Public Policy Review Notes
Energy Policy
Energy Characteristics:
- Tradeable good- price, buy at price offered at
- Price affects production and consumption
Policy Analysts- leave entirely to marketplace
- Should have not govt. regulation of energy
Energy Policy defined as:
- Govt. regulation of price, production, consumption
Bush Administration Energy Bill- costs $50 bn
- Almost all of it is unnecessary / give away to business
- Rent seeking- business trying to get special favors from govt. to have profits go above and beyond
- Department of Energy- doing some things that aren’t energy policy
- Dems are no better than Repubs on energy policy
- Rossell- what is necessary shouldn’t be called energy policy
Rossell- abolish Department of Energy and do nothing in the field of energy
- Govt. should intervene only where there is market failure
- Dept. of Energy is pro-business
- Dept. of Environment would be anti-business
- No market failure in energy- consumers consume based on price, producers produce based on price
- Govt. should intervene in moral, social injustices / inequalities
- Govt. should intervene to enforce the rules of the game- technical monopolies
- Negative externalities- pollution
- More efficient to attack problem directly (regulate pollution itself rather than regulate energy)
- Energy is unlimited, energy is regulated much better and more efficiently by marketplace than by govt. (Rossell)
Price increases over time = consumption decreases overtime
Price of traditional energy increases over time = production of alternative energy increases overtime
Direct government regulation produces 4 negative outcomes:
- $ used to pay for something the marketplace can regulate, $ is taken away from something valuable that only govt. can provide
- Govt. subsidies and tax breaks to business encourage inefficient businesses that wouldn’t exist without subsidy
- Govt. subsidies / tax breaks create an immoral climate of rent seeking and cheating
- Govt. has no idea what will be the most efficient energy of the future will be- the marketplace does
Deal with Energy Negative Externalities Directly
- Defense and economic policy- OPEC
- Welfare policy- give money to poor as a function of the cost of living
- Environmental policy- deal with pollution directly (impose sanctions, negative incentives)
Possible Market Failure?
- Research policy- most research and development accomplished in private sector- little or no market failure
Environmental Policy
Goal: clean air, clean water, safe food, and visually attractive, natural landscape
Environmental Policy Strategies
- Command and control- regulations specifying pollution standards, emissions, and technology
- Our policy mostly
- Hybrid C&C / M.I.- govt. market in pollution rights (TDPs)
- Market incentives- pollution tax / effluent fees (charge for pollution)
– Favored by policy analysts- least government regulation
Pollution must be controlled in some way by the government
- Market incentive: pollute, pollute, pollute
History of U.S. Environmental Protection- command and control
Water Pollution
- Refuse Act of 1899- limits debris in navigable streams
- 1948-1966- state enforcement with federal funding
- Problems- pollution doesn’t respect state boundaries, companies can go to state with more lax policies, a race to the bottom to attract businesses
- Clean Waters Restoration Act 1966- water quality enforcement by Department of Interior
- Water Pollution Control Act and Amendments 1972
- Goal by 1985- end all discharge of pollutants into waterways
- Goal by 1983- water safe for fish, shellfish, animals, and people
- Goal by 1977- best practible control technology to eliminate contaminants
- Goal by 1983- have best available technology
- Emphasis on discharge control, not water quality
- Outcome: lengthy legal battles
Air Pollution
- 1955-1965 Federal funding for research
- Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act 1965- first federal program to directly regulate air pollution, HEW to set emissions standards
- Clean Air Act Amendments 1970- goal: eliminate all air pollution by 1977
- National Environmental Policy Act 1970- created advisory group, environmental impact statement, important tool for environmental groups challenging federal projects
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 1970
- Responsible for: water pollution, air pollution, solid waste management, radiation control, pesticide and toxic substances
- Power to enforce policy with lawsuits and fines
- Comprehensive Environmental Response Act 1980- created Hazardous Waste Superfund providing EPA with authority and funds
- Bubble Concept of 1980s- whole plant needs to meet one standard
Market Incentives Model
- Two Strategies
- Make existing market arrangements operate better by regulating
- Prices- pollution feels or taxes (pure M.I.)- what policy analysts really want
- Information- mandatory disclosure laws, govt. disclosure
- Create a market in previously untraded goods
- TDPs (hybrid)
- Deposit refund systems
- Arguments in favor of incentive scheme
- Efficiency- achieves same policy objective at lower cost
- Innovation- choose techniques that best max. profits rather than just trying to get below the govt. standard
- Information use- govt. can’t match the info processing attributes of the market
- Instrusiveness- minimizes govt. intrusion that can be costly to business
- Admin. complexity- less govt. organization needed b/c firms comply in their own self-interest
- Arguments against an incentive scheme
- Determining precise tax level / effluent charge difficult
- Govt. calculates damage functions / production cost function- hard
- Tax must be constantly adjusted- high enough to decrease pollution, but not high enough that too many businesses go bankrupt
- Administrative costs- still require administration
- Enforcement complicated
- Utility meter- not created yet
- Self-reporting- wouldn’t work
- Political / philosophical issues
- No clear civic understanding- don’t know how bad pollution is
- Equity- small businesses more likely to fail; big businesses would profit and continue to pollute
- Private ownership- some valued goods should not be considered private property
- Social value- assigning prices to natural resources devalues them
- Motivation- rely on self-interests and ignoring intent creates society without morals
- Political feasibility- low
- Why have incentive schemes not been more successful?
- TDPs in limited scope- regional, utility specific, flawed design, high administrative costs, limited programs
Ranking Policy Alternatives
Equity Effectiveness (Net Benefit) Efficiency (B:C) Political Feasibility
TDP MI MI CC
CC TDP TDP TDP
MI CC CC MI
FM FM FM FM
Global Cooperation and Comparisons
- US ranked at bottom
- Kyoto Protocol 1997
- Voluntary agreement limiting greenhouse gas emissions
- Goal: global reduction in emissions 5% below 1990s levels between 2008 and 2012
- China and India exempt
- Needed countries with 55% world’s emissions
- Cooperation with Kyoto
- Japan and Germany, EU, E. Europe
- Bush Administration refuses to sign
- Russia ratified = 58.7%- 2004 went into effect
- More symbolic than practical
Global Warming
- Only 3 things scientists agree on regarding global warming
- 1 degree increase in temperature since 19th C.
- Levels of CO2 in atmosphere have increased by 30% since 19th. C.
- CO2 emissions should contribute to future warming
- Predictions of bad effects of global warming based on junk science
- Sea levels have increased since the last ice age
- Models used to make predictions aren’t trustworthy, unexplained occurances
- Models don’t predict disaster
- Global warming might even be good- increase in production, mammal diversity, intellectual activity
- Rossell- deal with externalities of energy we consume, charge for pollution = less pollution, deal with global warming if it becomes a problem
- Incentive in almost all policy areas if for experts and scientists to trumpet alarm because they get more funding if they do (Lundzen)
- Rossell- take money from research and charge for pollution
Education Policy
Education: a private and public good
- Private- helped individuals get ahead
- Public- literacy and math for good of society
3 Levels of Governance
- Local school districts- lowest level, min. 3 schools, headed by Superintendent
- State agencies and courts- make education policy, create school districts
- Federal govt. and courts (9%)- least important, shouldn’t have Dept. of Education
- Categorical programs- benefit particular group / constitutional regulations for schools
Federal Policy: Redressing of Inequality of Origin
- 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
- Largest federal spending on schools
- Equal educational opportunity
- More money to poorer schools
- NCLB 2001 (signed 2002)
- Major change: assessment and choice
- Annual achievement assessment grades 3-8
- All students and subgroups must be “proficient” by 2013-2014 (very high standard)
- Parents can leave “failing” schools
- Subgroups: Whites, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Blacks, Poor Kids, Special Education (SPED), Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
- Theoretically impossible for all groups to score at proficient level- SPED and LEP leave group if score high
- Unfunded mandate
- Unrealistic to expect equalized achievement while not funding or dealing with direct correlation with poverty
- Problem- schools explain only 20% of variations in academic achievement
- Rest explained by personal, home, family, and community characteristics
Student Achievement
- Minimum Competency Tests (State Proficiency Tests)
- In all states
- Most require a passing grade for H.S. graduation
- Can take over and over
- Criterion- reference tests- alligned with state curriculum
- Teacher Competency
- Everyone confused about tests and test scores
- Teachers take blame b/c only 1/2 students read at grade level- but this is all that is nationally possible!
- Merit Pay
- Difficult to express merit when schools only account for 20% of achievement
- What is “merit”?
- CMCC- teachers salaries need to be raised
- However: starting salaries good on an hourly rate, teachers with experience and degrees can make over $100,000, retire at 57 with 3/4 salary for life (defined-benefit plan), tenure after 3 years, 3x more sick leave
- Problem: equity- suburbs paid same as city
- Rossell- teaches well-paid on average with extraordinary benefits
- Merit-pay possibilities are expensive- peer review and principal
- Bilingual Education
- Goal: raise achievement of immigrants / limited English proficient children to be equal of Anglos / native speakers- impossible because just learning English = score lower
- True B.E.:
- Teach to read and write in native tongue
- Teach in native tongue
- Teach English about 1 hour / day
- Increase English, decrease native tongue when reach native tongue proficiency
- Many states have 3 yr. limit- largely ignored
- 1971 Chapter 71A Massachusetts
- 20+ LEP students of a single language in a district must be taught in full-time B.E.
- Widespread cheating and no one cares
- Rossell conditions for true B.E.
- Enough students of a single language to fill a classroom by combining no more than 2 grades
- Native tongue with a Roman alphabet
- Teacher and students must all speak same language
- Published textbooks in native tongue that follow curriculum
- Nationwide and in MA- only Spanish-speakers get true B.E.
- Does B.E. work?
Classroom Type Instruct Language Rank Program Name
Self-contained English 1 Structured Immersion / SEI
Mainstream English 2 ESL pullout
Mainstream English 3 Do nothing
Self-contained Native 4 B.E.
* SEI works best, but should only be in program for 1 year (Rossell)
- MA- voters amended 71A with Question 2 (English for Children) in 2002
- Similar to Proposition 227 in CA (1998) and Proposition 213 in AZ (2000)
- Default assignment is SEI
- Parents must sign a waiver after 30 days in SEI if want alternative
Relationship of Education to Individual Income and Economy
Crisis in Education
- 1983- A Nation at Risk
- Misunderstanding
- NAEP- less than 1% and less than 3% advanced
- But designed so that only 5% scored advanced
- US tests scores can’t be compared to other countries
- Most egalitarian education system in world
- Drop out rate is lowest in world (not considering Japan)
Individual Rate of Return- benefit to you as an individual
- Human capital theory- education makes you more productive
- No evidence beyond elementary 3 Rs (reading, writing, arithmetic)
- Years of schooling still has a positive rate of return
- Education is a signaling device to match workers to jobs / screening device
Social Rate of Return- benefit to society
- Nothing beyond 8th grade skills used in most jobs, most people are overqualified
- Most efficient job training is on-the-job
- Jobs are fixed- over-educated
- Too many college educated students
- Fastest growing sector: low skill and service
- Education inflation
- US ins most productive country in world- no evidence this is linked to test scores
- Rossell- need mix in intellectuals and workers
Evaluation of Current Education System
- Reasonably equitable system compared with rest of the world
- Race and ethnic disparities a problem
- Preschool and childcare disparities a problem
- Somewhat inefficient and ineffective in supplying workers for economy (over-educated)
Solutions to Problems
- Solution to Childcare and Preschool- subsidized childcare, off-hours, universal preschool at age 2
- For every $1, $3-5 in benefits
- Solutions to problem of too many people in college- nothing politically feasible
Model of Policymaking- incrementalism
Model of Regulation
- C&C- state regulation on hours, curriculum, minimum standards (98%)
- M.I.- vouchers, school choice, charter schools (2%)
- Vouchers are equitable, efficient, and may decrease race gap if limited to low income
- CMCC- don’t like vouchers for all- little effect because would increase disparities
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Be Forewarned…
Ahh two finals and one massive paper… only two weeks left!!!!
I’m sorry, but there will be very little blogging done in the next couple of weeks. Sorry, school has to come first (well really Obama does, but then it’s school, so I apologize).
To stay entertained, check out my new OBSESSION: BU’s Dear Abbeys
Intro to Compare: Midterm-Final
December 17, 2007, 6:07 pm
Filed under: Classes
Filed under: Classes
Political Development Theories
Political Culture- attitudes about role in government, governments in general, and democracy
Britain- compromise on the part of elites
- Expanded the franchise- willing to give into demands
- Consensual culture
- Lost with Thatcher in 1970s
France- divided into camps that don’t trust each other
- Conflictual culture
- Reflects history- French Revolution / Paris Commune- French elites crushed working class
Germany- authority-oriented
- Trust bureaucrats over politicians
Class Analysis- Barrington Moore- the way conflict between classes emerge and play out
Britain- conflict between aristocracy and monarchy
- Wool- land intensive
- Enclosure Acts- kick peasants off the land- monarchy does not want this
- Glorious Revolution- peasants are big losers, thrown off land and forced into industrialized cities
- Peasants are the democratic force always fighting for more rights
France-
- Wine- labor intensive = wanted to keep peasants on the land
- Feudal dues were increased = peasants revolt
- French Revolution- Middle Class / Peasants vs. Aristocracy / Clergy
- Peasants Win = land goes to them
- Remain a rural society that doesn’t have a great push for democracy because peasants are big winners
Germany- elites challenge traditional feudal political system
- Elite modernized economically without political change
- Prussian aristocracy
- Grain- labor intensive so wanted to avoid a revolution
- Put high tariffs to make industrialists happy
- Created a welfare state to make the workers happy
Sectors- conflicts between sectors of economy
Britain- agriculture sector vs. industrial sector
- Ag. didn’t want to increase franchise because a call for cheaper food would hurt the ag. sector
- Industry wanted to increase franchise because lower food prices would mean that they could decrease wages and make more money
- Gradually increase franchise (reform acts)
France-
- Wanted laws to protect farmer and small shopkeepers
- Wanted to slow industrialization so that industry would not become a major power because that would increase competition
- Kept the industrial class from developing
- Missing the force to promote democracy
Germany-
- Marriage of Iron and Rye- conflict between agriculture and industry
- Kept tariffs on food = ag. happy
- Put tariffs on industry = industry happy because there is not strong foreign competition
- Can increase food prices because industrialists can afford to pay higher wages so that workers can buy more expensive food
- Within industry- export-oriented vs. import-oriented
- Modern- chemical / wanted government to abide by Versailles Treaty (ended WWI) because it was competitive and sold abroad / supported SPD govt. and small coalition parties
- Traditional- steel / didn’t want government to abide by Versailles Treaty because wanted to keep Germany remilitarizing / supported Nationalist parties
- Support from chemical industry helped Weimar Republic survive for as long as it did
Timing of Development- Gershencrown- the later you develop, the less likely you are do be democratic / when a class needs protection it is not going to challenge an authoritarian state
Britain-
- Developed slowly without competition = democratic
France- too early to realize that they were late
- Small-scale industrialization
- Government protected farmers and small shopkeepers = created laws that delayed industrialization
Germany-
- Marriage of Iron and Rye
- Industry was late and needed protection
- Led to tendency to favor authoritarian leaders who would offer this protection (Hitler)
Neocolonialism- Africa
Failures of Democracy- democracy brought down by military coups
Ethnic Reasons- faction of ruling military dominated by one ethnic group
Economic Reversal (1970s)- stagnation and contraction because of oil crisis and cheap credit
Colonial remainders hurt developing, former colonies:
Borders- cross-cut ethnic groups / colonial power favored 1 ethnic group
Ethnic rivalry- because of colonial favoritism
State structures- new systems that resemble that of old colonial power
- State-run economy
- Bureaucracies rule from the top
Economic dependency-
- Developed to supply raw materials to colonial powers
- Highly specialized
Dependency Theory- Latin America
- Economic structures set country up for economic and political failure
Prebisch-
- Highly specialized economies- favor foreign capital and investors
- Late developer- specialized in areas where there is foreign investment
- WWI economy collapse- nation can’t just develop trade, need to develop their own economies
Export Basics / Import complex-
- Theory of Unequal Exchange- price over time of exports falls in relation to the value-added imports
Import Substitution- need to start producing what you import
- Used tariffs
- Didn’t work because when governments do this, they need to import technology
- Still depended on traditional exports
- Dual economies = inequality
Super-exploitation of Labor- still needed foreign capital
Washington Consensus Macroeconomic Policies-
- Set policies to keep foreign investors
- Made best terms for creditors
- Place payment of foreign debt above all else
Alternative Explanations
Pathways from Periphery-
- Can get from periphery to core
- Failures of Africa / Latin America vs. successes of Asia
Ideology of Dependency Theory-
- Put blame on other countries
- Blame international economy, richer countries
Culture-
- Wrong culture = fails
- Latin America- Iberian Culture of hierarchy, mysticism, patronage, look to elites to give out favors
- But then why do periods of democracy exist?
ISI is the Problem-
- Labor becomes too strong / can’t get capital = leads to authoritarian regimes
Export Promotion-
- Asian countries
- Produce exports with higher value-added
Strong States vs. Weak States-
- Latin America- weak states
- Asia- strong states
Distributions of Land-
- Asia- ISI and export promotion where equal domestic wealth
- Redistributed land = more equality in wealth
- Allowed for domestic market / can develop domestically
Bresser-Periera: New Developmentalism-
- Asia never did Washington Consensus
- Appreciation of Latin American currencies because of Washington Consensus = encourages consumption and less competitive industry
Transitions to Democracy
Causes- crisis in old regime
Ideological Weaknesses- need to justify themselves = need to appeal to national interests, but they still favor international investors
Economic crisis- 1970s
External Context-
- External defeats- military government defeated militarily
- Argentina- Faulklands War- defeated by Britain
- Greece- Greek military government wanted to help Cyprus but defeated
- Portugal- tried to hold onto African colonies but military officers staged a coup
- Eastern Europe- Poland’s solidarity movement- demonstration effect, Sinatra Doctrine- USSR does not want to intervene
- EU- businesses and multinationals want to invest in countries with EU membership
- Economic sanctions- lead to economic pain, worked in South Africa
Demonstration Effects-
- Russians did not stop solidarity
- French Revolution- republican government is possible
- Portugal- change with little violence (War of the Carnations) / Spain- when Franco died, regime negotiated transition with opposition
Elite Dominated? / Social Movement?-
- Elite led
- Spain
- South Africa- ANC and reformist sects negotiated
- Key elites control resources
Structural Factors? / Chess Game?
- Structure- culture, level of development / democracy needs to come out of a broad base consensus among the population
- Chess game- leaders make calculations about what will happen if they give up authoritarian government / democracy needs key players who decide that it is in their best interests to transition
Consolidation
Alternations in Power- stability
- Look at elections
- Spain
Economic Development-
- Poor- distribution conflict
- Rich- easier to compromise
Outcome of First Election-
- Better if it is won by forces that are close to segments of power that supported the former authoritarian regime
- Spain
- Problem- Eastern Europe- first elections won by anti-communists
- Need to build up trust that democracy does not mean dictatorship by the opposition
Institutions-
- Parliamentary- forces the new democratic government to continue working for compromise / Spain, Greece / leads to a smoother transition
- Presidential- government can rule without compromise / Portugal, Poland, Russia- semi-presidential
- Electoral system- everyone needs to feel secure
- Consociationalism- constitution designed to give access to different groups / Lebanon, Northern Ireland
Sequence of Economic and Political Reforms-
- Put economic reforms off until the political system is consolidated?
- Do economic and political reforms at the same time?- shock therapy
External Aid-
- Ease social dislocations
- Can help new democratic system provide better transitions
- Helps democracy build legitimacy
That’s it for now… I won’t bore you with current events around the world, but that’s on the final too. Last final- I’m almost there!
Dante’s Hell: Midterm to Final- Canto XVIII to Canto XXXIV
December 14, 2007, 11:58 pm
Filed under: Classes
Filed under: Classes
If you have gotten bored of PO101 notes already, here’s something to spice it up. Nothing political (at least, not really), The Inferno of Dante!
Major Concepts:
Canto XIX: Simoniacs- burning in holes, upside down
- Like San Giovanni baptistry- all Florentines baptized there / servants of state had to swear an oath there – civic and spiritual unity
- D says he broke on hold b/c someone was drowning
- Greek- baptizeim- to drown
- Baptism- idea: drown to be born all over again as a new person
- Or… breaking an oath- idea that you can break a vow in favor of a higher one – Dante’s case is higher than it used to be = forced to put violent hands on sacred
Canto XX: Diviners- heads turned around
- Idea that it is perverse to predict how divine providences works will free will
- Sexual imagery- souls can’t see their sex
Cantos XXI-XXII: Barratry- boil in pitch
- Unbalanced similie: comparison to great Venetian arsenal where they built and refitted ships – like Dante’s journey by sea
- Military imagery- Malacoda acts like a commander calling his troops, Dante associates moment with Battle of Caprona where losers (not Florence) came out under ceasefire
- Speed of fright
- Navarresse- tells whole life story to buy time / V plays into this by asking if there are any Italians / seizes the moment and escapes
Canto XXIII: Hypocrites- lead-laden cloaks
- Mouse and Frog fable- D and V are mouse, Malacoda is frog
- Virgil as mother- picks up Dante and takes him to saftey
- Caiphus- extra contrapasso- crucified
- Everything is hypocritical
Cantos XXIV-XXV: Thieves- snakes
- Better than Lucan and Ovid
- Vanni Fucci tells Dante of White Guelph defeat / curses God
- Metamorphosis- changed form (soul) and matter (body)
- D let pen run wild, will now hold back (he also said something similar to this in Canto XIX with the Simoniacs)
Cantos XXVI-XXVII: False Counselors- flames
- Theme: you can’t got it alone- seen in transition, seen in what Ulysses did
- Peasant farmer- looks down to where he harvests and plows (left out ideas of sowing seed)
- Elijah taken up to heaven in firery chariot- similie from point of view of Elisha (one who avenged with bears)- Dante is like Elisha, Beatrice is like Elijah
- Flame hides sinner- each sinner is a thief but they hid it / fraudulent council-steal truth- flames steal sinners / sinner wrapped up in flame like in literature where truth is wrapped up in envelope called allegory
- Ulysses- Trojan horse, got Achilles into the war, stole Palladium / final voyage in malo because only took into account sensual (not spiritual) / uses language of hypocrite to explain how crew was so willing to follow him / sailed SE, past pillars of Hercules / shipwrecked as it pleased another (God), comparable to Paul’s 1st Letter to Timothy- those who abjure their faith are shipwrecked
- Sounds from flames- human speech? flame speech?
- Sicilian bull- created as a torture chamber, 1st used against its creator
- Guido da Montefletro- became a Franciscan friar to make amends, gave false advice to Pope Boniface VIII b/c Boniface said that he would be absolved, wasn’t = Hell
Canto XXVIII: Schismatics- all cut up
- 1st mention of “contrapasso”- law of retribution / derived from St. Thomas Acquinus- justice meated out with respect to community as well as the individual
Canto XXXI: Transition to 9th Circle of Betrayers
- Virgil’s tongue compared to Achilles’ spear- spear: inflict wound and cure it, tongue- chide Dante and apply cure
- Giants- rebelled against Heaven and were defeated, size has to do with enormity of sin / walls cover giants to the waist- like aprons- like Adam and Eve
Cantos XXXII-XXXIV: Betrayers- frozen
- Place where all the weight of the universe is- center of Earth is heaviest / St. Augustine- weight of evil weighs you down (weight of love weighs you up)
- Dante is fearless with what he chooses to put in speech
- Hell-mouth idea- eating / on top of / traitors are the worst / 9th circle- place on top of which all else leans / verbs in reflexive- self-invovlement in action
- Caina- betrayers of kin
- Antemora- betrayers of country/party
- Ptolemea- betrayers of guests
- Judecca- betrayers of benefactors
- Ugolino and Ruggeri- nature of eating is sometimes unspeakable / choice of how to eat, how to survive / bestial sign- sign that signifies that an act of eating is bestial / tells story to get more vengeance on Ruggeri
- Ugolino- doesn’t have a clue about his kids, doesn’t know what dream means, didn’t know how to accept sacrificial gesture from kids / truth from mouths of kids- did this b/c they thought he was hungry (Ugolino’s idea), did this b/c they recognized that he was spiritually hungry (Dante’s idea) / Jeremiah- glosses Ugolino’s entire story
- Choice in eating- cannibalism: eat each other, Dante believes we do this all the time vs. eucharist: entering into a convenant with each other to end cycle of blood vengeance- always victims, always scapegoats
- Souls in ice like unpure ice with straw
- Satan- anti-king, anti-divinity, anti-trinity, anti-holy spirit, arms as anti-cross
- Dante’s struggle for life or death here- like Christ’s struggle on Holy Saturday- he overcomes and reigns alive
- 3 sinners- center in greatest pain, balance of power between secular (HRE) and sacred (Pope)
- Leaving hell- inversions, like Israel exiting from Egypt, climbing on Satan- tired, real conflict between life and death
- Come out and see stars, “stelle” ends all 3 poems
People:
Canto XVIII: Seducers and Panderers
- Ciaccimoco- sold sister to noble
- Jason- abandoned Madea after she helped him get the golden fleece
Canto XVIII: Flatterers
- Interminei
Canto XIX: Simoniacs
- Pope Nicholas III- extended papal control / shameless nepotism / predicts that Pope Boniface VIII (elected after Celestine V abdicated) and Pope Clement V (moved Papal See to Avignon) will join him here
Canto XX: Diviners
- Tiresias- male to female to male
- Manto- fortune teller
Cantos XXI-XXII: Barrators
- Navarresse- tells whole life story and admits crime (all to buy time), jumps off fork into pitch
Canto XXIII: Hypocrites
- Catalano, Loderingo- Florence podesta, betrayed Ghibellines, burned down Gardingo district
- Ciaphus- high priest, advised council of chief priests and pharisses to kill Jesus
Cantos XXIV-XXV: Thieves
- Vanni Fucci- stole holy objects and didn’t confess when another was accused of the crime, gets back at Dante by announcing White Guelph defeat in 1301
Cantos XXVI-XXVII: False counselors
- Ulysses (and Diomedes)- Trojan horse, lured Achilles into war, stole Palladium, final voyage- just sensual reasons (not spiritual), shipwrecked
- Guido da Montefeltra- sly military leader to Franciscan Friar, Boniface VIII asks him for advice (he will absolve him) and he gives Pope false counsel
Canto XXVIII: Schismatics
- Mohammed and Ali- Muslim usurpers, religious divisiveness
- Bertran de Born- poet, rift between King Henry II of England and his son, Prince Henry
Cantos XXIX-XXX: Falsifiers
- Geri del Bello- doesn’t want to speak to Dante because no one has avenged his murder
- Master Adam- falsifier of coins, made Florins with only 21/24 carats of gold
- Sinon the Greek- liar, lied to get Trojan horse into Troy
Cantos XXXI-XXXIV: Betrayers
- Bocca degli Abati- betrayer of country/party, Dante kicks him, Montaperti- Florentine Guelphs defeated by Ghibellines, he pretended to fight with Guelphs, but betrayed them = Guelph defeat
- Ugolino and Ruggieri- betrayers of country/party, Ugoline betrays Pisa, Ruggieri locks him and sons up in tower
- Fra Alberigo- betrayer of guests, body in Hell but alive on Earth, pretended that altercation with Manfred was forgotten, killed him at a meal
- Satan- betrayer of benefactors, rebelled against God, 3 faces and wings
- Brutus and Cassius- betrayers of benefactors, killed Julius Caesar- world’s supreme secular leader
- Judas- betrayer of benefactors, betrayed Jesus
No more review notes for now, but look out for some Intro to Comparative Politics notes soon!
PO101 Major Topics- Beginning to Midterm
December 14, 2007, 10:58 pm
Filed under: Classes
Filed under: Classes
Some more PoliSci…
Democratic Theory
- Order- structure, laws
- Power- can be seized
- Justice- rights
- Hobbes- state of nature was state of war, form govt. to keep peace and order, monarchy
- Locke- private property leads to war, civil society needed rules, citizens give up liberty to commonwealth to preserve their wealth, constitutional democracy
- Rousseau- property led to inequality which led to a naturalized social contract, normative social contract- man has free will and chooses to create a society that is more just, politics restores freedom, direct democracy
- Federalist #10: need to control factions through rep. democracy
- Republic- enough representatives to guard against whims of few, but not too many, larger area = strength of majority unknown, govt. power depends on consent of governed, has: constitution, limits against absolute power, mechanisms of freedom
- Presidentialism- president elected, chooses cabinet from outside govt.
- Parliamentarianism- PM chosen by Parliament, party power stronger, cabinet chosen from MPs
- Constitutional democracy- adaptive constitution, minority rights, some centralized control, electoral systems, limits (check and balances, separation of powers, federalism, reelection, rule of law
- Dahl’s characteristics: maintain system, protect rights, ensure fairness, encourage consensus, provide govt. that can solve problems
Nationalism
- Canada- short history, no authoritarianism, similar religions, British majority, 2 national languages (status for minority), no influence by other nations, everyone was an immigrant, 1 war
- Yugoslavia- long history, authoritarianism, various religions, various majority that share power, Serbs oppress others, impacted by WWI, WWII, and USSR, some people have always lived there, constant warring
Race
- Parties need to appeal to a moderate electorate to be successful
- Race and culture can be used as tools for political gain
- Ghetto underclass because of concentration effect in 1960s
- Plight deepens b/c of: concentration effects, unemployment, racism, incarceration, bad schools, breakdown of families, subculture that glorifies swagger over work, decrease in blue collar jobs
- Loury- Social Capital- need targeted performance enhancement, education, and training / problems need to be addressed as trans-racial
Civic Culture- civic culture, political socialization, social capital, public opinion, voting constraints
- Political socialization- good citizenship: identification with nation, actions, civic training, voting: minimum degree of invovlement, agents of socialization: family, school, religion, peers, media, workplace, gender, events
- Tocqueville- Americans volunteer
- Civic culture (Amond and Verba)- political culture (independent variable) affects effectiveness and stability of govt.
- Characteristics: orientation to political system, talk about politics, pride in nation, self-confidence in govt., involved in elections, participate, membership in voluntary organization, tolerance to opposition parties, civil cooperation and trust
- Parochial citizen- politically unaware / subject citizen- passive relationship with government / participant citizen- active with govt.
- Political cultures may or may not be congruent with political system
- Social capital- social organizations that work for coordination and cooperation for mutual benefits
- Putnam- “Bowling Alone”- b/c women working, mobility, TV, urban sprawl, decrease religion
- Lipset- criticism- more voluntary orgs., increase religion, increase charity, increase patriotism
- Institutional issues- SMD leads to decrease in social capital / PR increases
- Public opinion- intensity- how much people care / salience- how prevalent an issue is / volatality- how easily public opinion changes / political generations- ours vs. WWII / life cycle- changing views based on age or point in life
- Issue publics (Converse)- people know most about 1-2 issues
- Popkin- get info about other issues- delegation, heuristics (short cuts- react to policy), representativeness, incumbency, by-product theory of info, drunkard’s search
- Politicians manipulate voters- crafted talk, priming (what they chose to talk about), framing (how they talk about an issue), media
- Voting constraints- doesn’t want to vote, voter reg., civic engagement (social capital- b/c of socio-demographic, edu., age, income, employment, minority status), polling locations, absentee ease, ease of info, privacy, intimidation, eligibility, elite status needed?, primaries, voting legitimacy?, competitiveness of vote
American Exceptionalism
- Standard explanation- no monarchy or feudal society aspects, all “born free”, Lockian liberalism (judicial review, constitutional emphasis), lack of socialist tradition
- Cultural explanation- influx of new vs. traditional, immigration, social change
- Double-edged sword (Lipset)- good: freedom, meritocracy, work and education ethic, bad: fewer obligations, Horatio Algerism, us vs. them, violence, imperialism
- Economic explanation- weak lower/labor class = wealthy dominate, unrestricted expansion = didn’t have to deal with class conflict, liberal market economy
- Institutional explanation (Steinmo)- causes: federalism, separation of powers, fragmentation of powers, electoral systems, presidentialism, effects: character of legislature, bureaucracy, parties, voters, interest groups, public policy, political culture
- False idea?- unique things: egalitarianism, less govt. interference, less socialism and unions, higher pride and patriotism, more religion, constant immigration, but all countries have exceptional characteristics
Interest Groups and Pluralism / Social Movements
- Federalist #10- faction- groups who form to protect and promote their interests at the expense of the greater good, human nature makes factions inevitable, can’t prevent so must control by: large republic, federalism, separation of powers
- Interest groups- access: lobby Congress, lobby Executive, courts, public, media, protest and demonstration, violence
- Pluralist theories- group formation is part of human nature, govt. should work to expand transparency (but elite interests don’t want that), military-industrial complex, iron law of oligarchy, iron triangles (committee, bureaucracy, interest groups)- pros: stability, increase expertise, efficiency, cons: undemocratic, intertia, elite advantage: resources, access to leaders, shared group conciousness
- Social movement- want to change the nature of pluralism / work against interest groups and businesses
- Social movement theories- mass society- strange people do strange things, relative deprivation- increase expectations and inequalities = frustration, resource theories- how groups organize (material, solidarity benefits- meet people, purposive- feel good), process theories- systematic vulnerabilities, timing (come about b/c: pre-existing social networks, creation of an insurgent consciousness, shifting political opportunities, shifting social control response of other groups
Extra-Constitutionalism- activism to the extreme
- Occurs when democracy isn’t possible (majority controlled by minority elite)
- Occurs when democracy doesn’t work for your interests (minority in democratic world)
- Religion- Old Boston, Catholic Church ran adoptions
- Media- media as business driven by corporate interests, media as an opinion shaper, impact of blogs and internet
- Violence- types: premordial (quasi-nationalistic), separatist, revolutionary, coup, issue-based / military mutiny / guerilla / terrorism
- Terrorism- characteristics: deep-seeded grievances, mostly in countries struggling to modernize, rarely works and seldom as sole means / goals: demonstrate capacity, symbolic action or personal fulfillment, attempt to motivate action / response: swift, severe, lawful punishment, improve security and research into small group violence dynamics, address issues of contention
- Revolutions- reasons: political (system not working/dictator), erosion of legitimacy, regime lost effectiveness (inflation, corruption, unemployment) / characteristics: quick, dramatic system change, organization needed, types: agrarian, mass-based, elite-based, “Great”, separatist, religious, peaceful / stage: old regime breaks down, mass mobilization, moderates take over first, then extremists, thermidor- purge extremists / problems after: one tyranny replaced with another?, end badly? / examples: separatist- Mexican Revolution, agrarian- China, Cuba, “Great”- U.S., France, Russia, Religious- Iran, Peaceful- Velvet Revolution / heading off revolutions: end injustices that cause them, hard to do
Parties
- Functions: bridge between people and govt. (linkage), aggregation of interests- bring together common interests, integration into political system, political socialization, mobilize voters, organize govt.
- Duverger’s Law- SMD = 2 party system- need strong, centralized control
- Parties and govt. (schattschneider)- designed to take over govt. (organize, Duverger’s law), govt. by consent of governed, what is the best system of govt.?
- Party strength- weak because candidate-centered elections
- Parties fail (Lawson and Merkel)- parties are arenas of elite decision process, substitute arrives – interest consolidation no longer occurs, other vehicles of mediation between state and society: environmental, supplementary (alternative party), communitarian (focus on regional communities), anti-authoritarian
- U.S.- increase independents in 1970s and 1980s / 1990s and 2000s- polarization of citizens, strong party cohesion- no
- Other views: parties weakening- since 1890s, weak overall, increase in candidate voting / parties stronger- surge of party power, increase ideological polarization, increase in unity in party voting in Congress
Campaign Finance
- U.S.- FECA (1971)- disclosure, media limits, contribution limits, allow unions and companies to get involved / Buckley v. Valeo (1976)- some restrictions are unconstitutional: can’t put limits on how much candidates can spend, can’t put limits on self-financing, can’t put limits on independent expenditures (soft $) / 527s- issue advocacy ads, not related to specific candidates or campaigns, have odd names / PACs- strict $ rules, can be associated with specific candidate
- UK- weak / candidates have limits, parties have limits on spending but not on contributions / no disclosure- large influence of major newspapers, external donations allowed / free media time
- France- only public finance, limited private donations / extensive transparency / but govt. gives lots of $ to contractors and some $ is funneled back to parties
- Spain- public financing, loose reporting of contributions (lax enforcement), bank loan problem
- Considerations: is $ speech?, public financing or free airtime?, enforcement, other corruption mechanisms, how to pass CFR legislation, issue advocacy or soft $, internet, can society ever stop the $ flow?, do contributions affect legislation?, transparency, loans
Media
- How it affects political participation (Patterson)- creating cynical public that distrusts govt., destroying cohesion and social capital, increase in tabloid journalism, journalists hold politicians to standards that they never come close to keeping themselves
- Media-attack journalism (Sabato)- inquisition-style, focus on scandals, journalists: have to be more aggressive b/c of image makers and spin doctors, consequences: decreased access to public officials, decrease trust in media
- Mass media and politics (Graber)- functions: surveillence, interpretation, socialization, manipulation, greater media influence, freedom of press: is there a separate freedom, require less supervision b/c of journalistic ethics?, but they are a corporation, Supreme Court- media is no different than citizen critic / generate political action: prompt public reaction, prompt office holders to act, work with officials to generate actions, surrogates for public officials, mouthpieces for govt. or interest group, frame issues
- Concerns- selective coverage, non-comprehensive coverage, doesn’t provide comprehensive picture, media oligopoly, too close or too critical of govt.
I hope you enjoyed some more PO101 notes. Next, DANTE!
PO101 Major Topics- Midterm to Final
December 14, 2007, 6:44 pm
Filed under: Classes
Filed under: Classes
Final: Saturday, December 15th!
Voting Systems
- Proportional Representation- elected in large multimember district, # of seats proportional to # of votes
- Advantages: more accurate representation, better for minorities (gender, race, political), fewer wasted votes, increased likelihoood of majority rule, less opportunity for gerrymandering
- Disadvantages: closed list is inflexible, no local / geographic representative, coalitions can be unstable
- Party list- large district, voter votes for party / closed list- party chooses order / open list- voter chooses order
- Mixed member- 1/2 party lists, 1/2 SMD/ benefits of PR and SMD
- STV- choice voting (pick 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
- Pluralism (FPTP)- 2 party-voting
- Advantages: keep status quo, protect against extremist idea, stable, median voter
- Disadvantages: low voter turnout, “dominant” party, 2 parties can be too similar, extremism
- Bloc voting- Palestine / in candidate districts with 5 seats open- Hamas put up 5 people, Fatah put up 10 people = vote splitting and Hamas wins
Executives
- Coming to power- ascription (characteristics, criteria, bloodline), appointment (formal/informal), election, force (assasination, coup d’etat, revolution)
- Leaving power- violence, dying, term limits, vote of no confidence (parliamentary), impeachment, designated successor
- Executive power- create legislation, make appointments, oversee bureaucracy, guide public opinion (“bully pulpit”)
- Neustadt- demands from bureaucracy, Congress, partisan, citizens, abroad / formal power- awarded by office, actual power- what he can do / tools- persuasive, professional reputation, public prestige, choice
- Barber- character, world view, and style help predict behavior and direction of policies / criticisms- simplistic, external variables? / how much energy do they put into it? how much do they like it? (active positive- JFK, active negative- Nixon, passive positive- Reagan, passive negative- Eisenhower)
- Federalist #70- need energetic president / unity, sufficient powers, some secrecy / no double presidency b/c need accountability
Bureaucracy
- Career civil service
- Weber- organized hierarchically (specialization), appointed based on qualifications (merit), official doesn’t own office
- What they do: administration, services, regulation (create policy), licensing, advisory, adjudication
- Disciplinary implementation- decide when to implement more specific laws, how to implement / interpret, how to administrate
- US: 15 Cabinet (DOD, Sec. of State), federal agencies- specific purpose (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms ATF), independent regulatory agencies (FTC, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FERC)
- Communist countries: extensive power, control economy
- Western Industrialized countries: highly trained and educated, France and Japan- specific process, Germany and UK- civil service exams
- Less-developed countries: corruption, bad public services
- Good: rationality, uniformity, predictability, supervision, expertise, overall efficiency
- Bad: too bid hurts productivity and efficiency, corruption (revolving door and regulatory capture), independence vs. coordination, bad perception
- What to do?: ombudsperson (outsider), legislative oversight, privatization / decentralization, politicizing
- Regulation: law passed, regulatory agency sets up draft regulations, multiple stakeholders submit comments, regulations are re-written and passed
- FEMA- before 9/11- independence but no coordination, after 9/11- w/ Dept. of Homeland Security, coordination but no independence
Public Policy
- Deals in Congress (Milligan)- dracula Congress, power for lobbyists, rules committee- blocks votes on items supported by majority if they are opposed to president/party leadership, add amendments during conference committee, decrease in open rules, no time to review legislation, decrease in debate, revolving door, increase in pork
- Farm Bill (Pollan)- subsidies on corn, soy, and wheat, affects: obesity, world agri. prices, int’l policy, land use, beneficiaries: agri-business, no salience (no one cares), complex
- U.S. public policy- increase party power, increase centralization of power, decrease efficiency b/c increase in pork, increase corruption, non-alignment public policy
Laws
- Criminal vs. civil
- Constitutional law
- Administrative law- regulations
- Int’l law- enforcement problems
- Canon law- religious
- Positive law- man-made law (natural law is innate, social contract is common)
- Rule of law- due process, judicial review (Marbury v. Madison), precedent (stare decisis), judicial restraint, judicial activism (Warren Court in 1960s)
- Common law- judicial decisions based on tradition, precedent / written or unwritten / England / most consistant over time
- Civil (Code) law- legislature creates law, vague civil codes set out principles / Europe / up to date
- Influences of Judges: political socialization, geography, occupational background, party, concept of judicial role, collegues’ opinion, public opinion
Unitary System vs. Federalism
- Unitary System (France)- centripital, centralized
- Good: efficiency (consistency), decreased regional tensions, can implement large-scale benefits (3 Gorges Dam in China)
- Bad: some districts lose wealth, no adaptation to regional or cultural differences, not connected to govt., loss of efficiency in big bureaucracy
- Federalism (Germany)- centerfugal
- Good: local power, limits centralized power, increase participation, efficient, policy experimentation
- Bad: expensive (2 sets of govt.), inefficient, unfair regionally, corruption, increase influences of interest groups, interstate conflict, federal-state conflict
- U.S. Balkanization of govt.- 80,000 local govts., jurisdictional conflicts, problems: Arrowhead-Transmission line, burden-shifting
- Federalism in U.S.- early (state power), modern (national dominance) contemporary (new federalism- power to states, devolution, block grants)
- Cakes: layer cake (separate powers), marble cake (mixed), fruit/birthday cake (shared programs under fiscal federalism)
Happiness
- Harvard study- focus on relative position in society
- How to measure?
- Mexico- GDP pc: 7,500 (low middle), but happiness: 90%
- Measurements: GDP pc, Gini Index (inequality), happiness indexes, non-regional differences (job satisfaction)
- Conspicuous consumption- rich accumulate wealth to display it- happiness fueled by neighbor’s envy
International Organization
- Struggle for order and stability in unpredictable setting
- Multinationals- business, Exxon
- INGOs- Red Cross
- Supranational Organizations- EU, UN
- IGOs- NATO
- Multifunctional- funding, equality, new regional powers, meeting so many needs, increase importance for small states
- International law- rights and obligations of states (problem: no enforcement)
- Treaties: economic and trade (NAFTA), security (defense- NATO, peace- ABM), humanitarian (environment- Kyoto, democracy- UN Declaration of Human Rights), issues: lack of legislation and enforcement
- China and Environment: air pollution, desertificiation, water scarcity and pollution, acid rain / huge economic growth / world problem- air pollution and dust, trade, tragedy of commons / politics- political change or status quo
- Collapse (Diamond)- make bad decisions because: don’t anticipate, don’t percieve problem, fail to solve problem, try to solve but fail / problems because: tragedy of commons, bad reasoning, inability to agree who should pay, lack of education, complexity
Human Rights
- What are they? Who defines? How to enforce? Contradictions/Impossibilities?
- Magnarella- cultural imperialism, religion, developed vs. undeveloped, group vs. individual interests, realism (nations will to what is in their best self-interest), cultural relativism vs. rights- how can same standard apply in different areas
- Cambodia- Khmer Rouge- utopian communist revolution, tried to achieve self-sufficient agrarian economy, killed 1.5 to 2.3 million
International System
- Problem: don’t agree on what system is emerging
- Historical- 19th c. balance of power, interwar instability, bipolar Cold War
- Unipolar- 1 power (U.S.)
- Counterweight- group reaction to primary power (U.S. vs. China, EU, Middle East)
- Multipolar- regional, economic blocs (EU, ASEAN, NAFTA)
- Stratified- softer unipolar w/ second tier (US, EU vs. ASEAN) / 1st tier dominates, but there is cooperation
- Zones of Chaos- development (1st, 2nd, 3rd world) / some resources in 3rd world, but unstable / 1st- US, UK, France, 2nd- Brazil, India, 3rd- poor Asian, Middle East
- Globalized- economic interests / fair trade, WTO rules / economic heavy-weights can do thing to manipulate world trading system
- Resource wars- resource (energy and water) power / oddball countries- Brazil, Canada, Norway, Venezuela, Nigeria
- Clash of civilizations- cultural schisms / Christian vs. Islam / West vs. East
- Proliferation- nuclear / US, UK, Russia, France, China … also, Israel, S. Africa, India, Pakistan, N. Korea, Iran
- Globalization- complete network, common thread of all models / culture, economics, information, trade, social interaction
- Interventionism- use military force in other lands / islolationism- minimized importance of outside world
- Klingberg’s Alternationa Theory: 21 introvert, 27 extrovert
International Relations
- More complex, lack sovereignty, dependent on power, struggle of influence in unpredictable setting characterized by chaos
- Treaty of Westphalia- ends 30 Years War, nation-state as highest level of government, sovereignty of states, wars around issues of state, modern contradictions- no human/democratic rights, supranational organizations?, religious states, globalization
- National interest: vital vs. secondary, temporary vs. permanent, specific vs. general, complementary vs. confliction
- Realist school- Machiavelli, Morganthau, Hobbes / nations pursue interests, not ideas / elements of power: military, geographic, human / reaffirms sovereign nation state
- Idealist school (Cosmopolitanism)- Wilson, Carter, Kant, J.S. Mill / expect nations to be true to their values, ideals, and morals / image of world community
- International society- middle ground / international and supranational organizations mediate relations / compromise but focus on int’l practices and norms
- Issues: war, sovereignty, human rights, security (national and human), religion, democracy
- Microtheories for war- individuals / macrotheories for war- nation, history- balance of power, hierarchy of power, democratic peace / misperception, lost in translation
- Keeping the peace- world government, collective security (agreement to counter aggressor), functionalism (cooperation in specialized areas leads to overall cooperation among nations), 3rd party assistance, diplomacy (use envoys), peacekeeping (outside military force stabilize)
Transitions
- 9 Marxist-Leninist dictatorships- put tons of $ into military, didn’t invest in infrastructure, 5-year plan, system broke and failing
- Now; 28 noncommunist states / 8 fully democratic- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia / 5 emerging- Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia / 5 transitional- Ukraine, Georgia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzogovina, Moldova
- Successes: break with past (mass mobalization, electoral revolutions), elites, former communist parties (evolve into Western-style democracies), media (free and diverse), civil society (need to increase # of non-profit NGOs), political parties (slow to develop), early economic reforms (property rights, entrepreneurship, individual wealth, Russia moving backwards), no essential preconditions, international community (EU, NATO membership, West not interfering with domestic affairs, stickiness
- Problems: dominant presidents (no counterbalance or constitutional limits- Russia, Belarus), resource curse (rich gas and oil reserves consolidated by state
- Transitions: single democratic standard?, do they occur similarly?, similar patterns across time and cultural region?, what political institutions are best (pluralism, PR / presidentialism, parliamentary)?, liberal democracy even when violate rights?, economic liberalization and democratic liberalization, are there pre-requisites (economic, culture, interest groups, meet certain threshold before transitions)?
- S. Africa- good, external pressure for democratic reforms
- Romania- good, closer to European tradition, better economics = easier
- Peru- still waiting, extensive Western invovlement during Fujimori’s term
- Kazakstan- reversion, Nazarbayev president for life, resource curse, no political reforms/civil liberties
Russia
- Peristroika- restructuring, economic reforms
- Glasnot- opennes, transparency with govt.
- Yetlsin- elected in 1991, used force against dissidents in 1993, economic shock therapy = hyperinflation, loss of state supports, good: pro-democracy and ended communism, bad: quasi-authoritarian, badly executed economic reforms, loss of super-power status
- Putin- Federal presidential republic (PM under control of President), edict power, head of leg. and executive (no checks and balances), emergence of regional power
- Nikonov- no democracy to controlled democracy, need to pull back and take it slowly
- Rumer- only democracy in name, Yeltsin attacked opposition, skewed elections, removed checks and balances
- Problems: corruption, red tape, lack of accountability, health problems, inflation, unemployment, Chechnya, fragmented parties, politicized constitution
- Economic concerns- slow pace of privitization, no solid economic framework = decrease in foreign investment, privitization and oligarchs
- Issue: transition fast or slow?, economic or political reforms?, only Western-style democracy?
China
- Great Leap Forward (1957)- increase spread of socialism, planned economy, failed
- Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)- killed dissidents, intellectuals
- Communist party still in control / authoritarian- increase economic growth and globalization, increase inequality and social and environmental problems
- Economic growth- fastest in world, trade surplus, because of privitization and increase in domestic privately owned companies
- Problems: inequality (but decrease in poverty), shortage of workers (increase wages and middle class), environment, rising expectations (people get richer and want more- post-materialistic)
- 3 Gorges Dam- people used to govt. telling them what to do / bad: flooded cultural relics, 1.2 million displaced, silt, environmental impact / good: can control floods, electricity (!!!), supposed to increase river transportation
- Impact of authoritarianism: fragmented authoritarianism (negotiated state), created space for autonomy (loopholes for bargaining), party and state differentiated (local govt. power), corruption (shows lack of state power)
I hope you enjoyed all of these great note!
