FUNDA: MIDTERM EXAM REVIEWER
THEORY
Studying Politics:
Approaches - Normative,
Traditional/Institutional. Structural
Functional, Pluralism, Elitism, Marxism,
etc…..
NORMATIVE THEORY
▰Normative Political Theory & necessary to understand not only its
Philosophy interprets, critiques, and
constructs philosophical conceptions
and arguments concerning morally
appropriate and prudent standards and
purposes for political actors and
regimes.
▰Topics include historically influential
theories, the genealogy of political
ideas, democratic theory, and
contemporary theories of legitimacy,
identity, ethics, the good society, and
social justice.
▰Normative political theory is a theory
that is based upon cultural and social
values and norms. It examines the
interests and priorities of the people
under a government.
▰An example of normative political
theory is a study of how cultural and
social values of Afghani citizens affect
their perception of the government of
Afghanistan.
▰This theory could also examine how
the support of the people helped to
create this type of government
STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL
▰In the 1970s, political scientists Gabriel
Almond and Bingham Powell introduced
a structural-functionalist approach to
comparing political systems.
▰They argued that, in order to
understand a political system, it is
institutions (or structures) but also their
respective functions.
▰They also insisted that these
institutions, to be properly understood,
must be placed in a meaningful and
dynamic historical context.
▰This idea stood in marked contrast to
prevalent approaches in the field of
comparative politics—the state-society
theory and the dependency theory.
▰These were the descendants of David
Easton's system theory in international
relations, a mechanistic view that saw
all political systems as essentially the
same, subject to the same laws of
"stimulus and response"—or inputs and
outputs—while paying little attention to
unique characteristics.
▰The structural-functional approach is
based on the view that a political
system is made up of several key
components, including interest groups,
political parties and branches of
government
▰ Within political philosophy an
acknowledgement of a diverse political
system while when applied to a political
theory political power in society does
not lie with the electorate but distributed
among a wide number of groups
▰ Pluralism, usually in reference to
political pluralism, is the theory that
power shared between many groups
produces the best outcomes in society
and government. Generally, pluralism
refers to a society or state that has a
balanced representation of groups in
politics and culture.
▰Cultural pluralism refers to a society
which does not have a single language,
system of beliefs, or even history.
▰This means that there are competing
cultural factions in defining the culture
of a nation
▰India is also sometimes considered a
pluralistic democracy in large part due
to its religious pluralism. Members of its
parliament, a governing body, represent
many of the religions that are practiced
in India today.
ELITISM THEORY
▰Elitism Theory is a perspective in
political science that argues that a
small, self-serving, and powerful elite
group controls power, resources, and
decision-making in a society, leaving
the masses without significant political
influence.
▰Elitism Theory is observable in various
aspects of political systems, including
the formulation and implementation of
public policies.
▰For instance, elite influence and
privileged access to decision-makers
can result in policies that
disproportionately benefit the wealthy
and consolidated power structures.
Examples of Elitism Theory in action
can be witnessed in:
▻Tax policies favouring top income
earners
▻Legislation protecting corporate
interests over the environment or
workers' rights
▻A lack of significant political reforms
addressing inequality and power
disparities
▰For instance, elite influence and
privileged access to overall,
understanding Elitism Theory is vital for
those interested in politics, as it cautions
against the potential pitfalls of
democratic systems and highlights the
importance of inclusive and equitable
political participation.
MARXISM THEORY
▰Marxism is a political philosophy and
method of socioeconomic analysis.
It uses a materialist interpretation of
historical development, better known as
"historical materialism," to understand
class relations and social conflict. It also
uses a dialectical perspective to view
social transformation.
▰A very basic principle of the Marxist
theory is the theory of class division of
society and class struggle.
▰According to it, each society has the
oppressors and the oppressed and the
oppressed are eventually bound to
revolt and build a new society and
economy.
▰An example of Marxism is the Soviet
Union, as well as Cuban socialism and
the Chinese state. All these socialist
societies had Marxism-Leninism as their
ideology.
RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY
▰The central conception to some
modern political science where the
‘idea’ of rationality is different from the
colloquial and philosophical uses.
▰Rational choice theory employs a
specific and narrower definition of
rationality which means that a person
acts as if balancing costs against
benefits to arrive at action that
maximizes personal advantage and as
such practitioners of said theory will not
investigate the origins, nature, or claim
of human motivation, but rather observe
the inexplicable wants in specific social
or economic environments.
▰As Hugh Ward states, “rational choice
is an indispensable part of the toolkit of
a political phenomena,“ (Stocker and
Marsh, 2002)
BEHAVIORALISM
▰an approach within the field of political
science that attempts to provide an
objective, quantified approach to
explaining and predicting political
behavior (Walton, 1985). Looking
in-depth at the individual and choices.
▰Behavioralism generally refers to the
study of behavior to understand
individuals, groups, etc. This term was
borrowed from psychology and adapted
for political science. In political science,
behavioralism refers to the study of
behaviors as they relate to politics
▰In political science, behavioralism was
an approach that moved away from the
traditional, more philosophical study of
politics and toward social science
methods.
▰The core idea for behavioralism was
that formal study (using surveys and
other data sources) would make for a
stronger form of political science less
prone to bias.
▰As behavioralism is an approach to
political science, there is no easy way to
provide an example.
▰ But, an example of a method a
behavioralist might use would involve
comparing demographic data (income,
age, race, etc.) of an area and how
people vote.
▰With enough data, behavioralists would
begin to see patterns suggesting a
relationship between demographic
information and how people vote.
INTERPRETIVISM
▰as a sociological interpretivism related
to antipositivism following Max Weber
stressing the rejection by academics of
empiricism and the scientific method.
Reality cannot be expressed without
concepts.
▰Interpretivism is a methodology of
sociological research. It states that the
best way to study an action or event is
to analyze it through the perspective of
the values of its culture.
▰An example of interpretivism is a study
conducted by a PhD student on
marriage.
▰They interviewed eighteen couples and
analyzed all of the responses for
common elements.
▰The result was that he found significant
common elements in respondents'
views about marriage.
What is the difference between
interpretivism and positivism?
▰The positivist approach to sociology
states that the best way to view a
society is broadly, through the
perspective of generalizations.
▰Interpretivism focuses on analyzing
events through the perspective of the
individuals who participate in and view
them.
POSITIVISM
▰The opposite to interpretivism since
this method refers to a setoff
epistemological perspectives and
philosophies of science that postulate
that the scientific method is the best
approach to uncovering the processes
of human events
▰Positivism theory in sociology is the
theory from sociology itself is derived. It
states that science is the ultimate
source of knowledge about society,
nature, and other aspects of life.
▰The concept of positivism was created
by Auguste Comte.
▰It states that science is the highest
source of knowledge in a truly
advanced society.
▰A positivist approach is studying
phenomena and society through
scientific means rather than theological
or metaphysical means.
▰For instance, searching through
scientific methods for information about
a flood rather than ascribing it to the
power of a deity.
▰One prominent example of positivism
is mathematical or logical positivism.
▰This states that mathematics has laws
that can be proven through empirical
processes, and logic also has facts and
laws.
STRUCTURALISM
▰It is the rejection of the concept of
human freedom and choice and instead
on the way that human behavior is
determined by various structures.
▰The structural theory is the theoretical
approach that focuses on the
institutions of the state.
▰This can include how the institutions
affect the political system of the country
and how a political system is affected
when these institutions change.
POST-STRUCTURALISM
▰Best known by one of its main
proponents, the French scholar Michel
Foucault, the theory is a collection of
radical philosophies critical of dominate
Western culture and norms.
▰Especially popular during the 1960s
were student and worker protests were
seen in the West the idea was to
challenge the assumed norms.
▰To this end, founding knowledge either
by experience or systematic structures
was not possible.
▰The ability to use diverse perspectives
to create a multifaceted interpretation
and analyzing meanings was key to
understanding.
▰This premise is in conflict with
structuralism as an intellectual
movement studying the underlying
structures within culture emphasizing
logic and the scientific nature of its
results.
REALISM
▰ A dominant school within international
relations where national interest and
security is prioritized over ideology and
moral concerns.
▰This also includes social
reconstructions and is subdivided into
seven parts.
▰In brief, classical realism postulates
that man pushes states and individuals
to act, meaning interest over ideology.
▰Defensive realism discusses security
concerns in connection to anarchy.
INSTITUTIONALISM
▰a group of differing theories which have
in common their focus on the social and
organizational orders, mechanism and
structures within the field
▰Institutionalism is important because it
highlights how decisions and social
patterns do not arise solely from
abstract individuals.
▰Instead, institutions and traditions exert
influence on individual decisions.
▰Institutional theory is used for a variety
of purposes in various fields. For
instance, it can be used in economics to
describe the regular patterns of prices
in contrast to an individual-exchange
approach.
▰An example of institutional theory
would be Meyer and Rowan's notion of
institutional isomorphism. This concept
explains how institutions come to
resemble each other and thus provide
for a more integrated and regular
society.
ENVIRONMENTALISM
▰Environmentalism aims to protect the
environment and the integrity of natural
resources, such as water bodies, air
quality, and tree and soil health.
▰The environmental movement primarily
works against the degradation of the
natural environment by human activity,
such as pollution and over-exploitation
of resources.
▰Environmentalism can take many
forms, from academic scholarship
aimed at creating awareness to protests
against harmful activities.
▰An example of environmentalism is the
Chipko Movement in India, which
focuses on protecting India's natural
forestry.
▰Environmentalism's main concern is
protecting the natural environment
against deterioration due to human
overconsumption.
▰Moreover, environmentalism aims to
promote awareness of irresponsible and
harmful practices against the
environment.
THE LANGUAGE OF POLITICS
CONCEPTS THAT NAME STRUCTURES
ORGANIZATIONAL
▰ a body of persons working together in
a structural way to achieve a specific
purpose.
▰In the case of political organization,
that purpose is political.
▰Interest groups, political parties,
candidates’ campaign organizations,
revolutionary movements, and even
terrorist groups are examples of
political organizations.
▰Political organizations may be long-
lived or short- lived, large or small,
important or unimportant.
INSTITUTION
▰A structure with established,
important functions to perform, with
well- specified roles for carrying out
those functions, and with a clear set of
rules governing the relationships
between the people who occupy those
roles.
▰Organizations may be institutions, but
not all are—and not all institutions are
organizations.
▰The members of an organization may
have a common purpose, but they may
not be viewed by the society as having
an important function, the people
working through an institution may
have a common and important function
to perform but they may not have a
common purpose.
▰A single political party is an
organization, political parties
collectively, may or may not have the
status of institution in a polity.
▰if they are routinely expected to carry
out such important functions as
recruiting political leaders in a
particular way they have achieved the
status of institution.
▰(Simple example: University-
Academic institution; ACSCU- Academic
Organization)
STATE
▰is a structure that has the legal right
to make rules that are binding over a
given population within a given
territory.
▰As such it has geographic as well as
political characteristics.
▰It is a political institution, but it
differs from other political institutions
in that it has sovereignty- that is, it has
the power to make decisions that
cannot be overruled by any other body.
SYSTEM
▰is a structure all of those parts are
interrelated, so a change in one part
means a change in all.
▰A political system is a system that
deals with political matters.
▰Any structure with interdependent
parts that deals with political matters
is a political system.
▰Organization, institutions and state
are all systems.
▰The term system can be used to refer
to any level of political order.
CONCEPTUALIZING
RELATIONSHIPS OF CONTROL
POWER
▰(Dahl) power means getting others to
comply by creating the prospect of
severe sanctions for noncompliance.
▰(Dahl) it is the threat of sanctions
which differentiates power from
influence in general. Power is a special
case of the exercise of influence. It is
the process of affecting policies of
others with the help of actual or
threatened severe deprivations for
nonconformity with the policies
intended (Laswell and Kaplan).
▰Power- The ability to make a state or
person act or think in a way that is
contrary to how they would have acted
or thought otherwise and shape the
course of events.
Political power is composed of
three components:
1.Authority: The ability to exercise
power through decision making, giving
orders, or the ability of others to
comply with demands
2.Legitimacy: When citizens recognise
a leader's right to exercise power over
them (when citizens recognise state
authority)
3.Sovereignty: Refers to the highest
level of power that cannot be overruled
(when a state government/individual
has legitimacy and authority.
Three Concepts of POWER
Power in terms of
capabilities/attributes What the
state possesses and how it can use
them on the international stage. For
example, the population and
geographical size of a state, its military
capabilities, its natural resources, its
economic wealth, the efficiency of its
government, leadership, infrastructure,
etc. Pretty much anything a state can
use to exert influence. Keep in mind
that capabilities only determine how
much potential power a state has
rather than actual power. This is
because different capabilities matter
to different extents in different
contexts.
Power in terms of relations The
capabilities of a state can only be
measured in relation to another state.
For example, China has regional
dominance because its capabilities are
greater than that of other East Asian
states. However, when comparing China
to the United States and Russia, China
has fewer or more equal levels of
capabilities. Here power is measured in
terms of influence in a relationship,
where power can be observed as the
effect the action of one state has on
another.
Three Concepts of POWER
The two types of relational power
1.Deterrence: Used to stop one or more
states from doing what they would
have otherwise done
2.Compliance: Used to force one or
more states into doing what they would
have otherwise not done
Power in terms of structure -
Structural power is best described as
the ability to decide how international
relations are conducted, and the
frameworks in which they are
conducted, such as finance, security
and economics. Currently, the United
States dominates in most fields.
All three concepts of power operate
simultaneously, and all help determine
different outcomes of power used in
politics based on context. In some
contexts, military strength might be
more important in determining success;
in others, it may be knowledge of the
state
INFLUENCE
▰includes all cases when one party’s
desires affect the behavior of another
party.
▰Power is a form of influence,
▰But influence can take place without
the threat of sanctions as well as
without the promise of special reward.
 AUTHORITY
▰is the right to exercise the power and
influence of a particular position that
comes from having been placed in that
position according to regular, known
and widely accepted procedure.
▰The ability to exercise power through
decision-making, giving orders, or the
ability of others to comply with
demands.
LEGITIMACY
▰The condition of being considered to
be correctly placed in a particular rule
and to be carrying out the functions of
that rule correctly.
▰When citizens recognize a leader's
right to exercise power over them
(when citizens recognize state
authority)
▰Political legitimacy means having
widespread approval for the way one
exercises political power.
▰Authority gives legitimacy to power,
however, it is possible to have authority
but lack of legitimacy.
NATION- STATE CONCEPT
NATION-STATE
▰a territorially bounded sovereign
polity
▰a state—that is ruled in the name of a
community of citizens who identify
themselves as a nation.
▰The legitimacy of a nation-state’s rule
over a territory and over the population
inhabiting it stems from the right of a
core national group within the state
(which may include all or only some of
its citizens) to self-determination.
▰Members of the core national group
see the state as belonging to them and
consider the approximate territory of
the state to be their homeland.
▰Accordingly, they demand that other
groups, both within and outside the
state, recognize and respect their
control over the state.
▰ As a political model, the nation-state
fuses two principles:
▰ the principle of state sovereignty,
first articulated in the Peace of
Westphalia (1648) which recognizes the
right of states to govern their
territories without external
interference
▰ the principle of national
sovereignty, which recognizes the right
of national communities to govern
themselves.
▰National sovereignty in turn is based
on the moral-philosophical principle of
popular sovereignty, according to which
states belong to their peoples.
▰The latter principle implies that
legitimate rule of a state requires some
sort of consent by the people. That
requirement does not mean, however,
that all nation-states are democratic.
▰Indeed, many authoritarian rulers
have presented themselves—both to the
outside world of states and internally
to the people under their rule—as
ruling in the name of a sovereign nation
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND
STATE POLITICS
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Sociologist David Aberle (1966)
addresses this question by developing
categories that distinguish among social
movements by considering 1) what it is
the movement wants to change and 2)
how much change they want. He
described four types of social
movements, including: alternative,
redemptive, reformative, and
revolutionary social movements.
ALTERNATIVE MOVEMENT
are typically focused on
self-improvement and limited, specific
changes to individual beliefs and
behavior. These include things like
Alcoholics Anonymous, Mothers Against
Drunk Driving (MADD), and Planned
Parenthood.
REDEMPTIVE
▰(sometimes called religions
movements) are “meaning seeking,”
are focused on a specific segment of
the population, and their goal is to
provoke inner change or spiritual
growth in individuals.
▰Some sects fit in this category.
REDEMPTIVE MOVEMENT
(sometimes called religions
movements) are “meaning seeking,”
are focused on a specific segment of
the population, and their goal is to
provoke inner change or spiritual
growth in individuals.
•Some sects fit in this category.
REFORMATIVE SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
▰seek to change something specific
about the social structure.
▰They may seek a more limited change,
but are targeted at the entire
population.
▰ Environmental movements, the
women’s suffrage movement, or the
more contemporary “Buy Nothing Day”,
which protests the rampant
consumerism of Black Friday, are
examples of reformative movements.
REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT
▰seek to completely change every
aspect of society—their goal is to
change all of society in a dramatic way.
▰Examples include the Civil Rights
Movement or the political movements,
such as a push for communism.

OTHER CATEGORIES
▰Other helpful categories that are
helpful for sociologists to describe and
distinguish between types of social
movements include: Scope, Type,
Targets, Methods of Work AND Range.
SCOPE
▰A movement can be either reform or
radical.
▰A reform movement advocates
changing some norms or laws while a
radical movement is dedicated to
changing value systems in some
fundamental way.
▰A reform movement might be a green
movement advocating a sect of
ecological laws, or a movement against
pornography, while the American Civil
Rights movement is an example of a
radical movement.
TYPE OF CHANGE
▰A movement might seek change that is
either innovative or conservative.
▰An innovative movement wants to
introduce or change norms and values,
like moving towards self-driving cars,
while a conservative movement seeks
to preserve existing norms and values,
such as a group opposed to genetically
modified foods.
TARGETS
▰ Group-focused movements focus on
influencing groups or society in
general; for example, attempting to
change the political system from a
monarchy to a democracy. An
individual-focused movement seeks to
affect individuals.
METHODS OF WORK
▰Peaceful movements utilize
techniques such as nonviolent
resistance and civil disobedience.
▰Violent movements resort to violence
when seeking social change.
▰In extreme cases, violent movements
may take the form of paramilitary or
terrorist organizations.
RANGE
▰Global movements, such as
th
communism in the early 20 century,
have transnational objectives.
▰Local movements are focused on local
or regional objectives such as
preserving a historic building or
protecting a natural habitat
STAGES OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
▰Sociologists have studied the lifecycle
of social movements—how they
emerge, grow, and in some cases, die
out.
▰Blumer (1969) and Tilly (1978)
outlined a four-stage process through
which social movements develop.

▰In the preliminary stage, people

become aware of an issue, and leaders
emerge.

▰This is followed by the coalescence

stage when people join together and
organize in order to publicize the issue
and raise awareness.

▰In the institutionalization stage, the

movement no longer requires grassroots
volunteerism: it is an established
organization, typically with a paid
staff.

▰IWhen people fall away and adopt a

new movement, the movement
successfully brings about the change it
sought, or when people no longer take
the issue seriously, the movement falls
into the decline stage.