.74 If a climate
tragedy of the commons is to be averted, each country must bear its fair share of the burden.
Resolving Tragedies of the Commons
Governing the Commons
- Governmental power offers two primary remedies for the tragedy of the commons: centralized protection through force or privatization via pricing.
- A central institution can prevent resource depletion if it possesses both long-term interests and the de facto power to enforce regulations.
- The United States attempted to manage bluefin tuna populations by requiring commercial permits, catch limits, and mandatory reporting.
- In an ideal scenario, governments would issue the exact number of permits at a price that maximizes harvest without depleting the population.
- Managing migratory species like tuna is difficult because they constitute an international commons that transcends national borders.
- Intergovernmental organizations like ICCAT often fail to protect resources when they lack the power to enforce rules or sanction violators.
ICCAT had the same basic goals and tools as the United States, but regrettably the organization had âno powers to enforce, no sanctions with which to punish,â and so it was ineffective in protecting the commons.
Two remedies for the tragedies of the commons require governmental power. One remedy gives a central
institution (the government) the authority to protect the commons through force. If the government has a long-
term interest in maintaining the commons and the de facto power to do so, it can prevent individuals from
depleting the resource. Alternatively, the government can put a price on (privatize) the resource so that anyone
who wants to use the resource must pay for it. In this case, the resource is no longer a âcommonsâ open to all.
SHOW ME THE DATA
6.5 ⢠Resolving Collective Action Problems 195
Think back to the bluefin tuna example. To help prevent their extinction in the Atlantic, the US government
instituted a number of requirements for commercial fisheries including that they purchase one of a limited
number of permits, abide by catch limits, and report how many tuna they caught.75 In an ideal world, the
United States would offer just enough permits, with the right catch limits, at the right price, so that as many
tuna as possible would be caught without depleting the tuna population, and the permits would be bought by
those who value them most. In the ideal world, fisheries would abide by established limits, and their reports
would confirm that they had done so.
If a commons existed completely within the border of a single country, that country could potentially solve the
tragedy on its own. Tuna, however, are highly migratory, and fisheries from many countries seek them; they
are part of an international commons. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(ICCAT) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1966 to address this international problem. ICCAT
had the same basic goals and tools as the United States, but regrettably the organization had âno powers to
enforce, no sanctions with which to punish,â and so it was ineffective in protecting the commons, at least in its
early years.76
The Pitfalls of Resource Management
- Governmental control of the commons often fails because political elites prioritize their own interests over the community.
- Elected officials are frequently driven by short-term electoral cycles rather than long-term resource sustainability.
- Privatization faces intense political resistance from groups accustomed to exploiting resources for free.
- Economic pressures often lead governments to set resource prices too low, resulting in rapid depletion.
- High-value resources may require heavy policing and harsh punishments to prevent illegal exploitation.
- Historical examples like the extinction of the Moa bird illustrate the catastrophic potential of the tragedy of the commons.
And while emperors have reason to preserve the resource, believing their family will rule indefinitely, elected politicians are focused squarely on the short termâthe next electionârather than on preserving the resource for their grandchildrenâs generation.
The solutions of governmental control or privatization each have their own problems. The government may
protect the commons by taking control of it, but the government might use the resources to benefit political
elites rather than for the benefit of the community as a whole. And while emperors have reason to preserve the
resource, believing their family will rule indefinitely, elected politicians are focused squarely on the short
termâthe next electionârather than on preserving the resource for their grandchildrenâs generation. When the
government takes control of the commons, it does not necessarily use the commons wisely.
Privatizing a resource has its own pitfalls. Those who are used to exploiting the commons without paying for it
(in the example above, the fisheries) will object to making costly what was once free. The more politically
powerful the group, the more difficult it is for elected officials to protect the resource through privatization.
Elected officials face pressure to offer more permits for greater exploitation at lower prices. As a result, the
prices the government sets for the resource are usually too low, and the resource is allowed to be depleted
faster than it can be sustained. Even if governmental officials did not face public opposition, privatizing the
resource is challenging. If the government sets the prices too low, the resource will be depleted, and if it sets
the prices too high, the community will be deprived of a valuable resource. Moreover, the more valuable the
resource, the more likely it is that individuals will attempt to exploit it. In that case, preventing exploitation
may require heavy policing and harsh punishments.
The giant Moa, a bird weighing as much as 500 pounds and standing 12 feet tall, was hunted to extinction by
the Maori in New Zealand in the 15th century: a true tragedy of the commons.77 Fortunately, the Maori were
able to turn to other sources of food. Todayâs tragedy of the commons challenges, like global climate change,
are much greater than a single bird for a single group.
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Solving the Tragedy of Commons
- Carbon taxes aim to reduce emissions by making pollution costly, but they face political resistance due to immediate price increases for consumers.
- The effectiveness of carbon taxes is often undermined because the costs are immediate while the environmental benefits are long-term and delayed.
- Elinor Ostrom proposed that local communities can solve resource management problems without government intervention or market pricing.
- Ostrom's model requires collective decision-making and clear, enforceable rules that allow community members to monitor one another.
- While successful in small-scale irrigation and land management, it remains unclear if Ostrom's community-based approach can scale to global climate change.
- The lack of a global sovereign authority makes climate change an exceptionally difficult collective action problem to resolve.
Still, those costs are immediate, and the benefits are in the future.
FIGURE 6.15 The Moa was hunted to extinction in a tragedy of the commons. (credit: âHunting Moaâ by Joseph
Smit/Extinct Monsters by Rev. H. N. Hutchinson/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
Historically, businesses that emitted CO2 polluted for free. To reduce pollution, governments can put a price on
it: âEvery unit of pollution you emit will cost you this much.â This price is typically referred to as a carbon
tax.78 The idea is that if you make it costly to pollute, people will pollute less, but this will be true only if the tax
is high enough to coerce polluters to substantially reduce their emissions. Governments find it hard to impose
these taxes because those being taxed resist. Because so many human activities create a âcarbon footprint,â
virtually everyone would see higher prices on their electric or gas bills, as well as at the grocery store and all
the other places they shop. High carbon taxes are almost certain to produce beneficial long-term
consequences for human health and welfare, and the short-term costs to individuals and businesses can be
mitigated.79 Still, those costs are immediate, and the benefits are in the future. As a result, countries have had
enormous difficulty in setting carbon taxes high enough to prevent additional global warming.80
Nobel prize winner Elinor Ostrom proposed a relatively effective solution to the tragedy of the commons that
relies neither on a sovereign nor on prices.81 Ostrom suggested that effective solutions can arise from the
communities that use a resource once they recognize the commons problem and their mutual interest in
resolving it. Community members are more likely than distant governments to understand the problem and to
have a stake in remedying it. When Ostrom identified communities around the world that have come together
to solve such problems, she observed two necessary details that allow these community solutions to work.
First, the community must engage in collective decision-making so that all relevant interests can participate.
Second, the rules the community makes must be clear so that members know what is allowed and what is not.
If these conditions are in place, the decisions the community makes are likely to be wise and enforceable, as
community members can monitor each other to prevent cheating. Ostrom found evidence supporting these
principles in places ranging from the âJapanese villages of Hirano and Nagaike, the huerta irrigation
mechanism between Valencia, Murcia and Alicante in Spain, and the zanjera irrigation community in the
Philippines.â82
Since Ostromâs examples all involve small communities in which members know each other and have roughly
equal power, itâs unclear whether her findings point the way to a solution that can be implemented at the global
level. In the absence of a solution like the one Ostrom proposes, communities tend to turn to a sovereign to
impose restrictions or set prices. Since there is no global sovereign, the climate change crisis remains an
especially challenging collective action problem.
Resolving Free Riding Problems
Combating the Free Rider Problem
- Small group sizes naturally discourage free riding, but large political entities must rely on formal monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.
- Taxation serves as a primary example where the threat of legal punishment and imprisonment is necessary to fund essential public services.
- International coordination, such as the G-7's 15 percent global minimum corporate tax, prevents entities from evading obligations by moving capital across borders.
- Beyond coercion, governments foster social solidarity and civic duty to encourage voluntary compliance based on the perception of fairness and competence.
- The 'tragedy of the commons' is particularly dangerous in slow-moving crises like climate change, where incremental damage may be imperceptible until it is irreversible.
In the countries with the highest tax compliance, citizens generally pay their taxes because they believe the tax system is fair and that it is a civic duty to pay your taxes.
The best way to resolve the free rider problem is to disincentivize free riders. One powerful tool to discourage
free riding is to keep groups small. Because in politics groups are usually large, they must develop other
6.5 ⢠Resolving Collective Action Problems 197
mechanisms to identify free riders and to deter their behavior. These mechanisms come with a cost: the group
must devote resources to monitoring and punishing unwanted behavior, and group members need to subject
themselves to some form of surveillance.
Every country needs to collect taxes to fund government programs. If no one paid taxes, roads would never be
repaved, safety regulations could not be enforced, the military would be unfunded, and the government could
not provide disaster relief, just to name a handful of the many services that taxes allow the government to
deliver. Still, few citizens would voluntarily send a check to pay their fair share of taxes unless they had strong
incentives to do so. The most basic incentive? Failure to pay taxes is a crime, punishable by fines and
imprisonment. If you know there is some chance you will be caught and violators are punished, this may
provide sufficient incentive not to free ride. In addition to monitoring and fines, to prevent individuals or
corporations from evading their obligations by moving their money into other jurisdictions, countries try to
coordinate their tax policies. In 2021, the G-7 nationsâa group of the worldâs largest economies that includes
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United Statesâdid just that, agreeing to a coordinated
global minimum corporate tax of no less than 15 percent.83
In the United States, the likelihood that a citizenâs taxes will be audited has dropped substantially in recent
decades, especially among high-income individuals, as the federal government has devoted fewer resources to
the Internal Revenue Service, the agency responsible for collecting taxes.84 While most citizens pay the taxes
they owe, free riding deprives the US Treasury of some $400 billion, about 15 percent of all taxes owed, each
year.85 To reduce the amount of free riding, the US government would need to devote additional resources to
monitoring and enforcement.
Monitoring and penalties are not the only way to prevent free riding. Another approach is to create strong
social solidarity. Political organizations and governments seek to create these bonds of common connection.
Through civic education and social signaling, they send the message that citizens should pay their taxes not
just because they will be punished if they donât; they should pay them because that is what good, patriotic
citizens do. In the countries with the highest tax complianceâthat is, with the lowest rates of free
ridingâcitizens generally pay their taxes because they believe the tax system is fair and that it is a civic duty to
pay your taxes, and because there is widespread faith that other citizens are also paying their fair share.86 It
also helps if the government is competent so that citizens can see that their taxes are being used responsibly.
The tragedy of the commons and the prospect of free riding are especially relevant for slow-growing crises like
climate change. It is unlikely that the Maori knew that they were literally hunting the Moa to extinction,
gradually eliminating a valuable source of food: each year, there were fewer birds to hunt, but maybe
imperceptibly so, until the Moa vanished. Like the Maori, many countries are slow to address the problem of
climate change, even though the changes appear to be accelerating and creating irreversible damage.87
Resolving Prisonerâs Dilemmas
The Prisoner's Dilemma Dynamics
- The prisoner's dilemma creates high-stakes risks where parties may choose immediate defection over cooperation to avoid perceived disadvantage.
- Cooperation is most likely when participants fear certain punishment from the other party or an external enforcer.
- Mutual trust is a primary requirement for cooperation, but it is fragile and easily destroyed by a single act of defection.
- Intractable conflicts, such as the Israeli-Palestinian struggle, demonstrate how tit-for-tat retaliation can replace the possibility of agreement.
- Rebuilding trust after a defection is significantly more difficult than maintaining it, often requiring third-party intervention to restore order.
It is easier to lose trust than to gain it.
Prisonerâs dilemmas create risks that can lead to more immediate but no less catastrophic outcomes. When
two countries are at the brink of war, each might believe that it is more beneficial to attack than to waitâthat is,
to defect rather than to cooperate.
The simplest solution to the prisonerâs dilemma is for both participants to cooperate rather than to defect;
however, they are likely to do so only under certain conditions. A participant is least likely to defect when they
know that the other participant will punish them if they do. If they each know they will be punished if they
defect, then they are more likely to remain silent. Preventing or ending prisonerâs dilemmas requires that the
participants know they will be punished if they defect, that a third party will enforce cooperation, or that the
participants have mutual trust.
Once one of the parties defects in a prisonerâs dilemma setting, it is not easy to get the participants to
cooperate later. As in the persistent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, cases where any two groups are
locked in intractable disagreements exemplify how tit-for-tat retaliation dominates any possibility of mutual
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agreement. The two parties have learned not to trust each other. Once that happens, rebuilding trust is
difficult. It is easier to lose trust than to gain it. In a prisonerâs dilemma, once a party has defected, the other
party might well assume that the party that defected can never be trusted. Avoiding this outcome requires a
third party that can enforce cooperation or punish those who defect to induce future cooperation.
6.5 ⢠Resolving Collective Action Problems 199
Summary
6.1 Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political
Political Socialization and Culture
- Political socialization is the lifelong process of developing political values and attitudes from youth through adulthood.
- Primary influences include family and friends, while schools, religious institutions, and social media serve as secondary agents.
- Political culture represents the shared set of attitudes, goals, and practices common to members of a specific political grouping.
- Societies are divided into elite cultures that dominate policy, mass cultures of the general citizenry, and various minority cultures.
- Minority cultures provide members with a sense of pride and solidarity, often leading to distinct political identities and activism.
The process is not deterministic; you cannot look at all the influences on your development and predict precisely who you will become.
Political socialization is the process by which individuals develop their political personalities from their youth
through their adult years. These personalities include values and attitudes regarding politics, such as oneâs
views about the role of the government and the relationship between the government and citizens.
Socialization affects whether people are even interested in politics and government in the first place.
Those who are most important in a personâs life, like their families and friends, play important roles in their
political socialization. Schools, places of worship, andâincreasinglyâinteractions with others through social
media can also be important influences. The process is not deterministic; you cannot look at all the influences
on your development and predict precisely who you will become. Still, you do not entirely choose who you will
become, as you are in part the product of your social environment.
6.2 Political Culture: How People Express Their Political Identity
Every country has multiple political cultures. Political culture is the set of political attitudes, values, goals, and
practices common to members of any political grouping. Countries have distinct political cultures, which
means that citizens of a country are likely to share common views about their roles as citizens and the
responsibilities of the government.
In any country, you can identify elite, mass, and minority cultures, each having its own set of views and
attitudes and, perhaps, social markers such as clothing, music, or even dietary preferences. The elite culture
comprises those who dominate a countryâs political agenda, policy choices, and official positions of power. The
mass culture consists of the bulk of citizens or, in democracies, voters who typically embrace the political
values that are central to the nationâs political cultures but who are not in positions of power. A vast number of
minority cultures exist, each having its own particular set of attitudes and behaviors. A key aspect of minority
cultures is that they allow groups of individuals to distinguish themselves from the majority culture in ways
that produce pride, belonging, and solidarity. Minority cultures arise for diverse reasons and may later develop
their own political identities. Those in a particular culture might both change their personal behaviors to
advance the groupâs goals and engage in political activism with others in that culture.
6.3 Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions
Dilemmas of Collective Action
- Groups face inherent difficulties when individual incentives conflict with collective goals, especially as group size increases.
- Democratic decision-making relies on voting rules that balance the importance of an issue against the proportion of votes required for change.
- Coordination challenges create transaction costs in time and effort, as well as conformity costs when individuals must accept outcomes they did not prefer.
- The tragedy of the commons and free riding demonstrate how self-interested behavior can deplete shared resources and undermine group efforts.
- The prisoner's dilemma illustrates a paradox where rational individual choices lead to a worse outcome for all participants than cooperation would have.
- Resolving these problems often requires external authority, privatization, monitoring, or the cultivation of social solidarity and trust.
Individuals acting on these incentives can harm the group and, paradoxically, themselves.
Whenever individuals come together to make decisions, there is the potential that the group (collective) will
face certain difficulties (dilemmas). These difficulties can involve disagreement about group goals or about the
best course of action, or they might involve incentives individuals have to act in ways that are counter to group
interests. When a group is sizable, one or more of these dilemmas is likely to exist in every attempt to make
decisions or take action.
When group members disagree regarding goals, a decision can be reached by force or through nonviolent,
democratic means. Nonviolent, democratic processes typically involve voting. In these cases, the voting rules
will influence the outcome. These rules can vary, from a plurality rule, in which the outcome is decided by the
position that obtains the most votes, to a unanimity rule, in which everyone must ultimately agree to a single
position. In general, voting rules are set so that the more consequential the issue, the higher the proportion of
votes is needed to change the status quo.
Groups making decisions face coordination challenges. These challenges exist when group members generally
agree on the goals but disagree about the specifics. Making decisions regarding the specifics creates
transaction costsâthe time, effort, and other resources required to make the decisionsâand conformity
costsâthe differences between the value of the policy that each individual hoped for and the decision they each
actually received.
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6.4 Collective Action Problems: The Problem of Incentives
Collective action problems involve group decisions in which individuals within the group would benefit from
cooperating with other group members, but they each have incentives not to cooperate. Individuals acting on
these incentives can harm the group and, paradoxically, themselves.
In the tragedy of the commons, self-interested individuals have incentives to take as much of a public resource
as they can. If enough individuals act on these incentives, the resource will be depleted; at that point, no
individual would have access to the resource. Individuals are said to be free riding if they do not contribute to a
group goal but still receive the same outcome as the group members who contribute. In a prisonerâs dilemma,
the participants would benefit from cooperating with each other, but they have strong incentives to defect. As
each participant faces similar incentives, the likely outcome is that every participant is worse off than if they
had cooperated.
6.5 Resolving Collective Action Problems
Collective action problems are common in large groups, and they are difficult to solve. The tragedy of the
commons can be prevented if some authority can restrict exploitation of the resource or if the commons can
be privatized in a way that prevents the resource from being depleted. Free riding can be avoided through
monitoring that can detect free riders and sanctions that can punish them. Creating social solidarity so that
individuals believe that they should not free ride can also be important. Unless the participants in a prisonerâs
dilemma trust each other and know that they will need to work together again in the future, the expectation is
that the outcome of the dilemma will harm both players. Avoiding this outcome requires a third party that can
enforce cooperation or punish those who defect to induce future cooperation.
Key Terms
carbon tax a fee imposed on the use of fossil fuels based on the amount of carbon dioxide that use emits into
the atmosphere
Foundations of Collective Action
- Collective action problems arise when individual self-interest conflicts with the broader goals of a group.
- The prisoner's dilemma and the tragedy of the commons illustrate how rational individual choices can lead to suboptimal group outcomes.
- Decision-making efficiency is often hindered by transaction costs, representing the resources required to reach a consensus.
- Conformity costs represent the gap between an individual's ideal policy outcome and the actual decision implemented by the group.
- Political socialization is the lifelong process through which individuals develop their unique political personalities and values.
- Societal influence is often divided between elite culture, held by those with dominant power, and mass or minority cultures.
prisonerâs dilemma a scenario in which two individuals would benefit from cooperating, but each has strong incentives to defect, leaving both individuals worse off than if they had cooperated
collective action the activities of a group as it makes and implements a decision regarding a group goal
collective action problems the broad category of activities in which participating individuals have incentives
to maximize their own self-interest in ways that harm the group interest
collective dilemma any situation in which a group must make difficult choices
conformity costs the difference between what an individual wants from a policy decision and what the
individual actually receives
coordination problems the challenges groups face when there is general agreement on goals but
disagreement on the specific ways in which to achieve them
elite culture those in a country who, by virtue of their wealth, education, and position, have the dominant
influence over politics and policy
free rider problem when individuals in groups have incentives not to contribute to the groupâs goals because
they will receive the same outcome whether they contribute or not
majority rule a form of decision-making by voting, in which the proposition that receives more than 50
percent of the votes wins
mass culture the most popular views, attitudes, preferences, and behaviors within a society
minority cultures the views, attitudes, preferences, and behaviors of subsets of a society that produce group
identity
political culture the set of shared political attitudes, values, goals, and practices within a country
political elites those within a society who, by virtue of their wealth, status, positions, and power, have the
greatest influence over the countryâs political agenda, its policy decisions, and its decision-making cadre
political socialization the gradual development, from youth through adulthood, of a political personality
prisonerâs dilemma a scenario in which two individuals would benefit from cooperating, but each has strong
incentives to defect, leaving both individuals worse off than if they had cooperated
6 ⢠Key Terms 201
quorum the minimum number of the group that must be present for a vote to be held
socialization the gradual process through which a person develops the values and beliefs that determine who
they will be as an adult
status quo the current situation
supermajority a voting rule in which more than a majority is needed for a measure to pass
tragedy of the commons a situation in which individuals have incentives to take as much as they can from a
public resource, thereby depleting the resource
transaction costs the time, money, and effort required to make a group decision
Review Questions
1 . Political socialization is __________.
a. the process by which you develop political partisanship
b. the method you use to choose your political ideology
c. the theory of social organization in which the means for producing and distributing goods are
collectively owned
d. the process by which you develop your political personality
2 . The most important influence on political socialization is __________.
a. religion
b. peers
c. family
d. social media
3 . Political culture is the __________.
a. product of governmental educational campaigns
b. result of political campaigns and elections
c. set of political attitudes, values, and goals shared by everyone in a political group
d. tendency for those in a political group to share common understandings of politics and government
4 . Minority political culture __________.
a. is the political culture of ethnic minorities
b. can emerge organically
c. dictates how people interact with others in their group
d. is built around musical preferences
Collective Action and Civil Rights
- Collective action problems arise when individual incentives conflict with the best interests of the group.
- The prisoner's dilemma and the tragedy of the commons illustrate how rational individual choices can lead to suboptimal group outcomes.
- Small groups are more effective at overcoming collective action hurdles due to easier monitoring and stronger peer pressure.
- Government regulation is identified as a primary technique for resolving the depletion of shared resources.
- Collective decision-making processes often exhibit an inherent bias toward maintaining the status quo.
- The transition to civil rights discussions highlights the intersection of political culture and majority-minority relations.
In a prisonerâs dilemma, logic indicates that both participants will defect.
5 . Which is not a cause of a collective dilemma?
a. Participants agree on a goal but not on how to obtain it.
b. Participants have motivations contrary to the groupâs goals.
c. Participants share a common political culture.
d. Participants disagree on what the goals should be.
6 . In collective decision-making, there is a bias toward __________.
a. the status quo
b. majority rules
c. supermajority rules
d. compromise
7 . Collective action problems exist because __________.
a. political parties are highly polarized
202 6 ⢠Review Questions
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b. humans are selfish by nature
c. individuals can have incentives that harm group interests
d. transaction and conformity costs are both too high
8 . In a prisonerâs dilemma, logic indicates that __________.
a. both participants will cooperate
b. both participants will defect
c. one participant will defect
d. one participant will cooperate
9 . Global climate change exemplifies __________.
a. a prisonerâs dilemma
b. free riding
c. the tragedy of the commons
d. the perils of globalization
10 . One technique for resolving the tragedy of the commons is __________.
a. preventing free riding
b. encouraging altruism
c. government regulation
d. protest marches
11 . Collective action problems are less severe in small groups than large groups because __________.
a. individuals are less able to free ride
b. it is easier to monitor individual behavior
c. peer pressure is stronger
d. All of the above
12 . A key difference between small groups and large groups regarding collective action problems is
__________.
a. monitoring and enforcement are easier in small groups
b. individuals have different incentives in large and small groups
c. small groups are more prone to prisonerâs dilemmas
d. large groups can rely more on social trust
Suggested Readings
Almond, Gabriel A., and Sidney Verba. 1965. The Civic Culture. Boston: Little, Brown.
Carlos, Roberto F. 2018. âLate to the Party: On the Prolonged Partisan Socialization Process of Second-
Generation Americans.â Journal of Race, Ethnicity and Politics 3 (2): 381â408.
Hardin, Garrett. âThe Tragedy of the Commons.â Science 162 (3859): 1243â48. doi:10.1126/
science.162.3859.1243.
Jennings, M. Kent, Laura Stoker, and Jake Bowers. 2009. âPolitics across Generations: Family Transmission
Reexamined.â The Journal of Politics 71 (3): 782â99.
Kuhn, Steven. 2019. âPrisonerâs Dilemma.â Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2019 edition).
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/prisoner-dilemma/.
Ogbar, Jeffrey Ogbonna Green. 2007. Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap. Lawrence:
University Press of Kansas.
6 ⢠Suggested Readings 203
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FIGURE 7.1 On May 13, 2013, thousands of people crowded into the Minnesota state capitol for the Minnesota
Senate vote on a same-sex marriage bill. On that day, the bill became law. (credit: âCrowd during the same sex
marriage vote in the Minnesota Senateâ by Fibonacci Blue/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
7.1 Civil Rights and Constitutionalism
7.2 Political Culture and Majority-Minority Relations
7.3 Civil Rights Abuses
7.4 Civil Rights Movements
Mechanisms of Civil Rights Change
- Civil rights are defined as legal concepts within global constitutions that dictate how governments recognize and protect individuals from discrimination.
- Social justice movements like MeToo utilize public awareness and social media to accelerate pathways toward equitable legislation and policy change.
- Civil rights issues are primarily the concern of less powerful groups, including religious, racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities who are not in power.
- The distinction between civil rights and civil liberties is a fundamental framework for understanding legal protections and government obligations.
- Voting rights represent one of the most essential yet highly contested pillars of civil rights within constitutional structures.
- The protection of rights varies significantly across different countries and evolves over time based on shifting legal and social structures.
Often, civil rights change is rooted in local issues that become global, and social media provides new and accelerated pathways to equitable legislation and policy.
7.5 How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change?
This chapter examines the meaning of civil rights as a legal concept, how civil rights are
defined in constitutions around the world, and which civil rights governments and institutions recognize and
protect. It explores how individuals and groups, like Me Too and other social justice movements, can raise
public awareness and work to change policies and improve legal protections surrounding issues of
discrimination and unfair treatment under the law, and it shines a light on the important role of government
and institutions that maintain and challenge the status quo. Civil rights issues are of particular concern for less
powerful groups, including religious, racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities (or anyone not seen as the majority
in power). Often, civil rights change is rooted in local issues that become global, and social media provides new
and accelerated pathways to equitable legislation and policy. The chapter draws on historical and current
examples to provide a broad overview of past and ongoing civil rights abuses and to illustrate the methods
people use to work for civil rights change.
7
Civil Rights
7.1 Civil Rights and Constitutionalism
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define civil rights and distinguish between civil rights and civil liberties.
⢠Explain why voting rights are one of the most essential and most contested of all civil rights.
⢠Discuss the ways in which constitutional and legal structures determine which civil rights states recognize
and protect.
⢠Analyze why civil rights definitions and protections vary in different countries and change over time.
⢠Explain the relationships between positive and negative rights and between positive rights and civil rights.
Defining Civil Rights and Liberties
- Civil rights are government guarantees of equal protection for groups based on shared characteristics like race, gender, or age.
- While civil liberties are 'freedom from' government restriction, civil rights are 'entitlements' that require active government intervention to ensure equality.
- The Bill of Rights outlines individual liberties, whereas civil rights are enforced through legislative, judicial, and executive actions.
- Civil rights encompass political participation, employment opportunities, and legal standing within the justice system.
- Voting is a primary civil right that serves as a powerful tool for political voice; without it, marginalized groups remain unheard by public officials.
Public officials cannot consider voices they do not hear.
Civil rights are government guarantees of equal protection under the law, regardless of membership in a group
based on a shared characteristic such as race, national origin, ethnicity, sex, gender, age, or ability. The
government is tasked with acting to protect members of groups who have been discriminated against because
of their group membership alone. An issue becomes a civil rights concern when action is required because a
groupâs rights are being violated or denied. If the government fails to act to protect that group or if its actions
are inadequate, people outside the government may act to urge the government to take greater formal action to
remedy the situation.
Chapter 4 discussed civil liberties. Civil rights and civil liberties are related; however, their meanings differ in
important ways. Civil liberties are freedoms from restriction. They are limits on the governmentâs ability to
restrict individuals. The government cannot stop you from something that you have the liberty to do. A right is
something to which a person is entitled. Civil rights are entitlements that governments must step in to protect
for certain groups who are suffering or have suffered discrimination.
In the United States, the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution define the civil libertiesâthe individual
freedomsâthat the government must respect. These amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. Some
examples of civil liberties mentioned in the Bill of Rights include âthe freedom of speech, or of the pressâ (1st
Amendment); âthe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effectsâ (4th
Amendment); and the right against âexcessive bailâ and âcruel and unusual punishmentâ (8th Amendment).
Civil rights have to do with issues of equal treatment and are those rights that government institutions must
protect and enforce via legislative action, judicial interpretation, and executive implementation.1 They may
include political rights, such as voting, running for office, or serving on a jury; employment and employment-
related opportunities, such as equal employment opportunities and equal pay; and legal rights, such as the
right to file a civil suit. Opportunities and limitations based on group membership have consequences in
various realms including politics, society, the economy, education, and the law. Groups are often differentiated
based on various categories of group identification including race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual
orientation, ability, age, economic status, etc.
Voting as a Civil Right
As discussed in more detail later in the chapter, voting is a civil rights issue in the United States. Throughout
its history, the United States has restricted voting access to certain groups, culminating in several historic
movements and protests to expand and protect voting rights. The vote is one of the most powerful ways the
people can use their voice to effect change and be heard. When a government denies a group the right to vote,
it effectively takes away their political voice. The less power the members of a group have to make their voices
heard, the more help they will needâif not from the government, then from the political action of other groups.
As Boston College professor Kay Lehman Schlozman, Harvard University professor Sidney Verba, and
University of California professor Henry E. Brady put it, âPublic officials cannot consider voices they do not
hear.â2
Though the US Constitution has been amended several times to expand suffrageâthe right to voteâby
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Evolution of Global Suffrage
- Despite constitutional amendments targeting race, gender, and age barriers, voter suppression remains a persistent issue in the United States.
- New Zealand's history contrasts with the U.S. by granting voting rights to indigenous Maori men and women significantly earlier than American counterparts.
- The voting age is a fluid standard, with countries like Austria and Brazil lowering the eligibility threshold to 16 years old.
- Suffrage laws serve as an expression of a country's sovereignty and are a fundamental component of its unique political culture.
- Native Americans in the U.S. still face modern voting barriers due to specific documentation and identification requirements.
What these examples tell us is that, like many other civil rights issues, suffrage is not a rigid institution, but one that can change due to internal and external forces.
removing barriers based on race (15th Amendment), gender (19th Amendment), and age (26th Amendment),
some stakeholders in the United States still seek to prevent certain groups from exercising the right to vote.
Their efforts are referred to as voter suppression.
Civil rights issues vary around the world, and the history of voting rights in New Zealand, a Pacific country
very different from the United States, for example, contrasts with the history of voting rights in the United
States. Traditionally, the New Zealand government has extended more rights to its Indigenous people than it
has to people who emigrated later. Indigenous Maori men received the right to vote in New Zealand before the
government extended that right to all men over the age of 21 in the country who were British subjects (at the
time New Zealand was a British colony), and New Zealand was the first country in the world to grant women
the right to vote.3 The United States did not grant women the right to vote until almost 30 years later. Despite
the ratification of several amendments to the US Constitution that were intended to guarantee suffrage to more
people, Native Americans, for example, continue to be denied the right to vote even today in certain places in
the United States because of lack of documentation and identification.4
In 1971, the United States lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 (26th Amendment). Some countries, such as
Austria and Brazil, have lowered the voting age even further. Following a 2000â2005 trial run, Austrians as
young as 16 are now eligible to vote in all local, regional, and national elections.5 What these examples tell us is
that, like many other civil rights issues, suffrage is not a rigid institution, but one that can change due to
internal and external forces. A countryâs suffrage laws are an extension, and oftentimes an expression, of that
countryâs sovereignty; the uniqueness of voting laws and who qualifies to vote contribute to the fabric that
makes up a political culture, a concept that will be considered later in the chapter.
FIGURE 7.2 Participants in the 1965 Civil Rights March walk from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to protest voter
suppression and racial segregation. (credit: âParticipants, some carrying American flags, marching in the civil rights
march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965 (https://openstax.org/r/marchinginthecivilrights)â by Peter
Pettus/Library of Congress)
Constitutionalism and Civil Rights
The US Constitution first guaranteed a right to vote for some citizens with the ratification of the 14th
Amendment, which declares that any state denying eligible citizens the right to vote will lose representation in
Congress. In Chapter 4: Civil Liberties, you read about constitutionalism, which is âthe doctrine that governs
Constitutionalism and Human Rights
- Constitutionalism serves as a framework to ensure governments respect the rule of law and operate within defined limits.
- National constitutions often reflect specific political cultures, such as India's focus on caste discrimination or Mauritania's linguistic and gender equality provisions.
- The US Declaration of Independence introduced the concept of unalienable rights, influencing global movements and the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides a global standard, protecting against slavery and forced marriage while promoting freedoms of movement and unionization.
- Constitutional rights are categorized as negative rights, which limit government interference, and positive rights, which require government assistance to ensure well-being.
- Modern constitutions, like that of North Macedonia, utilize negative rights to explicitly prohibit state-sponsored harms such as torture, censorship, and discrimination.
Negative rights often correspond with civil libertiesâwhat the government cannot restrictâand positive rights correspond with civil rightsâwhat the government must protect.
the legitimacy of government action.â6 In other words, constitutionalism reminds us that governments must
respect the rule of law and the limits placed on government power.
One way to understand constitutionalism is to think of it as the role a countryâs written constitution plays in
maintaining the rule of law and a countryâs political culture. Indiaâs constitution7 references freedom from
7.1 ⢠Civil Rights and Constitutionalism 207
caste-based discrimination and the freedom to preserve and speak languages, specific rights that may not be
applicable in other countries because India has its own specific political culture. Mauritaniaâs constitution also
references language. It declares Arabic the official language but recognizes three other national languages. The
Mauritanian constitution also emphasizes universal suffrage and specifically states that âthe law favors the
equal access of women and of men to the electoral mandate and elective functions.â8
The 1776 US Declaration of Independence states that all people have âunalienable rightsâ that they possess at
birth that no government can take away. The unalienable rights to which people are entitled include the
Declarationâs most famous phrase: âlife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.â The Declaration of
Independence has served as a model for contemporary independence efforts, and international organizations
have incorporated the rights enshrined in the Declaration of Independence into their own formal work to
promote these rights, as typified by the United Nationsâ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).9
Since 1948, the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (also discussed in Chapter 15) and 30
of its articles have inspired billions of people globally. Some of the human rights the Universal Declaration
recognizes include protections against slavery (Article 4) and forced marriage (Article 16), freedom of
movement within oneâs own country (Article 13), the right to participate in government, (Article 21), freedom
to join a union (Article 23), and the right to hold a nationality (Article 15).
VIDEO
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/7-1-civil-rights-
and-constitutionalism)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides a common standard for human rights definitions and
protections around the world.
As discussed in Chapter 4, constitutions can include positive rights and/or negative rights. According to the
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, âNegative rights, such as the right to privacy, the right not to be killed, or
the right to do what one wants with oneâs property, are rights that protect some form of human freedom or
liberty . . . positive rights are âpositiveâ in the sense that they claim for each person the positive assistance of
others in fulfilling basic constituents of human well-being like health and education.â10 Negative rights often
correspond with civil libertiesâwhat the government cannot restrictâand positive rights correspond with civil
rightsâwhat the government must protect. The constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, for example,
prohibits child and forced labor, the death penalty, torture, censorship, and double jeopardy and
discrimination based on âsex, race, colour of skin, national and social origin, political and religious beliefs,
property and social status.â11 Because they are expressed as prohibitions, these are considered negative
rights.
The Comparative Constitutions Project (https://openstax.org/r/comparativeconstitutionsproject) compiles,
Global Variations in Civil Rights
- Constitutional protections vary drastically across the globe, with some nations recognizing only two rights while others codify nearly ninety.
- The Human Freedom Index measures the absence of coercive constraint, ranking New Zealand as the most free and Syria as the least free in 2020.
- A significant gap often exists between the rights written in a country's constitution and the actual enforcement of those protections by the majority.
- Political culture and the relationship between majority and minority groups are primary drivers of how civil rights function in practice.
- While many developing nations explicitly protect disability rights in their constitutions, the United States Constitution contains no such explicit language.
- The United States addresses disability rights through specific federal legislation, such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, rather than constitutional mandates.
The projectâs sample ranges from the constitutions of Brunei and Thailand, which include only two individual and political rights, to those of Portugal, Serbia, and Ecuador, which include 87, 88, and 89 rights, respectively.
compares, and analyzes constitutions from around the world. The projectâs sample ranges from the
constitutions of Brunei and Thailand, which include only two individual and political rights, to those of
Portugal, Serbia, and Ecuador, which include 87, 88, and 89 rights, respectively.12 Similarly, the Cato Institute
conducts an annual survey of political rights known as the Human Freedom Index (https://openstax.org/r/
humanfreedomindex). It describes human freedom as âa social concept that recognizes the dignity of
individuals and is defined here as . . . the absence of coercive constraint.â Drawing on data from 162 countries
and using a zero to 10 scale, in 2020 the Cato Institute identified New Zealand as having the most rights and
protections of freedoms in the world and Syria as having the least.13 These rankings reflect global variations in
how people conceptualize civil rights, despite the UDHR and other statements about human dignity.
Constitutions play a crucial role in defining which civil rights a country recognizes and claims to protect, but
what about enforcement? What if a countryâs constitution contains certain protections, but the majority does
not implement them? The section that follows discusses the relationship between majority and minority
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groups and the implications for civil rights. The chapter will conclude with a discussion of the role of
government and political institutions in enforcing civil rights.
7.2 Political Culture and Majority-Minority Relations
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Analyze how a countryâs political culture affects which civil rights it recognizes and defends.
⢠Describe the relationship between minority and majority groups.
⢠Discuss the role the majority plays in determining how civil rights function in a society.
Persons with physical and mental disabilities are an example of a group that has experienced widespread
discrimination, in part due to a lack of adequate government protections. Absent public policy forbidding it,
governments have denied these individuals access to public accommodations, including access to public
buildings and programs, while private businesses and other social and educational institutions have also
limited opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Challenging these discriminatory policies is now a key
focus among civil rights movements around the world. The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
(DREDF) (https://openstax.org/r/dredf) has compiled a massive list of constitutions that provide protections for
those with disabilities.14 This list includes the constitutions of dozens of developed and developing countries
ranging from Zimbabwe and the Gambia to Cambodia and Turkey. The DREDF contains the text of Zimbabweâs
constitution, which specifically references âphysical disabilityâ as one of the protected characteristics of its
citizens. In other words, the constitution clearly states that it is illegal and unconstitutional to discriminate on
the basis of physical disability.
The United States Constitution does not include any explicit protections for individuals with disabilities.
Instead, the United States has sought to address disability rights through federal laws like the Rehabilitation
Act (1973), which created affirmative action in government hiring for people with disabilities,15 and the
Disability Rights and Minority Dynamics
- The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act established a global precedent for prohibiting discrimination and mandating accessibility in public life.
- Nations including Brazil, China, and Qatar have adopted similar legislative frameworks to create national standards for protecting disability rights.
- The United Nations defines minorities as groups constituting less than half of a state's population who share distinct cultural, religious, or linguistic traits.
- Most modern nation-states are composed of multiple culturally distinct groups whose traditions and historical experiences are often in conflict.
- Civil rights are fundamentally shaped by how the political majority chooses to exercise power and enforce protections for minority groups.
- Majority groups often leverage their electoral influence to secure the best outcomes for themselves and define the parameters of leadership.
The reality is that those in the political majority use their power to secure the best outcomes for themselves.
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), a landmark legislative act that made it illegal to discriminate on the
basis of ability and offered sweeping changes that made it easier for people with disabilities to access services,
transportation, buildings, and employment.16 The United Kingdom, China, Australia, South Korea, New
Zealand, Brazil, and Qatar have handled disability rights in a similar fashion: they have used congressional or
parliamentary legislation to create national standards and provisions to protect the rights of those with
disabilities.
FIGURE 7.3 This bus platform in Brazil has special accommodations for those with differing abilities. (credit:
âSistema RIT de Curitiba, Brasilâ by Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz Mariordo/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0)
People with disabilities are one example of a political minority. A minority can be a group of people or a single
person, and its definition changes based on how it is used in different countries.17 The United Nations Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights defines ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities as, âany group of
7.2 ⢠Political Culture and Majority-Minority Relations 209
persons which constitutes less than half of the population in the entire territory of a State whose members
share common characteristics of culture, religion or language, or a combination of any of these.â18 According
to Arizona State University professor Michael Hechter and Indiana Univeristy professor and director of the
Center for Research on Race and Ethnicity in Society (CRRES) Dina Okamoto, most countries âcontain several
culturally distinct groups whose language, religion, tradition, and historical experiences are not shared and
often are at odds with one another.â19
Civil rights function in society based on how the majority interacts with the minorityâwho gets to decide
whose rights are protected, and how those protections are enforced? These determinations shape which
freedoms and opportunities are reserved for the majority and which are also granted to and protected for the
minority. The reality is that those in the political majority use their power to secure the best outcomes for
themselves. Those enjoying majority group membership often use their influence on elections to define the
parameters of the majority groupâwho will lead, and how will they use the power they have been given?
Majority and Minority Political Cultures
As discussed in Chapter 6: The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity, each country, along with the
Political Culture and Civil Rights
- Political culture is defined by the unique combination of a country's history, geography, religion, and power dynamics that shapes its specific political system.
- A nation's political culture directly determines which civil rights are protected and the degree to which those protections are enforced.
- Qatar exemplifies a conservative political culture where homosexuality remains illegal, creating a tension between local values and international expectations during events like the FIFA World Cup.
- Political cultures are not static; they can evolve through the combined efforts of nongovernmental movements and shifts within government institutions.
- The 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges serves as a primary example of how decades of activism can successfully transform a national political culture to expand civil rights.
Political culture plays an important role in determining which civil rights the country protects and how well it protects them, and those with the most power are most able to influence the culture.
subnational states within it, has its own unique political cultureâthe ways in which traditions and cultural
values create that countryâs specific political system. A countryâs particular combination of history, geography,
religious practices, conflict, and other identities contributes to creating its specific political culture. Political
culture plays an important role in determining which civil rights the country protects and how well it protects
them, and those with the most power are most able to influence the culture.
Consider Qatar, a Muslim-majority, petroleum-exporting gulf monarchy known for providing the majority of its
citizens with a high standard of living (but providing far less for the millions from mostly Asian and African
countries who work in Qatar). Consistent with the countryâs majority political culture, homosexuality is illegal
in Qatar, and punishment for sodomy can range from flogging and imprisonment to death.20 There are no legal
protections for LGBTQ+ people. Qatar now faces the challenge of balancing its conservative political culture
with its role as the 2022 host of the FIFA World Cup, during which thousands of people with cultural values that
differ from the majority values in Qatar will visit the country. The Qatari government has released statements
welcoming gay fans and ensuring their safety but explicitly discouraging public displays of affection and/or
having sex.21
While many of the people visiting Qatar for the World Cup will be coming from countries where the political
culture is very different from the political culture in Qatar, attitudes toward LGBTQ+ individuals in those
countriesâlike Germany, England, Croatia, and South Koreaâwere not always so tolerant. Political cultures can
change, often through a combination of the work of people in nongovernment groups and movements within
government institutions, and this change can affect civil rights protections.
Political Culture and Civil Rights Change
One of the biggest changes in civil rights policy in the United States came in 2015 when, in Obergefell v.
Hodges, the Supreme Court struck down state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage. The ruling came after
decades of hard work to change the political culture of the United States to one that would recognize and
protect the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. For most of American history, same-sex couples were denied the
right to marry. The Supreme Court ruling that effectively secured the right to marry for same-sex couples was
the culmination of over 50 years of organizing, protests, and lobbying.
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FIGURE 7.4 Revelers hold a giant rainbow flag outside the United States Supreme Court to celebrate the decision in
Obergefell v. Hodges, which declared that the US Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry.
(credit: âDSC_0135â by Jordan Uhl/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Federalism and Marriage Rights
- The movement to challenge federal denial of same-sex marriage rights gained momentum during the 1996 presidential campaign.
- A 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that marriage denial violated the state constitution served as a primary catalyst for the national debate.
- American federalism is unique due to the 9th and 10th Amendments, which specifically clarify state rights versus national authority.
- States have the power to enact statutes that directly contrast with those of neighboring states, provided they do not conflict with federal law.
- The 2000s and 2010s saw a patchwork of conflicting state laws where marriage could be legal in one state but banned in the next.
That each state and region of the country has a different political culture and different people in power became all too clear in the 2000s and 2010s, when most states passed their own laws on same-sex marriage.
According to John Kowal of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, the push to
change federal denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples began in earnest during the 1996 presidential
campaign in response to a court case in Hawaii where, in 1993, the state supreme court had ruled that denying
same-sex couples the right to marry was in violation of the state constitution.22
The sharing of power between states and a national government, known as federalism, creates a unique
culture that sets the United States apart from most of the world (for more on federalism, see Chapter 13:
Governing Regimes). While many other countries are organized along federal lines, including Brazil, Germany,
India, Mexico, and Russia, among others, only the United States Constitution includes provisions that clarify
statesâ rights compared to the national government (9th and 10th Amendments). Since states can create their
own statutes and policies as long as they are not in conflict with the US Constitution or congressional law, each
of the United States can, theoretically, enact policies that are in direct contrast with a bordering stateâs policies.
That each state and region of the country has a different political culture and different people in power became
all too clear in the 2000s and 2010s, when most states passed their own laws on same-sex marriage, resulting
in a hodge-podge of laws and policies where, for example, same-sex marriage was banned in Texas but legal in
neighboring Oklahoma.23
The Evolution of LGBTQ+ Rights
- Public opinion on same-sex marriage shifted dramatically from less than 40 percent approval in 2004 to over 60 percent by 2019.
- The AIDS epidemic and increased representation in popular media, such as 'Will & Grace', played pivotal roles in humanizing LGBTQ+ individuals.
- Increased interpersonal contact is cited as a primary driver for rapid attitude changes, as more Americans personally know someone who identifies as gay or lesbian.
- Legal milestones, beginning with Massachusetts in 2003 and culminating in the 2015 Supreme Court decision, codified marriage as a fundamental right for all.
- Majoritarianism describes how those in power often enact policies to secure their status, potentially suppressing the rights and political participation of minorities.
- The transition from minority exclusion to legal inclusion required decades of sustained activism, litigation, and public advocacy.
Those who have the power to shape society can use that power to help recognize and protect minority rights; however, those who have power tend to use the tools at their disposal to keep it, and keeping it may mean suppressing minorities.
Though the issue of sex-based discrimination and marriage rose to public prominence in Hawaii, LGBTQ+ and
civil rightsârelated interest groups and lobbying were rippling across the country, resulting in citizen
referenda, ballot propositions, legislation, and court decisions. Much of the momentum was driven by a
combination of public and private advocacy work to change the national conversation on LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Attitudes on the topic dovetailed generally with how people viewed homosexuality.24 In a 2004 national poll of
Americans, less than 40 percent of respondents approved of same-sex marriage, but by 2019 that percentage
had grown to more than 60 percent.25 The AIDS epidemic moved from the margins to mainstream American
life during the 1980s and 1990s, and media coverage of the epidemic was partially responsible for the shift in
attitudes toward homosexuality. Representation in popular culture also played a role, with popular films and
television shows like Philadelphia, Queer Eye, The L-Word, and Will & Grace featuring gay and lesbian
characters and personalities. According to California State University professor Jeremiah Garretson, one
major reason for the shift in acceptance of gay culture is that more Americans than ever know someone who
identifies as lesbian or gay; âthat increase in interpersonal contact is the major part of the reason attitude
change has been so rapid,â Garretson said.26
7.2 ⢠Political Culture and Majority-Minority Relations 211
In November 2003, Massachusetts became the first US state to legalize same-sex marriage after the state
supreme court found that prohibiting same-sex couples from being able to marry violated the state
constitution.27 In its landmark 2015 decision, the United States Supreme Court declared that âthe right to
marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person . . . couples of the same-sex may not be
deprived of that right and that liberty. Same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry.â28
The violation of a groupâs civil rights demands action to ensure equal treatment. In the case of same-sex
marriage in the United States, it was only after years of people engaging in activism and bringing lawsuits that
public opinion and government policies changed. Wherever political minorities lack adequate representation
in elected office, they must live with the decisions of the majority, which may not take into account minority
concerns.
Majority theory, or majoritarianism, describes the roles and responsibilities of the majority and who has the
power to shape the rules of government and society.29 Those who have the power to shape society can use that
power to help recognize and protect minority rights; however, those who have power tend to use the tools at
their disposal to keep it, and keeping it may mean suppressing minorities. For example, when the majority
elects legislators who represent them, those legislators tend to enact policies that secure the majorityâs status
and often deny opportunities to minority group members. These policies can make it difficult for those in the
minority to participate in the political process itselfâfor example, by voting or running for public office. In this
way, the majority ensures its ongoing power.
7.3 Civil Rights Abuses
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Analyze the ways in which majority groups have judged the perceived threats posed by minority groups.
⢠Describe the range of methods majority groups in the United States and around the world have used to
oppress minority groups.
⢠Discuss the relationship between the relative power of majorities and minorities and the governmentâs
Majoritarianism and LGBTQ+ Rights
- Majoritarian politics, while seemingly democratic, can lead to the systematic marginalization and loss of civil rights for minority groups.
- Groups lacking numerical, cultural, or religious influence are often subjected to discrimination and hardship by the majority.
- LGBTQ+ individuals face significant degradation from majorities who enforce traditional heterosexual gender roles.
- Despite global political shifts, many countries continue to deny same-sex couples fundamental rights such as child adoption.
- While the US Supreme Court affirmed same-sex adoption in 2017, only about 16 percent of countries worldwide currently allow it.
- Legal victories do not always ensure safety, as seen in South Africa where activists still face widespread discrimination despite legal protections.
World politics and history have shown how easily majoritarian politics can create hardship, discrimination, and a loss of civil rights for groups that lack the political, numerical, cultural, or religious influence of majority groups.
level of responsiveness to their desires.
⢠Identify current and historical examples of systemic and temporary civil rights abuses in the United States
and around the world.
Those in the majority are able to influence the creation of public policy that affects both those in the majority
and those in the minority. While majoritarian politics might seem democraticâthe word democracy comes
from the Greek demos and kratos, which translates to âthe people ruleââworld politics and history have shown
how easily majoritarian politics can create hardship, discrimination, and a loss of civil rights for groups that
lack the political, numerical, cultural, or religious influence of majority groups.
LGBTQ+ Discrimination
People who identify as LGBTQ+ experience discrimination and degradation from majorities who see them as
not fitting into traditional conceptions of heterosexual gender roles. As discussed above, political culture can
change, but despite historic achievements, many countries continue to deny LGBTQ+ couples the same rights
afforded to heterosexual âstraightâ couples. For example, same-sex couples are not permitted to adopt
children (or no law allows for this) in most countries.30 The United States Supreme Court did not affirm the
right of same-sex couples to adopt until 2017.31 Most European countries have legalized same-sex adoption,
but it is considered legal in few other countries around the world. In 2002, South Africa became the first
country in Africa to allow same-sex couples to adopt,32 but LGBTQ+ activists in the country still feel unsafe due
to widespread discrimination.33
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FIGURE 7.5 As of December 2019, only 32 countries, about 16 percent of all the countries in the world, allowed
same-sex couples to adopt. (credit: ILGA; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0
license)
Voter Suppression
The Persistence of Voter Suppression
- Power structures maintain control by selectively silencing specific voices and limiting who can be counted in elections.
- Despite the 13th and 19th Amendments, states historically used Jim Crow laws like poll taxes and literacy tests to disenfranchise Black Americans and women.
- Modern voter suppression manifests through 61 documented forms, including strict ID requirements, gerrymandering, and the reduction of early voting opportunities.
- The Voting Rights Act of 1965 originally required states with histories of discrimination to seek federal approval for changes to voting laws.
- Following the 2010 election, there was a significant legislative push in several states to reinstate restrictive voting measures that disproportionately target communities of color.
One of the ways those in power can seek to remain in power is by controlling whose voices can be heard and counted in elections.
One of the ways those in power can seek to remain in power is by controlling whose voices can be heard and
counted in elections. The failure of federal and state governments to enforce voting rights protections in the
United States provides another troubling example of majoritarianism. Despite the ratification of the 13th
Amendment in 1865 and the 19th Amendment in 1920, many American states continued to limit suffrage on
the basis of sex and race. Policy makers justified denying voting and other political rights to Black Americans
and women on the grounds that their participation would diminish the overall quality of the electorate because
women34 and Black Americans35 were not deemed qualified to engage in the political process. Though
constitutional amendments protected the right to vote for Black Americans,36 American states and their
White-majority (often all-White) legislatures found ways to limit Black political participation including literacy
tests, poll taxes, and White-only primaries. These efforts are referred to as Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow era, a
period during which laws perpetuating institutional racism and the denial of Black Americansâ constitutional
rights were enforced across the southeastern United States, lasted from 1877 to about 1965.
Voter suppression continues to be a major problem in the United States. The Voting Rights Alliance documents
61 forms of voter suppression that range from limits on early voting, stricter requirements for voter
identification (including not allowing Native American tribal IDs), and fewer opportunities for same-day
registration to polling site discrimination, gerrymandering, and employers not giving time off from work for
voting.37 Voter suppression in the United States today is not just one event, but a slow accrual of opposition to
the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 and its many subsequent renewals in Congress. One of the provisions of
the original VRA was that more than a dozen states that had low voter turnout in the 1964 election and that had
historically limited voting access to minorities had to seek federal approval of any changes in their voting laws.
Their track records were poor, and the state governments had not shown the ability to oversee their own
elections in ways that aligned with the protections in the US Constitution. States had challenged these âpre-
clearancesâ before, but for years the VRA remained resilient.38 The VRA was reauthorized with overwhelming
support from congresspersons across the political spectrum as recently as 2006, when even the staunchest
conservatives in the Senate joined their colleagues in a unanimous vote. However, after the election of Barack
7.3 ⢠Civil Rights Abuses 213
Obama in 2010, several states started to push against the VRA by making voting much more difficult. Ari
Berman writes in The Nation,
âAfter the 2010 election, GOP officials approved laws in more than a dozen states to restrict the right to
vote by requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, shutting down voter registration drives,
curtailing early voting, disenfranchising ex-felons and mandating government-issued photo IDs to
cast a ballotâall of which disproportionately target communities of color.â39
FIGURE 7.6 Supporters of the For the People Act to expand votersâ rights rally on the steps of the US Capitol
Building in March 2021. (credit: âFor the People Act rally in Washington - 2021-03-05â by Terri Sewell/Wikimedia
Commons, Public Domain)
Voting Rights and Systemic Barriers
- The 2013 Shelby County v. Holder ruling significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act by removing federal oversight of state election laws.
- Following the Supreme Court decision, numerous Republican-led legislatures enacted new laws that restricted voter access and rights.
- Claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election persisted despite comprehensive investigations finding such fraud to be virtually nonexistent.
- Political rhetoric regarding election integrity culminated in the January 6 insurrection and a surge of restrictive state-level voting bills in 2021.
- Constitutional frameworks in countries like Sri Lanka demonstrate how religious majorities can institutionalize power despite nominal protections for minorities.
The Brennan Center investigated all reports of voter fraud in the United States and found comprehensively 'that fraud is very rare, voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent, and many instances of alleged fraud are, in fact, mistakes by voters or administrators.'
Then, the Supreme Court ruled in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) that the historic provisions of the Voting
Rights Act no longer applied 50 years after the civil rights movement and that Congress had overreached in
2006 when it reauthorized the VRA for 25 years. Many conservatives saw the decision as a win for statesâ
rights, while others saw it as a major step back on civil rights. Almost immediately, Republican-majority
legislatures across the country passed laws to limit votersâ rights and access to the polls.
Many of those who support stricter voting laws hold that they are necessary to prevent voter fraud. After the
2020 election, former President Donald Trump repeatedly insisted that the election had been rigged and that
he was the actual winner.40 Despite no confirmed evidence of voter fraud, his supporters participated in small
armed protests around the country, culminating in the January 6 insurrection in Washington, DC. Many
participants accused the federal and state governments of being complicit in a massive election cover-up. The
Brennan Center investigated all reports of voter fraud in the United States and found comprehensively âthat
fraud is very rare, voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent, and many instances of alleged fraud are, in
fact, mistakes by voters or administrators. The same is true for mail ballots (https://openstax.org/r/
narrativevotemailfraud), which are secure and essential to holding a safe election amid the coronavirus
pandemic.â41 Still, between January 1 and December 7, 2021, at least 19 states had passed 34 laws restricting
voting access, and close to 450 bills with provisions to restrict voting access had been introduced in all but one
of the 50 states.42
Ethnic and Religious Discrimination
Participation and full inclusion in a society may take different forms. Sri Lankaâs constitution references the
right of all its citizens to practice the religion of their choice, but the constitution does emphasize Buddhism as
the majority religion. This creates a situation effectively enabling a religious majority to maintain its power
through the constitution. According to Chapter 2 of its constitution, âThe Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to
214 7 ⢠Civil Rights
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State-Sanctioned Civil Rights Abuses
- Sri Lanka prioritizes Buddhism as the state religion, creating a dynamic where religious freedom becomes a civil rights issue for Hindu and Muslim minorities.
- Bhutan's focus on 'Gross National Happiness' masks the systematic exclusion and expulsion of the Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa minority.
- The Lhotshampa were rendered stateless after being forced to adopt the majority's language and dress, leading to a massive refugee crisis in the 1990s.
- The United States government seized over 1.5 billion acres of Indigenous land between 1776 and 1887, prioritizing majority interests over native rights.
- The U.S. federal government has breached the rule of law by failing to honor 374 legally binding treaties signed with various Indigenous nations.
The kingdom of Bhutan conducts a 300-question happiness survey every five years, and since 1972, the kingdom has emphasized Gross National Happiness as a priority for the countryâs people. But Bhutan is not a happy place for minorities like the Lhotshampa.
Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha
Sasana.â43 Every Sri Lankan president and prime minister has been Buddhist, despite the presence of strong
and vocal Muslim and Hindu minorities.44 It is important to note here that religion and religious freedom,
particularly in the American context, are civil liberties because they are protected by the Free Establishment
Clause of the 1st Amendment. However, when a government policy favors one religious community over
another or limits the collective religious freedom of an entire group, it becomes a civil rights issue too.
The kingdom of Bhutan conducts a 300-question happiness survey every five years,45 and since 1972, the
kingdom has emphasized Gross National Happiness as a priority for the countryâs people.46 But Bhutan is not
a happy place for minorities like the Lhotshampa, or âpeople of the south.â The government, representing the
interests of the majority, has forced this community of Nepali-speaking, majority Hindu people to speak the
national language, Dzongkha, and to wear the national dress. Laws passed in 1977 and 1985 denied the
Lhotshampa citizenship.47 The large-scale civic and social exclusion of the Lhotshampa led to a refugee crisis
in the 1990s as the Lhotshampa were expelled from Bhutan, becoming stateless refugees.48
FIGURE 7.7 Members of the Lhotshampa refugee community in Charlotte, North Carolina, gather to share their
common culture. (credit: âSinging at home24â by Kevin Beaty/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Civil Rights Abuses toward Native Americans
The centuries-long denial of civil rights to the original Indigenous people in the United States is a prime
example of how a government can act in the interests of protecting a majority while simultaneously failing to
protect and violating the civil rights of a particular group. Even the term âNative Americanâ is a blanket
category that contains hundreds of tribes, many with their own distinct languages. Between 1776 and 1887,
the United States federal government seized over 1.5 billion acres of Indigenous land, which covered over
three-fourths of what is now called the continental United States.49
The federal government has directly participated in civil rights abuses against Native Americans, frequently
failing to honor the 374 treaties with various tribes and nations signed and ratified in the 18th and 19th
centuries.50 Treaties are legally binding, and the governmentâs failure to honor the treaties constitutes a
breach of the rule of law.51 This failure has resulted in lost income, dignity, and traditional ways of life for
Indigenous peoples.
VIDEO
The Invasion of America
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7.3 ⢠Civil Rights Abuses 215
Indigenous Dispossession and Civil Rights
- The US government seized over 1.5 billion acres of Indigenous land, though recent Supreme Court rulings have begun to recognize tribal jurisdiction in areas like eastern Oklahoma.
- For over a century, the US and Canadian governments forcibly removed Indigenous children to boarding schools for cultural indoctrination, resulting in widespread abuse and the extinction of 65 traditional languages.
- Native American women face disproportionately high rates of violence and kidnapping, with homicide being the third-leading cause of death for young Indigenous women and girls.
- Systemic failures in federal reporting and a lack of media attention, often contrasted with the obsession over missing White women, contribute to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people.
- The loss of tribal lands often forces Indigenous people into the margins of non-Indigenous society, where they lack traditional support systems and face increased vulnerability.
- The text transitions to the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as another major episode of civil rights infringement in US history.
Where as the c ountr y is often obsessed with s tories a bout true crime and missing White w omen , there has historic ally been les s attention p aid to missing and kidnapped women o f color .
This video provides a time-lapse map of the US seizure of over 1.5 billion acres of land from Indigenous
Americans.
In 2020, the US Supreme Court ruled that much of eastern Oklahoma is tribal land of the Creek people and not
under jurisdiction of the state government.52 Many activists continue to fight for the return of sacred and tribal
lands, including the Great Sioux Reservation, whose Black Hills are the site of Mount Rushmore, and the
Southern Paiute, âwhose territory once included the northern rim of the Grand Canyon.â53
Compounding the history of stolen land and broken treaties, generations of Indigenous American and
Canadian culture and language were lost when the governments of the United States and Canada forcibly
removed Indigenous children from their homes and sent them to âboarding schoolsâ for religious and cultural
indoctrination. From 1860 to 1978, the US federal government, working with Christian-based organizations
and churches, placed thousands of children into approximately 357 schools around the country, where the
children were often victims of physical and sexual abuse.54 According to one report, 83 percent of all
Indigenous school-age children in 1926 were in boarding schools.55 A national movement among Native
groups is working to record, teach, and preserve Indigenous languages after nearly 65 of their traditional
languages have already been classified as extinct.56
For decades, Native American activists have also expressed horror and outrage over the disappearance,
kidnapping, and trafficking of Indigenous womenâone of many civil rights issues affecting Native Americans
exponentially more than other groups. According to the organization Native Hope, the loss of land pushes
Native Americans to live off reservations where they have little to no tribal support and exist at the margins of
non-Indigenous society. Federal programs like the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
do not account for all cases, creating huge discrepancies in the number of women reported missing versus
actually missing.57 Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that âfrom 1999 to
2019, homicide was the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women and
girls ages 12 to 30.â58 Indigenous women receive unequal protection and representation in the media.
Whereas the country is often obsessed with stories about true crime and missing White women, there has
historically been less attention paid to missing and kidnapped women of color.59
Japanese American Internment
On December 7, 1941, Japanese armed forces attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in the US territory of
Hawaii. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war the next day, and on December 8, 1941,
the US entered World War II. Two months later, the president signed Executive Order 9066, which gave the
Secretary of War the power to âprescribe military areas . . . from which any or all persons may be excluded, and
with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever
restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion.â60
What transpired was the forced internment of Japanese Americans, one of the most profound and
consequential episodes of civil rights infringement in US history.
216 7 ⢠Civil Rights
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Japanese American Internment and Injustice
- Executive Order 9066 led to the forced relocation of approximately 120,000 individuals of Japanese descent to internment camps during World War II.
- Two-thirds of those interned were natural-born U.S. citizens, many of whom had never visited Japan, yet their loyalty was questioned solely based on ancestry.
- The Supreme Court upheld discriminatory measures in Hirabayashi v. United States and Korematsu v. United States, prioritizing 'public necessity' over individual due process.
- The legal definition of Japanese descent was applied to anyone with at least one Japanese parent or grandparent, codifying racial profiling into federal policy.
- The internment represents a significant failure of the American system of checks and balances in the face of irrational fear and racial antagonism.
Pressing public necessity may sometimes justify the existence of such restrictions; racial antagonism never can.
FIGURE 7.8 Japanese Americans arrive at Santa Anita Assembly Center in California in 1942 during the first phase
of relocation and internment. (credit: âArcadia, California. Evacuees of Japanese ancestry arriving at the Santa Anita
Assembly centerâ by Clem Albers/Department of the Interior/National Archives, Public Domain)
This executive order imposed curfews and resulted in the relocation of approximately 120,000 US citizens of
Japanese descent to internment camps.61 In signing this order, President Roosevelt codified the widespread
loss of civil rights for Japanese Americans. Under the implementation of the executive order, Americans of
Japanese descent were determined to be those who had at least one parent or grandparent who was Japanese.
Most of the relocation centers were located in California and other West Coast states because that is where the
majority of Japanese Americans lived. Approximately 127,000 individualsâof which about two-thirds, or
84,000, were natural-born US citizens, most of whom had never been to Japanâwere placed into relocation
camps. Because the Asian Exclusion Act of 1924 forbade Japanese immigrants from securing citizenship,
about one-third of those relocated were resident aliens.62
The US Supreme Court reinforced the motives behind President Rooseveltâs executive order. Individuals living
in the United States, whether or not they were citizens and whether they were born in Japan or in the United
States, were presumed to be loyal to Japan during World War II. Their loyalties to the United States were
questioned because of their ancestry. The Court heard two cases focusing on the constitutionality of Executive
Order 9066. In the earlier case, Hirabayashi v. United States (1943),63 the Court ruled in a unanimous decision
that a curfew requiring US citizens of Japanese descent to be in their homes between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. (which
affected their ability to work, among other concerns) did not violate the 5th Amendmentâs Due Process clause.
In the later case, Korematsu v. United States (1944), the Supreme Court ruled in a 6â3 decision that Fred
Korematsuâs arrest for violating an exclusion order did not violate his due process rights. As the Court noted in
its majority opinion:
â... all legal restrictions which curtail the civil rights of a single racial group are immediately suspect.
That is not to say that all such restrictions are unconstitutional. It is to say that courts must subject
them to the most rigid scrutiny. Pressing public necessity may sometimes justify the existence of such
restrictions; racial antagonism never can.â64
The US Supreme Courtâs interpretation of the 5th Amendment Due Process clause in the Hirabayashi and
Korematsu cases contributed to institutionalized discrimination against US citizens based on membership in
an ethnic group. In accepting the executive branchâs implementation of Executive Order 9066, the Court
determined that civil rights could be denied to US citizens based on the executive branchâs definition of
7.3 ⢠Civil Rights Abuses 217
membership in a specified ethnic group.
Eighty years later, we continue to reflect on the indignities of internment, on how the president of the United
States ordered this violation of the rights of thousands of Americans based on the perceived threat that some
in power believed those Americans represented merely by virtue of their race, and on how the Supreme Court
affirmed his actions. The injustice of internment illustrates a failure of checks and balances and of the
separation of powers, which normally form the bedrock of American political culture, in the face of an acute
and irrational fear of fellow human beings.
VIDEO
The Persistence of Modern Slavery
- While often viewed as a historical issue, modern slavery affects an estimated 40.3 million people globally as of 2016.
- Modern slavery is defined by violence, loss of personal control, lack of free movement, and the absence of payment for labor.
- Forms of contemporary enslavement include sex trafficking, forced labor, domestic servitude, and the recruitment of child soldiers.
- Responsibility for eradicating these practices lies with a combination of governments, businesses, and individual consumers.
- Despite global efforts, slavery remains technically legal under the constitutions or laws of several countries, including Canada and Sweden.
- Activists Nadia Murad and Dr. Denis Mukwege received the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for their work against sexual enslavement and the use of rape as a weapon of war.
The challenge of fighting slavery is compounded by the fact that slavery is still not illegal, as per constitutions or laws, in many countries, including Canada and Sweden.
George Takeiâs 2014 TED Talk: âWhy I Love a Country that Once Betrayed Meâ
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Actor George Takei talks about his childhood experience as a Japanese American during Japanese internment
in World War II.
Slavery
When the subject of slavery comes up in the United States, it is almost always in the context of what happened
in the 19th century or in relation to President Lincoln. What many people do not realize is how pervasive
slavery continues to be around the world. The International Labour Organization estimated that in 2016, 40.3
million people globally were bound in modern slavery, including 15.4 million in forced marriages.65
According to Kevin Bales, professor of contemporary slavery at the University of Nottingham, the major
components of slavery include âviolence or its threat, loss of control over oneâs life, obligation to another, lack
of free movement and lack of payment.â66 Modern slavery takes many forms, including sex trafficking of
adults and children, forced labor, domestic servitude, forced child labor, and the recruitment of child
soldiers.67 According to the Global Slavery Index, while forced labor and slavery are often part of the
production and manufacture of goods, the responsibility to eradicate slavery falls on governments, businesses,
and consumers. Their reporting indicates that only seven countries have taken a stance on fighting slavery
among labor practices: the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, China, and Brazil.68 The
challenge of fighting slavery is compounded by the fact that slavery is still not illegal, as per constitutions or
laws, in many countries, including Canada and Sweden.69
For their work in drawing global attention to the sexual enslavement of women and the use of rape as a weapon
of war, human rights activists Nadia Murad70 and Dr. Denis Mukwege71 were jointly awarded the 2018 Nobel
Peace Prize. Both Murad and Mukwege waged very public and decisive battles to raise awareness for the civil
rights abuses felt especially by women, whose bodies are often violated during battle and war. The Prize was a
recognition of their work from outside the government to persuade governments to enact change and protect
the civil rights and dignity of women. In her Nobel Prize speech, Murad, a member of the minority Iraqi Yazidi
community, spoke of a global recognition of human rights:
We celebrate these days the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
aims at preventing genocides and calls for the prosecution of their perpetrators. My community has
been subjected to genocide for more than four years. The international community did nothing to
deter it nor to stop it. It did not bring the perpetrators to justice. Other vulnerable communities have
been subjected to ethnic cleansing, racism and identity change in plain sight of the international
community.
218 7 ⢠Civil Rights
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FIGURE 7.9 Nobel Peace Prize winners Nadia Murad (left) and Dr. Denis Mukwege (right) are joined by Austrian
Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl (center). (credit: âAuĂenministerin Karin Kneissl trifft Friedensnobelpreisträger/in
Denis Mukwege und Nadia Muradâ by Bundesministeriums fĂźr europäische und internationale Angelegenheiten/
Flickr, CC BY 2.0.)
Slavery and Constitutional Power
- Slavery functions as a mechanism to maintain the power of dominant groups by systematically denying civil liberties and equal treatment to marginalized segments of society.
- The political institutions responsible for preventing abuse are often controlled by the same powerful groups that benefit from subjugation.
- A significant majority of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence were slaveholders, creating a paradox between their rhetoric of liberty and their support for slavery.
- The Three-Fifths Compromise codified the status of enslaved people as objects for population counting rather than individuals with inherent rights.
- Constitutional changes, such as the 13th Amendment, often require intense struggle or war and reflect slow evolutions in a nation's political culture.
- The legacy of early constitutional compromises continues to influence modern American perceptions of representation and census methodology.
This codified how the White American majority saw Black bodiesâas objects that counted toward population, but not as people with their own rights.
In subjugating women, children, or specific racial or ethnic groups, slavery maintains the power of some
groups at the expense of others. Thus, slavery is not just a denial of civil liberties; its abuse and denial of equal
treatment represent extreme civil rights violations. The same powerful groups that practice slavery often
control the political institutions that should be preventing it, enabling the abuse and subjugation of entire
segments of society.
The United Statesâ experience with slavery and related racial discrimination demonstrates how majority and
minority status are determined and how those determinations affect who holds power. At the time of the
writing of the Declaration of Independence, enslaved people from Africa comprised a large share of the
population of what would soon become the United States. Of the 56 signatories of the US Declaration of
Independence, it is estimated that as many as 41, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John
Hancock, as well as most signatories from the South, were slaveholders.72
These same persons who claimed that the government had a responsibility to guarantee âlife, liberty, and the
pursuit of happinessâ supported slavery as an institution. Upon declaring their independence, the founders set
to work creating a government. The government they created concentrated power at the state level. The
Articles of Confederation, the first constitution, allowed slavery to flourish in the southern states because each
state held so much power to shape its own affairs. However, it was the Three-Fifths Compromise contained in
the second US Constitution that codified how the White American majority saw Black bodiesâas objects that
counted toward population, but not as people with their own rights. This preserved the power of the majority
and oppressed those designated as a minority. According to Article I, Section 2:
"Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be
included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by
adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons."
This constitutional provision differentiated between âfree personsâ and âall other personsâ (enslaved people).
Each enslaved person counted as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes, although their enslaved
status meant they did not have civil rights, including the right to select those representatives. Though the
language of the Three-Fifths Compromise remains in the Constitution,73 the ratification of the 13th
Amendment in 1865 nullified slavery and the idea of representation of enslaved people.74
Like other major civil rights changes, the nullification of slavery in the United States came only after prolonged
7.3 ⢠Civil Rights Abuses 219
and intense struggle and, in the case of slavery, civil war. Changes in a countryâs constitution in the form of
constitutional amendments correspond with changes in political culture, and changes in political culture can
be slow to evolve. Though the 13th Amendment removed its constitutional force, the legacy of the Three-Fifths
Compromise goes on. The system it instituted affects the way Americans perceive and receive representation
in Congress depending on where they live,75 and the US Census still counts âpersonsâ and not citizens.76
7.4 Civil Rights Movements
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Discuss the methods marginalized groups use to fight for civil rights protections.
Individual Action and Civil Rights
- Democracies are uniquely defined by the diverse ways citizens can participate in the political process, ranging from voting to public protests.
- Civil rights movements often emerge as a response to systemic discrimination and violence targeting marginalized minority groups.
- Significant global social changes frequently begin with the personal responsibility and ethical responses of just one or two individuals.
- The concept of civil disobedience involves public, nonviolent, and conscientious acts contrary to law intended to change government policy.
- Individual actions serve as the catalyst for larger movements that eventually mobilize millions and gain allies among powerful societal segments.
What would have happened if these individuals had not drawn attention to what they saw as the unethical, immoral, or unequal treatment of certain groups?
⢠Compare current and historical examples of civil rights movements in the United States and around the
world.
⢠Analyze the ways in which marginalized groups have sought to gain and mobilize allies among more
powerful segments of society.
Compared to other types of governments, democracies are fundamentally distinct in how they allow citizens to
take an active role. Forms of political participation include boycotts, communicating with legislators,
displaying signs, donating to candidates and campaigns, voting, running for office, volunteering in civic
organizations, and participating in rallies and protests. (For more on political participation, see Chapter 5:
Political Participation and Public Opinion and Chapter 8: Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections.)
Historically, citizens (and noncitizens in some situations) have used various forms of participation to raise
awareness of problems in the hopes of influencing elected officials to seek public policy solutions to these
problems in the form of statutes and laws. Civil rights groups and social movements have emerged in response
to conditions or events in which minority group members were targeted and subjected to discrimination and
violence because of their minority group membership. Some of the most significant civil rights victories
globally started from humble beginnings but turned into movements that galvanized millions.
How Personal Responsibility Shapes Civil Rights
Â
VIDEO
A Protestor Confronts a Line of Chinese Armored Tanks in Tiananmen Square, June 5, 1989
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In this video clip, a lone protester confronts a line of advancing tanks in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, on June
5, 1989.
As you read through this chapter, you may be struck by how many of the events that have brought change started
with the action of one or two individuals. What would have happened if these individuals had not drawn attention to
what they saw as the unethical, immoral, or unequal treatment of certain groups? Whether explicitly or
subconsciously, these individuals realized it was up to them to take personal responsibility. They understood that
they had to try to make a difference through some form of action, using whatever means they had, and that the
action they were going to take was an ethical response to what they viewed as an unjust situation. Many people see
things around them that they disagree with or that they feel are wrong. However, they may not believe that they as
individuals can make a difference, or they are unsure what actions they as individuals can take that would make a
difference. Whenever you find yourself in a situation where you believe something wrong is occurringâat work, in
WHAT CAN I DO?
220 7 ⢠Civil Rights
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school, or as a part of an extracurricular organizationâremember that the actions of individuals can make a
difference.
From Individual to Group Action
In 1848, Henry David Thoreau wrote an essay titled Civil Disobedience inspired by his public refusal to pay a
poll tax, which landed him in jail. Liberal political philosopher John Rawls defines civil disobedience as a
âpublic, nonviolent, conscientious yet political act contrary to law usually done with the aim of bringing about
a change in the law or policies of the government.â77
VIDEO
Civil Disobedience
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movements)
Legacy of Civil Disobedience
- Henry David Thoreauâs philosophy of civil disobedience profoundly influenced global leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
- Modern environmental activism continues the tradition of civil disobedience, as seen in the 2016 shutdown of German coal mines by thousands of protesters.
- Homer Plessyâs 1892 act of defiance against segregated rail travel was a coordinated effort by the ComitĂŠ des Citoyens to challenge discriminatory laws.
- The resulting Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson, established the 'separate but equal' doctrine, providing a legal basis for racial segregation.
- The Court's ruling interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause in a way that permitted state-sanctioned racial separation for decades.
Plessy, who was one-eighth Black and âpassedâ as a White man, sat in the train car reserved for White passengers and announced to the conductor that he was Black.
English actor Stephen Fry narrates this explanation and brief history of civil disobedience.
Thoreauâs Civil Disobedience influenced the political attitudes and subsequent activism of M. K. âMahatmaâ
Gandhi,78 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,79 and other writers and reactionaries like Emma Goldman, Upton
Sinclair, Leo Tolstoy, and Marcel Proust.80
FIGURE 7.10 In May 2016, more than 3,500 European climate activists shut down the open-cast coal mine
Welzow-SĂźd in Germany and cut Europeâs tenth-largest emitter of CO2, the Schwarze Pumpe power plant, off from
all coal supplies. In this act of civil disobedience, protesters entered the mine and blocked coal transport. (credit:
âEnde Gelände: Day 1 - More than 3,500 people joined the action of civil disobedienceâ by Tim Wagner/Break Free/
Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
In 1892, Homer Plessy engaged in an act of civil disobedience when he challenged the discriminatory
Louisiana Railway Accommodations Act (1890), which required all Louisiana passenger trains to provide
âequal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.â81 The act required railway staff to deny
accommodation to those refusing to abide by the law. Plessy, who was one-eighth Black and âpassedâ as a
White man, sat in the train car reserved for White passengers and announced to the conductor that he was
Black. Though Plessy acted alone, he was part of an organization that called itself ComitĂŠ des Citoyens
(Committee of Citizens), and he agreed to protest the law on their behalf.82 After his actions resulted in his
arrest, he had standing to challenge the law, and his case went before the US Supreme Court.
The Courtâs opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) reinforced the doctrine of âseparate but equal,â which gave
7.4 ⢠Civil Rights Movements 221
constitutional protection to race-based discrimination and supported the attitudes of the majority of
Americans and elected officials at the time. This made it legal and constitutional for states to determine who
was White and who was non-White and to decide whether and when White people and non-White people
would be separated in public accommodations. It freed private businesses and institutions to practice race-
based segregation without government interference. According to the Legal Information Institute,
âThe decision . . . was the first major inquiry in to the meaning of the equal-protection clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits the states from denying âequal protection of the lawsâ to any
person within their jurisdiction . . . Justice Brown stated that even though the Fourteenth Amendment
intended to establish absolute equality for the races, separate treatment did not imply the inferiority
of African Americans.â83
Global Movements for Civil Rights
- The NAACP and CORE pioneered organized civil rights actions in the United States, utilizing nonviolent civil disobedience such as sit-ins and boycotts.
- The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) expanded the movement's focus to include voter mobilization and equal treatment for women.
- In Czechoslovakia, Jan Palach's self-immolation in 1969 served as a catalyst for the eventual Velvet Revolution and independence from Soviet influence.
- The 2010 suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia sparked the Arab Spring, leading to the resignation of four Middle Eastern government leaders.
- While often associated with the 1960s, the American civil rights movement gained momentum from earlier events like the 1953 Baton Rouge bus boycott.
In 1969, seventy years after Homer Plessyâs protest, Czech university student Jan Palach signed a suicide note with the fictional name âTorch Number 1â and set himself on fire to protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
In the years following the Plessy decision, activist efforts grew to work for civil rights for African Americans. In
1909, Black leaders including W. E. B. DuBois and Ida B. Wells joined White advocates to form the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Organized actions gained traction with the work
of groups like the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a Black labor union founded in 1925, and later in the
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a group that influenced and worked with civil rights leader Martin Luther
King Jr. In the 1950s and 1960s, CORE pioneered the use of acts of civil disobedience like bus boycotts,
marches, and sit-ins as a central mechanism of the civil rights movement. In the 1960s, the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) used nonviolent tactics to challenge segregation, register and
mobilize Black voters, and seek equal protection and equal treatment for Black people and for women.84
In 1969, seventy years after Homer Plessyâs protest, Czech university student Jan Palach signed a suicide note
with the fictional name âTorch Number 1â and set himself on fire to protest the Soviet invasion of
Czechoslovakia and the growing despondency among Czech youth.85 His suicide inspired further suicides and
eventually led to a populist uprising known as the Velvet Revolution, which, as the Soviet Union was
dissolving, culminated in Czechoslovakiaâs independence in 1989 and its dissolution into the Czech Republic
and Slovakia in 1993.
FIGURE 7.11 Thousands gathered in Prague in 1989 as part of the Velvet Revolution. (credit: â1989 sametova
revoluce 12â by Josef Ĺ rĂĄmek ml./Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)
In 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi died by suicide to protest police corruption and lack of economic opportunities in
Tunisia.86 As word spread of Bouaziziâs suicide, thousands gathered across the country, united by what they
saw as a death in response to government corruption. News, photos, and videos of the Tunisian protests were
quickly shared with people in other Arab countries, and what started as a demonstration in Tunisia engulfed
the Middle East. Within months, four government leaders would resign in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Tunisia,
ushering in what many saw as the beginning of more populist and democratic ways of life.87 This movement
became known as the Arab Spring.
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Movements to Achieve African American Equality
Most people associate the civil rights movement in the United States with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the
1963 March on Washington, but the movement first began with a 1953 bus boycott aimed at desegregating
public transportation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.88 This protest occurred two years before the lynching of
14-year-old Emmett Till for allegedly offending a White woman in a grocery store and the arrest of Rosa Parks
that instigated the more famous Montgomery Bus Boycott, both of which occurred in 1955.
FIGURE 7.12 Dr. Martin Luther King addressed a crowd of over 200,000 people gathered at the US Capitol during
the August 28, 1963, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (credit: âMartin Luther King Jr. National Historic
Siteâ by National Park Service/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Evolution of Civil Rights
- The 1960s civil rights movement relied on a complex interplay between the presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court.
- Despite media coverage of violent police responses to peaceful protests, significant legislative resistance persisted in Congress.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 stand as the era's most significant legislative achievements.
- The modern Black Lives Matter movement represents a shift toward decentralized, grassroots organizing compared to earlier institutional models.
- While mid-century movements focused on public access, BLM prioritizes eradicating white supremacy and state-inflicted violence.
- Social media has replaced traditional political institutions like churches as the primary tool for modern movement organization.
The movement has primarily used social media to organize marches, protests, and boycotts and to communicate with elected officials.
The civil rights movement was also characterized by a push-and-pull between the American presidency,
Congress, and the US Supreme Court. Each had a major role to play, and because of checks and balances, they
all influenced the work of the other. Their work culminated in the passage of two of the most significant laws in
United States history, the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965). Both came about during an
era of great public involvement and protest over the lack of civil rights afforded to African Americans. Despite
newspaper, radio, and television coverage of events including protest marches that were met with violent
police response, there was still considerable resistance among members of Congress, representatives, and
senators to passing these comprehensive bills.
VIDEO
President Lyndon Johnson Remarks on the 1964 Civil Rights Act
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movements)
Upon signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act, President Lyndon Johnson addressed the nation on national television.
Black Lives Matter (BLM), a decentralized, grassroots movement focused on fighting police brutality and
racially motivated violence, represents, for many, a new civil rights movement. While earlier civil rights
movements focused on equal access to opportunities and public accommodations, according to its website, the
mission of Black Lives Matter âis to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence
inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.â89 The movement has primarily used social media
to organize marches, protests, and boycotts and to communicate with elected officials.90 In this way it is
markedly different from the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, which was primarily inspired and
organized by political institutions91 like African American churches92 and by student/youth-heavy
7.4 ⢠Civil Rights Movements 223
Modern Civil Rights Movements
- Black Lives Matter (BLM) is viewed as the next stage of the civil rights movement, expanding focus from the consequences of racism to its structural origins.
- The BLM movement has successfully mainstreamed the term 'structural racism,' moving it from academic circles into the common lexicon.
- With an estimated 15 to 26 million participants, the 2020 BLM protests are considered perhaps the largest social movement demonstration in U.S. history.
- The Me Too movement, founded by Tarana Burke in 2006, began as a way to provide solidarity for young girls of color who survived sexual abuse.
- Me Too evolved into a global phenomenon in 2017 via social media, creating a massive online community seeking to address generational trauma and legal change.
Once confined to academic and activist circles on the left of the spectrum, [the term structural racism] has become the phrase du jour.
organizations like the Congress of Racial Equality, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee,93 and
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
In its examination of the nature of systemic and institutional racism at the national, state, and local levels and
on a global scale, Black Lives Matter represents to many the next stage in the effort to secure civil rights for
Black people. Where past civil rights movements focused on the consequences of racism, BLM adds an
examination of racismâs origins and the structural constructs like patriarchy, colorism, capitalism, and
homophobia that create the conditions that allow for racist institutions.
One of the biggest outcomes of BLMâs efforts has been the mainstreaming of the phrase âstructural racism.â As
senior correspondent for TIME magazine Justin Worland notes, âonce confined to academic and activist circles
on the left of the spectrum, [the term structural racism] has become the phrase du jour.â94
An estimated 15 to 26 million people in the United States participated in the summer 2020 Black Lives Matter
protests, making them perhaps the largest social movement demonstration in United States history.95 It is
difficult to compare the 2020 protests with other social movements and marches in the United States because
most events take place on one day. The 2020 summer rallies, protests, and marches drew more participants
than the combined attendance at the 1982 anti-nuclear march in New York City, the 2017 Womenâs March, and
the February 2003 nationwide protest against the war in Iraq.96
FIGURE 7.13 Protestors march through Minneapolis on November 15th, 2015, to protest the death of Jamar Clark,
a Black man who was shot by police while handcuffed in police custody. (credit: âBlack Lives Matter protest marchâ
by Fibonacci Blue/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Me Too
One of the most remarkable social movements of the 21st century has been Me Too, a global effort that
encourages people to speak out about their experiences of sexual harassment and assault and to publicly
name their attackers. American activist Tarana Burke originally coined the phrase in 2006 in response to
working with children of color who were victims of molestation and childhood sexual abuse.97 As she heard
story after story of the horrors Black girls experienced, Burke was reminded of her own experience of rape at
the age of seven and the shame she subsequently felt. She came up with the expression âMe Tooâ as a form of
solidarity with the victims, particularly girls of color.98 Ten years later, in 2017, the movement exploded,
primarily through the Twitter hashtag #MeToo, building an online community of millions of people, mostly
women, who push not only for recognition of the generational trauma of sexual harassment, but also for
immediate civil rights change.99
224 7 ⢠Civil Rights
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FIGURE 7.14 A woman carries a #MeToo sign during a protest. (credit: âCan You Hear Me Now? #MeTooâ by Alec
Perkins/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The Global MeToo Movement
- The MeToo movement has united people globally across generations to challenge the historical untouchability of powerful celebrities and public figures.
- Generation Z has been instrumental in the movement's momentum, utilizing social media as a collective tool for self-organizing and wielding influence.
- Tangible legal progress includes improved formal procedures for victims, enhanced workplace protections, and laws restricting nondisclosure agreements in harassment cases.
- Despite global reach, the movement faces significant hurdles in countries like India, where institutional accountability remains low and justice is often inaccessible.
- While social movements spark the demand for change, the ultimate responsibility for addressing past discrimination lies with political and judicial institutions.
Youths are approaching power in new ways, wielding it collectively through social media and new vectors of influence . . . a self-organizing flash mob responding to a perceived problem or issue.
Me Too movements have sprung up around the world, uniting people across the globe and across generations.
The movement has sparked public outrage over the past untouchability of celebrities and public figures
accused of sexual harassment like Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Larry Nassar, Louis C.K., Ghislaine
Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew, James Franco, Woody Allen, Bill Clinton, Al Franken, Kevin Spacey,
and others whose cult of personality shielded them for years from criminal investigation or accountability. Gen
Z has played a pivotal role in Me Too gaining momentum. As columnist David Bloom put it, âYouths are
approaching power in new ways, wielding it collectively through social media and new vectors of influence . . .
a self-organizing flash mob responding to a perceived problem or issue.â100
According to Vox, because of the Me Too movement, there are now better formal procedures for victims of
sexual assault to seek affordable legal representation, more workplace protections, and even new state laws to
remove sexual harassment from nondisclosure agreements.101 In addition to working for this practical legal
progress, Me Too activists strive to change fundamental perceptions of women. However, like other civil rights
movements before it, Me Too has not had the same level of success everywhere, and there is still much work to
be done. According to immigrant author and journalist Rituparna Chatterjee, â#MeToo stories are now a
reminder of the feminist moment that our institutions sidestepped to avoid accountability. In India, women
still have limited access to justiceâunless their stories are used as trauma porn for the nation.â102
Fundamentally, despite millions of men and women taking part in protests across the country, conceptions of
women have not substantively changed in India in response to Me Too. The country has missed the moment,
and even in countries that have made some progress, there is still work to do.
7.4 ⢠Civil Rights Movements 225
7.5 How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Integrate an understanding of racism and discrimination into your knowledge of government institutions.
⢠Illustrate how legislative, executive, and judicial power can be used to bring about civil rights policy
change.
⢠Differentiate between formal and informal executive power and control.
⢠Discuss ways in which governments have attempted to make amends for past civil rights abuses.
The emergence of social movements demanding political change and the extension of civil rights may help
minority groups secure those rights, but it is the work and responsibility of political institutions to fully
address past discrimination.
Institutional Racism and Intersectionality
Institutional Racism and Intersectionality
- Institutional racism is defined as racist laws and practices deeply embedded within a country's political, judicial, and bureaucratic structures.
- Because these practices are normalized within institutions, the majority group often finds it difficult to recognize their inherent racist nature.
- Political institutions are responsible for the equitable distribution of resources, and failure to ensure equal opportunity constitutes systemic inequity.
- The concept of intersectionality, developed by KimberlĂŠ Crenshaw, highlights how overlapping identities like race, sex, and disability create unique forms of discrimination.
- Civil rights laws often fail to address marginalized groups effectively because they focus on single identities rather than the complex reality of intersecting ones.
- Powerful political actors normalize discrimination by deciding which groups are granted rights and which are denied them based on political culture.
Institutional racism refers to the racist laws and practices that are deeply embedded in a countryâs institutions and that, because they are so embedded, have established norms that may make their racist nature harder for those in the majority to recognize.
When examining civil rights issues around the world as they pertain to race and ethnicity, it becomes apparent
that the way many formal political institutions and branches of governmentâjudicial, executive, legislative,
and bureaucraticâare composed and the laws they create and enforce establish and advance institutional
racism. Institutional racism refers to the racist laws and practices that are deeply embedded in a countryâs
institutions and that, because they are so embedded, have established norms that may make their racist
nature harder for those in the majority to recognize.103 According to Vanderbilt University, âInstitutional
racism is racism perpetrated by social and political institutions that have the power to affect large groups of
people that belong to a racial group. It shows up in both formal and informal ways and in the systematic
distribution of resources, power, and opportunity in our society.â104 Another way to think about this is that
political institutions are responsible for making resources available to everyone fairly, and when that does not
happen, these institutions operate in a way that is inequitable. Similarly, when a government does not do
enough to make sure everyone in a society, country, or community has the same opportunities to succeed, that
government is operating in a way that is inequitable.
It is important to mention here that discrimination takes different forms and that these types can intersect in a
way that makes it impossible to separate. For example, Black women in the United States have historically
faced discrimination on the basis of sex and discrimination on the basis of race, but the two cannot be
separated. According to Columbia Law School professor KimberlĂŠ Crenshaw, who developed the concept of
intersectionality, Black women are the product of their intersecting identities, and one must acknowledge
their intersectional identities before thinking about solutions to help this unique group of people. If you add
sexuality, skin complexion, language, disability, and other identities, you realize that identity is complex and
often cannot be captured by civil rights laws that seek to address injustices against one group of people such as
women only, Black women only, Black people only, etc.
VIDEO
What Is Intersectionality?
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governments-bring-about-civil-rights-change)
In this clip, The Advocateâs Ashley Jiang explains the origins and applications of the idea of intersectionality.
Government institutions and the politicians who represent themâlike legislators, judges, and prime
ministersâplay a major role in balancing the needs of majority and minority groups to enforce the most
equitable set of laws. The majority uses its power to decide whose rights are protected. As the next section
illustrates, institutional racism can be embedded in a countryâs constitutionalism and political culture.
Powerful political actors make decisions based on who should receive rights (and who should be denied them),
226 7 ⢠Civil Rights
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and in doing so they normalize discrimination and the violation of the rights of marginalized groups.
Legislative and Judicial Action
The Justice Gap and PIL
- Legislatures reflect the national mood and can either enshrine marginalization or protect the rights of vulnerable groups.
- Judicial systems, particularly high courts with lifetime tenures, often have a more lasting impact on civil rights than legislative bodies.
- The 'justice gap' describes the phenomenon where 1.5 billion people live in nations with appropriate institutions but cannot obtain actual justice.
- India's Article 39A mandates that the state provide free legal aid to ensure justice is not denied due to economic or other disabilities.
- Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in India allows citizens to bypass lower courts and appeal directly to the Supreme Court to redress fundamental rights violations.
- Unlike the United States system, PIL removes the traditional common-law requirement of 'standing to sue' to increase accessibility.
Long and Ponce call this inability âthe justice gap.â
In representative democracies or republics, where the people have the power to choose officials to represent
their needs and wants, legislatures represent the national mood and the dominant political culture of the
participating public. Around the world, legislatures and legislators are key to creating and passing legislation
that either enshrines the marginalization of certain groups and the violations of their rights or that protects
those groups.
However, it is often the judicial system, and in particular the highest national court in a country, that can have
a remarkable and lasting effect on civil rights. These judges or justices usually have lifetime tenure, which
gives them the power to affect the direction of civil rights law for decades.
Equal access to judicial and legislative action is key to securing civil rights protections. According to World
Justice Project researchers Sarah Chamness Long and Alejandro Ponce, 1.5 billion people around the world
live in countries that have the appropriate political institutions, but they âcannot obtain justice for civil,
administrative, or criminal justice problems.â Long and Ponce call this inability âthe justice gap.â105 This
âjustice gapâ is apparent in India, where, despite the promise of equal justice laid out in the Indian
constitution, people have often been denied access to justice and due process. Article 39A of the Indian
constitution specifies:
âThe State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal
opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any
other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of
economic or other disabilities.â106
In response to what many judges and justices felt was an absence of avenues for the public to seek justice for
social and political issues, in the 1980s the Supreme Court of India instituted a process known as public
interest litigation (PIL) by which any citizen of India could seek redress for grievances in the courts. In other
words, any citizen could ask a court to decide a political or legal issue without needing a legislative response;
anyone can approach the Supreme Court of India directly without introducing a lawsuit in a court of original
jurisdiction and then appealing the verdict. This is very different from the judicial system in the United States,
where only a lawsuit introduced in a state or lower federal court can be appealed all the way to the US Supreme
Court (for a more detailed discussion, see Chapter 11: Courts and Law).107 PIL takes away the common-law
idea of standing to sue. As attorney Zachary Holladay writes:
PIL allows for any individual who claims a violation of one of their fundamental rights, as enshrined in
the Constitution, to bypass the local courts and appeal directly to one of the stateâs High Courts or to
the Supreme Court. The preferred remedy is often in the form of equitable relief, such as an
injunction, to compel the government to take appropriate measures to redress violations of
fundamental rights.108
Legal Access and Citizenship Barriers
- Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and paralegal training programs serve as vital tools for marginalized groups to seek justice in resource-scarce nations like Sierra Leone and Malawi.
- Sierra Leone addressed a severe shortage of trained lawyers by empowering paralegals to handle property, criminal, and public interest issues.
- The Malawi model of paralegal assistance has been successfully replicated across several African nations to improve the civil rights of prisoners.
- The 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision remains one of the most infamous US Supreme Court rulings, stripping Black people of the right to citizenship.
- Chief Justice Roger Taney's majority opinion in the Scott case relied on the original intent of the framers to exclude enslaved people from constitutional protections.
- The legal definition of race in the United States was further complicated by the 'one-drop rule,' which classified anyone with minority ancestry as non-White.
Chief Justice Taney stated that whether an enslaved person was born free or into servitude, they were not entitled to any of what we would now call civil rights.
Thus, PIL allows marginalized groups, who often lack resources or are otherwise silenced, to seek justice.
Similarly, Sierra Leone has improvised legal traditions to meet the civil rights and judicial needs of its citizens.
According to a 2006 report, at that time, in the country of five million people, there were only 100 trained
lawyers.109 As a point of comparison, there were 1,327,910 lawyers in the United States in 2021 (based on
2020 census numbers, thatâs about one lawyer for every 250 people).110 Two nonprofits in Sierra Leone
started training paralegals around the country to assist with property, criminal, and public interest issues.
Another African country, Malawi, has also experimented with training paralegals, and its program has now
been replicated in Kenya, Uganda, and Benin. The Malawi âmodelâ proved hugely successful in improving the
civil rights of prisoners who did not have the means to secure good representation and in helping the accused
know their rights.111
7.5 ⢠How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change? 227
While the people in a democracy often look to their major political institutions for guidance in troubled times,
those institutions can make mistakes, and the US Supreme Courtâs judgment in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
was one of those mistakes. Described by some as one of the worst court decisions ever,112 Scott affirmed that
enslaved people were ineligible for citizenship and associated rights. It is important to note here that the
framers never defined citizenship and only hinted at naturalization.113
FIGURE 7.15 This portrait of Dred Scott was published in Century magazine in 1887. (credit: âDred Scott. Harriet,
wife of Dred Scott (https://openstax.org/r/dredscott)â by Century Company/Library of Congress)
Dred Scott was born into slavery. His enslavers moved him from Virginia to Alabama to Missouri and then to
the free state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin, where he lived from 1833 to 1843. Upon returning
to Missouri, Scott sued for his freedom, arguing that he had lived free for 10 years in areas where slavery was
forbidden.
The US Supreme Court sidestepped Dred Scottâs question by determining that he was ineligible to present a
legal challenge before the US Supreme Court because he was not a citizen and thus could not sue Sandford for
his freedom. Chief Justice Roger Taney penned the Courtâs majority opinion focusing on the framersâ intent.114
When the Constitution was written 70 years earlier, the framers did not intend to include enslaved people as
citizens. Chief Justice Taney stated that whether an enslaved person was born free or into servitude, they were
not entitled to any of what we would now call civil rights. This meant that no Black person in the United States
could enjoy either citizenship or civil rights, whether they were born in the United States or not. Note that Chief
Justice Taney was not offering commentary on Black identity, per se, but on the notions of freedom and liberty.
The criterion outlined in the Dred Scott decision, that if a personâs ancestors were brought to the United States
as enslaved people that person could not be granted US citizenship, is not the sole way the Court has
determined racial classifications. Other criteria played key roles in US Supreme Court decision-making in later
civil rights cases. One of these criteria was the one-drop rule. In the 20th century, many states adopted the
one-drop rule to differentiate between White people and non-White people. Individuals with any minority race
ancestry were deemed to be members of that minority group. For example, Virginiaâs Racial Integrity Act
Racial Integrity and Citizenship
- The 1924 Virginia Racial Integrity Act established the concept of racial purity by classifying anyone with non-Caucasian ancestry as non-White.
- State-level racial classifications were used to deny minority group members the full rights and social privileges of American citizenship.
- The landmark 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia overturned bans on interracial marriage, a victory now celebrated annually as Loving Day.
- The 14th Amendment redefined citizenship to include all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., effectively nullifying the Dred Scott decision.
- While the 14th Amendment standardized citizenship, states still maintained the power to categorize individuals by race for decades.
Only persons who had âno trace whatsoever of any blood other than Caucasianâ were classified as White.
(1924) outlawed interracial marriage and deemed persons with any minority ancestry to be non-White, no
228 7 ⢠Civil Rights
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matter their appearance or self-identification. Only persons who had âno trace whatsoever of any blood other
than Caucasianâ were classified as White. This is now referred to as the concept of racial purity.
Several states followed these and related practices, determining minority status based on ancestry. Those
persons who were classified as minority group members did not enjoy the full rights of citizenship and social
privileges that were afforded to White Americans. Interracial couples would not achieve the national victory of
the right to marry until the Supreme Courtâs decision in Loving v. Virginia (1967), which overturned the
Virginia Racial Integrity Act that had forbidden interracial marriages. Today, one out of every ten married
couples in the United States is interracial/interethnic.115 Every year in the United States, June 12 is celebrated
as Loving Day, to honor not only Richard and Mildred Loving, the couple who sued the state of Virginia, but also
every interracial and interethnic couple.116
VIDEO
Report on Loving Case 1967
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This television report includes interviews with Richard and Mildred Loving and the lawyers who brought their
case before the Supreme Court on the day the court decided the case in their favor.
One reason the US Supreme Court could reject Dred Scottâs petition was that the Court could decide that Scott
did not have standing due to his citizenship status. The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 and one of the three
Civil War or Reconstruction Amendments (along with the 13th and 15th Amendments), addressed this issue by
defining citizenship: âAll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.â Recall that Article I, Section 2
distinguishes between classes of persons, âfree personsâ and âall other persons.â Because the 14th
Amendment defines citizenship for all persons meeting one of two conditions (birth or naturalization),
regardless of the race or enslaved status of their ancestors, federal and state governments could no longer
determine who was a citizenâthough they could determine who was Black or White. The 14th Amendment
nullified Dred Scott.
Equal Protection and Japanese American Redress
Redress and the Equal Protection Clause
- The 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause was established to prevent state-level discrimination and ensure citizenship rights for formerly enslaved persons.
- Japanese American survivors and their descendants faced a difficult emotional and political battle to secure a formal apology for World War II internment.
- President Gerald Ford officially terminated the internment executive order in 1976, labeling the policy a national mistake.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1988 eventually provided $20,000 in reparations to over 82,000 living internees following years of lobbying.
- While the executive and legislative branches acted earlier, the Supreme Court did not formally denounce the Korematsu ruling until 2018.
- The case illustrates that achieving civil rights protections requires significant shifts in public perception and pressure on elected officials.
Korematsu was gravely wrong the day it was decided, has been overruled in the court of history, andâto be clearâhas no place in law under the Constitution.
Among other protections, the 14th Amendment includes the Equal Protection Clause: âNo State shall make or
enforce any law which shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.â117
The 14th Amendment focuses solely on state governments, and the Equal Protection Clause is intended to
ensure that state governments do not deny equal protection to individuals because they are part of a group.
The government passed the Equal Protection Clause to prevent the kind of race-based discrimination that
shaped the US Constitution as it was being framed, to affirm that the US Constitution bans slavery, to ensure
newly emancipated persons the protections of citizenship, and to limit southern state powers.
In the 1970s, the children and grandchildren of Japanese Americans who had been interned during World War
II began to push for a formal apology from the federal government and reparations, or financial compensation
for the economic losses suffered by those who had been interned in these concentration camps. This was an
uphill battle because the wounds and shame of the era still traumatized many of the internees and survivors.
The first major victory came in response to the lobbying efforts of the Seattle branch of the Japanese American
Citizens League (JACL) when, on February 19, 1976, President Gerald Ford signed a proclamation calling the
internment policy âa national mistakeâ and officially terminating the executive order that had established
it.118
Through a combination of public hearings, congressional lobbying, and national movement on the part of the
JACL, Japanese American politicians (some of whom served with distinction in World War II), and sympathetic
Republican and Democratic leaders, the United States government finally issued a formal apology and
7.5 ⢠How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change? 229
reparations of $20,000 per living internee in 1988.119 President George H. W. Bush issued the first checks in
1990, and in total, 82,219 internees received reparations.120
FIGURE 7.16 Nisei World War II veterans attend a tribute to the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental
Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service in Washington, DC, November 1, 2011. (credit: âNisei World War II
veterans from the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (https://openstax.org/r/niseiwordwar)â by Staff Sgt. Teddy
Wade/Wikimedia Commons)
As the case of Japanese American internment illustrates, in a republic, changes in public perception and
public pressure on elected officials are necessary to achieve true civil rights protections for all. Government
institutions often have their own individual political cultures, norms, and responsibilities. The Supreme Court
is no exception. Despite executive and legislative measures aimed at compensating Japanese Americans, until
2018 the US Supreme Court had not publicly acknowledged the error of the Korematsu ruling. In Trump v.
Hawaii, the justices ruled that President Trumpâs ban on travel from certain mostly Muslim-majority countries
was constitutional. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor compared the administrationâs treatment
of Muslims to the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II. In his opinion, Chief Justice John
Roberts, who voted with the majority of the Court, responded that the two cases were not comparable, writing
that âKorematsu was gravely wrong the day it was decided, has been overruled in the court of history, andâto
be clearâhas no place in law under the Constitution.â121
Executive Action
Executive Power and Civil Rights
- Executive leaders utilize both formal and informal powers to influence policy enforcement and national civil rights agendas.
- Formal executive power is exercised through codified actions such as executive orders, official speeches, and legislative signing statements.
- Informal power involves symbolic actions or personal remarks that carry weight due to the leader's status as the head of government.
- The case of Serbiaâs Ana BrnabiÄ illustrates that symbolic representation as an openly gay leader does not always translate into the formal power needed to change political culture.
- In the United States, Joe Bidenâs 2012 endorsement of same-sex marriage serves as a prime example of informal influence shifting national discourse.
- Presidential appointments, such as Pete Buttigiegâs nomination to the cabinet, represent the formal application of executive authority to advance representation.
This is an interesting case study because by all accounts BrnabiÄ does not have the executive power to actually change the political culture of Serbiaâa concept discussed at the beginning of the chapterâeven if her intentions were to advance LGBTQ+ rights.
A countryâs executive, who might be a president, prime minister, or chancellor, is the head of the branch of
government most often tasked with policy enforcement and implementation. As the face/voice of a country, a
countryâs political leader often has multiple tools of control and influence that are particularly effective in the
arena of civil rights. When the executive acts outside their official capacity as the head of government or head
of state but their actions are still seen as important and symbolic, they exercise informal executive power. On
the other hand, formal executive power is power that may be codified by executive orders, statements to
accompany the signing of legislation, speeches, or other official announcements.
230 7 ⢠Civil Rights
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Representation and Political Culture
FIGURE 7.17 Prime Minister Ana BrnabiÄ poses for a portrait in 2018. (credit: âAna BrnabiÄâ by President.gov.ua/
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)
When she was elected prime minister of Serbia in 2017, Ana BrnabiÄ become that countryâs first openly gay
executive leader. While many hailed the electoral victory for its symbolism, others claim that BrnabiÄ has had little
formal influence on changing Serbiaâs lack of civil rights protections for the LGBTQ+ community.122 Equaldex, a
crowdsourced online map of LGBTQ+ rights, gave Serbia a score of 47 out of 100; the country was recognized for
offering a high level of legal rights, but public approval was low.123 This is an interesting case study because by all
accounts BrnabiÄ does not have the executive power to actually change the political culture of Serbiaâa concept
discussed at the beginning of the chapterâeven if her intentions were to advance LGBTQ+ rights.
In 2012, thenâVice President Joe Biden casually remarked on NBCâs Meet the Press that he supported the right
for same-sex couples to get married124 (which eventually became law with Obergefell v. Hodges). While Biden
was still eight years away from winning his own presidential election, his words had a huge influence on the
country. Some say they pushed President Barack Obama to affirm marriage equality sooner than he had
planned. Bidenâs remarks on Meet the Press exerted informal executive influence, but Biden was acting in his
formal capacity as president when, in 2021, he nominated Pete Buttigieg, a former naval officer and mayor of
South Bend, Indiana, to be Secretary of Transportation, making Buttigieg the first openly gay cabinet member
in US history.125
Indigenous Rights and Constitutionalism
- Canada's reputation as a multicultural nation is being challenged by historical and ongoing injustices against First Nations, Inuit, and MĂŠtis peoples.
- The discovery of mass graves at former residential schools has intensified national calls for the recognition of cultural genocide.
- Political representation for Indigenous groups is slowly increasing, exemplified by the appointment of Mary Simon as the first Indigenous governor-general.
- Civil rights issues arise whenever basic rights are denied to groups based on shared characteristics like race, gender, or ethnicity.
- Constitutionalism serves as a metric for how effectively a country adheres to its founding principles and legal protections for all citizens.
- Social justice movements often originate from marginalized groups joining together to challenge powerful majorities who benefit from the status quo.
However, the May 2020 discovery of 751 Indigenous childrenâs graves at a former residential school in Saskatchewan has reignited calls for more national recognition of cultural genocide.
In recent years, cries for justice over Canadaâs poor treatment of its Indigenous peopleâclassified as First
Nations, Inuit, and MĂŠtis126âhave rocked what is often heralded as a multicultural and accepting country.
Forming around 6 percent of the total population,127 the diverse First Nations community has historically
been underrepresented in the Canadian federal government. The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation
THE CHANGING POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
7.5 ⢠How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change? 231
Commissionâs findings and 94 calls to action128 led to a significant increase in First Nations candidates
running for office. However, the May 2020 discovery of 751 Indigenous childrenâs graves at a former residential
school in Saskatchewan has reignited calls for more national recognition of cultural genocide.129 In response,
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used his executive power to nominate Mary Simon, an Inuit activist,
to be the countryâs first Indigenous governor-general.130
FIGURE 7.18 A group of nuns pose with Aboriginal students circa 1890 in Port Harrison, Quebec. (credit: âPort
Harrison (Inukjuak) Federal Hostel, group of students, nuns and Aboriginal men posing in front of the school,
Quebec, ca. 1890â by Library and Archives Canada, Public Domain)
While many countries claim civil rights protections in their founding documents and laws, disconnects
between intention and implementation are frequent. In many countries, those in power have an unfair
advantage in determining who benefits fromâand who is restricted byâgovernment policies. As a result,
governments often fail to protect the civil rights of minorities. To challenge powerful majorities, minorities and
their allies have formed groups and led great movements for social justice and equality, often arising from
humble beginnings, ideas, and people. Because those in power benefit from the status quo, those with less
power may be called upon to join together to work for needed change.
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Summary
7.1 Civil Rights and Constitutionalism
Civil rights are government guarantees of equal protection under the law, regardless of membership in a group
based on a shared characteristic such as race, national origin, ethnicity, sex, gender, age, or ability. Whenever a
basic right is denied to a group based on a shared characteristic, a civil rights issue exists.
In the United States, voting is an example of a civil rights issue because certain groups, like women and Black
people, have historically been denied the right to vote. In response to changing views, the US Constitution has
been amended to expand the right to vote (suffrage) over time. Constitutionalism is a way of measuring how
well a country follows or meets the expectations of its constitution.
The countries of the world define and protect civil rights in different ways, but the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights has become an influential standard. Rights may be expressed as positive rights
or negative rights. Positive rights are opportunities and abilities that rely on the support or acceptance by
others (i.e., you can support my rights by complying with them). Negative rights, on the other hand, refer to
those freedoms no government or persons may restrict.
7.2 Political Culture and Majority-Minority Relations
Political Culture and Civil Rights
- Political culture is defined by how a nation's traditions and cultural values shape its specific political system and power dynamics.
- The majority in a society holds the primary power to either uphold or systematically discriminate against minority groups.
- Civil rights abuses often manifest through the denial of equal protection and the creation of laws that favor the majority.
- Historical examples of abuses include the forced relocation of Japanese Americans and the loss of tribal lands for Native Americans.
- Despite legal provisions for suffrage, many countries continue to limit voting access and adoption rights for marginalized groups.
The majority can have a major influence on whether the government fulfills its obligation to affirm and protect civil rights.
Political culture refers to the ways in which a countryâs traditions and cultural values create that countryâs
specific political system. A countryâs political culture, the implementation of its constitution, and power
dynamics between majority and minority groups all affect civil rights. Changes in a countryâs political culture
can impact civil rights. Majorities have the power to either protect or discriminate against the minorities in a
society. The majority can have a major influence on whether the government fulfills its obligation to affirm and
protect civil rights.
7.3 Civil Rights Abuses
Majorities have historically abused the civil rights of numerous minority groups, including LGBTQ+ persons,
persons with disabilities, people of color, women, and religious and ethnic minorities, among others. Civil
rights abuses have taken many forms including denial of equal protection to specific groups and the creation
of laws or constitutional provisions to protect certain groups in the majority while simultaneously denying
rights to political minorities. Most countries do not allow LGBTQ+ persons to adopt. The United States has
limited voting access for millions of Black people despite the presence of legal and constitutional provisions
that allegedly do not restrict suffrage. Native Americans have been denied due process and equal protection
for over 200 years. They have suffered the loss of much of their tribal land and the forced removal of children
into government-run indoctrination schools. During World War II, the US government forcibly relocated over
100,000 Japanese Americans along the West Coast into detention camps between 1942 and 1945.
7.4 Civil Rights Movements
Mechanisms of Civil Rights Change
- Collective action through mass political participation allows minority groups to exert power and achieve civil rights successes.
- Government institutionsâlegislatures, judiciaries, and executivesâare responsible for creating and enforcing civil rights protections.
- Existing power structures and political cultures can harbor inherent racism or fail to understand how intersecting minority traits compound discrimination.
- Judicial systems can implement systemic changes, such as India's public interest litigation, to allow citizens direct appeal to the federal judiciary.
- Executive branches influence civil rights through both formal executive orders and informal symbolic actions.
- The three branches of government can act as checks on one another or collaborate to either advance or suppress minority rights.
In the United States, the three branches of government may serve as checks on the other branches, as when the Supreme Court strikes down an executive order, or they may work togetherâeither for the benefit of minorities or to enforce discriminatory and abusive practices.
Just as numerical majorities have power, large groups of people, including groups made up of minority
individuals who have little power on their own, have achieved success when they came together to work for
civil rights change. These groups have engaged in mass political participation in the form of civil disobedience,
protest, marches, elections, and boycotts. Notable civil rights movements around the world include the
American civil rights movement, the Velvet Revolution, the Arab Spring, Me Too, and Black Lives Matter.
7.5 How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change?
Major government institutions, including legislatures, judiciaries, and executives, are responsible for creating,
adjudicating, and implementing civil rights protections. How effectively they can fulfill those responsibilities
depends upon the powers each branch is given under a countryâs constitution and the political culture of a
country. Further, a countryâs institutions, built on existing power structures that favor the majority, may have
inherently racist practices, and majorities in power may also lack an understanding of the way in which
7 ⢠Summary 233
multiple minority traits may intersectâfor example, for a person of color with a disabilityâcompounding
experiences of discrimination. Legislatures may pass legislation and judiciaries may rule on cases in ways that
remedy civil rights issues. They may also seek to make systemic changes, as when India introduced public
interest litigation to give citizens the ability to appeal directly to the federal judiciary and to ask judges to
intervene in political issues. Presidents and executives have the power to influence civil rights in both formal
ways, as when they sign executive orders, and in more symbolic, informal ways. In the United States, the three
branches of government may serve as checks on the other branches, as when the Supreme Court strikes down
an executive order, or they may work togetherâeither for the benefit of minorities or to enforce discriminatory
and abusive practices.
Key Terms
13th Amendment the first new amendment to the US Constitution after the Civil War; made slavery and
involuntary servitude unconstitutional
14th Amendment created birthright citizenship for anyone born in the United States, guaranteed equal
protection under the law, and mandated due process by the states
Arab Spring a series of citizen protests against the governments of Middle Eastern countries between 2010
and 2012
Black Lives Matter a civil rights movement founded in 2013 to create public awareness of and accountability
for police misconduct in the deaths of Black people
civil disobedience the nonviolent refusal to comply with a law or laws in protest of governmental policies
civil liberties limits on the governmentâs ability to restrict individual freedoms; in the United States, these are
mentioned in the Bill of Rights
civil rights government guarantees of equal protection under the law, regardless of membership in a group
based on a shared characteristic, such as race, national origin, ethnicity, sex, gender, age, or ability
constitutionalism the set of political values and norms derived from a countryâs constitution that serve as the
basis for a governmentâs authority
democracy a system of government where power is derived from the political participation of citizens and/or
residents
Dred Scott v. Sandford a Supreme Court decision that denied citizenship to all enslaved people of African
American descent, even those born in the United States
Equal Protection Clause a feature of the 14th Amendment that requires the state governments must treat all
people the same
Key Terms in Civil Rights
- Executive power is categorized into formal authority derived from constitutions and informal power generated through rhetoric and symbolic influence.
- Institutional racism is defined as the reinforcement of racist norms and values by government structures designed to perpetuate the status quo of those in power.
- The text highlights landmark Supreme Court cases such as Plessy v. Ferguson, Loving v. Virginia, and Obergefell v. Hodges that have shaped the legal landscape of equality.
- Concepts like intersectionality and the 'one-drop rule' illustrate the complex and often discriminatory ways identity has been constructed and treated in law.
- Political participation and global movements like Me Too are identified as primary drivers for instigating policy change and empowering marginalized groups.
- A distinction is made between negative rights, which limit government infringement, and positive rights, which the government is obligated to protect.
institutional racism the idea that, because government institutions are built and run by those in power, whose worldviews and goals aim to perpetuate the status quo from which they benefit, government institutions therefore reinforce norms and values that enshrine racist attitudes, policies, and practices to the detriment of marginalized groups
formal executive power the power of presidents and governors derived from constitutions; may also be
generated by laws, executive orders, and other agreements
informal executive power the power of presidents and governors derived from their ability to influence
political and civil discourse through rhetoric and symbolic representation
institutional racism the idea that, because government institutions are built and run by those in power,
whose worldviews and goals aim to perpetuate the status quo from which they benefit, government
institutions therefore reinforce norms and values that enshrine racist attitudes, policies, and practices to
the detriment of marginalized groups
intersectionality the theory that individuals may embody multiple minority traits that compound the
discrimination they experience
Korematsu v. United States a landmark Supreme Court decision that supported the wartime relocation and
incarceration of Japanese Americans despite many being American citizens by birth
LGBTQ+ an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and other identities (including
intersex and asexual)
Loving v. Virginia a landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned all state laws denying interracial
heterosexual couples the right to marry
majoritarianism a feature of government that emphasizes the role of majorities and how the strength of the
234 7 ⢠Key Terms
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majority will shapes political decisions, outcomes, and division of resources
Me Too a global civil rights movement publicizing endemic sexual harassment and sexual violence in order to
raise awareness, empower those who have been affected, and instigate policy change
negative rights rights stated as freedoms the government cannot infringe upon
Obergefell v. Hodges a landmark Supreme Court ruling that ended state bans on same-sex marriage equality
and recognized the right to marriage as a federal right for same-sex couples
one-drop rule the now-discredited, racist idea that an individual with even one ancestor of African descent
was deemed Black
Plessy v. Ferguson a landmark Supreme Court decision that denied equal access to African Americans and
reinforced segregation between White people and Black people by allowing separate accommodations and
access to housing, transportation, education, etc.
political culture the idea that a countryâs politics and policies derive in large part from its unique political
culture, which is itself a product of history, geography, religion, and other characteristics
political minority any group of individuals sharing some characteristic(s) or trait(s) who have relatively less
power than and whose rights may not be protected automatically by a majority group in power
political participation activities like voting, running for office, contributing to campaigns and parties,
protesting, lobbying, attending political events, and other processes that allow residents and citizens of a
country to be actively involved in their government
positive rights rights stated as freedoms the government must protect
reparations government-mandated financial compensation for survivors and descendants of people who
experienced civil rights violations
Civil Rights and Historical Milestones
- The text defines 'separate but equal' as a legal justification for racial segregation in the U.S. from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century.
- The Three-Fifths Compromise is highlighted as a constitutional provision that dehumanized enslaved people by counting them as a fraction of a person for political representation.
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) is established as a global standard for human rights created by the United Nations after World War II.
- The Velvet Revolution is cited as a successful 1989 nonviolent, student-led movement that challenged communist rule in Czechoslovakia.
- Review questions address the distinction between civil rights and negative rights, as well as the impact of landmark Supreme Court cases like Shelby County v. Holder.
Three-Fifths Compromise a component of the original United States Constitution that allowed enslaved people to count toward political representation according to the formula that one slave was equal to three-fifths of a free White person
separate but equal the idea, used to justify the segregation of Black people and White people in the United
States from the late 19th century into the first half of the 20th century, that separate accommodations for
individuals of different races can be equal; most often associated with Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
suffrage the right to vote, which is a civil right in the United States
Three-Fifths Compromise a component of the original United States Constitution that allowed enslaved
people to count toward political representation according to the formula that one slave was equal to three-
fifths of a free White person
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) a 1948 document created by the United Nations General
Assembly after World War II that outlines a definition of human rights; established global standards that
have since been adopted by many countries
Velvet Revolution a 1989 nonviolent, primarily student-led civil rights movement in the former
Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia) in response to communist rule
Review Questions
1 . Civil rights is defined as ________.
a. limits on the governmentâs ability to restrict individuals
b. government guarantees of equal protection under the law to guarantee a groupâs rights are not
violated or denied
c. the right to sue
d. another name for the first 10 amendments to the Constitution
2 . Which of the following is a negative right?
a. Right to privacy
b. Any power granted not to the federal government, but to states
c. Right to send children to a public school
d. Right to receive veteransâ benefits
3 . What is the primary source of civil rights protection for people with disabilities in the United States?
7 ⢠Review Questions 235
a. The Supreme Courtâs decision in Loving v. Virginia
b. An executive order from President Donald Trump
c. The Americans with Disabilities Act
d. Adherence to the United Nationsâ definition and code of conduct
4 . Civil rights changes like the recognition of same-sex marriage often require changes in a countryâs
________.
a. sovereignty
b. economy
c. political culture
d. legislature
5 . What Supreme Court decision ended historic provisions of the Voting Rights Act?
a. Brown v. Board of Education
b. Korematsu v. United States
c. Near v. Minnesota
d. Shelby County v. Holder
6 . Which president signed the order that established the policy of Japanese American internment?
a. Theodore Roosevelt
b. Franklin Roosevelt
c. Harry Truman
d. Dwight Eisenhower
7 . Which of the following statements about the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and Black Lives
Matter is correct?
a. Police brutality is the primary focus of both movements.
b. Black Lives Matter has primarily been organized via social media.
c. Equal access to public accommodation, employment, and educational opportunities was not a priority
in the 1960s.
d. Both movements originated in African American churches.
8 . What protest tactic ignited both the Velvet Revolution and the Arab Spring?
a. Terrorist bombing
b. Sit-ins
c. Letter-writing campaign
d. Suicide
9 . Define institutional racism.
a. The motivation to have the president and Congressional leadership be from different political parties
b. A specific system of redrawing congressional districts every 10 years following the Census
c. A provision of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to allow certain minorities to receive preference when it comes
to hiring
d. Racism perpetrated by social and political institutions that have the power to affect large groups of
people that belong to a racial group
Interest Groups and Political Participation
- The text transitions from civil rights review questions to the study of interest groups and political parties.
- It highlights the 1990 reparations payments to Japanese internment survivors as a key historical example of making amends for past discrimination.
- A comprehensive list of suggested readings covers diverse topics including LGBTQ politics, disability law, and the Great Migration.
- The introduction to Chapter 8 focuses on the historic 1986 election of Senator Barbara Mikulski, the first woman elected to the Senate in her own right.
- The founding of EMILYâs List illustrates how political action committees (PACs) pool resources to influence electoral outcomes.
- The chapter aims to explore the complex relationship between organized interest groups, political party agendas, and the election process.
The name, which stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast (it makes the dough rise), was a nod to the understanding that in order to be effective in elections and in politics, people need to pool their interests, activities, and resources.
10 . The $20,000 payments that the US government sent to living survivors of Japanese internment in 1990
represent what type of attempt to make amends for past discrimination?
a. Reparations
b. Court settlements
236 7 ⢠Review Questions
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c. Hush money
d. Affirmative action
Suggested Readings
Abraham, Henry J., and Barbara A. Perry, Freedom and the Court: Civil Rights and Liberties in the United
States. 8th ed. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2010.
Brettschneider, Marla, Susan Burgess, and Christine Keating, eds. LGBTQ Politics: A Critical Reader. New York:
NYU Press, 2017.
Byrne, B., C. Alexander, O. Khan, J. Nazroo, and W. Shankley. Ethnicity, Race, and Inequality in the UK: State of
the Nation. Bristol, England: Policy Press, 2020.
Colker, Ruth, and Paul D. Grossman. The Law of Disability Discrimination. 8th ed. Durham, NC: Carolina
Academic Press, 2013.
Dierenfield, Bruce. The Civil Rights Movement: Revised Edition. New York: Routledge, 2008.
Fisher, Louis, and Katy Harriger. American Constitutional Law. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2019.
Goldstein, Leslie, Judith A. Baer, Courtenay Daum, and Terri Susan Fine. The Constitutional and Legal Rights of
Women. 4th ed. Saint Paul, MN: West Academic Publishing, 2019.
Pohlmann, Marcus. Black Politics in Conservative America. 4th ed. Cornwall on Hudson, NY: Sloan Publishing,
2020.
Rothstein, Laura F., and Julia Irzyk. Disabilities and the Law. 4th ed. Rochester, NY: Lawyers Cooperative
Publishing, 2020.
Wilkerson, Isabel. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of Americaâs Great Migration. New York: Vintage,
2011.
7 ⢠Suggested Readings 237
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FIGURE 8.1 Barbara Mikulski was the first woman to be elected to the United States Senate during a regular
election cycle. She served in the US Senate for 30 years. (credit: âGoddard Congressional Visitâ by NASA/Goddard
Space Flight Center/Bill Hrybyk/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
8.1 What Is an Interest Group?
8.2 What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest Groups?
8.3 Political Parties
8.4 What Are the Limits of Parties?
8.5 What Are Elections and Who Participates?
8.6 How Do People Participate in Elections?
In 1985, twenty-five women decided to raise money to elect democratic women to the United
States Congress. A year later, in 1986, Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland became the first female Senator to
win a seat not by appointment but in her own right during a regular election cycle (Figure 8.1). Mikulskiâs
historic win was thanks in part to the efforts of those twenty-five women, who met and started a political
interest group and PAC called EMILYâs List.1 The name, which stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast (it makes
the dough rise), was a nod to the understanding that in order to be effective in elections and in politics, people
need to pool their interests, activities, and resources. EMILYâs List continues to advocate for democratic
women who are running for office and encourages its members to raise money for electoral contests.
EMILYâs List is just one example of the interwoven relationship between interest groups, political parties, and
elections. This chapter will explore the role of interest groups in politics, their pros and cons, how political
parties mobilize their own organizational agendas, and how these group-level activities intersect with political
8
Interest Groups, Political Parties,
and Elections
elections.
8.1 What Is an Interest Group?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define interest group.
Interest Groups and Policy Influence
- Interest groups are organized collectives that seek to influence political outcomes or public policies based on shared concerns.
- The history of HIV/AIDS activism demonstrates how grassroots groups can provide essential services when the government fails to act.
- Groups like ACT UP and the Lavender Hill Mob illustrate how public pressure and direct action can force federal agencies to prioritize research and funding.
- Interest groups vary significantly in scale, ranging from massive organizations like AARP with 38 million members to local political chapters.
- The influence of interest groups is a global phenomenon, with organizations in Britain and France successfully lobbying for youth investment and digital privacy.
- These organizations are generally categorized into two main types: economic groups and public interest groups.
The history of group mobilization around HIV/AIDS illustrates how interest groups can harness the cooperation and collaboration of individuals in pursuit of a common goal, but also how multiple groups can work in concert to pressure the government to act.
⢠Discuss types of interest groups.
⢠Explain and differentiate among different theories about how and why interest groups form.
⢠Explain and differentiate among different theories about how and why interest groups influence
government.
In the early 1980s at the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in America, government response to the increasing
need for medical research and assistance to HIV/AIDS patients was scant. In the absence of a federal or state-
run public health response, public interest advocacy groups such as The Gay Menâs Health Project provided
services for AIDS patients, gathering donations for food and securing shelter for those afflicted by the disease.
Almost a decade later, with still no public health response from the federal government, a group named the
Lavender Hill Mob vocally criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionâs handling of the epidemic,
storming the agencyâs planned convention on the epidemic and demanding research into drugs and
treatment. Soon other groups such as ACT UP formed, calling on the government to respond to the need for
more public education to prevent the disease and more resources for further research into ending it.2
President Ronald Reagan ultimately created the Presidential Commission on the HIV Epidemic in 1987 in
response to citizen activism and public calls for governmental involvement. The history of group mobilization
around HIV/AIDS illustrates how interest groups can harness the cooperation and collaboration of individuals
in pursuit of a common goal, but also how multiple groups can work in concert to pressure the government to
act.
FIGURE 8.2 ACT UP protests the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (credit: modification of âACT UP Demonstration
at NIHâ by NIH History Office/Flickr, Public Domain)
Interest groups are groups of people who organize in order to seek to influence a political outcome or seek to
alter public policies on the basis of a common interest or concern. The universe of interest groups is as vast in
number as it is in scope. For example, in the United States, AARP has nearly 38 million members and
advocates on behalf of Americans aged 50 and older on issues such as drug prices, health insurance, taxes, and
retirement.3 An example of a much smaller interest group is the San Francisco Democratic Party, which has
250,000 members and seeks to âengage, inform, and mobilize San Francisco Democrats.â4 Interest groups are
not unique to American politics. In Britain, UK Youth is a group, founded in 1911, that works with 4,000 youth
240 8 ⢠Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
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organizations and reaches four million youths, lobbying for investment in a variety of youth-oriented
leadership, skill acquisition, and health and wellness programs.5 The French organization La Quadrature du
Net works for a âfree, decentralized, and empowering Internetâ6 and was part of a complaint filed against
Amazon in Europe that led to an $888 million fine against the Internet commerce site for violation of customer
privacy and data protection measures.7
Types of Interest Groups
Interest groups can be organized into two general categories: economic groups and public interest or
Economic and Noneconomic Interest Groups
- Economic interest groups focus on financial and industry-specific issues such as wages, job creation, and profit maximization.
- Business and labor organizations, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the German Trade Union Confederation, represent massive memberships to influence national policy.
- Professional and agricultural groups, such as the Japan Medical Association and the Irish Farmers Association, advocate for the specific needs of specialized workforces.
- Noneconomic groups organize around social or environmental causes rather than financial gain, including organizations like Greenpeace International.
- Public interest and single-issue groups champion broader societal benefits or specific solitary policies, such as advertisement-free public spaces or rice production.
- Civil rights and ideological groups, including the NAACP and the Democratic Socialists of America, work to protect minority rights or promote specific political philosophies.
The Japan Medical Association, with 170,000 members, is considered the largest and most politically powerful medical lobby in Japan.
noneconomic groups. Economic groups focus on issues such as wages, industry protections, job creation, and
profit maximization, to name a few, and can be further sorted into subcategories such as business, labor,
agricultural, and professional. For example, the United States Chamber of Commerce is a business group that
describes itself as the worldâs largest business organization, representing companies of all sizes and
advocating for policies that help create jobs and grow the economy.8 In Canada, the Canadian Federation of
Independent Businesses lobbies for lower tax rates on small businesses and credit card rate reductions,
among other issues.9 Other types of economic groups include labor groups like the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU),10 which represents the interests of workers in health care, public services, and
property services. In Germany, which has a long history of labor groups in politics, the German Trade Union
Confederation (DGB - Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund) acts as an umbrella organization for eight labor groups
and represents the interests of close to six million German workers. It is the largest labor group in Germany
and one of the largest trade organizations in the world.11
Interest groups like the Irish Farmers Association,12 which works on behalf of agricultural workers in Ireland,
are referred to as agricultural groups. In the United States, the National Farmers Union has worked with
Congress to make school lunches permanent and to increase country-of-origin labeling protocols, to name a
few of their policy initiatives.13 Other types of interest groups include professional groups like the American
Medical Association (AMA),14 which promotes the interests of working medical professionals such as surgeons
and physicians in the United States, and the Japan Medical Association,15 which, with 170,000 members, is
considered the largest and most politically powerful medical lobby in Japan.
Noneconomic groups do not organize themselves around economic or business-oriented purposes, instead
working to advance noneconomic issues such as the environment or education. One example is Greenpeace
International, an umbrella organization representing Greenpeace offices in 27 regions and 55 countries that
all work together to promote environmental protections.16 Varieties of noneconomic groups include public
interest groups, single-issue groups, civil rights groups, and ideological groups. The Trust for Public Land, a
registered nonprofit that creates public parks and preserves outdoor spaces for public use, can be considered
a public interest group.17 The Toronto Public Space Committee, another public interest group, advocates for
ecologically responsible, advertisement-free public spaces in Toronto.18 As their name suggests, single-issue
groups champion solitary policies or issues. The Japan Rice Millers Association focuses on just thatâthe
milled rice industry. Founded in 1969, it promotes the interest of rice producers in Japan and advocates for
government assistance in ensuring increased production and distribution.19 Groups such as the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)20 and the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP)21
are civil rights groups that work to champion the rights of specific minority groups. Because the tenets of
democratic socialism drive its work and focus, the Democractic Socialists of America is considered an
ideological group. Another example of an ideological group was the Civil Human Rights Front, a pro-
democracy group in Hong Kong that protested for democratic representation and voting rights in Hong Kong.
Theories of Interest Group Formation
- The Beijing government's crackdown on the Civil Human Rights Front illustrates how state repression can force the disbanding of interest groups.
- Pluralist theory suggests that interest groups form naturally as individuals engage in collective action to compete for political power and resources.
- Disturbance theory posits that groups emerge in response to external shifts in social norms, technology, or environmental factors.
- Transaction theory challenges pluralism by arguing that political actors primarily respond to the interests of narrowly focused elites rather than broad mobilization.
- The free rider problem and the nature of collective goods often discourage individuals from exerting the energy required to mobilize into formal groups.
In other words, political actors are not influenced by groups that have mobilized to enact change so much as they are responding to the interests of narrowly focused elites.
Members of the Civil Human Rights Front were arrested and prosecuted by the Beijing government, which
claims that pro-democracy protesters are âinciting violence.â22 In the face of an intensified crackdown on
dissent, the group was forced to disband in August 2021.23
8.1 ⢠What Is an Interest Group? 241
FIGURE 8.3 The Assembly of First Nations works to protect and advance the rights and interests of First Nations
people in Canada. In this photo, A-in-chut (Shawn Atleo), hereditary Chief of the Ahousaht First Nation, returns to
his home village on July 31, 2009, after being elected Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. (credit: âA-in-
chut (Shawn Atleo) returns to his home village of Ahousahtâ by Ecotrust Canada/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Theories of Interest Group Formation
How and why do interest groups such as the NAACP or La Quadrature du Net form? Three major theories about
interest group formation allow us to better understand how interest groups form and how they function within
the political sphere. The first of these, pluralist theory, posits that multiple and diverse interests compete for
attention and resources and that political power is distributed amongst these various interests. Competition
among interests allows for the representation of a diversity of views rather than solely those of elite interests,
and it prevents single issues from dominating public discourse. In other words, individual interests can be
advanced through collective action24 (e.g., âYou and I both want more open spaces in the city; letâs get together
and advocate.â), and multiple groups compete for attention to promote change. Thus, according to pluralist
theory, interest groups form as a means for individuals to engage in collective action in support of common
goals.
Columbia University professor David Trumanâs work on disturbance theory suggests that interest groups
form in response to the changing complexity of government and society. In other words, external factors, or
âdisturbances,â cause people to form new groups. These factors can be changes in social norms,
environmental factors, or changes in technology.25 For example, 50 years ago, the idea of legalizing marijuana
was unthinkable. As social and medical norms around the use of cannabis have changed, groups such as
NORML, the Marijuana Policy Project, and the Drug Policy Alliance have formed to promote the legal use of
marijuana in a controlled market and to reduce âthe harms of both drug use and drug prohibition.â26 As global
climate change continues to make media headlines, newer and more radical groups also continue to form,
such as Britainâs Extinction Rebellion, which engaged in âthe biggest act of peaceful civil disobedience seen in
London for decades.â27
The third major theory, transaction theory, refutes the idea of pluralism. In An Exchange Theory of Interest
Groups, renowned political scientist Robert H. Salisbury argues that political actors are not influenced by
groups that have mobilized to enact change so much as they are responding to the interests of narrowly
focused elites, and that the relationship between interest groups and government is that of an exchange.28 As
University of Maryland professor Mancur Olson has argued, this idea rests on the notion that, because of the
idea of collective goods and the free rider problem, individuals will not exert extra energy to mobilize into
242 8 ⢠Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
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Interest Groups and Collective Action
- The free rider problem occurs when individuals benefit from the collective goods provided by an interest group without contributing to the effort.
- The restaurant industry serves as a case study for advocacy, where groups like One Fair Wage fight against the instability of subminimum wages and tip-pooling inequities.
- James Madison's theory of pluralism suggests that competition between various interest groups prevents any single faction from dominating the government.
- Interest groups serve as vital communication channels, helping political actors identify which issues are of greatest concern to the general public.
- Participation in these groups builds social capital and allows marginalized communities to bring neglected issues to the forefront of political discourse.
It doesnât take a calculator or a genius to see how unstable this wage is.
groups.29 In other words, while an interest group works to provide its members with collective goods (goods or
services that all members can share), there is no incentive for all members to work for those goods. Free riders
gain the benefits of membership without action.
8.2 What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest Groups?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Discuss the pros and cons of interest groups.
⢠Discuss the role interest groups play in government.
⢠Explain how interest group activity is regulated.
The next time you go to a restaurant, look at your waitstaff. They could be making less than minimum wage, or
what is called a âsubminimum wageâ of $2.13. This is due to the assumption that diners will leave a 15 to 20
percent tip that will add to their pay. It doesnât take a calculator or a genius to see how unstable this wage is.
Some diners simply donât tip, and tip distribution varies from restaurant to restaurant: while âfront of houseâ
workers (people who primarily work with diners) might receive an equal share from a pooled tip at the end of
the evening, what about line cooks or dishwashers? What if you are a server who provides excellent
serviceâwhy should you split your tip with someone who barely bothered to say hello to their customers? The
advocacy group One Fair Wage points out that the restaurant industry is the fastest growing sector of the
economy but the lowest paying and that subminimum wage practices disproportionately hurt women and
minority workers.30 During the global COVID-19 pandemic, One Fair Wage was quick to point out how the virus
obliterated income for these workers and how, in order to protect the industry, the workers also needed
protections. The group continues to advocate for strict health and safety measures for restaurant workers.
Pros of Interest Groups
Interest group participation in politics has its benefits. In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison argued that
while the threat of factions exists, a healthy representative government will ensure that no single interest
monopolizes the governmentâs attention and that competition among interests (pluralism) will ultimately
enhance democracy. From this perspective, the model of interest group activity can be seen as an ideal way to
serve the common good because it allows more voices to engage in the political process, which is part and
parcel of self-governance.
Ultimately, citizen participation in government is essential in part because political actors have difficulty
discerning what is important to the public unless the public itself is involved in the process. Interest group
activity is one way the people help the government understand which issues are of greatest concern.
Additionally, the act of citizen mobilization is thought to produce social capital, whereby relationships forged
in political and other social networks help citizens resolve collective problems. Finally, like HIV/AIDS activists
in the early 1980s, interest groups can take up issues that are marginalized by traditional political actors.
Cons of Interest Groups
The Flaws of Pluralism
- Pluralism theoretically protects diverse interests, but often leads to factionalism where small groups override the majority.
- Economic bias creates a system where socially and financially resourced groups enjoy disproportionate political influence.
- Interest group membership is skewed toward the upper-middle and upper classes who possess the time and money for political activity.
- The 'chicken or egg' nature of these groups means they naturally attract wealthy members, further isolating disadvantaged populations.
- Interest group liberalism suggests officials respond to well-organized groups based on the strength of their demands rather than societal benefit.
The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent.
Theoretically, pluralism should work to protect the interests of the many: when multiple interests strive to be
heard by governmental actors, multiple interests are also addressed. However, this can bring about problems
of factionalism, where small groups of people with shared interests work to have their wishes represented in
government despite majority interests. In other words, as Madison addressed in Federalist Paper No. 10, while
a multitude of interests may be represented, not all are heard or responded to equally, and a narrow interest
may hijack political attention at the expense of the majorityâs needs. Further, the more socially, monetarily, or
institutionally resourced an interest, the more influence it enjoys, regardless of how narrow or seemingly
obscure it might be.
This latter problem, known as economic bias, is a weakness of the interest group system. As Wesleyan
University professor E. E. Schattschneider explains, âThe flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly
8.2 ⢠What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest Groups? 243
chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent.â31 Groups that represent business or professional interests
tend to be better resourced, and though lower-class interests can be represented, interest group membership
itself is mostly skewed toward those who make up the upper-middle and upper classes, as individuals who
make up these groups tend to have more time and resources to commit to this type of political activity. In
addition, there is a âchicken or eggâ characteristic in interest group membership in that, as long as upper-
middle-class and upper-class interests are represented, these groups naturally attract individuals from these
populations and not those in more disadvantaged groups.
The theory of interest group liberalism highlights another noted weakness of the interest group system.32
Instead of a pluralistic ideal whereby issues important to various groups jostle within the public realm for
governmental response, interest group liberalism suggests that officials respond to well-organized groups not
because they are good for society but because well-organized interests simply do a better job of demanding
governmental action.
VIDEO
What Is An Interest Group?
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The Mechanics of Lobbying
- Interest groups utilize lobbying to influence political outcomes and advance specific organizational goals.
- Lobbying is categorized into inside lobbying, which focuses on direct relationships, and outside lobbying.
- Professional lobbyists often transition from government roles to private advocacy, utilizing their insider knowledge of the legislative process.
- Political Action Committees (PACs) are used to fund attendance at events with lawmakers to secure opportunities for sharing perspectives.
- Effective advocacy requires critical thinking, strong writing skills, and the ability to understand diverse stakeholder viewpoints.
Giving money doesnât mean that a member of Congress will do what you want, but it does often provide an opportunity to share your perspective on important issues.
Any group that shares an interest can form an interest group to try to advance their goals.
How Do Interest Groups Influence Government, and How Are They Regulated?
The formal work of interest groups is referred to as lobbying, the attempt by a group to influence a political
outcome. Lobbying can take on different forms, and groups often lobby different branches and types of
government. Lobbying itself can be further divided into two categories, inside lobbying and outside lobbying.
Andy Chasin, Vice President of Federal Policy and Advocacy for Blue Shield of California
Please explain what you do for your organization.
I run federal policy and advocacy for Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health insurer with more than four million
members. My job is to provide strategic advice to the company on whatâs happening in Washington, DC. I used to
work in the Senate on health care policy and now lobby both houses of Congress and work to influence the constant
flow of rulemakings coming out of administrative agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services. My
company has a political action committee (PAC) that our employees voluntarily support to allow us to attend events
with lawmakers. Giving money doesnât mean that a member of Congress will do what you want, but it does often
provide an opportunity to share your perspective on important issues. Ultimately my work is to ensure that health
care is affordable and accessible for our members and to urge lawmakers to provide a way to get everyone in
America covered in the least disruptive way possible.
What did you study in school?
I went to law school and studied politics, philosophy, and economics as an undergraduate.
What did you learn as an undergraduate that helps you in this position?
The ability to write, think critically, and understand the point of view of different stakeholders is something I use
every day.
Inside lobbying occurs when interest groups cultivate contacts and relationships within government.
Examples of inside lobbying include lobbying the legislative branch of government, such as the United States
MEET A PROFESSIONAL
244 8 ⢠Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
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Tactics of Interest Group Lobbying
- Interest groups influence the legislative and executive branches by providing testimony, drafting policy proposals, and mobilizing constituents to pressure officials.
- Lobbying the judiciary involves suggesting judicial appointees and filing amicus curiae briefs to inform judges of specific organizational positions on legal cases.
- Legal action serves as a direct lobbying tool, where groups use their resources to file lawsuits or appeals to challenge executive power or government policies.
- Outside or grassroots lobbying focuses on rallying public support through mass communication, recall efforts, and public demonstrations to pressure political actors.
- Radical activism, such as civil disobedience or extreme protests, represents a more intense form of grassroots lobbying intended to force attention on specific crises.
- The effectiveness and methods of lobbying are shaped by regional political structures, such as the prevalence of ballot initiatives in Switzerland or California.
Members of Extinction Rebellion go to extreme measures such as gluing themselves to planes in order to call attention to the climate crisis.
Congress, in order to provide testimony, suggest items for consideration, aid in the crafting of legislation, or
mobilize constituents to write their members of Congress to support or vote against certain bills. Interest
groups also lobby other parts of government, including the executive branch. They do so by working with
federal agencies, executive appointees, and in the case of the United States, even the White House to do much
of the same work they do when lobbying Congress. This work includes identifying or introducing specific
pieces of legislation that will further their cause, providing information for or writing drafts of policy
proposals, and mobilizing constituent support. Groups such as the aforementioned One Fair Wage lobby state
and local governments to raise state minimum wages for tipped workers, for example.
Interest group lobbying of the judicial system differs from lobbying of other branches because the courts do
not write or pass legislation. As such, groups work to influence the judicial branch in other ways. The first is
connected to ways groups lobby the other two branches in that interest groups can try to influence judicial
appointments by suggesting possible appointees for the other two branches to nominate and confirm. Interest
groups also use amicus curiae, or friend of the court, briefs, to lobby the judiciary. Using amicus curiae briefs,
groups file official positions to make known to judges and justices their official positions on cases being heard
before a court. Depending on the case and the group, interest groups can also use their resources to file cases
in lower courts or have appeals heard in higher courts such as the Supreme Court. A recent example is Sierra
Club v. Trump, in which the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), acting on behalf of the Sierra Club and
Southern Border Communities Coalition, filed suit against President Trump for his use of executive power to
fund and build a wall on the southern border of the United States.33 In this instance, three interest groups
joined in a case against the executive branch of the government.34 The case, which started in a lower district
court, was appealed and made it to the Supreme Court, though the case was dismissed after President Biden
rescinded Trumpâs executive order to divert funding for the wall.35
Interest groups also utilize tactics such as outside lobbying, also known as indirect lobbying or grassroots
lobbying, which entails rallying public support in order to pressure political actors to consider their causes. In
outside lobbying, groups call upon their own members as well as the general public to take up the mantle of
their cause through a show of public support. The movement to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom is an
example of this type of grassroots lobbying.36 The arrest and conviction of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, a group
of activists who entered Kings Bay military facility in the state of Georgia to protest the use of the governmentâs
nuclear arsenal, is an example of how protests and radical activism can be considered a more extreme form of
grassroots lobbying.37 Members of Extinction Rebellion go to extreme measures such as gluing themselves to
planes in order to call attention to the climate crisis.38
Inside and outside lobbying can look different in Europe. In Switzerland, for example, ballot initiatives, where
constituents vote directly on pieces of legislation, alter how interest groups work. The recall effort of California
Governor Newsom is also an example of a ballot initiative. Interest groups may be less reliant on policy makers
Interest Groups and PAC Funding
- Interest groups in certain systems like Switzerland often act as gatekeepers to block legislation rather than advocating for new laws.
- Political Action Committees (PACs) serve as the official fundraising arms for interest groups with specific contribution limits per candidate.
- Fast food corporations like Taco Bell, Wendy's, and McDonald's utilize PACs to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to political candidates.
- Super PACs differ from standard PACs by allowing for unlimited spending as long as they do not explicitly coordinate with a candidate.
- Data shows a massive escalation in Super PAC spending, rising from $125 million in 2010 to over $2.1 billion in the 2020 election cycle.
For example, when you bite into a hard taco or a gordita from Taco Bell, did you know that you could be contributing to a political candidate?
and inside lobbying when they have the option to appeal directly to the public, though studies have shown that
the work of lobbying groups tends to be more negative than positive in nature. In other words, instead of
lobbying for legislative change, interest groups in Switzerland can act as gatekeepers, working to block laws
that are not in the groupâs interests.39
In addition to lobbying, interest groups also work to raise and donate funds to directly decide the outcomes of
elections. A groupâs official fundraising arm is called a political action committee (PAC). PACs can accept up to
$5,000 from any single individual and can contribute the same amount to a single candidate or $15,000 to a
party. PACs, like interest groups, cover all sorts of interests. For example, when you bite into a hard taco or a
gordita from Taco Bell, did you know that you could be contributing to a political candidate? Between 2018 and
2020, the political action committee for Taco Bell, called TACO PAC, raised and donated over $100,000 dollars
to Republican candidates and $2,500 to Democrats.40 The PAC describes itself this way: âTACO PAC provides a
way for individuals to join their contributions and voice with those of other supporters in the quick-serve
franchise restaurant industry including owners and operators.â41 Taco Bell is not the only fast food franchise
to contribute to political candidates. In the same election cycle, Wendyâs contributed over $100,000, while
8.2 ⢠What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest Groups? 245
McDonaldâs gave $500,000.42 PACs such as TACO PAC are regulated in how much they can give to candidates
and parties, and they are required to fully disclose their donors. Unlike PACs, super PACs are fundraising
groups that can raise and spend unlimited funds provided they do not explicitly coordinate with a candidate.
In the 2020 election cycle, super PAC spending totaled over $2 billion.43
Super PAC Spending
2010 $125 Million
2012 $1.2 Billion
2014 $390 Million
2016 $1.5 Billion
2018 $822 Million
2020 $2.1 Billion
Total
$6.5 Billion
TABLE 8.1 Year-over-
year super PAC
spending (source:
Center for Responsive
Politics)
Super PACs and Lobbying Ethics
- Super PACs emerged from the 2010 Citizens United ruling, which protected independent political spending as a form of free speech.
- These committees can raise unlimited funds from corporations and unions, often involving 'dark money' from anonymous donors or shell companies.
- While official records show a decline in registered lobbyists, experts suggest the actual population of influencers may be as high as 100,000.
- Legislative efforts like the 2007 Honest Leadership and Open Government Act and Biden's 2021 executive order aim to curb the 'revolving door' between government and lobbying firms.
- International lobbying regulations, such as those in the EU and Germany, often face criticism for being voluntary or lacking strict enforcement mechanisms.
Critics of this ruling complain that it has led to the rampant rise of super PACs, which empower the wealthiest donors and receive dark money.
Super PACs are not without controversy. Also referred to as independent expenditure-only committees, super
PACs can raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations, and individuals and then
spend the money to campaign for or against candidates or ballot initiatives. The âbirthâ of super PACs came
about in 2010 as a result of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission,44 when the Supreme Court ruled
that âlimiting âindependent political spendingâ from corporations and other groups violates the First
Amendment right to free speech.â45 Critics of this ruling complain that it has led to the rampant rise of super
PACs, which empower the wealthiest donors and receive dark money, which is when super PACs receive
donations from shell corporations (companies or corporations that exist only on paper for monetary purposes
and that, while they have no office and no employees, may have bank accounts) or donors who do not disclose
their identities. Super PAC and dark money donations have only grown since the Citizens United ruling.
Interest groups and their lobbyistsâas well as wealthy elitesâfuel PAC and super PAC activity. As such, part of
regulating interest group activity means monitoring lobbyists and the work they perform, be it inside or
outside lobbying. However, the number of lobbyists that work to influence the government is a point of
contention. Between 2009 and 2019, the number contracted from roughly 13,000 to around 11,000, but
American University professor James Thurber refutes these numbers, explaining that they represent
registered lobbyists rather than the entirety of the lobbyist population, which he calculates to be closer to
100,000.46 The latest attempt to reform lobbying practices, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
of 2007, placed tighter restrictions on campaign contributions through PACs and on campaign travel and
adjusted definitions of what constitutes a lobbyist, whether an âin-houseâ lobbyist who works within an
organization or an âoutsideâ lobbyist who is hired to represent interest groups. Among other changes, the act
included so-called ârevolving door bans,â which require elected officials to wait at least a year after serving in
government before joining a lobbying firm, and limited the monetary value of gifts lobbyists can receive.47 On
January 20, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order further strengthening lobbying regulations,
pledging an executive branch ârevolving door banâ of two years and banning golden parachutes, exit bonuses
246 8 ⢠Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
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that reward executives leaving private companies upon entering federal government positions, among other
restrictions.48
The United States is not the only government to contend with the ethics of lobbyists. While the EU developed
the European Transparency Initiative (ETI) in 2005 to enhance transparency in EU policy making and boost
confidence in decision-making processes, scholars like University of Pittsburgh law professor William
Luneburg point out that these regulations are not enforced and require minimal information (who they
represent, for example) on the part of the lobbyist, and in countries such as Germany, Georgia, Lithuania, and
Poland, lobbyist registration is wholly voluntary and thus lacks teeth in terms of acting as an enforcement
measure.49
8.3 Political Parties
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define political party.
⢠Explain the purpose and activities of political parties.
⢠Differentiate among different types of political parties and systems.
Political Parties and Scottish Independence
- The Scottish National Party (SNP) is a center-left organization increasingly defined by its push for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.
- Demographic data shows a significant generational divide, with 70 percent of Scots under age 35 supporting a break from Britain.
- Political parties are distinguished from interest groups by their primary goal of controlling government from within through the election of their own members.
- Scholars suggest that political parties serve as essential mechanisms for collective action and act as counterweights to the influence of external interest groups.
- Global party systems vary significantly, ranging from the American two-party system to Japan's single-party dominance and China's non-democratic ruling party.
Political parties are a means by which people agree to behave cooperatively over the long term so as to secure benefits that they would not have been able to gain as individuals.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) is Scotlandâs largest political party. It describes itself as âcenter left and
social democratic.â50 The SNP supports policies such as expanding government-provided health care and
removing Britainâs nuclear submarine program off the shores of Scotland, but it is also increasingly associated
with a single focus, Scottish independence from Britain. Though a recent Panelbase poll indicated that support
for Scottish independence has cooled, numbers also illustrate that 70 percent of Scotts under the age of 35
think Scotland should abandon the United Kingdom.51 After winning three consecutive majority terms in
Scottish parliament, current SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has promised a referendum, an election in which the
voters decide whether to overturn existing law or policy, on Scottish independence in 2023.
VIDEO
What Happens if Scotland Leaves Britain?
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parties)
This video from The Economist considers the movement for Scottish independence and the potential
consequences if it is successful.
What Are Political Parties?
How do political parties work? Political parties are groups that organize around a shared political ideology,
with the primary goal of electing party members to positions in government. Political parties have a lot in
common with interest groups. Like interest groups, political parties operate to influence policy makers.
However, political parties differ from interest groups in one crucial way. While PACs donate to certain
candidates, interest groups ultimately work with any elected official if they feel doing so will meet their policy
ends. In contrast, political parties seek to control the government from within by getting as many of their party
members elected as possible.
Like interest groups, parties form in response to the need for collective action. Their activities allow candidates
to reach and mobilize individual voters, or as Indiana University professor Marjorie Randon Hershey writes,
political parties are a means by which people agree to behave cooperatively over the long term so as to secure
benefits that they would not have been able to gain as individuals.52 Tufts University professor Jeffrey Berry
and Georgetown University professor Clyde Wilcox contend that political parties act as counterweights to
interest groups, curbing too much external influence over government.53 Political parties and interest groups
8.3 ⢠Political Parties 247
can be seen as partners in many of their activities when it comes to getting candidates elected. For example,
the Republican Party in the United States has long maintained ties with conservative Christian groups in order
to recruit and organize voters, and the election of President Trump was no exception; some claim that since
the 1970s, no Republican candidate could win a nomination for president without the mobilization efforts of
religious figures such as televangelist Jerry Falwell.54
In the United States, political parties have taken different forms and different names, but the country has
steadily maintained a two-party system. However, Japan, one of the oldest democracies in Asia, is an example
of a party system where a single dominant party (the Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP) has been in place for
decades despite a fully competitive electoral system.55 This contrasts with China, which has one ruling party
(the Chinese Communist Party) but has no democractic elections.
Women in the US Congress
FIGURE 8.4 Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives (credit: âIMG_5003â by Senate Democrats/
Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The Evolving American Political Landscape
- The 2020 election marked a historic shift in representation, with women making up nearly half of congressional candidates and securing a record 25 percent of seats.
- Political parties serve as massive financial engines, with U.S. parties raising nearly $2 billion in the 2020 cycle to influence policy outcomes.
- A primary function of political parties is voter registration, a task made difficult by the lack of automatic registration in the United States.
- Social and political crises significantly impact party membership, as seen in the Republican Party's loss of 140,000 members following the January 6 Capitol riots.
- The COVID-19 pandemic severely hindered political engagement, causing a 38 percent decrease in voter registration across many states compared to 2016.
However, the gains the party made during the run-up to the election were lost after the Capitol Hill riots on January 6, 2021, with the New York Times reporting that 140,000 members left the Republican Party in the 25 states that have readily available data.
Leading up to the general election in 2020, the United States saw a sea change in the makeup of candidates seeking
political office, in which almost half of the candidates seeking congressional seats were women (204 of 435.)56
Considering the adage âYou canât win if you donât run,â it is significant that so many female candidates sought
elected office, reflecting trends in representation in society in general. Women now make up just over a quarter of
the members of the 117th Congress, a record in American history and a 50 percent increase from a decade ago.57
Additionally, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is not only the first woman to hold the position, she is the only
woman to hold it twice.
Central Party Activities
In addition to working to choose and elect candidates, parties serve other practical functions. Political parties,
like interest groups and their PACs, raise money for campaigns. By electing members of their parties to
government, parties work to garner a majority coalition in order to direct policy outcomes, and in the United
States, money in elections continues to grow. In the 2020 election cycle, both parties raised close to $2 billion
to distribute to various candidates and their campaigns.58 In 2018, the aforementioned Liberal Democratic
Party raised ÂĽ2.46 billion (or roughly $22 million) to fund campaigns in Japan despite the assumption that the
party would continue to dominate the political system.59
Parties are instrumental in identifying potential members, and registering new voters is a key component of
THE CHANGING POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
248 8 ⢠Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
Access for free at openstax.org
their work. Because American voters are not automatically registered to vote and, depending on their state of
residence, may be required to register with a party in order to vote in a political primary, political parties
shoulder the important burden of finding new voters to participate in elections. While close to half of voters in
the United States register to vote in their states when they apply for a driverâs license, political parties try to
make up the difference by registering as many members to their own parties as they can. In the 2020 election
cycle, the Republican Party added close to 150,000 new voters in Florida and 30,000 additional voters in
Arizona.60 However, the gains the party made during the run-up to the election were lost after the Capitol Hill
riots on January 6, 2021, with the New York Times reporting that 140,000 members left the Republican Party
in the 25 states that have readily available data.61 The death of George Floyd in early summer of 2020 may
have spurred additional Democractic registration throughout several states including Michigan and
Minnesota.62 However, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School notes that overall
registration pales in comparison to 2016 for both parties in large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The
center found that voter registration decreased by 38 percent in 17 of 21 states it analyzed.63
FIGURE 8.5 Minnesota voter registration rose in the summer of 2020 in reaction to the murder of George Floyd.
(source: https://insights.targetsmart.com/september -15-2020-democrats-voter-registration-advantage-increases-
in-midwestern-states-home-to-protests.html; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA
4.0 license)
Functions and Structures of Party Systems
- Political parties serve as essential gatekeepers by vetting and recruiting candidates for election, a function Professor Lester G. Seligman calls a basic party necessity.
- Candidate recruitment methods vary globally, with the UK favoring local government experience while US parties increasingly share this role with influential interest groups.
- The United States maintains a traditional two-party system where only two major parties have a realistic chance of wielding national political control.
- The United Kingdom is transitioning from a two-party dominant system toward a multiparty structure due to the rise of regional and smaller influential parties.
- Germany's political history illustrates a shift from a single-party Nazi and East German rule to a modern, diverse six-party coalition government.
- Single-party systems persist in the modern era in nations such as China, Cuba, and Eritrea, where one party controls all levers of government power.
A party that cannot nominate candidates is toothless in its power.
Political parties also vet and recruit candidates for election, and a party that cannot nominate candidates is
toothless in its power.64 Univerity of Illinois professor Lester G. Seligman echoed this sentiment, calling
candidate recruitment a basic function of a political party.65 The extent to which parties perform this function
varies by country. The United Kingdom is an example of a parliamentary system where parties play an
important role in candidate recruitment, with elected officials often cutting their teeth in local government
before being considered for a seat in Parliament.66 In the United States, candidate recruitment is increasingly
seen as a responsibility political parties and interest groups share, with the latter taking on more of the
gatekeeping role in recent years thanks to their organizational powers and ability to gather resources and
mobilize supporters.67
Contemporary Party Systems
Throughout its political history, the United States has had what is considered a two-party system. Over time
the two parties have taken on different forms and names, starting with the Federalists and the Democratic
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8.3 ⢠Political Parties 249
Republican parties, then the Whigs and the Democrats, and now the Democrats and Republicans. While third
parties like the Green Party and Democratic Socialists certainly exist, the United States is considered a two-
party system since only two parties have a realistic chance of wielding political control. Similarly, in the United
Kingdom, the Conservative Party (Tories) and the Labour Party enjoyed long-standing dominance throughout
the 20th century. However, the emergence of the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK (or the âBrexit Partyâ), and
smaller influential parties at the local and regional level has altered the United Kingdomâs traditional two-
party system, making it look more like a multiparty system.68 Germany provides another interesting example
of a multiparty system. Prior to Adolf Hitlerâs rise, over a dozen political parties held seats in the German
government. After the rise of Nazi Germany, the country became a single-party government (Third Reich), and
this single party structure remained in place from 1933 to 1945, until the end of the Second World War.69
Germany subsequently broke into two separate countries, East and West Germany. A single party, the Socialist
Unity Party of Germany, ruled East Germany. During this era, several parties grew in West Germany, including
the Christian Democratic Union, and after the reunification of Germany in 1990, Christian Democratic Union
majority party leader Helmut Kohl led the government. Then, in 2016, the outcome of the German election led
to a âsix-party government,â70 with power sharing between the Social Democrats, Alternative for Germany
(AfD), the Christian Democrats, the Left, the Green, and the Free Democrats. Single-party systems still exist
today; though China has multiple registered minority parties, it is considered a single-party system where the
Communist Party has controlled all levers of government since its rise to power in 1949.71 Similarly, Cuba has
been a single-party Communist state since 1959.72 Eritrea, in Northeast Africa, has also been ruled by a single
party, The Peopleâs Front for Democracy and Justice, and a single leader, President Isaias Afwerki, since
1993.73
8.4 What Are the Limits of Parties?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain trends showing the decline of the party system.
⢠Discuss the weaknesses of the party system in the United States.
⢠Describe patterns of party decline around the world.
The Rise of Candidate-Centered Campaigns
- Political parties have historically controlled candidate recruitment, voter mobilization, and campaign funding.
- The influence of parties has declined since the late 1980s, leading to a 'power vacuum' in American politics.
- Entrepreneurial candidates now bypass traditional party structures by self-funding or using personal media platforms.
- Ross Perot's 1992 campaign serves as a landmark example of a candidate-centered run that captured 20 percent of the popular vote.
- Critics argue that the shift toward grassroots power and populist politics has eroded trust in democratic institutions.
- Figures like Donald Trump represent the culmination of this trend, running outside traditional party platforms to garner mass attention.
These types of âentrepreneurialâ candidates further weaken party influence in that they do not need to depend on the party for resources in order to launch a campaign or reach voters.
Historically, political parties have held considerable power in recruiting candidates, mobilizing voters, and
securing funds for nominees. Many Americansâ image of party politics involves William Tweed, or âBoss
Tweed,â a 19th-century Democratic Party operative who used corrupt methods to exert power and influence
within New York City politics. He remains a significant figure in American political history as an example of the
height of both the potential corruption and power of the party system, a system that some argue has begun its
descent in terms of its ability to fulfill its basic roles.
The Decline of Parties and the Rise of Candidate-Centered Campaigns in the United States
What is the current state of political parties? University of California professor Martin Wattenburg and Harvard
University professor Thomas E. Patterson argue that since the late 1980s, the United States has seen a rise in
what is called the candidate-centered campaign. This is the idea that the declining influence of political
parties and their decreased ability to mobilize votersâ opinions and actions has set voters politically adrift, and
that candidates themselves have stepped in to fill the power vacuum.74 These types of âentrepreneurialâ
candidates further weaken party influence in that they do not need to depend on the party for resources in
order to launch a campaign or reach voters.75 There is no better example of a candidate-centered campaign
than that of Ross Perot, a self-made billionaire who funded his own run for president as a third-party candidate
against George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton in 1992.76 Perot did not win the election, but he managed to take 20
percent of the popular vote. Yale University professor Ian Shapiro bemoans this trend in candidate-centered
campaigns and the weakening party system. According to Yale News reporter Mike Cummings, âthe transfer of
political power to the grassroots has eroded trust in politicians, parties, and democratic institutions,
250 8 ⢠Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
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culminating in the rise of divisive, populist politics in the United States and abroad.â77 Former President
Donald J. Trump is also an example of a candidate who ran outside of the traditional Republican Party
platform, who was able to garner media attention despite his inexperience with politics, and who very much
manifested this idea of the candidate-centered campaign.
FIGURE 8.6 Ross Perot (right), shown here with Presidents Bill Clinton (left) and George H. W. Bush (center), was a
third-party candidate for president in 1992. (credit: âP37161-12â by George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and
Museum, Public Domain)
The Decline of Political Parties Around the World
The Global Decline of Political Parties
- Political party membership and activism are experiencing a long-term decline across established European democracies and the United States.
- Traditional party structures have been weakened by the rise of candidate-centered campaigns, deindustrialization, and new communication technologies.
- A significant 'flip' in party alliance has occurred where highly educated voters now support the left, while working-class voters increasingly support conservative policies.
- The erosion of traditional party systems has directly contributed to the rise of populist leaders in countries like Venezuela, Peru, and Indonesia.
- Institutional failings, such as reliance on patronage and being too close to the state, have alienated ordinary citizens from established elite groups.
Party alliance has flipped: those with higher education and income levels tend to be more liberal and support candidates on the left while working-class and less educated voters support conservative policies.
Political parties have weakened not just in the United States, but across the globe. European University
Institute professor Peter Mair and Leiden University professor Ingrid van Biezen found both that levels of party
membership have declined as a proportion of the electorate and that there has been a major decline in the
absolute numbers of party members across all the long-established European democracies.78 University of
Essex professor Paul Whiteley likewise describes a well-documented, long-term decline in party activism
across Europe and attributes this trend to parties being too close to the state and no longer working to recruit
and rely on membership for their work.79 Other reasons for the global decline of parties include the rise of
candidate-centered campaigns (as in the United States), economic factors like deindustrialization, and the rise
of communications technologies as an alternative to traditional groups.80 The declining salience of class as an
identity in political mobilization is also a factor in the decline in party identification, as seen in the United
States and in countries like France and Britain, where left-wing parties have seen a decline in working-class
voters. In all three countries, voters with low incomes and lower levels of education had tended to support left-
of-center parties, while high-income, highly educated voters had aligned with those of the right; however, as
London School of Economics and School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences professor Thomas Piketty
has pointed out, this is no longer the case. Party alliance has flipped: those with higher education and income
levels tend to be more liberal and support candidates on the left while working-class and less educated voters
support conservative policies.81 The outgrowth of this trend has, according to Piketty, also led to a rise in
populism, or the appeal on the part of public leaders to the belief by ordinary people that established elite
groups disregard their concerns.82
In countries such as Venezuela and Peru, the collapse of the party system is attributed to a myriad of causes
including but not limited to corruption, lowered party identification, weakened party organizations, and
ideological underrepresentation.83 Seawright notes that in the case of Venezuela, traditional parties
dominated politics throughout the 1980s before losing power in the 1990s and culminating in the rise of Hugo
8.4 ⢠What Are the Limits of Parties? 251
ChĂĄvez, a charismatic, populist leader who took the country from moderate US ally to âconfrontational populist
leftism.â84 Similar party weakening has occurred in Indonesia. While party coalitions were meant to facilitate
cooperation among different parties, the party system in Indonesia was ultimately weakened by its reliance on
patronage (giving government jobs to family and supporters), an institutional failing that academics suggest
led to the rise of populist leaders such as President Joko Widodo.85
8.5 What Are Elections and Who Participates?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define the term election.
⢠Explain why elections are important to democracy and popular participation.
⢠Describe some weaknesses of popular elections.
⢠Discuss who votes in elections.
The Role of Elections
- Elections serve as formal decision-making processes ranging from local student bodies to national presidencies.
- Beyond selecting individuals for office, elections allow citizens to choose between specific policy preferences.
- Frequent elections are essential to representative democracy as they ensure a 'sympathy' between the government and the electorate.
- The competitive nature of elections forces candidates to be transparent about their objectives and plans.
- Elections act as a marketplace where voters can 'comparison shop' among candidates and interest groups.
Frequent elections are unquestionably the only policy by which this dependence and sympathy can be effectually secured.
Elections take many forms, from student body elections where a group of peers elect one of their own to
represent their interests within their school, to a national election that selects a countryâs president. An
election is a formal decision-making process in which groups determine which individuals will hold public
office. In certain states and countries, elections are a means for citizens to select among policy preferences. As
Rutgers University professor Gerald Pomper writes, elections are a positive means by which groups can seek
particular goals.86
Why Are Elections Important to Representative Democracy?
Frequent elections are a hallmark of any representative democracy because they allow elected members of
government to understand the will of the people and they give people the opportunity to select these
representatives and policies based on their preferences. From an American perspective, as Madison writes in
Federalist Paper No. 52, âFrequent elections are unquestionably the only policy by which this dependence and
sympathy can be effectually secured.â87 In other words, if voters are expected to depend upon and trust their
representatives, frequent elections are necessary to ensure the government understands the electorateâs
needs. Elections can also be seen as competitions where interest groups and political parties use their
resources to convince groups of voters to vote for certain candidates over others.88 The competitive nature of
elections allows voters to âcomparison shopâ and forces candidates to be open about their objectives and
plans. Competitive elections encourage voters to make electoral decisions, and these collective decisions
should work to move elected officials in one direction over another in order to maintain their roles.
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Social Responsibility and Elections
The Dynamics of Civic Engagement
- Elections serve as a primary bridge between political science theory and tangible civic action, offering citizens a direct voice in the democratic process.
- Civic engagement extends beyond the ballot box to include poll working, voter registration efforts, and active campaign volunteering.
- The economic theory of adverse selection applies to voting, where candidates often possess significantly more information about their true quality than the electorate.
- Information asymmetry is frequently exploited by well-funded interests, as seen in high-spending corporate campaigns to influence ballot initiatives.
- The concept of moral hazard in elections suggests that voting is an act of faith, carrying the risk that an official may not govern as promised or expected.
- Systemic issues such as voter suppression and the exorbitant cost of American elections can discourage participation and undermine democratic health.
In this way, voting is an act of faith and one that may bring you, the voter, risk or disappointment down the road.
FIGURE 8.7 âI Votedâ sticker (credit: "I Voted" by The Marmot/Flickr, CC BY)
As students of political science, we are often challenged with explaining how the various fields, theories, and topics
we study can translate into something tangibly relevant to the world outside of political science. This link is
particularly clear when studying elections since elections give us the opportunity to directly take part in the
democratic process through a particular form of civic engagement: voting. Voting, however, is not the only form of
civic engagement related to elections. Individuals can also volunteer to work at the polls on Election Day, they can
work to help register voters, and they can also volunteer to support the campaign of a preferred candidate. By
participating in elections, we each have a chance to have our own voice heard within the halls of power through the
selection of elected officials as well as voting on referenda and constitutional amendments. Each of us should strive
to understand the role we play in our own community, how our communities intersect with other communities, and
the importance of engaging in the civic life of all levels of government.
What Are Some Problems with Elections?
Elections are not without their problems. In economics, the theory of adverse selection refers to the idea that
sellers, not buyers, have the upper hand when it comes to information, especially when it comes to product
quality. For example, when a family goes to a shelter to select a puppy, they tend to know relatively little about
the puppyâs lineage, what kind of environment it was born or raised in, and what the puppy is like day to day.
The family has only limited information to help them decide which puppy to select, much as limited
information impairs votersâ ability to make choices about policies and candidates. For example, a recent ballot
initiative in California asked voters to decide if drivers of rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft are
employees or contractors. The two companies spent $205 million dollars to persuade voters to exempt them
from treating their drivers as workers.89 Since voters cannot fully educate themselves on everything they must
vote on, the information asymmetry can often benefit the candidate or, in this case, the companies that can
spend the most on communicating with potential voters. This example also sheds light on the problematic
costs of elections. As mentioned, the last presidential election cost $14 billion, all to persuade voters to cast a
ballot a certain way. As we will discuss later in the chapter, how and when elections occur varies around the
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8.5 ⢠What Are Elections and Who Participates? 253
world, but the high cost of elections is a uniquely American problem.
Elections also shed light on the problems of moral hazard. In terms of elections, a moral hazard is the risk a
voter takes that a chosen candidate may not, once elected, act in the way the voter hopes, or as Pomper notes,
âElections have been held harmful because they actually promote the unqualified.â In this way, voting is an act
of faith and one that may bring you, the voter, risk or disappointment down the road, particularly if a voter
decides to take a chance on a candidate without experience or a candidate who performs well in an election
but is not necessarily equipped to govern. Voters may consciously or subconsciously react to the problems of
adverse selection and moral hazards by not voting at all. Voter suppression is defined as election practices or
policies that discourage or prevent specific groups of people from voting and is another problem voters face in
elections around the globe.
Voter Suppression and Participation Trends
- Illiberal ruling parties in the EU often discourage political participation from expatriates to avoid electoral threats.
- The United States has a persistent history of voter suppression, ranging from Jim Crow laws to modern restrictions on mail-in ballots and stricter ID requirements.
- Voter turnout is defined by the difference between the Voting Eligible Population (VEP) and the smaller pool of registered voters.
- The United States ranks significantly lower in voter turnout compared to other democratic nations, placing 30th out of 35 OECD countries.
- Demographic data shows that wealthy, older, and educated White citizens are the most likely to vote, while younger and minority groups show lower participation rates.
Illiberal ruling parties know that these diaspora groups could hurt them electorally and avoid encouraging, or have taken steps actively to discourage, their political participation.
For example, 17 million EU citizens live and work in another EU country, yet
âvoting patterns in Italy, Hungary, Poland, and Greece show the extent to which EU expatriatesâ political rights
have been eroded. Illiberal ruling parties know that these diaspora groups could hurt them electorally and
avoid encouraging, or have taken steps actively to discourage, their political participation.â90 The United
States has a regrettable history with voter suppression, as illustrated with Jim Crow laws in the South that
barred minorities from voting through the use of literacy tests, poll taxes, and mass purges of Black voters
from registration lists. States continue to engage in voter suppression, and the Brennan Center for Justice
reports that between January and May of 2021, 14 states enacted 22 new laws that restrict access to the polls,
including restrictions on mail-in ballots, making mail-in ballot deadlines earlier, and making voter ID laws
stricter.91 Opponents of these laws explain that minorities are often the targets of such laws, as they do not
have the time or resources to fulfill the necessary voter ID requirements or onerous time deadlines imposed by
such laws. Voter suppression has been cited as a cause for lower turnout among minorities in states that enact
these regulations.
Who Participates in Elections?
The number of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election is referred to as voter turnout. Note that there is
a difference between eligible voters and registered voters. In the United States, the voting eligible
population (VEP) is all citizens who have reached the minimum age to vote, regardless of registration status,
excluding people who are not eligible to vote, such as noncitizens and, in certain states, convicted felons.
Registered voters, on the other hand, are voters who have reached the legal voting age, have their names on a
voter registration list, and meet the requirements set by their state or jurisdiction in order to vote. The number
of registered voters in the United States is lower than the number of eligible voters, and the number of
registered voters who actually vote is lower still. The number of adults who participated in elections in the
United States in the last 20 years hovered between a low of 52 percent and a high of 66 percent in the 2020
presidential election.92 America has low voter turnout relative to other democratic countries, ranking 30th out
of 35 OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries.93
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FIGURE 8.8 Country-by-country comparison of voter turnout (source: Pew Research and Global News Reports;
attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Who votes in American elections? In short, wealthy, older, educated Whites are the most likely demographic
group to turn out to vote, while Asians, Hispanic Americans, those with less than a high school degree, and
voters under the age of 24 have among the lowest turnout rates. Though the number of eligible voters has
grown throughout the nationâs history, the disparity among groups still exists for many reasons.
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8.5 ⢠What Are Elections and Who Participates? 255
FIGURE 8.9 Voting in the United States by demographic group (source: US Census Bureau, Current Population
Survey, November Supplement, 2008 to 2020; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA
4.0 license)
Barriers to Voter Participation
- Political scientist Arend Lijphart identifies election frequency and weekday scheduling as primary institutional causes for low American voter turnout.
- The concept of 'voter fatigue' suggests that the constant cycle of local, state, and national elections leaves citizens feeling apathetic or disengaged.
- Unlike many European and South American nations where registration is automatic, the United States places the burden of registration on the individual citizen.
- Voter turnout significantly drops during off-year elections when there is no presidential race to drive public interest.
- Variations in state laws, such as registration deadlines ranging from same-day to 30 days prior, create inconsistent access to the polls across the country.
The frequency of elections leads to what some call voter fatigue, whereby the demands of multiple elections leave voters feeling apathetic or disengaged.
In his seminal work on voter participation, University of California professor Arend Lijphart provides insights
into the multiplicity of reasons for low voter turnout in the United States. These include the frequency of
elections, off-year elections, holding elections on weekdays, and voter registration rules.94 The frequency of
elections leads to what some call voter fatigue, whereby the demands of multiple elections leave voters feeling
apathetic or disengaged. With presidential elections every four years, congressional elections every two years,
plus a multitude of local, state, and special elections, Americans face too many choices too many times.
Subsequent studies have supported the claim that the frequency of elections depressed voter turnout in other
countries as well.95 In the United States, there is also a marked drop-off in participation during off-year
elections, when there is no presidential race, only state and local races. Election frequency is also posited as
the reason for low voter turnout in Switzerland, which at roughly 40 percent turnout and despite compulsory
voting, has one of the lowest percentages of voting-eligible people in a developed country who cast ballots in a
national election.96 Some suggest that an Election Day holiday, where voting day is a national holiday or
voters vote on a weekend, would boost turnout in the United States. Typically, US elections are held during the
week, when most people have work or school commitments, whereas countries such as Japan vote on Sundays.
The set of conditions voters must meet and be able to prove in order to be eligible to vote, known as voter
registration requirements, are also often cited as a reason for low voter participation in the United States.
Unlike in other countries, such as Japan, China, and most of Europe and South America, where voter
registration is automatic, voter registration is not compulsory in the United States. Many argue that leaving the
onus of registration on the voter prevents easy access to the polls. Voter registration requirements also vary
widely across states. Twenty-one states allow individuals to register and vote on the same day, while five states
have automatic voter registration systems. The remaining states require voters to register anywhere between a
week and 30 days prior to the election.97
In addition to institutional barriers, there are other explanations for why people do not vote, including declines
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256 8 ⢠Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
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Social Capital and Global Elections
- Social capital, defined as networks that help citizens solve collective problems, is linked to lower crime rates and higher trust in government.
- Declining trust in government and perceptions of electoral system corruption are directly correlated with lower voter turnout.
- Encouraging group membership fosters community involvement, which has been shown to increase civic participation across multiple democratic nations.
- The 2004 Afghan presidential election serves as a landmark case of democratic participation despite threats of extremist violence and difficult terrain.
- The election of Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan defied expectations by transcending traditional ethnic, ideological, and linguistic cleavages.
Global media carried pictures of jubilant Afghans, their thumbs stained with purple ink that signified they had voted, and these pictures reminded all of us how important elections are in a democracy.
in social capital and trust of government. Communities with higher social capital, or relationships forged in
political and other social networks that help citizens resolve collective problems, enjoy lower levels of crime
and higher levels of trust in government.98 Higher levels of social capital are also associated with the
willingness to vote. Researchers argue that encouraging individuals to join groups leads to increased
community involvement and thus civic participation,99 and this has been shown in studies of Italy,100 as well
as multiple democratic countries.101 As levels of trust in the government have fallen, participation has fallen,
and the perception of the lack of integrity in the electoral system has also been correlated with lower turnout.
FIGURE 8.10 Changing levels of trust in government among US adults (source: Survey of US adults conducted July
27-Aug. 2, 2020; trend sources: Pew Research Centerâs American Trends Panel (2020), Pew Research Center phone
surveys (2019 and earlier), National Election Studies, Gallup, ABC/Washington Post, CBS/New York Times, and CNN
Polls; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
8.6 How Do People Participate in Elections?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain how elections take place in the United States and abroad.
⢠Describe the regulations that govern elections in the United States and abroad.
⢠Compare United States elections and regulations with those in other countries.
On October 8, 2004, âagainst the backdrop of extremistsâ threat, difficult terrain and sometimes adverse
weather conditions,â Afghanistanâs first-ever democratic presidential election took place.102 Despite public
warnings from a former Taliban supreme leader who threatened violent attacks should citizens vote in the
first-ever direct democracy election in Afghanistan, Afghan politician Hamid Karzai was elected out of 17
presidential candidates.103 Roughly a month later, on November 3, Karzai was officially elected president with
55.4 percent of the vote.104 In a region US military forces had occupied after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the
election of Karzai was an incredible achievement and, perhaps most significantly, âthe election, contrary to
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8.6 ⢠How Do People Participate in Elections? 257
expectations, was not marred by ethnic, ideological and linguistic cleavages so characteristic of the Afghan
society. Karzaiâs government will be better advised to facilitate the creation of a âbalanced party systemâ in
Afghanistan.â105 Global media carried pictures of jubilant Afghans, their thumbs stained with purple ink that
signified they had voted, and these pictures reminded all of us how important elections are in a democracy.
FIGURE 8.11 Ink on a finger symbolizes that a vote has been cast. (credit: â_DSC0091â courtesy USAID/ISAF
Public Affairs/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Electoral Districts and Plurality and Proportional Representation
American Electoral Systems
- The U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures use single-member electoral districts that are required to be roughly equal in population size.
- The 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, shifted the selection of U.S. Senators from state legislatures to a direct popular vote by the people.
- The Electoral College determines the presidency, with each state assigned a number of electors equal to its total congressional representation.
- Most states employ a winner-take-all system for electoral votes, which can result in a candidate winning the presidency without winning the national popular vote.
- Maine and Nebraska are the only states that use the congressional district method to allocate electoral votes rather than the winner-take-all approach.
However, as we have seen in recent elections, the winner of the popular vote is not always the winner of the Electoral College.
In the United States, Americans vote in what are called electoral districts, which are all roughly equal in size
in terms of population. The United States House of Representatives, state legislatures, and local governments
all have their own districts from which a single representative is elected, though this was not always the case.
At the writing of the Constitution, Article I, Section 4 simply stated that both Congress and state legislatures
would determine how elections for members of Congress would occur. Congress first passed the law dictating
that House members be elected by district in 1842, and by 1872 they had expanded its scope, articulating the
need for equal districts.106 In the case of the United States Senate, each state is the equivalent of a district,
though each state obviously has a different number of residents. When the Constitution was drafted, state
legislatures elected Senators, but by 1913 the 17th Amendment was passed and ratified in order to allow the
election of Senators by direct popular vote.107
The president of the United States is elected through the Electoral College, a system of electors the number of
which is equal to the total number of Senators (two from each state) and House members, plus electors from
Washington, DC.108 Each state is a district. States choose electors using different methods including state
conventions, state party central committees, appointment by state governors, state primary, or nomination by
the partyâs candidate. Electors are expected to vote on behalf of their party and according to the popular vote.
However, as we have seen in recent elections, the winner of the popular vote is not always the winner of the
Electoral College.109 This is because, with the exception of Maine and Nebraska, states utilize a âwinner-take-
allâ approach to allocating electoral votes. This means that no matter the margin, the candidate who wins the
popular vote in a state wins all of that stateâs Electoral College votes. Maine and Nebraska allocate one electoral
vote to each of their congressional districts, and the winner of each of those districts is awarded one electoral
vote. The winner of the statewide vote is then awarded the state's remaining two electoral votes. This allocation
of Electoral College votes is referred to as the congressional district method.
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Global Election Systems and Rules
- Most American elections rely on plurality rule, where the candidate with the most votes wins regardless of whether they achieve a majority.
- Some states, like Georgia, require a majority rule of at least 50 percent, necessitating run-off elections when no candidate meets that threshold.
- Proportional representation, which allocates legislative seats based on the percentage of votes a party receives, is often proposed as an alternative to the U.S. winner-take-all system.
- Duvergerâs Law suggests that the American reliance on plurality rule is the primary reason the country maintains a two-party system rather than a multi-party one.
- International systems vary significantly, ranging from Japan's mixed-member proportional system to Thailand's military-appointed Senate.
- In extreme cases like North Korea, elections are compulsory but offer no choice of candidates, serving as a tool of state control.
Notably, America does not employ proportional representation at any level of elections, and according to Duvergerâs Law, this is the reason why the United States also still has only two main parties.
Most American elections are won by plurality rule, whereby the candidate with the most votes wins. Some
states, such as Georgia, require candidates for statewide office to win at least 50 percent of the vote, which is
called majority rule. If a candidate cannot secure 50 percent of the vote, the election goes into what is called a
run-off election, where the field of candidates is whittled down to a smaller number and the election is held
again.
FIGURE 8.12 Georgia Senate candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossof stand at either side of Senator Chuck
Schumer. (credit: âSenate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Senator Reverend
Raphael Warnock (D-GA)â by Senate Democrats/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The main alternative to plurality rule is proportional representation, a concept that is often suggested as an
alternative to the âwinner-take-allâ approach of the Electoral College. In proportional representation, the
proportional breakdown of votes cast by the electorate for each party determines what proportion of the
governing body is made up of members of those parties. In other words, if one party were to win 60 percent of
the vote and another party were to win 40 percent, the government would consist of 60 percent of the first
party and 40 percent of the other. Notably, America does not employ proportional representation at any level of
elections, and according to Duvergerâs Law, this is the reason why the United States also still has only two main
parties; plurality rule encourages a dichotomous party system, whereas proportional representation
encourages multiple parties to form.110
Not all countries have the same type of elections. While the United States has a president who is elected
indirectly by an electoral college and a legislature that is bicameral and directly elected, Japan, for example,
has a directly elected national Diet (parliament made up of the House of Representatives and the House of
Councilors). In the House of Representatives, the larger legislative body, the majority of members are elected
by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve four-year terms, while some members are elected
through a closed-list proportional representation system, whereby voters can pick a party but not individual
candidates.111 In elections for the House of Councilors, voters mark their preferences for both a candidate and
a party, and members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system. The head of state
is the prime minister, who is appointed by the Diet. Japan is considered a long-running and stable democracy
with regular elections determined by popular vote. However, not all countries have completely free and fair
elections. Thailand, for example, has a bicameral legislature, but the entirety of the Senate is appointed by the
military while the prime minister is appointed by the king. The House of Representatives are elected by a
plurality vote through a closed-list proportional representation system. North Korea is the most drastic case of
a controlled election; voting for the Supreme Peopleâs Assembly (SPA) is compulsory, and people have no
choice of candidates.
8.6 ⢠How Do People Participate in Elections? 259
Direct Democracy: Ballot Initiatives and Referendums
Direct Democracy and Federalism
- Direct democracy allows citizens to vote on policies directly through initiatives, referendums, and recalls rather than relying solely on elected representatives.
- While direct democracy is praised for representing the people's will, it is criticized for high costs and a lack of deliberative policy-making.
- In the United States, the federal system grants states significant autonomy to regulate their own election processes, leading to diverse voting methods.
- State-level variations include Oregon's universal mail-in ballots, Maine's ranked-choice voting, and controversial restrictions on Sunday voting in Georgia.
- The federal government's role is primarily limited to campaign finance regulation, election security, and protecting voting rights.
- Multiple federal agencies, including the FEC and the Department of Justice, oversee specific aspects of elections while respecting state jurisdiction.
Direct democracy is often lauded as fully representing the will of the people, but ballot initiatives, referendums, and recalls are also criticized for their costs and lack of deliberation.
Ballot initiatives and referendums are examples of a different type of election, often referred to as direct
democracy, where instead of elected representatives deliberating upon policies, citizens vote on those policies
directly. A ballot initiative introduces a new piece of legislation or a law (e.g., whether Maryland should allow
gambling in all counties), while a referendum asks voters to support or terminate an already-existing law or
policy. A recall is a type of direct democracy that provides voters with the opportunity to end the term of an
already-elected member of government.
FIGURE 8.13 In 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom survived a recall election that would have removed him
from office. (credit: âIMG_1974â by Charlie Nguyen/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
These types of direct democracy are present in 26 US states and multiple local municipalities, 10 EU countries,
and Taiwan.112 Direct democracy is often lauded as fully representing the will of the people, but ballot
initiatives, referendums, and recalls are also criticized for their costs and lack of deliberation.
Election Regulations in the United States
In the United States, the federal government plays only a limited role in regulating campaigns and elections.
This is due in part to the idea behind the federal system of American government, which balances power
between the federal government and the states. As such, states are free to oversee their own election processes
so long as they do not violate existing federal laws or state statutes. For example, since 1998 Oregon has used
mail-in ballots, where all registered voters receive ballots three weeks before Election Day.113 In Maine, voters
are allowed to use a ranked-choice method to select candidates, with the lowest-ranked candidates eliminated
in each round until there are only two candidates left. The candidate who wins more than 50 percent of the
vote in the final round is declared the winner.114 States also differ in other methods and regulations around
voting. For example, recent proposed changes in the Georgia legislature would make Sunday voting more
difficult for Georgians wishing to cast early votes. This type of regulation is decided at the state level, though
opponents allege that this measure is aimed squarely at minimizing Black turnout since, historically, southern
churches have encouraged their congregants to vote on Sundays.115
While state election commissions and agencies largely set their own parameters around when, where, and how
people can vote, the federal government is primarily concerned with supporting states in administering
elections and with campaign financeâthat is, with limiting the amount of money that flows into and out of
campaigns. More specifically, congressional agencies are tasked with regulating or overseeing campaign
finance, election administration, election security, redistricting, qualifications and contested elections, and
voting rights, though the primary role of administering elections is left to the states and their jurisdictions,
reflecting the American tenets of federalism. While the Election Assistance Commission and Federal Election
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Commission are two federal agencies devoted to overseeing campaigns and elections, the Justice Department
administers and enforces some election statutes. The Department of Homeland Security is also now more
involved with elections.116
Working the Polls
Gatekeepers and Global Regulations
- Poll workers serve as the essential gatekeepers of American democracy by managing check-ins and ensuring smooth voting processes.
- Many local jurisdictions face a chronic shortage of poll workers, leading nonprofits to step in with recruitment and training efforts.
- France maintains significantly stricter election regulations than the United States, including a total blackout on electoral propaganda starting the night before polls open.
- French law prohibits the media from broadcasting or commenting on any electoral polls during the active voting period.
- The French state strictly caps campaign finances and can reimburse up to 50 percent of certified election expenses.
Poll workers are sometimes called âthe gatekeepers of American democracyâ because they are often the first people to greet a voter who has arrived on Election Day to exercise their right to vote.
Poll workers are sometimes called âthe gatekeepers of American democracyâ because they are often the first
people to greet a voter who has arrived on Election Day to exercise their right to vote.117 Poll workers make sure
that people who vote can check in and provide ID (in some states). They share important information about how to
fill out ballots and make sure the voting process moves smoothly. Any place that serves as a polling station (in other
words, a place to vote) needs poll workers. Most states provide training and payment for these important positions,
but a lack of poll workers is an ongoing problem for many local jurisdictions. Nonprofit organizations such as All
Voting Is Local train and recruit poll workers to ensure fair election practices and to encourage all Americans to
participate in their democracy.118 The more we participate, the more we understand how politics impacts us. To find
out more about being a poll worker, you can contact your state election board or read more at the US Election
Assistance Commission website (https://openstax.org/r/uselectioncommission).119
Election Regulations around the World
Election rules differ around the globe. In comparison to the United States, France imposes very strict
regulations on how elections are run. In France, elections themselves are very brief (two weeks leading up to
the casting of ballots and one week in between two separate ballots), and all media involving campaigns can
only be aired during a three-month run up to an election. In addition, starting from the night before polls
open, it is illegal to publish or in any way broadcast any type of communication that can be categorized as
electoral propaganda. However, television stations can show candidates voting (along with other citizens) as
long as all candidates in the election are included and provided no candidate transmits any sort of campaign
message on camera. French law also prohibits the media from publishing, broadcasting, or commenting on
any kind of electoral poll. Finally, election results, even partial ones, cannot be published or broadcast before
the last polling place closes on Sunday.120 The state also caps both campaign donations and expenditures, a
special commission monitors campaign expenditures, and the state can reimburse up to 50 percent of
certified elections.121
British Elections and Interest Groups
- The United Kingdom utilizes a flexible 'snap election' system where the prime minister can call for a vote at any time to capitalize on political momentum.
- British elections are significantly shorter than American ones, with candidates sometimes announcing their run only a month before the vote.
- A 'vote of no confidence' serves as a legislative mechanism to remove a prime minister and trigger a general election if the majority loses faith in the government.
- Interest groups are categorized into economic and noneconomic types, each seeking to influence policy through various theoretical frameworks like pluralism or transaction theory.
- While interest groups foster social capital and solve collective problems, they are often criticized for factionalism and an inherent economic bias toward monied interests.
- Lobbying strategies are divided into 'inside lobbying' through formal official relationships and 'outside lobbying' by mobilizing public support.
In Britain, the prime minister can call an election at will.
In Britain, the prime minister can call an election at will. These are called snap elections. A prime minister
might call a snap election on the back of good news, for example, in order to bolster his or her majority within
the Parliament. Elections in the United Kingdom are also short compared to those in the United States. Tony
Blair, the leader of the Labour Party, famously announced his candidacy for prime minister one month before
the election.122 Unlike the fixed election calendar America follows, the system in the United Kingdom is more
flexible; Parliament is âdissolvedâ after five years and 25 days before a general election. However, as stated
previously, these elections can be called at any time during a prime ministerâs term. Citizens in the United
Kingdom vote for members of Parliament (MPs) from their district, and the party with the most seats elects the
prime minister from among their ranks. However, the prime minister is officially appointed by the Queen,
though she typically follows the majority partyâs choice for who should fill the role.123 A vote of no confidence,
when the majority of the legislature indicates that they can no longer support the Prime Minister and their
government, can make way for a new leader and governing body through a general election.
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
8.6 ⢠How Do People Participate in Elections? 261
Summary
8.1 What Is an Interest Group?
An interest group is an organized collection of individuals who work to influence government and policy. There
are several different types of interest groups. Economic groups can be divided into categories such as business
groups, labor groups, agricultural groups, and professional groups. Noneconomic groups include public
interest groups, single-issue groups, civil rights groups, and ideological groups. Various theories explain why
interest groups form. Pluralism suggests that diverse interests represent a variety of views and demands and
that political powers are distributed among these various groups. Disturbance theory, on the other hand,
asserts that interest groups change in response to complex issues in society and calls on the government to
react to these changes. Transaction theory refutes pluralism, arguing that government actors only respond to a
narrow set of interests.
8.2 What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest Groups?
Interest groups are important to the political process because they bring a diversity of views and demands
before the popularly elected government. Interest groups also foster the development of social capital, or the
maintenance of relationships and networks that allow citizens to solve collective problems. However, interest
groups have their downsides. One is factionalism: while a multitude of interest groups may represent many
problems, only a small number of them garner the governmentâs attention. This may be due to the economic
bias in the interest group system, where moneyed interests are more likely to be represented and catered to.
Interest groups work to influence government through inside lobbying, which is when groups create formal
relationships with governmental officials. When interest groups rally public support for policies or political
candidates, they engage in outside lobbying. The last attempt to reform lobbying activity was in 2007, though
in 2021 President Biden signed a series of executive orders limiting lobbyist involvement in the executive
branch.
8.3 Political Parties
Political Parties and Election Dynamics
- Political parties serve as ideological groups that recruit candidates, raise funds, and influence policy across two-party, multiparty, and single-party systems.
- The influence of traditional parties is declining in the US due to the rise of candidate-centered campaigns and populist figures who bypass party structures.
- Elections are essential democratic mechanisms for expressing popular will, yet they are often compromised by information gaps and the influence of moneyed interests.
- The United States experiences lower voter turnout than many other nations due to factors like voter fatigue, registration hurdles, and the lack of a national holiday.
- Direct democracy tools, such as ballot initiatives and referendums, allow citizens to vote on specific policies rather than just selecting representatives.
- Election administration varies globally, with some nations using automatic or compulsory registration, while the US leaves most regulations to individual states.
In candidate-centered campaigns, candidates are increasingly less reliant on parties to run for office.
A political party is a group of people who share a common political ideology and work to get their members
elected into government. In addition to scouting and electing candidates, political parties raise money and
work to influence governmental policy. Parties are also heavily involved in registering new voters. Party
systems take on different forms. In the United States, we have what is called a two-party system, where there
are two major political parties involved in government activity. In contrast, much of Europe uses a multiparty
system where the government is made up of multiple parties that must share power. Single-party systems, like
those in China and North Korea, are political systems that consist of only one party.
8.4 What Are the Limits of Parties?
Some scholars argue that political parties play a decreasing role in US politics due to the rise of the candidate-
centered campaign. In candidate-centered campaigns, candidates are increasingly less reliant on parties to
run for office. These candidates may be independently wealthy, and in recent years there has been a rise of
populist candidates who are less reliant on traditional political structures. Lower voter registration rates,
declines in party activism, economic factors, and the rise of communication technologies illustrate a
weakening of party systems around the world.
8.5 What Are Elections and Who Participates?
Elections are formal decision-making processes in which groups determine which individuals will hold public
office. Elections are a vital part of democracy that rests on the idea of popular will since they are the
mechanism by which people express their preferences, and they are one of the most important ways people
influence politicians to move in one direction or the other in terms of policy. Elections face problems in that
sometimes voters do not have all the required information to make decisions that best represent their
interests. Moneyed interests can have a heavy influence on election outcomes, and the peopleâs will can be
262 8 ⢠Summary
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misrepresented when political actors choose to make decisions that differ from votersâ intentions. Relative to
other countries, America has low voter turnout; a significant number of people registered to vote do not
actually turn out on Election Day to cast a ballot. There are a variety of reasons for this, including voter fatigue,
the lack of an Election Day holiday, onerous registration requirements, and low levels of social capital.
8.6 How Do People Participate in Elections?
Americans vote in electoral districts that are drawn to be roughly the same size in terms of population. The
people vote directly on members of the House and Senate, whereas the president is elected through the
Electoral College. Elections are won either by plurality rule (most votes) or majority rule (at least half). Ballot
initiatives and referendums represent direct democracy, in which people select policy preferences rather than
relying on elected officials to vote on them. Some consider them a more democratic form of participation. In
the United States, the federal government plays a limited role in administering elections, leaving the states to
create their own rules and regulations in terms of when people can vote and how. Elections are run differently
around the world. In many countries, voter registration is automatic, and in some countries it is even
compulsory. While Election Day is a fixed day on the US calendar, in other countries elections can be called at
any time.
Key Terms
Political Terms and Interest Groups
- Adverse selection in politics occurs when information asymmetry allows candidates or groups to control the narrative because voters cannot fully educate themselves.
- The rise of candidate-centered campaigns suggests that as political parties lose influence, individual candidates step in to fill the resulting power vacuum.
- Interest groups are categorized into economic types, such as business and agricultural groups, and noneconomic types, such as civil rights and ideological groups.
- Disturbance theory posits that interest groups form as a direct response to the increasing complexity of government and societal changes.
- The free rider problem remains a significant challenge for interest groups, as individuals may benefit from collective goods without personally participating in the group's efforts.
the idea that the declining influence of political parties and their decreased ability to mobilize votersâ opinions and actions has set voters politically adrift
adverse selection the concept, borrowed from economic theory, that voters cannot fully educate themselves
on everything they must vote on and that this information asymmetry can often benefit the candidate or
issue group that controls the distribution of information
agricultural groups economic interest groups that work on behalf of agricultural interests
ballot initiative a mechanism by which voters can directly introduce pieces of legislation and vote to enact
them
business group an economic interest group that works on behalf of business interests
candidate-centered campaign the idea that the declining influence of political parties and their decreased
ability to mobilize votersâ opinions and actions has set voters politically adrift and that candidates
themselves have stepped in to fill the power vacuum
civil rights groups noneconomic interest groups that work to promote and defend the civil rights of a
particular group
collective goods goods or services that all members of a group can share
congressional district method a method of allocating electoral votes, used in Maine and Nebraska, where the
winner of each congressional district is awarded one electoral vote and the winner of the statewide vote is
awarded the stateâs two remaining electoral votes
dark money money received by super PACs from shell corporations or donors who do not disclose their
identities
direct democracy a democratic system in which citizens make direct policy choices rather than leaving them
to elected officials
disturbance theory a political theory that suggests that interest groups form in response to the changing
complexity of government and society
economic bias a system in which interests that may be very narrow or seemingly obscure enjoy considerable
influence the more socially, monetarily, or institutionally resourced they are
economic groups interest groups that focus on economic issues such as wages, industry protections, job
creation, and profit maximization
Election Day holiday where voting day is a national holiday or voters vote on a weekend
elections formal group decision-making processes that elect individuals to public office or, in certain states
and countries, allow citizens to select among policy preferences
Electoral College the system of electors, based on the total number of United States Senators, House
members, and electors from Washington, DC, by which the president of the United States is chosen
8 ⢠Key Terms 263
electoral districts in the United States, districts of roughly equal population size in which Americans vote
eligible voters those United States citizens who are aged 18 and older and meet state residency requirements
and rules for voting
factionalism when groups of individuals work collectively to promote a narrow, shared interest, possibly at
the expense of the majority
free rider problem the phenomenon that occurs when individual members of an interest group benefit from
the groupâs activities even if they do not personally participate
golden parachutes exit bonuses that reward executives leaving private companies upon entering federal
government positions
grassroots lobbying lobbying that involves groups utilizing public pressure to force governmental action; also
called outside lobbying or indirect lobbying
ideological group a noneconomic interest group that focuses on promoting interests that align with a
particular ideology
indirect lobbying lobbying that involves groups utilizing public pressure to force governmental action; also
called outside lobbying or grassroots lobbying
inside lobbying lobbying in which interest groups cultivate contacts and relationships within government in
Political Systems and Influence
- Interest group liberalism suggests that government officials respond to well-organized groups not for the public good, but because those groups are most effective at demanding action.
- The concept of moral hazard describes the inherent risk voters take that a candidate may betray their expectations once they have secured office.
- Electoral systems vary significantly between plurality rule, where the most votes win, and proportional representation, where governing bodies reflect the percentage of votes cast.
- Lobbying strategies are divided between direct influence and outside lobbying, which utilizes grassroots support to pressure political actors.
- Social capital is defined as the relationships formed within networks that enable citizens to mobilize and resolve collective problems.
moral hazard the risk a voter takes that a chosen c andida te ma y not , once elected, act in the w ay the voter hop es
order to seek to influence a political outcome
interest group a group of people who organize in order to seek to influence a political outcome
interest group liberalism the theory that officials respond to well-organized groups not because they are
good for society, but because well-organized interests simply do a better job of demanding governmental
action
labor groups economic interest groups that work on behalf of workersâ interests
lobbying the attempt by a group to influence a political outcome
majority rule a system in which candidates for statewide office must win at least 50 percent of the vote to win
an election
moral hazard the risk a voter takes that a chosen candidate may not, once elected, act in the way the voter
hopes
multiparty system a system of government where multiple political parties take part in national elections
noneconomic groups interest groups that work to advance noneconomic issues such as the environment or
education
outside lobbying lobbying that rallies public support in order to pressure political actors to consider a cause;
also known as indirect or grassroots lobbying
patronage the act of hiring or using state resources in a partisan manner in order to reward political support
pluralist theory a political theory that posits that multiple and diverse interests compete for attention and
resources and that political power is distributed among these various interests
plurality rule an election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins an election
political action committee (PAC) an interest groupâs official fundraising arm
political parties groups that organize around a shared political ideology, with the primary goal of electing
party members to positions in government
populism the appeal on the part of public leaders to the belief of ordinary people that established elite groups
disregard their concerns
professional groups economic interest groups that work in the interests of a particular profession
proportional representation an electoral system in which votes cast by the electorate are reflected by the
same proportions within the governing body
public interest group a group that benefits a narrow constituency or policy issue (such as the American
Association of Retired People) and works to achieve benefits for the larger population, not just for their
own members
recall an election in which voters decide whether or not to end the term of an elected official
referendum an election in which voters decide whether to overturn existing law or policy
registered voters voters who have fulfilled the necessary requirements set by the government in order to be
264 8 ⢠Key Terms
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able to cast a vote
single-issue groups groups that focus their work on a single issue in order to acquire or maintain benefits for
their members (for example, the National Rifle Association)
single-party system an electoral system where one party makes up the government
snap election in Britain, an election the prime minister can call at any time
social capital relationships forged in political and other social networks, resulting from citizen mobilization,
that help citizens resolve collective problems
Political Structures and Interest Groups
- Super PACs function as independent committees capable of raising unlimited funds for candidates, provided they do not coordinate directly with them.
- Transaction theory suggests that political actors prioritize the interests of narrow elites over mobilized groups seeking broad social change.
- The text defines various electoral concepts including voter fatigue, voter suppression, and the distinction between the voting-eligible population and registered voters.
- Interest groups are characterized as organizations that influence policy and support candidates across party lines, rather than focusing solely on party victory.
- The formation and impact of interest groups are debated through pluralist, transaction, and disturbance theories.
- While interest groups allow for specialized advocacy, they risk amplifying minority voices over the majority and increasing the influence of 'dark money'.
transaction theory a political theory, espoused by Robert H. Salisbury, that argues that political actors are not influenced by groups that have mobilized to enact change so much as they are responding to the interests of narrowly focused elites.
super PACs independent political action committees that can raise unlimited funds in order to campaign for
candidates but are barred from directly coordinating with either candidates or parties
transaction theory a political theory, espoused by Robert H. Salisbury, that argues that political actors are not
influenced by groups that have mobilized to enact change so much as they are responding to the interests
of narrowly focused elites, and that the relationship between interest groups and government is that of an
exchange
two-party system an electoral system where two main parties control power in government
vote of no confidence a way for a legislative body to indicate that they no longer support the leader of the
government (such as a prime minister) and their cabinet
voter fatigue a phenomenon in which the demands of multiple elections leave voters feeling apathetic or
disengaged
voter registration requirements a set of conditions voters must meet and be able to prove in order to be
eligible to vote
voter suppression a strategy or in some instances local laws that work to prohibit certain groups from voting
voter turnout the number of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election
voting eligible population (VEP) the population that is eligible to vote, regardless of registration status, not
including persons that are not eligible to vote, such as noncitizens and, in certain US states, convicted
felons
Review Questions
1 . What is the definition of an interest group?
a. A group of people who work to get a candidate elected from a certain party
b. A group of people who work to influence policy and support candidates regardless of party
c. A group of bipartisan voters
d. None of the above
2 . Which of the following is not a type of interest group?
a. Economic groups
b. Labor groups
c. Civil rights groups
d. Demographic groups
3 . What do pluralist theory, transaction theory, and disturbance theory all have in common?
a. They explain why candidates need interest groups.
b. They explain why interest groups are no longer important in politics.
c. They explain how interest groups are formed.
d. They explain whether and how interest groups hurt politics.
4 . Which of these is an advantage of interest groups?
a. They argue against substantive policy change.
b. They allow people with strong opinions on relevant issues to try to affect policy.
c. They increase the amount of dark money in politics.
8 ⢠Review Questions 265
d. None of the above
5 . Which of these is a disadvantage of interest groups?
a. Interest groups represent multiple viewpoints about how people want government to act.
b. Interest groups raise money for candidates so that their policies can be implemented.
c. Interest group activity can lead to a minority rather than a majority being heard in government.
d. Interest groups play no role in government.
6 . Which of these activities are examples of the ways in which interest groups influence government?
a. Inside lobbying, outside lobbying, and ballot initiatives
b. Inside lobbying, outside funding, and electoral reform
c. Outside lobbying, log-rolling, and vote counting
d. None of these
7 . What is a political party?
a. A group that forms based on a political ideology
b. A group that forms to make sure as many members of their own party get elected as possible
c. A group that forms to influence policy outcomes in government
d. All of the above
Political Parties and Elections Review
- Political parties primarily focus on fundraising, candidate recruitment, and voter registration to maintain influence.
- The rise of candidate-centered campaigns and modern communication technologies has contributed to the declining influence of traditional party systems.
- Elections serve as formal decision-making processes that allow citizens to express preferences and hold officials accountable in a democracy.
- Systemic challenges in elections include adverse selection, moral hazard, and voter suppression.
- Election structures vary globally, with the United States utilizing an electoral college and state-level regulation, while Britain features snap elections and non-fixed dates.
What do adverse selection, moral hazard, and voter suppression have in common when it comes to elections?
8 . Which combination of activities do political parties engage in?
a. Printing ballots, drawing district lines, and recruiting candidates
b. Fundraising, recruiting candidates, and registering voters
c. Registering voters, purging registration rolls, and counting ballots
d. Recruiting candidates, discouraging incumbents from running, and creating polls
9 . Which of these is an example of a current party system?
a. Multiparty system
b. Single-party system
c. Two-party system
d. All of the above
10 . Which of these trends best illustrates the declining influence of political parties?
a. The rise of the media
b. The rise of fundraising demands
c. The rise of candidate-centered campaigns
d. The rise of liberal candidates
11 . Which of these is the best example of a current weakness of the US party system?
a. The inability to mobilize votersâ opinions
b. The inability to raise enough money
c. The inability to garner media attention
d. None of the above
12 . Party decline around the world can be seen through:
a. Economic factors such as deindustrialization
b. Rise of communication technologies
c. Decline of class as a factor in political mobilization
d. All of the above
266 8 ⢠Review Questions
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13 . What is an election?
a. A time when people vote for who they want to hold office
b. A formal decision-making process involving a group of voters
c. A way in which groups try to achieve formal goals
d. All of the above
14 . Why are elections important for a democracy?
a. They allow members of society to express opinions and preferences to elected officials.
b. They allow candidates to raise and spend money to get elected.
c. They are important for the media to report on.
d. None of the above are correct.
15 . What do adverse selection, moral hazard, and voter suppression have in common when it comes to
elections?
a. They show how important elections are to parties.
b. They explain the weaknesses of ballot initiatives.
c. They illustrate some problems of elections in general.
d. They speak to the growing concerns around fundraising in elections.
16 . Which of these groups is most likely to vote in an election?
a. A group of minorities who have frequent elections
b. Nonminority males with higher incomes
c. People who have not yet registered to vote
d. None of these groups are likely to vote
17 . In the United States, elections involve:
a. Electoral districts
b. The electoral college
c. Plurality or majority rule
d. All of the above
18 . Around the world, elections:
a. Look very different from those in the United States
b. Look exactly like elections in the United States
c. Are always held on the same day
d. Are only held in democracies
19 . In the United States, elections are mostly regulated by:
a. The federal government
b. Cities and localities
c. State governments
d. A nonpartisan, nongovernmental body
20 . Which of the following characterizes elections in Britain?
a. Snap elections
b. Brief election periods
c. Non-fixed election dates
d. All of the above
8 ⢠Review Questions 267
Suggested Readings
The Role of Legislatures
- Legislatures are deliberative bodies authorized to create laws, but their functional roles are significantly more complex than simple lawmaking.
- The scope of legislative influence ranges from local city councils and state bodies to national congresses and supranational entities like the European Parliament.
- Key structural differences, such as parliamentary versus presidential and unicameral versus bicameral systems, fundamentally shape political outcomes.
- The text highlights a contemporary concern regarding the potential decline of legislative influence in modern governance.
- Legislative work involves intricate processes of organization and various methods for representing the interests of constituents.
When the term legislature comes up, people often think of national legislatures, such as the US Congress or the National Congress of Argentina.
Aldrich, John H. Why Parties? The Origins and Transformation of Political Parties in America. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Alexander, Robert, ed. The Classics of Interest Group Behavior. New York: Wadsworth, 2005.
King, Anthony. Running Scared: The Victory of Campaigning over Governing in America. New York: Free Press,
1997.
Lijphardt, Arend. Electoral Systems and Party Systems: A Study of Twenty-Seven Democracies. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1994.
Thurber, James A., and Candace J. Nelson. Campaigns and Elections American Style: The Changing Landscape
of Political Campaigns. Oxford: Routledge, 2018.
Verba, Sidney, Kay Schlozman, and Henry E. Brady. Unheavenly Chorus. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press, 2013.
268 8 ⢠Suggested Readings
Access for free at openstax.org
FIGURE 9.1 The Congress of Peru is a unicameral legislature in which legislators are selected to represent each
regional district as well as two special districts, for Lima Province and Peruvian citizens abroad. Seats are assigned
based on population in multimember districts. (credit: âPresidente del Congreso en SesiĂłn Solemneâ by Congreso
de la RepĂşblica del PerĂş/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
9.1 What Do Legislatures Do?
9.2 What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems?
9.3 What Is the Difference between Unicameral and Bicameral Systems?
9.4 The Decline of Legislative Influence
A legislature is a deliberative body that is granted the authority to create laws to govern a
society. When the term legislature comes up, people often think of national legislatures, such as the US
Congress or the National Congress of Argentina. However, city councils and state legislatures also play a
significant role in governing our everyday lives, and supranational legislatures, such as the European
Parliament, can have a profound impact by setting policies on trade and migration across many countries.
Though legislatures are deliberative bodies generally focused on passing laws, their role is much more
complex.
This chapter will explore what it is that legislatures do, examine the impact that differences in legislative
structure can have on the political system, and consider the challenges that legislatures face.
9
Legislatures
9.1 What Do Legislatures Do?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe the different aspects of a legislatureâs work.
⢠Discuss the general components of the legislative process.
⢠Outline how legislatures organize to accomplish their work.
⢠Define different ways legislators represent constituents.
Roles and Powers of Legislatures
- Legislators manage diverse tasks including drafting new laws, evaluating existing policies, and maintaining constituent relations.
- A key function of the legislature is oversight, ensuring that other government branches execute the legislative will correctly.
- Global legislative power varies significantly, ranging from purely consultative roles in non-democracies to supreme decision-making authority.
- Studying legislative behavior, such as voting patterns and committee assignments, is a primary focus of political science.
- Analyzing legislative processes fosters critical thinking skills, such as problem-solving and explaining complex, seemingly irrational situations.
- The ability to explain 'the why' behind political decisions is a highly transferable skill valued by employers across diverse career paths.
The ability to explain complex situations, to solve problems, and to make sense of situations that seemingly defy rational explanations provides the foundation on which you can build many diverse career paths.
Setting aside the challenge of running for reelection, there are many tasks involved in a legislatorâs job,
including creating new laws to solve emerging policy problems; evaluating existing arrangements to make
sure they still work; staying in touch with constituents, both to keep them up to date with legislative work and
to find out what they think about current issues; and overseeing other parts of the government to ensure that
the will of the legislature is being carried out. This section will examine each part of a legislatorâs job in greater
detail to better understand the roles that legislatures play in the political world.
Not all legislatures around the world have the same powers and functions. Some legislatures, particularly in
non-democracies, have limited roles in governing but provide other important functions. In some systems, the
legislature can serve a more consultative role, even if it doesnât have final decision-making power. Still other
legislatures are endowed with powers that make them coequal with the various branches of government.
Finally, there are some legislatures that are the supreme decision makers when it comes to policy making.
Recognizing that these differences exist is an important component of understanding the roles legislatures
play in society. Because legislatures play a particularly important role in democratic systems, much of this
chapter focuses on those systems.
Critical Thinking and Legislative Analysis
FIGURE 9.2 Somali women lawmakers attend a workshop in Mogadishu aimed at empowering lawmakers to
protect and promote the rights of women, children, and other marginalized groups. (credit: â2018-02-28 Somali
Women Legislators-2â by AMISOM Public Information/Ilyas Ahmed/Flickr, CC0 1.0)
When people study legislatures, they often examine why members of a legislature voted a certain way on a
particular piece of legislation, why a certain member was chosen to serve on a particular legislative committee, or
even why some policy elements were or were not included within the text of a proposed piece of legislation. Being
WHAT CAN I DO?
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able to answer and explain the why requires one of the most important skills that studying political science helps
you developâcritical thinking. When you learn how to explain why someone voted yes or no on a piece of legislation,
you are really developing the ability to explain anything, in any field or specialization. Critical-thinking skills are
among the skills employers value most.1 The ability to explain complex situations, to solve problems, and to make
sense of situations that seemingly defy rational explanations provides the foundation on which you can build many
diverse career paths.
Passing Laws: Who Comes Up with Ideas?
The Legislative Process
- Legislative ideas originate from diverse sources including constituents, media investigations, advocacy organizations, and executive branch proposals.
- Individual legislators often develop specialized expertise and personal passion for specific policy areas, driving the legislative agenda.
- The role of a sponsor or cosponsor is critical, as they must actively advocate for a bill and build coalitions to secure its passage.
- Information gathering is a formal stage where legislators consult research and hold hearings to integrate stakeholder perspectives.
- The culmination of the process is the creation of public laws, which are formal texts designed to address issues affecting society as a whole.
It is quite common for a member of a legislature to develop a passion for and expertise in a particular policy area.
One of the legislatureâs main jobs is to pass laws in order to solve policy problems. Ideas for these laws come
from many places. Constituents might go to members of legislatures for help solving a problem in their
community, such as a need for more school funding. A newspaper might publish an investigation that brings
attention to an important issue. Often, organizations that work on a particular issue reach out to legislators. A
president or prime minister, or another member of the executive branch, routinely offers policy proposals to
the legislature for their consideration. Finally, ideas can come from the legislators themselves. It is quite
common for a member of a legislature to develop a passion for and expertise in a particular policy area.
In order for a law to be created or changed, a legislator or group of legislators must be willing to work to solve
the problem. Often, the person who introduces a piece of legislation is known as its sponsor. The sponsorâor,
if a group of legislators introduces legislation, the cosponsorsâargues on behalf of a piece of legislation in
debate and meets with other legislators to try to get their support for the bill.
Once legislators realize there is a problem they need to solve, they set out to learn more about the policy area.
They can do this a number of ways, including by reading research and reports. Often, they hold hearings in
which they consult policy experts. Hearings can be useful for bringing many different stakeholders and
perspectives together in one place.
How Are Ideas Debated?
Following the information-gathering process, legislators decide how to proceed to fix the problem. In most
cases, they decide that the best way to solve a problem is to pass a law. Laws concerning the relationship
between the government and individuals that apply to all people are called public laws. The Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act is a good example of a public law, as it made changes to the health care system in the
United States that affected US society as a whole. Public laws cover a huge range of topics, including the
economy and government operation, health care and civil rights, defense and foreign policy, and everything in
between. The process of writing a law involves taking all the ideas proposed and all the information gathered
and turning them into a formal text to circulate and debate.
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9.1 ⢠What Do Legislatures Do? 271
FIGURE 9.3 Members of the Colorado state senate debate the budget in 2011. Members listen as their colleague
makes a speech, but they also have conversations and look over reference material. Budgets are critical pieces of
legislation, as money is vital for government agencies and programs to operate. (credit: âBudget Debate 2011â by
Colorado Senate GOP/Flickr, Public Domain)
Legislative Debate and Voting
- Public debate is typically required before a legislature can vote on proposed legislation.
- Parliamentary procedures provide a structured set of rules to govern how debates are conducted.
- Key procedural rights include the minority's right to speak and the principle of addressing one business item at a time.
- The passage of ordinary laws generally relies on the principle of majority rule.
- Majority rule is defined as 50 percent of the chamber's membership plus one additional member.
Common procedural components include the right of the minority to speak in a debate, every member having the right to a vote, and only one piece of business being addressed at a time.
The exact process of debate differs across legislatures, but most require a public debateâthat is, a debate that
is open to all membersâbefore the legislature votes on the proposed piece of legislation. Most systems have a
set of parliamentary procedures, or rules that govern the structure of debate. Common procedural
components include the right of the minority to speak in a debate, every member having the right to a vote,
and only one piece of business being addressed at a time.2
FIGURE 9.4 Members of the European Parliament debate and vote on the withdrawal agreement of the United
Kingdom from the European Union. (credit: âMembers Debate and Vote on the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreementâ by
European Parliament/Flickr, CC-BY-4.0: Š European Union 2020 â Source: EP)
How Do Laws Get Passed?
Following the conclusion of debate, legislation is put to a vote to determine whether it will become law. For the
passage of ordinary laws, most countries require a bill to gain the votes of a majority of legislators. One of the
basic principles of democratic societies is majority rule, or the idea that the decision of the majorityâ50
percent of the chamberâs membership plus one memberâdetermines the decision of the chamber on most
items of business.
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Supermajorities and Legislative Power
- Supermajority rules require a higher threshold than a simple majority for decisions deemed especially consequential, such as amending a constitution.
- Specific high-stakes actions like calling early elections in the UK or convicting an impeached official in the US Senate necessitate supermajority support.
- The US Senate's filibuster tradition creates a de facto supermajority requirement for ordinary legislation by requiring 60 votes to end debate.
- While democratic legislatures are characterized by free debate and independence, authoritarian legislatures serve different functions like ensuring regime stability.
- Authoritarian leaders may use legislatures to delegate policy-making authority or provide a controlled venue for key social groups to voice concerns.
- Legislatures exist on a spectrum of power, but they remain significant actors in both democratic and authoritarian systems of government.
Because any member can invoke a filibuster for any reason, there is essentially a de facto supermajority requirement for legislation to pass in the United States Senate.
However, in some instances, change cannot take place without a supermajority. Supermajority voting rules
require more than a majority to pass legislation. These rules come into play most often for decisions that are
considered especially important or consequential. For example, countries that allow the legislature to amend
the constitution usually require supermajorities to pass such amendments. Supermajority voting rules for
constitutional amendments can require anywhere from three-fifths to three-quarters of the chamberâs
membership to agree to the proposed measure. For example, changes to the Japanese constitution require the
support of two-thirds of each chamber in the Diet (the Japanese national legislature) and a majority in a public
referendum.
Countries where the parliament can call early elections also require a supermajority to agree to these
elections. In the United Kingdom, at a minimum, parliamentary elections must happen every five years.
However, if two-thirds of Parliament agrees, the legislature can be dissolved and early elections will be held. A
supermajority may also be required to remove individuals from office. In the United States, the process of
impeachment, which is the first step in removing a member of the executive or judicial branch from office,
requires only a majority vote in the House of Representatives to move forward to trial in the Senate. Once the
trial takes place, however, two-thirds of the Senate must vote in favor of conviction for the individual to be
removed. So while the vast majority of laws and legislative action require the support of a simple majority of
legislators, some instances require that a higher threshold be met.
In some cases, legislatures implement rules that create supermajority requirements for ordinary legislation.
In the United States Senate, there is a tradition of unlimited debate on legislation. This means that a legislator
can delay or prevent a vote on a piece of legislation by insisting that there is still more to debate, a practice
commonly referred to as a filibuster.3 In the modern Senate, any member can declare that they are
filibustering, or still debating an issue, which stops the issue from coming to a vote. A vote only happens when
60 senators vote in favor of a cloture motion to end the debate.4 Because any member can invoke a filibuster
for any reason, there is essentially a de facto supermajority requirement for legislation to pass in the United
States Senate.
The process discussed hereâin which ideas come freely from all actors, are debated seriously, and can result
in changesâis most characteristic of legislatures in democratic regimes. Legislatures in authoritarian
countries may be far less independent, far less capable of policy making and representation, and far more
responsive to the authoritarian leader. They do, however, play important roles in their political systems, such
as making their governments more stable than authoritarian governments without legislatures.5 Authoritarian
legislatures provide a venue where key social groups may make their voices heard in policy debates,
encouraging that stability.6 Additionally, the legislature maintains a role in the policy process, as the
authoritarian leader may choose to delegate decision-making authority in particular policy areas to actors
with their own policy preferences.7 Although legislatures exist on a spectrum of power and independence, with
legislatures in democratic systems tending to be more powerful and independent than legislatures in
authoritarian regimes, all legislatures play a significant role in their systems of government.
Organizing the Legislatureâs Work
Legislative Organization and Parties
- Legislatures require organizational structures to coordinate the diverse goals and conflicting solutions of individual members.
- Political parties serve as the primary mechanism for organizing legislative work and determining decision-making authority.
- Majority parties typically control the legislative schedule and committee seats, making their preferred policies more likely to pass.
- Minority parties in democracies provide an official platform for dissenting ideas and formal opposition to majority legislation.
- The number of parties in a legislature depends on the electoral system, often requiring the formation of coalitions to achieve a majority.
- Coalition governments are inherently more fragile than single-party majorities because the withdrawal of one partner can collapse the balance of power.
Every legislator has their own goals, things they want to take credit for, and blame they are trying to avoidâand everyone thinks they are right.
The work of legislatures requires a large number of people to collaborate. Every legislator has their own goals,
things they want to take credit for, and blame they are trying to avoidâand everyone thinks they are right. Even
when individuals agree that a particular policy is worth working on, they may disagree on the exact solution.
Legislatures must create structures to keep their members moving productively in roughly the same direction.
Political Parties
One of the main ways legislatures organize themselves is through political parties (which are discussed in
detail in Chapter 8: Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections). Political parties are groups of people who
typically have similar ideas on policy that they use to help candidates run for election and govern.8 One of the
ways political parties help govern is in determining decision-making authority. Because most votes require a
9.1 ⢠What Do Legislatures Do? 273
majority to pass, many political systems give additional decision-making and leadership authority to the
political party that holds a majority of seats. The majority party, or the political party that holds more than 50
percent of seats in the chamber, is often granted the ability to set the schedule for what bills get debated. They
also typically control more seats on legislative committees, and because of these powers, they are typically
more likely to get their preferred policies enacted into law. A minority party is any political party that does not
have more than 50 percent of seats in the chamber. In democracies, minority parties can play an important
legislative role, as they provide official expression of political and policy ideas that differ from those of the
majority. They present their ideas in debate and vote against legislation they disapprove of, even when that
legislation is likely to pass and become law.9
The exact nature of the relationship between the majority and the minority depends on the number of parties
in the legislature, and that number depends on what electoral system is in place. Some systems result in the
dominance of two main political parties. In the US government, for example the Democratic and Republican
Parties have primary control. Other systems make it easier for many parties to end up with seats in the
legislature. In legislatures where many political parties hold seats, parties often need to join together in
coalitions to create a majority in the chamber. For example, in the 2020 Irish elections, no single party gained
a majority. The party that gained the most votes, Fianna FĂĄil, joined with two supporting parties, Fine Gael and
the Green Party, to form a majority coalition.10 Coalition governments can be more fragile than outright
majority governments because if the relationship between the parties in the agreement breaks down, a party
might withdraw its support from the coalition, throwing the balance of power in the legislature back into
question.
VIDEO
Ireland Coalition Deal: Fiana FĂĄil, Fine Gael, and Greens to Form Coalition Government
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/9-1-what-do-
legislatures-do)
Why might some parties want to be a part of a coalition government? Why might some parties not want to be in
a coalition government? In this news segment, members of the Irish parliament from different parties discuss
what their parties were looking for from a new governing coalition following the 2020 elections.
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Irish Coalition Government Formation
- The 2020 Irish general elections resulted in no single party achieving a majority in the DĂĄil Ăireann.
- Fianna FĂĄil emerged as the largest party but required external support to establish a functioning government.
- A governing coalition was formed through a partnership between Fianna FĂĄil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party.
- Legislative seating charts often represent party seat counts rather than physical chamber arrangements.
- The transition from election results to governance highlights the necessity of multi-party cooperation in parliamentary systems.
Following the 2020 elections in Ireland, no single party had enough seats in the DĂĄil Ăireann, the lower chamber of the Irish legislature, to form a majority government.
FIGURE 9.5 Following the 2020 elections in Ireland, no single party had enough seats in the DĂĄil Ăireann, the lower
chamber of the Irish legislature, to form a majority government. Instead, the largest party, Fianna FĂĄil, created a
coalition to govern the country with the backing of Fine Gael and the Green Party. Note: This figure represents the
numbers of seats each party secured, but not necessarily the actual seating arrangement. (attribution: Copyright
Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Committees
Legislative Committees and Professionalism
- Legislative committees allow lawmakers to specialize in specific policy areas, fostering deep expertise and more effective problem-solving.
- Committees facilitate legislative delegation, where lawmakers rely on the expertise of party colleagues when voting on unfamiliar issues.
- Small political parties often face higher workloads per member because they must maintain representation across all major committees.
- Professional legislatures operate year-round with full-time salaries and staff, whereas nonprofessional or citizen legislatures meet part-time.
- Nonprofessional legislatures often result in more powerful governors who manage state affairs during the long periods between sessions.
- The choice between professional and citizen legislatures involves a trade-off between legislative capacity and the desire to limit government expansion.
This tends to make governors in states with nonprofessional legislatures very powerful.
Another way legislatures organize is through legislative committees, groups of lawmakers who work together
on the same policy area. Legislatures try to have enough committees to cover all major policy areas, and while
the number of members on each committee varies, most systems require that all parties be allowed space on a
committee. That means individual members of small parties typically serve on more committees than
members of bigger parties, which can afford to spread their members around.
Organizing legislative work through committees facilitates specialization and legislative delegation. When
individual legislators specialize, they delve more deeply into one or two policy areas and develop expertise on
those issues. This expertise helps them better understand the nature of the problem and analyze different
solutions. Legislative delegation goes hand in hand with specialization: when a legislator is tasked with voting
on an issue outside their areas of expertise, rather than having to do extensive research, that legislator can rely
on the opinion of members of their political party who are on the relevant policy committee. If those members
support the legislation, it can help the legislator decide whether they should support the legislation, too. The
party delegates responsibility for learning about that issue to party members who sit on the relevant
committee.
Often, when people think of legislators, they think of people for whom writing laws and doing the work of
government is a full-time job. While that may be true in many situations, not every legislature is a professional
legislature. Professional legislatures meet year-round. The work of the legislature is the legislatorsâ only or
primary job, they have paid professional staff, and they earn a salary that reflects the status of the office and
the effort it requires. For example, the California State Assembly, the lower chamber of the California State
Legislature, is in session from January to September every year; during the September to December period,
9.1 ⢠What Do Legislatures Do? 275
members are often in their home districts, continuing to do work and preparing for the next legislative session.
Members earn a salary of approximately $115,000 per year plus per diem.11 In contrast, nonprofessional
legislatures, sometimes also called citizen legislatures, are part-time legislatures where members meet for a
set period of time and then, once the legislative session ends, go home to their districts to the job they held
prior to the session or to other work. The Texas Legislature is an example of a nonprofessional legislature:
members meet starting on the second Tuesday in January for 140 days in odd-numbered years and make
$7,200 per year plus a per diem when in Austin, the state capital.12 The governor, who has the power to recall
the legislature to special sessions for 30 days at a time, generally handles any decisions that need to be made
in between sessions. This tends to make governors in states with nonprofessional legislatures very powerful.
Legislative professionalism can have a substantial impact on a legislatureâs capacity to do its work. Short
legislative sessions limit the amount that legislatures can accomplish in a given session, requiring clear
prioritization and swift leadership. Proponents of nonprofessional legislatures argue that shorter sessions help
constrain the cost of legislatorsâ salaries and the size of their staffs and that they prevent the expansion of
government.13 While each government must decide for itself whether a professional or a nonprofessional
Legislative Representation and Districts
- Nonprofessional legislatures often face significant capacity limitations compared to professional bodies.
- The relationship between a legislator and their constituents is fundamentally shaped by the electoral system's structure.
- Single-member districts assign one representative to a specific geographic area, such as Canada's 338 ridings.
- Geographic representation allows legislators to become deeply familiar with localized issues and specific constituent needs.
- While single-member systems increase responsiveness, they may also exacerbate regional tensions and geographic divisions.
This type of system c an allow a legislator to become familiar with the particular is sues that affect their district and to potentially b e more resp onsiv e to their constituents; however, it c an also heighten geographic diff erenc es and potential tensions between regions .
legislature is the correct fit, it is certainly true that the capacity of nonprofessional legislatures is limited.
Representation of Constituents
Every member of a legislature has constituents, the people they are elected to represent. The connection
between legislator and constituent can take many forms, and the particular form can have a substantive
impact on the relationship.
Single-Member Districts versus Multimember Districts
The way in which legislators are assigned to their districts affects the legislator-constituent relationship. In
some systems, each legislator is elected to represent a specific geographic district. For example, in Canada, the
House of Commons represents 338 ridings. The member of Parliament elected from Halifax, Nova Scotia, is
only responsible for representing the constituents in Halifax, and only the voters in that district can vote in the
election to select the representative for that district. This type of system can allow a legislator to become
familiar with the particular issues that affect their district and to potentially be more responsive to their
constituents; however, it can also heighten geographic differences and potential tensions between regions.
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FIGURE 9.6 Each area outlined represents one riding, or federal electoral district, in Canada and is represented by
one member of Parliament in the House of Commons. (credit: modification of work by IntrigueBlue/derivative of
work by TastyCakes/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
Legislative Districts and Representation
- National-level districts, like those in Israel and Mozambique, treat the entire country as a single constituency to minimize regional bias.
- In systems without geographic divisions, political parties often exert more influence over policy than individual regional representatives.
- Multimember districts allow multiple legislators to represent the same geographic area, often with staggered terms or differing party affiliations.
- The United States Senate serves as an example of a multimember system where two senators represent one state but may belong to opposing parties.
- Denmark's Folketing demonstrates how seat allocation varies by population density, with districts ranging from two to twenty representatives.
- The debate continues over whether geographic or national districts produce more effective representation for the citizenry.
In Israel, voters indicate their preferred party, and regardless of whether they are voting in Eilat in the south or Haifa in the north, they are voting for and will be represented by the same politicians.
This contrasts with countries such as Mozambique or Israel, where the legislature represents the country as a
whole, without any geographic divisions. For example, in Israel, voters indicate their preferred party, and
regardless of whether they are voting in Eilat in the south or Haifa in the north, they are voting for and will be
represented by the same politicians. In these systems of national legislatures, members are less likely to have
particular regional loyalties that could affect policy making; however, political parties often play a larger role,
so whether specific geographic or national legislative districts produce better representation is debatable.14
Whether or not members of the legislature are elected from specific geographic districts, there is considerable
variation in the number of legislators who can represent a single district. National-level districts such as
9.1 ⢠What Do Legislatures Do? 277
Mozambique, where every member of the legislature could potentially be elected by every voter, are the
extreme, but many systems have multimember districts, where multiple legislators represent a single
geographic district. Depending on the rules of the system, these members may be elected at the same time or
at different times, and they may be from the same party or different parties. For example, in the United States
Senate, each state is its own electoral district with two members, each of whom is elected on separate six-year
cycles. These two members may or may not be of the same political party. After the 2020 electoral cycle, Jon
Tester, a Democrat who will be up for reelection in 2024, and Steve Daines, a Republican who will be up for
reelection in 2026, both represented Montana.
The number of seats allotted per district can vary considerably in multimember districts. In the Folketing, or
Danish Parliament, there are 12 constituencies. The smallest constituencies have two seats in Parliament, and
the largest district has 20 seats. The division of seats across constituencies is often done to recognize
differences in population density. One of those smaller constituencies is Bornholm, which had 31,214 voters in
2019 and elected two members to Parliament, one each from the two largest parties in the legislature: Venstre,
also known as Denmarkâs Liberal Party, and Socialdemokratiet, or the Social Democrats.15 Compare this with
the largest constituency in the country, SjĂŚllands, which had 628,910 voters and divided 20 seats across eight
different political parties based on the percentage of the vote that each of those parties received in the
constituency.16
Electoral Systems and Representation
- Single-member districts divide a legislature into geographic areas where one representative serves a specific population.
- The US House of Representatives allocates seats based on state population, allowing states to draw their own district boundaries.
- Geographically clustered racial and ethnic minorities may find better representation through single-member districts.
- Multimember districts are often more effective at increasing the number of women elected to public office.
- Research suggests that larger multimember districts can lead to poorer constituent oversight and misaligned legislative decisions.
Some scholars argue that geographically based single-member districts can better represent racial and ethnic minorities because members of a community who are clustered together can elect a representative from that community.
By contrast, some electoral systems use single-member districts. In these systems, the legislature is made up
of many geographic districts, with only one legislator representing each district. The US House of
Representatives uses a single-member district system in which the total number of seats in the chamber is
distributed across the states based on population, with more populous states receiving many more seats. Each
state can decide how it wants to draw its individual districts.
The relationship between the legislator and the constituent, which varies depending on whether a political
system uses single-member or multimember districts, has been the subject of considerable research. Some
scholars argue that geographically based single-member districts can better represent racial and ethnic
minorities because members of a community who are clustered together can elect a representative from that
community,17 but scholars have also found that multimember districts can better ensure that women are
elected to public office because each community can select more than one representative.18 Some scholars
contend that multimember districts can result in poorer representation of constituents overall, as the greater
the number of seats in a district, the harder it is for constituents to monitor legislator behaviorâand the
greater the likelihood that legislators will make decisions that are not in line with the majority of constituentsâ
preferences.19
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The Changing Face of Legislatures
FIGURE 9.7 The numbers of women in legislatures around the world are increasing. (source: Pew Research Center
analysis of data from Inter-Parliamentary Union; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-
SA 4.0 license)
As discussed in Chapter 8: Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections, in the 21st century, the US Congress has
Diversity and Representation Trends
- The demographic makeup of the US Congress has seen a significant increase in diversity, with the percentage of women and people of color doubling between 2001 and 2021.
- Global trends mirror this shift, with women's representation in legislatures worldwide rising from 18 percent in 2008 to 24 percent in 2019.
- Descriptive representation suggests that legislators with similar demographic backgrounds to their constituents may better represent those groups' unique life experiences.
- Substantive representation focuses on ideological and policy alignment between a legislator and their constituents, regardless of shared demographic traits.
- While descriptive representation increases the probability that a group's interests are voiced, it is not a guarantee of political alignment.
- Effective representation can occur across demographic lines, as legislators are capable of advocating for interests outside their own race or gender.
A woman whose parents came to the United States as refugees will have a different perspective on the world from that of a man whose family has been in the United States for generations.
grown more and more diverse. In 2001, only 12 percent of members of Congress were people of color, and 13
percent were women. By 2021, 24 percent of members identified as people of color, and 27 percent identified as
women.20 Indeed, this pattern of increasing representation is true in most places around the world. For example,
the percentage of seats held by women in legislatures globally has increased from 18 percent in 2008 to 24 percent
in 2019.21 Though the membership of the US Congress is not yet as diverse as the US population, the trend in
membership demographics echoes the countryâs growing diversity. Why is this increasing diversity important?
Increased diversity translates to a greater variety of life experiences and perspectives. A woman whose parents
came to the United States as refugees will have a different perspective on the world from that of a man whose family
has been in the United States for generations. Representatives bring their life experiences and nuances to policy
making, potentially better representing their constituents. The idea that underrepresented minorities receive better
representation from people with similar demographic characteristics is called descriptive representation. In
contrast, substantive representation is the phenomenon in which people are represented by legislators who hold
the same ideological or policy beliefs, regardless of demographic characteristics. There is no guarantee that a match
between a legislatorâs ethnicity or gender and some subset of their constituents means the legislator will represent
the political interests of that constituencyâor that a mismatch between a legislatorâs demographic identity and their
primary constituency means they will not represent their constituentsâ interests. However, descriptive
representation has been found to improve the probability that a demographic groupâs interests will be
represented.22 A legislatorâs identity may help them represent their constituents, but it is not a guarantee; a
legislator may also effectively represent individuals of genders, races, and ethnicities other than their own.
Types of Representation
Models of Legislative Representation
- Edmund Burke identified two primary models for how elected officials represent their constituents: the delegate model and the trustee model.
- The delegate model requires legislators to act as direct messengers of their constituents' preferences, setting aside personal judgment.
- The trustee model empowers legislators to use their own knowledge and judgment to act in the people's best interests, even if it contradicts public opinion.
- The politico model represents a pragmatic middle ground where legislators balance constituent demands with their own expertise based on the issue's complexity.
- Foreign aid serves as a real-world example where legislators often act as trustees, supporting spending that is unpopular with the public but viewed as strategically necessary by experts.
In the trustee model, though the legislator should still learn about the votersâ preferences, once in government they must use their own judgment and knowledge of policy to decide what is in constituentsâ best interests, even if it is contrary to those constituentsâ views.
In democracies, those who are elected to office are entrusted with acting in the interest of the people they
THE CHANGING POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
9.1 ⢠What Do Legislatures Do? 279
represent, but how do elected officials decide what is in the best interests of those constituents? Edmund
Burke, a political philosopher who served in the British Parliament in the 18th century, posited two primary
ways legislators can act to represent their constituents.23 In one view, the legislator is a delegate of the people
who elected them. The legislatorâs obligation is to learn the peopleâs policy preferences and their views about
different issues and to directly convey those preferences via legislative action. The delegate model rests on the
ideas that people understand politics and policy well enough to form thoughtful opinions and to convey them
to their representatives and that the legislatorâs personal preferences should be set aside.
Alternatively, the legislator can be a trustee for their constituents. In the trustee model, though the legislator
should still learn about the votersâ preferences, once in government they must use their own judgment and
knowledge of policy to decide what is in constituentsâ best interests, even if it is contrary to those constituentsâ
views. The trustee model is based on the idea that the average voter is either not sufficiently informed about
politics and policy or does not have enough time to develop that knowledge in order to know what is actually in
their best interests. Consequently, the representative, whose job it is to learn these facts, is better situated to
make these decisions.
If the delegate and trustee models are at opposite ends of the spectrum, in practice, most legislators fall
somewhere in between the two extremes. This kind of representation, where the legislator seeks a balance
between delegate and trustee approaches, is sometimes also called the politico model of representation.24 In
this model, a legislator relies on the delegate approach, weighing the opinion of their constituents quite heavily
in their decision-making, particularly when their constituents feel strongly about an issue, but in policy areas
where either the legislator has more policy knowledge or there is a lack of public interest, they will rely on their
own judgment.
The issue of foreign aid in the United States provides a classic example of this dichotomy. When asked in
opinion polls, Americans often say the United States government spends too much on aid to other countries.25
However, in reality, foreign aid accounts for only about 1 percent of the federal budget and has broad support
from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress.26 Despite the expressed opinions of constituents,
members of Congress often support these policies because of a discrepancy in information between legislators
and constituents, where the legislators have far more information than the average constituent about the costs
and benefits of the programs.
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Models of Political Representation
- The gap between public perception and factual reality, such as foreign aid spending, complicates the delegate model of representation.
- Legislators must decide how to weigh constituent preferences against their own judgment when public knowledge is limited.
- Partisan representation prioritizes the relationship between the legislator and their political party over the direct desires of constituents.
- The prevalence of partisan loyalty varies globally, with some systems demanding strict adherence and others allowing more individual freedom.
- Direct communication from constituents via letters, calls, or emails remains a vital and effective tool for influencing legislative priorities.
This gap between constituentsâ knowledge and their opinions means that legislators must decide when, on which policies, and to what degree to weigh their constituentsâ preferences against their own.
FIGURE 9.8 Information can change perceptions. (source: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll
(conducted December 2-9, 2014); attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Foreign policy demonstrates the complexity of delegate representation. Many Americans have only a little bit of
knowledge about how much the United States spends on foreign aid, generally believing that the United States
spends a significant portion of the budget in that policy area. However, when Americans are presented with
information about how much the United States actually spends, their opinions tend to change, with more
respondents saying that the United States spends either âtoo littleâ or âthe right amount.â This gap between
constituentsâ knowledge and their opinions means that legislators must decide when, on which policies, and to what
degree to weigh their constituentsâ preferences against their own.
A fourth type of representation, partisan representation, differs from the other three. In delegate, trustee, and
politico representation, the primary relationship is between the elected official and the constituent. In partisan
representation, the primary relationship is between the legislator and the political party. Partisan
representation relies on the idea that legislators must always vote with their political party. Depending on the
wishes of the constituents, partisan representation can appear very similar to delegate or trustee
representation, but it is motivated not directly by the desires of the constituents about a particular policy area
but instead by a legislatorâs belief that their constituents want them to be a loyal party member across all
issues.27 The prevalence of partisan representation varies across countries, as in some political systems, the
baseline expectation is that legislators will vote with their parties the vast majority of the time, while in other
political systems, members are allowed more freedom from their political parties.28
SHOW ME THE DATA
9.1 ⢠What Do Legislatures Do? 281
Contact Your Representative
FIGURE 9.9 Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica (center) meets one-on-one with residents of Sineku in
2017. Most politicians want to hear from their constituents, as this can help them understand the issues that people
are facing and the areas that might benefit from additional government work. (credit: âPM Meets One-on-One with
Residents in Sinekuâ by Roosevelt Skerrit/Flickr, Public Domain)
In many democracies, members of the legislature care what their constituents think about various issues. They want
to know which issues their constituents think are important, whether there is support or opposition for particular
pieces of legislation, and whether or not their constituents approve of their performance in their job. This means
that it is very important for constituents to reach out to their representatives. There are a number of ways you can
contact your representative: via letter, email, or phone call. Check USAGov (https://openstax.org/r/USA_Gov) to find
contact information for national, state, and local representatives. While every legislator prioritizes what kinds of
communications they take most seriously,29 research suggests that many forms of contact will have at least some
effect on legislators.30 Itâs easy these days to find contact information for your legislator on the Internet, so use
your voice to reach out. Some key things to keep in mind: be polite, be clear about which issue or concern you are
contacting them about and whether you support or oppose it, and remember: you are most effective when you are
contacting your own representative!
The Legislative Oversight Role
- Legislative oversight serves as a critical check on the executive branch, ensuring power is shared across the government system.
- Committees conduct hearings to monitor agencies and ensure their actions align with their assigned missions and policy jurisdictions.
- Parliamentary questions provide a formal mechanism for legislators to demand information from the bureaucracy, often with mandatory deadlines.
- Systems like the German Bundestag utilize both in-person questioning of ministers and written inquiries to maintain transparency.
- Unlike hearings, which require committee cooperation, parliamentary questions allow individual legislators to independently challenge government administration.
In these democracies, legislative oversight of the bureaucracy provides an important check on the power of the executive branch.
The Legislatureâs Oversight Role
The process of regularly monitoring and reviewing the actions of agencies or other political actors, oversight,
is important in democracies where a system of checks and balances between the different branches of
government is designed to ensure that power is shared across the system. In these democracies, legislative
oversight of the bureaucracy provides an important check on the power of the executive branch.31
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
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FIGURE 9.10 Members of the European Parliament hold a hearing on the suitability of incoming members of the
European Commission. (credit: âHearings: Ylva Johansson (Sweden) Home Affairsâ by European Parliament/Flickr,
CC-BY-4.0: Š European Union 2020 â Source: EP)
Hearings
Just as committees hold hearings to learn more about policy areas, they can also hold hearings to conduct
legislative oversight. In these hearings, committees can gather information to ensure that an agencyâs actions
are in line with that agencyâs assigned mission. Committees and agencies are often paired up based on
relevant policy jurisdiction. For example, in the UK Parliament, the Health and Social Care Select Committee
has jurisdiction over the Department of Health and Social Care and its 29 agencies and public bodies, which
include the National Health Service (NHS). The committee regularly holds inquiries into issues in its domain,
which in 2020 included the delivery of core NHS services during the COVID-19 pandemic and the safety of
maternity services in England, among others.32
Parliamentary Questions
Hearings are not the only way legislatures get information. In many systems, particularly parliamentary
systems, a formal process allows legislators to ask questions of the bureaucracy that the bureaucracy is then
required to answer. This process can take many forms. In some countries, there is a designated time during the
week when legislators can question ministers, including the prime minister, in person. In other countries,
legislators must submit questions in writing, but they can do so at any time, and the bureaucracy must
respond in writing by a specific deadline. Sometimes governmental systems have a mechanism for both in-
person and written questions. For example, in the German Bundestag, after every weekly cabinet meeting,
ministers are available to answer questions about current policy for 35 minutes. This is followed by a two-hour
question-and-answer session relating to questions submitted in advance.33
VIDEO
Prime Ministerâs Questions (PMQs), 28 April 2021
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/9-1-what-do-
legislatures-do)
In this video, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom takes questions from the leader of the
opposition and other members of Parliament about policy and government administration.
Parliamentary questions have one key advantage over hearings: any individual legislator may submit a
question. One way or another, hearings require the cooperation of multiple members of Parliament. That
cooperation may be passive, as when members of the committee who are not interested in the issue choose not
9.1 ⢠What Do Legislatures Do? 283
Legislative Oversight and Budgetary Power
- Legislators can use written or oral questions as a potent tool for inquiry without needing cooperation from other members.
- Parliamentary questioning allows minority party members to launch investigations even when they lack committee control.
- Legislators are not restricted by committee jurisdiction and can ask questions regarding any policy area that interests them.
- The 'power of the purse' serves as both a carrot and a stick to ensure executive agencies comply with legislative priorities.
- Budgetary authority is a critical mechanism for legislative bodies to reward or punish agencies based on their performance and adherence to directives.
This 'power of the purse' is both a carrot and a stick that legislatures can use to gain compliance with their policy-making priorities.
to participate in the hearing, or it may be active, as when members help organize the panel of witnesses or
reinforce a line of questioning after a colleagueâs time to speak expires. Questions, whether written or oral, do
not require cooperation from any other member of the legislature. This makes questions a potent tool for
members of minority parties.34 They can launch inquiries into issues via questions in cases where they might
not be able to get cooperation for a hearing in a committee.
In addition, any member of a legislative body can ask a question related to any policy area. They need not be a
member of the relevant committee to participate in parliamentary questioning.35 This means that legislators
are not restricted from participating in policy areas that interest them simply because of jurisdiction.
Budgets
In many democratic systems, the legislative branch is in charge of what is sometimes referred to as the
appropriations process, whereby the legislature allocates the governmentâs money to the various agencies in
charge of implementing policy.
This âpower of the purseâ is both a carrot and a stick that legislatures can use to gain compliance with their
policy-making priorities.36 A legislature is likely to allocate more money to those agencies that follow the
legislatureâs direction and do what members of the legislature consider important workâand to cut the
budgets of those agencies that either do not follow the legislatureâs directives or do work the majority of
legislators consider relatively unimportant. For agencies, this is critical; nothing gets done without money. The
legislatureâs budgetary authority can be one of its greatest tools to ensure the compliance of the agencies of the
executive branch.
9.2 What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define parliamentary and presidential systems and give examples of each.
⢠Articulate the differences in member selection in different types of systems.
⢠Describe how the relationship between the legislature and the executive changes depending on the type of
Legislative and Executive Dynamics
- Legislatures vary significantly across political systems based on institutional features like the number of chambers and the type of governing system.
- The primary distinction between democratic systems lies in the relationship between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
- Parliamentary systems feature a close integration of powers where the prime minister serves as a leader in both the executive and legislative branches.
- Presidential systems maintain a strict separation of powers, limiting the executive's direct role in the lawmaking process.
- Semi-presidential systems combine elements of both models by utilizing both a president and a prime minister.
- The method of selecting legislators is critical because it determines whose interests and values will ultimately shape the law.
The answers to these questions matter because the method of selection can indicate whose interests a legislator will represent, as the person or people who put someone in power can have a decided impact on whose values and preferences shape law.
governing system.
At this point, it should be clear that there is considerable variation across legislatures in terms of what they do
and how they do it. Two institutional features can play a substantial role in influencing the legislatureâs role in
a political system: the type of system and the number of chambers. This section focuses on the first of these
two featuresânamely, the differences between parliamentary and presidential systems.
In most democracies, there are three main branches of government: a legislative branch, which makes laws;
an executive branch, which oversees the implementation and enforcement of laws; and a judicial branch,
which decides whether the actions of individuals, groups, and institutions align with those laws and
determines whether those actions, as well as any laws, are in conflict with the constitution. The differences
between the main types of systems center on how the legislative and executive branches relate to each other. In
a parliamentary system, there is a very close relationship between the legislative and executive branches, as
the head of the executive, often called the prime minister, is also a leader in the legislative branch. In a
presidential system, there is a much stronger separation of powers between the legislative and the executive.
In these systems, the head of the executive, often called the president, has only a limited role in the legislative
process. A system with both a president and a prime minister is called a semi-presidential system. These
systems share some features of both parliamentary and presidential systems. Because the differences between
parliamentary and presidential systems are profound, the chapter will discuss these two types of systems in
more depth.
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How Members Get Selected
Who has the power to pick the people who make the laws? Does the public elect the members of the legislature,
or do other directly elected legislators appoint them? Are legislators selected via executive appointment? The
answers to these questions matter because the method of selection can indicate whose interests a legislator
will represent, as the person or people who put someone in power can have a decided impact on whose values
and preferences shape law.
FIGURE 9.11 In 2021, most countries had some form of presidential, parliamentary, or semi-presidential
9.2 ⢠What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems? 285
government. (credit: modification of âForms of Government 2021â by Newfraferz87/derivative of work by Slirski/
Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0)
Legislative Elections
Direct Legislative Election Systems
- Legislatures worldwide typically use one of three main electoral systems: proportional representation, plurality, or mixed systems.
- Proportional representation (PR) aims to reflect the population's political support by awarding seats based on the percentage of votes received.
- PR systems generally require multimember districts to allow for the division of seats among multiple winning parties.
- Brazil's lower house exemplifies a system that combines party proportionality with population-based seat allocation.
- Minimum thresholds, usually between 3 and 5 percent, are often implemented to prevent small fringe parties from entering the legislature.
The principle behind this system is that all preferences should be reflected in government, not just those views that have majority support.
Most legislatures around the world select members via public elections, in which citizens vote for either a
candidate or a political party to represent them in the legislature. There are three main types of direct
legislative election systems: proportional representation systems, plurality or âfirst past the postâ systems, and
mixed systems. Within each of these sets of electoral rules, there are many variations, but all the political
systems within a given type share certain common characteristics.
Electoral systems in which the relative level of support for political parties in the population is reflected in the
legislature are proportional representation systems. If 10 percent of the public supports a particular political
party and shows up to vote for them, that party can expect to hold roughly 10 percent of the seats in the
legislature. The principle behind this system is that all preferences should be reflected in government, not just
those views that have majority support. There are many different variations of proportional representation,
often based on the way in which votes are translated into seats in government. Most variations of proportional
representation require multimember districts in order to have seats to divide among the winners. In the lower
house of Brazilâs National Congress, the 26 federal states and the federal district are each allotted between 8
and 70 seats, based on population.37 The electoral result in each district determines the number of seats the
party will receive in the legislature; this combines proportional representation by party, in which the amount
of support a party has determines the amount of seats they receive, with proportional representation by
population, in which more populous regions receive more representation than less populous regions.
Additionally, most systems have a minimum threshold of votes needed to gain seats in the legislature, ranging
from 3 to 5 percent of the electorate in most countries. So although proportional representation allows smaller
parties to gain seats, minimum threshold requirements are thought to prevent small fringe political parties
from gaining seats in the legislature.38
VIDEO
France Legislative Elections: How Does It Work?
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/9-2-what-is-the-
difference-between-parliamentary-and-presidential-systems)
Plurality and Majority Voting
- Plurality systems award victory to the candidate with the most votes regardless of whether they achieve a majority share.
- The French Parliament utilizes a two-round system to ensure the winner eventually secures a majority of the vote.
- Plurality systems are often viewed as straightforward but make it difficult for smaller third parties to gain political power.
- A significant drawback is that candidates can win office even when the majority of constituents voted for other people.
- In multimember districts, plurality voting allows voters to select multiple candidates to fill all available seats simultaneously.
Additionally, legislators can take office in these systems even if the majority of their constituents voted for someone else.
The French Parliament uses a variant of plurality voting in which it is not enough to get the most votes of any
candidate; the winning candidate must get a majority of the vote. This sometimes means that legislative
elections require two rounds of voting: the first round to narrow the field to two candidates, and the second
round to determine the winner.
In plurality or first-past-the-post electoral systems, voters cast a vote directly for the candidate of their choice,
and the candidate with the most votes wins the election, regardless of the percentage of the vote share they
secure. Because there is a direct relationship between votes cast and election outcomes in these systems, they
are generally considered more straightforward than proportional representation systems. However, in these
systems, it is extremely difficult for small parties to gain political power. Additionally, legislators can take office
in these systems even if the majority of their constituents voted for someone else. For example, in the 2020
United States Senate race in Minnesota, Democratic candidate Tina Smith won reelection with 48.74 percent of
the vote. However, because Republican Jason Lewis got 43.5 percent, Kevin OâConnor of the Legal Marijuana
Now Party got 5.91 percent, and Oliver Steinberg of the Grassroots Legalize Cannabis Party got 1.78 percent, a
larger total percentage of voters selected someone other than Tina Smith, the winner of the race.39 While
plurality voting is most commonly used in single-member districts, it can also be used in multimember
districts. In those systems, voters are allowed to pick as many candidates as there are seats up for election, and
the candidates with the most votes win. For example, in a race with three open seats, voters may pick three
candidates, and the three candidates with the highest vote totals win the election.
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Mixed Systems and Duverger's Law
- Mixed electoral systems combine plurality voting with proportional representation to balance district-level distortions.
- South Korea serves as a prime example, using national-level proportional seats to compensate for unrepresentative plurality results.
- Regardless of the specific voting system, legislators remain ultimately beholden to their constituents or risk being voted out.
- Duverger's law suggests that plurality voting in single-member districts naturally trends toward a two-party competition.
- While Duverger's law limits competition at the district level, a national legislature may still contain many parties if regional dominance varies.
- Voters in plurality systems often avoid third-party candidates to prevent 'wasting' their votes on unlikely winners.
He practiced his idea that the proper role for a legislator was to be a trustee for his constituents and was voted out of office because people felt he did not sufficiently represent them.
Mixed systems combine aspects of proportional representation and plurality voting systems. While every
mixed system is slightly different, the South Korean National Assembly, where 253 seats are elected by
plurality voting in single-member districts and an additional 47 seats are elected at the national level using
proportional representation, provides a clear example of how these systems can work. Often, mixed systems
use proportional representation seats to help balance out distortions in representation that arise from
plurality voting. For example, if a party gained 44 percent of the vote nationally, but due to results in individual
districts it received more than 51 percent of the plurality voting seats, the proportional representationâbased
seats could be adjusted to compensate for the less representative plurality results.40
In all of these systems, the direct election of legislators creates a system in which legislators are beholden to
the people who elected them. That responsibility may be to the people who voted in support of their political
party or to the constituents of their geographic districts, but regardless of the voting system, legislators who
ignore the will of the people do so at their peril. Some systems offer more protection for individual legislators,
such as proportional representation systems in which party leaders select individuals to fill seats, but
ultimately, a legislator or party that routinely fails to respond to constituentsâ desires loses the support of the
people. Remember parliamentarian and philosopher Edmund Burke from the earlier discussion of
representation? He practiced his idea that the proper role for a legislator was to be a trustee for his
constituents and was voted out of office because people felt he did not sufficiently represent them.
The type of electoral system has a significant effect on the number of competitive parties in the political
system. That relationship can be summed up by Duvergerâs law, which states that political systems with
plurality voting and single-member districts will have two competitive political parties in each race.41 In these
systems, many voters are less inclined to vote for candidates representing smaller parties, fearing that doing
so would amount to âwastingâ their vote given the slim chance those candidates have of winning.42 This
phenomenon occurs at the district level; for example, in a race for the United States Senate seat representing
Illinois, only two political parties will be competitive. Duvergerâs law does not guarantee that there will only be
two competitive parties in the legislature. In some settings, two dominant parties do emerge in the legislature,
as is the case with the Democratic and Republican Parties in United States politics, but in other settings, there
may be different competitive parties around the country. Following the 2019 elections for the Lok Sabha, the
lower chamber of the Indian Parliament, 37 political parties won seats. Yet in individual states, the parties that
were most competitive varied considerably. In Gujarat, a state on the western border with Pakistan, the two
most competitive parties were the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress, which together
received over 95 percent of votes in the state. In the state of Andhra Pradesh, the two most competitive parties
were the Telugu Desam Party and the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party, which accounted for
approximately 90 percent of votes in that state.43 Additionally, Duvergerâs law does not guarantee that the two
competitive parties will stay the same over time, as parties can cycle in and out of power.
Electoral Systems and Duverger's Law
- The United States has experienced several historical shifts in its two-party system, evolving from Federalists to the current Democratic and Republican parties.
- Duverger's Law provides a theoretical framework for understanding why third parties face significant structural barriers in the United States.
- Historically, U.S. Senators were elected by state legislatures rather than directly by the public, a practice that ended in the early 20th century.
- China's National People's Congress utilizes a multi-tiered indirect election system where delegates are chosen by provincial-level legislatures.
- Indirect election systems often result in representatives who are more closely aligned with political parties and other officials than with the general electorate.
This electoral design likely means that members of the National Peopleâs Congress are more closely aligned with other elected officials and the political party than they are with ordinary voters.
In the United States,
the current Democratic and Republican party system44 replaced the Democratic and Whig party system,
which replaced the Democratic-Republican and Federalist party system.45
VIDEO
What Is Duvergerâs Law?
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/9-2-what-is-the-
difference-between-parliamentary-and-presidential-systems)
In this video, Eric Sanders and Aaron Hamlin of the Center for Election Science explain Duvergerâs law and
explore why third parties have so little success in the United States.
In some systems, members of the legislature are elected not by the people but by other elected officials. The
United States Senate used to be structured this way; members of the state legislatures, who were directly
elected by the public, had the power to vote for members of the Senate. Though this practice ended in the
United States in the early 20th century, similar practices still exist around the world. In the National Peopleâs
9.2 ⢠What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems? 287
Congress in China, members of the national legislature are elected by the provincial-level legislatures, who are
elected by lower levels of assemblies. This means that a successful delegate in the National Peopleâs Congress
must rise through many rounds of voting at successively higher levels of government, though the first level
they must pass through is the public.46 This electoral design likely means that members of the National
Peopleâs Congress are more closely aligned with other elected officials and the political party than they are with
ordinary voters.
Appointment Selection
Executive Influence on Legislatures
- Executive authority to appoint legislative members varies significantly across different political systems, from absolute monarchies to democratic republics.
- In monarchies like Bahrain and Brunei, appointed chambers often serve to ensure the ruler's preferences are upheld or to act as a consultative body rather than an independent lawmaking authority.
- Some systems utilize appointed chambers, such as the Senate in the Bahamas, where appointments are made by elected leaders, creating a form of indirect public accountability.
- The power of appointed members can range from the ability to propose and pass legislation to merely approving or rejecting laws created by other bodies.
- Executive appointments are also used in democratic systems like the United States to fill temporary vacancies, though these appointees must eventually face voters.
However, because of the kingâs role in selecting and reappointing members, members of the Consultative Council may feel an obligation to support or oppose a piece of legislation based on the kingâs preference, rather than their own.
In some systems, the executive has the authority to appoint members to legislative chambers. In systems with
either an absolute monarchy or another supreme leader, that leader is empowered to appoint members to the
chamber without any public input. Depending on the exact relationship between the leader and the legislature,
the appointed members may have the power to propose and pass legislation that originates in the chamber, or
they may only be able to approve or reject legislation created by others. Additionally, some places have
institutions that claim to be legislatures but lack any independent legislative authority. For example, in
Bahrainâs National Assembly, the members of the lower chamber, the Majlis al-Nuwab or Council of
Representatives, are elected by the people, while the Majlis al-Shura, also known as the Consultative Council, is
made up of 40 seats directly appointed by the king.47 All legislation originates in the Council of
Representatives, but in order to become law, it must also be approved by the Consultative Council. However,
because of the kingâs role in selecting and reappointing members, members of the Consultative Council may
feel an obligation to support or oppose a piece of legislation based on the kingâs preference, rather than their
own. Brunei, on the other hand, only has one chamber, a legislative council whose members are appointed by
the sultan. That council does not have any independent lawmaking authority, in part because the sultan, the
crown prince, and the cabinet are also on the legislative council.48 Instead, the sultan creates all laws, and the
function of the council is to be a venue for the sultan to discuss different policy ideas.
In other systems, legislators are appointed by a chief executive, such as a president or a prime minister, who is
directly accountable to the people. In the Parliament of the Bahamas, the governor-general, in consultation
with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, appoints members to the 16-person Senate. The
prime minister alone gets to select nine members, the leader of the opposition gets to select four members,
and, after consulting with the leader of the opposition, the prime minister selects an additional three
members.49 While the public does not directly select the members of the chamber, the leaders who appoint
them routinely face public elections. Although public accountability is more distant, a change in the Bahamian
publicâs support for a political party would result in significant changes to the membership of the Senate,
which may help make those senators more responsive to the public.
Executive appointments can also be used to fill a vacancy between elections. In the United States Senate, a
state governor can appoint an individual to fill a vacant seat for the remainder of the term.50 The appointed
senator then must go up for reelection, so although there may be some sense of obligation between the senator
and the governor who appointed them, the upcoming election increases the likelihood that the appointee will
be responsive to their constituents.
LegislativeâExecutive Branch Relations
Executive and Legislative Dynamics
- The power of a legislature is fundamentally shaped by its relationship with the executive branch and the degree of independence between them.
- Presidential systems feature a strict separation of powers that prevents the aggregation of authority but can lead to political gridlock and conflict.
- Parliamentary systems operate on interdependence, where the executive is chosen by the legislative majority, facilitating easier lawmaking.
- The stability of parliamentary governments is fragile, as internal coalition conflicts or votes of no confidence can trigger new elections.
- Semi-presidential systems, such as in France or Sri Lanka, blend these models by sharing policy-making power between an independent president and a prime minister.
- While every system varies, the core tension remains the balance between governing efficiency and the oversight of power.
The weakness of the parliamentary system is that the stability of the government relies on a party or coalition maintaining its control.
While the power of a legislature is greatly shaped by the method used to select its members, that power is also
strongly influenced by the relationship between the executive and legislative branches. Remember, most
systems have some sort of legislative, executive, and judicial branch structure, but the relationships among the
branches and the powers they have can vary widely. Perhaps the most important of these relationships is that
between the legislative and the executive. In democratic systems, the key differences between presidential and
parliamentary systems relate to the degree of independence of the legislative and executive branches and how
much power each has to oversee the actions of the other.
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Independence
In presidential systems, there is a clear separation of powers between the legislative and the executive. That
separation of powers means that one branch makes decisions independently of the other branch, and certain
types of authority, such as the authority to raise taxes or declare war, are strictly reserved for one branch. The
strength of this separation of powers is that it prevents the aggregation of power in the hands of any one part of
government. The weakness, however, is that policy making can be difficult, particularly when different
political parties control the branches, which can lead to heightened political conflict and even gridlock,
preventing the government from functioning effectively.
Parliamentary systems, on the other hand, have no separation of powers between the legislative and the
executive. In fact, the process of selecting an executive comes directly through the legislature. In a
parliamentary system, the process starts when the public elects a legislature. Whatever party or coalition gains
the majority in the legislature then has the power to pick the prime minister. Prime ministers are part of both
the legislature and the executive, exemplifying a complete interdependence of legislative and executive
decision-making. The strength of the parliamentary system is that because a legislative majority is required to
have executive authority, it is much easier to pass legislation. The weakness of the parliamentary system is
that the stability of the government relies on a party or coalition maintaining its control. If there are conflicts
within a party or coalition, a vote of no confidence or members defecting can break the majority, which can
require new elections, potentially resulting in a new legislature and a new executive.
FIGURE 9.12 In Sri Lanka, the prime minister and the president are partners in governing, as Sri Lanka is a semi-
presidential system. In this photo from 2010, then prime minister Manmohan Singh speaks with then president
Mahinda Rajapaksa. (credit: âPhoto WA-5486Lâ by Public.Resource.Org/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Semi-presidential systems blend the structures of presidential and parliamentary systems. Every semi-
presidential system is slightly different. The blending of the systems leads to some areas of independence,
though not the complete independence of a presidential system. Semi-presidential systems often have an
independently elected president and a prime minister who is the leader of the legislative majority. In some
systems, the two individuals share policy-making power. This is the case in France, where the president and
prime minister both have policy-making authority.51 In semi-presidential systems, the presidentâs authority is
not dependent on the legislature, but because of the shared power and responsibilities, the president must still
work with the legislative branch to accomplish their goals.
Oversight
Legislative Oversight and Structure
- Oversight serves as a mechanism for the legislative and executive branches to supervise and limit each other's power to prevent corruption.
- Presidential systems utilize separate but overlapping powers, such as the legislative veto, to ensure no single branch gains absolute authority.
- In parliamentary systems, oversight is primarily conducted by the minority party through methods like question time rather than a separate branch.
- The effectiveness of parliamentary oversight depends heavily on the minority's ability to sway public opinion and encourage majority party defections.
- Legislatures are structurally categorized as unicameral, consisting of one chamber, or bicameral, consisting of two distinct chambers.
- Bicameral systems require two bodies with different procedures and powers to collaborate on policy and legislative responsibilities.
In a presidential system, each branch has powers separate from those of the other branches, but each also has powers that overlap with the other branchesâ, allowing one branch to step in to stop the excesses of the other.
Earlier, the chapter discussed oversight as it relates to the power the legislature has to oversee the
bureaucracy, but oversight can also refer to the powers of the legislative and executive branches to supervise
and limit each otherâs powers. This type of oversight aims to prevent an institution from securing too much
9.2 ⢠What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems? 289
power and exerting a corrupting influence.
These concerns are fundamental to the presidential system, which was first created in the United States in
response to colonistsâ experience of being subject to the absolute authority of the English monarchy. In a
presidential system, each branch has powers separate from those of the other branches, but each also has
powers that overlap with the other branchesâ, allowing one branch to step in to stop the excesses of the other.
The legislative veto is one example of this kind of oversight. In a typical presidential system, the legislature
must pass a piece of legislation, and the president must sign off on it before it goes into effect and becomes a
law. A president who does not agree with the legislation can veto the bill, which sends it back to the legislature,
providing a check on the legislatureâs power. In many presidential systems, if the legislature passes the bill
again, which usually requires a supermajority, the bill becomes law without the presidentâs support, which is a
clear check on the presidentâs power. The two branches are each empowered to oversee and correct the actions
of the other.
Oversight in parliamentary systems, and thus the relationship between the legislature and the executive, is
much different. Because the executive is a part of the legislature, the minority party, rather than another
branch of government, is primarily responsible for conducting oversight. Minority parties can use methods
such as question time to interrogate the majorityâs government and then take that information to the public to
gain their support. Because parliamentary governments rely on public support to maintain power, a minority
party that is able to sway public opinion and potentially get members of the majority to defect on votes can
seriously check the power of the majority party. When a majority party is so large, with such strong public
support, that the minority partyâs threat to go to the public is rendered ineffective, the majority party can
hamper the minority partyâs oversight efforts.
9.3 What Is the Difference between Unicameral and Bicameral Systems?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define unicameral and bicameral legislature.
⢠Outline which types of legislative systems exist in different parts of the world.
⢠Analyze the relative advantages and disadvantages of each type of legislative system.
One key structural component of legislatures is the number of chambers that they have. The two most
common options for chamber structure are unicameral and bicameral. A unicameral legislature has only one
chamber, or body, that makes decisions. A bicameral legislature has two chambers, often with different
procedures and powers, that ultimately must work together to make policy and exercise other legislative
powers and responsibilities.
Strengths and Weaknesses of a Unicameral Legislature
Unicameral vs. Bicameral Legislatures
- Unicameral legislatures offer a more efficient legislative process by requiring only one set of decision-makers to debate and approve bills.
- Efficiency in unicameral systems is often preferred in homogeneous societies where political parties are deemed sufficient to protect diverse interests.
- A major weakness of unicameralism is the lack of natural veto points, which can lead to unchecked power, especially in parliamentary systems with strong majorities.
- Bicameral systems are designed to reflect different voices and priorities, often splitting representation between the general public and specific territories or classes.
- The German system exemplifies bicameralism by using the Bundestag for public representation and the Bundesrat to represent state interests as unified blocs.
- Bicameralism acts as an internal system of checks and balances, ensuring that legislation surviving the process has broader institutional support.
The lack of a natural âveto pointâ is particularly apparent in unicameral parliamentary systems, where a prime minister with a strong governing majority faces almost no constraints from either a separate chamber or an effective minority opposition.
One of the main strengths of unicameral legislatures is that they create a more efficient legislative process. In a
unicameral legislature, bills only need to go before and be debated by one set of decision makers, whereas in a
bicameral legislature, both chambers must debate and approve bills in order for them to have a chance of
becoming laws. This legislative efficiency is particularly valued in more homogenous societies, where having
venues for different voices and perspectives is not seen as particularly important. In these societies, political
parties are considered sufficient to protect diverse interests.
Unicameral systems do not lend themselves to oversight and checks on the power of the legislature. In
bicameral systems, the need to pass legislation through another chamber is a natural âveto pointâ; if there is
support for legislation in one chamber but not the other, that may reflect broad concerns of a segment of the
public, so the publicâs preferences are better served when both chambers weigh in and consider a piece of
legislation. The lack of a natural âveto pointâ is particularly apparent in unicameral parliamentary systems,
where a prime minister with a strong governing majority faces almost no constraints from either a separate
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chamber or an effective minority opposition.
Strengths and Weaknesses of a Bicameral Legislature
Bicameral systems make up approximately one-half of legislatures around the world. Bicameralism is largely
thought to allow the structures of a political system to reflect different voices and priorities. In bicameral
systems, there is often a lower chamber, more closely associated with the perspective of the people, and an
upper chamber, which might reflect different territories or classes.52 For example, in the German
parliamentary system, the lower chamber, the Bundestag, is directly elected by the public, while the upper
chamber, the Bundesrat, is supposed to represent the 16 Länder, or states. While each state has between three
and six votes on legislation, all of a stateâs votes in the Bundesrat must be cast as a bloc, either for or against a
piece of legislation.53 The idea is that the vote should represent the stateâs interests, not the interests of the
individuals representing the state. The two chambers create a system of checks and balances within the
legislative branch so that any legislation that can survive the legislative branch process is much more likely to
succeed.
FIGURE 9.13 Student journalists participate in a 2017 celebration of youth journalism taking place on the floor of
the German Bundesrat. Note how the names of the Länder are affixed to the desks, highlighting the importance of
representing a particular region. (credit: âPreisverleihung - SZWdL17â by Jugendpresse Deutschland/Timon Suhk/
Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Weaknesses of Bicameral Systems
- Bicameral systems are inherently inefficient because legislation must undergo the entire investigation and debate process twice.
- The dual-chamber requirement significantly increases the probability that a bill will die before reaching a final vote.
- In the United States, the expiration of bills at the end of two-year sessions creates a high barrier for complex reforms like immigration.
- Gridlock frequently occurs when different political parties control each chamber, leading to ideological stalemates.
- The strengths and weaknesses of bicameralism are linked: the inclusion of more voices often results in a complete halt of the legislative process.
- Global legislative structures are split roughly in half between unicameral and bicameral systems, often influenced by geography and colonial history.
A system that, by design, allows for more voices can become a system where nothing can happen, as disagreement in the legislature can cause everything to come to a screeching halt.
There are important weaknesses to bicameral systems. First, the legislative process is inefficient. After a bill
has been investigated, debated, and voted on in one chamber, it must go to a second chamber and complete
the whole process again. This can both significantly extend the time it takes for a piece of legislation to pass
and dramatically raise the odds that a piece of legislation will die before it gets to a vote, as at every stage along
the way there are two sets of decision makers who can choose not to proceed with a piece of legislation. This
phenomenon played a significant role in preventing comprehensive immigration reform in the United States
in the first two decades of the 21st century. One nuance of the American legislative process is that bills that
havenât passed both chambers of Congress expire at the end of each two-year session. Although a number of
different pieces of immigration legislation were introduced between 2000 and 2020, and some passed either
the House or the Senate, no comprehensive immigration legislation was signed into law.54 Additionally, both
chambers must pass the exact same text of legislation. As many systems allow both chambers to amend
legislation, a piece of legislation can bounce back and forth between the two chambers until they can agree on
a final version. That can also add significant time and inefficiencies to the legislative process.
Another weakness of bicameralism is that it can suffer from gridlock when different parties hold the majority
in each chamber, particularly when the two parties in charge have significant policy and ideological
disagreements.
9.3 ⢠What Is the Difference between Unicameral and Bicameral Systems? 291
The strengths and weaknesses of bicameralism are two sides of the same coin. A system that, by design, allows
for more voices can become a system where nothing can happen, as disagreement in the legislature can cause
everything to come to a screeching halt.
Frequency of Unicameral and Bicameral Legislatures around the World
FIGURE 9.14 Approximately half of the countries around the world have bicameral legislatures (in green), while the
other half have unicameral legislatures (in blue). A few countries, for example China and Iran, have unicameral
legislatures with separate advisory bodies (brown), and a couple others have no legislature at all (red). (attribution:
Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
A quick look around the world shows some interesting patterns. Many large countries have a bicameral legislative
system. In part, this reflects the influence that the United States and European countries have around the globe. But
a significant number of countries, including countries in western and southern Africa, Central America, the Middle
East, and northern Europe, as well as many island nations, have unicameral legislatures. What characteristics do you
think influence countries to adopt one structure of legislature versus the other?
9.4 The Decline of Legislative Influence
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Identify the different challenges legislatures face.
⢠Articulate the reasons why different types of legislatures may face different challenges.
⢠Define party polarization.
Challenges to Modern Legislatures
- Political institutions are in a state of constant flux, evolving to meet contemporary demands.
- Legislatures worldwide face significant obstacles that hinder their prescribed roles within political structures.
- Internal and external forces, along with systemic issues, contribute to the weakening of legislative power.
- Executive dominance represents a growing shift in power away from representative bodies toward the executive branch.
- Legislative deference and political polarization further complicate the ability of these institutions to function effectively.
In many places around the world, despite all the powers that legislatures have and the vital role they play in our political structures, legislatures face significant challenges to their ability to play their prescribed role.
The political world is in constant flux, with institutions constantly evolving to meet the moment. In many
places around the world, despite all the powers that legislatures have and the vital role they play in our political
structures, legislatures face significant challenges to their ability to play their prescribed role. Some of these
challenges are internal, some are the result of external forces, and some are broader challenges that affect the
larger political system. Letâs consider three major challenges legislatures face in the 21st century: executive
dominance, legislative deference, and polarization.
SHOW ME THE DATA
292 9 ⢠Legislatures
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Growth in Executive Dominance
The Rise of Executive Dominance
- Executive dominance occurs when leaders expand their authority through incremental changes or radical shifts during crises.
- The process often involves normalizing expanded powers until they are viewed as legitimate by the public and other government branches.
- This phenomenon acts as an external threat to legislatures by systematically reducing their policy-making power and oversight capabilities.
- In the United States, presidents increasingly use executive orders to bypass a polarized Congress on issues like immigration and border security.
- International examples, such as Vladimir Putin's constitutional changes in Russia, demonstrate how executive dominance can lead to lifelong rule.
- As executive overreach becomes normalized, the political system becomes less responsive to traditional checks and balances.
Regardless of the method of expansion, the act of executive dominance is gradually normalized, forming a new basis for understanding that executiveâs powers.
Executive dominance is the phenomenon in which leaders, particularly in systems with an executive that is
separate from the legislature, expand their powers and justify those expanded powers so that many see them
as legitimate and acceptable. Episodes of executive dominance may occur incrementally, with executives
taking actions over time that individually represent small expansions of power but ultimately result in large
changes. In other cases, executives radically expand their authority, sometimes but not exclusively in times of
crisis, and have sufficient support from others in the government, the media, or the public to prevent any
effective reprisals for their actions. Regardless of the method of expansion, the act of executive dominance is
gradually normalized, forming a new basis for understanding that executiveâs powers.
Executive dominance is a form of external threat to the legislature, as the increased power of the executive
often reduces the power of the legislature. For example, in the United States, recent presidents have used
executive action, such as executive orders, memoranda, and proclamations, to achieve their policy goals with
increasing frequency when they have been unable to accomplish desired policy changes via Congress.
Presidents Obama and Trump both relied on executive action to shape immigration and border policy, with
President Obama using it to create the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and President
Trump using it to secure funding for a border wall between the United States and Mexico. Executive
dominance also occurs outside the United States. At the beginning of 2020, Russian president Vladimir Putin
put forward a number of legislative proposals that successfully changed the Russian constitution to extend his
term in office, raising the possibility that he could remain in power for the rest of his lifetime.55 Scholars who
have analyzed this legislation highlight that it increases the presidentâs power over the legislature and the
judiciary and reduces the power of the Federal Assembly.
FIGURE 9.15 Modern presidents of the United States have relied more and more heavily on executive action in the
last 40 years, particularly as the two political parties in Congress have grown more polarized, making policy change
via legislation more difficult to accomplish. (credit: âPresident Trump Signs an Executive Order on Strengthening the
Child Welfare System for Americaâs Childrenâ by Trump White House Archived/Andrea Hanks/Flickr, Public Domain)
Whatever the nature of the political system in which it occurs, executive dominance diminishes the power of
the legislature, both in terms of the branchâs own responsibilities and in terms of its power to check the
executive. In most democratic countries, the legislature is responsible for making policy. To justify their efforts
to gain more policy-making authority, executives may note the absence of legislation in a particular area.
When the executive takes on that authority, legislatures are often unable to gather the necessary support to
regain control of that policy area. Additionally, as these kinds of actions become more normalized in the
political system, it can become more difficult for legislatures to check the power of the executive, as the more
often these actions occur, the less responsive the system becomes to what would have been considered
9.4 ⢠The Decline of Legislative Influence 293
executive overreach in the past. Over time, acts of executive dominance accumulate to shift the balance of
power away from the legislature.
Growth in Legislative Deference
Threats to Legislative Independence
- Legislative deference occurs when a legislature voluntarily yields power to another branch to avoid accountability for unpopular policies.
- Executive dominance and legislative deference are distinct but interconnected behaviors that erode the separation of powers over time.
- Political polarization acts as a systemic threat, driving political actors and voters toward ideological extremes.
- Rising polarization in legislatures often leads to gridlock, particularly in systems with slim majorities or coalition governments.
- In the United States, the decline of bipartisan cooperation since the 1980s has forced a reliance on complex parliamentary maneuvers to pass legislation.
Legislative approval that comes when the legislature has no option other than to approve the measure reflects the weakness of the legislature and poses a clear threat to legislative independence.
Legislatures also face internal threats in the form of legislative deference. Legislative deference occurs when
legislatures give power to another branch of government, either by refusing to take action or by approving
anything the other branch wants. A legislature may refuse to take action because the executive wants to handle
an issue themselves or because the legislature fears being blamed for an unpopular policy. Or the legislature
may simply approve, or ârubber stamp,â any proposal put forward, usually by the executive. Legislative
approval that comes when the legislature has no option other than to approve the measure reflects the
weakness of the legislature and poses a clear threat to legislative independence.
Executive dominance and legislative deference are distinct but often connected, as it is difficult for an
executive to expand their powers without some level of legislative deference, and it can be hard for the
legislature to step back and let others make decisions if the executive is not willing to take the lead. Yet the
existence of one threat to legislatures does not guarantee the presence of the other. Legislatures can, for
example, support an executiveâs proposal on climate change without actually giving more power to the
executive. Legislative deference and executive dominance are more about patterns of behavior over time than
about any single decision.
Growth in Polarization
One of the biggest challenges threatening legislatures is the rise in polarization. Polarization occurs when
people or groups are divided between two extremes on an issue or position. Polarization is a systemic threat
that can affect politics all across a political system. Often, polarization starts with political actors taking more
partisan and ideological positions,56 but over time, voters tend to become more polarized as well, identifying
more strongly with a political party or ideology.57 Party polarization in legislatures can threaten the ability of a
legislature to be effective. Many legislatures around the world have seen a rise in the number of seats held by
far-right and far-left parties, including the European Parliament following the 2019 elections, which you can
learn about in the video below. Polarization has also occurred when parties in the legislature have stayed the
same, but the positions those parties hold have become more extreme. In legislatures with either slim
majorities or coalition governments, polarization can lead to gridlock, as support will only come from co-
partisans; if a party attempts to pass a piece of legislation and faces any internal opposition, the proposal is
dead on arrival, as members of minority or opposition parties will often refuse to support the majorityâs
legislation. For much of the 20th century in the United States, members of the Democratic and Republican
Parties worked together across party lines on legislation. However, since the early 1980s, that has become less
and less common, with members increasingly only supporting legislation if it comes from their own party.58
Parties have had to rely more heavily on parliamentary maneuvers to pass any significant legislation, as
bipartisan cooperation is anywhere from difficult to near impossible to secure.
VIDEO
Populist Parties Make Gains in European Parliament Elections
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/9-4-the-decline-
of-legislative-influence)
Polarization and Legislative Skills
- The 2019 European Parliament elections highlighted a rise in both right and left populist parties.
- Extreme polarization in legislatures risks creating volatile swings in power between opposing ideological fringes.
- While clear party positions aid accountability, excessive gaps between parties can cause effective legislating to grind to a halt.
- Legislators come from diverse professional backgrounds including law, business, medicine, and the military.
- Public speaking is identified as a critical skill for all legislators, whether for campaigning or debating policy.
- Aspiring politicians can develop oratory skills through debate courses, acting classes, or activities like Model United Nations.
However, it is dangerous for legislatures when the gap between the parties grows so large that effective legislating grinds to a halt.
In this segment from CBS News following the results of the European Parliament elections in 2019, journalists
analyze what the rise of both right and left populist parties might mean for trans-European legislation and
politics.
Even in legislatures where one party has a large majority, polarization is still a risk, as it can make the
legislation that gets passed more extreme. If public support for that legislation or party dwindles, there is
heightened risk that the next election will be a disaster for the current majority, causing control of the
294 9 ⢠Legislatures
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legislature to swing from one extreme to another. Political parties with clear positions and differences are
useful for winning elections and for public accountability.59 However, it is dangerous for legislatures when the
gap between the parties grows so large that effective legislating grinds to a halt.
Public Speaking
FIGURE 9.16 Members of the SPD political party listen to a speech by former leader of the European Parliament
Martin Schulz in Cologne, Germany. (credit: âSPD Supporters at a Speech by Martin Schulz in Cologneâ by Marco
Verch/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Before running for office, many legislators have other careers. Some are lawyers or businesspeople, while others
are doctors, policy advocates, or members of the armed forces. No matter what path people travel before they
run for office, all legislators need to develop public speaking skills. Whether on the campaign trail or debating a
piece of legislation, the ability to get up and share oneâs thoughts with a group of people is critical for the
successful aspiring legislator or policy advocate. There are a number of different ways you can develop those
skills; your school might offer courses in public speaking or debate, but an acting class in the drama or theater
department may also offer you the chance to practice your oratory skills. Additionally, campus activities such as
moot court or Model United Nations can serve as an excellent way to stretch your public speaking skills while
also learning about aspects of political science.
CONNECTING COURSES
9.4 ⢠The Decline of Legislative Influence 295
Summary
Legislative Functions and Structures
- Legislatures serve three primary roles: creating laws, representing constituent interests, and providing oversight of other government branches.
- The relationship between the executive and legislative branches defines the difference between parliamentary and presidential systems.
- Legislative organization is categorized as unicameral for efficiency or bicameral to ensure a wider variety of viewpoints are considered.
- External threats to legislative power include executive dominance, where heads of state overtake the authority of the lawmaking body.
- Internal threats like legislative deference and systemic issues like polarization can cause a legislature to voluntarily surrender its power.
When the people empower a branch of the political system to make the rules governing their relationship with their government, the political system is equipped to resist the ways that power can corrupt.
9.1 What Do Legislatures Do?
Legislatures do a lot of different things, but their primary jobs are to make laws, represent constituents, and
oversee other parts of government. These jobs exemplify the fundamental reasons a political system needs a
legislature. When the people empower a branch of the political system to make the rules governing their
relationship with their government, the political system is equipped to resist the ways that power can corrupt.
Legislative institutions must require cooperation and consensus to ensure the health of the political system.
9.2 What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems?
At the national level, there are two primary types of governing systems, parliamentary and presidential. The
largest difference between the two types of systems relates to the relationship between the legislative and
executive branches of government. In a parliamentary system, the executive power, or the power to see that
the laws are followed, is vested in a prime minister, who is also the head of the legislative branch. This means
that power flows from the people to the legislature and then from the legislature to the executive. In a
presidential system, the executive, usually in the form of a president, is completely separate from the
legislature. The people separately elect the legislature and the executive, so the power flows from the people to
the legislature and from the people to the executive.
9.3 What Is the Difference between Unicameral and Bicameral Systems?
There are also two primary types of organizing systems in legislatures. First, there are legislatures with only
one chamber, which are called unicameral. Second, there are legislatures with two chambers, called bicameral
legislatures. Unicameral legislatures are thought to be more efficient than bicameral legislatures, but
bicameral legislatures are designed to take into account a variety of different viewpoints.
9.4 The Decline of Legislative Influence
Legislatures face a number of challenges to their power and independence. Some of those challenges are
external, such as executive dominance, in which the growing power of presidents and prime ministers
threatens to overtake the power of the legislature. Other threats are internal, particularly legislative deference,
in which because of either an inability to come together and act or a desire to avoid difficult issues, the
legislature gives up power to other branches. Finally, some threats are systemic, such as increasing
polarization, which has shown up both in the public and in legislatures. Without considering the threats to the
legislature, it is impossible to understand the full scope of its work and its place in the political system.
Key Terms
appropriations process the process by which governments decide how they will spend money
bicameral describes a legislature with two chambers, usually an upper chamber and a lower chamber
cloture motion a vote to end a filibuster and force a vote; typically requires a supermajority to enact
coalition two or more different parties that decide to cooperate in order to form a majority in a legislative
chamber
constituents the people whom a legislator represents
delegate a model of representation in which a legislator acts based on the preferences of their constituents
descriptive representation a type of representation in which the representative shares demographic
characteristics with the people they represent
Legislative and Electoral Terminology
- Duvergerâs law explains how plurality voting systems naturally gravitate toward a two-party political structure.
- Executive dominance occurs when leaders successfully justify the expansion of their powers beyond traditional limits.
- Legislative deference and delegation describe how lawmakers cede authority to other branches or rely on party experts to simplify decision-making.
- Electoral systems are categorized into plurality, proportional representation, and mixed systems, which dictate how votes translate into legislative seats.
- Legislatures vary in structure, ranging from professional year-round bodies to nonprofessional part-time assemblies with limited pay.
- The distinction between parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems defines the relationship between the executive and legislative branches.
executive dominance a phenomenon in which leaders expand their powers beyond their prior limits and are able to justify those expanded powers so that they are seen by many as legitimate and acceptable
Duvergerâs law a principle that states that electoral systems with plurality systems of voting and single-
member districts will have two main political parties
executive dominance a phenomenon in which leaders expand their powers beyond their prior limits and are
able to justify those expanded powers so that they are seen by many as legitimate and acceptable
filibuster a set of parliamentary rules designed to extend debate to delay or stop legislation from receiving a
vote
296 9 ⢠Summary
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hearings sessions in which members of a legislature talk to and question a panel of people, likely made up of
experts and bureaucrats, about a particular issue or piece of legislation
legislative committees groups of lawmakers who work together on a particular policy area
legislative deference a phenomenon in which legislatures cede power to another branch of government,
either by refusing to take action or by approving anything the other branch wants
legislative delegation a system of cooperation between members of the same political party for when a
legislator must vote on an issue outside their areas of expertise; rather than doing additional research, the
legislator can rely on the opinions of members on the relevant policy committee
legislature a deliberative body that is granted the authority to create laws that govern a society
majority party the party that holds more than 50 percent of seats in a chamber
majority rule the idea that the support of more than 50 percent of a voting body is required to come to any
decision
minority party any party that does not hold more than 50 percent of seats in a chamber
mixed systems electoral systems that combine features of proportional representation and plurality election
systems
multimember districts legislative districts that are represented by multiple legislators
nonprofessional legislatures legislatures that meet for limited periods of time and provide members only
limited pay, reflecting the part-time nature of the job
oversight the process of regularly monitoring and reviewing the actions of agencies or other political actors
parliamentary procedures the rules that are followed in a political system to structure and guide debate
parliamentary system a political system in which the executive, often a prime minister, is also a part of the
legislature
partisan representation a model of representation in which legislators are expected to vote with their
political party
plurality an electoral system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins the election
polarization the division of people or groups between two extremes on an issue or position
politico a model of representation in which a legislator seeks a balance between delegate and trustee
approaches
presidential system a political system in which the executive, often a president, is separate from the
legislature
professional legislatures legislatures that meet year-round, have professional staff, and pay legislators a
professional wage so that legislating is their primary job
proportional representation an electoral system in which the relative support that political parties receive
from the population is reflected in the makeup of the legislature
public laws laws governing the relationship between a government and individuals that apply to all people
semi-presidential systems political systems that have some characteristics of presidential systems and some
characteristics of parliamentary systems
Legislative Terms and Structures
- Legislative specialization allows representatives to focus on specific policy areas to develop expertise rather than maintaining broad knowledge.
- The trustee model of representation posits that legislators should rely on their own judgment even when it conflicts with constituent opinions.
- Supermajorities are often required for consequential decisions, demanding a higher threshold of agreement than a simple majority.
- In democratic systems, legislative ideas originate from diverse sources including lawmakers, the public, and specialized interest groups.
- Proportional representation systems award seats based on the percentage of votes won, contrasting with plurality systems that favor two-party dominance.
- Legislative committees serve to delegate decision-making to knowledgeable members and provide opportunities for leadership roles.
trustee a mo del o f representation in which a legislator relies on their own judgment when it differs from that of their constituents
single-member district a legislative district that is represented by only one legislator
specialization the idea that individual legislators will focus on one or two policy areas to develop expertise on
those issues, rather than learning about all issues
sponsor a legislator who introduces a piece of legislation and who is often instrumental in its passage
substantive representation a type of representation in which a representative shares policy and ideological
beliefs with the people they represent
supermajority a given proportion of a voting body greater than 50 percent that is required to agree in order to
come to a decision; typically reserved for especially important or consequential decisions
trustee a model of representation in which a legislator relies on their own judgment when it differs from that
of their constituents
unicameral describes a legislature with a single chamber
9 ⢠Key Terms 297
Review Questions
1 . Most ordinary laws require what percentage of the vote to pass?
a. 75 percent
b. 60 percent + 1 vote
c. 50 percent
d. 50 percent + 1 vote
2 . What occurs most commonly when no party wins a majority of seats in a legislature?
a. New elections are called.
b. The legislature is disbanded.
c. The largest party is given control.
d. Parties form a coalition.
3 . In democracies, where do ideas for new laws come from?
a. Members of the legislature
b. The public
c. Groups that do work in a particular policy area
d. All of the above
4 . The rules that structure debate in a legislature are called:
a. Sponsors
b. Majority rules
c. Parliamentary procedures
d. Debate regulations
5 . Which of the following is not a reason that committees are formed in legislatures?
a. They allow legislators to specialize in certain policy areas.
b. They allow legislators to delegate decision-making to others who are more knowledgeable.
c. They give legislators more authority in that policy area than the executive.
d. They give legislators an opportunity to take on leadership roles.
6 . A legislator who uses a trustee model of representation will primarily rely on __________ to make
decisions.
a. their own knowledge and opinions
b. their constituentsâ opinions
c. their political partyâs stance on issues
d. the opinion of the executive
7 . Which of the following is the best example of descriptive representation?
a. A White politician elected from an ethnically diverse district
b. A Latino politician elected from a heavily Latina/Latino district
c. A female politician elected from a district that is 50 percent male and 50 percent female
d. A Republican politician elected from a district that voted strongly for the Republican candidate in the
last presidential election
8 . An electoral system in which seats are awarded based on the percentage of the vote that each party wins is
called a __________ system.
a. plurality
b. first past the post
298 9 ⢠Review Questions
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c. descriptive representation
d. proportional representation
9 . Duvergerâs law states that a __________ will result in two main political parties.
a. plurality electoral system with single-member districts
b. proportional representation system with multimember districts
c. plurality electoral system with multimember districts
d. proportional representation system with a fluctuating number of seats
10 . A semi-presidential system has:
a. A king and a president
b. A premier
c. A prime minister
d. A president and a prime minister
11 . What are the two primary differences between parliamentary and presidential systems?
a. Oversight and voting rules
b. Independence and selection
c. Oversight and independence
Legislative Systems and Executive Dynamics
- The text distinguishes between presidential systems, where the executive and legislature are separate, and parliamentary systems, where they are integrated.
- It explores the structural differences between unicameral and bicameral legislatures, noting that roughly 50 percent of countries utilize a single-chamber system.
- Bicameralism is often employed to provide representation for specific societal segments or subnational states, such as the German Bundesrat.
- Modern legislatures face significant challenges including polarization, legislative deference, and the expansion of executive power beyond traditional limits.
- Executive dominance is identified as a phenomenon that can occur across various political systems, not just within specific geographic regions.
- The section transitions into an analysis of different democratic regimes, including parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential models.
A phenomenon in which leaders expand their powers beyond prior limits is called: Executive dominance.
d. Independence and coalition formation
12 . In a __________ system, the executive and the legislature are separate from each other.
a. parliamentary
b. semi-presidential
c. authoritarian
d. presidential
13 . A legislature with only one chamber is called a(n) __________ legislature.
a. bicameral
b. unicameral
c. proportional
d. representational
14 . Which of the following is a common reason for countries to have a bicameral legislature?
a. Bicameral legislatures ensure a better citizen-to-elected-official ratio.
b. Bicameral legislatures produce more thoughtful and durable legislation.
c. Bicameral legislatures help give voice to different segments of society.
d. Bicameral legislatures help make legislating faster and more efficient.
15 . Which particular set of interests is represented in the German Bundesrat?
a. The interests of the youth
b. The interests of the members of the foreign service and the military
c. The interests of the rural areas
d. The interests of the states
16 . Approximately what percentage of countries in the world have a unicameral legislature?
a. 15 percent
b. 25 percent
c. 50 percent
d. 70 percent
9 ⢠Review Questions 299
17 . Which of the following is not a challenge facing legislatures today?
a. Legislative deference
b. Polarization
c. Executive dominance
d. Legislative dominion
18 . A phenomenon in which leaders expand their powers beyond prior limits is called:
a. Executive dominance
b. Polarization
c. Oversight
d. Constituents
19 . Executive dominance can occur:
a. In the United States only
b. Primarily in systems where the legislature and the executive are separately chosen
c. Primarily in systems where the executive is a part of the legislature
d. In Russia only
20 . What challenge is occurring when people or groups divide between two extremes on an issue or position?
a. Polarization
b. Prioritization
c. Oversight
d. Legislative deference
Suggested Readings
Arter, David. âIntroduction: Comparing the Legislative Performance of Legislatures.â Journal of Legislative
Studies 12, no. 3â4 (2006): 245â257. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572330600875423.
Fenno, Richard F., Jr. Home Style: House Members in Their Districts. Boston: Little, Brown, 1978.
Gamm, Gerald, and John Huber. âLegislatures as Political Institutions: Beyond the Contemporary Congress.â In
Political Science: State of the Discipline, edited by Ira Katznelson and Helen V. Milner, 313â343. New York:
W. W. Norton, 2002.
Huber, John D. âThe Vote of Confidence in Parliamentary Democracies.â American Political Science Review 90,
no.2 (June 1996): 269â282. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2082884.
Mayhew, David R. Congress: The Electoral Connection. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004.
300 9 ⢠Suggested Readings
Access for free at openstax.org
FIGURE 10.1 President Jimmy Carter met with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1977. (credit: â[President Jimmy
Carter and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat surrounded by the media at the White House, Washington, D.C.]
(https://openstax.org/r/jimmycarter)â by Trikosko, Marion S./Library of Congress)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
10.1 Democracies: Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Regimes
10.2 The Executive in Presidential Regimes
10.3 The Executive in Parliamentary Regimes
10.4 Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes
10.5 Semi-Presidential Regimes
10.6 How Do Cabinets Function in Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes?
10.7 What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies?
Executive Power and Democratic Regimes
- Chief executives often receive disproportionate credit for successes and excessive blame for failures, regardless of their actual control over events.
- During global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens instinctively look to their national leader for solutions and leadership.
- Public perception of a single executive leader frequently shapes the overall approval and legitimacy of the entire government system.
- Democratic regimes are categorized into three main types: presidential, parliamentary, and semi-presidential.
- The classification of these regimes depends on how the head of government is selected and whether they serve a fixed term independent of the legislature.
- In presidential systems, the leader serves as both head of state and head of government, whereas these roles are often split in other systems.
When things go bad you get entirely too much blame. And I have to admit that when things go good, you get entirely too much credit.
When things go bad you get entirely too much blame. And I have to admit that when things go good,
you get entirely too much credit.
âPresident Jimmy Carter1
When Jimmy Carter made the statement quoted at the beginning of this chapter, he was still enjoying relatively
high public approval ratings due to the success of the Camp David Accords, which resulted in a framework for
peace in the Middle East, in September 1978.2 In less than a year, his public approval ratings would tumble
due to a problematic economy and a belief that Carter did not provide strong leadership.3
Early in 2020, the world faced the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and countries struggled to respond.
10
Executives, Cabinets, and
Bureaucracies
The pandemic shaped our world in ways that we are still attempting to grapple with and understand, and it
revealed the nature of politics and governmental systems. Almost immediately, each countryâs citizens
expected and demanded action. This was true both in countries with presidential regimes and in those with
parliamentary regimes. Each country turned to its chief executive for leadership, and leaders were judged by
the effectiveness of their actions.
While political systems are complex and nuanced, most citizensâ approach to politics, especially during a
crisis, is simple and straightforwardâthey look to the chief executive to solve the problem. Whether or not
executives have the power to solve the problem, the public tends to assume they do. Oftentimes, how people
view a single individualâthe chief executiveâshapes how they view the entire government.
10.1 Democracies: Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Regimes
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Identify the three types of democratic regimes.
⢠Distinguish between the roles of âhead of stateâ and âhead of governmentâ and describe how each is
typically selected by regime.
⢠Describe and evaluate the importance of the head of state for government legitimacy and national unity.
Democratic regimes are typically classified into three categories: presidential, parliamentary, and semi-
presidential.4 The keys to understanding the differences among the three are (1) how the head of government
is selected and (2) if there is a separate head of state who is popularly elected to a fixed term of office. In
presidential regimes, heads of government are popularly elected to fixed terms and do not depend on
legislatures for their power. Presidents also serve as heads of state. In parliamentary regimes, the head of
government, the prime minister, is selected by the legislature. Semi-presidential regimes include a popularly
elected head of state and a legislature selected head of government. In semi-presidential regimes, both
presidents and prime ministers wield political power. See Table 10.1 and Table 10.2.
Head of Government
Â
Presidential
Parliamentary
Semi-Presidential
Selection Method
Popular election Selected by the legislature Selected by the legislature
Fixed Term?
Yes
No
No
Responsible to Legislature? No
Yes
Yes
TABLE 10.1 Heads of Government in Democratic Regimes
Democratic Regimes and Executive Roles
- Democratic regimes are statistically divided into semi-presidential (39%), parliamentary (36%), and presidential (25%) systems.
- The executive function is split between two primary roles: the ceremonial head of state and the political head of government.
- In presidential systems, a single individual occupies both roles, whereas parliamentary systems typically separate them.
- Heads of state serve as vital national symbols that unify citizens through visibility at major cultural and sporting events.
- Despite their large share of global democracies, semi-presidential regimes are often excluded from primary study due to their high internal variation and definitional complexity.
While the position of head of state is largely ceremonial, images and symbols are extremely important, and the head of state provides a national symbol for a countryâs citizens that works to unify a country.
Using Witten/Herdecke University professor Nils-Christian Bormann and Penn State University professor Matt
Golderâs classification and supplementing the data with former Dublin City University professor Robert Elgieâs
list of semi-presidential countries, approximately 36 percent of democracies are parliamentary, 25 percent are
presidential, and 39 percent are semi-presidential. (See Figure 10.2.) Following a traditional approach within
comparative politics, this chapter will focus primarily on parliamentary and presidential regimes and not
semi-presidential ones. Even though semi-presidential regimes comprise a large category, they are not easily
defined and have considerable variation.5
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Head of State
Â
Presidential
Parliamentary
Semi-Presidential
Selection
Method
Typically, the
head of
government
is also the
head of
state.
There is considerable variation,
including elected (e.g., Germany)
and unelected (e.g., Great Britain)
methods.
Generally, the head of state is selected by
popular election.
Fixed Term?
Yes
Depends if position is elected or
unelected. Elected are fixed term;
unelected are not fixed term and
include hereditary monarchies (e.g.,
Belgium).
Yes
Responsible
to
Legislature?
No
Yes
In select situations, potentially. Enjoys dual
authority with prime minister, but there is
considerable variation across countries
regarding the scope of authority the head of
state has.
TABLE 10.2 Heads of State in Democratic Regimes
FIGURE 10.2 As of 2018, presidential systems were the least common regime type among democratic countries.
(data source: Nils-Christian Bormann and Matt Golder. âDemocratic Electoral Systems around the World,
1946â2011.â Electoral Studies 32 (2013): 360â369; Robert Elgie. âUp-to-Date List of Semi-Presidential Countries
with Dates.â The Semi-Presidential One (blog). Last updated June 28, 2018. http://www.semipresidentialism.com/
up-to-date-list-of-semi-presidential-countries-with-dates/; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under
CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
The Roles of Chief Executives within Democratic Regimes: Head of State
Chief executives play two general roles: head of state and head of government. Head of state is a ceremonial
role, while head of government is a political one that confers real power. Within a presidential regime, the
president is both head of state and head of government. In a parliamentary regime, however, the roles are
SHOW ME THE DATA
10.1 ⢠Democracies: Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Regimes 303
separate, with a president (as in Germany or India) or emperor (as in Japan) serving as head of state and the
prime minister (or, in Germany, the chancellor) serving as head of government.
While the position of head of state is largely ceremonial, images and symbols are extremely important, and the
head of state provides a national symbol for a countryâs citizens that works to unify a country. It would be a
mistake to view the head of state as a mere figurehead. Heads of state attend national celebrations, host events
such as state dinners, and often play a role in sporting events. For example, Queen Elizabeth II opened the
2012 Olympic Games in London. Similarly, Japanâs Emperor Naruhito opened the Summer 2020 Olympic
Games held in Tokyo from July to August 2021. Their visibility is important to national identity.
VIDEO
Heads of State Open the Olympic Games
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10-1-democracies-parliamentary-presidential-and-semi-presidential-regimes)
Symbolic Roles of State Leaders
- Heads of state serve as unifying symbols that represent the nation's identity beyond partisan politics.
- Major sporting events, such as the Olympics or the World Series, provide a platform for leaders to demonstrate national resilience and unity.
- President George W. Bushâs 2001 World Series pitch is cited as a pivotal moment of national healing following the 9/11 attacks.
- Heads of state provide essential legitimacy to a government, reinforcing the citizen's recognition of state authority.
- In systems where the head of state is separate from the head of government, such as the UK, the monarch's endorsement provides immediate political standing to new administrations.
I didnât vote for him. But at that point, my personal feelings about him as a politician [were] gone. I watched him, and he was my representative.
In this video, heads of stateâincluding a fĂźhrer, kings, a queen, a duke, an emperor, a chairperson, a governor-
general, a vice president, and multiple presidentsâpreside over Olympic opening ceremonies.
Illustrating the unifying role a head of state provides, one of the more memorable moments of President
George W. Bushâs first administration was when he threw the ceremonial first pitch in game 3 of the 2001
World Series. Taken just a few short months after 9/11, the pictures of him at the mound, throwing a strike, are
iconic. Presidents are the most recognizable leaders of their countries, and one of the key roles they play is to
symbolically represent the state. Additionally, sports are intricately woven into each countryâs cultural fabric.
Baseball is known as âAmericaâs pastime.â When President Bush threw the ceremonial first pitch, he stood as a
unifying symbol relatable to people across party lines. As noted author David Fisher observed: âI didnât vote for
him. But at that point, my personal feelings about him as a politician [were] gone. I watched him, and he was
my representative. And I had never felt that way before.â6 Nineteen years later, writing for Newsweek, Marina
Watts commented on the power of imagery: âThat night, the first pitch meant more than just âplay ball.â It
meant moving forward. It meant unity. With that throw, Bush helped heal a city and a nation.â7
VIDEO
President George W. Bushâs Opening Pitch at Yankee Stadium after 9-11
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/
10-1-democracies-parliamentary-presidential-and-semi-presidential-regimes)
This video portrays the ceremony and symbolism of a leader acting in the role of head of state.
Heads of state also provide legitimacy to a government. While all states have coercive power, democratic
governments depend upon citizen recognition that the authority the state has and the power it exerts are
legitimate. When the head of state is separate from the head of government, the head of state can play a
significant role in establishing and reinforcing the legitimacy of that government.
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FIGURE 10.3 Queen Elizabeth II opens Canadaâs 23rd Parliament in the Senate Chamber, Ottawa, Ontario. (credit:
âHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth II opens Canadaâs 23rd Parliament in the Senate Chamber, Ottawa, Ontarioâ by
Library and Archives Canada, Public Domain)
In Great Britain, the Queen invites the winning partyâs leader to form a government, and the Queen then gives
a speech prepared by that new government laying out the governmentâs policy agenda and legislative
initiatives. The new government has immediate legitimacy based on both winning elections and the visible
support of the Crown. Often, the Queenâs representative performs her duties as head of state in the 16
Commonwealth realms, like Australia and New Zealand, but early in her reign Queen Elizabeth II traveled
more extensively and performed more of those duties in person.
The Roles of Chief Executives within Democratic Regimes: Head of Government
Executive Accountability and Crisis Response
- Chief executives in both presidential and parliamentary systems are uniquely held accountable by citizens for their handling of national crises.
- Public perception of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic varied significantly, with Angela Merkel receiving high confidence ratings compared to Donald Trump.
- The 2020 U.S. election demonstrated how crisis management directly impacts electoral outcomes, with a majority of voters citing the pandemic as a critical factor.
- Presidential regimes offer clear accountability and perceived stability because voters directly elect a single individual for a fixed term.
- Despite the democratic appearance of direct elections, presidential systems may be more vulnerable to the rise of populist leaders.
This will always remain one of the best jokes of democracy, that it gave its deadly enemies the means by which it was destroyed.
As head of government, the chief executive has both the power and the authority to take action. Both
presidents and prime ministers serve as heads of their governments as they take the lead in setting policy
agendas, crafting legislation, and responding to crises. As previously noted, they are the ones people look to for
solutions to a nationâs problems and the ones citizens hold accountable. An April 2020 Al Jazeera headline puts
it bluntly: âCOVID-19 pandemic is testing world leaders. Whoâs stepping up?â8
To illustrate how people evaluate a leader based on that leaderâs response to a crisis, consider the cases of
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Donald Trump of the United States. In their summer 2020
Global Attitudes survey, Pew Research found that 88 percent of Germans reported that their country had âdone
a good job dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.â For the United States, only 47 percent of Americans
responded the same.9 Pew also found that 76 percent of Germans reported confidence in Merkel âto do the
right thing regarding world affairs,â the highest such rating among world leaders. Within her own country,
Merkelâs approval rating was 72 percent.10 Nevertheless, as the pandemic raged on, her support fell, and her
party âfared poorlyâ in elections.11
In the United States, Donald Trumpâs approval ratings make clear votersâ perceptions of how his
administration responded to the pandemic. In September 2020, Trumpâs 44 percent approval rating was
nearly identical to the percent of respondents who believed the country was doing a good job dealing with
10.1 ⢠Democracies: Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Regimes 305
COVID-19.12 In November 2020, Trump was defeated in his bid for reelection. In exit polls, 17 percent of
respondents indicated that the coronavirus was the most important issue affecting their vote. It was the third
most frequently mentioned issue, behind the economy and racial inequality. Of those respondents who
indicated coronavirus as the most important issue, 81 percent voted for Joe Biden.13 While Trumpâs handling
of the issue was only one factor in his defeat, it was a significant factor. Prior to the election, 55 percent of
respondents indicated that the pandemic was a very important issue to how they would vote.14
10.2 The Executive in Presidential Regimes
This will always remain one of the best jokes of democracy, that it gave its deadly enemies the means
by which it was destroyed.
âJoseph Goebbels, former minister of propaganda for the Nazi Party15
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define populism and analyze why presidential regimes may be more vulnerable to populist leaders
gaining power.
⢠Distinguish between formal powers and informal powers.
⢠Describe the term âbully pulpitâ and illustrate why it is a significant power that presidents have.
⢠Explain why a presidentâs public approval rating is important as well as its connection to a presidentâs
power to persuade.
In some ways, presidential regimes are easy to understand. Voters elect a single individual who they can hold
accountable. The system also has the appearance of stability due to the regularity of elections.16 Except for
unique structures like the Electoral College in the United States, the direct election of presidents is viewed as
more democratic than the indirect selection of prime ministers by a parliament.17 Nevertheless, there are
downsides to popularly elected presidents, as the rise of populism in the 21st century has demonstrated.
Presidential Regimes and Elections
Presidentialism and the Populist Threat
- Presidential regimes are defined by a single head of government who is popularly elected for fixed terms, often with specific term limits.
- Term limit structures vary globally, ranging from single-term bans in the Philippines to Argentina's 'sit out' rule that allows for non-consecutive re-election.
- Populism leverages emotional appeals to the masses by positioning itself against perceived elite-dominated political systems.
- Scholars argue that democracy inherently contains the seeds of its own destruction by allowing the masses to freely choose demagogues.
- The structural differences between presidential and parliamentary systems may influence how easily populist leaders can rise to and maintain power.
In ancient Athens, thinkers of the age recognized that their novel system of democratic self-governance lived in constant dangerâbecause by its very nature, in allowing the masses to freely choose their own leaders, it contained the seeds of its own destruction.
As Univeristy of California professor Arend Lijphart notes, the distinctiveness of presidential regimes is that
the head of government is a single individual who is popularly elected.18 The election is either direct (for
example, in Brazil and the Philippines) or indirect through an electoral college (for example, in the United
States). Presidents serve fixed year terms and are typically term-limited. For example, Argentina, Brazil,
Kenya, and the United States allow two terms. Some countries, like Colombia and the Philippines, only allow
presidents to serve a single term. After serving their terms, presidents are usually ineligible to be reelected.
Even so, some countries, like Argentina, simply require the individual to âtake a break,â and then the person is
reeligible to run for president. In Argentina, the president can serve two four-year terms, sit out for a four-year
term, and then be eligible for another two four-year terms.19
Presidential Regimes and Populism
Targeting the masses with emotional appeals, populism promises individuals a political voice in a system
perceived to be ruled by elites. In the early part of the 21st century, the rise of populism and leaders who
border on the definition of demagogues pose an increasing threat, with some scholars contending that
democracy is in crisis.20 Indeed, democracy provides the opportunity for demagogues and populism. As
University of Chicago professor William G. Howell and Stanford University professor Terry M. Moe note: âIn
ancient Athens, thinkers of the age recognized that their novel system of democratic self-governance lived in
constant dangerâbecause by its very nature, in allowing the masses to freely choose their own leaders, it
contained the seeds of its own destruction.â21 The Goebbels quote that opens this section alludes to this same
point. The essence of populism is âa suspicion of and hostility toward elites, mainstream politics, and
established institutions.â22 To what extent do democratic systemsâpresidential and
parliamentaryâencourage the rise of populist movements and allow populists to remain in power? Do
306 10 ⢠Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
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presidential regimes provide greater opportunities for populist leaders to emerge than do parliamentary ones?
Which regime type provides greater safeguards against the potential harm that demagogues can inflict once in
office?
FIGURE 10.4 (From left) Former Prime Minister of Slovakia MikulĂĄs Dzurinda, Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez
JanĹĄa, former Prime Minister of Albania Sali Berisha, and Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor OrbĂĄn talk at the
European Peopleâs Party Summit in 2010. (credit: âEPP Summit 25 March 2010 (125)â by European Peopleâs Party/
Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Presidential Regimes and Populist Rise
- Presidential systems often act as incubators for populism because leaders appeal directly to voters rather than through legislative parties.
- The candidate-centered nature of presidential elections allows outsiders to bypass traditional party gatekeepers, as seen in Donald Trumpâs 2016 campaign.
- While presidential regimes are more prone to populism, parliamentary systems in countries like Greece and Hungary have also produced populist leaders.
- Parliamentary regimes may be better equipped to prevent populism through stronger welfare systems and policies that address systemic inequities.
- Strong institutions in consolidated democracies can serve as safeguards to mitigate the influence of demagogues even after they take office.
The point is that democracy itself, and not simply a particular expression of democracy, is open to its own exploitation.
The experiences of the United States and Brazil offer two examples for presidential regimes. The United States
has a long history of populism, stretching back to the late 1800s and William Jennings Bryan. President Trump
is simply the most recent American populist example. When he began his run for the presidency, Trump
struck a populist tone as one who stands against elitists who donât have ordinary peopleâs interests in mind; in
a Wall Street Journal opinion column, he asked, âHow has the âsystemâ been working out for you and your
family?â23 While in office, Trump appealed to specific groups within the electorate, emphasizing a key populist
theme: government is ineffective, but he would usher in a new age of responsive and effective government.24
Similarly, elected in 2018, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, who has been called the âTrump of the tropics,â
echoes an antiestablishment rhetoric that populists embrace.25 Nevertheless, parliamentary regimes have
also seen populist leaders emerge. Arguably, this has happened in the Czech Republic (Andrej BabiĹĄ), Greece
(Alexis Tsipras), and Hungary (Viktor OrbĂĄn).26 Additionally, within the last 20 years, some semi-presidential
regimes have seen populists emerge in leadership positions (for example, in Poland with JarosĹaw KaczyĹski
and in Slovenia with Janez JanĹĄa).
Presidential Regimes as Incubators for Populism
It can legitimately be argued that populism is more likely to gain ground in a presidential regime than in a
parliamentary one. At the very least, presidential regimes serve as incubators. In presidential regimes,
government leaders appeal directly to the voters and enjoy a constituency separate from the legislature.
Because parties are weaker in presidential regimes, they do less to constrain government leaders. At the
candidate selection stage, presidential regimes tend to be candidate centered rather than party centered. In
other words, the candidates choose to run for president rather than the party selecting them. In 2016, Donald
Trump received no major Republican endorsements prior to the primary season. Yet, he won the Republican
nomination and was elected president. To be fair, however, as political commentator Fareed Zakaria notes, a
single leader can usurp power within either a presidential or a parliamentary regime.27 The point is that
democracy itself, and not simply a particular expression of democracy, is open to its own exploitation. So, on
the first question, presidential regimes are slightly more prone to populism. But populists can also arise within
parliamentary regimes.
10.2 ⢠The Executive in Presidential Regimes 307
Safeguards against Populism
Some scholars argue that parliamentary regimes are better able than presidential regimes to respond to the
conditions that give rise to a populist movement.28 Parliamentary democracies not only tend to have stronger
welfare systems, but they are also more able to respond with policies that address underlying issues like
systemic inequities and inefficient government. And, interestingly enough, the leaders of populist parties in
Eastern Europe appear to be losing favor.29
This does not mean, however, that presidential regimes do not also possess safeguards. Presidential regimes
possessing strong institutions and a consolidated democracy have the ability to address the problems
demagogues cause even if they do not prevent their emergence. Though the United States has a long history of
populist movements, the influence of individual populists in the United States has thus far proven to be rather
short lived.
VIDEO
What Makes a Populist?
Populism and Presidential Power
- Populism maintains a broad appeal across the political spectrum, as evidenced by both right-wing and left-wing movements in the United States and Europe.
- Demagogues pose a significant threat to democratic systems by attempting to alter the very electoral processes that brought them to power.
- Strong democratic institutions serve as essential safeguards, capable of withstanding challenges to the democratic process and legal system.
- Presidential authority is categorized into formal powers, such as vetoes and nominations, and informal powers derived from tradition.
- The 'bully pulpit' represents a key informal power, allowing executives to use their visibility to persuade the public and pressure legislatures.
Once in office, demagogues have the ability to attempt to change the system by which they were elected.
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executive-in-presidential-regimes)
This brief clip highlights common traits many populist politicians share.
Still, populism does prove to be attractive. Recall that Donald Trump was not the only candidate in recent US
election cycles who could be characterized as a populist. In both 2016 and 2020, Senator Bernie Sanders
offered a populist alternative from the left. While Sanders did not ultimately win the Democratic nomination in
either election cycle, his presence demonstrates populismâs potential appeal across the political spectrum,
even if the goals of alternate varieties of populism may differ. The conditions that gave rise to Trump as well as
the European populist movements remain, which means that populist movements from both the left and right
may arise.30
Finally, the Goebbels quote also illustrates the threat demagogues pose to democracies. Once in office,
demagogues have the ability to attempt to change the system by which they were elected. For example, in a
tweet, President Trump questioned the legitimacy of voting procedures and whether the 2020 elections should
be delayed.31 However, while individuals matter, institutions matter as well. Democracies with strong
institutions have always been able to withstand challenges to the democratic process. Not only was the 2020
election held when scheduled, but the aftermath of the election, with its many court cases, also illustrated that
institutions provide the necessary safeguards against demagogues.
Executive Power in Presidential Regimes: Formal and Informal Powers
Presidents have both formal and informal powers. Veto power, the power to nominate Supreme Court justices
(as in the United States), or the power to convene the National Assembly and specify issues the assembly needs
to address (as in Ecuador) are all examples of formal powers. Formal powers vary greatly from country to
country. Presidents also have informal powers. Informal powers are those that emerge through tradition or
custom or that are inherent in the office. It is often said that presidents have a âbully pulpit,â which means
that, by virtue of their position, presidents have opportunities to speak on issues with the assurance that their
voices will be heard. In doing so, presidents can offer direct appeals to citizens to persuade those citizens (and
legislatures) that the chief executiveâs approach is the correct one. Along these lines, presidential scholar
Richard Neustadt states that a presidentâs greatest power may be his power to persuade.32
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Empirical Analysis and Executives
FIGURE 10.5 Former US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Former British Prime
Minister Theresa May, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greet one another at the G20 Summit in 2017.
(credit: âPresident Trumpâs Trip to Germany and the G20 Summitâ by Shealah Craighead/Trump White House
Archives/Flickr, Public Domain)
Empirical Analysis and Presidential Approval
- Empirical analysis extends beyond numerical spreadsheets to include the study of observable facts like government longevity and policy outputs.
- The core goal of empirical analysis is to place individual facts into a larger context to understand broader societal patterns.
- A president's public approval rating is a critical component of their 'power to persuade' and their ability to enact a legislative agenda.
- Historical examples, such as Bill Clinton's early term and Jair Bolsonaro's vaccine opposition, demonstrate how low approval ratings can stall executive goals.
- The skills gained from studying executive systems are transferable to diverse fields like teaching and web design.
Mr. President, the American people have a funny way of deciding on their own what is and what is not their business.
When people think about empirical and quantitative analysis, the image that often comes to mind is of a large
spreadsheet with rows and rows of often-indecipherable data. While numerical analysis is a component of empirical
analysis, it is not the only component. When you analyze the longevity of particular coalition governments or
compare the policy outputs of presidential and parliamentary systems, you also engage in empirical analysis. At its
core, the idea of empirical analysis is to look at any observable factâsomething that is empiricalâand gain an
understanding of something larger than that one individual fact. Empirical analysis aims to put that fact into a larger
context. Do presidential systems tend to represent the policy preferences of the citizens in their societies better
than other systems? By studying executives, you hone empirical analysis skills that can be applied in many different
contexts. For example, empirical analysis skills can be useful if you decide to become a teacher and you are trying to
determine which teaching method may be most successful in your classroom. These skills are also helpful if you are
a web designer and want to determine which format will appeal most to visitors to your site.
A key component of a presidentâs power to persuade is the presidentâs public approval rating. In todayâs
political environment, a great deal of attention is given to this number. In the United States, Gallup conducts
multiday surveys to compute a presidentâs ongoing job approval rating. The importance of the public approval
rating has even shown up in popular movies such as the 1995 film The American President. In the film,
fictional President Alan Shepherd and his Chief of Staff A. J. MacInerney discuss the prospect of the president
dating.
Shepherd: I donât want to check a polling sample to see if this is okay, like Iâm asking permission to
stay out an hour past curfew. This isnât the business of the American people.
MacInerney: Mr. President, the American people have a funny way of deciding on their own what is
and what is not their business.
While the movie is fiction, it illustrates an important pointâthe impact a drop in polls will have on the
presidentâs legislative agenda.
WHAT CAN I DO?
10.2 ⢠The Executive in Presidential Regimes 309
Consider the first administration of President Bill Clinton. Upon taking office, one issue Clinton focused on was
gays in the military. For his first few months in office, this contentious issue consumed considerable attention,
launching a national debate that culminated in Clintonâs âDonât ask, donât tellâ policy. At the time, the country
was evenly split and deeply divided on the issue (48 percent supported it; 49 percent opposed).33 In 2011, the
policy was formally repealed.34 When President Clinton took office in January 1993, he had a 58 percent
public approval rating. By June it had fallen to 37 percent. It could be argued that his inability to have any
major legislative success that first year was, in part, due to his falling approval rating. Clintonâs failure to enact
major legislation was not simply due to relatively poor approval ratings or âDonât ask, donât tell.â But that didnât
help. Public opinions polls are not unique to the United States, and neither are their effects. Faced with
declining polling numbers in 2021, President Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil) found his message of opposition to the
coronavirus vaccine lacked persuasive power. As of mid-August 2021, over 70 percent of Brazilians had
received the vaccine.35 Even his supporters were lining up to get vaccinated.
10.3 The Executive in Parliamentary Regimes
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Dynamics of Parliamentary Regimes
- Parliamentary governments are formed based on legislative seat counts, where the majority party leader or a coalition leader becomes the prime minister.
- Political parties hold significantly more influence in parliamentary systems than in presidential ones, as the executive emerges directly from the legislature.
- Prime ministers possess substantial executive authority, including the power to manage their cabinets and dissolve the government to call for new elections.
- In systems without a clear majority, parties must engage in bargaining to build coalition governments, which is a common but complex feature of these regimes.
- Voters in parliamentary systems make choices based on party platforms and the understanding that their vote directly determines the executive leadership.
The personality of the chief executive is of less importance than it is in a presidential regime, though its significance is not eliminated.
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe how a government is formed in a parliamentary regime.
⢠Summarize the role of the prime minister in the government.
⢠Demonstrate why political parties matter more in a parliamentary regime.
⢠Explain what a confidence vote is and discuss its implications.
Within a parliamentary regime, the voters elect representatives. Based on their electoral choices, a
government is formed. It is possible that a single party could win a majority of seats in the legislature. If that
happens, the prime minister, who was also elected as a member of the legislature, will be invited to form the
government. The prime minister will come from the majority party. If there is no majority party, the bargaining
begins as a coalition is built. Compared to presidential regimes, parliamentary regimes place greater focus on
political parties and the issue positions they take. The personality of the chief executive is of less importance
than it is in a presidential regime, though its significance is not eliminated. Party leaders are well known.
Prime ministers have significant executive powers. They have power over their cabinets and the composition
of those cabinets, and they have the power to dissolve the government and call for new elections.
Parliamentary Regimes and the Electoral Connection
While parties matter in a presidential regime, they matter more in a parliamentary regime. In a presidential
regime, where votes for president do not affect the partisan composition of the legislature, candidates appeal
to a broad spectrum of voters in an attempt to get voters to cross party lines. Within a parliamentary regime,
the calculus is much different because the chief executive emerges from the party that wins the majority. Even
if a coalition government is required, it is likely that the prime minister will be a member of the party that won
the most seats. When voters choose whom to vote for, they understand that calculus and vote accordingly.
Within a parliamentary regime, the chief executive is typically known as the prime minister. In Germany,
however, the head of government is called the chancellor. Regardless of the title, the chief executive enjoys
considerable political power. For example, in Germany, the Federal Chancellery (Bundeskanzleramt) has been
referred to as a âsuperministry.â This office provides the chancellor with wide ranging powers and
governmental oversight. If a single party gains a majority of seats, then there is a majority government. If no
party gains a majority, then the leader of the largest party will form a coalition government by inviting one or
more of the other parties to join. Coalition governments are common and are noted as one of the
disadvantages of a parliamentary regime.
Executive Power in Parliamentary Regimes
Because the prime minister is a member of the legislature, his or her power base differs from that of a
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Parliamentary Regimes and Confidence Votes
- Parliamentary regimes differ from presidential systems by often lacking fixed-term elections, allowing for more frequent leadership changes.
- The average tenure of an Italian prime minister over the last 20 years is only about 845 days due to the flexibility of the system.
- A vote of no confidence can be triggered by policy failures, requiring a majority to either force new elections or the formation of a new government.
- Leadership challenges can occur within a majority party or coalition, specifically targeting the prime minister rather than the entire cabinet.
- The process of forming a new coalition after a government collapse can be incredibly lengthy, sometimes taking months as seen in Iraq in 2010.
- Even after losing a confidence vote, a leader like Sweden's Stefan LĂśfven can occasionally regain power by successfully negotiating a new coalition.
In a parliamentary regime, any failure of policy could trigger either a confidence vote or new elections, which could result in the removal of the prime minister.
presidential regime. Even though parliamentary regimes hold periodic elections, the elections are not
necessarily for fixed terms (for example, every four years) as they are with presidential regimes. In fact, over
the last 20 years, Italy has held elections 10 times, with the prime ministerâs average length of office being
about 845 days (authorâs calculation). In a parliamentary regime, any failure of policy could trigger either a
confidence vote or new elections, which could result in the removal of the prime minister. Some parliamentary
regimes do have fixed-term elections, and others have maximum-term elections, preventing any government
from being in power indefinitely.
A confidence vote, sometimes referred to as a no-confidence vote, takes place when some members of the
parliament no longer support the government. The actual process and wording differ from country to country.
A majority is needed to pass a vote of no confidence. If the government loses the vote, one of two things
happens: either a new government is formed, or elections take place. If a new government is formed, it will
reflect the partisan distribution of the old government, but even if a new government is formed, it is unlikely
that the current prime minister will continue to serve. A no-confidence vote could also take place within the
majority party or the coalition that holds power. This vote is directed at the prime minister and not the
government. While no-confidence votes are rare, in June 2021, Stefan LĂśfven (Sweden) lost a no-confidence
vote and was forced to resign.36 Nevertheless, instead of new elections being called, coalition talks ensued.
LĂśfven was able to form a coalition and regain power in the vote to form the new government.37 But coalitions
are not so easily built. In 2010, when Nouri al Maliki (Iraq) worked to form a coalition government, it took him
almost six months to build a working coalition.
FIGURE 10.6 ThenâBritish Prime Minister Theresa May with the then-president of the European Parliament Antonio
Tajani less than a month after May survived a vote of no confidence in the British Parliament amid struggles over
Brexit negotiations. (credit: âMay at the EPâ by European Parliament/Flickr, CC-BY-4.0: Š European Union 2019 â
Source: EP)
Executive Power and Legislative Dynamics
- Parliamentary systems benefit from high party discipline, where members rarely vote against their party due to significant political risk.
- In parliamentary regimes, the prime minister is part of the legislature, ensuring consistency between the executive's agenda and legislative action.
- Presidential systems often face a 'strong early, weak late' policy cycle where legislation is heavily modified once it leaves the president's control.
- The unified nature of parliamentary government makes the passage of agreed-upon legislation nearly certain, unlike the potential for gridlock in presidential systems.
- While presidential systems offer stability and minority protections through separation of powers, parliamentary systems provide clearer accountability and better representation for minor parties.
Itâs been said that, in the policy-making process, presidents are strong early in the legislative process but weak late in the process.
One of the advantages of a parliamentary regime is greater party discipline. Prime ministers can count on the
loyalty of party members. Members who choose to go against the party do so at their own political risk. This
has a direct impact on public policy and informs how the relationship between the executive and the
legislature differs between the two systems. A president is outside the legislature; the prime minister is in the
legislature. This means there is consistency between the chief executiveâs policy agenda and the legislatureâs.
Within a presidential regime, presidents set the policy agenda (i.e., presidents determine what issues have
priority) and craft legislation. Proposed legislation then goes to a legislature that is outside of their control. Itâs
been said that, in the policy-making process, presidents are strong early in the legislative process but weak
late in the process. In other words, it is only after the proposed legislation leaves the presidentâs office that it
gets negotiated and modified. For prime ministers, however, the opposite is true. Prime ministers and their
10.3 ⢠The Executive in Parliamentary Regimes 311
cabinets craft legislation as a group from the beginning, with the specifics being negotiated and modified. In
this process, the prime minister persuades other ministers to follow his or her lead. Once a course of action is
decided or legislation is agreed upon, its passage is certain. The remainder of the party in power will support
the prime minister. The unified nature of the government assures this.
10.4 Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Presidential and
Parliamentary Regimes
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of parliamentary and presidential regimes.
⢠Distinguish between government stability and policy stability.
⢠Explain what a coalition government is and how these governments potentially work within each regime.
⢠Define political gridlock and political polarization and explain how they may impact public policy.
⢠Summarize how minor parties are more viable in a parliamentary regime than they are in a presidential
regime.
Each system has its advantages and disadvantages. This section will primarily focus on the systemsâ effects on
policy: stability, coalition governments, divided government, and representation of minor parties.
Presidentialism
Parliamentarianism
Advantages
Disadvantages
Advantages
Disadvantages
Presidents can claim a
mandate and take the lead
in setting the legislative
agenda.
If there is divided
government, it can lead to
gridlock.
A unified government
enables the quick
enactment of policies.
Drastic policy change is
possible from one
government to the next.
During a time of crisis, a
president may be able to
act quickly.
A president may blame
the legislature for policy
failures.
A clear line of policy-
making responsibility
helps define
accountability.
Coalition governments
may be short-lived, with
frequent elections.
Separation of powers may
better protect rights of
minority groups when an
independent judiciary has
the power of judicial
review.
One individual must play
the roles of both head of
state and head of
government.
Minority parties are
frequently represented in
parliamentary
legislatures.
Minority groups have
relatively fewer
protections.
Â
Party discipline tends to
be weak. Strong
presidents or populist
leaders can emerge,
presenting challenges to
democracy.
Political parties and party
discipline tend to be
Presidential versus Parliamentary Stability
- Juan Linz's hypothesis suggests parliamentary regimes are more stable than presidential ones, despite the United States being a notable exception.
- Stability in this context refers to the endurance of the political system itself rather than the longevity of a specific administration or government.
- Parliamentary systems often face frequent elections and coalition collapses, as seen in Israel, which can appear unstable to those accustomed to fixed terms.
- Parliamentary regimes are more prone to rapid policy swings because new governments can be formed quickly in response to shifting public opinion.
- Research indicates that coalition governments with more parties may actually experience greater stability regarding long-term policy change.
- Perceptions of instability often depend on whether an individual views frequent leadership changes as a failure or as a sign of a responsive democracy.
What one person might view as instability, someone else might see as needed policy change.
strong.
Â
TABLE 10.3 Comparison of Advantages and Disadvantages of Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes
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Governmental Stability versus Policy Stability
Any discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of presidentialism and parliamentarianism begins with
the hypothesis, first posited by Yale University professor Juan Linz, that parliamentary regimes are more
stable than presidential regimes and that âthe only presidential democracy with a long history of
constitutional continuity is the United States.â38 To Americans, the claim that parliamentary regimes are more
stable may appear strange. As already noted, while parliamentary regimes have regular elections, they are not
necessarily fixed-term elections. This means an election can happen at any time, opening up the possibility for
multiple elections within a relatively short period of time. From 2018 to 2021, there were four separate
elections in Israel.39 In April 2020, Benjamin Netanyahu again was given the opportunity to form a new
coalition government.40 Ultimately, however, he was unable to do so and was ousted as prime minister.41
To Americans, this may seem like the very definition of instability. Within this context, stability refers to the
stability of the political system itself and not the stability of any particular government within that system.
Parliamentary regimes may experience multiple elections in a short space of time, but that does not mean the
system itself is unstable. It could simply reflect current electoral politics. In that respect, the current
demographics of a particular country could work against a majority emerging and encourage coalition
governments. Deep divisions within the Israeli electorate have made the formation and maintenance of a
coalition government difficult. Nevertheless, the political system remains stable and in place, even if the
ramifications of Israelâs crisis in determining its leadership do raise some concerns for aspects of the system.
Any instability provides the opportunity for political change.
Instability can also take the form of policy change. Policy swings are more likely in parliamentary regimes.
Because there are no set elections, elections could take place at any time. While public opinion does tend to
move rather slowly, it changes over time and when triggered by events that cause the public to rethink key
issues. Within a parliamentary regime, changing demographics or changing attitudes among the public could
bring in a new government that has a very different majority than the old government. That new government
could bring sweeping policy changes. Whether an individual sees the changes as a sign of political instability
or a sign that the government reflects the will of the people may depend upon whether that individual agrees
with the new policies. What one person might view as instability, someone else might see as needed policy
change.
Coalition Governments
Generally, coalition governments are shorter-lived than majority governments.42 The sheer duration of a
government provides no indication as to its efficiency or its effectiveness in enacting public policy. The
stability of a system can also be interpreted as policy change because the electorate may interpret the system
as responsive and adaptable. Georgetown University visiting researcher Josep Colomer found that
governments with more parties experienced greater stability with respect to policy change.43
VIDEO
Israeli Opposition Parties Strike Deal to Form New Government
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/10-4-advantages-
Coalitions and Political Structures
- The formation of a new government, such as the coalition that ousted Benjamin Netanyahu, occurs within existing parliamentary structures without requiring institutional changes.
- In the United States, executive transitions involve forming a new administration and potential leadership shifts in Congress, yet the underlying constitutional branches remain static.
- Coalition governments are a unique feature of parliamentary systems that can be viewed as either a disadvantage or a strategic advantage for representation.
- Proportional representation in parliamentary regimes allows for a multi-party system where third parties can hold significant power.
- The U.S. presidential system effectively enforces a two-party dynamic, as seen in 1912 when Theodore Roosevelt's third-party run merely split the vote rather than securing power.
In a parliamentary regime, it is conceivable that Theodore Roosevelt would have been able to build a coalition with the Republican Party and form a government.
disadvantages-and-challenges-of-presidential-and-parliamentary-regimes)
In this clip, DW News reports on the deal opposition parties struck to form a coalition government, resulting in
the ouster of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Forming a new government within the existing parliamentary structure does not require a fundamental
change to that structure or its institutions. Consider what happens when a new US president is elected. That
president forms a new administration. Similarly, after congressional elections, there may be new leadership in
either or both of the houses if there have been significant partisan shifts, with one party losing majority status
and the other party gaining it. The 2020 presidential election illustrates the point well. Joe Biden won the
10.4 ⢠Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes 313
presidency and chose a cabinet. Similarly, Democrats gained a slim majority in the Senate and put in place a
new majority leader, Senator Charles (Chuck) Schumer. The government was new, but the structure of the
branches of government and its institutions did not change.
Coalition governments can be considered a disadvantage of parliamentary regimes, but they can also be a
potential advantage. One argument in favor of a parliamentary regime with proportional representation is that
more parties are represented. While presidential regimes do not inherently result in a two-party system, there
is no doubt that the presidential regime in the United States works that way. Indeed, in the United States, no
third-party candidate has ever won the presidency. Theodore Roosevelt came closest in 1912. While he
managed to finish second and collect 88 Electoral College votes, he effectively split the Republican vote and
helped to ensure the election of Woodrow Wilson, who received less than 45 percent of the popular vote. In a
parliamentary regime, it is conceivable that Theodore Roosevelt would have been able to build a coalition with
the Republican Party and form a government. So, not only is one more likely to have viable third parties in a
parliamentary regime, but those third parties could hold significant power within a government.
Gridlock
Gridlock and Presidential Polarization
- Presidential systems are structurally prone to gridlock due to separate institutions that often result in divided government.
- While divided government does not make legislative stalemate inevitable, it creates a bias against the coalition building typical of parliamentary systems.
- Political polarization has increased significantly over the last 30 years, posing a threat to the enactment of public policy.
- Research suggests a curvilinear relationship where both extremely high and extremely low levels of polarization result in low legislative productivity.
- Divided government may paradoxically incentivize 'sincere negotiation' as each party seeks to avoid being blamed by the public for obstructionism.
When gridlock does happen, it tends to be highly visible, with each side publicly posturing and blaming the other side for the impasse.
One of the primary disadvantages of presidentialism is the possibility of gridlock. Political gridlock is when
governments are unable to pass major legislation and stalemates between competing parties take place.
Certainly, gridlock can occur within parliamentary regimes, but because presidential regimes have separate
institutions, they often result in divided government and are biased against coalition building. Generally
speaking, neither of those conditions is typical of a parliamentary regime. These conditions in presidential
regimes appear to make them more conducive to gridlock.
Over the years, there has been considerable debate over whether divided government causes gridlock. Yale
Emeritus professor David Mayhew argues that gridlock is not inevitable in divided government and that
important legislative productivity takes place within both divided and unified governments.44 That is not to
suggest, however, that gridlock does not take place. Brookings Institution fellow Sarah Binder notes that the
2011â2012 Congress ranked âas the most gridlocked during the postwar era.â45 When gridlock does happen, it
tends to be highly visible, with each side publicly posturing and blaming the other side for the impasse, and
gridlock eventually ends. That gridlock ends suggests a self-correcting aspect; the two political parties do not
diverge from each other all that much or for all that long.46 At the same time, presidential regimes carry a risk
of polarization. While political polarization is not unique to presidential regimes, they are prone to its
development.
The last 30 years in particular have seen an increase in political polarization.47 The extent to which it exists
both within political parties and within the electorate has been the subject of heated debate.48 Political
polarization is a disadvantage of presidential regimes that presents a cause for concern for the enactment of
public policy. But does polarization cause a systemic breakdown in the legislative process? The short answer is
that perhaps it can. Dodd and Schraufnagel have demonstrated a curvilinear relationship between polarization
and legislative productivity.49 Higher levels of polarization tend to be more likely to interfere with the policy-
making process. But interestingly enough, low levels of polarization also result in low levels of productivity. It
is when polarization is somewhere in the middle that legislative progress is most likely to occur. Indeed, Dodd
and Schraufnagel note that attention should be given to the âvirtues of divided government.â So, while
presidential regimes work against coalition building, Manning J. Dauer Eminent Scholar in Political Science at
the University of Florida Lawrence C. Dodd and Northern Illinois University professor Scot Schraufnagel
conclude that divided government may provide both parties âsome incentive to embrace sincere negotiation,
timely compromise, and reasonable, responsive policy productivity by government, since each is responsible
for one branch of government and could be held accountable by the public for obstructionist behavior by its
branch.â
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FIGURE 10.7 Between 1994 and 2014, ideological division in the United States grew. (data source: 2014 Political
Polarization in the American Public, Pew Research; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY
NC-SA 4.0 license)
Viable Third Parties
Presidentialism and the Two-Party System
- Presidential regimes naturally encourage two-party systems because the presidency acts as the ultimate single-member district.
- Duvergerâs law suggests that plurality voting and single-member districts lead voters to consolidate around two major parties to avoid wasting their votes.
- Parliamentary systems with proportional representation allow for greater third-party viability and lower thresholds for legislative entry.
- Minority parties in parliamentary systems can wield disproportionate power by acting as essential coalition partners for larger parties.
- Voters in presidential systems often feel forced to choose the 'lesser of two evils' rather than their preferred candidate.
- Data from US elections shows significant voter dissatisfaction, with many citizens believing neither major candidate would make a good president.
In a presidential regime, however, large numbers of voters face the unenviable task of voting for a candidate who is less than their first choice, and voters often frame that choice as voting for the 'lesser of two evils.'
In any democracy, third parties or minority parties play important roles. Presidential regimes tend to
encourage the formation of a two-party system, resulting in a weaker role for third parties than in most
parliamentary regimes that have proportional representation. The reasons presidential regimes are more
prone to result in a two-party system are twofold. The first is due to voting procedures. While there is
considerable variation in how elections are held across countries, a common approach is plurality voting (also
known as âfirst-past-the-postâ). With plurality voting and single-member districts (one person being elected
per geographic area), a two-party system is likely to emerge (this is known as Duvergerâs law and was covered
in Chapter 9: Legislatures). The presidency is âthe most visible single-member district.â50 While Duvergerâs
law is not determinative because it does not guarantee a two-party system, it encourages its development. In
addition to voting procedures, presidents have to appeal to voters across groups and form a coalition. Political
parties are simply coalitions of varied groups. In order to appeal to as many voters as possible, political parties
are more likely to broaden their scope of appeal rather than to define themselves more narrowly.
Third parties are much more viable in a parliamentary regimeâthat is, they have actual representation and
SHOW ME THE DATA
10.4 ⢠Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes 315
voice within the national government. The 2018 elections in Italy resulted in over a dozen parties being
represented in its parliament. Generally, this is a positive because voters are much more likely to vote for their
first choice. Within a two-party system, however, voters may vote for their second choice because they do not
wish to waste their vote. In a parliamentary regime with proportional representation, the threshold for
representation within the parliament can be quite low at less than 5 percent. Once elected, the minority party
could potentially find itself holding some power. In a parliamentary regime, a minority party may find itself
with a disproportionate amount of power as it aligns itself with one of the larger parties. While it is possible to
exaggerate the power the minority party holds in the partnership, it cannot be dismissed out of hand.
In a presidential regime, however, large numbers of voters face the unenviable task of voting for a candidate
who is less than their first choice, and voters often frame that choice as voting for the âlesser of two evils.â In
the 2016 US presidential election, 46 percent of Republicans indicated that neither of the major-party
candidates would make a good president. For Democrat respondents, that percentage, while lower, was also
substantial at 33 percent.51 In recent presidential elections, the percent of voters indicating satisfaction with
the candidates has never been higher than 72 percent and has been as low as 33 percent. See Figure 10.8.
FIGURE 10.8 These data from 1992 to 2020 suggest that the party with a larger percentage of registered voters
who say they are satisfied with their party's presidential candidate oftenâbut not alwaysâwins the election. (data
source: Pew Research; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
10.5 Semi-Presidential Regimes
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Summarize the structure of semi-presidential regimes.
⢠Explain how semi-presidential regimes differ from presidential and parliamentary regimes.
The Dynamics of Semi-Presidentialism
- Semi-presidentialism functions as a hybrid system where power is split between a directly elected president and an appointed prime minister.
- While the president typically appoints the prime minister, the appointee must secure a majority in parliament, which can lead to 'cohabitation' between opposing parties.
- Data suggests that semi-presidential regimes are generally less free than parliamentary or presidential systems and are more susceptible to authoritarianism.
- There is significant variation in freedom within this category, ranging from highly democratic nations like France to authoritarian states like Russia and Syria.
- Comparative freedom scores indicate that parliamentary systems tend to be remarkably freer than both presidential and semi-presidential counterparts.
That means the president could be of one party and the prime minister of a different party. They referred to it as âcohabitation.â
⢠Outline the apparent connection between the various democratic regimes and freedom.
A third type of system is semi-presidentialism. While a semi-presidential country can be democratic (for
example, Austria, Iceland, and Poland), many semi-presidential countries are not democratic (for example,
SHOW ME THE DATA
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Rwanda and Syria). This section briefly defines semi-presidentialism and some of its basic characteristics and
then examines the connection between governmental systems and political freedom.
Defining Semi-Presidential Regimes
Semi-presidential regimes can be viewed as a hybrid, sitting between parliamentary and presidential regimes.
Even though they are ill defined, it is possible to can make some general observations. Basically, in semi-
presidential regimes power is divided between the prime minister and the president, with both executives
having political power. Typically, each executiveâs respective powers are clearly defined, but that is not always
the case. As in presidential regimes, in semi-presidential regimes the people directly elect the president.
Unlike in parliamentary regimes, however, the president usually appoints the prime minister. Once appointed,
the prime minister must gain a majority in the parliament. If there is already a majority present, the president
must simply select the leader of the majority party, regardless of whether the individual is of the same party as
the president. That means the president could be of one party and the prime minister of a different party. This
has happened in France. They referred to it as âcohabitation.â
Semi-Presidential Regimes and the Connection to Freedom
Semi-presidential regimes appear to be less free than parliamentary or presidential regimes. Correspondingly,
they appear to give greater opportunity for authoritarian rule to emerge. Russia and Vladimir Putin is the best
contemporary example of authoritarian rule in a semi-presidential regime. Nevertheless, there is considerable
variation among semi-presidential countries. Freedom House gives France, which also has a semi-presidential
regime, a high global freedom score of 90. It is interesting to see the association between regime type and
countriesâ Freedom House scores.52 The global freedom score goes from 0 to 100, with higher scores
indicating greater freedom. See Figure 10.9.
FIGURE 10.9 Freedom House mean global freedom scores by regime type (higher scores = higher levels of
freedom) suggest that parliamentary systems tend to be remarkably freer than either presidential or semi-
presidential systems. N indicates the number of countries of each regime type. (data source: âCountries and
Territories.â Freedom House. https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores; attribution: Copyright Rice
University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
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10.5 ⢠Semi-Presidential Regimes 317
Regime Types and Freedom Scores
- Parliamentary systems demonstrate a significantly higher correlation with political freedom, with 80 percent categorized as 'free' by Freedom House.
- Presidential and semi-presidential regimes show much lower rates of freedom, both hovering around 38 to 39 percent.
- Semi-presidential systems represent the vast majority of 'not free' nations, accounting for 15 out of the 19 countries in that category.
- Data distribution reveals that parliamentary scores are highly concentrated at the top of the scale, whereas semi-presidential scores are widely dispersed.
- The lowest freedom scores are found outside of parliamentary systems, with Syria's semi-presidential regime earning a score of 1.
Finally, an intriguing picture emerges as one moves from parliamentary regimes to semi-presidential ones.
Freedom House also categorizes countries as not free, partly free, or free. Eighty percent of parliamentary
countries are categorized as free, while only 39 percent of presidential regimes and 38 percent of semi-
presidential regimes are categorized as free. See Figure 10.10.
FIGURE 10.10 Based on how Freedom House defines âfree,â âpartly free,â and ânot free,â the vast majority of
parliamentary systems are free, while less than half of presidential and semi-presidential systems are free. In fact,
more than half of presidential systems are only partly free, and more than a quarter of all semi-presidential systems
are not free. N indicates the number of countries of each regime type. Regime type is coded by the author. (data
source: âCountries and Territories.â Freedom House. https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores;
attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Another way of thinking about the data is to examine only those countries rated as ânot free.â Nineteen
countries are defined as not free. Of those 19 countries categorized ânot free,â only one is parliamentary
(Thailand), three are presidential (Burundi, Nicaragua, and Venezuela), and the remaining 15 are semi-
presidential.
Finally, an intriguing picture emerges as one moves from parliamentary regimes to semi-presidential ones. As
shown in the scatter plot below, scores for parliamentary countries are much more concentrated (i.e., less
dispersed) as well as located toward the top of freedom scale, while semi-presidential regimes are dispersed
all along the scale. Indeed, the lowest score for a parliamentary regime is 30 (Thailand). For semi-presidential
regimes, 10 countries fall below the score of 30, with one of those countries earning a score of 1 (Syria). The
three presidential countries that fall below 30 are noted above (Burundi, Nicaragua, and Venezuela). See
Figure 10.11.
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318 10 ⢠Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
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FIGURE 10.11 Based on Freedom House criteria, countries with parliamentary systems tend to have similarâand
highâfreedom scores, while the scores for countries with presidential and semi-presidential systems are more
broadly distributed. N indicates the number of countries of each regime type; each dot represents one country. (data
source: âCountries and Territories.â Freedom House. https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores;
attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
10.6 How Do Cabinets Function in Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe the scope and selection of cabinet members.
⢠Explain how cabinets function within their political environment.
⢠Discuss the relationships between cabinets, the public, and legislatures in presidential and parliamentary
regimes.
⢠Analyze the personalization of chief executives and how that impacts cabinet governance.
Executive Cabinets and Power
- Cabinets serve as advisory bodies for heads of state, but their influence varies significantly between presidential and parliamentary systems.
- In presidential regimes, cabinet impact is highly inconsistent and often depends on the specific president's personal preferences.
- U.S. cabinet meetings are frequently held for optics rather than policy formulation, as evidenced by delayed initial meetings in recent administrations.
- Influence in a presidential cabinet is typically derived from a personal relationship with the leader rather than the inherent power of the office.
- Parliamentary cabinets consist of ministers who are also members of parliament and must be consulted on all proposed government actions.
- The prime minister in a parliamentary system functions as 'first among equals' rather than a unilateral decision-maker.
Cabinet meetings take place more for optics than as meetings to formulate policy.
Presidents and prime ministers are surrounded by individuals who provide them with information and advice
that informs their decisions. The most visible of those groups are their cabinets. A cabinetâs functions in a
presidential regime can be significantly different from those of a cabinet in a parliamentary regime. In
presidential regimes especially, both the quality of a cabinet and its impact on presidential decision-making
varies significantly from one president to the next. Within parliamentary regimes, however, there is more
consistency across governments in terms of cabinet membersâ expertise and the expectation that cabinet
members will have substantive input into executive decision-making.
The Scope of Executive Cabinets
In the United States, the presidentâs cabinet is comprised of the vice president and the heads of the 15
executive departments. The leaders of each department, with the exception of the Department of Justice, are
called secretaries. The scope of their power, however, is much more related to their role within the bureaucracy
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10.6 ⢠How Do Cabinets Function in Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes? 319
than it is to their role as advisors to the president. Indeed, President Barack Obama didnât hold his first full
cabinet meeting until three months into his presidency, and President Trump was six months into his
presidency when he met his cabinet for the first time. Cabinet meetings take place more for optics than as
meetings to formulate policy. That is not to suggest cabinet members do not influence the president. On an
individual level, they may have tremendous access and influence. But the access and influence they enjoy is
due to the personal relationship they have with the president and not necessarily due to the inherent power in
the cabinet position they hold. As mentioned earlier in the chapter, individual actors matter.
In parliamentary regimes, members of the cabinet are also ministers or members of the parliament. Typically,
though not always, they belong to the same party as the prime minister. In these systems, cabinet members
play a significant role in the government and in the formation of public policy. Prime ministers must consult
their cabinet members regarding any proposed course of action. Within this framework, the prime minister is
âfirst among equals.â
The Selection of Cabinet Members
Cabinet Selection and Political Strategy
- Political events and current climates heavily influence how presidents and prime ministers select their cabinet members.
- In parliamentary systems, ministers are typically chosen from within the government and are expected to possess specific expertise in their assigned areas.
- U.S. presidential appointments often include individuals from both inside and outside the political arena, though members of Congress must resign their seats to serve.
- Recent U.S. data shows a shift in selection criteria, with Obama and Biden favoring government experience while Trump prioritized business backgrounds and populism.
- Presidential preferences regarding loyalty versus expertise can lead to unconventional choices, such as appointing individuals to lead departments they previously proposed to abolish.
- The selection process in presidential regimes is highly dependent on individual character and norms compared to the more institutionalized parliamentary systems.
For example, President Donald Trump chose former Texas governor Rick Perry to be his Secretary of the Department of Energy even though, during a 2011 Republican primary debate, Perry indicated he would abolish the department.
Regardless of the system, political events always play a role in the selection of cabinet members. Presidents
and prime ministers must be aware of the politics of the day. Prime ministers choose their cabinet ministers
from the government. Cabinet ministers are expected to have the necessary expertise in the area they head. In
presidential regimes, appointments are political and highly visible. In these systems, it is common for
appointees to come from both inside and outside the political arena. Figure 10.12 provides a comparison
across the three most recent US presidents.53 While a majority of appointed individuals possess a government
background, other areas are represented. Indeed, Trumpâs cabinet is notable for its relatively low inclusion of
individuals from the government and high inclusion of those from business. Any appointees who are members
of Congress at the time of their appointment must resign their elected position to take the cabinet post. In the
United States, members of Congress are constitutionally prohibited from holding other offices (Article I,
section 6).
FIGURE 10.12 Both Barack Obama and Joe Biden pulled the majority of the members of their cabinets from those
with experience in government. Donald Trump, a populist, looked outside government for almost half of his cabinet.
(data source: Danielle Kurtzleben, âHow the Donald Trump Cabinet Stacks Up, in 3 Charts,â NPR, December 28,
2016, https://www.npr.org/2016/12/28/506299885/how-the-donald-trump-cabinet-stacks-up-in-3-charts;
attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
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320 10 ⢠Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
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Presidents appear to consider a number of factors when selecting cabinet members, not the least of which can,
at times, be political loyalty and ideological similarity. For example, President Donald Trump chose former
Texas governor Rick Perry to be his Secretary of the Department of Energy even though, during a 2011
Republican primary debate, Perry indicated he would abolish the department. Other presidents, like George H.
W. Bush and George W. Bush, placed greater emphasis on finding cabinet members with relevant experience
than on ideological similarity. Presidents Clinton and Obama also emphasized expertise. Their cabinets tilted
toward academia, with 24 percent of President Clintonâs cabinet and 23 percent of President Obamaâs cabinet
holding a PhD.54 Trumpâs apparent criteria for selecting cabinet members represented a departure from
established norms,55 demonstrating how much presidential character and preferences, rather than the
institution itself, determine selections. This seems to be considerably less so in parliamentary regimes.
The Independence of Cabinet Members
Cabinet Dynamics in Global Governance
- Presidential cabinets typically lack a role in collective decision-making, with meetings often serving a purely ceremonial purpose.
- In the United States, cabinet secretaries focus on substantive oversight and policy implementation rather than advising the president's core strategy.
- Parliamentary cabinet members are deeply tied to the fortunes of the prime minister and their party, fostering a culture of unity and cooperation.
- Prime ministers in parliamentary systems maintain authority through the power to demote or fire ministers who do not align with the government's goals.
- Despite structural differences, both systems utilize cabinet members as heads of specific departments with defined areas of jurisdictional oversight.
- The independence of a cabinet member is significantly higher in presidential regimes compared to the partisan interdependence of parliamentary systems.
In a presidential regime, and especially in the United States, while cabinets have substantive areas of oversight, they are not included in presidential decision-making.
In considering the independence of cabinet members, the differences between presidential and parliamentary
regimes could not be starker. Cabinets play an important role in both systems, but the formation of the
cabinets and their relationships to the executive differ in significant ways. In a presidential regime, and
especially in the United States, while cabinets have substantive areas of oversight, they are not included in
presidential decision-making. Cabinet meetings are rare and mostly ceremonial. As one scholar put it, in
presidential regimes, âit is cumbersome and unproductive to meet with the cabinet as a whole, let alone to rely
on its collective judgment.â56 Even though cabinet secretaries may play a limited role in presidential decision-
making, they are important to the policy-making and policy implementation process. Consider Donald
Trumpâs Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. During her tenure, she had a significant impact on education
policy. Most notably, under her guidance, the Department rewrote Title IX regulations, providing more
protections for the accused.
FIGURE 10.13 In Japanâs parliamentary system, the prime minister is the head of the Cabinet, and the Cabinet is
subject to the prime ministerâs authority. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is pictured here, first row center,
surrounded by his cabinet in 2020. (credit: âCommemorative Photo 2â by Prime Ministerâs Office of Japan
https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/99_suga/actions/202009/16suganaikaku.html, Government of Japan Standard Terms
of Use (Version 2.0))
Within parliamentary regimes, cabinet members do not enjoy the same level of independence, and there is a
greater understanding that cabinet ministersâ positions are tied to the fortunes of both the prime minister and
the party, which means that cabinet ministers have a vested interest in supporting the prime minister.
Additionally, prime ministers can demote or even fire their cabinet ministers. This dynamic helps to reinforce
a desire for unity and cooperation. That is not to say cabinet ministers do not have their own scope of authority
10.6 ⢠How Do Cabinets Function in Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes? 321
or are not free to offer contrary opinions. Similar to department secretaries in a presidential regime, cabinet
ministers have defined areas of oversight. For example, the position of Foreign Secretary in Great Britain is
analogous to the Secretary of State in the United States. These positions deal with foreign or international
matters and relationships among countries.
How Cabinets Function in Their Political Environments
Cabinet Dynamics and Executive Power
- Presidential cabinets are highly idiosyncratic, reflecting the individual president's preferences rather than a standardized systemic structure.
- Both presidents and prime ministers often utilize 'kitchen cabinets,' which are informal circles of trusted advisors used to bypass traditional institutional processes.
- In parliamentary systems, cabinet members are also members of the legislature, creating a structural link that is absent in presidential regimes.
- Parliamentary cabinet dynamics vary by leadership style, ranging from Margaret Thatcher's combative approach to John Major's traditional consensus-building.
- Woodrow Wilson once proposed a constitutional amendment to force presidents to appoint majority party leaders to the cabinet to emulate parliamentary efficiency.
- While cabinet members usually work in the background, specific department heads can achieve global significance, as seen with George Marshall and the Marshall Plan.
In essence, each cabinet is unique.
Cabinet function in presidential regimes is idiosyncratic. Because cabinet members are appointed and Senate
approval assumed,57 cabinets reflect each president rather than the system itself. In other words, the
president is largely able to select individual cabinet members and define their roles. Any generalities about
cabinet function in the United States are easily undercut by specific examples of how a president did not
conform to that generality. In essence, each cabinet is unique. Moreover, various presidents as well as prime
ministers have had two cabinets, an official one and an unofficial one (the so-called âkitchen cabinetâ). The
origin of the term can be traced to President Andrew Jackson, who relied upon a small circle of trusted
associates that included some official cabinet members as well as friends. Prime ministers have also utilized
kitchen cabinets. For example, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Ruddâs (2007â2010, 2013) kitchen cabinet was
also known as the âGang of Four.â Critics typically view these groups as attempts to bypass traditional
institutions and processes.
In a parliamentary regime, cabinets are integral to the legislative process, and cabinet ministers have close
relationships with their prime ministers. Members of the cabinet are also members of the parliament. While
parliamentary cabinets may seem far less idiosyncratic than those in presidential regimes, it would be a
mistake to assume that parliamentary cabinets are uniform across prime ministers. Prime ministersâ
relationships with their cabinets can vary considerably. For example, Margaret Thatcher was known to have a
relatively combative relationship with her cabinet and relied upon a few ministers in making policy decisions.
Indeed, in 1981 she fired three cabinet ministers and demoted a fourth over a disagreement on monetary
policy.58 By contrast, her successor, John Major, was known for taking a more traditional approach to cabinet
government.
The Relationship among Cabinets, Legislatures, and the Public
In a presidential regime, there is little to no connection between cabinets and legislatures. In parliamentary
regimes, the link is presumed to be strong. In attempting to emulate a parliamentary regime, Woodrow Wilson
unsuccessfully advocated for a constitutional amendment that would have required presidents to include the
leaders of the majority party as cabinet secretaries.59 This was in his writings prior to becoming president and
was intended to enhance the power of Congress, especially the House of Representatives.
Typically, in either a presidential or a parliamentary regime, cabinet members work largely in the background,
but political events may heighten their visibility. This is especially true in a presidential regime, where heads
of departments have power apart from the executive. Without a doubt, the most far-reaching plan by a
department head was the Marshall Plan. Proposed by Secretary of State George Marshall in 1947, the plan
provided aid to rebuild Western Europe after World War II.
Cabinets and the Personalization of Chief Executives
The Presidentialization of Prime Ministers
- Parliamentary regimes are increasingly resembling presidential systems as prime ministers gain power over their cabinets.
- The political fortunes of modern parties are becoming more dependent on the individual personalities of leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel.
- Professor Keith Dowding argues that policy-making is becoming centralized, shifting authority away from departmental ministers to the chief executive.
- Cabinet officials are increasingly viewed as heads of specific bureaucracies rather than broad political leaders.
- Bureaucracies, often criticized for being slow and impersonal, remain essential for the efficient and equitable enforcement of public policy.
- The tension between individual leadership and hierarchical 'rule by desks' defines the modern executive branch.
The term bureaucracy literally means 'rule by desks.' It is an institution that is hierarchical in nature and exists to formulate, enact, and enforce public policy in an efficient and equitable manner.
Some have argued that parliamentary regimes are, for practical purposes, beginning to resemble presidential
regimes.60 There is no doubt that prime ministers today appear to be more presidential and cabinets have
become less important. From Margaret Thatcher to Angela Merkel, who has been described as the worldâs most
powerful woman, prime ministers have asserted themselves, with their partiesâ political fortunes riding on
their personalities.
While observing that traditional cabinets in the United Kingdom have enjoyed a considerable amount of
authority within their departments, Australian National University professor Keith Dowding acknowledges that
prime ministers have grown in power in relationship to their ministers, arguing there has been âa growing
322 10 ⢠Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
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centralisation of policy-makingâ that benefits the prime minister.61 Dowdingâs argument is interesting
because he writes against the idea that prime ministers have become presidential. Dowding argues that, most
likely, two things are happening. The first is the growing personalization of the chief executive, which
reinforces Neustadtâs conception of presidential power and suggests the model can be applied to prime
ministers. The second is the identification of cabinet officials with the departments they run, thereby viewing
them as connected to bureaucracies rather than as political leaders.
10.7 What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain the purpose and characteristics of bureaucracies.
⢠Differentiate between patronage (politically based appointments) and civil service (merit-based
appointments) within bureaucracies.
⢠Explain how bureaucracies function within their political framework.
⢠Describe the rulemaking process and its importance to policy formation.
⢠Analyze how individual actors play a role or have an impact in bureaucratic rule.
FIGURE 10.14 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) meets to discuss decommissioning a nuclear power plant
in 2014. (credit: âNRC Discusses Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning - July 15, 2014â by Nuclear Regulatory
Commission/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Bureaucracies present a challenge to the claim that individual actors matter. The term bureaucracy literally
means ârule by desks.â It is an institution that is hierarchical in nature and exists to formulate, enact, and
enforce public policy in an efficient and equitable manner. Of all governmental structures, bureaucracies likely
have the most negative image. Their functions and operation have been described using terms like âred tape,â
âmindless rules,â âimpersonal,â and âslow-moving.â Indeed, in the movie Zootopia, DMV workers are portrayed
as sloths. Yet, bureaucracies perform important tasks, allowing governments to function effectively and
efficiently.
The Importance of Bureaucracies
The Rise of Bureaucracy
- While modern bureaucracy is a global phenomenon, China has utilized bureaucratic systems since the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE.
- In many nations, including Brazil and the United States, the government serves as the single largest employer of the workforce.
- The scale of the U.S. public sector is immense, employing over ten times the number of people as Walmart, the nation's largest private employer.
- Max Weber identified six core characteristics of bureaucracy, including hierarchy, job specialization, and impersonality, to ensure efficiency.
- The concept of 'neutral competence' is essential to modern civil service, allowing bureaucracies to both form and implement policy regardless of political shifts.
- Hierarchical structures are designed to speed up organizational action by reducing internal conflicts over decision-making power.
There are even individuals known as despachantes, or âexpediters,â who help individuals navigate the maze of Brazilian bureaucracy.
Before the 1900s, especially in Europe and the Americas, government employees were small in number, and
their impact was minimal. In China, however, bureaucracy has a long history, stretching back to the Qin
dynasty (221â207 BCE). Many of the characteristics of modern day bureaucracy were present then.62 Today, in
all parts of the world, government employees are significant in number, and bureaucracy affects peopleâs daily
lives. For example, bureaucrats in Brazil number over nine million. There are even individuals known as
10.7 ⢠What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies? 323
despachantes, or âexpediters,â who help individuals navigate the maze of Brazilian bureaucracy. Indeed, in
Brazil the government is the largest employer.
FIGURE 10.15 The public sector is often the largest employer in a country, and it may employ upwards of 25% of all
workers. (data source: Worldwide Bureaucracy Indicators, The World Bank; attribution: Copyright Rice University,
OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
In the United States, the largest private employer is Walmart, with about 2.2 million employees. By contrast,
when employment across all levels of government is considered (local, state, and federal), the number of
government employees in the US, excluding military personnel, is more than 10 times the number of Walmart
employees. As Figure 10.15 shows, the United States is not unique in having a sizable bureaucracy.
The Characteristics of Bureaucracies
German sociologist and political economist Max Weber identifies six characteristics of a bureaucracy:63
⢠Hierarchy or hierarchical authority
⢠Job specialization or division of labor
⢠Formalized rules
⢠Maintenance of files or records
⢠Impersonality
⢠Professionalization
In addition to the above characteristics, a key bureaucratic concept that emerged with civil service is âneutral
competence.â Embracing these characteristics, bureaucracies function to both form and implement policy.
Additionally, the characteristics make sure that bureaucracies function efficiently and provide the services
that people need.
Hierarchy, or hierarchical authority, refers to a chain of command whereby officials and units at the top of a
bureaucracy have authority over those in the middle, who in turn control those at the bottom. The primary
benefit of a hierarchy is that it speeds action by reducing conflict over the power to make decisions.
Division of labor, or job specialization, refers to how responsibilities for all positions are explicitly defined.
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Principles of Bureaucratic Efficiency
- Division of labor within an organization fosters efficiency by requiring individuals to specialize in specific tasks.
- Standard operating procedures allow for quick, consistent decision-making based on established guidelines rather than personal inclination.
- Systematized record-keeping creates a body of knowledge that informs future policy and ensures service continuity.
- The norm of impersonality ensures all clients are treated equally, preventing favoritism based on social or economic status.
- Professionalization and neutral competence dictate that hiring and policy administration are based on merit and expertise rather than political loyalty.
In dealing with clients, bureaucrats follow the norm of impersonality by treating all individuals fairly, equally, and impartially.
Within an organization, each position is clearly delineated and distinguished from other positions. Division of
labor fosters efficiency because each individual is required to concentrate on a particular job.
Often called standard operating procedures (SOP), formalized rules are established regulations within a
bureaucracy. These rules explicitly state how an organization conducts its operations. The advantage of
formalized rules is that they enable workers to make quick and consistent decisions because those decisions
are made on the basis of preestablished guidelines rather than individual deliberation or personal inclination.
In a systematized manner, bureaucratic agencies are required to accurately and precisely maintain files or
records. Records are archived and made retrievable. These records provide a body of knowledge that can be
utilized in informing future policy decisions as well as in providing service to clients of agencies. In dealing
with clients, bureaucrats follow the norm of impersonality by treating all individuals fairly, equally, and
impartially. This reinforces the systemâs legitimacy because there is no favoritism based on perceived
economic, political, or social status. Throughout the bureaucracy, an overarching norm is professionalization.
Bureaucratic agencies are professional inasmuch as they make hiring and firing decisions based on merit.
Related to impersonality and professionalization is the concept of neutral competence. In making decisions
and administering policies, bureaucrats are policy experts following set procedures and do not consider
personal, political, or professional loyalties in performing their responsibilities.64
Political and Merit-Based Approaches to Filling the Bureaucracy
From Spoils to Merit
- The United States bureaucracy transitioned from a patronage-based 'spoils system' to a merit-based civil service model.
- Under the spoils system, government positions were awarded as rewards for political loyalty rather than professional expertise.
- President Andrew Jackson championed patronage under the belief that government work was simple enough for any citizen to perform.
- The assassination of President James Garfield by a disgruntled job-seeker led to the passage of the Pendleton Act of 1883.
- Modern hiring relies on competitive examinations and technical knowledge rather than political affiliations or personal connections.
- While the U.S. uses a merit system, several European nations score higher on scales of bureaucratic professionalism and expertise.
In 1881, a disgruntled individual who did not receive the government position he believed he was promised assassinated President James Garfield.
Not only has the size of the bureaucracy changed considerably over the years, but how one enters government
employment has also changed. Within the United States, the process of filling bureaucratic positions has
moved away from being extremely political to becoming more of a merit system. In the 1800s, the process was
known as the âspoils system.â Attributed to New York Senator William Marcy, the phrase âto the victor belong
the spoilsâ describes the patronage of the spoils system.
FIGURE 10.16 This Thomas Nast political cartoon from 1877 criticizes the spoils system associated with President
Andrew Jackson. (credit: âIn memoriamâour civil service as it was / Th. Nast.â by Nast, Thomas/Library of Congress,
Public Domain)
10.7 ⢠What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies? 325
Under the patronage system, government jobs were awarded based on political loyalty. One of the reasons
individuals would work for a candidateâs election was the hope of obtaining a government position because
presidents had the ability to hire and fire individuals at will. President Andrew Jackson believed that this
approach would result in a government that was both less corrupt and more democratic. It also suggests that
government jobs did not require specialized knowledge and that virtually anyone could do the job. Of course,
there were a few problems with this approach, not the least of which was that Jackson was incorrect about both
the need for expertise and the hope for a more honest government.
In 1881, a disgruntled individual who did not receive the government position he believed he was promised
assassinated President James Garfield. In the wake of the presidentâs assassination, Congress passed the
Pendleton Act of 1883, creating the civil service system through which a large percentage of government jobs
are filled today. That system bases hiring and promotion decisions on merit rather than on political affiliation.
Hiring decisions are now determined by formal competitive examinations. They are based not on âwho you
know,â but instead on âwhat you know.â
The United States is not unique in adopting formal, competitive examination to fill its bureaucracy.
Throughout Western Europe and parts of Asia, formal examination is used to fill civil service positions. Indeed,
data demonstrate that some countries exceed the United States in terms of the professionalism of their
bureaucracies. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Nordic countries all score slightly higher on a
bureaucratic professionalism scale.65 In Germany in particular, bureaucrats are highly respected for their
expertise and professionalism.
How Bureaucracies Function within the Political Framework
The Power of Bureaucracies
- Policy consists of three distinct stages: formation, implementation, and enforcement.
- While traditionally seen as administrators, bureaucracies actively participate in the formation of policy.
- Bureaucracies operate under a dual-parentage system, created by the legislature but administered by the executive branch.
- The 'prodigal child' metaphor describes how bureaucracies often develop independence and ignore their political overseers.
- The 'iron triangle' model illustrates the symbiotic relationship between bureaucrats, interest groups, and congressional members.
- Bureaucratic autonomy is often reinforced by the specialized knowledge held by the actors within these systems.
As Truman noted: 'I thought I was president, but when it comes to these bureaucrats, I canât do a damn thing.'
Essentially, there are three policy stages: policy formation, policy implementation, and policy enforcement. It
would be natural to view the policy formation stage as belonging only to legislative bodies, with bureaucracies
charged with the tasks of implementing and enforcing policies, and to be sure, bureaucracies do carry out
those responsibilities. But it would be a mistake to assume bureaucracies do not form policy.
The relationship between executives and bureaucracies is a complicated one. In a hierarchical and command
sense, bureaucracies typically fall under the authority of the executive branch. On the one hand, one could
think of the president as the CEO of a large corporation with many departments that, on paper, report to them.
On the other hand, Congress creates bureaucracies themselves through legislative action. As such,
bureaucracies have more than one parent, with the legislative branch being the creator and the executive
branch being the administrator. Nevertheless, bureaucracies tend to take on a life of their own and are likely to
decide for themselves how best to proceed. In this sense, they have been viewed as the âprodigal childâ
because they are perceived to have rejected both parents and have decided what is best for themselves.66 As
Truman noted: âI thought I was president, but when it comes to these bureaucrats, I canât do a damn thing.â67
While bureaucracies function within set procedures and guidelines, they also have relationships with other
political actors. In particular, they interact with interest groups and legislatures to form and implement policy.
A traditional approach to describing the relationship is the iron triangle.
326 10 ⢠Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
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FIGURE 10.17 The iron triangle represents the interdependent and cooperative relationships among members of
Congress, interest groups, and bureaucrats. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA
4.0 license)
Iron triangles have the following characteristics: (1) the actors have specialized knowledge, (2) the actors work
Iron Triangles and Issue Networks
- Iron triangles consist of stable, mutually beneficial relationships between bureaucracies, congressional committees, and interest groups that often resist outside information.
- Critics argue that iron triangles are undemocratic and prioritize protecting specific interests over addressing broader public policy issues.
- Issue networks have emerged as a more common and flexible alternative, incorporating diverse viewpoints and specialized knowledge to handle modern policy complexity.
- Unlike the permanent nature of iron triangles, issue networks are often temporary and form around specific problems rather than shared institutional interests.
- Bureaucracies exercise significant power through rulemaking authority, which allows them to fill in the specific details of broad or vague legislation passed by lawmakers.
- The federal rulemaking process is systematized through the Federal Register, ensuring that proposed regulations are published daily for public transparency and input.
Iron triangles have been justly criticized for being fairly closed to outsiders and new information, for working in relative obscurity, and for being undemocratic.
in cooperation with one another rather than in opposition, and (3) they are very stable over time. As noted in
the graphic, each actor receives benefits from the other actors, which contributes to a desire to maintain the
status quo. Iron triangles have been justly criticized for being fairly closed to outsiders and new information,
for working in relative obscurity, and for being undemocratic. Additionally, iron triangles form around a
shared interest and protecting that interest, rather than around addressing an issue. In other words,
membership is defined by possessing that interest. The classic example revolves around agriculture. Members
of the agriculture triangle include the USDA (bureaucracy), the House Committee on Agriculture (Congress),
and the American Farm Bureau (interest group). When determining policy, discussion centers on the best
course of action to protect their shared interest. Of course, that is not the only way to view these relationships.
An alternative concept is issue networks. While not denying the reality of iron triangles, the idea of issue
networks recognizes that all public policy will not neatly fit into that schema. In fact, issue networks are more
common today because of the multitude and complexity of public policy issues that confront a modern society.
And each year seems to bring new public policy issues that could not have been anticipated. This means the
concept of the iron triangle is inadequate to explain the public policy process today. Similar to iron triangles,
actors in issue networks have specialized knowledge. But unlike iron triangles, issue networks are open to
input from a variety of sources (such as members of the media) and are likely to include individuals with
opposite viewpoints. Moreover, issue networks tend to be temporary and to form around the issue rather than
around a shared interest.
Bureaucracies and the Rulemaking Process
When legislatures pass legislation, they often do so in broad strokes, with the process of filling in the details
delegated to administrative agencies. At times, legislation may be vague. Through their rulemaking authority,
agencies issue regulations following set procedures that include opportunity for public input. In the United
States, the process is fairly straightforward and systematized. Once the president signs legislation into law,
that law is assigned to an administrative agency. Agencies then propose rules providing specificity to the
legislation. The proposed rules appear in the Federal Register, which is the âofficial journal of the United States
Governmentâ and is âpublished every Federal working day.â68 See Figure 10.18.
10.7 ⢠What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies? 327
FIGURE 10.18 This page from the Federal Register illustrates the process of announcing proposed rules. (credit:
âThe Federal Registerâ by The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain)
To illustrate how bureaucracies fill in the details, consider the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act). In
part, the FAA Act protects consumers against deception and ensures âthat labels provide the consumer with
adequate information as to the identity and quality of the product.â69 In 2011, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax
and Trade Bureau proposed new regulations to add âa number of new names to the list of grape variety names
328 10 ⢠Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
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Bureaucracy and Public Interaction
- The rulemaking process for American wine labeling requires petitioners to prove a grape variety's validity, usage, and domestic growth.
- Public comment periods of 30 to 60 days allow citizens to participate in democracy by influencing policy tweaks and modifications.
- While agencies must respond to significant comments, they are not legally obligated to implement suggestions from the public.
- Business groups participate at much higher rates and exert more influence on policy outcomes than individual citizens.
- Street-level bureaucrats, such as police officers, exercise significant discretion in how regulations are applied and enforced in real-time.
It is the police officer, as a street-level bureaucrat, who determines the policy each day.
approved for use in designating American wines.â70 The announcement included instructions for where to
submit comments (online, by mail, or in person) as well as the time frame for comment submission. After the
comment period, final rules were promulgated. In requesting a new name be adopted, petitioners were
required to demonstrate that (1) the new grape variety is accepted, (2) the name of the variety is valid, (3) the
variety is used in wine making, and (4) the variety is grown and used in the United States.71 Demonstrating
that not all changes are substantive, the new rule corrected a misspelling in the previous regulations: Agawam
had been misspelled as Agwam. Once proposed rules are published, the public has between 30 and 60 days to
comment. Agencies are required to consider them and to respond to significant comments.72 A significant
comment is one made by more than one individual or group. Even so, agencies are not obligated to implement
any suggestions made during the comment period.
This provides a wonderful opportunity for participatory democracy in which citizens can potentially have a
direct impact on public policy. It must be emphasized that this is not a perfunctory process. While policies are
generally not changed wholesale, policies do get tweaked or modified. The key questions are who participates
and who influences. Generally, business groups comment at much higher rates than individuals and are the
most influential groups.73 The process demonstrates that individual actors play a role, even if that role needs
be funneled through group activity.
The Relationship between the Bureaucracy and the Public
Besides involvement in the comment period, the public interacts with the bureaucracy in a number of
different ways. One commonly overlooked example of this interaction is the âstreet levelâ bureaucrat.
Enforcement is an important part of the policy process. While regulations may be specific in their nature, they
still need to be applied and enforced in the field. Think of the speed limit on a road people regularly drive. If itâs
an interstate highway, away from cities, the speed limit might be 70. But on any given day, the actual speed
limit varies depending on the state police patrolling that day. Some days, a police officer might decide that
anything under 80 mph is not worthy of receiving a ticket. The next day, that may not be true. It is the police
officer, as a street-level bureaucrat, who determines the policy each day.
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Bureaucracy and Executive Systems
- Bureaucratic rules and protocols, though often frustrating, are essential for public safety and organizational integrity.
- The 2021 Memphis bridge inspection demonstrates how individual bureaucratic actors can prevent catastrophic failures by following proper procedures.
- Democratic systems are categorized into presidential, parliamentary, and semi-presidential regimes based on the relationship between the head of state and head of government.
- Presidential regimes are unique because the chief executive is popularly elected, serves fixed terms, and combines the roles of head of state and head of government.
- The 'power to persuade' and the use of the 'bully pulpit' are critical informal tools for presidents to shape public opinion and advance policy agendas.
- Presidential systems are more susceptible to populism, where leaders use emotional appeals to mobilize the masses against perceived elite rule.
In this case, it is not an exaggeration to suggest that the engineer who discovered the crack saved lives.
As the situation described in this news report suggests, the rules and procedures governing the bureaucracy
are often in place for good reason.
A routine bridge inspection of the Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2021 dramatically
illustrated the potential power of individual bureaucrats. In the course of that inspection, an engineer
discovered a nearly severed beam that could have resulted in catastrophic failure. Immediately, the engineer
called 911 and had the bridge shut down until further inspection and necessary repairs could be made.74 The
individual who had previously inspected the bridge was soon fired âbecause he wasnât following proper
protocol.â75 Again, within a system as standardized and structured as a bureaucracy, the individual actor
matters a great deal. In this case, it is not an exaggeration to suggest that the engineer who discovered the
crack saved lives. This example also illustrates that rules and protocols are essential even if they are often
frustrating (as, for instance, when you wait for your financial aid to be finalized or as you stand in line to get
your driverâs license renewed).
10.7 ⢠What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies? 329
Summary
10.1 Democracies: Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Regimes
Democratic systems are classified into three categories: presidential regimes, parliamentary regimes, and
semi-presidential regimes. Within each regime, there is a head of government as well as a head of state. In
presidential regimes, the head of government is directly elected by the citizens and also serves as the head of
state. In parliamentary and semi-presidential regimes, the head of government and head of state are separate
individuals, and the legislature selects the head of government. Generally, the head of state is a ceremonial
role, while the head of government holds political power and takes the lead in setting the policy agenda.
10.2 The Executive in Presidential Regimes
The single greatest distinctiveness of presidential regimes is that the chief executive is popularly elected. This
individual serves as both head of government and head of state and serves fixed terms. More so than
parliamentarianism, presidentialism provides the opportunity for populism to emerge. Populism is a political
approach that uses emotional appeals to the masses and promises the masses a political voice in a
government that is perceived to be ruled by elites. As is the case with all chief executives, presidents possess
both formal and informal powers. Formal powers are those granted to the president by statute or constitution.
Informal powers arise from custom or tradition. The power to persuade is most likely the greatest power a
president has and is connected to the presidentâs approval ratings. Through the use of the bully pulpit,
presidents have the opportunity to shape public opinion and convince the public that the presidentâs policies
are the best approach to address issues facing the nation.
10.3 The Executive in Parliamentary Regimes
Comparing Executive Governance Models
- Parliamentary regimes select a prime minister through the legislature, often requiring coalitions if no single party holds a majority.
- Prime ministers wield significant power but remain vulnerable to removal via a 'no confidence vote,' which triggers new elections.
- Presidential systems allow for quick action during crises and separate the judiciary from the executive, potentially protecting minority rights.
- Presidentialism often suffers from legislative gridlock and weaker political parties compared to the unified government of parliamentary systems.
- Semi-presidential regimes function as hybrids where citizens elect a president while the legislature selects a prime minister.
- Semi-presidential systems show a notable correlation with authoritarianism, though a direct causal link remains a subject of study.
If the prime minister loses the confidence vote, new elections take place.
In parliamentary regimes, the head of government is typically termed the prime minister and is a member of
parliament. The parliament selects the prime minister after party elections have taken place. If one party
earns a majority of the seats in parliament, the majority party selects the prime minister. If no party earns a
majority of the vote, then two or more parties will form a coalition and the coalition will select the prime
minister. Prime ministers hold considerable political power such as the power to select members of the
cabinet. Nevertheless, prime ministers can be removed by a confidence vote. Sometimes called a âno
confidence vote,â this is a procedural move in a parliamentary regime in which ministers vote to continue to
support the prime minister. If the prime minister loses the confidence vote, new elections take place.
10.4 Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes
The main advantage of presidentialism is that presidents can claim a mandate and act quickly during a time of
crisis. The judiciary is separate from the executive in presidential regimes, an arrangement that may help
protect the rights of minority groups. The main disadvantages of presidentialism are that it may lead to
gridlock, there is a relative lack of accountability, and the chief executive performs the roles of head of
government and head of state. Within presidentialism, political parties are weaker. The advantages of
parliamentarianism are unified government, clear lines of accountability, the representation of minority
parties in the parliament, and stronger political parties. Parliamentarianismâs disadvantages include drastic
policy change from one government to the next, coalition governments resulting in more frequent elections,
and relatively fewer protections of minority rights.
10.5 Semi-Presidential Regimes
Often viewed as a hybrid of presidentialism and parliamentarianism, semi-presidential regimes are difficult to
define. In their most basic expression, the legislature selects the head of government (the prime minister) and
citizens directly elect the head of state (the president). Both the prime minister and the president hold political
power. In semi-presidential regimes, there is a wide discrepancy in the amount of freedom citizens have
within their countries. This suggests that authoritarianism is more likely to be associated with semi-
presidential regimes, but while the connection between the two is interesting and noteworthy, causality (i.e., a
330 10 ⢠Summary
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Cabinets and Bureaucratic Structures
- Cabinets serve as formal advisors and department heads in both presidential and parliamentary systems, though their legislative membership varies.
- Presidential cabinets often prioritize political loyalty and ideology over legislative experience, whereas parliamentary cabinets are more integrated into executive decision-making.
- Both systems frequently utilize 'kitchen cabinets,' which are informal groups of advisors outside the formal cabinet structure.
- Modern bureaucracies have expanded significantly since the 1800s, often becoming a nation's largest employer and affecting daily citizen life.
- The transition from the 'spoils' system to merit-based civil service has emphasized professional competence over partisan loyalty in administrative roles.
- Despite public stigma, bureaucracies provide essential stability through hierarchical authority, specialized expertise, and formalized rules.
Historically, these informal groups of advisors have been called âkitchen cabinets.â
semi-presidential regime causes authoritarianism) cannot be determined or inferred.
10.6 How Do Cabinets Function in Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes?
Within both presidentialism and parliamentarianism, cabinets serve as formal advisors to their chief
executives and oversee specific departments. As the head of the department, an individual typically holds the
title of secretary. Within parliamentarianism, cabinet secretaries are also members of parliament. In
presidentialism, cabinet secretaries typically are not members of the legislature. It is common for secretaries
to have a background in government as well as an expertise in the area their department oversees.
Nevertheless, in presidentialism this is not always the case, and political loyalty and shared ideology are often
considered when presidents make appointments to the cabinet. In parliamentary regimes, cabinets are more
commonly integrated into the executive decision-making process, while in presidentialism, cabinet
secretaries tend to be more independent and are not always included in presidential decision making. Within
both parliamentarianism and presidentialism, it is not unusual for chief executives to form informal groups
they turn to for advice. Historically, these informal groups of advisors have been called âkitchen cabinets.â
10.7 What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies?
Since the 1800s, bureaucracies have grown in both scope and number and now affect the daily lives of all
citizens. In many countries, government bureaucracy is the countryâs number one employer. Bureaucracies
share a number of characteristics such as hierarchical authority, job specialization, formalized rules,
impersonality, professionalization, and the maintenance of files or records. Today, the recruitment and
retention of employees are usually based on merit, as most countries have adopted a civil service system
emphasizing competence and rejecting selection or promotion based on partisanship. In the 1800s, however,
it was not unusual for countries to follow a âspoilsâ system in which positions were awarded based on partisan
loyalty. Even though the public tends to have a negative view of bureaucrats, these bureaucrats perform
essential functions, ensuring governments run smoothly and that citizens are kept safe.
Key Terms
bully pulpit the national podium presidents have to speak on issues they believe are important and from
which they can attempt to gain support for their position
bureaucracy an institution that is hierarchal in nature and exists to formulate, enact, and enforce public
policy in an efficient and equitable manner
cabinets formal groups of advisors to the chief executive
coalition government within a parliamentary regime, a government in which two or more parties have
aligned together to rule
confidence vote a procedural move in a parliamentary regime in which ministers vote on whether to continue
to support the prime minister; sometimes called a âno confidence voteâ
formal powers powers specifically granted an executive by statute or by the countryâs constitution
formalized rules established regulations within a bureaucracy, often called standard operating procedures
(SOP)
gridlock a stalemate between competing parties that prevents governments from passing major legislation
head of government performed by a countryâs leader, a political role in which the individual leads the
countryâs government
head of state performed by countryâs leader, a ceremonial role in which the individual symbolically
represents the country
Political Systems and Bureaucratic Structures
- Bureaucratic organizations rely on hierarchical authority and job specialization to maintain order and clear divisions of labor.
- The 'iron triangle' describes the symbiotic relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and Congress to protect shared interests.
- Democratic regimes are categorized into parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems based on how executive power is selected and distributed.
- The merit system and neutral competence aim to ensure government positions are filled by experts rather than through political patronage or the spoils system.
- Populism is defined as a political approach that uses emotional appeals to give a voice to the masses against perceived elite control.
iron triangle the relationship among bure aucra tic agencies , interest groups , and C ongres s that works to fashion public policy
hierarchical authority the chain of command that exists within a bureaucracy; officials at the top have
authority over those in the middle, who have authority over those at the bottom
impersonality within bureaucracies, treating individuals fairly, equally, and impartially
informal powers powers that emerge through tradition or custom or are inherent in the office
iron triangle the relationship among bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and Congress that works to
10 ⢠Key Terms 331
fashion public policy; focuses on the shared interest the members have and protecting that interest
issue networks relationships among varied actorsâpolicy experts, bureaucrats, and mediaâthat form to
address an issue and affect public policy; unlike iron triangles that form around a shared interest, issue
networks form around an issue and attempt to address the issue through public policy
job specialization the explicit definition of job responsibilities within bureaucratic organizations; also
referred to as division of labor
kitchen cabinet an informal group of advisors to a chief executive
majority government within a parliamentary regime, when one party holds a clear majority and forms the
government
merit system the hiring and promotion of individuals based upon formal, competitive examination
neutral competence the idea that bureaucrats are policy experts who follow set procedures and do not
consider personal, political, or professional loyalties in performing their responsibilities
parliamentary regimes democratic government systems in which the chief executive is selected by the
legislative body and is a member of that legislature
patronage the hiring and promotion of individuals based upon political loyalty
plurality voting a voting system in which the winning candidate is the one who receives the most votes even if
the candidate does not receive more than 50 percent of the vote; also known as âfirst-past-the-postâ
populism political approach that uses emotional appeals to promise the masses a political voice in a system
that has been perceived to be run by elites
presidential regimes democratic governments in which the chief executive is selected separately from the
legislative body and there exists a separation of powers between the presidency and the legislature
prime minister the chief executive and head of government in a parliamentary regime
semi-presidential regimes democratic government systems in which executive power is split between a
prime minister (selected by the legislature) and a president (directly elected by the citizenry)
single-member districts electoral districts in which only a single individual is elected to represent an area
spoils system primarily used in the 1800s, this system filled government positions based on party loyalty; see
patronage
Review Questions
1 . In this type of regime, the head of government is selected by the legislature. The selection of the head of
state, however, varies, and the head of stateâs duties are largely ceremonial.
a. Parliamentary
b. Presidential
c. Semi-presidential
d. Authoritarian
2 . In this type of regime, the head of government is selected by the legislature and the head of state is
popularly elected for a fixed term.
a. Parliamentary
b. Presidential
c. Semi-presidential
d. Authoritarian
3 . In this type of regime, the head of government is popularly elected and serves a fixed term. The head of
government also serves as the head of state.
a. Parliamentary
b. Presidential
c. Semi-presidential
d. Authoritarian
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4 . As of 2018, which type of democratic regime is most numerous in the world?
a. Parliamentary
Political Science Review Questions
- The text distinguishes between the ceremonial roles of a head of state and the executive functions of a head of government.
- Populism is defined by emotional appeals to the masses and is often triggered by systemic inequities or government inefficiency.
- Presidential powers are categorized into formal authorities and informal influences, such as the 'bully pulpit' and the power to persuade.
- Parliamentary systems differ from presidential ones in how leaders are selected, typically requiring the prime minister to be a member of parliament.
- Coalition governments and confidence votes are highlighted as unique mechanisms of parliamentary stability and change.
According to political scientist Richard Neustadt, which of the following is possibly the presidentâs greatest power? ... The power to persuade.
b. Presidential
c. Semi-presidential
d. Authoritarian
5 . Which of the following best describes an event or function that the head of state might perform?
a. Signing into law legislation that was passed by the legislature
b. Selecting members of the chief executiveâs cabinet and conducting meetings with that cabinet
c. Responding to a crisis like COVID-19 and proposing policies to address the crisis
d. Hosting a state dinner where leaders of other countries are in attendance
6 . True or False: Similar to the United States, presidents in all countries are term limited, can serve only two
terms, and then are ineligible to be president again for life.
a. True
b. False
7 . Which of the following is typically seen as an element of populism?
a. It uses rational arguments that appeal to elites.
b. It supports established institutions and embraces mainstream politics.
c. It uses emotional appeals directed at the masses.
d. It was most relevant in the late 1800s and is rarely seen in the 21st century.
8 . According to political science scholars, which of the following provide(s) an opportunity for populism to
arise within a country?
a. Inefficient government
b. Strong political parties
c. Systemic inequities
d. All of the above
e. A and B but not C
f. A and C but not B
9 . True or False: Populism is uniquely associated with politicians on the political right.
a. True
b. False
10 . True or False: Well-structured democracies with established political institutions have always been able to
withstand any political threats populists have posed to the democratic system.
a. True
b. False
11 . This term or phrase refers to an informal power presidents have and suggests presidents are in a unique
position to shape public opinion.
a. Podium of ponderance and strategy
b. Spin doctor
c. Puppet master
d. Bully pulpit
12 . According to political scientist Richard Neustadt, which of the following is possibly the presidentâs
greatest power?
10 ⢠Review Questions 333
a. The ability to declare war
b. The power to persuade
c. The power to appoint members to the cabinet
d. The ability to sign legislation into law
13 . In a parliamentary regime, the prime minister is chosen by the legislature. Before being selected, what
institution are prime ministers a member of?
a. If the country has a monarchy, they are part of the royal family.
b. When the citizens voted, they directly elected their prime minister.
c. Before becoming prime minister, they served in the judiciary to learn the laws of the country.
d. The prime minister is a member of parliament.
14 . Consider the following parties and the percent each party won in an election. In a parliamentary regime,
which party would the prime minister be from?
a. Conservative Partyâ25 percent
b. Liberal Partyâ55 percent
c. New Democratic Partyâ15 percent
d. Green Partyâ5 percent
e. From the information provided, it cannot be determined which party the prime minister would come
from. The prime minister could come from any of the above parties or a party not listed.
15 . If no party gains a majority of the vote, then a __________ government is formed.
a. majority
b. coalition
c. confederation
d. merger
16 . True or False: Similar to presidential regimes, elections in parliamentary regimes are fixed term elections
and happen every four years.
a. True
b. False
17 . This type of vote takes place when some members of the parliament no longer support the government.
a. Confidence vote
b. Retention vote
c. Maintenance vote
d. Recall vote
Comparative Political Systems Review
- The text evaluates the structural advantages of presidentialism, such as the ability of a single leader to claim a mandate and the protection of minority rights through the separation of powers.
- Parliamentary systems are analyzed for their capacity for rapid policy change and the inclusion of minority parties through coalition governments.
- The concept of 'cohabitation' is introduced to describe semi-presidential regimes where the president and prime minister belong to opposing political parties.
- The text explores the mechanics of governance, including the role of cabinets, the impact of plurality voting on two-party systems, and the phenomenon of legislative gridlock.
- Data from Freedom House is referenced to compare the prevalence of political freedom across parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential regimes.
In France, what term describes the situation in which the president and prime minister are from different parties?
18 . Which of the following is considered an advantage of presidentialism?
a. The government is unified, and policy is enacted quickly.
b. The president can claim a mandate.
c. There exists a clear line of policy making.
d. Both the head of state and the head of government are the same person, increasing efficiency.
19 . Which of the following is considered an advantage in presidentialism?
a. Lack of accountability means the president can never be blamed.
b. The legislature and the presidency are assured to be held by the same party.
c. Separation of powers may provide minority groups protection of their rights.
d. Political parties and party discipline are very strong.
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20 . Which of the following is considered an advantage in parliamentarianism?
a. Coalition governments are possible, which means fewer elections due to more representation of
groups in parliament.
b. During a time of crisis, prime ministers can act much more quickly than presidents can.
c. Prime ministers always enjoy majority support of the parliament.
d. Frequently, minority parties are represented in the parliament.
21 . Which of the following is considered an advantage in parliamentarianism?
a. Political parties and party discipline are very strong.
b. Separation of powers is strong and includes an independent judiciary.
c. Prime ministers can claim a mandate.
d. Parliamentary regimes allow for far-reaching policy change from one government to the next.
22 . True or False: A country with a parliamentary system having frequent elections does not mean their
political system is unstable.
a. True
b. False
23 . Generally, coalition governments ____________.
a. are shorter-lived than majority governments
b. are longer-lived than majority governments
c. have about the same lifespan as majority governments
d. are extremely rare
24 . When governments are unable to pass major legislation and stalemates between competing parties occur,
this is known as ____________.
a. politics as usual
b. party polarization
c. captive politics
d. gridlock
25 . In presidential regimes, what type of voting is typically used and has the effect of supporting the
development of a two-party system?
a. Ranked-choice voting
b. Plurality voting
c. Instant-runoff voting
d. Cumulative voting
26 . These types of regimes are viewed as a âhybridâ and include aspects of other regimes.
a. Parliamentary
b. Presidential
c. Semi-presidential
d. Authoritarian
27 . True or False: In a semi-presidential regime, the head of government can be from one party and the
president from another party.
a. True
b. False
28 . Of the following regimes, which one has the most countries categorized as âfreeâ by Freedom House?
10 ⢠Review Questions 335
a. Parliamentary
b. Presidential
c. Semi-presidential
d. Authoritarian
29 . In France, what term describes the situation in which the president and prime minister are from different
parties?
a. Synchronicity
b. Cohabitation
c. Coexistence
d. Co-occurrence
30 . Of the following countries, which one best represents the type of authoritarian rule that can emerge in a
semi-presidential country?
a. Burundi
b. Nicaragua
c. Thailand
d. Russia
31 . This is the formal group of advisors to the head of government.
a. Consulate
b. Embassy
c. Commission
d. Cabinet
32 . In which regime are members of the cabinet also members of the legislature?
a. Parliamentary
b. Presidential
33 . In which regime would one be more likely to see the selection of a cabinet member based on political
loyalty and ideological similarity to the head of government?
a. Parliamentary
b. Presidential
Executive and Bureaucratic Structures
- The text contrasts the ceremonial nature of cabinet meetings in presidential regimes versus the substantive nature of those in parliamentary systems.
- It identifies the 'kitchen cabinet' as a common term for the informal group of advisors that chief executives often rely on for guidance.
- Bureaucratic efficiency is defined through five core characteristics: hierarchical authority, job specialization, formalized rules, impersonality, and record maintenance.
- The transition from the 'spoils system' of political loyalty to the 'merit system' emphasizes the concept of neutral competence in civil service.
- The 'iron triangle' is defined as a powerful policy-making relationship between congressional committees, the bureaucracy, and interest groups.
Under civil service or the merit system, what is the primary concept at work? ... The concept of neutral competence.
34 . In which regime are cabinet meetings rarer and tend to be ceremonial rather than substantive in nature?
a. Parliamentary
b. Presidential
35 . Chief executives often have an informal group of advisors. Collectively, this group is often referred to as
________.
a. the advisory commissioners
b. the specialty consultants
c. the kitchen cabinet
d. the portico leaders
36 . This characteristic of a bureaucracy suggests that all job positions should be explicitly defined and labor
be divided.
a. Hierarchical authority
b. Job specialization
c. Formalized rules
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d. Impersonality
e. Maintenance of files and records
37 . This characteristic of a bureaucracy suggests there exists a âchain of commandâ in which officials at the
top of a bureaucracy have authority over those in the middle, who in turn control those at the bottom.
a. Hierarchical authority
b. Job specialization
c. Formalized rules
d. Impersonality
e. Maintenance of files and records
38 . This characteristic of a bureaucracy suggests that there are standardized operating procedures and
established regulations by which a bureaucracy conducts its business.
a. Hierarchical authority
b. Job specialization
c. Formalized rules
d. Impersonality
e. Maintenance of files and records
39 . This characteristic of a bureaucracy suggests people are to be treated fairly and impartiality, without
regard to a personâs social status or political party affiliation.
a. Hierarchical authority
b. Job specialization
c. Formalized rules
d. Impersonality
e. Maintenance of files and records
40 . True or False: The bureaucracy only helps to enforce policy by ensuring people comply. The bureaucracy
is never involved in the policy formation process.
a. True
b. False
41 . Under this bureaucratic system, government positions are filled based on political loyalty.
a. The spoils system
b. The merit system
c. The civil service system
d. The warrant system
42 . Under civil service or the merit system, what is the primary concept at work?
a. The concept of established partisanship
b. The concept of individual faithfulness
c. The concept of detached devotion
d. The concept of neutral competence
43 . The iron triangle is composed of what three groups?
a. Congress, the presidency, and the bureaucracy
b. Parliament, the crown, and interest groups
c. The bureaucracy, interest groups, and nonprofits
d. Congress, the bureaucracy, and interest groups
10 ⢠Review Questions 337
Suggested Readings
Cheibub, JosĂŠ Antonio, Zachary Elkins, and Tom Ginsburg. âBeyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarianism.â
British Journal of Political Science 44, no. 3 (July 2014): 515â544.
Goodsell, Charles T. The New Case for Bureaucracy. Washington, DC: Sage/CQ Press, 2015.
Howell, William G., and Terry M. Moe. Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy. Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 2020.
Lijphart, Arend, ed. Parliamentary versus Presidential Government. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Mayhew, David. Divided We Govern. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005.
Neustadt, Richard. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to
Reagan. Rev. ed. New York: The Free Press, 1991.
Samuels, David. âExecutive-Legislative Relations.â In Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, edited by
Charles Boix and Susan Stokes. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
The Role of the Judiciary
- The judiciary serves as the essential mechanism for determining the legality of conduct and administering punishment through constitutionally ordained processes.
- The George Floyd case illustrates the tension between public demand for immediate action and the deliberate, procedural nature of the legal system.
- Understanding the specialized vocabulary and operations of the courts is vital to understanding how a country's government and society function.
- A key distinction in judicial studies exists between the 'rule of law,' where everyone is subject to the law, and 'rule by law,' where law is used as a tool of power.
- The chapter outline covers fundamental topics including legal systems, criminal versus civil law, due process, and the power of judicial review.
Lady Justice is traditionally shown wearing a blindfold to indicate impartiality, holding scales to weigh the evidence of guilt against the presumption of innocence, and wielding a sword as a symbol of power.
Schmitter, Philippe, and Terry L. Karl. âWhat Democracy Is . . . and Is Not.â Journal of Democracy 2 (1991):
75â88.
Yackee, Susan Webb. âThe Politics of Rulemaking.â Annual Review of Political Science 22, (2019): 37â55.
338 10 ⢠Suggested Readings
Access for free at openstax.org
FIGURE 11.1 Lady Justice is traditionally shown wearing a blindfold to indicate impartiality, holding scales to weigh
the evidence of guilt against the presumption of innocence, and wielding a sword as a symbol of power. (credit:
âGolden Lady Justice, Bruges, Belgiumâ by Emmanuel Huybrechts/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
11.1 What Is the Judiciary?
11.2 How Does the Judiciary Take Action?
11.3 Types of Legal Systems around the World
11.4 Criminal versus Civil Laws
11.5 Due Process and Judicial Fairness
11.6 Judicial Review versus Executive Sovereignty
On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers stopped George Floyd, a Black man, for
allegedly using counterfeit money. During his arrest, one of the officers, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Mr. Floydâs
neck for more than nine minutes while the other officers looked on, leading to Mr. Floydâs death. Several people
witnessed the event, including one person who recorded it on her phone, and these witnesses immediately
spoke out against the officersâ actions.
The death of Mr. Floyd prompted demonstrations protesting police conduct to spread across the United States
and worldwide, with protestors demanding immediate action against the officers.1 However, it was the
Minnesota judicial system that would determine the legality of the officersâ conduct and whether and how they
would be punished. Like all others in the United States, this judicial system must follow a constitutionally
ordained process in every case, no matter how people may feel about the parties involved. Following these
constitutionally required procedures, Minnesota law enforcement investigated George Floydâs arrest and
11
Courts and Law
death, and prosecutors with the Minnesota state attorney generalâs office prosecuted Chauvin for three crimes:
third-degree murder, second-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. News sources reported on the
pretrial process, and the trial was carried live on television.2 Throughout the trial process, viewers saw the
order, procedures, and vocabulary of the United States judicial system at work.
Many people have less personal, everyday experience with the courts than they have with the legislative and
executive branches of government. The court system uses a specialized vocabulary that can be intimidating
until you learn it, but understanding a countryâs court system is central to understanding how that countryâs
government and society work. This chapter will discuss court systems and their processes to help you
understand the operations of judicial systems and their purpose in society.
11.1 What Is the Judiciary?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Distinguish between rule of law and rule by law.
⢠Identify the responsibilities of a judicial system.
⢠Compare and contrast the different methods states and countries use to select judicial officers.
⢠Discuss major criticisms of each method of judicial selection.
In Chapter 4: Civil Liberties, you learned that law is a body of rules of conduct, with binding legal force and
Sovereignty and Rule of Law
- Sovereignty is defined as the power of a governmental body to exercise the highest authority within a specific geographic region.
- The rule of law establishes that the government is beholden to its own laws rather than the whims of an individual or group.
- Dictatorships utilize rule by law, where a single entity creates and enforces rules arbitrarily, often leading to corruption and oppression.
- Robust democracies rely on accountability to ensure that no private or government actor is considered above the law.
- Just laws must be clear, publicized, stable, and applied evenly while protecting fundamental human and property rights.
- The delivery of justice requires accessible, impartial dispute resolution by ethical and independent decision-makers.
Throughout history, many individuals and small groups have become dictators with the sole power to create laws and punish people as they wished, thus employing rule by law.
effect, that is prescribed, recognized, and enforced by a controlling authority. In the world today, that authority
is usually the government of a particular area. However, multiple levels of government may have authority in a
given place. The power of a governmental body to exercise the highest authority in an area is called
sovereignty. If a government has sovereignty over a particular region, that government can create and impose
rules on people within the region.
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties also introduced the rule of law, the principle that the government is beholden to its
laws, not to any individual or group. Throughout history, many individuals and small groups have become
dictators with the sole power to create laws and punish people as they wished, thus employing rule by law.
There are still some dictators in the world today, as in North Korea. Dictatorships are oppressive, and
dictatorial regimes are prone to corruption. By following the rule of law, robust democracies try to avoid these
injustices.
VIDEO
Court Shorts: Rule of Law
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judiciary)
In this brief video, United States judges who preside over different types and levels of courts discuss the
meaning of the rule of law and the role it plays in our everyday lives.
Recall the four principles of the rule of law:
1. Accountability: The government and private actors are accountable under the law. No one is above the law.
2. Just laws: The laws are clear, publicized, stable, and applied evenly, and they protect fundamental rights,
including the security of persons and property and certain core human rights.
3. Open government: The processes by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced are
accessible, fair, and efficient.
4. Accessible and impartial dispute resolution: Justice is delivered in a timely manner by competent, ethical,
independent, and neutral decision-makers who have adequate resources and reflect the communities they
serve.
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The Social Contract and Judicial Systems
- The social contract establishes a symbiotic relationship where citizens consent to rules in exchange for a government that limits its own power.
- Constitutions serve as the formal framework for government authority, defining how power is wielded and checked through various branches.
- The judicial branch acts as the mechanism for interpreting and applying the law, though its function varies significantly between political systems.
- In democratic systems, judicial independence and judicial review allow the courts to protect individual liberties and check government overreach.
- In authoritarian regimes, the judiciary often functions as a tool of social control, used to sideline opponents and bolster the regime's legitimacy.
- Authoritarian courts may also be used to facilitate trade or implement controversial policies while providing political distance for the ruling elite.
This creates a symbiotic relationship between the government and the people, rather than a system based on fear and oppression.
These principles demonstrate that the government and the people are in a social contract, a voluntary
agreement whereby the people consent to abide by specific rules while living in the territory and the
government consents to limit itself to acting in accordance with certain standards. This creates a symbiotic
relationship between the government and the people, rather than a system based on fear and oppression.
In each democratic country, a constitution sets up the framework for government operations that adhere to
these four principles. The constitution formalizes how the countryâs government will wield authority and
implement powers under that authority. The constitution may be written or unwritten, in one document or
several, and titled constitution or basic laws. Whatever its form or title, a constitution establishes the basic
government structure for the governmentâs sovereign territory. It usually creates branches with differing
powers that have the ability to check each other in the exercise of those powers. One of the branches that
carries out the rule of law in a country is the judicial branch.
The judicial system or judicial branch is the court system that interprets, defends, and applies the law in the
governmentâs name. It is the mechanism for peacefully resolving disputes between individuals. Sometimes
people refer to this branch of government as the judiciary, but that can be confusing because the judiciary also
refers to the people who work in the judicial branch. Therefore, this chapter will consistently refer to the
branch of government as the judicial branch and the people who work in that branch as the judiciary.
The judicial branch serves different purposes in different political systems. For example, in a political system
that prioritizes civil rights and liberties, the judiciary working within the judicial branch checks government
action and protects individual rights and liberties. In a system in which there is a separation of powers
between the branches of government, the judiciary has judicial independence. In these systems, often the
courts can perform a judicial review to check government actions. In judicial review, a judge interprets and
implements the constitution to ensure that the other branches of government do not violate what it says.
Judicial review will be explored later in this chapter.
In contrast, some political systems rely on adherence to strict religious or political standards, creating
authoritarian law regimes. In these systems, the judicial branch and the judiciary help impose the
governmentâs approved viewpoint on the citizens through rule by law. In these systems, the judiciary has little
independence. The judicial system acts as a source of government control over individual citizens.3 Tom
Ginsburg and Tamir Moustafa identify five primary functions of courts in these authoritarian rule-by-law
regimes:
1. To establish social control and sideline political opponents
2. To bolster a regimeâs claim to legal legitimacy
3. To strengthen administrative compliance within the stateâs own bureaucratic machinery and solve
coordination problems among competing factions within the regime
4. To facilitate trade and investment
5. To implement controversial policies so as to allow political distance from core elements of the regime4
VIDEO
Justice Handed Over to Dictatorship from the Film Judgment at Nuremberg
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judiciary)
Authoritarianism and the Judiciary
- The film Judgment at Nuremberg illustrates how legal systems can be co-opted to commit crimes against humanity under dictatorships.
- Rule-by-law regimes like Iran and North Korea suppress opposition by forcing the judiciary to adhere strictly to the leader's will.
- Authoritarian-populist judiciaries emerge when ruling parties dismantle rule-of-law systems to consolidate personal power.
- In Turkey, constitutional changes have allowed President ErdoÄan to appoint and dismiss judges, effectively removing judicial independence.
- The erosion of the separation of powers leads to a lack of checks and balances, resulting in significant backsliding of democratic standards.
Under these conditions, the serious backsliding of the respect for democratic standards, the rule of law, and fundamental freedoms continued.
The 1961 film Judgment at Nuremberg portrays the military tribunal at which four German judges who served
while the Nazis were in power face charges of crimes against humanity. In this clip, the former minister of
justice explains changes in the judiciary under the dictatorship of the Third Reich.
In rule-by-law authoritarian regimes, the government suppresses opposition and imposes a specific viewpoint
on any part of the government or the population to the extent that human rights violations occur.5 Iran and
North Korea are examples of rule-by-law authoritarian regimes. The dictatorial leader of North Korea is
11.1 ⢠What Is the Judiciary? 341
selected to a lifetime appointment on a state-approved ballot where only one candidate is listed. This leader
has control over the judiciary, and all must adhere to the leaderâs will or face retribution.6
Other countries have come to have an authoritarian-populist judiciary. This means that, through changes
instituted by one ruling person or political party, they have transitioned from a rule-of-law system to a rule-by-
law authoritarian subsystem. In Turkey, longtime president Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan and his ruling party
replaced the governmental system in 2017 and have enacted laws to keep themselves in power. Changes in
2007, 2010, and 2017 gave ErdoÄan and his ruling party the ability to appoint and dismiss prosecutors and
judges, thus calling into question the independence of the judiciary.7 A European Commission report in 2020
found that the continued centralization of power in the president was blurring the lines of separation of
powers in the branches of government such that few checks and balances remain: âUnder these conditions,
the serious backsliding of the respect for democratic standards, the rule of law, and fundamental freedoms
continued.â8 The report identified significant issues with the Turkish judicial system and its slide into rule by
law, not the rule of law:
Judicial Independence and Power
- Turkey's judicial system faces significant backsliding, characterized by a systemic lack of independence and the use of dismissals to intimidate judges.
- The distinction between the 'rule of law' and 'rule by law' is defined by whether a judiciary protects citizens from government overreach or serves as a tool for it.
- Unlike the executive and legislative branches, the judiciary lacks the power of the 'sword' or the 'purse,' possessing neither force nor will.
- The efficacy of judicial decisions in a rule-of-law system depends entirely on the cooperation of the executive branch and public respect for the law.
- Structural issues in judicial recruitment and promotion, such as a lack of merit-based criteria, can undermine the integrity of the entire legal system.
The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatsoever.
âTurkeyâs judicial system is at an early stage of preparation and serious backsliding continued during
the reporting period. Concerns remained, in particular over the systemic lack of independence of the
judiciary. The president announced the Judicial Reform Strategy for 2019â2023 in May 2019.
However, it falls short of addressing key shortcomings regarding the independence of the judiciary. No
measures were announced to remedy the concerns identified by the Council of Europeâs Venice
Commission and in the European Commissionâs annual country reports. There are concerns that
dismissals in the absence of respect for due procedures caused self-censorship and intimidation
within the judiciary. No measures were taken to change the structure of, and process for, the selection
of members of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors to strengthen its independence. Concerns
regarding the lack of objective, merit-based, uniform and pre-established criteria for recruiting and
promoting judges and prosecutors persisted. No changes were made to the institution of criminal
judges of peace so that concerns regarding their jurisdiction and practice remained.â9
One can thus see the difference between the rule of law and rule by law. Each judicial system can be assessed
on the basis of how well it meets the rule-of-law criteria for protecting the rights of the people from
government overreach, manipulation, and the rise of dictatorships.
How the Judicial Branch Differs from the Other Branches of Government
Judicial branches differ from the executive and legislative branches because, unlike in those branches, the
judicial system restricts how the courts may act and how the people may express their opinions to the courts. A
good description of this restriction appears in Federalist no. 78, wherein Alexander Hamilton wrote about the
judicial branch as it is described in the US Constitution:
âWhoever attentively considers the different departments of power must perceive, that, in a
government in which they are separated from each other, the judiciary, from the nature of its
functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution; because it will
be least in a capacity to annoy or injure them. The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but also
holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but also prescribes
the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. The judiciary, on the
contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of
the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatsoever. It may truly be said to have
neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the
executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments.â10
In rule-of-law systems, the judicial branch depends on the other branches and the populationâs respect for the
rule of law to carry out its decisions. An example helps illustrate the differences between the branches and
their powers. In the United States, a president alarmed at the number of gun shootings occurring in the
342 11 ⢠Courts and Law
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Judicial Power and Critical Thinking
- The executive and legislative branches possess the proactive power to initiate investigations and enact laws based on public opinion.
- Unlike other branches, courts are reactive and can only take action when they have specific jurisdiction over a case.
- Jurisdiction is defined by written authority in a constitution or statute, covering both geographical regions and specific legal topics.
- Studying judicial systems develops critical thinking by requiring the analysis and synthesis of evidence, testimony, and legal components.
- Judicial selection processes vary globally but generally fall into four categories: lifetime appointment, fixed-term appointment, election, or hybrid models.
Courts, however, cannot take action on their own in the ways the executive and legislative branches can, and people cannot express their opinion in court unless they meet particular criteria.
country can create a commission to review the problem and make recommendations to Congress to enact new
laws. The president (the executive) can implement some of these recommendations by executive order, a
particular type of binding law that only the chief executive can create. The people can express their views on
the subject to the president at any time. Congress (the legislature) may also be alarmed about the number of
gun killings. They can open an investigation and create a statute to limit some access to guns. Again, the
people can express their views on this subject to Congress at any time. In both examples, government officials
decide what they want to investigate and what actions they want to take, and the people can freely voice their
opinions on the subject. Courts, however, cannot take action on their own in the ways the executive and
legislative branches can, and people cannot express their opinion in court unless they meet particular criteria.
A court can only take action if it has jurisdiction over a specific case. Jurisdiction is the written authority,
stated in a constitution or a statute, that authorizes a court to hear a case. Jurisdiction includes both the
geographical region and the topics of the courtâs authority.
Critical Thinking and the Courts
FIGURE 11.2 The judges at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg critically examine evidence and
testimony. (credit: âView from Above of the Judgesâ Bench at the International Military Tribunal in Nurembergâ by
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park,
Public Domain)
Every functioning government must have a functioning judicial system. As you study the different forms of judicial
systems, how they operate, and elements such as the standards of evidence across different judicial systems, as
well as different types of law, you are sharpening your critical thinking skills. Being able to understand and explain
why someone is found innocent of a particular crime, for example, requires the ability to analyze, evaluate, and
synthesize various pieces of information coming from the defense attorney, the prosecutor, the facts of the case,
and the components of the law in question. This is the core of critical thinking, and it is a fundamental skill that is
utilized in virtually any career. Critical thinking skills are highly valued, and they take work and practice to develop.
Studying topics such as courts and judiciary systems is a good way not only to prepare for a career within the legal
worldâas an attorney, for exampleâbut also to hone general critical thinking skills that are invaluable regardless of
what direction your professional path in life takes.
WHAT CAN I DO?
11.1 ⢠What Is the Judiciary? 343
Selecting Judicial Officers
There are as many ways to select judicial officers as there are countries in the world. The particulars of the
selection process vary widely by country. The selection process can also differ for different levels or types of
courts within a country. All of the selection processes can be sorted into four broad categories:
⢠Appointment for life
⢠Appointment for a specified number of years
⢠Election
⢠Hybrid, or a combination of these methods (e.g., appointment followed by retention election)
Lifetime Appointments
The Federal Judiciary and Representation
- The United States Constitution establishes Article III courts where judges serve life terms to ensure judicial independence from other government branches.
- While Congress can alter court jurisdictions, it cannot reduce judges' salaries or remove them for their decisions, though the appointment process remains highly political.
- Lifetime appointments allow presidents to influence legal interpretation long after their terms end, described as shooting an arrow into a distant future.
- Global trends show a significant 29 percent increase in female representation on high courts between 2011 and 2019.
- Research indicates that a judge's gender may be a stronger predictor of judicial decision-making than their political leanings.
You shoot an arrow into a far distant future when you appoint a [US federal] justice, and not the man himself can tell you what he will think about some of the problems that he will face.
The US Constitution establishes a Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and authorizes Congress to
create other Article III courts.11 The judges for these courts are nominated by the president and confirmed by
the US Senate. These Article III judges serve for life, as long as they remain on âgood behavior.â There is no
mandatory retirement age. These courts have the power of judicial review and, once appointed, are
independent of the other branches of government.
Congress can change any courtâs jurisdiction except SCOTUSâs original jurisdiction. Still, neither Congress nor
the president can fire a judge nor stop the judgeâs salary if they disagree with a decision the judge makes. Thus,
the judiciary in the United States has some measure of independence, but judges are often subject to political
pressure during the appointment process.
Article III courts include the United States Supreme Court, US circuit courts of appeals, and US district courts.
There is only one SCOTUS, but there are 13 circuit courts of appeals and about 100 district courts. All have
multiple judges, so the power to appoint judges is a substantial one. Moreover, because these judges are
appointed for life, a president can influence the interpretation of the law and the Constitution well beyond that
presidentâs term of office. As noted by legal scholar Alexander Bickel, âYou shoot an arrow into a far distant
future when you appoint a [US federal] justice, and not the man himself can tell you what he will think about
some of the problems that he will face.â12
Women on High Courts around the World
While gender representation on high court benches across the globe skews toward men, studies suggest that the
rate of women on judiciaries in countries around the world rose by about 29 percent between 2011 and 2019.
Research suggests that a high court judgeâs gender may be a better predictor of how they will decide a case than
their political leanings and that the gender composition of a court can influence how individual judges view a case.13
VIDEO
Ethiopiaâs First Female Supreme Court Chief Justice: Meaza Ashenafi
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In this clip, Meaza Ashenafi, the first ever female Chief Justice on Ethiopia's Supreme Court, talks about how she
worked to define sexual harassment and violence against women in the Amharic language, the official language of
Ethiopia. She goes on to discuss the importance of the impartiality of the courts and the role courts play in serving
their communities.
The lifetime appointment of judges outside the United States is rare. Even in countries that say they appoint
certain judges to lifetime terms, these judges are held to a mandatory retirement age.14 For example, in the
THE CHANGING POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
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Global Judicial Selection Methods
- European nations like the UK and Belgium utilize mandatory retirement ages, typically at 70, to balance life appointments with turnover.
- The United States is currently debating the implementation of term limits or mandatory retirement for Article III judges to mirror international standards.
- Some judicial systems, such as France's, require rigorous entrance examinations and specialized training overseen by the Ministry of Justice rather than executive appointment.
- Judicial elections in the US are viewed as an international anomaly, often criticized for compromising judicial independence in favor of political popularity.
- States are increasingly shifting from direct partisan elections toward retention elections to mitigate the pressure of political campaigning on the bench.
To the rest of the world, American adherence to judicial elections is as incomprehensible as our rejection of the metric system.
United Kingdom, Supreme Court justices are not subject to term limits, but they must retire by age 70.15
Additionally, in the United Kingdom, there are minimum requirements for nomination, and a nominating
commission reviews applicants. Finally, this type of appointment applies only to a particular court, not to all
courts in a broad category, as in the United States.
In Belgium, the monarch appoints constitutional court judges from a list of candidates submitted by
Parliament.16 As in the UK, these judges are appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 70. The
monarch selects judges for the supreme court, the Court of Cassation, from candidates submitted by the High
Council of Justice, an independent 44-member body consisting of both judicial and nonjudicial members. Like
constitutional court judges, Court of Cassation judges are appointed for life with a mandatory retirement age of
70.17
Recent discussions in the United States have debated instating a mandatory retirement age or setting a term
limit for Article III judges.18
Appointment for a Term of Years
There is a second type of US federal judge: those appointed for a term of years. Congress, in creating these
courts, specifies the qualifications of the judge and the term of service.19 Potential judges apply for the office as
one would apply for any other job. A hiring committee selects the judge. Several US states also appoint some of
their judges for a term of years. The process for an appointment varies by state.20
Many countries appoint some of their judges for a term of years, though the processes by which they do so
differ.21 For example, in Albania, the president alone makes some nine-year appointments.22 On the other
hand, the Chinese legislature, the Peopleâs National Congress, appoints the chief justice of their national
supreme court for a limit of two consecutive five-year terms.23 To be considered for most judicial
appointments in France, an attorney must pass a series of entrance examinations.24 They must then attend
special classes and pass a series of difficult examinations to be eligible for an appointment as a judge. The
Ministry of Justice oversees this process without any executive input.
Appointment by Election
A few US states use a rare process, election, to select some judges. In a 1988 speech, Hans Linde, a former
justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, said âTo the rest of the world, American adherence to judicial elections is
as incomprehensible as our rejection of the metric system.â25
When judges are directly elected, the judiciary is an agent of the government with limited independence. The
voters use their votes to pass judgment on judicial decisions in the same way that they use their votes to weigh
in on the actions of the executive and legislative branches. Thus, one of the criticisms of judicial elections is
that they incentivize judges to make politically popular decisions that are not necessarily correct
interpretations of the law.
Different US states employ different types of judicial elections. A candidateâs political party is listed on the
ballot in partisan elections, while the candidateâs political affiliation is not listed in nonpartisan elections.
Many states have moved away from direct elections and toward retention elections. In a retention election, a
judge is appointed for a term of years, and at the end of that term, an election is held to determine if the judge
should be retained for another term or replaced.26
Judicial Selection and Retention Systems
- Texas remains one of the few states utilizing partisan elections for judgeships, leading to concerns about political favoritism and campaign donor influence.
- Critics of partisan judicial elections argue that the system prioritizes political popularity over legal expertise and creates an appearance of impropriety.
- Nonpartisan elections are used in thirteen states as a compromise to allow public participation while theoretically reducing party influence.
- International models vary significantly, with Switzerland utilizing legislative elections and Japan employing a mix of cabinet appointments and popular referendums.
- The Missouri Plan, or retention system, has gained popularity in the U.S. by combining executive appointment with a non-competitive public vote on the judge's record.
Texas has been the object of scrutiny for allegations of favoritism to campaign donors and political party influence on judges.
Texas is one of the few states that still holds partisan elections for almost all judgeships in the state.27 As a
result, candidates run for office just like all other elected officials. They align with a political party, receive the
majority vote in the partyâs primary election, and campaign showing their affiliation to the party. Most other
states have moved away from this selection style because of issues with partisanship, such as the appearance
of impropriety when someone makes a large campaign contribution before appearing before the court and the
instability of a process that selects candidates based on political popularity rather than legal expertise.28 Texas
has been the object of scrutiny for allegations of favoritism to campaign donors and political party influence on
11.1 ⢠What Is the Judiciary? 345
judges.29 As a result, there is pressure from a number of corners, including former and current judges, to
change this system.30 About 13 states still hold nonpartisan elections for some of their judgeships. These
states assert that this enables people to have a say in the judiciary while removing political partisanship from
the selection process.31
VIDEO
Former Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court Wallace Jefferson on Electing Judges in Texas
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judiciary)
In this clip, former Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court Wallace Jefferson weighs in on how he believes
the state of Texas should select judges.
Switzerland also holds judicial elections in which the Federal Assembly, their legislative branch, elects judges
to six-year terms.32 A few other countries also hold some judicial elections.
Hybrid or Mixed Selection
Many countries have a hybrid system, with a mix of appointments for term and appointments for life
depending on the type of court.33 A couple of countries and a few US states have both appointments and
elections. One common hybrid selection system used in several countries is an appointment with review after
one term. In Japan, the chief justice of the Supreme Court is designated by the Cabinet and appointed by the
monarch, while associate justices are appointed by the Cabinet and confirmed by the monarch. All justices are
subject to a popular referendum at the first general election after their appointment and every 10 years
thereafter.34
Several US states use a hybrid system known as retention or the Missouri Plan. This system has gained
popularity in the United States over the last 50 years.35 In a retention system, the executive initially appoints a
judge, with legislative approval, similar to the federal appointment process. The appointed person serves for a
term of years. After this initial term, if a judge wants to remain in office, they must run in a retention election.
There is no opposing candidate in a retention election; people vote on whether to keep or replace the judge.
The judge runs on their record, and their party affiliation typically is not listed on the ballot. A retained judge
remains in office for another term. In some states, there is a limit to the number of retention terms a judge may
serve. If the judge is not retained, then the process starts again with new nominees and appointments. This
style appeals to many Americans because it limits campaigning and political party influence over the judiciary
while allowing the people some say over the judicial officers.
11.2 How Does the Judiciary Take Action?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Discuss the way the judiciary works with other branches of government.
Constraints on Judicial Power
- Courts lack the power to implement their own decisions and must rely on other government branches to translate rulings into statutes or orders.
- Judicial action is reactive rather than proactive, requiring a specific dispute or 'case' to be filed before a court can intervene.
- Individuals only gain 'standing' to challenge a law once they have suffered a direct injury or have been charged with violating that law.
- The scope of a court's decision is strictly limited to the specific issues and evidence presented by the parties involved in the litigation.
- In civil matters, courts can only provide assistance if there is an existing written statute that allows for the filing of a specific claim.
You cannot go to court to challenge a law just because you disagree with it.
⢠Analyze the power of the judiciary to act.
⢠Analyze the constraints on judicial action.
A court cannot implement its decisions; the other branches have to turn the courtâs decisions into written
statutes or orders. You cannot go to court to challenge a law just because you disagree with it. You can
complain to the legislature or speak out in public, but if itâs a law the government enforcesâa criminal
lawâyou must wait until you are charged with violating that law to complain about it to a court. If a statute
gives you the right to make a claim against another person, neither you nor the person you are claiming
against can challenge the law until one of you has filed a lawsuit against the other in court. Once a charge or a
claim is brought before the court, the people directly affected by the application of the law now have standing,
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or a direct injury from the effect of the law, to complain about the law before the court in a court case. A court
case is a specific dispute about the law and its effect on the parties, or the people directly affected. The court
can only consider specific questions brought by the parties, and these are called issues. The court can only
determine if the factsâthat is, the evidenceâmeet the criteria specified in the written law and answer the
questions the parties have raised.
Letâs look at a couple of examples. Each of these concepts will be explored in more detail later in this chapter.
Suppose the government enacts a law prohibiting someone from protesting outside a city hall and makes a
violation of that law punishable as a crime. A person may not like this restriction and can complain to the
legislature, seeking to change the law. However, the person cannot complain in court at this time. If a person
does protest outside city hall and is arrested by the police for violating the anti-protest law, and if the
government charges that person by filing a criminal case, then that person can challenge their arrest and the
law in court. The government will try to prove that the person should be punished because their actions violate
the law as written. In certain systems, a person can also complain that the law is an infringement on their right
to free speech and protest and can seek judicial review of the law to have it declared unconstitutional and
ultimately struck.
Another example is a civil case, in which two private parties seek the courtâs assistance in deciding a dispute.
For example, say you are driving down the road, and another car hits yours. Both parties in the accident feel
the other driver is at fault and should be responsible for the expenses of having both vehicles repaired. You can
try to resolve the problem between yourselves; however, if you want a court to assist you in deciding the issue,
there must be a statute, or a written law enacted by the legislature, that allows you to file a case in court against
each other. The court can only apply the law as written to the factsâthe evidence of what happenedâin making
a decision binding on the two of you. If there is no law on the books relevant to your dispute, the court cannot
help you.
Implementation and Impact of Judicial Decisions
The Limits of Judicial Power
- Judicial implementation is the process of putting court judgments into practice through enforcement.
- Courts lack the physical power to compel government personnel and must rely on the executive branch to enforce orders.
- The executive branch's willingness to recognize a court's authority is essential for a judgment to have any practical force.
- Public acceptance of the rule of law is the judiciary's most significant enforcement power, as widespread resistance can defeat court orders.
- The desegregation of American schools serves as a primary example where executive intervention was required to overcome local resistance.
- Without backing from the legislative and executive branches, public backlash can effectively nullify judicial decisions.
A court can issue a judgment, or legal order, but it does not have the power to compel government personnel to carry out or enforce its orders.
Judicial implementation is the process by which a courtâs decision, or judgment, is put into practice and
enforced. However, in almost all countries, the courts rely on the executive branch to implement their
decisions. A court can issue a judgment, or legal order, but it does not have the power to compel government
personnel to carry out or enforce its orders. The executive branch, which carries out daily government
operations, is the branch tasked with implementing judgments. Thus, unless other parts of the government
recognize the force of the courtâs decision, the court is powerless to put its orders into practice. The
implementation of desegregation orders in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s is an excellent example of
the executive enforcing the courtâs judgment. In these cases, the federal government, including the president,
vigorously enforced the Supreme Courtâs orders for school desegregation, calling out National Guard troops to
escort students to school.36
The courtâs most significant power to enforce its decision lies in the peopleâs acceptance of the rule of law.
Suppose the people do not respect the judicial system or its authority. In that case, the executive branch must
physically enforce the judiciaryâs orders, which may cause a public backlash against the government. Again,
the courtâs desegregation order in the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision serves as an example. Even
years after the decision was issued, many states and school districts refused to follow the order. This resulted
in further litigation and the interventions of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson to enforce the
courtâs decision. Local politicians and the American public continued to put obstacles in the way of integration
for many years. Public resistance can almost always defeat court-ordered action unless the executive and
legislative branches back up the courtâs decision.
11.2 ⢠How Does the Judiciary Take Action? 347
FIGURE 11.3 By order of the state governor, the Arkansas National Guard prevented nine Black students from
entering Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 4, 1957. (credit: âArkansas National Guard at
Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, 1957â by US National Park
Service, Public Domain)
Nullification and the Rule of Law
- The 1957 Little Rock Central High School crisis illustrates how executive power can be used to either defy or enforce judicial desegregation orders.
- Nullification occurs when governments refuse to obey court orders or statutes, effectively rendering the law toothless because courts lack independent enforcement power.
- Modern marijuana legalization serves as a primary example of federal authorities choosing not to enforce federal law, thereby engaging in a form of active nullification.
- While nullification may be popular in certain contexts, it poses a significant threat to the rule of law by allowing entities to decide which laws they will follow.
- The legislative branch can legally counter court decisions by enacting new statutes or proposing constitutional amendments, as seen with the federal income tax.
Nullification damages the rule of law; if states and individuals decide independently that they do not have to obey a law, without following the processes designed to ensure that no one is above the law, then the rule of law itself is weakened.
On September 4, 1957, the governor of Arkansas ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine Black
students from entering Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in defiance of the Supreme Court ruling
in Brown v. Board of Education.37 Eventually, on September 24, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in nearly
1,000 US Army troops to ensure order and enforce the desegregation order from the court.38
At other times, presidents and state governors have refused to obey court orders. These refusals have resulted
in many disputes and, at times, nullification of the courtâs decisions. Because the courts cannot implement
their own decisions, when a government refuses to obey a court order or statute, that government effectively
nullifies the courtâs decision and the law. A typical example of nullification in the United States today is the
federal reaction to individual states legalizing the use of marijuana. Federal law prohibits all growing, selling,
and possession of marijuana throughout the United States, and SCOTUS has affirmed this complete
prohibition over a stateâs attempt to legalize medical marijuana.39 However, even with the federal law and
SCOTUS decision, many states are legalizing the sale and use of marijuana. The federal government and courts
could enforce the federal law against these states; however, they have chosen not to do so. Instead, the federal
government allows state governments to regulate marijuana growth and use within their states, focusing
instead on interstate and international drug trafficking. Thus, the federal government itself is actively
engaging in the nullification of the law.
Whether or not you support this action regarding marijuana, think about the possibility of nullification in other
contexts, such as federal laws prohibiting racial and sex discrimination. What if a state decided to nullify these
laws within its borders? Would you support nullification in this example? Nullification damages the rule of law;
if states and individuals decide independently that they do not have to obey a law, without following the
processes designed to ensure that no one is above the law, then the rule of law itself is weakened. Many argue
that a better way to change a law one does not like is to urge the legislature to change it while still respecting
the system of government and the rule of law.
The legislative branch can counter a court decision by changing a law the people do not like. The legislative
branch can enact a new law that changes the one on which a court based its decision, or it can even propose
amendments to the Constitution to achieve the desired result. Take the example of the federal income tax.40
The Supreme Court initially held that Congressâs statutory enactment of a federal income tax was
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unconstitutional. In reaction, Congress proposed an amendment to the Constitution to permit a federal
income tax, and the states approved the amendment. This action succeeded in making the federal income tax
constitutional and defeating the court ruling, all within the framework of the system, all while respecting the
rule of law.41
Courts and Social Reform
- Major court decisions serve as catalysts for social reform by providing legal precedents that activists use to gain public support.
- The Brown v. Board of Education ruling illustrates how incremental legal victories can eventually dismantle long-standing doctrines like 'separate but equal.'
- While courts do not proactively create policy like the legislative branch, their interpretations of specific cases effectively nudge social and political policies.
- Judicial decisions can bring marginalized issues into the majority's conscience, as seen when Brown invigorated the nascent civil rights movement.
- The extrajudicial influence of the court is indirect, often requiring subsequent legislative action like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to achieve comprehensive change.
- There is an ongoing debate regarding the extent of judicial impact, yet significant rulings undeniably force society to reconsider issues in new ways.
It can bring attention to an issue that may have been at the margins of the majorityâs conscience.
Major court decisions may also influence social reform. People can look to court decisions as steps toward
desired social reforms and use them to gain public support or change the law incrementally. Again, the Brown
v. Board of Education decision provides a practical example. Before Brown, a series of court decisions held that
different types of segregation in education were unconstitutional. These decisions narrowed the courtâs
holding that âseparate but equalâ accommodations were acceptable in the area of education. By the time
Brown was decided, the law was primed to abandon segregated education entirely. However, some parts of
society were not acting on the reform and challenged the laws for many years, leading to discussions about the
judicial branchâs role in making public policy.
Can Courts Make Public Policy?
There is no one answer to the question of whether and how courts make public policy. Courts do not openly
make public policy, as they only answer questions presented to them in a specific case by interpreting written
laws. They cannot look at global events and decide to take action as the legislative and executive branches can.
However, by the impact of their decisions, courts can impact law and society, thus nudging social and political
policies in a particular direction. Once again, consider the Brown decision. In Brown, the Supreme Court held
that in Kâ12 education, separate is inherently unequal, and ordered the integration of Kâ12 public schools.
That was as far as the Brown decision went, as that was the only question before the court. However, the
decision influenced many people to begin questioning segregation in other areas of society, and public officials
started to question their role in enforcing segregation laws.
This social influence of judicial decisions is often seen as a beacon of hope by those seeking more
comprehensive changes in society. It can bring attention to an issue that may have been at the margins of the
majorityâs conscience. After Brown, the nascent civil rights movement gained momentum. This momentum
led to Congress enacting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. States also enacted civil
and voting rights laws, and numerous individuals openly challenged segregation laws by breaking them and
fighting against their constitutionality in court. This extrajudicial influence is not a direct path. There are
debates about how much impact judicial decisions have on social movements. There was already a civil rights
movement long before Brown, but without the activists who filed the Brown lawsuit, there would have been no
decision to invigorate it. Whatever the effect of the courtâs decision on the momentum of the civil rights
movement, it is clear that a significant court decision that is perceived as a policy-making decision impacts
society by bringing the issue to the attention of more people and causing many to think about the issue in a
new way. Thus, courts can make policy for society through their decisions when interpreting laws and the
Constitution.42
11.3 Types of Legal Systems around the World
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe the different types of legal systems and explain how they differ.
⢠Explain how the rule of law applies in different judicial systems.
⢠Analyze how different judicial systems operate.
Global Legal Systems and Common Law
- The world's legal frameworks are categorized into five primary types: civil, common, customary, religious, and hybrid systems.
- Common law systems, originating from British rule, were historically based on judge-made law used to fill gaps in unwritten statutes.
- Modern common law relies heavily on 'stare decisis', the principle of using past judicial precedents to interpret and apply current written laws.
- The common law court process is fundamentally adversarial, characterized by a 'winner-takes-all' attitude where opposing sides manage their own investigations.
- In this adversarial framework, judges act as moderators of legal issues while juries or judges-as-fact-finders determine the truth of the evidence presented.
Common law courts are adversarial; that is, there is a winner-takes-all attitude in the court.
There are five basic types of legal systems in the world. They are civil law, common law, customary law,
religious law, and hybrid or mixed systems. Today, mixed or hybrid systems are common. Because each
system varies by country, this chapter will focus on the characteristic traits of each kind of system.
11.3 ⢠Types of Legal Systems around the World 349
FIGURE 11.4 This map shows the different types of legal systems in place around the world.43 (attribution:
Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Note that before discussing different law systems, it is important to distinguish between what the term civil
means in the context of legal systems and what it means in terms of civil versus criminal laws.
Common Law Systems
The US legal system, and other legal systems that emanate from British rule, is a common law system.44
Originally, common law meant judge-made law that filled in gaps when there was no written law. Judges looked
to prior decisions to determine the unwritten judge-made law and apply it to new cases. However, today,
almost all law is in writing and enacted by a legislature as statutes. Many statutes codify established common
law, change it, or abolish it altogether, depending on the topic of the law. There are instances in which some
unwritten common law is still enforced, but these are rare.
In a common law system such as the one in the United States, the courtsâ reliance on precedent is referred to
as stare decisis, or a policy of using judicial decisions made in the past to interpret written laws and
appropriately apply those laws to the facts in the present case.45 The court interprets written laws, and these
interpretations and applications of precedent from prior interpretations constitute what is meant by common
law today. Precedent is critical for interpreting later cases, and only the same or a higher court can overturn
precedent. The court process is adversarial rather than investigatory, with each side trying to win or persuade
the court to agree with its perspective.46
VIDEO
What Is Precedent?
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/11-3-types-of-
legal-systems-around-the-world)
This video discusses precedent and its importance in common law systems.
Common law courts are adversarial; that is, there is a winner-takes-all attitude in the court. In an adversarial
system, each side determines the issues and questions it wants the court to resolve, conducts its own
investigation, and prepares and presents its own evidence. Each side calls witnesses, who are questioned
directly and by cross-examination. Each side brings out information it thinks is pertinent to prove its point. In
a criminal case, the police and prosecutor work together closely to establish their viewpoint using the
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governmentâs resources. Defendants must rely on their own resources to defend against the charges, either
hiring an attorney or using a court-appointed one. In a civil case, the procedures are similar; however, each
side must rely on its resources to prove its point. If a jury is present, it decides all factual questions while the
judge determines the legal issues and moderates the proceedings. In some cases, the judge can act as a fact
finder in place of a jury.
Civil Law Systems
Civil and Religious Legal Systems
- Civil law systems prioritize comprehensive legal codes over judicial precedent, making court decisions binding only to the specific parties involved.
- The civil law process is inquisitorial rather than adversarial, with judges leading investigations, questioning witnesses, and gathering evidence.
- Juries in civil law systems are rare and often consist of subject-matter experts rather than members of the general public.
- Religious law systems derive their primary authority from sacred texts, such as the Koran in Saudi Arabia, which serve as the basis for all statutes.
- In religious systems, legal specialists or religious leaders often have the power to overrule government acts or court decisions based on spiritual tenets.
- Some nations, like Israel, utilize a hybrid approach where religious courts handle specific family law matters while secular courts manage other legal issues.
The system is more inquisitorial than adversarial.
Most of Europe and South America use a civil law system.47 A civil law system relies on comprehensive legal
codes that contain all laws for the country. Case lawâthat is, judicial decisionsâis secondary to these codes.
Decisions are binding only on the parties to the case, not as a precedent for later cases on the same issues.
While attorneys will consult prior decisions when advising clients, judges are rarely bound to follow precedent.
For this reason, codes of statutes are usually more extensive and detailed than in common law systems.
In civil law systems, court cases are investigations by the court to see how the facts fit into the already
established codes applicable to the situation. The court system is set up so that the jurisdiction of each court is
a specific type of code: tax courts, administrative courts, maritime courts, constitutional courts, and so on.
The system is more inquisitorial than adversarial. The process is a series of meetings, hearings, and written
communications in which the judge takes testimony. The judge crafts the issues to be decided based on
discussions with the parties. Typically, the judge questions the witnesses and can include or exclude any
queries submitted by the attorneys when crafting questions. Finally, the judge determines the issues and
gathers the evidence before announcing a decision.48 Only at the final hearing do the attorneys and parties
make arguments to the judge. If there is a jury, its members usually are not drawn from the general public but
are selected for their expertise in the particular area in question. While juries of ordinary people are rare in
civil law systems, they are increasingly used in serious criminal cases.
These two systems, common law and civil law systems, are the most widely used legal systems in the world.
They differ in terms of the weight they give to judicial precedent and their views on the purpose of the trial
process.
Religious Systems
In a religious law system, the law relies on religious texts as its primary basis, and the courts interpret the
present facts and statutes in light of those religious texts. Many Middle Eastern countries use religious law
systems for all or part of their laws.49 For example, in Saudi Arabia, the legal system is based on sharia law,
derived from the Koran, the Islamic religious text, as well as from the Sunnah and the Hadith.50 The legislature
enacts statutes, but all are tested against Islamic tenets. Certain religious leaders can overrule any government
act, including court decisions, on religious grounds. The legal system includes general and summary sharia
courts, with some administrative tribunals for specific topics. Religious law systems do not use juries, and
criminal trials do not present defensive evidence to the same extent as in other legal systems. Each judge, a
specialist in the religious sharia text, makes their interpretation of the law and is not bound by any precedent.
Israel also uses some religious laws and courts to determine cases.51 For example, religious courts in Israel
include Jewish rabbinical courts, Islamic sharia courts, Druze religious courts, and ecclesiastical courts of the
10 recognized Christian communities. In Israel, these courts are limited to some specific issues of family law.
The secular court system decides all other matters.
Customary Systems
The Nature of Customary Law
- Customary law systems are built upon long-standing traditions that have become deeply ingrained and legally enforceable within specific communities.
- Unlike civil or common law, customary laws are often unwritten and are typically implemented by group leaders rather than government officials.
- In the modern era, customary law usually exists as part of a hybrid system, functioning alongside established government legal frameworks.
- Andorra serves as a prime example, blending canon, Roman, and various European laws into a parliamentary co-principality system.
- The island of Guernsey maintains a unique legal identity derived from medieval Norman law, independent of the United Kingdom's legal structure.
- Legal systems globally vary significantly in judicial independence and policy-making roles based on whether they follow common, civil, religious, or customary traditions.
As a result, customary laws are typically unwritten and revealed only to group members.
A customary law system is a system based on long-standing traditions in a particular community. The
traditions have become so ingrained in society that the courts recognize them as enforceable rules. However, it
is rare for customary laws to be interpreted and enforced by the government. Instead, select leaders of the
group usually implement the customary laws. As a result, customary laws are typically unwritten and revealed
only to group members. Today, customary laws are found in closed, isolated communities combined with
11.3 ⢠Types of Legal Systems around the World 351
common or civil law systems, allowing them to exist alongside government systems in a hybrid system.
Andorra, a small country in the Pyrenees bordering Spain and France, relies partly on customary law. In
Andorra, sources of customary law include canon law, the ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church, Castilian
law, French law, and Roman law. Andorra was invaded and under the control of other European powers at
different times in its history, and the Andorran legal system now reflects elements of each invaderâs laws.
Today, Andorra is a parliamentary co-principality between the president of France and the Roman Catholic
bishop of Catalonia (Urgell). Andorra also has an elected parliament that can enact new laws.52
Â
Common Law
Civil Law
Religious Law
Customary Law
Other Names
Judge-made law; Anglo-
American law
Continental law;
European law; Roman
law
Differs by religion;
two prominent ones
are sharia (Islamic
law) and halakha
(Jewish law)
Differs by area,
ethnicity, and tribe
Source of Law
Case law and statutes,
which may be organized
in codes
Statutes organized in
codes
Religious texts
Long-standing
customs, which
may be oral or
written
Degree of
Judicial
Independence
High; important to society
that judiciary appears to
be independent of
executive and legislature
High; important to
society that judiciary
appears to be
independent of
executive and
legislature
Wide range, from
very limited to high
Wide range, from
limited to high
Judges
Wide variety of selection
and qualification
standards
Career position
requiring training and
testing; civil servants
Religious and legal
training
Varies widely with
customs of the area
Policy-Making
Role
Due to stare decisis,
shares power with
individuals who come
before the court and with
government branches
Equal but separate
power as the enforcer
of codes
Depends on territory
and topic area;
paramount in some
cases, advisory only
in others
Depends on
territory and topic
area; paramount in
some cases,
advisory only in
others
Examples
US (except Louisiana),
UK, Canada (except
Quebec)
All European Union
countries, Quebec,
Louisiana
Saudi Arabia, Iran,
United Arab
Emirates, Israel
Guernsey, Andorra
TABLE 11.1 Differences among Major Legal Systems
The island of Guernsey is another example of a customary law system. Though it is one of the Channel Islands
off the coast of England, Guernsey is not part of the United Kingdom. Guernseyâs legal system is derived from
the medieval power of the monarch, the Duke of Normandy.53 The ancient duchy law of Normandy is an
influential source of law in Guernsey. The duchy laws developed in two periods, the Ancienne coutume of
1199â1538 and the Coutume reformĂŠe of 1538â1804.54 Guernseyâs legal system also has elements of English
common law and modern statutory law enacted by the islandâs elected legislature. Guernsey enjoys almost
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Hybrid Legal Systems and Criminal Law
- Customary legal systems are increasingly recognized worldwide, allowing indigenous groups like the Maori in New Zealand to apply ancient laws to internal affairs.
- Hybrid legal systems combine multiple legal traditions, such as Louisiana's mix of French civil law and American common law.
- The Philippines represents a complex mixed system incorporating civil, common, sharia, and indigenous customary laws due to its unique history.
- Criminal law is defined as offenses against the state that harm society, requiring specific written statutes to establish an act as a crime.
- Civil law governs disputes between individuals seeking compensation for harm, rather than state-led prosecution.
- Criminal punishment serves five primary societal purposes: incapacitation, retribution, deterrence, restitution, and rehabilitation.
An act is not a crime unless a written law establishes it as one.
complete autonomy over its internal affairs, and the country determines many issues based on ancient
customary laws, with elected bailiffs and jurats making decisions.55
In the United States, some customary laws may be used in tribal matters on tribal lands recognized by the US
government.56 However, the US government does exercise some control over tribal legal systems in the United
States. There is a growing worldwide movement to recognize tribal autonomy and customary legal systems.57
For example, some Maori customary law is now recognized in New Zealand.58
Hybrid or Mixed Systems
A hybrid legal system combines parts of more than one approach to create a system unique to the country.
Many countries have mixed legal systems incorporating common, civil, religious, and customary law
systems.59 For example, the US state of Louisiana has a hybrid system. Louisiana uses some common law, but
it also utilizes a civil law system for much of its state law and procedures because of its origins as a French
territory. Also, on recognized tribal lands, customary laws of the tribe may be used rather than state or federal
laws. Another example is the Philippine system, which includes French civil law, US-style common law, sharia
law, and Indigenous customary law due to its history.60 Many African countries include a parallel tribal or
ethnic legal system to adjudicate family law matters.61
FIGURE 11.5 This map shows the different types of legal systems present in Africa. (attribution: Copyright Rice
University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
11.3 ⢠Types of Legal Systems around the World 353
11.4 Criminal versus Civil Laws
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Differentiate between criminal and civil laws.
⢠Discuss the purposes of criminal laws.
⢠Discuss the types of criminal laws.
⢠Discuss the rights of the accused in criminal proceedings in different systems.
⢠Discuss the use of the death penalty in different systems.
Within a given legal system, there are two major types of law, criminal and civil. Criminal law applies to
offenses against the state. The action is punished because it harms society. Criminal law requires a statute to
create the offense, its elements, and its punishment. An act is not a crime unless a written law establishes it as
one. Only the government can prosecute a criminal case. A criminal case begins with an alleged crime, an
arrest by the police, and a charge filed by a prosecutor. Anything that is not criminal law falls under civil law,
which applies when one individual is harmed by another and seeks compensation for the harm. In civil law
legal systems, civil offenses are only by statute. In common law legal systems, civil offenses can be by statute or
case precedent.62
The overarching purpose of criminal laws is to protect society as a whole. There are five general purposes of
criminal punishment:
1. Incapacitation: Punishment removes the offending person from society, inhibiting their ability to cause
further harm to society.
2. Retribution: The punishment of the individual is said to satisfy the publicâs desire for revenge.
3. Deterrence: Punishing a person for committing an offense is intended to deter others from committing
that same offense.
4. Restitution: Punishment for a criminal offense may involve a financial penalty to compensate the victim of
the crime monetarily.
5. Rehabilitation: Punishment may attempt to refocus the offenderâs energy on a more acceptable pursuit to
prevent recidivism. Recidivism is the repetition of a crime by an individual already found guilty of and
punished for the crime.63
Criminal Offenses and Sentencing
- Many nations are shifting their criminal justice focus toward rehabilitation, particularly for nonviolent and drug-related offenses.
- Criminal law distinguishes between serious offenses, known as felonies, and less serious offenses, known as misdemeanors.
- Misdemeanors are typically punished by fines or short-term jail sentences of less than one year served in local facilities.
- Felonies carry more severe penalties ranging from one year in prison to life imprisonment or the death penalty.
- The United States federal sentencing guidelines categorize crimes into specific classes based on the perceived severity of the act.
- International legal systems vary significantly in how they divide trial processes and define the boundaries between serious and lesser punishments.
Many countries have moved to a focus on rehabilitation as a means of stopping future crime.
Many countries have moved to a focus on rehabilitation as a means of stopping future crime.64 The use of
rehabilitation is common in Europe, especially for nonviolent or drug offenses.65 The US state of Oregon is
enacting similar policies to rehabilitate those who are found guilty of illegal drug use.66
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FIGURE 11.6 While all punishments are intended to serve as deterrence and retribution, many common
punishments are intended to serve other purposes as well. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under
CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
There are two main types of offenses in criminal law: serious offenses, often called felonies, and less serious
offenses, often called misdemeanors. Punishments for serious offenses may involve imprisonment for a term
of several years to lifeâand, in a few countries, the death penalty.67 Lesser crimes are often punishable by no
more than a fine. If a misdemeanor carries a prison sentence at all, that sentence is usually less than a year in
length and is served in the local jail. The divisions between serious and lesser punishments and trial processes
vary widely by country.68
Within serious and nonserious crimes, penalties vary by the perceived severity of the crime. The US categories,
both state and federal, are typical, so they will serve as an example. The state categories align with the federal,
so we will use the federal sentencing guidelines as a template.69 In the United States, misdemeanors are
commonly divided into three categories:
1. Class A misdemeanor: Punishable by a jail sentence of between six months and one year
2. Class B misdemeanor: Punishable by a jail sentence of between 30 days and six months
3. Class C misdemeanor: Punishable by a jail sentence of between five days and 30 days
Each level also carries a possible fine that can be imposed instead of or in addition to the sentence.
In the United States, felonies, whether state or federal, are broken down into five categories:
1. Capital or class A felony: Punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty
2. First-degree or class B felony: Punishable by a prison sentence of 25 or more years
3. Second-degree or class C felony: Punishable by a prison sentence of between 10 and 25 years
4. Third-degree or class D felony: Punishable by a prison sentence of between five and 10 years
5. Fourth-degree or class E felony: Punishable by a prison sentence of between one and five years
Legal Protections in Rule-of-Law Systems
- Ex post facto laws are prohibited in rule-of-law countries, meaning the government cannot punish individuals for actions that were legal when committed.
- The burden of proof in criminal cases rests entirely on the government and must meet the high standard of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The US Constitution provides specific protections including habeas corpus, the right to a speedy trial, and protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
- Authoritarian regimes often use retroactive laws and the lack of habeas corpus to indefinitely detain political opponents.
- Over 100 countries require police to inform suspects of their rights upon arrest, similar to the American Miranda warning.
In rule-by-law systems, authoritarian governments often use ex post facto laws and the lack of habeas corpus to jail opponents and keep them in jail indefinitely.
In all rule-of-law countries, including the United States, the government cannot enact any ex post facto laws.
11.4 ⢠Criminal versus Civil Laws 355
Ex post facto is Latin for âafter the fact.â Thus, if something was not a crime when you did it, you cannot later
be charged with a crime even if the government changes the law. For example, the posted speed limit on a road
is 40 miles per hour. A camera captures you driving 40 miles per hour on Monday. On Wednesday, a new law is
enacted that changes the speed limit to 25 miles per hour and is claimed to apply retroactively for the past
month. This would be an ex post facto law. New laws can only apply prospectively to the future, not
retroactively, to the past. In rule-by-law systems, authoritarian governments often use ex post facto laws and
the lack of habeas corpus to jail opponents and keep them in jail indefinitely.
Defendantsâ rights and the burden of proof for guilt are similar in rule-of-law systems. In all rule-of-law
countries, the burden of proof for a criminal offense is beyond a reasonable doubt. In the United States,
because a criminal case can impact a personâs liberty, the burden of proof is always on the government, and
the standard of proof is always guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In addition, every rule-of-law country has protections for individuals who are accused of crimes.70 In the
United States, individuals accused of crimes have several constitutional protections in criminal cases.
Rights and Liberties in the US Constitution that Apply to Criminal Proceedings
Art. I, sec. 9, cl. 2
Right of habeas corpus
Art. I, sec. 9, cl. 3; Art. I, sec. 10,
cl. 1
No ex post facto laws
Fourth Amendment
Right to be secure from unreasonable search and seizure
Fifth Amendment
Right to due process before deprivation of life, liberty, or property
Right to indictment by a grand jury when charged with capital crimes
Protection against self-incriminationÂ
Sixth Amendment
Right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury
Right to a defense attorney
Eighth Amendment
Protection against excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual
punishment
TABLE 11.2 Rights and Liberties in the US Constitution That Apply to Criminal Proceedings
Rights upon Arrest
In rule-of-law countries, police must advise you at the time of arrest of certain rights. These include the right to
have an attorney assist you with your case and the right to be cautioned that anything you say can be used
against you in courtâwhat are referred to in the United States as Miranda rights. A Library of Congress report
found that 108 countries, including civil law and common law legal systems, require something similar to the
US Miranda rights.71 The European Convention on Human Rights (https://openstax.org/r/
European_Convention_on_Human_Rights) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(https://openstax.org/r/Declaration_of_Human_Rights) both contain similar provisions.
When a person is arrested in the United States, the arresting officer must read them their Miranda rights, also
called a Miranda warning, and advise them of their constitutional rights under the Fifth and Sixth
Amendments to the US Constitution. The text of the Miranda warning reads along the following lines:
âYou have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You
have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you
understand each of these rights as I have read them to you?â
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Miranda Rights and Legal Warnings
- Police must convey the core meaning of Miranda rights in a language the suspect understands, though no specific script is legally mandated.
- The right to remain silent is not automatic; suspects must explicitly state their wish to remain silent and may inadvertently waive it by speaking.
- Miranda protections apply specifically to direct police interrogation and do not prevent officers from using trickery or speaking in the suspect's presence.
- The United Kingdom's warning differs from the US by noting that remaining silent can actually harm a defendant's case if they later rely on a defense not mentioned during questioning.
- UK procedural rights are more explicit than US rights, requiring custody officers to inform detainees of their right to medical help and regular breaks.
It does not apply to forensic investigative work, and it does not preclude police officers from speaking in front of the person who is under arrest or trying to trick them into saying something.
There are no magic, specific words police officers must say when informing a person of their Miranda rights,
but the gist of the above must be included in a language the person under arrest understands. First, the person
under arrest must be allowed to contact an attorney or, upon proving themselves financially unable to afford
one, request that an attorney be appointed to them. Second, if the person under arrest wishes to remain silent,
they must state that wish. If they speak other than for comfort or to request an attorney, they must reinvoke the
right to remain silent. The right to remain silent applies only when an arrested person is being interrogated by
police. It does not apply to forensic investigative work, and it does not preclude police officers from speaking in
front of the person who is under arrest or trying to trick them into saying something. It only stops them from
asking a direct question.
Different rule-of-law countries have slightly different equivalents to the Miranda warning. The following table
compares the US and UK versions of this warning.
Warning
United States
United Kingdom
Right to
remain
silent
At time of detention: âYou have
the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used
against you in court.â
At the time of detention: âYou do not have to say anything. But it
may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned
something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say
may be given in evidence.âÂ
Right to an
attorney
At time of detention: âYou have
the right to an attorney. If you
cannot afford an attorney, one will
be appointed for you.â
The custody officer at the police station must explain the
arrested individualâs rights. They have the right to receive free
legal advice.
Language
check
At time of detention: âDo you
understand each of these rights
as I have read them to you?â
When the custody officer explains the individualâs rights, the
individual can ask for a notice in their language or an interpreter
to explain the notice.
Procedural
warnings
Not required in the United States;
implied and determined on a
case-by-case basis
The custody officer at the police station must explain that the
individual has the rights to
⢠tell someone where they are;
⢠receive medical help if they need it;
⢠see the rules the police must follow; and
⢠see a written notice about their rights, e.g., regular breaks
for food and to use the toilet.
TABLE 11.3 Comparison of US and British Arrest Warnings
Search and Seizure
Individual Rights and Rule of Law
- Rule-of-law systems protect individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures by requiring probable cause, a standard higher than suspicion but lower than guilt.
- The right to privacy and the right to be left alone are foundational principles that limit police power in democratic societies.
- A writ of habeas corpus ensures that detained individuals must be brought before a court to hear the charges against them, preventing indefinite detention.
- Rule-by-law countries often lack these protections, allowing the state to search property or imprison individuals indefinitely without legal recourse.
- The arraignment process and the use of bail serve to notify the accused of charges and ensure their appearance at trial without being prematurely punitive.
- In felony cases within the United States, a grand jury of citizens must find probable cause before a formal indictment can be issued.
In rule-by-law countries, this right is not recognized; a person can be held indefinitely, incommunicado, without any right to seek their freedom or to demand that the government prove the charges against them.
Another way rule-of-law systems defend the rights of individuals is through protection against unreasonable
searches and seizures. This means that law enforcement may perform reasonable searches and seizures, and
much of the litigation in this area deals with the reasonableness of the search and seizure. The UN has created
recommendations for best policing practices for all countries, including limiting the policeâs right to search an
arrested individualâs person, home, or belongings to this standard.72 The recommended level of proof to
warrant a search is probable cause that evidence of a crime will be found in the place to be searched. Probable
cause is more than suspicion but a lot less than guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. There is no exact definition of
the term probable cause, and review is on a case-by-case basis. This protection in rule-of-law countries rests
on recognizing a right to privacy and to be left alone by the police.73 However, many countries do not follow
these limitations. In those countries, the police can search a personâs home and belongings or interrogate a
11.4 ⢠Criminal versus Civil Laws 357
person whenever they want to do so.74 This is particularly true in rule-by-law countries.
Writ of Habeas Corpus and the Right to Appear Before the Court
In all rule-of-law countries, a person held in jail has a right to demand to be brought before the court and told
why they are being jailed.75 In some countries, this process is referred to as a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus. In rule-by-law countries, this right is not recognized. In those countries, a person can be held
indefinitely, incommunicado, without any right to seek their freedom or to demand that the government prove
the charges against them.
In rule-of-law countries, the writ of habeas corpus process usually occurs automatically. Countries that adhere
to the UN Charter on Human Rights follow these requirements.76 The US Constitution and state constitutions
protect this automatic procedure, which is called arraignment. An arraignment is a type of court hearing held
within 72 hours of arrest, at which an arrested individual is notified of the charges against them. In the United
Kingdom, a person can be held for 24 to 96 hours before their first hearing, depending on the crime.77 All rule-
of-law countries have some limit on the time a person can be held in custody before appearing in court to hear
the charges against them and to have the court reiterate their rights to remain silent and to have an attorney.78
At an arraignment in the United States, the arrested person is allowed to enter a plea, and the court sets bail.
Bail is an amount of money to be paid or an agreement to restrictions on a personâs freedom in exchange for
release from jail while they are waiting for trial. Bail is not intended to be punitive; it is intended to ensure that
the person being charged will appear for their court hearings and trial.79
In the United States, if someone is charged with a misdemeanor, the case moves directly from the police to the
prosecutor to investigate and prepare the case against that person. If the government wants to charge someone
with a felony, they must receive the approval of a grand jury. A grand jury is a group of citizens who only hear
evidence from the prosecutor and must determine whether probable cause exists to proceed with the charge
and trial against the accused. If the grand jury decides there is probable cause, they issue an indictment, the
formal charge for the crime. Note that the standard for a grand jury to issue the indictment is only probable
cause, well below the standard of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Grand Juries and Capital Punishment
- Grand jury hearings are one-sided proceedings where defendants have no right to appear or defend themselves.
- Jury duty is framed as a fundamental civic responsibility that individuals owe to their local communities.
- Capital crimes are defined as offenses punishable by death or automatic life imprisonment without parole.
- A person can be convicted of a capital crime even in jurisdictions that do not currently practice the death penalty.
- Global practices vary, with some nations applying the death penalty to juveniles or for non-homicide offenses.
Further, a defendant has no right to appear or defend themselves at the grand jury hearing, so it is a one-sided presentation of the evidence.
Further, a defendant has no right to appear
or defend themselves at the grand jury hearing, so it is a one-sided presentation of the evidence.
VIDEO
What to Expect as a Juror
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/11-4-criminal-
versus-civil-laws)
Jury duty is a responsibility individuals have to their communities. What should you expect if you are called for
jury duty? This short video explains.
Capital Punishment
The death penalty is a form of capital punishment. Capital crimes are those for which a person who is found
guilty can be sentenced to the death penalty or to automatic life in prison without parole, depending on the
laws in a specific country. A person can be found guilty of a capital crime even if the country does not have a
death penalty. Some countries that still impose the death penalty can impose it for crimes other than murder
and are permitted to impose it on juveniles.80 These countries primarily include China and countries in the
Middle East and Africa.
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Global and Domestic Capital Punishment
- The number of countries that have abolished the death penalty has more than doubled since 1991, with Belarus remaining the only European exception.
- In the United States, the Supreme Court briefly halted executions in 1972 due to 'cruel and unusual' procedural concerns before upholding revised statutes in 1976.
- Currently, 23 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have abolished the death penalty, while others maintain moratoriums on its use.
- The 'law of the parties' allows some states to sentence accomplices to death even if they did not commit the actual killing, a practice facing legislative review.
- U.S. law prohibits the execution of individuals who are mentally disabled or under the age of 18 at the time of their crime.
In a few states, if someone is killed during the commission of a felony, anyone involved in committing that felony can be sentenced to the death penalty, even if they are not the one who committed the killing.
FIGURE 11.7 From 2009 to 2020, about 35 countries, including the United States, Belarus, and several countries in
central Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, carried out executions. (source: Amnesty International; attribution:
Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Many countries, including all European countries with the exception of Belarus, have abolished the death
penalty.81 In these places, the maximum sentence is life in prison without parole.
FIGURE 11.8 Since 1991, the number of countries that have abolished the death penalty has more than doubled.
(source: Amnesty International; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
SHOW ME THE DATA
11.4 ⢠Criminal versus Civil Laws 359
In the United States, many assert that the death penalty violates the US Constitutionâs prohibition of the
imposition of âcruel and unusual punishments.â In the United States in 1972, the procedures for execution
being used in some states were found to violate the âcruel and unusualâ standard.82 Some states responded by
changing their procedures and reinstating the death penalty. SCOTUS upheld those revisions as constitutional
in 1976.83 Other states decided not to reinstate the death penalty.84 The federal government did not reinstate
the death penalty for federal crimes until 1988 and has rarely imposed the death penalty or carried it out.85
Since that time, more US states have abolished the death penalty, making a total of 23 states (plus the District
of Columbia) without the death penalty and three that are no longer carrying out executions.86
FIGURE 11.9 As of August 2021, 27 of 50 US states had the death penalty, although three of those
statesâCalifornia, Oregon, and Pennsylvaniaâhave imposed moratoriums on executions.87 (source: National
Conference of State Legislatures; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
In the United States, only certain types of murder, such as premeditated murder for hire or murder of certain
government officials, qualify as capital crimes.88 In a few states, if someone is killed during the commission of
a felony, anyone involved in committing that felony can be sentenced to the death penalty, even if they are not
the one who committed the killing, under a principle called the law of the parties. Many oppose this imposition
of the death penalty on someone other than the person who did the actual killing, and state legislatures are
reviewing the situation.89 In the United States, even states that impose the death penalty cannot impose it on
an individual who is under 18 or mentally disabled at the time of the crime.90 The harshest sentence a juvenile
can receive in the United States is life in prison without parole. Even in those states that use the death penalty,
it is being applied less often.
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The American Death Penalty Landscape
- New death sentences in the United States plummeted by over 80 percent between 1988 and 2018.
- Federal executions saw a significant resurgence under the Trump administration, which carried out 13 executions following a 17-year hiatus.
- State-level application varies wildly, with Texas accounting for 37 percent of all U.S. executions since 1977 while California maintains a moratorium.
- The legal definition of 'cruel and unusual' punishment is fluid, relying on society's 'evolving standard of decency' rather than a fixed rule.
- Opponents highlight systemic flaws including the risk of executing innocent people and the inherent hypocrisy of state-sanctioned killing.
- Statistical evidence suggests deep racial bias, particularly regarding the race of the victim, which significantly influences the likelihood of a death sentence.
The US Supreme Court has held that the meaning of 'cruel and unusual' rests on societyâs 'evolving standard of decency,' and thus there is no set standard.
FIGURE 11.10 In the 30-year period from 1988 to 2018, new death sentences in the United States decreased from
close to 300 in 1988 to less than 50 in 2018, a reduction of more than 80 percent. (source: Death Penalty
Information Center; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
The federal death penalty applies in all 50 states and US territories but is used relatively infrequently. As of
November 2021, there were 45 federal prisoners on death row.91 No federal government executions occurred
after 2003 until 2020, when President Donald Trump ordered federal officials to begin carrying out executions.
During the remainder of his presidency, 13 federal prisoners were executed.92
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11.4 ⢠Criminal versus Civil Laws 361
FIGURE 11.11 As of November 2021, there were 45 inmates on federal death row in the United States. (source:
Death Penalty Information Center; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
At the end of 2018, 2,567 prisoners were on death row in US states. From 1977 to 2018, 34 states carried out
1,490 executions. Texas carried out 37 percent of those executions. While California has the most people on
death row, it has not carried out any executions for many years. Since March 2019, when Governor Gavin
Newsom placed a stoppage on executions, all death row inmates in California have effectively been serving life
sentences.93 For more information about the death penalty and executions in the United States since 1978,
visit USAFacts (https://openstax.org/r/USA_Facts_unitedstatesofamerica), where you can explore interactive
graphics that provide comparative data showing how each state and the federal government has applied the
death penalty.
The split internationally and between the states on support for or opposition to the death penalty reflects the
general division in society over whether or not the death penalty is intrinsically cruel and unusual under
current human rights standards.94 The US Supreme Court has held that the meaning of âcruel and unusualâ
rests on societyâs âevolving standard of decency,â and thus there is no set standard.95 As societyâs view of the
death penalty changes, so can the application of the concept of cruel and unusual punishment.
Those who oppose the death penalty96 make a number of different arguments. Some argue that life without
parole meets the purposes of criminal punishment better than execution. They say that a life without parole
permanently removes from society the person who has been sentenced just as much as the death penalty
would; thus, the standard of incapacitation of the person to commit another crime is met.97 Some argue that
because investigations have found that some people executed or placed on death row are innocent, injustice
cannot be corrected if the death penalty is carried out.98 Killing someone for the crime of killing has been held
up as state hypocrisy. Additionally, there are questions about the equal application of justice in death penalty
cases because racial minority defendants tend to receive the death penalty more often than White defendants
who are convicted of committing the same or similar crimes.99 Further, the race of the victim is a factor. A
1990 US government report states that âin 82 percent of the studies [reviewed], race of victim was found to
influence the likelihood of being charged with capital murder or receiving the death penalty, i.e., those who
murdered whites were found to be more likely to be sentenced to death than those who murdered blacks.â100
SHOW ME THE DATA
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Civil versus Criminal Law
- Civil law encompasses all non-criminal matters, including family law, personal injury, and business disputes.
- Unlike criminal cases initiated by the state, civil cases are filed by individuals or groups seeking damages or specific legal outcomes.
- The burden of proof in civil law is lower than the criminal standard, ranging from a preponderance of evidence to clear and convincing evidence.
- Procedural differences exist between the two systems regarding jury fees, the necessity of unanimous verdicts, and the right to appeal.
- Due process is a fundamental legal requirement rooted in historical documents like the Magna Carta to ensure government fairness against the accused.
Civil law differs from criminal law in that individuals or groups file cases rather than the state.
FIGURE 11.12 Historically in the United States, more than twice as many Black defendants have been executed as
have defendants in cases in which the victim was Black. (source: Death Penalty Information Center; attribution:
Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Civil Law
Civil law is everything that is not criminal law. Thus, it is wide-ranging and complex, covering everything from
family matters (marriage, divorce, adoption, guardianship, probate, etc.) to personal injury, workersâ
compensation, medical malpractice, and business disputes. Civil law differs from criminal law in that
individuals or groups file cases rather than the state. The legislature enacts laws that establish standards of
conduct and recognizes relationships. The legislature will establish the duty owed and rights between
individuals, what constitutes a breach, and what damages may be recovered for that breach. Because civil law
topics are so wide-ranging, the burden of proof for the complaining party similarly varies. It can range from
merely a preponderance of evidence to clear and convincing evidence.
Â
Â
Â
Â
SHOW ME THE DATA
11.4 ⢠Criminal versus Civil Laws 363
Â
Civil Law
Criminal Law
Definitions
Laws concerned with interpersonal disputes
such as divorce, debt, personal injury
Statutes that identify conduct as criminal
felonies or misdemeanors; punishable by the
government
Cases Filed
By
Individuals
The government
Type of
Punishment
Monetary damages, disposition of property and/
or a relationship
Incarceration, fines, probation
Burden of
Proof
Ranges from a preponderance of evidence to
clear and convincing evidence, depending on
the topic
Always guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
Appeals
Filed By
Any dissatisfied party
The defendant
Right to a
Jury
Must pay a fee to have a jury
Automatic in some cases, requested in others;
no fee charged
Jury
Verdict
Does not always have to be unanimous
Must be unanimous
TABLE 11.4 A Comparison of Civil Law and Criminal Law
11.5 Due Process and Judicial Fairness
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe the elements of due process.
⢠Discuss the need for fairness in a judicial system.
⢠Discuss the hierarchy of courts.
⢠Discuss the different types of courts and their operations.
Due process is the legal requirement that the government must respect the rights of the accused and take
procedural steps to create a fair system of government action against the accused. The concept of due process
appeared as far back as the Magna Carta, which held that no noble could be deprived of liberty or property
without due process in a hearing before their peers.101 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects
peopleâs right to due process before a government can take action against them.102 The European Convention
on Human Rights provides for due process of law by a fair and impartial hearing before the government.103
As discussed in Chapter 4: Civil Liberties, there are two due process clauses in the US Constitution: one in the
Due Process Protections
- The Fifth and 14th Amendments provide identical due process protections against federal and state governments respectively.
- The constitutional guarantee ensures that no person is deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
- These legal protections apply to all persons within the jurisdiction, not exclusively to United States citizens.
- Due process is a fundamental component of all rule-of-law systems globally.
- The concept is divided into two distinct categories: procedural due process and substantive due process.
- Procedural due process specifically dictates the formal steps the government must follow before taking action against an individual.
The clauses provide that âno person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of lawâ and ânor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,â respectively.
Fifth Amendment, which applies to the federal government, and one in the 14th Amendment, which applies to
the states. Other than the entities to which they apply, both clauses are identical. The clauses provide that âno
person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of lawâ104 and ânor shall any state
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,â105 respectively. They apply to all
persons, not just citizens of the United States. All rule-of-law systems have similar due process requirements.
To understand the application of due process, one must first ask what procedures are due and what
deprivation of âlife, liberty, or propertyâ means. There are two types of due process, procedural and
substantive. Procedural due process is the steps the government must take before depriving an individual of
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Due Process and Judicial Independence
- Procedural due process requires notice, an opportunity to be heard, and an impartial tribunal to protect life, liberty, and property.
- Substantive due process evaluates whether government activities treat individuals fairly and equally without infringing on constitutional rights.
- Judicial independence is a critical component of impartiality, yet it is compromised in nations where the judiciary is controlled by political or religious leaders.
- In the United States, federal judges are appointed for life to ensure neutrality, though political leanings of the nominating president often influence the bench.
- Global concerns persist regarding whether legal systems treat all people equally, particularly concerning the treatment of racial minorities within criminal justice.
As the image of Lady Justice that opens this chapter shows, the scales of justice need to be in balance, and justice must be blind so that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law.
life, liberty, or property. The US Supreme Court has held that procedural due process at a minimum requires
(1) notice, (2) an opportunity to be heard, and (3) an impartial tribunal.106 When determining if a process is
constitutional, courts consider (1) the nature of the right at issue, (2) the adequacy of the procedure compared
to other procedures, and (3) the burdens other procedures would impose on the state.107 These procedures
can be seen in criminal and civil cases, where special rules of procedure and evidence apply. These will be
discussed in greater detail when the trial process is explored.
Due process that attempts to ensure that the system of laws and courts is fair to all persons is substantive due
process. Substantive due process applies the protections of individual rights under the Constitution and
measures the activities of government to determine if they treat each person fairly and equally, without
infringing on those constitutional rights. As the image of Lady Justice that opens this chapter shows, the scales
of justice need to be in balance, and justice must be blind so that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. When
reviewing how fair a system is, it is important to consider to what degree the judge and jury are impartial.
One way of looking at judicial impartiality is to examine judicial independence. If the judiciary is not
independent of influence, people will not believe it is fair or impartial. You learned about some of these issues
in the discussion of judicial selection. There is a high degree of concern about judicial impartiality in some
countries because the judiciary in those countries is not independent of other branches of government or
oversight by religious leaders. In China, the Chinese Communist Party controls all government offices,
including the judiciary. Thus, it is rare for the judiciary to overrule any government action. The Iranian
constitution states that the judiciary upholds Islamic law; thus, it is restricted in reviewing government actions
against citizens. Further, the judiciary is under the supreme leader and Guardian Council, religious figures
who can overrule the courtâs actions at will.108 How independent of pressure from the executive can these
supreme court justices feel when reviewing government actions against individuals?
In the United States, the president nominates judges to the federal courts. The Senate then reviews these
nominations and may confirm or deny them. Federal judges are appointed for life, regardless of who the next
president may be. The judiciary is thus said to be independent and neutral of political forces. How impartial
and independent it really is remains in question, as presidents tend to nominate persons with political views
similar to their own. Even after attaining office, an individual judge may continue to decide cases in keeping
with those political views.
Further, how equally are people treated under the same law? For example, there are long-standing concerns in
the United States about how fairly the criminal justice system treats racial minorities. Unfortunately, this issue
is not limited to the United States but is a problem around the world. It is one that the UN continually works to
remedy.109
The Three-Tier Court Hierarchy
- Rule-of-law countries typically employ a three-tier hierarchical court system consisting of trial courts, intermediate appeals, and a supreme court.
- In the United States federal system, 94 district courts are organized into 12 regional circuits, each with its own court of appeals.
- Trial courts serve as the level of original jurisdiction where cases are first heard and specific legal questions are detailed in written pleadings.
- The pretrial discovery phase is a critical investigative stage where parties must gather evidence that adheres to strict rules of admissibility.
- Matters not explicitly mentioned in the initial written pleadings are generally barred from being introduced later during the case proceedings.
Matters that are not mentioned in the ple adings cannot b e brought up during the case.
In rule-of-law countries, the standard style of court system is a three-tier hierarchy, although the names of the
parts and what they can do vary widely by country.
FIGURE 11.13 In the United States, trial courts are subordinate to intermediate courts of appeals, which are
subordinate to the highest courts. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
11.5 ⢠Due Process and Judicial Fairness 365
In the US Article III federal court system, there are 94 district courts, which are trial courts organized into 12
circuits or regions.110 Each circuit has its own court of appeals that reviews cases decided by district courts
within the circuit. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit hears cases of a particular type from across
the nation. There are two levels of appeal in the United States, the intermediate court of appeals and the
Supreme Court of the United States. Each state has its own court system, but all states use the three-tier
hierarchy. The names of the courts vary as well as the types of cases they hear.
Trial Courts
Trial courts are the first level of courts in any system. The common characteristic of trial courts worldwide is
that they are courts of original jurisdiction, the first courts with authority to hear a case. The exact process for a
trial varies widely by country. In the United States, trial courts are bound by strict procedures and evidence
designed to ensure due process.111 After judgment in a US trial court, the final decision of the case is written
down in a document called an order or judgment that an aggrieved party might use to appeal a case to a higher
court.
The basic trial court process in the United States is as follows:112
1. Filing of complaint and pretrial documents: All cases rest on written pleadings of the parties asserting
claims or defenses. In these documents, the specific questions of the case are detailed. Matters that are not
mentioned in the pleadings cannot be brought up during the case.
2. Pretrial discovery: This occurs during the investigative stage. The parties seek evidence to support their
positions. The evidence must be in a form that can be admitted in court. There are strict rules of evidence;
not everything is admissible.
3. The trial: There are several stages to the actual trial.
Stages of a Trial
- The voir dire process filters potential jurors to eliminate those with prior knowledge or inherent biases.
- Opening and closing statements serve as narrative synopses for the jury but are legally excluded from the evidence used to reach a verdict.
- The evidence phase is governed by strict rules to ensure only relevant, accurate, and truthful information is presented.
- Adversarial questioning through direct and cross-examination allows attorneys to support their own views or discredit opposing witnesses.
- The jury's verdict is restricted to answering specific questions, which then becomes a formal judgment used for legal enforcement.
The opposing attorney can then cross-examine the witness in an attempt to elicit information supporting their perspective or to discredit the witnessâs testimony so that the jury may question whether it is reliable.
⌠Voir dire: In this stage, the people who have been called for jury duty are questioned to see if they have
any prior knowledge or biases that would prevent them from being eligible to sit on the jury for a
specific case.
⌠Opening statements: The attorneys give synopses of what they hope to prove with the evidence. The
jury listens to these synopses but cannot use them in making their decision.
⌠Evidence: During this stage, testimony and documents are formally presented in the court. Strict rules
ensure truthfulness, the accuracy of the evidence, and that only information related to the questions in
the case is presented to the jury. The jury may only rely on the evidence presented in court when
making their decision. Each side has an opportunity to call and question any witness. The attorney
calling the witness conducts direct examination, asking questions that support their view of the case.
The opposing attorney can then cross-examine the witness in an attempt to elicit information
supporting their perspective or to discredit the witnessâs testimony so that the jury may question
whether it is reliable.
⌠Closing statements: Each attorney summarizes their case and tries to convince the jury that the
evidence presented supports their conclusion. The jury listens to the closing statements, but they are
not supposed to rely on them in making their decision.
⌠Verdict: The jury is given specific questions to answer. They can only answer these questions. Their
answer is the verdict, or decision, in the case.
4. Judgment: Judgment is the formal legal acceptance of the decision in the case. The judgment is the
document used to enforce the decision on the parties.
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Criminal and civil common law trials are adversary in nature. Ideally, the combined arguments of the
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The Mechanics of Appeals
- The adversarial system relies on the prosecution and defense to reveal the truth while the judge ensures proper legal procedure.
- The U.S. Constitution prohibits double jeopardy, meaning a defendant cannot be tried twice for the same offense in the same jurisdiction after an acquittal.
- Double jeopardy does not prevent separate jurisdictions, such as state and federal governments, from trying a person for the same act.
- Appellate courts do not conduct new trials; they review the written record of lower courts specifically to identify substantive legal errors.
- Appeals involve no witnesses or juries, focusing instead on legal precedent and the application of law by a panel of judges.
- If an error is found, an appellate court can either remand the case for a new trial or, in rare cases, render a final judgment themselves.
An appeal is not a do-over of the original trial.
prosecution and the defense, with the judge's moderation, reveal something close to the truth in a case. The
prosecution and the defense focus on the facts of the case, while the judge focuses on proper procedure and
the substance of the law.
In a civil case, any party dissatisfied with the judgment can request an appeal, and in a criminal case, a
defendant who is found guilty can request an appeal. The government cannot appeal in a criminal case if the
defendant is found not guilty due to the US Constitutionâs prohibition against double jeopardy. All rule-of-law
countries recognize some form of double jeopardy. The US Constitution provides that âno person shall . . . be
subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.â113 This means that if a person is
acquitted, or found not guilty, they cannot be tried again for the same offense at a criminal trial. They can,
however, be tried for another offense or in another jurisdiction. For example, if you rob a bank and shoot
someone as you are getting away, you have violated both federal and state statutes and can be charged and
tried separately by each jurisdiction for the offenses. In this example, you can be charged with and tried for at
least two federal and two state charges. Many people mistakenly think this is double jeopardy, but double
jeopardy only applies when a person is found not guilty of a crime and then tried again in the same jurisdiction
for the same crime. In the above example, if the federal government tried you for bank robbery and you were
acquitted, the state could still try you for bank robbery, but the federal government could not try you a second
time for that crime.
Appellate Courts
An appeal is a higher courtâs review of a lower courtâs decision. The workings of the appeals process vary
widely around the world. In the United States, an appeal serves only to determine if an error of law occurred in
the lower court that may have resulted in the rendition of an improper judgment. An appeal is not a do-over of
the original trial. There are strict standards for reviewing the lower courtâs action, which vary by type of
case.114
FIGURE 11.14 This photo was taken inside a court of appeals in Annapolis, Maryland. (credit: âChief Judge Robert
Bellâs Portrait Unveiling at the Court of Appealsâ by Maryland GovPics/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
No witnesses are called during an appeal, no new evidence is taken, and there is no jury. A panel of judges
reviews the written record of the lower court proceeding and compares this to the written law being applied. In
judicial review systems, the appellate panel of judges also looks at the precedent of similar cases. Relying on
this review of the lower courtâs proceeding, the law, and, if applicable, the precedent, the judge determines if
the lower court made a substantive legal error. If they do not find there was a significant error, they affirm the
lower courtâs judgment. If they find an error, they reverse the case. When they reverse, they can order one of
two things, remand or rendition. In reverse and remand, the court instructs the lower court on correcting the
11.5 ⢠Due Process and Judicial Fairness 367
error and sends the case back for a new trial. In the rare instances of reverse and render, the court finds that
the error was so serious that they need to enter the correct judgment, and there are no further proceedings in
the trial court.115
The Power of SCOTUS
- The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) acts as the final arbiter for cases from lower federal and state courts involving constitutional issues.
- Unlike lower courts, SCOTUS operates on a discretionary basis through the writ of certiorari, selecting fewer than 100 cases from thousands of annual filings.
- The Court focuses on cases with national significance, often addressing the most pressing political and social issues of the era.
- Decisions made by the highest court establish legal precedent and represent the finality of the judicial review process.
- Global legal systems vary primarily on whether they prioritize judicial review or adhere to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty.
Thousands of cases from around the country are filed with the court each year, of which they hear and decide less than 100.
If a case is before an intermediate court of appeals and one of the parties is dissatisfied with the decision, the
parties can request that the highest court review the case. SCOTUS is the highest court in the US system. It can
hear cases from lower federal courts or from a stateâs highest court if an issue involving the US Constitution
has been raised. SCOTUS is not required to hear any appeal. Instead, they hear cases at their discretion, which
is called a writ of certiorari. Thousands of cases from around the country are filed with the court each year, of
which they hear and decide less than 100.116 Thus, the Supreme Court carefully selects its cases to address
major issues concerning the entire nation. The people pay close attention to the courtâs decisions because
many of these cases involve important political issues of the day. Once the highest court decides, the case is
final, and the judicial review systemâs decision becomes precedent.
Other countries have similar hierarchical systems. The exact jurisdictions and names of the courts may differ,
but the hierarchical style of trial and review applies. A major difference between the countries is whether or
not they use judicial review or recognize parliamentary sovereignty.
11.6 Judicial Review versus Executive Sovereignty
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define judicial review.
⢠Discuss restraints on judicial review.
⢠Explain who and what is subject to judicial review.
⢠Explain executive sovereignty.
⢠Explain who and what is subject to executive sovereignty.
Judicial Review vs. Parliamentary Sovereignty
- Judicial review serves as a mechanism to ensure government branches adhere to a country's constitution and core principles.
- While the United States empowers courts to perform this review, France utilizes a Constitutional Council to vet laws before they are enacted.
- Despite the power of judicial review in the US, courts maintain a strong presumption of constitutionality and rarely strike down federal or state laws.
- In systems of parliamentary sovereignty, such as the United Kingdom, the legislative body is supreme and its acts cannot be overridden by the judiciary.
- The historical shift in the UK from monarchical power to parliamentary preeminence means Parliament can create or repeal any law without constitutional binding.
- Judicial review acts as a check on government power that is fundamentally unavailable in executive or legislative sovereignty systems.
As of 2014, out of the millions of actions Congress and the president have taken in the history of the United States, SCOTUS had only ever held 176 acts of Congress to be unconstitutional.
Judicial review is one means of checking to see whether the other branches are following a countryâs
constitution and its principles. In some countries, this review is conducted not by the judicial courts but by a
group that reviews proposed laws while the legislature is still debating them. For example, in France, the
Constitutional Council reviews all acts of Parliament before they are enacted to ensure that they do not violate
the French constitution.117 If the council finds that a proposal does violate the constitution, Parliament can
correct it before enacting the law.
In the United States, the courts perform judicial review.118 The US Constitution, not a branch of government or
an individual, is the supreme law of the United States. The power of judicial review includes the power to make
sure that all branches of government at all levels comply with the US Constitution. Even though judicial review
exists in the United States, all laws and government actions that come before the court enjoy a presumption of
constitutionality. The amount of deference to that constitutionality varies with the type of action and the judge.
For example, since World War II, individual and civil rights have been broadened, and courts have been less
deferential to government actions restricting personal liberty. Still, courts rarely hold that an act is
unconstitutional.119 As of 2014, out of the millions of actions Congress and the president have taken in the
history of the United States, SCOTUS had only ever held 176 acts of Congress to be unconstitutional.120
Another myth about judicial review is that SCOTUS frequently finds actions of the other branches of state
governments unconstitutional. More state laws have been struck, but the percentage is still meager, given that
the 50 states take millions of actions each year. Most of the state laws the court has struck since 1960 have
involved civil rights, with only 483 state laws declared unconstitutional as of 2019.121 Using judicial review,
the courts check all government actions against the Constitution and ensure that it is the supreme law of the
land. In a parliamentary sovereignty system, this check is not available.
In an executive sovereignty system, a parliamentary sovereignty system, or a legislative sovereignty system,
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the courts cannot overrule executive or parliamentary action through judicial review. In executive,
parliamentary, or legislative supremacy systems, the legislative body is supreme over all other government
institutions. The legislature may change or repeal any law and, in some countries, is not bound by case
precedent or a constitution. The United Kingdom is an example of a country with parliamentary sovereignty.
In the UK, the monarch initially was all-powerful and could do anything they wanted. Even after a royal
parliament had been in place for many years, the monarch retained near-total power and could dissolve the
parliament. After the English Civil Wars, Parliament became all-powerful, and since that time, the monarchâs
role has been largely ceremonial. In the era of parliamentary preeminence, the Houses of Parliament (the
House of Commons and the House of Lords), under the unwritten constitutional principles of the UK, hold the
right to make or repeal any law. No one can override a parliamentary act. Parliament can make or change any
law.
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Parliamentary Sovereignty and Judicial Systems
- The UK Supreme Court's 2019 ruling against Boris Johnson highlights the tension between executive actions and parliamentary oversight.
- British parliamentary sovereignty means that acts of Parliament cannot be challenged as unconstitutional by courts, though international treaties can temporarily limit this power.
- Brexit serves as a primary example of Parliament's ability to repeal international agreements and reassert its supreme authority.
- Rule-of-law systems prioritize political neutrality and fairness, whereas rule-by-law systems use courts to reinforce authoritarian power.
- The judiciary lacks independent enforcement power and must rely on the executive branch and public respect to implement its decisions.
- While courts do not proactively create policy, their interpretations of specific cases can nudge social and political policies in new directions.
Any check on the British Parliament rests in the public perception of and support for the government.
In 2019, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson acted unlawfully when he stopped the
work of Parliament during Brexit debates.
Furthermore, an act of Parliament cannot be challenged in court as unconstitutional, as Parliament is the
supreme lawmaker. However, since World War II, the British Parliamentâs power has been curtailed in some
measure by new laws and agreements to be bound by international treaties. Nevertheless, Parliament retains
the ability to repeal these laws or consent to any of these international agreements.122
Brexit, the recent parliamentary vote and referendum of the people of the UK to leave the European Union
(EU), which had bound the British courts to follow specific economic laws and policies effective throughout
Europe, provides a prime example of such a repeal. While the parliaments that joined and stayed with the EU
bound themselves temporarily to international agreements, a later parliament retained the right to undo the
binding and reassert supremacy. Any check on the British Parliament rests in the public perception of and
support for the government. If the public loses confidence in Parliament, elections can be called, and new
members who agree to vote in line with public sentiment can be voted into office.
11.6 ⢠Judicial Review versus Executive Sovereignty 369
Summary
11.1 What Is the Judiciary?
The judicial system or judiciary is the court system for a particular area. Rule-of-law systems make all
accountable to the law and attempt to remain politically neutral and to exercise justice as fairness. Rules of
procedure limit what the judicial branch can do. In rule-by-law systems, a person or group uses the courts to
reinforce their power and worldview in an authoritarian regime. Sometimes countries change from rule of law
to rule by law due to a strengthening of one personâs or one partyâs political power.
In rule-of-law systems, the judicial branch depends on the other branches and the populationâs respect for the
rule of law to carry out its decisions. In rule-by-law systems, the courts work with the military or police to
enforce compliance with their rulings.
Judicial selection processes fall into four broad categories: appointment for life, appointment for a specified
number of years, election, and hybrid, or a combination of these methods (e.g., appointment followed by
retention election).
11.2 How Does the Judiciary Take Action?
A court case is a specific dispute about the law and its effect on the parties, or the people directly affected. The
court can only consider specific questions brought by the parties, which are called issues. The court can only
determine if the facts, or evidence, meet the criteria specified in the written law and answer the questions the
parties have raised.
Judicial implementation is the process by which a courtâs decision, or judgment, is put into practice and
enforced. The court must rely on other branches of government, usually primarily the executive branch, to
turn its decisions into written statutes or orders.
Courts do not openly make public policy, as they only answer questions presented to them in a specific case by
interpreting written laws. Unlike the legislative and executive branches, they cannot look at global events and
decide to take action. However, court decisions can impact law and society, nudging social and political
policies in a particular direction.
11.3 Types of Legal Systems around the World
There are five basic types of legal systems in the world: civil law, common law, customary law, religious law,
Global Legal Systems and Classifications
- Common law systems, derived from British rule, rely on both legislative statutes and judicial precedents to shape the law.
- Civil law systems prioritize comprehensive written codes over judicial decisions, which are binding only to the specific parties involved rather than setting future precedent.
- Religious and customary systems base their legal authority on sacred texts or unwritten community traditions, often managed by group leaders rather than formal government entities.
- Hybrid systems integrate multiple legal traditions, such as the use of tribal customary laws alongside federal statutes in specific jurisdictions.
- The law is fundamentally divided into criminal law, which addresses offenses against the state, and civil law, which handles disputes and compensation between individuals.
- Criminal punishment serves five primary societal functions: incapacitation, retribution, deterrence, restitution, and rehabilitation.
As a result, customary laws are typically unwritten and revealed only to group members.
and hybrid or mixed systems.
The US and other legal systems that emanate from British rule use a common law legal system. Today, almost
all law in common law systems is in writing and enacted by a legislature as statutes. Many statutes codify
established common law, change it, or altogether abolish it, depending on the topic of the law.
Most of Europe and South America uses a civil law system, which relies on comprehensive legal codes that
contain all the laws for the country. Case lawâthat is, judicial decisionsâare secondary to these codes.
Decisions are binding only on the parties to the case and not as a precedent for later cases on the same issues.
While attorneys will consult prior decisions when advising clients, judges are rarely bound to follow the
precedent. For this reason, codes of statutes are usually more extensive and detailed than in common law
systems.
In a religious law system, the law relies on religious texts as its primary basis, and the courts interpret the
present facts and statutes in light of those religious texts.
Customary systems are based on long-standing traditions in a particular community that have become so
ingrained in society that the courts recognize them as enforceable rules. It is rare for customary laws to be
interpreted and enforced by the government. Instead, select leaders of the group usually implement the
customary laws. As a result, customary laws are typically unwritten and revealed only to group members.
370 11 ⢠Summary
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A hybrid system combines parts of more than one approach to create a system unique to that country. Many
countries have mixed legal systems incorporating common, civil, religious, and customary law systems. On
recognized tribal lands, customary laws of the tribe may be used rather than state or federal laws.
11.4 Criminal versus Civil Laws
There are two major divisions in law, criminal and civil. Criminal law applies to offenses against the state that
are punished because they harm society. Criminal law requires a statute to create an offense, its elements, and
its punishment. An act is not a crime unless a written law establishes it as one. Only the government can
prosecute a criminal case. A criminal case begins with an alleged crime, an arrest by the police, and a charge
filed by a prosecutor. Anything that is not criminal law falls under civil law, such as when one individual is
harmed by another and seeks compensation for the harm. In civil law legal systems, civil offenses are only by
statute. In common law legal systems, civil offenses can be by statute or case precedent.
There are five general purposes for criminal punishment: incapacitation, retribution, deterrence, restitution,
and rehabilitation.
There are two main types of criminal law: serious offenses, often called felonies, and less serious offenses,
Criminal Law and Due Process
- Legal systems distinguish between serious offenses and misdemeanors, with punishments ranging from fines to life imprisonment or the death penalty.
- Rule-of-law countries place the burden of proof on the government, requiring guilt to be established beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Due process mandates that governments respect the rights of the accused through procedural steps and substantive protections of constitutional rights.
- The standard court hierarchy in rule-of-law nations typically involves a three-tier system starting with trial courts of original jurisdiction.
- Judicial review serves as a critical check on government power, ensuring that legislative and executive actions adhere to the constitution.
- Civil law encompasses non-criminal disputes including family matters, personal injury, and business disagreements initiated by individuals or groups.
In rule-of-law countries, a person held in jail has a right to demand to be brought into court and told why they are being jailed.
often called misdemeanors. Punishments for serious offenses may involve imprisonment for a term of years to
life and, in a few countries, the death penalty. Lesser crimes are often punishable by no more than a fine. If a
misdemeanor carries a prison sentence at all, that sentence is usually less than a year in length and is served
in the local jail. The divisions between serious and lesser punishments and trial processes vary widely by
country.
In all rule-of-law countries, the burden of proof for a criminal offense is beyond a reasonable doubt. In the
United States, because a criminal case can impact an accused personâs liberty, the burden of proof is always on
the government, and the standard of proof is always guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In rule-of-law countries, police must advise an individual at the time of arrest of certain rights, including the
right to have an attorney assist them with their case and the right to be cautioned that anything they say can be
used against them in court. Rule-of-law systems protect individuals against unreasonable searches and
seizures. The UN has created recommendations for best policing practices for all countries, including limiting
the policeâs right to search an individual, their home, or their belongings to this standard. In all rule-of-law
countries, a person held in jail has a right to demand to be brought into court and told why they are being
jailed. In rule-by-law countries, this right is not recognized.
Capital crimes are those for which a person who is found guilty can be sentenced to the death penalty or to
automatic life in prison without parole, depending on the laws in a specific country.
Civil law includes everything that is not criminal law. It differs from criminal law in that individuals or groups
file cases. Civil law covers everything from family matters (marriage, divorce, adoption, guardianship, probate,
etc.) to personal injury, workersâ compensation, medical malpractice, and business disputes.
11.5 Due Process and Judicial Fairness
Due process is the legal requirement that the government must respect the rights of the accused and take
procedural steps to create a fair system of government action against the accused.
Procedural due process is the steps the government must take before depriving an individual of life, liberty, or
property. Substantive due process attempts to ensure that the system of laws and courts does not infringe on
individual constitutional rights. When reviewing how fair a system is, it is important to consider to what degree
the judge and jury are impartial.
In rule-of-law countries, the standard style of court system is a three-tier hierarchy. Trial courts are the first
level of courts. They are courts of original jurisdiction, the first courts with authority to hear a case. An appeal
is a higher courtâs review of a lower courtâs decision. The workings of the appeals process vary widely around
11 ⢠Summary 371
the world. In the United States, an appeal serves only to determine if an error of law occurred in the lower
court that may have resulted in the rendition of an improper judgment. Strict standards for reviewing the
lower courtâs action vary by type of case.
11.6 Judicial Review versus Executive Sovereignty
Judicial review is one means of checking to see whether the other branches are following a countryâs
constitution and its principles. In some countries, this review is conducted not by judicial courts but by a group
that reviews proposed laws while the legislature is still debating them.
Key Terms
appeal a higher courtâs review of a lower courtâs decision to determine if an error of law caused the rendition
Legal Systems and Judicial Terms
- The text defines various legal systems, including common law, civil law, and customary law, highlighting their different approaches to precedent and investigation.
- It distinguishes between rule-of-law systems and authoritarian-populist judiciaries where legal structures are manipulated by a single ruling entity.
- Key procedural terms such as arraignment, due process, and grand jury are outlined to explain the protections and steps within a criminal case.
- The concept of judicial independence is emphasized as the necessity for courts to operate without fear of reprisal or undue influence from other government branches.
- Judicial review is identified as the critical process by which the judiciary ensures that executive and legislative actions adhere to a nation's constitution.
authoritarian-populist judiciary a system that has transitioned from a rule-of-law system to a rule-by-law authoritarian subsystem through changes instituted by one ruling person or political party
of an improper judgment by the lower court
arraignment the initial court hearing in which an arrested individual is informed of the specific criminal
charges against them, bail is set, and the individual is appointed an attorney if they have not already
secured one
authoritarian-populist judiciary a system that has transitioned from a rule-of-law system to a rule-by-law
authoritarian subsystem through changes instituted by one ruling person or political party
bail court-determined conditions that must be met for an arrested individual to be released from jail,
designed to ensure that the individual will appear for all hearings and the trial in a criminal case; may
include fines or restrictions on activity
capital punishment the imposition of the death penalty on persons convicted of specific crimes
civil law a system of laws concerned with the peaceful resolution of disputes between individuals rather than
with criminal conduct
civil law system a legal system that relies heavily on codes of statutes, in which the judicial process is mainly
investigatory rather than adversarial
common law system a legal system that relies on precedent, in which the judicial process is adversarial
court case a specific dispute about a law brought before a court; for a court to act, parties with standing who
allege specific issues based on written laws must file a case
criminal law a system of laws establishing minimum conduct of the individual and permitting the
government to punish any person who violates such laws
customary law system a legal system based on long-standing traditions in a particular community
due process a legal requirement that the government respect the rights of the accused and take procedural
steps to create a fair system of government action against the accused
evidence the materials or statements a court can consider as the proof necessary for any alleged matter in a
case
executive sovereignty system a system in which the actions of a parliament or the executive cannot be
reviewed for their constitutionality
felonies serious crimes that carry more severe sentences than misdemeanor crimes
grand jury a body of citizens that reviews evidence to determine if there is probable cause to charge a person
with a felony
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt the standard required to convict someone of a crime in a rule-of-law system
hybrid system in government, a mixture of any two or more types of legal or judicial selection systems
issues the questions to be answered in a court case; a court cannot decide anything other than the issues
raised by the parties
judgment the binding decision in a court case, issued as a legal document
judicial branch the system of courts that interprets, defends, and applies the law in the name of the
government; also called judicial system
judicial independence the concept that the judicial branch is independent of undue influence or pressure
from other branches of government, partisanship, or other interests and that it is free to interpret cases
372 11 ⢠Key Terms
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using certain principles or laws, such as the nationâs constitution, without fear of reprisal
judicial review a process in which the judicial branch reviews actions by the other branches of government to
ensure that they are following the countryâs constitution and its principles
judicial system the system of courts that interprets, defends, and applies the law in the name of the
government; also called judicial branch
judiciary the people who work in the judicial branch of a government; also used as a synonym for judicial
branch
Legal Principles and Definitions
- The text defines fundamental legal concepts including jurisdiction, precedent, and the distinction between procedural and substantive due process.
- It contrasts the 'rule of law,' where government is bound by legal standards, with 'rule by law,' where the judiciary acts as a tool for government control.
- The concept of standing is established as the requirement for an individual to demonstrate direct injury before challenging a law in court.
- The social contract is described as a mutual agreement where citizens follow rules in exchange for a government that limits its own power.
- Review questions emphasize that the judicial branch serves both to interpret the law in the government's name and to resolve disputes between individuals.
rule by law describes political systems in which the judicial branch and the judiciary help impose the governmentâs approved viewpoint on the citizens; the judiciary has little independence and acts as a source of government control over individual citizens
jurisdiction the authority, in the form of a written constitution or a statute, that authorizes a court to hear a
case; includes both the geographical region and the topics of the courtâs authority
misdemeanors minor criminal offenses that are often punishable by a fine
nullification the willful refusal to obey or enforce a court order or statute
precedent prior court decisions that provide guidance in a current case
probable cause the amount of evidence required for the government to take specific actions against a
defendant in a criminal investigation or case; determined on a case-by-case basis
procedural due process the process, procedures, and rules that the government must follow when taking any
legal action against an individual so that their rights under the constitution are protected
religious law system a legal system that bases its laws on religious texts or beliefs
rule by law describes political systems in which the judicial branch and the judiciary help impose the
governmentâs approved viewpoint on the citizens; the judiciary has little independence and acts as a
source of government control over individual citizens
rule of law the principle that the government is one of law, not of any individual or group
social contract a voluntary agreement whereby the people consent to abide by specific rules while living in a
territory and the government of that territory consents to limit itself to acting in accordance with certain
standards
sovereignty the power of a governmental body to exercise authority by creating and imposing rules on people
within the area it controls
standing the status necessary for an individual or group to complain about a law before the court, created by a
direct injury to that individual or group as a result of government action
substantive due process the principle that due process applies not only to legal procedures but also to
broader government actions, such as the passing of laws, and that such actions are subject to review to
ensure that they do not infringe on individualsâ constitutional rights
Review Questions
1 . The judicial system or judicial branch is __________.
a. the court system that interprets, defends, and applies the law in the governmentâs name
b. a mechanism for peacefully resolving disputes between individuals
c. how the legislature enacts new laws
d. Both A and B
e. Both B and C
2 . The difference between rule of law and rule by law is that __________.
a. rule of law means that no one is above the law, while rule by law means that those in power
manipulate the system to increase their power
b. in rule of law, unlike in rule by law, the laws are clear, publicized, stable, and applied evenly, and they
protect fundamental rights such as the security of persons and property and certain core human
rights
c. rule-of-law countries punish citizens for crimes, while rule-by-law countries do not
d. Both A and B
11 ⢠Review Questions 373
3 . __________ is the authority vested in a court to hear a case.
a. Judicialism
b. Jurisdiction
c. Judiciary
d. Judication
4 . How are judicial decisions implemented?
a. Courts rely on the other branches of government to implement their decisions.
b. The people accept the courtâs decisions and comply.
c. Private lawyers interpret the courtâs decisions and write new laws.
d. The military and police ensure adherence to judicial decisions.
5 . Standing in a court case is __________.
a. rising as a show of respect when the judge enters the courtroom
b. when a person has a direct injury from the effect of a law, so they can complain about in court
c. the right of anyone who does not like a law to complain about it in court on principle
Legal Systems and Judicial Principles
- The text outlines various global legal systems including common law, civil law, religious law, customary law, and hybrid models.
- It defines judicial review as the power of the courts to evaluate whether the executive and legislative branches are adhering to constitutional principles.
- The distinction between civil and criminal law is highlighted, noting that criminal law protects society while civil law settles private disputes and damages.
- Due process is identified as the government's obligation to respect the rights of the accused and ensure procedural fairness.
- Key legal mechanisms such as the writ of habeas corpus and the role of appellate jurisdiction in reviewing lower court errors are explained.
Due process means that the government must respect the rights of the accused and procedural processes must be fair.
d. complaining about a law to the legislature
6 . Nullification is __________.
a. when people or other branches of government disregard a court decision or statute because they
disagree with it
b. a protected right of the people
c. a protected right of the executive and legislative branches
d. All of the above
7 . What is a common law legal system?
a. A system that relies on precedent
b. A system in which the judicial process is adversarial
c. A system instituted by one ruling person or political party
d. Both A and B
e. None of the above
8 . A customary legal system __________.
a. is based on statutes enacted by an elected legislature
b. is based on long-standing traditions in a particular community
c. is based on rules enacted by a monarch
d. is mainly investigatory
9 . The major types of legal systems are __________.
a. common law, civil law, religious law, customary law, and hybrid
b. authoritarian law, religious law, customary law, common law, and civil law
c. common law, traditional law, civil law, British law, and municipal law
d. case law, civil law, international law, and hybrid law
10 . A religious legal system is a legal system that bases its laws on __________.
a. sacred texts or beliefs
b. traditional customs of a region
c. principles of the Enlightenment era
d. populist sentiment
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11 . How do civil laws differ from criminal laws?
a. Criminal laws apply to disputes between individuals or groups, while civil laws apply to offenses
against the state.
b. Criminal laws are intended to protect society, while civil laws are intended to settle disputes and
reimburse individuals for damages.
c. Criminal laws are enforced by the executive, while civil laws are enforced by the courts.
d. Criminal laws are not subject to appeal, while civil laws may be.
12 . What is the purpose of criminal punishment?
a. To remove the offending individual from society
b. To satisfy the publicâs desire for revenge
c. To deter others from committing crimes
d. All of the above
13 . A court order to a jailer to either tell a person why they are being held or release them is called a
__________.
a. bail bond
b. writ of explanation
c. writ of habeas corpus
d. judicial review
14 . Due process means that __________.
a. a court has the authority to hear a case
b. the government must respect the rights of the accused
c. procedural processes must be fair
d. Both B and C
e. All of the above
15 . Trial courts typically have __________.
a. original jurisdiction
b. appellate jurisdiction
c. plaintive jurisdiction
d. selective jurisdiction
16 . An appeal is __________.
a. a higher courtâs review of a lower courtâs decision
b. a review in which a higher court checks to see if an error by a lower court caused the trial to render an
improper verdict
c. a defendantâs attempt to persuade the jury throughout the duration of a trial, irrespective of the
evidence
d. Both A and B
e. None of the above
17 . Judicial review is __________.
a. a means by which the judicial branch can evaluate whether the executive and legislative branches are
following the constitution and its principles
b. a means by which the legislative branch can evaluate whether the executive branch is following the
constitution and its principles
c. a means by which the executive branch can evaluate whether the legislative branch is following the
constitution and its principles
11 ⢠Review Questions 375
d. a means by which the people can evaluate whether the judicial branch is following the constitution
and its principles
Television and Political Influence
- The 1960 presidential debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy marked a turning point in how media shapes political perception.
- Visual presentation became a critical factor in politics, as television viewers favored Kennedy while radio listeners believed Nixon won.
- The media functions as a political institution that influences public understanding of government, candidates, and policy.
- A free press serves a vital 'watchdog' role in both domestic and international political systems.
- Modern political science examines how information is mediated through various platforms and the declining global trust in these sources.
Did Senator Kennedyâs good looks and confidence âwinâ the televised debate over a pale, overtired Nixon?
18 . In an executive sovereignty system, __________.
a. the courts cannot review the actions of the legislature or the executive for their constitutionality
b. the executive branch can disregard all court decisions at will
c. the legislative branch can disregard all court decisions at will
d. the executive serves on the judiciary
19 . Executive sovereignty systems are also known as __________.
a. legislative sovereignty systems
b. parliamentary sovereignty systems
c. independent systems
d. Both A and B
Suggested Readings
Goldman, Sheldon. Picking Federal Judges: Lower Court Selection from Roosevelt through Reagan. New Haven,
CT: Yale University Press, 1997.
Malleson, Kate, and Peter H. Russell, eds. Appointing Judges in an Age of Judicial Power: Critical Perspectives
from around the World. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006.
National Center for State Courts. âJudicial Reform.â Last modified May 20, 2020. https://www.ncsc.org/topics/
international/judicial-reform-around-the-world/home/judicial-reform.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The Doha Declaration: Promoting a Culture of Lawfulness (website).
Accessed December 21, 2021. https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/index.html.
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FIGURE 12.1 Republican Vice President Richard Nixon and Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy participated in the
United Statesâ first televised presidential debate in 1960. (credit: âRichard Nixon and John F. Kennedy Debate in
Chicago While Being Televised (https://openstax.org/r/naragetarchivenet)â by Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace/
National Archives)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
12.1 The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter?
12.2 Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape
12.3 How Do Media and Elections Interact?
12.4 The Internet and Social Media
12.5 Declining Global Trust in the Media
It was 1960, and Republican Vice President Richard Nixon stood at the podium, appearing
drained and sweaty, while his opponent, Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy (JFK), looked as if he had been
ready for this moment, the United Statesâ first televised presidential debate, his whole life. When asked which
candidate did better, Nixonâs running mate, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, who had watched the debate on
television, said he thought JFK did a better job. In contrast, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, who was running on
the Democratic ticket with JFK, listened to the debate on the radio and deemed Nixon the winner. Did Senator
Kennedyâs good looks and confidence âwinâ the televised debate over a pale, overtired Nixon? Did the fact that
the debate was televised change the outcome of the election? While academics have been unable to definitively
answer these questions, one thing is sure: television changed politics that evening in 1960, and as an
institution, the media continues to influence how people understand government, candidates, and policies.
12
The Media
VIDEO
How JFKâs Clever TV Strategies Helped Him Win the Election
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/12-introduction)
John F. Kennedyâs presidential campaign took advantage of the popularity and reach of television.
12.1 The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain the importance of a free press both in the United States and abroad.
⢠Describe how the media acts as a watchdog and give examples.
⢠Understand and define how political information is mediated.
The Fourth Estate's Protection
- The First Amendment explicitly protects the press, a unique constitutional status rooted in the 1720s 'Catoâs Letters' which criticized British monarchical corruption.
- The media is often referred to as the 'fourth estate,' a term credited to Thomas Carlyle that positions the press as an unofficial fourth branch of government.
- A primary function of the free press is to serve as a 'watchdog,' keeping the public informed about government wrongdoings and maintaining political norms.
- Historical examples like the Pentagon Papers demonstrate the media's ability to withstand government pressure to reveal truths about military involvement in Vietnam.
- The Watergate scandal remains the most famous instance of press freedom, where investigative reporting led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporterâs Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
âThe 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution
The press is the only profession explicitly protected in the United States Constitution. Many attribute this
protection to James Madison and his writings in the Federalist Papers, but the idea of a free press stretches
back to well before Madison wrote out his ideas on what constitutes a perfect democracy. The origins of the
free press in the United States can be traced back to Catoâs letters, a collection of essays written in the 1720s
by two British writers, John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon. Using the pseudonym Cato, they published their
articles in the British press, criticizing the British monarchy for its corruption and tyrannical practices.
Decades later, American colonists felt the effects of these letters during their own struggles against the Crown,1
and in 1776, Virginia became the first state to formally adopt a constitutional provision to protect press
freedom.2 Why is the idea of protecting the press so embedded in the United Statesâ concept of government,
and why is this concept so important? Do other nations protect the media to the same extent, or even more?
The next section will examine these questions.
The Fourth Estate and Freedom of the Press
The importance of a free press can be boiled down to a sentence from esteemed University of Illinois at
Chicago lecturer Doris Graberâs seminal work Mass Media and American Politics: âThe mass media . . . serve as
powerful guardians of political norms because the American people believe that a free press should keep them
informed about the wrongdoings of government.â3 Another common way of defining the mediaâs role is to say
that it acts as the fourth estate, or the unofficial fourth branch of government that checks the others. The term
fourth estate is credited to Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle, who wrote, âBurke said there were Three Estates in
Parliament; but, in the Reporterâs Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.â4
In other words, people look to the mediaâthe fourth estateâto keep the government in check. The role of the
media must be protected if it is to carry out that task.
Throughout US history, the media has fulfilled this role as intended. In the late 1960s, Rand Corporation
analyst Daniel Ellsberg provided classified documents to the New York Times and the Washington Post proving
that the government was concealing protracted military involvement in the Vietnam War. The New York Times
withstood government pressure and a Supreme Court case to go on to publish a series of articles now known as
the Pentagon Papers, which revealed the extent to which the American public had been lied to about the
countryâs progress in that war. The Watergate scandal is perhaps the most famous example of press freedom
and the role of the press as watchdog (another term for the fourth estate). In this instance, a government
informant known as Deep Throat fed Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
confidential information about then president Richard Nixonâs corrupt campaign practices. An ensuing series
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of investigative pieces by the two journalists revealed multiple abuses of power in Nixonâs reelection campaign,
and their reporting ultimately led to the indictment of multiple presidential aides and the eventual resignation
of the president himself.
VIDEO
Watergate and Press Freedom
- The Watergate scandal began with a hotel break-in and culminated in the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
- Investigative journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were instrumental in exposing the scandal while working for the Washington Post.
- The Supreme Court's ruling on the Pentagon Papers established that national security claims cannot easily override First Amendment rights.
- Watergate demonstrated the media's vital role as a political institution capable of revealing government misconduct.
- The press is uniquely positioned to inform the public in a way that compels government accountability.
- The scandal resulted in nearly 50 criminal convictions, highlighting the legal consequences of the investigative findings.
The press was potentially Mr. Nixonâs enemyâfar more than the courts or Congress, because only the press could dig out and tell the story in a way that would arouse the people to demand an accounting.
Watergate
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/12-1-the-media-
as-a-political-institution-why-does-it-matter)
In this video clip, investigative journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, editor Barry Sussman, and
former executive editor Ben Bradlee recall how, when they worked for the Washington Post in 1972, they broke
the story of the Watergate scandal, a story that started with an investigation of a break-in at a Washington, DC,
hotel and led to a constitutional crisis, the resignation of President Richard Nixon, and almost 50 criminal
convictions.
In the case of the Pentagon Papers, the Supreme Court ruled 6â3 that the presidentâs argumentâthat prior
restraint5 was necessary in order to protect national securityâwas not enough âto abrogate the fundamental
law embodied in the First Amendment,â6 and this is the most important First Amendment case because it
addresses the sweeping right of the press and press protections in the 20th century. Watergate showed how a
protected press is free to serve one of its main purposes, which is to reveal government misconduct. New
Yorker staff writer Richard Harris wrote at the time that, âThe press was potentially Mr. Nixonâs enemyâfar
more than the courts or Congress, because only the press could dig out and tell the story (whatever help
reporters might get from the courts or Congress) in a way that would arouse the people to demand an
accounting.â7
Watchdogs and Muckrakers
- Small independent newspapers can be just as effective as major media outlets in exposing high-level government corruption and abuse.
- The historical 'muckraker' tradition, exemplified by Upton Sinclair, demonstrates how investigative journalism can trigger significant legislative reform.
- Journalistic watchdogs serve as a vital check on power, ensuring that the public has a factual basis to criticize and hold officials accountable.
- The concept of yellow journalism highlights the ongoing tension between sensationalist, profit-driven content and rigorous civic reporting.
- Global press freedom is not uniform, as measured by indices that evaluate media pluralism, independence, and the safety of journalists.
If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so.
Watchdogs do not have to be journalistic behemoths like the New York Times or the Washington Post. In the
United Kingdom, a small, independent newspaper called the Rochdale Alternative Paper revealed decades-
long abuse allegations against Liberal Party MP8 Cyril Smith. The exposĂŠ in the paper, which had a circulation
of 8,000 at its highest,9 eventually led to both a police and an independent government investigation into a
child abuse ring that involved several high-level government officials, including MP Peter Morrison, the private
secretary to then prime minister Margaret Thatcher.10 Another way to understand the watchdog function of
the press is through the term muckraker, referring to reform-minded investigative journalists during the
Progressive Era in the United States (late 1800s to early 1900s) who exposed the wrongdoings of industry
leaders. One famous example of a muckraker was Upton Sinclair, who wrote the novel The Jungle based on the
corrupt and inhumane practices in American meatpacking companies at the turn of the 20th century. The
publication of The Jungle led to governmental action on food safety. In his 1919 work The Brass Check, Sinclair
exposed the journalism industryâs penchant for yellow journalism, or journalism that relies on catchy titles
and human interest stories to drive sales over well-researched articles or pieces on civic affairs. Sinclair was
not afraid to take on media titans such as William Randolph Hearst, who owned the nationâs largest chain of
newspapers at the time.
12.1 ⢠The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter? 379
FIGURE 12.2 Muckraker Upton Sinclair exposed unethical and unsanitary practice in the US meatpacking industry
in The Jungle. (credit: Modification of âUpton Sinclair, portrait bust, studio at 56 Fifth Ave., N.Y.
(https://openstax.org/r/uptonsinclair)â by Bain News Service/Library of Congress)
Watchdogs and muckrakers act as a check on government action and corruption. They play an important part
in exercising the role of a free press as a cornerstone of a functioning democracy. As Yale University professor
and member of the Council on Foreign Relations Timothy Snyder writes, âIf nothing is true, then no one can
criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so.â11 The media allows the public to understand
what is happening in government in order to hold elected officials accountable. Or, perhaps more simply put,
âA free press is important because it is the freedom upon which all of our other freedoms are contingent.â12
How free is the press? The answer is not black and white, as evidenced by the 2021 World Press Freedom
Index. Published every year by Reporters Without Borders, the Freedom Index measures freedom in 180
countries âbased on an evaluation of pluralism, independence of the media, quality of legislative framework
and safety of journalists in each country and region.â13 The map in Figure 12.3 below shows that the press is
freer in some countries (in pink and purple on the map) than in others (in blue and green).
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Global Press Freedom Challenges
- Reporters Without Borders indicates that nearly half of the world's countries face serious or difficult situations regarding press freedom.
- The United States ranks 44th globally, trailing behind nations like South Africa and South Korea due to media ownership concentration and state secrecy.
- Legislation like the Patriot Act and political rhetoric have increased pressure on journalistic sources and led to the prosecution of those uncovering state information.
- While Nordic countries like Norway lead in press freedom by actively discouraging media monopolies, the U.S. faces declining revenues and fewer working journalists.
- Research confirms that a free press serves as a vital watchdog against corruption, though its direct link to economic development remains inconclusive.
- Despite supportive rhetoric from the Biden administration, systemic issues regarding surveillance and media consolidation continue to threaten American journalism.
The 2021 index ranked the United States 44th, after South Africa (32nd), Botswana (38th), and South Korea (42nd).
FIGURE 12.3 According to Reporters Without Borders, the free press faces a difficult or very serious situation in
nearly half of all countries around the world. (source: Reporters Without Borders; attribution: Copyright Rice
University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
According to the index and as reflected in the map, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark have the freest
presses in the world. Notably, Norway tries to discourage media concentration in order to ensure a variety of
outlets, something that will be discussed in later parts of this chapter. The 2021 index ranked the United States
44th, after South Africa (32nd), Botswana (38th), and South Korea (42nd).
George Mason University professor Sam Lebovic explains that two main factors, the rise of concentration in
ownership and increased state secrecy, are responsible for the inadequacy of press freedom in the United
States, which is an ongoing and serious problem.14 The modern US media faces unprecedented struggles
against declining viewership and revenues, which work to limit the number of outlets and decrease the
number of working journalists. At the same time, legislation such as the Patriot Act, passed after the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has made it more difficult for the press to verify state information
because of increasing pressure on sources not to cooperate and prosecution of journalists who do ascertain
information. In addition, the Trump administration further hampered press freedoms through the
prosecution of news sources, public statements that discredited journalists, and encouragement of foreign
leaders to take steps to restrict their own media.15 The future of press freedom in America, while still unstable
due to media concentration and surveillance laws such as the Patriot Act, may show some signs of
improvement; in a speech on Press Freedom Day in 2021, President Joe Biden decried the imprisonment of
274 reporters worldwide, criticized the lack of local media outlets, and said that the United States ârecognize[s]
the integral role a free press plays in building prosperous, resilient, and free societies.â16 Despite these
laudatory comments about a free press, however, it is clear the United States faces challenges in protecting
journalistsâ ability to fulfill their roles.
A study of the United States and Latin America provides an example of how this idea of the importance of a
free press is shared across cultures. In the study, journalists representing both cultures shared a common
definition of a free press as one that functions without government pressure and to promote social and
economic development.17 This study considered whether or not a free press is related to increased economic
development, a question that to date has not been conclusively answered. While the notion that political
freedoms (such as freedom of the press) should naturally encourage economic growth and increased
standards of living is a common one, current research has not found conclusive evidence either supporting or
refuting the claim.18
12.1 ⢠The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter? 381
There is more of a consensus on the benefits of a free press when it comes to preventing corruption. Studies of
press freedom around the world, conducted by scholars in England, Argentina, and Australia, confirm this
theory.19 In this way, the watchdog role that the press plays is based on democratic ideals and has real-world
effects for the public.
The Mediated Nature of Political Information
The Manufactured Political World
- Most citizens experience politics through mediated information, meaning their understanding is shaped entirely by media storytellers rather than direct experience.
- News content is a manufactured view of reality influenced by institutional routines and underlying cultural values regarding how society ought to be.
- Core values like ethnocentrism and altruistic democracy lead the media to prioritize American interests and promote an idealized version of public service.
- Journalistic standards for 'good' storiesâsuch as negativity, proximity, and noveltyâcreate a homogeneous news environment often called pack journalism.
- These shared professional values and value statements act as a lens that colors the public's perception of what is right and wrong in the political sphere.
The news does not limit itself to reality judgments; it also contains values, or preference statements.
The political information most people receive is mediated information. What does this mean? Unless they
work directly in government, most citizenâs understanding of politics comes completely from the media,
whether via television news, podcasts, or social media feeds. The media may be a gatekeeper, but it is also a
storyteller. As such, it is important to realize that what people see in the media is actually a manufactured view
of the political world. Journalists and others who create the news follow routines and are influenced by
institutional values that manifest themselves in media content. As Columbia University professor Herbert
Gans writes in his study of the American media, âThe news does not limit itself to reality judgments; it also
contains values, or preference statements. This in turn makes it possible to suggest that there is, underlying
the news, a picture of nation and society as it ought to be.â20 Gans acknowledges that professional journalists
try to be objective, yet the news does in fact make judgments and value statements. For example, crime news
alerts viewers to the idea that there are undesirable actors within society and that criminals should be
punished. Judgments and value statements such as these are different from political bias; while some news
outlets are overtly liberal or conservative, Gansâs study shows that the media produces stories with cultural
values that people may not detect because they are so used to seeing stories presented this way. For example,
according to Gans, ethnocentrism and altruistic democracy are two of the key enduring values in the news.
Ethnocentrism in the news refers to the idea that the American media values the United States above all other
nations. This manifests most obviously in war coverage, where the press rarely questions American
involvementâand to do so would be unpatriotic. In a similar vein, Gans explains that the American news
media emphasize an altruistic democracy, the ideal held up by the media that politics should be based on
public service and for the public interest.21 In these ways, the news makes statements about what is right and
what is wrong and presents political news through these lenses.
Journalists also share other professional values as to what makes a âgoodâ news story, such as proximity,
negativity, scope (how big is the story?), timeliness, and unexpectedness (novelty).22 Because journalists share
these professional values, there is a certain homogeneous quality to the news, otherwise known as pack
journalism. This means that people receive the same type of news story repeatedly, though this has been
changing since the advent of online news, a topic that will be discussed later in the chapter. Journalistsâ
common ideas about what should be in the news and why color their coverage and presentation of the
newsâand, as a result, the publicâs perception of politics.
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FIGURE 12.4 Members of the international press corps vie for the same story. (credit: âMembers of the
International Press Corps at the White Houseâ by Ben Solomon/US Department of State/GPA Photo Archive/Flickr,
Public Domain)
Global News Values and Gatekeeping
- News values vary significantly across cultures, with Western media prioritizing human interest while Arabic news emphasizes social responsibility and Islamic values.
- In authoritarian nations like China and North Korea, the media functions as a state promoter rather than a democratic watchdog.
- Agenda-setting theory suggests that media organizations shape political reality by deciding which stories to highlight and which to ignore.
- The prominence and placement of a news story signal to the audience how much importance they should attach to a specific issue.
- Gatekeeping power traditionally rests with news professionals and algorithms who filter information for the public consumption.
- Framing theory posits that the specific way media presents information directly influences how the public understands and interprets political events.
Readers learn not only about a given issue, but also how much importance to attach to that issue from the amount of information in a news story and its position.
It is important here to note that the concept of news values differs across countriesâwhat is newsworthy in the
United States may not be in other nationsâand the role of the media differs as well. A study on the news in
Japan found that strong cultural forces and local needs drive how news is produced and delivered.23 Other
scholars have found that Western news organizations highlight human interest stories, while Arabic news
focuses more on social responsibility and Islamic values.24 University of Leicester Professor Vincent Campbell
echoes the sentiment that news organizations in different countries are fueled by different values and that this
influences what stories their audiences see. In authoritarian countries, journalists focus less on performing
the watchdog role and more on promoting state activities.25 This is the case in countries such as North Korea
and China, where the state government runs the media.
Related to the idea that the media in large part decides what is a good news story is the concept of the mediaâs
gatekeeping role and its agenda-setting powers. In other words, according to agenda-setting theory, the
media decides both what to ignore or filter out and what to show the public. As University of Texas professor
Maxwell McCombs and University of North Carolina professor Donald Shaw write, âIn choosing and displaying
news, editors, newsroom staff, and broadcasters play an important part in shaping political reality. Readers
learn not only about a given issue, but also how much importance to attach to that issue from the amount of
information in a news story and its position.â26 Whether it is a producer who selects the topics for the evening
news or an algorithm that creates a social media news feed, people know what is ânewsâ by what is fed to them,
they know what is important based on how often it gets airtime, and they understand that there are lead stories
and stories that donât matter very much. The public doesnât make these decisions; professionals within the
news industry make them for the public. (Later parts of this chapter will discuss how this power dynamic has
changed thanks to social media and how, in many ways, it is no longer media professionals who select what the
public sees.)
If the media decides which stories to present, it also has a hand in deciding how stories are presented.
According to framing theory, the way the media frames political information can affect peopleâs
understanding of it. University of Illinois professor David Tewksbury and University of Wisconsin professor
Dietram A. Scheufele explain:
Framing and Media Evolution
- Journalists use framing to influence how audiences interpret political issues, much like an artist uses a frame to influence the perception of a painting.
- Gender bias persists in political framing, with female candidates often judged on personal traits while male candidates are evaluated on policy positions.
- National media frames often reflect cultural expectations, such as the Dutch media focusing on government responsibility for social welfare.
- Media content is shaped by professional values, internal pressures, and ownership structures rather than just objective reporting.
- The history of media, from the Diamond Sutra to movable type, demonstrates how faster information dissemination has historically challenged traditional authority.
- To counter media influence, individuals are encouraged to consume diverse outlets and understand the professional norms behind story selection.
Artists know that the frame placed around a painting can affect how viewers interpret and react to the painting itself.
âArtists know that the frame placed around a painting can affect how viewers interpret and react to
the painting itself. . . . Journalistsâoften subconsciouslyâengage in essentially the same process when
they decide how to describe the political world. They choose images and words that have the power to
influence how audiences interpret and evaluate issues and policies.â27
12.1 ⢠The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter? 383
For example, a study on gubernatorial races found that female candidates were more likely to be framed in
terms of personal characteristics than their male counterparts, who were more likely to be framed in terms of
their positions on policy issues.28 In a separate study, researchers found that one common way the Dutch
national media framed news on the European Union (EU) was in terms of assigning responsibility for social
problems to the government. This study suggests that the Dutch mediaâs presentation of political news reflects
the public expectation that the government will provide social welfare programs.29 By highlighting certain
aspects of a story and ignoring others, frames can affect peopleâs judgments and opinions on policy issues, and
just as with agenda setting, elected officials fight to make sure they are framed in the correct light.
The public, and individual viewers, should know that while the media is a critical tool that aids peopleâs
political decision-making, it is guided by professional values that dictate the content. Individualsâ views on
politics can sometimes be out of their control, but they can work to assemble a better picture of the world by
turning to a variety of media outlets and becoming aware of what goes into story selection. While internal
pressures (such as professional norms) or external forces (such as authoritarian governments) can influence
how the media portrays information, ownership can also affect what the public sees. The next section will
examine the different types of mediaâand, perhaps more importantly, who owns them and how this affects
their role in the political world.
12.2 Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Discuss the types of media and their history.
⢠Explain how ownership affects both media content and consumers and why it is relevant in the study of
politics.
⢠Compare and contrast state versus privately owned media.
The oldest known printed book in the world is the Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist text that was printed using fixed
wooden blocks in 868 CE.30 In the 11th century, roughly a thousand years later, Chinese inventor Bi Sheng
developed movable type,31 a system of movable letters that could be reused to repeatedly print text. Movable
type changed the course of human knowledge and history because it allowed for faster dissemination of
information, cheaper printing, and the shareability of printed material. This newfound ability for people to
share knowledge challenged traditional authority, and in the 16th century, Pope Alexander VI prohibited
unlicensed printing in an attempt to suppress publications that promoted ideas or threatened the orthodox
faith.32
VIDEO
The Chinese Invention of Printing and Movable Type
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media-and-the-changing-media-landscape)
The Evolution of Media
- The invention of paper and movable type in China laid the groundwork for the mass distribution of information.
- The democratization of knowledge occurred as printed materials became accessible to the general public rather than just the elite.
- Historical power structures viewed the free spread of information as an existential threat, proving the pen is mightier than the sword.
- Modern media is categorized into four primary groups: print, radio, television, and the Internet.
- The changing media landscape has significantly altered the traditional role of media as a gatekeeper and information provider.
- Media ownership patterns continue to exert a significant influence on the global political environment.
The popeâs actions show that, as English writer and politician Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote, âthe pen is mightier than the sword.â
The Chinese invented paper, printing, and movable type. This video shows how Chinese movable type was
developed and how it works.
The popeâs actions show that, as English writer and politician Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote, âthe pen is
mightier than the sword.â That is, the ability to spread information freely was an existential threat to
traditional power structures. The mass availability of printed material reflects the democratization of
knowledge, as education and books were no longer exclusive artifacts of the elite. The media landscape today
is very different from when Bi Sheng first created movable type. This section examines the different types of
media that exist today as well as recent significant changes in the media environmentâand how these changes
affect the mediaâs ability to play the role of gatekeeper and information provider.
384 12 ⢠The Media
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Types of Media and Their History
The media can be categorized into four broad groups: print, radio, television, and the Internet. Print media
includes newspapers, magazines, and books. This section will briefly discuss the history and current state of
each medium as well as how ownership of these industries affects the political world.
FIGURE 12.5 Newspapers continue to thrive in parts of the developing world. (credit: âDay 15: The Pressâ by
Lindsey Turner/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The Resilience of Print Media
- Print media remains a foundational news source by setting the agenda for other platforms and providing deeper context and detail.
- Despite the rise of digital platforms, print and online media have formed a symbiotic relationship rather than a total replacement.
- Biological factors suggest that tangible print materials leave a deeper cognitive footprint in the brain than digital content.
- While print circulation has declined in some Western markets, it is thriving and prestigious in developing regions like India, South America, and Africa.
- The history of broadcasting shows that new media forms like radio, which began its golden age in the 1920s, deform and reform older media without fully erasing them.
The new will hammer the old, deform it, reform it, reconceive, reconfigure, but the old wonât disappear.
According to Cornell University professor Theodore Lowi, Johns Hopkins University professor Benjamin
Ginsberg, and Harvard University professors Kenneth Shepsle and Stephen Ansolabehere, print media is
important for three primary reasons. First, other mediaâincluding television, radio, and now online news
aggregators and podcastsârely on print media to set the news agenda with original coverage. Second, print
media provides more context and details than other forms of media. Finally, print media (and its online
iterations, such as online versions of newspapers) are the prime information source for the elite.33 While some
have proclaimed that âprint is dead,â there is plenty of evidence to the contrary: though newspaper circulation
has declined, unique visitors to news websites have increased.34 What has emerged is a symbiosis of print and
online media, where traditional flagship news sources such as the New York Times and various magazines
move online to recapture waning audiences, while some previously online-only sources launch physical
magazines. In December 2020, Forbes ran an aptly named article titled âStop Saying Print Journalism Is Dead.
60 Magazines Launched during This Crazy Year,â35 pointing out that people still like print, and, as University of
Texas professor Iris Chyi explains, the reason for this is biological; tangible material leaves a deeper footprint
in the brain.36 A study of democratic European countries confirmed the same phenomenon: print media is
still resilient in the face of an expanding online environment.37 Commercial Observer reporter Chava Gourarie
explains the phenomenon this way: âIt seems print and digital can co-exist after all. The new wonât replace the
old. The new will hammer the old, deform it, reform it, reconceive, reconfigure, but the old wonât disappear.â38
Later parts of this chapter will further investigate the impact of the Internet on traditional media.
Print media has not suffered as much in other parts of the world, particularly in developing countries. A 2011
Pew Research Center study found that âprint newspapers are thriving . . . in countries with untapped and
12.2 ⢠Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape 385
emerging population segments. In some parts of the world, such as India, reading a print newspaper is a
prestigious activity, in much the same way that it was for immigrants a century ago in the United States,â39 and
increased literacy in developing countries also contributes to this trend.40 Newspaper circulation increased by
double-digits in South America, Asia, and Africa between 2004 and 2009.41
FIGURE 12.6 In the first half of the 20th century, before the rise of television, radio was a prominent source of news
and entertainment in the United States. (credit: âVintage Zenith Bakelite AM/FM Table Radio, 7 Tubes, Model
H72372, circa 1951â by Joe Haupt/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The first commercial radio station was born in the United States on November 2, 1920, when Pittsburghâs
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company transmitted the first scheduled broadcast, announcing
live returns of the presidential election contest between Warren G. Harding and James Cox. Westinghouse
obtained the first US commercial broadcasting station license in the same year, and seven years later, the
Radio Act of 1927 created the Federal Radio Commission to oversee radio broadcasting, replacing the
Department of Commerce in its oversight duties.42 This marked the beginning of what has come to be known
as the golden age of radio, from the late 1920s until the early 1950s, when radio broadcasts were millions of
The Global Radio Landscape
- Radio remains a dominant media platform, reaching more Americans as of 2019 than any other medium.
- While television surpassed radio for home entertainment, radio maintains a unique and persistent reach.
- The United States is the world's largest radio market, generating over half of all annual global revenue.
- The United Nations recognizes radio as a 'vector of freedom' due to its low cost and accessibility.
- Radio serves as a critical global technology for providing information to diverse populations at a low barrier to entry.
The United Nations continues to celebrate the radio on World Radio Day, hailing the humble technology as a âvector of freedomâ because radio supplies low-cost information and remains a widely used technology around the globe.
Americansâ primary source of news and entertainment.43 Television would soon overtake radio as the primary
form of entertainment in the home, but as of 2019, radio programming still reached more Americans than any
other media platform.44 While the United States is considered the largest and most important radio market,
other developed countries constitute important markets for radio broadcasters. The United Nations continues
to celebrate the radio on World Radio Day, hailing the humble technology as a âvector of freedomâ because
radio supplies low-cost information and remains a widely used technology around the globe.45
386 12 ⢠The Media
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FIGURE 12.7 The United States represents more than half of all annual global radio revenue. (sources: Ofcom,
Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, Statista; attribution: Copyright Rice University,
OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Evolution of the Media Landscape
- The 'network era' of television was defined by three major networks providing fixed schedules to the majority of American households.
- Cable television originated in the 1930s to serve rural areas but eventually peaked in 2010 with 90 percent of American homes paying for services.
- A rapid shift is occurring as consumers move from traditional cable to streaming services, with cable viewership dropping significantly between 2015 and 2021.
- The Internet's foundations were laid by ARPANET in the 1960s before being opened for public use and formalized via the World Wide Web in 1993.
- Global connectivity is expanding through mobile technology, with smartphone ownership reaching nearly 97 percent among American adults by 2021.
During this era, most homes had one television, and television was a means of 'bring[ing] the outside world into the home.'
The first black-and-white television was introduced at the 1939 Worldâs Fair,46 and in 1941, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), the US government commission that currently oversees radio,
television, wire, and now the Internet, authorized commercial broadcasting in the United States.47 The
introduction of color television quickly followed in the early 1950s, and by the 1980s, around 90 percent of
American households had a television.48 This era is what Queensland University of Technology professor
Amanda D. Lotz terms âthe network era,â when three major television networks had a fixed schedule and
provided the majority of media content. During this era, most homes had one television, and television was a
means of âbring[ing] the outside world into the home.â49 Coaxial cable television was first developed in the
1930s to provide television to rural areas that could not receive broadcast signals. Cable television became
more widespread starting in the 1950s and culminating in the 1970s with the introduction of Home Box Office
(HBO), which fought with the FCC to be allowed to provide for-fee television content through a cable network.50
Steady growth of the industry peaked in the early 2000s, and by 2010, more than 105 million Americansâor
about 90 percent of homesâpaid for cable television services. 51 Yet the number of Americans who said they
watched television via cable or satellite plunged from 76 percent in 2015 to 56 percent in 2021,52 while a
recent Deloitte consulting study found that 82 percent of respondents subscribed to a streaming service.53 The
trend of moving from traditional television to streaming or mobile services can be seen elsewhere in the world,
though it is progressing at a slower pace. In India in 2018, 197 million households had televisions, while only a
fraction of that number (60 million) utilized the countryâs most popular on-demand media programming.54
SHOW ME THE DATA
12.2 ⢠Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape 387
FIGURE 12.8 At the beginning of the 21st century, only about 3% of the population of Peru had Internet access.
The Internet has spread rapidly, and while about 43% of the population of Peru still did not have regular Internet
access in 2019, Internet cafĂŠs like this one have sprung up in Peru and around the world, connecting people and
places like never before. (credit: âCafĂŠ Internetâ by Daniel Lobo/Flickr, Public domain)
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), which was established through the US
Department of Defense in the early 1960s, built on research conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology to fund and administer one of the first iterations of the Internet.55 By 1969, ARPANET mainly
connected research universities to one another, but at the urging of the telecommunication and computer
industry, the government was persuaded to open up the network for public use. In 1993, the European
Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) put the technology into the public domain56 thanks to the research
of MIT professor Tim Berners-Lee, who created the framework for the World Wide Web and the use of links and
hyperlinks. The Internet has of course altered the way people interact with every communication medium.
Never have people been able to access so much information at once from one place, be it with a laptop or a
smartphone. As of 2021, 97 percent of all adults owned a cell phone, and 87 percent owned a smartphone; over
95 percent of Americans ages 18 to 49 reported using a smartphone.57 A 2018 survey found that, worldwide, a
median of 76 percent of the populations of 18 advanced economies had smartphones compared to just 45
Media Concentration and Digital Shifts
- Smartphone adoption has reached near-saturation in many regions, with South Korea leading at a 95 percent adoption rate.
- The primary source of news for Americans has shifted dramatically to digital platforms, with 80 percent using smartphones and only 10 percent relying on print.
- Social media platforms, particularly Facebook, have become central news hubs for a significant portion of the American population.
- Despite the appearance of diverse choices, the U.S. and European media landscapes are characterized by extreme media concentration.
- A mere five multinational corporations control approximately 90 percent of the content consumed by American audiences.
- This market structure is defined as an oligopoly, where a small number of firms dominate the production and distribution of information.
In fact, five companies own and produce 90 percent of what Americans watch today.
percent in emerging economies, with South Korea reporting the highest smartphone adoption rate at 95
percent.58 In 2020, more than 80 percent of Americans got their news from a smartphone, while only 10
percent got news from a printed newspaper.59 Of those using online news, more than half of Americans said
they get their news from social media âat least sometimes,â and a third of Americans stated that they regularly
get news from Facebook.60 Later parts of this chapter will investigate the role of social media in more depth.
Ownership of the Media
Between print media, radio, television, and streaming services, it feels like people have a lot of choice when it
comes to media. However, the United States and Europe have what is called media concentration, where a few
firms own the majority of channels and content. In fact, five companies own and produce 90 percent of what
Americans watch today.61 Another word to describe this type of media ownership pattern, in which a small
number of corporations dominate the market, is an oligopoly.
388 12 ⢠The Media
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FIGURE 12.9 Five major multinational corporations control about 90 percent of US media markets. A similar
oligopoly exists in Europe (https://openstax.org/r/european_journalists). (attribution: Copyright Rice University,
OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
The Impact of Media Concentration
- Large corporations argue that consolidation provides the financial stability necessary to invest in high-quality journalism and maintain profitability.
- Critics contend that profit-seeking motives lead companies to prioritize 'easy-to-sell' entertainment over high-value information and hard news.
- Concentrated ownership often results in content homogenization, where co-owned papers offer less diversity in scope and focus regarding foreign policy.
- Media consolidation can empower owners to amplify personal political agendas or business interests through powerful propaganda platforms.
- Research indicates that national chains often squeeze out local reporting, leading to a decline in news quality compared to smaller station groups.
- The European Union has issued warnings that similar levels of media concentration in Europe pose a significant threat to pluralism and diversity of views.
Concentration of ownership may foster entertainment variety, but it undermines diversity of information and journalistic enterprise.
Is media concentration a cause for concern? Columbia Business School professor Eli Noam argues that larger
corporations have the money to invest in good journalists and foster reader loyalty.62 Since being acquired by
Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, the Washington Post has increased hiring and has shown profitability, unlike many
other newspapers.63 However, because these companies are privately owned, it is not irrational to assume that
they are profit-seeking businesses that look to maximize earnings over other, perhaps loftier, goals. As such,
these companies may choose easy-to-sell programming over content with high information value. Providence
College professor Matt Guardino writes, âWhen control over the media is concentrated in fewer and fewer
hands, owners may be able to use their corporationsâ powerful platforms to amplify propaganda driven by
their own political views or business interests.â64 In addition, profit maximization can lead to budgetary
constraints such as reduced foreign news coverage or other staffing cutbacks, which can affect the content of
the news and, by extension, what information citizens and voters can access. A 2018 study found that
âownership chainsâ had âa homogenizing effect on the content of newspapersâ coverage of foreign policy,
resulting in coverage across co-owned papers that is more similar in scope (what they cover), focus (how much
âhardâ relative to âsoftâ news they offer), and diversity (the breadth of topics they include in their coverage of a
given issue) relative to . . . papers that are not co-owned.â65 As Senior Research and Teaching Associate at
University of Zurich Edda Humprecht notes, âLarge media corporations are assumed to offer superficial or
scandalizing news content in order to attract large audiences,â66 and this idea has been backed by various
empirical studies that point to the reduction of more serious news in favor of content with what is perceived to
be higher entertainment value. Stanford researcher Mark Cooper iterates this point: âConcentration of
ownership may foster entertainment variety, but it undermines diversity of information and journalistic
enterprise.â67 He also notes that âconcentration of media ownership reduces the diversity of local reporting
and gives dominant firms in local markets an immense amount of power to influence critical decisions.
Consolidation in national chains squeezes out the local point of view.â68 A study of the Sinclair Broadcasting
Group, which provides news to more than 70 percent of American households, found that news outlets under
12.2 ⢠Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape 389
concentrated ownership focused on national news over local interest, produced slightly more politically
conservative content, and resulted in a small downward shift in viewership.69 This is troubling when
considered alongside research that finds that smaller station groups produce higher-quality newscasts than
stations owned by larger companiesâby a significant margin.70 It is not difficult to see how ownership affects
not just what people see but also what they consider importantâand how that can affect the publicâs view of
politics.
The picture of media ownership in Europe is similar to that in the United States in that six corporations also
own the majority of media content across Europe, prompting the European Union to commission the 2020
report Monitoring Media Pluralism in the Digital Era71 and to issue a warning about the threat that media
concentration poses to pluralism and diversity of views. The European Federation of Journalists echoes this
Media Ownership and Election Dynamics
- European politicians express concern that massive private media conglomerates threaten societal pluralism and exercise excessive political influence.
- Publicly funded media models, like the BBC, are associated with higher levels of social trust and lower levels of political extremism in democratic nations.
- State ownership of media in autocratic or poorer nations often serves to undermine economic rights and political freedoms.
- In the United States, public outlets like NPR and PBS have significantly lower viewership and reach compared to their private counterparts.
- The media plays a critical role in elections, where a single televised momentâsuch as Howard Dean's 2004 'scream'âcan derail a campaign's momentum.
Countries that have strong public broadcasters such as the BBC have been shown to 'have higher levels of social trust, and the people who live in them are less likely to hold extremist political views.'
concern: âMany politicians, particularly those in the European Parliament, have repeatedly expressed
concerns over the growth of huge media companies that are exercising unprecedented levels of political and
commercial influence. In the process they threaten diversity and pluralism in society.â72
Private ownership is not the only media model. In many countries outside of the United States, the media are
either partially or wholly owned by the state with positive effects. For example, the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC), the worldâs first public broadcaster,73 draws its funding via the government in the form of a
user fee while not having any direct government intervention when it comes to programming or editing. Many
hail the BBC as a model for public ownership because of its high-quality news, content, and accessibility.
Countries that have strong public broadcasters such as the BBC have been shown to âhave higher levels of
social trust, and the people who live in them are less likely to hold extremist political views.â74 Public news
media continue to play a particularly prominent role in western Europe, where public news stations, including
the BBC in the UK, Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR) in Sweden, and ARD in Germany,
continue to be top sources for news.75 However, in poorer, autocratic nations, state ownership of the media has
been shown to undermine political and economic rights and freedoms.76 In the United States, the two highest-
profile public news outlets, National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), rank far
lower than private news outlets in terms of listeners and viewership.77
12.3 How Do Media and Elections Interact?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe why the media are needed to cover elections and how they do it.
⢠Explain the importance of the media for candidates running for election.
⢠Detail the pros and cons of advertising in elections.
VIDEO
The Scream That Doomed Howard Dean
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Howard Deanâs 2004 presidential campaign had been building momentum until this now-infamous speech
doomed his campaign.
Most Americans know about Martin Luther King Jr.âs âI Have a Dreamâ speech, but do you know about Howard
Deanâs âI Have a Screamâ speech? During the 2004 presidential campaign, Democratic candidate and former
Vermont governor Howard Dean led many polls for the Democratic presidential nomination. The press seemed
to adore the progressive, anti-war candidate, though he placed third in the Iowa caucus behind Massachusetts
Senator John Kerry and North Carolina Senator John Edwards. In order to rally his supporters, Dean gave a
speech at Val Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, Iowa. Perhaps trying to project an image of optimism and
390 12 ⢠The Media
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The Dean Scream Incident
- Howard Dean delivered a high-energy speech following the Iowa caucus that culminated in a loud, shrill scream.
- National networks broadcast the clip 633 times in the following days, leading to a formal apology from CNN for over-saturation.
- The event is widely cited as the first 'viral' political moment in the digital age.
- Many political analysts believe this specific media moment effectively ended Dean's presidential campaign.
- The incident highlights the complex, often adversarial relationship between politicians and the media.
That scream and that moment, now referred to as Deanâs âI Have a Screamâ speech, were played 633 times by national networks in the ensuing days.
future victory, Dean promised that his campaign was âgoing to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and
Michigan.â He then assured the crowd that he would ultimately go âto Washington, DC, to take back the White
Houseâ78âbefore releasing a long, shrill scream into his microphone. That scream and that moment, now
referred to as Deanâs âI Have a Screamâ speech, were played 633 times by national networks in the ensuing
days,79 with CNN eventually issuing a formal apology for playing it too many times.80 Some refer to this event
as the first viral political event, and many consider it the moment when the Dean campaign died. What it
illustrates is the sometimes adversarial, sometimes symbiotic relationship between elected officials and the
media.
Media Coverage of Elections and Elected Officials
Media Influence in Electoral Politics
- The media serves as the primary contact point between the American public and the world of public affairs, acting as a critical information provider during elections.
- While the media reinforces the importance of democratic participation, voters often express dissatisfaction with the lack of depth regarding substantive policy issues.
- Academic research highlights a pervasive 'horse-race' coverage style that prioritizes polling data and candidate rankings over meaningful platform analysis.
- The prolonged nature of the U.S. election cycle, including the 'invisible primary,' exacerbates the feeling of an interminable and superficial campaign season.
- Horse-race journalism is linked to increased public distrust, advantages for novelty candidates, and the marginalization of third-party voices.
- Comparative studies show that while horse-race coverage is a global phenomenon in large media markets, countries like Sweden maintain more issue-oriented reporting.
Harvard professor Thomas Patterson writes that the press is âobsessed with the horse raceâ of elections, and this, coupled with the unique and prolonged length of the US primaries and general election, makes the coverage seem even more endless in nature.
As Stanford University professor Shanto Iyengar writes, âFor most Americans, the media are their only contact
with the world of public affairs.â81 Iyengar explains that one of the mediaâs critical functions is to provide a
forum for candidates and parties to discuss their platforms and qualifications. Earlier parts of this chapter
have detailed the mediaâs roles as watchdog and storyteller; when it comes to elections, they also act as
information provider. Without the media, it would be very difficult for voters to assess which candidates to vote
for and whether or not to keep incumbent legislators in office. This means, however, that elected officials can
try to manipulate the media to make themselves seem more appealing, and the media also must be careful in
how they portray candidates and the electoral processâall topics that will be covered in more detail in the
following sections.
One of the most significant powers of the media is determined by both its reach and how it acts as an agenda
setter, alerting people to important issues. By constantly putting political issues and elections in their news
cycle, the media reinforce the idea that participating in democracy is important. However, while Americans
feel informed by coverage of campaigns, they have âlukewarmâ feelings about the breadth of coverage, noting a
lack of attention to substantial issues.82 This is a common refrain from scholars as well. Decades of academic
research have shown that the news media engage too often in the horse-race coverage aspect of elections,
reporting on who is ahead and who is behind rather than on substantial issues or policy stances. Harvard
professor Thomas Patterson writes that the press is âobsessed with the horse raceâ of elections, and this,
coupled with the unique and prolonged length of the US primaries and general election, makes the coverage
seem even more endless in nature.83 For example, in the 2020 election, the earliest caucus was February 3,
and the earliest primary was February 11ânine months before the general election.84 However, this does not
take into account what is called the âinvisible primary,â when potential candidates begin to raise money for
their campaigns, often months before the actual campaign season starts. The US campaign season feels
interminable, especially when compared to countries such as Singapore, where general elections must take
place in the span of three months once Parliament is dissolved.85 Horse-race coverage has been linked to
greater levels of distrust of both candidates and the media themselves. It gives an advantage to novel
candidates (think former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura, who ran for and won the office of Minnesota
governor in 1998) and ignores third-party candidates (such as Gary Johnson, who ran for president in 2020 as
the Libertarian Party candidate.)86 This problem is not unique to the United States; a study of 27 European
countries found that horse-race coverage was prominent in party systems with close electoral competitions
and in countries with large media markets,87 and another study found similar criticisms of Australian election
coverage.88 Horse-race journalism is not an equally severe problem in all democratic nations; one study of the
media in Sweden found that compared to the United States, the Swedish press did a better job with issue-
oriented reporting and the production of interpretive news during their elections.89 Horse-race coverage is
problematic not just because it turns off viewersâit also ignores topics in which voters might be interested in
favor of coverage of who is winning and who is losing. This undermines the importance of the media as an
Media Influence on Elections
- The media's focus on horse-race coverage and negative framing erodes public trust in political institutions.
- Constant critical coverage can mislead voters regarding their choices and depress overall voter turnout.
- Governmental pressure in democratic nations like Japan has led to the dismissal of journalists and a decline in press freedom rankings.
- Financial manipulation, such as Mexico's massive spending on government advertising, is used to buy favorable news coverage.
- A free press is essential for generating collective action and providing the information necessary for informed political decision-making.
This incessant stream of criticism has a corrosive effect. It needlessly erodes trust in political leaders and institutions and undermines confidence in government and policy.
information provider and watchdog when it comes to the electoral process.
The horse-race approach is not the only problem with media election coverage. A trend since the 1980s, the
mediaâs tendency toward negative, critical coverage of candidates remains problematic. As Thomas Patterson
writes, this âincessant stream of criticism has a corrosive effect. It needlessly erodes trust in political leaders
12.3 ⢠How Do Media and Elections Interact? 391
and institutions and undermines confidence in government and policy,â which âcan mislead voters about the
choices they face.â90 A study of Canadian elections found that negative media portrayals of candidates and
elections can depress a voterâs intention to cast a ballot.91
When it comes to media and elections, some countries, including democratic countries, face a bigger problem:
the lack of press freedom. In 2016, three of Japanâs most outspoken news anchors were dismissed from their
positions due to governmental pressure in reaction to their criticisms of then prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Shortly after their firing, a United Nations representative expressed alarm at the countryâs declining support
for press freedom, while the Paris-based media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders lowered Japanâs
ranking of world press freedom to 72nd out of 180 nations, between Tanzania and Lesotho.92 In Mexico,
despite promises to regulate the use of government funds for public relations, former president Enrique PeĂąa
Nieto spent nearly $2 billion of government money on media advertising in five years during his tenure with
the expectation that he would receive positive news coverage in return.93
The examples of Japan and Mexico are a reminder of how crucial a free press is in the political process. The
media has the capability to quickly reach wide audiences, including elites and the broader public. It can help
generate collective action, it provides information that is needed to make political decisions, and it helps
candidates reach potential voters.
Robert Yoon
CNN Director of Political Research, 1999â2017
Election Analyst, Edison Research, 2018âpresent
Political Journalism and Media Strategy
- A CNN political researcher describes the extensive process of tracking candidate finances, policy positions, and public statements.
- The role involves monitoring 'micro-developments' in presidential campaigns even during off-election years.
- One of the most critical tasks is preparing moderators for high-stakes presidential debates and analyzing live election night data.
- Success in political journalism stems from a lifelong passion for civic events and a deep knowledge of government structures.
- Aspiring journalists are advised to consume a wide range of information to better understand the complexities of the real world.
- The media serves as a dual-purpose tool, helping voters learn about candidates while allowing candidates to reach their audience.
Watching election night coverage was like watching the Super Bowl or the World Series.
Please explain what you do for your organization.
At CNN, I was responsible for knowing pretty much anything about a candidate or public official that might be
relevant for our news coverage. I collected information about their fundraising and their personal finances and their
policy positions and whatever notable things they might have said in interviews or on the campaign trail. Iâve
covered politics on a lot of different levels, including the US Senate and House and the Supreme Court and
governors and to some extent local races, but my main focus has always been presidential campaigns. Even though
presidential elections happen only every four years, someone somewhere is always either running for president or
thinking about it. So I had to follow a lot of these micro-developments when most people werenât paying much
attention to it. The hardest and most interesting part of my job probably was preparing moderators for presidential
debates. Iâve done more than 30 presidential debates, most recently a 2020 debate for CBS News. My other big
responsibility was analyzing election night vote results.
Can you tell me a little about how you got involved in your position?
I was always interested in politics and current events. As a kid, I would always watch the State of the Union and try
to name cabinet secretaries as they entered the House chamber. Watching election night coverage was like
watching the Super Bowl or the World Series. So when I saw a posting for a job at CNN to help cover presidential
elections, I jumped at the chance.
What advice would you give students who want to go into your line of work?
An important thing for any journalist is to consume as much information as you can as regularly as possible, even if it
isnât directly related to your main interests. Journalists cover real life, so the more you know and understand the
ways of the world, the better. Having a wide range of experiences and being exposed to a wide variety of
perspectives makes you a better reporter.
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How Do Candidates Use the Media?
FIGURE 12.10 When Donald Trump addressed supporters after finishing in the top three in the Iowa Republican
caucuses in 2016, audience members captured his speech on their smartphones. (credit: âTrump Caucusâ by Max
Goldberg/GPA Photo Archive/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The media is an important tool for voters, one that allows them to learn more about candidates and the
election process. For candidates, the media also serves as a tool to reach those very same voters, and this
section will discuss how candidates use the media in the hopes of winning elections. There are two avenues for
Media Strategies and Election Dynamics
- Political candidates utilize two primary media types: free media (press coverage) and paid media (campaign-funded advertisements).
- Abuse of government funds for media manipulation, as seen in Enrique PeĂąa Nietoâs $2 billion expenditure in Mexico, is often illegal and can lead to electoral backlash.
- Research across 43 countries suggests that candidates using negative rhetoric, personal attacks, and fear-based appeals receive more media attention and higher success rates.
- Media narratives, such as critical coverage of immigration in the UK, have been shown to significantly influence major political outcomes like Brexit.
- The Cambridge Analytica scandal demonstrated the unethical use of scraped data to create microtargeted ads for high-profile campaigns in the US and UK.
- Modern US presidential elections involve massive financial investments in media, with hundreds of millions of dollars spent on television and social media advertising.
In a study of 97 candidates in 43 elections around the world, scholars found that candidates who employed nastier rhetoric that included personal attacks and appealed to peopleâs fears received wider media attention.
candidates to use the media: free media and paid media. Free media is when a candidate gets press coverage,
while paid media refers to media that the candidate and campaign pay for in the form of political ads. (Paid
media will be discussed in more detail later in the chapter.) When former Mexican president Enrique PeĂąa
Nieto spent nearly $2 billion of government money on media advertising, his actions were particularly
nefarious because he used government funds to purchase paid media in order to influence free media
coverage.94 In the United States, for example, presidents can only use money raised through separate
campaign entities to fund paid media. Using government funds would be considered not only corrupt but also
illegal. In PeĂąa Nietoâs case, his flagrant abuse of power was met with defeat at the polls.
In the United States and many other countries, successful campaigns are âincreasingly contingent upon
candidatesâ media strategies and media treatment of political events.â95 Savvy candidates understand that
they should not simply let the media decide how to cover them and that they need to present themselves in a
certain light to potential voters. Candidates aim to control the media narrative and spend significant time and
money trying to do soâand this struggle is international. In a study of 97 candidates in 43 elections around the
world, scholars found that candidates who employed nastier rhetoric that included personal attacks and
appealed to peopleâs fears received wider media attentionâmedia attention that candidates want during an
election, especially as the study found that media coverage of personal attacks was correlated with electoral
success.96 Along the same lines, scholars in the UK found that critical, unbalanced media coverage of the EU
that focused on the perceived threats of immigrants contributed to Brexit (the British exit from the European
Union).97 Members of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) sought this type of media coverage in
order to influence the outcome of the ballot initiative for UK independence. The Cambridge Analytica scandal
highlights the worst of paid media campaigns, as British consultants from Cambridge Analytica scraped
Facebook data from users without their knowledge. This questionablyâand, in many countries,
illegallyâobtained data was used to create microtargeted ads (ads tailored to specific users) for the Donald
Trump presidential campaign, the Ted Cruz senatorial campaign, and the Brexit campaign. It was also alleged
that Russian oil company Lukoil, which has strong ties to the Putin-led Russian government, was involved in
funding Cambridge Analytica to influence the outcome of the US presidential election.98
Cambridge Analytica illustrates just how far candidates will go to use media (in this case, social media, which
12.3 ⢠How Do Media and Elections Interact? 393
will be discussed in more detail in later parts of this chapter) to win at all costs. In the 2020 presidential
election, Donald Trumpâs campaign bought $2.1 million in Facebook ads alone,99 though this number pales in
comparison to the amount the campaigns spent on television ads. Joe Biden spent more than $600 million on
television ads, while Trump spent $400 million, the bulk of it in six battleground states: Florida, Michigan,
Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Arizona.100 These massive campaign advertising expenditures
are not common in all countries. For example, in 2008, the US presidential election cost candidates $5.3
billion, with a large portion of that going toward media buys. In comparison, thanks in part to a complete ban
The Impact of Political Advertising
- International comparisons show that countries like Denmark and Germany achieve higher voter turnout despite banning or strictly limiting television political advertising.
- Negative attack ads are increasingly prevalent in the US, utilizing television's emotional intensity to amplify damaging messages more effectively than print.
- The psychological impact of negative advertising can breed contempt for the democratic process and cause voters to distrust their own political decisions.
- Scholars debate the efficacy of attack ads, with some evidence suggesting they may backfire on the attacker or only influence voters who already lack trust in government.
- Despite their controversial nature, political advertisements are protected under the First Amendment as a form of political speech distinct from commercial speech.
- Television ads remain a vital tool for American candidates because they allow for rapid reach and total control over the candidate's public image and messaging.
Because television appeals to our emotions and magnifies and intensifies what it communicates, the impact of the negative message is much more powerful and damaging on television than if the same message were being communicated through print.
on political advertising on television, the 2007 Danish election cost only $8 million, including public financing,
and had a turnout rate that was 25 percentage points higher than the turnout rate in the US.101 Germany also
bans political advertisements and has a tradition of using political posters as a practical way of influencing
voters.102
FIGURE 12.11 This photo shows a roadside political poster for the reelection of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
(credit: âElection Poster of Angela Merkel in Hamburgâ by TeaMeister/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
As described earlier in this chapter, media coverage of campaigns that is negative and focuses on the horse-
race aspect of elections rather than on issues can have detrimental effects. The same can be said for paid
media. A problematic form of paid media is the negative attack ad, the numbers of which have only continued
to rise. Campaign finance scholar Fred Wertheimer writes, âBecause television appeals to our emotions and
magnifies and intensifies what it communicates, the impact of the negative message is much more powerful
and damaging on television than if the same message were being communicated through print.â103 Negative
advertising is problematic for obvious reasons. It can lead voters to distrust their own decisions, and it breeds
contempt for the election process.104
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FIGURE 12.12 The percentage of negative ads in US political campaigns has grown steadily since 2000. (source:
Wesleyan Media Project; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
The effects of negative ads are still debated, as a number of studies say that they do not necessarily affect
turnout because legitimate criticism of candidates can actually drive voter turnout.105 Another reason why
negative ads may have little to no effect is that they are only salient to voters who already have low levels of
trust in government to begin with; in other words, the ads preach to the choir and have little effect on the
overall voting body.106 Multiple studies107 have also shown that negative ads may work in the opposite
direction,108 which is to say that the attacker comes away looking worse.
Effectiveness aside, negative or otherwise, the First Amendment protects political advertising as a form of
speech separate from commercial speech specifically because it is speech that is political in nature. Political
advertisements on television are a vital tool for candidates because they can reach voters quickly, and these
ads allow candidates to package and present themselves on their own terms.109 Given the strong First
Amendment protections in the United States, political ads are here to stay.
12.4 The Internet and Social Media
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe how the Internet and social media has changed other forms of media.
⢠Understand the impact of social media on politics.
⢠Detail how social media in particular has different effects on how we understand and interact with politics
Politics in the Digital Age
- Global leaders like Narendra Modi and Barack Obama utilize Instagram to reach audiences with unprecedented speed and intimacy.
- The rise of digital media has led to a significant decline in print circulation and advertising revenue as users shift toward online news sources.
- Social media's networked nature allows for the rapid sharing of information, transforming it into a tool for both entertainment and political empowerment.
- The traditional 'gatekeeping' model of journalism is weakening as users gain the ability to create and distribute their own content.
- Lowered barriers to entry mean that individuals no longer require expensive equipment or professional licenses to broadcast to a global audience.
- Despite the digital shift, traditional 'old-guard' outlets like the New York Times and CNN remain among the most trafficked sites online.
Why would politicians want to be on the same platform as dogs dressed up in tutus and one-pot cooking recipes?
and political information.
Narendra Modi, Barack Obama, Joko Widodo, Donald Trump, Queen Raina, and Hilary Clinton: What do these
names make you think of? Hopefully politics! They also happen to be the most popular politicians on
Instagram.110 Why would politicians want to be on the same platform as dogs dressed up in tutus and one-pot
cooking recipes? Because around the world, people spend close to two and a half hours a day on social media,
and because never before has anyone been able to reach a global audience so quickly and so intimately. The
Internet and social media have changed everything about peopleâs lives, from how they connect to how they
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12.4 ⢠The Internet and Social Media 395
understand politics. This section will discuss how the Internet has transformed traditional media and changed
how the news is produced and shared, the impact of social media on politics, and how the effects of social
media differ from those of traditional media.
FIGURE 12.13 In most countries, people rely heavily on online news sources. (source: Reuters Institute Digital
News Report 2020; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
In some ways, the table in Figure 12.13 says it all. While circulation and advertising revenue of print media
have dropped considerably and viewership of television has also slowed, the share of people who go online for
news and entertainment has grown steadily.
The allure of Internet content and social media is easy to understand; the most popular platforms and much of
the content are for the most part free, easy to use, highly visual in nature, and dynamic. When it comes to
social media, the networked nature of the technologyâbeing connected to multiple other networks of
peopleâis also what makes it so powerful, as this characteristic is what allows users to share information and
links quickly and often.111 The Internet and social media have become everythingâa tool for information, a
tool for entertainment, a way to communicate, and a way to become empowered. At the advent of the
technology, many lauded the Internetâs transformative nature because it altered the traditional power
structure of the media. In traditional print, radio, and television, the journalists, editors, and producers
engaged in gatekeeping; they choose what news or entertainment to publish or air based on their own tastes,
professional norms, and their interpretation of audience expectations. Because social media allows users to
rapidly shareâand create their ownâcontent, it has weakened the traditional gatekeeping model of
mainstream media. This is possible because the Internet substantially lowers the barriers to entry, or the
economic cost of a newcomer being part of the process. No longer do people need a professional cameraman, a
million-dollar set, editors, high-tech editing equipment, a satellite, or a license to broadcast. All they need is a
computer, iPad, or phone. This is not to say that traditional media has fallen away; the most trafficked sites
online continue to be old-guard outlets such as the New York Times and CNN. At the same time, sites that
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The Rise of Digital Influence
- Digital-native media outlets like Yahoo and BuzzFeed now rival traditional legacy media in terms of public popularity.
- Cultural shifts show that twice as many children now aspire to be YouTube stars rather than astronauts.
- Social media platforms offer a sense of individual empowerment by removing the financial barriers to entry found in traditional media.
- The path to viral fame relies on content creation rather than the backing of major movie studios or news networks.
- Despite the democratization of content, achieving visibility is increasingly dependent on the influence of platform algorithms.
The fact that twice as many kids want to be YouTube stars as want to be astronauts is a sure sign of the power of the Internet and social networking platforms.
started online (as opposed to those that moved online), such as Yahoo, BuzzFeed, Mashable, TechCrunch, and
many others, stand side by side in popularity with the old guard.112 The fact that twice as many kids want to be
YouTube stars as want to be astronauts113 is a sure sign of the power of the Internet and social networking
platforms. Children and teens are not blind to TikTok influencer Charli DâAmelioâs 100 million plus
followers,114 and they envision endless possibilities for themselves. The Internet can feel empowering to
individual users in ways that traditional media never could because the potential to become âfamousâ or viral
on social media and the Internet only takes contentânot millions of dollars backed by a movie studio or an
anchor on a news network. But it also needs the help of an algorithm.
VIDEO
The Young Turks: Building Hope
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/12-4-the-
internet-and-social-media)
Algorithms and Digital Political Mobilization
- Algorithms function as mathematical rule sets that personalize social media feeds by predicting user preferences through data tracking and cookies.
- The shift from synchronous media, like the record-breaking MAS*H finale, to asynchronous online content allows users to consume media outside the constraints of time and space.
- Social media platforms have become primary spheres for college students to engage in political messaging, disruption, and the presentation of the political self.
- The advent of social media has fundamentally transformed group formation, moving away from traditional institutional structures like political parties.
- Social media serves as a critical coordination tool for global political movements, leading both authoritarian and democratic governments to attempt to limit access.
- The Arab Spring serves as a primary example of how social media can organize wide-scale pro-democracy protests across entire geographic regions.
This meant that more than 105 million people watched the finale at the same timeâsomething unimaginable to younger viewers today, who can stream almost anything, from sports to comedies to YouTube videos, on demand.
The Young Turks is a popular YouTube news content channel that started in the living room of creator/host
Cenk Uygur.
Simply defined, algorithms are mathematical sets of rules. When applied to social media platforms and search
engines, algorithms play a critical role in what people see when they search for a topic in a search engine or
what comes across their social media feeds. Algorithms search, sort, and rank things based on predictions
about what users should see, which means what comes up in one personâs search results and social media feed
will be different from what comes up in other peopleâs results and feeds. This is accomplished by the use of
cookies, or blocks of data that allow web browsers to track and save information about the sites people visit. By
utilizing cookies, social media algorithms predict what users want to see in an attempt to keep them engaged
online. Because what one person chooses will be different from what any other individual chooses, the content
of their social media stream will look different from anyone elseâs. This represents a monumental shift in how
media is presented to users. In the 1970s and 1980s, when there were only four or five television stations to
watch, all content was delivered to viewers at the same time, in the same fashion. The most watched television
finale in the history of US television was the last episode of M*A*S*H, a comedy set during the Korean War.115
This meant that more than 105 million people watched the finale at the same timeâsomething unimaginable
to younger viewers today, who can stream almost anything, from sports to comedies to YouTube videos, on
demand. This is due to another unique characteristic of online content, which is that it is asynchronous
content, or content that can be shared among a network of people outside the constraints of time and space.
For the vast majority of college students (and increasingly for their parents), using social media makes perfect
senseâthey were born into the technology and cannot remember life without it. Universities and colleges are
ground zero for experimentation and political socialization, and increasingly, college students are using social
media in ways that promote the creation of social capital and political participation. A study of university
students in the United States, Australia, and Britain found that they are adept social media users and that they
are aware of both its practical value and its limitations. The study notes that social media platforms are an
increasingly significant sphere âfor the political messaging, discussion, disruption and the presentation of the
political selfâ among college students.116 But it is worth it to stop and ask why social media is so useful for
politics in general. As New York University professor Clay Shirky notes, for generations, the formation of
groups has relied on traditional institutional structures (think political parties or the Freemasons). The advent
of social media has transformed group formation and even global cooperation.117 âSocial media,â Shirky
explains, âhave become coordinating tools for nearly all of the worldâs political movements, just as most of the
worldâs authoritarian governments (and, alarmingly, an increasing number of democratic ones) are trying to
limit access to it.â118 One can see the potential of social media as a valuable organizing tool for political
movements in the case of the Arab Spring, during which social media users organized wide-scale protests first
against the government of Tunisia, with additional pro-democracy movements spreading across much of the
Middle East and North Africa.
Social Media's Political Paradox
- Digital platforms like Facebook and Twitter have served as powerful tools for political mobilization, notably contributing to the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
- In authoritarian regimes like China, social media allows dissidents to bypass information controls and build virtual networks of like-minded individuals.
- The emergence of 'echo chambers' creates environments where users are primarily exposed to opinions that reinforce their existing beliefs.
- The lack of cross-ideological discourse on social media platforms is directly linked to increased political polarization and fragmentation.
- Global studies across Canada, France, and Thailand confirm that political polarization via social media is a widespread international phenomenon.
They learn the power of collective action. They become parts of networks that extend outside their countryâs borders.
In Egypt, a Google executive named Wael Ghonim created the Facebook page
12.4 ⢠The Internet and Social Media 397
âWe Are All Khaled Saidâ to protest the murder of a 28-year-old Egyptian man at the hands of Egyptian police.
The page, which had 300 users within two minutes of its creation, swelled to 250,000 users within three
months.119 Ghonim was later imprisoned and interrogated for his Facebook activities criticizing the Egyptian
government; upon release, he gave a televised speech that led to further protests, which in turn ultimately led
to the resignation of Egyptian then president Hosni Mubarak.120 In China, social media has been a valuable
tool of empowerment for political dissidents. Journalist Emily Parker writes that, via social media, âmillions of
wangmin, or netizens . . . are surrounded, at least virtually, by like-minded individuals. They learn the power of
collective action. They become parts of networks that extend outside their countryâs borders.â121 While
authoritarian governments such as Chinaâs âhave long tried to control the spread of information, . . . ordinary
citizens have long used creative ways to get around these controls.â122 Contemporary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei,
an early Twitter adopter, famously used the social media platform to alert people outside of China to the
governmentâs corrupt activities.
FIGURE 12.14 Chinese artist and political activist Ai Weiwei has more than 367,000 followers on Twitter
(https://openstax.org/r/twitteraiww). (credit: âAi Weiweiâ by Alfred Weidinger/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
In this way, social media can create social cohesion, facilitate collaboration, and serve as an indispensable tool
for activists. However, the technology has its drawbacks, particularly when it comes to politics. Online
environments in which the same opinions are repeatedly voiced and promoted to the exclusion of opposing
views, often referred to as echo chambers, are a recurring and real problem. For example, Twitter users are, to
a great extent, exposed to opinions that agree with their own, and bipartisan users are not rewarded in terms
of visibility on the platform.123 Echo chambers are problematic in that they are linked to political
polarization, or the divergence of political attitudes toward ideological extremes. Social media is particularly
ripe for this problem because the technology allows users to silo themselves off more easily than traditional
media does. However, as University of Chicago professor Cass Sunstein notes, citizens within a democratic
system require shared experiences, and when individuals can restrict themselves to hearing only voices they
agree withâonly âlouder echoes of their own voicesâ124âthis will lead to political fragmentation and political
polarization.
This is not a uniquely American phenomenon. A study of the 2011 Canadian election found evidence of
political polarization on Twitter,125 while a 2014 study similarly concluded that Twitter led to more political
polarization than it did cross-ideological discourse (though such discourse on Twitter did appear possible).126
Comparative research on the 2013 US and French presidential elections found polarization among Twitter
users in both countries, though at a higher level in France.127 Research on Facebook usage during the 2014
Thai presidential election also supports the claim that users do not engage in cross-ideological discussion but
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Media and Political Polarization
- Individuals increasingly sequester themselves within politically homogeneous social media environments.
- Polarization leads to a decline in institutional trust and a heightened suspicion of opposing viewpoints.
- Media concentration allows oligopolies to create niche, partisan platforms that fuel societal division.
- Exposure to partisan information reinforces existing beliefs and discourages political compromise.
- The success of outlets like Fox News and MSNBC exemplifies the trend toward polarized media content.
Political polarization results in lower levels of trust in institutions, higher levels of suspicion of âthe other side,â and the inability to work toward compromise.
instead sequester themselves in politically homogeneous social media pages.128 Political polarization results
in lower levels of trust in institutions, higher levels of suspicion of âthe other side,â and the inability to work
toward compromise.129 Media concentration (covered in an earlier section of this chapter) can also contribute
to political polarization because the media oligopolies have the resources to create a plethora of niche and
partisan media. As University of Antwerp professor Peter Van Aelst writes, âThe success of partisan news
broadcasters, such as Fox News and MSNBC, and online platforms such as Breitbart and The Huffington Post,
in the USA, also contributes to the view that there is a trend towards increasing polarization of media
content.â130 Research has found that exposure to partisan information makes people more inclined to support
their own positions in an entrenched manner.131
The Media and Personal Responsibility
Media Responsibility and Digital Disinformation
- The media serves as a critical political institution by informing voters and providing transparency regarding government actions.
- The decline of traditional gatekeepers like editors and fact-checkers has led to a decentralized media landscape prone to misinformation.
- Social media platforms create 'echo chambers' where falsehoods travel faster and further than the truth due to emotional triggers and novelty.
- Research indicates that human behavior, rather than automated bots, is the primary driver behind the rapid spread of digital disinformation.
- The democratization of news production empowers marginalized voices but simultaneously creates a dangerous minefield of unverified information.
- Individual responsibility is paramount in an era where a small number of actors can generate the majority of global misinformation.
Studies of Twitter have shown that falsehoods travel further and faster than the truth, thanks in part to the emotional responses they elicit and in part to the novelty of the falsehoods themselves.
FIGURE 12.15 This display of the front pages of newspapers around the world provides âa snapshot view of whatâs
important to people around the planet.â (credit: âNewspapersâ by Alper Ăugun/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The media play a critical role in helping people understand the political world around them. For example, the media
provide information about what governments are doing and inform voters about candidates running for office. What
people often do not think about, however, is how individuals engage with and utilize the information that they
receive from the media. Information is one of the most powerful tools available to the public, particularly when
thinking about specific information related to government and politics. Do individuals use this information in an
ethical manner? Do they think about what choices are available to them based on the information provided? Do they
fully understand all of the actions and consequences of those actions based on the information provided? By
studying how the media works as a political institution and with political institutionsâand how people interact with
the media and the information provided by the mediaâyou can begin to understand your own personal
responsibility vis-Ă -vis the media. In an era when social media can spread disinformation almost instantaneously or
exacerbate political polarization, it is important to really consider and take into account how your actions concerning
media utilization impact those around you.
The loss of the traditional gatekeeper is one explanation for the existence of the echo chambers, polarization,
and self-segregation that allow for an alarming increase in misinformation, or incorrect information that is
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12.4 ⢠The Internet and Social Media 399
spread regardless of intent to mislead. (Disinformation is misinformation that is explicitly intended to
mislead.) As Senior Vice President and the Director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) James Andrew Lewis writes, âThe effect of the internet on the
mediation of content is especially pronounced, with a decentralized media displacing the editors and fact-
checkers of the past. Social media amplifies the trend toward disintermediation.â132 In other words, when
people got political information from the newspaper or television in the past, they knew that there were
institutional checks in place, from editors to fact-checkers to the journalists themselves, to ensure its accuracy.
Now, anyone with Internet access can be a journalist, and no one needs a news station to create news. In this
way, the Internet has democratized news production and empowered previously ignored voices while
simultaneously creating a minefield of misinformation. The networked nature of social media platforms
makes it easy to pass along misinformation. Studies of Twitter have shown that falsehoods travel further and
faster than the truth, thanks in part to the emotional responses they elicit and in part to the novelty of the
falsehoods themselves. Perhaps more notably, studies found that it is the work not of bots (automated Internet
applications that run repetitive tasks such as retweeting) but of people retweeting falsehoods that cause
disinformation to spread so quickly.133 The Center for Countering Digital Hate found that only 12 people were
responsible for 65 percent of the misinformation spread online about COVID-19 vaccines.134 In addition, the
Internet and social media make it easier for foreign agents to spread disinformation online. In a report issued
for the US State Department in 2019, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea were highlighted as the worst
The Paradox of Media Trust
- Social media presents a paradox where its revolutionary potential for political participation simultaneously facilitates the rapid spread of state-backed disinformation.
- Media scholars are looking toward the evolution of new gatekeepers to restore a healthier information environment on digital platforms.
- Global trust in media institutions is precariously low, which threatens the media's role as a safeguard against authoritarianism.
- Research indicates that political interest and traditional news consumption correlate with higher trust, while internet news exposure correlates with lower trust.
- The decline of local journalism is framed as a direct threat to democracy, as informed citizens are harder for authoritarian regimes to control.
Every time a newspaper dies, even a bad one, the country moves a little closer to authoritarianism.
offenders, spending millions of dollars on state-backed activities designed to actively spread
disinformation.135 Herein lies the paradox of the intersection between social media and politics: the
technology can be a revolutionary tool for creating and dispersing information and encouraging broader
political participation, but it is this very participation and ease of information production and dissemination
that leads to such high levels of misinformation. Media scholars such as Lianne Chin-Fook and Heather
Simmonds are hopeful that new gatekeepers will evolve to allow for a healthier information environment on
social media platforms in the future.136
12.5 Declining Global Trust in the Media
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Detail levels of trust in the media in the US and around the world.
⢠Discuss why levels of trust in the media have steadily declined.
⢠Explain why we should care about levels of trust in the media.
⢠Explain what possible reforms can increase trust in the media.
Every time a newspaper dies, even a bad one, the country moves a little closer to authoritarianism.
âPulitzer Prizeâwinning journalist, Richard Kluger
The beginning of this chapter discussed how the press safeguards peopleâs rights and keeps democracy
healthy. Authoritarian regimes such as North Korea do not allow freedom of the press because they know that
an informed citizenry is a powerful one. Despite the inherent importance of the media, levels of trust in the
institution are precariously low both in the United States and globally. This section will examine levels of trust
in the media and the causes of mistrust, then go on to examine possible reforms.
Do People Trust the Media?
In order for the media to fulfill its goals as a gatekeeper and purveyor of information, there needs to be trust in
the institution. So why do some countries trust the media more than others? A study of 44 countries found that
factors such as higher levels of political interest, interpersonal trust, and exposure to television news and
newspapers are positively correlated with trust in media, while education and exposure to news on the
Internet are negatively associated with levels of trust in the media. The same study showed that ownership also
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Global Trends in Media Trust
- State ownership of television correlates with higher media trust in democratic societies but lower trust in non-democratic ones.
- Global trust in journalists varies wildly by country, ranging from 12 percent in Greece to 93 percent in Uzbekistan.
- A polarization feedback loop exists where political elites and media amplify the worst aspects of opposing sides, deepening public mistrust.
- In the United States, Republicans have increasingly integrated an anti-media stance into their core political ideology.
- The rise of online echo chambers allows users to selectively filter information, which reduces overall trust in mainstream press regardless of party affiliation.
- Trust in media is considered a vital precondition for a functioning democracy and an informed citizenry.
The relationship between trust in the media and political polarization is more analogous to the well-worn question about which came first, the chicken or the egg.
affects levels of trust: state ownership of television is positively associated with trust in media in democratic
societies and negatively associated with trust in media in nondemocratic societies.137 Other reports have
found that levels of democracy and media freedom are not necessarily correlated with trust in the media.
Evaluations of the economy also have been suggested as a factor in peopleâs trust in the media.138
A 2019 Gallup report on global trust in the media noted that the percentage of respondents who expressed at
least some trust in journalists ranged from a low of 12 percent in Greece to a high of 93 percent in
Uzbekistan.139 Most people around the globe trust people they know personally over people they know
through online exchanges, and there appears to be a healthy skepticism of online news and content in general.
Some question whether increased political polarization has contributed to lower levels of trust in the media.
Given the apparent causal relationship between political polarization and online echo chambers, perhaps the
relationship between trust in the media and political polarization is more analogous to the well-worn question
about which came first, the chicken or the egg. Wilfred Laurier University professor Anne Wilson, PhD
candidate Victoria Parker, and University of Toronto professor Matthew Feinberg describe this as a
polarization feedback loop, in which increasing polarization among political elites and the media âselectively
amplif[ies] the worst the other side has to offerâ and ultimately feeds into mistrust of the media and
polarization of the electorate.140 The schism is particularly apparent in the United States, where political
partisanship is evident not only across many policy issues but also when it comes to trust in the media.
FIGURE 12.16 Republicansâ trust in the media decreased significantly between 2000 and 2020. (souce: Gallup;
attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
When looking at a more detailed breakdown of who doesnât trust the media, the polling website
FiveThirtyEight notes that Republicans in the United States have built on their long-held belief that the media
has a liberal bias to incorporate an âanti-mediaâ stance into their overall ideology.141 In 2018, nine in 10
Republicans said they had âpersonally . . . lost trust in the news media in recent years.â142 As peopleâs choices
in media content have increased, it is not surprising that both Republicans and Democrats have sought out
news sources that reinforce their political beliefs, and the Internet has made this especially easy. Additionally,
SHOW ME THE DATA
12.5 ⢠Declining Global Trust in the Media 401
conservatives are more likely to surround themselves with like-minded views online, while liberals are more
likely to block friends who do not agree with them on social media.143 This self-imposed exposure to partisan
media ultimately reduces peopleâs overall trust in the mainstream press, regardless of party.144
Why Should We Care about Trust in the Media, and How Can We Increase It?
An informed citizenry is a precondition for democracy, and in order for citizens to act collectively and cast
votes in their best interests, people should be able to rely on the media as a source of unbiased information.
Without a foundation of trust in the media, people will find their information elsewhere. While one cannot
assume that all voters will make an effort to make educated choices, the ability to develop informed decisions
makes trust in the media a crucial first step. As former United States congressman Lee H. Hamilton writes,
Restoring Trust in Media
- The erosion of trust in media and government creates a vicious cycle that undermines the effectiveness of public institutions and the health of democracy.
- Transparency through official corrections and public admissions of error can actually increase audience trust rather than diminish it.
- Increasing newsroom representation and ensuring journalists reflect the communities they cover are vital for rebuilding reader relationships.
- Content quality has suffered due to the prioritization of 'talking heads' and the blurring of lines between opinion, analysis, and straight reporting.
- Structural reforms, such as reducing media concentration and providing journalists with better salaries and intellectual property rights, are proposed to ensure editorial independence.
- Local journalism is particularly effective at fostering trust, leading to suggestions for merger transaction fees to fund community-based news outlets.
The erosion of trust in public institutions damages the credibility of those institutions, further undermining their effectiveness and perpetuating a vicious circle.
âThe truth is that for our democracy to work, it needs not just an engaged citizenry, but an informed one.â145
The publicâs habits and their trust have moved in lockstep with one another, and as people have walled
themselves off from news they do not believe in, their trust in institutional media has fallen, as has their ability
to remain informed. The decline of trust in both governmental and media institutions has real consequences.
The erosion of trust in public institutions damages the credibility of those institutions, further undermining
their effectiveness and perpetuating a vicious circle.146
What can be done to restore trust in the media as an institution? Organizations in the United States and
around the world have proposed numerous strategies for supporting media institutions and promoting trust.
The Knight Foundation points out that a majority of respondents in a 2020 survey believed that it is possible to
raise levels of trust in the media, and in pursuit of that goal, the foundation makes two substantial suggestions
for the media: official corrections (that is, admitting to errors and publicly correcting them) and increased
representation.147 Respondents indicated that when the media issues official corrections, this increases
rather than decreases trust, suggesting that transparency is key to raising trust levels. With regard to
representation, readers appear to want more representation in newsrooms, with journalists who look like
them and more closely reflect their communities.
NPRâs public editor suggests that the lack of trust also stems from content quality. âCable networks . . .
prioritized talking heads148 over reporting. Print media . . . conflated opinion, analysis, and straight
reporting.â149 In response to this, the Trust Project, which partners with 200 news outlets across 12 countries,
works with media organizations to incorporate what it calls âthe 8 Trust Indicatorsâ150 in order to facilitate
improved news quality and increase reader trust.151 Addressing the issue of media concentration may also
encourage higher-quality content and promote a closer relationship with readers and viewers, thus
contributing to engendering trust.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the worldâs largest intergovernmental
organization dedicated to security, elections, human rights, and press freedom (among other concerns), makes
a number of recommendations for improving both content quality and peopleâs trust in the media. The OSCE
advises European governments to
⢠tackle the problem of media concentration by reducing certain taxes for newspaper companies;
⢠develop guidelines for editorial independence from corporate owners;
⢠strengthen intellectual property and bargaining rights for journalists; and
⢠provide âsufficientâ salaries for journalists.
Further, the OSCE encourages nations to monitor these recommendations.152 In the United States, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) could reverse rules that loosened restrictions on mergers, though as some
point out, this would not necessarily prevent smaller media outlets from dying off. One novel suggestion is to
require a transaction fee for each merger, with the proceeds going to fund local journalism, especially because
it appears that trust is fostered when readers feel that the media outlets they use are tied to their
communities.153
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Help Stop the Spread of Misinformation
Media Roles and Misinformation
- Organizations like First Draft provide journalists and the public with tools and training to identify and combat online misinformation.
- The mass media acts as a 'fourth estate' or watchdog, serving as an unofficial branch of government that checks the power of others.
- A free press is essential for functioning as an information conduit between the government and citizens who cannot monitor state affairs directly.
- Journalistic values and practices dictate the news agenda, influencing which stories are prioritized and how they are framed for the public.
- The modern media landscape is categorized into four distinct groups: print, radio, television, and the Internet.
Another common way of defining the mediaâs role is to say that it acts as the fourth estate, or the unofficial fourth branch of government that checks the others.
To combat misinformation online, organizations such as First Draft (https://openstax.org/r/firstdraftnews) work
globally with journalists to root out misinformation and provide reporters with resources and information to create
the most informed content possible and build trust with audiences.154 The website hosts a free library of training
content, including online courses, tool kits, and resources designed to help both journalists and the public build
expertise and stay ahead of misinformation. Everyone has the ability to stop misinformation, and by educating
yourself on how to stay alert to the spread of false news, you help promote a healthier media.
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
12.5 ⢠Declining Global Trust in the Media 403
Summary
12.1 The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter?
The mass media serve as powerful guardians of political norms because the free press should keep the public
informed about the wrongdoings of government. Another common way of defining the mediaâs role is to say
that it acts as the fourth estate, or the unofficial fourth branch of government that checks the others. Another
term for this role is watchdog. In order for the press to fulfill this important role, however, countries must
protect the freedom of the pressâand some countries do a better job than others. Protecting the press is also
important because it serves as an information conduit between the government and the people. The vast
majority of people cannot acquire information on governmental affairs themselves and rely on the press to act
as a mediator. However, the media report stories based on their own journalistic values and practices, and this
can affect what makes the news agenda and how pieces are framed.
12.2 Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape
The media can be categorized into four distinct groups: print, radio, television, and the Internet. Each group
Media Ownership and Political Influence
- The American and European media landscape is dominated by an oligopoly of six major firms, leading to more homogeneous and entertainment-focused content.
- Election coverage frequently prioritizes 'horse-race' optics over substantive policy discussion, forcing voters to navigate narratives shaped by heavy candidate spending.
- While state-sponsored media models thrive in Britain and Japan, they remain largely unpopular and distrusted within the United States.
- Social media has lowered barriers to entry for political coordination, yet algorithms and user preferences often create polarizing echo chambers.
- The rapid spread of misinformation on digital platforms hampers their utility as reliable sources for informed democratic decision-making.
- Global trust in media is declining, which threatens the ability of citizens to access the objective information necessary for a functioning democracy.
The majority of the media in the United States and much of Europe is owned by six major firms, and this type of oligopoly can have effects on peopleâs political lives.
has its own place in history, and its influence over the audience has ebbed and flowed over time. The majority
of the media in the United States and much of Europe is owned by six major firms, and this type of oligopoly
can have effects on peopleâs political lives. Concentration of ownership has resulted in homogeneous content, a
move away from both local and international news to more entertainment and national news, and (in some
instances) a movement toward more conservative political news content. Though private ownership of the
media has resulted in an oligopoly, there are other models of ownership across the globe. Countries such as
Britain and Japan have well-respected and widely used state-sponsored media channels, although such state-
sponsored media are relatively unpopular in the United States.
12.3 How Do Media and Elections Interact?
The media often focuses coverage on the horse-race aspect of elections, ignoring substantive policy
discussion. However, the electorate depends on the media as a source of information that can help them make
informed decisions. Countries with fewer democratic freedoms and authoritarian regimes severely hamper
the pressâs ability to cover elections fairly. Candidates, on the other hand, understand that controlling press
coverage is important in terms of electoral success, and they spend substantial time and money to make sure
the public hears their version of the story. Most political speech in the United States is protected by the First
Amendment to the US Constitution, and American political candidates spend large sums of money on ads and
other attempts to control the media narrative. Many countries around the globe strictly limit not only how
much candidates can spend on elections but also how much political advertising they can buy. This
notwithstanding, political ads play an important role for candidates as an easy way to reach voters.
12.4 The Internet and Social Media
Social media is ubiquitous. The lowered barriers for entry allow anyone to be a producer of content and
purveyor of information, and they also allow people to discuss and coordinate their actions around politics.
Citizens in countries with limited political freedom have found the Internet and social media to be powerful
and important tools that circumvent both authoritarian regimes and tightly controlled traditional media
institutions. The Internet and social media are not without their problems, however. Algorithms play a large
part in determining what people see, but individuals still have a significant amount of power to determine
what information they seek out, which can create echo chambers and potentially result in political
polarization. Misinformation also travels quickly on social media, hampering these platformsâ true utility as a
reliable source of information.
12.5 Declining Global Trust in the Media
Maintaining trust in the media is important because people need to rely on the media in order to make
informed decisions as citizens. Without the media, citizens fall prey to misinformation or no information, and
404 12 ⢠Summary
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Media Polarization and Trust
- Political polarization and falling levels of trust create a self-reinforcing cycle that damages the relationship between the public and the media.
- International organizations like the OSCE suggest addressing media concentration through tax incentives for smaller companies and official corrections to misinformation.
- The concept of 'gatekeeping' and 'agenda-setting theory' highlights the media's power to decide which topics reach the public and how they are understood.
- Modern digital environments are often defined by 'echo chambers' and 'algorithms' that rank content based on user predictions, potentially excluding opposing views.
- The media is traditionally viewed as the 'fourth estate,' serving as an unofficial branch of government intended to check the power of other branches.
- Journalistic trends like 'pack journalism' and 'horse-race coverage' can lead to homogeneous content that prioritizes winners and losers over substantive policy issues.
Polarization leads to lower levels of trust, which lead to worse polarization.
falling levels of trust signify a troubled relationship. One reason for this falling trust is increasing political
polarization. Polarization leads to lower levels of trust, which lead to worse polarization. What can
governments and the media do to address this phenomenon? Recommendations from nongovernmental
organizations such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe include official corrections
and increased representation in the media, measures to address media concentration, and tax incentives for
smaller media companies.
Key Terms
agenda-setting theory the theory that the mediaâs power rests in its ability to decide which topics the public
will see and which ones they wonât
algorithms mathematical sets of rules that, when applied to the Internet or social media (for example), search,
sort, and rank things based on predictions about what users should see
altruistic democracy the ideal held up by the media that politics should be based on public service and serve
the public interest
asynchronous content content that can be shared among a network of people outside the constraints of time
and space
barriers to entry the economic cost to newcomers in a marketplace
Catoâs letters a collection of essays written in the 1720s by British writers John Trenchard and Thomas
Gordon under the pseudonym Cato in order to criticize the British monarchy for its corruption and
tyrannical practices
echo chambers online environments in which the same opinions are repeatedly voiced and promoted to the
exclusion of opposing views
ethnocentrism in the context of the news, the idea that the media of a country values that country above all
other nations
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the US government commission that currently oversees radio,
television, wire, and Internet
fourth estate a term for the media that casts it as an unofficial fourth branch of government that checks the
other branches of government
framing theory the theory that the way the media frames political information can affect peopleâs
understanding of it
free media media coverage that political candidates do not pay for, such as news coverage by local reporters
gatekeeping the process by which information and topics are filtered and selected by the media
horse-race coverage media coverage of political campaigns that focuses on winners and losers rather than
policy issues
media concentration the idea that ownership of the media rests in the hands of the few, taking the form of an
oligopoly
mediated information information that is not received directly from the source, such as the government, but
comes via a third party, such as the media
misinformation incorrect information that is spread regardless of intent to mislead
movable type a system of movable letters that can be reused to repeatedly print text
oligopoly ownership by a few individuals or entities
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) the worldâs largest intergovernmental
organization dedicated to security, elections, human rights, and press freedom
pack journalism the idea that journalists sharing professional values can lead to the homogeneous nature of
news content
Media Dynamics and Political Polarization
- The media acts as a 'watchdog' and 'fourth estate,' serving as a critical check on government power and transparency.
- A polarization feedback loop exists where ideological extremes in media and political elites amplify mistrust and electoral division.
- Media gatekeeping and framing theories explain how news organizations determine topic visibility and influence public perception of policy.
- The rise of media oligopolies and social media algorithms has contributed to the creation of echo chambers that mirror users' existing beliefs.
- Declining trust in media is driven by perceived bias and polarization, though it may be mitigated by newsroom diversity and transparent corrections.
polarization feedback lo op the theory that rising p olariza tion among politic al elites and the media amplifies the worst of both sides
paid media media that political candidates pay for, such as campaign ads on television or the Internet
polarization feedback loop the theory that rising polarization among political elites and the media amplifies
the worst of both sides, ultimately feeding into mistrust of the media and polarization of the electorate
political polarization the divergence of political attitudes toward ideological extremes
12 ⢠Key Terms 405
watchdog the role of the press to act as a check on the government to make sure that it is appropriately
serving its purpose
Review Questions
1 . __________ is a name for the press that references its role in helping the public make sure the government
is working truthfully.
a. The fourth estate
b. Watchdog
c. Both A and B
d. Neither A nor B
2 . The gatekeeping role of the media refers to:
a. The fact that the media determines what topics the public sees
b. The mediaâs strict standards for who becomes a journalist
c. The fact that journalists donât have the power to decide what is in the news
d. The way the media keeps out certain audiences
3 . Framing theory is:
a. A theory about why the way pictures are framed in the media changes peopleâs perception of the news
b. The same as agenda-setting theory
c. A theory about how people frame news stories in their minds
d. The theory that the way the media frames stories alters how people think about policies or elected
officials and candidates
4 . The media can be grouped into the following categories:
a. Print and nonprint
b. Print, radio, television, and the Internet
c. Social media and the Internet
d. None of the above
5 . The term media oligopolies refers to:
a. A few firms owning all media content
b. One firm owning all media content
c. Many firms owning the media
d. State- or government-owned media
6 . Horse-race coverage focuses on:
a. Horse racing
b. Important electoral events
c. Who is winning an election
d. The publicâs trust in the media
7 . Negative ads:
a. Are a form of advertising that candidates use to attack their opponents during an election
b. May work to turn off voters from candidates who use them
c. Make up the majority of election ads
d. All of the above
8 . During elections, candidates rely on which types of media?
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a. Paid media
b. Free media
c. Both free and paid media
d. Neither free nor paid media
9 . Algorithms:
a. Determine what users see in their social media feeds
b. Are mathematical sets of rules
c. Make the media negative in nature
d. Both A and B
10 . The term echo chambers refers to:
a. The phenomenon in which social media allows people to be surrounded by opinions that mirror their
own
b. The way in which the media echoes elite opinions
c. The idea that people echo their own voices on social media
d. None of the above
11 . The fact that information and content on the Internet is asynchronous means that:
a. It is timely
b. It is not in touch with the public
c. It can be shared without constraints of time or space
d. It is information that is biased
12 . Reasons for the decline in trust in the media include:
a. Media bias
b. Political polarization
c. Rising costs of the media
d. Increased regulation of the media
13 . Suggestions for increasing trust in the media include:
a. Addressing ownership structures and dismantling oligopolies
b. Making sure that newsrooms are representative of their audiences
c. Having news organizations issue corrections when they make mistakes
d. All of the above
Suggested Readings
Gans, Herbert. Deciding Whatâs News: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and Time.
New York: Vintage Books, 1980.
Governing Regimes and Power
- The text introduces the concept of governing regimes as organized forms of political power with distinct institutional patterns.
- Regimes are categorized by how they address common global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic response.
- A central tension exists between swift government mandates for public safety and the prioritization of individual freedoms.
- The study of regimes requires an understanding of the relationships between power, authority, and legitimacy.
- Recent political trends indicate a rise in illiberal representative regimes across different global regions.
During the global COVID-19 pandemic, for example, some countries swiftly enacted lockdowns, mask mandates, and other policies aimed at reigning in the spread of the virus, while other countries took more of a wait-and-see approach that prioritized individual freedoms.
Graber, Doris A. Mass Media and American Politics. 6th ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2002.
Iyengar, Shanto. Media Politics: A Citizenâs Guide. 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2016.
Patterson, Thomas E. Out of Order. New York: Knopf, 1993.
Sunstein, Cass R. #Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 2017.
12 ⢠Suggested Readings 407
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FIGURE 13.1 The New Zealand government distributed pamphlets and hung posters to disseminate information
about adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealandâs lockdown was among the strictest that
governments imposed during the pandemic. (credit: New Zealand Government/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
13.1 Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority
13.2 Categorizing Contemporary Regimes
13.3 Recent Trends: Illiberal Representative Regimes
Political power is organized in the form of governing regimes, or governments. Underlying
institutional patterns have emerged among the wide variety of these regimes across different regions of the
world and in different periods of time. These different approaches to governance are evident in the ways
various regimes seek to address common challenges and achieve desired goals. During the global COVID-19
pandemic, for example, some countries swiftly enacted lockdowns, mask mandates, and other policies aimed
at reigning in the spread of the virus, while other countries took more of a wait-and-see approach that
prioritized individual freedoms. When you draw distinctions among varying types of regimes and detect
trends in contemporary governments, you can come to our own conclusions regarding which regime is best for
addressing these kinds of challenges. To these ends, this chapter will look at governing regimes both
conceptually and in reference to a range of concrete examples drawn from governments around the world.
13
Governing Regimes
13.1 Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe the nature of governing regimes.
⢠Define power, authority, and legitimacy.
⢠Explain the relationships among power, authority, and legitimacy.
⢠Discuss political history and contemporary political and legal developments surrounding governing
Defining Government Authority
- A government is defined as a set of organizations with the authority to exercise the widest scope of power over a specific geographic area.
- Unlike private organizations like churches, governments claim the right to impose their will on all people within their territory, regardless of affiliation.
- Governments seek to maintain peace and collective safety, as demonstrated by their unique ability to close businesses or restrict gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Following Max Weber's theory, governments strive for a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within their borders.
- While individuals may use force for self-defense, the government retains the ultimate authority to judge whether such actions are legally acceptable.
Governments often assert what Weber called a monopoly on the right to use violence, reserving for themselves either the right to use violence or the right to approve its use by others.
regimes.
A government can be defined as a set of organizations, with their associated rules and procedures, that has the
authority to exercise the widest scope of powerâthe ability to impose its will on others to secure desired
outcomesâover a defined area. Government authority includes the power to have the final say over when the
use of force is acceptable, and governments seek to exercise their authority with legitimacy. This is a complex
definition, so this section unpacks its elements one by one.
A government both claims the right and has the ability to exercise power over all people in a defined
geographic area. The leadership of a church or a mosque, for example, can refuse to offer religious services to
certain individuals or can excommunicate them. However, such organizations have no right to apply force to
impose their will on non-congregants. In contrast, governments reserve for themselves the broadest scope of
rightful power within their area of control and can, in principle, impose their will on vast areas of the lives of all
people within the territories over which they rule. During the COVID-19 pandemic, only governments both
claimed and exercised the right to close businesses and to forbid religious institutions to hold services. The
pandemic also highlights another feature of governments: almost all governments seek to have and to exercise
power in order to create at least minimal levels of peace, order, and collective stability and safety.
FIGURE 13.2 Chinaâs armed police force imposes government-sanctioned order. (credit: âChina Armed Police
Forceâ by Michael Mooney/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
As German social scientist Max Weber maintained, almost all governments seek to have and to enforce the
right to have the final say over when violence is acceptable within their territory. Governments often assert
what Weber called a monopoly on the right to use violence, reserving for themselves either the right to use
violence or the right to approve its use by others.1 The word monopoly might be misleading. In most countries,
citizens have a right to use violence in self-defense; most governments do not maintain that they alone can
exercise the acceptable use of violence. Where the government recognizes the right to use violence in self-
defense, it will seek to reserve for itself the right to decide when, in its judgment, that use is acceptable.
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Imagine a landlord confronting a tenant who has not paid their rent. The landlord cannot violently seize the
renter and forcibly evict them from the apartment; only the policeâan agency of the stateâcan acceptably do
that. Nevertheless, the law of many countries recognizes a right of self-defense by means of physical violence.
In many US states, for example, if a person enters your house unlawfully with a weapon and you suspect they
constitute a threat to you or your family, you have a broad right to use force against that intruder in self-
defense (a principle that forms the core of the âcastle doctrineâ). In addition, private security guards can
sometimes use force to protect private property. The government retains the right to determine, via its court
system, whether these uses of force meet the criteria for being judged acceptable. Because the government
sets these criteria, it can be said to have the final say on when the use of force is permissible.
Authority
The Nature of Authorized Power
- Authority is defined as the legal permission granted by a governing regime to exercise power over its subjects.
- Governments typically codify this authority through constitutions that define the scope of power and the legislative process.
- The establishment of criminal law and police forces serves as a primary example of authorized power in action.
- State authority includes the right to impose behavioral prohibitions that are applicable to all individuals within a territory.
- Coercive enforcement by police must adhere to specific lines of authority and established departmental rules.
- Regulatory power, such as the control of interstate commerce, is a secondary form of authorized governmental influence.
Individuals engaging in those behaviors are subject to coercive enforcement by the stateâs police force, which adheres to defined lines of authority and the rules police departments must follow.
Authority is the permission, conferred by the laws of a governing regime, to exercise power. Governments most
often seek to authorize their power in the form of some decree or set of decreesâmost often in the form of a
legal constitution that sets out the scope of the governmentâs powers and the process by which laws will be
made and enforced. The enactment of codes of criminal law, the creation of police forces, and the
establishment of procedures surrounding criminal justice are clear examples of the development of
authorized power. To some degree, the constitution of every government authorizes the government to impose
a prohibition, applicable in principle to all people in its territory, on certain behaviors. Individuals engaging in
those behaviors are subject to coercive enforcement by the stateâs police force, which adheres to defined lines
of authority and the rules police departments must follow.
Governmental regulations are another type of authorized government power. The laws that structure a regime
usually give the government the authority to regulate individual and group behaviors. For example, Article 1
Section 8 of the US Constitution authorizes the federal government to regulate interstate commerce. When
Authority and Economic Stability
- The federal government regulates interstate commerce, such as airline safety, through agencies like the FAA backed by coercive power.
- Max Weber argued that regimes benefit from clearly defined constitutional laws to reduce public fear and secure popular support.
- Predictable governmental actions and stable bureaucratic institutions encourage economic investment and private sector participation.
- Efficient structures of authority allow governments to amass resources more cost-effectively to serve their specific objectives.
- Taxation serves as a necessary corollary to law enforcement, providing the revenue required to maintain public order and fund social programs.
- The power to tax is a regulatory tool used to shape societal behavior through the threat of punishment for non-compliance.
When lines of authority in the government are clear, especially in the context of the stateâs criminal law, the people living in a regime are less fearful of the state.
large commercial airlines fly individuals across state lines for a fee, they engage in interstate commerce. The
federal government therefore has the authority to regulate airline safety requirements and flight patterns.
Pursuant to this authority, the federal government has established an agency, the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), to issue these regulations, which are ultimately backed by the stateâs coercive
enforcement power.
Weber argued that those who structure regimes are likely to choose, on the basis of the regimeâs own best
interests, to create authority that is clearly spelled out in a regimeâs constitutional law.2 When lines of authority
in the government are clear, especially in the context of the stateâs criminal law, the people living in a regime
are less fearful of the state. This helps the state secure the peopleâs support. When the scope of the
governmentâs authority is clear, people can understand how their government is structured and functions and
are therefore less likely to be surprised by governmental actions. This can be especially important for the
economy. To follow the example above, if laws regulating the private ownership of commercial airlines are
constantly open to unexpected change, some people may be wary of working in the industry or investing their
money in these companiesâ stock. Predictable governmental action can encourage these investments. With
increased economic activity, the government can tax the productive output, amassing resources to help it
achieve whatever its goals might be. In addition, clearly defined structures of authority in the form of stable
bureaucratic institutions allow a government to exercise power more efficiently and cost-effectively, once
again enabling it to amass more resources to serve its objectives.3
The use of physical force to directly restrain behavior is just one of the ways governments exercise power.
Governments also tax. In a sense, the taxing authority of government is a necessary corollary of its authority to
impose behavior-restricting rules: almost all governments must derive revenue through taxes in order to
finance the maintenance of their laws and to ensure peace and public order. However, that authority also
allows governments to exercise power to achieve a wide variety of ends, funding everything from foreign wars
to a social safety net or a set of social programs. Taxation is another way governments regulate peopleâs
behavior: if you donât pay your taxes, the government is authorized to punish youâa principle true across the
13.1 ⢠Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority 411
world, even if the levels of enforcement for not paying taxes vary across regimes.
The authority to tax illustrates another aspect of governmental power: the use of authority to shape society by
Taxation as Behavioral Incentive
- The federal tax code uses deductions for charitable donations to incentivize individual philanthropy.
- Mortgage interest deductions are designed to encourage homeownership over renting to foster community ties.
- Homeownership is promoted as a vehicle for long-term savings and financial security during retirement.
- Governments implement 'sin taxes' on products like alcohol and cigarettes to discourage unhealthy behaviors.
- Proposed taxes on bullets and sugary drinks aim to address public health and safety concerns through financial pressure.
- Beyond fiscal policy, government leaders utilize their office and public assets to shape and influence public opinion.
In the United States, at least, the federal government has encouraged homeownership due to a belief that homeownership helps people build closer ties with and involvement in local communities and thus increases civic participation.
creating incentives for particular kinds of behavior. In the United States, the federal tax code enables taxpayers
to deduct large charitable donations from their taxable income as a way to encourage individuals to give to
charities. Additionally, homeowners can deduct the interest they pay on their home mortgage, thereby
reducing their annual federal tax obligation. This use of government power is meant to encourage people to
own homes rather than rent. In the United States, at least, the federal government has encouraged
homeownership due to a belief that homeownership helps people build closer ties with and involvement in
local communities and thus increases civic participation, and that owning a home correlates with greater
levels of long-term savings, which can provide individuals greater financial security in their retirement.4 (For
some people, their house is their largest asset, which can help to finance their retirement.) Conversely,
governments can impose âsin taxesââthat is, taxes on products like alcohol and cigarettes, discouraging their
use. Some lawmakers have proposed levying higher taxes on bullets to discourage gun violence, and some
areas have taxed sugary soft drinks to discourage their consumption as a way to improve public health.5
FIGURE 13.3 Governments can use taxes to try to influence behavior. The average state tax on a pack of cigarettes
in the United States in December 2021 was $1.91. (source: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; attribution: Copyright
Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
Beyond taxation, governmental leaders can use their office to influence public opinion. Governmental
authorities are often authorized to use the governmentâs assets to promote their policies: the president of the
SHOW ME THE DATA
412 13 ⢠Governing Regimes
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The Power of Persuasion
- Governments utilize official resources, such as Air Force One and congressional franking privileges, to promote policy agendas and influence public opinion.
- The 'bully pulpit' is a strategic tool used by executives to shape the national narrative and exert pressure on other branches of government.
- Leaders often employ rhetoric that appeals to a shared national identity or ethos to justify specific policy decisions.
- President Obama's defense of the DACA program serves as a case study in using historical narratives of immigration to build support for administrative changes.
- By defining what it means to be a citizen, officials attempt to exercise power by shaping the population's collective sense of self and history.
In the United States, presidents such as Teddy Roosevelt became famous for skillfully using the âbully pulpit,â that is, the power of the president to shape the opinions of the population.
United States, for example, is authorized to use Air Force One (the presidential jet) to travel the country in
order to promote policy proposals. (Presidents are not, however, allowed to use Air Force One for free to
conduct political fundraising.) Additionally, members of the United States Congress are authorized to send
letters to constituents, free of charge, describing or defending the policies they support. Tools like these allow
governments to exercise the power of influence and persuasion. The chief executive is usually the
governmental official who takes the greatest advantage of this form of power. In the United States, presidents
such as Teddy Roosevelt became famous for skillfully using the âbully pulpit,â that is, the power of the
president to shape the opinions of the population and, through this, potentially to influence members of other
branches of the government, especially elected legislators.
Presidents and prime ministers often give speeches or issue proclamations to exert this power. President
Barack Obama, for example, following a long tradition in American politics, spoke often of what âwe as
Americansâ value as a way to persuade the populace to support the policy agenda of his administration. Take
the following example from one of Obamaâs speeches. In the speech, he defended his administrationâs decision
to change the priorities of federal immigration officials to less rigorously enforce laws requiring the
deportation of undocumented individuals when those individuals entered the country as childrenâthe
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. Arguing that children brought to the country by
their parents should not have to live in fear of deportation, Obama remarked:
âMy fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.
And whether our forebears were strangers who crossed the Atlantic, or the Pacific, or the Rio Grande,
we are here only because this country welcomed them in and taught them that to be an American is
about something more than what we look like, or what our last names are, or how we worship. What
makes us Americans is our shared commitment to an idealâthat all of us are created equal, and all of
us have the chance to make of our lives what we will.â (emphasis added)6
By using rhetoric that attempts to define the national ethos, governments can seek to exercise power by
shaping the populationâs sense of itself and its place in history.
Legitimacy
The Nature of Legitimacy
- Governments seek legitimacy to ensure their exercise of power is viewed as rightful rather than just forceful.
- Legitimacy can be defined as a broad government trait based on widespread public belief in its right to rule.
- Individual or group judgments determine legitimacy based on whether actions align with morality, justice, and social welfare.
- Broad legitimacy does not require unanimity but rather a general sentiment of acceptance among the majority.
- A government can remain broadly legitimate even if small dissenting groups view it as illegitimate.
In either sense, legitimacy is measured in perceptions of the rightfulness of government actionsâthe sense that those actions are morally appropriate and consistent with basic justice and social welfare.
Most governments establish authority not only to exercise power, but also in the pursuit of legitimacy.
Legitimacy can be seen from two different vantage points. Following Weber, the term is often used to mean the
widespread belief that the government has the right to exercise its power. In this senseâwhich can be called
broad legitimacyâthe concept describes a government trait. Legitimacy can also be seen from the perspective
of individuals or groups who make determinations about whether their government is or is not legitimateâthat
is, rightfully exercising power, or what can be called judgments about legitimacy. In either sense, legitimacy is
measured in perceptions of the rightfulness of government actionsâthe sense that those actions are morally
appropriate and consistent with basic justice and social welfare.
It is quite possible for a small group or a small set of groups to conclude that their government is illegitimate
and so does not have the right to exercise authorized power even as the vast majority think that government is
rightfully exercising authorized power. In this case, since the dissenting group is small and the great majority
see their government as legitimate, the state can be deemed broadly legitimate. Broad legitimacy, therefore, is
defined not as unanimous agreement by the people that a governmentâs authority is rightfully exercised, but
simply as a broad sentiment that it is.
VIDEO
Finding Legitimacy: What Does Legitimacy Mean to You?
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13-1-contemporary-government-regimes-power-legitimacy-and-authority)
The Nature of Government Legitimacy
- Legitimacy is a complex concept based on whether citizens perceive a government's actions as rightful, moral, and just.
- While broad legitimacy is difficult to measure precisely, broad illegitimacy is often signaled by sustained protests, low trust, and calls for constitutional reform.
- Max Weber argued that legitimate governments are more efficient because they can rely on voluntary compliance rather than costly police or military force.
- In stable systems, citizens often distinguish between 'unpopular' laws they dislike and 'illegitimate' laws they believe the government has no right to enact.
- Modern political discourse in the United States shows a shift toward framing policy and election disagreements as fundamental crises of legitimacy.
- Claims of illegitimacy often focus on procedural authorization, such as allegations regarding the 2020 election, rather than just the substance of the outcomes.
Though you cannot always say for certain that a government truly has broad legitimacy, broad illegitimacy is often easy to detect.
In this Center for Public Impact video, people from around the world talk about what government legitimacy
13.1 ⢠Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority 413
means to them.
Legitimacy is a vague concept. Citizensâ judgments about legitimacy entail the often-difficult determinations of
what is or is not rightful and thus consistent with morality, justice, and social welfare. Judging rightfulness can
be a challenging task, as can the determination of whether a regime truly possesses broad legitimacy. Though
you cannot always say for certain that a government truly has broad legitimacy, broad illegitimacy is often easy
to detect. Indications of governments that do not have broad legitimacy can take many forms, including
sustained protests, very low levels of trust in the regime as captured by polling data, and widespread calls for
revising or abandoning the constitution.
The most effective governments, Weber argued, not only have laws that clearly authorize power but also have
some substantial measure of broad legitimacy. Broadly legitimate governments can exercise power without the
threat of popular rebellion, and the state can more readily rely on people to follow the law. These conditions
can spare the government the cost of large standing police forces or militaries, and those resources in turn can
be allocated in other areas. Unsurprisingly, most governments seek to legitimize their rule.
In the United States, many debates over rival understandings of law and public policy are not debates over
legitimacy. For example, many groups in the United States disagree over certain tax policies; some want to
increase taxes to pay for greater services, while others want to lower taxes to encourage economic growth. Yet
those who oppose a particular tax law rarely refer to it as illegitimate since the law is recognized as coming
from a process that has widespread popular supportâthat is, from the lawmaking process authorized in the US
Constitution. Therefore, tax laws that many disfavor are usually not seen as illegitimate, but simply as
unpopular or unwise and thus in need of change.
However, in the United States today, more and more debates surrounding law, public policy, and election
results are expressed in terms of judgments of their legitimacy or illegitimacy. A true loss of legitimacy, either
in the eyes of a small group or in the eyes of the broad populace, occurs only when a law is determined to be so
wrong or harmful that it is not right for the government to enact it. In many cases in the United States today,
allegations of illegitimacy contend not that a law or electoral result lacks legitimacy because the substance of
the law or election outcome is so egregious that it is not a rightful thing for the government to do or to permit,
but because they claim the US Constitution does not authorize the law or the process that resulted in a
particular outcome.
Consider the 2020 election and debates involving the administration of President Joe Biden. Many supporters
of Donald Trump hold that President Biden is an illegitimate president,7 but they contend not so much that he
is so unacceptable that his holding the office of president is inconsistent with morality, justice, and social
welfare, but that the governmental officials in charge of running the 2020 presidential election process acted
inappropriately or even, some contend, engaged in criminal ballot tampering. For these reasons, to them
Bidenâs current presidency is unrightful because they see the process by which he was elected as
unauthorized.8 Numerous post-election audits have found the allegations to be without merit.9 In an April
Legitimacy and Emergency Powers
- Public skepticism regarding the 2020 election highlights a growing divide in how citizens interpret the Constitution and the rules of governance.
- Disagreements over government actions often mask deeper conflicts between what is legally authorized and what citizens perceive as morally rightful.
- Some political actors may frame their opposition as a constitutional critique to avoid being labeled as lawless or revolutionary.
- Constitutional regimes often include provisions for states of emergency, which allow governments to bypass ordinary legal limits on their power.
- While emergency powers address public safety threats like terrorism, they can undermine the clear lines of authority that typically foster public trust.
Those making such claims may not wish to be seen as protesting authorized governmental activity since to do so could make them appear lawless or even revolutionary.
2021 poll, about three-quarters of Republicans, a quarter of Democrats, and half of Independents indicated
that they believe the 2020 election was affected by cheating.10
These debates are complicated, and it is difficult to pinpoint the origin, rationale, and true motivation behind
these judgments that the election results, for example, are illegitimate. What can be said is that there seem to
be not only deeply rooted disagreements in the United States over what policies are best, but also deep
disagreements about whether a variety of laws or governmental actions are in fact authorized by the
Constitutionâa development arising because of deepening disagreements among citizens about what the
Constitution and the rules it contains actually mean.
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FIGURE 13.4 In 2012, protestors held signs expressing their belief that Pennsylvaniaâs voter ID law, which would
have required people to have and present specific types of identification in order to vote, was unconstitutional. The
law was eventually struck down; however, the state legislature continues to work on measures aimed at creating
stricter voting and election laws. (credit: âPA voter ID is unconstitutionalâ by Rick Smith/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Some public allegations that a law or electoral outcome is illegitimate in the sense that it is unauthorized may
be mere covers for the genuine view that the laws or the electoral results are themselves unrightful, even if
they were authorized. Those making such claims may not wish to be seen as protesting authorized
governmental activity since to do so could make them appear lawless or even revolutionary.
The Legitimate Exercise of Power
In some cases, the constitutional law of a governing regime authorizes the suspension of established laws and
regulations, allowing the government to act without defined limits on the scope of its authorized actions. A
common way this can occur is in regimes that authorize the government to declare states of emergency that
suspend the governmentâs adherence to the ordinary scope of authorized power.
There are strong reasons for states to resist invoking a condition of emergency. Clear lines of government
authority, especially in the context of the stateâs criminal law, tend to make people less fearful of the state,
allowing the state more easily to call upon the people for support and thus enhancing the stateâs legitimacy.
Nevertheless, many regimes have the authority to declare emergenciesâoften in response to threats to public
safety, such as terrorismâand to act in only vaguely specified ways during these periods.
VIDEO
45 Years Ago, a State of Emergency Was Declared in India
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States of Emergency and Legitimacy
- Governments often use states of emergency to suspend civil liberties in the name of maintaining public security and state legitimacy.
- To prevent the abuse of power, some democratic regimes like France implement strict legislative time limits on emergency declarations.
- In contrast, some nations like Israel maintain indefinitely renewable emergency regulations that grant sweeping powers over judicial and civil life.
- Broad public support for emergency powers often stems from a collective belief that the state faces existential or ongoing security threats.
- The prolonged or excessive use of emergency decrees can eventually backfire, risking the erosion of the very legitimacy the regime seeks to protect.
This regulation has been renewed every year since 1948; today it applies mostly to the West Bank.
In 1975, during a time of social and political unrest, Indiaâs national government declared a nationwide state of
emergency, allowing the government to suspend civil liberties.
States generally see the establishment of public security as critical to their continued broad legitimacy: a state
that cannot protect its people is likely to lose the widespread sentiment that it has the right to rule. Yet many
states realize the potential negative consequences of unpredictable or unrestrained state action. For this
reason, many regimes authorize the declaration of states of emergency, but only for limited periods of time. In
France, for example, the president can declare a state of emergency for no more than 12 days, after which any
extension must be approved by a majority vote of the legislature.11 This power was enacted in response to
terrorist attacks in 2015 and was renewed periodically until 2017. The state of emergency allowed, for
example, certain otherwise unauthorized police procedures, such as searching for evidence without a warrant
issued by a judge.12 Franceâs law authorizing emergency declarations dates to the 1950s, and that it is fully
13.1 ⢠Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority 415
authorized by the French Constitution and widely approved13 illustrates that in some circumstances governing
regimes can legitimately exercise sweeping and unstructured governmental powers.14
Where there is broad public support, regimes may periodically and legitimately reauthorize states of
emergency. Take, for example, the State of Israel. Israeli law authorizes two different forms of declarations of
emergency, one that can be issued only by the legislature and one that can be issued by the governmentâs
executive officials without the need for the legislatureâs approval. The first form, which allows the government
âto alter any law temporarily,â15 can remain in effect for up to one year and can be renewed indefinitely. This
allows governmental officials to use sweeping powers restricted only by the vague statement that emergency
enactments may not âallow infringement upon human dignity.â16 In addition, The Basic Laws of Israel allow
the Israeli governmentâindependent of a declaration of emergency by the legislatureâto declare a condition of
emergency.17 These decrees can remain in effect for three months but can also be renewed indefinitely.18
Pursuant to this authority, the government in 1948 issued an Emergency Defense Regulation that authorized
the âestablishing [of] military tribunals to try civilians without granting the right of appeal, allowing sweeping
searches and seizures, prohibiting publication of books and newspapers, demolishing houses, detaining
individuals administratively for an indefinite period, sealing off particular territories, and imposing curfew.â19
This regulation has been renewed every year since 1948; today it applies mostly to the West Bank.20 Both
forms of emergency decrees have broad support in Israel,21 indicating the popular sentiment that the Israeli
government has the right to invoke such sweeping and unrestricted protocols because of the widely held belief
among Israelis that the country faces serious and ongoing threats.
Even when such declarations are authorized and have initial broad support, the extensive use of emergency
decrees risks undermining the regimeâs legitimacy. In the early 1970s, then-president of the Philippines
Ferdinand Marcos tested the limits of using emergency declarations to claim sweeping powers. In General
Order No. 1, issued on September 22, 1972, Marcos declared:
âI, Ferdinand E.
The Rise of Ferdinand Marcos
- President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972, asserting direct control over the entire Philippine government and its agencies.
- Marcos utilized legal loopholes and constitutional mechanisms to maintain power, earning him the title of a 'constitutional dictator.'
- He orchestrated a constitutional convention to transition the presidency into a prime minister role, effectively bypassing term limits.
- Despite his authoritarian shift, Marcos initially enjoyed significant public popularity and sought to align his actions with the letter of the law.
- Public support eventually collapsed due to the cruelty of the regime, culminating in the 1986 People Power Revolution that ended his rule.
Marcos has thus been called a 'constitutional dictator,' one who came to rule with unrestrained power through a popular constitution and as a leader who himself enjoyed wide popularity.
Marcos, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the
Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, do hereby proclaim that I
shall govern the nation and direct the operation of the entire Government, including all its agencies
and instrumentalities.â22
As one scholar relates, Marcos âtook great pains to ensure that his actions would align with the dictates of the
law.â23 The Philippine Constitution at the time allowed the president, in his role as Commander in Chief, to
declare an emergency and to use emergency powers.24 To ensure he could remain in office beyond the two
four-year terms allotted to each president by the constitution, Marcos called for a constitutional convention,
which was ratified by the population and which changed the position of president into that of a prime minister
who could serve as long as the parliament approved. After an additional constitutional change in 1981 that
made the office of president once again directly elected by voters, Marcos successfully ran for president,
pledging to continue to exercise sweeping unrestricted powers.25 Marcos has thus been called a
âconstitutional dictator,â26 one who came to rule with unrestrained power through a popular constitution and
as a leader who himself enjoyed wide popularity.
VIDEO
Martial Law in the Philippines
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In 1972, the president of the Phillippines, Ferdinand Marcos, declared martial law. This video clip describes
what led up to the proclamation and the extreme conditions in place in the Phillippines under martial law.
At least, that is, at first. Over time, Marcosâs support deteriorated as people tired of his often chaotic and
increasingly cruel dictatorship. By 1986, his People Power Revolution saw the electorate turn on him, and the
416 13 ⢠Governing Regimes
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Legitimacy and Unauthorized Power
- Regimes with sweeping, vaguely defined authority, like the Marcos-era Philippines, risk becoming police states that ignore the rule of law.
- Governments sometimes exercise unauthorized power that is nonetheless viewed as legitimate by the public.
- Minor unauthorized actions, such as the non-enforcement of underage drinking laws in the presence of parents, are often socially accepted despite technical illegality.
- In times of grave crisis or terrorist threats, populations may support the government's right to take unauthorized actions that violate the constitutional order.
- Political scientist Kim Lane Scheppele observes a trend of 'progressive normalization' where emergency violations of law eventually become standard practice.
A regime that assumes long-lasting, sweeping, and only vaguely defined authority as the Philippines did under Marcos can become a police state (sometimes called a security state)âthat is, a state that uses its police or military force to exercise unrestrained power.
United States pressured him to respect the electoral outcome and leave office.27
A regime that assumes long-lasting, sweeping, and only vaguely defined authority as the Philippines did under
Marcos can become a police state (sometimes called a security state)âthat is, a state that uses its police or
military force to exercise unrestrained power. When states do not operate within clearly defined legal rules,
political scientists say that the government in those states has little respect for the rule of law.
Governments may also exercise unauthorized but legitimate forms of power. Although the absence of authority
can be grounds for judging an exercise of power to be illegitimate, this is not always the case. Examples of
unauthorized but legitimate government activities tend to fall at two ends of the spectrum of public
importance: governmental actions that are generally considered rather insignificant and actions that are
deemed to be of tremendous importance, especially in grave moments of crisis.
On one end of the spectrum, as a result of the federal National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, the legal
age to purchase or publicly consume alcohol anywhere in the United States is 21. However, this law allows
states to make exceptions to the age requirement for individuals under 21 who possess or consume alcohol in
the presence of responsible parents. Not all states have created exceptions in their alcohol laws, and the
possession of alcohol by anyone under the age of 21 is always technically illegal.28 But in a number of these
states there is such widespread sentiment that possession is acceptable in the presence of responsible adults
that there is wide agreement that the state can exercise the unauthorized power to choose not to enforce the
law under these conditions.
On the other end of the spectrum, during perceived moments of grave emergency, such as a dire terrorist
threat, there may be broad agreement that the government may, legitimately exercise the unauthorized use of
power. Princeton professor Kim Lane Scheppele notes that since 9/11 a number of world governments have
made âquick responses [to terrorism] that violate the constitutional order followed by a progressive
normalization.â29 These actions might be limited in number, and the broader population may be unaware of
their details and scope. Nevertheless, it is arguable that the population is aware that its government is taking
unauthorized action in response to terrorist threats and that it supports the governmentâs right to do so.
FIGURE 13.5 President George W. Bush speaks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. (credit: â911:
President George W. Bush Delivers Remarks on Terrorist Attacks from Barksdale Air Force Base, 09/11/2001â by
The US National Archives/Flickr, Public Domain)
Revolution and Illegitimate Power
- Regimes with established authority can lose broad legitimacy over time, leading to peaceful or violent revolutionary change.
- Revolutions typically aim to replace an existing constitution with a new one based on transcendent standards of justice.
- Historically, Western political movements have used natural law and natural rights as the moral benchmarks for replacing illegitimate regimes.
- Modern revolutionary efforts are often complicated by disagreements over the specific meaning of fundamental human rights.
- Civil disobedience serves as a nonviolent tool to undermine the legitimacy of governing systems, as seen in the movements of Gandhi and King.
- Successful regime change is hindered by the fact that citizens may agree a government is unworthy but disagree on the reasons why.
Is there a standard of justice that transcends the constitutional law of a particular regime, a standard that can guide a people as they seek to free themselves from one constitution and replace it with another?
The Illegitimate Exercise of Power and the Challenge of Revolutionary Change
Some regimes, though they have established lines of authority, may come to be broadly illegitimate over time.
Throughout history, there are many examples of times when the sense that a regime was no longer legitimate
led the people to revolt, either by sustained, widespread peaceful protestsâsuch as in the Velvet Revolution in
13.1 ⢠Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority 417
November of 1989 that led to the dissolution of the communist regime of Czechoslovakiaâor by internal
violent regime changeâthat is, the use of revolutionary violence. Revolutions intent on removing a constitution
almost always seek to replace one constitution with another. Is there a standard of justice that transcends the
constitutional law of a particular regime, a standard that can guide a people as they seek to free themselves
from one constitution and replace it with another? Historically, in the Western political context, the standard of
basic morality, justice, and social welfare has been the set of natural rights guaranteed by the natural law. More
recently, the standard is referred to most often as fundamental human rights. (See also Chapter 2: Political
Behavior Is Human Behavior and Chapter 3: Political Ideology.) The meaning of these conceptsânatural law,
natural rights, and human rightsâis often contested, and this disagreement complicates any efforts to
establish new constitutions to replace illegitimate regimes. Successful revolutionary change faces numerous
challenges, including the fact that people might agree that a regime is not worthy of support, but their reasons
for that opinion may differ.30
FIGURE 13.6 Protestors march peacefully down a street in Prague during the Velvet Revolution in 1989. (credit:
âStreet photo from the âVelvet revolutionâ in Prague 1989â by Josef Ĺ rĂĄmek ml./Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)
In the 1930s and 1940s in India, Mahatma Gandhi employed civil disobedience to protest British imperil rule.
One way a group can seek to change a law or even an entire governing system is to engage in civil
disobedience, the nonviolent refusal to comply with authorized exercises of power. In the 1960s, civil rights
groups such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. used civil
disobedience to protest racial discrimination. Although both started out as small protest movements, they
grew into movements capable of undermining the broad legitimacy of the governing regimes they opposed.
Methods of Developing Legitimacy
Weber's Three Types of Legitimacy
- Max Weber identified three primary sources of government legitimacy: traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal.
- Traditional legitimacy relies on established cultural myths and folkways, exemplified by the monarchical confederation of the United Arab Emirates.
- Charismatic legitimacy stems from the personal magnetism of a leader, such as Ruhollah Khomeini, whose perceived holiness helped topple the Iranian monarchy.
- Rational-legal legitimacy is built on the efficiency, clarity, and even-handedness of a state bureaucracy and its legal systems.
- Regimes maintain support through a combination of rational material interests, moral alignment, emotional connection, or habitual respect.
Seen by many Iranians as a stern man of God, he was widely thought to be unaffected by the wealth, power, and corruption that so many Iranians saw as typifying the regime of the shah.
Widespread support for the right of the government to rule can come from a variety of sources. Max Weber
argued that broad legitimacy develops in three primary ways.31 The first of these is what he calls traditional
legitimacy, where the governing regime embraces traditional cultural myths and accepted folkways. The
United Arab Emirates can be considered an example of a regime with traditional legitimacy. Located in the far
eastern section of the Arabian Peninsula, the seven small states that make up the UAE are joined together in a
loose confederation, with each ruled by a monarch or emir. This system aligns with long-standing traditional
practices of tribal chieftains associating together in a loose alliance to meet common objectives.
The second way legitimacy can accrue, according to Weber, is through charismatic legitimacy, when forceful
leaders have personal characteristics that captivate the people. There are many examples of charismatic
legitimacy throughout political history. Ruhollah Khomeini, a senior Shiâa cleric who died in 1989, held
remarkable appeal in Iran in the 1970s. Seen by many Iranians as a stern man of God, he was widely thought to
be unaffected by the wealth, power, and corruption that so many Iranians saw as typifying the regime of the
shah (or king) of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Khomeini was revered for his mysticism and his love of
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poetry. His personal magnetism played a large role in mobilizing Iranians to topple Pahlaviâs government and
to replace it with the contemporary constitution of Iran, which establishes a Shiâa theocracy,32 a system of
government in which religious leaders have authorized governmental power and possess either direct control
over the government or enough authorized power to control the governmentâs policies.33
VIDEO
Charismatic Che Guevara: Cuban Revolutionary
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Revolutionary Che Guevara is revered in Cuba as an anti-establishment hero.
Weberâs third type of legitimacy is what he calls rational-legal legitimacy. This type of legitimacy develops as
a result of the clarity and even-handedness with which a regime relates to the people. Take the example of Otto
von Bismarck (1815â1898), who as the prime minister of Prussia forged a united German state. This new
regime gained legitimacy not only because of the shared German culture of the formerly independent German
states, but also because of the efficiency of its state bureaucracy, which established a uniform system of law
administered by trained public servants.
Based on Weberâs analysis, a regime can secure legitimacy if the following are true:
⢠Based on rational reflection, the people come to believe one of the following statements:
⌠The regime solidifies and advances the material interests of a large percentage of the population.
⌠The regime advances deeply held moral and/or religious principles or advances strongly valued
cultural traditions.
⌠The regime both supports religious, moral, or cultural values and advances the peopleâs economic
interests.
⢠Based on an emotional sentiment, the people feel a strong emotional connection with the state.
⢠Based on a habitual respect for the government, the people unreflectively support the regime.
The Manufacture of Consent
- Political legitimacy is often viewed as a product of the people's agency, whether through rational reflection, emotional ties, or tradition.
- Regimes frequently shape public perception through state-controlled education, media, and the co-opting of cultural or religious values.
- The concept of 'manufactured consent' describes how states use propaganda and subtle indoctrination to instill support rather than relying on free choice.
- Belarus under Alexander Lukashenko serves as a modern case study where constitutional promises of freedom are undermined by heavy media restriction.
- By controlling information and promoting state-sponsored nationalism, regimes like Belarus, the Soviet Union, and China maintain power by limiting opposition voices.
- While some manufactured consent is overt and blatant, it can also operate through subtle systemic controls that are equally effective.
As such, although some regimes may well enjoy broad legitimacy by the free choice of their citizenry, the possibility also exists that regimes gain legitimacy through what economist Edward Herman and philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky call (in a different context) 'manufactured consent'âthat is, the shaping of the peopleâs response to the regime by state programs and activities designed to instill support for the regime.
Legitimacy can be thought of as emerging from the agency of the people, who give their support to the regime
either as a result of rational reflection, emotional attachment, or the acceptance of customary ways of relating
to political power. However, one should not think of the agency of the people, by which they confer legitimacy
on the regime, as something that is necessarily wholly independent of the actions of the regime itself. It is
possible for a regime to shape the way people relate to it. Regimes employ different tactics toward that end,
including government-controlled education, state control of the media and arts and entertainment sectors,
and associating the regime, at least in the peopleâs perceptions, with the cultural or religious views
predominant among the governed. As such, although some regimes may well enjoy broad legitimacy by the
free choice of their citizenry, the possibility also exists that regimes gain legitimacy through what economist
Edward Herman and philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky call (in a different context) âmanufactured
consentââthat is, the shaping of the peopleâs response to the regime by state programs and activities designed
to instill support for the regime, programs that might begin early in the citizensâ lives or that might affect
citizens in subtle ways.34 Examples of this can include widespread and rather blatant government
propaganda, usually defined as misleading statements and depictions meant to persuade by means other
than rational engagement, or subtle control over the content of what is taught in schools.
The contemporary government of the Eastern European nation of Belarus provides an especially vivid
example of a regime seeking to manufacture consent through a coordinated effort to control access to
information. Until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus was a part of the Soviet state. After it established
independence from the defunct Soviet Union, Belarus adopted a constitution thatâon paper at leastârequires
free and fair elections for major government positions and affirms freedom of the press. Upon taking office as
president after his victory in the 1994 election, the current Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko
13.1 ⢠Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority 419
promised to allow broad civil liberties.35 Yet, over the past 25 years, Lukashenko has exerted tremendous
control over the media, including the internet.36 Media content in Belarus is heavily restricted such that
opposition voices are almost never depicted positively,37 and the regime has used its control over the media to
promote Belarusian independence and Belarusian nationalism.38 It is in this context that Lukashenko has
continued to be reelected. The support he receives can be seen as being, to a large degree, a function of his
governmentâs control over the formation of public opinion. To this extent, Lukashenko has followed the
tradition of communist nations such as the Soviet Union and the Peopleâs Republic of China, which have a long
history of controlling their peopleâs access to information while advancing throughout society the stateâs
preferred political messages. The exercise of manufactured consent may not always be so overt in other
countries, but it may be just as effective.
FIGURE 13.7 This propaganda poster from the Mao era shows adoring Chinese citizens proudly waving their copies
of Maoâs so-called Little Red Book, which he had widely distributed throughout China and which was required in all
Chinese schools. The book contains sayings and speeches by Mao. The text of the poster reads: âThe world is yours,
Fragile and Failed States
- A fragile state is defined by its deteriorating ability to provide law, order, and social stability while still asserting authority.
- State fragility often stems from an erosion of legitimacy or the depletion of capacity caused by external forces like invading armies.
- A state is considered failed when it completely loses the capacity for order or when a shadow government effectively displaces official rule.
- Shadow governments can mobilize power to enact violent regime change, sometimes gaining legitimacy or simply relying on military force.
- The Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan serves as a primary example of a shadow government providing services and collecting taxes to displace a regime.
You young people, full of vigor and vitality, are in the bloom of life, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning.
as well as ours, but in the last analysis, it is yours. You young people, full of vigor and vitality, are in the bloom of life,
like the sun at eight or nine in the morning. Our hope is placed on you.â (credit: âQuotations from Chairman Mao
Zedong [...] âTalk at a meeting with Chinese students and trainees in Moscowââ by Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library,
UofT/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Failed and Fragile States
When a stateâs ability to exercise control such that it can provide minimal conditions of law, order, and social
stability deteriorates to a precariously low level, it is called a fragile state. Fragile states still assert the
authority to rule but have serious difficulties actually ruling. The erosion of a stateâs legitimacy can lead to
state fragility. A fragile state can also occur when a broadly legitimate state has its capacity to provide order
depleted as a result of an external force, such as an invading army.39
If a fragile state loses the capacity to provide minimal conditions of law, order, and social stability entirely, it
becomes a failed state. A failed state can emerge either when a state has collapsed so thoroughly that it lacks
any governmental power altogether or when a shadow government has emergedâthat is, an organization not
authorized or desired by the government asserting rule over an area that effectively displaces and serves the
same function as the official government. In this situation, internal violent regime change can occur, for if the
shadow government becomes strong enough, it can mobilize sufficient power to dislodge entirely the existing
regime and install itself as the authorized governmental entity. It may in the process have developed broad
legitimacy, or it may simply have sufficient military power to take over the government, possessing the power
of government and imposing laws that authorize its rule but not enjoying the wide support of the populace. A
fragile government is one that is at serious risk of failing in either of these two ways or of experiencing violent
420 13 ⢠Governing Regimes
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regime change.
In the early 2020s, a shadow government formed in large sections of Afghanistan, and the forces of that
shadow government carried out violent regime change. From 1996 until 2001, the Taliban, an extremist Sunni
Islamic movement, ruled the Afghan government. In 2001, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
orchestrated by Al Qaeda, a coalition of Western nations invaded Afghanistan. Due to concerns that the Afghan
government had allowed the Al Qaeda terrorist network headed by Osama bin Laden to operate within the
countryâs borders, this coalition removed the Taliban from government. The coalition replaced the Taliban
government with a governing regime that had considerable elements of representative democracy.
In early 2021, a shadow government led by members of the Taliban resurfaced in areas of Afghanistan. In
some of these areas, the Taliban enjoyed wide popularity. Writing in January of 2021, the reporter Mujib
Mashal described one such area, the city of Alingar:
âAlingar is . . . an example of how the Taliban have figured out local arrangements to act like a shadow
government in areas where they have established control. The insurgents collect taxes . . . and have
committees overseeing basic services to the public, including health, education and running local
bazaars.â40
Fragile States and Regime Stability
- The 2021 collapse of the democratic regime in Kabul illustrates the sudden transition to Taliban rule and the ongoing struggle for domestic legitimacy.
- Fragile states are defined by a tenuous ability to maintain peace, provide basic health services, or administer legal and educational systems.
- Somalia serves as a long-term example of state fragility, having faced over 30 years of civil war and persistent threats of famine.
- Instability in fragile regions often leads to the indefinite postponement of democratic processes, such as Somalia's first scheduled national elections in decades.
- International intervention in fragile states, like the US deployment to Somalia in the 1990s, often carries high political and military risks.
- Political science categorizes regimes by how they acquire and exercise authority, ranging from representative democracies to various forms of authoritarianism.
Whether Afghanistanâs restored Taliban regime will endure remains an open question.
In August 2021, the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, fell to Taliban forces, and the more democratic regime
collapsed. The Taliban has since consolidated its power, issued laws authorizing its regime, and sought to
secure legitimacy among the broad Afghan population. Whether Afghanistanâs restored Taliban regime will
endure remains an open question.
The current regime of Afghanistan represents a clear example of a fragile state. Fragile states either have a
tenuous ability to keep the peace, administer court and educational systems, provide minimal sanitary and
health services, and achieve stated goals such as conducting elections, or they are at risk of harboring within
them rival organizations that can achieve these goals. Somalia is another example of a fragile state.41 In more
than 30 years of civil war, the regime governing Somalia has at times been at risk of failing to provide even a
minimal level of security and stability. The condition in the country has stabilized somewhat from its low point
in the early 1990s, when the risk of famine was so acute that the United States deployed military troops in
Somalia to protect United Nations workers providing humanitarian relief in the country (a deployment that
became controversial in the United States due to significant US military casualties).42 Somalia, however, still
shows signs of fragility. Although the Somali government scheduled national elections to take place in the
summer of 2021âthe first to be held in decadesâthese elections have been indefinitely postponed in the face
of continuing instability in the region.43
FIGURE 13.8 UN troops from Pakistan board a United States Air Force plane bound for Somalia in 1992. (credit:
13.1 ⢠Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority 421
âUN troops from Pakistan board USAF C-130 bound for Mogadishu, Somaliaâ by TSGT Marv Lynchard/Department of
Defense/National Archives, Public Domain)
13.2 Categorizing Contemporary Regimes
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Apply core concepts to contemporary examples of governing regimes.
⢠Discuss the nature and variety of authoritarian regimes.
⢠Discuss the nature and variety of representative regimes.
⢠Analyze the connections among legitimacy, authoritarian governments, and representative governments.
⢠Provide an overview of political history and contemporary political and legal developments.
Regimes approach the acquisition, maintenance, and exercise of authority and legitimacy in many different
ways. Though the range of regimes is staggering, there are a number of generalizations that characterize the
rich diversity of the worldâs governing regimes.
Authoritarianism
Forms of Authoritarian Rule
- Authoritarian regimes derive power from institutions like the military, religious leaders, or monarchies rather than popular consent.
- Hard authoritarianism operates without consulting the public and is frequently associated with human rights violations.
- Soft authoritarianism seeks public input and may include hybrid democratic institutions, though unaccountable elements retain ultimate veto power.
- Regimes often 'manufacture consent' through state-controlled education, propaganda, and strict regulations on criticism.
- The heavy reliance on physical force to compel obedience often leads to the development of oversized military and police networks.
- Thailand serves as a case study where the military has exerted de facto control over a constitutional monarchy through systematic vote manipulation.
In soft authoritarianism, on the other hand, regimes affirm their right to rule apart from consultation with or approval from the public, but nevertheless frequently seek the input of the people and frequently attempt to advance what the people desire.
Authoritarian regimes authorize institutions, which in principle need not seek or secure the approval of the
people, to use power. Authoritarian regimes can confer governmental power unchecked by popular elections in
a wide variety of entitiesâincluding in the military, in religious leaders, in a monarchy, or in political parties
espousing a particular political ideology.
As a number of scholars have long noted, authoritarianism can take ether a hard or a soft form.44 In hard
authoritarianism, regimes act without consulting with the broad majority of citizens. International observers
frequently cite these regimes as violators of their citizensâ human rights. In soft authoritarianism, on the
other hand, regimes affirm their right to rule apart from consultation with or approval from the public, but
nevertheless frequently seek the input of the people and frequently attempt to advance what the people desire.
They may even have institutions with limited degrees of authorized power that are electorally
accountableâand thus can be seen as a hybrid of authoritarianism and democracyâalthough in these cases
the unaccountable element in the regime can usually override the actions democratically elected bodies
undertake. Recent studies indicate that the number of these hybrid forms of authoritarianism grew in 2020.45
Although nondemocratic, these regimes sometimes prove to be relatively strong defenders of their citizensâ
human rightsâexcept, that is, for what many see as the basic human right to vote or otherwise shape in a
formal, legal way the actions of oneâs government.
Authoritarianism and Legitimacy
In some authoritarian regimes, there may be nothing to move the regime toward alignment with broadly held
popular sentiments about what gives the regime the right to rule. In these regimes, the government may seek
to engage, often in a systematic and pervasive manner, in the education of the populace, guiding the people to
value the regime, its objectives, and its right to rule. This can take a variety of forms, including strict control
over the education of the young, regulations on criticisms of the regime, and extensive government
propaganda. These authoritarian regimes are often accused of âmanufacturing consent.â In addition,
authoritarian regimes may rely more heavily than representative governments on physical force to compel
obedience to the regime. This fact raises the prospect that the regime will violate citizensâ human rights.
Since authoritarian regimes may use substantial physical force to ensure compliance, they often develop large
militaries and police networks. These enforcement agencies run the risk, over time, of coming to exert an
unlawful level of control over the operations of the regime. Contemporary Thailand provides an example.
Thailand is technically a constitutional monarchy, with the king subordinate to the parliament, prime minister,
and the national court system. Recently, the stateâs military has become the de facto governor of the regime.
The 2020 election for parliament provided evidence of the militaryâs power, as most international observers
422 13 ⢠Governing Regimes
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detected that the military had systematically manipulated the vote to ensure the election to parliament of
representatives favorable to the military and its political influence.46 This development led to considerable
protests against the regime. The legitimacy of the regime seems to be coming under question.
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Why Does Thailand Have So Many Coups?
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Morocco's Soft Authoritarianism
- Morocco operates as a constitutional monarchy that exemplifies soft authoritarianism, where the King maintains significant power despite democratic structures.
- Following the Arab Spring uprisings, constitutional reforms shifted the King from head of government to head of state and granted more authority to the elected parliament.
- Despite these reforms, the King retains the power to appoint the head of government, disband parliament, veto laws, and issue legally binding decrees.
- The monarchy derives its legitimacy from religious claims, with the King serving as the 'Commander of the Faithful' and asserting direct lineage to the prophet Muhammad.
- While Morocco has a history of repression in the Western Sahara, international observers have noted recent positive steps toward strengthening human rights protections.
The king of Morocco, therefore, still retains very substantial powers that enable him to override the will of the people as reflected in legislative elections.
There have been more military coups in Thailand in modern history than in any other country in the world.
Morocco: An Example of Soft Authoritarianism
The Kingdom of Morocco constitutes a contemporary form of soft authoritarianism. The king of Morocco is the
head of stateâthat is, the leader who represents the unity of the country. In many regimes, the head of state
has little actual power. The Queen of England, for example, is the head of state of the United Kingdom, but she
has very little control over government policies and actions. In Morocco, however, the king plays a much larger
role in governing the nation. Morocco was under the control of the French Empire until 1956. In that year,
Morocco secured independence and created a constitutional monarchy in which the king had great authority.
He was both the head of state and the head of the governmentâthat is, the leader of the executive branchâand
he exercised control over most governmental affairs. A bicameral legislature was also created, but it had very
limited lawmaking authority. Popular uprisings like the Arab Spring, a substantial movement across the Arab
world between 2010 and 2013, sought to expand democracy. In response, the king of Morocco approved
changes to the Moroccan constitution giving the legislature greater authority to pass laws on a wider range of
issues.47 Today, members of the parliament are elected in free, open elections in which up to 31 parties and
coalitions vie for office.48 The king is now the head of state, but he is no longer the official head of government.
Unlike in the United Kingdom, however, although the king is called the head of state, he still exercises
tremendous authority. Under the 2011 constitution, the king appoints the head of the government, who
administers the executive branch on a day-to-day basis, and the king still remains the head of the military and
has the authority to disband parliament, to veto laws passed through the legislature, and to issue legally
binding decrees on his own without regard to parliament.49 The king of Morocco, therefore, still retains very
substantial powers that enable him to override the will of the people as reflected in legislative elections.
The Moroccan monarchy seeks to legitimize its rule largely on the basis of religion. The king is presented to
the nation as the Amir al-Muâminin, or the commander and defender of the Muslim faithful in his realm. The
monarchy asserts that its lineage extends back to the prophet Muhammad, furthering its claims to legitimacy
in this Muslim-majority nation.50
In terms of human rights, Morocco has a history of repression in the Western Sahara region and an overall
uneven record as judged by the norms of Western nations. However, in 2016 the United States embassy in
Morocco noted âthe positive steps that Morocco [has taken] to strengthen its respect for human rights,â
although it also noted that more work is required to secure human rights in Morocco and in the region.51
North Korea: An Example of Hard Authoritarianism
North Korea's Hard Authoritarianism
- The Democratic Peopleâs Republic of Korea (DPRK) serves as a primary example of a hard authoritarian regime.
- The nation operates as a communist dictatorship where political power is concentrated in a single individual.
- Leadership is hereditary, passing from founder Kim Il-Sung to Kim Jong-il and currently to Kim Jong-un.
- Kim Jong-un maintains control through his dual roles as general secretary of the Workersâ Party and chair of the Central Military Commission.
- While the constitution outlines three branches of government, all effective power remains with the supreme leader and the party elite.
Kim Jong-un, who took power by the decree of his father, who had taken power by the decree of his father, the founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-Sung.
One example of a hard authoritarian regime is the Democratic Peopleâs Republic of Korea (DPRK), often
referred to as North Korea. North Korea is effectively a type of communist dictatorship. The most powerful
person in the DPRK is currently Kim Jong-un, who took power by the decree of his father, who had taken power
by the decree of his father, the founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-Sung, a hero in the resistance movement to Japan
during World War II.52 Kim Jong-un possesses all effective political power and rules the society through his
position as the general secretary of the Workersâ Party of Korea and as chair of the Central Military
Commission. The DPRK constitution creates three branches of government. The executive branch is headed by
the premier, a top-ranking member of the Workersâ Party, and Kim Jung-un also serves as the countryâs
13.2 ⢠Categorizing Contemporary Regimes 423
North Korea's Totalitarian Structure
- The North Korean government maintains a facade of democracy through a legislature and judiciary that possess no actual independence from the Workersâ Party.
- State control extends over all property, the media, and the movement of citizens, with residency in Pyongyang treated as a high-status reward.
- The regime utilizes the ideology of Juche, or national self-reliance, to justify its rule and stoke resentment against Japan and the United States.
- Economic failures are blamed on foreign sanctions, while the regime points to 1950s growth as evidence of its potential success.
- A pervasive state mythology deifies the ruling Kim family, framing total subordination to the leader as an act of familial love.
- Legitimacy in the DPRK has shifted from traditional communist ideology toward a cult of personality centered on the alleged virtues of the ruling dynasty.
This subordination is not presented as degrading but as an act of familial love, since the Supreme Leaderâthe popular name for Kim Jung-unâis presented as a loving father and all North Koreans as his daughters and sons.
president. Although the North Korean constitution does create a legislature, called the Supreme Peopleâs
Assembly, whose members are elected through a highly controlled process in which voters have no real choice
of candidates, this legislature has no real power.53 All members of the legislature must belong to an
organization called the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, an ideological organization
advocating North Korean nationalism.54 The Workersâ Party is guaranteed up to 90 percent of the seats in the
legislature. A judicial branch also exists, headed by the Supreme Peopleâs Court. Because the legislature selects
its members, they are not independent of the Workersâ Party and its ruler, Kim Jong-un.55
Through this system, the government maintains tight control over the economy and, in effect, over all property
in the country. There are few if any civil rights, the state controls the media, and the government exercises
control over who can enter and leave the country as well as who can live in and travel among the countryâs
various regions and cities (with permission to reside in the capital, Pyongyang, a coveted plum).
The regime seeks to justify its rule though Juche, the North Korean regimeâs ideology of national self-reliance.
The government frequently seeks to stoke popular resentment, especially of the Japanese mistreatment of
Koreans during World War II and of the United Statesâ air bombardment of North Korea during the Korean War
(a war North Korea initiated when it invaded South Korea in 1950). The regime in turn presents itself as the
defender of Korean independence, as the only means by which the entire Korean peninsula can be united, and
as the only way by which North Koreaâs interests can ever be served. As evidence of this, the government
points to the substantial economic growth the country experienced in the mid-1950s, growth that eclipsed
even that of South Korea, and claims that the country would once more enjoy this level of economic growth
were it not for the sanctions imposed on it by foreign countries. To bolster these claims, the regime has
developed an elaborate mythology, teaching that the ruling family is of divine or semidivine origin and that
only through subordination to this family can the people themselves achieve genuine self-reliance. This
subordination is not presented as degrading but as an act of familial love, since the Supreme Leaderâthe
popular name for Kim Jung-unâis presented as a loving father and all North Koreans as his daughters and
sons, on whom he dotes and whom he is rearing to grow into true self-sufficiency and deep devotion to their
country.56 This focus on the noble character of Kim Jong-un and his father and grandfather suggests that the
regimeâs claims to legitimacy are based less on communist ideology or national self-sufficiency and more on
the (alleged) personal virtues of the men who have ruled the DPRK since it was founded in 1948.57
FIGURE 13.9 Corn dries along the sidewalk on a street in Pyongyang, North Korea, as part of a traditional socialist
farming practice emphasizing mass resilience in the face of natural disasters like typhoons and flooding. (credit:
âdrying corn in the middle of Pyongyang on the Sidewalkâ by Mario Micklisch/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The Case of Iran
Some regimes, like contemporary Iran, blend hard and soft authoritarianism. Contemporary Iran emerged in
the wake of the successful revolution in 1979. The goal of the regime in Iran is to work to ensure that society is
pleasing to Allah. The overwhelming majority of the population of Iran is made up of Twelver Shiâa Muslims.
424 13 ⢠Governing Regimes
Authoritarianism and Representative Governance
- The Iranian government functions as a theocratic fusion of hard and soft authoritarianism, where ultimate political authority is vested in a Supreme Leader.
- While Iran holds elections for a president and parliament, the Guardian Council maintains strict control by vetting all candidates and approving all legislation.
- Representative democratic governments differ from authoritarian regimes by legally obligating governmental entities to be accountable to the citizenry through periodic elections.
- Judicial review serves as a potential counter-majoritarian force in representative regimes, allowing judges to strike down laws that violate constitutional principles.
- The global prevalence of representative regimes grew significantly following World War II, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the 'third wave' of democratization.
- The core legitimizing principle of representative governance is that the right to wield power is derived solely from the people's choice of their representatives.
As such, the regime can be thought of as a sort of fusion of hard and soft authoritarianism.
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Adherents of Twelver Shiâa Islam follow the guidance of Shiâa religious leaders.58
Grounded on these theological principles, the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran vests ultimate
political authority in a Supreme Leader, who must be a Shiâa cleric of the Twelver school respected among the
leading clerics of Iran. A Guardian Council of Islamic scholars works under the Supreme Leader. Under this is
a parliament, made up of 290 elected members. The voters also elect a president. The Iranian voters, however,
have a very limited degree of influence over the Iranian government. All candidates for the parliament or the
presidency must be vetted and approved by the Guardian Council, and the Guardian Council must approve all
the laws the parliament passes.59 Nevertheless, the voters do have some say in the operations of the regime
within these strict limits, and a variety of political parties vie to have their members elected to parliament. As
such, the regime can be thought of as a sort of fusion of hard and soft authoritarianism.60 In light of the
regimeâs ability to resist large-scale popular opposition such as the Green Movement of 2009, when substantial
electoral challenges were made to the status quo, it can be argued that the regime tilts rather heavily in the
direction of hard authoritarianism.61
Representative Democratic Governments
Unlike authoritarian regimes, representative governments only authorize governmental entities that are
legally obligated to respond to and to be judged by the citizenry, through periodic elections, to make and
enforce laws. These regimes therefore place most power in the hands of those who represent at least the
majority of the peopleâs political preferences. The exception to this rule is the power of judges, which can
include the power of judicial review, or the power to strike down statutes or regulations that the court
determines violate the constitutional laws of the regime. In some representative regimes, judges are elected (as
they are in several US states), but in other regimes the branches of the government that are electorally
accountable to the people make judicial selections. The judiciary can wield its power to strike down laws as
unconstitutional in a potentially counter-majoritarian wayâthat is, in a manner at odds with the preferences of
the majority of the citizenry.
Since the 19th century, the number of representative regimes has grown considerably, partly as a result of the
victory of representative governments against fascist regimes in World War II, partly as a result of the fall of
the nonrepresentative communist government in the Soviet Union and of the communist regimes in Eastern
Europe in the early 1990s, and partly as a result of the third wave of democratization that began in the 1970s,
which saw democratically accountable structures of government emerge in Spain, Portugal, South Korea, and,
somewhat later, in Latin American countries such as Chile. These representative regimes vary in structure,
though all share a commitment to ensuring that most authorized power is responsive and accountable to the
nationâs citizens.
Representative regimes use periodic elections to select most officeholders. The key legitimizing claim at the
heart of representative regimes is that only when the people choose officeholders to represent their interests
does the government deserve the right to wield power.
Unitary versus Federal Representative Regimes
Unitary and Federal Regimes
- Representative regimes are primarily categorized as either unitary systems, where officials are accountable to the entire citizenry, or federal systems, which divide power between national and regional governments.
- Federalism allows for the accommodation of regional differences by letting provinces or states manage local cultural, linguistic, and economic priorities.
- Canada serves as a prime example of federalism, balancing the French-Catholic identity of Quebec with the British-influenced values and diverse economic sectors of other provinces.
- A significant advantage of federalism is the reduction of potential government abuse by distributing power across multiple levels of authority.
- Following World War II, Allied powers mandated a federal structure for West Germany to prevent the concentration of national power that had enabled the Nazi regime.
They looked to this structure of government in the hopes of ensuring that the new regime would not develop a concentration of power in the national government that could ever again emerge as a threat to international peace.
Representative regimes can be structured in a number of concrete ways. One point of differentiation among
representative regimes is the distinction between unitary or federal. In a unitary system, all the major
electorally accountable officials are accountable to the entire citizenry, and they make and enforce laws for the
entire country (with the exception of minor local-level matters that are handled by local elected assemblies).
Regimes embodying federalism authorize a national government to exercise some powers and governments
whose laws cover only a small region, such as a state or province, to exercise other forms of power.
One possible advantage of a federal regime is its ability to accommodate regional differences. Different areas
often have different sets of values, cultural practices, and economic activities, and a federal system allows
provincial or state governments to administer most regional issues, leaving issues of common concern to the
central government. The government of Canada provides one example. Created in 1867 as a federal system,
13.2 ⢠Categorizing Contemporary Regimes 425
the provincial government of Quebec has been able to reflect the historical connection between Quebecois
(residents of Quebec), Catholicism, and French language and culture, while allowing other provinces to reflect
their more British culture and values. Likewise, more rural provinces such as Alberta are able to focus on
certain economic activities, such as oil production, cattle ranching, and agriculture, whereas more urban
provinces, such as Ontario, can focus on areas such as industrial production and high-tech industries. By
allowing provincial governments a degree of autonomy, the Canadian federation has been able to knit together
a diverse citizenry.
Another potential advantage is the reduced possibility of widespread abuse of governmental power. Since the
force of government is distributed among multiple governments, federalism minimizes the likelihood that one
government will become corrupt or abusive. Consider the importance the Allied powers placed on ensuring
that the government that replaced the conquered Nazi regime embodied federalism. After the surrender of the
Nazi government in 1945, the allies governed western Germany through military governors who oversaw West
Germanyâs reconstruction. The military governors, the most influential of whom were from the United States,
had to approve the new West German government. They insisted that the West German government be
structured according to federalism, with strong powers reserved to each state and only limited powers
conferred on the national government. They looked to this structure of government in the hopes of ensuring
that the new regime would not develop a concentration of power in the national government that could ever
again emerge as a threat to international peace.62
FIGURE 13.10 The Allies played an active role in leadingâand shapingâthe postâWorld War II recovery in Europe.
The sign on the side of the building pictured here reads: âBerlin Emergency Program with Marshall Plan Help.â The
Marshall Plan was a US-led piece of the recovery effort. (credit: âWest Berlin, Germany. Marshall Plan aid to
Germany totaled $1,390,600 and enabled that country to rise from the ashes of defeat, as symbolized by this
worker in West Berlin. Even a year before the end of the Marshall Plan in 1951, Germany had surpassed her prewar
industrial production levelâ by US International Development Cooperation Agency/National Archives, Public
Domain)
Federalism Versus Unitary Systems
- Federalism promotes moderate policy outcomes by preventing the central government from entirely overriding provincial authority.
- The disagreement between national and provincial spheres creates a productive tension that can lead to prudent compromises.
- Unitary systems offer clear lines of authority, avoiding the 'patchwork' of regulations often found in federal regimes.
- Critics of federalism argue that split authority leads to economic and governmental inefficiencies due to a lack of clarity.
- Unitary governments may foster stronger national cohesion by allowing citizens to focus their attention on a single source of lawmaking.
Defenders of federalism see in this disagreement a productive tension that can lead to compromise and that often results in prudent policy outcomes.
A third advantage of federalism is that it promotes more moderate policy outcomes. In a federal system, the
central government retains some authority to make laws that impact the provinces, but it is not permitted to
entirely override the provincesâ authorized scopes of authority. In federal systems, national and provincial
governments often have differing views of the proper degree of overlap between their spheres of authority.
426 13 ⢠Governing Regimes
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Defenders of federalism see in this disagreement a productive tension that can lead to compromise and that
often results in prudent policy outcomes.
In contrast, proponents of a unitary system see clear lines of authority as a major advantage. In a federal
system, the laws of the regime can become a patchwork of rules and regulations at the provincial level, topped
by an uncertain allocation of authority to the national and provincial governments. This lack of clarity can lead
to inefficiencies in the way the government operates and inefficiencies in the economy.
Defenders of unitary governments usually add that a unitary system allows the people to focus their attention
on the way the government exercises its power. In federalism, the peopleâs attention is split between the two
levels of government, which can reduce the degree of focus on both. Defenders of unitary governments submit
that representative government works best when all the people focus on the important work governments do
on their behalf. They argue that the focus on one national source of lawmaking facilitates a stronger sense of
national cohesion.63
Parliamentary Representative Democratic Government
As discussed in Chapter 9: Legislatures and Chapter 10: Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies, some
The Structure of Parliamentary Regimes
- Parliamentary systems originated in medieval England as a mechanism for the monarch to quickly resolve collective needs and secure tax revenue.
- These systems are designed for efficiency, allowing a majority party to control both the legislative and executive branches simultaneously.
- In contrast to district-based systems, Israel uses a national ballot where parties receive seats proportional to their share of the total vote.
- The Israeli Knesset exemplifies a unicameral legislature where even small parties can exert significant influence through coalition building.
- When no single party holds a majority, an alliance of parties must form a coalition government to appoint a cabinet of ministers.
A majority in parliament, therefore, can enact sweeping changes.
representative regimes are structured as parliaments. Historically the parliamentary form of government
emerged to provide a means for the quick resolution of pressing collective needs. In medieval England, where
the parliamentary system first emerged, the king would call a parliament drawn from representatives of the
commoners and of the nobility to agree on a course of action to meet a compelling threat or societal need,
usually a threat or need requiring the king to tax the population to raise revenue.64
To this day, parliamentary systems are structured to allow for substantial degrees of legislative action in a
short period of time. If a party holds a majority in the parliament, it selects the officers of the executive branch,
and thus a majority party can gain control of most governmental positions. A majority in parliament, therefore,
can enact sweeping changes.
However, parliamentary regimes may be much more fragmented. The State of Israel is an example of a
parliamentary representative regime, and its structure has granted substantial influence to parties that
represent only a small fraction of the population. Israel has a unitary regime in which the national parliament,
called the Knesset, has the authority to pass laws for every region in the nation and at all levels of governance,
including municipalities.65 The Knesset is a unicameral parliamentâthat is, a legislative body with only one
house. Candidates for the Knesset do not run for office in legislative districts. Instead, each party selects its
own potential Knesset members, and each party is listed on a national ballot. All parties that receive over 3.25
percent of the vote receive the percentage of seats in the 120-member Knesset equal to their percentage of the
national vote. The individuals selected by that party take the partyâs seats in the Knesset. Only the parties, and
not the individuals each party selects, are listed on the ballots.66
As with other parliamentary systems, in Israel the executive branch is made up of a cabinet of ministers, each
of whose position is derived ultimately from having the support of a majority of the members of parliament. If
one party has a majority in the parliament, that party will create a list of ministers and send the list to the
prime minister, whose job is largely ceremonial and who is expected to approve the list. In the event that no
party receives a majority of the 120 votes, a coalition government is formed.67 A coalition government is an
alliance of individual parties that by themselves do not have the support of the majority of the parliament but
that, by agreeing to work together, can form a team of ministers that can acquire the support of the majority of
the members in parliament. Once majority support for the list of ministers is secured, the list is sent to the
prime minister for approval.68
VIDEO
Israeli Coalition Reaches Deal to Oust Netanyahu
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13.2 ⢠Categorizing Contemporary Regimes 427
13-2-categorizing-contemporary-regimes)
Coalition Dynamics in Israel
- In June 2021, a diverse coalition in the Israeli Knesset reached a historic deal to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power.
- Parliamentary systems often force major parties to compete for the support of small parties to achieve a governing majority.
- Small parties frequently leverage their position to demand significant executive roles, gaining influence disproportionate to their actual voter base.
- Historically, both the Likud and Labour parties have relied on small factions, such as ultra-Orthodox groups, to form governments.
- The 2021 coalition marked a significant shift by including a small Arab party, granting it substantial political influence for the first time.
In this way, parties can come to exercise influence out of proportion with the strength of their support in the population as a whole.
In June 2021, a coalition in the Israeli Knesset reached a deal to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
One consequence of parliamentary governments such as Israelâs is that if the country is divided politically
between major parties that each receive a great deal but not a majority of the vote and the two parties do not
agree to work together, those two parties will vie to win the support of the small parties that hold the remaining
parliamentary seats. If one of the large parties can form a coalition with enough small parties, it can reach the
majority necessary to form the executive branch. However, small parties might not agree to give their support
to larger parties without some assurance that their party members will hold a significant position in the
executive branch. In this way, parties can come to exercise influence out of proportion with the strength of
their support in the population as a whole. This has been common over the past four decades in Israel, as the
conservative Likud Party and the more liberal Labour Party have each received about 40 percent of the vote69
and both have formed coalitions with smaller parties, including parties representing the relatively small
number of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel.70 In 2021, a group of non-Likud parties formed a coalition
government with a small Arab party. This has given an Arab party, for the first time, substantial influence in
Israel in excess of its overall percentage of the vote.71
Democratic Representative Systems with a Congress, President, and Independent Judiciary, and Blended
Systems
The American Constitutional Framework
- The United States federal government is structured around three independent branches: the congressional legislature, the presidential executive, and the judiciary.
- A system of checks and balances requires agreement between branches for lawmaking, including the power of legislative overrides and judicial review.
- The primary objectives of this structure are to secure natural rights, provide common defense, and facilitate economic prosperity as outlined in the Preamble.
- The Constitution balances the need for government speed and efficiency with the necessity of protecting personal liberties from state overreach.
- Political power is restrained through the itemization of civil liberties in Article 1 and the protection of civil rights in the Bill of Rights.
- The requirement for consensus among all three branches serves as a safeguard to reduce the possibility of governmental abuse.
The United States was founded on the belief that these tasks require a government that can act with speed when necessary but not so hastily as to permit the government to violate personal liberties.
In a representative constitution with a congressional legislature, a presidential executive, and an independent
judiciary, citizens, broken up into sections or districts, elect representatives to the legislature. The president is
elected independently of the legislature, and usually these two independent branches must either agree for a
law to be passed or one branch (usually the legislature) can override a veto of the other. After laws are passed, a
judiciary, whose decisions are independent of the legislature and the executive branch, has the right to strike
down any laws deemed to violate the constitution. The federal government under the United States
Constitution may be the best-known example of such a system.
The structure of the government of the United States serves the goals the United States government has
historically setâto secure the natural rights of the people while also providing common defense and
facilitating economic prosperity. As the preamble to the Constitution asserts, the structure of federal
government is designed âto form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide
for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity.â The United States was founded on the belief that these tasks require a government that can act with
speed when necessary but not so hastily as to permit the government to violate personal liberties. To this
effect, the Constitution invests the federal government with substantial political power while also restraining
that power. As discussed in Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Chapter 7: Civil Rights, the Constitution restrains that
power by itemizing civil liberties the government cannot revoke, a list found in Article 1 Section 9 of the
Constitution, and delineating civil rights the government must protect, a list found in the Bill of Rightsâthe
first 10 amendments to the Constitution. For the same reason, the Constitution has been interpreted as
authorizing the exercise of most acts of political power only when there is agreement among all three branches
of governmentâthe legislative, the executive, and the judiciaryâto reduce the possibility of governmental
abuse.72
VIDEO
Separation of Powers
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This short video discusses the philosophy behind the separation of powers as it is included in the United States
Constitution.
428 13 ⢠Governing Regimes
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Mexican Legislative Structure
- Mexico utilizes a federal system with a separation of powers among the president, congress, and judiciary.
- The Mexican legislature is bicameral, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Senators.
- The Chamber of Deputies uses a mixed system where 300 members are elected by districts and 200 via regional proportional representation.
- The Chamber of Senators allocates 96 seats to districts and 32 seats based on a nationwide proportional vote.
- Data analysis suggests a correlation between political regime types, ranging from closed autocracy to liberal democracy, and human rights protection scores.
The Mexican legislature blends a proportional system of representation with a system based on representatives elected in distinct districts.
The United States is not unique in adopting a regime that embodies a separation and balance of powers. The
federal government of Mexico, for example, is also based on a separation of powers among a president, a
national congress, and an independent judiciary. The structure of the Mexican federal legislature, however, is
different than that of the United States. The Mexican legislature blends a proportional system of representation
with a system based on representatives elected in distinct districts. The Mexican federal legislature is
bicameral. The lower chamber, called the Chamber of Deputies, has 500 members, 300 of whom are elected by
voters in single districts. The remaining 200 seats are selected using a system of proportional representation.
The 200 seats are divided among five large regions, each containing a number of states. (Mexico, like the
United States, is a federal system with state- and federal-level governments authorized to exercise distinct
powers.) In each of these five regional elections, each party seeking office is listed on the ballot, and the 40
seats for that region are allocated on the basis of the proportion of the vote each party receives. The Chamber
of Senators operates in a similarly blended way, but through the use of a nationwide proportional vote. The
Chamber of Senators has 128 members, 96 of whom are elected in districts and 32 of whom are selected by a
national ballot on which each party running for office is listed, with the 32 seats being distributed to the
parties on the basis of their percentage of the national vote.
Regime Types and Data Analysis
FIGURE 13.11 This graph plots countries according to their political regime type and Human Rights Protection
Score. Political regime types are plotted as 0 = âclosed autocracy,â 1 = âelectoral autocracy,â 2 = âelectoral
democracy,â and 3 = âliberal democracy.â (credit: âPolitical regime type vs. Human Rights Score, 2017 by Our World
in Data, CC BY 4.0)
Regime Analysis and Mexican Governance
- Political scientists use quantitative and qualitative data analysis to identify connections and contradictions between different types of regimes.
- The skill set used to analyze political data is highly transferable to other fields, such as market research and consumer behavior analysis.
- Mexico's federal structure includes a directly elected executive and a judicial branch with the power of judicial review.
- The Mexican Supreme Court appointment process requires a presidential nomination and a two-thirds majority vote from the Senate.
- The Mexican Constitution seeks legitimacy by guaranteeing a significantly broader range of social and economic rights than the United States Constitution.
- Specific constitutional rights in Mexico include the right to decent housing, quality nourishment, and the state-mandated right to practice sports.
The Mexican Constitution pledges itself to defend and promote a wide array of rightsâfar wider than the list of rights found in the United States Constitutionâs Bill of Rights.
As you read through this chapter, you may notice connections and contradictions among different types of regimes.
Political scientists often look for what they can learn from the similarities and differences among regimes and how
WHAT CAN I DO?
13.2 ⢠Categorizing Contemporary Regimes 429
they can use that information to explain the behavior of states and other actors. This process involves collecting
pieces of data about regimes and comparing that data through either quantitative or qualitative analysis. When you
learn to draw conclusions from this type of data analysis, you better understand different types of regimes while
developing a marketable skill. The ability to understand and analyze empirical and quantitative data is useful in a
wide range of contexts. For example, retailers often want to understand and compare preferences across multiple
different groups. Knowing how to analyze and interpret data can help you understand the similarities and
differences between regimes or between consumer groups. At the end of the day, you use the same skill set.
The federal executive branch in Mexico is directly elected by popular vote. The judicial branch is capped by the
Mexican Supreme Court, which has the power of judicial review. The president nominates three candidates for
each open position on the Supreme Court, and a nominee requires the approval of two-thirds of the senate to
join the Supreme Court. Each Supreme Court justice serves for a 15-year term and can only be removed
through impeachment by a majority vote in the Chamber of Deputies, followed by a trial and conviction in the
senate, a process that requires two-thirds of the senate to agree to remove the justice.73
The government of Mexico has sought to legitimize its rule in large part through declaring, in explicit detail,
the rights it recognizes and by dedicating itself to concrete measures of social, economic, and cultural
improvement. The Mexican Constitution pledges itself to defend and promote a wide array of rightsâfar wider
than the list of rights found in the United States Constitutionâs Bill of Rights and its 13th Amendment (banning
slavery), 14th Amendment (providing equal protection under the law), and 15th and 19th Amendments
(guaranteeing voting rights to all adult men and women). The Mexican Constitution includes all of these rights
and many additional rights such as
⢠âthe right to have a decent and socially useful jobâ (Article 123);
⢠the right to be free from âany form of discrimination . . . which violates the human dignityâ (Article 1);
⢠the right to an âeducation provided by the State [that] shall develop harmoniously all human abilities and
will stimulate in pupils the love for the country, respect for human rights and the principles of
international solidarity, independence and justiceâ (Article 3);
⢠the right to âquality nourishmentâ provided by the state (Article 4);
⢠the right âto enjoy a decent and respectable houseâ (Article 4); and
⢠the right to âpractice sportsâ (Article 4).74
Mexican Legitimacy and Illiberal Trends
- The Mexican government derives its legitimacy from a 1917 constitution that has been amended over 200 times to address social justice and indigenous rights.
- Widespread corruption and the rise of shadow governments run by drug cartels have significantly eroded public trust in Mexican federal authority.
- In an effort to regain legitimacy and curb cartel violence, Mexico legalized recreational marijuana in 2021 as a shift away from traditional criminalization.
- Contemporary liberal ideology emphasizes a broad spectrum of freedoms, including economic, religious, and personal identity rights, beyond just democratic voting.
- Despite the global spread of representative governments, many regimes are emerging that do not fully adhere to the broader tenets of liberal ideology.
- The text introduces Hungary as a primary example of a representative regime that persists while diverging from contemporary liberal standards.
In part to the peopleâs concern over the power of drug cartels to corrupt governmental officials and to run shadow governments and in part to the rise of violent crime associated with the cultivation and distribution of drugs.
In addition, the Mexican Constitution makes extensive reference to the rights of Indigenous groups. As
evidence of its responsiveness to the peopleâs needs and desires, the government points to the fact that the
constitution has been amended over 200 times since its adoption in 1917.75 In all, the vast ambition to
advance the social justice these constitutional rights represent continues to supply the foundation for the
claims of legitimacy of the federal government in Mexico.
In the last several decades, however, a number of political scientists have documented a decline in
governmental legitimacy in Mexico, due in part to the peopleâs concern over the power of drug cartels to
corrupt governmental officials and to run shadow governments and in part to the rise of violent crime
associated with the cultivation and distribution of drugs.76 Increasingly, many Mexicans fault the government
for its inability to effectively address these problems. Since so much of the crime and corruption causing the
decline in Mexican governmental legitimacy involves illegal drugs supplied by violent cartels, the Mexican
government has recently begun to explore alternatives to policies of criminalizing and imprisoning drug
dealers. In 2021, the Mexican federal government took a step toward putting this new way of thinking into
practice when it legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Whether this policy or similar policies will help
the government to reign in organized criminal violence and to therefore enhance government legitimacy
remains to be seen.
430 13 ⢠Governing Regimes
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13.3 Recent Trends: Illiberal Representative Regimes
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain the connection between contemporary liberalism and political regimes.
⢠Examine the diversity of objectives and priorities set by governing regimes.
⢠Discuss political history and contemporary political and legal developments.
Having analyzed core concepts and surveyed a range of governing regimes, this chapter closes by reflecting on
some recent global trends.
Contemporary liberal ideology affirms the importance of citizens having political freedomâthat is, the
freedom to participate in a meaningful way in democratic elections that can shape the actions of oneâs
government. However, contemporary liberalism also affirms a wider set of freedoms, including both economic
freedoms and such freedoms as freedom of speech, a free press, religious freedom, and the freedom to define
oneâs own sense of personal identity and to be treated equally by the government regardless of oneâs personal
beliefs, practices, or sexual orientation. Although representative governments aspire toward liberal ideology in
the sense of allowing political freedom, do they tend to respect these other freedoms? The answer is mixed.
Among contemporary regimes, a number of representative regimes that are not fully in accord with this liberal
ideology have emerged and persist.
Hungary
Hungary's Shift Toward Illiberalism
- Since the late 1980s, Hungary has maintained a representative parliamentary system that has recently shifted toward nationalist conservatism.
- The Fidesz party has utilized its legislative majority to enact laws that significantly curb media, religious, and individual freedoms.
- New regulations allow the state to fine media outlets for content deemed offensive to 'human dignity' or 'common morals.'
- The government has restricted religious liberty by requiring state registration and recognizing only fourteen specific religious communities.
- Legal measures have been implemented to ban same-sex marriage, gender reassignment surgery, and the portrayal of LGBTQ topics to minors.
- Critics argue that gerrymandering and constitutional structural advantages have allowed Fidesz to undermine democratic representation while maintaining popular support.
The government has created a National Media and Communications Authority that can impose heavy fines for coverage that it considers âunbalanced or offensive to human dignity or common morals.â
Since the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s, Hungary has had a representative
parliamentary system. Although Hungary has a representative regime, one partyâthe Fidesz, an ideologically
conservative, nationalist party that currently enjoys popular supportâhas used its majority position in the
Hungarian parliament to enact laws curbing a number of freedoms. The government has created a National
Media and Communications Authority that can impose heavy fines for coverage that it considers âunbalanced
or offensive to human dignity or common morals.â77 It has curbed religious freedom by requiring religious
institutions to register with the state in order to receive the guarantee of religious liberty and by designating
only 14 religious communities as entitled to religious freedom;78 it has failed to condemn certain outbursts of
anti-Semitism in the country;79 and it has banned same-sex marriage and adoption by LGBTQ persons, gender
reassignment surgery, and the âpromotionâ of homosexuality to individuals under 18, as well as any
âportrayalâ of homosexuality directed at those under 18.80
VIDEO
European Elections: Exit Polls Show Victory for Orbanâs Fidesz Party in Hungary in 2019
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The resounding victory of Victor Orbanâs Fidesz Party in Hungaryâs 2019 election represented a major success
for nationalist politics in Europe.
Some criticize certain acts of the Fidesz Party, such as the way it has used its power in parliament to draw
electoral districts to advantage its candidates (what is called gerrymandering in the United States), for
undermining Hungaryâs representative system of government. Some further criticize how the Hungarian
constitution allocates representation in the parliament in a way that favors certain regions of the country.81
Despite these criticisms, the Fidesz Party remains popular and has adopted its illiberal policies without
contravening the basic structure of Hungaryâs governing regime.
India
Illiberal Trends in South Asia
- India's BJP government, led by Narendra Modi, promotes a Hindu nationalist ideology that views the nation as inherently Hindu.
- Multiple Indian states have passed laws requiring state officials to investigate and approve religious conversions to ensure they are 'sincere' and 'free.'
- Human rights groups argue these conversion laws violate religious liberty by allowing the state to judge the validity of an individual's private beliefs.
- Pakistan's parliamentary system has been used to expand blasphemy laws, specifically targeting insults against Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, and the Koran.
- The Pakistani blasphemy laws are criticized for having broad definitions and low evidentiary requirements, leading to potential infringements on free speech.
- In both nations, these restrictive measures have been implemented through legitimate parliamentary processes, reflecting a trend toward illiberal representative regimes.
According to these conversion laws, to change their religion, individuals must first have their conversion investigated by state officials who must be convinced that the conversion is free and fully informed.
India, another parliamentary representative regime, recently has experienced a similar development. In 2014,
13.3 ⢠Recent Trends: Illiberal Representative Regimes 431
a majority of the members of the Indian parliament elected Narendra Modi, and since then he has served as
Indiaâs prime minister. Modiâs party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has also won parliamentary majorities in
a large number of Indiaâs state-level parliaments. The BJP espouses an ideology of Hindu nationalism, seeing
India as an inherently Hindu country. Pursuant to this ideology, as of 2021 eight state parliamentsâeach with a
BJP parliamentary majorityâhave passed laws regulating religious conversion. Most observers view these
measures as evidence of a fear that people will convert from Hinduism to other faiths.82 According to these
conversion laws, to change their religion, individuals must first have their conversion investigated by state
officials who must be convinced that the conversion is free and fully informed. Otherwise, the conversion is
illegal.83 Human rights groups have argued that these laws inherently violate religious liberty by allowing the
state to judge oneâs religious beliefs (to determine if they are âsincere,â âfreely adopted,â and âfully informedâ).
Moreover, human rights groups have documented how these laws are sometimes unfairly enforced so as to
curb religious conversion, further undermining the principle of individual religious liberty.84 These lawsâif
not the ways they are alleged to be unfairly enforcedâhave been adopted by a process that aligns with Indiaâs
parliamentary system.
Pakistan
In Pakistanâa country that, like India, has a representative government at both the national and regional
levelsâthreats to religious freedom have also become pronounced. When the Indian subcontinent (a territory
that included the modern-day states of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) achieved independence from British
rule in 1947, Pakistan was partitioned from the rest of the subcontinent to allow for the creation of a
government that would rule a majority-Muslim population in accordance with Islamic values. Those who
defend the legitimacy of the 1956 constitution of the Pakistan Islamic Republic do so in large measure on the
basis that it affords Muslims from the subcontinent a place in which to safely practice their Islamic faith in a
social and community context reinforced by the social norms of a Muslim society. Since the overwhelming
majority of Pakistanis are Muslim, their elected representatives are as well. Working within the parliamentary
system, in the 1980s Pakistani parliaments passed laws that expanded the earlier laws against blasphemy,
insulting speech or publications about a religion or its tenets, that were in effect since Pakistanâs founding.
Until the 1980s, these laws were general, mentioning no religion or religious text specifically and thus equally
protecting all religions against blasphemy. In the 1980s, however, national and regional parliaments in
Pakistan added to the blasphemy laws specific prohibitions on insulting Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, and
the Koran. The source of these laws appears to many observers to be a desire to shield Islam in particular from
blasphemous speech.85 Moreover, these laws define blasphemy broadly and require only a low level of proof to
secure conviction in a Pakistani court. Human rights organizations have criticized these laws as being overly
broad and unjustly enforced, and thus infringements on the freedom of speech and religion.86 These laws,
however, appear to be popular, and nothing in the Pakistani Constitution prohibits the government from
banning blasphemous speech.87
Power and Political Legitimacy
- A government is defined as a set of organizations with the authority to exercise power and the final say on the use of force within a territory.
- Governments strive for legitimacy, or the perception of their rule as rightful, to ensure stability and compliance.
- Max Weber identified three primary sources of legitimacy: tradition, charismatic magnetism, and rational laws.
- Political regimes may attempt to manufacture support through propaganda or by codifying power into formal statutes and constitutions.
- The preservation of personal rights and freedoms is a modern cornerstone of Western legitimacy, but not all representative systems prioritize these values.
- When a government's exercise of power is perceived as illegitimate, it becomes vulnerable to civil disobedience or revolution.
Not all representative systems will tend to advance what Western political regimes increasingly see as the cornerstone of their own political legitimacyâthe preservation of a broad range of personal rights and freedoms.
Not all representative systems will tend to advance what Western political regimes increasingly see as the
cornerstone of their own political legitimacyâthe preservation of a broad range of personal rights and
freedoms. Whether these regimes will move or be moved to do so in the future remains an open question.
432 13 ⢠Governing Regimes
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Summary
13.1 Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority
A government can be defined as a set of organizations, with their associated rules and procedures, that has the
authority to exercise the widest scope of powerâthe ability to impose its will on others to secure desired
outcomesâover a defined area. Governments usually assert that they possess the final say on when the use of
force is acceptable within the area over which they rule. Governments have an incentive to structure their
exercises of power in the form of clearly authorized rules found in statutes, constitutions, or both, and most
governments seek to legitimate their ruleâthat is, they seek to have their rule seen as rightful. Following
Weber, many political scientists distinguish between broad legitimacy, or the fact of a state being seen as
legitimate by a wide percentage of the population, and judgments about a governmentâs legitimacy made by
individuals or groups. Governments sometimes suspend the authorized rules to respond to crises and
sometimes do not enforce authorized rules; in both cases, it is possible that doing so can be seen as legitimate.
Weber identified three major ways by which regimes can develop legitimacy: by ruling in accordance with
tradition; by ruling through charismatic magnetism; or by ruling through rational laws. Governments can also
attempt to manufacture popular support though the use of blatant or subtle forms of political propaganda. If
either a governmentâs clearly authorized exercises of power or its exercise of vaguely defined emergency
powers comes to be seen as illegitimate, the government can be exposed to civil disobedience or revolution.
13.2 Categorizing Contemporary Regimes
Varieties of Political Regimes
- Authoritarian regimes are defined by a lack of electoral accountability and can be categorized as 'hard' or 'soft' based on their level of public consultation.
- Representative democracies vary significantly in structure, ranging from federalist systems with divided power to unitary systems with centralized authority.
- Legislative selection in democracies differs between proportional representation, where seats match the popular vote, and district-based elections.
- Regimes seek legitimacy through diverse means, including religious status, traditional authority, charismatic leadership, or the pursuit of social justice.
- A significant global trend is the rise of illiberal representative governments, where democratically elected leaders may oppose global human rights standards.
- Examples in Hungary and India demonstrate that representative systems do not always prioritize individual rights or human equality.
Representative regimes, therefore, do not always embrace the conceptions of individual rights and human equality that are increasingly central in many representative governments.
Regimes represent a wide variety of institutional forms. In authoritarian regimes, political power is
consolidated in a group that is not accountable to the people through elections. Authoritarianism can be
divided into soft and hard versions based largely on the degree to which the government consults with the
people and aspires to uphold the peopleâs genuine interests and rights. The Democratic Peopleâs Republic of
Korea, known as North Korea, is an example of hard authoritarianism, and the Kingdom of Morocco can be
seen as an example of soft authoritarianism. A regime can also blend elements of soft and hard
authoritarianism, which is arguably the case in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Representative democratic
government constitutes an additional kind of regime. Representative governments take a variety of forms.
Some are federalist, where power is divided between national and regional governments, and others are
unitary systems, where governmental power is held almost exclusively at the national level. Further,
representative democracies can have a parliament, where the executive branch is selected by the legislative
branch. Some parliamentary systems, such as in the State of Israel, confer seats in the legislature based on a
partyâs proportion of the popular vote rather than having elections among candidates in a set number of
electoral districts. Systems that have a separation of power and a congressional system of government have an
independently elected executive branch and usually elect legislators from set electoral districts, although
some representative governments, such as the government of Mexico, blend selection of legislators by district
elections and by proportional representation determined by the percentage of the vote parties in large sections
of the country receive. Regimes across the world seek to legitimize their rule in a variety of ways, including by
reference to tradition or the religious status and charisma of the leadership, or by claims to be protecting the
rights of the citizens and/or advancing ambitious goals for establishing social justice.
13.3 Recent Trends: Illiberal Representative Regimes
One important global trend among political regimes is the popularity of illiberal representative governments.
In Hungary, the people have democratically elected to the largest number of political offices a political party
that espouses nationalism and values that stand in opposition to global human rights standards. In India, the
people have elected Hindu nationalists who have advanced laws supporting Hinduism that many human rights
organizations criticize. Representative regimes, therefore, do not always embrace the conceptions of individual
rights and human equality that are increasingly central in many representative governments.
13 ⢠Summary 433
Key Terms
Arab Spring a movement across the Arab world in the early 2010s seeking to expand democracy
authority the permission, conferred by the laws of a governing regime, to exercise power
blasphemy insulting speech or publications about a religion or its tenets
broad legitimacy the trait a government has of being seen by the broad population subject to its authority as
rightfully exercising its power
bully pulpit the potential power of the president to influence legislators and the broad population
charismatic legitimacy the accumulation of legitimacy through forceful leaders whose personal
characteristics captivate the people
civil disobedience the nonviolent refusal to follow authorized exercises of governmental power with the
purpose of demanding political change
Political Science Key Terms
- The text defines various structures of governance, ranging from coalition governments in parliaments to federalist systems that divide power between national and regional levels.
- It distinguishes between different levels of state stability, contrasting fragile states that struggle with social order against failed states where governmental power has completely collapsed.
- The definitions explore the spectrum of authoritarianism, from 'hard' regimes that ignore public opinion to 'soft' regimes that seek public input while maintaining absolute control.
- Concepts of legitimacy are examined, including rational-legal legitimacy based on even-handedness and 'manufactured consent' created through state-led indoctrination.
- The text outlines the mechanisms of state control, such as the monopoly on the right to use violence and the unrestrained power characteristic of police or security states.
manufactured consent support for a regime that results from state programs and activities designed to indoctrinate the people and instill that support
coalition government an alliance of individual parties that by themselves do not have the support of the
majority of a parliament but that, by agreeing to work together, can form a team of ministers that can
acquire the support of the majority of parliament
failed state a condition where a state has collapsed so thoroughly that the area it once ruled experiences the
absence or near absence of governmental power altogether or becomes an empty shell ruled by an
unauthorized group
federalism a regime type that authorizes a national government to exercise some powers and governments
whose laws cover only a small region, such as a state or province, to exercise other powers
Fidesz an ideologically conservative, nationalist party that enjoys popular support in Hungary
fragile state a condition where the capacity of a state to exercise control over an area such that it can provide
minimal conditions of law, order, and social stability deteriorates to a precariously low level
governing regime a set of organizations, and their associated rules and procedures, that has the authority to
exercise the widest scope of powerâincluding the power to have the final say over when the use of force is
acceptableâover a defined area, and which seeks to exercise its authority with legitimacy
hard authoritarianism the condition where a regime acts without any consultation with the broad majority of
citizens
head of state a political leader who represents the unity of the country
Hindu nationalism a political movement that sees India as an inherently Hindu country
Juche the North Korean regimeâs ideology of national self-reliance
judgments about legitimacy the perspective of individual citizens or groups of citizens who make
determinations about whether their government is or is not legitimate
Knesset the unitary national parliament of the State of Israel
manufactured consent support for a regime that results from state programs and activities designed to
indoctrinate the people and instill that support
monopoly on the right to use violence a government claim to the right to use violence or to approve its use by
others
police state a state that uses its police or military force to exercise unrestrained power (see also: security
state)
political freedom the freedom to participate in a meaningful way in democratic elections that can shape the
actions of oneâs government
power the ability to impose oneâs will on others to secure desired outcomes
propaganda misleading statements and depictions meant to persuade by means other than rational
engagement
rational-legal legitimacy a type of legitimacy that develops as a result of the clarity and even-handedness
with which a regime relates to the people
rightfulness the property a constitution, law, policy, or electoral outcome has of being morally appropriate
and consistent with basic justice and social welfare
rule of law a condition where states operate within clearly defined legal rules
434 13 ⢠Key Terms
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security state a state that uses its police or military force to exercise unrestrained power (see also: police
state)
shadow government an organization, not authorized or desired by the government asserting rule over an
area, that effectively displaces and serves the same function as the official government
soft authoritarianism a condition where a regime affirms its right to rule apart from consultation with or
approval from the public but nevertheless frequently seeks the input of the people and frequently
attempts to advance what the people desire
Political Systems and Governance Glossary
- The text defines the Supreme Leader in Iran and North Korea as the ultimate political authority, specifically tied to Shi'a clerical status in the Iranian context.
- Theocracy is described as a system where religious leaders possess direct or authorized control over government policy.
- The 'third wave of democratization' refers to the global movement starting in the 1970s that established accountable governments in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
- Traditional legitimacy is achieved when a regime aligns itself with cultural myths and accepted folkways.
- Unitary systems are characterized by officials who are responsive to the entire citizenry and enforce laws for the whole country.
- The review questions explore the nature of governing regimes, the use of taxing authority, and the characteristics of soft versus hard authoritarianism.
Theocracy: a system of government in which religious leaders have authorized governmental power and possess either direct control over the government or enough authorized governmental power to be able to control the governmentâs policies.
Supreme Leader in Iran, an office vested with ultimate political authority that must be held by a Shiâa cleric of
the Twelver school who is respected among the leading clerics of Iran; in North Korea, the popular name
used for the nationâs most powerful leader
theocracy a system of government in which religious leaders have authorized governmental power and
possess either direct control over the government or enough authorized governmental power to be able to
control the governmentâs policies
third wave of democratization a movement that began in the 1970s that saw democratically accountable
structures of government emerge in Spain, Portugal, South Korea, and, somewhat later, in Latin American
countries such as Chile
traditional legitimacy a form of legitimacy that accrues when the governing regime embraces traditional
cultural myths and accepted folkways
unicameral a legislative body that has only one house or chamber
unitary system a system of government in which all major electorally accountable officials are responsive to
the entire citizenry and make and enforce laws for the entire country (often with the exception of minor
local-level matters that are handled by locally elected assemblies)
Review Questions
1 . A governing regime is defined as ________.
a. a set of organizations with little power but constant legitimacy
b. an organization whose power is consistent over time
c. a set of organizations, with their associated rules and procedures, that has the authority to exercise
the widest scope of power over a defined area
d. a set of organizations committed to revolutionary social change
2 . The taxing authority of government ________.
a. is a type of governmental power that can incentivize particular kinds of behavior
b. is used exclusively to raise revenue for the government
c. must in all regimes be exercised by elected representatives
d. is the weakest government power because it is subject to the will of political elites
3 . States of emergency ________.
a. are unknown in contemporary global politics
b. are periods where the ordinary operations of the legal system are suspended
c. are sometimes broadly supported and periodically and legitimately reauthorized
d. have the potential to erode the legitimacy of a regime if the people see them as abusive
e. b, c, and d
f. all of the above
4 . Which of these is not a way in which governments attempt to secure legitimacy?
a. Advancing tradition
b. Putting forward charismatic leadership
c. Taxing the people
13 ⢠Review Questions 435
d. Establishing authority
5 . Hard authoritarian regimes often ________.
a. have strict voter registration requirements
b. violate human rights
c. advance the peopleâs desires despite not being democratically elected
d. form coalition governments
6 . Morocco has an elected legislature, and although recent reforms have given the legislature and the
judiciary expanded powers, the king still has the ultimate power to override any legislative or judicial
decision. These characteristics make the Moroccan government ________.
a. a form of hard authoritarianism
b. a form of soft authoritarianism
c. a form of representative democracy
d. a socialist state
7 . Democratic representative systems with a congress, president, and independent judiciary ________.
a. are unable to secure broad legitimacy
Political Systems and International Power
- The text provides review questions distinguishing between parliamentary systems, where the legislature selects the executive, and presidential systems with independent branches.
- It highlights the characteristics of illiberal representative regimes, noting that while representatives are elected, citizens often lack fundamental political freedoms.
- The religious foundations of governance are explored through the example of Pakistan, which was established specifically to uphold Islamic values.
- The concept of blasphemy is defined as insulting speech or publications regarding a religion, illustrating how representative governments can embody values that conflict with Western human rights standards.
- The transition to international relations theory is introduced through China's construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea as a demonstration of military power.
- The outline for the subsequent chapter focuses on power measurement, sovereignty, anarchy, and various worldviews including realism and liberalism.
Representative democratic governments can embody values that human rights organizations criticize.
b. are found in a range of countries, including Mexico
c. all follow the same procedure for electing officials to every branch of government
d. are more likely than other types of systems to declare states of emergency
8 . Democratic representative systems with a congress, president, and independent judiciary ________.
a. seek to have broad legitimacy by limiting government to a few core functions, such as maintaining
domestic peace and stability
b. cannot be unitary regimes
c. cannot become corrupt
d. elect the president independently of the legislature
9 . In a parliamentary system, ________.
a. the legislature selects the executive branch
b. there is a strict separation of church and state
c. the executive cannot be of the same party as the majority of members of the legislature
d. none of the above
10 . In illiberal representative regimes, ________.
a. people lack political freedom
b. there is broad support for individual rights and liberties
c. people elect representatives
d. religious freedoms are paramount
11 . Pakistan ________.
a. is a majority Hindu country
b. is a majority Christian country
c. was created to uphold Islamic values
d. has designated 14 specific religious communities as being entitled to religious freedom
12 . Blasphemy is ________.
a. the act of giving praise to a religion
b. insulting speech or publications about a religion or its tenets
436 13 ⢠Review Questions
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c. strictly protected around the world
d. the primary political issue in contemporary Venezuela
13 . Representative democratic governments ________.
a. inevitably become dictatorships
b. inevitably uphold individual rights and human equality as defined by Western human rights
organizations
c. can embody values that human rights organizations criticize
d. are found only in the United States, Canada, and a few remote islands in the South Pacific
Suggested Readings
Frantz, Erica. Authoritarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2018.
Gilley, Bruce. The Right to Rule: How States Win and Lose Legitimacy. New York: Columbia University Press,
2009.
Mommsen, Wolfgang. The Political and Social Theory of Max Weber. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1989.
13 ⢠Suggested Readings 437
438 13 ⢠Suggested Readings
Access for free at openstax.org
FIGURE 14.1 In an attempt to expand its presence in the South China Sea, China is beginning to construct artificial
islands, which are being used as a base for Chinese military operations. Their proximity to US allies such as the
Philippines creates some concern about the role China wishes to play in asserting its control over what goes on in
Southeast Asia. (credit: âOne of the militarized islands by China off the coast of Philippinesâ by Tony Peters/Flickr,
CC BY 2.0)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
14.1 What Is Power, and How Do We Measure It?
14.2 Understanding the Different Types of Actors in the International System
14.3 Sovereignty and Anarchy
14.4 Using Levels of Analysis to Understand Conflict
14.5 The Realist Worldview
14.6 The Liberal and Social Worldview
14.7 Critical Worldviews
Power in International Relations
- International relations is a subfield of political science focused on state interactions and the pursuit of global peace and balance.
- Power is defined as the ability of a state to establish rules and prompt preferred outcomes in a given situation.
- States utilize power primarily to protect their sovereignty and guard against external attacks from other countries.
- A state's influence is derived from a combination of military, political, economic, and soft power investments.
- Military power can be exerted actively through invasion or passively through deterrence to prevent adversary aggression.
Power can best be defined as the ability to establish and enforce the rules to which all other actors in a system must adhere.
The study of international relations is a subfield of political science that focuses on the ways
that different states interact with one another. The main goal of all relationships among states is to work
toward making the international system one of peaceâfriendly, nonviolent relations among statesâand
balanceâan equal distribution of the chance for any country to take the lead in setting the course for the
international system. As with all things related to politics, who has the means to exert their power to guide the
action of members of the political community determines who gets to set the terms of âpeaceâ and be in charge
of what âbalanceâ looks like. Power can best be defined as the ability to establish and enforce the rules to which
all other actors in a system must adhere. This chapter looks at the different players in the international system
and how they interact. It examines the principles that guide the establishment of the political, social, and
14
International Relations
economic environment in which these interactions take place.
14.1 What Is Power, and How Do We Measure It?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define power as it applies to international relations.
⢠Describe the different types of power political actors may possess.
Simply defined, in international relations, power is the ability of a state to prompt its preferred outcome in a
given situation. States aim to protect their sovereigntyâtheir authority to govern themselvesâand guard
against attacks from other countries. Growing and projecting their strength is the means through which they
achieve this goal.
The way a state sees its place within the larger system based on the worldview its policy makers adhere to
serves as the foundation for the stateâs power. The theories discussed in this chapter will help illuminate the
role power plays in international interactions. They describe the different methods states use to exert their
power and how the application of the levers of state power can lead to an increase in a stateâs ability to chart its
own course and to induce other states to support its attainment of its preferred outcomes. At the same time,
the theories describe how other states characterize the stateâs actions and determine their responses to those
actions. A stateâs power includes its military, political, economic, and soft power. The more states attend to and
invest in the development of each of these elements of the power they wield, the greater their potential to have
an impact on the international stage.
Military Power
States that function with a general sense of self-preservation and a broad mistrust of other members of the
international community see the military as the most important means for the projection of their power. The
application of military power can be active, in the form of an outright attack or an invasion, or it can be passive,
as when a state illustrates its ability to prevail in a military confrontation without actually engaging in one.
Traditionally, states have launched military offensives against selected targets to secure state power. A more
passive way states can exert their power is through deterrence, the buildup of military might to such a level
that an adversary state or states reconsider the use of their own military against the primary state. If state A
thinks it has a military advantage over state B, state A may be motivated to attack state B, especially if an
important resource or other key objective is at stake. Should state B begin to expand its military power, state A
might be motivated to reconsider its course of action.
VIDEO
Deterrence in Foreign Policy
Deterrence and Security Pacts
- Deterrence is a strategy used by states to avoid war by discouraging potential attackers through military strength.
- North Korea serves as a modern example of a state that prioritizes military deterrence over domestic welfare.
- The North Korean government diverts a significant portion of its limited GDP to the military, sacrificing spending on food and social services.
- Propaganda within North Korea reinforces the national policy that the military is the country's first priority.
- States can also achieve security through collective pacts, such as NATO, where multiple nations agree to support one another in case of attack.
- Security agreements allow states to leverage shared resources and mutual defense rather than relying solely on individual military spending.
He does this even at the expense of much-needed domestic spending on things like food and social services.
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/14-1-what-is-
power-and-how-do-we-measure-it)
In this clip, Council on Foreign Relations Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies Richard Betts and
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Defense Policy Stephen Biddle describe how states use deterrence to avoid war.
North Korea is an example of a modern state that leans on deterrence through military means. North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un chooses to divert a substantial portion1 of the countryâs relatively meager GDP toward the
military to throw off any plans that any other country might have of attacking it. He does this even at the
expense of much-needed domestic spending on things like food and social services.
440 14 ⢠International Relations
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FIGURE 14.2 As this propaganda poster photographed in Pyongyang in 2011 shows, in North Korea the military is
the first priority. (credit: âPropagandaâ by Michael Day/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
A state can also obtain military protection by entering into a security pact, an agreement among multiple
states to support each other in case of a military attack, such as NATO or the Warsaw Pact. (For more on NATO,
see the discussion of collective security in 14.5: The Realist Worldview and Chapter 15: International Law and
International Organizations.)
Economic Power
Economic Power and Comparative Advantage
- Economic power is divided into internal strength, such as GDP and currency value, and external leverage in international trade and organizations.
- States increase their relative power by controlling the four factors of production: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary.
- Comparative advantage occurs when a state can produce a specific good or service more cost-effectively than its competitors.
- Strategic investment in land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship allows a country to become a preferred resource for global consumers.
- International trade is optimized when countries focus on producing goods where they hold an advantage and trade for those they lack.
Comparative advantage allows a country to strategically invest in the factors of productionâland, labor, capital, and entrepreneurshipâwithin its borders in order to develop goods or services that make it a preferred resource for consumers versus other countries.
A state can have both internal economic power, with a strong domestic economy marked by increasing gross
domestic product (GDP) and/or a currency that allows the state to purchase goods and services at a relatively
low cost, and external economic power, with leverage in international economic relationships. Externally, a
state can project its economic power to the rest of the world in its international trade relationships and its
participation in international economic organizations, such as the World Trade Organization, the International
Monetary Fund, and the World Bank.
States can also increase their economic power relative to other states by controlling more of the basic factors
of production. There are four basic factors of production, that is, four levels of economic development:
primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. The primary level of economic development focuses on
agriculture, the secondary focuses on manufacturing, the tertiary focuses on the service industry, and the
quaternary focuses on research and development. When one state controls more of the basic factors of
production and can create a particular good or service in a more cost-effective manner than a second state, the
first state is said to have a comparative advantage in the production of that good or service. Comparative
advantage allows a country to strategically invest in the factors of productionâland, labor, capital, and
entrepreneurshipâwithin its borders in order to develop goods or services that make it a preferred resource
for consumers versus other countries.
Consider one classic example of comparative advantage. If England needs the same amount of resources to
create five yards of cloth as it does for the country to produce one barrel of wine, and with the same resources
Portugal can create five barrels of wine but only one yard of cloth, then we can say that Portugal has a
comparative advantage over England in making wine and England has a comparative advantage over Portugal
in making cloth. Therefore, it would be better for England to focus on cloth production and for Portugal to
focus on wine production, with each country trading for the goods it needs that the other country can produce
more efficiently.
14.1 ⢠What Is Power, and How Do We Measure It? 441
VIDEO
Draw Me The Economy: What Is Comparative Advantage?
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power-and-how-do-we-measure-it)
Economic Advantage and Political Influence
- States leverage comparative advantage in the global market to extend their international power and economic reach.
- China serves as a modern example of using manufacturing dominance and state-controlled labor to secure a systemic advantage.
- Monetary policy and trade linkages allow states to manipulate currency values and strengthen their relative economic position.
- Economic power creates a cycle where other states seek trade relationships, further cementing the dominant state's influence.
- States utilize both overt and subversive political tactics, such as election interference or supporting coups, to ensure favorable foreign leadership.
- Historical interventions, like the 1953 U.S. involvement in Iran, demonstrate how states act to safeguard their regional and resource interests.
A state can use both overt and subversive means to influence another state or a non-state actor in order to gain more power for itself.
This animated video clip explains, in simple terms, how comparative advantage works in a free market.
China provides a contemporary example of a state that uses its place in the international economic system to
extend its power. The Chinese government has taken care to ensure its position as the preeminent global
resource for manufacturing.2 With a large, educated labor force and a government that has a tight control over
businesses and their functions, China has the ability to turn out large amounts of goods at a relatively low cost
to consumers.3 In manufacturing, it has a comparative advantage over other states.
Internally, a state can use the levers of monetary policy to alter the value of its currency to encourage domestic
consumer spending and make its exports relatively more attractive. By creating economic linkages between
states through trade, countries are able to expand the reach of their goods and their money, increasing their
countryâs economic strength relative to other countries.
A state can use its economic power to build a relative economic advantage, creating an environment in which
other states seek to join the state in mutually beneficial trade relationships. As a state creates more economic
relationships with other states, it solidifies its position as an economic power and is able to use access to other
statesâ factors of production or comparative advantage to further cement its own place in the larger system.
Political Power
States can try to manipulate the political institutions of other countries to enlarge their sphere of influence and
to pressure other states to implement their preferred policy outcomes. A state can use both overt and
subversive means to influence another state or a non-state actor in order to gain more power for itself. For
example, a state can influence the outcome of an election, supporting the candidacy of a leader who is friendly
to the stateâs preferences. In 1911 and 1912, the United States did not hide its efforts to influence elections in
Nicaragua.4 In 1953 the United States played a role in the coup in Iran that removed that countryâs prime
minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, who, in nationalizing the Iranian oil industry, had threatened Britainâs
longstanding control over oil in the region. After the ouster of Mossadegh, the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi, with whom the United States believed it had a beneficial relationship, returned to power.5 Some
states have denied prominent accusations of interfering in other countryâs elections, as Russia has in response
to accusations that it interfered in the 2016 election in the United States.6 When states have a sense of power,
within the system or within a region, they will do what they can to create an environment that safeguards and
even expands that power.
VIDEO
How Did the United States Intervene in Iran in 1953?
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/14-1-what-is-
power-and-how-do-we-measure-it)
Sovereignty and State Recognition
- State recognition is a powerful tool used to welcome allies into the international system and align global norms with a state's own preferences.
- Withholding recognition allows a state to maintain strategic relationships with other members of the international community.
- The United States faces a complex diplomatic challenge in balancing its relationship with China while supporting Taiwan's democratic autonomy.
- China views any international support for Taiwanese independence as a direct threat to its own power and regional control.
- In an anarchic international system without a central governing body, states must prioritize their own strength and sovereignty above all else.
- Strategic maneuvering is essential for states to protect themselves at all costs in a competitive global environment.
The United States must tread carefully, supporting a state that is trying to move toward democracy without angering a key economic and diplomatic ally.
In this clip, Professor Jo-Anne Hart of Lesley University and the Watson Institute of International and Public
Affairs at Brown University discusses the US overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
The next section discusses in greater depth how and why it is important to a state that other states recognize
its state sovereignty. Using its power of recognition, a state can welcome into the international system and its
institutions another state that it believes will support its desired goals, thereby increasing the likelihood that
the norms of the international system will align with its preferences. By the same token, a state can withhold
its recognition of another state in order to maintain better relations with other members of the international
442 14 ⢠International Relations
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community. In the case of Taiwan, the United States walks a fine line in terms of recognition and interstate
relations.7 China views Taiwan as an extension of China and expects all other countries to treat Taiwan as
such.8 This puts the United States in a tricky position; the United States, for economic, military, and diplomatic
reasons, seeks to maintain a positive relationship with China, but its broader goal is to support countries as
they attempt to democratize. Taiwan, in recent years, has taken many steps to assert its autonomy in relation
to China and to implement a more democratic system. China sees these moves as a direct threat to its own
position of power and does everything it can to maintain firm control over the Taiwanese governmental system
in Taiwan. China views any US actions that may be supportive of Taiwanese independence or even of its
increased autonomy from China in a negative light. The United States must tread carefully, supporting a state
that is trying to move toward democracy without angering a key economic and diplomatic ally.
Above all else, states must act to protect their sovereignty. In all things, states find themselves most reliant on
their own strength and abilities. In an environment in which there is no central governing body to set and
enforce rules, countries must strategize to protect themselves at all costs.
Soft Power
Soft Power and Statehood
- Soft power relies on attraction and persuasion through friendly interactions rather than the coercive force associated with hard power.
- The principle of reciprocity serves as the foundation for diplomacy, ensuring states interact on an equal relational footing with mutual respect.
- Diplomatic rituals, such as state visits and the exchange of ambassadors, use prestige and entertainment to influence foreign policy preferences.
- Cultural exports and global commerce act as vehicles for spreading a nation's political and social values across borders.
- The international system is populated by diverse actors, primarily states, which are defined by territory, government, and a loyal population.
Allowing for state visits is one way that a state might use the guise of entertainment as a means of persuading a state to take steps that meet its preferences.
Whereas hard power involves coercion, soft power involves more friendly interactions that seek to win over a
state or states rather than force them to comply with the wishes of one or more other states. Diplomacy, in
either a bilateral (engagement between two countries) or multilateral (engagement between more than two
countries) setting, allows states to create mutually beneficial agreements to protect themselves and the
international system at large. The idea that all recognized countries find themselves on equal relational footing
and should be treated as such in any sort of engagement, a concept referred to as reciprocity, is the
foundational element of any diplomatic relationship.
An example of a reciprocal arrangement would be that of states exchanging ambassadors. When a diplomatic
relationship exists, the leaders of states pay official visits to one another and are entertained in a manner that
shows deference to their status and prestige in the international system. Allowing for state visits is one way
that a state might use the guise of entertainment as a means of persuading a state to take steps that meet its
preferences. The principle of reciprocity allows for states to enter into any negotiation on a level playing field;
it intones a mutual level of respect between the states.
The cultural identity of a state is still another way that a state can expand its sphere of influence. Globalization
has allowed for the spread of goods that are clearly identifiable as part of the culture of a specific country. As
cultural identifiers spread throughout the world on the back of global commerce, so do the values that typify
the originating countryâs political and social systems. For example, the global spread of clearly identified
American brands such as Leviâs, McDonalds, and Coca-Cola serves to spread American values of choice and
product competition.9 In addition to increasing the amount of revenue American companies see from the sale
of their products, the spread of American brands spreads American ideals.10
14.1 ⢠What Is Power, and How Do We Measure It? 443
FIGURE 14.3 This McDonaldâs in New Delhi, India, is an example of the reach of Americaâs soft power. (credit: âNew
Delhi McDonaldâsâ by Ryan/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Reciprocal diplomatic relationships that involve entertaining foreign officials and the spreading of cultural
values to exert dominance are examples of the exercise of soft powerâthat is, using attraction and persuasion
rather than coercion to achieve goals.
14.2 Understanding the Different Types of Actors in the International System
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe the major actors in the contemporary international system.
⢠Discuss the four characteristics of a state.
⢠Differentiate a state and a nation.
⢠Discuss the relationship between international organizations and powerful states.
⢠Identify the capabilities of a nongovernmental organization.
A variety of different actors, each with its own characteristics, preferences, and methods of working, populate
the international system. These actors are distinct in what they want, what motivates them, how much and
what kinds of power they can wield, and how they interact with each other. Achieving the goals of the
international system requires the concerted effort of all of these members.
States
The term state is used interchangeably with the word country. All states have four characteristics:11
⢠Land with boundaries
⢠A government or a system of rule
⢠A population that willingly gives its allegiance to that government
Sovereignty and Global Recognition
- The text emphasizes the importance of a state being recognized as an equal partner within the international community.
- International relations are defined by the interactions and formal status of these recognized sovereign entities.
- The formation of the New Transitional Government of National Unity in South Sudan serves as a primary case study.
- Multimedia resources are utilized to illustrate the complexities of governance transitions in emerging states.
- The content focuses on understanding the diverse types of actors that operate within the global political system.
Recognition as an equal partner among states
⢠Recognition as an equal partner among states
444 14 ⢠International Relations
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VIDEO
New Transitional Government of National Unity Formed in South Sudan
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14-2-understanding-the-different-types-of-actors-in-the-international-system)
State Recognition and National Identity
- International recognition is a foundational norm that confers legitimacy, equality, and a 'seat at the table' for states within the global system.
- While routine leadership changes rarely affect recognition, radical shifts like the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan create crises of legitimacy.
- The international community often uses the promise of formal recognition as leverage to extract behavioral concessions from new or revolutionary regimes.
- A critical distinction exists between a 'state' as an institutional infrastructure and a 'nation' as a shared cultural or ethnic identity.
- The concept of the 'nation-state' is increasingly challenged in regions like Iraq and Nigeria where colonial powers drew arbitrary borders that ignored historical identities.
- Stateless nations represent groups with a shared identity that lack a formal institutional infrastructure recognized by the international community.
The international community, for its part, can use the promise of recognition to extract concessions from the Taliban.
In February 2020, a peace agreement ending the South Sudanese Civil War established ten states, two
administrative areas, and one area with special administrative status under a national unity government.
This last piece is perhaps the most important and can be the hardest to achieve. Recognition as a state within
the international system of states is an essential normâa generally accepted rule, institution, or behaviorâthat
forms the foundation of international relations. Recognition ensures that a state has a seat at the table; it
confers both legitimacy and equality in the eyes of the international community.
Changes in political power in a state, such as the election of new heads of government or a change in the
majority party in the legislative branch, do not usually affect state recognition, but in cases where there are
complete changes to leadership or institutions in a government, concerns arise about whether recognition will
continue. With the recent changes to governmental leadership in Afghanistan, for example, the reinstalled
Taliban regime will need to take steps to make sure that they are seen as the legitimate source of power in the
territory. This recognition is important to the ability of the Taliban to negotiate with other members of the
international community for the things the country needs. The international community, for its part, can use
the promise of recognition to extract concessions from the Taliban. To be recognized as a member of the
international community means being held to the same standards of behavior to which other countries are
held.
States are a vital part of the international system and serve as leaders in charting the path of the system as a
whole. Of all the different parts of the international system, recognition might not seem adequate to give a state
all the rights and privileges that come with statehood, but it is a necessary element of membership in the
international system.
FIGURE 14.4 Taliban fighters ride a captured Humvee after the fall of Kabul. (credit: âTaliban Humvee in Kabul,
August 2021 (cropped)â by Voice of America News/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
There is a subtle difference between the term state and the idea of a nation. A nation is an identity gleaned
from a common culture or ethnicity; a state is an institutional infrastructure that allows a society to function.
In terms of an ethnic identity, a nation can span states, or a state can be a nation-state, as is the case in Japan,
where the government of the state takes extra care to protect the shared national identity of the people who
make up the state.12 There is a broader conversation13 around what a nation, a state, and a nation-state are
14.2 ⢠Understanding the Different Types of Actors in the International System 445
and how to think about these distinctions in the modern world. Some scholars argue that the concept of the
nation-state is no longer viable because of the state boundary lines created by the colonial powers. As
European countries expanded their reach and control to areas far from their shores, they entered areas
populated by people for whom the idea of the state, in the European sense, was incompatible with their
historical identity, as seen in Iraq, Sudan, and Nigeria. The placement of arbitrarily drawn borders, to the
economic benefit of the European colonial powers and with a clear disregard for the traditional geographic
locations of the people, form the basis for the current conversation about whether the idea of a nation-state has
a place in the modern international system. 14
Nations can also be considered stateless.
Stateless Nations and Global Governance
- Stateless nations, such as the Kurds and Basques, face severe disadvantages and violence due to their lack of formal seats in international organizations.
- Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) serve as platforms for multiple states to collaborate on common problems within established rule sets.
- Powerful states often leverage IGOs to institutionalize norms that align with their own preferences, effectively amplifying their existing hard power.
- While IGOs like the UN can provide collective security and positive pressure, they can also be used to strong-arm weaker states into unfavorable agreements.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) acts as a lender of last resort but is frequently criticized for imposing terms that reflect the political interests of its dominant members.
- Decisions regarding international aid and loans are often used as tools to reward allies and punish geopolitical opposition.
In short, intergovernmental institutions are a great way for powerful states to become even more powerful.
In some cases, the historical home of a nation is absorbed into a
recognized state, leaving the people of the nation with the choice to either accept the citizenship of the
recognized state or remain stateless. Stateless nations find themselves at an intense disadvantage because
they typically have limited involvement in international organizations, which prevents them from having a
seat at the table on par with other states and nations of the world. Nations such as the Kurds, Bretons, Catalans,
and Basques are limited in their ability to govern their people with any sense of autonomy and have been
consistently sidelined and subjected to violence for their wish to have their unique national identity be
celebrated and validated.
Intergovernmental Organizations
Institutions made up of multiple state actors who work within a specific set of rules to enact solutions to
problems common among multiple states are known as intergovernmental organizations. Intergovernmental
organizations15 are the best way to understand the reach and impact of a stateâs power to structure the
environment in which it functions. States with more hard powerâthat is, with larger economies or
militariesâare able to leverage their position among other states to put in place institutional norms that more
closely align with their preferences; in short, intergovernmental institutions are a great way for powerful states
to become even more powerful. Under the best of circumstances, as in the case of the United Nations,
intergovernmental organizations can create a unified sense of pressure to prompt a state to make positive
changes or to band states together to support a state that is under attack. In the worst case, international
organizations can strong-arm weaker states to agree to the preferences of one state to the detriment of other
states or of the system at large.
FIGURE 14.5 The Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (credit: âThe Executive Board of the
International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C. (April 19, 1999)â by International Monetary Fund, Public Domain)
For example, the major world economies have partnered to form the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an
intergovernmental organization known as a lender of last resort,16where a country turns only after it has
exhausted all of its options for funding,17 that can be counted on to support countries in the direst of economic
circumstances. The member states that make up the Board of Governors of the IMF base their offer of support
on the role that the struggling country plays in the larger economic system. Other members of the
international community have criticized IMF loan decisions for attaching terms to IMF loans that limit the
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ability of borrower countries to move toward economic stability. As with most intergovernmental
organizations, the IMF has been characterized as an extension of the policy preferences of its governing
members. This means that the decisions the IMF makes are sometimes seen as a tool powerful states use to set
the rules of international borrowing to support countries they consider allies and to punish countries that they
see as opposition.
Nongovernmental Organizations
Sovereignty and International Anarchy
- Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operate as nonaligned third parties that address policy gaps or humanitarian needs that states cannot or will not handle.
- Statehood is defined by sovereignty, which provides a nation the authority to govern its own institutions and enforce laws without external interference.
- While sovereignty protects a state's cultural identity and interests, it can also serve as a shield for governments to commit human rights violations against their own citizens.
- The principle of sovereignty often prevents international intervention during humanitarian crises, as such actions can be legally interpreted as acts of aggression.
- Some regimes have exploited sovereignty to divert humanitarian aid or block NGOs from documenting atrocities, as seen in conflicts like the Syrian civil war.
States have used the cover of sovereignty to prevent nongovernmental organizations from providing aid.
Non-state actors focused on solving problems or filling policy gaps states canât or wonât handle themselves are
known as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Traditionally speaking, a nongovernmental organization
is a nonaligned, third-party group that does not have the same motivations that a state might have.
Nongovernmental organizations are part of a system that works to benefit people rather than states. NGOs can
propose solutions to a state or fill a need that a state might have, usually without being seen as attempting to
attack the sovereignty of that state. For example, most states accept medical aid from NGOs like the Red Cross
or the Red Crescent.
14.3 Sovereignty and Anarchy
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain why sovereignty is an essential element of states in the international system.
⢠Define anarchy in the context of the international system.
⢠Explain the relationship between sovereignty and anarchy.
Statehood is of vital importance to a nation because it confers sovereignty. Sovereignty is the ability of a state
to run its institutions without fear of interference from other states or entities. Sovereignty allows states to
enforce their own laws, for better or for worse, allowing a state to exert its power within its own borders and in
situations where the state must work to protect its interests.
While statesâ claims to sovereignty allow them to protect their cultural identity, beliefs, norms, and institutions,
they can also prevent other states from stepping in to protect the innocent when a state acts in a manner that is
counter to the basic norms of human rights and human dignity enshrined in the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.18 The actions a state takes to intervene on behalf of people subjected to violence
at the hands of their own government could be seen as acts of aggression. In this case, the state that is
perpetrating the violence would be within their rights to take action against the intervening state. In cases of
crimes against humanity, such as the genocide in the Balkans19 and the civil war in Rwanda,20 both in the
1990s, sovereignty allows a state to function as it sees fit, even when it means some citizens of that country will
die. States have used the cover of sovereignty to prevent nongovernmental organizations from providing aid.
For example, the Assad regime in Syria has diverted humanitarian aid intended for civilians caught in the
middle of the violence in that countryâs ongoing civil war, using the aid to fund its own atrocities.21 At times,
states have used the cover of sovereignty to block NGOs from gathering information on atrocities happening
within the country or to decline to participate in negotiations when other states tried to broker peace.
VIDEO
International Anarchy
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/14-3-sovereignty-
and-anarchy)
Anarchy has a particular meaning in international relations that likely differs from the meaning you might be
familiar with. This video clip clarifies the concept of anarchy in this context, contrasting it with the concept of
hierarchy.
14.3 ⢠Sovereignty and Anarchy 447
Anarchy and State Sovereignty
- The international system is inherently anarchic because it lacks a central governing authority with the power to enforce rules.
- State sovereignty is the primary obstacle to global order, as nations prioritize their own independence over collective governance.
- Intergovernmental organizations like the UN provide forums for conflict resolution but lack the capability to impose comprehensive consequences on violators.
- Tools such as foreign aid, sanctions, and treaties are used to influence state behavior, yet their success depends entirely on broad international participation.
- The absence of a global enforcement mechanism means there is no surefire way to guarantee a state will adhere to international norms or agreements.
- The Iran Nuclear Deal serves as an example of how domestic politics and the lack of formal treaty status can undermine international cooperation.
The willingness of states to make sure that their sovereignty is protected for as long as possible ensures that the system will remain anarchic.
A system made up of actors focused on protecting their own interests naturally results in anarchy,22 where
there is no overarching governing authority. In the case of the international system, anarchy refers to a lack of
a general sense of order in the international system. Anarchy in the international system is directly linked to
this lack of enforcement mechanisms as well as a lack of a broad global government. Sovereignty is the most
important part of a stateâs identity. The willingness of states to make sure that their sovereignty is protected for
as long as possible ensures that the system will remain anarchic.
While each state has the right to govern itself, there is still a need for a means through which different states
can gatherâsome ordered structure in the system that allows states to work through common issues.
Intergovernmental organizations, such as the United Nations, provide the forums through which states can
attempt to exert pressure on one another to cause one or more states to change a behavior, to provide options
other than violence for conflict resolution, or to adhere to already established norms that provide some
semblance of order in the otherwise anarchic system. However, there are no true enforcement bodies that have
the authority and the capability to impose comprehensive consequences on a state that violates an
international agreement or takes actions that fly in the face of generally accepted norms. Intergovernmental
and nongovernmental organizations provide useful avenues for states to solve problems that impact them at a
systemic level, but it is still impossible to say with 100 percent confidence that a state can be made to behave
in a certain way.
Foreign aid and sanctions are options available to members of the international community to help move a
state into alignment with generally accepted expectations for behavior. Like all types of international actions,
the ability of these options to be effective requires the participation of as many members of the international
community as possible and the willingness of those states and organizations to close any loopholes so that the
target state feels the consequences in a meaningful way. There is no mechanism to force a state to behave a
certain way. Foreign aid and sanctions, along with treaties and the actions of international organizations,
provide options international actors can use to help order the environment in which a state makes its choices
about how it relates to other countries.
States can work cooperatively through institutions to enact strategies aimed at coercing a state to change its
behavior; however, there is no surefire way to guarantee a state will do so or that it will continue to uphold that
change. For example, the United States led a series of negotiations beginning in 2015 to work to curb Iranâs
development of nuclear weapons. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly referred to as the
Iran Nuclear Deal, was an agreement signed between Iran and the UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China,
under the leadership of the United States. Negotiated by the Obama administration, the agreement allowed
Iran to re-engage in trade, particularly of their oil, to take some of the pressure off their own economy, and in
return, Iran would work to dismantle the nuclear facilities that presented security concerns to the world.
Because of the domestic political situation in the United States, the US never recognized the Iran Nuclear Deal
as a ratified treaty, opting instead to enter into an âexecutive agreement.â23 The terms of the treaty would have
Anarchy and International Order
- The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) lacked formal treaty status, making its enforcement mechanisms vulnerable to political shifts.
- President Trump's withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal and reinstatement of sanctions demonstrated how a single key party can weaken a multilateral agreement.
- International relations are fundamentally defined by the tension between state sovereignty and the lack of a global governing authority.
- States simultaneously seek internal control and self-interest while resisting submission to an established external international order.
- The conflict between order and anarchy serves as the primary motivator for interactions between nations regardless of their power level.
The tension created in the fight between order and anarchy that exists in all states, no matter how powerful they are, is what underscores and motivates international relations.
been binding, but without a formal treaty, the enforcement mechanisms included in the agreement did not
ever become reality. When President Obama left office in 2016, the newly elected President Donald Trump
began to pull back from the agreement. Trump chose to work separately from the parties to the agreement,
reinstating sanctions on Iran, including penalties for entities that continued to trade with Iran. When one key
party to an agreement pulls back, other members of the negotiating body are effectively unable to uphold their
side of the agreement, and that agreement is weakened.24
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FIGURE 14.6 In July 2015, representatives of China, France, Germany, the EU, Iran, the UK, and the United States
posed for a photo during the meetings in Vienna that resulted in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action known as
the Iran Nuclear Deal. (credit: âIran Talksâ by Bundesministeriums fĂźr europäische und internationale
Angelegenheiten/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
It may seem counterintuitive to think about anarchy and order going hand in hand when talking about the
international system, but the modern system relies on the assumption that states within the system want to
maintain control over everything within their own borders and work for their own benefit while at the same
time being unwilling to submit to an established order in the environment around them. The tension created
in the fight between order and anarchy that exists in all states, no matter how powerful they are, is what
underscores and motivates international relations.
14.4 Using Levels of Analysis to Understand Conflict
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define the different levels of analysis and show how they can be used to explain interstate conflict.
⢠Describe the relationship between levels of analysis and state policy.
⢠Identify the two purposes levels of analysis serve.
⢠Identify the hallmarks of each level of analysis.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
- The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war over the placement of warheads in Cuba.
- This geopolitical standoff was a direct response to the United States installing nuclear weapons in Turkey, on the Soviet border.
- International relations can be better understood by breaking down complex events into three distinct levels of analysis: the individual, the state, and the global system.
- The individual level focuses on the specific actions and motivations of leaders, while the state level examines the behavior of entire countries.
- The global system level analyzes how states interact with international organizations, NGOs, and multinational corporations.
- Conflict arises when the policy decisions of one state create harmful consequences or complicate the decision-making environment for another state.
For 13 days in October 1962, the world watched with bated breath as a shipment of Soviet warheads on their way to Cuba pushed the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war.
For 13 days in October 1962, the world watched with bated breath as a shipment of Soviet warheads on their
way to Cuba pushed the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war. In response to the
United Statesâ decision to install nuclear weapons in Turkey, a country on the Soviet Unionâs southwestern
border, the Soviet Union began moving multiple nuclear warheads from Russia to the island of Cuba,
approximately 100 miles south of Florida at the southeastern edge of the Gulf of Mexico. The fear that this act
inspired in Americans led to nuclear attack drills and the constant presence of the threat of war in the lives of
everyone in the United States. How would the United States, then led by President John F. Kennedy, respond to
this apparent act of aggression? This 13-day standoff has become known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.25
War or the threat of war draws the attention of the public at large and, more than any other international event,
tends to make people sit up and think critically about the decisions states make. Just as you can seek to better
understand political science as a whole by breaking your examination down to the levels of individuals,
groups, institutions, and states and international relations, one way to understand international relations and
the decisions actors make is to use levels of analysis; that is, you can choose to zoom in on a particular aspect
of the interaction. To better understand the motivations of the actors in the larger system, it is useful to break
down the analysis. In international relations, you can examine the individual, focusing on the actions that
leaders in a country take; the state, focusing on the actions of countries; and the global system, focusing on
how states interact with international organizations, nongovernmental actors, and multinational corporations.
States create policies, such as the decision to go to war or to solve a problem through negotiation and the
14.4 ⢠Using Levels of Analysis to Understand Conflict 449
creation of a treaty with the assistance of an international organization like the United Nations, that focus on
either a specific level or the way that the levels interact with one another. Conflict occurs when the policy
decisions of one state create consequences for another state that change the environment, harming the second
state or complicating the decisions it must make.
FIGURE 14.7 We can examine international relations using three levels of analysis: the individual, the state, and the
system. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
These levels of analysis serve two purposes: they provide a foundation for understanding the different
problems states face, and they help one think about how a stateâs policies can affect the international
community. The characteristics and players of each level of analysis give a more holistic way to describe
conflict.
Individual Level
Levels of Political Analysis
- The individual level of analysis examines how institutional rules and personal motivations constrain or drive a leader's decision-making process.
- Leaders prioritize policies that allow them to claim credit and maintain power, often aligning state outcomes with personal beliefs.
- The state level of analysis focuses on how nations interact through treaties, alliances, and intergovernmental organizations.
- In democracies, a feedback loop exists where voters hold leaders accountable, ensuring state actions reflect the consent of the governed.
- Autocratic legitimacy relies on 'selectors'âkey groups like the militaryârather than the general voting public to maintain power.
- Power at the individual level is defined as the capacity to steer policy toward outcomes that match a leader's specific preferences.
In an autocracy, the selectors are the people who support the leader while at the same time controlling the parts of the country that a leader needs to legitimize their position, such as the military or the lucrative natural resources that the state may control.
The individual level of analysis focuses on the decision makers within a state and how the constraints the state
places on them affect their chosen courses of action. The rules associated with their positions limit what
leaders can do; for example, the president of the United States has the ability to move troops but cannot
formally enter a war with another country without the consent of Congress.26 This limits the possible policy
responses US presidents have to choose from should they feel that the United States is being threatened.
Decision makers reliably support policies that solve problems in ways that allow them to claim credit for
solutions when they are called to account for their actions. Leaders like to be able to tout their
accomplishments in re-election campaigns. They tend to prefer policy solutions that help them gain and keep
power. In the case of the individual level of analysis, power is defined as an individualâs ability to steer policy to
create outcomes that align with that individualâs personal beliefs and preferences.
State Level
The state level of analysis focuses on the actions of states in relation to one another. State-to-state relations
occur in the context of intergovernmental organizations and in treaties and alliances. A stateâs policy choice
menu is defined by where the state sees itself and where the state wants to go in relation to other states. When
theories of state behavior are discussed later in the chapter, youâll see how theory helps explain the policy
choices states make.
In the same way that individual political actors must play by certain rules, both the people who live in a state
and the international community expect states to uphold norms of behavior and to meet the expectations of
the power behind their institutions.
In a democracy like the United States, the state derives its legitimacy from the consent of the people. If a state
begins to act in a way that goes against what the people say they want, the people can hold individual actors
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responsible and vote them out of office. The relationship between voters and elected officials is one way to see
the relationship between the individual and state levels of analysis. In democracies, voters and those they elect
form a feedback loop in which the preferences of the voters are made tangible through the policies that elected
officials work to enact in the laws they make.
FIGURE 14.8 This World War IIâera poster emphasizes the role the individual plays in directing the state. (credit:
âYour right to vote is your opportunity to protect, over here the freedoms for which Americans fight over thereâ by
Chester Raymond Miller/Posters: Artist Posters/Library of Congress, Public Domain)
In an autocracy like North Korea, institutions are propped up by the ability of the autocrat to hold the
allegiance of the selectors needed to solidify their power. Selectors are the people that a leader in any type of
government relies on to legitimize their power and position. In a democracy, selectors are the part of the
population who can and do vote. In an autocracy, the selectors are the people who support the leader while at
the same time controlling the parts of the country that a leader needs to legitimize their position, such as the
military or the lucrative natural resources that the state may control.
Global Level
Global Systems and Nuclear Deterrence
- The global level of analysis examines how cooperation and conflict between states intersect with internal environments to drive change.
- India and Pakistan maintain nuclear stockpiles as a high-level deterrent, creating a state of mutually assured destruction similar to the Cold War.
- The international community differentiates between nuclear states based on perceived rationality and the transparency of their threat guidelines.
- North Korea is sanctioned more heavily than India or Pakistan because its nuclear posture is viewed as a blatant challenge to the balance between anarchy and order.
- The global level of analysis is characterized by responsiveness rather than agency, as international organizations often lack the power for preventive action.
- The inherent anarchy of the international system makes the global level of analysis the most unpredictable of all analytical frameworks.
The countries of the world see North Koreaâs actions as a blatant challenge to the international systemâs fine line between anarchy and order.
The globalâor systemicâlevel of analysis considers how cooperation and conflict among states intersects with
the environments in individual states to evoke change. The hallmark of this level of analysis is the number of
variables that need to be considered when trying to understand the reasoning behind policy shifts and the
ripple effect these shifts have on other countries. For example, though India and Pakistan are not permanent
members of the United Nations Security Council and therefore, according to the terms of the United Nations
Charter,27 are not permitted to possess nuclear weapons,28 both countries have been developing and
maintaining nuclear weapons stockpiles as a high-level deterrent against the possibility that the other country
will take overtly aggressive actions. These growing stockpiles of nuclear weapons set the stage for a situation
not unlike that between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold Warâone of mutually assured
destruction. The usual expectation of the international community would be that states who are not supposed
to be in possession of nuclear weapons would be secretive in their development and even more secretive in
their use. Instead, India and Pakistan have chosen not to hide their nuclear stockpiles, and both countries are
14.4 ⢠Using Levels of Analysis to Understand Conflict 451
fully aware of the level of conflict they must avoid to ensure they do not provoke the other country to use its
arsenal. The international community has reacted to the nuclear buildup in India and Pakistan in a way that is
markedly different from the reaction to the nuclear buildup in North Korea.29 Because North Korea projects a
general sense of distrust and aggression toward most of the members of the international community and
because its tests of its nuclear stockpile are in express contravention to the wishes of the permanent members
of the United Nations Security Council, the countries of the world see North Koreaâs actions as a blatant
challenge to the international systemâs fine line between anarchy and order. While India and Pakistan have
made it clear that their nuclear arsenal is a tool of last resort, North Korea does not seem to have that same
level of restraint. North Korea has promised to use its weapons whenever it feels threatened but has provided
no guidelines regarding what it perceives as a threat.30 Though India, Pakistan, and North Korea are all
violating international law to varying degrees, in choosing to place sanctions on North Korea but not on India
or Pakistan, the global community is choosing to punish a state that, in what the international community
perceives to be an irrational manner, seeks to threaten any and all states.
In a way, the global level of analysis is one of responsiveness rather than one of agency. A state must first take
an action, such as testifying before the United Nations Security Council, before an international organization
can respond. The anarchic nature of the international system means that intergovernmental organizations are
not able to take meaningful preventive action to head off a stateâs decision. Due to the anarchic nature of the
international system, this level of analysis is the most unpredictable. Its value lies in the way it allows a broad
view of any trends in the way events affect different states.
The Link between Policy and the Levels of Analysis
Levels of Analysis in Conflict
- Levels of analysis serve as lenses for policymakers to evaluate the consequences of potential solutions to complex problems.
- Governments must balance the competing preferences and needs of different groups represented at each level of analysis.
- The Cuban Missile Crisis serves as a primary example of how individual, state, and international levels influence decision-making.
- At the individual level, President Kennedy had to navigate his own preferences alongside the conflicting advice of his ExComm circle.
- Military leaders within ExComm attempted to frame aggressive responses in a way that appealed to Kennedy's desire to avoid long-term escalation.
Military leaders within ExComm strove to balance their own preferences for how the United States should project strength, favoring large shows of force and more aggressive response measures, with their understanding of who the president was and how he perceived the world around him.
Levels of analysis can be used to understand how institutions make decisions. Think about each level of
analysis as a lens through which policy makers view the possible consequences of implementing a particular
solution to a problem they face. Governments can also use levels of analysis to view how a particular situation
might affect their country; each level of analysis represents a different group of people with different wants
and needs. Governments have to work to balance the preferences and needs of each member of each level of
analysis when they craft and implement a policy.
The Cuban Missile Crisis is a classic example of how each of the three levels of analysis plays a role in complex
potential or realized international conflicts.
VIDEO
The History of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/14-4-using-levels-
of-analysis-to-understand-conflict)
This animated clip investigates the Cuban Missile Crisis in the context of the intense unease and
brinkmanship of the Cold War and underscores just how close the United States and the Soviet Union came to
starting a nuclear war.
At the individual level of analysis, President Kennedy had to consider both his own preferences and how his
advisors would want to handle the situation. President Kennedyâs immediate circle of advisors,31 known as
ExComm, embodied the facets of the individual level of analysis when they provided the president with their
assessment of the crisis and offered possible solutions. Military leaders within ExComm strove to balance their
own preferences for how the United States should project strength, favoring large shows of force and more
aggressive response measures, with their understanding of who the president was and how he perceived the
world around him. In order to get the president to support their plan over any other offered solution, they
needed to play to the presidentâs desire to avoid long-term engagement or escalation. It was important to some
members of ExComm to persuade the president that a more aggressive response would lead to a more decisive
American victory that would send a strong message to Soviet leaders. These members believed that taking a
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Realism and the Cuban Missile Crisis
- President Kennedy analyzed the Cuban Missile Crisis through multiple lenses, including the institutional preferences of the Soviet government which could override Khrushchev's personal desires.
- The United States had to weigh the risks of escalation, considering both the immediate danger to citizens and the international precedents such actions would set.
- International systemic factors played a role, involving back-channel negotiations with UN Secretary General U Thant to provide space for rational decision-making.
- Political scientists utilize various frameworks, such as realism, liberalism, and critical worldviews, to interpret state responses to international actions.
- Realism is characterized by a focus on state self-preservation and is frequently depicted in popular culture through espionage and clandestine operation narratives.
International law and norms limit what actions countries are willing to allow states to take, and this is especially true when the potential of nuclear conflict threatens the safety of not only the nations involved in a standoff, but also of the entire world.
strong stance would dissuade the Soviets from taking further actions against the United States.32
FIGURE 14.9 ExComm meets during the Cuban Missile Crisis. (credit: âNational Security Council Executive
Committeeâ by White House Photographs/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Public Domain)
At the state level, President Kennedy had to consider the actions of the Soviets in terms of the preferences of
their stateâthat is, their government institutions, which could override what Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
might wantâin order to understand what message they hoped the movement of missiles to Cuba would send.
The United States had to be careful about what escalation of conflict could mean in terms of potential danger to
people in the United States and in the Soviet Union. Such escalation could also set a precedent for what other
states would choose to do if placed in the same situation.
At the international, systemic level, the United States and the Soviet Union were involved in back-channel
unofficial negotiations with then Secretary General of the United Nations, U Thant.33 International law and
norms limit what actions countries are willing to allow states to take, and this is especially true when the
potential of nuclear conflict threatens the safety of not only the nations involved in a standoff, but also of the
entire world. Secretary General Thant appealed to the United States and the Soviet Union to think as rationally
as possible and to provide each other with the space in which to make decisions.
Beyond levels of analysis, political scientists use a variety of frameworks to help make sense of the way states
respond to the actions of other states. The chapter now turns to those frameworks.
14.5 The Realist Worldview
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe how theories and worldviews can be used to understand international relations.
⢠Explain the realist worldview, including fundamental concepts and possible limitations or critiques.
⢠Identify and differentiate among various branches of realist theory.
⢠Apply principles of game theory to explain a stateâs decision-making process.
⢠Explain the types of polarity in an anarchic system.
⢠Discuss the role of comparative advantage in a unipolar system.
⢠Analyze the ways tensions can escalate, destabilizing the system, in a realist worldview.
Several key theories have emerged to explain the different ways states see the world and their place in it and to
understand the decisions they make and the courses of action they choose based on those views. The primary
theories come from three major groups of worldviews: the realist worldview, liberal and social worldviews, and
critical worldviews. This section discusses realism and its variants.
14.5 ⢠The Realist Worldview 453
Realism
In popular culture, international relations is usually presented through the filter of the basic tenets of realism.
Whether itâs Jack Ryan working with the FBI, risking his life to rescue soldiers held by drug cartels, or Jason
Bourne running from his past involvement with clandestine operations as a former CIA assassin,
representatives of states are shown as engaging in actions focused on self-preservation, no matter the cost.
VIDEO
Jason Bourne Goes to Extremes to Avoid Capture in The Bourne Ultimatum
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/14-5-the-realist-
worldview)
Realism and Game Theory
- Realism in international relations is defined by state self-interest and a 'go-it-alone' attitude focused on security.
- States act as primary actors that seek to amass power to restructure global rules to their own advantage.
- A fundamental distrust leads states to withhold information about their goals to avoid becoming vulnerable to rivals.
- Diplomacy and negotiations are often viewed by realists as unreliable methods for ensuring state preservation.
- Game theory provides a framework for calculating state actions based on risks, rewards, and the probability of various outcomes.
- Strategic decision-making is limited by the quality of intelligence regarding the true motivations of other states.
This air of distrust underlies the thinking of a realist state.
In this clip from the 2007 film The Bourne Ultimatum, Jason Bourne goes to extreme lengths, breaking laws
and property and putting himself in intense physical peril, to avoid being captured or killed.
Realism is distinctly characterized by marked self-interest. According to realism, states embark on policy
initiatives with a go-it-alone attitude that aims solely to preserve their own safety and security. In a realistâs
mind set, the state is the primary actor of the international system. According to realists, self-interested states
do what they can to gain more power to increase their ability to structure the rules of the system to their
advantage.
As a general rule, realists believe that states see it as being to their benefit to withhold some of the details about
their goals and aspirations in a given situation. The thinking is that if a state is completely transparent about
its capabilities and how far it is willing to go to get what it wants, it makes itself vulnerable to other states that
might try to take advantage of it.34 This air of distrust underlies the thinking of a realist state. Because a state
cannot trust other states, realists consider diplomacy and negotiations unreliable methods of self-
preservation. Instead, realists try to implement policies that send a clear, strong message about the ability of a
state to protect itself.
Game theory is a way of conceptualizing what motivates a political actor in terms of the steps the actor takes to
reach what they deem to be the optimal outcome for themselves. The general discussion of political behavior
in Chapter 2: Political Behavior Is Human Behavior briefly introduces the idea of game theory. Based on the
idea that all the actions players take in a specific game or situation have a certain probability of being taken,
game theory helps illustrate a realist view of state strategy in international relations. Have you ever played a
game of strategy, such as Risk or Settlers of Catan? In these types of games, you, the player, focus on amassing
the most land and resources you can, relative to the other players, to win. You try to anticipate and consider all
the information you have about the current situation and what other players might do when calculating what
actions you should take to achieve your goals. In the realist view, states have the same mindset in their
interactions with each other.
For states, every decision-making process is part of a complicated equation, the result of which is an action the
state will take. States weigh the risks and rewards of possible courses of action, seeking the greatest net benefit
for their purposes. States can only base their strategic decision-making on the information they haveâfor
example, intelligence information about another stateâs true motivationsâand if that information is faulty, a
stateâs chosen course of action may not achieve the desired results. By accounting for the weight of all the
probable variables a state considers in calculating what course it will take versus the benefit a state expects an
action to yield, one can calculate the likelihood, or probability, that a state will make a decision or implement a
policy in response to another stateâs actions.
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FIGURE 14.10 Game theory can be applied to many situations, such as labor negotiations to end a workersâ strike,
in which opposing sides strategize to optimize the chances of achieving their desired outcomes. (credit: âpicket lineâ
by Susan Jane Golding/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The Realist Worldview
- Realism defines states as rational actors that make policy decisions based on calculated outcomes within a finite system.
- The international system is viewed as a zero-sum game where one state's gain in power or resources is inherently another's loss.
- In an anarchic global environment, states seek to establish a balance of power through different structures of polarity.
- Unipolar systems are dominated by a single hegemon that sets global rules and expands its sphere of influence to secure resources.
- Bipolar and multipolar systems involve two or more states of relatively equal power vying for influence through allied blocs.
- Despite inherent anarchy, rational states strive to create order to increase predictability and ensure their own protection.
In a zero-sum game, a state seeks to take something, whether it be power or a physical resource, away from another state; in essence, if I win, then you lose, and there can only be one winner.
Realism characterizes states as rational actors, meaning that all the actions they take or policies they
implement are a function of what they see as the outcome of a situation. Realists see the international system
as a zero-sum game grounded in the idea that all facets of the system are finite. In a zero-sum game, a state
seeks to take something, whether it be power or a physical resource, away from another state; in essence, if I
win, then you lose, and there can only be one winner. When all aspects of a system are finite, one state can
control all of a particular resource, preventing another state or states from having that resource. You can apply
this idea to your everyday life. Suppose you and your friend are hungry for a snack and there is only one bag of
chips that is readily available. If this situation were a zero-sum game, whoever got to the bag of chips first
would have all the chips, and the other person would have none.
The balance of power is a classic realist way of seeing the structure of the international system. Realists see
the world as populated by states in a race to set the rules of the system to work for their own benefit. Because
the system is inherently anarchic, poles, or centers of power, form within the system around the states that
have the capacity, in whatever the system deems to be the currency of power, to gather other states to their
side. Three different types of polarity emerge in an anarchic system: unipolar, bipolar, and multipolar.
In a unipolar system, one country, the hegemon, sets itself up as the main player who decides the rules of the
international system. By virtue of having the strongest economy, largest military, or most stable political and
social institutions, the hegemon is able to use its position to extend its power. A hegemon might simply use its
military might to extend its power, or it might employ less aggressive means. When a hegemon expands the
institutions that benefit it to other countries, it encourages those countries to be like the hegemon. In doing so,
the hegemon expands its sphere of influence with the underlying premise that states that are similar in
culture, economy, and political structure are less likely to fight one another. While these states share a number
of similarities, they have differing abilities to allocate the skills and resources necessary to create certain
goods or services. When a hegemon expands its sphere of influence, it expands its access to resources, goods,
and services in areas where it lacks a comparative advantage. An imbalance in comparative advantage is what
drives a country to trade for a good or service that it needs.
In a bipolar system, two states with equal relative power but different underlying institutional characteristics
vie to create opposing spheres of influence. This creates two groups of allied countries that allow the states at
the center of the poles to expand their power with the support of other actors in the system, giving those two
states similar strength as if each were a hegemon. In a multipolar world, multiple states form many smaller
spheres of influence, creating a pared-down version of a unipolar or bipolar system. A multipolar system,
14.5 ⢠The Realist Worldview 455
where three or more states have equal or relative power, is pared down even further.
While anarchy is inherent in the international system, from the realistâs view, a state is motivated to create an
environment, and therefore a balance of power, that protects the state. Rational actors prefer order. Order
allows actors to have a greater sense of what is coming next.
Polarity and Global Supremacy
- Powerful states view international anarchy as an opportunity to impose an order that aligns with their specific long-term interests.
- The transition from European colonial dominance to a bipolar world after World War II redefined global power dynamics.
- The Cold War was characterized by a 'slowly simmering conflict' where the U.S. and USSR exerted influence based on economic and political stability.
- Bipolar competition accelerated domestic advancements in space exploration, science, and technology through intense rivalry.
- Global conflict became tangible through proxy wars, where major powers funded opposing sides in regional struggles like Vietnam and Afghanistan.
The intense competition between these two major world powers for global supremacy spilled into all parts of society, from the propaganda and policies of the United States focused on weeding out suspected communists in all aspects of society and government to the race to see who could make the greatest advancements in space exploration.
Essentially, statesâespecially the bigger, stronger,
more powerful onesâsee anarchy as an opportunity to create order in a way that favors their interests and fits
their long-term goals. The balance of power between states is a way to understand who succeeds in creating a
world that benefits them the most.
The relationship between the United States and Russia from World War II to the present is perhaps the most
accessible way to see shifts in polarity in the international system. Before World War II, colonial European
powers had divided up the world, and the United States and Russia were doing what they could, in smaller
ways, to expand their own reach. After World War II, the United States and Russia emerged as the two major
powers at opposite ends of the economic ideological spectrum, pitted against each other for supremacy, thus
creating a bipolar world. The interaction between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War
provides a glimpse of the best and worst of decisions states have made. The Cold War represents a period in
world history in which there was a slowly simmering conflict35 on multiple fronts between the Soviet Union
and the United States, who had emerged from World War II as the states with the economic strength and
political stability to exert their influence and preferences on other states in the international community.
FIGURE 14.11 This map of Cold War allies illustrates the spheres of influence in a bipolar world. (credit: âMap Of
The Cold Warâ by The1994JMan/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The intense competition between these two major world powers for global supremacy spilled into all parts of
society, from the propaganda and policies of the United States focused on weeding out suspected communists
in all aspects of society and government to the race to see who could make the greatest advancements in space
exploration, which spurred a steep increase in scientific and technological development. In the context of
foreign relations, the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States was more tangible and mired in a
number of proxy wars, conflicts in which each of the warring parties is supported and funded by two larger
parties who have a vested interest in the outcome of the conflict. The Vietnam War,36 in which the
democratically elected Vietnamese government fought the insurgent Viet Cong, who had the support of the
Soviet Union, and the conflict in Afghanistan, where the United States supported Afghanis as they fought to
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The Burden of Hegemony
- The end of the Cold War established the United States as a hegemon, creating a sense of obligation to support less stable former Soviet states.
- The security dilemma arises when a state's defensive actions are perceived as offensive provocations by others, leading to a cycle of escalation.
- International relations are often defined by a fundamental mistrust where every policy change is interpreted as a signal of intent.
- Classical realism views states as lone actors in an anarchic system, driven by self-interest and a 'go-it-alone' attitude.
- Neorealism, or structural realism, suggests that the system's structure, rather than individual leadership, dictates state behavior.
- Unlike classical realists, neorealists may utilize international institutions like NATO to achieve their strategic goals within the global hierarchy.
This is the burden of the hegemon; when you are the victor in a conflict you may be seen as the only stable, strong power, and with that status comes a sense of obligation to help less powerful, less stable states.
keep the communist forces of the Soviet Union from taking over their country, are two examples of Cold
Warâera proxy wars.
The 1990s brought an end to the Cold War, with the United States emerging as the hegemon, but that came
with its own challenges. In the era immediately following the Cold War, newly independent former Soviet states
looked to the United States for monetary, political, and military support. This is the burden of the hegemon;
when you are the victor in a conflict you may be seen as the only stable, strong power, and with that status
comes a sense of obligation to help less powerful, less stable states.
The security dilemma is the byproduct of a system in which states are motivated to act in their own interest.
As states implement security policies that aim to either expand or solidify their position in the system, other
states may perceive those actions as provocations. The state or states implementing those policies face a
security dilemma, where those changes in their policies related to their own safety and security, because they
appear aggressive to other states, may lead those other states to preemptively respond in the interests of their
own security, potentially ratcheting up tensions between two or more states.
This highlights the implications of a system based on a fundamental mistrust of all actors that views any action
as a signal. The conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War is a direct long-
term example of the consequences of two states existing in the midst of a security dilemma. States that see the
actions of another state as an offensive provocation seek to respond in as proportional a manner as possible,
but in some cases, as in the hypothetical situation of nuclear war, the response can have consequences that
negativelyâand in the case of nuclear war, catastrophicallyâimpact the entire international community.
Neorealism
The lack of institutions in the international system that can hold states accountable for their actions or provide
consistent, altruistic help to states in need perpetuates the mentality of states that see themselves as lone
actors within the international system. In the contemporary international community, realists view states as
having a go-it-alone attitude in order to best safeguard their own interests.
A more recent offshoot of the realist school of thought, neorealism (also known as structural realism), speaks
to states that take a middle path to international relations.37 Like classical realists, neorealists see the state as
the main actor in an anarchic system. Unlike classical realists, they contend that it is the structure of the
system rather than the people who lead the state that drives the system forward. States that implement
policies that align with neorealist ideas attempt to work through international institutions, such as
multinational security pacts like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to get what they want.
VIDEO
Understanding the Global CommunityâRealism/Neorealism
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/14-5-the-realist-
worldview)
Realism vs. Liberalism Worldviews
- Defensive realism posits that states should maintain the status quo and use transparency to avoid the destabilizing effects of conflict.
- Offensive realism argues that states are intrinsically motivated to seek supremacy and power through aggressive military or economic actions.
- Liberalism as a worldview focuses on states working within international institutions and constraints to ensure collective security.
- Unlike realism, liberalism suggests that domestic rules and institutions significantly limit and shape a state's international behavior.
- The text distinguishes between political ideology, which guides individual values, and worldviews, which define how states perceive the global environment.
States, they say, are intrinsically motivated to seek out power and will do so only by establishing a sense of supremacy over other states, particularly those with characteristics similar to their own.
In this clip, University of Oklahoma professor of international studies Suzette Grillot explains and
differentiates realism and neorealism.
Neorealism that advocates for transparency in order to avoid conflict and maintain the status quo is known as
defensive realism.38 In the minds of defensive realists, the constant distrust between states, and the resultant
policies, create an environment of instability that drives states into conflict with one another. As such, these
theorists believe that it is to the benefit of all states to maintain the status quo, that is, to maintain the current
14.5 ⢠The Realist Worldview 457
balance between the states in the system as it exists at that moment. Defensive realists see conflict as a
destabilizing force that upsets the status quo and should be avoided. They encourage states to make
transparent policy choices meant to give clear signals to other states that they see themselves as a part of and
clearly support the anarchy inherent in the system and that they will not do anything to challenge it.
Offensive realism takes the opposite view. According to offensive realism, overt actions states take in order to
grow and project their power lead to interstate conflict.39 These theorists argue that there is an inherent
benefit in conflict and in taking self-serving action. States, they say, are intrinsically motivated to seek out
power and will do so only by establishing a sense of supremacy over other states, particularly those with
characteristics similar to their own. According to offensive realists, states use aggressive actionsâwhether
military, economic, social, or politicalâto secure their place in the system.
14.6 The Liberal and Social Worldview
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain the liberal worldview, including fundamental concepts and possible limitations or critiques.
⢠Discuss complex interdependence.
⢠Explain the constructivist worldview, including fundamental concepts and possible limitations or
critiques.
Liberalism as a worldview differs from liberalism as a political ideology. Ideology is the lens through which an
individual makes choices and, if that individual is in a place of governmental power, through which they view
policy options with regard to whether they align with their values. Worldviews, such as the ones listed in this
chapter, serve as the basis for how states see the political environment around them and their place in it.
Liberalism
In contrast to the realist school of thought, those who adhere to liberalism see investment in the system as a
whole, by working within institutions and their constraints to carve out a secure space, as the best way for a
state to ensure its protection. Like other theories, liberalism sees states as the primary actors in the
international system,40 but liberalism contends that their domestic rules and institutions constrain their
actions. As such, states must consider constantly changing factors, both internal and external, when deciding
on a course of action. Above all, liberalism views states as motivated by what they see as being in the best
interest of the international system.
Collective Security
Institutionalism and Complex Interdependence
- Liberal institutionalism argues that international organizations are essential for managing an otherwise anarchic global system.
- Collective security arrangements, such as NATO, allow states to form a web of allies that provides mutual support and deterrence.
- Smaller nations benefit from these alliances by trading sovereignty and base access for the protection of more formidable military powers.
- The principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all ensures that even resource-limited states can deter aggression.
- Complex interdependence offers a middle path between realism and liberalism, focusing on the intricate networks formed by diverse global actors.
- Under complex interdependence, states often view the use of force as more costly than any potential gains, favoring cooperation instead.
In joining NATO, these smaller countries agree to allow more formidable powers, such as the United States or the United Kingdom, to install military personnel and weapons in their countries and to use them as a base of military operations in exchange for the promise that the more formidable military power will provide the smaller country with protection should the need arise.
One branch of liberalism, institutionalism, sees international institutions in which states take part as
essential to the functioning of the international system.41 In creating international institutions, whose mere
existence seems counter to the expectations of a system described as anarchic, states look to each other to
form a web of allies that they can count on for support in times of need. Collective security,42 wherein states
form alliances to strengthen the security of each member within the alliance, entrenches the idea that no one
state can act independently in all instances and emerge victorious. These arrangements are especially
beneficial for states with limited resources to put toward their own protection. NATO is one real-world example
of an institution designed to promote collective security.
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FIGURE 14.12 Flags of many countries fly outside NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. (credit: â170517-D-
SW162-3038â by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/DoD Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. James K. McCann/Flickr, CC BY
2.0)
Smaller states such as North Macedonia and Bulgaria have limited abilities to divert their countryâs GDP for
investment in modern military armaments. In joining NATO, these smaller countries agree to allow more
formidable powers, such as the United States or the United Kingdom, to install military personnel and
weapons in their countries and to use them as a base of military operations in exchange for the promise that
the more formidable military power will provide the smaller country with protection should the need arise. In
the case of a joint military engagement, the smaller country contributes personnel and financial resources.
With the promise of support from more powerful countries, smaller states can deter other states from taking
actions against them. All states within the pact, however large or small, are obligated to take part in joint
actions, and because all the states in the pact see an attack on one member as an attack on all members,
smaller states are assured of protection. Thus, NATO is a true example of liberal international theory in
practice. (For more on NATO, see Chapter 15: International Law and International Organizations.)
Complex Interdependence
Complex interdependence43 attempts to cut a middle path between liberal and realist theories. Acknowledging
the intricacies of the international system, where all parts of the systemâstates, individuals, international
organizations, nongovernmental organizations, multinational corporations, and nonstate actorsâhave
competing interests, complex interdependence posits that networks of actors form to meet common goals.
Complex interdependence has three principal tenets:
⢠There are many pathways actors can take to achieve their desired ends. These pathways are differentiated
based on the abilities of each of the actors.
⢠All issues are of relatively equal importance to states.
⢠States see the use of force as relatively more costly than any gain it might achieve and so may be inclined
Complex Interdependence in Action
- The relationship between the United States and China serves as a modern archetype of complex interdependence.
- Economic linkages create a symbiotic bond where the US relies on Chinese manufacturing while China supports its currency with American debt.
- Interdependence does not preclude conflict, as evidenced by ongoing cyberwarfare and diplomatic boycotts over human rights.
- Shared membership in international organizations like the UN Security Council provides a platform for cooperation but does not eliminate military posturing.
- The international community depends on these interconnected powers to manage regional stability, such as monitoring North Korea.
Those linkages keep the two countries locked in a long-standing, deeply complicated relationship.
to chart paths of cooperation and the use of more stable institutional solutions.44
Consider the relationship between the United States and China45 as a real-world modern example of complex
interdependence in action. The economic linkages between the US and China cannot be overstated. Those
linkages keep the two countries locked in a long-standing, deeply complicated relationship. The United States
relies heavily on the highly developed, highly efficient Chinese manufacturing sector, and the Chinese financial
system buys up American government debt to back Chinese currencies. The international community relies on
China to keep North Korea in line. However, these interdependencies do not stop China from choosing to
engage in cyberwarfare against the United States, nor do they prevent the United States from filing complaints
against China for human rights violations, as the United States diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Summer
14.6 ⢠The Liberal and Social Worldview 459
Olympic Games46 in Beijing illustrates. That China and the United States are a part of similar international
organizations, such as the United Nations, where both countries hold veto power on the Security Council, does
not prevent either country from using military might and prowess to signal its strength to the other country.
Constructivism
Constructivism and Global Norms
- The international system lacks a centralized enforcement mechanism, making it inherently fragile and anarchic.
- Constructivism suggests that shared conceptions and norms act as the 'glue' that maintains global order and appropriate state behavior.
- National identity and domestic laws serve as models that states use to pressure others into emulating specific social or political behaviors.
- At the systemic level, labels like 'rogue state' or 'democratic' create social pressure for countries to align with international expectations.
- Global power is not static; it is defined by which actors have the most influence to convey or change the 'new normal' of international ideas.
- A state's national identity directly dictates its strategic goals and how it perceives potential allies or adversaries.
For constructivists, these shared conceptions and resultant norms are the glue that holds the international system together.
The international system is both fragile and highly changeable. The anarchic nature of the system means that
there is no centralized enforcement mechanism that can coerce states to act in a generally accepted manner.
So, what keeps state actions within the boundaries of appropriate behavior? How do states even know what
behavior is appropriate?
Constructivism47 posits that shared conceptions of the world, how the world works, what constitutes power,
and who holds that power result in shared normsâexpected patterns of behavior that align with the
expectations and behavior patterns of others. For constructivists, these shared conceptions and resultant
norms are the glue that holds the international system together. At its core, constructivism is about the
interaction of many different actors within the system, each aiming to hold the others in line. According to
constructivists, the perceptions states share about the world and the consequences that it is generally accepted
a state might suffer should other states view it in a negative light are what keeps state actions within the
boundaries of appropriate behavior.
For constructivists, how the world works and how it is perceived are not static. According to constructivism,
the commonly accepted view of the world determines who has the most power to convey norms and to
influence changes in norms and in ideas about how the international system should work. How the world is
and how it works influence how actors choose to act, and this creates the norms and perceptions that will
shape the world to comeâwhat can be thought of as âthe new normal.â
One useful way to better understand the constructivist view is to use levels of analysis. At the individual level,
leaders might try to use their own personal power and charm to shape the perceptions of other actors in the
system. In order to change the behavior of other states to benefit their own purposes, leaders of states who are
focused on projecting their own strength, such as Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong Un, seek to carefully craft what
other leaders think of them.
According to constructivists, states work to establish norms by modeling behavior and pressuring other states
to emulate that behavior. For example, changes in a countryâs domestic law become part of that countryâs
national identity; if a state chooses to enact a social safety net program, such as providing open access to
education for all children, it can then pressure other states to enact a similar policy. States that enact similar
policies sow relationships that can serve as a foundation on which other interactions or agreements can be
built.
At the systemic level, constructivism again prioritizes the importance of norms and the tendency of political
actors to seek to align with those norms. The way states identify and place value judgments on âdemocraticâ
countries or ârogue statesâ can motivate an individual state to change its behavior. International organizations
can establish specific rules or expectations of state behavior, placing further pressure on states to align their
behavior with the rest of the worldâespecially if being in the out group means that a state has fewer resources
to support their own economic, political, or social standing.
Consider recent developments in the relationships among China, Russia, and the United States. China and
Russia are becoming allies as relations between the United States and these two countries grow more strained.
Constructivists contend that how a state views itselfâits national identityâaffects its goals and how it views
and interacts with other states.
Shifting Alliances and Global Norms
- The long-standing preeminence of the United States in international relations is facing a significant challenge from a new Russia-China partnership.
- Despite a history of mutual condescension, Russia and China have formed a sweeping informal agreement to cooperate against Western influence.
- This new alliance specifically targets the dominance of NATO, the global power of the U.S., and the prestige of liberal democracy.
- International relations rely heavily on established norms, ranging from the use of fiat currency to adherence to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
- Norms serve as a vital framework for states to weigh potential actions and maintain predictable behavior within the global order.
The Russians for the longest time were condescending in their view of China as an uninteresting rural society. Now China looks at Russia and says, âWhat are you good for?â
For decades the United States has been the preeminent power in international
relations, setting the tone for interactions. That may be changing. When Russia and China announced a
sweepingâif informalâagreement declaring their friendship and opening the door for mutual cooperation, it
appeared that the efforts of the United States to keep China neutral on the issue of Russiaâs aggressive stance
toward Ukraine had failed. Though Russia and China are both powerful autocracies, as economist and former
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National Security Council official Andrew Weiss notes, they have not always viewed each other as strong allies:
âThe Russians for the longest time were condescending in their view of China as an uninteresting rural society.
Now China looks at Russia and says, âWhat are you good for?ââ48 Foreign affairs analyst Robin Wright contends
that their new alliance âchallenges the United States as a global power, NATO as a cornerstone of international
security, and liberal democracy as a model for the world.â49 In changing their views of each other and joining
together to form an alliance, Russia and China seek to change the way they are viewed in the world, and in fact
perhaps the way the world order itself has worked for decades.
International relations and international politics are always changing, so having the most up-to-date information
and analysis possible is vital to understanding what is happening in the world. Podcasts provide a useful resource
for up-to-date discussions of international politics. Some good podcasts to explore include:
Pod Save the World (https://openstax.org/r/podsavetheworld) (Crooked Media)
The Lawfare Podcast (https://openstax.org/r/thelawfarepodcast) (The Lawfare Institute)
IS: Off the Page (https://openstax.org/r/belfercenter) (International Security)
States must rely on norms to communicate expected behaviors. Norms can be repeated behaviors, such as the
use of fiat currencyâgovernment-issued, physical currency, the value of which is not linked to some other
commodity (such as the gold standard)âin modern economies. They can also be actions required by
international law, such as the role the United Nations Security Council plays in dealing with matters of
international conflict or the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which prohibits state control over
international waters beginning five miles outside of a stateâs continental shelf.50 Norms provide states with a
starting point from which to weigh possible courses of action and determine how best to respond to any
situation that may come up during the course of normal state relations.
VIDEO
Theory in Action: Constructivism
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/14-6-the-liberal-
and-social-worldview)
Constructivism and Critical Worldviews
- Constructivism suggests that international relations are shaped by actors who have the power to change the rules and norms of the global system.
- A state's international standing is heavily dependent on its adherence to established norms and its reputation as a reliable ally.
- Losing status within the international community can lead to economic and political isolation, hindering a state's ability to use resources efficiently.
- State policy decisions are fundamentally grounded in how a nation perceives its place and security within the larger global structure.
- Critical worldviews like Marxism and feminism challenge dominant perspectives by viewing the existing international system as fundamentally unjust.
In the 1999 science fiction film The Matrix, Neo has the ability to change the rules upon which his world is based.
In the 1999 science fiction film The Matrix, Neo has the ability to change the rules upon which his world is
based. In this clip, Caleb Gallemore (then a PhD candidate at Ohio State University and now Assistant Professor
of International Affairs at Lafayette College) explains that this is how constructivists view international
relations, contending that some actors have more power than others to change the system and how it works.
If members of the international community consider a stateâs actions to be in conflict with existing norms, they
may not consider that state to be a reliable ally. Once a state loses its standing as a positively regarded member
of the international system, it can affect the way other states enter into agreements, whether they be economic
or political. In an increasingly interdependent world, a state that is no longer able to enter into beneficial
agreements with other states will have difficulty employing its resources in the most efficient way.
14.7 Critical Worldviews
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain Marxism, including its fundamental concepts and possible limitations or critiques.
⢠Explain feminism, including its fundamental concepts and possible limitations or critiques.
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
14.7 ⢠Critical Worldviews 461
Recall that a stateâs policy decisions are grounded in the general way it perceives the structure of the world, its
place in the larger system, and what it believes would be necessary to secure and grow its position relative to
other states. The perspectives of those in power tend to dominate discussions of international norms and
theories of international relations. Those who see the system as fundamentally unjust have developed
alternative theories to explain the way states act in the international system.
Marxism
Marxism and Dependency Theory
- Marxism arose as a critique of how capitalist and imperial powers control the factors of production to entrench class stratification.
- Marxist states prioritize internal investment and the development of domestic production to ensure the state's citizens benefit most from their own labor.
- Dependency theory describes a global hierarchy where 'core' nations maintain stability and wealth by exploiting 'periphery' nations for raw resources.
- Core nations have a strategic incentive to keep periphery countries in states of political and social unrest to minimize the cost of resource extraction.
- The core-periphery model suggests that nations producing high-order technological goods are better positioned to protect long-term global power.
- Both Marxism and dependency theory argue that those who control production exploit workers, advocating for control to be shifted to the laborers.
To entrench this advantage, core states have an inc entiv e to keep p eripher y countries in positions o f politic al and social unrest so that the c ore countries ma y extract the needed resources with minimal costs.
Marxism51 emerged as a response to the rise of capitalism on the back of the imperial actions of the European
powers. Karl Marx asserted that the individuals who controlled the factors of production in a countryâthe land
and physical resources, the labor force, the capital needed for investment in the facilities and processes of an
economy, and the entrepreneurship and creativity that drives economic growth and diversificationâhad too
much power over its social norms. According to Marx, over the long term, those in power seek to create
institutions that further entrench the stratification of the classes of a population, keeping wealth in the upper
classes and leaving the lower classes with significant obstacles to their individual advancement. Marxist states
seek to promote equality among all people so that each individual has the same opportunities to further their
own wealth and success. These states seek to develop an international system in which societies invest
internally to focus on the development of their own power and their own means of production so that the
producing state gains the most from those products to the benefit of its own citizens.
Proponents of dependency theory52 argue that the stratification of countries in the international system is
based around core countries and periphery countries. This view is known as the core-periphery model.53
Core countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom are more developed than most other
countries, with more stable political and social institutions and higher-order economic systems. These states
rely on developing, or what were once called third-world, countriesâperiphery countriesâthat are rich in
extractive resources the core countries need to maintain their status. Earlier, the chapter discussed
comparative advantage and trade as the basis for international relations; dependency theory suggests that
countries that are able to produce higher-order goods and services, such as technologically advanced products
like machinery and computers, are better suited to protect their power in the long term. To entrench this
advantage, core states have an incentive to keep periphery countries in positions of political and social unrest
so that the core countries may extract the needed resources with minimal costs.
At its core, dependency theory rests on Marxist views that those who control the factors of production have the
ability to exploit workers. Marxism argues that the pursuit of equality is more assured if the control of society
is given to those doing the work to bring about societal progress.
Feminism
Feminist Theory in International Relations
- Feminist theory critiques the state as an inherently masculine institution that has historically prioritized 'hard policy' issues like conflict and security over social welfare.
- The post-WWII era marked a significant shift as women entered positions of power, bringing focus to health, safety, and the welfare of women and children.
- Leaders like Sirimavo Bandaranaike pioneered the integration of social programs alongside traditional national security concerns.
- Issues once dismissed as 'women's issues,' such as maternal mortality and education access, are now recognized as essential for the prosperity of all society.
- The field of international relations scholarship has historically lacked objectivity due to a dominant heteronormative White male perspective.
- Increasing diversity among scholars is expanding the breadth of the field, introducing critical new perspectives on refugee rights and warfare.
The feminist tradition views the state as an inherently masculine institution in that it is and has been dominated by men and the male point of view since its inception.
Feminist theory promotes equality among all people, regardless of biological sex or sociological gender.
According to feminist theory, traditional views of international relations consider the state to be the main
actor in the international system,54 and the feminist tradition views the state as an inherently masculine
institution in that it is and has been dominated by men and the male point of view since its inception. As such,
according to feminist theory, international relations has traditionally focused on âhard policyâ issues, such as
conflict and security, and has concentrated primarily on the actions of men. It has relegated to second-class
status issues related to development and access to social programs. The end of the Second World War saw a
huge shift in the role of women in society in general, ushering in a corresponding shift in the priorities of state
policies toward the inclusion of more social programs. Since that time, the number of women in positions of
power within governments has steadily increased. Women such as Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, the
first woman to be elected a prime minister, have introduced policies in their countries focusing on the health,
safety, and welfare of women and children alongside issues of national security and military engagement,
leading to an increased focus on these policies in the international arena.
462 14 ⢠International Relations
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FIGURE 14.13 When she was elected in 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka became the first women prime
minister in the world. (credit: âSirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Ceylon and member of the Sri Lanka
(Freedom) Party, head-and shoulders portrait, seated at desk, facing leftâ by United Press International
(UPI)/Library of Congress, Public Domain)
Issues like poverty, infant and maternal mortality, access to education, and violence against women have
become a more central part of the conversation in organizations like the United Nations. As more women
become part of the policy-making process, the areas that were once relegated to âwomenâs issuesâ are being
recognized as issues that affect everyone and that must be dealt with to help support vibrant, growing,
prosperous societies.
It is worth noting that the scholarship of international relations as a whole has followed the slow track of
progress to include women in the field. Especially in the case of scholarship related to conflict and security
issues, women have been left out of the conversation, and the overwhelming perspective of work has been that
of the heteronormative White male. This lack of diversity in the contributors to the scholarship has led to a lack
of objectivity in the scope and process of the study of international relations. As the body of international
relations scholars has incrementally, albeit marginally, diversified, the breadth and depth of the scholarship of
the field has followed. As the people working in the field of international relations diversifies, a diversity of new
perspectives will emerge that can help the field as a whole meet the challenges of the modern system. Scholars
such as University of WisconsinâGreen Bay professor Alise Coen55 and Harvard University professor Maya
Sen are bringing their unique perspectives to the study of refugee rights and its associated policies and war,
respectively.
14.7 ⢠Critical Worldviews 463
Summary
Dynamics of International Relations
- States utilize military, economic, and political power to shape the international environment according to their specific preferences.
- Sovereignty allows states to chart their own paths, but the lack of a global governing authority creates a condition of anarchy.
- International organizations and NGOs serve as platforms for cooperation, though powerful states often exert disproportionate influence within them.
- Conflict is viewed as a natural outcome of multiple sovereign entities vying for limited resources and power.
- Theoretical frameworks like Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism offer different lenses for understanding state security and collective cooperation.
- Levels of analysisâindividual, state, and globalâhelp break down the complex motivations behind international decision-making.
This intrinsic push and pull for power and supremacy is at the heart of a system in which states push back on any organization or institution that seems to undermine its sovereignty.
14.1 What Is Power, and How Do We Measure It?
States and other institutions use their military, economic, and political power to try to influence the structure
of the international environment so that it aligns with their preferences. Political actors may use each of these
levers of power in an aggressive fashion, as when one state sends troops to invade another state or when one
state interferes in another stateâs elections, or they can employ soft power in friendlier interactions involving
diplomacy, recognition, and cultural exchange. The level of success with which these actors are able to achieve
their preferred ends communicates their power relative to the other members of the international system.
14.2 Understanding the Different Types of Actors in the International System
A state is a political entity with geographic boundaries and a system of government that is recognized as
legitimate by the people it governs and by the international system as a whole. States can come together in
international organizations to solve common problems. More powerful states tend to wield greater influence in
international organizations. When states cannot or will not solve common international problems,
nongovernmental organizations may intervene to try to do so.
14.3 Sovereignty and Anarchy
In international relations, sovereignty is the ability of a state to chart its own path through the international
system. In a system of sovereign states in which there is no overarching governing authorityâno formal
hierarchyâa condition of anarchy exists wherein each state seeks its own goals, which may be at odds with the
goals of other sovereign states. This intrinsic push and pull for power and supremacy is at the heart of a system
in which states push back on any organization or institution that seems to undermine its sovereignty.
14.4 Using Levels of Analysis to Understand Conflict
Conflict is a natural part of a system in which multiple organizations vie for access to limited common
resources and sovereign states may choose from many different courses of action. In complex situations where
many factors affect state decisions about how to act in times of conflict, one way to understand how they arrive
at those decisions is to use levels of analysis, breaking down the motivations, goals, and resources involved at
the individual, state, and global level.
14.5 The Realist Worldview
Realism is a theory of international relations that places states at the center of the system. In the realist view,
states choose to enact policies focused on maintaining the security of their state. The states with the most
power tend to have the most influence over other states in the system and tend to play the greatest role in
global security. Unless there is one state with much more power than all the others, realists describe the
maintenance of world order as requiring a balance of power among two or more great powers and their
spheres of influence.
14.6 The Liberal and Social Worldview
Liberalism, as a theory of international relations, places states as part of a larger system, working in concert
with various other institutions to create an environment through which all people and states benefit. In the
liberal view, states work together to achieve collective security. Constructivists see the system in which these
interactions occur as an ever-changing one, the conditions of which are determined by how states see
themselves, how they see other states, and how they see the system as a whole and by the norms of the system
to which all states tend to adhere, which are usually heavily influenced by the most powerful states.
14.7 Critical Worldviews
Theories of International Relations
- International relations is a subfield of political science focused on the complex interactions and power dynamics between different states.
- Traditional perspectives in the field often reflect the viewpoints of the most powerful states that dominate the global system.
- Critical theories like feminism and Marxism challenge standard interpretations by highlighting the perspectives of underrepresented groups.
- The international system is often defined by concepts like anarchy, the balance of power, and the presence of a global hegemon.
- Economic models such as the core-periphery model and dependency theory argue that developed nations rely on less developed ones to maintain status.
- Theories like constructivism and institutionalism emphasize that shared behaviors and international organizations are the glue holding the system together.
Just as the most powerful states tend to dominate the international system, the perspectives of those in power have tended to dominate the study of international relations.
Just as the most powerful states tend to dominate the international system, the perspectives of those in power
have tended to dominate the study of international relations. Critical theories of international relations, such
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as feminism and Marxism, push back against traditional points of view, bringing in the perspectives of
underrepresented groups and questioning standard interpretations of the international system.
Key Terms
anarchy a lack of a general sense of order in the international system
balance of power the ability of one or more states to act as a counterweight to another country or group of
countries in order to protect themselves
bipolar system an international environment where two states of comparable power create a situation in
which neither is willing to attack the other
collective security a cooperation agreement between multiple countries aimed at providing military power
for all
comparative advantage when one state can create a particular good or service in a more cost-effective
manner than a second state
complex interdependence a theory of international relations that holds that all parts of the international
system have competing interests but that these parts form networks to meet common goals
constructivism in international relations, the theory that expected patterns of behavior among states are the
glue that holds the international system together
core countries countries with developed economic systems and stable political and social systems
core-periphery model a model of international relations that views the world as divided between two types of
countries, core countries and periphery countries, where core countries depend on periphery countries to
maintain their status
defensive realism a type of neorealism that advocates for transparency in order to avoid conflict and
maintain the status quo
dependency theory a theory of international relations that argues that the stratification of countries in the
international system is based on core countries and periphery countries, where core countries depend on
periphery countries to maintain their status
deterrence the buildup of military might to such a level that an adversary state or states reconsider the use of
their own military against the primary state
factors of production the land and physical resources, the labor force, and the capital needed for investment
in the facilities and processes of an economy, and the entrepreneurship and creativity that drives
economic growth and diversification
feminist theory a theory of international relations that supports creating institutions and norms that
prioritize equality among all people, regardless of biological sex or sociological gender
fiat currency government-issued, physical currency, the value of which is not linked to some other
commodity (such as the gold standard)
game theory a way of conceptualizing what motivates a political actor in terms of the steps the actor takes to
reach what they deem to be the optimal outcome for themselves
hegemon the country that possesses the most power in a unipolar world
institutionalism a branch of liberalism that sees international institutions in which states take part as
essential to the functioning of the international system
intergovernmental organizations institutions made up of multiple state actors that work within a specific set
of rules to enact solutions to problems common among multiple states
international relations a subfield of political science that focuses on the ways different states interact with
one another
International Relations Key Terms
- The text defines foundational theories of international relations, including realism's focus on self-preservation and liberalism's emphasis on institutional cooperation.
- It distinguishes between different power structures, ranging from unipolar systems dominated by one state to multipolar systems with several equal powers.
- Economic and social hierarchies are addressed through concepts like periphery countries, which provide resources to more developed states, and Marxism's focus on equitable distribution.
- The 'security dilemma' is highlighted as a critical concept where a state's defensive actions are perceived as aggressive, inadvertently escalating international tensions.
- Non-state actors and soft power are identified as alternative means of influence beyond traditional military or state-led force.
security dilemma a situation in which chang es in a s tateâs policies related to its own safety and security , because the y app ear a ggres sive to other states, ma y lead those other states to take preemptive action that ratchets up tensions between two or more states
lender of last resort a financial institution, such as the IMF, that a country turns to only after it has exhausted
all of its other funding options
liberalism a theory of international relations that sees investment in the system as a whole, by working within
institutions and their constraints to carve out a secure space, as the best way for a state to ensure its
protection
14 ⢠Key Terms 465
Marxism in the context of international relations, the idea that the role of states is to ensure equal access to
the factors of production in an economy and an equitable distribution of the benefits of the goods and
services that economy produces
multipolar system an international environment in which three or more states have relatively similar power
that they can project out to other countries
nation a shared group identity gleaned from a common culture or ethnicity
neorealism an offshoot of realism that contends that it is the structure of the system rather than the people
who make up the state that drives the system forward
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) non-state actors focused on solving problems or filling policy gaps
states canât or wonât handle themselves
offensive realism the theory that interstate conflict is the product of the overt actions states take in order to
grow and project their power
periphery countries countries with less stable political and social systems that are rich in the resources that
more developed states require to maintain their power
power the ability of a state to prompt its preferred outcome in a given situation
proxy wars conflicts in which each of the warring parties is supported and funded by a larger party who has a
vested interest in the outcome
realism a theory of international relations that holds that states embark on policy initiatives with a go-it-alone
attitude that aims solely to preserve their own safety and security
reciprocity the idea that all countries that have diplomatic relationships with a state accept, in equal measure,
what that state accepts
security dilemma a situation in which changes in a stateâs policies related to its own safety and security,
because they appear aggressive to other states, may lead those other states to take preemptive action that
ratchets up tensions between two or more states
security pact an agreement among multiple states to support each other in case of a military attack
selectors people that a leader in any type of government relies on to legitimize their power and position
soft power friendly interactions that seek to win over rather than force a state or states to comply with the
wishes of one or more other states
sovereignty the ability of a state to run its institutions without fear of interference from other states or entities
and to respond to threats as they emerge
state one of the foundational institutions in the international system; an institutional infrastructure that
allows a society to function
unipolar system an international environment in which only one country possesses the political, economic,
and military strength to exert its power and preferences on all the other countries in the world
zero-sum game an interaction between two players in which there is only one round of play where one player
takes everything available and leaves nothing for the second player
Review Questions
International Relations Review Questions
- The text defines power in international relations as a state's ability to achieve its preferred outcomes in specific situations.
- State sovereignty is identified as a fundamental characteristic that requires other nations to use diplomacy, sanctions, or military force to influence behavior.
- The international system is characterized by anarchy, defined as the absence of an overarching governing authority above individual states.
- Realist theory posits that states are the primary actors in the global system and act primarily to ensure their own security.
- The 'security dilemma' is illustrated through modern geopolitical tensions, such as the 2022 Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border.
- Different levels of analysisâindividual, state, institutional, and systemicâare used by political scientists to understand decision-making and constraints.
In the international system, anarchy exists because... there is no overarching governing authority.
1 . In international relations, power refers to ________.
a. the ability of a state to run its institutions without fear of interference from other states or entities
b. the ability of a state to prompt its preferred outcome in a given situation
c. when one state can create a particular good or service in a more cost-effective manner than a second
state
d. friendly interactions that seek to win over rather than force a state or states to comply with the wishes
of one or more other states
2 . States pursue ________ policies when they build up military might in order to influence an adversary state
or states to reconsider taking aggressive military action against them.
a. sovereignty
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b. collective security
c. destabilizing
d. deterrence
3 . A state both exercises and bestows power when it recognizes another stateâs ________.
a. national identity
b. comparative advantage
c. sovereignty
d. hegemony
4 . Which of these is not a defining characteristic of a state?
a. Land with boundaries
b. A government or a system of rule
c. A population that willingly gives its allegiance to that government
d. A shared identity based on common history, religion, or ethnic background
5 . States that have the greatest ________ can use intergovernmental organizations to expand their power.
a. hard power
b. soft power
c. comparative advantage
d. diplomatic reach
6 . One benefit of NGOs is that they are usually able to propose solutions to problems or provide aid without
________.
a. incurring expenses
b. threatening a stateâs sovereignty
c. acquiring state approval
d. concern for humanitarian objectives
7 . Because all formally recognized states in the international system have ________, if other states want to
influence their behavior, they employ sanctions, diplomacy, military action, or other persuasive tactics.
a. established armies
b. state sovereignty
c. soft power
d. the rule of law
8 . In the international system, anarchy exists because ________.
a. the system is multipolar
b. it ensures adherence to human rights norms
c. of the weakness of individual states
d. there is no overarching governing authority
9 . Within the anarchy of the international system, states join ________ to work together to solve common
problems.
a. international organizations
b. bipolar systems
c. nations
d. think tanks
10 . A political scientist studying how reelection campaigns affect presidential decision-making would be
14 ⢠Review Questions 467
using what level of analysis?
a. Individual
b. State
c. Institutional
d. Systemic
11 . At every level of analysis, ________ constrain(s) actors.
a. anarchy
b. conflict
c. norms
d. voters
12 . The anarchic nature of the international system makes which level of analysis particularly unpredictable?
a. Individual
b. State
c. Institutional
d. Global
13 . According to the realist worldview, ________ are the main actors in the international system.
a. militaries
b. core countries
c. states
d. intergovernmental organizations
14 . According to the realist worldview, states act in the interest of ________.
a. their own security
b. maintaining the status quo
c. fulfilling commitments to international treaties
d. the good of the international system as a whole
15 . The Russian military buildup on the Ukraine border in early 2022 and calculated responses from the
United States and its NATO allies can be viewed as a ________.
a. proxy war
b. security dilemma
c. zero-sum game
d. use of soft power
16 . Adherents to which variety of realism are most likely to support the status quo?
a. Structural realism
b. Neorealism
c. Offensive realism
d. Defensive realism
International Relations Theory Review
- The text presents multiple-choice questions designed to test understanding of core international relations frameworks, including Liberalism and Marxism.
- Liberalism is characterized by the use of international institutions to achieve state goals and ensure security within the global system.
- The concept of complex interdependence suggests that states often find the use of force more costly than potential gains, leading them toward cooperative institutional solutions.
- Feminist theory is highlighted as a critique of traditional international relations, arguing that the field over-prioritizes 'hard policy' like conflict over social development.
- The reading list provides a comprehensive bibliography of foundational IR texts, covering world-systems theory, social constructivism, and global capitalism.
According to feminist theory, international relations has traditionally focused on âhard policyâ issues, such as conflict and security, and has relegated to second-class status issues related to development and access to social programs.
17 . According to the liberal worldview, ________ is the best way for a state to ensure its secure position in the
international system.
a. going it alone
b. providing social welfare programs
c. working toward the good of the international system
d. using international institutions to achieve state goals
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18 . Which of the following is not one of the tenets of complex interdependence?
a. States see the use of force as relatively more costly than any gain it might achieve and so may be
inclined to chart paths of cooperation and the use of more stable institutional solutions.
b. There are many pathways actors can take to achieve their desired ends. These pathways are
differentiated based on the abilities of each of the actors.
c. All issues are of relatively equal importance to states.
d. When states have a comparative advantage, they have an incentive to keep other countries in
positions of political and social unrest.
19 . ________ countries invest internally, developing their own power and industries and promoting the
success of individual workers in order to benefit their own citizens.
a. Neorealist
b. Marxist
c. Hegemonic
d. Peripheral
20 . According to ________ theory, international relations has traditionally focused on âhard policyâ issues,
such as conflict and security, and has relegated to second-class status issues related to development and
access to social programs.
a. feminist
b. Marxist
c. complex interdependence
d. game
Suggested Readings
Chase-Dunn, Christopher, and Marilyn Grell-Brisk. âWorld-System Theory.â In International Relations, by
Christopher Chase-Dunn and Marilyn Grell-Brisk. Oxford University Press, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/
obo/9780199743292-0272.
Classic Readings and Contemporary Debates in International Relations. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2006.
Dunne, Timothy. âThe Social Construction of International Society.â European Journal of International
Relations 1, no. 3 (1995): 367â89.
Finnemore, Martha, and Kathryn Sikkink. âInternational Norm Dynamics and Political Change.â International
Organization 52, no. 4 (1998): 887â917.
Griffiths, Martin. âInternational Relations Theory for the Twenty-First Century: An Introduction.â In Marxism,
edited by Mark Rupert, 35â46. London: Routledge, 2007.
Keohane, Robert O., and Joseph Nye. Power and Interdependence. New York: Longman, 2011.
Lebow, Richard Ned. A Cultural Theory of International Relations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
2008.
Moravcsik, Andrew. âTaking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Relations.â International
Organization 51, no. 4 (September 1997): 513â53.
Putnam, Robert D. âDiplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-Level Games.â International
Organization 42, no. 3 (June 1988): 427â60.
Robinson, William I. A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class, and State in a Transnational World.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.
14 ⢠Suggested Readings 469
Thompson, Kenneth W. âCollective Security Reexamined.â American Political Science Review 47, no. 3
(September 1953): 753â72.
Tickner, J. Ann. Gender in International Relations: Feminist Perspectives on Achieving Global Security. New
York: Columbia University Press, 1992.
Wendt, Alexander, âAnarchy is what States Make of it: The Social Construction of Power Politicsâ International
Organization 46, no. 2 (Spring 1992): 391-425.
470 14 ⢠Suggested Readings
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Global Governance and Shared Resources
- The management of shared, finite resources like global fish stocks represents a critical challenge because no single individual or state owns the oceans.
- Technological advancements have exacerbated overfishing, making the establishment of international rules essential for the survival of future food sources.
- State sovereignty often conflicts with resource management, as nations prioritize their own independent policies and national interests over collective sustainability.
- Global governance involves a collaborative network of international law, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and non-state actors like NGOs.
- These international frameworks aim to shape state behavior by creating norms, encouraging transparent communication, and advocating for marginalized populations.
- The visibility and influence of non-state actors in international relations have significantly increased due to the ongoing era of globalization.
No individual or state âownsâ the oceans and the wildlife in them. They are a shared, finite resource.
FIGURE 15.1 According to the Seychelles News Agency, yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean is the most overfished
tuna in the world. Under pressure from the European Union and numerous nongovernmental organizations, Indian
Ocean Tuna Commission countries met in 2021 to discuss the sustainability of fishing practices.1 In this photo,
buyers and sellers negotiate prices of different varieties of tuna at a market in Mogadishu. (credit:
"2013_03_16_Somalia_Fishing m" by AMISOM Public Information/Flickr, Public Domain)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
15.1 The Problem of Global Governance
15.2 International Law
15.3 The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
15.4 How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance?
15.5 Non-state Actors: Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
15.6 Non-state Actors beyond NGOs
No individual or state âownsâ the oceans and the wildlife in them. They are a shared, finite
resource. Overfishing is an unsustainable global problem, especially now that technological advancements
allow thousands of fish to be harvested at once. Only through the establishment of rules can the fish continue
to be a source of food and income for future generations.
In a system of sovereign states, managing international resources like the fish in the sea is no easy task. As
discussed in earlier chapters, state sovereignty is the concept that states have an inherent right to
independence and a right to formulate policies and take actions that they deem to be in their own national
interests. Managing international resources requires navigating the claims sovereign countries have on those
resources, understanding the needs of individuals who depend upon them for their livelihood, and thinking
15
International Law and International
Organizations
about the sustainability of those resources for the future. No individual state can do this alone.
International law and non-state actors, especially international organizations, participate in global governance
in order to address complex issues like managing global fishing or preventing conflict. Along with
governments, thousands of organizations engage in collaborative problem-solving, encourage broad and
transparent international communication, and assist those in need. By creating and following norms and rules
and advocating for the impoverished and marginalized, international law and non-state actors shape state
behavior and promote a more peaceful and prosperous international system. The importance of international
law and non-state actors to the outcomes of international relations is a subject of some debate among
proponents of the various theories of international relations discussed in Chapter 14: International Relations,
but there is little doubt that the era of globalization has enhanced their visibility and influence.
15.1 The Problem of Global Governance
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define global governance.
⢠Define and give examples of collective goods and the tragedy of the commons.
⢠Discuss global governance as a response to the anarchic nature of the international system.
⢠Identify the actors involved in global governance.
Anarchy and Global Governance
- The international system is fundamentally anarchic, lacking a central authority to enforce peace and prosperity among sovereign states.
- Global governance emerges as a set of rules and norms that allow states to accrue rights and duties, providing structure to an otherwise chaotic environment.
- States are interdependent, meaning the achievement of national security and economic success is often contingent on the actions of other global actors.
- The 'tragedy of the commons' occurs when states prioritize short-term economic survival over long-term collective goods like a clean environment.
- Collective problems, such as air pollution, are difficult to solve because individual states may profit from behaviors that exacerbate the issue for everyone.
The tragedy of the commons occurs when there is a rivalry for limited resources to which it is inherently difficult to restrict access and individual states prioritize their own short-term economic survival over broader long-term community interests.
States do not operate in isolation. They exist in a global community of sovereign states. As in all communities,
each individual actor has their own motivations or goals and is impacted by the broader shared environment.
Though the international system is anarchicâthat is, there is no overarching international authority to help
promote peace and prosperity among statesâeach stateâs efforts to achieve those goals is to some degree
dependent upon the actions of other states in the system. Recognizing that the achievement of prosperity and
security requires shared action, the global community sets rules and norms of behavior to give some structure
to the anarchic system. This global governance is the process by which sovereign states accrue rights and
duties in the international community. It provides âpeace and security, justice and mediation systems for
conflict, functioning markets and unified standards for trade and industry,â2 helping states thrive even under
conditions of anarchy.
Like other communities, the international system is tasked with convincing individual members to take some
responsibility for solving collective problems. This task is especially difficult when individual members
somehow profit from behavior that exacerbates these problems. The tragedy of the commons3 occurs when
there is a rivalry for limited resources to which it is inherently difficult to restrict access and individual states
prioritize their own short-term economic survival over broader long-term community interests, interests that
are often referred to as collective goods. Individual states have incentives to take actions in order to secure
these goods for their own benefit that may negatively impact others. For example, individual states may
prioritize cost savings for manufacturing plants that use the cheapest energy source, even if doing so
contributes to continuing damage to the common environment. China, for instance, engaged in rapid
industrialization, dramatically increasing the size of its economy and the quality of life for the Chinese people;
however, in the process, China became the worldâs leading producer of air pollution. Air pollution cannot be
contained to the boundaries of the country producing the pollution, and clean air is a collective good.
International issues like air pollution, where one stateâs actions to mitigate its role in intensifying a problem
may be ineffective if its neighbor does not take similar action, illustrate the complexities of the tragedy of the
commons.
VIDEO
Tragedy of the Commons
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problem-of-global-governance)
Global Governance and International Law
- The scarcity of common resources is exacerbated by the anarchic nature of the international system, making it difficult to assign responsibility for global problems.
- Free riding poses a significant challenge to collective action, as states may benefit from public goods without contributing to the sacrifices required to secure them.
- Global governance involves a diverse array of actors, including states, NGOs, and multinational corporations, working to establish international laws and limits.
- International law functions as a set of rules that increases predictability and counteracts systemic anarchy by prescribing norms for state and non-state behavior.
- The foundations of international law are not centralized but are derived from treaties, agreements, and customary practices born of functional necessity or moral consensus.
The anarchic nature of the international system complicates efforts to persuade states to recognize their contribution to a common problem and to take responsibility for their actions.
The more we exploit common resources, the scarcer these resources become.
The anarchic nature of the international system complicates efforts to persuade states to recognize their
contribution to a common problem and to take responsibility for their actions. Collective goods benefit
everyone, regardless of whether they participate in securing them, and it can be difficult to motivate individual
states to make sacrifices to secure those goods if other states are already working on itâa phenomenon called
free riding, which is discussed in more depth in Chapter 6: The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity.
Through global governance, the international community helps states and people obtain these public goods
while maintaining the principle of state sovereignty on which the international system is based.
Multiple actors take part in global governance. States themselves, both as individual actors and through their
participation in organizations with other states, are the primary actors. Nongovernmental organizations,
multinational corporations, national groups, and religious actors also contribute to global governance.
International cooperation among these various actors is needed to reach agreementâto develop international
law that sets limits on who can do what and establishes punishments for exceeding those limits. Disruptive
groups that pose a threat to the common peace and prosperity can only be countered through global
governance.
15.2 International Law
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define and identify sources of international law.
⢠Explain how state sovereignty informs international law.
⢠Differentiate between the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
⢠Discuss the development of key areas of international law, including the law of the sea, the Geneva
Conventions, and human rights law.
International law is a set of formal and informal rules that loosely govern the international system, setting
parameters around the conduct of state and non-state actors. In the absence of a central global government,
international law plays a critical role in increasing the predictability of international relations, helping to
counteract the anarchy of the system by prescribing norms and setting expectations of behavior. It facilitates
state interactions in âcommonâ places, such as the air and the sea, and helps promote peace and lessen the
impact of conflict. International laws govern airline travel, commerce, maritime law, human rights, the
development and use of weapons, and the environment, among other areas.
International law is not found in a single book or document; rather, it is the sum total of international treaties,
other international agreements, and customary law, which is derived from the long-time practices of states
(see Chapter 11: Courts and Law). International law has developed out of functional necessity, as in the cases of
international transportation, commerce, or communications, for example, or because of broad consensus
around moral or immoral behavior, as in issues of human rights and the laws of war.
Two courts adjudicate international law: the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has jurisdiction over
Foundations of International Law
- International law is governed by bodies like the International Court of Justice for state disputes and the International Criminal Court for individual war crimes.
- State sovereignty serves as the foundation of international law, where nations voluntarily accept constraints on their behavior in exchange for mutual benefits.
- Treaties often require signatory states to modify domestic policies, as seen in environmental pacts like the Paris Climate Accord or human rights conventions.
- The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides a legal framework for maritime boundaries, resource ownership, and environmental protection.
- The Geneva Conventions codify international humanitarian law, establishing protections for civilians and prisoners of war while defining war crimes.
Signatory countries that fail to take those steps may be acting within their sovereign rights, but if they signed the treaty, those domestic actions (or that domestic inaction) are now regulated by international law.
disputes between states, and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has jurisdiction over individual
criminal behavior such as war crimes or genocide. Some other international organizations such as the
European Union and the World Trade Organization also have legal systems that adjudicate disputes between
member states.
How Does International Law Establish the Rights and Obligations of States?
The recognition of state sovereignty provides the foundation for international law. Typically, sovereign states
15.2 ⢠International Law 473
willingly enter into agreements that they believe will benefit them in some way, with the understanding that by
signing a treaty they agree to its terms, including obligations and constraints on their behavior. The United
Nations (UN), a global organization bringing together nearly every state in the world to promote peace and
stability, hosts a repository of more than 500 active treaties across every conceivable issue in international
relations.4 Signatory states may monitor or punish states that do not fulfill their treaty obligations. In this way,
all individual, sovereign parties to a treaty ensure that they are treated fairly under the terms of the agreement
and that they receive the benefits they are due.
Some treaties require states to modify their domestic policies. For instance, states that sign the Paris Climate
Accord commit to solve a common problem, climate change, by taking certain steps in their own country.
Signatory countries that fail to take those steps may be acting within their sovereign rights, but if they signed
the treaty, those domestic actions (or that domestic inaction) are now regulated by international law. States
that sign international conventions like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the Convention to
Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) commit to follow the guidelines set forth in
those documents.
Examples of International Law
Three particularly well-developed areas of international law are the law of the sea, the Geneva Conventions,
and human rights law. They illustrate how functional needs and moral obligations have driven the
development of international law and helped states acquire global goods.
The United Nations convened the first conference on the law of the sea in 1958. The UN Convention on the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS) was signed in 1982 and came into force in 1994. Among other things, the UNCLOS
clarifies where countriesâ boundaries extend into the ocean, who âownsâ the fish in the water, and who has the
right to use sea traffic lanes. UNCLOS identifies state ârights, freedoms and obligationsâ in areas such as
shipping, fishing, wrecks and cultural heritage, and the protection of the marine environment.5
All UN member states sign the Geneva Conventions, a series of treaties and protocols that codify international
humanitarian law. Through the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the first Geneva
Convention was signed in 1864, allowing noncombatants to treat wounded soldiers in the battlefield. There are
now four Geneva Convention treatiesâthe fourth of which establishes a legal definition of war crimesâall
focused on protecting civilians and prisoners of war during military conflicts.
VIDEO
Former UN Ambassador Susan Rice Discusses Geneva Conventions and American Red Cross
Curriculum
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Human Rights and R2P
- The Geneva Conventions provide the foundation for nine core human rights treaties that define crimes against humanity and genocide.
- UN member states are obligated under international law to respect, protect, and promote the inalienable rights of their citizens.
- The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle was developed in 2001 as a response to international complacency during the Rwandan genocide.
- R2P shifts the responsibility of protection to the international community if a sovereign state is unwilling or unable to protect its own people.
- The United Nations Security Council is authorized to intervene using diplomatic or humanitarian means to protect at-risk populations under R2P.
The philosophy behind R2P is that 'state sovereignty carrie[s] with it the obligation of the State to protect its own people, and that if the State [is] unwilling or unable to do so, the responsibility shift[s] to the international community to use diplomatic, humanitarian and other means to protect them.'
On the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Conventions, then-UN Ambassador Susan Rice discussed
the United States commitment to supporting international humanitarian law.
The Geneva Conventions serve as the basis for a much broader body of international human rights law that
includes nine core human rights treaties that extend beyond wartime behavior. These treaties recognize the
âinalienable rightsâ of people and codify crimes against humanity. They call upon all states to prevent
genocide, which they define as âacts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,
racial or religious group,â6 and to punish those who perpetrate it.
All UN member states have ratified at least one of the nine core human rights treaties, and 80 percent have
ratified four or more, accepting the obligations and duties under international law to respect, protect, and
promote human rights.7 In 2001, the international community developed a principle called Responsibility to
Protect (R2P), which justifies international intervention to protect human rights. Arising from the horror at
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the complacency of the international community during the Rwandan genocide and the ethnic cleansing in the
former Yugoslavia during the 1990s, in 2005 world leaders at the UN World Summit unanimously agreed to
adopt R2P.8 The philosophy behind R2P is that âstate sovereignty carrie[s] with it the obligation of the State to
protect its own people, and that if the State [is] unwilling or unable to do so, the responsibility shift[s] to the
international community to use diplomatic, humanitarian and other means to protect them.â9 R2P obliges
state governments to prevent crimes against humanity, and if they do not, it specifies that the United Nations
Security Council may intervene to protect at-risk populations.
VIDEO
Amal Clooney, International Human Rights Lawyer
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Challenges of International Law Enforcement
- International law enforcement relies heavily on the political will and power of individual states rather than a centralized global executive branch.
- States often hesitate to intervene in human rights violations due to risks of hostile confrontation or damage to valuable diplomatic relationships.
- The principle of state sovereignty frequently prevents the international community from punishing governments for crimes committed within their own borders.
- Power imbalances dictate compliance, as powerful nations and their allies are significantly less likely to face consequences for treaty violations than weaker states.
- The plight of marginalized groups, such as the Rohingya or victims of ISIS, highlights the gap between legal agreements and the actual protection of human rights.
- Military intervention, such as Operation Desert Storm, represents a rare instance where a broad coalition uses force to uphold international law against aggression.
Because there is no executive branch in the global governance system, international laws are difficult to enforce.
In this video clip, international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney delivers a statement to the UN Security
Council on her work representing women who have been victims of international crimes against humanity at
the hands of ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a militant extremist group that the United Nations has
designated a terrorist organization) and asks the international community to bring the perpetrators to justice.
How Is International Law Enforced?
Enforcing international law requires the will and power of states. This can be a challenge for a variety of
reasons including the risk of hostile confrontation, the potential damage to valuable international
relationships, and the reluctance to interfere with state sovereignty by intervening in domestic affairs. States
are rarely punished for violations of international human rights law that happen within their borders.
Beginning in 2017, the Myanmar government launched a campaign against the Rohingya, an ethnic minority,
and in the years since observers have accused the government of burning down villages and engaging in
systematic rape and torture in violation of human rights treaties Myanmar has signed. In cases like these, in
which a government violates an international law within its own borders, the international community may be
unwilling or unable to enforce treaty obligations.10 The groups suffering these human rights abuses are
typically without political or military power and have little recourse if the international community is unwilling
to come to their aid, even if there is broad agreement that international law is being broken.
International law is the âjudicial branchâ of global governance. Within a country, judicial decisions are
meaningful when, if necessary, the executive branch has the ability to enforce them. Because there is no
executive branch in the global governance system, international laws are difficult to enforce. Sometimes
powerful states decide to enforce international law, but this is not guaranteed and often depends upon power
imbalances (powerful states are more likely to get away with noncompliance than weak states), state interests
(states that are allied with powerful states may get away with noncompliance more than enemies), and the
perceived ease of halting the bad behavior.
15.2 ⢠International Law 475
FIGURE 15.2 In August 1990, Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq, invaded Kuwait, violating international law. The
UN Security Council set a January 15, 1991, deadline for Iraqi withdrawal. On January 17, a UN coalition of 39
countries, led by the United States, launched Operation Desert Storm to force Iraq out of Kuwait and show
âintolerance for military aggression and the strengthening of international cohesion, international law and liberal
institutions, including the UN.â11 In this photo, soldiers and civilians raise American, British, Saudi, and Kuwaiti flags
to celebrate following the retreat of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. (credit: âAmerican, British, Saudi and Kuwaiti flags are
held aloft by celebrating soldiers and civilians following the retreat of Iraqi forces from Kuwait as a
result of Operation Desert Stormâ by Cw02 Ed Bailey/Department of Defense, American Forces Information Service,
Public Domain)
The International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Global Courts and Governance
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) serves as the primary UN judicial body, focusing on interstate disputes such as boundary and resource conflicts.
- Only about one-third of UN member states, excluding the United States, have signed agreements to be legally bound by ICJ rulings.
- The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established by the Rome Statute to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
- Major global powers like Russia, China, and the United States refuse to recognize the ICC's legitimacy, fearing it may be used as a political weapon against their citizens.
- Despite a lack of formal enforcement mechanisms, international law maintains high compliance as states feel compelled to justify their actions through accepted global norms.
The United States has established a network of bilateral treaties with countries around the world promising not to prosecute any US citizen through the ICC.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also called the World Court, is headquartered in the Peace Palace in
The Hague, Netherlands. The ICJ was the original judicial institution of the United Nations.
FIGURE 15.3 The Peace Palace in The Hague is the home of the International Court of Justice. (credit: âPeace
Palaceâ by ClichĂŠ Lybil Ber/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)
The ICJ was founded in 1945 to resolve disputes between states. Any UN member state can bring a case to the
ICJ. The ICJâs jurisdiction is limited to interstate disputes and advisory opinions for United Nations bodies. The
most common types of cases states bring before the ICJ involve boundary and resource disputes. About a third
of UN member statesânot including the United Statesâhave signed a document agreeing to be bound by the
ICJâs rulings. Since its founding, the ICJ has issued approximately 160 rulings, including both resolutions to
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interstate disputes and advisory opinions.12
The International Criminal Court (ICC)
When egregious human rights crimes are perpetuated on domestic groups and do not cross state boundaries,
they are particularly challenging to punish as the doctrine of state sovereignty protects internal affairs.
Following the 1994 Rwandan genocide and âethnic cleansingâ in the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the
UN established international criminal tribunals to help bring the perpetrators to justice and to end impunity,
or the lack of punishment for criminal behavior. Given the costs and logistics associated with these temporary
and issue-specific courts, in 1998 the United Nations Rome Statute established the International Criminal
Court (ICC) as a permanent court to oversee such cases.
The ICC was designed to address problems outside the scope of the ICJ, particularly to bring to justice
individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. In 2018, the ICCâs jurisdiction was
expanded to cover the crime of aggression. Thus far, the ICC has heard 30 cases and is investigating multiple
others.13
Over 120 states are party to the Rome Statute, but powerful states with global reach like Russia, China, and the
United States have been reluctant to recognize the legitimacy of the ICC, fearing it will infringe on state
sovereignty and be used as a political weapon against soldiers or other nationals abroad. The United States has
established a network of bilateral treaties with countries around the world promising not to prosecute any US
citizen through the ICC.14
How Does International Law Contribute to Global Governance?
As doctoral researcher Heath Pickering notes, âagreements to norms and treaties have . . . increased
international institutions, given rise to non-state actors, and rapidly developed the contemporary customary
and treaty based rules system.â15 Given the relative lack of enforcement mechanisms, state compliance with
international law is surprisingly high. Most states comply with their obligations most of the time, and state
leaders typically couch their actions in the language of international law, feeling compelled to justify their
behavior according to accepted norms. The more states comply and feel the need to explain their behavior in
common terms accepted by the international community, the more predictable international relations will be.
15.3 The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define intergovernmental organizations and discuss their role in global governance.
Global Governance and the UN
- Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are formal groups of member states designed to coordinate international action despite conflicting national interests.
- The number of IGOs has increased dramatically since World War II, ranging from technical bodies like aviation agencies to broad political entities.
- The United Nations is the preeminent global IGO, comprising 193 of the world's 195 recognized sovereign states.
- The UN's scope is nearly universal, addressing issues from peace and security to migration, human rights, and international law.
- While most nations are full members, entities like the Holy See and Palestine maintain non-voting observer status within the organization.
IGOs help the international community focus on issues and coordinate actions even when individual statesâ interests may push them to act in ways that are incompatible with common goals.
⢠Discuss the purpose and history of the United Nations.
⢠Describe the structure of the United Nations.
⢠Explain the role of peacekeepers.
⢠Analyze the sources and limits of the power of the United Nations.
Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are groups made up of member states that are held together by formal
agreement. The number of intergovernmental organizations has increased dramatically since World War II.
IGOs help the international community focus on issues and coordinate actions even when individual statesâ
interests may push them to act in ways that are incompatible with common goals. Each member stateâs
government selects delegates to represent its interests at IGO meetings.
There are dozens of IGOs. This section focuses on global IGOsâthat is, IGOs whose membership is open to
states around the world. The scope of global IGO activity varies widely, from technical organizations such as
the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Hydrographic Organization to organizations
with a specific, narrow focus, such as the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. While some global IGOs
have a relatively small number of members, 193 out of 195 recognized sovereign countries in the world are
15.3 ⢠The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) 477
members of the largest global IGO, the United Nations,16 and 164 are members of the World Trade
Organization.17
With its worldwide reach, the United Nations contributes to global governance more than any other IGO. Since
its beginning in 1945, its membership has grown as the number of sovereign states has increased. The newest
members are Montenegro and South Sudan. The Holy See and Palestine are nonvoting âobserverâ members.18
The UN addresses every conceivable issue in international relations, from peace and security to migration and
refugees, law, food, development, energy, and human rights, among others. Dozens of smaller global IGOs are
housed within the UN framework.
VIDEO
Virtual Tour of the UN
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If you canât visit the UN in person, this video can take you on a virtual tour of the UN Headquarters in New York.
Headquartered in New York City, the UN is a hub of international activity, with representatives from member
countries participating in General Assembly and committee meetings and engaging in forums on issues of
international concern. You can visit the UN (https://openstax.org/r/visit-the-UN), where tours are conducted in
multiple languages.
The Founding and Mission of the UN
Evolution of Global Governance
- The League of Nations was established after World War I to deter aggression through collective security but failed due to its inability to punish expansionist powers.
- The United States' refusal to join the League of Nations significantly weakened the organization's effectiveness and global influence.
- The United Nations was created after World War II as a stronger successor, benefiting from full U.S. commitment and more flexible voting requirements.
- Unlike the League's requirement for unanimity, the UN operates on majority and two-thirds majority votes for key security and budgetary decisions.
- The UN is founded on the principle of state sovereignty, meaning it functions as a facilitator of global governance rather than a world government with binding authority.
While some might view the outbreak of World War II less than 20 years after the conclusion of the First World War as a failure of the idea behind the League, the leaders of the WWII Allied states saw the outbreak as evidence of the need for an even stronger global organization.
The United Nations was created after World War II to ensure international peace and stability. In 1919, the
Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, established a global IGO called the League of Nations. The
purpose of the League was to facilitate good relations among countries of the world and to punish aggression.
To deter aggression, the League used the principle of collective security, requiring member states to jointly
retaliate against any aggressive action of another state. Because the United States Senate refused to ratify the
Treaty of Versailles, the United States did not join the League of Nations. Ultimately, the League was ineffective
in punishing aggressive states, and expansionist powers Japan, Germany, and Italy all withdrew from the
League prior to World War II.
While some might view the outbreak of World War II less than 20 years after the conclusion of the First World
War as a failure of the idea behind the League, the leaders of the WWII Allied states saw the outbreak as
evidence of the need for an even stronger global organization, and in response they created the United
Nations. United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt committed US membership and backing, and the US
Congress agreed to join the United Nations. While the League had required unanimous agreement among its
members to take action, the UN requires only a majority vote for most resolutions. A two-thirds majority was
required for issues of peace and security, admission of new members, and budgetary matters. Initially, the
United Nations had 51 member states, mostly from Europe.
Because the United Nations was founded in part on the principle of the sovereignty of member states, it is not
and cannot become a âworld governmentâ with ultimate authority over its members. UN decisions are not
binding on member states without the consent of those states. Like international law, the UN contributes to
global governance by setting obligations and rules of behavior for member states. The United Nations Charter
recognizes the rights of sovereign states and their obligations as members of the international community
while emphasizing the importance of multilateral cooperation as the cornerstone to peace and prosperity for
all. Member states commit to use peaceful means to settle disputes and to uphold and support UN decisions.
WHERE CAN I ENGAGE?
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The United Nations Framework
- The United Nations is founded on the core goals of promoting peace, ensuring human rights, and achieving sustainable development.
- The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights serves as the foundational global document for protecting individual freedoms and human dignity.
- UN intervention is legally restricted to stopping acts of aggression or threats to peace, while member states are limited to force in self-defense.
- The organization is structured into six primary bodies, including the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice.
- The General Assembly provides a unique forum where all 193 member states have equal representation regardless of their size or wealth.
- The UN's mission often conflicts with a global system of sovereign states that are primarily concerned with their own individual survival.
In service of the goal to âsave succeeding generations from the scourge of war,â the UN has been involved in peacekeeping activities in areas of interstate conflict since the late 1940s.
The Charter specifies that the UN may intervene to stop acts of aggression or threats to the peace and that
member states are only to use force in self-defense.
The UN website (https://openstax.org/r/the-un-website) displays the organizationâs slogan: âpeace, dignity and
equality on a healthy planet.â The three overarching goals of the United Nations are promoting peace, ensuring
human rights, and achieving sustainable development with a focus on protecting the environmentâall
collective goods that can be elusive in a system of sovereign states each concerned only with its own survival
and well-being.
In service of the goal to âsave succeeding generations from the scourge of war,â19 the UN has been involved in
peacekeeping activities in areas of interstate conflict since the late 1940s.
In 1948, UN member states signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR), which lays out
principles such as the right to freedom of religion, freedom of family choices, and freedom to travel. It became
the foundational document for the protection of human rights worldwide.20
FIGURE 15.4 First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of US President Franklin Roosevelt, served as the chairperson for
the delegation that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.21 (credit: âEleanor Roosevelt holding poster
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (in English), Lake Success, New York. November 1949â by FDR
Presidential Library & Museum/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Recognition of the dignity of each person and their inalienable rights sets the stage for many other UN
activities. The UNâs ability to coordinate international solutions to problems and to marshal funds and
expertise has helped many states, especially in the developing world, achieve better economic, educational,
health, and environmental outcomes.
How Is the UN Structured?
The UN is organized into six main bodies: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and
Social Council, the Secretariat, the Trusteeship Council, and the International Court of Justice. In addition,
dozens of related IGOs work on issues in conjunction with or under the auspices of the United Nations.22 The
International Court of Justice was discussed above. This section turns to the other five main UN bodies.
15.3 ⢠The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) 479
FIGURE 15.5 The United Nations is organized into six main bodies. (attribution: Copyright Rice University,
OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
The General Assembly
Each of the 193 UN member states has equal representation, regardless of its size or wealth, in the primary
deliberative organ of the United Nations, the General Assembly (GA). The GA serves as a venue for states to
discuss the most pressing international challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, armed
conflict, illicit trade, poverty, and hunger, as well as systemic problems such as wealth inequality and
intolerance. Every state in the world faces these troubles to varying degrees, and thus the quest for solutions is
a quest to provide collective goods. At its annual meeting, GA members deliberate policies and goals for the
international community, elect members to the Security Council, and discuss reports from other UN organs.
The Security Council
The UN Security Council and ECOSOC
- The Security Council is the UN's primary peacemaking body, consisting of ten elected members and five permanent members (P5) with veto power.
- The P5âthe US, UK, France, Russia, and Chinaâcan individually block any Council action, even if all other fourteen members are in agreement.
- Critics advocate for Security Council reform to include permanent representation from Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.
- The Security Council has the authority to authorize military intervention, levy economic sanctions, and impose arms embargoes to manage international conflicts.
- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) focuses on eliminating the root causes of conflict by promoting global development and raising standards of living.
- ECOSOC currently coordinates the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a set of 17 goals aimed at ending poverty and protecting the planet.
Even if the other 14 states on the Council agree with a given action, the veto of any one of the P5 will block the action.
The Security Council performs the UNâs most crucial peacemaking work. Fifteen member states sit on the
Security Council. Ten are elected by the General Assembly to two-year terms, while the other five seats, known
as the Permanent Five (P5), belong to the victors of World War II and the primary architects of the United
Nationsâthe United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the Peopleâs Republic of China (PRC). The P5
have veto power over any Security Council action. Even if the other 14 states on the Council agree with a given
action, the veto of any one of the P5 will block the action. Admission to membership in the United Nations
requires the affirmative vote of nine Security Council members and no vetoes from within the P5.
Though the General Assembly has more than tripled in size, the structure of the Security Council has only
changed once, when in 1965 the number of members was expanded from 11 to 15. There is ongoing
discussion about increasing the size of the Security Council beyond 15 states, and some advocate for
expanding the P5 since the Security Council has no permanent representative from Latin America, Africa, or
the Middle East.
The Security Council monitors international conflict, facilitates diplomatic resolutions to disputes, and may
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place sanctions on member states engaged in violence. To stop ongoing or impending conflict or violations of
international law, the Security Council has authorized military intervention (e.g., in response to North Koreaâs
aggression against South Korea in 1950 and in response to Iraqâs 1990 invasion of Kuwait), levied sanctions
(e.g., in 2006 against Iran for refusing to stop its uranium enrichment process in its quest for nuclear
weapons), and imposed arms embargoes (e.g., against Serbia in 1998 for ongoing aggression against Kosovo).
The Security Council also provides a space for multilateral discussion about transnational threats to
international security such as terrorism, poverty, migration and refugees, and trafficking of goods and people.
The Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is a primary driver of global governance policy aimed at dealing
with the collective problems facing the world community. Former Secretary-General Dag HammarskjĂśld
explained, âWhile the Security council exists primarily for settling conflicts . . . the Economic and Social
Council exists primarily to eliminate the causes of conflicts.â23 ECOSOCâs responsibilities span economic and
social issues. Dozens of subagencies are housed under the ECOSOC umbrella, including regional development
agencies and issue-specific organizations. In particular, ECOSOC focuses on âdevelopment,â or raising the
standard of living for people around the world through economic expansion and improved access to resources
common throughout wealthier states, such as electricity, sanitation, education, and health care. In recent years
ECOSOC has focused on how to incorporate care for the environment in the drive for economic prosperity, a
concept known as sustainable development.
Since 2015, the United Nations has focused on helping member states achieve Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) (https://openstax.org/r/sustainable-development-goals), a set of 17 objectives that broadly address
âending poverty, protecting the planet and improving the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.â24
These goals are part of the UNâs â2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.â ECOSOC coordinates the work on
these goals and collects the data required to measure progress toward their achievement.
UN Structures and Peacekeeping Operations
- The UN Secretariat, led by the Secretary-General, manages administrative duties, international diplomacy, and fundraising for the organization.
- The Trusteeship Council, originally created to oversee territories transitioning from colonial rule to independence, is currently inactive as its mission has been fulfilled.
- UN peacekeeping missions rely on three core principles: the consent of the warring parties, strict impartiality, and the non-use of force except in self-defense or mandate protection.
- Peacekeeping efforts range from unarmed ceasefire monitoring to large-scale deployments, with some missions in the Middle East and Kashmir remaining active for over 70 years.
- The UN framework includes specialized agencies like the WHO and World Bank that operate autonomously to address global health, economic development, and trade.
More than 3,000 UN peacekeepers from 120 countries have died in this service.
The Secretariat
The UN Secretariat performs administrative work. Upon the recommendation of the Security Council, the
General Assembly elects the head of the Secretariat, the Secretary-General, for a five-year renewable term.
The Secretary-General engages in leadership, diplomacy, and public outreach to promote the UN; to draw
international attention to urgent issues; and to raise money for UN activities.
The Trusteeship Council
At the time of the founding of the UN in 1946, much of the world was under European colonial control. The
Trusteeship Council was formed to allow the UN to administer the former colonial territories that had
belonged to the defeated powers of World War II: Germany, Italy, and Japan. All territories placed in trust to the
United Nations subsequently attained independence. While it still exists per the UN Charter, the Trusteeship
Council is currently inactive.
What Tools Does the UN Have to Help Keep Peace?
The main mission of the UN is to keep the peace by enhancing transparency, providing countries with a forum
in which to peacefully resolve disputes, and engaging in projects aimed at alleviating the causes of conflict.
The Security Council can send UN representativesâtroops, police, observers, and civiliansâto conflict zones.
UN peacekeepers are deployed at the request of the warring parties and with the authorization of the Security
Council. Three guiding principles undergird the UN deployment of peacekeepers: 1) consent of the parties, 2)
impartiality, and 3) non-use of force except in self-defense or in defense of a Security Council mandate.25
15.3 ⢠The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) 481
FIGURE 15.6 UN Peacekeepers are often referred to as âblue helmets.â (credit: âOver 200 Nepalese peacekeepers
arrive in Jubaâ by Isaac Billy/UN Photo, CC BY 2.0. Photo courtesy: USIP, www.usip.org)
In 2020, there were approximately a dozen ongoing UN peacekeeping missions (https://openstax.org/r/
in-2020-there-were), mostly in the Middle East and Africa. The first UN peacekeeping mission was in 1948,
monitoring the armistice between Israel and its Arab neighbors. In 1949, peacekeepers were sent to the border
between India and Pakistan to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Kashmir. Both of those missions were small in
scaleâunarmed peacekeepers were sent to monitor an existing ceasefire. Both are still active. More than 3,000
UN peacekeepers from 120 countries have died in this service.26
UN Specialized Agencies and Related IGOs
Numerous IGOs work to address specific global issues. Some, like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), operate independently but share information with the UN and
help support the UNâs mission. Global IGOs such as the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) are specialized agencies operating within the UN framework
(https://openstax.org/r/specialized-agencies-operating). These agencies act autonomously, with their own
constitutions, leaders, headquarters, and bureaucratic organizations.
Table 15.1 highlights the mission, accomplishments, and goals of the three most significant global IGOs: the
World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Working on the
collective good issues of global health, economic development, and international trade, respectively, these
organizations provide guidelines for state behavior, encourage and enable countries to share information and
data, and collaborate on policy making.
482 15 ⢠International Law and International Organizations
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IGO
Primary
Major Global IGOs
- The World Health Organization (WHO) coordinates international health initiatives, focusing on disease tracking, immunization campaigns, and pandemic response.
- The WHO's 'Triple Billion' goal aims to expand universal health coverage, emergency protection, and overall well-being to billions more people.
- The World Bank invests in human capital and infrastructure to alleviate extreme poverty and foster sustainable economic growth in the poorest nations.
- The World Bank's primary objective is to reduce the percentage of people living on less than $1.90 a day to no more than 3% by the year 2030.
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) establishes global trade rules and provides a forum for negotiations to prevent costly trade wars.
- The WTO seeks to ensure that international trade flows smoothly and predictably to increase the income of its member nations.
To end extreme poverty (decrease the percentage of people living on less than $1.90 a day to no more than 3% by 2030) and to promote shared prosperity.
Purpose
Activities
Notable
Accomplishments
Current Goals
World
Health
Organization
(WHO)
To track and
combat disease
and improve
health
worldwide
Public health
education,
immunization
campaigns, data
gathering, and
coordination of
international health
initiatives such as
pandemic response
Elimination of
smallpox, near-
elimination of polio,
dramatic reductions
of malaria and
yellow fever
âTriple Billionâ Goal: one billion
more people benefiting from
universal health coverage, one
billion more people better
protected from health
emergencies, one billion more
people enjoying better health
and well-being27
World Bank
To create
sustainable
economic
growth in the
poorest
countries by
investing in
human capital
and ending
extreme
poverty28
Funds projects
designed to alleviate
poverty and help
people around the
world have access to
food, water,
education, health
care, sanitation,
transportation, and
energy
Provided millions
with access to
health services,
improved electric
and water systems,
improved highways,
child
immunizations, and
teacher training29
To end extreme poverty
(decrease the percentage of
people living on less than $1.90
a day to no more than 3% by
2030) and to promote shared
prosperity (promote income
growth of the bottom 40% of the
population in each country)30
World Trade
Organization
(WTO)
To open trade
worldwide and
provide a forum
for trade
negotiations
and to settle
disputes31
Sets rules for global
trade and helps
countries avoid costly
and dangerous trade
wars
Increased world
trade and
decreased average
tariffs; increased
income of
members32
To help trade flow smoothly,
freely, and predictably
TABLE 15.1 Major Global IGOs
Constraints on Global Governance
- The World Bank provides open data and interactive visualizations to illustrate global development and the progress of Sustainable Development Goals.
- Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are fundamentally limited by state sovereignty, as member states often prioritize national interests over collective global goods.
- Cooperation on issues like collective security and poverty is frequently hindered by disagreements on definitions of aggression and a reluctance to share national wealth.
- The United Nations faces significant financial constraints, relying on a dues system where a few wealthy nations like the U.S. and China provide the bulk of the budget.
- The UN is largely an aspirational body that lacks the power to enforce General Assembly resolutions, though these documents can help justify future international laws or sanctions.
In most circumstances, states place their own desires and interests above those of the broader international community.
The World Bank Open Data website (https://openstax.org/r/the-world-bank) provides free and open access to
innovative visuals that tell the stories of global development data. You can explore a walkthrough of the 2020
Sustainable Development Goals at the World Bank Data blog (https://openstax.org/r/world-bank-data-blog), where
you can see examples of these detailed and interactive data visualizations.
What Constrains the Effectiveness of the UN and Global IGOs?
In IGOs, sovereign states represent their own interests, bringing their own cultures and ideas to discussions of
global governance, and IGOs are limited in their ability to intervene in the domestic affairs of member states.
Although the purpose of IGOs is to help states work cooperatively, and though they strive to help states
coordinate activities in pursuit of collective goods, in most circumstances, states place their own desires and
interests above those of the broader international community. For example, ideally all states would work
SHOW ME THE DATA
15.3 ⢠The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) 483
together to promote collective security by punishing aggressor states; in practice, states often cannot agree on
what constitutes aggression or are unwilling to hold their allies accountable. Similarly, global poverty might be
more easily eliminated if all countries worked together and pooled resources, but most countries are anxious
to keep the gains of prosperity to themselves and dedicate only a small percentage of their wealth to help other
countries. Countries that refused to lock down or promote vaccination might prolong the COVID-19 pandemic
despite the actions of other states following WHO guidelines to control it.
Funding is another limitation on the effectiveness of the United Nations. UN member states pay dues based on
their wealth relative to other member states. The United States pays 22 percent of the operating expenses of
the United Nations and almost 28 percent of its peacekeeping budget. China now pays the second highest
amount toward the peacekeeping budget, at 15 percent.33
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The World Trade Organization establishes rules governing international trade and provides a venue for trade
negotiations between countries.
Another limit on the UN is its inability to enforce its decisions or rules. In many ways, it is an aspirational body.
The General Assembly passes resolutions, but often without any real expectation that they will be
implemented and without the ability to impose consequences if they are not. Sometimes the Security Council
or others working on treaties or building international law use those resolutions to help justify sanctions or
other punitive measures against states. According to the United Nations, GA resolutions âhave been a constant
driver for the development of space law and international cooperation of Member States in their space
activities . . . Many provisions of the General Assembly resolutions related to outer space have become widely
accepted by the international space community.â34
15.4 How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain the purpose of regional IGOs and give examples.
⢠Differentiate between the missions of NATO and the EU.
⢠Explain how the missions of NATO and the EU have evolved over time.
⢠Describe causes of tension within regional IGOs.
⢠Discuss the ways regional IGOs contribute to global governance.
Regional Governance and Functionalism
- Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) extend the UN model to specific geographic areas to improve quality of life through economic development and security.
- These organizations reduce conflict by fostering dialogue and promoting common interests among neighboring states on issues ranging from trade to human trafficking.
- Democratic IGOs can reinforce political norms by penalizing member states that deviate from democratic practices, such as the African Union's suspension of Egypt in 2013.
- Functionalism suggests that cooperation on small, technical tasks like air traffic control can build the trust necessary for deeper integration on complex policy issues.
- The European Union serves as the primary example of functionalism, evolving from a narrow economic union into a body that manages domestic and foreign policy.
- Military alliances like NATO increase predictability in an anarchic international system by making military commitments public and deterring potential attackers.
The idea that cooperation on small, discrete policy areas such as coordinating postal services or air traffic control can create mutual trust and evolve into cooperation on larger, more complex issues is called functionalism.
Much of the work of global governance is done at the regional level. IGOs such as the Arab League, the
Organization of American States (OAS), and the African Union (AU) have extended the UN model to regional
affairs, and IGOs like the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Mercado ComĂşn del Sur
(MERCOSUR), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) have extended it to subregional affairs. Regional IGOs work to improve the quality of life for
people in a given region by encouraging economic development, facilitating trade, and/or enhancing security.
They seek to lessen conflict by enabling cooperation and dialogue between neighboring states and by
promoting common interests. Regional IGOs may become involved in any issue of common interest to states in
the region, such as protection, trade, climate change, migration, or human trafficking. Military alliances focus
on the coordination of military policy, while economic IGOs focus more on promoting trade and economic
progress. IGOs composed of mostly democratic states can promote and reinforce democratic norms,
punishing member states that stray from democratic practices. The African Union took just such steps when it
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responded to the 2013 military coup in Egypt by suspending Egyptâs membership in the IGO.35
Over time, regional IGOs may broaden their scope, increasing the levels of cooperation between member
states. The idea that cooperation on small, discrete policy areas such as coordinating postal services or air
traffic control can create mutual trust and evolve into cooperation on larger, more complex issues is called
functionalism. This is illustrated in the case of the European Union, where the original economic union
evolved to include a multitude of domestic and foreign policy issues such as the environment, health, labor,
security, and immigration. Ultimately, what began as a union of states concerned with individual and regional
economic growth developed into an organization espousing common values and objectives that extended to a
wide variety of issues traditionally within the sole purview of individual sovereign states.
NATO
The largest and oldest regional IGO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Headquartered in
Brussels, Belgium, NATO is the most powerful military alliance in the world, with 30 member states and
combined forces of over two million troops. In 2019, NATO states accounted for 54 percent of global military
spending.36
In an anarchic system, security IGOs increase predictability by making public member statesâ military
commitments. Alliances are designed to serve as deterrents against attacks on any member states, as
potential attackers know they would face the combined strength of the alliance in response. Alliances also
coordinate policy responses to international events and to the foreign policy decisions of non-allied states,
thus making accidental or impulsive military action less likely.
NATOâs Purpose and Current Mission
The Formation of NATO
- NATO was established in 1949 by twelve founding nations to deter potential Soviet aggression in Europe.
- The alliance expanded shortly after its inception to include Greece, Turkey, and West Germany by 1955.
- Article 5 of the NATO Treaty established the principle of collective defense among all member states.
- The treaty ensured that an attack against any single member would be treated as an attack against the entire group.
- Individual national security concerns were unified under the shared existential threat of communist expansion and nuclear war.
Article 5 of the NATO Treaty promised collective defense, assuring members that âan attack on one or more of them . . . shall be considered an attack against them all.â
The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal formed NATO in 1949 to safeguard US allies in Europe by deterring a Soviet
attack. In 1952, Greece and Turkey joined NATO, and Germany joined three years later. Article 5 of the NATO
Treaty promised collective defense, assuring members that âan attack on one or more of them . . . shall be
considered an attack against them all.â37 The individual security concerns of each NATO country were
subsumed by what they considered the shared existential threat of communist expansion or Soviet nuclear
attack.
FIGURE 15.7 US Secretary of State Dean Acheson signs the Washington Treaty creating NATO in 1949. (credit:
âSecretary of State Dean Acheson signs the Washington Treaty, April 4, 1949. President Harry Truman and Vice
President Alben Barkley are standing next to him,â by Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer/The US
15.4 ⢠How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance? 485
National Archives and Records Administration, CC0 1.0)
The Evolution of NATO
- Following the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, NATO expanded its membership to include former Eastern Bloc and Soviet states rather than disbanding.
- The organization's mission shifted from a Cold War focus on fighting communism to a broader mandate of preserving general international security.
- NATO invoked its Article 5 collective defense agreement for the first time in history following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
- The United States historically dictates NATO policy more than any single member in other IGOs, though its absolute influence has weakened as the alliance has grown.
- Internal conflicts arise from varying member perceptions of security threats, particularly regarding how to respond to Russian aggression in Crimea and Ukraine.
The United States dictates NATO policy more than, say, Germany dictates what happens in the EU and more than the UK influences what happens at the United Nations.
The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, creating 15 new states, the largest of which is Russia. Instead of dissolving
in response, NATO expanded, ultimately including both many Eastern European states that had previously
been allied with the Soviet Union and some former Soviet states. Part of NATOâs original purpose was to forbid
âthe revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continentâ
and to encourage âEuropean political integration.â38 Thus, after 1991 NATO offered membership to any state
that could meet the political and financial obligations of membership. After the end of the Cold War, NATOâs
mission shifted from fighting communism to preserving the general security of member states and the
international community.
With the addition of North Macedonia in 2020, NATO had 30 member states. As of this writing, three additional
countries are seeking membership, and another 30, including most of the states of the former Soviet Union,
have joined NATOâs âPartnership for Peaceâ program.
FIGURE 15.8 Since its formation in 1949, NATO has expanded to include 30 member states. (attribution: Copyright
Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY NC-SA 4.0 license)
NATO invoked the collective defense agreement of Article 5 for the first time following the September 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks on the United States. In response to those attacks, the United States attacked the Taliban
government in Afghanistan. The United Nations authorized a NATO-led peace-building force to establish a new
government and stabilize the country.
NATO can deploy a unified command military force to engage in armed conflict. Since the end of the Cold War,
NATO has intervened in international crises, monitored security threats, trained security forces, and
undertaken peace-building in Kosovo (since 1999) and Afghanistan (2003â2021).39
What Kinds of Conflicts Exist within NATO?
As with all IGOs, NATOâs primary challenge is managing the varied interests of its members and creating
common policy acceptable to all. However, in security organizations like NATO, the influence of the most
powerful state is more pronounced. Throughout the Cold War, NATO depended on the promise of US military
force. The United States dictates NATO policy more than, say, Germany dictates what happens in the EU and
more than the UK influences what happens at the United Nations. In the post-Soviet world, and with the
addition of members outside Western Europe, US power in NATO has weakened as the organization has had to
balance the needs and concerns of other member states.
NATO allies do not always agree. Although NATO has insisted that it is not an âenemyâ of Russia, Russiaâs
aggressive actions in Crimea and toward Ukraine have caused concern among many NATO member states,
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especially those with borders near Russia. In 2016, NATO called Russia a âchallenge [to] the Allianceâ and âa
source of regional instability.â40 However, some members of NATO, including some larger Western European
states, are reluctant to take any action that might be seen as aggressive toward Russia.41 Varying conceptions
of security threats are natural given the differing size and geographic location of member states. These
variations complicate the creation of unified policy priorities and responses.
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NATO and Regional Security IGOs
- The Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted NATO to strengthen defenses in bordering member states to protect the prevailing world order.
- Burden sharing remains a contentious issue within NATO, with the United States contributing 69 percent of total alliance defense spending as of 2020.
- Regional organizations like ASEAN and the African Union are increasingly integrating security functions into their broader frameworks for regional cooperation.
- The United Nations actively encourages regional organizations to share the responsibility for peacekeeping and resolving localized conflicts.
- The African Union and subregional groups have taken prominent roles in addressing security challenges across the continent, despite a mixed record of success.
The United Nations increasingly shares responsibility for peace and security with regional organizations.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine threatened Europe and the prevailing world order. Because of those threats,
and because of the potential direct threat to NATO countries like Poland that border Ukraine, NATO
strengthened defenses in the areaâeven though Ukraine was not a member of NATO at the time.
Another source of conflict is burden sharing, that is, how much each country should contribute to the funding
and operations of the alliance. The two wealthiest NATO countries, the United States and Germany, each pay 16
percent of the operating costs, and each country is called to allocate 2 percent of its GDP to defense
expenditures. Due to the size of the United Statesâ GDP and its allocation of 3.4 percent of its GDP to defense, in
2020 the United Statesâ spending on defense made up 69 percent of the overall NATO defense spending.42
Regional Security IGOs Since the Forming of NATO
Many regional multipurpose IGOs, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the African
Union, have a security function within a broader framework of regional cooperation and promotion of the
common good.43 The United Nations has called upon regional organizations to support peacekeeping work
both on their own and in cooperation with the UN. At an August 2015 summit, then-UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon said, âThe United Nations increasingly shares responsibility for peace and security with regional
organizations. We should do everything possible to help them resolve regional problems and to include the
states concerned in solutions. At the same time, regional organizations should continue contributing to United
Nations peace and security efforts.â44
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) calls itself âthe worldâs largest security
organization.â45 It works on a broad range of security initiatives, including arms control, terrorism prevention,
preventative diplomacy, and peace building. It has offices in member countries that monitor current and
potential zones of conflict.
FIGURE 15.9 The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has supported the Somali National Army in its efforts
15.4 ⢠How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance? 487
to counter militant groups in the ongoing Somali Civil War. (credit: âOn night operations with the African Union
Mission in Somalia 11â by AMISOM Public Information/Flickr, Public Domain)
Africa has been the most conflict-prone continent in the 21st century. The African Union, the largest and best-
resourced regional organization on the continent, has a spotty regional security and peacekeeping record. In
2002, the AU ratified the African Peace and Security Architecture plan, which enlisted regional economic
organizations and other partners to address security challenges on the continent.46 Subregional economic
organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States and the Southern African Development
Community have played an increasingly prominent role in handling security issues, particularly in Sierra
Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Lesotho, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The European Union
The European Union Structure
- The European Union is the world's most influential regional intergovernmental organization, currently consisting of 27 member states following the 2020 withdrawal of the United Kingdom.
- Originally established in 1951 to aid post-WWII economic recovery, the EU has evolved into a deep political union focused on peace, solidarity, and common security.
- Member states must adhere to strict entrance criteria, including maintaining a free-market economy, a democratic government, and aligning national legislation with EU standards.
- The EU operates through a complex bureaucratic structure including the European Council, the directly elected European Parliament, and the executive European Commission.
- The organization is bound by a Charter of Fundamental Rights that outlaws the death penalty and mandates gender equality and cultural heritage protection.
The EU has moved far closer to the union of countries than has any other IGO.
Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the European Union (EU) is the largest and most influential regional
economic IGO. Since the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (a move referred to as â Brexitâ) in January of
2020, the EU includes 27 countries across the European continent. The EU began as a small-scale economic
organization, but its mission has expanded to promote peace and solidarity among European countries.
Although it recognizes the sovereignty of its member states, including their right to withdraw from the
organization, the EU has moved far closer to the union of countries than has any other IGO. Most EU countries
have adopted the common currency, the euro, and most allow citizens to travel and work across borders within
the 26 countries, made up of most EU countries and a few non-EU countries, known as the Schengen Area.
Countries that apply for admission to the EU must meet certain entrance criteria, including an established
free-market economy and a democratic government. Candidate countries must adopt national legislation that
aligns with admission criteria; hence applications may take years to finalize.
The Purpose of the EU
In 1951, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands formed the European Union to
support their economic recovery from the devastation of World War II. Over the next four decades, the
countriesâ economies became increasingly integrated. The Maastricht Treaty of 1993, which introduced the
common currency and a commitment to common security and foreign policies, established the current
structure of the EU.
EU member states commit to a common set of values, stated in Article 2 of the EU treaty and reinforced in the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, that they consider central to European life: âa society in
which inclusion, tolerance, justice, solidarity and non-discrimination prevail.â47 In addition to affirming
human rights guarantees such as freedom of expression and freedom from torture, the Charter outlaws the
death penalty, specifies the equality of the sexes, and protects cultural heritage.48
The Organizational Structure of the EU
Five main bureaucratic and political organs oversee and help guide EU activities and policies. Leaders of
European states sit on the European Council, which meets several times a year and, working with the
European Parliament, sets the broad priorities of the EU.
European citizens directly elect the 705 members of the European Parliament to five-year terms. These
members represent seven political groups from left to right on the political spectrum. The European
Parliament plays both policy-making and budget-oversight roles. A part of the EU executive branch, the
European Commission, promotes EU interests. The European Parliament elects a president to head the
27-member College of Commissioners for a five-year term. The Commission implements EU legislation,
represents the EU internationally, and allocates funding for EU projects. Member states nominate
commissioners, who are then approved by the European Parliament and serve as the bureaucratic heads of
various policy agencies within the EU.
The Council of the European Union works more like the United Nations, where each member state represents
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The EU's Supranational Governance
- The European Union functions as a supranational entity with legislative and judicial bodies that can commit member states to laws and sanction noncompliance.
- The EU's scope is nearly unlimited, coordinating policies across economic, defense, foreign, and labor sectors that traditionally belong to sovereign states.
- Annual priorities range from pandemic recovery and digital challenges to geopolitical relations, reflecting a mission to ensure regional peace and prosperity.
- Internal tensions are inevitable as 27 diverse nations attempt to reconcile varying economic, political, and cultural identities into a unified response.
- The rise of 'Euroskeptic' sentiment and the exit of the United Kingdom highlight growing domestic backlash against the perceived loss of national sovereignty.
- Managing the post-Brexit relationship with the UK remains a significant ongoing challenge for the stability and influence of the organization.
Domestic constituents of wealthier states, who believe they are losing their sovereign identity and subsidizing poorer and weaker states, may become convinced that EU membership is no longer in their countryâs best interest.
its own interests to the whole. The Council of the EU is a policy-making body that, along with the European
Parliament, discusses and passes laws for the EU. Its members are empowered to commit their home states to
any decisions the Council makes.
Located in Luxembourg, the Court of Justice of the EU settles disputes arising under the laws of the European
Union. The Court can interpret, find countries in violation of, and sanction those who disobey that law.
EU Priorities
No issue is beyond the scope of the European Union. In many ways it functions as a state in the international
system, for its members coordinate policies and share common positions on international issues. The EU
develops economic, defense/security, foreign, immigration, and labor policies that apply to each member state.
Independence of action in any of these areas would be a concern to the organization. Thus, while member
states retain their sovereignty in some senses, the EU has the ability to interfere in domestic issues and to
punish noncompliance.
Annually, the European Parliament publishes a list of issues that will be on the EU agenda for the coming year.
In 2021, the issues included pandemic-related topics such as access to the COVID-19 vaccine and helping
economies recover, social and humanitarian issues such as access to food, issues of discrimination, cultural
issues including the state of the performing arts, and âsome of the big background changes shaping the world
we live in todayâthe digital, environmental and geo-political challenges ahead, from Europeâs borders to its
transatlantic relationship.â49 Because the primary mission of the EU is to ensure the peace and prosperity of
Europe, anything that threatens that mission is an issue of importance for the organization.
What Kinds of Conflicts Exist within the EU?
When 27 countries, each with its own goals and ambitions, attempt to coordinate a unified response to
common issues, tensions and conflicts are inevitable. Addressing the needs and desires of every EU member
state and trying to reach agreement on a common policy is difficult, especially when the organizationâs
mission incorporates so many different policy areas. The economies, politics, and cultures of the EU states
differ, and these variations complicate efforts to create a âEuropean identityâ beyond the identity of the
member states.50
The EUâs unification of so many traditional state functions, including economic and foreign policies, under a
supranational umbrella has led to some backlash. Economic pressures on national governments can lessen
the perceived benefit of being a part of the EU. Domestic constituents of wealthier states, who believe they are
losing their sovereign identity and subsidizing poorer and weaker states, may become convinced that EU
membership is no longer in their countryâs best interest. Although only the United Kingdom has entirely
withdrawn from EU membership, political groups in many member states include antiâEuropean Union
(âEuroskepticâ) sentiment in their platforms.
The loss of the United Kingdom, a founding member and one of the wealthiest and most powerful states in the
EU, represents a significant setback, and managing relations between the UK and the EU in the aftermath of
Brexit is an ongoing challenge.
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Regional IGOs and Global Governance
- The European Union faces internal instability due to democratic backsliding in member states like Poland and Hungary and the rise of populist movements.
- Brexit and the growing influence of Russia and China have forced the EU to reconsider its role as a unified global power and counterweight.
- To maintain international influence, the EU must speak with a single voice or risk becoming a mere spectator in global events.
- The success of the EU model has inspired the creation of Regional Economic Organizations (REOs) worldwide, such as USMCA, MERCOSUR, and ASEAN.
- While primarily focused on trade and development, REOs often intervene in regional security and democratic enforcement, as seen in MERCOSUR's suspension of Venezuela.
- The Pacific Alliance and ASEAN demonstrate the shift toward large-scale free-trade areas that facilitate intercontinental economic cooperation.
If each member state acts individually, Europe will find itself relegated to the role of mere spectator in the arena of major world events, with neither the capacity nor the power to influence their outcome.
The UK exit from the EU has necessitated a reimagining of the relationship between the UK and other
European countries.
Over time the EU has expanded to include states that have not traditionally displayed the strongest records on
15.4 ⢠How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance? 489
democracy or human rights. Democratic backsliding in member states Poland and Hungary and the rising
strength of populist and nativist movements in other EU countries threaten democratic norms and
institutions.
The growth and aggressiveness of Russia and, to a lesser extent, China also pose foreign policy challenges to
the EU. Prior to Brexit, some international relations literature discussed the EU as a unified great power
capable of acting as a counterweight to Russia or China in international relations. Determining the appropriate
role for the EU and how it should address different international relations challenges remains a vital task for
the organization.51 As former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Javier
Solana notes: âIn order to be an international actor, the EU must act in unison and speak with one voice. If each
member state acts individually, Europe will find itself relegated to the role of mere spectator in the arena of
major world events, with neither the capacity nor the power to influence their outcome.â52
Regional Economic Organizations
Encouraged by the success of the European Union, almost every region in the world has formed an economic
IGO and a regional economic development bank. These regional economic organizations (REOs) aim to
improve cooperation and facilitate economic development by increasing transparency, funding projects,
encouraging free trade, and reducing economic conflict. A handful of regional IGOs, such as the African Union
and the Arab League, are more general in nature, but almost all have a substantial focus on economic
development.
Because the success of an REO depends upon the peace and stability of a region, REOs are often pulled into
efforts to enhance regional security. The United StatesâMexicoâCanada Agreement (USMCA), the successor to
the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), is the worldâs largest free trade area.
Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay established MERCOSUR, the Southern Common Market (Mercado
ComĂşn del Sur), in 1991 to âaccelerate sustained economic development based on social justice,
environmental protection, and poverty reduction.â53 In subsequent years, other countries in the region,
including Venezuela and Bolivia, joined MERCOSUR as full or associate members. In 2017, MERCOSUR
suspended Venezuela for failing to comply with democratic principles.54 In 2011, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and
Peru founded a new Latin American trading bloc, the Pacific Alliance. The Pacific Alliance has decreased tariffs
in the participating countries and increased trade with the European Union and countries in Asia.55
In the Asia-Pacific region, the largest REO is ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Since
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand founded ASEAN in 1967, it has expanded to
include Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. ASEAN has both security and economic priorities. It
has become one of the largest free-trade areas in the world.
Other Types of Regional IGOs
Regional IGOs and Global Governance
- Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) are formed based on shared identities, such as the Arab League, or economic interests, such as OPEC.
- OPEC controls 75 to 80 percent of global oil reserves and aims to stabilize markets, though major producers like the U.S. and Russia remain outside the group.
- Realist perspectives view IGOs primarily as tools for powerful states to exert influence, while liberal internationalists see them as essential for fostering cooperation.
- IGOs use normative language like 'global citizenship' to encourage states to move beyond sovereign individualism toward collective action.
- Regional organizations are often better positioned than global bodies to monitor member states due to their proximity and direct stake in regional stability.
The use of language reinforcing desired norms can change state behavior, reducing uncertainty and enhancing cooperation.
Some regional IGOs, like the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League, are organized around a
common identity. Others, like the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), are organized
around shared economic interests. The 13 member countries of OPEC own approximately 75 to 80 percent of
the worldâs known oil reserves. OPEC is open to any oil-producing state, and only the most powerful oil-
producing states, such as Russia, China, and the United States, have opted not to join the organization. OPEC
seeks to âcoordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of
oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic, and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady
income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.â56 The
organization helps its members coordinate oil supply and pricing, which can (but does not always) provide
relative stability and predictability in the petroleum market and avoid contentious trade wars.
Â
Â
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The actions and oil production levels of OPEC countries affect oil prices around the world. Decreasing oil
consumption, technological advancements, and efforts to lessen dependence on OPEC oil have provided
incentives for some countries to leave OPEC, as Ecuador did effective January 1, 2020.
How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance?
From a realist perspective, which focuses on the primacy of states, IGOs are most important as tools states can
use to their own advantage. No IGO can act independently of its member states, and the largest states typically
have disproportionate influence over an organizationâs actions.
While realists might point to persistent war and poverty as evidence of the ineffectiveness of IGOs, liberal
internationalists and constructivists tend to highlight how IGOs constrain state action, increase areas of
cooperation, draw states together in unprecedented ways, and help alleviate the scourges of war and poverty,
even if they have not yet eliminated them. For instance, both the number of people dying in war and the
number of states engaged in war have dropped significantly since World War II.57 Also, since they are most
directly impacted by the events in their own region, regional IGOs are better able than outside observers to
monitor the actions of member states. For instance, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) recently held a meeting for regional IGOs to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on various
cultural activities around the world and to elicit promises from the participants to monitor and support the
cultural and creative sectors in their regions as countries recover from the economic impacts of the
pandemic.58
IGOs that begin with a narrow scope are prone to expansion, particularly when member states see the benefits
of working together. Organizations like the United Nations use languageâlike urging âglobal citizenship,â
promoting âthe good of all nations,â and being a member of an âinternational communityââto encourage states
to rise above sovereign individualism and see themselves as contributing to and benefiting from membership
in a valuable, cohesive group. The use of language reinforcing desired norms can change state behavior,
reducing uncertainty and enhancing cooperation.
The Role of NGOs
- Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operate independently of state control, facilitating transnational relations through citizen-led collective action.
- NGOs form a critical part of global civil society, often mobilizing around shared moral values or specific humanitarian and environmental concerns.
- While some NGOs collaborate with states, their goals frequently diverge from government interests, leading to complex or conflicted relationships.
- The scale of these organizations varies immensely, ranging from small grassroots groups to massive entities like BRAC, which employs nearly 100,000 people.
- In developing or conflict-torn regions, NGOs often step in to provide essential services like healthcare and sanitation that the local government cannot sustain.
Often NGOs are the result of a moral crusade of one or a small group of concerned citizens.
15.5 Non-state Actors: Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain different types and purposes of NGOs.
⢠Identify influential NGOs and their areas of emphasis.
⢠Discuss the role of NGOs in global governance.
⢠Evaluate the contributions of NGOs.
While most people are familiar with the work of the largest IGOs like the UN, NATO, or the EU, they may be less
familiar with how nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) contribute to global governance. NGOs operate
independently of a government or state and are open to the citizens of various countries rather than to the
countries themselves. NGOs engage in transnational relations, cross-border interactions that may happen with
minimal or no government involvement. In some cases, NGOs collaborate with governments, but often the
goals of NGOs and particular governments do not align, and their relationships become conflicted.
The Union of International Associations lists over 8,500 NGOs worldwide; depending on how they are counted,
15.5 ⢠Non-state Actors: Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) 491
that number may be in the tens of thousands.59 NGOs mobilize individuals around a common concern, and
they help facilitate the work of the United Nations and other IGOs. In terms of global governance, NGOs are a
part of the global civil society, that is, the arena in which groups come together to engage in collective action
in the service of shared interests, values, and goals outside government or profit-based motivations.
What Do NGOs Do?
In most cases, NGOs are designed to address a transnational concernâlike the environment, humanitarian
issues, health care, economic development, or conflict cessationâthat is important to all and necessitates
cooperation across borders. Within these broad areas, the majority of NGOs focus on specific issues, such as
saving endangered species, conducting anti-malaria programs in tropical zones, or providing small loans to
local farmers in South Asia.
Often NGOs are the result of a moral crusade of one or a small group of concerned citizens. For example, Henry
Dunant founded the Red Cross in the mid-1800s to aid soldiers injured in war. Some other well-known NGOs
include Doctors without Borders, Greenpeace, and the World Wildlife Fund. Some NGOs have thousands of
members, while others have only a few hundred, and their budgets and scope of impact are similarly varied.
The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), with close to 100,000 people on staff, is the largest
NGO in the world.
Although NGOs exist in wealthy countries, most of the work of NGOs happens in the poorest and most conflict-
torn areas of the world. In developing countries, NGOs often help fulfill needs that the government cannot, like
providing access to adequate health care, nutrition, education, sanitation, or potable water. They also play an
active role in the aftermath of natural disasters like hurricanes or floods and provide relief in emergency
situations such as refugee or famine crises.
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The Economics and Limits of NGOs
- NGO operations are massive in scale, with the 50 largest humanitarian organizations spending approximately $18 billion annually.
- Funding for these organizations is diverse, originating from member dues, government grants, development banks, and private philanthropic foundations.
- Major international bodies like the World Bank and the UN channel significant portions of their budgetsâup to 40 percent in the case of the UNHCRâthrough NGO partners.
- A primary weakness of NGOs is their dependence on state sovereignty, as they can only operate in regions where governments permit their presence.
- Authoritarian regimes and states concerned with 'national unity' are increasingly placing restrictions on human rights and religious NGOs.
- Large-scale NGOs like Greenpeace and Doctors Without Borders maintain global footprints, employing thousands and operating across dozens of countries.
NGOs can only work where governments accept their presence.
Chris Nkuwatsibwe of the Uganda NGO Forum provides a basic explanation of NGOs.
The work of NGOs is expensive. In 2015, the 50 largest humanitarian NGOs alone spent $18 billion annually.60
NGOs receive funding from a variety of sources, including member dues, grants from governments,
development banks, and philanthropic foundations. Governments or IGOs may contract NGOs to do specific
tasks in a broader development plan, and development, humanitarian, or disaster aid is funneled often
through NGOs that have an established presence in the region. The World Bank estimates that over 15 percent
of total overseas development aid is channeled through NGOs. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees
allocates approximately 40 percent of its budget to over 800 partner NGOs.61 Like government aid agencies in
other states, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partners with NGOs to deliver
aid and to implement programming.62 People sympathetic to an organizationâs mission provide the largest
share of most organizationsâ budgets.
What Are Some Weaknesses of NGOs?
NGOs can only work where governments accept their presence. Governments in strict authoritarian states like
North Korea allow virtually no NGO activity, whereas governments in many other countries place almost no
restrictions on NGOs. In recent years, however, more governments have placed restrictions on NGO activities
in their states.63 In particular, human rights groups and religiously affiliated organizations meet with
resistance in some countries that view them as undermining the government or ânational unity.â
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NGO
Scope of
Operation
Year
Founded
Issue Area
Website
Greenpeace
3 million
members,
offices in 40
countries
1971
Largest environmental
organization in the world
https://www.greenpeace.org/
international
Doctors without
Borders
(MĂŠdecins Sans
FrontièresâMSF)
Employs
30,000 and
works in
more than
70
countries
1971
Medical humanitarian
assistance to victims of
conflict, natural
disasters, epidemics, or
health care exclusion
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
Mercy Corps
Works in
over 40
countries,
reaching 50
million
people
1979
Global aid agency,
helping people survive
crises, escape poverty,
and transform
communities
https://www.mercycorps.org
Open Society
Foundation
Works in
120
countries,
spends over
$1 billion
each year
1993
Promotion of democracy
around the world
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org
TABLE 15.2 Sampling of Major Nongovernmental Organizations
NGO Influence and Criticisms
- Critics argue that NGOs often focus on narrow, easily marketable projects to satisfy Western donors rather than addressing systemic root causes.
- NGOs face scrutiny regarding their financial transparency, specifically the ratio of overhead and fundraising costs to direct aid.
- Despite criticisms, NGOs have held consultative status with the UN since its inception, influencing policy and accessing key documents.
- NGO coalitions have been instrumental in drafting and ratifying major international treaties, such as the Paris Agreement and the Mine Ban Treaty.
- Human rights organizations like Amnesty International leverage public pressure and lobbying to hold governments accountable for political imprisonment.
NGOs may not be interested in or able to solve the root cause of a particular problem, and hence the solutions they provide may be temporary.
Some criticize NGOs for being too narrowly focused on a specific issue rather than working on larger systemic
problems. Some contend that NGOs should better coordinate with other actors rather than working in isolation
and that reliance on Western donors leads NGOs to focus on projects that are more easily âsoldâ instead of
those that are arguably more critical. NGOs may not be interested in or able to solve the root cause of a
particular problem, and hence the solutions they provide may be temporary. Observers scrutinize NGOS, like
many nonprofit organizations, for how much of their budgets go toward fundraising, advertising, and overhead
rather than to directly helping their stated cause.
What Role Do NGOs Play in Providing Collective Goods?
NGOs have been a presence at the UN since its earliest days, when they successfully lobbied the UN to include
the promotion of human rights as part of its mission in the UN Charter.64 Approximately 6,000 NGOs currently
have âconsultative statusâ with ECOSOC, which allows them to have input into policy discussions and to access
UN documents.
International treaties provide collective goods, and NGOs have had significant input into the formation of most
contemporary treaties, including the Paris Agreement (climate change) and the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child. NGOs often form groups that work together to advance common goalsâfor instance, religious
NGOs created the Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN (RUN), which has its own meetings and coordinates
policies and responses to issues of common concern.65 During the years of negotiations over the Rome Treaty,
interested NGOs formed a group called the Coalition for the International Criminal Court to help draft and
15.5 ⢠Non-state Actors: Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) 493
convince states to ratify the treaty. Two other NGO coalitions, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
and the Cluster Munition Coalition, were central in drafting and convincing states to join the Mine Ban Treaty
(1997) and the Convention on Cluster Munitions (2010), respectively.
NGOs have had the most success lobbying for the adoption of international human rights treaties.66 In the
1960s, Peter Benenson formed the influential human rights NGO Amnesty International to pressure
governments to release political prisoners.
FIGURE 15.10 In 2007, Amnesty International protested the sixth anniversary of the arrival of detainees at the
controversial US military prison at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. (credit: âBlack Hood, Orange Jumpsuit,
Bored Cop, âAuthority of Lawâ Statue by James Earle Fraser Outside The Third Guantanamo Hearing at The Supreme
Court (Washington, DC)â by Takomabibelot/Flickr, Public Domain)
NGOs and Global Governance
- Amnesty International and other NGOs have been instrumental in the adoption of core international human rights treaties, including the Torture Convention and the Arms Trade Treaty.
- NGOs contribute to global governance through information sharing, advocacy, emergency assistance, and reinforcing the legitimacy of international organizations.
- Many international treaties grant NGOs formal authority to monitor state compliance, making them essential to the enforcement of human rights law.
- Due to their presence on the front lines, NGOs often possess superior information compared to governments, allowing them to pressure states into policy changes.
- Beyond NGOs, other non-state actors like multinational corporations (MNCs) exert significant influence on international affairs due to their vast economic resources.
- The rise of non-state actors presents both opportunities and challenges for traditional state sovereignty and global governance frameworks.
As NGO expert Peter Willets noted, 'were it not for NGOs, there would be no international law of human rights and no U.N. machinery to protect them.'
Amnesty International has played an essential role in ensuring the adoption of at least three core international
human rights treaties: the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (the âTorture Conventionâ) (1984), the Rome Treaty (2002), and the Arms Trade Treaty (2014). In
1997, Amnesty International won the Nobel Peace Prize for its work.
How Do NGOs Contribute to Global Governance?
In addition to drafting and convincing states to sign international treaties, NGOs help IGOs and state-based
development agencies. They engage in information sharing and advocacy efforts, assist in emergencies, and
play a key role in reinforcing the legitimacy of global governance.67
NGOs also help monitor compliance with international treaties, often, as in the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, under authority granted by the treaties themselves.68 As NGO expert Peter Willets noted, âwere it not for
NGOs, there would be no international law of human rights and no U.N. machinery to protect them.â69
Due to the nature of their work on the front lines in countries around the world, NGOs often have more
information about what is happening in another country than a government or IGO has. This allows NGOs to
serve as informal monitors of state behavior. By providing evidence and testimonies, NGOs can draw
international attention to situations such as human rights abuses or worsening humanitarian or
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environmental conditions. Such pressure may cause governments to change their policies or provide critical
aid to regions that may have been under-resourced.70
15.6 Non-state Actors beyond NGOs
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Discuss different types of non-state actors beyond NGOs and their purposes.
⢠Discuss the role of non-state actors in international relations.
⢠Explain the factors contributing to the rise of non-state actors.
⢠Describe the sources of power for non-state actors.
⢠Analyze the ways nontraditional non-state actors present challenges for international relations and state
sovereignty.
Non-state actors beyond NGOs, like multinational corporations, national identity groups, religious groups, and
transnational organized criminal groups, present challenges and opportunities for global governance.
Multinational Corporations
Multinational corporations (MNCs), also known as multinational enterprises (MNEs), are companies with
headquarters in one country that have operations in at least one additional country. These transnational actors
influence state policy and international politics, especially in the areas of trade, workersâ rights, and the
environment. Because countries rely on the money and jobs multinational corporations generate, and
because MNCs possess vast resources, they exert tremendous influence on international affairs.
Examples of MNCs
The Rise of Corporate Nations
- Multinational corporations (MNCs) have consolidated power, with the number of active firms decreasing while their collective wealth and influence continue to rise.
- MNCs now control half of global exports and nearly a third of the world's wealth, leading some experts to label them 'corporate nations.'
- Major tech, oil, and finance firms like Apple possess greater wealth than 90 percent of the world's countries, challenging traditional state sovereignty.
- MNCs prioritize private profit over public goods, often relocating to developing nations with weak regulations to exploit labor and resources.
- The immense wealth of these entities allows them to bypass local laws, avoid taxation, and lobby against environmental or social protections.
Apple, for example, is wealthier than 90 percent of the worldâs countries.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in 2006 almost 80,000
MNCs were active around the world. That number fell to 60,000 in 2018, even as the combined worth of active
MNCs rose.71 MNCs account for half of global exports, nearly a third of the worldâs wealth, and about a fourth of
all global employment.72 Given the immense wealth and power of the largest MNCs, University of North
Carolina instructor and former senior reporter for Foreign Policy David Francis has referred to them as
âcorporate nations.â73 Apple, for example, is wealthier than 90 percent of the worldâs countries.74 The most
profitable MNCs are in the tech, oil, and finance industries.75
About 45 percent of MNCs are headquartered in the United States, including Exxon Mobile, Amazon, Coca-
Cola, Walmart, Apple, and financial giant Berkshire Hathaway. US multinational enterprises employed 42.5
million workers worldwide in 2017, with the largest number of workers in China, the United Kingdom, Mexico,
India, and Canada.76 In the globalized world, MNCs are less bound to remain headquartered in their state of
origin. (https://openstax.org/r/in-the-globalized-world) As international relations specialist Parag Khanna
notes, MNCs âchoose locations for personnel, factories, executive suites, or bank accounts based on where
regulations are friendly, resources abundant, and connectivity seamless.â77
What Are Some Criticisms of MNCs?
By their very nature, MNCs prioritize private goods (profit) over public goods. While they have the power to do
âgoodâ in their host countries, they often choose to set up operations in those countries because the countries
are too weak to prevent them from exploiting labor and resources. Many developing countries do not force
MNCs to pay minimum wages, to provide health care, to follow labor laws, or to abide by environmental
regulations. In fact, the enormous wealth of MNCs enables them to disregard any rules a weak state has in
place or to lobby against the future implementation of such regulations. MNCs are notorious for seeking profit
above social benefits or even benefits to their country of origin. Many of the largest and most profitable MNCs
are structured to avoid taxation and regulation and will operate wherever profit margins are highest.
Â
15.6 ⢠Non-state Actors beyond NGOs 495
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MNCs and National Identity Groups
- Multinational corporations (MNCs) significantly influence global governance by shaping international trade, investment, and cross-border infrastructure.
- MNCs promote geopolitical stability because they require secure environments for seamless operations and standardized global pricing.
- While MNCs can provide economic development and community services, they also risk indirectly funding military conflicts through their investments.
- The UN Global Compact represents an effort to encourage corporate self-regulation regarding human rights, environmental protection, and anti-corruption.
- National identity groups seek autonomy or secession to address grievances stemming from marginalization and the desire to protect distinct cultural traditions.
- Globalization has internationalized the concerns of localized minority groups, such as the Rohingya or Basques, by connecting their struggles to global platforms.
When multinational corporations invest in a country, they can be fundingâeither directly or indirectlyâthat countryâs activities, including its military conflicts.
International law seeks to keep up with the actions of hugely influential multinational corporations.
Do MNCs Contribute to Global Governance?
Although they may not seem as political as IGOs and NGOs, the transnational activities of MNCs have
transformed the nature of international trade and investment. Decisions MNCs make have enormous
implications for a wide range of policy issuesâlike taxation, investment protection, and immigrationâacross
many countries with different political and economic institutions.78
MNCs do exert some positive influence over international relations. Because MNCs favor stable and secure
environments, states looking to lure MNCs have a vested interest in maintaining stability and in settling
disagreements diplomatically rather than through disruptive conflict. Because they benefit from seamless
operations, MNCs facilitate transportation and communication across borders by building compatible
infrastructures like phone lines, Internet access, and standardized pricing in countries around the world.
Trade organizations like the WTO regulate MNCs, and trade treaties help determine the norms of behavior in
trade and intellectual property.
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When multinational corporations invest in a country, they can be fundingâeither directly or indirectlyâthat
countryâs activities, including its military conflicts.
Because they generate money, MNCs also have considerable clout with host governments and have the power
to encourage states to uphold human rights and environmental protections. In addition to providing jobs for
people in developing countries, MNCs can reinvest in local economiesâfor instance, by donating money for
schools or hospitals or providing community services. MNCs can and often do partner with or donate to NGOs
to benefit local populations in developing countries.
In 2000, the United Nations created the Global Compact to address the way MNCs could play a role in global
governance.79 The Global Compact asks companies to self-regulate by following set principles around human
rights, the environment, and anti-corruption efforts. Almost 15,000 companies have joined the Global
Compact, and businesses and states have committed to promoting development goals and sustainability.80
National Identity Groups
Members of national identity groups share a common ethnic, religious, or linguistic identity and object to the
political or territorial status quo. Typically, these groups are struggling for greater autonomy or recognition.
They may be clustered in a specific region of a country, and they often represent a minority in that region, with
grievances stemming from real or perceived marginalization and oppression that has left the group at a
disadvantage. Even when these groups are primarily located within one state (such as the Rohingya in
Myanmar or Basques in Spain), migration and globalization have a way of internationalizing their concerns.
These groups often demand more representation in government, the protection of linguistic or religious
traditions, and the right to establish institutions distinct from those of the country in which they reside.
National identity groups may seek regional autonomy (relative independence from a central government),
secession (breaking away from a state), or irredentism (reclaiming land).
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Regional Autonomy Movements
Autonomy, Secession, and Irredentism
- Regional autonomy provides ethnic minorities control over local governance and culture, often serving as a peaceful alternative to conflict.
- Secessionist movements seek full independence rather than concessions, sometimes achieving statehood through nonviolent referendums or armed struggle.
- The success of independence movements reshapes global politics by creating new states, redrawing maps, and necessitating new international agreements.
- Irredentism occurs when a state seeks to 'reclaim' territory in a neighboring country based on shared ethnic ties with that region's population.
- Irredentist rhetoric is frequently used as a strategic cover for traditional territorial expansion and the pursuit of increased geopolitical power.
As these examples suggest, irredentist rhetoric can be cover for a traditional political strategy of territorial expansion to gain power and influence.
Groups seeking greater regional autonomy are among those that are least likely to directly impact
international relations. Autonomous regions within states have considerable control over regional governance,
including education, language, and local laws. Examples of autonomous regions include the Ă
land Islands
(Finland), South Tyrol (Italy), Kosovo (the former Yugoslavia), Cordillera and Mindanao (the Philippines),
Zanzibar (Tanzania), Greenland (Denmark), and Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (the UK). Regional
autonomy is often a relatively peaceful solution to accommodate the demands of ethnic minorities.
Secessionist Movements
Some groups are not interested in regional autonomy or other concessions from the government but instead
favor establishing an independent state. In democratic states, these secessionist movements may resolve
nonviolently via a sovereignty referendum that asks members of the minority group to vote on whether they
want independence. South Sudan, East Timor, and Montenegro gained independence following referendums.
Other groups win independence through warfare. Such was the case in Eritrea, although that victory was
followed by a referendum declaring the Eritrean publicâs desire for independence. Other ethnic groupsâ efforts
to gain independence have been less successful. For example, the efforts of citizens of the Catalonia region of
Spain and of the Kurds in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey have been met with silence or oppression. In 2020 there were
60 active secessionist movements, with only one or two expected to lead to independence.81
FIGURE 15.11 Catalan separatists rally in support of independence from Spain in 2014. (credit: âDemanding to
vote!â by Joan CampderrĂłs-i-Canas/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
When independence movements are successful, a new state joins the world community (UN membership is
considered the marker of an independent state), maps are redrawn, and new bilateral and multilateral
agreements can be negotiated. Numerous states joined that community in the 1960s as colonialism fell around
the world.
Irredentist Movements
A region under the political control of one country but ethnically tied to another is called an irredenta. Often,
the ethnic group in the region constitutes a minority in the state where they live but a majority in a
neighboring state. This particular configuration is ripe for conflict, either because people within the region
want to leave their state to join their ethnic kin or because the country where the ethnic group is a majority
wants to âreclaimâ their lost territory and reunite the ethnic group.82 For instance, during World War II Hitler
claimed that he wanted âGermany for the Germans,â which gave him cause to expand German borders to
15.6 ⢠Non-state Actors beyond NGOs 497
include the Germanic people living in neighboring countries. More recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin
used a similar excuse when he occupied the Crimea, a territory in the country of Ukraine that is heavily
populated by ethnic Russians. As these examples suggest, irredentist rhetoric can be cover for a traditional
political strategy of territorial expansion to gain power and influence.
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Russiaâs 2014 annexation of Crimea and its aftermath suggest Russiaâs continuing cultural and territorial goals
in the region.
Religious Non-state Actors
Religious Non-State Actors
- Approximately 84 percent of the global population identifies with a religion, with the vast majority belonging to five major faiths.
- Religious non-state actors (RNAs) include individuals, churches, and NGOs that leverage transnational beliefs to influence international relations.
- The transnational nature of religion creates a sense of kinship and solidarity among adherents that transcends national borders and ethnic differences.
- Religious leaders like the Pope, the Dalai Lama, and Ayatollah Khomeini use their platforms to influence global politics, human rights, and revolutions.
- RNAs often organize into NGOs to provide aid to the marginalized, extending their reach and influence far beyond local communities.
Adherents to a given faith often feel a form of kinship or solidarity with others of that faith regardless of regional, linguistic, ethnic, or practical differences.
According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 84 percent of the population in the world identifies with
a religion. There are thousands of different religious groups in the world, but 77 percent of the worldâs
religious adherents are part of one of the five largest religions: Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, or
Judaism.83 Religious organizations or groups of adherents to a faith are known as religious non-state actors
(RNAs). RNAs include individuals motivated by religious beliefs, by specific churches, by religious-based
NGOs, and even by the transnational nature of the religious beliefs themselves. The Catholic Church has
historically played a prominent role in international relations, and the Holy See, the governing body of the
Church, has observer status at the United Nations. Given that there are almost one billion Catholics worldwide,
the Pope has tremendous global influence.84
RNAs can organize themselves or specific categories of their work into NGOs. The International Islamic
Charitable Organization and Catholic Relief Services are examples of this type of NGO. Many religious groups
use NGOs to help the marginalized and the impoverished, extending their reach far beyond their local
community.
The Transnational Nature of Religion
Religious beliefs are transnational; there are few religions the adherents of which all reside in one state.
Adherents to a given faith often feel a form of kinship or solidarity with others of that faith regardless of
regional, linguistic, ethnic, or practical differences. Jews in the United States who have never visited Israel may
feel a kinship with the Israelis. Muslims worldwide orient themselves toward Mecca to pray even if they have
never been to Saudi Arabia. Terrorist attacks on religious groups, such as the bombings in Sri Lanka in 2019
on Christians celebrating the Easter holiday, are seen (and may in fact be intended) as an attack on the religion
itself, not just on certain individuals.
The Role of Religious Leaders
Individual religious leaders can use their platform to comment upon and try to influence world affairs. Exiled
religious cleric Ayatollah Khomeini instigated the Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979. The Dalai Lama of Tibet
put forward a democratic constitution, based on Buddhist principles and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, as a model for a future free Tibet. For his work in addressing collective problems including
âinternational conflicts, human rights issues, and global environmental problems,â the Dalai Lama was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.85 From the 1930s to the 1950s, Catholic Popes Pius XI and Pius XII
condemned communism as antithetical to the Catholic faith and helped fuel anti-Soviet sentiment among
Catholics worldwide. In 2020, Pope Francis urged governments around the world to use the COVID-19
pandemic to focus on âcreating a fairer market economy, addressing the rapidly escalating dangers of climate
change, and providing basic healthcare to their citizens.â86
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FIGURE 15.12 A mural depicting Ayatollah Khomeini outside the former US embassy in Tehran reflects his lasting
influence. (credit: âImam Khomeiniâ by Kamyar Adl/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Violence in the Name of Religion
Religious Non-state Actors and Conflict
- Internal schisms within major religions, such as those between Sunnis and Shiites or Catholics and Protestants, often fuel long-standing global conflicts.
- Religious leaders frequently utilize external threats as a unifying force to mobilize 'communities of the faithful' across international borders.
- Some Religious Non-state Actors (RNAs) justify the use of violence by believing their cause is an absolute moral good that transcends standard legal norms.
- The classification of RNAs is often complex, as organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood may provide essential social services while simultaneously engaging in political violence.
- The distinction between legitimate actors and terrorists is frequently subjective, often depending on regional perspectives or political alignment.
- Violent non-state actors are generally condemned under international law for endangering global security and the rule of law.
Some RNAs help reinforce norms and participate in conversations about the global good, but others promote violence and challenge global governance norms.
Schisms within religions, such as between Catholics and Protestants in the Christian faith, between ultra-
Orthodox and Reform movements in Judaism, or between Sunnis and Shiites in Islam, can lead to enduring
conflict and even violence. Religious leaders can position threats to the faith from outside as a rallying or
unifying force. Osama bin Laden, former leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, issued a manifesto
against âChristian invadersâ in Muslim holy lands as a call to all Muslims, not just Sunni Muslims, to join his
fight. Similarly, the 1948 establishment of the state of Israel and the subsequent displacement of Palestinian
Muslims met with resistance from both Sunnis and Shiites. RNAs can form communities of the faithful to
advocate for changes in far-flung corners of the world where they believe their âbrothers and sistersâ are
persecuted or oppressed.87
Although many RNAs advocate for peace and devote themselves to humanitarian missions, others engage in
conflict âfor the goodââthat is, they believe their cause is so important that they are justified in using any
means, including violence, to achieve it. This level of conviction propelled Catholic soldiers during the
Crusades in the Middle Ages, and it motivates several notable religious groups today, including al-Qaeda and
the militant Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).88
15.6 ⢠Non-state Actors beyond NGOs 499
FIGURE 15.13 Ethnic tribal militias like the Tuareg, pictured here, have joined with other militant Islamic groups in
attempts to secure an independent homeland in Northern Mali. (credit: âAl-Qaeda draws Maghreb militants to Mali
Al-Qaida rejoint par ses militants du Maghreb au Maliâ by Magharebia/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
How Do RNAs Contribute to Global Governance?
It is difficult to classify a particular RNA and that RNAâs role in global governance as âgoodâ or âbad.â Some
RNAs help reinforce norms and participate in conversations about the global good, but others promote
violence and challenge global governance norms. The net contribution of a single RNA can be mixed. The
Muslim Brotherhood provides a telling example. Although the Egyptian government considered the Muslim
Brotherhood an illegal political movement and classified it as a terrorist organization, the Brotherhood
provided goods and services like hospitals and schools to Egyptian neighborhoods where the government was
not providing those services. During periods of Egyptian democracy, the Brotherhood ran candidates for office
and participated in the legislature.89 Thus the Brotherhood has engaged in both humanitarian and politically
democratic activities and illegal, antidemocratic, and violent ones.
Violent Non-state Actors
Transnational actors that flagrantly violate established laws and employ violence to achieve their goals are
considered âillegitimate.â They endanger security, stability, and the rule of law and are condemned under
international law as a threat to global governance.90 Like RNAs, sometimes the lines between âlegitimateâ and
âillegitimateâ transnational actors are blurred. Some nationalist and religious groups may pose a threat to
peace and stability only in particular regions or for particular groups. Sometimes whether a non-state actor is
considered legitimate depends on who you askâas a saying from the Cold War era goes, âOne personâs terrorist
is another personâs freedom fighter.â
This discussion focuses on two main types of violent non-state actors: transnational organized crime (TOC)
Transnational Organized Crime Networks
- Transnational organized crime (TOC) syndicates operate across borders, posing a significant threat to both domestic and international security.
- These organizations thrive in weak states where central governments lack the capacity to enforce the rule of law or control their own territory.
- Economic desperation and poverty serve as primary recruitment tools, tempting individuals with the promise of wealth or the opportunity for revenge.
- TOC activities are diverse, ranging from human trafficking and cybercrime to money laundering and intellectual property theft.
- Drug trafficking remains the second largest revenue source for these groups, often involving direct affiliations with terrorist organizations.
- Countering these multifaceted threats requires a highly coordinated international response to bridge the gaps in national jurisdictions.
Criminal networks flourish in weak statesâthose without functioning central governments, sophisticated criminal justice agencies, communications, or traditions of rule of law.
syndicates and terrorist organizations. These groups engage in various types of illegal activity including
financial crimes, cybercrimes, and human rights violations. Their membership may be multinational,
regional, or country-specific, but their crimes are transnational, involving activities across borders and in
multiple states. They pose a significant threat to international and domestic security, and countering that
threat requires a coordinated international response. Criminal networks flourish in weak statesâthose
without functioning central governments, sophisticated criminal justice agencies, communications, or
traditions of rule of law. Weak states often only nominally control certain regions of their countries, and in
uncontrolled regions it is particularly easy to evade the rule of law. Violent NSAs also flourish under conditions
of poverty and limited economic prospects, when people can be easily tempted by the potential for wealth or
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ârevengeâ against groups they believe have wronged them.
Transnational Organized Crime
Organized crime groups operate in almost every region of the world, and transnational organized crime
(TOC) threatens international peace and security.91 Some groups have stable and definable memberships;
others are more loosely organized. The Sicilian Mafia and various transnational street gangs are among the
most prominent TOC syndicates.92
TOCs engage in a variety of illicit activities, including smuggling, human trafficking, weapons trafficking,
wildlife or artifacts trade, intellectual property theft, counterfeiting, cybercrimes, and money laundering, to
fulfill their purpose: to make money. TOC syndicates rarely engage in only one illicit activity. International
drug trafficking is the second largest source of TOC revenue, second only to counterfeiting, and drug
trafficking organizations, many of which are affiliated with terrorist groups, are among the highest-profile
TOCs.93
VIDEO
How Somaliaâs Pirates Make Money
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Transnational Crime and Terrorism
- Poverty serves as a primary driver for international crimes such as piracy, particularly in weak states like Somalia.
- Transnational organized crime (TOC) fuels government corruption, undermining the rule of law and economic development.
- Corruption, trafficking, and terrorism form a self-reinforcing cycle that threatens global democratic expansion.
- The borderless nature of TOC requires coordinated international efforts between domestic agencies like the FBI and IGOs like the UN.
- Advancements in technology and globalization have enabled terrorist organizations to recruit and fundraise on a global scale.
Corruption, trafficking, poverty, conflicts, and terrorism all sustain and reinforce one another.
Poverty is a main cause of international crime, including piracy. This video explains how pirates make money
in one of the poorest countries on Earth, Somalia.
TOC activities contribute to government corruption. In weak states, TOC groups bribe or ally with government
officials, jeopardizing economic development, undermining the rule of law, and threatening government
stability. As the 2018 World Atlas of Global Issues puts it, âCorruption, trafficking, poverty, conflicts, and
terrorism all sustain and reinforce one another.â94 Globally, TOCs test international law, make the expansion of
democracy more challenging, and siphon money away from governments and people.
Transnational organized crime represents a global governance problem that cannot be satisfactorily
addressed by one government alone. Criminals are typically headquartered in one country, but their crimes
cross state borders and break both domestic and international laws. Because TOC groups encourage and
depend upon government and law enforcement corruption, and because they tend to flourish in states that
lack strong domestic criminal justice organizations that could investigate and prosecute them, a coordinated
international effort is needed to fight this type of crime. Domestic criminal justice organizations such as the
FBI in the United States coordinate with comparable organizations in other states and with crime-fighting
IGOs like the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime to stem the activities of TOC organizations.
VIDEO
Neil Walsh, UN Expert on Cybercrime
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actors-beyond-ngos)
In this video, Neil Walsh, chief of the UN cybercrime team, talks about the role of the United Nations Office of
Drugs and Crime in battling international cybercrime.
Terrorist Organizations
Terrorism is the use or threat of violence by non-state actors to influence citizens or governments in the
pursuit of political or social change. In the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States,
terrorism became a global security concern. Globalization and advances in technology have allowed terrorist
organizations to access funding and recruits from far beyond the organizationâs headquarters and to spread
15.6 ⢠Non-state Actors beyond NGOs 501
Terrorism and Global Governance
- Modern globalization allows terrorists to reach targets more easily and spread inflammatory ideas rapidly through social media.
- Terrorist motivations are diverse, stemming from various combinations of nationalism, extremist ideology, and religious fundamentalism.
- Because terrorism is a transnational threat, it is impossible for any single state to solve the problem in isolation.
- International cooperation through IGOs like the UN and INTERPOL is essential for monitoring activities and coordinating global counter-terrorism measures.
- Effective counter-terrorism requires addressing underlying systemic factors such as weak institutions, ongoing conflict, and human rights violations.
- Global governance structures, though imperfect, manage international anarchy by setting rules and providing forums for collective action.
In todayâs globalizing world, terrorists can reach their targets more easily, their targets are exposed in more places, and news and ideas that inflame people to resort to terrorism spread more widely and rapidly than in the past.
their message via social media. In an article published only weeks before the 9/11 attacks, Paul Pillar of the
Brookings Institute said, âIn todayâs globalizing world, terrorists can reach their targets more easily, their
targets are exposed in more places, and news and ideas that inflame people to resort to terrorism spread more
widely and rapidly than in the past.â95 Like most other transnational issues, terrorism is a threat to all states,
and it is impossible to envision a single-state solution.
Terrorists are motivated by some combination of nationalism, ideology, and religion. Islamist terrorist groups
like al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL), and Boko Haram have been responsible for the deadliest terrorist
acts in the 21st century.96 Like other religious extremist groups, Islamist terrorists want to impose their
version of their religion on all spheres of life, including the political state. The desire for national
independence in places like Palestine and Northern Ireland, as well as extremist ideological beliefs such as
White nationalism or neo-Nazism, can also motivate terrorist attacks.
International cooperation is crucial to monitor and prevent terrorist activities. Following 9/11, the UN Security
Council formed the Counter-Terrorism Committee, which coordinates international counterterrorism
measures.97 In 2006, the General Assembly called on member states to focus on the underlying factors that
contribute to terrorism, including weak institutions, ongoing conflict, and human rights violations. Most
regional IGOs have counterterrorism programs. INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization, is
an IGO that coordinates the efforts of the police in countries around the world. NGOs contribute to
counterterrorism activities as well. IGOs and NGOs work in tandem to help states implement global
counterterrorism strategies.
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Summary
15.1 The Problem of Global Governance
Issues such as climate change, terrorism, international crime, religious movements, trade, and human
migration impact every state. The need to cooperate to address common problems and attain collective goods
has led to the development of a robust if imperfect system of global governance. Global governance helps
manage the anarchy of the international system by setting rules and boundaries for state behavior and
providing forums for collective action.
15.2 International Law
International law, created by multilateral treaties, establishes boundaries on state behavior. In a system of
sovereign states, with no authoritative overarching governing body, international law helps define norms for
interstate conduct. International law creates a sense of obligation and expectations between countries.
15.3 The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
The United Nations, a global IGO, coordinates the activities of states in areas of international security and
economic development. IGOs like the UN help foster some degree of order and security, helping states work
together toward common goals in the international system.
15.4 How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance?
Regional IGOs, such as the European Union, NATO, and the African Union, work on issues of concern to
member states, helping maintain peace and promote prosperity in a given region. Because individual states
are members of global and regional IGOs, these organizations are often held captive to the desires of the more
powerful states.
15.5 Non-state Actors: Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
Non-State Actors and Global Governance
- Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operate independently of states, allowing them to address global issues and improve lives across diverse regions.
- Because they lack state affiliation, NGOs rely on charitable funding and must obtain permission from host governments to operate within their borders.
- The landscape of international relations includes a wide array of non-state actors, ranging from legitimate corporations and religious groups to illicit terrorist and criminal organizations.
- Global governance involves the coordination of both state and non-state actors to provide public goods like peace, security, and environmental protection.
- Key international institutions like the UN's General Assembly and the International Court of Justice provide the framework for state interaction and legal dispute resolution.
Corporations, religious groups, nationalist and ethnic groups, terrorists, and organized criminal groups all impact international relations.
Unlike IGOs, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are able to exercise influence in given issue areas,
improving lives of people around the world and not just within a given region or group of states. Because NGOs
are not affiliated with particular states, they rely heavily on charitable funding and can only work directly in
states that allow their presence.
15.6 Non-state Actors beyond NGOs
There are other non-state actors as well, some legitimate and some not. Corporations, religious groups,
nationalist and ethnic groups, terrorists, and organized criminal groups all impact international relations.
Key Terms
burden sharing the distribution among group members of the costs a group incurs
civil society organizations working for the common good outside the control of government or business
interests
collective goods goods available to all, regardless of individual contribution
collective security a broad alliance of states for the purpose of jointly opposing outside aggression
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) the organ of the United Nations responsible for forming and
coordinating state policies on economic and social issues
European Union (EU) a treaty-backed organization of European states that promotes policy coordination,
trade, and peaceful relations
functionalism a theory of political integration based on the assumption that interstate cooperation on
technical issues builds a foundation for cooperation and unification on larger, more complex issues
General Assembly the main deliberative body of the United Nations; each member country has one vote
genocide an intentional and systematic attempt to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, in
whole or in part
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global governance the bringing together of state and non-state actors to coordinate collective action for the
purpose of providing global public goods such as peace and security, economic prosperity, conflict
mediation, human rights, and environmental protection
intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) organizations whose members are state governments
International Court of Justice (ICJ) the judicial body of the United Nations that hears cases between states;
also called the World Court
International Criminal Court (ICC) a permanent court established to try individuals accused of war crimes
and crimes against humanity
international law the rules, drawn from treaties and customs, that govern the way states interact with each
other
League of Nations a global intergovernmental organization established after World War I; predecessor to the
United Nations
multinational corporations (MNCs) companies based in one state but with operations in other states
national identity groups groups that share a common language, ancestry, and culture and that seek political
independence
nongovernmental organization (NGO) a transnational group or entity whose members are private citizens
working together on a common interest
Global Governance and International Relations
- The text defines key international organizations like NATO and the United Nations, highlighting their roles in security and global cooperation.
- It outlines the structure of the UN, specifically the Security Council's Permanent 5 members and the administrative role of the Secretariat.
- The concept of 'responsibility to protect' (R2P) is introduced as a moral and political mandate to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity.
- Non-state actors, including religious organizations and terrorist groups, are identified as significant forces in modern international politics.
- The 'tragedy of the commons' is presented as a primary obstacle to collective goods, where short-term state interests lead to the depletion of shared resources.
- Sustainable development is defined as a balancing act between meeting current human needs and preserving the environment for future generations.
tragedy of the commons the depletion of common resources when the incentives for states to act selfishly are greater than the incentives to cooperate to achieve a collective good
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) a US-led military alliance with Western European states,
originally formed in 1949 to deter Soviet military aggression
Permanent 5 (P5) the five states that have permanent membership on the United Nations Security Council:
the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France
regional economic organization (REO) an intergovernmental organization with a mission to improve
economic coordination, trade, and development in a region
religious non-state actors (RNAs) transnational organizations or entities that promote a certain religion and
engage in international politics on behalf of or in accordance with that religionâs views
responsibility to protect (R2P) a principle that states have a responsibility to protect all people, whether they
are citizens of their own state or of other states, from genocide and crimes against humanity
Secretariat the administrative and bureaucratic organ of the United Nations, headed by the Secretary-General
Secretary-General chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the Secretariat
Security Council the organ of the United Nations responsible for peace and security, with 5 permanent
members and 10 rotating members
sustainable development development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs
terrorism the use of violence by non-state actors against civilians in order to achieve a political goal
terrorist organizations non-state organizations that use terrorism to achieve political goals
tragedy of the commons the depletion of common resources when the incentives for states to act selfishly are
greater than the incentives to cooperate to achieve a collective good
transnational interactions across state boundaries
transnational organized crime (TOC) groups that employ violence and corruption in for-profit criminal
activity that crosses state boundaries
UN peacekeepers international troops operating under the auspices of the United Nations that can be
deployed into conflict zones to help create conditions that favor lasting peace
United Nations (UN) a global intergovernmental organization established after World War II and comprised of
nearly every state in the world
weak states states that have difficulty fulfilling basic tasks such as managing the economy and enforcing laws
Review Questions
1 . What is global governance?
a. The world government run by the United Nations
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b. The process by which sovereign states accrue rights and duties in the international community
c. The process by which more powerful states control the actions of weaker states
d. The ability of the United States to convince other states to act in accordance with its policies
2 . How does the tragedy of the commons impede the attainment of collective goods?
a. Individual states have incentives to provide for their own short-term interests over long-term
community interests.
b. When common goods are concentrated in one area, states without ready access to that area may be
unable to attain the goods before those goods spoil.
c. States with similar interests tend to form alliances to prevent other states from attaining collective
goods.
d. The tragedy of the commons means that common markets are doomed to fail.
3 . Which of these international issues is not an example of the tragedy of the commons?
a. Overfishing
b. Chinaâs rise to global power
c. Air pollution
International Relations Review Questions
- The text outlines the fundamental role of the international system's anarchic nature in driving the necessity for global governance.
- It defines international law as a collection of formal and informal rules that loosely govern the interactions between sovereign states.
- The principle of state sovereignty is identified as the foundational bedrock upon which international law rests.
- The document distinguishes between various international bodies, including Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs), the United Nations, and the International Court of Justice.
- It highlights the historical context of major institutions, such as the UN's creation post-WWII for peace and NATO's origins in protecting Europe from the Soviet Union.
International law rests on the principle of state sovereignty.
d. The need for farmland to feed a growing world population
4 . What feature of the international system best explains the need for global governance?
a. The great power system
b. The system of checks and balances
c. The anarchic nature of the international system
d. The role of capitalism and international trade
5 . Which non-state actors play a role in the formation of rules and norms of behavior in the international
system?
a. Intergovernmental organizations
b. International law
c. Nongovernmental organizations
d. All of the above
6 . What is international law?
a. The laws established by the world government
b. The law that determines punishments for sovereign states
c. A set of formal and informal rules that loosely govern the international system
d. Domestic laws that relate to international relations
7 . Which of the following is not a source of international law?
a. Treaties
b. International agreements
c. Customary law
d. Multinational corporations
8 . International law rests on the principle of ________.
a. state sovereignty
b. responsibility to protect
c. tragedy of the commons
d. American exceptionality
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9 . What types of cases come before the International Court of Justice?
a. Cases involving disputes between countries
b. Cases involving perpetrators of human rights abuses
c. Cases involving private citizens
d. None of these
10 . The Geneva Conventions are concerned with ________.
a. climate change protocols
b. protecting civilians and prisoners of war during military conflicts
c. establishing transnational relationships between the EU and other regions of the world
d. nuclear proliferation
11 . What is an IGO?
a. An informal group of sovereign states
b. A union of states that agree to sacrifice their individual interests for the good of the most powerful
c. A formal organization where states are members
d. A militant religious organization
12 . When and why was the United Nations created?
a. After World War I, to punish Germany
b. After World War II, to promote international peace
c. During the Cold War, to deter the Soviet Union
d. In the 1980s, to prevent nuclear war
13 . Which of the following is not one of the primary organs of the United Nations?
a. Security Council
b. General Assembly
c. Secretariat
d. World Congress
14 . United Nations peacekeepers ________.
a. must be authorized by the ICC
b. must be invited in by warring parties
c. may be deployed to conflict zones for a maximum of two years
d. support independence movements throughout the world
15 . Which of the following is a source of power for the United Nations?
a. The expense of UN operations
b. Its standing military
c. The scope of its activities
d. Its dependence on wealthy countries
16 . Which of the following is not a regional IGO?
a. European Union (EU)
b. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
c. International Court of Justice (ICJ)
d. African Union (AU)
17 . The original purpose of NATO was to ____________.
a. protect Europe from the Soviet Union
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b. counter terrorist threats
c. promote trade between member states
Global Governance and Non-State Actors
- The European Union has evolved from its original purpose to coordinate state policies across a wide variety of diverse areas.
- Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) serve as essential forums for states to address common problems despite differing policy priorities.
- Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like the Red Cross and Amnesty International influence global governance by drawing attention to issues and delivering aid.
- Globalization has significantly increased the presence, visibility, and power of non-state actors in the international system.
- Non-state actors, including multinational corporations and armed groups, derive power from their ability to operate across borders and access significant financial resources.
Globalization has contributed to the increased presence and visibility of non-state actors.
d. fight against Germany in World War II
18 . How does the mission of the European Union today differ from its original purpose?
a. It has evolved to focus on trade policy.
b. It has evolved to focus on Eastern Europe.
c. It has evolved to coordinate state policies in a wide variety of areas.
d. It has evolved to focus on military security.
19 . Which of the following accurately describes regional IGOs?
a. Costs are evenly divided.
b. Benefits are evenly distributed.
c. Member countries may have different policy priorities.
d. Regional IGOs rarely have an economic focus.
20 . Regional IGOs ________.
a. hamper regional trade
b. provide a forum for states to address common problems
c. prevent armed conflict
d. act in isolation
21 . NGOs ________.
a. are made up of government actors
b. are typically issue oriented
c. have large budgets and worldwide reach
d. act outside the international system
22 . Which of the following are NGOs?
a. Red Cross and Amnesty International
b. World Health Organization and World Bank
c. International Criminal Court and African Union
d. All of the above
23 . How do NGOs influence global governance?
a. They draw international attention to pressing issues.
b. They participate in treaty making.
c. They help deliver aid.
d. All of the above are correct.
24 . Which of the following is an example of a non-state actor in international politics?
a. Multinational corporations
b. World Bank
c. European Union
d. World Health Organization
25 . __________ has contributed to the increased presence and visibility of non-state actors.
a. The decline of IGOs
b. Increasing levels of state sovereignty
c. Globalization
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d. The COVID-19 pandemic
26 . Which of these is not a source of power for non-state actors?
a. They can attract members from many different states.
b. They often have access to large amounts of money.
c. They may operate in places without strong regulations or police.
d. They are formally recognized by powerful IGOs.
Suggested Readings
Adetula, Victor, Redie Bereketeab, and Cyril Obi, eds. Regional Economic Communities and Peacebuilding in
Africa: Lessons from ECOWAS and IGAD. New York: Routledge, 2020.
Barnett, Michael, and Martha Finnemore. Rules for the World: International Organizations and Global Politics.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004.
Bosco, David. Five to Rule Them All: The UN Security Council and the Making of the Modern World. Oxford, UK:
Oxford University Press, 2009.
____. Rough Justice: The International Criminal Court in a World of Power Politics. Oxford, UK: Oxford
University Press, 2014.
Bradford, Anu. The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World. Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Press, 2021.
Cambanis, Thanassis, Dina Esfandiary, Sima Ghaddar, Michael Wahid Hanna, Aron Lund, and Renad Mansour.
Hybrid Actors: Armed Groups and State Fragmentation in the Middle East. New York: The Century
Foundation Press, 2019.
Davies, Thomas. NGOs: A New History of Transnational Civil Society. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press,
2014.
Ellis, Stephen. This Present Darkness: A History of Nigerian Organized Crime. Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Press, 2016.
Hannay, David. New World Disorder: The UN After the Cold WarâAn Insiderâs View. London: I.B. Tauris, 2008.
Hurd, Ian. International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice. 4th ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press, 2020.
Keck, Margaret, and Kathryn Sikkink. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in Global Politics. Ithaca,
NY: Cornell University Press, 1998.
International Political Economy and Climate
- The text provides a curated bibliography of scholarly works covering drug wars, UN peace operations, global economic governance, and the history of NATO.
- It introduces Chapter 16, which focuses on the evolution and current state of International Political Economy (IPE).
- The chapter outline spans from the origins of IPE and the liberal economy to modern issues like poverty, inequality, and the environmental crisis.
- A central focus is placed on the COP26 summit in Glasgow as a case study for cross-sector collaboration between governments and businesses.
- The introduction highlights the role of both traditional and nontraditional media in reporting on global climate action and policy.
The main goal of the summit was to foster collaboration between governments, businesses, and civil society and to propel action to tackle the climate crisis.
Lessing, Benjamin. Making Peace in Drug Wars: Crackdowns and Cartels in Latin America. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Oksamytna, Kseniya, and John Karlsrud, eds. UN Peace Operations and International Relations Theory.
Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2020.
Park, Susan, and Jonathan Strand, eds. Global Economic Governance and the Development Practices of the
Multilateral Development Banks. New York: Routledge, 2015.
Sayle, Timothy Andrew. Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press, 2019.
Tanaka, Yoshifumi. International Law of the Sea. 3rd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Wright, Lawrence. The Terror Years: From Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State. New York: Vintage, 2017.
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FIGURE 16.1 US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and leaders from across the globe discuss public-private
investment and cross-sector partnerships in a climate-smart agriculture and food system at the COP26 in Glasgow,
Scotland, on November 4, 2021. (credit: â20212204-OSEC-UNC-0006â by U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr,
Public Domain)
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OUTLINE
16.1 The Origins of International Political Economy
16.2 The Advent of the Liberal Economy
16.3 The Bretton Woods Institutions
16.4 The PostâCold War Period and Modernization Theory
16.5 From the 1990s to the 2020s: Current Issues in IPE
16.6 Considering Poverty, Inequality, and the Environmental Crisis
Chapter written by Emilia Barreto Carvalho
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) occurred in Glasgow, Scotland, in October and
November 2021. The main goal of the summit was to foster collaboration between governments, businesses,
and civil society and to propel action to tackle the climate crisis.1
The conference was widely reported in both traditional media and nontraditional media. As discussed in
Chapter 12: The Media, traditional media is characterized by mass communication efforts and professional
The Politics of Environmental Regulation
- The rise of nontraditional media platforms like TikTok and Instagram has democratized news coverage, allowing individuals to highlight global issues like COP26 alongside traditional outlets.
- The COP26 summit resulted in government pledges regarding methane, coal, and deforestation aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
- Governments engage in a 'commitment vs. avoidance game' because environmental policies impose immediate economic costs for long-term benefits.
- Domestic environmental regulations can increase production costs, potentially making local firms less competitive in a globalized market and leading to unemployment.
- While regulations improve local health and environmental quality, the causal link between specific emission changes and community health is often difficult to prove scientifically.
- The proportional global benefit of a single factory's regulation often appears small when compared to the significant domestic economic trade-offs required.
Governments play the âcommitment vs. avoidance gameâ because environmental policy, like every other kind of public policy, requires costs to achieve benefits.
journalism. The main traditional media outlets include newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. With
increased use of the internet, smartphones, and social media platforms, nontraditional media has become
16
International Political Economy
increasingly powerful. Whereas professional journalists cover the news for traditional media outlets,
nontraditional news coverage may be led by any individual with a smartphone and internet access.
Nontraditional outlets, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, are particularly salient with specific
niches of the public. That the results of the COP26 were reported on in traditional outlets like CNN, the
Associated Press, the BBC, and Al Jazeera as well as nontraditional outlets like TikTok, Twitter, Instagram
(more than 318,000 posts are tagged #cop26),2 and Facebook (more than 160,000 people have posted using
the hashtag #COP26) suggests that the public is concerned with the environment.3
The COP26 summit produced an official agreement, and governments pledged to commit to adaptation,
mitigation, and conservation efforts on methane, coal, transportation, and deforestation. These pledges could
help the world prevent global warming from exceeding 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, a goal the majority of
climate scientists involved with the COP26 consider challenging but possible.4
While some governments have agreed to tackle the climate crisis, others have avoided making any
commitments. Governments play the âcommitment vs. avoidance gameâ because environmental policy, like
every other kind of public policy, requires costs to achieve benefits.
For example, certain types of environmental regulationsâthe body of taxes and tariffs, quotas, subsidies, and
regulations governments issue to promote environmental protectionâincrease the costs of industrial
production. In a globalized economy, higher production costs make it more difficult for firms to sell their
products in a competitive international market, especially if the regulations are adopted domestically but not
internationally. In situations like this, a factory that cannot compete may be forced to close its doors, and if this
happens, workers become unemployed5âthat is, workers pay a high cost.
On the other hand, environmental regulations promote environmental quality. If a factory emits fewer
pollutants, the quality of the surrounding environment increases. The community in the factoryâs vicinity
reaps the benefits of less pollution. Better environmental quality contributes to improved health conditions.
However, the causal impact of this environmental regulation in the promotion of a healthier environment is
difficult to prove. The connection between the extent to which changes in pollutant emissions can improve or
exacerbate the health of community members is complex. Many variables impact both environmental quality
and the communityâs health. To make things even more difficult, if you consider the market share of this
factory in a country and compare it to the global market, the proportional environmental benefit of this
environmental regulation may seem small.
Environmental regulations present a tradeoff: they promote environmental quality,6 but they may cause
International Political Economy and Environment
- Environmental policies create a tension between widespread public benefits and localized economic costs like unemployment.
- Labor unions and business interests often label environmental protections as 'job-killing regulations' to mobilize opposition.
- Governments engage in a 'commitment vs. avoidance game' based on how regulations affect their specific voting constituents.
- International Political Economy (IPE) is defined as the study of how political processes and policies create winners and losers.
- The field of IPE has evolved since the 16th century, beginning with early theories such as mercantilism.
- IPE analyzes the redistribution of costs and benefits across both domestic and international actors.
As a result , labor unions , workers, and business parties commonly ref er to environmental regulations as âjob -killing regulationsâ and thus tend to oppose them .
unemployment, at least in the short term. Environmental quality is a widespread benefit. The entire
community profits from it, even if each element of the community profits only a little bit. On the other hand,
unemployment is a localized cost, and unemployed workers lose a lot. As a result, labor unions, workers, and
business parties commonly refer to environmental regulations as âjob-killing regulationsâ and thus tend to
oppose them.7 In short, because environmental policies redistribute economic costs and environmental
benefits across different groups in society, they face strong opposition, even if, as responses to the COP26
indicate, the general public is concerned about the environment.8
Given the complexity of designing environmental policies, governments consider the redistribution of costs
and benefits and play the âcommitment vs. avoidance gameâ based on how much their constituents, or voters,
stand to win or lose with environmental regulations.
The ways in which public policies redistribute costs and benefits across domestic and international actors are
at the core of the study of international political economy (IPE). This chapter presents a panoramic view of
the development of the field from the 16th century to the present. The discussion begins with a brief historical
overview, which is then followed by an analysis of some of the most debated issues in the field.
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16.1 The Origins of International Political Economy
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Define international political economy (IPE).
⢠Describe mercantilism.
⢠Define wealth according to the mercantilist theory.
International political economy (IPE) is a vast field of study occupied with the investigation of political
processes and their economic consequences, which have both domestic and international impacts. IPE
describes and explains the extent to which politics and public policies define winners and losers among
different groups in a society.9
VIDEO
Aspects of International Relations: International Political Economy
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Origins of Political Economy
- Political factors, ranging from domestic electoral systems to international globalization pressures, dictate the creation of public policies.
- Public policies inherently redistribute wealth, creating a system of winners and losers based on how benefits and costs are shifted across groups.
- Politicians often negotiate policies, such as environmental agreements at COP26, with the primary goal of catering to constituents to remain in power.
- The field of political economy emerged from Enlightenment transformations that paved the way for modern capitalism and the market economy.
- During the era of absolutism, power and wealth were interchangeable concepts where monarchs sought to accumulate gold and silver to increase their divine authority.
- Mercantilism served as the dominant economic system of the absolutist era, focusing on the accumulation of precious metals as the primary form of capital.
Political economy has been around for as long as politicians have been making decisions that favor some groups at the expense of others.
In this short clip, academics from the International Relations Department at the London School of Economics
discuss the study of international political economy and its value.
Those components of politics and policy making in a country that result in specific public policies are referred
to as political factors. These components can be domestic, such as the organization of the electoral system,
how politicians interact to establish policies, and the level of economic and institutional development, among
others. They can also be international, like, for example, the pressure toward globalization and trade
liberalization since the 1990s. Domestic and international political factors compel politicians to establish
certain public policies.
Public policies invariably promote wealth redistribution in societies. As mentioned above, these policies shift
benefits and costs across different groups and thus establish winners and losers.10 The example of the
âcommitment vs. avoidance gameâ played during the COP26 summit illustrates how governments negotiate
environmental issues with eyes on how the policies they establish will cater to their constituents and thus
increase these politiciansâ chances of remaining in power.11
Yet, political factors are constantly changing, and as they change, policy makers redesign policies, redefining
the winners and losers. Profound transformations occurred in Western Europe during the Enlightenment,
paving the way for the current economic system in the United Statesâthe market economy, or capitalism. Such
transformations also prompted the establishment of political economy as the field dedicated to the study of the
relationship between politics and the economy. Adam Smith (1723â1790), a Scottish political thinker and
economist, was one of the first to examine the relationship between politics and the economy. Given the
influence of his writings on the development of the field, he became known as the father of political economy.
Although political economy only emerged as a field of study in the late 19th century, politics and the economy
were already interconnected in the real world. Political economy has been around for as long as politicians
have been making decisions that favor some groups at the expense of others.
The changes in politics and the economy that occurred during the Enlightenment deeply altered political and
economic practices domestically and internationally. The centralization of political power in the hands of the
monarch in Western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, known as absolutism, illustrates the impact
of these changes and how they laid the foundations for the market economy. During the absolutist era, the
belief in divine providenceâthat God had chosen the monarch to governâwas widespread. Monarchs had
absolute political power and made decisions with the aim of increasing that power. At the time, power and
wealth were interchangeable concepts: power begot wealth and wealth begot power.
16.1 ⢠The Origins of International Political Economy 511
This environment provided fertile ground for mercantilism, the dominant economic system throughout the
absolutist era. Mercantilism was based on capital accumulation, or the increase of wealth. Notice, however,
that during the absolutist era, there were no paper currencies: no US dollars, Mexican pesos, or Euros. The
currency was made of precious metals, gold and silver. The more gold and silver acquired, the wealthierâand
more powerfulâthe monarch or the country.
Precious metals are naturally occurring elements and cannot be created (despite alchemistsâ best efforts);
The Era of Mercantilism
- Mercantilism was based on the belief that global wealth was finite, making economic accumulation a zero-sum game where one nation's gain was another's loss.
- European monarchs used absolute power to sponsor naval fleets and colonize foreign lands to seize precious metals and expand their domains.
- Wealth and power existed in a symbiotic cycle: monarchs used wealth to hire mercenary armies, which in turn protected and expanded their wealth.
- Protectionist policies like tariffs and quotas were used to maintain trade surpluses, though they suppressed industrial innovation and market development.
- Economic activity during this era was largely limited to subsistence for commoners, with luxury goods reserved exclusively for the aristocracy.
- The capital accumulated during the mercantilist period eventually provided the necessary resources to trigger the Industrial Revolution.
The more wealth a monarch possessed, the more soldiers they could afford, and thus the higher their chances were of winning the war and maintaining their power.
thus, the amount of wealth in the world was considered finite. Because wealth was limited, wealth
accumulation was a zero-sum game.12 The fact that a monarch got some gold meant that others had lost it.
Therefore, to preserve their wealth and power, monarchs not only took precious metals whenever they could
but also fiercely protected the wealth in their possession.
As rumors about ânew worldsâ rich in gold and silver circulated in Western Europe in the 16th century,
monarchs sponsored naval fleets to venture into unknown seas in search of riches. Several European ships
ended up âdiscoveringâ land and colonizing Native peoples in the Americas as well as in Asia, Africa, and
Oceania. As the ânew worldsâ were colonized, monarchs could extend their domain to the colonies. Taking
advantage of their absolute power, they seized precious metals and increased their wealth.13 After all, power
begot wealth.
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The relationship between England and its North American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries provides an
example of mercantilism.
Wealth also begot power. During the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, European armies were composed of
mercenaries.14 In times of impending war, monarchs would hire soldiers to defend their countries. The more
wealth a monarch possessed, the more soldiers they could afford, and thus the higher their chances were of
winning the war and maintaining their power.15
Given that wealth was finite, monarchs sought to accumulate wealth, or capital, through protectionist policies,
which safeguard the domestic economy against foreign competition through the establishment of trade
barriers such as tariffs, subsidies, import quotas, and other restrictions on imports. The rationale behind
protectionist policies is that as a countryâs balance of trade, or the difference between the value of exports and
imports in a given period, maintains a surplus, the country accumulates capital.
Protectionist policies limited trade across countries and thus suppressed any incentives for industrial
innovation and market development. Economic activities during the absolutist era were extremely limited;
agriculture, food production, and the production of consumer goods used rudimentary inputs and technology.
Production output was basically for subsistence, and common people had very few possessions. Only the royal
family and the aristocracy had access to the few goods available for consumption, while the majority of the
population did not consume much.
Yet, the capital the monarchy and aristocracy accumulated during mercantilism made the Industrial
Revolution possible. The Industrial Revolution promoted many significant changes at the end of the 18th
century. These changes pressured monarchs to let go of protectionist policies in favor of trade liberalization,
helped markets to flourish, and welcomed the participation of the individual in the economy.
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16.2 The Advent of the Liberal Economy
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain the origins of the market economy.
⢠Define wealth according to classical liberal theory.
⢠Describe Adam Smithâs argument regarding the three levels of analysis.
Enlightenment and Industrial Transformation
- The Enlightenment dismantled absolute authority by replacing divine providence with anthropocentrism and rationalism.
- New intellectual frameworks like scientism established inductive natural science as the primary source of genuine knowledge.
- These philosophical shifts directly fueled political upheavals, including the French Revolution and American independence.
- The era redefined 'civilization' as a state achieved through industrialization and reason, contrasting it with traditional 'savagery.'
- Western European ideals of market development and social progress were propagated globally through colonization and migration.
- While civilized society offers unique opportunities for its members, it simultaneously introduces new, inherent dangers.
Enlightenment thinkers freed human beings from an unquestionable religiosity, superstitions, and social rigidity.
The Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution marked the introduction of new concepts that fundamentally
transformed European societies and the world. Enlightenment thinkers freed human beings from an
unquestionable religiosity, superstitions, and social rigidity. Absolutism could no longer be defended on the
basis of Godâs will and divine providence. The ideas of anthropocentrism, or the argument that human beings
are the most important component of the Universe; rationalism, which is the belief that reason rather than
experience is the foundation of knowledge; and scientism, or the view that inductive methods of the natural
sciences are the only source of genuine knowledge, prompted changes that culminated with the French
Revolution and the Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies. Movements toward political
democratization and economic development based on these ideas have since been diffused to the four corners
of the world.
The Enlightenment period promoted the idea of civilization as opposed to savagery. Societies that reflected
anthropocentrism, rationalism, and scientism were the first to reap the benefits of the Industrial Revolution,
including the development of the market and social progress, and to embody the idea of civilization. These
societies were initially located in Western Europe and were then propagated to the colonized world,
accompanying the migration movement and the birth of industrialization. Societies based on traditional
religion and superstition, where family relationships defined power and politics, were considered savage. In
University of Denver emeritus professor David P. Levineâs words, âCivilization is an important concept in
political economy. . . . Civilized society provides its members with opportunities not otherwise available; but it
also confronts them with dangers.â16
The Birth of Wealth Creation
- Enlightenment thinkers revolutionized economic theory by rejecting the mercantilist view that wealth is a finite resource.
- Wealth was redefined as the market value of goods and services produced through the application of human assets and labor.
- The shift implied that because human creativity and industriousness are boundless, the potential for wealth creation is effectively infinite.
- Adam Smith's 'The Wealth of Nations' established the foundation for modern liberal economics and the free-market system.
- Smith advocated for a laissez-faire approach, arguing that government interference and trade barriers ultimately harm economic health.
If wealth is understood as the extent to which the market values a good or service, and if the creativity and industriousness of the human mind is boundless, then wealth is infinite.
One of these opportunities is wealth creation. Enlightenment thinkers rejected the mercantilist idea that
wealth is finite, proposing that wealth could in fact be created. The concept of wealth had been transformed. As
Levine puts it, âProducing wealth is a special sort of activity. It is one that employs some of our assets to
produce commodities: goods and services valued in the market.â17
This change in the perception of what constituted wealth had an enormous impact on political economy. If
wealth is understood as the extent to which the market values a good or service, and if the creativity and
industriousness of the human mind is boundless, then wealth is infinite.
More than 200 years later, we still employ Enlightenment ideas about the concept of wealth. Adam Smith
played an important role in defining our understanding of wealth creation, the functioning of the market, and
the role of the government in a market-based society. His beliefs in science and in human beingsâ inclination
toward progress are key to his account of political economy. Adam Smith laid the foundation for liberalism, the
dominant economic practice that persists today, in his classic work The Wealth of Nations (1776). He rejected
mercantilism, suggesting that monarchyâs insistence on the balance of trade surplus through trade barriers
would hurt the economy. According to Adam Smith, the best approach to the economy was a laissez-faire one,
in other words, the free-market approach in which governments do not interfere in the market and let things
take their own course.
16.2 ⢠The Advent of the Liberal Economy 513
FIGURE 16.2 As this 2019 advertisement in a Bulgarian airport bearing his image shows, Adam Smith is still closely
associated with free market ideas. (credit: modification of work by âAdam Smith Spreads the Gospelâ by
summonedbyfells/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Adam Smith's Economic Levels
- Adam Smith argued that individual self-interest naturally leads to optimal societal outcomes when governments allow freedom of production and trade.
- At the state level, Smith proposed that nations should specialize in goods where they hold a comparative advantage, such as French wine or British wool.
- International trade based on specialization allows consumers in all participating nations to access the highest quality products at the lowest possible costs.
- The accumulation of capital in preindustrial societies is credited with enabling the Industrial Revolution and improving general quality of life.
- While Smith's ideas led to the repeal of the British Corn Laws and early trade liberalization, the high costs of the Napoleonic Wars eventually forced a return to protectionism.
Thus, if governments guarantee individuals the freedom to produce and trade as they please, society will be better off in the long run.
Adam Smith developed his argument in The Wealth of Nations using different levels of analysis. First, he
focused on the individual level and argued that self-interested individuals, or in other words, individuals
focused on advancing their personal interests, tend to make decisions that will maximize results to their own
benefit. Thus, if governments guarantee individuals the freedom to produce and trade as they please, society
will be better off in the long run.
His second level of analysis examined the state. Adam Smith argued that countries should dedicate themselves
to the production of what they produce best, following their comparative advantages. For example, he argued
that given Franceâs geographic characteristics and the developed skills and abilities of its people, France can
produce better cheese and wine than, for example, Great Britain, and at a lower cost. Therefore, he argued,
France should produce cheese and wine. On the other hand, given Great Britainâs geographic characteristics
and traditions, the British can produce better quality wool than the French, and therefore Smith argued that
the British should produce wool and not cheese and wine.
At the international level of analysis, Smith argued that if countries stick to their comparative advantages,
international trade should allow individuals in different countries to have access to the best products at the
lowest costs. This would eliminate the need for trade barriers and result in a system of free international trade.
In this case, both the French and the British would get the best cheese, wine, and wool at the lowest cost.
Adam Smithâs assumption regarding the benefits of a laissez-faire economy has accompanied the mainstream
understanding of political economy since the publication of The Wealth of Nations. According to Adam Smith,
the accumulation of capital in preindustrial societies allowed for the emergence of the Industrial Revolution,
which produced consumable goods for society and elevated the quality of life of industrialized nations.
The ideas promulgated by Adam Smith and other political economists slowly promoted trade liberalization in
Europe. Britain moved toward free trade in the 1780s with the repeal of the Corn Laws, trade restrictions such
as tariffs and quotas on imported corn and food. The Corn Laws intended to keep corn prices high and favor
domestic producers of food.18 Several European states followed Britainâs move and similarly promoted trade
liberalization. Nevertheless, Britain returned to protectionist policies during the Napoleonic Wars
(1803â1815), a series of battles fought by the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against several
European countries that formed various coalitions. The costs of war are high, and as war expenses
accumulated, the British government levied tariffs on imported goods to generate revenues and pay for the
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The Concert of Europe
- The Congress of Vienna established a peace framework among five major European powers to prevent conflict after the Napoleonic Wars.
- The resulting Concert of Europe maintained relative peace on the continent for nearly a century, from 1815 to 1914.
- This era of stability initially fostered trade liberalization and technological improvements across international markets.
- Rising competition and domestic pressures led Germany to abandon free trade for protectionism in the 1870s.
- Global trade fluctuated significantly between the late 19th century and the establishment of the modern financial system after World War II.
The Congress of Vienna led to the Concert of Europe, a general consensus to promote equilibrium among the five great European powers.
costs of war. The end of the Napoleonic Wars culminated with the Congress of Vienna (1814â1815), a peace
conference to reconstruct European relations after the downfall of Napoleon I. The Congress of Vienna led to
the Concert of Europe, a general consensus to promote equilibrium among the five great European powers
(Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom). It prevented another war from breaking out in
Europe from 1815 to 1914.
The Concert of Europe period saw the flourishing of trade liberalization. Moreover, improved technology and
the advent of new players in the international commodities market increased competition, and domestic
pressure in favor of protectionist policies led the recently unified Germany to defect from the free-trade
regime and return to protectionism in the 1870s.
In general terms, international trade picked up from the late 19th century until World War I. After World War I,
protectionist policies became the rule again until the end of World War II, when the bases of the current
international financial system were established.
16.3 The Bretton Woods Institutions
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe the context of the creation of the Bretton Woods Institutions.
⢠Explain the origins and missions of the IMF, World Bank, GATT, and WTO.
The Bretton Woods System
- Post-WWII economic dominance allowed the United States to lead the creation of a new international financial order.
- The 1944 Bretton Woods Conference brought together 44 nations, though negotiations were primarily dominated by the US and Great Britain.
- The primary goal of the new system was to prevent a repeat of the 1929 stock market crash and the subsequent Great Depression.
- The conference established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to ensure global stability and European reconstruction.
- While a trade organization was initially delayed due to political sensitivities, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) eventually emerged in 1947.
Yet, the participation of these 44 states was only relevant to the extent that they supported either the American or the British side.
At the end of World War II, the United States had a huge surplus in the balance of trade. Exports of military
equipment and consumer goods to the Allied powers grew the American economy toward a pronounced
recovery from the Great Depression, a severe financial crisis sparked by the 1929 stock market crash in New
York that led to bank closures and high unemployment. The US government was aware of its military
capabilities and advantageous economic position, especially in relation to destroyed Europe and Japan. As a
result, the United States took a leading role in creating the postâWorld War II international order, an order that
was expected to maintain peace and economic prosperity in the world.
As the end of World War II was imminent, representatives of the United States and Great Britain met to discuss
the post-war international order. One of these meetings took place in July 1944 in Bretton Woods, New
Hampshire, and became known as the Bretton Woods Conference. Harry Dexter White, assistant secretary of
the Treasury in the United States, led the US delegation, and John Maynard Keynes, adviser to the Treasury in
the United Kingdom, led the delegation from Great Britain. The United States, Great Britain, and 42 Allied
nations sent representatives to the conference. Yet, the participation of these 44 states was only relevant to the
extent that they supported either the American or the British side.19
During the conference, the US and British delegations presented proposals for the establishment of the world
economic system. The United States wanted to create an international order that was strong enough to
promote international economic stability. Their main objective was to avoid another economic crisis like that
of 1929. Great Britainâs proposal was more focused on reconstruction, but the British had difficulty garnering
support. In the end, the US proposal prevailed, with compromises. As a result, the Bretton Woods System
reflected US concerns in the postâWorld War II period. For instance, the United States accepted the British
suggestion that governments should stimulate their economies and promote international trade without
competitive currency devaluations. According to the British delegation, if state governments followed this
prescription, the world economy would be in balance and a future crisis like the one of 1929 would be averted.
In the end, the Bretton Woods Conference created two international financial institutions, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which became known
as the World Bank. These two institutions were based on the belief that global collective action was necessary
to guarantee international economic stability and rebuild Europe.
16.3 ⢠The Bretton Woods Institutions 515
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In this clip, CNBCâs Elizabeth Schulze explains the differences between the IMF and the World Bank.
During the conference, there were also attempts to create a third institution to promote and regulate
international trade. However, trade is a highly sensitive issue, especially to weaker states. Therefore, the third
institution was not created in the conference, but discussions continued, and in 1947, the Havana Letter
established the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). In 1995, the GATT gave way to the World
Trade Organization (WTO).
The International Monetary Fund
The Bretton Woods Monetary System
- The Bretton Woods conference established a strict international monetary system to prevent competitive devaluations, which were then believed to have caused the 1929 financial crisis.
- The system was anchored by the US dollar, which was pegged to gold at $35 per ounce, while other currencies maintained fixed parities with the dollar.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was created to monitor currency values and authorize devaluations only in cases of fundamental economic imbalance.
- The Marshall Plan addressed a global liquidity shortage by injecting $26 billion in US aid into Europe and Japan for post-war recovery.
- Central banks used reserves to maintain pegged exchange rates, intervening when supply and demand threatened to shift a currency's value beyond agreed limits.
Capitalizing on the situation, the US delegation proposed a system backed by the US dollar and assured that the US government would guarantee that every dollar was backed by goldâone ounce of gold per 35 US dollars (USD).
At the time of the Bretton Woods conference, it was commonly believed that competitive devaluations among
major international currencies had caused the 1929 financial crisis. Competitive devaluations happen when a
country devalues its currency in relation to other countries to gain trade advantage, but other countries
devalue their currencies in response. Though more recent evaluation has determined that other factors were
responsible for the stock market crash,20 the US delegation at Bretton Woods insisted on the creation of a
strict international monetary system (as a way to prevent future economic crises) and a return to the gold
standard, the monetary system in which the standard unit of account is a fixed quantity of gold.
The US economy had maintained a substantial surplus in the balance of trade during the war years and
controlled a significant part of the worldâs gold reserves. As a result, confidence in the value of the US dollar
was widespread. Capitalizing on the situation, the US delegation proposed a system backed by the US dollar
and assured that the US government would guarantee that every dollar was backed by goldâone ounce of gold
per 35 US dollars (USD). Other currencies would have a fixed parity with gold and also with the US dollar. The
IMF would be responsible for monitoring the value of other currencies against the dollar.
After much deliberation, it was agreed that international currencies could deviate 1 percent from their fixed
rates without previous consultation with the Fund. Yet, the Fund should be notified of any deviations greater
than 1 percent but smaller than 10 percent. Only in cases of fundamental imbalance could the IMF authorize
devaluations greater than 10 percent.21
Though this arrangement seemed to solve the problem of competitive devaluations, there was still the problem
of a lack of international liquidity, that is, a lack of money or gold in the international market. Much of the
liquidity problem was solved through the Marshall Plan, a program through which the United States sent USD
26 billion in war recovery aid to Europe and Japan between 1946 and 1949.
Even with the disbursement of the grants and loans, the American balance of payment, or the difference in
value between all payments made to a country and the payments the country has made to the rest of the world,
maintained a surplus of USD 6 billion,22 which helped extend the high confidence in the US dollar.
Yet, in order to establish the international monetary system, governments had to hold reserves, or money,
gold, and other highly liquid assets that a countryâs central bank or other monetary authority could use to meet
financial obligations. In the United States, the Federal Reserve System (commonly referred to as the Fed) is the
central bank, and it works to promote the effective operation of the economy. Reserves help to keep currencies
at a fixed, or pegged, exchange rate, in which a currencyâs value is fixed against the value of another currency,
basket of currencies, or gold. For example, when a country runs a deficit in the balance of paymentâthat is,
when payments a country makes exceed payments it receives and there is a shortage of moneyâthe supply of
its currency in the foreign exchange market exceeds the demand. If the forces of supply and demand were free,
the price of the currency would fall to adjust to the market. However, to maintain the proposed fixed (or
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The Bretton Woods System
- Governments were required to maintain currency stability within a narrow 1 percent margin through market intervention.
- The system relied on national reserves of gold or US dollars to counteract natural supply and demand fluctuations.
- In practice, surplus-holding countries rarely corrected their currency appreciation, leading to a systemic imbalance.
- Devaluation became stigmatized as a sign of economic failure rather than being utilized as a regulatory tool.
- The IMF uses a quota formula based on economic size to determine a member's voting power and financial access.
As a result, devaluations are often seen as synonymous with economic problems rather than as a mechanism for regulating the system.
pegged) exchange rate, a government could not allow its currency to devalue or appreciate more than 1
percent. Thus, in cases when the forces of supply and demand threaten the price beyond the 1 percent margin,
the government should intervene in the international market to buy back its currency, using its reserves in
dollars or gold, until the price of supply and demand restabilize. So, under the Bretton Woods guidelines,
governments should keep reserves and act to correct the devaluation or appreciation of their currency.
In reality, those currencies that maintained surpluses and appreciated were not corrected while the fixed
exchange rate regime was in place. As a result, devaluations are often seen as synonymous with economic
problems rather than as a mechanism for regulating the system. Over time, even the IMF began to discourage
the practice of valuation.
The IMFâs original role was to maintain the parity between the US dollar and other currencies while
eliminating currency exchange restrictions and thus facilitating the expansion of international trade. This was
called the Bretton Woods System.
Delegates to the Bretton Woods conference decided that when a country joins the IMF, an initial quota would be
assigned. The IMF has used a quota formula to assess a countryâs position in relation to members of
comparable economic size and characteristics and thus establish the quota. The quota determines the
memberâs maximum financial commitment to the IMF and its voting power, and it has a bearing on the
memberâs access to IMF financing.
The IMF in Practice
The Decline of Dollar Dominance
- From 1949 to 1958, the United States utilized its economic superiority to fund the reconstruction of Europe and Japan as a strategic bulwark against communism.
- Deliberate devaluations of foreign currencies against the dollar initially created trade surpluses for Europe, resulting in necessary but growing US deficits.
- By 1958, the establishment of European currency conversion rates and massive American corporate investment led to an overabundance of dollars abroad.
- The surplus of dollars caused a loss of credibility, prompting nations to exchange their dollar reserves for gold and depleting US gold reserves.
- The financial strain of the Vietnam War, coupled with delayed tax adjustments, exacerbated the US debt and further destabilized the global economy.
- In response to these systemic pressures, the IMF created Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in 1969 to serve as a new international unit of account.
As countries exchanged their dollars for gold, the demand for gold increased, and when the supply did not meet the demand, the price of gold increased.
During its first years of operation, from 1949â1958, the Bretton Woods system was favorable to the United
States, as the United States was the only country in the Western world with surpluses. The United States,
backed by its economic superiority and concerned with communism, rushed to guarantee conditions for
restructuring and growth for the Western European and Japanese economies.
In 1949, the United States was categorical in its recommendation of a restructuring of the exchange rate
against the US dollar. The restructuring was massive. The devaluation allowed gains in relation to exports
since, by inducing a reduction in costs and prices against the dollar, the devaluation allowed for a trade
surplus. The result was that the United States ran deficits throughout the 1950s. Initially, such deficits were not
a cause of worry; the United States had understood that deficits were necessary for rebuilding the European
economy and stopping communism.
Nevertheless, in 1958 the weakness of the dollar became evident. The first sign of concern came in the form of
the establishment of conversion rates between European currencies. Until then, there was a conversion rate
between each currency and gold as well as the dollar, but not between the currencies themselves. The adoption
of conversion rates made it easier to transfer credit between European countries and thus increased the flow
of investments and international trade in Europe.
Between 1958 and 1965, American corporations made huge investments in the European market, raising US
concerns about the deficit and worries about foreign direct investment (FDI)âone companyâs investment in a
business based in another country. American deficits and investments in Europe resulted in an
overabundance of US dollars in the international system, and with that abundance the dollar lost its credibility
in the international market, and several countries that kept their reserves in dollars exchanged them for gold.
As countries exchanged their dollars for gold, the demand for gold increased, and when the supply did not
meet the demand, the price of gold increased. As the gold standard was in place at that time, backing the US
dollar by gold became more expensive. In an attempt to stop gold from appreciating on the international
market, the United States briefly put its gold reserves on sale, stopping after the level of gold reserves
decreased considerably. Likewise, as the demand for dollars decreased and the supply exceeded the demand,
the price of the dollar decreasedâthat is, the excessive supply of the dollar in the international market led to a
devaluation, and without the option to sell more gold on the international market, the United States was
16.3 ⢠The Bretton Woods Institutions 517
pressured to devalue its currency but met this pressure with considerable resistance.
In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson increased American participation in the Vietnam War. In the long run, this
increased participation proved disastrous not only for the US economy, but also for the world economy.
Although American economists urged the government to increase the tax burden to pay for war expenses,
taxes were only readjusted in 1967, when the debt was already quite large.
All of these difficulties led the United States to pressure the IMF to create special drawing rights (SDR) in
1969. Member countriesâ quotas have been translated to SDRs, the IMFâs unit of account. SDRs represent a
The End of Bretton Woods
- The IMF introduced Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to increase global liquidity and reduce reliance on gold and the US dollar.
- SDRs were launched at a time when the global financial system was already oversaturated with US dollars.
- In August 1971, President Richard Nixon unilaterally ended the dollar's convertibility into gold and devalued the currency.
- These policy shifts effectively terminated the Bretton Woods system that had governed post-war international finance.
- A second devaluation in 1972 further reduced US debt and forced a revision of the IMF's core functions.
- The collapse of the gold-standard link marked the beginning of a new, more volatile phase in the global economy.
The SDRs emerged when the world w as already drowning in excessive liquidity o f dollars .
claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged. These units of account,
issued by the IMF, were intended to increase the liquidity of the monetary system and reduce the worldâs
dependence on gold and the dollar, its main reserves. Initially, USD 3.5 billion in SDRs were issued. The SDRs
emerged when the world was already drowning in excessive liquidity of dollars.23
Faced with this situation, in August 1971, President Richard Nixon announced a reform package that
unilaterally ended the conversion of the dollar into gold and devalued the American currency by 7 percent.
With these measures, the Bretton Woods system came to an end. In 1972, the dollar suffered another
devaluation, further reducing the US debt.
With the end of the Bretton Woods system, the functions of the IMF were revised. At that moment, the world
was going through a new phase.
Conditionalities
IMF Conditionalities and Sovereignty
- The IMF introduced conditionalities in the 1970s, requiring borrowing nations to implement specific policy actions in exchange for financial support.
- Critics argue that these conditions often follow a 'one size fits all' approach that penalizes vulnerable, poor countries and infringes upon their national sovereignty.
- The Washington Consensus emerged in the 1990s as a standardized framework to promote fiscal balance, macroeconomic stability, and global trade participation.
- Beyond providing credit, the IMF acts as a signal of credibility to international financial markets, encouraging private investment to return to distressed economies.
- When economic reforms fail, it remains a point of contention whether the fault lies with the IMF's policy recommendations or the domestic government's implementation.
Regardless of how well the IMF tailors conditionalities, because borrower countries cannot opt out of them, they can be seen as a way IMF programs limit these countriesâ sovereignty.
Under pressure from the United States in the new economic order of the 1970s, the IMF began attaching
conditionalities, policy actions a country agreed to take in exchange for the receipt of financial support, to IMF
loans.24 New York University professor Adam Przeworski and Princeton University professor James Raymond
Vreeland suggest that conditionalities are a penalty.25 This conception makes sense if you consider that the
poorest countries seek the IMFâs assistance more often than the richest ones.26 These countriesâ pressing
needs for credit put them in a vulnerable position, especially when conditionalities follow a âone size fits allâ
approach that forces strict monetary and fiscal policies on every borrower, irrespective of a particular
borrowerâs circumstances, as critics like Columbia University professor Joseph E. Stiglitz27 contend. However,
more recent literature has shown that the IMF does tailor conditionalities to each borrower.28 According to
University of Rochester professor Randall Warren Stone, there is evidence that the more problematic a
countryâs economic situation, the looser the conditionalities the IMF will impose. Regardless of how well the
IMF tailors conditionalities, because borrower countries cannot opt out of them, they can be seen as a way IMF
programs limit these countriesâ sovereignty.
In the early 1990s, developing countries facing balance of payments problems, currency devaluation, and
macroeconomic instability turned to the IMF seeking credit and advice.29 IMF bureaucrats and
representatives of member countries responded with a program designed to promote economic stability. The
program, which became known as the Washington Consensus, was intended to promote fiscal balance, sound
macroeconomic indicators, increased participation in the international flow of goods and services, and,
ultimately, growth and development.
Conditionalities function as a guarantee that a loan will be repaid, but the IMF is not an ordinary creditor, and
developing countries with economic imbalances seek more than the Fundâs credit. They seek credibility since
the IMFâs decision to lend sends a message to the international community, including financial markets, about
its trust in the borrowerâs ability to overcome the crisis. For that reason, when the Fund disburses a loan, it has
high expectations that borrowersâ economic performances will improve. Such expectations appease financial
investorsâ uncertainties about the market, and investments are more likely to return. Nevertheless, the Fund
puts its reputation at risk. Although the Fundâs image and reputation suffer from eventual disastrous outcomes
of the implementation of market and financial reforms in certain countries, it is not always clear whether the
IMFâs policy recommendations or domestic governmentsâ ability to implement economic policies are to blame.
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In any case, such disastrous outcomes represent obstacles in the pathway to a prosperous global economy.
VIDEO
A (Brief) History of the Worldâs Trade Wars
Access multimedia content (http://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/16-3-the-bretton-
woods-institutions)
In this video, Princeton professor and IMF historian Harold James talks about the history of trade wars in the
20th century and how the IMF was set up to deal with them.
The World Bank
Evolution of the World Bank
- The World Bank was initially established as a secondary priority to the IMF, focused on rebuilding war-torn Europe and assisting developing nations.
- The implementation of the Marshall Plan forced the Bank to pivot its strategy toward global development projects in infrastructure and power.
- Under Robert McNamara in the 1970s, the Bank redefined its mission to target 'absolute poverty' and basic human needs directly.
- During the 1980s debt and oil crises, the Bank introduced structural adjustment loans tied to IMF conditionalities, which drew significant international criticism.
- The post-Cold War era saw the Bank expand to assist former Soviet nations and integrate environmental sustainability into its core poverty reduction goals.
In a speech in 1973, World Bank P resident Robert McNamara first described this condition as absolute poverty.
The IMF was the apple of the United Statesâ eye, and its creation consumed a majority of the time at the Bretton
Woods conference. The creation of the World Bank was only discussed in the last few days. Under John
Maynard Keynesâs guidance, it was established that the Bankâs original role would be to help rebuild the
economies of countries devastated by war and to promote the economic development of developing countries.
The Bankâs first loan was to France, and loans to other European countries ensued.30 However, in 1947, as the
Marshall Plan ended up taking the lead in the reconstruction effort in Europe, the World Bank had to adapt,
and it swiftly shifted to funding development projects around the world in sectors such as power, irrigation,
and transportation. In 1948, Chile was the recipient of the Bankâs first loan to a non-European country in the
amount of USD 13.5 million for hydroelectric power generation.31
In the 1970s, about 780 million people in developing countries (excluding China and other centrally planned
economies) were living in extreme poverty, without basic human necessities like food, clean drinking water,
sanitation, and shelter. In a speech in 1973, World Bank President Robert McNamara first described this
condition as absolute poverty.32 In response to the situation, the World Bank turned its focus to directly
helping the poor. In the same speech, McNamara communicated the World Bankâs twin goals of accelerating
economic growth while reducing poverty. The incorporation of these concepts in the Bankâs mission
transformed it into the institution focused on poverty alleviation and development promotion that it is today.33
The 1980s and 1990s presented the world with new challenges related to oil shocks, shortages of oil and oil
derivatives in the Western world that resulted from oil exporting countriesâ decision to reduce oil production;
debt crises, as countries were unable to pay their debts; and environmentalism. The Bank responded by
incorporating new skills and safeguards into its work. As a result, the Bank began to provide loans for
structural adjustments, with the approval of the IMF. In other words, the Bankâs loans were linked to the Fundâs
conditionalities, such as fiscal discipline, tax reform, and liberalization of foreign direct investment. The
overall effectiveness of these loans was the target of criticism from the international community.34
In the 1990s, with the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Bank started to assist
former Soviet nations in transitioning their economies, and many of these recently recognized nation-states
became World Bank members. During this time, the Bank also started to focus more closely on safeguarding
the environment through sustainable development and poverty reduction.
16.3 ⢠The Bretton Woods Institutions 519
Evolution of Global Economic Institutions
- The World Bank shifted its focus in the late 1990s toward conflict prevention, post-conflict reconstruction, and combating institutional corruption.
- By the mid-2000s, the World Bank transitioned into a 'knowledge institution' emphasizing data transparency and informed borrowing for developing nations.
- Recent World Bank initiatives prioritize community-driven development, the protection of vulnerable groups, and climate change mitigation.
- The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) emerged in 1947 as a preliminary effort to reverse the protectionist policies of the 1930s.
- While the GATT was intended to be a precursor to an International Trade Organization (ITO), it included unique provisions for its own survival should the ITO fail to form.
Curiously, the GATT included provisions for the relationship between the GATT and the ITO, but also for the GATTâs role in the case that the ITO ended up not being established.
FIGURE 16.3 The number of people living in extreme poverty has been declining since the 1990s. (credit: âWorld
population living in extreme poverty, World, 1820 to 2015â by Our World in Data, CC BY 4.0)
In the late 1990s, the World Bank refocused its efforts on conflict prevention, post-conflict reconstruction, and
development promotion. The period brought concern about the impact of corruption on the success of lending
operations, which led the Bank to sponsor an anti-corruption strategy.
The mid-2000s brought the idea of the World Bank as a knowledge institution, an institution that collects and
publishes data and reports, and by 2010, the Bank initiated a more transparent approach to development by
providing policy makers in borrowing countries with reliable debt information to help them make informed
borrowing decisions. For instance, following the Millennium Development Goals (https://openstax.org/r/
millenniumgoals) in 2000 and the Sustainable Development Goals (https://openstax.org/r/sustainable-
development-goals) in 2015, the World Bank stressed community-driven development, the safeguard of
vulnerable groups, and the impact of, mitigation of, and adaptation to climate change.35
From the GATT to the WTO
The Bretton Woods conference was expected to establish a third institution, the International Trade
Organization (ITO), to promote international trade and economic cooperation. Even though the institution
was not created during the conference, negotiations aimed at its creation continued.
In December 1945, following the end of World War II, 15 countries engaged in talks to move away from
protectionist policies, which had been the norm since the early 1930s, and to promote trade liberalization. The
talks produced an agreement with about 45,000 tariff concessions, preferential rates on taxes or duties to be
paid on imports, which marked the beginning of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).36 At the
time the deal was signed in October 1947, the team had expanded to include 23 members. The deal came into
effect in June 1948.
Negotiations to establish the ITO continued at the UN Conference on Trade and Employment in Havana, Cuba,
in late 1947, less than a month after the GATT was signed. Curiously, the GATT included provisions for the
relationship between the GATT and the ITO, but also for the GATTâs role in the case that the ITO ended up not
being established.
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The Rise of GATT
- The International Trade Organization (ITO) was intended to be a powerful UN agency regulating trade and labor, but it failed after the US Congress refused ratification in 1950.
- Following the ITO's collapse, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) became the primary multilateral instrument for international trade for nearly 50 years.
- Through a series of 'trade rounds,' GATT signatories successfully reduced international tariffs and eventually began addressing non-tariff barriers like quotas and embargoes.
- The scope of trade negotiations expanded over decades to include complex issues such as anti-dumping measures, intellectual property, and services.
- The GATT era saw international trade volume growth outpace production growth, signaling a shift toward globalized manufacturing and unfinished product exchange.
- The multilateral process culminated in the Uruguay Round, which led to the 1995 establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In 1950, when the US government announced that it would no longer pursue congressional ratification of the ITO Charter, the ITO was dead.
All 23 GATT signatories participated in the Havana Conference. Their initial goal was to create the ITO as a
specialized agency of the United Nations. The plan envisioned a powerful ITO that would regulate trade and
labor and engage in commodity and international investment negotiations, among other responsibilities.
The ITO Charter was agreed to in Havana in March 1948, but it was never ratified in some relevant countries,
including the United States. Though the US government had been a driving force during negotiations, the ITO
faced serious opposition in the US Congress.37 In 1950, when the US government announced that it would no
longer pursue congressional ratification of the ITO Charter, the ITO was dead. As a result, the GATT became the
multilateral instrument regulating international trade from 1948 until the WTO was established, almost 50
years later, in 1995.38 During this period, the GATTâs principles remained faithful to its origins, and the efforts
to reduce international tariffs were unabated. GATT signatories met in a series of multilateral negotiations,
commonly known as trade rounds (Table 16.1). Some of the most relevant advances in international trade
liberalization were agreed to in these rounds.
Sections on anti-dumping, or tariffs imposed on imports to increase their prices to market value, and
development promotion were included in the 1960s and in plurilateral agreements, agreements between a
small number of signatories,39 in the 1970s. In fact, the Tokyo Round (1973â1979) was the first major attempt
to confront non-tariff trade barriersâtrade restrictions such as quotas, embargos, or sanctions. The last
round, the Uruguay Round (1986â1994), resulted in a new set of agreements, including the creation of the
World Trade Organization.40
The GATT was a relevant instrument to international trade liberalization from the late 1940s to 1995. While
the GATT was in place, there was a continuous reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers across the globe. The
increase in the volume of international trade surpassed production growth; that is, more unfinished products
were traded among countries. The participation of developing countries in the Uruguay Round indicated that
the GATT was recognized as relevant to multilateral trade.
Year
Location
Subjects Discussed
Participating
Countries
1947
Geneva,
Switzerland
Tariffs
23
1949
Annecy, France
Tariffs
13
1951
Torquay, England
Tariffs
38
1956
Geneva,
Switzerland
Tariffs
26
1960-1961
Geneva,
Switzerland (Dillan
Round)
Tariffs
26
1964-1967
Geneva,
Switzerland
(Kennedy Round)
Tariffs, anti-dumping measures
62
TABLE 16.1 GATT Trade Rounds (source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-GATT-Trade-
Rounds_tbl3_5056860)
16.3 ⢠The Bretton Woods Institutions 521
Year
Location
Subjects Discussed
Participating
Countries
1973-1979
Geneva,
Switzerland (Tokyo
Round)
Tariffs, non-tariff measures, framework agreements
102
1986-1994
Geneva,
Switzerland
(Uruguay Round)
Tariffs, non-tariff measures, rules, services, intellectual
property, dispute settlement, textiles, agriculture, creation of
WTO
123
TABLE 16.1 GATT Trade Rounds (source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-GATT-Trade-
Rounds_tbl3_5056860)
The Evolution of Global Trade
- Economic recessions in the 1970s and 1980s triggered a rise in protectionism and bilateral agreements that undermined multilateralism.
- The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) faced limitations, including the exclusion of agricultural trade and services and a weak dispute settlement system.
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established following the Uruguay Round to address these gaps and promote trade liberalization.
- WTO agreements expanded the scope of international trade law to include goods, services, and intellectual property rights.
- The WTO's dispute settlement process serves as a central pillar for global economic stability by enforcing a rules-based system.
Dispute settlement is the central pillar of the multilateral trading system and one of WTOâs main contributions to the stability of the global economy.
Nevertheless, there were problems. Economic recessions throughout the Western world in the 1970s and
1980s led to increases in protectionist measures, especially for sectors facing increased international
competition. Resulting high unemployment and constant factory closures led governments in developed
countries to seek bilateral agreements with competitors, discarding multilateralism. Agricultural trade has
never been discussed during the GATT rounds. Governments adopted subsidiesâgrants to individuals or
firms, usually in the form of a cash payment from the government or a tax cut. Trade in services, which was not
covered by GATT rules, had increased throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Moreover, GATTâs institutional
structure and its dispute settlement system were the cause of concern.
These and other factors convinced GATT members to renew attempts to establish an institution to promote
trade liberalization. Their efforts resulted in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Uruguay Round and earlier GATT negotiations form the basis of the WTOâs current work. WTO agreements
cover goods, services, and intellectual property. The institution establishes governing principles of
liberalization and permitted exceptions for member countries. It sets procedures for settling disputes,
prescribing special treatment for developing countries.
FIGURE 16.4 In 2015, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta spoke during the opening of the 10th World Trade
Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the first to be held on African soil. (credit:
â10th WTO Ministerial Meeting Opening_0016â by Make It Kenya/Stuart Price/Flickr, Public Domain)
Where countries have sought to lower trade barriers, negotiations have helped to liberalize trade. The systemâs
overriding purpose is to help trade flow as freely as possible so long as there are no undesirable side effects.
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An important task of the WTO is managing the dispute settlement process. Trade relations often involve
conflicts, and having an international institution to manage these conflicts in accordance with an agreed-upon
legal foundation has proven beneficial. The WTOâs procedure underscores the rule of law, and it makes the
trading system more secure and predictable. Dispute settlement is the central pillar of the multilateral trading
system and one of WTOâs main contributions to the stability of the global economy. Without a means of settling
disputes, the rules-based system would be less effective because there would be no way to enforce those rules.
LaĂssa Vasconcelos, International Trade Coordinator
Global Grain Trade Coordination
- International grain commerce is essential for feeding the global population, particularly during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
- LaĂssa Vasconcelos coordinates grain purchase contracts and export operations for a multinational subsidiary in Brazil.
- Modern corporate roles in trade now include advisory positions on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) committees.
- ESG indicators are becoming critical metrics for investors to evaluate a company's impact on society and the environment.
- Career advancement in international trade often stems from understanding how specific technical tasks fit into the 'bigger picture' of the organization.
- The text transitions into the PostâCold War period and the tenets of modernization theory as a framework for global development.
Investors are increasingly relying on ESG indicators to make investment decisions.
International grain commerce feeds the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Latin American grain industry
worked hard to adapt in order to ensure the maintenance of the supply of grains to the world population.
Ensuring international grain supply is part of LaĂssa Vasconcelosâs day-to-day work. LaĂssa is an international trade
coordinator at a subsidiary of a multinational corporation in Brazil that exports grains produced in Latin America all
over the world.
Please explain what you do for your organization.
Iâm an international trade coordinator. I coordinate grain purchase contracts and export operations at a subsidiary of
a large corporation in Brazil. In addition to managing internal purchases and exports, I support offshore operations
and international arbitration panels, and I have an advisory role on the companyâs Environmental, Social, and
Governance (ESG) committee. ESG analyses look at how companies affect the environment and society and also
how governance within the company occursâfor example, if the company is promoting equity and diversity.
Investors are increasingly relying on ESG indicators to make investment decisions.
How did you get involved in your position?
I have a degree in International Relations from PUC GoiĂĄs, Brazil and an MBA from FGV, also in Brazil. I entered the
company to perform technical tasks, but I was interested in learning more, so in parallel I tried to understand the
connections between the activities of my department and those of other departments. Eventually, I become a
reference in problem solving and got promoted.
What advice would you give students who are interested in your line of work?
Try to get a job where you want to work, even if you have to start at the bottom. Do your job well and pay attention to
whatâs going on around you. Learn how what youâre doing fits into the bigger picture. When you work hard and learn,
people will see the value you bring to the company, and youâll be able to advance to the point where you can do
work that you really enjoy. Be proactive and develop skills that put you in a position to be considered for roles in
different areas.
16.4 The PostâCold War Period and Modernization Theory
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe changes inaugurated with the end of the Cold War.
⢠Explain key tenets of modernization theory.
⢠Cite a counterargument to modernization theory.
Evolution of International Political Economy
- From the late 19th century through 1989, international political economy was dominated almost exclusively by Western liberal democracies.
- The end of the Cold War shifted the global focus from Western financial powers toward promoting development in formerly communist and Latin American nations.
- Modernization theory, pioneered by Seymour Martin Lipset, posits that increased wealth and education create the necessary conditions for democratic institutions.
- Lipset argued that as the middle class expands through education and economic access, it naturally pushes for greater political representation.
- While empirical evidence shows a high correlation between economic growth and democratization, scholars still struggle to identify the exact causal mechanism.
Even when these other countries participated in international relations, as was the case in the Bretton Woods conference, they were considered mere spectators.
From its beginning in the late 19th century until the end of the Cold War in 1989, international political
economy was almost exclusively focused on the worldâs international financial powersâliberal democracies in
Western European countries and the United States. The majority of the research and discussions in the field
did not include countries in regions that had different political and economic systems. Even when these other
countries participated in international relations, as was the case in the Bretton Woods conference, they were
considered mere spectators. The preferences of Western financial powers dominated the agenda.41
MEET A PROFESSIONAL
16.4 ⢠The PostâCold War Period and Modernization Theory 523
During the Cold War, economic transactions between the East and the West were very rare. Western liberal
democracies interacted among themselves, and Eastern socialist republics did the same. The majority of
international trade took place between the United States and European countries. However, the end of the Cold
War highlighted the economic and political issues countries in other regions of the world, such as formerly
communist and Latin American countries, were facing. With the end of the Cold War, the focus of IPE shifted
from an exclusive interest in developed Western nations to promoting development across developing
countries in different regions. Since the late 1940s, modernization theorists had been searching for ways to
bring economic growth and democracy to developing societies.
FIGURE 16.5 Oneida GĂłmez holds a coffee plant in the nursery she has planted with the help of Blue Harvest, a
Catholic Relief Services partnership with Keurig Dr Pepper and the Inter-American Development Bankâs SAFE
Platform that aims to improve the water supply to help the agricultural economy in El Salvador. This is just one
example of a huge number of development projects in the postâCold War era. (credit: âBlue Harvest El Salvadorâ by
Maren Barbee/Flickr, Public Domain)
Modernization theorist Seymour Martin Lipset was one of the first to propose a link between economic
development and democracy. He argued that improved wealth and education levels would create the right
conditions for the establishment of democratic institutions.42 Once people with low socioeconomic status are
given access to education, Lipset contended, they become less committed to their existing ideologies and less
isolated from people of other socioeconomic statuses. As these groups become more educated and politically
active, they become part of the middle class, and as the middle class increases, it pushes for democratic
institutions.
In general, the key argument of modernization theory is that economic growth promotes structural changes
in society that lead to increased political representation and, eventually, to the establishment of democratic
institutions. Nevertheless, even though most developed countries are democracies, it is difficult to establish a
causal mechanism, or a link, between economic growth and democratic institutions.
UCLA emeritus professor Barbara Geddes, a political scientist who has examined developing societies for over
20 years, contends that modernization is the most empirically supported hypothesis about the suitable
conditions for democratization.43 Similarly, University of Chicago professor James A. Robinson has found
statistical evidence indicating that economic development is highly correlated with democratization, even
though the exact mechanism by which economic growth spurs democracy has not yet been uncovered.44
VIDEO
Why Does Democracy Matter for Development?
Modernization Theory and IPE Evolution
- Scholars Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi argue that while economic growth does not cause democratic transitions, it ensures a democracy's survival once established.
- Daron Acemoglu challenges traditional modernization theory, suggesting that critical historical moments, rather than just economic growth, determine both political and economic outcomes.
- The focus of international development has shifted from pure market growth to 'sustainable development' due to the unintended consequences of global market economies.
- The post-Cold War era has expanded International Political Economy (IPE) to include issues like globalization, migration, inequality, and climate change.
- Modern IPE research has transitioned toward empirical analysis, utilizing advanced statistical techniques to measure previously unquantifiable variables.
These scholars offer a metaphor to explain this relationship, suggesting that if modernization is a long walk, democracy is only the final step.
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cold-war-period-and-modernization-theory)
At the Annual Democracy Forum 2014 in Gaborone, Botswana, Devex Associate Editor Richard Jones asked
experts and high-level officials why democracy matters for development.
New York University professor Adam Przeworski and Fundação Getúlio Vargas professor Fernando Limongi,
two other prominent modernization scholars, argue that the impact of economic development in a society is so
strong that once a country reaches a certain threshold of growth, a democratic regime will always survive.
These scholars offer a metaphor to explain this relationship, suggesting that if modernization is a long walk,
democracy is only the final step. In their empirical analyses, they find that transitions to democracy occur
independently of the level of economic development (or high per capita income levels); however, once a
transition happens, countries with higher levels of economic development tend to remain democratic.45
Considering the difficulty of finding the causal mechanism between economic development and democracy,
MIT professor Daron Acemoglu and colleagues have reevaluated the modernization hypothesis. They find that
most studies that claim to have found a connection between economic development and democracy fail to
account for relevant variables. They argue that events during critical historical moments lead to divergent
economic and political outcomesâeither promoting economic development and democracy or leading to
poverty and authoritarianism. Thus, these scholars believe that these critical historical moments are an
underlying cause of economic development and democracy.46
The core debate in modernization theory has not been solved. While developing countries, with the support of
international institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and WTO, continue to pursue economic development,
given the unwanted consequences of the market economy, the focus has shifted from development to
sustainable development.
16.5 From the 1990s to the 2020s: Current Issues in IPE
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Describe how IPE has changed in the decades following the end of the Cold War.
⢠Explain how governments react to international trade.
⢠Describe government responses to international finance and crises.
⢠Label the pros and cons of different exchange rate regimes.
The end of the Cold War opened new doors for IPE. Over the last four decades, numerous developments, such
as intensifying globalization, trade liberalization, international migration, poverty reduction, growing
inequality, and climate change, embedded in an unprecedented wave of technology development, have
profoundly altered not only what IPE examines, but how.
Since the late 1980s, as the focus of IPE shifted from a handful of developed countries to incorporate many
others in several different regions, its âinternationalâ aspect has become more pronounced, as have the
accompanying complexities.
IPE has become more focused on empirical analyses. Sophisticated software and advanced statistical
techniques now allow researchers to measure variables once considered to be unquantifiable. Today, IPE
researchers start conversations based on the validity of their empirical findings.
Three key issue areas have risen to prominence in contemporary IPE: globalization and international trade,
Globalization and Trade Dynamics
- Globalization is defined as an economic system where core activities and capital markets function as a single unit in real time on a planetary scale.
- The interconnectedness of global markets presents a dual reality, acting as either an opportunity or a threat based on a nation's competitive capacity.
- Political science research suggests that domestic governments often expand under pressure from leftist parties to buffer workers against the volatility of open economies.
- Trade liberalization creates widespread benefits through lower prices but imposes localized costs on workers in industries that cannot compete internationally.
- Protectionism serves to safeguard specific domestic industries at the expense of the general public through increased consumer prices.
- Recent data indicates that globalization has begun to retreat for the first time since the era of World War I.
Thus capital markets are interconnected worldwide, so that savings and investment in all countries . . . depend for their performance on the evolution and behavior of global financial markets.
international finance and crises, and exchange rate regimes. In keeping with trends in IPE, this chapter
examines these issues through an empirical rather than a historical lens.
Globalization and International Trade
The international system pressures states to act in ways that promote the dissemination of international
16.5 ⢠From the 1990s to the 2020s: Current Issues in IPE 525
norms. For instance, ideas encouraging globalization have motivated trade liberalization since the 1990s.47
Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells defines globalization in economic terms as:
âAn economy whose core activities work as a unit in real time on a planetary scale. Thus capital
markets are interconnected worldwide, so that savings and investment in all countries . . . depend for
their performance on the evolution and behavior of global financial markets.â48
The interconnectedness of markets poses an opportunity or a threat to a country, depending on the countryâs
ability to compete in the international market.
A large body of IPE literature examines government responses to globalization. Political scientists like Yale
University professor David R. Cameron, Cornell University professor Peter J. Katzenstein, and University of
Southern California professor Geoffrey Garret have demonstrated that under the pressure of leftist parties,
domestic governments tend to expand in order to counterbalance the volatility of an open economy and to
protect impacted workers.49 An extensive body of political economy literature discusses the impact of
globalization on domestic governments, asking whether globalization causes the government to contract or to
expand.
Trade policies distribute the benefits and costs of trade among groups in society,50 favoring either market
liberalization or protectionism. Liberal trade policies promote lower prices across the board, and with this,
domestic industries face international competition. Consumers win, but workers in import-competing
industries that cannot keep up with international competition lose. On the other hand, protectionist trade
policies safeguard import-competing industries that are unable to compete internationally but increase prices
to consumers. That is, while trade liberalization promotes widespread benefits with localized costs,
protectionism does the opposite; it promotes limited benefits with generalized costs.
FIGURE 16.6 In recent years, globalization has retreated for the first time since World War I. (sources: Our World in
Data; Pearson Institute for International Economics; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY
NC-SA 4.0 license)
Globalization calls for market liberalization. It decreases government participation in the economy by allowing
the market to regulate the movement of capital, labor, goods, and services across borders. As a result,
businesses move production plants from one location to another in search of competitive advantages;
SHOW ME THE DATA
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Winners and Losers in Trade
- Trade liberalization lowers prices and increases quality of life for millions while simultaneously causing industrial dislocation.
- Factory workers face significant hurdles because their skills are often industry-specific and do not translate easily to other sectors.
- Displaced workers frequently face a choice between low-paying service jobs, difficult retraining programs, or long-term unemployment.
- Investors and factory owners are better equipped to handle market volatility through savings and insurance compared to vulnerable workers.
- The political composition of a government determines the level of welfare support provided to those displaced by international competition.
- Globalization impacts factory owners and workers differently, leading to divergent pressures on government spending and size.
For example, a welder in a steel factory has abilities that cannot be easily translated to other industries.
production costs decrease, and trade volumes increase.
The economic gains from trade liberalization are widely documented,51 but the dislocation of production
plants to areas where cheaper labor is available has left behind unemployed factory workers. While trade
liberalization leads to lower prices and brings new consumers to the economy, increasing the quality of life of
millions of people, it also generates unemployment when factories that, in the face of international
competition, cannot keep their doors open end up exiting the market. New York University political scientist
Fiona McGillivray demonstrated that, when faced with fierce international competition, entire industry sectors
struggle, and as more factories close, more workers become unemployed.52
Factory workersâ skills tend to be industry specific. Thus, if unemployment is an industry problem,
unemployed workers have difficulty finding similar jobs with comparable wages and benefits. For example, a
welder in a steel factory has abilities that cannot be easily translated to other industries. Consequently,
unemployed workersâin this example, steel workersâare left with few options. They may accept a low-skilled,
low-paying, limited benefits job; enroll for professional (re)training; and/or remain unemployed. Considering
the difficulties of professional (re)training, Harvard University professor Torben Iversen and former Berlin
Social Science Center researcher Thomas R. Cusak have shown that workers who lose their jobs due to
international competition tend to remain unemployed for long periods of time.53
Studies about the impacts of globalization on government spending tend to focus on workers. Globalization
affects factory owners and investors differently than it impacts workers, and thus factory owners and investors
tend to deal with market volatility differently. Investors usually save money for rough periods, buy insurance to
protect themselves from market volatility, and pressure the government for assistance. Workers do not usually
have extra money to save or with which to buy insurance and thus are left only with the option of resorting to
the government for assistance. Whether the government is composed of left/labor or right/liberal parties that
espouse liberal economic ideologies, following the ideas initially proposed by Adam Smith impacts the size of
the government. Majority left/labor governments tend to spend significantly more on welfare policies, such as
unemployment benefits and food stamps. These policies generate spending and increase the size of the
government. Right/liberal majority governments tend to cut welfare expenses, spend less, and thus decrease
the size of the government.
Winners and Losers in International Trade
Preferences in Trade Liberalization
- Individual attitudes toward globalization are primarily driven by material gains and educational attainment.
- Workers in import-competing industries often oppose trade liberalization because they face job losses and market displacement from cheaper, higher-quality foreign goods.
- Conversely, individuals employed in export-oriented industries generally favor free trade as it opens new markets for their products.
- While trade creates short-term winners and losers, it generally benefits a country's consumers as a whole by lowering prices and increasing product quality.
- Highly skilled or educated individuals are more likely to support market liberalization regardless of their specific industry's performance.
- Research across different nations, including the United States and Argentina, confirms that skill levels and occupational status are consistent predictors of trade policy preferences.
The sugar industry in Country A, which had adopted liberal trade policies, would face pressure from the international market to become more efficient and to produce cheaper sugar.
Several researchers have studied peopleâs preferences about international trade and have found that the key
variables influencing preferences toward globalization and market liberalization are 1) material gains and 2)
education levels.
One can argue that an individual who works in an import-competing industry would be a loser in an
environment of trade liberalization and thus would tend to oppose it. Suppose that an industry in Country A
does not have comparative advantage in sugar production. Countries B, C, and D have more favorable
conditions to produce it and therefore can produce better quality sugar at a lower cost. What would happen if
Country Aâs government did away with trade barriers, including tariff and non-tariff barriers, on sugar
imports? Country A would receive more of the higher quality, cheaper sugar from Countries B, C, and D. The
sugar industry in Country A, which had adopted liberal trade policies, would face pressure from the
international market to become more efficient and to produce cheaper sugar. If the sugar industry in Country
A were not able to keep up with international quality and prices, it would, with time, get out of the market.
Consumers in Country A would not buy sugar from Country A producers; they would prefer the better quality
and cheaper sugar from Countries B, C, and D. Sugar producers and workers in Country A would be worse off in
the short term and would close their doors, and workers would lose their jobs.
Though workers would suffer, the country as a whole would get better sugar at a lower price, and this is why,
economically speaking, trade liberalization tends to favor markets in general as they promote better quality
and/or lower prices.
16.5 ⢠From the 1990s to the 2020s: Current Issues in IPE 527
Suppose a person works in the sugar industry in Country C. If world governments do away with agricultural
trade barriers, sugar producers in Country C would sell their product on the international market. Both
landowners and agriculture workers in Country C would be better off. As a result, people who work in export
industries tend to favor free trade policies.
Some scholars argue that peopleâs opinions on trade policy also depend on education levels. Educated (or
highly skilled) individuals tend to be more likely to favor trade liberalization. Although trade liberalization
generates winners and losers in particular industry sectors in the short term, such as export or import
industries, the preferences of high-skilled individuals toward trade do not go hand in hand with their personal
material gains or losses. Some possible explanations for this seemingly irrational behavior include the fact that
these high-skilled individuals may find other jobs with relative ease in different industries and the fact that
they also tend to reap the benefits of better quality and cheaper exports in the domestic market.
Yale University professor Kenneth F. Scheve and Dartmouth professor Matthew J. Slaughter illustrate the
argument that a personâs level of education heavily influences their perceptions of trade liberalization.54 They
surveyed individuals in the United States and found that individual preferences toward trade policies are a
function of both material effects and skill levels (measured as educational attainment or occupation). Fiscal
and municipal management specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank Martin Ardanaz, Columbia
University professor M. Victoria Murillo, and University of Houston professor Pablo M. Pinto replicated Scheve
and Slaughterâs survey in Argentina and also found that support for economic integration depends on both
Subsidies and Financial Crises
- Government subsidies allow domestic industries without a comparative advantage, such as US sugar, to remain competitive against cheaper foreign imports.
- While subsidies protect domestic jobs and industry sectors, they often result in higher prices for the average consumer.
- Financial crises are recurring features of the international economy, characterized by capital flight, unemployment, and economic contraction.
- The 2008 financial crisis was rooted in early 2000s tax cuts and excessive international borrowing facilitated by low interest rates.
- The United States maintained a massive balance of payments deficit that would have damaged the credit reputation of a developing nation.
- High levels of market liquidity in the mid-2000s led to a surge in consumer demand and a dramatic spike in housing prices.
A similar level of debt would certainly affect the reputation of other countries, especially developing ones, making it more difficult for them to get loans, but creditors decided to overlook the situation when it happened in the United States.
material effects and education levels.55
Suppose that the United States is Country A in the example above. That is, although the United States does not
have a competitive advantage in sugar production, it produces it anyway. The sugar industry creates several
jobs and supplies a considerable portion of the sugar consumed in the country. However, given that the United
States does not have a comparative advantage when it comes to sugar production, the sugar produced in the
United States is more expensive than the sugar produced in a country with a comparative advantage in sugar
production, like Brazil, for example. Therefore, to make sure that sugar made in America can compete in the
market, the US government subsidizes its production. These types of subsidies are payments or incentives the
government grants to firms in the form of cash payments or tax cuts. Subsidies can be used to promote
industry sectors considered relevant to a country, such as the sugar industry in the United States. In the end,
although Americans pay higher prices for sugar, some American jobs are kept. If the government eliminated
sugar subsidies, consumers would pay lower prices, but sugar producers and workers would be forced out of
the market.
International Finance and Crises
Financial crises are a regular feature of the international economy. Retraction, and sometimes recession,
follow cycles of economic expansion and growth. When a crisis hits, it can have dire consequences including
effects like capital flight, the large-scale exit of money from a country as a result of market uncertainty;
decreased investments; unemployment; and economic contraction. In such situations, governments take
actions to lessen the negative effects of the crisis and to reverse the downward trajectory of the economy.
IPE examines the economic consequences of government actions. When financial crises like the American
financial crisis of 2008, which is considered the worst since the Great Depression, do occur, governments are
limited in the ways they can respond to them.56
The politics that led to the 2008 financial crisis had their roots in George W. Bushâera tax cuts and the
increased international borrowing of the early 2000s. The international inflow of money to the United States
made it easy for the government and individuals to borrow at low interest rates. Intense borrowing created
huge deficits in the balance of payments. At one point, the United States had debts equivalent to 5 percent of
its gross domestic product (GDP), the sum of everything produced in a country in a given period. A similar
level of debt would certainly affect the reputation of other countries, especially developing ones, making it
528 16 ⢠International Political Economy
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more difficult for them to get loans,57 but creditors decided to overlook the situation when it happened in the
United States. The extensive amount of money that poured into the market stimulated the American economy.
People were consuming a lot; the demand for imported goods and services rose, and housing prices
skyrocketed.58
American Economic Exceptionalism
- Federal Reserve leaders initially ignored warning signs of the 2008 crisis, incorrectly assuming the U.S. was immune to the debt issues affecting other nations.
- The Obama administration utilized Keynesian interventionism, bailing out major corporations and stimulating investment to mitigate the economic slowdown.
- Unlike most nations facing financial crises, the U.S. did not have to secure its exchange rate or follow IMF-prescribed austerity measures.
- The ability of the U.S. to pursue expansionary policies while ignoring international mandates highlights its unique status as a global financial hegemon.
- The disparity between the U.S. recovery and the forced austerity in countries like Greece demonstrates how international power dictates available economic responses.
Perhaps no country other than the United States could have contradicted IMF prescriptions.
Politicians like former United States Federal Reserve Chairs Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke refused to
acknowledge these warning signs. They suggested that high debt and an overstimulated economy could
indicate bumps ahead in other economies, but not in the United States. Greenspan, Bernanke, and their
followers made the case for âan economic American exceptionalism,â but in the end, the United States was not
entirely different from other countries in the world.
FIGURE 16.7 Protesters rally in Minneapolis calling for accountability in the banking industry, the prosecution of
bankers for the 2008 financial crisis, and relief for families and communities devastated by foreclosures. (credit:
âRally to demand accountability from the financial institutions and legal action against bankersâ by Fibonacci Blue/
Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
A slowdown in economic activity opened up the doors for a financial crisis that deepened with massive capital
flight. In the end, fiscal and current account deficits were indeed indications of a serious financial crisis ahead.
When the Obama administration took office in January 2009, it followed Keynesian guidelines, taking
significant steps to intervene in the economy, including bailing out major corporations, to lessen the impacts
of the crisis.
The American government did not have to act to secure an exchange rate, as most countries who go through
such a crisis do, but it did act to reduce capital flight and stimulate investments. Domestic actors called for
unemployment stabilization and eventual deficit reduction. The governmentâs ability to bail out big
corporations through the disbursement of loans during the crisis indicates that there might indeed be some
form of âAmerican economic exceptionalism.â Perhaps no country other than the United States could have
contradicted IMF prescriptions.
The actions of the American government in response to the 2008 financial crisis were markedly different from
the actions of other states. Greece provides a telling example. Greece has had to conform to fiscal policy
austerity as prescribed by international institutions, while the US government has been able to take whatever
course of action it chooses.
Different governments have access to different actions during a financial crisis. The United Statesâ seemingly
successful recovery implies that a governmentâs ability to respond to a financial crisis depends not only on
domestic incentives but also on its power to pursue an expansionary economic policy in times when this
action would not at all be recommended. Though more powerful countries can stand to take more risks than
16.5 ⢠From the 1990s to the 2020s: Current Issues in IPE 529
less powerful ones, only the United States, which is the worldâs financial hegemon,59 has the leeway to take this
course of action. This exception takes one back to the establishment of the postâWorld War II international
financial system where the United States had the most prominent role.
Exchange Rate Regimes in a Globalized Economy
Evolution of Global Currency
- The 1971 collapse of the Bretton Woods system ended the gold standard, transitioning global currencies to a trust-based value system.
- Modern currency value is driven by the perceived worth of a nation's goods and services, which creates demand for its specific currency.
- Exchange rates function as the relative price of one currency against another, determined by international market demand.
- Governments manipulate currency value through trade incentives, such as fostering innovation and increasing domestic productivity.
- Monetary policy tools like printing money or adjusting interest rates are used by states to control consumption and currency strength.
- States can directly influence their economic standing by establishing specific exchange rate regimes to alter relative prices.
In 1971, the gold standard was extinguished, and since then the value of national currencies has been based on trust, or their perceived value.
As discussed above, the Bretton Woods monetary system established a gold standard under which
governments kept gold in their treasuries to back the value of their currencies. In 1971, the gold standard was
extinguished, and since then the value of national currencies has been based on trust, or their perceived value.
Whenever an individual buys something, they believe that good or service is worth a portion of their money.
The demand for goods produced in one country creates the demand for that countryâs currency. As a result,
exchange rates are established. An exchange rate is the price of a currency relative to another currency. A
government can use several mechanisms to manipulate the value of its currency. By creating incentives to sell
abroad and buy domestically, governments change the relative prices of their currencies. Such incentives can
occur through trade (increased output, but especially innovation and productivity). In terms of monetary
policy, the government can print money, or it can increase interest rates to curb consumption. A government
can also manipulate the value of the currency by establishing changes in the exchange rate regime.
VIDEO
Exchange Rates
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the-1990s-to-the-2020s-current-issues-in-ipe)
Exchange Rate Regimes
- Economists lack a consensus on the ideal exchange rate policy, unlike the general agreement favoring free trade.
- Floating exchange rates are determined by market supply and demand, theoretically leading to long-term equilibrium and zero balance of payments.
- Fixed exchange rate regimes require government intervention through reserves and fiscal policy to keep currency values constant regardless of market pressure.
- Governments often fix exchange rates to stimulate exports, reduce imports, and manage balance of payment deficits.
- Multilateral exchange rate regimes allow for fluctuations within a specific range, defined by a floor and a ceiling value.
In a floating exchange rate regime, the prices of currencies float naturally according to the pressures of supply and demand.
This short film discusses how currency values rise and fall and the reasons why a country would want to
manipulate the value of its currency.
While almost every economist would agree that a free trade policy is superior to imposing trade barriers, when
it comes to exchange rates, there is no agreement on which policy is best. Governments can choose from
among three main exchange rate regimes: a floating (flexible) exchange rate, a fixed (pegged) exchange rate,
and a multilateral exchange rate.
In a floating exchange rate regime, the supply and demand of a currency in the market determine its value. For
example, when American consumers want to buy more Mexican products, the demand for Mexican pesos rises
and, consequently, the price for pesos increases. Americans will spend more dollars to buy pesos. When
Mexican consumers want to buy more American products, the demand for dollars increases, and the price of
dollars also increases. Pesos become devaluated in relation to the dollar. In a floating exchange rate regime, the
prices of currencies float naturally according to the pressures of supply and demand. Theoretically, in the long
run there is an equilibrium among all the currencies in the market, and the balance of payments of every
participating country is zero.
A government may decide to fix the exchange rate regime. In such cases, no matter how supply and demand
forces interact, exchange rates remain constant. No matter how much Americans demand Mexican
agricultural products or vehicles, if the Mexican government maintains a fixed exchange rate, 1 peso will be
equivalent to 2 dollars, for example. The mechanisms through which a government maintains a fixed exchange
rate regime are market interventions, such as using reserves to correct the devaluation or appreciation of their
currency, and fiscal and monetary policies, which refer to governmentsâ decisions about taxation and available
credit in the economy. A government usually fixes an exchange rate to stimulate exports/reduce imports and
avoid large deficits on the balance of payments.
In a multilateral exchange rate regime, governments allow their currencies to fluctuate within margins. There
is a floor (the lowest allowed value) and a ceiling (the highest allowed value), and whenever the currency
reaches either the floor or the ceiling, the government intervenes using marketing interventions and fiscal and
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Politics of Exchange Rates
- Fixed exchange rate regimes promote trade stability and macroeconomic predictability but limit a government's ability to use monetary policy for political ends.
- Floating exchange rate regimes allow for political manipulation of currency values, which can be used to influence electoral outcomes or partisan agendas.
- Independent central banks are often utilized to insulate monetary policy from short-term political pressures and align it with long-term economic goals.
- Increased capital mobility since the 1990s has shifted domestic politics toward floating regimes, favoring mobile asset owners over less mobile sectors like farming.
- The choice of an optimal exchange rate regime remains a point of contention among economists due to the conflicting interests of different socioeconomic groups.
In the long run, this trend tends to favor the mobile capital owners over workers.
monetary policies to change the relative price of a currency.
Each exchange rate regime has pros and cons. On the positive side, a fixed exchange rate regime stabilizes the
flow of international trade since it promotes predictability and offers an anchor for macroeconomic policies.
However, a fixed exchange rate regime may result in losses in either output or employment, depending on the
countryâs position as an importer or exporter. Under a fixed exchange rate regime, politicians lack the ability to
manipulate monetary policy for electoral or partisan reasons.60 Meanwhile, a floating exchange rate regime
can be unpredictable and may not help to stabilize the flow of trade, but it allows for the political manipulation
of the currency.
A politiciansâ incentives to manipulate a currency may conflict with what is best for the economy or with
societal preferences. For example, prior to an election a politician may promise not to fix the exchange rate
regime. Although fixed exchange rates bring stabilization, they tie the governmentâs hands when it comes to
the manipulation of the currency. Exchange rates are more likely to be fixed in the aftermath of elections.
When politics and the economy interact, how interest rates should be balanced is unclear. Therefore, an
independent central bank, or a central bank with the power to define monetary policies without government
influence, may be a good option to promote an exchange rate regime and monetary policies more connected to
an economic agenda and less responsive to electoral politics.
The movement toward globalization and trade liberalization since the 1990s has resulted in a tremendous
increase in capital mobility, the ability to move capital from one country to another, and shifted much of
domestic politics toward floating exchange rate regimes. Movements in exchange rate regimes affect the
return on investments, and investors exert pressure on governments to adjust rates in ways that benefit them.
In the short term, the shift to capital mobility and financial integration (the process that connects financial
markets all over the world) favors capitalists with mobile assets, such as investors, and disfavors those not so
mobile, such as manufacturing or farming. In the long run, this trend tends to favor the mobile capital owners
over workers.
It is hard for economists to agree on an optimal exchange rate regime because socioeconomic issues and
electoral politics influence which regime is best for a given country. In order to avoid some of these questions,
many countries have independent central banks that are more tuned to socioeconomic aspects and less
immersed in party politics.
16.6 Considering Poverty, Inequality, and the Environmental Crisis
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
⢠Explain the origins of poverty, inequality, and the environmental crisis.
⢠Discuss prominent criticisms of liberal economic theories and the market economy.
The Paradox of Liberalism
- The liberal market economy provides unprecedented opportunities for wealth creation and technological innovation through individual incentives.
- Entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs exemplify how market rewards fuel solutions to complex problems and transform global lifestyles.
- Despite its successes, capitalism is inherently linked to systemic dangers including poverty, inequality, and environmental crises.
- Pre-market systems like mercantilism featured fixed wealth and widespread frugality, which resulted in less striking inequality among the general population.
- The Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution shifted society toward mass consumption and the emergence of a new middle class.
- Scholars argue that poverty is an inescapable feature of the market economy, exacerbated by the protection of property rights and laissez-faire principles.
As they were all in the same boat, everyone had similar living conditions, and there was no striking inequality.
As the David P. Levine quotes included in the above discussion of the advent of the liberal economy suggest, the
market economy has provided its members with great opportunities but has also confronted them with great
dangers. The advent of liberalism brought the possibility of creating wealth and the continuous development of
market economies, which culminated in unprecedented levels of globalization and trade liberalization since
the 1990s. Innovation and scientific and technological developments are intrinsically associated with the
incentives the liberal market provides. In other words, as people like Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and
cofounder of Apple Steve Jobs put their minds to work, they create amazing things that can be produced on a
large scale for the consumption of billions of people around the world. People like Gates and Jobs are rewarded
with wealth, and this possibility fuels entrepreneurs across the globe and propels them to create, find
solutions to difficult problems, and transform how people live their lives.
However, dangers associated with capitalism, like poverty, inequality, and environmental crises, are the other
side of the coin. Many authors argue that these dangers are inescapable consequences of capitalism.
16.6 ⢠Considering Poverty, Inequality, and the Environmental Crisis 531
Poverty and Inequality
Like Levine, several scholars have suggested that poverty is an inescapable feature of capitalism, or the market
economy. Recall that, with the advent of the market economy, it became possible to create wealth. Ideas that
circulated during the Enlightenment, such as laissez-faire economics, an emphasis on individual freedom, and
the protection of property rights by a limited government, promoted wealth creation and capital accumulation.
At the same time, these ideas have exacerbated poverty and inequality.
Under other economic systems, such as mercantilism, wealth was fixed, and monarchs and the aristocracy
lived lavish lives, while the rest of the population lived frugal lives. As there was no trade among countries,
there was not much to consume. People ate what they planted or raised, wore what they sewed, and when
things went well, they could barter some excess with their neighbors. As they were all in the same boat,
everyone had similar living conditions, and there was no striking inequality. Only a tiny portion of the
population, the royals, lived differently.
The Enlightenment brought profound changes, from the advent of markets to urbanization and a new
relationship with private property, including land. At the same time that the market economy was being
developed during the Enlightenment period, the Industrial Revolution made it possible to produce goods for
mass consumption.
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The industrial revolution made a myriad of products affordable for large numbers of people.
A new social class emerged: the middle class. While those people in the middle class were able to consume
The Birth of Market Poverty
- The transition from mercantilism to a market economy shifted the responsibility for basic needs from landlords to individual wage earners.
- Industrialization creates a structural paradox where the same mechanisms that drive innovation also generate inequality and environmental crises.
- The introduction of wages created a fundamental tension between the worker's need for subsistence and the owner's drive for low production costs.
- Poverty in the industrial era is characterized by a lack of access to land or markets, leaving the displaced unable to fulfill basic needs for food and shelter.
- Unemployment and low wages occur when the supply of non-specialized labor exceeds demand, directly resulting in systemic poverty.
The British television series Downton Abbey, set in the early 20th century, illustrates the change from a world where the landlord was responsible for caring for the families that lived on their land to a world where individuals were free and thus responsible for the care of themselves and their families.
much more than before, many people were relegated to a condition of poverty, where they did not participate
in the markets or had no plot of land to subsist on. Those who were poor had no means by which to fulfill their
basic needs for water, food, and shelter. This condition was different from the destitute condition of the
mercantilist period, when people had at least their basic needs met.
Several authors argue that the same mechanism that produces wealth and innovation also creates poverty,
inequality, and environmental crises. In other words, poverty, inequality, and environmental crises are
understood as unwanted consequences of the market economy.
While the industrial process creates affordable goods for mass consumption, it has had unwanted
consequences. For example, those who had been displaced from the land where they used to live started to sell
their labor in exchange for a wage. Note that there were no wages during mercantilism; the relationship with
work was completely different, and the landlord took care of the families that lived on his land. The British
television series Downton Abbey, set in the early 20th century, illustrates the change from a world where the
landlord was responsible for caring for the families that lived on their land to a world where individuals were
free and thus responsible for the care of themselves and their families. Note, however, that the changes
illustrated in the show had been going on for almost a century.
The concept of wages creates a serious tension within the market economy: in order for workers to be able to
satisfy the basic needs of their families, wages should be as high as possible. On the other hand, in order to
keep production costs down and guarantee the profit of the capital owner, wages should be as low as possible.
This relationship between labor, wages, basic needs, and unemployment creates poverty. Most sell their labor
in exchange for a wage that should allow the worker to provide for themselves and their family. If the labor is
not specialized, the pool of people capable of working the job is large. If there are more individuals willing to
sell their labor than actual demand for that type of labor, wages are lower and there is unemployment. The
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supply of capable workers exceeds the demand for workers with those skills. If, as a consequence of low wages
or unemployment, a worker is unable to provide themselves and their families with basic goods, they are
considered poor.
FIGURE 16.8 In the United States, individuals who are unemployed may submit claims for unemployment benefits;
however, these benefits are often not enough on their own to support a family.61 (credit: âUnemployment Officeâ by
Burt Lum/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Socialism vs. Capitalist Solutions
- The Industrial Revolution's widespread poverty led 19th-century political philosophers to propose social ownership of the means of production.
- Socialist thinkers argued that market economies could not resolve wealth inequality, advocating for strong government redistribution instead.
- Karl Marx called for a proletarian revolution to end capitalist exploitation, leading to states that prioritized socialist ideals over individual property rights.
- Modern theorists like Jeffrey Sachs argue that poverty can be eradicated from within the capitalist system through technology and investment.
- Sachs and supporters like Bono believe the current generation possesses the accumulated economic progress necessary to meet basic human needs globally.
- The debate remains centered on whether extreme poverty is best solved by dismantling the market system or by leveraging its technological advancements.
We are the first generation who can . . . unknot the whole tangle of bad trade, bad debt, and bad luck.
The generalized suffering among the poor during the Industrial Revolution prompted several political
philosophers to search for answers to solve the problems of growing poverty and inequality. At the beginning
of the 19th century, these political philosophers proposed a variety of responses to the challenge. Although
each of their proposals had singular characteristics, each involved the social ownership of the means of
production, or the control of farms, factories, and business offices by the people. Thus, these political
philosophers became known as socialists.
Socialist thinkers proposed forms of societal organization that upset the foundations of the market economy.
There was a general belief among socialists that this economic system could not satisfactorily address the
problem of inequality of property or wealth, and thus they proposed not only the social ownership of the
means of production but also a stronger government to coordinate and redistribute wealth in society. These
ideas are in striking opposition with the classical liberalism advanced by Adam Smith, which promoted a
laissez-faire economy, a free market with minimal government intervention.
Though many people associate socialist thinker Karl Marx with socialism or communism, the majority of his
work concerns the market economy. Marx contended that, in order to end the exploitation of the proletariat62
by the owners of the means of production, workers should unite and rebel against the capitalists. While society
prepared for the advent of communism,63 a dictatorship of the proletariatâa socialist stateâshould govern.
Several countries underwent socialist revolutions in an attempt to implement socialist ideals at the expense of
the market economy, individual freedoms, and property rights protected by a limited government.
Unlike socialist thinkers, some contend that poverty and inequality can be overcome from within the capitalist
system. One of the most renowned proponents of overcoming poverty through technology development and
investments, Jeffrey Sachs, authored The End of Poverty, published in 2005, which heavily influenced the
global fight to overcome poverty.
In the bookâs foreword, music celebrity and philanthropist Paul David Hewsen, better known as Bono, writes:
âWe are the first generation who can . . . unknot the whole tangle of bad trade, bad debt, and bad luck. The first
16.6 ⢠Considering Poverty, Inequality, and the Environmental Crisis 533
generation that can end a corrupt relationship between the powerful and the weaker parts of the world which
has been so wrong for so long.â64 In the book, Sachs contends that âour generation is heir to two and a half
centuries of economic progress.â65 That is, since the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment in Europe,
economic and technological developments have made it possible to meet basic human needs globally.
Given this opportunity, in order to end extreme poverty, Sachs calls for a commitment to embrace the
Millennium Development Goals: raising the voices of the impoverished, redeeming the role of the United
Global Poverty and Modern Threats
- Jeffrey Sachs advocated for a moral commitment to end poverty within the capitalist system by reforming international institutions and promoting sustainable development.
- Trade liberalization and economic integration since the 1990s have added billions of dollars to the GDP growth of developing nations.
- The global poverty rate saw a significant decline from approximately 35 percent in 1990 to about 10 percent in 2017.
- The number of people living in extreme poverty dropped from nearly 2 billion to roughly 689 million over a twenty-seven-year period.
- Modern crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and armed conflict threaten to reverse decades of progress in poverty eradication.
- The pandemic-induced economic slowdown has negatively impacted labor force skills, educational outcomes, and global supply chains.
While COVID-19 triggered the trend reversal, its effects have been intensified by armed conflict in some countries and the growing impact of climate change worldwide.
States in the world, adapting the roles of the IMF and the World Bank, strengthening the United Nations, and
promoting science and sustainable development.66 Sachs hoped that, by committing to these goals, the world
could eliminate poverty by 2015.
Sachsâs standpoint represents a moral commitment to end poverty within the capitalist system. Poverty did
not end by 2015, but the world has made progress toward the goal. Globalization and trade liberalization have
increased since the 1990s, and both developed and developing countries have taken part in the process.
Developing countriesâ gains as a result of trade liberalization since the 1990s are in the billions of dollars
added to GDP growth.67
Economic integration has pulled billions of people out of poverty and increased their quality of life. The global
poverty rate, defined as the percentage of people living at USD 1.90 a day or below, decreased from about 35
percent in 1990 to about 10 percent in 2017. Over the same time period, the number of people living at the
global poverty rate has also consistently decreased, from nearly 2 billion to close to 689 million.68
However, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other challenges threaten efforts to eradicate poverty.
These threats jeopardize the attainment of the World Bankâs goal of bringing global extreme poverty to less
than 3 percent by 2030. Global economic growth was predicted to decrease by 5.2 percent in 2020, the largest
drop in 80 years. More importantly, the severity of the world situation in the face of the pandemic has the
potential to erase the gains of years of poverty eradication efforts. While COVID-19 triggered the trend reversal,
its effects have been intensified by armed conflict in some countries and the growing impact of climate change
worldwide.69
The pandemic-induced economic slowdown may have a lasting impact on international investment levels,
remittances, and the labor force skills and overall health of millions of people who are now unemployed, as
well as on learning outcomes (affected by school closures and the adaptation of educational practices, such as
online courses) and supply chains.70 World leaders, governments, international institutions such as the World
Bank, celebrities, NGOs, and private individuals are fighting to prevent COVID-19 and its consequences from
reversing efforts to eradicate poverty.71
The Environmental Crisis
Global Production and Environmental Crisis
- The contemporary global economy relies on complex international supply chains to produce mass-market goods using cheap labor and raw materials.
- Industrial production processes and global transportation systems are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change identifies cumulative emissions since the Industrial Revolution as the primary driver of the current environmental crisis.
- Scholars are divided on solutions, with one major school of thought advocating for 'degrowth' to mitigate environmental damage.
- Degrowth proponents argue that society must intentionally decrease economic production and consumption levels to save the planet.
In short, the environmental crisis is another unintended negative consequence of the market economy.
In the contemporary economy, almost any imagined good can be produced for mass consumption. These
goods are frequently manufactured, processed, or assembled in distant countries using parts from several
other countries, and once ready, they are shipped to stores around the world. This production process uses
raw materials, labor (often cheap labor in developing countries), and energy, including the energy used for
transportation. While this process creates affordable goods for mass consumption, it has undesirable
consequences. In addition to contributing to poverty and inequality, this system also does harm to the
environment. As factories burn fossil fuel to generate energy and power machinery, greenhouse gases (GHG)
are emitted into the atmosphere. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) considers the
cumulative release of GHG since the Industrial Revolution to be the main cause of climate change.72 In short,
the environmental crisis is another unintended negative consequence of the market economy.
Literature on the possible ways to deal with the environmental crisis can be divided into two broad currents of
thought. Some scholars propose that, in order to overcome the crisis, society must alter the mechanisms that
generate it, and since the crisis is caused by the unwanted consequences of industrial production, these
scholars argue for degrowth, a decrease in economic production and consumption levels. That is, to these
534 16 ⢠International Political Economy
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scholars, slowing down industrial production and facing economic degrowth is the only way forward if the
world hopes to counteract climate change.73
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The Economics of Environmental Externalities
- Degrowth advocates suggest prioritizing ecological well-being over consumption, while sustainable development proponents believe innovation can reconcile growth with environmental quality.
- Historically, industrial production has ignored social costs, focusing only on private costs like labor and raw materials.
- Social costs include environmental damage such as deforestation, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions that are not reflected in market prices.
- The burden of environmental costs is often localized, affecting those living near production sites while benefits are distributed among a wider consumer base.
- Incorporating environmental externalities into product pricing would lead to higher costs, reduced consumption, and potential unemployment.
- International bodies like the UN and EU are implementing policies and Sustainable Development Goals to address these systemic failures.
The individuals who live near these refineries pay the highest environmental costs, while the benefits of cheap gas are spread among millions of American consumers.
Advocates of degrowth say it is time to embrace a model that prioritizes social and ecological well-being over
accumulation and consumption.
Another group of scholars claims that the mechanisms that generate the crisis may be altered through
sustainable development. These scholars argue that it is possible to combine economic growth and
environmental quality as long as the production process is improved through innovation, technology
development, and regulatory intervention. The UN, the EU, and many governments support this argument.
The prevalent idea is that as countries increase production efficiency through the development of green
technology, global society may overcome the environmental crisis.74
For a long time, the unwanted consequences of industrial production have been largely neglected. This is due
in part to skepticism about climate change,75 but mostly to the costs associated with addressing them. In
economic terms, the level of industrial output in a market is determined by supply and demand. Factories
produce goods to meet the needs and wants of consumers. Traditionally, factories have incorporated the
private costs of production into their prices. These costs include, for example, raw materials, labor, rent,
utilities, and depreciation. However, these factories have not typically included the social costs of production
into their prices. The social costs of production include costs related to social and environmental
requirements, such as occupational injuries; deforestation; air, water, and land pollution; acid rain; and GHG
emissions.
Because environmental costs have not been incorporated into the price of goods, they have been split across
many individuals. Commonly, it is not consumers who bear the burden of a productâs highest environmental
costs. For example, the Texas Gulf Coast is home to six oil refineries. Oil refined at these plants fuels the
vehicles of millions of consumers across America. In addition to refining oil, these refineries are the countryâs
largest polluters of benzene, a chemical compound known to cause various forms of cancer. Individuals who
live in the vicinity of these plants and breathe the benzene-polluted air pay some high costs. They are more
likely to develop forms of cancer associated with exposure to benzene than individuals that live further away
from the plants.76 So, the individuals who live near these refineries pay the highest environmental costs, while
the benefits of cheap gas are spread among millions of American consumers. If the environmental costs of
production were included in the price of gas, it would be much more expensive.
When only the private costs of production are added to a goodâs price, the market reaches one price; however,
the inclusion of social and environmental costs shifts this price. The difference between price one, which does
not consider social costs, and price two, which adds them to the final price, demonstrates the unwanted
consequences of production, commonly referred to as environmental externalities. As fewer consumers are
willing to pay the full price for a product, sales of the product decrease. As sales decrease, production levels
also decrease. Consistently lower sales and reduced production levels tend to generate unemployment.77
To mitigate and adapt to the consequences of the environmental crisis, the UN has promoted Sustainable
Development Goals.78 The European Union (EU) has worked to develop a stringent body of environmental
policies since the late 1980s,79 and Korea and Japan have adopted similar policies.80 The United States took
Evolution of International Political Economy
- International Political Economy (IPE) has evolved from mercantilist protectionism, where wealth was seen as a finite supply of precious metals, to a liberal system focused on wealth creation.
- The Bretton Woods Conference established the foundational financial architecture of the modern world, including the IMF, the World Bank, and the eventual formation of the WTO.
- Post-Cold War modernization theory posits a strong statistical correlation between economic development and the successful transition to democratic governance.
- The focus of IPE has shifted from exclusively Western interests to addressing global challenges like poverty reduction, international migration, and the climate crisis.
- U.S. commitment to sustainable development has fluctuated significantly between administrations, reflecting the political nature of international economic policy.
During the absolutist era, the amount of wealth in the world was considered finiteâdetermined by a fixed supply of precious metalsâand powerful monarchs amassed wealth in gold and silver.
some relevant steps toward sustainable development during the Obama administration (2008â2016), scaled
back those efforts during the Trump years81 (2016â2020), and has resumed efforts to meet sustainable
development goals under Biden. (2020âpresent).
16.6 ⢠Considering Poverty, Inequality, and the Environmental Crisis 535
Summary
16.1 The Origins of International Political Economy
International political economy examines the ways in which political factors shape public policies and define
who the winners and losers of these policies are. During the absolutist era, the amount of wealth in the world
was considered finiteâdetermined by a fixed supply of precious metalsâand powerful monarchs amassed
wealth in gold and silver. Within a mercantilist system, monarchical governments engaged in protectionist
policies to safeguard their riches.
16.2 The Advent of the Liberal Economy
The Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution marked the introduction of the concept of civilization as
opposed to savagery, transforming European societies and the world. With this concept came the possibility of
wealth creation. Adam Smith played a key role in defining wealth creation, the functioning of the market, and
the role of the government in a market-based society. His ideas promoted trade liberalization in Europe.
16.3 The Bretton Woods Institutions
At the end of World War II, representatives of the United States and Great Britain, among other nations, met to
discuss the post-war international order at the Bretton Woods Conference. The conference established two
international financial institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. A third
proposed institution, the International Trade Organization (ITO), was never established. Participants agreed to
create the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) instead. Even though a formal institution was not
created during the conference, negotiations continued and resulted in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in
1995.
16.4 The PostâCold War Period and Modernization Theory
During the Cold War, economic transactions between the East and the West were rare, and thus the preferences
of Western financial powers dominated the IPE agenda. The end of the Cold War brought relevant changes and
shifted the focus of IPE from an exclusive interest in developed Western nations to incorporating the
promotion of development across developing countries in different regions of the world. As a result of these
changes, modernization theory gained the spotlight. Modernization theorists, who investigate links between
economic development and democracy, had been searching for ways to promote economic growth and
democracy to developing societies since the 1940s. Modernization is an empirically supported hypothesis
about the suitable conditions for democratization. Several studies have found statistical evidence indicating
that economic development is highly correlated with democratization, even though the exact mechanism by
which economic growth spurs democracy has not yet been uncovered.
16.5 From the 1990s to the 2020s: Current Issues in IPE
The end of the Cold War opened new doors for IPE. Over the last four decades, numerous developments, such
as intensifying globalization, trade liberalization, international migration, poverty reduction, growing
inequality, and climate change, embedded in an unprecedented wave of technology development, have
profoundly altered what IPE examines and how it does it.
Three key issue areas have risen to prominence in contemporary IPE: globalization and international trade,
Capitalism and Global Crises
- Critics argue that poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation are inherent byproducts of the same capitalist mechanisms that drive innovation and wealth.
- The historical suffering of the poor during the Industrial Revolution led to the rise of socialist philosophy as an alternative to market-based societal organization.
- The production of affordable mass-market goods is identified as a primary contributor to environmental harm and social disparity.
- The 'degrowth' movement suggests that society must intentionally decrease economic production and consumption to mitigate environmental collapse.
- Proponents of sustainable development believe innovation, technology, and regulation can decouple economic growth from environmental damage.
- Global financial stability is increasingly measured through ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards to screen the ethical impact of investments.
The argument is that the same mechanism that produces wealth and innovation also creates poverty, inequality, and environmental crises.
international finance and crises, and exchange rate regimes.
16.6 Considering Poverty, Inequality, and the Environmental Crisis
Many authors argue that poverty, inequality, and environmental crises are inescapable consequences of
capitalism. The argument is that the same mechanism that produces wealth and innovation also creates
poverty, inequality, and environmental crises. The generalized suffering among the poor during the Industrial
Revolution prompted several political philosophers, who became known as socialists, to search for answers to
solve the problems of growing poverty and inequality. Socialist thinkers proposed forms of societal
536 16 ⢠Summary
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organization that upset the foundations of the market economy.
The process that creates affordable goods for mass consumption has undesirable consequences: it contributes
to poverty and inequality and harms the environment. Some scholars propose that society must alter the
mechanisms that generate the environmental crises, and since the crisis is caused by the unwanted
consequences of industrial production, these scholars argue for degrowth. Another group of scholars claims
that the mechanisms that generate the crisis may be altered through sustainable development. These scholars
argue that it is possible to combine economic growth and environmental quality as long as the production
process is improved through innovation, technology development, and regulatory intervention.
Key Terms
absolute poverty living conditions under which basic human necessities like food, clean drinking water,
sanitation, and shelter are not met
absolutism the centralization of political power in the hands of the monarch in Western Europe during the
17th and 18th centuries
anthropocentrism the idea that human beings are the most important component of the universe
balance of payment in a given period, the difference in value between all payments made to a country and the
payments the country has made to the rest of the world
balance of trade in a given period, the difference between the value of exports and imports in a country
capital flight the large-scale exit of money from a country as a result of market uncertainty, decreased
investments, unemployment, and economic contraction
capital mobility the ability investors have to move capital from one country to another
Cold War a period of geopolitical tension between the two world powers at the time, the United States and the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, from after World War II until the late 1980s
competitive devaluation the devaluation of a countryâs currency in relation to other countriesâ currencies
followed by other countriesâ devaluation of their currencies
conditionalities conditions attached to IMF loans prescribing the policy actions a country agrees to take in
exchange for the loans
constituents voting members of a community
debt crises situations in which governments are unable to pay their debts
degrowth a decrease in economic production and consumption levels
environmental regulations the body of taxes and tariffs, quotas, subsidies, and regulations governments
issue to promote environmental protection
environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards investors use to screen potential investments;
environmental criteria describe a companyâs performance as a steward of nature, social criteria report the
companyâs relationships where it operates, and governance is associated with executive pay, internal
controls, and shareholder rights
International Political Economy Key Terms
- The text defines fundamental exchange rate mechanisms, including fixed, floating, and multilateral regimes that dictate currency values.
- It outlines the historical evolution of global trade through the GATT and the proposed but never established International Trade Organization.
- Key international institutions like the IMF and World Bank are highlighted for their roles in promoting financial stability and acting as knowledge hubs.
- Economic theories and historical events, such as mercantilism, laissez-faire, and the Great Depression, are contextualized within global finance.
- The section details post-war recovery efforts and development initiatives, specifically the Marshall Plan and the Millennium Development Goals.
- It identifies non-tariff barriers and oil shocks as significant disruptors to the flow of international trade and production.
laissez-faire free-market approach in which governments do not interfere in the market and let things take their own course
exchange rate the price of a currency against the value of another currency, basket of currencies, or gold
financial integration the process that connects financial markets all over the world
fixed (pegged) exchange rate situation in which the value of a currency is fixed against the value of another
currency, basket of currencies, or gold
floating (flexible) exchange rate situation in which the supply and demand of a currency in the market
determine its value
foreign direct investment (FDI) a companyâs investment in a business based in another country
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) legal agreement signed on October 30, 1947, by 23
countries to reduce international trade barriers through the elimination or reduction of quotas, tariffs, and
subsidies in some sectors while preserving regulations in others
gold standard the monetary system in which the standard unit of account is a fixed quantity of gold
Great Depression the severe financial crisis sparked by the 1929 stock market crash in New York that led to
bank closures and high unemployment
16 ⢠Key Terms 537
gross domestic product (GDP) sum of everything produced in a country in a given period
international financial institutions institutions established by several governments to regulate international
finance issues, such as trade and investments
international liquidity the amount of money or gold available in the international market
International Monetary Fund (IMF) international institution with 190 member countries that promotes
international financial stability and monetary cooperation, facilitates international trade, promotes
employment and sustainable economic growth, and helps to reduce global poverty
international political economy (IPE) field of study occupied with the investigation of political processes and
their economic consequences, which have both domestic and international impacts
International Trade Organization (ITO) proposed international institution for the regulation of trade in the
Bretton Woods conference; was never established
knowledge institution the World Bankâs role as an institution that collects and publishes data and reports
laissez-faire free-market approach in which governments do not interfere in the market and let things take
their own course
Marshall Plan war recovery program through which the United States provided USD 26 billion between 1946
and 1949 to European countries and Japan to assist in the war recovery
mercantilism an economic theory based on capital accumulation, or the increase of wealth, which according
to mercantilists can be achieved through trade and protectionist policies
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) a set of eight goals agreed to by all the worldâs countries and all the
worldâs leading development institutions to halve extreme poverty rates, halt the spread of HIV/AIDS, and
provide universal primary education by the year 2015
modernization theory theoretical model to explain the transition from a traditional to a modern society
multilateral exchange rate exchange rate regime in which governments allow their currencies to fluctuate
within margins
non-tariff barriers non-tariff barriers to international trade, such as regulations, including environmental
regulations, that specify how a product can be manufactured, handled, or advertised or a quota that limits
the amount of a certain product that can be imported to a market
oil shocks shortages of oil and oil derivatives in the Western world that resulted from oil-exporting countriesâ
decision to reduce oil production
International Political Economy Key Terms
- The text defines essential economic concepts such as protectionist policies, subsidies, and tariff concessions that shape global trade dynamics.
- It outlines the roles of major international institutions including the World Bank, the IMF, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- Key financial mechanisms are explained, such as Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and the Washington Consensus program for economic stability.
- The section introduces the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 global objectives aimed at achieving a sustainable future by 2030.
- Review questions contrast mercantilist economic systems, which view wealth as finite, with Adam Smithâs theories on trade liberalization.
- The text identifies the three levels of analysis in International Political Economy (IPE) as individual, state, and system.
Enlightenment thinkers rejected the mercantilist idea that wealth is finite, proposing that wealth could in fact be created.
plurilateral agreements agreements between a small number of GATT member states in the 1970s
political factors domestic and international components of politics and the policy-making process that result
in specific public policies
protectionist policies restrictions on imports by means of tariff and non-tariff barriers
rationalism the belief that reason rather than experience is the foundation of knowledge
reserves money, gold, and other highly liquid assets that a countryâs central bank or other monetary authority
could dispose of to meet financial obligations
scientism the view that inductive methods of the natural sciences are the only source of genuine knowledge
special drawing rights (SDR) the IMFâs unit of account; SDRs represent a claim to currency held by IMF
member countries for which they may be exchanged
subsidies payments or incentives the government grants to firms in the form of cash payments or tax cuts
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 17 global goals established in 2015 focused on achieving a better
and more sustainable future for all by the year 2030
tariff concessions removal or reduction of a tariff
trade rounds meetings of GATT signatories in a series of multilateral negotiations to discuss international
trade
Washington Consensus a program designed by the IMF to promote economic stability in borrowing countries
and increase the odds that the countries pay their debts
World Bank international financial institution that provides loans and grants with the objective of promoting
development
World Trade Organization international institution that promotes and regulates trade between nations;
538 16 ⢠Key Terms
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member state governments rely on the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that govern
international trade
Review Questions
1 . International political economy ________.
a. investigates political processes and their domestic and international economic consequences
b. examines various tactics political actors use in their attempts to decrease the scope of global
governance
c. is another name for the World Bank
d. refers to the web of multinational corporations that exert varying degrees of control over individual
world governments and international organizations
2 . In a mercantilist economic system, ________.
a. wealth is evenly distributed among producers and consumers
b. wealth can be created
c. wealth is finite
d. wealth is shared within trade alliances
3 . Mercantilism ________.
a. is based on degrowth
b. considers that wealth is composed of precious metals and paper currencies such as the dollar, euro,
and peso
c. seeks a surplus in the balance of payments
d. favors trade liberalization policies
4 . Adam Smith rejected mercantilism and proposed ________.
a. that trade barriers promote the economy
b. modernization theory
c. that trade liberalization benefits individuals and countries
d. that a country should invest in economic activities regardless of its comparative advantages
5 . True or false? Enlightenment thinkers rejected the mercantilist idea that wealth is finite, proposing that
wealth could in fact be created.
a. True
b. False
6 . The three levels of analysis in IPE are ________.
a. local, domestic, and foreign
b. individual, state, and system
c. liberal, conservative, and authoritarian
d. economic, environmental, and social
7 . The Bretton Woods Institutions include ________.
a. the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN)
b. the League of Nations and NATO
International Political Economy Review
- The Bretton Woods Institutions were established to maintain global peace and economic prosperity, though the proposed International Trade Organization (ITO) was never created.
- Modernization theory explores the complex and debated causal link between economic growth and the development of democratic institutions.
- Exchange rate regimes vary between fixed systems and floating systems, where the latter's currency value is determined by market supply and demand.
- Historical responses to 19th-century inequality often shared a common focus on the social ownership of the means of production.
- Contemporary environmental discourse is primarily divided into two competing schools of thought: degrowth and sustainable development.
Modernization theory has clearly established a causal link between economic growth and democratic institutions.
c. the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO)
d. the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank
8 . The Bretton Woods Institutions were initially created to ________.
16 ⢠Review Questions 539
a. maintain peace and economic prosperity in the world
b. encourage globalization
c. restrain trade liberalization
d. promote protectionist policies
9 . Which institution was proposed but not created in the Bretton Woods Conference?
a. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
b. World Trade Organization (WTO)
c. International Trade Organization (ITO)
d. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
10 . The end of the Cold War resulted in ________.
a. increased focus on economic policies in authoritarian regimes
b. support for protectionist policies
c. majoritarian emphasis on trade relations among developed countries
d. furthering of economic growth and democratic institutions
11 . The key tenet of modernization theory is that ________.
a. economic growth promotes the development of the upper classes in society
b. social capital hampers political representation
c. increased political representation promotes the establishment of democratic institutions
d. trade liberalization stunts economic growth
12 . True or false? Modernization theory has clearly established a causal link between economic growth and
democratic institutions.
a. True
b. False
13 . An exchange rate regime in which governments allow their currencies to fluctuate within margins is
referred to as a ________.
a. fixed (pegged) exchange rate
b. floating (flexible) exchange rate
c. multilateral exchange rate
d. variable exchange rate
14 . ________ determine(s) the price of currency in a floating (flexible) exchange rate regime.
a. The supply and demand of a currency
b. Domestic interest rates
c. The stock market
d. The gold standard
15 . At the beginning of the 19th century, some political philosophers proposed responses to the problem of
widespread policy and inequality. Although each of their proposals had singular characteristics, what did
they have in common?
a. dictatorship of the proletariat
b. social ownership of the means of production by the people
c. laissez-faire economy, a free market with minimal government intervention
d. social security benefits
16 . Literature on the possible ways to deal with the environmental crisis is divided into two currents of
540 16 ⢠Review Questions
Access for free at openstax.org
thought. These currents are ________.
a. socialism and communism
b. laissez-faire and free market economy
c. degrowth and sustainable development
d. degrowth and globalization
Suggested Readings
Blaney, David L., and Naeem Inayatullah. Savage Economics: Wealth, Poverty, and the Temporal Walls of
Capitalism, RIPE Series in Global Political Economy. London & New York: Routledge, 2010.
Brawley, Mark R. Turning Points: Decisions Shaping the Evolution of the International Political Economy.
Peterborough, Ontario & Orchard Park, NY: Broadview Press, 1998.
Lake, David A. International Political Economy: A Maturing Discipline, Vol. 1, edited by Donald A. Wittman and
Barry R. Weingast. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/
9780199548477.003.0042
Levine, David P. Wealth and Freedom: An Introduction to Political Economy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press, 1995.
McGillivray, Fiona. Privileging Industry: The Comparative Politics of Trade and Industrial Policy. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 2004.
Oatley, Thomas H. International Political Economy. 6th ed. New York & London: Routledge, 2018.
16 ⢠Suggested Readings 541
Political Science Reference Foundations
- The references highlight the intersection of digital technology and governance, including social media censorship during elections and digital-first social assistance.
- Classic political theory is represented through citations of Aristotle and Harold Lasswellâs foundational definition of politics as 'who gets what, when, and how.'
- The text distinguishes political science from sociology by noting the latter's focus on social behaviors and institutions outside of formal government.
- Legal and institutional frameworks are explored through references to Robertâs Rules of Order, the brevity of world constitutions, and the duty of executives to obey court judgments.
- The role of international organizations is examined via the United Nations, specifically looking at both its humanitarian successes and its notable failures.
Harold Dwight Lasswell, Politics: Who Gets What, When, How (New York: P. Smith, 1950).
542 16 ⢠Suggested Readings
Access for free at openstax.org
REFERENCES
1 What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
1. âUganda Blocks Social Media Ahead of Tense Election,â Africanews, January 12, 2021,
https://www.africanews.com/2021/01/12/uganda-blocks-social-media-ahead-of-tense-election//.
2. Alan Elb, Anit Mukherjee, and Brian Webster, Delivering Social Assistance during COVID with a âDigital-
Firstâ Approach: Lessons from India (London: Center for Global Development, July 22, 2021),
https://www.cgdev.org/blog/delivering-social-assistance-during-covid-digital-first-approach-lessons-
india.
3. âProtecting Your Privacy: Phone and Cable Records,â Consumer Guides, Federal Communications
Commission, https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/protecting-your-privacy; âCell Phones,â US Food &
Drug Administration, content current as of May 13, 2021, https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-
products/home-business-and-entertainment-products/cell-phones.
4. Katie Moritz, âYou Can Influence Lawmakers with Your Smartphone,â Rewire, August 15, 2017,
https://www.rewire.org/influence-lawmakers-smartphone.
5. Fred Miller, âAristotle's Political Theory,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2017), ed.
Edward N. Zalta, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-politics/.
6. Harold Dwight Lasswell, Politics: Who Gets What, When, How (New York: P. Smith, 1950).
7. The sociology discipline, in contrast, concentrates on the study of social behavior and institutions
outside of the government.
8. Rachel Gable, The Hidden Curriculum: First Generation Students at Legacy Universities (Princeton, New
Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2021).
9. âAir Force Pilot Height Qualifications and Waivers,â US Air Force, Air Education and Training Command,
November 5, 2019, https://www.aetc.af.mil/News/Article/2009251/air-force-pilot-height-qualifications-
and-waivers/.
10. Henry Martyn Robert and Will Eisner, Robert's Rules of Order (Toronto: Bantam Books, 1986).
11. Sophy Owuor, âWhich Country Has the Shortest Written Constitution in the World?â World Atlas,
December 21, 2018, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-country-has-the-shortest-written-
constitution-in-the-world.html.
12. Constitute, âConstitute: The World's Constitutions to Read, Search, and Compare,â accessed October 22,
2021, https://www.constituteproject.org?lang=en.
13. For the US President, see, for example, David H. Gans, The President's Duty to Obey Court Judgments
(Washington, DC: Constitutional Accountability Center, June 2018), https://www.theusconstitution.org/
wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Trump-Obey-Court-Judgments-Issue-Brief.pdf.
14. âAbout Us,â United Nations, accessed September 8, 2021, https://www.un.org/en/about-us/.
15. âTwelve Times the UN Has Failed the World,â TRT World, November 28, 2018, https://www.trtworld.com/
americas/twelve-times-the-un-has-failed-the-world-21666; Kathy Calvin, â10 Ways the UN Made the
World a Better Place in 2017,â United Nations Foundation blog, December 20, 2017,
https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/10-ways-un-made-world-better-place-2017/.
16. See, for example, Jamie L. Carson, Joel Sievert, and Ryan D. Williamson, âNationalization and the
Foundations of Political Theory
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations covering the mechanisms of incumbency advantage and the role of money in elections.
- It highlights the philosophical ambiguity of governance, noting that the Australian government suggests the public interest should not be strictly defined.
- The references address the complexities of statehood, specifically mentioning the disputed status of entities like Taiwan and Palestine.
- Key political concepts such as sovereignty, authority, and the 'good citizen' are explored through various academic and encyclopedic entries.
- The citations track modern social challenges, including global political polarization and the racial implications of law enforcement.
In fact, the Australian government has stated that 'the public interest should not be defined.'
Incumbency Advantage,â Political Research Quarterly 73, no. 1 (March 1, 2020): 156â168, https://doi.org/
10.1177/1065912919883696; James N. Druckman, Martin J. Kifer, and Michael Parkin, âCampaign
Rhetoric and the Incumbency Advantage,â American Politics Research 48, no. 1 (January 30, 2019):
22â43; Maggie Koerth, âHow Money Affects Elections,â FiveThirtyEight, September 10, 2018,
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/money-and-elections-a-complicated-love-story/.
17. Tom Christiano and Sameer Bajaj, âDemocracy,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2021),
References 543
ed. Edward N. Zalta, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2021/entries/democracy/.
18. In fact, the Australian government has stated that âthe public interest should not be defined.â Australian
Law Reform Commission, âMeaning of Public Interest,â in Serious Invasions of Privacy in the Digital Era
(Queensland, AU: Australian Law Reform Commission, March 30, 2014), accessed September 8, 2021,
https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/serious-invasions-of-privacy-in-the-digital-era-dp-80/8-balancing-
privacy-with-other-interests/meaning-of-public-interest/.
19. Robert A. Dahl, âThe Concept of Power,â Behavioral Science 2, no. 3 (1957): 201â215. doi:10.1002/
bs.3830020303.
20. Daniel Philpott, âSovereignty,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2020), ed. Edward N.
Zalta, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/sovereignty/.
21. âGovernment,â The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accessed September 8, 2021,
https://www.saudiembassy.net/government/?id=Skunk-3593-6229-42-4733.
22. Why did we not provide an exact number? Because there are disputes regarding whether a few political
entities, such as Taiwan and Palestine, meet the definition of a state.
23. Erin Blakemore, âToday, the Kurds Are Spread Across Four Nations. Who Are They?â National
Geographic, August 16, 2019, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/who-are-kurds.
24. Tom Christiano, âAuthority,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2020), ed. Edward N.
Zalta, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/authority/.
25. David A. Harris, âThe Stories, the Statistics, and the Law: Why Driving While Black Matters,â Minnesota
Law Review 84, no. 2 (1999): 265.
26. Yngve Vogt, âThe World HAS Become More Peaceful,â Apollon, February 15, 2019,
https://www.apollon.uio.no/english/articles/2019/peace.html.
27. Thomas Carothers and Andrew OâDonohue, âHow to Understand the Global Spread of Political
Polarization,â Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 1, 2019,
https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/10/01/how-to-understand-global-spread-of-political-polarization-
pub-79893.
28. Carroll Doherty, â7 Things to Know about Polarization in American Politics,â Pew Research Center, June
12, 2014, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/12/7-things-to-know-about-polarization-in-
america/.
29. Fred Miller, âAristotle's Political Theory,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2017), ed.
Edward N. Zalta, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-politics/.
30. You can find an extensive discussion of the âgood citizenâ in Jack Crittenden and Peter Levine, âCivic
Education,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2018), ed. Edward N. Zalta,
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2018/entries/civic-education/.
31. Rosalind Hursthouse and Glen Pettigrove, âVirtue Ethics,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(Winter 2018), ed. Edward N. Zalta, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/ethics-virtue/.
Academic and Political References
- The text consists of a comprehensive list of citations covering political science methodology, empirical theory, and biological foundations.
- Several sources focus on the integrity of the 2016 and 2020 U.S. elections, including reports on Russian interference and claims of election fraud.
- The references highlight the intersection of psychology and social issues, specifically regarding gun ownership and motivated reasoning.
- Data-driven analysis from outlets like FiveThirtyEight explores voter behavior, specifically addressing why younger Americans and minority groups participate in elections.
- Economic disparities are addressed through Federal Reserve reports on wealth gaps categorized by race and ethnicity.
- The section concludes with a focus on political behavior as a human phenomenon, moving from 'political hobbyism' to active engagement.
Trump Raises $495 Million since Mid-October, Including a Massive Haul Fueled by Misleading Appeals about Election Fraud.
32. Klaus von Beyme, âPolitical Theory: Empirical Political Theory,â in A New Handbook of Political Science,
eds. Robert E. Goodin and Hans-Dieter Klingeman (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2003).
33. Mary Ann Clark, Matthew Douglas, and Jung Choi, Biology, 2nd ed. (Houston, TX: OpenStax, 2018), 1.
34. Rebecca B. Morton and Kenneth C. Williams, âExperimentation in Political Science,â in The Oxford
Handbook of Political Methodology, eds. Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, Henry E. Brady, and David Collier
(Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, August 2008), https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/
oxfordhb/9780199286546.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199286546-e-14.
35. John Gertz, âMaybe the Aliens Really Are Here,â Scientific American, June 21, 2021,
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/maybe-the-aliens-really-are-here/.
36. US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, âSenate Intel Releases New Report on Intel Community
Assessment of Russian Interference,â press release, April 21, 2020, https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/
press/senate-intel-releases-new-report-intel-community-assessment-russian-interference.
37. Nate Silver, âHow Much Did Russian Interference Affect the 2016 Election?â FiveThirtyEight, February
16, 2018, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-much-did-russian-interference-affect-
544 References
Access for free at openstax.org
the-2016-election/.
38. Joseph M. Pierre, âThe Psychology of Guns: Risk, Fear, and Motivated Reasoning,â Palgrave
Communications 5, no. 1 (December 2019): 1â7. doi:10.1057/s41599-019-0373-z.
39. Stanton A. Glantz, The Cigarette Papers (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996).
40. âVoting Rights Litigation Tracker 2020,â Brennan Center for Justice, updated July 8, 2021,
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/court-cases/voting-rights-litigation-tracker-2020.
41. Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Anu Narayanswamy, âTrump Raises $495 Million since Mid-October, Including a
Massive Haul Fueled by Misleading Appeals about Election Fraud,â Washington Post, December 4, 2020,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-fundraising/2020/12/03/
3aa1091a-35b6-11eb-8d38-6aea1adb3839_story.html.
42. For one interesting article on this topic, see Melissa R. Michelson, âPolitical Efficacy and Electoral
Participation of Chicago Latinos,â Social Science Quarterly 81, no. 1 (2000): 136â150.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42864372.
43. Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, âWhy Younger Americans Donât Vote More Often (*No, Itâs Not Apathy),â
FiveThirtyEight, October 30, 2020, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-younger-americans-dont-
vote-more-often-no-its-not-apathy/.
44. Nate Silver, âElection Update: Clinton Gains, and the Polls Magically Converge,â FiveThirtyEight,
November 7, 2016, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/election-update-clinton-gains-and-the-polls-
magically-converge/.
45. Neil Bhutta, Andrew C. Chang, Lisa J. Dettling, and Joanne W. Hsu, âDisparities in Wealth by Race and
Ethnicity in the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances,â Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,
September 28, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/disparities-in-wealth-by-
race-and-ethnicity-in-the-2019-survey-of-consumer-finances-20200928.htm.
46. To be precise, 50 Republicans were elected to the Senate along with 48 Democrats and two Independents,
but both Independents ally themselves with the Democrats.
47. Eitan Hersh, Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real
Change (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2020).
2 Political Behavior Is Human Behavior
Foundations of Political Philosophy
- The text distinguishes between the traditional definition of politicsâwho gets what, when, and howâand the specific inquiry of 'who does what.'
- It references foundational human rights documents and philosophical frameworks, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the concept of unalienable rights.
- Major economic and social theories are cited, ranging from Hayek's critique of social justice to utilitarianism and cost-benefit analysis in public policy.
- The bibliography highlights the tension between libertarianism, as seen in the works of Robert Nozick, and the collective theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
- Contemporary applications of these theories are explored through modern examples like Kenyan national park tourism and the debate over gun ownership as a perceived threat.
- The section concludes with references to democratic socialism and John Rawls's influential 'A Theory of Justice' as frameworks for modern governance.
Harold Lasswell famously defined politics as âwho gets what, when, how.â Our task in this section is somewhat different, as we are asking who does what.
1. âChina, Mongolia, and Taiwan,â Office of the United States Trade Representative, https://ustr.gov/
countries-regions/china-mongolia-taiwan.
2. Harold Lasswell famously defined politics as âwho gets what, when, how.â Harold D. Laswell, Politics:
Who Gets What, When, How, vol. 30 (New York: Whittlesey House, 1936). Our task in this section is
somewhat different, as we are asking who does what.
3. This word is sometimes spelled unalienable; either way, the meaning is the same.
4. âWhat Are Human Rights?â United Nations, Officer of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR), accessed April 2, 2021, https://ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx.
5. âUniversal Declaration of Human Rights,â United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-
declaration-of-human-rights.
6. F. A. Hayek, Law, Legislation, and Liberty, Volume 2: The Mirage of Social Justice (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1978).
7. Julia Driver, âThe History of Utilitarianism,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N.
Zalta (Stanford, CA: Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2014), https://plato.stanford.edu/
archives/win2014/entries/utilitarianism-history/.
8. John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Lara B. Aknin, and Shun
Wang, World Happiness Report 2021 (New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network, 2021),
https://worldhappiness.report/.
9. Hubert Cheung, âTourism in Kenyaâs National Parks: A Cost-Benefit Analysis.â SURG Journal 6, no. 1
(2012): 31â40, doi:10.21083/surg.v6i1.2019.
10. âCost-Benefit Analysis,â Center for Effective Government, https://www.foreffectivegov.org/node/3470;
References 545
âCost-Benefit Analysis,â Office of Economic Policy, USAID, last updated July 12, 2021,
https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/economic-growth-and-trade/promoting-sound-economic-policies-
growth/working-more.
11. Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (New York: Basic Books, 1974).
12. Bas van der Vossen, âLibertarianism,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N. Zalta
(Stanford, CA: Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2019), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/
spr2019/entries/libertarianism/.
13. William Kottmeyer, The Robin Hood Stories. (St. Louis, MO: Webster Publishing Company, 1952).
14. As you might guess, there is substantial disagreement as to what constitutes a threat. One person might
believe that carrying a handgun makes them safer without harming others, while some might believe
that the very presence of guns makes them insecure.
15. Reason (https://reason.com/) is a good source of contemporary articles advocating for libertarianism.
16. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Critique of the Gotha Programme (London: Electric Book Co., [1891]
2001).
17. Karl Marx, Civil War in France (New York: International Publishers, [1871] 1937), 19.
18. Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (Chicago, IL: C. H. Kerr, [1859] 1911), 11.
19. Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, and V.I. Lenin, On the Dictatorship of the Proletariat (Moscow, USSR:
Progress Publishers, [1925] 1984), 243.
20. âCommunist Countries,â World Atlas, accessed August 6, 2021, https://www.worldatlas.com/which-
countries-are-still-communist.html.
21. For the US version of democratic socialism, see Gary J. Dorrien, American Democratic Socialism:
History, Politics, Religion, and Theory (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2021).
22. John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, [1971]
1999).
Scholarly Foundations of Social Justice
- The text provides a comprehensive bibliography of key African American thinkers, including Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Ida B. Wells.
- It highlights the historical delay in American legislation, noting that lynching was not officially labeled a hate crime until 2018.
- The references bridge the gap between early 20th-century activism and modern investigative journalism through the Ida B. Wells Society.
- Global perspectives on justice are introduced through the works of Amartya Sen and studies on African social justice discourses.
- The concept of subsidiarity is defined as the delegation of governmental power to the smallest feasible local levels rather than national authorities.
- The citations explore the intersection of ethics, human rights, and the 'capabilities approach' to global justice as theorized by Martha Nussbaum.
Not until 2018 did the United States enact legislation labeling lynching as a hate crime.
23. For Washington, DuBois, and King, see Robert Michael Franklin, Liberating Visions: Human Fulfillment
and Social Justice in African-American Thought (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1990); for Wells, see
Ida B. Wells, Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells, 2nd ed. (Chicago, IL: University of
Chicago Press, 2020).
24. Louis R. Harlan, Booker T. Washington: The Making of a Black Leader, 1856â1901 (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1972); Louis R. Harlan, Booker T. Washington: The Wizard of Tuskegee, 1901â1915
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1983).
25. Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery (New York: Penguin Books, [1901] 1986).
26. Sean Elias, âW. E. B. Du Bois, Race, and Human Rights.â Societies without Borders 4, no. 3 (2009):
273â294. doi:10.1163/187188609X12492771031492; see also Robert Gooding-Williams, âW. E. B. Du
Bois,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N. Zalta (Stanford, CA: Metaphysics
Research Lab, Stanford University, 2020), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/dubois/.
27. For a discussion of Wells and other female activists during the early-20th-century Progressive era, see
Stacey Ellen Sheriff, âRhetoric and Revision: Womenâs Arguments for Social Justice in the Progressive
Eraâ (PhD diss., Pennsylvania State University, 2009).
28. Not until 2018 did the United States enact legislation labeling lynching as a hate crime. Louis P. Masur,
âWhy It Took a Century to Pass an Anti-Lynching Law,â Washington Post, December 28, 2018,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/12/28/why-it-took-century-pass-an-anti-lynching-law/.
29. âIda B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting,â Hussman School for Journalism and Media, University
of North Carolina, http://hussman.unc.edu/ida-b-wells-society-investigative-reporting.
30. Quote appears in Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, âHow Do We Change America?â Department of African
American Studies, Princeton University, June 8, 2020, https://aas.princeton.edu/news/opinion-how-do-
we-change-america.
31. Kate Langan, âDr. Martin Luther King, Jr.âs Visit to WMU: Transcription of MLKâs WMU Speech and Q&A
Session,â accessed August 16, 2021, https://libguides.wmich.edu/mlkatwmu/speech.
32. Shailender Kumar Tiwari, âSocial Justice: Gandhi and Ambedkar,â The Indian Journal of Political Science
546 References
Access for free at openstax.org
70, no. 2 (2009): 429â439, https://www.jstor.org/stable/42743907.
33. Amartya Sen, The Idea of Justice (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2013).
34. John de Coninck, Julian Culp, and Vivience Taylor, African Perspectives on Social Justice (Uganda:
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2013), 6, 8.
35. Viviene Taylor, âSocial Justice: Reframing the âSocialâ in Critical Discourses in Africa,â in African
Perspectives on Social Justice, eds. John de Coninck, Julian Culp, and Viviene Taylor (Uganda: Friedrich
Ebert Stiftung, 2013), 14. Note: Subsidiarity is the idea that governmental power should be assigned to
the smallest feasible level (e.g., the village) rather than to the national government.
36. Martha C. Nussbaum, âBeyond the Social Contract: Capabilities and Global Justice. An Olaf Palme
Lecture, Delivered in Oxford 19 June 2003,â Oxford Development Studies 32, no. 1 (2004): 3â8.
37. Julian Culp, âThe Problem of Undemocratic Side Effects to Democracy Promotion,â in African
Perspectives on Social Justice eds. John de Coninck, Julian Culp, and Viviene Taylor (Uganda: Friedrich
Ebert Stiftung, 2013), 26â44.
38. Al-Hasan Al-Aidaros, Faridahwati Mohd-Shamsudin, and Kamil Md. Idris, âEthics and Ethical Theories
Foundations of Political Thought
- The text provides a comprehensive bibliography of foundational political philosophy, citing classic works by Hobbes, Locke, and Hume.
- It highlights contemporary feminist political theory and social justice research, specifically referencing the 'Women Also Know Stuff' initiative.
- The citations explore the psychological dimensions of politics, including authoritarianism, irrationality, and the social psychology of protest.
- A distinction is drawn between 'public spirit' and 'altruism,' defining the former as considering others' interests without necessarily sacrificing self-interest.
- The references cover global political challenges, including election interference in Latin America and the strategic goals of modern world leaders.
We use âpublic spiritâ rather than âaltruismâ because altruism indicates an unselfish concern for the welfare of others, while public spirit simply states that the person considers the interests of others in making a decision.
from an Islamic Perspective,â International Journal of Islamic Thought 4, no. 1 (December 2013): 1â13.
doi:10.24035/ijit.04.2013.001.
39. Valerie Bryson, Feminist Political Theory, 3rd ed. (New York: Palgrave, 2016), 9.
40. Ibid, 64.
41. Susan Moller Okin, Justice, Gender, and the Family (New York: Basic Books, 1989).
42. You can find current scholarly engagement in social justice by female political scientists at the âWomen
Also Know Stuffâ website (https://womenalsoknowstuff.com/) with the keyword search âsocial justice.â
43. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, [1651] 2006).
44. John Locke, Two Treatises of Government, ed. Peter Laslett (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
[1689] 1960).
45. David Hume, Essays: Moral, Political, Literary, ed. Eugene F. Miller (Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 1987).
46. âConstitution of the Confederate States of America,â US Constitution, accessed April 12, 2021,
https://usconstitution.net/csa.html#Preamble.
47. Robert A. McGuire, To Form a More Perfect Union: A New Economic Interpretation of the United States
Constitution (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2003).
48. Jonathan Wolff, An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2016).
49. âThe Worst Form of Government,â International Churchill Society, https://winstonchurchill.org/
resources/quotes/the-worst-form-of-government/.
50. Jason Brennan, Against Democracy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016).
51. Theodor W. Adorno, The Authoritarian Personality (New York: Harper, 1950).
52. Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2011).
53. Dan Ariely, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions (New York: Harper
Perennial, 2010).
54. John Sides, Daron R. Shaw, Matthew Grossmann, and Keena Lipsitz, Campaigns and Elections: Rules,
Reality, Strategy, Choice (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2018), 345.
55. To âmobilizeâ your supporters is to get them not just to favor you, but to go out and actually vote for you.
56. Brett Heinz, âElection Interference in Latin America: A Growing Danger,â Center for Economic and Policy
Research, September 30, 2020, https://cepr.net/election-interference-in-latin-america-a-growing-
danger/.
57. Susan Rose-Ackerman and Bonnie J. Palifka, Corruption and Government: Causes, Consequences, and
Reform, 2nd ed. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2016).
58. Jacquelien van Stekelenburg and Bert Klandermans, âThe Social Psychology of Protest,â Current
Sociology 61, no. 5â6 (September 2013): 886â905. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392113479314.
59. Leonie Huddy, Lilliana Mason, and Lene Aarøe, âExpressive Partisanship: Campaign Involvement,
Political Emotion, and Partisan Identity,â The American Political Science Review 109, no. 1 (2015): 1â17,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/43655021.
References 547
60. We use âpublic spiritâ rather than âaltruismâ because altruism indicates an unselfish concern for the
welfare of others, while public spirit simply states that the person considers the interests of others in
making a decision, not that self-interest is sacrificed to benefit others. See Mark C. Rom, Public Spirit in
the Thrift Tragedy (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996).
61. See, for example, James W. H. Sonne and Don M. Gash, âPsychopathy to Altruism: Neurobiology of the
SelfishâSelfless Spectrum.â Frontiers in Psychology 9 (2018), https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00575.
62. Graham Allison, âWhat Xi Jinping Wants,â The Atlantic, May 31, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/
Behavioral Science and Political References
- The text explores the biological basis of altruism, noting that brain scans show helping others activates the same pleasure centers as eating or sex.
- It contrasts the philosophical debate between determinism, which claims behavior is predictable, and the belief in free will or randomness.
- The references highlight the role of motivated reasoning and partisan influence in shaping public opinion and political behavior.
- A rational calculation model is presented for soldiers, weighing the risks of combat against the legal consequences of desertion.
- The section transitions into political ideology, specifically citing the economic collapse and human rights crisis in Venezuela.
There is evidence that altruistic behaviors light up the same âpleasure centersâ that are activated when we eat chocolate or have sex.
international/archive/2017/05/what-china-wants/528561/.
63. âEvo Morales Defends Indigenous People After Bolsonaro Allyâs Racist Slur.â Orinoco Tribune, January
19, 2019, https://orinocotribune.com/evo-morales-defends-indigenous-people-after-bolsonaro-allys-
racist-slur/.
64. Murray Edelman, Politics as Symbolic Action: Mass Arousal and Quiescence (Saint Louis, MO: Elsevier
Science & Technology, 2013).
65. Brain scanning technology can observe which parts of the brain âlight upâ during various behaviors.
There is evidence that altruistic behaviors light up the same âpleasure centersâ that are activated when
we eat chocolate or have sex. See James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander, âThe Helperâs High,â Greater
Good Magazine: Science-Based Insights for a Meaningful Life, February 1, 2010,
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_helpers_high.
66. Bobby Hoffman, Motivation for Learning and Performance (Boston, MA: Elsevier Academic Press, 2015);
see also Ian Deweese-Boyd, âSelf-Deception,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N.
Zalta (Stanford, CA: Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2021), https://plato.stanford.edu/
archives/sum2021/entries/self-deception/.
67. Maggie McGrath, âWhy Greta Thunberg Is One of the Worldâs Most Powerful Women,â Forbes, December
12, 2019.
68. Determinists maintain that all human behavior can be correctly predicted if all relevant facts are known.
Those who believe in âfree willââor pure randomnessâreject this idea.
69. âGood Guys, Bad Guys: Interview with Robert McNamara,â National Security Archive, The George
Washington University. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/coldwar/interviews/episode-17/mcnamara1.html.
70. Geoffrey Skelley, âWhy Was the National Polling Environment So Off in 2020?â FiveThirtyEight, February
23, 2021, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-was-the-national-polling-environment-so-off-
in-2020/.
71. The rational calculation would include the probability of getting killed if they stay to fight as well as the
chances of being caught, court-martialed, and potentially executed as a deserter.
72. Toby Bolsen, James N. Druckman, and Fay Lomax Cook, âThe Influence of Partisan Motivated Reasoning
on Public Opinion,â Political Behavior 36, no. 2 (2014): 235â262. doi:10.1007/s11109-013-9238-0.
73. Thomas J. Leeper and Rune Slothuus, âPolitical Parties, Motivated Reasoning, and Public Opinion
Formation,â Political Psychology 35, no. S1 (2014): 129â156. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.1216.
74. Hessel Oosterbeek, Randolph Sloof, and Gijs van de Kuilen, âCultural Differences in Ultimatum Game
Experiments: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis,â Experimental Economics: A Journal of the Economic
Science Association 7, no. 2 (2004): 171â188. doi:10.1023/B:EXEC.0000026978.14316.74.
3 Political Ideology
1. âVenezuela,â in World Report 2021: Events of 2020 (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2021),
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/venezuela; âVenezuela,â in World Report
2022: Events of 2021 (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2022), https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/
country-chapters/venezuela.
2. Callum Brodie, âVenezuela Was Once South Americaâs Richest Country. Hereâs What Went Wrong,â World
Economic Forum, August 7, 2017, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/venezuela-economic-
woes-2017-explained/.
3. Victor Bulmer-Thomas, âAnalysis: How Hugo Chavez Changed Venezuela,â BBC News, March 6, 2013,
548 References
Access for free at openstax.org
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-15240081.
4. âPercentage of households in poverty and extreme poverty in Venezuela from 2002 to 2020,â Statista,
Political Philosophy and Economic Citations
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations focusing on the economic decline of Venezuela, including data on poverty, GDP, and unemployment.
- It references classical political philosophy, specifically Aristotleâs theories on the middle constitution and the role of the middle class in a stable polity.
- Modern educational trends are linked to Aristotelian assumptions, suggesting a resurgence of his philosophy in contemporary policy debates.
- The citations highlight the shrinking of the American middle class as a significant sociological and political concern.
- The list includes foundational social contract theorists such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau to explore the origins of government and property rights.
- Contemporary political discourse is represented through references to public deliberation, voting rights, and the impact of school vouchers on national unity.
Educational theorist KristjĂĄn KristjĂĄnsson points out that a sizable amount of advocacy for educational reform is âanchored firmly in Aristotelian assumptionsâ and represents, in fact, an âAristotle-fueled trendâ in educational policy.
2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1235189/household-poverty-rate-venezuela/.
5. âVenezuela: Gross domestic product (GDP) in current prices from 1984 to 2022Â (in billion U.S. dollars),â
Statista, 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/370937/gross-domestic-product-gdp-in-venezuela/.
6. âVenezuela: Unemployment rate from 1999 to 2020,â Statista, 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/
370935/unemployment-rate-in-venezuela/.
7. Karen Silva-Torres, Carolina Rozo-Higuera, and Daniel S. Leon, eds., Social and Political Transitions
during the Left Turn in Latin America (New York: Routledge, 2022).
8. Aristotle, The Politics of Aristotle, trans. Peter L. Phillips Simpson (Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 1997), bks. 3â4.
9. Curtis Johnson, âAristotleâs Polity: Mixed or Middle Constitution?,â History of Political Thought 9, no. 2
(Summer 1988): 189â204, https://www.jstor.org/stable/44797104.
10. Richard Kraut, Aristotle: Political Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 400.
11. Kraut, Aristotle, 240â276.
12. James S. Fishkin, Democracy When the People Are Thinking: Revitalizing Our Politics through Public
Deliberation (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018).
13. In 2015, a Pew Research Center report found that middle-income families and individuals now constitute
a minority of the total US populationâsomething that many see as a cause of concern. See Tami Luhby,
âMiddle Class No Longer Dominates in the US,â CNN Business, December 9, 2015,
https://money.cnn.com/2015/12/09/news/economy/middle-class/index.html.
14. Educational theorist KristjĂĄn KristjĂĄnsson points out that a sizable amount of advocacy for educational
reform is âanchored firmly in Aristotelian assumptionsâ and represents, in fact, an âAristotle-fuelled
trendâ in educational policy. KristjĂĄn KristjĂĄnsson, Aristotle, Emotions, and Education (Burlington, VT:
Ashgate, 2007), 2, 3.
15. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan; or, The Matter, Form, and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil,
introd. Herbert W. Schneider (Indianapolis: Library of the Liberal Arts, 1977), pt. 1, bks. 13â16.
16. At certain points in his famous Second Treatise of Government, Locke seems to imply that states of
nature have arisen in human history. John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government, ch. 4, in Two
Treatises of Government, ed. Peter Laslett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), bk. 2.
17. Locke, Second Treatise, ch. 5.
18. See Gopal Sreenivasan, The Limits of Lockean Rights in Property (New York: Oxford University Press,
1995).
19. Frank Marini, âJohn Locke and the Revision of Classical Democratic Theory,â The Western Political
Quarterly 22, no. 1 (1969): 11, https://www.jstor.org/stable/446143.
20. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract: With Geneva Manuscript and Political Economy, ed.
Roger D. Masters, trans. Judith R. Masters (London: Bedford, 1978), 46.
21. Melissa Schwartzberg, âVoting the General Will: Rousseau on Decision Rules,â Political Theory 36. no. 3
(2008): 403â423, https://www.jstor.org/stable/20452639.
22. Pete Buttigieg, Trust: Americaâs Best Chance (New York: Liveright, 2020).
23. Eamonn Callan, Creating Citizens: Political Education and Liberal Democracy (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1997); Derek W. Black, âSupreme Court School Voucher Ruling Threatens American Unity and Public
Education,â USA Today, July 3, 2020, https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/07/03/public-
education-voucher-danger-supreme-court-decision-column/5359990002/.
24. Locke, Second Treatise, ch. 2.
25. Michael Waldman, The Fight to Vote (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016).
Foundations of Political Thought
- This section provides a comprehensive bibliographic list of foundational texts spanning the history of American democracy and European political philosophy.
- Key liberal and libertarian thinkers are represented, including John Stuart Mill's defense of liberty and F.A. Hayek's critique of central planning.
- The references trace the evolution of radical ideologies, citing primary works by Marx and Engels alongside scholarly analyses of Leninism, Stalinism, and Fascism.
- Modern geopolitical shifts are documented through citations on Chinese socialism, Xi Jinping Thought, and the rise of national revivalism.
- The list highlights the internal diversity of American political strategy, referencing social conservatism, center-left liberalism, and the 'new fusionism.'
- Legal and social debates are grounded in citations from Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan and contemporary discussions on gender and immigration.
Richard Steigmann-Gall, Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919â1945 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003).
26. Sean Wilentz, The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln (New York: W. W. Norton, 2005).
27. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, ed. Gertrude Himmelfarb (New York; Penguin, 1988), chs. 2, 4.
28. See Franklin D. Roosevelt, âCommonwealth Club Address (1932),â in American Political Thought:
Readings and Materials, ed. Keith E. Whittington (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), 508.
References 549
29. F. A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents, ed. Bruce Caldwell (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2007).
30. Leland B. Yeager, âMises and Hayek on Calculation and Knowledge,â The Review of Austrian Economics 7,
no. 2 (September 1994): 93â109, https://cdn.mises.org/rae7_2_5_2.pdf.
31. Richard White, âHerder: On the Ethics of Nationalism,â Humanitas 18, nos. 1 and 2 (2005): 166â181,
https://css.cua.edu/humanitas_journal/herder-on-the-ethics-of-nationalism/.
32. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The German Ideology, vol. 1, pt. 1, in Marx-Engels Collected Works, vol. 5
(Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1976), https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-
ideology/ch01a.htm.
33. Quoted in Robert S. Smith, âCultural Marxism: Imaginary Conspiracy or Revolutionary Reality?,â
Themelios 44, no. 3 (December 2019): 444, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/issue/44-3/.
34. See Neil Harding, Leninism (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1996).
35. See Neil Harding, âLeninism and Stalinism,â in Leninism, 243â263.
36. Stanley G. Payne, A History of Fascism, 1914â1945 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995).
37. Richard Steigmann-Gall, Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919â1945 (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2003).
38. Martin Gilbert, The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe during the Second World War (New York:
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1986).
39. Gilbert, Holocaust.
40. Deng Xiaoping, âBuilding Socialism with a Specifically Chinese Character,â The Peopleâs Daily, June 30,
1984.
41. Salvatore Babones, âThe Meaning of Xi Jinping Thought: National Revival and Military Power,â Foreign
Affairs, November 2, 2017, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2017-11-02/meaning-xi-
jinping-thought.
42. See Noam Gidron and Daniel Ziblatt, âCenter-Right Political Parties in Advanced Democracies,â Annual
Review of Political Science 22 (2019): 17â35, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-090717-092750.
43. See Joseph Bottum, âSocial Conservatism and the New Fusionism,â in Varieties of Conservatism in
America, ed. Peter Berkowitz (Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 2004), 31â47.
44. Jacob G. Hornberger, âOpen Borders Is the Only Libertarian Immigration Position,â Hornbergerâs Blog,
The Future of Freedom Foundation, May 19, 2016, https://www.fff.org/2016/05/19/open-borders-
libertarian-position-immigration/.
45. See Jeffrey Bell, The Case for Polarized Politics: Why America Needs Social Conservatism (New York:
Encounter Books, 2012).
46. See Paul Starr, âCenter-Left Liberalism,â in The Oxford Companion to American Politics, ed. David
Coates, vol. 1 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012).
47. William J. Brennan, âThe Great Debateâ (speech, Washington, DC, October 12, 1985), The Federalist
Society, https://fedsoc.org/commentary/publications/the-great-debate-justice-william-j-brennan-jr-
october-12-1985.
48. Buttigieg, Trust, 137.
49. Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: An Introduction (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).
50. Heywood, Political Ideologies, 264.
51. Naomi Schoenbaum, âWhen Liberals and Conservatives Agree on Womenâs Rights,â Politico, March 31,
Academic and Political Citations
- The text consists of a detailed reference list documenting various political ideologies, including feminism, democratic socialism, and populism.
- Citations cover the evolution of feminism from Betty Friedan's 'The Feminine Mystique' to contemporary discussions on third and fourth waves.
- Economic policy debates are highlighted through sources discussing the federal minimum wage, Black farmers' debt cycles, and corporate social justice.
- The references include critiques of modern progressivism and the 'New American Right,' citing influential essays like 'The Flight 93 Election.'
- International political movements are represented through studies on Chavismo in Venezuela and the ideological frameworks of the United Nations.
See Michael Anton, âThe Flight 93 Election,â Claremont Review of Books, September 5, 2016.
2015, https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/03/supreme-court-pregnancy-discrimination-
coalition-116559/.
52. Robert McCrum, âThe 100 Best Nonfiction Books: No 18 â The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
(1963),â Guardian, May 30, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/30/feminine-
mystique-100-best-nonfiction-books-robert-mccrum.
53. R. Claire Snyder, âWhat Is Third Wave Feminism? A New Directions Essay,â Signs: Journal of Women in
Culture and Society 34, no. 1 (Autumn 2008), https://doi.org/10.1086/588436; Constance Grady, âThe
Waves of Feminism, and Why People Keep Fighting over Them, Explained,â Vox, July 20, 2018,
550 References
Access for free at openstax.org
https://www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-waves-explained-first-second-third-fourth.
54. See April Simpson, âWill Bidenâs Relief Package Break Black Farmersâ âCycle of Debtâ?,â The Center for
Public Integrity, March 19, 2021, https://publicintegrity.org/health/coronavirus-and-inequality/biden-
relief-package-black-farmers-cycle-of-debt/.
55. Nora Berenstain, âEpistemic Exploitation,â Ergo 3, no. 22 (2016): 578, https://doi.org/10.3998/
ergo.12405314.0003.022.
56. âWhat Is Democratic Socialism?,â Democratic Socialists of America, last modified June 9, 2021,
https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/what-is-democratic-socialism/.
57. Ibid.
58. David Cooper, âRaising the Federal Minimum Wage to $15 by 2024 Would Lift Pay for Nearly 40 Million
Workers,â Economic Policy Institute, February 5, 2019, https://www.epi.org/publication/raising-the-
federal-minimum-wage-to-15-by-2024-would-lift-pay-for-nearly-40-million-workers/.
59. Kirk A. Hawkins, âChavismo, Liberal Democracy, and Radical Democracy,â Annual Review of Political
Science 19 (2016): 311â319, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-072314-113326.
60. Jean-Philippe ThĂŠrien, âThe United Nations Ideology: From Ideas to Global Policies,â Journal of Political
Ideologies 20, no. 3 (2015): 221â243, https://doi.org/10.1080/13569317.2015.1075262.Â
61. See Michael Anton, âThe Flight 93 Election,â Claremont Review of Books, September 5, 2016,
https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/digital/the-flight-93-election/.
62. Douglas Kellner, âHerbert Marcuse,â UCLA School of Education & Information Studies,
https://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/essays/herbertmarcuse.pdf.
63. Os Guinness, The Dust of Death: The Sixties Counterculture and How It Changed America Forever (1973;
repr., Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2020).
64. See Jeremy Beaman, âBarr Slams âSecular Progressive Orthodoxyâ in Public Schools,â Washington
Examiner, May 21, 2021, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/william-barr-speech-slamming-
progressive-orthodoxy.
65. See, for example, numerous pieces on the relatively new website American Greatness, such as Conrad
Black, âChina vs. America,â American Greatness, June 28, 2021, https://amgreatness.com/2021/06/28/
china-vs-america/.
66. See Vivek Ramaswamy, Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate Americaâs Social Justice Scam (New York: Center
Street, 2021).
67. Christian Parenti, âHugo ChĂĄvez and Petro Populism,â The Nation, March 24, 2005,
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/hugo-chavez-and-petro-populism/.
68. Chris Teale, âLawmakers See 2022 as the Year to Rein In Social Media. Others Worry Politics Will Get in
the Way,â Morning Consult, December 15, 2021, https://morningconsult.com/2021/12/15/social-media-
regulation-poll-2022/.
69. Matthew Continetti, âMaking Sense of the New American Right,â National Review, June 1, 2019,
https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/06/new-american-right-schools-of-thought/.
Global Perspectives on Civil Liberties
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations regarding the historical and contemporary state of civil liberties and human rights globally.
- It highlights the tension between public health mandates and individual freedoms, specifically citing anti-mask protests in the United States and Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- International frameworks for human rights are referenced, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, and the Arab Charter on Human Rights.
- A significant portion of the references focuses on the transition of South Africa from the apartheid era to a constitutional democracy with a robust Bill of Rights.
- The citations include data from global monitoring organizations like Freedom House and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to track the status of freedom and protests worldwide.
Three Washington State Schools Put on Lockdown amid Anti-mask Protests.
70. Scott Morefield, âIn Defense of Trump,â The Hill, December 26, 2016, https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-
blog/presidential-campaign/311549-in-defense-of-trumpism.
71. See Amnesty International USA, The Rohingya in Myanmar: A History of Persecution, testimony for Tom
Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing, House Comm. on Foreign Affairs, 115th Cong. (March 17,
2017), https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/sites/humanrightscommission.house.gov/files/
documents/
Amnesty%20International%20USA%20Testimony%20for%20Rohingya%20Hearing%20%20March%20
2017%20.pdf.
4 Civil Liberties
1. Claire Felter and Nathalie Bussemaker, âWhich Countries Are Requiring Face Masks?,â Council on
Foreign Affairs, August 4, 2020, https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/which-countries-are-requiring-face-masks.
2. Patrick Reilly, âThree Washington State Schools Put on Lockdown amid Anti-mask Protests,â New York
References 551
Post, September 4, 2021, https://nypost.com/2021/09/04/anti-mask-protesters-force-lockdown-of-three-
washington-state-schools/; Soo Kim, âAnti-mask Protests across Europe as Coronavirus Cases Rise 4
Days in a Row,â Newsweek, August 17, 2020, https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-europe-anti-mask-
protests-spain-belgium-germany-uk-france-1525485.
3. âGlobal Protest Tracker,â Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, last updated January 7, 2022,
https://carnegieendowment.org/publications/interactive/protest-tracker.
4. âGlobal Freedom Status,â Freedom House, accessed January 27, 2022, https://freedomhouse.org/explore-
the-map?type=fiw&year=2021.
5. UN General Assembly, Resolution 217 A, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, A/RES/217(III) (Dec. 10,
1948), https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
6. Organization of the Islamic Conference, âCairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam,â University of
Minnesota Human Rights Library, accessed June 28, 2021, http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/
cairodeclaration.html.
7. âArab Charter on Human Rights Tunis May 2004 (Excerpts),â Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights, United Nations, accessed June 28, 2021, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/RuleOfLaw/
CompilationDemocracy/Pages/ArabCharter.aspx.
8. Franck Kuwonu, âAfricaâs Freedom Struggles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,â Africa
Renewal, December 2018âMarch 2019, https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/
december-2018-march-2019/africaâs-freedom-struggles-and-universal-declaration-human-rights;
âHuman Rights Day,â Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, accessed January 27, 2022,
https://www.parliament.gov.za/project-event-details/2; Penelope Andrews, âSouth Africa,â in
Encyclopedia of Human Rights, ed. David P. Forsythe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 4:481â491,
https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2316&context=fac_articles_chapters.
9. âUnit 6: The End of Apartheid and the Birth of Democracy,â South Africa: Overcoming Apartheid,
accessed January 27, 2022, https://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/unit.php?id=65-24E-6; âSouth African
Constitution: The Bill of Rights,â South African History Online, last updated August 27, 2019,
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/south-african-constitution-bill-rights.
10. âDocument 37: The Bill of Rights,â South African History Online, last updated September 1, 2019,
https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/document-37-bill-rights.
11. Becky Little, âKey Steps That Led to End of Apartheid,â History, last updated November 23, 2020,
https://www.history.com/news/end-apartheid-steps.
Foundations of Constitutional Rights
- The text provides a comprehensive list of legal citations regarding the International Bill of Human Rights and common law constitutional frameworks.
- It contrasts the structural differences between written constitutions, like that of the United States, and unwritten constitutional traditions.
- Specific legal references highlight the tension between individual liberties, such as freedom of speech, and state-imposed mandates during public health crises.
- The citations include comparative constitutional law, specifically looking at the differing protections in Germany, China, and the United States.
- Legal precedents are cited to argue that democratic voters, rather than government commissions, should be the ultimate arbiters of political truth.
We do not want the Government (i.e., the Ohio Elections Commission) deciding what is political truthâfor fear that the Government might persecute those who criticize it.
12. âFact Sheet No. 2 (Rev. 1), The International Bill of Human Rights,â Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights, United Nations, accessed January 27, 2022, https://www.ohchr.org/documents/
publications/factsheet2rev.1en.pdf; Beverly McLachlin, âBills of Rights in Common Law Countries,â The
International and Comparative Law Quarterly 51, no. 2 (April 2002): 197â203, https://www.jstor.org/
stable/3663226.
13. âThe Bill of Rights: What Does It Say?,â Americaâs Founding Documents, National Archives, last updated
July 24, 2020, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights/what-does-it-say; U.S. Const., Bill of
Rights, https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/billofrights.
14. Lauren Wade, âThe Pros and Cons of an âUnwrittenâ Constitution,â The Lawyer Portal, October 1, 2019,
https://www.thelawyerportal.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-having-an-unwritten-constitution/.
15. International IDEA, What Is a Constitution? Principles and Concepts, August 2014,
https://www.constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/what_is_a_constitution_0.pdf.
16. Ibid.
17. U.S. Const. amend. IâX, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript.
18. Germany Const. art. V, Âś 1, https://www.btg-bestellservice.de/pdf/80201000.pdf.
19. For example, the right to writ of habeas corpus, the right to assistance of counsel, and the right to a jury
trial. U.S. Const., https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/.
20. Commission on Unalienable Rights, Report of the Commission on Unalienable Rights, August 26, 2020,
https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Draft-Report-of-the-Commission-on-Unalienable-
552 References
Access for free at openstax.org
Rights.pdf; Vicki C. Jackson, âPositive Obligations, Positive Rights, and Constitutional Amendment,â in
Boundaries of State, Boundaries of Rights: Human Rights, Private Actors, and Positive Obligations, ed.
Tsvi Kahana and Anat Scolnicov (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016), 109â128,
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107588943.006.
21. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (London, 1859; Project Gutenberg, 2011), 18, https://www.gutenberg.org/
ebooks/34901.
22. âWe do not want the Government (i.e., the Ohio Elections Commission) deciding what is political
truthâfor fear that the Government might persecute those who criticize it. Instead, in a democracy, the
voters should decide.â Susan B. Anthony List et al. v. Ohio Elections Commission, 45 F. Supp. 3d 765 (S.D.
Ohio 2014), https://casetext.com/case/list-v-ohio-elections-commn-1; affirmed, 814 F.3d 466 (6th Cir.
2016).
23. Germany Const., art. V, Âś 2.
24. China Const. ch. 1, art. I, http://www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/englishnpc/Constitution/2007-11/15/
content_1372963.htm.
25. Ibid. ch. 2, art. XXXV, http://www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/englishnpc/Constitution/2007-11/15/
content_1372964.htm.
26. Amnesty International, âChina,â in Amnesty International Report 2020/21: The State of the Worldâs
Human Rights (London: Amnesty International, 2021), 119â124, https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-
content/uploads/2021/06/English.pdf.
27. Darren Cartwright, âMasks Should Not Be Mandatory When Community Transmission Not Prevalent:
Experts,â news.com.au, January 20, 2021, https://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/masks-
should-not-be-mandatory-when-community-transmission-not-prevalent-experts/news-story/
d6e7e901285f86cebd5fee333777747a.
28. Alex Berezow, âShould COVID Vaccines Be Mandatory?,â American Council on Science and Health,
February 5, 2021, https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/02/05/should-covid-vaccines-be-mandatory-15324.
29. U.S. Const. amend. V.
Legal Foundations of Privacy
- The text provides a comprehensive list of legal citations and references concerning the right to privacy and individual liberties.
- Key U.S. Supreme Court cases such as Obergefell v. Hodges, Roe v. Wade, and Griswold v. Connecticut are cited as pillars of privacy and due process.
- It highlights the historical evolution of privacy rights, referencing the seminal 1890 Harvard Law Review article by Warren and Brandeis.
- The references extend to international human rights, including the UK Human Rights Act and United Nations mandates on privacy and child marriage.
- The documentation contrasts Western privacy protections with global human rights challenges, such as anti-LGBT laws in Africa and reproductive policies in China.
Samuel D . Warren and Louis D . Brandeis , âThe Right to Privacy,â Harvard La w Review 4, no . 5 (Dec ember 15, 1890): 205.
30. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/
14-556_3204.pdf.
31. Victor V. Ramraj, âFour Models of Due Process,â International Journal of Constitutional Law 2, no. 3 (July
2004): 492â524, https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/2.3.492.
32. Merriam-Websterâs Dictionary of Law, s.v. âright of privacy,â accessed June 28, 2021,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/right%20of%20privacy.
33. Wex, s.v. âright to privacy,â accessed January 27, 2022, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/right_to_privacy.
34. Samuel D. Warren and Louis D. Brandeis, âThe Right to Privacy,â Harvard Law Review 4, no. 5 (December
15, 1890): 205, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1321160.
35. Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925), https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/268us510.
36. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479Â (1965), https://www.oyez.org/cases/1964/496; Lawrence v. Texas,
539 U.S. 558 (2003), https://www.oyez.org/cases/2002/02-102; Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973),
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/70-18.
37. Lawrence, 539 U.S.
38. Human Rights Act 1998, c. 42, § 1(3), sch. 1, art. 8 (UK), https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/
schedule/1.
39. Several US state constitutions do include an explicit right to privacy. See âPrivacy Protections in State
Constitutions,â National Conference of State Legislatures, last modified January 3, 2022,
https://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/privacy-protections-
in-state-constitutions.aspx.
40. David D. Bodenhamer, âThe Right of Privacy,â in Our Rights (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), ch.
22, https://www.annenbergclassroom.org/resource/our-rights/rights-chapter-22-right-privacy/.
41. Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928), https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/277us438.
42. Griswold, 381 U.S.
References 553
43. Judith Haydel, âPrivacy,â The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University, 2009,
https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1141/privacy.
44. A/RES/217(III), art. 12.
45. âSpecial Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy,â Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United
Nations, accessed January 27, 2022, https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/privacy/sr/pages/
srprivacyindex.aspx.
46. âSenegalese Lawmakers Draft Tougher Laws against LGBT,â Reuters, December 13, 2021,
https://news.yahoo.com/senegalese-lawmakers-draft-tougher-laws-214135599.html; âMapping Anti-Gay
Laws in Africa,â Amnesty International UK, May 31, 2018, https://www.amnesty.org.uk/lgbti-lgbt-gay-
human-rights-law-africa-uganda-kenya-nigeria-cameroon; Report: The State of Human Rights for LGBT
People in Africa (Washington, DC: Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Human Rights First, 2014),
https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/resource/state-human-rights-lgbt-people-africa.
47. Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967).
48. Obergefell, 576 U.S.
49. âChina Allows Three Children in Major Policy Shift,â BBC News, May 31, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/
news/world-asia-china-57303592.
50. âChild, Early and Forced Marriage, Including in Humanitarian Settings,â Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights, United Nations, accessed June 28, 2021, https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/women/
wrgs/pages/childmarriage.aspx.
51. âGirlsâ Education,â UNICEF, accessed June 28, 2021, https://www.unicef.org/education/girls-education.
52. Restrictions on Womenâs Religious Attire (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, April 5, 2016),
https://www.pewforum.org/2016/04/05/restrictions-on-womens-religious-attire/; Brenda J. Norton, A
Global Privacy and Human Rights
- The text lists foundational US privacy laws including the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 and the Privacy Act of 1974.
- It references international data protection standards such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- Citations highlight the tension between state surveillance and privacy, specifically mentioning the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).
- The references document human rights concerns regarding China's use of big data for the repression of Xinjiang's Muslim population.
- Legal frameworks for balancing hate speech and free expression are noted, with a specific focus on Germany's strict post-WWII regulations.
âChina: Big Da ta Program Targets Xinjiang âs Muslims ,â Human Rights Watch, Dec ember 9, 2020.
Question of Balance: A Study of Legal Equality and State Neutrality in the United States, France, and the
Netherlands (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016).
53. The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 protects personal financial information collected by credit
reporting agencies. The Privacy Act of 1974 prevents the unauthorized disclosure of personal
information held by the federal government. The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 requires
financial institutions to provide customers with a privacy policy and to safeguard their information.
54. Childrenâs Online Privacy Protection Rule, 16 C.F.R. 312 (2013), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/
rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule.
55. Law Library of Congress, Childrenâs Online Privacy and Data Protection in Selected European Countries
(Washington, DC: Library of Congress, April 2021), https://iapp.org/media/pdf/resource_center/
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s.pdf.
56. Exec. Order No. 14,028, 86 Fed. Reg. 26633 (May 17, 2021), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/
2021/05/17/2021-10460/improving-the-nations-cybersecurity.
57. âForeign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC),â Electronic Privacy Information Center, accessed
January 27, 2022, https://epic.org/foreign-intelligence-surveillance-court-fisc/.
58. âAbout the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court,â United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Court, accessed January 27, 2022, https://www.fisc.uscourts.gov/about-foreign-intelligence-surveillance-
court.
59. General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (Apr. 27, 2016), https://gdpr-info.eu/.
60. âSummary of Adoption of E-commerce Legislation Worldwide,â United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development, accessed February 22, 2022, https://unctad.org/topic/ecommerce-and-digital-economy/
ecommerce-law-reform/summary-adoption-e-commerce-legislation-worldwide.
61. âData Protection and Privacy Legislation Worldwide,â United Nations Conference on Trade and
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62. China Const. ch. 2, art. XL.
63. ââEradicating Ideological Virusesâ: Chinaâs Campaign of Repression against Xinjiangâs Muslims,â Human
554 References
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Rights Watch, September 9, 2018, https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/09/09/eradicating-ideological-
viruses/chinas-campaign-repression-against-xinjiangs; âChina: Big Data Program Targets Xinjiangâs
Muslims,â Human Rights Watch, December 9, 2020, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/12/09/china-big-
data-program-targets-xinjiangs-muslims.
64. A/RES/217(III), art. 19.
65. Ibid., art. 18.
66. UN General Assembly, Resolution 2200A (XXI), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, A/
RES/2200A(XXI) (Dec. 16, 1966), art. 27, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/
CCPR.aspx.
67. Leah Levin, âHuman Rights and the International Community: Twenty Questions,â The UNESCO Courier,
October 1978, https://en.unesco.org/courier/october-1978/human-rights-and-international-community-
twenty-questions.
68. Dan Glaun, âGermanyâs Laws on Hate Speech, Nazi Propaganda & Holocaust Denial: An Explainer,â
Frontline, PBS, July 1, 2021, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/germanys-laws-antisemitic-
hate-speech-nazi-propaganda-holocaust-denial/.
69. Ibid.
70. Germany Const. art. V, Âś 1.
71. Manasi Gopalakrishnan, âGermany Treads Thin Line between Hate Speech and Free Expression,â DW
Akademie, April 19, 2016, https://p.dw.com/p/1IYXg.
Global Rights and Legal Citations
- The text provides a comprehensive list of legal citations and reports concerning the suppression of free speech in Belarus and Saudi Arabia.
- It references the constitutional and judicial foundations of religious freedom in the United States, including the First Amendment and the Everson v. Board of Education case.
- The citations highlight global human rights issues, specifically the repression of Uyghurs in China and the evolving landscape of LGBTQ+ rights and conversion therapy laws.
- Legal precedents regarding the right to interstate travel in the United States are documented through various Supreme Court cases such as Saenz v. Roe and Shapiro v. Thompson.
- The references include international perspectives on freedom, citing the Swedish Constitution and reports from organizations like Freedom House and Amnesty International.
One current controversy in this area is conversion therapy, or intervention by religious practitioners intended to âcureâ children of LGBTQ+ sexual orientations or gender identities.
72. âIs Hate Speech Legal?,â FIRE, March 28, 2019, https://www.thefire.org/issues/hate-speech/.
73. Anastasiia Kruope, âNew Laws Further Stifle Freedom of Speech in Belarus,â Human Rights Watch, April
7, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/04/07/new-laws-further-stifle-freedom-speech-belarus;
âBelarus: Opposition Leader Tikhanovsky Jailed for 18 Years over Protests,â BBC News, December 14,
2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59650238.
74. Sebastian Usher, âSaudi Arabia Allows Free Thinkers to Talk to Students,â BBC News, December 14, 2021,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-59609233.
75. U.S. Const. amend. I.
76. Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1, 15â16 (1947).
77. One current controversy in this area is conversion therapy, or intervention by religious practitioners
intended to âcureâ children of LGBTQ+ sexual orientations or gender identities. See âConversion
âTherapyâ Laws,â Movement Advancement Project, last updated July 16, 2021, https://www.lgbtmap.org/
img/maps/citations-conversion-therapy.pdf.
78. Paul J. Angelo and Dominic Bocci, âThe Changing Landscape of Global LGBTQ+ Rights,â Council on
Foreign Relations, January 29, 2021, https://www.cfr.org/article/changing-landscape-global-lgbtq-rights.
79. âParliament, Church and Religion,â UK Parliament, accessed June 28, 2021, https://www.parliament.uk/
about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/private-lives/religion/overview/church-and-religion/.
80. A Closer Look at How Religious Restrictions Have Risen around the World (Washington, DC: Pew
Research Center, July 15, 2019), 6, https://www.pewforum.org/2019/07/15/a-closer-look-at-how-
religious-restrictions-have-risen-around-the-world/.
81. Norton, A Question.
82. âQatar,â in 2017 Report on International Religious Freedom (Washington, DC: US Department of State,
2018), https://www.state.gov/reports/2017-report-on-international-religious-freedom/qatar/.
83. Lindsay Maizland, âChinaâs Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang,â Council on Foreign Relations, last
updated March 1, 2021, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-repression-uyghurs-xinjiang.
84. A/RES/217(III), art. 13.
85. Crandall v. Nevada, 73 U.S. 35 (1868); United States v. Wheeler, 254 U.S. 281 (1920).
86. Saenz v. Roe, 526 U.S. 489 (1999), https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/98-97.ZO.html.
87. The court struck down one-year residency requirements as interfering with the right to interstate travel
but did hold that shorter residency requirements may be permissible in certain circumstances. Shapiro
v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 618 (1969); Dunn v. Blumstein, 405 U.S. 330 (1972); Memorial Hospital v.
References 555
Maricopa County, 415 U.S. 250 (1974); Attorney Gen. of New York v. Soto-Lopez, 476 U.S. 898 (1986);
Baldwin v. Fish and Game Commission of Montana, 436 U.S. 371 (1978).
88. Sweden Const., art. XV, https://wipolex.wipo.int/en/legislation/details/16262.
89. âChina,â Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy under Siege, Freedom House, last modified March 2,
2021, https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-world/2021.
90. âChina,â Amnesty International, accessed June 28, 2021, https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-
and-the-pacific/china/.
91. âChina,â Freedom in the World 2020: A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy, Freedom House, last
modified May 5, 2021, https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-world/2020.
92. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, 8 U.S.C. § 1185, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/
1185.
93. Kent v. Dulles, 357 U.S. 116 (1958), https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/357/116.html.
Global Migration and Human Rights
- The text cites specific instances of state-controlled movement, such as the confiscation of passports from Uyghur populations in Xinjiang.
- International legal frameworks are referenced to define the status of refugees as individuals fleeing persecution, conflict, or generalized violence.
- The documentation highlights the increasing criminalization of illegal entry across various global jurisdictions.
- Academic and legal debates regarding 'open borders' are contrasted with the practical difficulties of immigrating to certain restrictive nations.
- Emerging legal discourse is connecting human rights obligations to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, and sustainable environment.
- The citations include landmark legal cases, such as Juliana v. United States, which address the intersection of government policy and environmental rights.
Xinjiangâs Government Gives Uyghurs Passports, Only to Take Them Away Later.
94. âXinjiangâs Government Gives Uyghurs Passports, Only to Take Them Away Later,â Radio Free Asia, 2017,
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/uyghur-oppression/ChenPolicy4.html; Gary Sands, âXinjiang:
Uighurs Grapple with Travel Restrictions,â Eurasianet, December 28, 2016, https://eurasianet.org/
xinjiang-uighurs-grapple-travel-restrictions.
95. A/RES/217(III), art. 14â15.
96. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, International Migration Policies:
Data Booklet (United Nations, 2017), ST/ESA/SER.A/395, https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/
population/publications/pdf/policy/international_migration_policies_data_booklet.pdf.
97. Law Library of Congress, Criminalization of Illegal Entry around the World (Washington, DC: Library of
Congress, August 2019), https://www.loc.gov/item/2019685473/.
98. â10 Countries That Take the Most Migrants,â U.S. News & World Report, last updated August 24, 2021,
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/slideshows/10-countries-that-take-the-most-immigrants.
99. âHardest Countries to Immigrate To,â World Population Review, accessed June 28, 2021,
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/hardest-countries-to-immigrate-to.
100. âRefugees are persons who are outside their country of origin for reasons of feared persecution, conflict,
generalized violence, or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order and, as a result,
require international protection. The refugee definition can be found in the 1951 Convention and
regional refugee instruments, as well as UNHCRâs Statute.â Source: âDefinitions,â Refugees and Migrants,
United Nations, last modified July 22, 2016, https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/definitions.
101. âOur Partners,â UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency, accessed June 28, 2021, https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/
governments-and-partners.html.
102. Shelley Wilcox, âThe Open Borders Debate on Immigration,â Philosophy Compass 4, no. 5 (September
2009): 813â821, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
227662852_The_Open_Borders_Debate_on_Immigration.
103. Kelly Buchanan, âYou Have the Right to Remain Silent . . . ,â In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of
Congress, Library of Congress, July 18, 2016, https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2016/07/you-have-the-right-to-
remain-silent/.
104. Council of Europe, European Convention on Human Rights, amend. and supp. (Strasbourg: European
Court of Human Rights, 2021), https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/convention_eng.pdf; A/RES/217(III),
art. 10â11.
105. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, âUnderstanding Human Rights and Climate Changeâ
(submission, 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, 2015), https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/ClimateChange/COP21.pdf.
106. UN General Assembly, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Issue of Human Rights Obligations
Relating to the Enjoyment of a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, A/73/88, œœ 8, 55 (July
19, 2018), https://undocs.org/A/73/188.
107. âWhat Are Your Environmental Rights?,â UN Environment Programme, accessed June 28, 2021,
https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/environmental-rights-and-governance/what-we-do/advancing-
556 References
Access for free at openstax.org
environmental-rights/what-0.
108. Juliana v. United States, 947 F.3d 1159 (9th Cir. 2020), https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/
Political Participation and Legal Precedents
- The text cites legal challenges regarding climate change mitigation, specifically the Juliana v. United States case and its jurisdictional limits.
- It references the global expansion and shifting public support for the Black Lives Matter movement as a form of modern political participation.
- Historical foundations of democracy are explored through the works of James Madison and Alexis de Tocqueville alongside modern student engagement studies.
- The citations cover the evolution of voting rights, including the 2020 U.S. voter turnout surge and the historical significance of women's suffrage in Wyoming.
- Indigenous self-government and the constitutional implications of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment are highlighted as key components of political identity.
Ninth Circuit Court Holds That Developing and Supervising Plan to Mitigate Anthropogenic Climate Change Would Exceed Remedial Powers of Article III Court.
2020/01/17/18-36082.pdf; âJuliana v. United States: Ninth Circuit Court Holds That Developing and
Supervising Plan to Mitigate Anthropogenic Climate Change Would Exceed Remedial Powers of Article III
Court,â Harvard Law Review 134, no. 5 (March 2021), https://harvardlawreview.org/2021/03/juliana-v-
united-states/; âJuliana v. United States,â Our Childrenâs Trust, accessed February 20, 2022,
https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/juliana-v-us; âJuliana v. United States,â Climate Change Litigation
Databases, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, last modified December 6, 2021,
http://climatecasechart.com/climate-change-litigation/case/juliana-v-united-states/.
109. âClimate Change and Disaster Displacement,â UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency, accessed June 28, 2021,
https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/climate-change-and-disasters.html.
110. Ibid.
5 Political Participation and Public Opinion
1. âAbout,â Black Lives Matter, last modified October 16, 2020, https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/.
2. Oluwakemi Aladesuyi, âHow Black Lives Matter Went Global, by Co-founder Patrisse Cullors,â Financial
Times, December 4, 2020, https://www.ft.com/content/c6eac3c7-3f38-49be-9caa-f3aa1248184a.
3. Deja Thomas and Juliana Menasce Horowitz, âSupport for Black Lives Matter Has Decreased since June
but Remains Strong among Black Americans,â Pew Research Center, September 16, 2020,
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/16/support-for-black-lives-matter-has-decreased-
since-june-but-remains-strong-among-black-americans/.
4. Lawrence J. Saha and Murray Print, âStudent School Elections and Political Engagement: A Cradle of
Democracy?,â International Journal of Educational Research 49, no. 1 (2010): 22.
5. Ibid., 22.
6. James Madison, Federalist, no. 39, in The Federalist Papers, by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and
Madison (Project Gutenberg, 2009), https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1404/1404-h/
1404-h.htm#link2H_4_0039.
7. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. Henry Reeve, vol. 1 (London: Saunders and Otley,
1835; Project Gutenberg, 1997), chap. IX, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/815/815-h/
815-h.htm#link2HCH0023.
8. Jenny Higgins, âIndigenous Self-Government,â Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Website, 2009,
updated July 2021, https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/indigenous-self-government.php.
9. Reynolds v. Sims, 377 US 533 (1964), https://www.oyez.org/cases/1963/23.
10. Drew DeSilver, âTurnout Soared in 2020 as Nearly Two-Thirds of Eligible US Voters Cast Ballots for
President,â Pew Research Center, January 28, 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/28/
turnout-soared-in-2020-as-nearly-two-thirds-of-eligible-u-s-voters-cast-ballots-for-president/.
11. Before becoming a state, Wyoming granted women unrestricted voting rights in 1869. However, this only
applied to territorial matters, not national elections. Upon achieving statehood in 1890, Wyoming
affirmed voting rights for women in its state constitution.
12. Jocelyn Benson and Michael T. Morley, âCommon Interpretation: The Twenty-Sixth Amendment,â The
Interactive Constitution, National Constitution Center, accessed April 20, 2021,
https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-xxvi/interps/161.
13. Geoffrey Skelley, âThis Isnât the First Time America Has Weathered a Crisis in an Election Year,â
FiveThirtyEight, ABC News, March 23, 2020, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/this-isnt-the-first-time-
america-has-weathered-a-crisis-in-an-election-year/.
14. Drew DeSilver, âIn Past Elections, US Trailed Most Developed Countries in Voter Turnout,â Pew Research
Scholarly Sources on Voter Participation
- The text provides a comprehensive list of academic citations focusing on the factors that influence voter turnout across different nations.
- Key research themes include the impact of compulsory voting and electoral engineering on democratic participation.
- Several citations explore the role of social capital and community engagement, notably referencing Robert Putnam's 'Bowling Alone.'
- A significant portion of the references examines demographic variables, specifically how age and generational differences affect voting behavior.
- The bibliography highlights the relationship between economic inequality and political efficacy, suggesting that income gaps discourage participation.
The Relationship between Age and Turnout: A Roller-Coaster Ride.
Center, November 3, 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/03/in-past-elections-u-s-
trailed-most-developed-countries-in-voter-turnout/.
15. Mark N. Franklin, âElectoral Engineering and Cross-National Turnout Differences: What Role for
Compulsory Voting?,â British Journal of Political Science 29, no. 1 (January 1999): 205â216,
References 557
https://www.jstor.org/stable/194302.
16. Robert W. Jackman, âPolitical Institutions and Voter Turnout in the Industrial Democracies,â American
Political Science Review 81, no. 2 (June 1987): 405â423, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1961959.
17. Jeffrey A. Karp and Susan A. Banducci, âPolitical Efficacy and Participation in Twenty-Seven
Democracies: How Electoral Systems Shape Political Behaviour,â British Journal of Political Science 38,
no. 2 (April 2008): 311â334, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27568347.
18. Aie-Rie Lee, âThe Quality of Social Capital and Political Participation in South Korea,â Journal of East
Asian Studies 10, no. 3 (SeptemberâDecember 2010): 483â505, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23418868.
19. Joseph L. Klesner, âSocial Capital and Political Participation in Latin America: Evidence from Argentina,
Chile, Mexico, and Peru,â Latin American Research Review 42, no. 2 (2007): 1â32, https://www.jstor.org/
stable/4499368.
20. Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon &
Schuster, 2000).
21. The 100 Million Project: The Untold Story of American Non-Voters (Knight Foundation, 2020), 8,
https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/The-100-Million-
Project_KF_Report_2020.pdf.
22. Ruth Dassonneville, âAge and Voting,â in The Sage Handbook of Electoral Behaviour, ed. Kai Arzheimer,
Jocelyn Evans, and Michael S. Lewis-Beck (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2017), 137.
23. Yosef Bhatti, Kasper M. Hansen, and Hanna Wass, âThe Relationship between Age and Turnout: A Roller-
Coaster Ride,â Electoral Studies 31, no. 3 (September 2012): 588â593.
24. Achim Goerres, âWhy Are Older People More Likely to Vote? The Impact of Ageing on Electoral Turnout in
Europe,â British Journal of Politics and International Relations 9, no. 1 (February 2007): 90â121.
25. Robert H. Binstock, âOlder People and Political Engagement: From Avid Voters to âCooled-Out Marks,ââ
Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging 30, no. 4 (Winter 2006â2007): 24â30,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26555473.
26. Susan A. McManus, Young v. Old: Generational Combat in the 21st Century (Boulder, CO: Westview Press,
1996), 36.
27. Andrea Louise Campbell, How Policies Make Citizens: Senior Political Activism and the American
Welfare State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003), 14.
28. Ben Y. Hayden, âWhy Do Old People Vote More?,â Psychology Today, September 27, 2011,
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-decision-tree/201109/why-do-old-people-vote-more.
29. Christoper J. Anderson and Pablo Beramendi, âIncome, Inequality, and Electoral Participation,â in
Democracy, Inequality, and Representation: A Comparative Perspective, ed. Beramendi and Anderson
(New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2008), 278.
30. Sean McElwee, Why the Voting Gap Matters (New York: Demos.org, 2014), https://www.demos.org/
research/why-voting-gap-matters.
31. Jeremy Adam Smith and Teja Pattabhiraman, âHow Inequality Keeps People from Voting,â Greater Good,
October 29, 2020, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/
how_inequality_keeps_people_from_voting.
32. Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, Jasmine Mithani, and Laura Bronner, âWhy Many Americans Donât Vote,â
Scholarly Perspectives on Voter Turnout
- The text provides a comprehensive list of academic and journalistic citations focusing on global and domestic voter turnout trends.
- Significant attention is given to the shifting racial and ethnic demographics of the United States electorate, specifically highlighting Asian American, Pacific Islander, Black, and Latino voters.
- Multiple sources explore the persistent gender gap in voting, examining why women historically participate at higher rates than men and how this gap fluctuated in the 2020 election.
- The references address psychological and structural barriers to voting, including personality traits, voter fatigue, and the 'costs' associated with participating in elections.
- The collection emphasizes the 'unresolved dilemma' of unequal participation in democratic systems and the impact of registration laws worldwide.
Asian American and Pacific Islander Turnout Helped Hand Biden Georgia.
FiveThirtyEight, ABC News, October 26, 2020, https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/non-voters-
poll-2020-election/.
33. Abdurashid Solijonov, Voter Turnout Trends around the World (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2016),
35â36, https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/voter-turnout-trends-around-the-world.pdf.
34. Ruth Igielnik and Abby Budiman, âThe Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of the US Electorate,â
Pew Research Center, September 23, 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/2020/09/23/the-changing-
racial-and-ethnic-composition-of-the-u-s-electorate/.
35. Ryan Benk and Lulu Garcia-Navarro, âAsian American and Pacific Islander Turnout Helped Hand Biden
Georgia,â NPR, December 4, 2020, https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/12/04/
942271036/asian-american-and-pacific-islander-turnout-helped-hand-biden-georgia.
558 References
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36. Rashawn Ray and Mark Whitlock, âSetting the Record Straight on Black Voter Turnout,â How We Rise
(blog), Brookings Institution, September 12, 2019, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2019/
09/12/setting-the-record-straight-on-black-voter-turnout/.
37. Benjamin Highton and Arthur L. Burris, âNew Perspectives on Latino Voter Turnout in the United States,â
American Politics Research 30, no. 3 (May 2002): 285â306.
38. âGender Differences in Voter Turnout,â Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University,
updated May 4, 2021, https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/voters/turnout.
39. Catherine Rampell, âWhy Women Are Far More Likely to Vote Than Men,â Washington Post, July 17,
2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/catherine-rampell-why-women-are-far-more-likely-
to-vote-then-men/2014/07/17/b4658192-0de8-11e4-8c9a-923ecc0c7d23_story.html.
40. Laurence Arnold, âThe Gender Gap in Voting,â Bloomberg, updated August 27, 2020,
https://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/gender-gap.
41. Courtney Weaver, âA Historic Gender Gap: Why Men and Women Are Voting Differently,â Financial Times,
November 3, 2020, https://www.ft.com/content/419376c4-b6be-41dc-93eb-303f2f4a9903.
42. Geoffrey Skelley, âWhy the Gender Gap May Have Shrunk in the 2020 Election,â FiveThirtyEight, ABC
News, July 9, 2021, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-the-gender-gap-may-have-shrunk-in-
the-2020-election/.
43. International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
44. Solijonov, Voter Turnout Trends
45. Pew Research Center, Who Votes, Who Doesnât, and Why (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, October
2006), https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2006/10/18/who-votes-who-doesnt-and-why/.
46. AndrĂŠ Blais and Simon LabbĂŠ St-Vincent, âPersonality Traits, Political Attitudes and the Propensity to
Vote,â European Journal of Political Research 50, no. 3 (May 2011): 395â417.
47. Stephen D. Shaffer, âA Multivariate Explanation of Decreasing Turnout in Presidential Elections,
1960â1976,â American Journal of Political Science 25, no. 1 (February 1981): 68â95,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2110913.
48. C. Rallings, M. Thrasher, and G. Borisyuk, âSeasonal Factors, Voter Fatigue and the Costs of Voting,â
Electoral Studies 22, no. 1 (March 2003): 65â79.
49. Arend Lijphart, âUnequal Participation: Democracyâs Unresolved Dilemma,â American Political Science
Review 91, no. 1 (March 1997): 1â14, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2952255.
50. Jennifer S. Rosenberg and Margaret Chen, Expanding Democracy: Voter Registration around the World
(New York: Brennan Center for Justice, 2009), https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/
publications/Expanding.Democracy.pdf.
Scholarly Sources on Political Participation
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations focusing on the mechanics and barriers of American voter registration and turnout.
- Several sources examine the specific challenges faced by minority voters, including the historical legacy of segregation and lynching in the South.
- The references explore the role of civic institutions, such as religious organizations and volunteer groups, in fostering political engagement.
- Comparative analysis is offered between American political involvement and global engagement levels, noting the unique design of the U.S. Constitution.
- The citations cover the financial aspects of modern elections, specifically the rising influence and creative methods of small-dollar donors.
The Legacy of Black Lynching and Contemporary Segregation in the South.
51. Kevin Morris and Peter Dunphy, AVR Impact on State Voter Registration (New York: Brennan Center for
Justice, 2019), https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2019-08/
Report_AVR_Impact_State_Voter_Registration.pdf.
52. Domenico Montanaro, âPoll: Despite Record Turnout, 80 Million Americans Didnât Vote. Hereâs Why,â
NPR, December 15, 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/12/15/945031391/poll-despite-record-
turnout-80-million-americans-didnt-vote-heres-why.
53. Sarina Vij, âWhy Minority Voters Have a Lower Voter Turnout: An Analysis of Current Restrictions,â
Human Rights 45, no. 3 (May 2020), https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/
human_rights_magazine_home/voting-in-2020/why-minority-voters-have-a-lower-voter-turnout/.
54. John Shattuck and Mathias Risse, Reimagining Rights and Responsibilities in the United States: Voting
Rights (Cambridge, MA: Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University, 2020),
https://carrcenter.hks.harvard.edu/files/cchr/files/201105_votingrights_converted.pdf.
55. Robert DeFina and Lance Hannon, âThe Legacy of Black Lynching and Contemporary Segregation in the
South,â The Review of Black Political Economy 38, no. 2 (January 2011): 171.
56. âVoting Rights: A Short History,â Carnegie Corporation of New York. https://www.carnegie.org/topics/
topic-articles/voting-rights/voting-rights-timeline/.
57. Paul A. Djupe and J. Tobin Grant, âReligious Institutions and Political Participation in America,â Journal
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58. âConstituents Tell Senator How to Vote,â United States Senate, December 12, 2019,
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Constituent_Complaints.htm.
59. Martin H. Redish, âThe Value of Free Speech,â University of Pennsylvania Law Review 130, no. 3 (January
1982): 604, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3311836.
60. Cliff Zukin et al., A New Engagement? Political Participation, Civic Life, and the Changing American
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61. Robert D. Putnam, Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, with Robert Leonardi and
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October 19, 2018, https://apnews.com/article/db10b6038c5b4d768354ffa1a5a56b30.
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Constitutionâs Framers Designed It That Way,â Washington Post, September 1, 2017,
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involved-than-citizens-elsewhere-the-constitutions-framers-designed-it-that-way/.
64. Richard Wike and Alexandra Castillo, âMany around the World Are Disengaged from Politics,â Pew
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political-engagement/.
65. âContribution Limits,â Federal Election Commission, accessed April 21, 2021, https://www.fec.gov/help-
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66. Chad Day and Julie Bykowicz, âSmall Donors Get Creative to Give Over and Over to 2020 Candidates,â
Wall Street Journal, October 25, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/small-donors-get-creative-to-give-
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67. Ollie Gratzinger, âSmall Donors Give Big Money in 2020 Election Cycle,â OpenSecrets, October 30, 2020,
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Political Participation and Media References
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations focusing on campaign finance systems across different nations including Canada and France.
- Research highlights the psychological and behavioral aspects of citizenship, specifically how individuals conceptualize their roles in political participation.
- Multiple sources examine the impact of social media on political knowledge, suggesting that users who rely on these platforms may be less engaged or informed.
- The references explore the spread of misinformation and 'fake news,' noting that deliberate reflection can reduce belief in false headlines.
- The citations include practical avenues for political engagement, ranging from national committee volunteering to participating in street protests against violence.
Engaging in Tough Conversations Is Worth It. Even If We Canât Find Agreement.
68. Chapter 8: Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections will discuss some of these ideas in further
detail.
69. âLimits on Contributions,â Elections Canada, last modified June 8, 2021, https://www.elections.ca/
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70. âFrance,â International IDEA, 2019, https://www.idea.int/data-tools/country-view/86/55?y=2019.
71. Paul Waldman, âHow Our Campaign Finance System Compares to Other Countries,â American Prospect,
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72. Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, âConceptualizations of Good Citizenship and Political Participation,â Political
Behavior 15, no. 4 (December 1993): 355â380, https://www.jstor.org/stable/586463.
73. Ian Prasad Philbrick and David Leonhardt, âHow to Participate in Politics,â New York Times, updated
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74. âAbout,â Common Ground Committee, last modified May 3, 2021, https://commongroundcommittee.org/
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75. Bruce Bond and Erik Olsen, âEngaging in Tough Conversations Is Worth It. Even If We Canât Find
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76. Amy Mitchell et al., Americans Who Mainly Get Their News on Social Media Are Less Engaged, Less
Knowledgeable (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, July 2020), https://www.pewresearch.org/
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77. Leticia Bode, âPolitical News in the News Feed: Learning Politics from Social Media,â Mass
Communication and Society 19, no. 1 (2016): 24â48.
78. Daniel Halpern, SebastiĂĄn Valenzuela, and James E. Katz, âWe Face, I Tweet: How Different Social Media
Influence Political Participation through Collective and Internal Efficacy,â Journal of Computer-Mediated
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79. Shelley Boulianne, âSocial Media Use and Participation: A Meta-analysis of Current Research,â
Information, Communication & Society 18, no. 5 (2015): 524â538.
80. Sara Brown, âMIT Sloan Research about Social Media, Misinformation, and Elections,â MIT Sloan,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, October 5, 2020, https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/
mit-sloan-research-about-social-media-misinformation-and-elections.
81. Dylan Walsh, âCrowdsourced Ratings of Online News Quality May Actually Work,â MIT Sloan,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, January 28, 2019, https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-
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83. âTake Action,â Democratic National Committee, 2021, https://democrats.org/take-action/.
84. âSign Up to Volunteer,â The Republican National Committee, 2021, https://www.gop.com/volunteer/.
85. Interviews
86. Cameron McWhirter, Allison Pohle, and Alex Janin, âProtests across US Call for End to Anti-Asian
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87. Fabiana Machado, Carlos Scartascini, and Mariano Tommasi, âPolitical Institutions and Street Protests in
Sources on Global Protest Movements
- The bibliography examines the drivers of protest in authoritarian regimes, specifically comparing urban and rural China.
- It highlights the role of digital tools, including e-petitioning and social media, in modern civic engagement and political participation.
- Specific case studies focus on youth-led movements, such as the Parkland students and the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests.
- The text references the long-term legacy of the Arab Spring and ongoing social unrest in Tunisia.
- Several entries explore the concept of social capital and how platforms like Facebook influence life satisfaction and trust among students.
- The collection situates these events within a broader escalating global trend described as the 'Age of Mass Protests.'
The Essential Tool for Hong Kong Protesters? An Umbrella.
Latin America,â Journal of Conflict Resolution 55, no. 3 (June 2011): 342, https://www.jstor.org/stable/
23049890.
88. Lynette H. Ong and Donglin Han, âWhat Drives People to Protest in an Authoritarian Country? Resources
and Rewards vs. Risks of Protests in Urban and Rural China,â Political Studies 67, no. 1 (February 2019):
224â248.
89. Catherine Dumas et al., âE-petitioning as Collective Political Action in We the Peopleâ (conference paper,
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90. Jonah E. Bromwich, âHow the Parkland Students Got So Good at Social Media,â New York Times, March 7,
2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/us/parkland-students-social-media.html.
91. Brian D. Loader, Ariadne Vromen, and Michael A. Xenos, âThe Networked Young Citizen: Social Media,
Political Participation and Civic Engagement,â Information, Communication & Society 17, no. 2 (2014):
143, https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2013.871571.
92. Ibid., 149.
93. Bill Wanlund, âGlobal Protest Movements,â CQ Researcher 30, no. 17 (May 2020),
https://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2020050100.
94. Samuel J. Brannen, Christian S. Haig, and Katherine Schmidt, The Age of Mass Protests: Understanding
an Escalating Global Trend (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, March
2020), https://www.csis.org/analysis/age-mass-protests-understanding-escalating-global-trend.
95. Chloe Whiteaker, âThe Essential Tool for Hong Kong Protesters? An Umbrella,â Bloomberg, September
20, 2019, https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-hong-kong-protesters-umbrellas/.
96. âThe Hong Kong Protests Explained in 100 and 500 words,â BBC News, November 28, 2019,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49317695.
97. Austin Ramzy, âHundreds in Rare Hong Kong Protest as Opposition Figures Are Charged,â New York
Times, March 1, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/01/world/asia/hong-kong-protest.html.
98. Kali Robinson, âThe Arab Spring at Ten Years: Whatâs the Legacy of the Uprisings?,â Council on Foreign
Relations, December 3, 2020, https://www.cfr.org/article/arab-spring-ten-years-whats-legacy-uprisings.
99. Simon Speakman Cordall, ââThings Are Getting Worseâ: Tunisia Protests Rage On as Latest Victim
Named,â Guardian, January 27, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jan/27/
things-are-getting-worse-tunisia-protests-rage-on-as-latest-victim-named.
100. Putnam, Bowling Alone, 21.
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101. Kenâichi Ikeda and Sean E. Richey, âJapanese Network Capital: The Impact of Social Networks on
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102. Klesner, âSocial Capital,â 29.
103. SebastiĂĄn Valenzuela, Namsu Park, and Kerk F. Kee, âIs There Social Capital in a Social Network Site?
Facebook Use and College Studentsâ Life Satisfaction, Trust, and Participation,â Journal of Computer-
Mediated Communication 14, no. 4 (July 2009): 875â901, https://doi.org/10.1111/
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104. Homero Gil de Zúùiga, Nakwon Jung, and SebastiĂĄn Valenzuela, âSocial Media Use for News and
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105. Lambe Kayode Mustapha, Victor Olanrewaju Gbonegun, and Maryam Lasisi Mustapha, âSocial Media
Foundations of Public Opinion
- This collection of citations highlights the academic study of social capital and its role in political participation across different demographics.
- Key research explores how social media platforms like Facebook impact the bonding and bridging of social capital for seniors.
- The references examine the formation of mass opinion and the influence of media, presidents, and social networks on voter behavior.
- Several sources address contemporary political divisions, including the January 6th Capitol riots, Brexit, and national identity in the EU.
- Classic political science texts by Lippmann, Mill, and Key provide the theoretical framework for understanding the 'rational public' and democratic stability.
Government Policy and Citizen Passion: A Study of Issue Publics in Contemporary America.
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106. Lee B. Erickson, âSocial Media, Social Capital, and Seniors: The Impact of Facebook on Bonding and
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108. Caitlin Oprysko, âPoll: Americans United on a Slew of Issues, despite Contentious Election Season,â
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109. Jon A. Krosnick, âGovernment Policy and Citizen Passion: A Study of Issue Publics in Contemporary
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110. Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1922), 4.
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112. Omkar Joshi and Jonathan Evans, âBritish Attitudes on National Identity and Religious Minorities Not
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113. Vincent Price, âSocial Identification and Public Opinion: Effects of Communicating Group Conflict,â
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116. Bernard R. Barelson, Paul F. Lazarsfeld, and William N. McPhee, Voting: A Study of Opinion Formation in
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117. Ibid., 109.
118. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859; repr., Kitchener, ON: Batoche Books, 2001), 62,
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120. Angus Campbell et al., The American Voter (1960; repr., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980), 271.
121. Elihu Katz and Paul F. Lazarsfeld, Personal Influence: The Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass
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122. Robert M. Entman, âHow the Media Affect What People Think: An Information Processing Approach,â
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123. Key, Public Opinion, 401â405.
124. Benjamin I. Page and Robert Y. Shapiro, The Rational Public: Fifty Years of Trends in Americansâ Policy
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125. John R. Zaller, The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992),
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Foundations of Public Opinion
- The text provides a comprehensive bibliography of scholarly research into the methodologies and impacts of public opinion polling.
- Key studies examine how specific question wording, such as 'global warming' versus 'climate change,' can significantly alter survey results.
- Research highlights the influence of interviewer demographics, including race and gender, on the honesty and nature of participant responses.
- The collection explores the historical evolution of survey research in the United States from its roots in the late 19th century to modern digital methods.
- Several citations investigate the direct relationship between public sentiment and the formation of government policy and congressional decision-making.
Whether the Planet Is Warming Depends on Question Wording
126. Shanto Iyengar, Is Anyone Responsible? How Television Frames Political Issues (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1991).
127. Jean M. Converse, Survey Research in the United States: Roots and Emergence, 1890â1960 (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1987), 1.
128. David Lauter, âWhich Pollsters Did Best: Non-traditional Methods Were Standouts,â Los Angeles Times,
November 8, 2012, https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-xpm-2012-nov-08-la-pn-which-pollsters-did-
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129. Nicolaos E. Synodinos and Shigeru Yamada, âResponse Rate Trends in Japanese Surveys,â International
Journal of Public Opinion Research 12, no. 1 (March 2000): 48â72.
130. James Bell, âQ/A: How Pew Research Tracks Public Opinion in Countries Stricken by Violence and
Unrest,â Pew Research Center, May 8, 2014, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/08/qa-how-
pew-research-tracks-public-opinion-in-countries-stricken-by-violence-and-unrest/.
131. Stephen J. Blumberg and Julian V. Luke, Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates from the
National Health Interview Survey, JanuaryâJune 2020 (Washington, DC: US Department of Health and
Human Services, February 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/
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132. Kenneth A. Rasinski, âThe Effect of Question Wording on Public Support for Government Spending,â
Public Opinion Quarterly 53, no. 3 (Autumn 1989): 388â394, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2749127.
133. Jonathon P. Schuldt, Sara H. Konrath, and Norbert Schwarz, ââGlobal Warmingâ or âClimate Changeâ?
Whether the Planet Is Warming Depends on Question Wording,â Public Opinion Quarterly 75, no. 1
(Spring 2011): 115â124, https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfq073.
134. Daniel Katz, âDo Interviewers Bias Poll Results?,â Public Opinion Quarterly 6, no. 2 (Summer 1942):
248â268, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2745023.
135. Patricia G. Moorman et al., âParticipation Rates in a Case-Control Study: The Impact of Age, Race, and
Race of Interviewer,â Annals of Epidemiology 9, no. 3 (April 1999): 188â195.
136. Leonie Huddy et al., âThe Effect of Interviewer Gender on the Survey Response,â Political Behavior 19,
no. 3 (September 1997): 197â220, https://www.jstor.org/stable/586516.
137. Benjamin I. Page and Robert Y. Shapiro, âEffects of Public Opinion on Policy,â American Political Science
Review 77, no. 1 (March 1983): 175â190, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1956018.
138. Paul Burstein, âThe Impact of Public Opinion on Public Policy: A Review and an Agenda,â Political
Research Quarterly 56, no. 1 (March 2003): 29â40, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3219881.
139. Larry M. Bartels, âConstituency Opinion and Congressional Policy Making: The Reagan Defense Build
Up,â American Political Science Review 85, no. 2 (June 1991): 457â474, https://www.jstor.org/stable/
1963169.
140. James Stimson, âDonât Underestimate the Power of Public Opinion,â New York Times, updated April 22,
2014, https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/04/21/do-the-rich-call-the-shots-13/dont-
underestimate-the-power-of-public-opinion.
141. Pew Research Center, For Voters Itâs Still the Economy (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, September
2012), https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2012/09/24/for-voters-its-still-the-economy/.
142. Steven Kull, Stewart M. Patrick, and Marvin Kalb, âDoes Public Opinion Matter? World Attitudes on Global
Governance,â Council on Foreign Relations, December 4, 2009, https://www.cfr.org/event/does-public-
opinion-matter-world-attitudes-global-governance-0.
143. Paul R. Pillar, âAmerican Politicians Should Care More about Global Public Opinion,â Atlantic, January 7,
Foundations of Group Political Activity
- The text highlights a significant crisis in modern polling, with multiple sources characterizing recent inaccuracies as a catastrophe for American democracy.
- It transitions into the fundamentals of group political activity, focusing on the rise of youth-led movements and climate activism.
- Greta Thunberg is cited as a primary example of individual influence on global political discourse and the mobilization of youth climate strikers.
- The references explore the connection between personal heritage and activism, noting Thunberg's relation to greenhouse gas pioneer Svante Arrhenius.
- The section addresses the sociological underpinnings of political behavior, specifically the concept of political socialization and how reality is socially constructed.
The Polling Crisis Is a Catastrophe for American Democracy.
2012, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/american-politicians-should-care-
more-about-global-public-opinion/251013/.
144. Benjamin E. Goldsmith and Yusaku Horiuchi, âSpinning the Globe? US Public Diplomacy and Foreign
Public Opinion,â Journal of Politics 71, no. 3 (July 2009): 1.
References 563
145. David A. Graham, âThe Polling Crisis Is a Catastrophe for American Democracy,â Atlantic, November 4,
2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/polling-catastrophe/616986/.
146. Nate Cohn, âWhat Went Wrong with Polling? Some Early Theories,â New York Times, November 10, 2020,
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/upshot/polls-what-went-wrong.html.
147. Dylan Matthews, âOne Pollsterâs Explanation for Why the Polls Got It Wrong,â Vox, Vox Media, November
10, 2020, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/11/10/21551766/election-polls-results-wrong-
david-shor.
148. Joshua Clinton, âPolling Problems and Why We Should Still Trust (Some) Polls,â The Vanderbilt Project on
Unity and American Democracy, Vanderbilt University, January 11, 2021, https://www.vanderbilt.edu/
unity/2021/01/11/polling-problems-and-why-we-should-still-trust-some-polls/.
149. Sam Wang, âWhy Polls Were Mostly Wrong,â interview by Gloria Dickie, Scientific American, November
13, 2020, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-polls-were-mostly-wrong/.
150. Frank Newport, Polling Matters: Why Leaders Must Listen to the Wisdom of the People (New York:
Warner Books, 2004), 1â2.
6 The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity
1. Suyin Haynes, ââItâs Literally Our Future.â Hereâs What Youth Climate Strikers Worldwide Want Next,â
Time, March 20, 2019, https://time.com/5554775/youth-school-climate-change-strike-action/.
2. Thunbergâs activism has earned her many awards, such as being selected as Time âPerson of the Yearâ in
2019. Alter, Charlotte, Suyin Haynes, and Justin Worland, âGreta Thunberg is Timeâs 2019 Person of the
Year,â Time, December 23, 2019, https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg/.
3. Pascal Fletcher, âCuba Protests: Frustration at Government Runs Deep.â BBC News, July 14, 2021,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57823130.
4. Subsequent chapters will examine civil rights, as well as the structure and behavior of specific categories
of groups, such as interest groups, political parties, and legislatures.
5. Martin Vrijland, âGreta Thunbergâs Great-Grandfather is Greenhouse Gas Guru Svante Arrhenius,â
Principia Scientific International, January 20, 2020, https://principia-scientific.com/greta-thunbergs-
great-grandfather-is-greenhouse-gas-guru-svante-arrhenius/.
6. Kirsten Korosec, âSweden âMost Sustainable Country in the World,ââ Environment + Energy Leader,
August 13, 2013. https://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/08/sweden-most-sustainable-country-in-
the-world/.
7. Linda Givetash, âHow Teen Greta Thunberg Shifted Worldâs Gaze to Climate Change,â NBC News, August
17, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/how-teen-greta-thunberg-shifted-world-s-gaze-
climate-change-n1043151.
8. An excellent original statement regarding socialization is found in Berger; Haegel provides an update on
the controversies in the field. Peter L. Berger, The Social Construction of Reality; a Treatise in the
Sociology of Knowledge (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966); Florence Haegel, âPolitical Socialisation: Out
of Purgatory?â European Journal of Sociology / Archives EuropĂŠennes De Sociologie 61, no. 3 (December
2020): 333â64. doi:10.1017/S000397562000017X.
Foundations of Political Socialization
- Research indicates that political orientation in adolescence and early adulthood is shaped by a complex interplay of genetic factors and environmental variations.
- The definition of 'family' in political socialization is broad, encompassing institutional caregivers and nonbiological relatives who raise a child.
- Children are not merely passive recipients of ideology; evidence suggests they can actively influence their parents' views on issues like climate change.
- National policies, such as Kenya's prohibition of ethnically determined political parties, attempt to decouple political identity from rigid social divisions.
- Economic and social shifts have led to a historic increase in young adults living with their parents, potentially extending the period of direct parental influence.
- Despite generational gaps, data often shows that teenagers remain remarkably consistent with their parents' religious and political perspectives.
Lydia Denworth, âChildren Change Their Parentsâ Minds about Climate Change,â Scientific American, May 6, 2019.
9. See, for example, Anke Hufer, Anna Elena Kornadt, Christian Kandler, and Rainer Riemann, âGenetic and
Environmental Variation in Political Orientation in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: A Nuclear Twin
Family Analysis,â Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 118, no. 4 (2020): 762â76. doi:10.1037/
pspp0000258.
10. Urban Child Institute, âHow Neighborhoods Affect Childrenâs Well-Being,â
http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/sites/all/files/databooks/
TUCI_Data_Book_V_2010.08_community.pdf.
11. World Health Organization, The Physical School Environment: An Essential Component of a Health-
Promoting School (2004), https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/42683.
12. The term families is used in the broadest sense to include those who sheltered you and raised you as a
child. This includes caregivers in institutional settings, extended biological and nonbiological relatives,
564 References
Access for free at openstax.org
and other possibilities.
13. Lydia Denworth, âChildren Change Their Parentsâ Minds about Climate Change,â Scientific American,
May 6, 2019, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/children-change-their-parents-minds-about-
climate-change/.
14. Kent L. Tedin, âThe Influence of Parents on the Political Attitudes of Adolescents,â American Political
Science Review 68, no. 4 (December 1974): 1579â92. https://www-jstor-
org.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/stable/1959943.
15. Some countries have taken steps to ensure that political parties do not exist strictly along ethnic or
religious lines. Kenya, for example, explicitly prohibits ethnically determined political parties. See John
Rabuogi Ahere, âParty Politics in Kenya and South Africa: The Conundrum of Ethnic and Race Relations.â
Scientific Research 7, no. 5 (May, 2020): 1â24. doi:10.4236/oalib.1106383.
16. For US data, see Jeff Diamant and Elizabeth Podrebarac Sciupac, â10 Key Findings about the Religious
Lives of US Teens and Their Parents,â Pew Research Center, September 10, 2020,
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/10/10-key-findings-about-the-religious-lives-of-u-s-
teens-and-their-parents/.
17. Peter K. Hatemi and Christopher Ojeda, âThe Role of Child Perception and Motivation in Political
Socialization.â British Journal of Political Science 51 (3): 1097â118. doi:10.1017/S0007123419000516.
18. Feng Wang, Baochang Gu, and Yong Cai, The End of Chinaâs One-Child Policy, Brookings, March 30, 2016,
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-end-of-chinas-one-child-policy/.
19. Richard Fry, Jeffrey S. Passel, and D'vera Cohn, âA Majority of Young Adults in the US Live with Their
Parents for the First Time since the Great Depression,â Pew Research Center, September 4, 2020,
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/04/a-majority-of-young-adults-in-the-u-s-live-with-
their-parents-for-the-first-time-since-the-great-depression/.
20. Because these data include 15-to-17-year-olds, they are not directly comparable to the United States.
They still show the substantial variation across countries. Devon Haynie, âCountries Where the Most
Young Adults Live with Their Parents,â U.S. News & World Report, October 5, 2016, //www.usnews.com/
news/best-countries/articles/2016-10-05/countries-where-the-most-young-adults-live-with-their-
parents.
21. âFamily Support in Graying Societies,â Pew Research Center, May 21, 2015,
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/05/21/family-support-in-graying-societies/.
22. Linda Lyons, âTeens Stay True to Parentsâ Political Perspectives,â Gallup, January 5, 2005,
https://news.gallup.com/poll/14515/Teens-Stay-True-Parents-Political-Perspectives.aspx.
Foundations of Political Socialization
- Second-generation immigrants often experience a delayed and prolonged process of partisan socialization compared to native-born citizens.
- Family structure and changes such as divorce significantly impact political behaviors like voter turnout.
- Parental religious socialization serves as a primary driver in creating lasting partisan 'footprints' in children.
- Research is expanding into how sexual orientation and same-sex parenting influence the political attitudes of the next generation.
- Comparative studies highlight significant differences in civic culture and political attitudes between Americans and Europeans.
- The sheer volume of local governments in the United Statesâover 89,000âcreates a unique landscape for political engagement.
If first-generation immigrants are disconnected from politics, it appears that the political socialization of the second generation may be later and more prolonged.
23. If first-generation immigrants are disconnected from politics, it appears that the political socialization of
the second generation may be later and more prolonged. Roberto F. Carlos, âLate to the Party: On the
Prolonged Partisan Socialization Process of Second-Generation Americans,â Journal of Race, Ethnicity,
and Politics 3 (2): 381â408. doi:10.1017/rep.2018.21.
24. Political scientists know a bit more about how family structure and changes in structure affect such
political behaviors as voting. See, for example, Julianna Sandell and Eric Plutzer, âFamilies, Divorce and
Voter Turnout in the US,â Political Behavior 27 (2005): 133â62. doi:10.1007/s11109-005-3341-9. Only a
small amount of research has focused on family structure and political socialization. James W. Clarke,
âFamily Structure and Political Socialization among Urban Black Children,â American Journal of Political
Science 17, no. 2 (May 1973): 302â15, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2110522.
25. Florence Haegel, âPolitical Socialization: Out of Purgatory?â European Journal of Sociology / Archives
EuropĂŠennes De Sociologie 61, no. 3 (December 2020): 333â64. doi:10.1017/S000397562000017X.
26. Jennifer L. Hochschild, Outsiders No More? Models of Immigrant Political Incorporation (Oxford, UK:
Oxford University Press, 2013).
27. Sky L. Ammann, âCreating Partisan âFootprintsâ: The Influence of Parental Religious Socialization on
Party Identification,â Social Science Quarterly 95, no. 5 (December 2014): 1360â80. https://www.jstor.org/
stable/44072754.
28. Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz and James G. Gimple, âReligion and Political Socializationâ in The Oxford
References 565
Handbook of Religion and American Politics, eds. Corwin E. Smidt, Lyman A. Kellstedt, and James L.
Guth (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2009).
29. Miki C. Kittilson, âGender and Political Behavior,â Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, May 9, 2016,
https://oxfordre.com/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/
acrefore-9780190228637-e-71.
30. See, for example, Andrew R. Flores and Maisy Morrison, âPotential Differences between the Political
Attitudes of People with Same-Sex Parents and People with Different-Sex Parents: An Exploratory
Assessment of First-Year College Students,â PLoS One 16, no. 2 (2021), https://doi.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0246929; Landon, Schnabel, âSexual Orientation and Social Attitudes,â Socius: Sociological
Research for a Dynamic World (January 2018), doi:10.1177/2378023118769550.
31. Gabriel Abraham Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five
Nations (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2015), doi:10.1515/9781400874569.
32. Richard Wike, â5 Ways Americans and Europeans Are Different,â Pew Research Center, April 19, 2016.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/19/5-ways-americans-and-europeans-are-different/.
Note that this survey asked only Americans and Europeans. If it had asked people living in other
countries, the differences would likely be even greater.
33. United States Census Bureau, âCensus Bureau Reports There Are 89,004 Local Governments in the
United States,â August 30, 2012, https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/governments/
cb12-161.html.
34. Harold D. Lasswell, Daniel Lerner, and C. Easton Rothwell, âThe Elite Concept,â in Political Elites in a
Democracy, ed. Peter Bachrach (London: Routledge, 2010), 13â27, https://www.routledge.com/Political-
Elites-in-a-Democracy/Bachrach/p/book/9780202363462.
35. Howard Wial, Where the One Percent Live, Brookings, October 31, 2011, https://www.brookings.edu/
Foundations of Political Culture
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations covering the influence of economic elites and interest groups on American politics.
- It references anthropological definitions and the construction of cultural identity across diverse subcultures, including Mexican and Russian examples.
- The sources highlight the complexity of African American culture, cautioning against singular generalizations of racial identity.
- Data from Nielsen and the Census Bureau are used to contrast media consumption, such as presidential debates, with actual population demographics.
- The citations explore public dissatisfaction with democratic institutions and the rigid nature of political polarization regarding issues like border security.
- The section concludes with technical definitions of collective action and the procedural complexities of voting majorities and jury unanimity.
The reader should note that there is not one single African American culture, so referring to it in singular terms is a generalization.
articles/where-the-one-percent-live/; âWhere the 1% Send Their Kids to College,â College Stats, accessed
August 2, 2021, https://collegestats.org/2012/07/where-the-1-send-their-kids-to-college/.
36. Lee Drutman, âThe Political One Percent of the One Percent,â Sunlight Foundation, December 13, 2011,
https://sunlightfoundation.com/2011/12/13/the-political-one-percent-of-the-one-percent/.
37. Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, âTesting Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and
Average Citizens,â Perspectives on Politics 12, no. 3 (2014): 564â81, doi:10.1017/S1537592714001595.
38. National Park Service, âWhat Is Cultural Anthropology?â accessed October 21, 2021,
https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1209/what-is-cultural-anthropology.htm.
39. W. Penn Handwerker, âThe Construct Validity of Cultures: Cultural Diversity, Culture Theory, and a
Method for Ethnography.â American Anthropologist 104, no. 1 (2002): 106â22.
40. âMedia Advisory: Final Presidential Debate of 2020 Draws 63 Million Viewers,â Nielsen, October 23,
2020, https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press-releases/2020/media-advisory-final-presidential-debate-
of-2020-draws-63-million-viewers; United States Census Bureau, âThe US Adult and Under-Age-18
Populations: 2020 Census,â August 12, 2021, https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/
adult-and-under-the-age-of-18-populations-2020-census.html.
41. Adam Muskin, âOf Russian Origin: Gopnik,â Russiapedia, https://russiapedia.rt.com/of-russian-origin/
gopnik/.
42. Lauren Cocking, âA Brief Guide to Mexican Subcultures,â Culture Trap, November 28, 2016,
https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/a-brief-guide-to-mexican-subcultures/.
43. Evan Valentine, âWWE Superstar Xavier Woods Shares His Love for the God of High School,â ComicBook,
July 31, 2020, https://comicbook.com/anime/news/wwe-superstar-xavier-woods-god-of-high-school-
anime-love/.
44. Language evolves, and what was commonly called âgayâ in the 1900s is generally referred to today as
LGBTQ.
45. The reader should note that there is not one single African American culture, so referring to it in singular
terms is a generalization.
46. Danielle Garcia, âThe Politics of Hip Hop: A Political Analysis of Hip Hopâs History and Its Complicated
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Relationship with Capitalismâ (masterâs thesis, CUNY, 2021), https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/
4194.
47. Megan Brenan, âAmericansâ Confidence in Major US Institutions Dips,â Gallup, July 14, 2021,
https://news.gallup.com/poll/352316/americans-confidence-major-institutions-dips.aspx.
48. David Kent, âThe Countries Where People Are Most Dissatisfied with How Democracy Is Working,â Pew
Research Center, May 31, 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/31/the-countries-
where-people-are-most-dissatisfied-with-how-democracy-is-working/.
49. âMost Border Wall Opponents, Supporters Say Shutdown Concessions Are Unacceptable,â Pew Research
Center, January 6, 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/01/16/most-border-wall-
opponents-supporters-say-shutdown-concessions-are-unacceptable/.
50. For the seminal book on this topic, see Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action Public Goods and
the Theory of Groups (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1965).
51. The rules can become quite complicated. For example, a majority could be defined as 50 percent plus
one of all eligible voters, of all voters present, or of all voters casting votes, among other possibilities.
52. In the United States, conviction requires jury unanimity and each member of the jury is instructed to
Citations of Social and Legal Issues
- A significant study estimates that approximately 4 percent of individuals convicted of murder in the United States are likely innocent.
- The legal landscape for same-sex marriage in the U.S. shifted rapidly, with 37 states legalizing it before the Supreme Court's definitive 2015 ruling.
- Classic economic and sociological theories, such as the 'Tragedy of the Commons' and transaction cost approaches, are cited to explain resource mismanagement.
- Environmental concerns including the decline of the black rhino, overfishing in the Atlantic, and climate change are framed as global security threats.
- The text highlights the 'free rider problem' as a concept recognized since antiquity that continues to impact modern collective action.
- Recent data suggests a complex environmental picture where some tuna species are recovering despite increasing pressures on marine life.
One credible source has estimated that about 4 percent of persons convicted of murder in the United States are likely not guilty.
vote to convict only if they believe the evidence shows the suspectâs guilt âbeyond reasonable doubt.â For
more on this idea, see Chapter 11.
53. One credible source has estimated that about 4 percent of persons convicted of murder in the United
States are likely not guilty. Samuel R. Gross, Barbara O'Brien, Chen Hu, and Edward Kennedy, âRate of
False Conviction of Criminal Defendants Who Are Sentenced to Deathâ (Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, University of Michigan Public Law Research Paper No. 405, U of Michigan Law &
Econ Research Paper No. 14-011, 2014), https://ssrn.com/abstract=2431520.
54. Scott Snyder, Domestic Constraints on South Korean Foreign Policy (New York: Council on Foreign
Relations, 2018).
55. âAttitudes on Same-Sex Marriage,â Pew Research Center, May 14, 2019, https://www.pewforum.org/fact-
sheet/changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/.
56. In 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the states could not prohibit same-sex marriage. By the time
the Supreme Court ruled, same-sex marriage was already legal in 37 states. âState-by-State History of
Banning and Legalizing Gay Marriage,â ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, last modified February 16,
2016, https://gaymarriage.procon.org/state-by-state-history-of-banning-and-legalizing-gay-marriage/.
57. Oliver E. Williamson, âThe Economics of Organization: The Transaction Cost Approach on JSTOR,â
American Journal of Sociology 87, no. 3 (November 1981): 548â77. https://www.jstor.org/stable/
2778934.
58. Toby Ord, The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity (New York: Hachette Books, 2020).
59. Adam Smith and Knud Haakonssen, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press, 2002).
60. Garrett Hardin, âThe Tragedy of the Commons,â Science 162, no. 3859 (December 1968): 1243â48,
doi:10.1126/science.162.3859.1243. https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.162.3859.1243.
61. World Wildlife Fund, âBlack Rhino,â accessed July 30, 2021, https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/black-
rhino.
62. World Wildlife Fund, âOverfishing,â accessed July 30, 2021, https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/
overfishing.
63. Jouni Paavola, âClimate Change: The Ultimate Tragedy of the Commons?â in Property in Land and Other
Resources, eds. Daniel H. Cole and Elinor Ostrom (Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2012)
417â33. https://www.lincolninst.edu/sites/default/files/pubfiles/climate-change_0.pdf
64. Tim Radford, âScientists Call for Urgent Action to Save Atlantic Tuna,â The Guardian, April 27, 2005,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2005/apr/28/fishing.science; âPopular Fish Species
Disappear from Turkeyâs Marmara and Black Seas,â Sea Around Us, August 18, 2020,
https://www.seaaroundus.org/popular-fish-species-disappear-from-turkeys-marmara-and-black-seas/.
65. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), âTuna Species Recovering Despite Growing
References 567
Pressures on Marine LifeâIUCN Red List,â September 4, 2021, https://www.iucn.org/news/species/
202109/tuna-species-recovering-despite-growing-pressures-marine-life-iucn-red-list.
66. Emyr Jones Parry, âThe Greatest Threat to Global Security: Climate Change Is Not Merely an
Environmental Problem,â UN Chronicle, https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/greatest-threat-global-
security-climate-change-not-merely-environmental-problem.
67. Humans have been aware of the free rider problem since antiquity. For a history and analysis, see Russell
Global Cooperation and Resource Management
- The text explores the 'free rider problem' and the 'prisoner's dilemma' as frameworks for understanding why collective action often fails.
- It highlights the complexities of international climate agreements, including the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, in curbing CO2 emissions.
- Data on fossil fuels and per capita emissions are used to identify the world's top emitters and track progress toward global climate goals.
- The concept of a carbon tax is presented as a potential policy tool, though current pricing is often cited as too low to drive significant change.
- Elinor Ostrom's research is referenced to provide a counter-narrative on how institutions can successfully evolve to govern shared resources.
- The citations link environmental sustainability to broader economic issues, such as global tax reform and the administrative capacity of state agencies.
What is important is that the overall number of years is lowest when both suspects âcooperateâ and highest when both âdefect.â
Hardin and Garrett Cullity, âThe Free Rider Problem,â in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed.
Edward N. Zalta (Winter 2020), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/free-rider/.
68. Jane A. Leggett, The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, and
the Paris Agreement: A Summary (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2020).
69. Kieran Mulvaney, âWorld Climate Change Report Card: These Countries Are Meeting Goals,â National
Geographic, September 19, 2019, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-
change-report-card-co2-emissions.
70. Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser, âFossil Fuels,â Our World in Data, https://ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels.
71. The exact number of years in the example is not critically important. What is important is that the overall
number of years is lowest when both suspects âcooperateâ and highest when both âdefect.â
72. While the classic prisonerâs dilemma example uses two âsuspects,â any two actors, including individuals,
political parties, or entire countries, can be involved in prisonerâs dilemmas.
73. Per capita emissions are the total CO2 emissions for each country divided by the number of people living
in that country.
74. Hannah Ritchie, âWhere in the World Do People Emit the Most CO2?â Our World in Data, October 4, 2019,
https://ourworldindata.org/per-capita-co2; Johannes Friedrich, Mengpin Ge, and Andrew Pickens, âThis
Interactive Chart Shows Changes in the World's Top 10 Emitters,â World Resources Institute, December
10, 2020, https://www.wri.org/insights/interactive-chart-shows-changes-worlds-top-10-emitters.
75. NOAA Fisheries, âAtlantic Highly Migratory Species Permit Shop,â https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/.
76. Richard Black, âLast Rites for a Marine Marvel?â BBC News, last modified October 17, 2007,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7040011.stm.
77. Virginia Morell, âWhy Did New Zealand's Moas Go Extinct?â Science, March 17, 2014,
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/03/why-did-new-zealands-moas-go-extinct.
78. Adele Cecile Morris, Ian Parry, and Roberton C. Williams, Implementing a US Carbon Tax: Challenges and
Debates (New York: Routledge, 2015). doi:10.4324/9781315747682.
79. âWhat Is a Carbon Tax?â Tax Policy Center, accessed October 20, 2021, https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/
briefing-book/what-carbon-tax.
80. Benjamin Storrow, âCarbon Prices Are Too Low to Reduce Emissions,â Scientific American, September
20, 2018, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/carbon-prices-are-too-low-to-reduce-emissions/.
You can find a 2020 world map of carbon pricing plans here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Carbon_tax_world_map.png.
81. Elinor Ostrom, Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge University Press, 2015).
82. Flavio Felice, âElinor Ostrom and the Solution to the Tragedy of the Commons,â American Enterprise
Institute, July 27, 2012, https://www.aei.org/articles/elinor-ostrom-and-the-solution-to-the-tragedy-of-
the-commons/.
83. Silvia Amaro, Joanna Tan, and Emma Newburger, âG-7 Nations Reach Historic Deal on Global Tax
Reform,â CNBC, June 5, 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/05/g-7-nations-reach-historic-deal-on-
global-tax-reform.html.
84. Robert A Weinberger, âThe IRS Data Book Tells a Story of Shrinking Staff, Fewer Audits, and Less
Customer Service,â Tax Policy Center, June 7, 2019, https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/irs-data-
book-tells-story-shrinking-staff-fewer-audits-and-less-customer-service.
Scholarly Foundations of Civil Rights
- The text provides a comprehensive bibliography of academic and legal sources concerning the global evolution of civil rights.
- Key themes include the suppression of Native American voting rights and the ongoing debate regarding lowering the voting age to sixteen in Europe.
- The references highlight the intersection of constitutionalism and fundamental rights across diverse nations such as Mauritania, North Macedonia, and India.
- Significant attention is given to disability rights, specifically the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- The citations explore the sociological and political definitions of 'minority' groups and their impact on democratic representation.
The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy
85. Internal Revenue Service, âThe Tax Gap,â accessed July 14, 2021, https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/the-tax-
gap.
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86. Larissa Batrancea et al. âTrust and Power as Determinants of Tax Compliance across 44 Nations,â
Journal of Economic Psychology 74 (October 2019): 102191, doi:10.1016/j.joep.2019.102191.
87. United Nations, âFlagship UN Study shows Accelerating Climate Change on Land, Sea and in the
Atmosphere,â March 10, 2020, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/03/1059061.
7 Civil Rights
1. âCivil Rights,â Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/
civil_rights.
2. Kay Lehman Schlozman, Sidney Verba, and Henry E. Brady, The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political
Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012),
6.
3. Neill Atkinson, âVoting Rights,â Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/
voting-rights.
4. Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, âHow the Native American Vote Continues to Be Suppressed,â Human Rights
Magazine 45, no. 1 (February 9, 2020), https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/
human_rights_magazine_home/voting-rights/how-the-native-american-vote-continues-to-be-
suppressed/.
5. Mathilde Mostrup, âVoting Rights for Debate in Europe,â in Votes at 16 (Copenhagen: The Danish Youth
Council), http://www.cje.org/descargas/cje4965.pdf.
6. Maru Bazezew, âConstitutionalism,â Mizan Law Review 3, no. 2 (September 2009): 358â369.
7. âFundamental Rights,â Know India, https://knowindia.india.gov.in/profile/fundamental-rights.php.
8. Mauritaniaâs Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2012, trans. Maria del Carmen Gress
(Getzville, NY: William S. Hein & Co., 2012), https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/
Mauritania_2012.pdf.
9. âUniversal Declaration of Human Rights,â United Nations General Assembly, December 10, 1948,
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
10. Manuel Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, and Michael J. Meyer, âRights,â Issues in Ethics 3, no. 1
(Winter 1990), https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/rights/.
11. North Macedonia (Republic ofâs) Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2011 (Getzville, NY:
William S. Hein & Co.), https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Macedonia_2011.pdf?lang=en.
12. âConstitutional Rankings,â Comparative Constitutions Project,
https://comparativeconstitutionsproject.org/ccp-rankings/.
13. Ian Vasquez and Fred McMahon, âThe Human Freedom Index 2020,â Cato Institute, https://www.cato.org/
human-freedom-index/2020.
14. âInternational Laws,â Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, https://dredf.org/legal-advocacy/
international-disability-rights/international-laws/.
15. Shirley Wilcher, âThe Rehabilitation Act of 1973: 45 Years of Activism and Progress,â Insight into
Diversity, September 17, 2018, https://www.insightintodiversity.com/the-rehabilitation-act-
of-1973-45-years-of-activism-and-progress/.
16. US Department of Justice, âIntroduction to the ADA,â https://www.ada.gov/ada_intro.htm.
17. Lewis M. Killian, âWhat or Who Is a âMinorityâ?â Michigan Sociological Review, no. 10 (Fall 1996): 18â31.
18. âConcept of a Minority: Mandate Definition,â United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/SRMinorities/Pages/ConceptMinority.aspx
19. Michael Hechter and Dina Okamoto, âPolitical Consequences of Minority Group Formation,â Annual
Review of Political Science 4, no. 1 (June 2001): 189â215.
Legal Foundations of Civil Rights
- The citations document the global spectrum of LGBTQ+ rights, ranging from capital punishment in ten countries to the legalization of marriage and adoption.
- Reference to the 2022 Qatar World Cup highlights the tension between international events and local laws regarding same-sex conduct.
- The text tracks the rapid evolution of American public opinion and legal victories, specifically citing the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision.
- A significant portion of the references focuses on the fragility of voting rights, including systematic inequality and the impact of Shelby County v. Holder.
- The sources contrast the legislative progress of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with modern forms of voter suppression and challenges to democratic legitimacy.
Gay Fans Are Welcome at Qatar World Cup â Just as Long as They Donât Have Sex.
20. Max Bearak and Darla Cameron, âHere Are the 10 Countries Where Homosexuality May Be Punished by
Death,â Washington Post, June 16, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/
06/13/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death-2/.
21. Patrick Kelleher, âGay Fans Are Welcome at Qatar World Cup â Just as Long as They Donât Have Sex,â
Pink News, September 27, 2019, https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/09/27/qatar-world-cup-2022-fifa-
References 569
anti-gay-sex-homosexuality/.
22. John F. Kowal, âThe Improbable Victory of Marriage Equality,â Brennan Center for Justice, September 29,
2015, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/improbable-victory-marriage-equality.
23. Greg Zwiers, âLGBT Laws Differ from State to State,â Iowa State Daily, October 17, 2014,
https://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/student_life/
article_e86cc4f4-5592-11e4-9ff3-2349dcd05dab.html.
24. âFifty Years Since Stonewall: The Change in Public Opinion,â Roper Center for Public Opinion Research,
2019, https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/fifty-years-stonewall-change-public-opinion.
25. âAttitudes on Same-Sex Marriage,â Pew Research Center, May 14, 2019, https://www.pewforum.org/fact-
sheet/changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/.
26. John Wilkens, âWhatâs Behind the Gay Rights Attitude Shift?â The San Diego Union-Tribune, April 4,
2015, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-public-attitudes-gay-rights-2015apr04-story.html.
27. Kowal, âImprobable Victory.â
28. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015), https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/14-556.
29. Oxford Reference Online, âMajoritarianism,â https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/
authority.20110803100127772.
30. âChart: Where Adoption Is Illegal for LGBT+ Couples,â Statista, March 8, 2018, https://www.statista.com/
chart/13179/where-adoption-is-illegal-for-lgbt-couples/.
31. Pavan v. Smith, 582 U.S. __ (2017), https://www.oyez.org/cases/2016/16-992.
32. âLesbians, Gays, Can Adopt Children,â News 24, September 10, 2002, https://www.news24.com/News24/
Lesbians-gays-can-adopt-children-20020910.
33. Kimon de Greef, âThe Unfulfilled Promise of LGBTQ Rights in South Africa,â The Atlantic, July 2, 2019,
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/07/southafrica-lgbtq-rights/593050/.
34. Marina Koren, âWhy Men Thought Women Werenât Made to Vote,â The Atlantic, July 11, 2019,
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/womens-suffrage-nineteenth-amendment-
pseudoscience/593710/.
35. Danyelle Solomon, Connor Maxwell, and Abril Castro, âSystematic Inequality and American Democracy,â
Center for American Progress, August 7, 2019, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/
2019/08/07/473003/systematic-inequality-american-democracy/.
36. John G. Stewart, âWhy the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Really Mattered,â Washingtonian, June 4, 2014,
https://www.washingtonian.com/2014/06/04/why-the-civil-rights-act-of-1964-really-mattered/.
37. Barbara Arnwine, â61 Forms of Voter Suppression,â The Voting Rights Alliance, 2019,
https://www.votingrightsalliance.org/forms-of-voter-suppression.
38. Jeremy Amar-Dolan and Zachary Zemlin, âShelby County v. Holder,â Legal Information Institute, Cornell
Law School, https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/12-96.
39. Ari Berman, âWhy Are Conservatives Trying to Destroy the Voting Rights Act?â The Nation, February 6,
2013, https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/why-are-conservatives-trying-destroy-voting-rights-
act/.
40. Adam Serwer, âIf You Didnât Vote for Trump, Your Vote Is Fraudulent,â The Atlantic, December 10, 2020,
Global Rights and Indigenous Sovereignty
- The citations examine the tension between democratic voting rights and the persistence of voter fraud myths in the United States.
- Legal documents from Sri Lanka and Bhutan highlight the intersection of national identity, religious paramountcy, and the paradox of 'Gross National Happiness' amid refugee crises.
- A significant portion of the references focuses on the historical and ongoing dispossession of Native American lands through broken treaties and legal battles.
- The text addresses the traumatic legacy of Indian boarding schools and the systemic 'education for extinction' aimed at erasing indigenous cultures.
- Contemporary issues of indigenous justice are highlighted, including the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and the struggle for language preservation.
The Birthplace of âGross National Happinessâ Is Growing a Bit Cynical.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/voter-fraud/617354/.
41. âThe Myth of Voter Fraud,â Brennan Center for Justice, 2021, https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/
ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression/myth-voter-fraud.
42. âVoting Laws Roundup: December 2021,â Brennan Center for Justice, last updated January 12, 2022,
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-december-2021.
43. Sri Lankaâs Constitution of 1978 with Amendments through 2015 (Getzville, NY: William S. Hein & Co.),
https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Sri_Lanka_2015.pdf?lang=en.
44. âSri Lanka Says Buddhism Will Remain Paramount in New Charter,â Reuters, July 12, 2017,
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-politics/sri-lanka-says-buddhism-will-remain-paramount-
in-new-charter-idUSKBN19X1TR.
45. Julie McCarthy, âThe Birthplace of âGross National Happinessâ Is Growing a Bit Cynical,â NPR, February
570 References
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12, 2018, https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/02/12/584481047/the-birthplace-of-gross-
national-happiness-is-growing-a-bit-cynical.
46. âBhutanâs Gross National Happiness Index,â Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative,
https://ophi.org.uk/policy/gross-national-happiness-index/.
47. âII. Background,â in âWe Donât Want to Be Refugees Againâ: HRW Briefing Paper for the Fourteenth
Ministerial Joint Committee of Bhutan and Nepal (New York: Human Rights Watch, May 19, 2003),
https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/wrd/refugees/refugees.pdf.
48. Shyam K. Sriram, âOf Acculturative Stress and Integration Distress: The Resettlement Challenges of
Bhutanese Refugees in Metro Atlanta,â South Asian Diaspora 12, no. 1 (2020): 93â108.
49. Rebecca Onion and Claudio Saunt, âInteractive Time-Lapse Map Shows How the US Took More Than 1.5
Billion Acres from Native Americans,â Slate (The Vault), June 17, 2014, http://www.slate.com/blogs/
the_vault/2014/06/17/interactive_map_loss_of_indian_land.html.
50. âIDA Treaties Explorer,â The Indigenous Digital Archive, https://digitreaties.org/treaties/treaties/.
51. Kevin Gover, âNation to Nation: Treaties between the United States and American Indian Nations,â
American Indian 15, no. 2 (Summer/Fall 2014), https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/nation-
nation-treaties-between-united-states-and-american-indian-nations.
52. Laura Wamsley, âSupreme Court Rules That About Half of Oklahoma Is Native American Land,â NPR, July
9, 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889562040/supreme-court-rules-that-about-half-of-
oklahoma-is-indian-land.
53. Alleen Brown, âHalf of Oklahoma Is âIndian Country.â What If All Native Treaties Were Upheld?â The
Intercept, July 17, 2020, https://theintercept.com/2020/07/17/mcgirt-v-oklahoma-indian-native-
treaties/.
54. Mary Annette Pember, âDeath by Civilization,â The Atlantic, March 8, 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/
education/archive/2019/03/traumatic-legacy-indian-boarding-schools/584293/.
55. David W. Adams, Education for Extinction (Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press, 1995), 27.
56. Lillian Sparks, âPreserving Native Languages: No Time to Waste,â Administration for Native Americans,
(US Department of Health and Human Services), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/preserving-native-
languages-article.
57. âFacts about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women,â Native Hope, https://www.nativehope.org/en-
us/understanding-the-issue-of-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women.
58. Devon Haynie, âHow States Are Addressing Violence against Indigenous Women,â US News & World
Citations of Injustice and Law
- The text provides a bibliography of sources addressing the crisis of missing indigenous women and the historical phenomenon of 'Missing White Woman Syndrome.'
- It documents the legal framework of Japanese American internment during WWII, noting that Executive Order 9066 avoided explicit racial language while targeting specific ethnic groups.
- The references explore the global landscape of modern slavery, highlighting research that indicates slavery is not a crime in nearly half of the world's countries.
- The citations address the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and the ongoing work of human rights initiatives.
- The text connects constitutional history to modern systemic issues, specifically how the 13th Amendment's language may have facilitated mass incarceration.
The executive order did not mention any racial or ethnic category of individual.
Report, November 1, 2021, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2021-11-01/how-states-
are-addressing-the-missing-indigenous-women-crisis.
59. Helen Rosner, âThe Long American History of âMissing White Woman Syndrome,ââ The New Yorker,
October 8, 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-long-american-history-of-missing-
white-woman-syndrome.
60. Exec. Order No. 9066, 7 Fed. Reg. 38 (Feb. 25, 1942). https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-
doc/?dod-date=219.
61. The executive order did not mention any racial or ethnic category of individual. (âA Controversial
Executive Order Leads to Internment Camps,â Constitution Daily, February 19, 2021,
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/a-controversial-order-leads-to-internment-camps.). The largest
share of those subjected to Executive Order 9066 were Japanese Americans, although individuals of
German and Italian descent were also affected.
62. War Relocation Authority, Japanese-Americans in Relocation Centers, March 1943, The War Relocation
Authority & the Incarceration of Japanese-Americans During World War II Collection, Harry S. Truman
Library and Museum, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/research-files/report-japanese-americans-
relocation-centers-march-1943-papers-philleo-nash?documentid=NA&pagenumber=1.
63. Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81 (1943), https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/320us81.
64. Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944). https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/323us214.
65. âForced Labour, Modern Slavery, and Human Trafficking,â International Labor Organization,
References 571
https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/langâen/index.htm.
66. As cited by Andrea Nicholson, Minh Dang, and Zoe Trodd, âA Full Freedom: Contemporary Survivorsâ
Definitions of Slavery,â Human Rights Law Review 18, no. 4 (2018): 689â704.
67. âWhat Is Modern Slavery?â US Department of State, https://www.state.gov/what-is-modern-slavery/.
68. Global Slavery Index, 2018, https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/.
69. Katarina Schwarz and Jean Allain, âSlavery Is Not a Crime in Almost Half the Countries of the
WorldâNew Research,â The Conversation, February 13, 2020, https://theconversation.com/slavery-is-
not-a-crime-in-almost-half-the-countries-of-the-world-new-research-115596.
70. Nadiaâs Initiative, https://www.nadiasinitiative.org/.
71. âSexual Violence as a Weapon of War,â Dr. Denise Mukwege Foundation,
https://www.mukwegefoundation.org/the-problem/rape-as-a-weapon-of-war/.
72. Colman Andrews, âThese Are the 56 People Who Signed the Declaration of Independence,â USA Today,
July 4, 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/03/july-4th-the-56-people-who-signed-
the-declaration-of-independence/39636971/.
73. Richard Albert, âTime to Update the Language of the Constitution,â The Hill, June 30, 2020,
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/505071-time-to-update-the-language-of-the-constitution.
74. Less discussed is how the ambiguous language of the 13th Amendment may have ended slavery but laid
the groundwork for the mass incarceration of African Americans. Students should watch Ana DuVernayâs
2016 documentary 13th to understand this issue.
75. Paul Finkelman, âThree-Fifths Clause: Why Its Taint Persists,â The Root, February 26, 2013,
https://www.theroot.com/three-fifths-clause-why-its-taint-persists-1790895387.
76. Derek Litvak, âThe Census and Slavery: Why We Count People, Not Citizens,â Chicago Sun Times, July 1,
2019, https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/7/1/20678047/census-three-fifths-compromise-slavery-
racism-trump.
Foundations of Civil Resistance
- The text provides a comprehensive bibliography of the philosophical and legal underpinnings of civil disobedience, citing foundational works by John Rawls and Henry David Thoreau.
- It traces the historical lineage of nonviolent protest from Thoreau's influence on Gandhi's Satyagraha to the American Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King Jr.
- Legal precedents and institutionalized segregation are highlighted through references to the Louisiana Railway Accommodations Act and the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case.
- The documentation covers global and modern manifestations of dissent, including the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, the Arab Spring, and the Me Too movement.
- Recent scholarship explores the evolving role of social media and digital organizing in contemporary movements like Black Lives Matter.
The Influence of Thoreauâs âCivil Disobedienceâ on Gandhiâs Satyagraha.
77. Candice Delmas and Kimberley Brownlee, âCivil Disobedience,â in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
ed. Edward N. Zalta, revised June 2, 2021, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/civil-disobedience/; John
Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press,
1971), 320.
78. G. Hendrick, âThe Influence of Thoreauâs âCivil Disobedienceâ on Gandhiâs Satyagraha,â New England
Quarterly (1956): 462â471.
79. Brent Powell, âHenry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr., and the American Tradition of Protest,â OAH
Magazine of History 9, no. 2 (1995): 26â29.
80. Bob Pepperman Taylor, The Routledge Guidebook to Thoreauâs Civil Disobedience (New York: Routledge,
2014).
81. âThe Louisiana Railway Accommodations Act,â Acts of 1890, No. 111, https://railroads.unl.edu/
documents/view_document.php?id=rail.gen.0060.
82. Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), https://www.oyez.org/cases/1850-1900/163us537
83. Krystyna Blokhina Gilkis, âSeparate But Equal. I: Plessy v. Ferguson,â Legal Information Institute, Cornell
Law School, last updated January 2022, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/separate_but_equal.
84. Charlie Cobb, âThe Story of SNCC,â https://snccdigital.org/inside-sncc/the-story-of-sncc/.
85. Andy Kopsa, âCzechoslovakiaâs Velvet Revolution Started 30 Years AgoâBut It Was Decades in the
Making,â TIME, November 16, 2019, https://time.com/5730106/velvet-revolution-history/.
86. Thessa Lageman, âRemembering Mohamed Bouazizi: The Man Who Sparked the Arab Spring,â Al
Jazeera, December 17, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/12/17/remembering-mohamed-
bouazizi-his-death-triggered-the-arab.
87. Erin Blakemore, âWhat Was the Arab Spring and How Did It Spread?â National Geographic, March 29,
2019, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/arab-spring-cause.
88. Aldon Morris, The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing for Change (New
York: Simon & Schuster, 1986).
89. âAbout,â Black Lives Matter, https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/.
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90. Gabe Granillo, âThe Role of Social Media in Social Movements,â Portland Monthly, June 10, 2021,
https://www.pdxmonthly.com/news-and-city-life/2020/06/the-role-of-social-media-in-social-
movements; Shira Ovide, âHow Social Media Has Changed Civil Rights Protests,â The New York Times,
last updated December 17, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/technology/social-media-
protests.html.
91. Morris, Origins of the Civil Rights Movement.
92. Allison Calhoun-Brown, âUpon This Rock: The Black Church, Nonviolence, and the Civil Rights
Movement,â PS: Political Science and Politics 33, no. 2 (2000): 169â174.
93. Julian Bond, âSNCC: What We Did,â SNCC Legacy Project, 2000, https://www.sncclegacyproject.org/we-
were-sncc/what-we-did.
94. Justin Worland, âAmericaâs Long Overdue Awakening to Systemic Racism,â TIME, June 11, 2020,
https://time.com/5851855/systemic-racism-america/.
95. Larry Buchanan, Quoctrung Bui, and Jugal K. Patel, âBlack Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in
US History,â The New York Times, July 3, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/
george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html.
96. Leanna Garfield and Zoe Ettinger, â14 of the Biggest Marches and Protests in American History,â
Business Insider, last updated June 1, 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/largest-marches-us-
history-2017-1.
97. Tarana Burke, âHistory & Inception,â Me Too, https://metoomvmt.org/get-to-know-us/history-inception/.
Legal and Social Justice References
- The citations document the evolution and impact of the #MeToo movement, highlighting its origins with Tarana Burke and its global legal consequences.
- Several sources examine the structural nature of institutional racism within criminal justice systems and power hierarchies.
- The text references the 'justice gap,' exploring unmet legal needs and the role of community-based paralegals in regions like Sierra Leone and Africa.
- Legal frameworks are highlighted through the Indian Constitution and the paradigm of Public Interest Litigation in developing nations.
- Demographic shifts in the legal profession and the changing definition of power among Gen Z and Millennials are noted as drivers of institutional change.
- The references conclude with a focus on indigent defense and critical historical legal decisions that have shaped modern jurisprudence.
Women Came Forward. Then a Chill Factor Set In.
98. Tonya Mosley, ââMe Tooâ Founder Tarana Burke Says Black Girlsâ Trauma Shouldnât Be Ignored,â NPR,
September 29, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/09/29/1041362145/me-too-founder-tarana-burke-says-
black-girls-trauma-shouldnt-be-ignored.
99. Sophia Gilbert, âThe Movement of #MeToo,â The Atlantic, October 16, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/
entertainment/archive/2017/10/the-movement-of-metoo/542979/.
100. David Bloom, âHow Gen Z and Millennials are Reshaping What Power Is, and What It Means for Brands,â
Forbes, September 19, 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/dbloom/2019/09/12/how-gen-z-and-
millennials-are-reshaping-what-power-is-and-what-it-means-for-brands/?sh=4e130b626d9f.
101. Anna North, â7 Positive Changes That Have Come from the #MeToo Movement,â Vox, October 4, 2019,
https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/10/4/20852639/me-too-movement-sexual-harassment-law-2019.
102. Rituparna Chatterjee, âWomen Came Forward. Then a Chill Factor Set In,â The Washington Post, May 8,
2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/08/metoo-around-the-world/.
103. Sam Richards, âInstitutional Racism in the Criminal Justice System,â SOC 119, Penn State University,
September 18, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UESzUBPoTRA.
104. âDay 8: Addressing the Four Levels of RacismâInstitutional Racism (within and between Institutions and
Systems of Power),â Diversity Recruitment Vanderbilt University, https://www.vanderbilt.edu/work-at-
vanderbilt/diversitytraining/day8.php.
105. Sarah Chamness Long and Alejandro Ponce, âMeasuring the Justice Gap: A People-Centered Assessment
of Unmet Justice Needs Around the World,â World Justice Project, 2019, https://worldjusticeproject.org/
our-work/research-and-data/access-justice/measuring-justice-gap.
106. Indiaâs Constitution of 1949 with Amendments through 2015 (Getzville, NY: William S. Hein & Co.),
https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/India_2015.pdf?lang=en.
107. Mohammed Haris Usmani, âPublic Interest Litigation: Its Origin and Meaning,â Legal Service India, 2018,
https://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l273-Public-Interest-Litigation.html.
108. Zachary Holladay, âPublic Interest Litigation in India as a Paradigm for Developing Nations,â Indiana
Journal of Global Legal Studies 19, no. 2 (2012): 555â573, 557.
109. Vivek Maru, Between Law and Society: Paralegals and the Provision of Primary Justice Services in Sierra
Leone (New York: Open Society Justice Initiative, 2006), https://www.justiceinitiative.org/uploads/
f65afb31-a77c-4a06-ab08-b4277d404f52/between-law-and-society-20100310.pdf.
110. American Bar Association, âDemographics: Growth of the Legal Profession,â in Profile of the Legal
Profession 2021 (Chicago: American Bar Association, 2021), 10, https://www.americanbar.org/content/
References 573
dam/aba/administrative/news/2021/0721/polp.pdf; âQuick Facts: United States,â US Bureau of the
Census, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045221.
111. Maha Jweied and Miranda Jolicoeur, âCommunity-Based Paralegals in Africa,â in Expert Working Group
Report: International Perspectives on Indigent Defense (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice),
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/236022.pdf.
112. Stuart Streichler, âThe Worst Decision Ever?â Legal Times 30, no. 11 (2007),
Citations of Civil Rights History
- The text consists of academic and legal citations focusing on landmark judicial decisions and their social impacts.
- Key legal themes include the legacy of the Dred Scott case and the constitutional implications of the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Several sources document the evolution of marriage rights, specifically regarding interracial couples and the LGBTQ+ community.
- The references highlight historical injustices and redress efforts, such as Japanese American incarceration and the Canadian residential school system.
- Modern political milestones are noted, including the appointment of Canada's first Indigenous Governor General and the influence of EMILY's List on women in politics.
Canada: 751 Unmarked Graves Found at Residential School.
http://faculty.washington.edu/sstreich/documents/worstdecisionever.pdf; Sanford Levinson, âIs Dred
Scott Really the Worst Opinion of All Time?â Harvard Law Review 125, no. 23 (2012),
https://harvardlawreview.org/2012/01/is-dred-scott-really-the-worst-opinion-of-all-time-why-prigg-is-
worse-than-dred-scott-but-is-likely-to-stay-out-of-the-aeoeanticanonae%C2%9D/.
113. Alexander M. Bickel, âCitizenship in the American Constitution,â Arizona Law Review 15 (1973): 369.
114. Mike Nicholas, âSupreme Decision: Roger Taney and the Dred Scott Case,â The Histories 5, no. 1,
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115. Brittany Rico, Rose M. Kreider, and Lydia Anderson, âGrowth in Interracial and Interethnic Married-
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interracial-marriages.html.
116. Karen Grigsby Bates, âLoving Day Commemorates When Interracial Marriage Became Legal,â NPR, June
12, 2015, https://www.npr.org/2015/06/12/413849120/loving-day-commemorates-when-interracial-
marriages-became-legal.
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118. Calvin Naito and Esther Scott, Against All Odds: The Campaign in Congress for Japanese American
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119. Helen Yoshida, âRedress and Reparations for Japanese American Incarceration,â National World War II
Museum, August 13, 2021, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/redress-and-reparations-
japanese-american-incarceration.
120. Sharon Yamamoto, âCivil Liberties Act of 1988,â in Densho Encyclopedia,
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130. Reuters, âCanadaâs First Indigenous Governor General Pledges to Help Heal Nation,â NBC News, July 7,
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heal-nation-n1273198.
574 References
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8 Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
1. Allison Norlian, âAfter 35 Years, EMILYâs List Continues to Transform the Political Landscape for Women;
Global Advocacy and Interest Groups
- A comprehensive list of citations documenting the diverse landscape of modern political and social advocacy organizations.
- References span a wide range of interests including women's political representation, HIV/AIDS research, and senior citizen rights.
- The text highlights the role of labor unions, trade confederations, and professional associations like the American Medical Association in policy influence.
- Environmental and social justice movements are represented through citations for Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion, and the NAACP.
- The citations reflect global political tensions, specifically referencing democracy activism and protest bans in Hong Kong.
- Academic theories of interest group exchange are linked to real-world examples of corporate accountability, such as Amazon's data privacy fines.
The PAC Is One Week Away from the Fight of Its Life.
The PAC Is One Week Away from the Fight of Its Life,â Forbes, October 27, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/
sites/allisonnorlian/2020/10/27/after-35-years-emilys-list-continues-to-transform-the-political-
landscape-for-women-the-pac-is-one-week-away-from-the-fight-of-its-life/?sh=786647f114ed.
2. Lillian Faderman, âRemembering the Activists Who Helped Make HIV/AIDS Research Possible,â
Washington Post, March 12, 2019.
3. âSocial Impact,â About AARP, AARP, accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.aarp.org/about-aarp/company/
social-impact/.
4. âOur Party,â San Francisco Democratic Party, accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.sfdemocrats.org/our-
party.
5. â2019/20 Impact Review,â Publications and Resources, UK Youth, accessed June 10, 2021,
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6. âAbout Us,â La Quadrature du Net, https://www.laquadrature.net/about/.
7. Stephanie Bodoni, âAmazon Gets Record $888 Million EU Fine Over Data Violations,â Bloomberg, July 30,
2021, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-30/amazon-given-record-888-million-eu-
fine-for-data-privacy-breach.
8. âAbout the US Chamber of Commerce,â US Chamber of Commerce, accessed March 1, 2021,
https://www.uschamber.com/about/about-the-us-chamber-of-commerce.
9. âLatest News,â Advocacy, Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, accessed June 10, 2021,
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14. âAbout,â American Medical Association, accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.ama-assn.org/about.
15. âAbout JMA,â Japan Medical Association, accessed June 10, 2021, https://www.med.or.jp/english/
about_JMA/overview.html.
16. âOur Network,â About Us, Greenpeace International, accessed March 1, 2021,
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17. The Trust for Public Land (website), accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.tpl.org.
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22. Ken Moritsugu, âHong Kong Democracy Activists Get Bail, Protest Marches Banned,â PBS News Hour,
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23. âHong Kong Democracy Group Behind Massive Protest Disbands,â AP News, August 15, 2021,
https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-democracy-c65fa4bf3cda740dee680bc2db23e977.
24. This concept is also covered in Chapter 6: The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity.
25. Robert H. Salisbury, âAn Exchange Theory of Interest Groups,â Midwest Journal of Political Science 13,
no. 1 (1969): 1â32, www.jstor.org/stable/2110212.
26. âVision & Mission,â About Us, Drug Policy Alliance, accessed August 5, 2021, https://drugpolicy.org/
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References 575
27. Matthew Taylor, âThe Evolution of Extinction Rebellion,â The Guardian, August 4, 2020,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/04/evolution-of-extinction-rebellion-climate-
Foundations of Interest Group Politics
- The text provides a comprehensive bibliography of scholarly works on interest group theory, including Salisbury's exchange theory and Lowi's interest-group liberalism.
- It documents legal and political challenges involving major organizations like the Sierra Club and the ACLU against executive actions during the Trump administration.
- The citations highlight diverse forms of political activism, ranging from formal lobbying and PAC donations to radical protests like Extinction Rebellion.
- A significant focus is placed on campaign finance and the legal landscape of influence, specifically referencing the Citizens United v. FEC decision.
- The references explore the intersection of public health and politics, citing the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on small business advocacy and gubernatorial recalls.
- The list includes data on 'shadow lobbying' and the ethical frameworks governing executive branch personnel and congressional interactions.
Extinction Rebellion: Ex-Paralympian Convicted of âPublic Nuisanceâ After Gluing Himself to Plane.
emergency-protest-coronavirus-pandemic.
28. Salisbury, âAn Exchange Theory of Interest Groups,â (1969).
29. See also Chapter 6: The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity.
30. âFact Sheet,â One Fair Wage, accessed August 2, 2021, https://onefairwage.site/wp-content/uploads/
2020/12/OFW_FederalFactSheet_3-1.pdf.
31. E. E. Schattschneider, The Semisovereign People: A Realistâs View of Democracy in America (New York:
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1960), 35.
32. Theodore Lowi, âThe Public Philosophy: Interest-Group Liberalism,â The American Political Science
Review 61, no. 1 (1967): 5â24, www.jstor.org/stable/1953872.
33. âTrump v. Sierra Club,â Oyez, accessed June 10, 2021. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2020/20-138.
34. âSierra Club v. TrumpâChallenge to Trumpâs National Emergency Declaration to Construct a Border
Wall,â Court Battles, Our Work, ACLU, updated July 20, 2021, https://www.aclu.org/cases/sierra-club-v-
trump-challenge-trumps-national-emergency-declaration-construct-border-wall.
35. Ian Millhiser, âTwo Major Supreme Court Immigration Cases Just Went up in Smoke,â Vox, February 3,
2021, https://www.vox.com/2021/2/3/22264190/supreme-court-immigration-border-wall-remain-in-
mexico-trump-biden-sierra-club-innovation-law-lab.
36. Nellie Bowles, âHurt by Lockdowns, Californiaâs Small Businesses Push to Recall Governor,â New York
Times, February 19, 2021.
37. Sam Husseini, âReligious Beliefs Are Struck Down as Defense for Nuclear Protest,â The Nation, October
31, 2019.
38. Joe Middleton, âExtinction Rebellion: Ex-Paralympian Convicted of âPublic Nuisanceâ After Gluing
Himself to Plane,â The Independent, July 29, 2021, https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/
extinction-rebellion-ba-plane-protest-b1892577.html.
39. Florian Weiler and Matthais Brändli, âInside versus Outside Lobbying: How the Institutional Framework
Shapes the Lobbying Behaviour of Interest Groups,â European Journal of Political Research 54, no. 4
(November 2015): 745â766, https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12106.
40. âPAC Profile: TACO PAC,â PACS, Influence and Lobbying, Open Secrets, accessed March 10, 2021,
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41. TACO PAC (website), accessed March 10, 2021, http://taco-pac.com.
42. Vince Dixon, âRed Chains, Blue Chains: Which Politicians Are Americaâs Largest Fast Food Chains
Donating To?â Eater, October 21, 2020, https://www.eater.com/2020/10/21/21505080/mcdonalds-
wendys-political-donations-trump-biden.
43. â2020 Outside Spending, by Super PAC,â Politicians and Elections, Outside Spending, Federal Election
Spending, Open Secrets, accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/
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44. âCitizens United v. Federal Election Commission,â Oyez, accessed August 2, 2021. https://www.oyez.org/
cases/2008/08-205.
45. Tim Lau, âCitizens United Explained,â December 12, 2019, The Brennan Center for Justice,
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/citizens-united-explained.
46. Karl Evers-Hillstrom and Dan Auble, ââShadow Lobbyingâ in Trumpâs Washington,â News, Reports, Open
Secrets, October 3, 2019, https://www.opensecrets.org/news/reports/shadow-lobbying-2019.
47. Jeff Maskell, Lobbying Congress: An Overview of Legal Provisions and Congressional Ethics Rules, CRS
Report No. RL31126 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2007), https://fas.org/sgp/crs/
misc/RL31126.pdf.
48. US President, Executive Order, âEthics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel, Executive Order
Political References and Party Dynamics
- The text provides a comprehensive list of academic and journalistic citations focusing on global political party structures and lobbying transparency.
- Significant attention is given to the Scottish National Party and the fluctuating public support for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.
- The references highlight demographic shifts in political participation, including record numbers of women serving in the 117th U.S. Congress.
- Data points examine the financial underpinnings of politics, such as industry donations to Japan's Liberal Democratic Party and U.S. lobbying reforms.
- The citations track volatile voter registration trends in the U.S., influenced by the George Floyd protests and internal shifts within the Republican Party.
âThereâs Nothing Leftâ: Why Thousands of Republicans Are Leaving the Party
13989 of January 20, 2021,â Federal Register 86, no. 14 (January 25, 2021), https://www.govinfo.gov/
content/pkg/FR-2021-01-25/pdf/2021-01762.pdf.
49. Craig Holman and William Luneburg, âLobbying and Transparency: A Comparative Analysis of
576 References
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Regulatory Reform.â Interest Groups & Advocacy 1 (2012): 75â104.
50. âAbout,â Scottish National Party, accessed August 2, 2021, https://www.snp.org/about/.
51. Gina Davidson, âPoll Shows Drop for Scottish Independence Support as Sir John Curtice Claims Results
Shows 'Cooling' over UK Split,â The Scotsman, June 27, 2021, https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/
poll-shows-drop-for-scottish-independence-support-as-sir-john-curtice-claims-results-shows-cooling-
over-uk-split-3287969; Ben Walker, âMore Than Two-Thirds of Young Scots Now Back Independence,â
The New Statesman, September 15, 2020, https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/09/more-
two-thirds-young-scots-now-back-independence.
52. Marjorie Randon Hershey, âPolitical Parties as Mechanisms of Social Choice,â in Handbook of Party
Politics, eds. Richard S. Katz and William J. Crotty (London: Sage, 2005), 75â88.
53. Jeffrey M. Berry and Clyde Wilcox, The Interest Group Society (New York: Routledge, 2018).
54. Courtney Weaver, âWhy U.S. Evangelicals Are Flocking to Trump,â Financial Times, October 2, 2020,
https://www.ft.com/content/de8dcd60-4bbf-4f3b-a1d7-e9eefb936c7f.
55. JosĂŠ Antonio Crespo, âThe Liberal Democratic Party in Japan: Conservative Domination.â International
Political Science Review 16, no. 2 (April 1995): 199â209, doi:10.1177/019251219501600206.
56. âRegular Primary Season Ends in Delaware, Adding One to Record Number of Women House Nominees,â
Center for American Women and Politics, September 16, 2020, https://cawp.rutgers.edu/delaware-
primary-results-2020.
57. Carrie Blazina and Drew Desilver, âA Record Number of Women Are Serving in the 117th Congress,â Pew
Research Center, January 15, 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/15/a-record-
number-of-women-are-serving-in-the-117th-congress/.
58. âPolitical Parties,â Politicians and Elections, Open Secrets, accessed March 2, 2021,
https://www.opensecrets.org/parties/.
59. âJapanese Industry Donations to Liberal Democratic Party in 2018 Hit ÂĽ2.46 Billion, Up for Seventh
Straight Year,â The Japan Times, November 29, 2019, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/11/29/
national/politics-diplomacy/japanese-industry-donations-liberal-democratic-party-2018-hit-
ÂĽ2-46-billion-seventh-straight-year/.
60. Nicholas Riccardi, âRepublicans See Bright Spot in Voter Registration Push,â AP News, October 20, 2020.
61. Nick Corasaniti, Annie Karni, and Isabella GrullĂłn Paz, ââThereâs Nothing Leftâ: Why Thousands of
Republicans Are Leaving the Party,â The New York Times, February 10, 2021.
62. Nick Corasaniti and Isabella GrullĂłn Paz, âDid the George Floyd Protests Boost Democratic Voter
Registration?â The New York Times, August 11, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/us/politics/
democrats-voter-registration-george-floyd.html.
63. Peter Miller, âVoter Registration Has Plummeted in 2020,â Brennan Center for Justice, September 21,
2020, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voter-registration-has-
plummeted-2020.
64. Elmer E. Schnattschneider, Party Government, American Government in Action (New York: Routledge,
2014).
65. Lester G. Seligman, âPolitical Recruitment and Party Structure: A Case Study,â American Political Science
Review 55, no. 1 (March 1960): 77â86.
Scholarly Foundations of Political Systems
- The bibliography highlights the shift from party-centered to candidate-centered politics in modern democracies.
- Research explores how activist groups and competency-based selection processes vet candidates long before public voting occurs.
- Multiple sources document the decline of party activism and membership across twenty European democracies over two decades.
- The text references the structural causes of political polarization and the rise of multi-party systems in Britain and Germany.
- Comparative studies examine democratic regression and party system collapse in diverse regions including Indonesia, Peru, and Venezuela.
- Theoretical frameworks from James Madison to Thomas Piketty are cited to explain the changing structure of global political conflict.
Jonathan Rauch and Raymond La Raja, Re-engineering Politicians: How Activist Groups Choose Our CandidatesâLong before We Vote.
66. Jo Silvester, âRecruiting Politicians: Designing Competency-Based Selection for UK Parliamentary
Candidates,â in The Psychology of Politicians (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 21â38.
67. Jonathan Rauch and Raymond La Raja, Re-engineering Politicians: How Activist Groups Choose Our
CandidatesâLong before We Vote (Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 2017),
https://www.brookings.edu/research/re-engineering-politicians-how-activist-groups-choose-our-
politicians-long-before-we-vote/.
68. Philip Lynch, âParty System Change in Britain: Multi-Party Politics in a Multi-Level Polity,â British Politics
2 (October 2007): 323â46, https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.bp.4200071.
69. Gerhard Loewenberg, âThe Remaking of the German Party System: Political & Socio-economic Factorsâ
Polity 1, no. 1 (1968): 86â113, www.jstor.org/stable/3233977.
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70. Isabelle Rousel and Biodun Iginla, âGerman politics is turning into a six-party system,â The Economist,
September 19, 2016, https://www.economist.com/europe/2016/09/19/german-politics-is-turning-into-a-
six-party-system.
71. âChina Anniversary: How the Communist Party Runs the Country,â BBC, September 30, 2019,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49631120.
72. US Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958-1960, Cuba, Volume VI, eds. John P.
Glennon and Ronald D. Landa (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1991)
Document 278, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1958-60v06.
73. US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Executive Summary, 2018
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Eritrea, (Washington, DC: United States Government
Printing Office, 2018), https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/
eritrea/.
74. Martin P. Wattenburg, The Rise of Candidate-Centered Politics: Presidential Elections of the 1980s
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991).
75. Thomas E. Patterson, We the People (New York: McGraw Hill, 2014), 258.
76. Gerald Seib and James Hagarty, âH. Ross Perot, Texas Billionaire Who Twice Ran for President, Dies at
89,â The Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2019.
77. Mike Cummings, âPolarization in US Politics Starts with Weak Political Parties,â Yale News, November 17,
2020.
78. Peter Mair and Ingrid van Biezen, âParty Membership in Twenty European Democracies, 1980â2000,â
Party Politics 7, no. 1 (January 2001): 5â21.
79. Paul Whiteley, âIs the Party Over? The Decline of Party Activism and Membership across the Democratic
World,â Party Politics 17, no. 1 (June 2010): 21â44.
80. Patrick Liddiard, Are Political Parties in Trouble? (Washington, DC: Wilson Center, 2018),
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/are-political-parties-trouble.
81. Thomas Piketty, âBrahmin Left vs. Merchant Right: Rising Inequality & the Changing Structure of
Political Conflict,â World Inequality Database, March 2018, http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Piketty2018.pdf.
82. Ibid., 2.
83. Jason Seawright, Collapse: The Roots of Crisis in Peru and Venezuela (Stanford, CA: Stanford University
Press, 2012).
84. Ibid, p. 2.
85. Eve Warburton and Edward Aspinall, âExplaining Indonesiaâs Democratic Regression: Structure, Agency
and Popular Opinion,â Contemporary Southeast Asia 41, no. 2 (August 2019): 255â85, www.jstor.org/
stable/26798854.
86. Gerald Pomper, âThe Concept of Elections in Political Theory,â The Review of Politics 29, no. 4 (October
1967): 478â91, www.jstor.org/stable/1405722.
87. James Madison, âFederalist No. 52,â in The Federalist Papers (New Haven, CT: The Avalon Project),
Scholarly Perspectives on Voter Participation
- The text provides a comprehensive list of academic and journalistic references focusing on voter turnout and democratic engagement.
- Key sources analyze the impact of corporate wealth on labor laws, specifically citing the influence of Uber and Lyft on Proposition 22.
- Several citations compare U.S. voter turnout to other developed nations, noting that the U.S. historically trails behind many industrial democracies.
- The references explore the concept of social capital and its correlation with political participation, including Robert Putnam's influential work 'Bowling Alone.'
- The list documents global democratic milestones and challenges, ranging from voter suppression in Europe to historic elections in Afghanistan.
With Prop 22, Uber and Lyft Used Their Wealth to Reshape Labor Law in Their Sole Interest.
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed52.asp, first published 1788 by the New York Packet.
88. Theodore J. Lowi, Benjamin Ginsberg, Kenneth A. Shepsle, and Stephen Ansolabehere, American
Government: Power and Purpose (New York: W. W. Norton, 2017), 428.
89. Michael Hiltzik, âWith Prop 22, Uber and Lyft Used Their Wealth to Reshape Labor Law in Their Sole
Interest,â Los Angeles Times, November 4, 2020.
90. Federico Fubini, âVoter Suppression Comes to Europe,â International Politics and Society, January 15,
2020, https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/european-integration/voter-suppression-comes-to-
europe-3999/.
91. âVoting Laws Roundup: May 2021,â Brennan Center for Justice, May 28, 2021.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-may-2021.
92. Drew Desilver, âTurnout Soared in 2020 as Nearly Two-Thirds of Eligible U.S. Voters Cast Ballots for
President,â Pew Research Center, January 28, 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/28/
turnout-soared-in-2020-as-nearly-two-thirds-of-eligible-u-s-voters-cast-ballots-for-president/.
578 References
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93. Drew Desilver, âIn Past Elections, U.S. Trailed Most Developed Countries in Voter Turnout,â Pew Research
Center, November 3, 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/03/in-past-elections-u-s-
trailed-most-developed-countries-in-voter-turnout/.
94. Arend Lijphart, âUnequal Participation: Democracyâs Unresolved Dilemma,â The American Political
Science Review 91, no. 1 (March 1997): 1â14, http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~iversen/PDFfiles/
Lijphart1997.pdf.
95. Robert R. Jackman and Ross A. Miller, âVoter Turnout in Industrial Democracies during the 1980s,â
Comparative Political Studies 27, no. 4 (January 1995): 467â92, https://doi.org/10.1177/
0010414095027004001.
96. Sintia Radu, âAmericans Donât Show Up at the Polls, but Neither Do the Swiss,â US News & World Report,
November 2, 2018. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2018-11-02/the-us-isnt-
alone-in-low-voter-turnout.
97. âSame Day Voter Registration,â Research, Elections and Campaigns, National Conference of State
Legislatures, October 6, 2020, https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/same-day-
registration.aspx.
98. Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon and
Schuster, 2000).
99. âThickening the Culture of Participation: Archon Fung on Why Tinkering around the Edges of Voting
Wonât Get Us to a Truly Participatory Democracy,â Policy Topics, Harvard Kennedy School, November 1,
2018, https://www.hks.harvard.edu/research-insights/policy-topics/democracy-governance/thickening-
culture-participation.
100. Nadia Fiorino, Emma Galli, and Nicola Pontarollo, âDoes Social Capital Affect Voter Turnout? Evidence
from Italy,â Social Indicators Research 156, (February 2021): 289â309.
101. Maneesh Arora, Hannah Kim, and Mary Mendoza, âA Cross-National Study of the Effects of Social Capital
on Voter Turnoutâ (paper presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference,
Chicago, April 10, 2016).
102. âAfghanistanâs First Presidential Election Not Perfect, but Sets Stage for Journey towards Vigorous
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103. âAfghans Vote in Historic Election,â CNN, October 8, 2004, https://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/
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104. Carlotta Gall, âElection of Karzai Is Declared Official,â New York Times, November 4, 2004,
Electoral Systems and Legal Citations
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations and references concerning global and domestic electoral processes, including the 2004 Afghan presidential election.
- It highlights specific anomalies in the U.S. Electoral College, noting that five presidents have won the office despite losing the popular vote.
- The references distinguish between closed and open list-proportional representation systems, emphasizing how different structures impact voter choice for specific candidates.
- The citations cover modern voting innovations and challenges, such as Oregon's history with mail-in voting, Maine's ranked-choice system, and the shortage of poll workers.
- International comparisons are drawn through references to French media blackout rules during elections and campaign finance laws in France.
Five presidents have lost the popular vote and won the Electoral College: John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/04/world/asia/election-of-karzai-is-declared-official.html.
105. Wahabuddin Raâees, âPresidential Election in Afghanistan: Democracy in the Making,â Intellectual
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106. U.S. Const. art. I, § 4, cl. 1.
107. âLandmark Legislation: The Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution,â United States Senate,
accessed March 3, 2021, https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/
SeventeenthAmendment.htm.
108. Washington, DC, has three electoral votes, while other US territories have none.
109. Five presidents have lost the popular vote and won the Electoral College: John Quincy Adams, Rutherford
B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.
110. William Riker, âDuvergerâs Law Revisited,â in Electoral Laws and Their Political Consequences, eds.
Bernard Grofman and Arend Ljiphardt (New York: Agathon Press, 1986), 19.
111. The majority of list-proportional representation (list PR) systems in the world are closed, meaning that
the order of candidates elected by that list is fixed by the party itself, and voters are not able to express a
preference for a particular candidate. Many of the list PR systems used in continental Europe therefore
use open lists, in which voters can indicate not just their favored party, but their favored candidate within
that party. (Source: âOpen, Closed and Free Lists,â ACE Project: The Electoral Knowledge Network,
https://aceproject.org/main/english/es/esg03.htm)
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113. Priscilla Southwell, âMail-In Voting Lessons from Oregon, the State with the Longest History of Voting by
Mail,â The Conversation, September 30, 2020, https://theconversation.com/mail-in-voting-lessons-from-
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114. Gabrielle Manino, âWhat Is Maine Ranked-Choice Voting and How Does Ranked-Choice Voting Work?â
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115. Eugene Scott, âNew Georgia Legislation Would Curb âSouls to the Polls,ââ Washington Post, February 21,
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116. R. Sam Garrett, Federal Role in US Campaigns and Elections: An Overview, CRS Report No. R45302
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117. Matt Vasilogambros, âFew People Want to Be Poll Workers, and Thatâs a Problem,â The Pew Charitable
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120. âFrench Media Rules Prohibit Election Coverage over Weekend,â France 24, May 7, 2017,
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121. âCampaign Finance: France,â Law Library, Research and Reports, Legal Topics, United States Library of
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122. Mostafa Farmani and Afshin Jafari, âA Comparative Approach to Study the Electoral Systems of Selected
Legislatures and Political Institutions
- The text provides a comprehensive list of academic and governmental citations focusing on the structure and function of legislatures.
- Key topics include the procedural mechanics of the UK Parliament and the United States Senate, specifically regarding filibusters and cloture.
- Research highlights the role of legislatures in authoritarian regimes, suggesting they serve as tools for power-sharing, co-optation, and survival for autocrats.
- The citations emphasize that employers often value critical thinking and problem-solving competencies over specific college majors.
- The references touch upon the balance between majority rule and minority rights within democratic frameworks.
- Administrative details of legislative life are documented, including legislator compensation and the formation of coalition governments.
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123. âGeneral Elections,â About Parliament, UK Parliament, accessed March 3, 2021,
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9 Legislatures
1. âThe Four Career Competencies Employers Value Most,â NACE Center for Career Development and
Talent Acquisition, National Association of Colleges and Employers, March 29, 2019,
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value-most/; âEmployers More Interested in Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Than College Major,â
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2. Henry M. Robert III et al., Robertâs Rules of Order: Newly Revised, 12th ed. (New York: PublicAffairs,
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3. Valerie Heitshusen and Richard S. Beth, Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate, CRS Report No. RL30360
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6. Ora John Reuter and Graeme B. Robertson, âLegislatures, Cooptation, and Social Protest in
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12. âFrequently Asked Questions,â Texas House of Representatives, accessed October 15, 2021,
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13. William Ruger and Jason Sorens, The Citizen Legislature: How Reasonable Limits on State Legislative
Scholarly Foundations of Representation
- The citations examine the relationship between district magnitude and the effectiveness of plurality systems in representing diverse interests.
- Research highlights the specific impact of multi-member districts on the political representation of women and ethnic minorities in Britain and the United States.
- Data from Denmark and the Pew Research Center track the evolving demographic diversity within modern legislative bodies.
- The sources explore the psychological effects of descriptive representation on political engagement and alienation among marginalized groups.
- Classic and contemporary political theories are referenced to contrast party loyalty and discipline against individual representational roles.
Does Ethnicity Matter? Descriptive Representation in Legislatures and Political Alienation among Latinos.
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27. Russell Muirhead, âThe Case for Party Loyalty,â Nomos 54 (2013): 229â256, http://www.jstor.org/stable/
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28. Shaun Bowler, David M. Farrell, and Richard S. Katz, eds., Party Discipline and Parliamentary
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Scholarly Foundations of Governance
- The citations explore the efficacy of citizen advocacy and the specific impact of calling congressional representatives on legislative outcomes.
- A significant portion of the text focuses on legislative oversight mechanisms across various nations, including the UK, Germany, Belgium, and Denmark.
- The references detail the structural mechanics of electoral systems, specifically proportional representation and the thresholds required for political party success.
- The text highlights the evolution of political parties, noting that while names may remain static over centuries, policy positions undergo major realignments.
- Global case studies are provided, ranging from the National Peopleâs Congress in China to the legislative frameworks of Brazil and Bahrain.
While the names of the parties have remained the same since the mid-1860s, it is important to note that the policy beliefs and positions of the parties have changed over time.
29. Kathryn Schulz, âWhat Calling Congress Achieves,â New Yorker, February 26, 2017,
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/06/what-calling-congress-achieves.
30. Partnership for a More Perfect Union, Communicating with Congress: Perceptions of Citizen Advocacy on
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34. Rens Vliegenthart and Stefaan Walgrave, âContent Matters: The Dynamics of Parliamentary Questioning
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35. Ibid.
36. Rick Stapenhurst et al., eds., Legislative Oversight and Budgeting: A World Perspective (Washington, DC:
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38. Arend Lijphart and Robert W. Gibberd, âThresholds and Payoffs in List Systems of Proportional
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41. Maurice Duverger, Political Parties: Their Organization and Activity in the Modern State, trans. Barbara
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political-parties/.
44. While the names of the parties have remained the same since the mid-1860s, it is important to note that
the policy beliefs and positions of the parties have changed over time, so a deeper study of American
party systems recognizes further realignments.
45. Theodore Rosenof, Realignment: The Theory That Changed the Way We Think about American Politics
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Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School, November 2015),
https://ash.harvard.edu/files/ash/files/the_national_peoples_congress.pdf.
47. âBahrain,â The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, last updated October 12, 2021, under
Global Governance and Executive Power
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations regarding the structural foundations of government in nations like Bahrain, Brunei, and the Bahamas.
- It references scholarly analysis of legislative systems, including the evolution of unicameralism and multicameralism across Europe.
- Significant attention is given to the American political landscape, citing the 17th Amendment and the history of immigration reform.
- The sources explore the phenomenon of political polarization and the ideological 'dance' between wealth and policy in the United States.
- A transition occurs toward the study of executive branches, cabinets, and bureaucracies, specifically examining the 'false promise' of the modern American presidency.
- Historical polling data from the 1970s is used to illustrate the volatility of presidential popularity and public approval ratings.
All Things to All Men: The False Promise of the Modern American Presidency
âGovernment,â https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bahrain/#government.
48. âBrunei: Government,â globalEDGE, Broad College of Business, Michigan State University, 2021,
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49. âBahamas,â Political Database of the Americas, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University,
last updated June 10, 2021, https://pdba.georgetown.edu/ElecSys/Bahamas/bahamas.html.
50. US Constitution, amend. 17.
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52. Paolo Passaglia, âUnicameralism, Bicameralism, Multicameralism: Evolution and Trends in Europe,â
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55. Ben Noble and Nikolay Petrov, âFrom Constitution to Law: Implementing the 2020 Russian
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Unequal Riches (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006).
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58. Sean M. Theriault, The Gingrich Senators (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013).
59. APSA Committee on Political Parties, âSummary of Conclusions and Proposals,â in âToward a More
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10 Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
1. Quoted in Godfrey Hodgson, All Things to All Men: The False Promise of the Modern American
Presidency (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1980), 25.
2. William Greider and Barry Sussman, âPoll Finds Carter Popularity Soars,â The Washington Post,
September 24, 1978, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/09/24/poll-finds-carter-
popularity-soars/839c355b-f76a-430c-89a8-94e7da943cce/.
3. Adam Clymer, âCarterâs Standing Drops to New Low in Times-CBS Poll,â The New York Times, June 10,
1979, https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/10/archives/carters-standing-drops-to-new-low-in-timescbs-
poll-approval-falls.html.
4. Nils-Christian Bormann and Matt Golder, âDemocratic Electoral Systems around the World, 1946â2011,â
Electoral Studies 32, no. 2 (June 2013), 360â369.
5. JosĂŠ Antonio Cheibub, Zachary Elkins, and Tom Ginsburg, âBeyond Presidentialism and
Parliamentarianism,â British Journal of Political Science 44, no. 3 (July 2014): 515â544.
6. This YouTube clip by Townhall provides a great overview of the event and the eventâs importance:
Citations of Crisis and Leadership
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations focusing on political leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- It highlights the contrasting public perceptions of leaders like Angela Merkel and Donald Trump during global crises.
- Sources examine the intersection of populism and the perceived crisis of democracy in the 21st century.
- Statistical data from Pew Research and CNN exit polls illustrate the varying importance of the coronavirus as a voting issue.
- The references bridge contemporary news reporting with academic legal and political theory regarding parliamentary and presidential systems.
Populists donât just feed on socioeconomic discontent. They feed on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxR1tZ08FcI. Fisherâs quote comes at the 3:38 mark. See
References 583
https://us.macmillan.com/author/davidfisher/.
7. Marina Watts, âWhy George Bushâs 2001 World Series First Pitch Meant More Than Just âPlay Ball,ââ
Newsweek, September 11, 2020, https://www.newsweek.com/why-george-bushs-2001-world-series-first-
pitch-meant-more-just-play-ball-1531324.
8. Zaheena Rasheed, âCOVID-19 Pandemic Is Testing World Leaders. Whoâs Stepping Up?â Al Jazeera, April
3, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/4/3/covid-19-pandemic-is-testing-world-leaders-whos-
stepping-up.
9. Jacob Poushter and J. J. Moncus, âHow People in 14 Countries View the State of the World in 2020,â Pew
Research Center, September 23, 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/23/how-people-
in-14-countries-view-the-state-of-the-world-in-2020/.
10. Constanze StelzenmĂźller, âAngela Merkelâs Final Year,â Order from Chaos (blog), Brookings, September
30, 2020, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/09/30/angela-merkels-final-year/.
This link to the polling report appears in the article: https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/
deutschlandtrend-2321.pdf.
11. Holly Ellyatt, âConfidence in Merkelâs Leadership Falters as Germanyâs Pandemic Drags,â CNBC, March
26, 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/26/germanys-merkel-and-cdu/csu-popularity-falls-during-
the-pandemic-.html.
12. âPresident Trump: Job Ratings,â PollingReport.com, https://www.pollingreport.com/
djt_job2.htm#Gallup. The September number is an average of two Gallup polls (8/31 to 9/13 and 9/14 to
9/28).
13. âExit Polls,â CNN, https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/president/national-results.
14. Amina Dunn, âOnly 24% of Trump Supporters View the Coronavirus Outbreak as a âVery Importantâ
Voting Issue,â Pew Research Center, October 21, 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/10/
21/only-24-of-trump-supporters-view-the-coronavirus-outbreak-as-a-very-important-voting-issue/.
Please note there is no inherent contradiction between 17 percent on Election Day stating the
coronavirus was the most important issue and 55 percent of respondents stating before the election that
it was a very important issue. For the CNN exit poll, respondents can only choose one issue as most
important. For the Pew Research poll, respondents considered each issue independently and were asked
to rate that issueâs importance.
15. Quoted in Gregory H. Fox and Georg Nolte, âIntolerant Democracies,â Harvard International Law Journal
36, no. 1 (Winter 1995): 89.
16. Arend Lijphart, ed., Parliamentary versus Presidential Government (New York: Oxford University Press,
1992), 11.
17. Ibid., 12â13.
18. Ibid., 2.
19. Argentina Constitution, section 90, http://www.biblioteca.jus.gov.ar/Argentina-Constitution.pdf.
20. William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe, Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy (Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 2000).
21. Ibid., 7.
22. Fareed Zarkaria, âPopulism on the March: Why the West Is in Trouble,â Foreign Affairs 95, no. 6
(November/December 2016), https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2016-10-17/
populism-march.
23. Donald J. Trump, âLet Me Ask America a Question,â The Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2016,
https://www.wsj.com/articles/let-me-ask-america-a-question-1460675882.
24. Ibid., 6-7. Howell and Moe write: âPopulists donât just feed on socioeconomic discontent. They feed on
Populism and Democratic Crisis
- Populist leaders often rise by exploiting public frustration with ineffective government and promising autocratic solutions.
- The 2016 election of Donald Trump is cited as a primary example of the generic populist formula in action.
- Global instances of populism, such as Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, highlight a 'messiah complex' where leaders claim unique power to fix systemic issues.
- Research suggests that the underlying conditions of government ineffectiveness must be addressed to prevent the rise of future populist figures.
- The text references a global trend of illiberal democracy and the challenges populist leaders face when their popularity wanes.
- Comparative political examples from Sweden and Israel illustrate the instability and stalemates that can occur in modern democratic systems.
Their great appeal is that they claim to replace it with a government that is effective through their own autocratic power.
ineffective governmentâand their great appeal is that they claim to replace it with a government that is
effective through their own autocratic power. This generic formula was precisely what Trump followed in
the 2016 election.â William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe, Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of
Democracy (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000).
25. Brian Winter, âMessiah Complex: How Brazil Made Bolsonaro,â Foreign Affairs 99, no. 5 (September/
584 References
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October 2020), https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/brazil/2020-08-11/jair-bolsonaro-messiah-
complex.
26. âPopulists in Power around the World,â Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, November 7, 2018,
https://institute.global/policy/populists-power-around-world.
27. Fareed Zakaria, âThe Rise of Illiberal Democracy,â Foreign Affairs 76, no. 6 (November/December 1997):
23â24.
28. William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe, Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy (Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 2000), 40.
29. Andrew Higgins, âPopulist Leaders in Eastern Europe Run into a Little Problem: Unpopularity,â The New
York Times, June 21, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/21/world/europe/eastern-europe-
populist-leaders-unpopular.html.
30. William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe, Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy (Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 2020). At the top of their list of system issues that remain is the
ineffectiveness of government. See also Daron Acemoglu, âTrump Wonât Be the Last American Populist:
The Conditions That Produced Him Need to be Understood to be Addressed,â Foreign Affairs, November
6, 2020, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-11-06/trump-wont-be-last-
american-populist.
31. Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Martin, and Reid J. Epstein, âTrump Floats an Election Delay, and
Republicans Shoot it Down,â The New York Times, July 30, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/
us/politics/trump-delay-2020-election.html.
32. Richard Neustadt, Presidential Power: The Politics of Leadership from FDR to Carter (New York: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1980), 10.
33. Lydia Saad, âGallup Vault: Issue of Gays in Military Split Americans in 1993,â Gallup, July 28, 2017,
https://news.gallup.com/vault/214745/gallup-vault-issue-gays-military-split-americans-1993.aspx.
34. Elizabeth Bumiller, âObama Ends âDonât Ask, Donât Tellâ Policy,â The New York Times, July 22, 2011,
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/us/23military.html.
35. Terrence McCoy and Gabriela SĂĄ Pessoa, âBolsonaro Worked to Shake Brazilâs Faith in Vaccines. But Even
His Supporters Are Racing to Get Their Shots,â The Washington Post, August 16, 2021,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/16/coronavirus-brazil-bolsonaro-vaccine/.
36. âSwedish PM Stefan LĂśfven Loses No-Confidence Vote,â The Guardian, June 21, 2021,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/21/swedish-pm-stefan-lofven-loses-no-confidence-vote.
37. âStefan LĂśfven: Caretaker PM Wins Parliament Vote to Form New Swedish Government,â Euronews, July
7, 2021, https://www.euronews.com/2021/07/06/stefan-lofven-swedish-caretaker-pm-faces-parliament-
vote-to-form-new-government.
38. Juan Linz, âThe Perils of Presidentialism,â Journal of Democracy 1, no. 1 (Winter 1990): 51.
39. Patrick Kingsley, âIsraelâs Election Ends in a Stalemate, Final Results Show.â The New York Times,
updated May 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/world/middleeast/israel-election-
results.html.
40. Isabel Kershner, âNetanyahu Gets First Crack at Forming a New Government in Israel,â The New York
Scholarly Foundations of Governance
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations focusing on the dynamics of party government and political polarization in the United States and abroad.
- Key academic works explore the relationship between the number of political parties and policy stability, suggesting that multi-party systems may offer unique governance advantages.
- References highlight the increasing polarization of the American public and its impact on legislative productivity and constitutional integrity.
- The citations document the transition of power in Israel, specifically the ousting of Benjamin Netanyahu and the formation of a new government in 2021.
- Data sources from organizations like Freedom House and Pew Research Center are cited to quantify global freedom scores and voter engagement levels.
- The section examines executive branch appointments, comparing the diversity and professional competence of cabinets under different presidential administrations.
Most appointees had little or no experience relevant to their agencies. It is rare for cabinet appointments to fail Senate confirmation. In the last 100 years, less than a handful have failed.
Times, updated May 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/world/middleeast/netanyahu-israel-
new-government.html.
41. Patrick Kingsley and Richard PĂŠrez-PeĂąa, âNetanyahu Ousted as Israeli Parliament Votes in New
Government,â The New York Times, June 13, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/world/
middleeast/netanyahu-naftali-bennett-israel-vote.html.
42. Jaap Woldendorp, Hans Keman, and Ian Budge, Party Government in 48 Democracies (1945â1998)
(Dordrecht, NL: Springer, 2000).
43. Josep M. Colomer, âThe More Parties, the Greater Policy Stability,â European Political Science 11, no. 2
(June 2012): 231.
44. David Mayhew, Divided We Govern, 2nd ed. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005).
45. Sarah Binder, âPolarized We Govern?â Brookings, May 27, 2014, https://www.brookings.edu/research/
References 585
polarized-we-govern/.
46. David Mayhew, Partisan Balance: Why Political Parties Donât Kill the US Constitutional System (Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press, 2011).
47. âPolitical Polarization in the American Public,â Pew Research Center, June 12, 2014,
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2014/06/12/political-polarization-in-the-american-public/.
48. See, for example, Morris P. Fiorina, Samuel J. Abrams, and Jeremy C. Pope, Culture War? The Myth of a
Polarized America, 3rd ed. (New York: Longman, 2010).
49. Lawrence C. Dodd and Scot Schraufnagel, âReconsidering Party Polarization and Policy Productivity: A
Curvilinear Perspective,â in Congress Reconsidered, Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer, eds.,
9th ed. (Washington DC: CQ Press, 2009): 413.
50. Marjorie Randon Hershey, Party Politics in America (New York: Routledge, 2021): 39.
51. âElection 2020: Voters Are Highly Engaged, but Nearly Half Expect to Have Difficulties Voting,â Pew
Research Center, August 13, 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/08/13/perceptions-of-
trump-and-biden/.
52. Freedom Houseâs home page is https://freedomhouse.org. For a list of countries and their global freedom
scores, see https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores. For an overview of their
methodology, see https://freedomhouse.org/reports/freedom-world/freedom-world-research-
methodology.
53. Data are taken from Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, âTracking President Joe Bidenâs Cabinet and Appointees:
Diversity and Pace of Senate-Confirmed Positions,â Brookings, November 2021,
https://www.brookings.edu/research/tracking-president-joe-bidens-cabinet-and-appointees/.
54. Danielle Kurtzleben, âHow the Donald Trump Cabinet Stacks Up, in 3 Charts,â NPR, December 28, 2016,
https://www.npr.org/2016/12/28/506299885/how-the-donald-trump-cabinet-stacks-up-in-3-charts.
55. Paul J. Quirk, âPresidential Competence,â in The Presidency and the Political System, 12th ed., ed.
Michael Nelson (Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press, 2021), 80. Quirk continues: âMany were wealthy
businesspeople and campaign contributors. Most appointees had little or no experience relevant to their
agencies.â
56. Lyn Ragsdale, âStudying the Presidency: Why Presidents Need Political Scientists,â in The Presidency
and the Political System, 12th ed., ed. Michael Nelson (Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press, 2021), 60.
57. It is rare for cabinet appointments to fail Senate confirmation. In the last 100 years, less than a handful
have failed.
58. Rita Dallas, âThatcher Reshuffles Cabinet, Fires Three,â The Washington Post, September 15, 1981,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/09/15/thatcher-reshuffles-cabinet-fires-three/
802b0eaa-bba4-450f-8b7d-1995a2fc58fa/.
Bureaucracy and the Administrative State
- Scholars define neutral competence as the ability of government to function based on objective standards rather than personal or party loyalties.
- The administrative state is described as a 'prodigal child' that was created by Congress but has evolved to possess independent power that can challenge its creator.
- Presidents often act as 'satellites' of the executive branch, frequently operating with different values, timelines, and priorities than the agencies they oversee.
- Research into rulemaking suggests a potential bias toward business interests and specific interest group influence within the bureaucracy.
- The practical consequences of bureaucratic oversight are highlighted by real-world failures, such as the missed inspections of a cracked bridge in Memphis.
Although born of congressional intent, it has taken on a life of its own and has matured to a point where its muscle and brawn can be turned against its creator.
59. Jeffrey K. Tulis, âThe Two Constitutional Presidencies,â in The Presidency and the Political System, 12th
ed., ed. Michael Nelson (Thousand Oaks: CA, 2021), 15.
60. Michael Foley, The Rise of the British Presidency (Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1993).
61. Keith Dowding, âThe Prime Ministerialisation of the British Prime Minister,â Parliamentary Affairs 66, no.
3 (July 2013): 617â635.
62. H. G. Creel, âThe Beginnings of Bureaucracy in China: The Origin of Nsein,â The Journal of Asian Studies
23, no. 2 (February 1964): 155â156.
63. Max Weber, N.D. âBureaucracy,â in Economy and Society, https://archive.law.upenn.edu/institutes/cerl/
conferences/ethicsofsecrecy/papers/reading/Weber.pdf .
64. Herbert Kaufman, âEmerging Conflicts in the Doctrines of Public Administration,â The American
Political Science Review 50, no. 4 (December 1956): 1057â1073. Kaufman writes: â[Neutral competence
is the] ability to do the work of government expertly, and to do it according to explicit, objective standards
rather than to personal or party or other obligations and loyalties. The slogan of the neutral competence
school became, âTake administration out of politics.ââ
65. Marina Nistotskaya, Stefan Dahlberg, Carl DahlstrĂśm, Aksel SundstrĂśm, Sofia Axelsson, Cem Mert Dalli,
and Natalia Alvarado Pachon, The Quality of Government Expert Survey 2020 (Wave III): Report
586 References
Access for free at openstax.org
(Gothenberg, SE: University of Gothenburg: The QoG Working Paper Series, 2021:2). Data available at
https://www.gu.se/en/quality-government/qog-data/data-downloads/qog-expert-survey.
66. Lawrence C. Dodd and Richard L. Schott, Congress and the Administrative State (New York: John Wiley &
Sons, 1979), 2. The authors write: âThe administrative state is, however, in many respects a prodigal
child. Although born of congressional intent, it has taken on a life of its own and has matured to a point
where its muscle and brawn can be turned against its creator.â
67. Lyn Ragsdale, âStudying the Presidency: Why Presidents Need Political Scientists,â in The Presidency
and the Political System, 12th ed., ed. Michael Nelson (Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press, 2021), 61. Ragsdale
continues: âIn many ways, presidents are satellites of the executive branch. They and their
administrations do not share in the values of the various departments and agencies, they operate under
different timetables, and they do not know or serve as advocates for clients of the bureaucracy, whether
farmers, welfare mothers, or some other group.â
68. âThe Federal Register,â National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/the-federal-register.
69. 76 Fed. Reg. 66625 (Oct. 27, 2011), 27 C.F.R. 4.
70. Ibid.
71. Ibid.
72. Jason W. Yackee and Susan Webb Yackee. âA Bias toward Business? Assessing Interest Group Influence
on the Bureaucracy,â The Journal of Politics 68, no. 1 (February 2006): 128â139.
73. Ibid.; Susan Webb Yackee, âThe Politics of Rulemaking,â Annual Review of Political Science 22 (2019):
37â55.
74. Rick Rojas, ââGet People Offâ: Shutdown Ordered for Cracked Bridge in Memphis,â The New York Times,
May 13, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/us/mississippi-bridge-crack-memphis.html.
75. Azi Paybarah, âInspector Who Twice Missed Crack in Bridge is Fired, Arkansas Officials Say,â The New
York Times, May 17, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/us/memphis-i40-bridge-crack-
inspector-fired.html.
11 Courts and Law
1. Evan Hill et al., âHow George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody,â New York Times, updated November 1,
Judicial Systems and Human Rights
- The text documents the legal aftermath of George Floyd's death, including the specific duration of Derek Chauvin's use of force and the subsequent televised trial.
- Academic sources explore the complex functions and roles of courts within authoritarian political regimes.
- Reports from human rights organizations highlight systematic repression and justice system violations in Iran and North Korea.
- The documentation examines the erosion of judicial independence in Turkey following political purges and executive pressure.
- Foundational democratic principles are referenced through the Federalist Papers and the structural roles of the United States and United Kingdom court systems.
- The citations emphasize the necessity of equal representation within the judiciary to ensure the fair administration of justice.
Prosecutors Say Derek Chauvin Knelt on George Floyd for 9 Minutes 29 Seconds, Longer Than Initially Reported.
2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html; Yamiche Alcindor and
Amna Nawaz, âWhat We Know about George Floydâs Death in Minneapolis Police Custody,â PBS News
Hour, NewsHour Productions, updated May 29, 2020, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-we-
know-about-george-floyds-death-in-minneapolis-police-custody; Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs,
âProsecutors Say Derek Chauvin Knelt on George Floyd for 9 Minutes 29 Seconds, Longer Than Initially
Reported,â New York Times, March 30, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/us/derek-chauvin-
george-floyd-kneel-9-minutes-29-seconds.html.
2. Shaila Dewan, âWhat Are the Charges against Derek Chauvin?,â New York Times, April 19, 2021,
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/us/derek-chauvin-charges.html; Tim Arango, âDerek Chauvin
Faces Three Charges. Hereâs How His Sentencing Could Unfold,â New York Times, updated April 26,
2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/us/chauvin-sentence-murder.html; Matt Sepic, âTelevised
Chauvin Trial due to Pandemic Yields Wide Accessâand Concern,â NPR, March 29, 2021,
https://www.npr.org/sections/trial-over-killing-of-george-floyd/2021/03/29/982234571/televised-
chauvin-trial-due-to-pandemic-yields-wide-access-and-concern.
3. Peter H. Solomon, âLaw and Courts in Authoritarian States,â in International Encyclopedia of the Social &
Behavioral Sciences, ed. James D. Wright, 2nd ed. (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2015), 427â434.
4. Tom Ginsburg and Tamir Moustafa, âIntroduction: The Functions of Courts in Authoritarian Politics,â in
Rule by Law: The Politics of Courts in Authoritarian Regimes, ed. Tom Ginsburg and Tamir Moustafa
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 1â22, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511814822.001.
5. Mansoureh Galestan, âA Glance at Iranâs Human Rights Violations in 2020,â National Council of
Resistance of Iran, January 1, 2021, https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/a-glance-at-irans-human-rights-
violations-in-2020/.
References 587
6. âNorth Korea: Systematic Repression,â Human Rights Watch, January 14, 2020, https://www.hrw.org/
news/2020/01/14/north-korea-systematic-repression.
7. Carlotta Gall, âErdoÄanâs Purges Leave Turkeyâs Justice System Reeling,â New York Times, June 21, 2019,
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/world/asia/erdogan-turkey-courts-judiciary-justice.html.
8. âKey Findings of the 2020 Report on Turkey,â European Commission, October 6, 2020,
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/COUNTRY_20_1791.
9. Ibid.
10. Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 78, in The Federalist Papers, The Avalon Project, Lillian Goldman
Law Library, 2008, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed78.asp.
11. âCourt Role and Structure,â United States Courts, Administrative Office of the US Courts, accessed
December 21, 2021, https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure.
12. William G. Ross, âRoberts Day 4: A Ritual of Democracy,â edited by Jeremiah Lee, JURIST, September 16,
2005, https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2005/09/roberts-day-4-ritual-of-democracy/.
13. Oliver Martin, âJustice Can Only Be Done When We Have Equal Representation in the Judiciary,â Kingâs
College London, August 29, 2019, https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/justice-can-only-be-done-when-we-have-
equal-representation-in-the-judiciary.
14. Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, âAppointments of Justices,â The Supreme Court, Crown, April
2016, https://www.supremecourt.uk/about/appointments-of-justices.html.
15. There are proposals pending to increase this to 75. See Ministry of Justice and Robert Buckland, âJudicial
Global Judicial Selection References
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations regarding judicial retirement ages, specifically noting the rise to 75 in the UK.
- It includes official reports from the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States and various international legal overviews.
- Several sources focus on the unique nature of judicial selection in the United States, highlighting the prevalence of partisan elections in states like Texas.
- The references contrast American judicial systems with international models, including those of Belgium, Albania, China, France, and Switzerland.
- Specific attention is given to the professionalization of the judiciary, such as the French National School for the Judiciary and the rarity of judicial elections globally.
Despite committeeâs recommendation, ending Texasâ partisan judicial elections looks unlikely.
Retirement Age to Rise to 75,â GOV.UK, March 9, 2021, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/judicial-
retirement-age-to-rise-to-75.
16. Ivan-Serge Brouhns, âLegal Systems in Belgium: Overview,â Practical Law, Thomson Reuters, March 1,
2019, no. 12, https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-019-2986.
17. âBelgium,â The World Factbook 2016â17 (Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2016), 78,
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_World_Factbook_2016_17/HfywxU2EnFwC.
18. Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, Final Report, December 2021,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/SCOTUS-Report-Final-12.8.21-1.pdf.
19. Williams v. United States, 289 U.S. 553 (1933), http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep289/
usrep289553/usrep289553.pdf.
20. âJudicial Selection in the States,â Ballotpedia, accessed May 25, 2021, https://ballotpedia.org/
Judicial_selection_in_the_states.
21. Elliot W. Bulmer, Judicial Appointments, 2nd ed. (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2017),
https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/judicial-appointments-primer.pdf.
22. âAlbania,â The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, last updated December 14, 2021,
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/albania/#government.
23. âChina,â The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, last updated December 14, 2021,
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/#government.
24. Nicole Atwill, âThe French National School for the Judiciary,â In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of
Congress (blog), Library of Congress, January 26, 2011, https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2011/01/the-french-
national-school-for-the-judiciary/.
25. Debra Cassens Weiss, âMost Countries Donât Hold Judicial Elections,â ABA Journal, May 27, 2008,
https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/most_countries_dont_hold_judicial_elections.
26. âJudicial Selection in the States,â National Center for State Courts, accessed May 25, 2021,
http://www.judicialselection.us/judicial_selection/index.cfm.
27. âJudicial Selection in the States: Texas,â National Center for State Courts, accessed May 25, 2021,
http://judicialselection.us/judicial_selection/index.cfm?state=tx.
28. Texas Commission on Judicial Selection and Public Policy Research Institute, Texas Commission on
Judicial Selection: Final Report (College Station, TX: Public Policy Research Institute, December 2020),
https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1450219/201230_tcjs-final-report_compressed.pdf.
29. âJustice for Sale,â Frontline, PBS, November 1999, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/
588 References
Access for free at openstax.org
justice/; Emma Platoff, âDespite committeeâs recommendation, ending Texasâ partisan judicial elections
looks unlikely,â The Texas Tribune, December 31, 2020, https://www.texastribune.org/2020/12/31/texas-
judicial-elections-partisan/.
30. Federalist Society, âThe Merits of Electing Our Judges 3-7-08,â April 19, 2011, video, 1:00:57,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_xrxOmHU5Q.
31. Matthew J. Streb, ed., Running for Judge: The Rising Political, Financial, and Legal Stakes of Judicial
Elections (New York: New York University Press, 2007).
32. âSwitzerland,â The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, last updated December 2, 2021,
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/switzerland/#government; Aubrey Diem et al.,
âSwitzerland,â Britannica, EncyclopĂŚdia Britannica, last updated December 19, 2021,
https://www.britannica.com/place/Switzerland/Government-and-society.
33. âJudicial Branch,â The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, accessed December 21, 2021,
Legal Systems and Historical Citations
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations covering international judicial branches, including Japan, France, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Andorra.
- It highlights the historical intervention of the 101st Airborne Division in Little Rock, Arkansas, following Eisenhower's Executive Order 10730.
- The references distinguish between common law systems, civil law systems, and religious legal frameworks like Sharia law.
- A specific legal nuance is noted regarding Louisiana, which maintains a hybrid system utilizing civil law due to its French heritage.
- Constitutional and economic history are referenced through the Sixteenth Amendment and the evolution of 'Income Tax Day' in the United States.
Eisenhower signed EO 10730 on September 24, âauthorizing the Army to subdue a mob.â
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/judicial-branch/.
34. âJapan,â The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, last updated December 14, 2021,
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/#government.
35. âRetention Election,â Ballotpedia, accessed May 25, 2021, https://ballotpedia.org/Retention_election.
36. âThis Day in History: September 24,â Britannica, EncyclopĂŚdia Britannica, accessed May 25, 2021,
https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/September-24.
37. Elizabeth Jacoway, Turn Away Thy Son: Little Rock, the Crisis That Shocked the Nation (Fayetteville:
University of Arkansas Press, 2008), 127â133.
38. Eisenhower signed EO 10730 on September 24, âauthorizing the Army to subdue a mob.â The order
resulted in 856 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division being dispatched to Arkansas. Another 99
soldiers arrived the next day. See Jacoway, Turn Away, 178â179; Elizabeth Jacoway, âDaisy Lee Gatson
Bates (1913?â1999): The Quest for Justice,â in Arkansas Women: Their Lives and Times, ed. Cherisse
Jones-Branch and Gary T. Edwards (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2018), 209.
39. Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 352 (2005), https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-1454.ZS.html.
40. âAmdt16.1 Sixteenth Amendment: Historical Background,â Constitution Annotated, Congress.gov,
accessed December 21, 2021, https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt16-1/
ALDE_00000999/.
41. Ellen Terrell, âIncome Tax Day,â Research Guides, Library of Congress, last updated December 2020,
https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/april/tax-day.
42. Pamela C. Corely, Artemus Ward, and Wendy L. Martinek, âImplementation and Impact,â in American
Judicial Process: Myth and Reality in Law and Courts (New York: Routledge, 2015), 429â452.
43. While the United States is a common law system, note that the state of Louisiana has a hybrid system,
utilizing civil law for many state matters because of its origins as a French territory.
44. Albert Roland Kiralfy et al., âCommon Law,â Britannica, EncyclopĂŚdia Britannica, last updated October
30, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law.
45. âCommon Law,â Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, last updated May 2020,
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/common_law.
46. âCivil Law vs. Common Law,â Diffen, accessed December 21, 2021, https://www.diffen.com/difference/
Civil_Law_vs_Common_Law.
47. Ibid.
48. For an example of a civil legal system, see this explanation of the system in France: Ministère de la
Justice, ed., The French Legal System (Paris: Ministère de la Justice, November 2012),
https://www.justice.gouv.fr/art_pix/french_legal_system.pdf.
49. âSharia Law Countries 2021,â World Population Review, accessed December 21, 2021,
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/sharia-law-countries.
50. âLegal and Judicial Structure,â The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accessed December 21,
2021, https://www.saudiembassy.net/legal-and-judicial-structure-0.
51. âThe Judiciary: The Court System,â Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State of Israel, last modified June
References 589
24, 2021, https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/state/democracy/pages/the%20judiciary-
%20the%20court%20system.aspx.
52. âAndorra,â The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, last updated December 14, 2021,
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/andorra/.
53. âHistory & Constitution,â Law Officers of the Crown, Guernsey, last modified November 14, 2017,
http://www.guernseylawofficers.gg/article/162463/History--Constitution; âGuernsey,â The World
Global Legal Systems Bibliography
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations covering diverse legal frameworks, including the systems of Guernsey, Jersey, and Normandy.
- Significant attention is given to indigenous and customary law, specifically Native American tribal governments and MÄori customs in New Zealand.
- The references explore the intersection of African customary law and women's rights, highlighting the complexity of mixed legal systems.
- A major theme involves the philosophy of criminal justice, contrasting punitive measures with rehabilitation-focused prison models.
- The sources document international perspectives on the death penalty and the specific statutory classifications of crimes within the United States Code.
Seven International Prisons That Put Rehabilitation before Punishment.
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56. âTribal Governments,â USLegal, airSlate Legal Forms, accessed December 21, 2021,
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58. Law Commission, MÄori Custom and Values in New Zealand Law, Study Paper 9 (Wellington, New
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59. âMixed Legal Systems,â JuriGlobe, University of Ottawa, last updated April 1, 2021,
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60. Milagros Santos-Ong, âUpdate: Philippine Legal Research,â GlobaLex, Hauser Global Law School
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65. Sonja Meijer, âRehabilitation as a Positive Obligation,â European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and
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Legal System.
Global Legal Standards and Capital Punishment
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations regarding international legal rights, including Miranda warning equivalents and UN human rights standards for police.
- It contrasts privacy protections and search and seizure laws between American, European, and Saudi Arabian legal frameworks.
- Specific focus is given to the protection of detained persons and the procedural rights of the arrested in the United Kingdom.
- The citations track the global status of capital punishment, specifically highlighting the execution of juveniles and the trend of abolition since 1976.
- The document references landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases like Furman v. Georgia and Gregg v. Georgia that shaped modern death penalty jurisprudence.
- It includes resources for tracking the current application of the death penalty at both the state and federal levels in the United States.
âExecutions of Juveniles Outside of the US,â Juveniles, Policy Issues, Death Penalty Information Center.
71. âMiranda Warning Equivalents Abroad,â Law Library of Congress, Library of Congress, last updated
December 30, 2020, https://web.archive.org/web/20210318051525/https://www.loc.gov/law/help/
miranda-warning-equivalents-abroad/index.php.
72. United Nations, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights. Human Rights
Standards and Practice for the Police. New York, NY and Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations, 2004,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/training5Add3en.pdf
73. See Christopher Slobogin, âAn Empirically Based Comparison of American and European Regulatory
Approaches to Police Investigation,â Michigan Journal of International Law 22, issue 3 (2001),
https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1377&context=mjil for an example of
countries with right to privacy protections.
74. For an example of a country with low protections, see David Tate Cicotte, âSaudi Search and Seizure Law
Compared with the Fourth Amendmentâ (2014). Law School Student Scholarship. 453,
https://scholarship.shu.edu/student_scholarship/453.
75. UN General Assembly, Resolution 43/173, Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any
Form of Detention or Imprisonment, A/RES/43/173 (Dec. 9, 1988), https://www.ohchr.org/en/
professionalinterest/pages/detentionorimprisonment.aspx.
76. Ibid.
77. âBeing arrested: your rights,â Crime, justice and the law, GOV.UK, accessed January 11, 2022,
https://www.gov.uk/arrested-your-rights/how-long-you-can-be-held-in-custody.
78. âCriminal Justice,â Factors, WJP Rule of Law Index, World Justice Project, accessed January 11, 2022,
https://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/factors/2020/Criminal%2520Justice.
79. âHow Courts Work,â Division for Public Education, American Bar Association, September 9, 2019,
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how_courts_work/bail/.
80. âExecutions of Juveniles Outside of the US,â Juveniles, Policy Issues, Death Penalty Information Center,
accessed January 11, 2022, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/juveniles/execution-of-juveniles-
outside-of-the-u-s; âJuveniles and the Death Penalty,â ACLU, accessed January 11, 2022,
https://www.aclu.org/other/juveniles-and-death-penalty; âTalkAboutIt: Capital punishment around the
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81. âCountries That Have Abolished the Death Penalty Since 1976,â International, Policy Issues, Death
Penalty Information Center, accessed January 11, 2022, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/
international/countries-that-have-abolished-the-death-penalty-since-1976.
82. Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972).
83. Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976); Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242 (1976); Jurek v. Texas, 428 U.S. 262
(1976); Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280 (1976); Roberts v. Louisiana, 428 U.S. 325 (1976).
84. âStates and Capital Punishment,â National Conference of State Legislatures, August 11, 2021,
https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/death-penalty.aspx.
85. âFederal Death Penalty,â State & Federal Info, Death Penalty Information Center, accessed January 11,
2022, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/federal-death-
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month%20period%20between%20July%202020%20and%20January%202021.
86. âState by State,â Death Penalty Information Center, last updated June 13, 2019,
Capital Punishment Legal Frameworks
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations regarding the legal status and statistics of the death penalty across various U.S. states as of 2021.
- It highlights legislative shifts, such as a Texas bill aimed at limiting death penalty eligibility for defendants who did not personally commit the act of killing.
- The references include landmark Supreme Court cases like Roper v. Simmons and Atkins v. Virginia, which established constitutional limits on executing minors and the intellectually disabled.
- International and human rights perspectives are represented through citations from the United Nations and the European Parliament regarding global abolition trends.
- The sources address critical systemic issues including racial bias in sentencing, the risk of executing the innocent, and the debate over life without parole as an alternative.
On federal death row, inmates talk about Biden, executions.
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state.
87. âStates with and without the death penaltyâ2021,â State by State, State & Federal Info, Death Penalty
Information Center, accessed January 11, 2022, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/
state-by-state.
88. âSummary of Death Penalty Statutes,â Crimes Punishable by Death, Facts & Research, Death Penalty
Information Center, accessed January 11, 2022, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/crimes-
References 591
punishable-by-death/summary-of-state-death-penalty-statutes.
89. âTexas House of Representatives Passes Bill to Limit Death-Penalty Eligibility for Defendants Who Do
Not Kill,â News, Death Penalty Information Center, May 7, 2021, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/texas-
house-of-representatives-passes-bill-to-limit-death-penalty-eligibility-for-defendants-who-did-not-kill.
90. Roper, Superintendent, Potosi Correctional Center v. Simmons, 543 US 551 (2005); Daryl Renard Atkins,
Petitioner v. Virginia, 536Â USÂ 304Â (2002).
91. âList of Federal Death Row Prisoners,â State & Federal Info, Death Penalty Information Center, accessed
January 11, 2022, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/federal-death-penalty/list-of-
federal-death-row-prisoners.
92. Michael Tarm, âOn federal death row, inmates talk about Biden, executions,â APNews, March 22, 2021,
https://apnews.com/article/federal-death-row-inmates-talk-biden-
executions-6381ed8b3e821a34a6b6ade6bb3375c0; âCapital Punishment,â History, About, Federal
Bureau of Prisons, accessed January 11, 2022, https://www.bop.gov/about/history/
federal_executions.jsp.
93. âData on the Death Penalty in the US,â USAFacts, last updated January 13, 2021, https://usafacts.org/
articles/death-penalty-us-what-data-says/.
94. âDeath Penalty,â Your Human Rights, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights,
accessed January 11, 2022, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/DeathPenalty/Pages/DPIndex.aspx.
95. Trop v. Dulles, 356 US 86 (1958)
96. âReasons to Oppose the Death Penalty,â Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, accessed
January 11, 2022, https://www.vadp.org/dp-info/reasons-to-oppose-the-death-penalty/, âThe Facts: 13
Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty,â Facts, Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, accessed
January 11, 2022, https://www.oadp.org/facts/13-reasons; âDeath penalty: key facts about the situation in
Europe and the rest of the world,â World, News, European Parliament, last updated July 28, 2020,
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97. âShould Life without Parole Replace the Death Penalty?â ProCon.org, accessed January 11, 2022,
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death-penalty/.
98. âThe Innocent and the Death Penalty,â Innocence Project, News, February 10, 2009,
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d,death%20row%20%E2%80%93%20for%20crimes%20they%20didn%E2%80%99t%20commit.
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by-the-numbers/.
100. United States General Accounting Office, Death Penalty Sentencing: Research Indicates Pattern of Racial
Foundations of Legal Authority
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations for foundational legal documents including the Magna Carta and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- It references key United States Constitutional amendments, specifically the Fifth and Fourteenth, which establish due process and equal protection.
- The citations highlight the role of international bodies and conventions, such as the European Court of Human Rights, in defining global justice standards.
- Specific legal precedents like Mathews v. Eldridge are cited to illustrate the procedural mechanics of the American judicial system.
- The data notes the Supreme Court's power of judicial review, indicating that it struck down 103 of the 15,817 laws passed by Congress between 1954 and 2002.
Congress passed 15,817 laws from 1954 to 2002. The Supreme Court ruled 103 of them.
Disparities (Washington, DC: General Accounting Office, February 1990), 5, http://racialviolenceus.org/
Articles/GAO_Death_Penalty_Sentencing.pdf.
101. G. R. C. Davis, Magna Carta, Revised Edition, British Library, 1989, accessed January 11, 2022 from âThe
Text of Magna Carta,â Fordham University, https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/magnacarta.asp.
102. âUniversal Declaration of Human Rights,â About Us, United Nations, accessed January 11, 2022,
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
103. European Court of Human Rights, âEuropean Convention on Human Rights,â France: Council of Europe,
2013, https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf.
104. U.S. Const. amend. V.
105. U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1.
106. Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306 (1950).
107. Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319 (1976).
108. See the Iranian constitution at https://en.parliran.ir/eng/en/Constitution.
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109. âRule of Law and Justice,â United Nations and the Rule of Law, United Nations, last modified October 8,
2019, https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/thematic-areas/justice-2/.
110. âCourt Role and Structure,â About Federal Courts, United States Courts, accessed January 11, 2022,
https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure.
111. âYour Day in Court,â Judicial Learning Center, accessed January 11, 2022,
https://judiciallearningcenter.org/your-day-in-court/; âHow Courts Work,â Division for Public Education,
September 9, 2019, https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/
law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/cases/.
112. âJustice 101,â Offices of the United States Attorneys, accessed January 11, 2022, https://www.justice.gov/
usao/justice-101/trial.
113. U.S. Const. amend. V.
114. Katherine A. Currier, Thomas E. Eimermann, and Marisa S. Campbell, âThe Court System and the Role of
Judges,â in The Study of Law: A Critical Thinking Approach, 5th ed. (New York: Wolters Kluwer, 2020).
115. For an example of a court opinion reversing and rendering a decision, see Medina v. Zuniga,
https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1443995/170498.pdf, and Valentine v. Collier,
http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/20/20-20525-CV1.pdf. For an example of rules allowing
rendition on reversal, see Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure at https://www.txcourts.gov/media/
1437631/texas-rules-of-appellate-procedure-updated-with-amendments-effective-2117-with-
appendices.pdf.
116. âAbout the Supreme Court,â United States Courts, accessed January 11, 2022, https://www.uscourts.gov/
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117. Constitutional Council, accessed January 11, 2022, https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/en.
118. U.S. Const. art. III, VI.
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Publishing Office, accessed May 25, 2021, https://www.govinfo.gov/collection/constitution-annotated.
120. Congress passed 15,817 laws from 1954 to 2002. The Supreme Court ruled 103 of them, a total of two-
Judicial Restraint and Media Freedom
- Statistical data suggests that the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a very small fraction of federal and state laws, challenging the narrative of 'judicial activism.'
- Between 1986 and 2006, less than one-half of 1 percent of federal regulations were held unconstitutional by the court.
- The text transitions into a comprehensive bibliography regarding the role of the media in democratic societies and its historical origins.
- Citations highlight the importance of freedom of the press as a check against government tyranny and political cover-ups.
- References include landmark legal cases and reports on the suppression of information and the necessity of 'judicial engagement' over restraint.
The court ruled 452 of those, less than one-twentieth of 1 percent, unconstitutional.
thirds of 1 percent, unconstitutional. In that same period, state legislatures enacted 1,006,649 laws. The
court ruled 452 of those, less than one-twentieth of 1 percent, unconstitutional. The federal government
adopted 21,462 regulations from 1986 to 2006. The court held 121 of them, about one-half of 1 percent,
unconstitutional. See Clark Neily and Dick M. Carpenter II, Government Unchecked: The False Problem
of âJudicial Activismâ and the Need for Judicial Engagement (Arlington, VA: Center for Judicial
Engagement, September 2011), https://www.ij.org/images/pdf_folder/other_pubs/grvnmtunchkd.pdf.
121. âTable of Laws Held Unconstitutional in Whole or in Part by the Supreme Court,â Constitution Annotated,
Library of Congress, accessed May 25, 2021, https://constitution.congress.gov/resources/
unconstitutional-laws/.
122. âParliamentâs Authority,â What is the role of Parliament?, UK Parliament, accessed January 11, 2022,
https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/role/sovereignty/.
12 The Media
1. Ronald Hamowy, âCatoâs Letters, John Locke, and the Republican Paradigm,â History of Political Thought
11, no. 2 (Summer 1990): 273â294,-94. Accessed May 18, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26213860.
2. David S. Bogen, âThe Origins of Freedom of Speech and Press,â Maryland Law Review 42, no. 3 (1983):
429, https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2503&context=mlr.
3. Doris A. Graber, Mass Media and American Politics, 6th ed. (Washington, DC (Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ
Press, 2002), 2.
4. Thomas Carlyle, âThe Hero as a Man of Letters: Johnson, Rousseau, Burns,â in On Heroes, and Hero-
Worship, and the Heroic in History (London: James Fraser, Regent Street, 1841), 265 (italics in original).
5. Legal suppression of material prior to its being published or broadcast on the grounds that it is libelous
or harmful
6. New York Times Company v. United States, 403 US 713 (1971), https://www.oyez.org/cases/1970/1873.
References 593
7. Richard Harris, âThe Presidency and the Press,â New Yorker, September 24, 1973,
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1973/10/01/the-presidency-and-the-press.
8. Member of Parliament, equivalent to a congressperson in the United States
9. Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse, âThe 1979 Rochdale Alternative Paper Articles,â in Cambridge
House, Knowl View and Rochdale: Investigation Report (London: Crown, 2018), 25,
https://www.iicsa.org.uk/publications/investigation/cambridge-house-knowl-view-rochdale/part-b-
cambridge-house/1979-rochdale-alternative-paper-articles.
10. Elizabeth Howcroft, âBritish Politicians Covered Up Child Sex Abuse for Decades, Inquiry Finds,â Reuters,
February 25, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-abuse/british-politicians-covered-up-
child-sex-abuse-for-decades-inquiry-finds-idUSKBN20J1VL.
11. Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (New York: Tim Duggan
Books, 2017), 65.
12. James Kirchick, âOn World Press Freedom Day, Brookings Experts Reflect on the Importance of a Free
Press,â Brookings, Brookings Institution, May 3, 2018, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/
05/02/on-world-press-freedom-day-brookings-experts-reflect-on-the-importance-of-a-free-press/.
13. âThe World Press Freedom Index,â Reporters Without Borders, accessed May 18, 2021, https://rsf.org/en/
world-press-freedom-index.
14. Sam Lebovic, âThe Inadequacy of American Press Freedom,â American Historian, August 2018,
https://www.oah.org/tah/issues/2018/august/the-inadequacy-of-american-press-freedom/.
15. âThe Trump Administration and the Media,â Committee to Protect Journalists, April 16, 2020,
Scholarly Foundations of Media Studies
- The citations highlight the critical link between press freedom and global economic development and growth.
- Academic research explores the direct relationship between a free press and the reduction of government corruption.
- The text references foundational theories of journalism, including agenda-setting and news framing effects.
- Historical perspectives on media are included, tracing back to the world's oldest dated printed book and early Chinese printing technology.
- The references address modern political challenges, such as the 'attack on truth' and gender framing in political campaigns.
Joe Biden Warns Truth Is âUnder Attackâ in World Press Freedom Day Message
https://cpj.org/reports/2020/04/trump-media-attacks-credibility-leaks/.
16. Darragh RocheRoch, âJoe Biden Warns Truth Is âUnder Attackâ in World Press Freedom Day Message,â
Newsweek, May 3, 2021, https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-warns-truth-under-attack-world-press-
freedom-day-message-1588209.
17. Michael B. Salwen and Bruce Garrison, âPress Freedom and Development: US and Latin American
Views,â Journalism Quarterly 66, no. 1 (March 1989): 87â92, https://doi.org/:10.1177/
107769908906600111.
18. Manuel Vega-Gordillo and JosĂŠ L. Ălvarez-Arce, âEconomic Growth and Freedom: A Causality Study,â
Cato Journal 23, no. 2 (Fall 2003): 199â-215; Abdullah Alam and Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, âThe Role of
Press Freedom in Economic Development: A Global Perspective,â Journal of Media Economics 26, no. 1
(2013): 4â20.
19. Timothy Besley and Robin Burgess, âThe Political Economy of Government Responsiveness: Theory and
Evidence from India,â Quarterly Journal of Economics 117, no. 4 (November 2002): 1415â1451;
Sebastian Freille, M. Emranul Haque, and Richard Kneller, âA Contribution to the Empirics of Press
Freedom and Corruption,â European Journal of Political Economy 23, no. 4 (December 2007): 838â862;
Shyamal K. Chowdhury, âThe Effect of Democracy and Press Freedom on Corruption: An Empirical Test,â
Economics Letters 85, no. 1 (October 2004): 93â101.
20. Herbert J. Gans, Deciding Whatâs News: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and
Time (New York: Vintage Books, 19801979), 39.
21. Ibid., 43.
22. Monika Bednarek and Helen Caple, The Discourse of News Values: How News Organizations Create
Newsworthiness (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), 3.
23. Lisbeth Clausen, Global News Production (Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press, 2003).
24. Cristina Archetti, âComparing International Coverage of 9/11: Towards an Interdisciplinary Explanation
of the Constructionof News,â Journalism 11, no. 5 (October 2010): 567â-588.
25. Vincent Campbell, Information Age Journalism: Journalism in an International Context (London: Arnold,
2004), 123.
26. Maxwell E. McCombs and Donald L. Shaw, âThe Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media,â Public Opinion
Quarterly 36, no. 2 (Summer 1972): 176, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2747787.
27. David Tewksbury and Dietram A. Scheufele, âNews Framing Theory and Research,â in Media Effects,
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Advances in Theory and Research, edited by Mary Beth Oliver, Arthur A. Raney, and Jennings Bryant, 4th
ed. (New York: Routledge, 2020), 51.
28. James Devitt, âFraming Gender on the Campaign Trail: Female Gubernatorial Candidates and the Press,â
Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 79, no. 2 (June 2002): 445â463.
29. Claes H. De Vreese, Jochen Peter, and Holli A. Semetko, âFraming Politics at the Launch of the Euro: A
Cross-National Comparative Study of Frames in the News,â Political Communication 18, no. 2 (2001):
107â122, https://doi.org/10.1080/105846001750322934.
30. Jason Daley, âFive Things to Know about the Diamond Sutra, the Worldâs Oldest Dated Printed Book,â
Smithsonian, May 11, 2016, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/Five-things-to-know-about-
diamond-sutra-worlds-oldest-dated-printed-book-180959052/.
31. âPrinting & Movable Type,â China in 1000 CE: The Most Advanced Society in the World, Asia for
Educators, Columbia University, accessed November 2, 2021, http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/songdynasty-
module/tech-printing.html.
32. Cyndia Susan Clegg, âTudor Literary Censorship,â Oxford Handbooks Online, Oxford University Press,
Evolution of Media Landscapes
- The text provides a comprehensive bibliography tracking the transition of media from traditional print to digital and broadcast formats.
- Scholarly and journalistic sources debate the 'death' of print, with some arguing that magazines and newspapers are finding new life as niche 'new media.'
- Historical data highlights the rapid pace of technology adoption, specifically comparing the development of commercial radio to the rise of television.
- Recent research from Pew and Nielsen documents the dramatic decline of cable and satellite TV usage as digital alternatives proliferate.
- The references emphasize the global role of media as a 'vector of freedom' and a tool for expression through blogs and independent journalism.
Stop Saying Print Journalism Is Dead. 60 Magazines Launched during This Crazy Year.
October 2014, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935338.013.9; Md Nurus Safa et al., âBlog as a
Medium of Freedom of Expression,â International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research 3, no. 1
(June 2014), 1â-9, http://www.ijisr.issr-journals.org/issue.php?issue=5.
33. Theodore J. Lowi et al., American Government:, Power and Purpose, 15th ed. (New York: W. W. Norton,
2018).
34. âNewspapers Fact Sheet,â Pew Research Center, June 29, 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/
journalism/fact-sheet/newspapers/.
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143. Amy Mitchell et al., Political Polarization & Media Habits: From Fox News to Facebook, How Liberals and
Conservatives Keep Up with Politics (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, October 2014),
https://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/political-polarization-media-habits/.
144. See Meredith Conroy.
145. Lee H. Hamilton, âWe Need an Informed Citizenry,â Journal of Civic Literacy 2, no. 1 (2015): 2,
https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/civiclit/article/view/19685.
146. Mohamed A. El-Erian, âWhy Retaining Trust in Institutions Matters,â World Economic Forum, October 9,
2017, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/why-retaining-trust-in-institutions-matters.
147. John Sands, âPublic Confidence in the Media Is Sliding, but Newsrooms Can Win It Back,â Knight
Foundation, September 15, 2020, https://knightfoundation.org/articles/public-confidence-in-the-media-
is-sliding-but-newsrooms-can-win-it-back/.
148. Typically, guests who discuss issues on television or the radio who do not engage in journalistic practices
600 References
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that result in unbiased or fact-based reporting
149. Elizabeth Jensen, âLooking to the Future: Restoring Public Trust in the Media,â NPR Public Editor, NPR,
May 15, 2017, https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2017/05/15/528158488/looking-to-the-future-
restoring-public-trust-in-the-media.
150. Best practices, journalistic expertise, type of work, citations and references, methods, local sourcing,
diverse voices, and actionable feedback
151. The Trust Project, accessed November 2, 2021, https://thetrustproject.org.
152. Johannes von Dohnanyi and Christian MĂśller, The Impact of Media Concentration on Professional
Journalism (Vienna: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, 2003), https://www.osce.org/
fom/13870.
153. Steven Waldman, âHow to Fix the Media Ownership Debate,â Columbia Journalism Review, December 20,
2012, https://archives.cjr.org/united_states_project/how_to_fix_the_media_ownership.php.
154. âAbout,â First Draft, accessed November 2, 2021, https://firstdraftnews.org/about/.
13 Governing Regimes
1. Max Weber, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (New York: Routledge, 2009).
2. Weber, Essays in Sociology.
3. Individual government officials may have an incentive to break these rules. Former president Richard
Executive Authority and Electoral Integrity
- The text examines historical instances where U.S. Presidents, specifically Nixon and Trump, were accused of breaking federal laws to gain electoral advantages.
- A 2021 Office of Special Counsel report alleges a concerted, willful effort by senior Trump administration officials to violate the law during the 2020 election.
- The document references the polarization of political legitimacy, citing claims from far-right media that the 2020 election was stolen through illegal schemes.
- Investigations by the Associated Press and other bodies found insufficient evidence of voter fraud to alter the results of the 2020 presidential election.
- The citations explore broader governance and social issues, including the rationale for subsidizing homeownership and the implementation of sugar taxes.
- Constitutional frameworks for executive power are noted, ranging from Obama's unilateral immigration actions to the emergency powers defined in the French Constitution.
Henry Kerner of the Office of the Special Counsel, who asserts there was a âconcerted willful effort to violate the law by the most senior officers in the White Houseâ during Trumpâs presidency.
Nixon, for electoral reasons, among others, broke the law and so acted without authority. His illegal
actions were discovered, and he resigned before being impeached and removed from office by Congress.
See Frank O. Bowmann III, High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of
Trump, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2019. Donald Trump also faced allegations that he
was driven by considerations of electoral advantage to break federal laws, and he was impeached (but
not removed from office) twice on that basis. For a recent survey of the range of allegations of unlawful
behavior during Trumpâs presidency designed to enhance his reelection prospects, see a 2021 report by
Henry Kerner of the Office of the Special Counsel, who asserts there was a âconcerted willful effort to
violate the law by the most senior officers in the White Houseâ during Trumpâs presidency. US Office of
Special Counsel, Investigation of Political Activities by Senior Trump Administration Officials during the
2020 Presidential Election, November 9, 2021, https://osc.gov/Documents/Hatch%20Act/Reports/
Investigation%20of%20Political%20Activities%20by%20Senior%20Trump%20Administration%20Offic
ials%20During%20the%202020%20Presidential%20Election.pdf. The Trump administration denied
any legal wrongdoing in these matters. Andrea Shalal, âFederal Watchdog Probing Trump Campaignâs
Use of White House â Lawmaker,â Reuters, November 25, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-
election-trump-investigation-idINKBN27M0EF.
4. Mark P. Keightley, âWhy Subsidize Homeownership? A Review of Rationales,â Congressional Research
Service, September 6, 2019, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF11305.pdf; Laurie S. Goodman and
Christopher Meyer, âHomeownership and the American Dream,â Journal of Economic Perspectives 32,
no. 1 (2018): 31â58; Kim R. Manturuk, Mark Lindblad, and Roberto G. Quercia, A Place Called Home: The
Social Dimensions of Homeownership (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), xiiâxvii.
5. Ulrik Boesen, âSugar Taxes Back on the Menu,â Tax Foundation, February 18, 2021,
https://taxfoundation.org/sugar-taxes/.
6. Eyder Peralta, âObama Goes It Alone, Shielding up to 5 Million Immigrants from Deportation,â NPR,
November 20, 2014, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/11/20/365519963/obama-will-
announce-relief-for-up-to-5-million-immigrants.
7. Christina Bobb of the far right One America Network, for example, asserts that âwe can all now see that
Joe Biden is not a legitimate president.â âOAN Host: Joe Biden Is Not a Legitimate President and We Do
Not Have a Legitimate Executive Branch in Power Right Now,â Media Matters for America, April 26, 2021,
https://www.mediamatters.org/one-america-news-network/oan-joe-biden-not-legitimate-president-
and-we-do-not-have-legitimate-exec.
8. Bobb, for example, goes on to say that Biden and his supporters âdevised an evil [and illegal] scheme to
References 601
steal our election.â Media Matters, âJoe Biden Is Not a Legitimate President.â
9. âFar Too Little Vote Fraud to Tip Election to Trump, AP Finds,â US News & World Report, December 14,
2021, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/pennsylvania/articles/2021-12-14/far-too-little-vote-
fraud-to-tip-election-to-trump-ap-finds.
10. âElection Integrity: 62% Donât Think Voter ID Laws Discriminate,â Rasmussen Reports, April 13, 2021,
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/april_2021/
election_integrity_62_don_t_think_voter_id_laws_discriminate.
11. France, La Constitution du 4 octobre 1958, Const. Art. 16, https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/en/
Legal Frameworks of Emergency States
- The text provides a comprehensive list of legal citations regarding the declaration of states of emergency in France, Israel, and the Philippines.
- French emergency protocols are traced from the 1955 law to the 1958 Constitution, including recent applications during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Israeli emergency law is documented through the 1948 Law and Administration Ordinance and the ongoing use of Defense (Emergency) Regulations.
- The concept of a 'Constitutional Dictator' is explored through the lens of Philippine history, specifically the 1973 Constitution and the era of martial law.
- Scholarly references examine the tension between 'permanent emergencies' and democratic stability in modern governance.
- The citations highlight how emergency powers are often extended or codified into permanent legal structures across different global jurisdictions.
âThe Makings of a âConstitutional Dictator,ââ Martial Law Museum.
constitution-of-4-october-1958; Loi n° 55-385 du 3 avril 1955 relative Ă lâĂŠtat dâurgence,
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000695350/.
12. Loi n° 55-385 du 3 avril 1955 relative Ă lâĂŠtat dâurgence, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/
JORFTEXT000000695350/.
13. France, La Constitution du 4 octobre 1958, Const. Art. 16, https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/en/
constitution-of-4-october-1958.
14. In 2020, France also declared a state of emergency to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
15. Basic Law Art. 139(c); The Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions, Law and
Emergencies: A Comparative Overview, January 2016, https://minervaextremelaw.haifa.ac.il/images/
Emergency_Laws_and_Regulations_-in_Israel-_19-_Jan2016.pdf.
16. Basic Law Art. 139(c); Minerva Center, Law and Emergencies.
17. Law and Administration Ordinance Art. 9(a), 1 Laws of the State of Israel [Laws St. Isr.] 7 (1948) (enacted
May 19, 1948); Minerva Center, Law and Emergencies.
18. Minerva Center, Law and Emergencies.
19. âDefense (Emergency) Regulations,â The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied
Territories, https://www.btselem.org/legal_documents/emergency_regulations.
20. âDeclaring a State of Emergency,â The Knesset, https://m.knesset.gov.il/en/about/lexicon/pages/
declaringstateemergency.aspx; Ahaz Ben Ari and Meir Elran, âStates of Emergency: Legal Aspects and
Implications for the Corona Crisis in Israel,â INSS Insight, no. 1292, April 5, 2020, https://www.inss.org.il/
publication/coronavirus-and-law-2/; âKnesset Extends State of Emergency in Israel by Another Year,â
Knesset News, August 3, 2021, https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/News/PressReleases/Pages/
press3821t.aspx; âDefense (Emergency) Regulations,â Israeli Information Center.
21. Myriam Feinberg, âStates of Emergency in France and IsraelâTerrorism, âPermanent Emergencies,â and
Democracy,â Z Politikwiss 28 (2018): 495â506.
22. âThe Makings of a âConstitutional Dictator,ââ Martial Law Museum, https://martiallawmuseum.ph/
magaral/the-makings-of-a-constitutional-dictator/.
23. âConstitutional Dictator,â Martial Law Museum.
24. âDeclaration of Martial Law,â Official Gazette, https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/declaration-of-
martial-law/
25. âPhilippine Constitutions,â Official Gazette, https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/; â1973
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines,â Official Gazette, https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/
constitutions/1973-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines-2/; Encyclopaedia Britannica Online,
âPhilippines: Martial Law,â https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/Martial-law.
26. âConstitutional Dictator,â Martial Law Museum (emphasis in original).
27. âA History of the Philippine Political Protest,â Official Gazette, https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/edsa/
the-ph-protest/; Encyclopaedia Britannica, âPhilippines: Martial Law.â
28. National Institutes of Health, âUnderage Drinking: Possession/Consumption/Internal Possession,â
Alcohol Policy Information System, https://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/apis-policy-topics/
possessionconsumptioninternal-possession-of-alcohol/42/about-this-policy.
29. Kim Lane Scheppele, âLaw in a Time of Emergency: States of Exception and the Temptations of 9/11,â
Journal of Constitutional Law 6, no. 5 (2004): 1â75, 3.
30. Joseph Ellis has recently argued that not much more than a general notion that America should be
602 References
Access for free at openstax.org
Foundations of State Control
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations exploring the mechanisms of state power, ranging from revolutionary unity to modern authoritarian control.
- Key scholarly works examine the 'manufactured consent' of media elites and how states manipulate information flows to shape public sentiment.
- Case studies include the ideological propaganda mechanisms in Belarus and the transition from 'hard' to 'soft' authoritarianism in Taiwan.
- The references highlight the persistence of non-state actors, such as the Taliban's ability to outlast a superpower through tenacity and carnage.
- The citations track the fragility of states like Somalia and the global decline of democratic reforms as reported by major international outlets.
Herman and Chomsky focus on the work of media elites to shape the populationâs sentiments, but the term can be broadened to refer to the stateâs attempt to do the same.
independent of the British Empire united the American revolutionaries, who disagreed over why
independence was necessary and what an independent America should look like. Joseph Ellis, The
Cause: The American Revolution ad Its Discontents, 1773â1783 (New York: Liveright, 2021).
31. Weber, Essays in Sociology.
32. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, âRuhollah Khomeini,â https://www.britannica.com/biography/
Ruhollah-Khomeini; Ghulam-Rida Aâwani, The Wine of Love, Mystical Poetry of Imam Khomeini
(Morrisville, NC: Lulu Press), https://www.google.com/books/edition/
The_Wine_of_Love_Mystical_Poetry_of_Imam/
a9pZCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ayatollah+Khomeini+mystical+poetry&printsec=frontcover.
33. Vanessa Martin, Creating the Islamic State: Khomeini and the Making of a New Iran (London: I. B. Tauris,
2003).
34. Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky, Manufactured Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
(New York: Pantheon, 2002). Herman and Chomsky focus on the work of media elites to shape the
populationâs sentiments, but the term can be broadened to refer to the stateâs attempt to do the same.
35. âMonopolizing the Media and Information Flows,â Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/legacy/
reports/1997/belarus/Belarus-05.htm.
36. Paval Usau, âIdeology of Belarusian State Propaganda Mechanisms,â in Belarusian Society, 2007: Hopes,
Illusions, Perspectives, ed. Marta Pejda (Madison, WI: East European Democratic Centre of the University
of Wisconsin, 2007), 40â45; âFreedom on the Net 2021: Belarus,â Freedom House,
https://freedomhouse.org/country/belarus/freedom-net/2021.
37. âBelarus: More Media Censorship and Control with New Amendments of the Media Law,â European
Federation of Journalists, https://europeanjournalists.org/blog/2018/06/24/belarus-more-media-
censorship-and-control-with-new-amendments-of-the-media-law/.
38. Artyom Shraibman, The House That Lukashenko Built: The Foundation, Evolution, and Future of the
Belarusian Regime (Moscow: Carnegie Moscow Center, 2018), https://carnegieendowment.org/files/
CP328_Shraibman_Belarus_FINAL.pdf.
39. Lothar Brock, Hans-Hendrik Holm, Georg Sorenon, and Michael Stohl, Fragile States (Cambridge, UK:
Polity, 2012).
40. Mujib Mashal, âHow the Taliban Outlasted a Superpower: Tenacity and Carnage,â The New York Times,
January 15, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/world/asia/taliban-afghanistan-war.html.
41. Ignacio Fuente Cobo, Somalia: Picturing a Fragile State. The Existential Crisis of the Somali State (II)
(Spanish Institute of Strategic Studies, 2015), https://www.ieee.es/en/Galerias/fichero/docs_analisis/
2015/DIEEEA06-2015_Somalia_RadiografiaEstadoFragil_xIIx_IFC_ENGLISH.pdf.
42. Kenneth R. Rutherford, Humanitarianism under Fire: The US and U.N. Intervention in Somalia (Sterling,
VA: Kumarian Press, 2008).
43. âSomalia Postpones Long-Delayed Election,â France 24, July 25, 2021, https://www.france24.com/en/
live-news/20210725-somalia-postpones-long-delayed-election.
44. This distinction has been drawn by scholars for several decades. Edwin A. Winckler, âInstitutionalization
and Participation on Taiwan: From Hard to Soft Authoritarianism?â The China Quarterly 99 (1984):
481â499.
45. âGlobal Democracy Has a Very Bad Year,â The Economist, February 2, 2021, https://www.economist.com/
graphic-detail/2021/02/02/global-democracy-has-a-very-bad-year.
46. âDemands for Democratic Reform Surge in Thailand,â NPR, August 17, 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/
08/17/903153495/demands-for-democratic-reform-surge-in-thailand.
47. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, âArab Spring,â https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Spring.
Comparative Governance and Authoritarianism
- The citations examine Moroccoâs political landscape, highlighting the tension between its executive monarchy and the 2011 constitutional reforms.
- North Koreaâs power structure is analyzed through the lens of charismatic politics, local government regulations, and the legacy of Kim Il-sung.
- Research into Iranian governance focuses on the 'paradoxical' nature of a regime that combines strict religious rule with democratic institutional branches.
- The sources explore the theological foundations of Twelver Shiâism and its influence on the contemporary Iranian state structure.
- Broader themes of authoritarian resilience and democratic struggle are addressed across Middle Eastern and East Asian contexts.
Abbas Milani calls the Iranian regime âparadoxicalâ due to its combination of institutions meant to ensure strict religious rule and more democratic branches of government.
48. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, âMorocco,â https://www.britannica.com/place/Morocco; Tarik El
Barakah, âParties Campaign Ahead of Moroccoâs Pivotal Elections,â AP News, September 7, 2021,
https://apnews.com/article/africa-business-health-elections-europe-
d775c3849447f662553e8ba3220e8292.
49. Encyclopaedia Britannica, âMoroccoâ; Moroccoâs Constitution of 2011, trans. Jefri J. Ruchti (Getzville, NY:
References 603
William S. Hein & Co., 2012), https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Morocco_2011.pdf.
50. Anour Boukhars, Politics in Morocco: Executive Monarchy and Enlightened Authoritarianism (Abingdon,
England: Routledge, 2011).
51. â2017 Human Rights Report CommuniquĂŠ,â US Embassy & Consulates in Morocco, March 3, 2017,
https://ma.usembassy.gov/2017-human-rights-report-communique/.
52. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, âKim Il-Sung,â https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kim-Il-Sung.
53. Sung Chul Yang, The North and South Korean Political Systems: A Comparative Analysis (Abingdon-on-
Thames, England: Taylor & Francis, 2019), 270.
54. Korea North: Energy Policy, Laws and Regulations Handbook, Volume 1: Strategic Information and
Developments (Alexandria, VA: International Business Publications, 2018), 71. https://www.google.com/
books/edition/Korea_North_Energy_Policy_Laws_and_Regul/R_OxDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0;
âFreedom in the World 2018: North Korea,â Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/north-
korea/freedom-world/2018.
55. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, âNorth Korea: Local Government,â https://www.britannica.com/place/
North-Korea/Local-government.
56. Heonik K. Kwon and Byung-Ho Chung, North Korea: Beyond Charismatic Politics (Lanham, MD: Rowman
and Littlefield, 2012).
57. Eleanor Albert, âNorth Koreaâs Power Structure,â Council on Foreign Relations, June 17, 2020,
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-koreas-power-structure; Kongdan Oh and Ralph Hassig, North
Korea in a Nutshell: A Contemporary Overview (Lanhan, MD; Rowman and Littlefield, 2021).
58. William L. Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East (Abingdon-on-Thames, England: Taylor &
Francis, 2018), https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_the_Modern_Middle_East/
CUhaDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=twelfth+imam+mahdi+twelver+shi%27a&pg=PT54&printsec=fron
tcover; âPilgrimage to Karbala,â PBS, March 26, 2007, https://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/
uncategorized/who-are-the-shia-hidden-imam/1731/; Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, âTwelver
Shiâah,â https://www.britannica.com/topic/Twelver-Shia.
59. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, âIran: Government and Society,â https://www.britannica.com/place/
Iran/Government-and-society; âThe Structure of Power in Iran,â Frontline, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/
pages/frontline/shows/tehran/inside/govt.html; Karim Sadjadpour, âThe Supreme Leader,â The Iran
Primer, October 2, 2010, https://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/supreme-leader.
60. Martin, Creating the Islamic State; Abbas Milani calls the Iranian regime âparadoxicalâ due to its
combination of institutions meant to ensure strict religious rule and more democratic branches of
government. Abbas Milani, âThe Authoritarian Resurgence: Iranâs Paradoxical Regime,â Journal of
Democracy 26, no. 2 (2015): 52â60.
61. Gunes Murat Tezcur, âDemocratic Struggles and Authoritarian Responses in Iran in Contemporary
Perspectiveâ in Middle Eastern Authoritarianisms: Governance, Contestation, and Regime Resilience in
Syria and Iran, eds. Steven Heydermann and Reinold Leenders (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press,
2013).
62. Wolfgang Renzsch, âGerman Federalism in Historical Perspective: Federalism as a Substitute for a
Comparative Governance and Electoral References
- The text provides a comprehensive list of academic and journalistic citations focusing on the structures of liberal democracies, specifically the United States, UK, France, Germany, and the EU.
- A significant portion of the references details the Israeli political system, including the functions of the Knesset and the complexities of its electoral history.
- Recent political developments in Israel are highlighted, such as the role of ultra-Orthodox leaders and the historic inclusion of an Islamist party in a coalition government.
- The citations extend to the Mexican political framework, covering its electoral system, the 1917 Constitution, and the challenges of state legitimacy against criminal dynamics.
- The list includes broader political theory regarding natural rights and the moral conditions of freedom in the context of the American founding.
- International media and legal reviews are cited to address constitutional amendments in Mexico and media law controversies in Hungary.
An Islamist Party Is Part of Israelâs New Coalition Government. How Did That Happen?
National State,â Publius: The Journal of Federalism 19, no. 4 (1989): 17â33.
63. Arthur B. Gunlicks, Comparing Liberal Democracies: The United States, United Kingdom, France,
Germany, and the European Union (Bloomington, IN; iUniverse, 2011).
64. S. E. Finer, The History of Government from the Earliest Times, 3 vols. (Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Press, 1999).
65. âThe Knesset,â Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, https://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/state/
democracy/pages/the%20knesset.aspx; Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, âIsrael: Government of Israel,â
https://www.britannica.com/place/Israel/Government.
66. âElections for the Knesset,â The Knesset, https://m.knesset.gov.il/en/mk/pages/elections.aspx;
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, âKnessetâ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Knesset.
67. Encyclopaedia Britannica, âKnesset.â
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68. âIsraeli Democracy-How Does It Work,â Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, https://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/
aboutisrael/state/democracy/pages/israeli%20democracy%20-%20how%20does%20it%20work.aspx.
69. âIsraeli Elections: Electoral History,â Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/israeli-
electoral-history; âTwentieth Knesset,â The Knesset, https://knesset.gov.il/description/eng/
eng_mimshal_res20.htm.
70. âIsrael Election Results: Most Ultra-Orthodox Leaders Declare They Will Back Netanyahu for Prime
Minister,â Haaertz, March 28, 2021, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/israel-election-
results-lapid-gantz-to-meet-sunday-to-discuss-forming-coalition-1.9662066; âUltra-Orthodox Jewish
Community in Israel: Facts and Figures,â Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/
ultra-orthodox-jewish-community-in-israel-facts-and-figures.
71. Guy Grossman and Devorah Manekin, âAn Islamist Party Is Part of Israelâs New Coalition Government.
How Did That Happen?â Washington Post, June 7, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/
06/07/an-islamist-party-is-part-israels-new-coalition-government-how-did-that-happen/.
72. Thomas West, The Political Theory of the American Founding: Natural Rights, Public Policy, and the
Moral Conditions of Freedom (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2017).
73. âThe Mexican Electoral System,â Instituto Nacional Electoral, https://portalanterior.ine.mx/archivos3/
portal/historico/contenido/The_Mexican_Electoral_System/; Matthew C. Ingram and Diane Kapiszewki,
Beyond High Courts: The Justice Complex in Latin America (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame
Press, 2019), https://www.google.com/books/edition/Beyond_High_Courts/
wphWDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mexico+mexican+Supreme+Court+justice++impeachment+by+a
+majority+vote+%22Chamber+of+Deputies%22&pg=PT193&printsec=frontcover.
74. Mexicoâs Constitution of 1917 with Amendments through 2015, trans. M. Fernanda Gomez Aban
(Comparative Constitutions Project, 2021), https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/
Mexico_2015.pdf?lang=en.
75. Mauro Arturo Rivera LeĂłn, âUnderstanding Constitutional Amendments in Mexico: Perpetuum Mobile
Constitution,â Mexican Law Review 9, no. 2 (2017): 3â27, DOI:10.22201/iij.24485306e.2017.18.10774.
76. Benjamin J. Mackey, âA State of Illegitimacy: The Dynamics of Criminal and State Legitimacy in Mexico,â
Inquiries Journal 10, no. 10 (2008), http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1742/a-state-of-
illegitimacy-the-dynamics-of-criminal-and-state-legitimacy-in-mexico.
77. Judy Dempsey, âHungary Waves off Criticism over Media Law,â The New York Times, December 25, 2010,
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/world/europe/26hungary.html.
Global Political and Diplomatic Citations
- The text documents the erosion of democratic norms in Hungary, specifically citing the 'demolition of democracy' and anti-LGBT legislation under the Fidesz government.
- Citations highlight the rise of discriminatory legal frameworks in South Asia, including India's 'Love Jihad' anti-conversion laws and Pakistan's blasphemy statutes.
- The references transition into international relations, focusing on North Korea's high military expenditure relative to its GDP.
- Historical and modern geopolitical tensions are noted, including U.S. interventions in Nicaragua and the long-standing diplomatic rift following the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
- The bibliography tracks contemporary flashpoints in global security, such as Russian election interference and the potential for military conflict between the U.S. and China over Taiwan's independence.
Foes of Hungaryâs Government Fear âDemolition of Democracyâ
78. Paul Krugman, âHungaryâs Constitutional Revolution,â The New York Times, December 19, 2011,
https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/hungarys-constitutional-revolution/.
79. Bernard Rorke, âHungaryâs Fidesz and Its âJewish Question,ââ Open Democracy, September 22, 2014,
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/hungarys-fidesz-and-its-jewish-question/.
80. âEU Votes for Action over Hungaryâs Anti-LGBT Laws,â BBC News, July 8, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/
news/world-europe-57761216.
81. Nicholas Kulish, âFoes of Hungaryâs Government Fear âDemolition of Democracy,ââ The New York Times,
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14 International Relations
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2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/747387/north-korea-share-of-military-spending-in-budget/.
2. Darrell M. West and Christian Lansang, âGlobal Manufacturing Scorecard: How the US Compares to 18
Other Nations,â Brookings, July 10, 2018, https://www.brookings.edu/research/global-manufacturing-
scorecard-how-the-us-compares-to-18-other-nations/.
3. Guorui Fan and Jiaxin Zou, âRefreshing Chinaâs Labor Education in the New Era: Policy Review on
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4. âU.S. Intervention in Nicaragua, 1911/1912,â US Department of State, https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/
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5. Suzanne Maloney, â1979: Iran and America,â Brookings, January 24, 2019, https://www.brookings.edu/
opinions/1979-iran-and-america/.
6. Gary Pruitt, âPutin Says Russia Didnât Meddle in US Vote, despite Evidence,â AP News, April 20, 2021,
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spark-us-military-conflict-with-china-chinese-2022-01-28/.
Scholarly References on Global Governance
- The text provides a comprehensive list of citations covering international relations, global branding, and national security strategies.
- Key themes include the mechanics of nation-building in fragile states and the historical antecedents of modern nationalism.
- Several sources examine the role of international organizations, such as the IMF and the European Central Bank, in maintaining global economic stability.
- Human rights issues are highlighted through reports on the Rwandan genocide, Bosnian genocide denial, and the co-option of aid in Syria.
- The references explore high-stakes diplomacy and security, specifically focusing on the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- The collection addresses the concept of anarchy in international relations and the impact of mercantilism on modern national strategies.
Rigging the System: Government Policies Co-Opt Aid and Reconstruction Funding in Syria.
9. Douglas Holt, John Quelch, and Earl L. Taylor, âHow Global Brands Compete,â Harvard Business Review,
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Foundations of International Relations Theory
- The citations document the legal and institutional frameworks of global governance, specifically referencing the U.S. Constitution and the United Nations Charter.
- A significant portion of the references focuses on nuclear proliferation and crisis management, highlighting the Cuban Missile Crisis and North Korea's weapons program.
- The text lists foundational academic works on major international relations theories, including Realism, Neoliberalism, and Constructivism.
- Scholarly debates regarding 'Complex Interdependence' are cited to explain modern diplomatic tensions, such as the U.S.-China cyber relationship.
- Recent geopolitical shifts are noted through references to the 2022 Beijing Olympics boycott and the strategic pact between Russia and China.
Alexander Wendt, âAnarchy Is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politicsâ
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Foundations of International Governance
- The text provides a comprehensive bibliography of scholarly works examining the evolving geopolitical relationship between Russia and China in the post-Cold War era.
- It references foundational legal frameworks for global order, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its historical commentaries.
- The citations cover diverse theoretical perspectives in international relations, including Marxism-Leninism, Dependency Theory, World-System Theory, and Feminism.
- Specific contemporary issues in global governance are highlighted, such as refugee protection evasion and the sustainability of vital industries like tuna fishing in the Seychelles.
- The references emphasize the 'Tragedy of the Commons' and the critical importance of maintaining navigational freedom as a common heritage.
- A significant portion of the citations focuses on humanitarian norms, including the prevention of genocide and the 'Responsibility to Protect' (R2P) framework.
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3. Garrett Hardin, âThe Tragedy of the Commons,â Science 162, no. 3859 (December 1968): 1243â1248,
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https://www.globalr2p.org/what-is-r2p/.
9. âResponsibility to Protect,â United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to
Foundations of Global Governance
- The citations document the legal and ethical frameworks of the United Nations, including the Responsibility to Protect and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Specific case studies highlight international legal challenges, such as human rights violations in Xinjiang and World Court rulings regarding the Rohingya in Myanmar.
- The references explore the institutional roles of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the complex relationship between the United States and international justice.
- Scholarly inquiries address the fundamental question of why sovereign states generally choose to obey international law despite the lack of a global central authority.
- The text tracks the operational reach of global entities like the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and UN Peacekeeping forces in maintaining global order.
Why Do States Mostly Obey International Law?
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10. Giavanna OâConnell, âHow China Is Violating Human Rights Treaties and Its Own Constitution in
Xinjiang,â Just Security, August 19, 2020, https://www.justsecurity.org/72074/how-china-is-violating-
human-rights-treaties-and-its-own-constitution-in-xinjiang/; âWorld Court Rules Against Myanmar on
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11. Louise Kettle, âA New World Order: The Importance of the 1991 Gulf War,â Ballots & Bullets, School of
Politics & International Relations, University of Nottingham, January 19, 2016, https://nottspolitics.org/
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Global Governance and Security References
- The text provides a comprehensive list of primary and secondary sources regarding international development and poverty reduction through the World Bank.
- It documents the institutional history and operational challenges of global trade via the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- The citations detail the financial structures and assessment scales of the United Nations and its peacekeeping operations.
- A significant portion of the references focuses on regional security architectures, including NATO, the African Union, and the OSCE.
- The sources highlight specific geopolitical events, such as the suspension of Egypt from the African Union and the rise in global military expenditures.
Global Military Expenditure Sees Largest Annual Increase in a DecadeâSays SIPRIâReaching $1917 Billion in 2019.
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Global Governance and NGO Bibliography
- The citations document the internal tensions and future prospects of the European Union as a primary regional intergovernmental organization.
- Trade blocs like Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance are highlighted, including the suspension of members due to democracy concerns.
- The text references the critical role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in global governance and human rights activism.
- Data sources track the historical decline and shifts in battle-related deaths in state-based conflicts since 1946.
- The bibliography notes a 'global assault' on NGOs, where new laws are increasingly curbing vital human rights work worldwide.
Global Assault on NGOs Reaches Crisis Point as New Laws Curb Vital Human Rights Work.
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- It highlights the significant shift in global governance where multinational corporations are increasingly exerting influence through lobbying and economic dominance.
- Several sources compare the wealth and power of tech giants like Apple and Amazon to sovereign nations, noting they are wealthier than 90% of the world's countries.
- The references explore the 'global governance deficit' and the potential for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the UN Global Compact to address these gaps.
- The collection also touches on modern geopolitical instability, specifically citing the prevalence of over 60 active secessionist movements seeking independence globally.
These 25 Companies Are More Powerful Than Many Countries.
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Global Actors and Transnational Threats
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- Academic and governmental sources document the rise of irredentism and its direct influence on modern border disputes and territorial wars.
- A substantial portion of the research focuses on the growing threat of transnational organized crime and its impact on both national and international security frameworks.
- The citations track the evolution of global terrorism, noting how extremist groups have extended their reach through globalization and digital connectivity.
- Modern political discourse is increasingly shaped by non-state actors, ranging from Nobel Peace Prize winners to 'illegitimate' entities that challenge international law.
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Globalization's Bastards: Illegitimate Non-State Actors in International Law.
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Scholarly Foundations of Political Economy
- The text provides a comprehensive bibliography of academic sources focusing on the intersection of environmental regulation and economic competitiveness.
- Key citations explore the 'jobs versus environment' debate, challenging the myth of a national trade-off between ecological protection and employment.
- The references highlight the role of International Political Economy (IPE) in understanding how trade and industrial policies privilege specific industries.
- Historical economic concepts are addressed, including the zero-sum game of mercantilism where national wealth was measured by gold accumulation.
- The sources examine the influence of international institutions like the IMF and the impact of monetary systems on global political stability.
Brawley defines this zero-sum game as a situation in which 'if one country got more gold, that left less for all the others.'
4. Jonathan Watts, âKey Cop26 Pledges Could Put World 9% Closer to 1.5C Pathway,â The Guardian,
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5. Antoine DechezleprĂŞtre and Misato Sato, âThe Impacts of Environmental Regulations on
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- Several sources examine the controversial nature of structural adjustment programs and their effects on human rights and economic development.
- The references trace the evolution of global trade through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- A significant portion of the bibliography explores the 'Modernization Hypothesis' and the complex relationship between economic development and democratization.
- The collection highlights the role of policy diffusion and information technology in the globalization of markets and social development.
What Did Structural Adjustment Adjust?
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Scholarly Foundations of Global Economy
- The text provides a comprehensive list of academic citations focusing on the intersection of global markets and national politics.
- Key research themes include the diffusion of markets and democracy, as well as the impact of globalization on welfare state expansion.
- Several sources examine individual trade-policy preferences and how issue framing influences public opinion on economic matters.
- The references highlight the historical and modern consequences of financial crashes, debt crises, and IMF conditionality.
- The section transitions from academic theory to practical socioeconomic issues, citing the struggles of households to meet basic needs despite unemployment insurance.
- It concludes with a focus on global development challenges, specifically the 'reversals of fortune' and human capital concerns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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51. Simmons, Dobbin, and Garrett, The Global Diffusion of Markets and Democracy; Marcelo Soto, Capital
Flows and Growth in Developing Countries: Recent Empirical Evidence, Working Paper (OECD
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Global Environmental Policy References
- The text provides a comprehensive list of academic and institutional citations focusing on the intersection of economic development, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability.
- Key themes include the 'degrowth' movement and critiques of eco-modernism, which challenge traditional paradigms of continuous economic growth in the face of ecological crisis.
- The references highlight the role of international organizations like the UN and World Bank in advocating for resilient recoveries and sustainable development agendas.
- Several citations explore the psychological and political dimensions of climate change, specifically addressing the impact of denial discourses on the scientific community.
- Case studies mentioned range from corporate strategies regarding CFCs to the specific environmental impacts of oil refineries on the Texas coast.
- The bibliography underscores the tension between global trade, competitiveness, and the necessity for transnational environmental governance.
Seepage: Climate Change Denial and Its Effect on the Scientific Community.
https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/financing-development; World Bank, âReversing Setbacks to Poverty
Reduction Requires Nations to Work Together for a Resilient Recovery,â November 9, 2020,
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/immersive-story/2020/11/09/reversing-setbacks-to-poverty-
reduction-requires-nations-to-work-together-for-a-resilient-recovery
72. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change and Land, 2019, https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/.
73. Giacomo DâAlisa, Federico Demaria, and Giorgos Kallis, eds. Degrowth: A Vocabulary for a New Era (New
York: Routledge, 2014), https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203796146; Armin Grunwald, âDiverging Pathways
to Overcoming the Environmental Crisis: A Critique of Eco-Modernism from a Technology Assessment
Perspective,â Journal of Cleaner Production 197 (October 2018): 1854â62, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2016.07.212; Stephen James Purdey, Economic Growth, the Environment and International
Relations: The Growth Paradigm, Routledge Advances in International Political Economy 17 (London &
New York: Routledge, 2010).
74. Antonio Guterrez, âSecretary-Generalâs Remarks on Climate Change [as Delivered],â United Nations,
September 10, 2018, https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2018-09-10/secretary-generals-
remarks-climate-change-delivered; Michael E. Porter, âAmericaâs Green Strategy,â Scientific American
264, no. 4 (April 1991): 168; Michael E. Porter and Claas van der Linde, âToward a New Conception of the
616 References
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Environment-Competitiveness Relationship,â Journal of Economic Perspectives 9, no. 4 (Fall 1995):
97â118, https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.9.4.97; David Vogel, âTrading Up and Governing Across:
Transnational Governance and Environmental Protection,â Journal of European Public Policy 4, no. 4
(December 1, 1997): 556â71, https://doi.org/10.1080/135017697344064; David Vogel, Trading Up:
Consumer and Environmental Regulation in a Global Economy (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1997).
75. Peter J. Jacques and Claire Connolly Knox, âHurricanes and Hegemony: A Qualitative Analysis of Micro-
Level Climate Change Denial Discourses,â Environmental Politics 25, no. 5 (2016): 831â52,
https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2016.1189233; Stephan Lewandowsky, Naomi Oreskes, James S.
Risbey, Ben R. Newell, and Michael Smithson, âSeepage: Climate Change Denial and Its Effect on the
Scientific Community,â Global Environmental Change 33 (July 2015): 1â13, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.gloenvcha.2015.02.013; Brigitte Smith, âEthics of Du Pontâs CFC Strategy 1975â1995,â Journal of
Business Ethics 17, no. 5 (April 1, 1998): 557â68.
76. Christopher Collins, âSix Texas Oil Refineries Are Among the Nationâs Worst Benzene Polluters, Data
Shows,â The Texas Observer, February 6, 2020, 2, https://www.texasobserver.org/benzene-oil-refineries-
texas-coast/.
77. Carvalho, âEnvironmental Policies.â
78. United Nations, The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 2015,
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/
21252030%20Agenda%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.pdf.
79. Elena V. McLean and Randall W. Stone, âThe Kyoto Protocol: Two-Level Bargaining and European
Integration,â International Studies Quarterly 56, no. 1 (March 2012): 99â113, https://doi.org/10.1111/
j.1468-2478.2011.00706.x.
80. OECD, Compact City Policies: Korea: Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Growth, OECD Green Growth
Studies (OECD, 2014), https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264225503-en.
81. Emilia Barreto Carvalho, âDo Environmental Policies Enhance Environmental Quality?: An Examination
Political Science Index and References
- This section serves as a comprehensive index for a political science textbook, listing key constitutional amendments and historical milestones.
- It catalogs a wide range of political ideologies and systems, including absolutism, anarchy, authoritarianism, and various forms of democracy.
- The index highlights significant global events and movements, such as the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, the 2008 financial crisis, and Brexit.
- It includes influential political figures and thinkers ranging from Aristotle and Burke to contemporary leaders like Biden, Bolsonaro, and Ardern.
- The text references major international organizations and treaties, such as the African Union, ASEAN, and the Bretton Woods system.
Arab Spring 82, 156, 222, 397, 423
of Policy Instruments and Outcomes,â in Environmental Philosophy, Politics, and Policy, ed. John A.
Duerk (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2021), 205-20.
References 617
618 References
Access for free at openstax.org
INDEX
Symbols
13th Amendment 213, 219
14th Amendment 118, 142,
229, 364
15th Amendment 41, 76, 142,
207
19th Amendment 41, 76, 142,
207, 213
1st Amendment 206, 215
2008 financial crisis 528
24th Amendment 149
26th Amendment 142, 207
26th UN Climate Change
Conference of the Parties
(COP26) 509
4th Amendment 206
8th Amendment 206
9/11 304
A
AARP 240
Abe 392
abortion 90
absentee voting 143
absolute poverty 519
absolutism 511
Acemoglu 525
ACT UP 240
Advanced Research Projects
Agency Network (ARPANET)
388
adverse selection 253
Affordable Care Act 86, 163
Afghanistan 421
African Union 484, 487, 488,
490
agenda-setting theory 383
agricultural groups 241
AIDS 182, 211
Al Jazeera 510
al Maliki 311
algorithms 397
All Voting Is Local 261
altruistic democracy 382
Amazon 389
American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) 245
American Medical Association
(AMA) 241
American Revolution 76
Americans with Disabilities Act
209
amicus curiae 245
Amnesty International 494
anarchy 448, 456, 472, 473
Anderson 145
Ansolabehere 385
anthropocentrism 513
anti-Semitism 431
apartheid 112
appeal 367
appropriations process 284
Arab League 484, 490
Arab Spring 82, 156, 222, 397,
423
Ardanaz 528
Ardern 180
aristocracy 71
Aristotle 11, 71
Arms Trade Treaty 494
arraignment 358
Article III 366
Article III courts 344
Articles of Confederation 219
Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation 484
Assad 447
Assembly of First Nations 242
Associated Press 510
Association of Southeast Asian
Nations 32, 487, 490
asynchronous content 397
authoritarian 116, 154, 156
authoritarian-populist
judiciary 342
authoritarianism 49, 82
authority 17, 304, 410
autocracy 451
automatic voter registration
147
B
BabiĹĄ 307
bail 358
balance of payment 516
balance of payments 530
balance of power 455
balance of trade 512, 515, 516
ballot initiatives 245, 260
Bandaranaike 462
Bangladesh Rural Advancement
Committee (BRAC) 492
Barelson 159
bargaining 18
Barr 96
barriers to entry 396
Bartels 163
basic laws 114
BBC 510
Belarus 419
Bell 161
Benenson 494
Beramendi 145
Berenstain 91
Bernanke 529
Berners-Lee 388
Bernstein 378
Berry 247
Bezos 389
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
432
bicameral 30, 290
bicameral legislature 259
Bickel 344
Biden 25, 90, 146, 164, 181,
231, 245, 246, 306, 313, 381,
394, 414, 535
Biezen 251
Bill of Rights 113, 115, 206, 428
bin Laden 421
Binder 314
Binstock 144
bipolar system 455
Black Lives Matter 11, 29, 58,
139, 140, 182, 223
Blair 261
Index 619
blasphemy 432
Bloom 225
BolĂvar 93
Bolivarian socialism 97
Bolsonaro 16, 98, 307, 310
Bono 533
Bormann 302
bots 400
Bouazizi 222
bourgeoisie 80
Bradley 163
Bradley effect 163
Brady 206
Brandeis 119, 120
Breitbart 399
Brennan 87
Brennan Center 214
Bretton Woods 515, 530
Brexit 159, 159, 250, 369, 393,
488, 489
broad legitimacy 413
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car
Porters 222
Brown v. Board of Education
347, 349
Bryan 307
Bryce 159
bully pulpit 308, 413
Bundesrat 291
Bundestag 291
burden sharing 487
bureaucracies 31
bureaucracy 282, 323
Burke 99, 224
Burstein 163
Bush 250, 251, 304, 321, 528
business group 241
Buttigieg 75, 87, 231
C
cabinets 31, 319
Cairo Declaration on Human
Rights in Islam 112
Cambridge Analytica 393
Cameron 526
Camp David Accords 301
campaign finance 260
Campbell 383
Canadian Federation of
Political Science Index Excerpt
- The text provides a comprehensive index of political science terminology, ranging from economic concepts like capital flight and capitalism to legal frameworks like civil law and common law.
- It highlights significant historical and contemporary figures including Noam Chomsky, Hillary Clinton, and Hugo ChĂĄvez, alongside major political movements such as the Christian Right and the Civil Rights movement.
- Global issues and international relations are well-represented through entries on climate change, the Cold War, collective security, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The index covers theoretical frameworks and ideologies, including constructivism, cosmopolitanism, critical race theory, and various forms of liberalism and communism.
- Institutional and procedural terms are listed, such as cloture motions, coalition governments, and the congressional district method, reflecting the mechanics of governance.
capitalism 44, 47, 76, 80, 84, 92, 511 , 532 Capitol Hill riots 249 carbon tax 197
Independent Businesses 241
candidate-centered campaign
250
capital crimes 360
capital flight 528
capital mobility 531
capital punishment 358
capitalism 44, 47, 76, 80, 84,
92, 511, 532
Capitol Hill riots 249
carbon tax 197
Carlyle 378
Carter 301
Castells 526
castle doctrine 411
Cato Institute 208
Catoâs letters 378
Center for Countering Digital
Hate 400
center left 87
center right 85
ceteris paribus 26, 53
charismatic legitimacy 418
Chatterjee 225
Chauvin 339
ChĂĄvez 70, 93, 252
Chavismo 93
Childrenâs Online Privacy
Protection Act of 1998
(COPPA) 122
Chin-Fook 400
Chinese Communist Party 50,
82, 248
Chomsky 419
Christian Right 146
Christianity 72
Churchill 50
Chyi 385
Citizens United v. Federal
Election Commission 246
civic engagement 110
civil disobedience 221, 418
Civil Human Rights Front 241
civil law 349, 354, 363
civil law system 351
civil liberties 28, 41, 110, 206,
428
civil religion 75
civil rights 29, 41, 111, 205,
428
Civil Rights Act 127, 349
civil rights groups 241
civil rights movement 214, 223
civil society 492
class consciousness 80
classical liberalism 76, 533
climate change 19, 94, 131,
155, 162, 171, 191, 474, 520,
534
Clinton 26, 164, 165, 250, 251,
310, 321, 395
Clooney 475
cloture motion 273
Cluster Munition Coalition 494
cluster sampling 162
CNN 391, 396, 510
coalition government 310, 427
coalitions 274
Coen 463
Cohen 91
Cold War 451, 456, 457, 486,
519, 523, 525
collective action 172, 242, 247
collective action problems 29,
184, 189, 193
collective dilemma 183, 184
collective dilemmas 29
collective goods 242, 472
collective security 458, 478
ComitĂŠ des Citoyens (Committee
of Citizens) 221
command economy 78
Committee of Religious NGOs at
the UN (RUN) 493
Common Ground Committee
152
common law 349
common law system 350
communism 44, 79, 533
Communist Party 250
communitarian 115, 116
community 110
community responsibilities
110
comparative advantage 74,
441, 455, 527
Comparative Constitutions
Project 208
competitive devaluations 516
complex interdependence 459
compromise 19
620 Index
Access for free at openstax.org
compulsory voting 143
Concert of Europe 515
conditionalities 518, 519
confidence vote 311
conflict 18
conformity costs 186, 187, 189
Confucianism 84
Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
(CAP) 241
Congress of Racial Equality
222, 224
Congress of Vienna 515
congressional district method
258
conservative 159
Conservative Party (Tories) 250
conservative populism 97
constituents 276, 510
constitution 12, 114, 341
constitutionalism 118, 207
constructivism 460
convenience sample 162
Convention against Torture 494
Convention on Cluster
Munitions 494
Convention to Eliminate All
Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) 474
Converse 160
conversion rate 517
cookies 397
Cooper 389
coordination problems 186
core countries 462
core-periphery model 462
Corn Laws 514
cosmopolitanism 94
cost-benefit analysis 43
Council of the European Union
488
country 17
court case 347
courts 31
COVID-19 49, 69, 109, 117,
156, 243, 249, 283, 301, 305,
400, 409, 480, 484, 489, 491,
534
Cox 386
Crenshaw 226
criminal law 346, 354, 355, 363
critical race and gender theory
90
critical thinking 187
Crown-Indigenous Relations and
Northern Affairs Canada
(CIRNAC) 141
cruel and unusual 360, 362
Cruz 393
Cuban Missile Crisis 60, 449,
452
cultural Marxism 95
Cultural Revolution 83
Cusak 527
customary law 349, 473
customary law system 351
cyber data 122
D
dark money 246
Dassonneville 144
de facto 11, 16, 273
de jure 11, 16
de Tocqueville 141
de Zúùiga 157
Political Science Index Excerpt
- The text provides a comprehensive index of political science terminology, ranging from legal concepts like 'due process' and 'double jeopardy' to international relations theories such as 'defensive realism.'
- It highlights significant historical figures and political actors, including Du Bois, Engels, Eleanor Roosevelt, and contemporary leaders like ErdoÄan.
- The index covers a broad spectrum of ideologies and movements, including democratic socialism, feminism, environmentalism, and fascism.
- Institutional and systemic terms are well-represented, featuring entries for the European Union, the Electoral College, and various United Nations councils.
- Modern technological and social issues are included, with references to digital surveillance, echo chambers, fake news, and social media platforms like Facebook.
Dred Scott v. Sandford 228... Drug Policy Alliance 242... Du Bois 45, 45... due process 118, 364... Duvergerâs law 287, 315.
Dean 390
death penalty 355, 359, 360,
362
debate 271, 272
debt crises 519
Declaration of Independence
76, 208, 513
defensive realism 457
Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) 293
degrowth 534
delegate 280, 281
Democractic Socialists of
America 241
democracy 14, 71, 212
democratic liberalism 84
Democratic National Committee
(DNC) 153
democratic socialism 92
Democratic Socialists 250
demographics 159
Deng 83
dependency theory 462
descriptive representation 279
desegregation 347
deterministic 21
deterrents 485
Deukmejian 163
DeVos 321
Diamond Sutra 384
dictatorship 109
dictatorship of the proletariat
80
Diet 259, 273
digital surveillance 121
diplomacy 454
direct democracy 50, 84, 260,
260
Disability Rights Education and
Defense Fund (DREDF) 209
disturbance theory 242
diversity 96
Djupe 149
Dodd 314
Donât ask, donât tell 310
double jeopardy 367
Dowding 322
Downton Abbey 532
Dred Scott v. Sandford 228
Drug Policy Alliance 242
Du Bois 45, 45
due process 118, 364
due process clause 118
Dunant 492
Duvergerâs law 287, 315
Duvergerâs Law 259
E
echo chambers 398, 399
Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) 481
economic bias 243
Economic Community of West
African States 484, 488
economic groups 241
economic migration 85
Edmund Burke 280, 287
Edwards 390
Eisenhower 97, 348
Eleanor Roosevelt 479
election 140
Election Assistance
Commission 260
Election Day 253, 260
Election Day holiday 256
elections 252, 253
Index 621
Electoral College 87, 258, 306,
314
electoral districts 258
electoral poll 261
Elgie 302
eligible voters 142, 254
elite 385
elite culture 180
elite opinion 158
EMILYâs List 239
empirical 40, 51, 56, 59
empirical political science 22,
24
Engels 44, 79
Enlightenment 74, 511, 532
Entman 160
enumerated rights 120
environmental regulations 510
Environmental, Social, and
Governance (ESG) 523
environmentalism 89
epistemology 90
Equal Protection Clause 119,
229
equal treatment 111
equity 90, 96
ErdoÄan 49, 342
Erickson 157
ethnocentrism 382
EU General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) 123
European Commission 488
European Convention on Human
Rights 130, 356, 364
European Council 488
European Federation of
Journalists 390
European Organization for
Nuclear Research (CERN) 388
European Parliament 269, 294,
488
European Transparency
Initiative (ETI) 247
European Union 32, 473, 488
Euroskeptic 489
evangelical Christianity 95
Everson v. Board of Education
126
evidence 347
ex post facto laws 355
exchange rate 517, 525, 530
ExComm 452
executive dominance 293, 294
executive order 343
executive orders 293
executive sovereignty system
368
executives 31
Extinction Rebellion 242, 245
F
Facebook 97, 122, 157, 388,
394, 397, 398, 510
fact 13, 25
factionalism 243
factors of production 441, 462
failed state 420
fake news 52, 152
Falwell 248
fascism 81
Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) 387, 402
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation 77
Federal Election Commission
260
Federal Housing
Administration 77
Federal Radio Commission 386
Federal Reserve System 516
federalism 95, 211, 260, 425
Federalist Papers 378
felonies 355
Feminine Mystique 90
feminism 89, 91
Feminist 47
Feminist movements 146
feminist theory 462
fiat 20
fiat currency 461
Fidesz 98, 431
FIFA World Cup 210
Fifth Amendment 364
filibuster 273
financial integration 531
First Amendment 86, 115, 120,
149, 379, 395
First Nations 141, 231
first-past-the-post 286
first-wave feminism 89
Fisher 304
Fishkin 71
FiveThirtyEight 401
fixed (pegged) exchange rate
530
Political Science Index Excerpt
- The text provides a comprehensive index of political science terminology ranging from economic concepts like 'floating exchange rates' to legal frameworks like the 'Fourth Amendment'.
- It highlights key historical figures and political theorists including Gandhi, Hobbes, Hayek, and Gramsci, illustrating the diverse intellectual roots of the field.
- The index covers various forms of governance and power dynamics, such as 'hard authoritarianism', 'hegemony', and 'global governance'.
- Media and communication's role in politics is well-represented through terms like 'framing theory', 'gatekeeping', and 'horse-race coverage'.
- International relations and global economics are emphasized via entries for the 'General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade', 'globalization', and the 'Great Depression'.
horse -race coverage 391
floating (flexible) exchange rate
530
Floyd 249, 249, 339
Folketing 278
For the People Act 214
Ford 229
foreign direct investment 517,
519
formal executive power 230
formal powers 308
formalized rules 325
Fourth Amendment 123
fourth estate 378, 378
Fox News 399
fragile state 420
framing theory 383
Francis 495
Franklin 76, 143, 219
Free Establishment Clause 215
free market 78
free media 393
free press 378, 381
free ride 171
free rider problem 191, 197,
242
free riding 473
free-market 79
Freedom House 109
French Revolution 513
Friedan 90
functionalism 485
fundamental liberty 110
fundamental right 120
fusionism 85, 98
Future of Freedom Foundation
85
G
Gallemore 461
game 62
game theory 454
Gandhi 46, 418
Gans 382
Garfield 326
Garret 526
622 Index
Access for free at openstax.org
Garretson 211
gatekeeping 383, 396
Gates 531
Gay Menâs Health Project 240
Geddes 524
Gen Z 225
gender gap 147
gender identification 177
General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT) 516, 520
General Assembly 478, 480,
484
general will 75
Geneva Conventions 474
genocide 81, 474
George H. W. Bush 230
German Basic Law 115
German Bundestag 283
German Trade Union
Confederation (DGB -
Deutscher
Gewerkschaftsbund) 241
gerrymandering 148, 431
Ghonim 397
Ginsberg 385
Ginsburg 341
global governance 472
global warming 162
globalism 94
globalization 472, 511, 526,
527, 531
Goebbels 306, 308
gold standard 516, 517, 530
golden parachutes 246
Golder 302
Google 397
Gordon 378
governing regimes 409
government 16, 410
Graber 378
Gramsci 80, 95
grand jury 358
Grant 149
grassroots 139
grassroots lobbying 245
Great Depression 77, 515
Great Society 86
Green Party 59, 250
Green Revolution 89
greenhouse gases 534
Greenpeace International 241
Greenspan 529
gridlock 289, 314
Grillot 457
Griswold v. Connecticut 119
gross domestic product (GDP)
441, 528
Gross National Happiness 215
gross national income 70
Guardino 389
guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt 356
Guinness 95
H
Hamilton 342, 402
HammarskjĂśld 481
Hancock 219
hard authoritarianism 422
hard power 446
Harding 386
harm principle 77
Harris 27, 379
Hart 442
Havana Conference 521
Havana Letter 516
Hawkins 94
Hayek 42, 78
head of government 303, 305
head of state 303, 423
hearings 271
Hearst 379
hegemon 455, 457
hegemony 80
Herman 419
Hernando de Soto Bridge 329
heuristics 52
hierarchical authority 324
Hindu nationalism 432
Hitler 81
Hobbes 47, 48, 50, 72, 112
Holladay 227
Holocaust 81, 125
Holy See 478
Home Box Office (HBO) 387
Honest Leadership and Open
Government Act of 2007 246
horse-race coverage 391
Huckfeldt 157
Huffington Post 399
human rights 28, 41, 42, 112
human rights law 474
Human Rights Watch 69
Hume 48
Hungary 431
Hussein 476
hybrid system 346
hypothesis 21
I
Ida B. Wells Society for
Investigative Reporting 46
ideological group 241
ideology 458
immigration 129, 159
Immigration and Nationality
Act 129
impeachment 273
impersonality 325
impunity 477
inalienable 41, 112, 117
income inequality 145
incumbent 14
Independence Party (UKIP) 393
India 431
Indian Citizenship Act 142
indictment 358
Indigenism 94
Indigenous 430
indirect lobbying 245
individualist 115
Industrial Revolution 512, 532,
533
informal executive power 230
informal powers 308
inside lobbying 244
Instagram 395, 510
institution 30
institutional racism 139, 226
institutionalism 458
institutions 12
Inter-American Tropical Tuna
Commission 477
interest group 29
interest group liberalism 244
interest groups 29, 182, 240,
247
intergovernmental
Political Science Index Excerpt
- The text provides a comprehensive index of international organizations, including the IMF, IPCC, and the International Criminal Court.
- It lists significant political figures and philosophers ranging from John Locke and James Madison to contemporary leaders like Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping.
- Key legal concepts and landmark court cases are indexed, such as judicial review, Lawrence v. Texas, and the Magna Carta.
- The index covers diverse political ideologies and movements, including liberalism, libertarianism, intersectionality, and Jim Crow laws.
- Global economic and social topics are represented through entries on international political economy, labor unions, and the Internet.
Leviathan 73 Levine 513 , 531 Lewis 400 LGBTQ+ 87, 212 Lhotshamp a 215 liberal 159 Liberal Democrats 250 liberalism 70, 115 , 458 , 513 , 531 libertarianism 43, 46, 85, 115
organizations 446, 477
Intergovernmental Panel on
Index 623
Climate Change (IPCC) 534
International Atomic Energy
Agency 482
International Bank for
Reconstruction and
Development 515
International Campaign to Ban
Landmines 494
International Civil Aviation
Organization 477
International Commission for
the Conservation of Atlantic
Tunas (ICCAT) 196
International Committee of the
Red Cross 474
International Court of Justice
473, 476
International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights 124
International Covenant on
Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights 124
International Criminal Court
473
international financial
institutions 515
International Hydrographic
Organization 477
international law 42, 473
international liquidity 516
International Monetary Fund
93, 441, 446, 515
international organizations 31
international political economy
32, 510
international relations 439
International Trade
Organization (ITO) 520
Internet 388, 395, 396, 400
intersectionality 91, 226
interviewer bias 162
Inuit 141, 231
Iran 341, 424
Iran Nuclear Deal 448
Irish Farmers Association 241
iron triangle 326
irrational 52
irredenta 497
irredentism 496
ISIS 475
Islam 432
issue networks 327
issue publics 158
issues 347
Iversen 527
Iyengar 391
J
Jackman 143
Jackson 326
Jagger 90
James 519
James II 76
JanĹĄa 307
January 6, 2021, riots 159
Japan Medical Association 241
Japan Rice Millers Association
241
Japanese American Citizens
League 229
Jefferson 75, 219
Jim Crow 213
Jim Crow laws 148, 254
Jinping 56
job specialization 324
Jobs 531
Johnson 86, 347, 377, 391, 518
Jong-un 180, 423
Juche 424
judgment 347
judgments about legitimacy
413
judicial branch 341
judicial independence 341
judicial review 341, 368, 425
judicial system 341
judiciary 341
Juliana v. United States 131
Jung 157
jurisdiction 343, 344
K
KaczyĹski 307
Kahneman 51
Karzai 257
Katz 160, 162
Katzenstein 526
Kellner 95
Kennedy 60, 119, 181, 347,
377, 449, 452
Kent v. Dulles 129
Kerry 390
Key 159, 160
Keynes 515, 519
Khanna 495
Khomeini 418
Khrushchev 453
Ki-moon 487
Kim Jong Un 440, 460
King 45, 46, 418
Kings Bay Plowshares 7 245
kitchen cabinet 322
Knesset 427
knowledge institution 520
Kohl 250
Konrath 162
Korematsu v. United States 217
Kowal 211
Krosnick 158
Kruschev 60
Kull 163
L
La Due Lake 157
La Quadrature du Net 241
labor groups 241
labor unions 510
Labour Party 250, 428
laissez-faire 513
Lasswell 11
Lavender Hill Mob 240
law of the parties 360
law of the sea 474
Lawrence v. Texas 119
laws of nature 73
Lazarsfeld 159
League of Nations 478
Lebovic 381
Legal Information Institute 222
legislative committees 274, 275
legislative deference 294
legislative delegation 275
legislative sovereignty system
368
legislature 30, 269
legitimacy 158, 304, 450
legitimate 17
lender of last resort 446
Lenin 80
levels of analysis 450, 460, 514
624 Index
Access for free at openstax.org
Leviathan 73
Levine 513, 531
Lewis 400
LGBTQ+ 87, 212
Lhotshampa 215
liberal 159
Liberal Democrats 250
liberalism 70, 115, 458, 513,
531
libertarianism 43, 46, 85, 115
Lijphart 147, 256, 306
Likud Party 428
Limongi 525
Linde 345
Linz 313
Lippmann 158, 159
Lipset 524
literacy tests 142, 148, 254
living wage 92
lobbying 244
Locke 47, 48, 73, 74, 76, 79, 86,
112
LĂśfven 311
logrolling 20
Lok Sabha 287
Long 227
Lotz 387
Loving Day 229
Loving v. Virginia 122, 229
Lowi 385
Lukashenko 419
Luneburg 247
lynching 46
M
Maastricht Treaty 488
Madison 140, 243, 252, 378
Maduro 69, 93
Magna Carta 364
mail-in ballots 254, 260
Mair 251
Political Science Index Excerpt
- The text is a detailed index from a political science textbook, covering a wide range of concepts from 'Majlis al-Nuwab' to 'OrbĂĄn'.
- It includes significant historical figures and political theorists such as Mandela, Mao Zedong, Marx, Mill, and Obama.
- Key political ideologies and movements are listed, including majoritarianism, Marxism, neoliberalism, and multiculturalism.
- The index highlights international organizations and agreements like NATO, NAFTA, and the Millennium Development Goals.
- Legal and social issues are represented through entries like the Me Too movement, Miranda rights, and the Marijuana Policy Project.
- It serves as a roadmap for studying the intersection of governance, economic systems, and global power dynamics.
monopoly on the right to use violence 410
Majlis al-Nuwab 288
Majlis al-Shura 288
Major 322
majoritarianism 212, 213
majority 71
majority coalition 248
majority government 310
majority opinion 158
majority party 274
majority rule 184, 259, 272
Mandela 112
Mann Act 128
manufactured consent 419
Mao Zedong 82
Maoism 82
Maori 207
March on Washington 223
Marcos 416
Marcuse 95
Marcy 325
marijuana 430
Marijuana Policy Project 242
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
School shooting 154
market economy 511, 532
Markkula Center for Applied
Ethics 208
Marshall Plan 322, 426, 516,
519
Martin 139
Martin Luther King Jr. 222
Marx 44, 46, 79, 99, 462, 533
Marxism 44, 46, 47, 462
Marxist 47
mass culture 181
Mayhew 314
McCarran-Walter Act 142
McCombs 383
McElwee 145
McGillivray 527
McNamara 519
McPhee 159
Me Too 205, 224
means of production 44
measurement error 162
media 31, 160, 160, 261, 509
media concentration 388, 399
mediated information 382
Medicaid 86
Medicare 86
members of Parliament (MPs)
261
Mercado ComĂşn del Sur
(MERCOSUR) 484
mercantilism 512, 513, 532
mercantilist 74
mercenaries 512
MERCOSUR 490
merit system 325
Merkel 305
MĂŠtis 141, 231
middle class 71, 532
migration 129
Mikulski 239
military 440
Mill 77, 85, 89, 115, 160
Millennium Development Goals
520, 534
Mine Ban Treaty 494
minimum wage 92
minority cultures 181
minority party 274
Miranda rights 356
misdemeanors 355
misinformation 399
Missouri Plan 346
mixed system 287
Moa 196, 198
modernization theory 524
Modi 395, 432
monarchy 71
monopoly on the right to use
violence 410
Montgomery Bus Boycott 223
moral hazard 254
Morales 56
Morocco 423
Morsi 82
Mossadegh 442
motivated reasoning 25, 61
Moustafa 341
movable type 384
MSNBC 399
Mubarak 82, 398
muckraker 379
multiculturalism 88
multilateral exchange rate 530
multimember districts 278,
278
multinational corporations 495
multiparty system 250
multipolar system 455
Murillo 528
Muslim Brotherhood 82
Mussolini 81
mutually assured destruction
451
Index 625
N
NAACP 46
Napoleonic Wars 514
Naruhito 304
nation 17, 445
nation-state 17
National Association for the
Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP) 222, 241
National Farmers Union 241
national identity groups 496
nationalism 78
NATO 441
natural laws 73
natural rights 73
Nazi 426
Nazism 81
negative rights 115, 208
neoliberalism 70, 93
neorealism 457
Neustadt 308, 323
neutral competence 325
New Deal 77
New Left 88
New Right 95
Newport 165
Newsom 245, 362
Newton 21
Nieto 392, 393
Ninth Amendment 120
Nixon 181, 377, 518
Noam 389
non-tariff trade barriers 521
noneconomic groups 241
nongovernmental
organizations 112
nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) 447, 491
nonpartisan elections 345
nonprofessional legislatures
276
norm 445
normative 40
normative political science 22,
25, 27
NORML 242
North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) 490
North Atlantic Treaty
Organization 32
North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) 457, 485
North Korea 340, 341, 423
NPR 402
NRA 29
nullification 348
Nussbaum 47
O
OâNeill 153
Oakeshott 99
Obama 146, 154, 163, 214, 231,
293, 320, 321, 395, 448, 529,
535
Obamacare 86
Obergefell v. Hodges 87, 118,
210, 231
Ocasio-Cortez 92
OECD (Organization for
Economic Cooperation and
Development) 254
offensive realism 458
offshoring 85
oil shocks 519
Okin 47
oligarchy 71
oligopoly 388
Olmstead v. United States 120
Olson 242
Olympic Games 460
On Liberty 115
One Fair Wage 243, 245
one-child policy 175
one-drop rule 228
open borders 129
Operation Desert Storm 476
opinion leaders 160
OrbĂĄn 98, 307
Political Science Index Terms
- The text provides a comprehensive index of political science terminology, ranging from international organizations like OPEC and the OECD to foundational legal concepts like original jurisdiction and precedent.
- It highlights the tension between different governance structures, specifically comparing parliamentary and presidential systems and their respective legislative procedures.
- Significant attention is given to the mechanics of democracy, including various voting methods such as plurality rule, proportional representation, and ranked-choice voting.
- The index covers the psychological and social dimensions of politics, listing entries for political socialization, public opinion polling, and the 'polarization feedback loop.'
- Key historical figures and landmark legal cases, such as Plato, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Putin, are indexed to provide context for theoretical and real-world political developments.
polarization feedback loop 401; police state 417; political action committee (PAC) 151, 245; political culture 29, 178, 210.
Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development
(OECD) 143
Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) 402
Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe 487
Organization of American
States 484
Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC)
490
original jurisdiction 344
Ostrom 197
outside lobbying 244, 245
oversight 282, 289
P
Pacific Alliance 490
pack journalism 382
Page 160, 163
Pahlavi 418, 442
paid media 393, 394
Pakistan 432
Palach 222
paradox of tolerance 124
Paris Climate Accord 192, 474
Parks 223
Parliament 249
parliamentary 249, 290
parliamentary procedures 272
parliamentary regimes 302
parliamentary sovereignty
system 368
parliamentary system 284
partisan elections 345
partisan representation 281
party ID 55
Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act 271
patriarchy 90
Patriot Act 381
patronage 252, 326
Patterson 250, 391
Peace Palace 476
Pelosi 153, 248
Pendleton Act 326
Pentagon Papers 378
periphery countries 462
Permanent Five (P5) 480
Perot 250, 251
Perry 321
Pickering 477
Pierce v. Society of Sisters 119
Piketty 251
Pinto 528
Plato 70
Plessy v. Ferguson 221
pluralism 242
pluralist theory 242
plurality 286, 287
626 Index
Access for free at openstax.org
plurality rule 259
plurality voting 315
plurilateral agreements 521
polarization 294, 314
polarization feedback loop 401
police state 417
political action committee
(PAC) 151, 245
political culture 29, 178, 210
political elite 180
political elites 44
political factors 511
political freedom 431
political ideologies 69
political ideology 28, 159, 247
political minority 209
political participation 28, 140,
220
political parties 29, 247, 248,
273
political polarization 18, 398,
401
political psychology 50
political science 20
political secularism 100
political socialization 29, 173,
174, 175, 176, 397
politico 280, 281
politics 11
poll taxes 142, 148, 254
Pomper 252
Ponce 227
popular vote 250
populism 97, 251, 306
populist 252
positive rights 115, 208
poverty 532
poverty line 92
power 15, 40, 42, 410, 440
power to persuade 308
precedent 350
president 284
presidential 290
presidential regimes 302
presidential system 284
Press Freedom Day 381
primary 249, 258
prime minister 284, 302
Print 140
prior restraint 379
prisonerâs dilemma 193
privacy 119
privatization 196
probabilistic 21
probability sample 162
probability sampling 161
probable cause 357
procedural due process 118,
365
professional groups 241
professional legislature 275
Progressive Era 379
proletariat 80, 533
propaganda 419, 441
proportional representation
143, 259, 259, 286
protectionism 526
protectionist policies 512
protests 154
proxy wars 456
Przeworski 518, 525
public approval rating 309
public goods 48
public interest 15
public interest advocacy
groups 240
public interest group 241
public interest litigation (PIL)
227
public laws 271
public opinion 28, 29, 158, 161,
163, 164
public opinion poll 158, 160
public policy 15
Putin 293, 317, 393, 460
Putnam 157
Q
Queen Elizabeth II 304
question wording effects 162
quorum 187
R
Radio Act of 1927 386
Raina 395
random digit dialing 161, 162
Randon Hershey 247
ranked-choice 260
Rasinki 162
rational 44, 52, 52, 61
rational-legal legitimacy 419
rationalism 513
Rawls 44, 47, 88
Rawlsâs theory of justice 45
Reagan 240
realism 454
reality 11, 13
recall 260
recidivism 354
reciprocity 443
Red Crescent 447
Red Cross 447, 492
Red Guards 83
referendum 247, 260, 273
Reform UK 250
refugees 129
regional autonomy 496
regional economic organizations
Political Science Index: R to S
- The index covers a broad spectrum of legal and judicial concepts, including 'rule of law', 'substantive due process', and landmark cases like Roe v. Wade and Reynolds v. Sims.
- It highlights various political ideologies and social movements, ranging from 'socialism' and 'social conservatism' to 'second-wave feminism' and 'social justice'.
- International relations and global governance are represented through terms like 'sovereignty', 'soft power', the 'Security Council', and the 'Responsibility to Protect (R2P)'.
- The text lists key political actors and institutions, including the 'Republican National Committee', 'Sierra Club', and various international bodies like the 'Southern African Development Community'.
- Methodological concerns in political science are noted, specifically regarding 'response bias', 'selection bias', and the 'scientific method'.
social relations of production 80; Social Security Administration 77; socialism 87, 91; Socialist Unity Party of Germany 250; socialization 159, 173; Socrates 70; soft authoritarianism 422; soft power 440, 443.
(REOs) 490
registered voters 254
Rehabilitation Act 209
religious extremism 70, 99
religious law system 351
religious non-state actors
(RNAs) 498
reparations 229
Reporters Without Borders
380, 392
representative democracies 50
Republican National
Committee 153
reserves 516
response bias 162
Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
474
responsive communitarianism
117
retention 346
retention election 345
reverse and remand 367
reverse and render 368
revolving door bans 246
Reynolds v. Sims (1964) 141
Right to Life 29
rightfulness 413
Robertâs Rules of Order 12
Robinson 524
Roe v. Wade 119
Rohingya 100
Roman Empire 72
Index 627
Roosevelt 77, 314, 478
Roth v. United States 86
Rousseau 74, 79, 83
Rudd 322
rule by law 340, 341
rule of law 71, 96, 118, 340,
349, 417
rules 11, 30
run-off election 259
S
Sachs 533
Saha 140
Salazar 82
same-sex marriage 119, 186,
210, 431
sample 160
sampling errors 162
San Francisco Democratic
Party 240
Sanders 44, 151, 308
Sandy Hook Elementary School
154
Schattschneider 243
Schengen Area 488
Scheppele 417
Scheve 528
Schlozman 206
school segregation 91
Schraufnagel 314
Schuldt 162
Schumer 314
Schwarz 162
scientific method 21, 24
scientific socialism 99
scientism 513
Scottish National Party (SNP)
247
Seawright 251
secession 496
second-wave feminism 90
Secretariat 481
Secretary-General 481
Security Council 480
security dilemma 457
security pact 441
security state 417
selection bias 162
selectors 451
self-governance 141, 243
self-government 140, 149
Seligman 249
semi-presidential regimes 302
semi-presidential system 284,
289
Sen 463
separate but equal 221
separation of powers 341
Service Employees International
Union (SEIU) 241
sexism 90
sexual harassment 224
shadow government 420
Shapiro 160, 163, 250
sharia law 351, 353
Shaw 383
Shelby County v. Holder 214
shell corporations 246
Sheng 384
Shepsle 385
Shirky 397
Sierra Club 29, 245
Sierra Club v. Trump 245
Simmonds 400
simple majority 185
Sinclair 379
Sinclair Broadcasting Group
389
Singer 89
single-issue groups 241
single-member districts 278,
287, 315
single-party system 250
Sisi 82
Slaughter 528
Smith 74, 379, 511, 513, 533
snap elections 261
Snyder 380
social capital 143, 157, 243,
257, 397
social conservatism 86
social contract 48, 48, 73, 341
social desirability bias 163
social justice 28, 42, 43, 45, 46,
46, 47
social media 31, 152, 157, 160,
177, 388, 395, 396, 397, 398,
400
social movement 29
social movements 154, 156
social ownership of the means of
production 533
social relations of production
80
Social Security Administration
77
socialism 87, 91
Socialist Unity Party of
Germany 250
socialization 159, 173
Socrates 70
soft authoritarianism 422
soft power 440, 443
Solana 490
Somalia 421
Sotomayor 230
South African Bill of Rights 112
Southern African Development
Community 484, 488
Southern Border Communities
Coalition 245
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC) 224
sovereign 16, 141
sovereignty 112, 340, 440, 442,
447, 478
special drawing rights (SDR)
518
specialization 275
spoils system 325
sponsor 271
Stalin 81
standard operating procedures
325
standardized testing 91
standing 346
Stanton 89
state 17, 444
state of nature 73
state sovereignty 471
states of emergency 415
status quo 18, 184, 186, 457
stereotyping 26
Stiglitz 518
Stinson 163
Stone 518
structural racism 91, 224
structural realism 457
Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee 224
628 Index
Access for free at openstax.org
Sturgeon 247
subsidies 510, 512, 522, 528
substantive due process 118,
365
Political Index and Terminology
- The text provides a comprehensive index of political science concepts ranging from institutional structures like unicameralism to socio-political movements.
- It highlights significant historical and contemporary figures, including world leaders, activists like Greta Thunberg, and political theorists.
- Global governance and international relations are represented through entries on the United Nations, trade liberalization, and various international treaties.
- The index covers critical issues of civil rights and democratic participation, specifically focusing on voter suppression, human rights, and systemic racism.
- Modern technological impacts on politics are noted through references to social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter alongside surveillance concerns.
Tiananmen Square 154, 220; TikTok 397, 510; Till 223; Title IX 321; Tokyo Round 521.
substantive representation 279
suffrage 141, 142, 206
Sunstein 398
super PACs 246, 246
supermajority 184, 273
supply and demand 530, 535
Supreme Court of the United
States (SCOTUS) 344
Supreme Leader 424
surveillance 123
sustainable development 481,
535
Sustainable Development Goals
483, 520, 535
systemic racism 91
T
TACO PAC 245
Taliban 70, 100, 257, 421, 445,
486
Taney 228
tariff concessions 520
tariffs 510, 512
taxes 510
Taylor 47
term limits 345
terrorism 32, 501
Tertullian 72
Thailand 422
Thant 453
Thatcher 322, 379
The End of Poverty 533
The Jungle 379
the justice gap 227
The Wealth of Nations 513
theocracy 419
ThĂŠrien 94
thinking fast 51, 52
thinking slow 51
third parties 314, 315
Third Reich 250
third wave of democratization
84, 425
third-wave feminism 90
Thoreau 221
Three-Fifths Compromise 219
Thunberg 11, 59, 171, 173,
174, 186
Thurber 246
Tiananmen Square 154, 220
TikTok 397, 510
Till 223
Title IX 321
Tokyo Round 521
Toronto Public Space
Committee 241
totalitarianism 81
trade liberalization 511, 514,
521, 526, 527, 531
trade rounds 521
traditional legitimacy 418
tragedy of the commons 190,
198, 472
transaction costs 186, 187, 189
transaction theory 242
transnational 492
transnational organized crime
(TOC) 501
Treaty of Versailles 478
Trenchard 378
trial courts 366
Trudeau 232
Truman 242
Trump 25, 26, 56, 86, 96, 98,
164, 181, 214, 245, 248, 251,
293, 305, 307, 320, 321, 361,
381, 393, 395, 414, 448, 535
Trump v. Hawaii 230
Trust for Public Land 241
Trust Project 402
trustee 280, 281
Trusteeship Council 481
Truth and Reconciliation
Commission 231
Tsipras 307
Tunisian Human Rights League
(LTDH) 156
Tweed 250
Twitter 97, 122, 398, 400, 510
two-party system 249
tyranny 71
U
UK Human Rights Act of 1998
120
UK Youth 240
ultimatum game 62, 63
Umbrella Movement 155
UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) 123
UN Conference on Trade and
Employment 520
UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea 474
UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child 493
UN Framework Principles on
Human Rights and the
Environment 131
UN Human Rights Council 69
UN peacekeepers 481
unanimity rule 185
UNCTAD Global Cyberlaw
Tracker 123
unemployment 510, 515, 522,
527, 532
unicameral 30, 290, 292, 427
unicameralism 143
unipolar system 455
unitary system 425
United Arab Emirates 418
United Nations 31, 41, 42, 94,
446, 450, 474, 478
United Nations Charter 451,
478
United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) 495
United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) 491
United Nations Office of the High
Commissioner for Human
Rights 209
United Nations Security
Council 451
United States Agency for
International Development
(USAID) 492
United States Chamber of
Commerce 241
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights 42, 49, 112, 128, 208,
356, 364, 447, 474, 479
Universal Postal Union 482
unreasonable searches and
Index 629
seizures 130
Uruguay Round 521, 522
US circuit courts of appeals
344
US district courts 344
utilitarianism 42, 43, 46
Uyghurs 129
V
Valenzuela 157
Vance 97
Velvet Revolution 222, 417
Ventura 391
Verba 206
veto 16
Vietnam 378
Vietnam War 456, 518
Vij 148
Virginiaâs Racial Integrity Act
228
volunteering 150
von Bismarck 419
vote of no confidence 261
voter fatigue 147, 256
voter ID 254
voter ID laws 148
voter registration 145, 147,
249, 256
voter registration requirements
256
voter suppression 146, 148,
207, 213, 254
voter turnout 142, 143, 254,
254
voting 253, 254, 256
voting eligible population (VEP)
Index of Political and Global Terms
- The text serves as a concluding index for a comprehensive work on political science, law, and international relations.
- Key historical events and entities listed include the Voting Rights Act, the Warsaw Pact, and the Weimar Republic.
- Significant global organizations such as the World Bank, World Health Organization, and World Trade Organization are indexed.
- The document references influential figures ranging from Max Weber and Mary Wollstonecraft to modern leaders like Xi Jinping and Joko Widodo.
- Legal and media concepts like the writ of habeas corpus, yellow journalism, and the Washington Consensus are highlighted.
- Modern social and technological phenomena such as woke capitalism, YouTube, and the World Wide Web are included.
winner -take-all 258 woke capitalists 97
142, 254
Voting Rights Act 142, 146,
149, 213, 223, 349
Voting Rights Alliance 213
Vreeland 518
W
wages 532
Wang 165
Warren 119, 141
Warsaw Pact 441
Washington 45
Washington Consensus 518
watchdog 378, 382, 383, 391
Watergate 378, 379
Wattenburg 250
Watts 304
weak states 500
Weber 410, 418
Weimar Republic 81
Weiss 461
Weiwei 398
welfare 527
Wells 45, 46
Wertheimer 394
Westinghouse Electric and
Manufacturing Company 386
White 515
Whiteley 251
Widodo 252
Wilcox 247
Willets 494
Wilson 97, 314, 322, 401
winner-take-all 258
woke capitalists 97
Wollstonecraft 89
Womenâs March 224
Woods 182
Woodward 378
Worland 224
World Bank 93, 441, 482, 515,
519, 519
World Health Organization 482
World Justice Project 227
World Meteorological
Organization 482
World Press Freedom Index
380
World Radio Day 386
World Trade Organization 441,
473, 478, 482, 516, 521
World War II 520
World Wide Web 388
writ of certiorari 368
writ of habeas corpus 131, 358
X
Xi 84
Y
yellow journalism 379
YouTube 397, 397
Z
Zakaria 307
zero-sum game 455, 512
Zimmerman 139
630 Index
Access for free at openstax.org
Index 631
Global Governance and Open Education
Because we believe that everyone should and can have access to knowledge.
Introduction to Political Science Overview
Introduction to Political Science is designed so that students will see themselves as a part of the world of politics and political science, emphasizing the role that politics and government play in studentsâ lives and how students can further contribute to civil society.
Textbook Features and Author Profiles
What Can I Do? outlines political science skills and âsoft skillsâ connected to chapter material that are in demand in todayâs job market, both within and outside the field of government and politics.
Instructor Resources and Course Materials
The 400 multiple choice and true/false questions in our test bank are correlated to the six levels of Bloomâs Taxonomy, allowing instructors to customize tests to support a variety of course objectives.
Politics in Everyday Life
- Smartphones are a key intersection between personal life and government regulation or surveillance.
- Governments use digital platforms for everything from benefit distribution to internet shutdowns during elections.
Whether or not you care about politics, politics has an interest in you.
Rules and Political Institutions
- Constitutions define government structure, duties, and citizen rights.
- A constitutionâs power depends not on paper, but on political actorsâ willingness to respect its limits.
Constitutions are perhaps the most important set of rules in a country because, after all, they are just pieces of paper.
The Nature of Political Conflict
- Politics offers a nonviolent alternative to brute force for resolving disputes over resources and morality.
- Rising polarization creates distrust between groups and threatens peaceful conflict resolution.
When violence is used to solve disputes, it represents the failure of politics, or at least the deep frustration of those whose aspirations are thwarted by politics.
The Status Quo Bias
Although you might see a world full of problems that obviously need to be fixed, you should always assume that there are those who benefit from the current circumstances who will work to thwart change.
The Systematic Study of Politics
Political scientists may not have lab coats or electron microscopes, but like other types of scientists, they use theory, logic, and evidence in an attempt to answer questions, to make predictions, or to arrive at conclusions.
The Science of Politics
If one defines science as a body o f universal laws about an unchanging universe , then politics is not and cannot be a science.
Normative and Empirical Political Science
Does a good government not, as a rule, have an obligation to do just that? But does this then create a slippery slope in which governments believe they are justified in lying as a matter of course?
Empirical Political Science and Evidence
- Motivated reasoning leads people to decide on a truth first, then filter evidence to support it.
- Empirical political science relies on evidence and data analysis to answer factual questions.
Humans often use motivated reasoning, first deciding what is trueâfor example, âGun control makes us saferâ or âGun control makes us less safeââand then finding evidence that supports this belief while rejecting data that contradicts it.
Public Opinion and Group Dynamics
Collective action problemsâexists when individuals have incentives not to cooperate with others even though cooperation would benefit the group as a whole.
Civil Rights and Political Interaction
Because governments must take action for civil rights to be realized, they are matters of intense political debate.
Defining Politics and Power
Classrooms raise questions regarding power, legitimacy, and consent.
Foundations of Political Science
politics âwho gets what, where, when, and howââthe process for resolving disputes and allocating scarce resources
The Nature of Human Rights
- A social-constructionist view holds that rights require active political creation and protection to exist in practice.
- Civil liberties protect individuals from government interference; civil rights are often affirmed for marginalized groups.
In this view, unlike gravity, which exerts its force whether or not humans recognize it, political action is necessary to create and protect human rights.
Defining Social Justice and Utility
As with human rights, it is worth asking whether such a thing as social justice actually exists, or whether, in the words of the philosopher Friedrich Hayek, social justice is a 'mirage.'
Marxist Views on Social Justice
the State is nothing more than a machine for the oppression of one class by another.
Rawls and Social Justice
- Rawlsâs âveil of ignoranceâ asks people to design society without knowing their own place in it.
- The âdifference principleâ permits inequalities only if they benefit societyâs least advantaged members.
In designing it, you would be operating from behind a 'veil of ignorance.'
Visions of Social Justice
The black revolution is much more than a struggle for the rights of Negroes. It is forcing America to face all its interrelated flawsâracism, poverty, militarism, and materialism.
Alternative Perspectives on Social Justice
For Hobbes, then, the principal purpose of government would be to remove the people from the state of nature and to promote their security.
The Tension of Governance
Constitutions are not written by angels: they are written and implemented by groups of individuals who have their own self-interests and biases as well as their own view of the common good.
Power Preservation and Authoritarianism
- Government officials often prioritize expanding their own power over the public interest.
- The COVID-19 pandemic gave many regimes a pretext to demand obedience and restrict individual rights.
History is replete with evidence that the actual purposes of those serving in government align most with preserving or expanding their power, even though they may claim they are acting in the public interest.
The Limits of Human Rationality
- Successful politicians exploit noncognitive decision-making to manipulate public behavior.
- Fast thinking simplifies the world but leaves people vulnerable to misinformation and emotional appeals.
Politicians, seeking your support, are less likely to appeal to your head than to your (metaphorical) heart.
The Mechanics of Strategic Action
Note that acting strategic ally do es not necessarily imply acting morally . Acting strategic ally is quite simply choosing the mos t eff ectiv e means to achieve a specific end .
Evolution of Liberal Thought
- Millâs harm principle holds that adults should be free to harm themselves so long as they do not harm others.
- FDR argued that safety nets could preserve individual rights by preventing more radical threats to liberty.
Liberty, he argues, should be broadened not only in matters of speech and the press but also so that the law does not restrict the freedom of adultsâeven if individual adults exercise their freedom in ways that cause them personal harm.
Marxist Theory and Cultural Hegemony
- Gramsci explained failed revolution through âhegemony,â where elites use media and education to manufacture cultural consent.
- Cultural hegemony encourages the oppressed to see the status quo as a land of opportunity.
They manufacture a set of cultural norms through their control of the media, churches, and schools, asserting what Gramsci called hegemony, or domination by means of the prevailing culture.
The Rise of Fascism
- Nazism added pseudo-scientific racial hierarchy to fascism, prioritizing âAryansâ and targeting those deemed inferior.
- The Nazi regime orchestrated the Holocaust, systematically murdering millions.
Nazism opposed much in modern lifeâespecially the freedoms that Germans enjoyed under the Weimar Republic (1919â1933), which Hitler found decadent.
The Rise of Democratic Liberalism
- Democratic liberalism uses representative elections and counter-majoritarian courts to protect minorities from majority tyranny.
- It preserves capitalism while supporting regulation and social safety nets to reduce inequality.
Democratic liberalism looks to the courts to exercise some measure of counter-majoritarian power, shielding minorities from abuse by numerical majorities.
Critical Race and Gender Theory
- Critical race and gender theory argues that oppressed groups may understand the world more fully than their oppressors.
- Intersectionality holds that overlapping identities, such as race and gender, can intensify oppression.
The oppressed, on the other hand, have to cultivate both an understanding of their own condition and an understanding of their oppressorsâ perspective in order to develop strategies of resistance.
The Rise of Conservative Populism
- Conservative populism shifts from traditional center-right libertarianism toward expanded government power in economic and social regulation.
- Its policy pillars include tighter immigration enforcement and a non-interventionist foreign policy.
Nevertheless, while the center right has historically sought to minimize government regulations, the New Right sees an expansive role for government.
The Global Privacy Debate
- Chinaâs constitution technically protects privacy, but broad state-security exceptions allow near-total surveillance.
- China uses mass surveillance to target specific ethnic groups and eliminate what it defines as ideological viruses.
China uses mass surveillance to â eradicate ideological viruses ,â which the y identify as the religious and cultural beliefs o f certain ethnic groups .
Climate Change and Human Rights
- Climate change is increasingly framed as a human rights issue, including the legal status of displaced people.
- The UNHCR calls climate change a âthreat multiplierâ that worsens resource scarcity and potential conflict.
In such conditions, climate change can act as a threat multiplier, exacerbating existing tensions and adding to the potential for conflicts.
Institutional Barriers to Voting
- Voter registration is one of the most significant institutional limits on U.S. political participation.
- Voter ID laws and reduced polling access disproportionately affect minority, poor, and younger voters.
Of the 80 million Americans who did not vote in the 2020 election, almost 30 percent cited being unregistered as the top reason they did not go to the polls.
Social Media and Political Agency
- Falsehoods on social media are 70% more likely to be retweeted and more effective at changing opinions than factual information.
- Digital broadcasting lets anyone generate news, creating a space where falsehoods travel six times faster than truth.
An MIT study found that âfalsehoods are 70% more likely to be retweeted on Twitter than the truth, and reach their first 1,500 people six times faster.â
Greta Thunberg and Collective Action
- Greta Thunbergâs activism grew from family-level changes into a global movement involving 1.6 million students.
- Consensus on the need for change often stalls because groups cannot agree on specific actions.
To the extent that Thunbergâs individual actions will influence political choices, it will be because these actions have helped create a movement, inspire interest groups and parties, and lead governments to change their policies.
Collective Action Problems
- Collective action problems occur when rational self-interest harms both the public and the individuals involved.
- The main forms are tragedy of the commons, free riding, and the prisonerâs dilemma.
Collective action logic comes to the opposite conclusion, one in which individuals acting in their own self-interest can have incentives that lead them to act in ways that harm not only the broader public but also themselves.
The Free Rider Problem
- The free rider problem arises when people benefit from group efforts without contributing.
- Climate action suffers because countries may endorse change rhetorically while avoiding real sacrifices.
Paradoxically, the group as a whole has incentives to work together to obtain their goal, but the individual members of the group do not.
Solving the Tragedy of Commons
- Elinor Ostrom argued that local communities can solve resource problems without relying only on government or markets.
- It remains unclear whether Ostromâs community-based approach can scale to global climate change.
Still, those costs are immediate, and the benefits are in the future.
The Evolution of LGBTQ+ Rights
- U.S. support for same-sex marriage rose from under 40% in 2004 to over 60% by 2019.
- Increased personal contactâmore Americans knowing someone gay or lesbianâhelped drive rapid attitude change.
Those who have the power to shape society can use that power to help recognize and protect minority rights; however, those who have power tend to use the tools at their disposal to keep it, and keeping it may mean suppressing minorities.
The Persistence of Voter Suppression
- Power structures maintain control by selectively silencing voices and limiting who counts in elections.
- Modern voter suppression includes strict ID rules, gerrymandering, and reduced early-voting opportunities.
One of the ways those in power can seek to remain in power is by controlling whose voices can be heard and counted in elections.
Indigenous Dispossession and Civil Rights
- U.S. and Canadian governments forcibly removed Indigenous children to boarding schools for cultural indoctrination, abuse, and language erasure.
- Native American women face disproportionately high rates of violence and kidnapping.
Where as the c ountr y is often obsessed with s tories a bout true crime and missing White w omen , there has historic ally been les s attention p aid to missing and kidnapped women o f color .
Japanese American Internment and Injustice
- Executive Order 9066 forced about 120,000 people of Japanese descent into internment camps during World War II.
- The Supreme Court upheld internment measures in Hirabayashi and Korematsu, prioritizing âpublic necessityâ over due process.
Pressing public necessity may sometimes justify the existence of such restrictions; racial antagonism never can.
Modern Civil Rights Movements
- The 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, with an estimated 15â26 million participants, may be the largest social movement demonstration in U.S. history.
- BLM moved âstructural racismâ from academic circles into common political language.
Once confined to academic and activist circles on the left of the spectrum, [the term structural racism] has become the phrase du jour.
The Justice Gap and PIL
- The âjustice gapâ describes 1.5 billion people living in countries with legal institutions but no practical access to justice.
- Indiaâs Public Interest Litigation allows citizens to appeal directly to the Supreme Court over fundamental rights violations.
Long and Ponce call this inability âthe justice gap.â
Super PACs and Lobbying Ethics
- Super PACs can raise unlimited funds, often involving âdark moneyâ from anonymous donors or shell companies.
- Although registered lobbyists have declined, experts estimate the real population of influencers may be as high as 100,000.
Critics of this ruling complain that it has led to the rampant rise of super PACs, which empower the wealthiest donors and receive dark money.
Global Election Systems and Rules
- Duvergerâs Law suggests U.S. plurality rule helps sustain a two-party system instead of a multiparty one.
- In North Korea, compulsory elections with no candidate choice function as tools of state control.
Notably, America does not employ proportional representation at any level of elections, and according to Duvergerâs Law, this is the reason why the United States also still has only two main parties.
The Rise of Executive Dominance
- Executive dominance expands authority through crises or incremental changes that become normalized as legitimate.
- As executive overreach becomes normalized, traditional checks and balances become less responsive.
Regardless of the method of expansion, the act of executive dominance is gradually normalized, forming a new basis for understanding that executiveâs powers.
Presidentialism and the Populist Threat
- Populism uses emotional appeals to the masses against perceived elite-dominated systems.
- Some scholars argue democracy contains the seeds of its own destruction by allowing citizens to elect demagogues.
In ancient Athens, thinkers of the age recognized that their novel system of democratic self-governance lived in constant dangerâbecause by its very nature, in allowing the masses to freely choose their own leaders, it contained the seeds of its own destruction.
Populism and Presidential Power
- Demagogues threaten democracy by trying to alter the electoral processes that brought them to power.
- Strong democratic institutions are essential safeguards against attacks on legal and electoral systems.
Once in office, demagogues have the ability to attempt to change the system by which they were elected.
The Dynamics of Semi-Presidentialism
- Semi-presidentialism splits power between a directly elected president and an appointed prime minister.
- Data suggest semi-presidential regimes are generally less free and more susceptible to authoritarianism.
That means the president could be of one party and the prime minister of a different party. They referred to it as âcohabitation.â
Iron Triangles and Issue Networks
- Iron triangles link bureaucracies, congressional committees, and interest groups in stable, mutually beneficial relationships.
- Critics argue iron triangles are undemocratic and protect narrow interests over broader public needs.
Iron triangles have been justly criticized for being fairly closed to outsiders and new information, for working in relative obscurity, and for being undemocratic.
Authoritarianism and the Judiciary
- Authoritarian-populist judiciaries emerge when ruling parties dismantle rule-of-law systems to consolidate power.
- In Turkey, constitutional changes let ErdoÄan appoint and dismiss judges, undermining judicial independence.
Under these conditions, the serious backsliding of the respect for democratic standards, the rule of law, and fundamental freedoms continued.
The Limits of Judicial Power
- Courts rely on the executive branch to enforce rulings because they lack physical enforcement power.
- Public acceptance of the rule of law is the judiciaryâs strongest enforcement resource.
A court can issue a judgment, or legal order, but it does not have the power to compel government personnel to carry out or enforce its orders.
The American Death Penalty Landscape
- New U.S. death sentences fell by over 80% between 1988 and 2018.
- Death penalty data show deep racial bias, especially based on the race of the victim.
The US Supreme Court has held that the meaning of 'cruel and unusual' rests on societyâs 'evolving standard of decency,' and thus there is no set standard.
The Power of SCOTUS
- SCOTUS selects fewer than 100 cases from thousands of annual filings through writs of certiorari.
- The Court focuses on nationally significant cases involving major political and social issues.
Thousands of cases from around the country are filed with the court each year, of which they hear and decide less than 100.
Media Concentration and Digital Shifts
- Five multinational corporations control about 90% of the content consumed by American audiences.
- Despite apparent choice, U.S. and European media landscapes are marked by extreme concentration.
In fact, five companies own and produce 90 percent of what Americans watch today.
Media Strategies and Election Dynamics
- Across 43 countries, candidates using negative rhetoric, personal attacks, and fear-based appeals gained more media attention and higher success rates.
- The Cambridge Analytica scandal showed how scraped data enabled microtargeted political ads in the U.S. and UK.
In a study of 97 candidates in 43 elections around the world, scholars found that candidates who employed nastier rhetoric that included personal attacks and appealed to peopleâs fears received wider media attention.
Media Responsibility and Digital Disinformation
- Human behavior, more than bots, drives the rapid spread of digital disinformation.
- Digital news production empowers marginalized voices while creating a minefield of unverified information.
Studies of Twitter have shown that falsehoods travel further and faster than the truth, thanks in part to the emotional responses they elicit and in part to the novelty of the falsehoods themselves.
The Nature of Government Legitimacy
- Legitimate governments are more efficient because they can rely on voluntary compliance instead of costly coercion.
- Citizens often distinguish unpopular laws from laws they believe the government has no right to enact.
Though you cannot always say for certain that a government truly has broad legitimacy, broad illegitimacy is often easy to detect.
The Manufacture of Consent
- âManufactured consentâ describes how states use propaganda and indoctrination to create support.
- States shape public perception through controlled education, media, and co-opted cultural or religious values.
As such, although some regimes may well enjoy broad legitimacy by the free choice of their citizenry, the possibility also exists that regimes gain legitimacy through what economist Edward Herman and philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky call (in a different context) 'manufactured consent'âthat is, the shaping of the peopleâs response to the regime by state programs and activities designed to instill support for the regime.
North Korea's Totalitarian Structure
- North Korea maintains a democratic facade through a legislature and judiciary with no real independence from the Workersâ Party.
- State mythology deifies the Kim family, framing subordination to the leader as familial love.
This subordination is not presented as degrading but as an act of familial love, since the Supreme Leaderâthe popular name for Kim Jung-unâis presented as a loving father and all North Koreans as his daughters and sons.
Hungary's Shift Toward Illiberalism
- Hungaryâs Fidesz party used legislative majorities to curb media, religious, and individual freedoms.
- Critics argue gerrymandering and constitutional advantages let Fidesz weaken representation while retaining support.
The government has created a National Media and Communications Authority that can impose heavy fines for coverage that it considers âunbalanced or offensive to human dignity or common morals.â
Sovereignty and International Anarchy
- Sovereignty protects state independence but can shield governments that violate their own citizensâ human rights.
- Some regimes use sovereignty to block aid or prevent NGOs from documenting atrocities.
States have used the cover of sovereignty to prevent nongovernmental organizations from providing aid.
Anarchy and State Sovereignty
- The international system is anarchic because no central authority can enforce rules over states.
- State sovereignty obstructs global order when nations prioritize independence over collective governance.
The willingness of states to make sure that their sovereignty is protected for as long as possible ensures that the system will remain anarchic.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
- The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the U.S. and Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war over missiles in Cuba.
- International relations can be analyzed at three levels: individual, state, and global system.
For 13 days in October 1962, the world watched with bated breath as a shipment of Soviet warheads on their way to Cuba pushed the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war.
The Realist Worldview
- Realism views the international system as zero-sum: one stateâs gain is anotherâs loss.
- In anarchy, states seek balance of power through unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar structures.
In a zero-sum game, a state seeks to take something, whether it be power or a physical resource, away from another state; in essence, if I win, then you lose, and there can only be one winner.
The Burden of Hegemony
- The security dilemma occurs when defensive actions are interpreted as offensive threats, triggering escalation.
- Neorealism argues that the international systemâs structure, not just leadersâ choices, shapes state behavior.
This is the burden of the hegemon; when you are the victor in a conflict you may be seen as the only stable, strong power, and with that status comes a sense of obligation to help less powerful, less stable states.
Constructivism and Global Norms
- Constructivism argues that shared norms and meanings help hold global order together.
- Labels like ârogue stateâ or âdemocraticâ create pressure for states to conform to international expectations.
For constructivists, these shared conceptions and resultant norms are the glue that holds the international system together.
Marxism and Dependency Theory
- Dependency theory describes core nations maintaining wealth by exploiting periphery nations for raw resources.
- Core states may benefit from keeping periphery countries politically unstable to reduce extraction costs.
To entrench this advantage, core states have an inc entiv e to keep p eripher y countries in positions o f politic al and social unrest so that the c ore countries ma y extract the needed resources with minimal costs.
Feminist Theory in International Relations
- Feminist theory critiques the state as a historically masculine institution focused on hard policy like conflict and security.
- Issues once dismissed as âwomenâs issues,â such as maternal mortality and education, are now seen as central to social prosperity.
The feminist tradition views the state as an inherently masculine institution in that it is and has been dominated by men and the male point of view since its inception.
Human Rights and R2P
- Responsibility to Protect was developed after international complacency during the Rwandan genocide.
- R2P shifts protection to the international community when a state cannot or will not protect its people.
The philosophy behind R2P is that 'state sovereignty carrie[s] with it the obligation of the State to protect its own people, and that if the State [is] unwilling or unable to do so, the responsibility shift[s] to the international community to use diplomatic, humanitarian and other means to protect them.'
Global Courts and Governance
- Major powers including Russia, China, and the United States refuse to recognize the ICCâs legitimacy.
- International law still sees high compliance because states feel compelled to justify actions through accepted global norms.
The United States has established a network of bilateral treaties with countries around the world promising not to prosecute any US citizen through the ICC.
The UN Security Council and ECOSOC
- The UN Security Councilâs five permanent members can each veto action even if the other fourteen members agree.
- The Security Council can authorize intervention, sanctions, and arms embargoes to manage conflicts.
Even if the other 14 states on the Council agree with a given action, the veto of any one of the P5 will block the action.
The Evolution of NATO
- NATO invoked Article 5 collective defense for the first time after the September 11 attacks.
- After the Soviet Union collapsed, NATO expanded rather than disbanding and broadened its security mission.
The United States dictates NATO policy more than, say, Germany dictates what happens in the EU and more than the UK influences what happens at the United Nations.
The EU's Supranational Governance
- The EU is supranational, with legislative and judicial bodies that can bind member states and sanction noncompliance.
- Euroskepticism and Brexit reveal backlash against the perceived loss of national sovereignty.
Domestic constituents of wealthier states, who believe they are losing their sovereign identity and subsidizing poorer and weaker states, may become convinced that EU membership is no longer in their countryâs best interest.
The Rise of Corporate Nations
- Multinational corporations control half of global exports and nearly a third of world wealth.
- Firms like Apple are wealthier than 90% of the worldâs countries, challenging traditional state sovereignty.
Apple, for example, is wealthier than 90 percent of the worldâs countries.
The Politics of Environmental Regulation
- Environmental policy creates a âcommitment vs. avoidanceâ game because costs are immediate while benefits are long-term.
- Domestic environmental rules can raise production costs and make local firms less competitive globally.
Governments play the âcommitment vs. avoidance gameâ because environmental policy, like every other kind of public policy, requires costs to achieve benefits.
The Bretton Woods System
- The 1944 Bretton Woods Conference created a new international financial order led by the United States.
- It established the IMF and World Bank to support global stability and European reconstruction.
Yet, the participation of these 44 states was only relevant to the extent that they supported either the American or the British side.
The End of Bretton Woods
- In 1971, Nixon ended the dollarâs convertibility into gold and devalued the currency.
- This effectively ended the Bretton Woods system and opened a more volatile phase in the global economy.
The SDRs emerged when the world w as already drowning in excessive liquidity o f dollars .
American Economic Exceptionalism
- The United States could pursue expansionary policy after 2008 while avoiding IMF austerity, reflecting its financial hegemony.
- The contrast between U.S. recovery and Greek austerity shows how international power shapes crisis responses.
Perhaps no country other than the United States could have contradicted IMF prescriptions.
Global Poverty and Modern Threats
- Global extreme poverty fell from about 35% in 1990 to about 10% in 2017.
- COVID-19, climate change, and armed conflict threaten to reverse decades of poverty reduction.
While COVID-19 triggered the trend reversal, its effects have been intensified by armed conflict in some countries and the growing impact of climate change worldwide.
Global Production and Environmental Crisis
- Industrial production and global transportation are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
- Degrowth advocates argue society must deliberately reduce production and consumption to protect the planet.
In short, the environmental crisis is another unintended negative consequence of the market economy.