1) nation 2) state 3) regime 4) government 5) sovereignty 6) legitimacy 7) political culture
TRANSCRIPT
Presentation Outline
1) Nation2) State3) Regime4) Government5) Sovereignty6) Legitimacy7) Political Culture
1) The Nation A nation is defined as a group with a
common language, culture, history, and or religion, residing in a specific geographic territory
Don’t confuse nation with country or state!
Does every nation have its own country or state?
Nation Country/State
Japan Japan
Korea South Korea, North Korea
Palestine ?
Tibet China
Inuit Canada
Quebec Canada
Basque Spain
2) The State
A state is defined as political body which has a monopoly of force over a territory
There are approximately 190 states in the world today. Many are nation-states such as Japan, South Korea, and Germany. Others, such as Canada, USA, Australia are NOT nation-states.
Not every nation has its own state. States last longer than regimes or
governments.
Strong States
States which have full control over their territories
Strong states are able to provide a wide array of government services (welfare, infrastructure, courts, etc.)
Generally high income states Examples: USA, Canada, Japan, France
Weak States
States which have a limited capacity to provide social services to its citizens
Weak states may not be able to protect property rights
Generally low income states Examples: Chad, Ethiopia, and a number
of other African states
Failed States•A state which is unable to maintain a monopoly of force over its entire territory cannot guarantee the security of its citizens.
•Afghanistan and Somalia are two such examples
3) The Regime
A regime is defined as the practices, norms, institutions, and rules created to organize the state
Regimes create the rules of the game: elections, constitution, rights, freedoms, etc.
Regimes last longer than governments but a state may go through several regimes
Regimes in Japanese History
Meiji Restoration (1868- 1912)
Taisho Period(1912-1926)
Showa Period(1926-1945)
Constitutional Monarchy (1947- present)
•Imperial•Modern•Authoritarian•Oligarchy
•Imperial•Democratic
•Imperial•Authoritarian•Militaristic
•Democratic•Parliamentary
Regime Types
Democracy Rule by the People Freedoms, civil liberties
Examples
Parliamentary: U.K., Canada, Japan
Presidential: US, France, Mexico, Russia
Absolute Monarchy Rule by the King/Queen Authoritarian Limited freedoms
Examples:
Chinese Dynasties, France and England before their revolutions
Totalitarian Dictatorships Authoritarian One Man/ One Party Limited freedoms Attempts to transform society
Examples:
Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, China under Mao, the Soviet Union, North Korea
4) GovernmentA government is defined as the elites
(elected or unelected) who run and operate the regime
Governments come and go and are far less institutionalized than the regime or state
Japanese RegimeConstitutional Monarchy, 1947-present
Governments
Yasua Fukoda (Liberal Democratic Party), 2007-2008
Taro Aso (Liberal Democratic Party), 2008-2009
Yukio Hatayama (Democratic Party) 2009-2010
Naoto Kan (Democratic Party), 2010- 2011
Yoshihiko Noda (Democratic Party) 2011- present
5) Sovereignty
Sovereignty is defined as the ability of a state to exercise decisions internally (domestic) and externally (foreign)
For example: States in the midst of civil war have limited internal sovereignty
Unitary or Federal systems
State sovereignty can either be concentrated at the national level in a unitary state or distributed regionally in a federal state
Unitary State: most states are unitary states
the central or national government dominates decision making; provinces, or regions have limited power- examples: U.K., France, China, Japan
Federal State: provinces/ regions have constitutionally protected powers which the central government cannot take away- examples: Germany, Canada, USA, Nigeria, Mexico, Russia
Factors limiting state sovereignty
Membership in a supranational organization such as the European Union (EU)
Civil war Military occupation by a foreign state Trade agreements such as the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Economic pressure particularly from larger states Military alliances United Nations actions (resolutions, sanctions,
interventions)
Sources of legitimacy
Traditional: people follow the rules because it has always been that way
Example: Chinese dynasties
Charismatic: people follow a leader because they have been mesmerized, persuaded- Example: Nazi Germany
Rational-legal: people follow laws, rules and a constitution because they believe this system to be just and fair
Examples: Japan, South Korea, Canada, USA
Factors which weaken legitimacy
Anytime the government/regime uses coercion (violence) to put down protest
Corruption War Economic misery/depression Failure to reform
What happens when a government’s or regime’s legitimacy is gone?
In democratic states, citizens normally choose another party
In authoritarian states, however, this normally leads to: rebellion, revolution, or coup d’etat
7) Political Culture
Political culture is defined as the prevailing attitudes people in a state have toward government and authority
What rights and freedoms do citizens believe are important?
Who should or should not have power?
Political culture tells us a lot
American political culture: Values freedom and individual liberties Republican democracy Capitalist Christian traditions
Chinese political culture: Respects authority Values the group/community Communist one party system Authoritarian history Mixed economy
Source: Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel, "Changing Mass Priorities: The Link Between Modernization and Democracy." Perspectives on Politics June 2010 (vol 8, No. 2) page 554.
Mapping political culture
States with the highest self-expression values tend to be the most individualistic. What else do these states have in common?
Political culture and legitimacy
What is legitimate in one state might not be legitimate in another
Much of this (but NOT all) has to do with political culture For example: in the U.K. there is support and respect for
an unelected hereditary monarchy; there also tends to be more respect for unelected bureaucrats and government officials and a general belief that they will do what is best for the state
In the USA, on the other hand, nearly every government office is elected, and politicians tend to be mistrusted; the general belief is that their power must be restricted and checked by the people