Introduction to Political Science Lectures 1 & 2 What is political science?

– a bubble?
Why democracies come and go?
Why revolutions? Why they

happen in one place, but not the other?
What are political parties?
Why in some countries political parties converge to the center, while in others – polarize?
Why some organizations are more successful lobbyists than others?
Why in some countries it takes 20 days to form government, while in others – 500?
Why some societies are rich and other - poor?

by developing theoretical explanations and testing these explanations (hypotheses) through

various empirical methods.
Theory – why?
Hypothesis – implication of theory?
Example:
Theory: democracy enhances economic development because its politicians are accountable
Hypothesis: all else equal, increase in democracy score leads to high economic growth

study

studied along with philosophy, history, law, sociology and economics
First political scientists - normative questions about ideal institutions, e.g. Is the German system of government better than the British?
Collapse of democracy in much of Europe in the 1920s and 1930s -> shift to behavior

science analysis
Improvement in methods: use of more sophisticated empirical research

techniques
Against atheoretical, descriptive research

Survey research techniques, interview methods, statistical analysis
Two traditions:
Rational choice

scholars: explain behaviour of voters, parties, interest groups, legislators or bureaucrats
Sociologists: social and cultural determinants of behaviour to explain formation of states, behaviour of political parties, stable democracies

rules and procedures shape actors’ interaction is more nuanced than

formal models
Political institutions also shape culture and society

political actors, based on their interests and political preferences.
Who are

political actors? Citizens, voters, party leaders, members of parliaments, government ministers, judges, civil servants, or members of interest groups.

2.Political institutions: Structures within which political behavior takes place - such as governments, regimes, systems (presidential vs. parliamentary, federal vs. unitary etc)

3.Political outcomes: A broad range of issues, from specific policy outcomes such as economic growth or higher public spending or better protection of the environment, to broader political phenomena, such as political and economic equality, social and ethnic harmony, or satisfaction with democracy and government.

of politics
A similar idea about state interests dates back many

years - rational choice applies this to individuals.
Basic assumptions of the theory:
An individual acts rationally in pursuit of their own self-interest. Individuals seek to maximize their gains and minimize their losses.
People respond to incentives.
An individual has sufficient information to establish their preferences.
Preferences are transitive. (If an individual prefers A over B, and B over C, then it logically follows that he prefers A over C.)

their goals, irrespective of what their specific goals may be”

(McCubbins and Thies, p.3).
Rationality refers to pursuit of pleasure/happiness and avoidance of pain.
Behavior is instrumental. The goals do not have to be rational, but behavior does. It is an instrument in trying to reach these goals. So, the intent of behavior is important rather than its success, since people make mistakes.
People can rank their wants/needs: utility function/maximization.

understand complex phenomena.
Example: how natural resources affect autocrat’s survival
Tries to

capture the essential elements of the relationship. Ignores the trivial elements.
Uses spatial models - relative positioning of attitudes.

can alter their behavior accordingly.
People realize that other people’s behavior

will affect their pursuit of self-interest in the longer run. They cannot always act alone, because all others are also acting out of self-interest.
“Behavior that looks suboptimal in the short run is designed to accomplish a person’s objectives in the longer run”.

of committing a crime and are interrogated separately.
Optimal outcome

– if both stay quiet
BUT: If Pl 1 stays quiet, and Pl 2 talks, Pl one is worse off!
Suboptimal outcome – both talk
Reiterated games when players know more about each other’s strategy (interaction) change the results

collective outcomes is suboptimal.

not always rational or self-interested. (Altruism - is it a

different form of self-interest?)
People do not work with perfect information. (Asymmetrical information and bounded rationality)
Does every individual act the same way under the same incentives? Can’t they alter their environment?
Poor empirical record, does not stand empirical testing
If interests shape institutions, why are institutions stable over time? Especially bad institutions?

or, more formally, are the humanly devised constraints that shape

human interaction. In consequence they structure incentives in human exchange, whether political, social, or economic» (Doughlas North, 1990: p. 3).
Formal institutions matter
Veto players
Informal institutions matter– cultural norms, “logic of appropriateness”, fairness norms
Divide a dollar game: if Player 2 accepts the proposal, the money is divided between the two players as proposed by Player 1. But, if Player 2 rejects the proposal, neither player receives any money.
Path dependency

of politics. Concerns itself with formal rules, organizations and structures

of the government.
Focuses on historical narratives. Mainly descriptive, limited role for theorizing.
Critiques against old institutionalism (Peters 1999: 6-11)
Normative
Historicist
Legalist
Holistic

rules: Political institutions are no longer equated with political organizations,

they are seen as a ‘set of rules’ that guide and constrain the behavior of actors.

From a formal to an informal conception of institutions: Informal rules/procedures can coexist with formal rules and influence the agents (e.g. taking money in Colombia specifically for robbers!).

From a static to dynamic conception of institutions: Institutions are processes. They are ‘sticky’, but the rules can change with the context and actor interests.

establishing values for a universal concept of “good government” ,

the focus is on identifying the societal values which shape and are shaped by institutions.

From a holistic to a differentiated conception of institutions: Instead of describing whole systems of government, new institutionalists focus on components. (e.g. electoral system, tax regime, cabinet decision-making, etc.)

From independence to embeddedness: Political institutions are embedded in context. They are not secluded from time and space.

are rules of the game?

Genesis and transformation of institutions: Where

do they come from? How do they change?
If institutions shape interests, why are they formed in the first place?
How do they change?

Are institutionalism and rational choice approaches compatible?

elect President and VP
Number of electors in each state= Senate+House

of Representatives
“It was created to strengthen the agrarian elite, offer more federal power to slaveholding states, and counterbalance factionalism and polarization”
Americans moving to cities -> high distortion of votes
“Individual Wyoming vote weighs 3.6 times more than an individual Californian’s vote”
Katy Collin, 2016, Washington Post-Monkey Cage