Danziger, Chapters 9 - 12
Prepared and Presented by
Angela Oberbauer  2005
Danziger, Chapter 9
Politics as a Value
Allocation Process
The Elite Approach
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Key Concepts:
1. Politics is defined as the struggle for
power.
2. The Political World is characterized by
Political Stratification.
The Italian Application of the
Elite Approach
Mosca, et al “The Ruling Class”(1896/1939)
All Political systems have two strata:
a. The Political Class (the elite): controls all
political functions, holds virtually all political power, and
dominates the allocation of values.
Primary base of Elite domination: military power, then
religious control, then economic power, and most recently
technical knowledge.
b. The nonpolitical classthe mass.
The American Application of the
Elite Approach
C. Wright Mills, et al (1956):
a. The Power Elite in American Society are:
1. The “warlords” in the military
establishment.
2. The “corporation chieftains” in the
economic sector.
3. The “political directorate” at the top
positions in the political system.
Ruling Elite
Understructure
(government)
The Mass
The Value Allocation (policy)
Process
1.
2.
3.
The active elites are subject to little direct influence
from the mass or even from the understructure of
government.
The understructure follows the elite’s instructions
because its members depend wholly on
the elite’s power and resources for having and
keeping their positions, and for any authority the
understructure maintains in the eyes of the Mass.
The mass is politically apathetic and impotent and
policy is imposed upon them.
The Class Approach
Concepts within the Class Approach:
1.
2.
3.
Stratification, the basic fact of
“structured inequality”.
Class:
a. The ruling class or capitalist class
(Karl Marx, 1818-1883).
b. The proletariat class or non-ruling class.
Class Conflict: inevitable rebellions by
the suppressed class, even possible revolution
because of continued disparities between classes
and the allocation of values.
The Group Approach
Key Concepts:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A group is made up of members with shared or common
interests.
All group members may belong to multiple groups.
Individuals are not stratified.
The groups or individual’s resources may be used to influence
the political system.
Politics can be understood as the interaction or competition
among groups to have access to government and achieve their
political interests through beneficial policymaking.
Functions of Government in the
Group Approach
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

To establish the rules of the game for the group struggle.
To determine the interests of competing groups and the
levels of political resources the competing groups have
to offer and can be utilized.
To find a public policy that balances the positions of
all active groups.
To enact public policy that balances these positions.
To implement the resulting value allocations.
Danziger, Chapter 10: Change and
Political Development
Characteristics of “More Developed” Social
Systems must include:
1. The organizational dimension:
2. The technological dimension:
3. The attitudinal dimension:
The Process of Development:
economic, social, and political.
Stage Development: traditional and modern,
mechanical and organic, folk and urban, less
developed and more developed.

Marx: “…society’s particular stage of
development depends upon which individuals
share control jointly over any available productive
resources…” in other words, history or logic
reveals a single, inevitable sequence of stages.
•
 Response to Key Challenges as part of
the process of development:
Macro-level structural dynamics and how they
occur:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The tension between traditional ideas and values and
modern ones.
The transition from a rural, agrarian society to an urban,
industrial society.
The transfer of social and political power from
traditional elites to modernizing ones.
The fit among geographical territory, national identities,
and state boundaries (Barrington Moore (1966).
Processes of Development, continued
•
Micro-level dynamics/or individual-level change:
in other words, the attitudinal dimension:
--this perspective emphasizes the socialpsychological factors of the individual that might
account for variations in rates and patterns of
development.
Processes of Development, continued
Inkeles and Smith 1999; Inkeles et al 1985 conducted studies
in six countries (Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, India, the
Oriental Jews of Israel, and Nigeria) and concluded there is
remarkable similarity in beliefs among modern men in all
six societies relevant to:
1. openness to new experiences regarding both people and
behaviors;
2. A shift in allegiance from traditional authority structures;
3. Confidence in modern technologies.
4. Belief in the value of planning and punctuality.
5. Desire for social mobility for oneself and one’s children.
6. Interest in local politics and community affairs.
7. Interest in news, especially national and international
affairs.
Processes of Development, continued
A Civil Society: When individuals create new patterns and
attitudes of interaction at the group or societal level
(Danziger, p. 253) by having:
a. Tolerance of differences in opinions and
behaviors.
b. Willingness to cooperate with others.
c. Inclination to negotiate in order to achieve a
consensus, and desire to avoid using violence
to resolve differences.
d. A sense of shared identity with others.
Analysts conclude the prevalence of these values of civility is
crucial for sustaining effective community and democracy.
(Diamond et al. 1997; Stephan and Linz 1996; Putnam 1993)
•
Processes of Development, continued
• Culture and the process of Change:
Max Weber’s study (1958a): implies linkage between the culture of
Protestant religions and the rise of capitalist political economies.
--Weber suggested Protestantism motivated people to make
substantial, even irrational, sacrifices of material consumption and
the pleasure of life. To work extra ordinarily hard and accumulate
wealth rather than spend it.
--Weber suggested in India and China the absence of development
was an affect of the linkage between culture and religion. (Danziger,
pp. 253-254)
However, development has grown in Asia since the 1980s, and recent
explanations emphasize how Asian culture has “facilitated”
development (Davis 1987; Huntington 1987: 21-28, 1991; Pye 1985;
in Danziger Chapter 10).
The Dynamics of Economic
Development
Competing Styles of Economic development:
1.
Statism, (Danziger, p. 254):
a. Emphasizes the importance of strong actions by the state to
support the system of production and distribution of goods.
b. The state extensively regulates the market and the actions of
firms and households.
c. The state protects firms from external competition.
d. Many important areas of production are publicly owned and
operated as state enterprises (transportation, power, banking).
e. The state also controls the prices of certain basic goods (foods,
fuel).
f. The state distributes many free or subsidized goods and services.
Processes of Development, continued
2.
Neoliberalism, (Danizger, p. 255)
a. To maximize the economic freedom of individuals, households,
and firms.
b. The state’s economic actions are limited severely. Restrictions
against the free market enterprises are perceived as undermining
and distorting the efficiency of the free market.
c. Public expenditure is minimal.
d. Little government regulation of the economy.
e. Direct foreign investment and free trade across state boundaries
are encouraged.
f. The state is mainly concerned with maintaining fiscal and
monetary discipline (not spending much, keeping currencies stable)
and facilitating the dynamics of the local, national, and global
marketplaces. (Stepan and Linz 1996 in Danziger, p. 255)
continued
3.
The “developmental-state” approach,
(Danziger, p. 255):
a. State-supported, export-oriented capitalism:
b. Targeting market niches:
c. Agrarian support:
The Dependency Approach
The Core Actors:
Developed States, Firms, and Financial Institutions
The Semi-periphery:
National Economic Actors
The Periphery: the villages
with local and regional actors
Political Development
Characteristics of Political Development:
Four Dimensions of a Political System’s
Development:
1. Concentration of power in the state:
2. Specialized political structures:
3. “Modern” forms of political behavior:
4. Extensive capabilities of the political system:
Models of Political Development
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Model “A”: Social mobilization to
urban areas (Urbanization)  creates
Economic and Technological Development
 which allows Modernization  which
may allow Political Development.
continued
•
Model “B”: Political Development
supports Urbanization, Social Mobilization,
and Economic Development  allowing
Modernization to develop, which may
be significant in more/continued Political
Development.
Democratization used as a tool to measure
Political Development?
Does a political system have to exercise
democratic electoral practices to be
developed?
There are 121 electoral democracies at
present from approximately 200 states.
--63 percent 2003 from previous 40 percent.
(Freedom House 2003 in Danziger.
Political Institutionalization and
Political Decay
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Political Institutionalization: are political
organizations and procedures that have acquired
value in the eyes of the population and the
stability to withstand significant pressure (Samuel
Huntington (1968, 1987 in Danziger)
Political Decay: There is a significant decline in
the capabilities of the political system, and
especially in its capacity to maintain order.
Chapter 11: Politics Across Borders
Political Realism:
States “Motives, values, and actions pursue an
international environment”, (Danziger pp. 276-277)
1. Politics between states occurs in an international system that is
“anarchic” (without an overarching authority that can impose order and
good behavior on all the states in their relations with each other and
with other actors.
2. People are naturally selfish, therefore, states act the same.
3. The fundamental goal of each state is to ensure its own
security and survival.
4. Security maximizes its powers: economic, knowledge, military.
5. States are in constant competition for power, because power is a
“zero-sum” commodity”.
6. There is no expectation that another state can be trusted, will
avoid violence, or act ethically.
7. A state makes treaties and breaks them; makes war or cooperates
for only one reason, to maximize its security goals.
continued
Political Idealism, (Danziger p. 277):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Human nature is basically good.
People and the states they construct can be altruistic and cooperative.
Aggression and power-maximizing behavior is not inevitable by
States.
If a states actions reduce the welfare of people in any country or
increase interstate conflict and war, it is usually because of poorly
designed institutions (governments, economic systems, legal
systems), but not because people are innately selfish or evil.
It is possible to establish an international system in which welldesigned institutions can achieve and encourage cooperative
behavior among states.
If such an international system is exercised, states can create a
“positive sum” environment.
Three Major Goals of States
I. Security:
1).
Survival:
2).
3).
4).
Autonomy:
Influence:
Prestige:
5).
Dominance:
continued
II.
Stability:
1).
Order maintenance:
2).
Establishment violence:
3).
Political Development:
continued
III. Prosperity:
1).
Economic Development:
2).
Political Economy’s capacities to:
3).
Welfare Distribution:
Mechanisms of Cooperation Between
States
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Diplomacy:
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Alliances:
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International Regimes:
International Law, Legal Structures, and
International Organizations
On the Laws of War and Peace, by Hugo Grotius
(1625): Grotius emphasized
“natural law” -- sensible forms of behavior
that should guide states behavior and actions with
each other.
By the 19th Century, “positivist law” is being used:
--explicit written agreements that define both appropriate and
unacceptable behaviors between states in the form of treaties or
conventions, e.g. “the Helsinki Agreement”.
The International Court of Justice (World
Court) located in The Hague
Responsibilities and accomplishments:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Interprets international law.
Adjudicates disputes between states.
Hears cases on human rights violations and genocide by
states or individuals with state authority.
Makes rulings (decisions) on trials.
Holds states and national leaders accountable for ultraviolence perpetrated by the state on other states.
Is a valuable mechanism for conflict
resolution between states.
It issues numerous advisory opinions.
World Court continued
Weaknesses of the World Court:
1. Even if states sign an agreement with other states and break or
abuse the agreement, the court can rule, however, the court has
jurisdiction and binding decision authority only if both parties
disputing accept its ruling.
2. Less than one-third of the United Nation’s state members have
agreed to accept automatically the court’s jurisdiction in matters
affecting them.
3. Most of those states who have not agreed to automatically
accept
a ruling concerning them by the court have added qualifications to
their acceptance.
4. With ruling pertaining to political or economic importance or
repercussions to states, states have refused rulings out of the court.
5. Most states hold their own judicial systems and their laws
supreme over the International Court of Justice.
International Organizations
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Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
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Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
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Multinational Corporations (MNCs)
Competition Among States
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Balance of Power among states:
When there is a rough equality in the power
of resources (political, economic, and
especially military) that can be exercised by
sets of competing states (Kaplan 1957;
Morgenthau 1993 in.
continued
•
Balance of Terror:
The enormous destructive capacity of modern military
technologies of competing states.
---from mutual deterrence, a state expands its destructive
capacity, number of weapons, and technical sophistication
to a point where it…can inflict catastrophic and
unacceptable damage on a rival---Mutually Assured
Destruction (MAD)
Domination and Dependence
Three different forms of “leverage” powerful
states exercise on dependent states:
1. Economic leverage:
2. Military leverage:
3. Political leverage:
continued
Dominant states have employed three
different “styles” of domination over
dependent states:
1. The “Segregationist Style of colonialism
2. The Assimilationist Style
3. The Style of Indirect Rule
continued
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Neocolonialsim:
Since World War II, new forms of domination and
dependence has evolved:
--primarily by economic leverage, e.g.
loans, technology transfer, military
support.
--Also through the dominate states subtle alliance of a
small internal elite, transnational corporations, and
financial institutions, e.g. The World Bank and
International Money Fund.
Globalization
Globalization is the increasing integration of
diverse economic, sociocultural, military,
and environmental phenomena by means of
dense networks of trade, action, and
information that span vast distances around
the world.
Chapter 12: Political Violence: the use of actual
physical violence or very serous threats of such
violence to achieve political goals
Types of Political Violence:
1. State Violence against Individuals or
Groups through:
a. order-maintenance -- a state acts as police,
judge and executer of punishment when
individuals break the law.
b. establishment violence -- the excessive
reliance on force and oppressive laws to
maintain public order.
Types of Political Violence, continue
2.
3.
4.
5.
Individual Violence against an Individual.
Group Violence against an Individual:
a. Terrorism
Group Violence against a Group:
a. Nation-based violence (ethnonationalism).
b. Class Conflict
Individual or Group Violence against the State:
a. Riot.
b. Rebellion
c. Separatist Violence
d. Coup.
e. Revolution
Revolution: is the rapid and fundamental
transformation of the political system
•
The explicit objective of revolution is to
destroy the existing political system and
replace it with a new one.
Four Broad Strategies that can be
employed to achieve a revolution
Strategy I: Terrorism
Strategy II: Revolution from above
Strategy III: Guerrilla War
Strategy IV: Democratic Revolution
Conditions for Revolution:
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What is the “J-curve” theory?
Understand the three postrevolutionary
phases as identified by Crane Brinton
(1957):
1. Rule of the moderates:
2. Rule of the radicals:
3. Reaction and moderation:
Six uses of Force between States
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Blockade
State-sponsored terrorism
A brief, single use of force
A Clash
A low-intensity conflict
War
Evaluating Political Violence
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The normative perspective on political violence: it is unacceptable,
deviant behavior. The only legacy of violence is to undermine order
in the society; violence is part of an erroneous belief that radical social
change can lead to lasting improvements.
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The contrary perspective argues: Political violence is often the best or
even the only mechanism for liberation from oppression and tyranny.
Dominant elites who manipulate the state to serve their interests, not
the collective good, need to be rid of. And if government and its
leaders refuse to be constrained by a limited mandate and are not
responsive to the citizens, then the people have the right to overthrow
them (John Locke 1631-1704 in Danziger).