How do we compare political systems Systems Edition

How do we compare political systems? Systems Edition

Daily Quiz According to Friedman, how are the “steroids” changing the world?

Why We Compare To help us develop explanations and test theories on how politics works Remember political science is limited because we can not perform experiments….

General Concepts of Comparative Politics A) System= object has interdependent parts acting within an environment Thus, political systems are a set of institutions and agencies concerned with the goals of a society Governments: are the policymakers of political systems Can you name some parts of the US political system?

Systems continued… Political systems receive input about policies and shape policies through outputs. For example: Leaders of the civil rights movement put pressure on policy makers (input) and the Civil Rights act was passed in 1964 (output)

Inputs and Outputs Interdependence of a country, volume of imports and exports, transfers of capital, international communication, and extent of foreign travel (associated with globalization) all are creating more inputs and outputs for the United States. Why?

Political Culture Attitudes and beliefs of people in a country. For example: Educated societies are more concerned with quality of life. Globalization leads to demands for government to protect foreign workers Natural disasters lead to demands for reconstruction Aging populations demand help from government with health care costs

Outputs Different outputs include: Changes in taxation (New York State) Changes in welfare • By looking at interdependence, we can analyze how a nation’s environment can limit their output • For example, if a nation is poor in natural resources, we can not fault it for having low industrial output. • ****What advantages was the US given over Africa in creating an industrial society?