Advanced Democracies
The term refers to countries that have institutionalized democracy and a high level of economic
development and prosperity
It holds in common a basic set of institutions include liberal democracy, with its emphasis on
participation, competition and liberty and capitalism, with its emphasis on free markets and
private property
Political diversity in Advanced Democracies
Participation-standards of voter eligibility differ
-referenda and initiatives are used in varying degrees
Competition
-different methods and levels of funding are used for political parties and campaigns
-separation of powers varies greatly and is based primarily on the relative strength of different
branches of government
Liberties
Distinctions exist in the regulation, allowance or prohibition of activities such as abortion
prostition, and hate speech
The institutions that the advanced democracies share are part of what makes these countries
modern that is, secular, rational materialistic, technological, bureaucratic, and plaing a greater
emphasis on individual freedom than on collective equality
Integration is a process by which states pool their sovereignty, surrendering some individual
powers in order to gain political, economic, or societal benefits in return.
Devolution is a process by which political power is devolved, <sent down= to lower levels of
government
Statelike institutions have gained power over time, many people no longer speak of the EU as
an intergovernmental system like the UN, but as a supranational system, with its sovereign
powers shared among the members and held by EU institutions over the member states
themselves
Means of Devolution
Transfer of policy-making responsibility to lower levers of government
Transfer of funds and powers to tax to lower levels of government, affording them more
control over how resources are distributed
Creation of new political institutions at lower levels of government
Postmodern values are much less focused on the idea od progress as embodied by material
goods, technological change, or scientific innovation
Post Industrialism, the majority of people are employed and the bulk of profits are made in the
service sector, work that involves not the creation of tangible or physical goods, such as cars or
computers but industries such as finance, insurance real estate, education, retail sales
transportation, communication, high technology, utilities, health care, and business and legal
services
Political Violence
Political violence as violence outside of state control that is politically motivated or has a political
goal
1. Institutional explanations
a. Institutions are central in shaping political violence
i. Political Institutions
ii. Economic Institutions
iii. Societal Institutions
2. Ideational explanations
a. Ideas playing an important role in violence
3. Individual explanations
a. Emphasis on personal motivations
Psychological factors may lead to violence
Rational motivations as an alternative view
Forms of Contentious Politics or Political CHallenge
-assassinations
-riots
-coups
-rebellions
-civil war
-ethnic conflict
Revolution- defined as the public seizure of the state in order to overturn the existing
government and regime
Nonviolent revolutions are possible
Causes
Behavioral revolution focused on <relative deprivation=
But critics argued that this was not supported by evidence
And there was change without revolution in some cases
Effects
Revolutionary regimes institutionalize new forms of politics, idas, and ideologies
Revolutionary change often comes at a great cost of life, domestically and internationally
Revolutionary leaders, though, can often use the tools od the state to consolidate power
anew in new regime
Terrorism
Term used indiscriminately, though with a negative connotation
Defined as the use of violence by on-state actors against civilians in order to achieve a
political goal
Different from
Guerilla war
Human rights violations
State-sponsored terrorsim
Causes
Economic inequality & poverty
Marginalization
Education
Political institutions
Efforts
Can weaken economies
Can undermine political order
Less clear than in cases of revolution
Terrorism & revolution
Tend to be portrayed as very separate acts
But terror originally viewed as necessary tool of revolution
Terrorism still largely directed toward revolutionary goals
Political Violence
Faith, terrorism & revoltuion
We’ve seen the reemergence of religion in politics
Religious fundamentalism:religion as the sole regime for a political system
Some (not most) variants of this view embrace violence as a means to that end
Examples
Al Qaeda-global conspiracy that transcends space and time
Countering Political Violence
-existing regime appears to make a difference
-democracies appear to co-opt and defuse violence
-so can regime change for authoritarian states weaken terrorism
-problem is that regime change does not often produce consolidated democracies
