Political Theories

1. Political Theories Amalia Perez Pd. 7

2. What is a political theory? • Definition: Abstract intellectual thinking about politics from a specific perspective • “A theory having to do with the political relationships among men, one concerned with the organization and basis of government” –A.S. Kaufman • Purpose: • To explore politics; further understand its complexities • predict political behavior • Compare governments

4. Main Theories • Rational Choice Theory • Dependency Theory (versus Free Market Theory) • Culture Theory • Systems Theory • Structural Functional Theory

5. Rational Choice Theory • When put in a situation, political actors will choose route that yields highest benefits • Political behavior can always be predicted by simplified models of choice • Objective perspective • Based on four main components: • Assumption of rationality • Constraints given • Strategic Interaction • Equilibrium

6. Criticisms • Disregards influence of political culture • Overly objective • Does not take into account legal norms and constitutional constraints

7. Dependency Theory… • Marxian critique of global economy • How do developed and developing countries interact? • Developed countries maintain their position by keeping developing nations in subservient position • Economic force, free market practices • Developing nations must stay in economic and political ruts for developed nations to thrive • Free markets facilitate demise of developing nations • Developing nations provide goods to developed these maintain the latter’s high living standards

8. …versus Free Market Theory • opposing theories • FMT asserts that developing countries benefit from free, open markets as they “climb” towards becoming established powers • Recognizes it will be painful at first; justified by long term benefits • Liberal politics aid developing countries • Becomes an issue of democratization/ dominant countries forcing democracy upon developing ones • Many conservatives are strong supporters of this (capitalism!!!)

9. Historical context of Dependency theory versus Free Market theory • Post WW2- Free Market Theory gains popularity • World Bank and IMF emerge with liberal recipes for escaping debt • 1960s/1970s- Free Market Theory proves to be near demise of many countries; dependency theory arises to directly oppose it • Dependency theory arises to counter the capitalistic, imperialistic powers that were attempting to dominate world politics (hint…United States)

10. Criticism • Dependency Theory: • It’s success is contingent upon wealth always increasing over time • Lack of competition • Free Market Theory: • Promotes imperialistic power regimes • Capitalism is the enemy

11. Culture Theory • Nature of politics derives from culture • collective society influences decisions, individual calculations do not • Argument against rational choice theory • Decisions are based on how people react to the two social dimensions: grid and group • Grid- influence of societal rules/norms in decision making • Group- to what degree do people identify with societal groups

12. Culture Theory Cont: • Four distinct worldviews dictate ones values; derive from ones group/grid preferences • Hierarchism (high grid, high group) • Individualism (low grid, low group) • Egalitarianism (low grid, high group) • Fatalism (high grid, low group)

13. Criticism • Overly embraces collective entities • Overly embraces a functionalist perspective • Disregards individual conviction

14. Systems theory • David Easton applies it to political science: 1953 • Asserts that all political systems are essentially the same (all are subject to input/output cycle) • Connection amongst all political institutions • Reliance, free trade between all • Easton proposed political systems to be looked at as a delimited and fluid set of decision making steps: • Changes in surrounding environmentdemands for action (inputs)policy made in response (outcomes)generatefeedbackchanges in surrounding environment…(and so on)

15. Criticism • Limited view of system • Why does a political system become authoritative? Systems theory doesn’t know… • Can’t be applied to developing countries

16. Structural Functional Theory • Almond and Powell apply it to political science: early 1970’s • Can’t understand a political system without understanding both its structures and each structures’ function • By studying the functions, one can discern between countries with similar political institutions • Each institution (structure) has a function each function is integral in maintaining the political system • Conservative by nature

17. Cont. • Ex: Interest groups articulate political issues; parties express them coherently; government enacts new policies….etc • Multiple institutions can have overlapping functions • CRITICISM: • Too ideologically based (conservative) • Approach is too methodological

18. Overview • Rational Choice Theory vs Culture Theory • RCT: individuals calculate what route will most benefit them • CT: collective entities (group) influence political decision making • Free Market Theory vs Dependency Theory • FMT: Developing nations benefit from free markets/liberal policies • DT: Developed nations benefit from developing nations struggles; they keep them in subservient position through free market practices • Systems Theory vs Structural Functional Theory • ST: everything is based off the same system; the input/output process can be applied to all systems • SFT: focuses on the functions that are unique to each system and its structure

19. Other Theories • The Great Man Theory: Through charismatic authority, military prowess, intelligence, etc, leaders throughout history have altered history dramatically • Modernization Theory: Technological advancements, division of labor, social evolution all lead to political change; change in social and cultural values • Game Theory: Views politics in terms of a game: everything is either a player, strategy or payoff • Strategic decision making • Prisoners Dilemma • Risk versus reward

20. As are all theories, political theories are abundant and ideologically diverse. Each seeks to explain based on different perspectives. With this diversity, you all can develop your own opinions about political systems by drawing inspiration from whichever theory (or theories) resonates most with you

21. Works Cited • http://ww2.odu.edu/al/jchen/Comparative%20Politics%20(Graduate)/Review%20Essays/Week%205/Min%20Xia.pdf • http://consumptionreadinggroup.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/cox-the-empirical-content-of-rational-choice-theory.pdf • http://www.carlislerainey.com/CPO2002_Files/Models.pdf • http://frameworksinstitute.org/ezine28.html • http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-dependency-theory.htm

22. Works Cited • http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/SPA/BuechnerInstitute/Centers/WOPPR/diggingblog/Documents/Jenkins-Smith%20WOPPR%20Blog.pdf • http://www.shareyouressays.com/112575/12-important-criticism-of-eastons-systems-theory-of-political-science • http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/40969897?uid=3739256&uid=2129&uid=2134&uid=2474261127&uid=2&uid=70&uid=3&uid=2474261117&uid=60&purchase-type=none&accessType=none&sid=21102980996087&showMyJstorPss=false&seq=3&showAccess=false • http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Great_man_theory.html