State Vs. Government Vs. Regime

State vs. Government vs. Regime

The State is the set of permanent, administrative, coercive, and legal systems that maintain a monopoly over the use of force in a given territory. The regime is the rules and procedures by which political power is allocated (for example, Democracy). The government is the group of people in power at a given time.

Structuralism versus Voluntarism

Structuralism minimizes the role of individual leaders and human agencies, focusing instead on deep-routed processes. Structuralism maintains that outcomes would have happened no matter who was in charge and what decisions were made. Voluntarism maintains that the decisions and abilities of individual leaders can be decisive in shaping the course of history. Voluntarism is wearing in the realm of theory and thus tends to focus on single cases.

Modernization Theory

Seymour Martin Lipset’s modernization theory (a theory of development) argues that there is a single, Western-style path to development (the future of Bolivia is England). Modernization theory is a syndrome or package of changes: industrialization, urbanization, spread of education, secularization, and democratization. Modernization Theory ignores cultural factors, historical timing, and international context.

Core versus Periphery

Dependency Theory (a theory of development) was developed primarily by Latin American scholars such as Andre Gunder Frank in response to Modernization Theory. Gunder Frank argued that development of the core (the world’s richest and most powerful countries such as the US and Englan) came at the expense of the periphery (poor, non-industrialized countries), exploiting the periphery for its resources. Development would only come about by “going at it alone.” A situation of unequal exchange exists between the core and the periphery due to declining terms of trade.

Relative backwardness

According to Gershenkron, relative backwardness is how backward a country is, not in an absolute sense but compared to its neighbors. Due to relative backwardness, there is greater pressure to develop quickly (military pressure: if cannot keep up with neighbors, they will destroy you). There is also an ability to borrow technology from early developers and thus potential to industrialize faster. Relative backwardness is an example of why late developers are different from early developers.

International Demonstration Effect

The International Demonstration Effect is an example of why late developers differ from early developers. International demonstration raises expectation for industrialization; through the influence of modern mass media, the people of these developing countries are able to see what possessions, rights, and advantages the people who live in the industrialized world have. The absence of such an effect allowed capitalism to develop slowly in England; Bolivian peasants today are not so patient. The International Demonstration Effect exerts a powerful pressure on society to industrialize rapidly.

Liberalism

According to Max Weber’s cultural theory of capitalism and lays the groundwork for modern democracy. Liberalism champions individual rights over those of society, religious authorities, or the state. Because of this belief in inalienable rights, Liberalism hates concentrations of power. Characteristics of liberalism are (1) individualism, (2) egalitarian and (3) competition and choice. The implication of such a theory, however, is that democracy is unlikely to develop in Catholic, Confusion, or Muslim cultures.

Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs)

Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) are right on the cusp of advanced industrialization. They industrialized in the latter half of the 20th century and have eliminated the most acute problems of poverty and disease. Examples include Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. These countries followed a different path to industrialization as advanced industrialized countries such as England and the United States. According to Robert Wade, their success depended upon their reliance on free markets.

The Kuomintang (KMT) in Taiwan and Park Chung Hee in South Korea

After the Chinese Civil War, the Chang Kai-Sheck and the Kuomintang (KMT) took over Taiwan and implemented a highly authoritarian state while implementing land reforms to weaken the landed elite before progressing onto rapid industrialization. After a 1961 military coup, Park Chung Hee led an anti-corruption drive to bring skilled laborers into the bureaucracy.

The developmental state

The Developmental State is part of Chalmers Johnson’s State-Centered Model of Development. The Developmental State is autonomous (highly professionalized, cohesive), interventionist (state owns major industry, central bank, heavily regulates trade and foreign investments, uses tariffs/protections to aid certain industries), and business-friendly (easy access to credit, crack down on unions). Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea are examples of Developmental States.

State autonomy and state Capacity

The difference between development in East Asian Developmental States and economic crisis in the Latin American Import-Substituting Industrialization economies is state autonomy and state capacity. Without state autonomy (highly professionalized bureaucracy, societal interests have little influence over government policy which rises above powerful interest groups, cohesive), states give loans to friends and not the best businesses. State capacity is the ability for states to implement laws and policies; state capacity was heavily undermined by inefficiency and corruption in Latin America.

Import-substituting Industrialization (ISI) versus Export-Oriented Industrialization (EOI)

Export-Oriented Industrialization (EOI) was practiced in East Asia; Import-Substituting Industrialization (ISI) was practiced in Latin America. EOI functions by inserting one’s country into the global economy; ISI is inward-oriented. Both are state-led processes of industrialization. ISI lacks the authoritarianism (exclusion of labor), state autonomy and capacity, and the developmental state that characterized EOI. ISI sets up universal trade barriers instead of strategically choosing industries.

Neoclassical development theory

Neoclassical theory emphasizes the role of free markets in development, arguing that development requires that countries embrace the global economy with a minimal role of the state. East Asian development challenged neoclassical development theory, but it experienced resurgence after the success of Chile under Pinochet.

The Washington Consensus

The Washington Consensus of the 1990s called for free markets, a limited state, free trade, and openness to foreign investment. The Washington Consensus is an example of neoclassical development theory and was implemented by Chile under Pinochet.

Augusto Pinochet and the Chicago Boys

In 1973, Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew Marxist President Salvador Allende. Pinochet brought in US-trained technocrats, the Chicago Boys, who he insulated from day-to-day political pressure. They established one of the most radical free-market economies the world has ever seen. Because of the success of the model, most Chileans bought into it, even after they disposed of Pinochet in 1989.

Labor repressive agriculture

Labor repressive agriculture is a system employed by landed elites in which peasants work because they have to; the power of the landed elite rested on labor repressive agriculture. This system is fundamentally incompatible with democracy. Moore argues that democracy is caused by the bourgeoisie destroying the landed elite and their system of labor repressive agriculture.

The Third Wave

The last quarter of the 20th century saw an unprecedented wave of democratization. ___ argues that it can be explained by the end of the Cold War (collapse of Soviet-backed dictatorships, Western democracy promotion, democracy as “only game in town”) and globalization (transnational human rights and democracy networks, international demonstration effects). According to Huntington, the third wave was caused by (1) democracy only game in town (2) economic growth expanded middle class (3) shift in activities of Catholic Church (4) Changes in policies of external actors (US, EU, USSR) (5) snowballing.

Jawaharlal Nehru

Nehru helped lead the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) with Gandhi. Nehru was the prime minister for the first decade of Indian democracy. Nehru is an example of a leader who underutilized his power (deferring to the courts, even when they ruled against him) to help strengthen a fledgling democracy.

Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress

The African National Congress was a middle class organization led by black professional elites such as Nelson Mandela looking to end apartheid. In 1960, the ANC was banned and it moved underground and became an armed resistance movement. After the fall of apartheid in 1992, Mandela forged a 1993 pact with the apartheid government which contained major concessions but allowed democracy to flourish in South Africa.

Competitive authoritarianism

According to Steve Levitsky, Competitive Authoritarianism is a type of hybrid regime which often appears democratic from the outside (all the formal trappings of democracy), however, competition, although it exists, is highly unfair (repression and abuse are subtle rather than overt, buying off media, jailing rivals for petty reasons). The uneven playing field is the essence of competitive authoritarianism, which is particularly well-suited for the post-Cold War environment. These regimes lack either a strong external push (ie the EU) or domestic pull via a strong civil society. An example is Russia.

Social revolution

Social revolution is a rapid, fundamental, and often violent transformation of state structure, class structure, and dominant ideology which is accompanied/caused by mass revolt from below. They are rare, violent, and tend to be enduring. Theories include Marx, Relative Depravation (Gurr, Davies), Skocpol’s state-centered theory, and Di Palma’s voluntarist approach.

The J-Curve

The J-Curve is a graphical representation of Davies’ Relative Depravation Theory of social revolution. The theory revolves around the key role of expectations and relative, rather than absolute, misery. The J-Curve arises when revolutions occur where steady growth leads to rising expectations, and then economic downturn frustrates those expectations.

The Foco Strategy

In the “Foco” strategy, revolutionaries take to the mountains to gain support of peasants for a social revolution because they believe peasants to be inherently revolutionary because they are so radically exploited. Che’s foco strategy failed to recruit a single peasant in Bolivia, casting doubt on leadership-centered approaches to social revolution.

Agrarian bureaucracy

According to Skocpol’s theory of social revolution, agrarian bureaucracy leading to state weakness is a condition necessary for social revolution. In agrarian bureaucracy, the state is dominated by the landed elite. The state is highly dependant upon the agrarian bureaucracy and their system of labor repressive agriculture and has no autonomy to act independently of the landed elite. It is difficult to modernize without revolution because the landed elite refuse to be taxed. An example is Russia at the turn of the 20th century.

Mir

Mirs were village councils in tsarist Russia which emerged after the end of serfdom in 1861 led to the rise of rural peasant villages. Mirs played a role in governing the village and distributing land. They also facilitated the peasant rebellion.

Bolsheviks vs. Mensheviks

At the Second Congress in 1903, there was a split in the Russian Marxist Party between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. The Mensheviks, led by Alexander Kerensky, took Marx’s theory seriously and believed Russia was not ready for a socialist revolution because it needed a bourgeoisie revolution first. The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin and Trotsky, wanted to make a socialist revolution immediately. The February 1917 revolution brought the Mensheviks to power. As the state collapsed, the Bolsheviks were brought to power because they were better organized than anyone else and they were the only serious political group which had opposed the war.

Vladimir Lenin and Iosef Stalin

Lenin led the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution and came to be Russia’s leading authority. After he died in 1924, he was succeeded by Stalin. Stalin began a policy of “socialism in one country;” because there would be no worldwide socialist revolution, the Russian revolution had to survive on its own. He collectivized agriculture, oversaw rapid industrialization, and engaged in large-scale repression.

Soviets

Liberation Theology

Liberation Theology is a radical strand of Catholicism which asserts that the main role of the church is to defend the poor and fight for social justice. Rather than wait for the afterlife, it is more important for Christians to make a better world today. Priests organized Christian Base Communities in which the teaching of Christ was linked to radical social change. Liberation Theology helped the Sandinistas gain a broad base of support in Nicaragua and is an example of the role of theology in social revolutions in bringing together people from different social classes (glue in multi-class movements).

Christian Base Communities

Priests organized Christian Base Communities in which the teachings of Christ was linked to racial social change and Liberation Theology. CBCs helped the Sandinistas gain a broad base of support in Nicaragua and are an example of the role of theology in social revolutions in bringing together people from different social classes (glue in multi-class movements).

Anastasio Somoza

Anastasio Somoza is an example of a sutanistic ruler overthrown by social revolution. When the US Marines left Nicaragua, they left Somoza in charge of the army. Somoza led a coup a few years later, ransacking the state for his own personal enrichment and becoming a staunch ally of the US in the war against communism.

Sultanistic regime

Sultanistic regimes, such as the ones in Nicaragua and Cuba, are particularly prone to social revolution. A sultanistic regime is a regime in which the authority of single leader is fused with that of state to an extent that it is difficult to disentangle the leader and his family from state itself. They are particularly prone to revolution because of (1) weak states, (2) hard to reform (moderates cannot reform, everyone knows they will go down with ruler), (3) external dependence.

Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN)

The FSLN took to the mountains to launch a socialist revolution in Nicaragua. They completely failed to gain peasant support and were massacred by the National Guard. In the late 1970s, the FSLN abandoned their rural strategy for an urban one. When they called a general strike backed by all sectors of society, Somoza left the country and the FSLN took power.

Primordialism vs. Constructivism

Primoridalism and Constructivism are two approaches to understanding ethnic identity. Clifford Geertz’s Primordialist approach views ethnicity as fixed and historically given, trumping other (class, ideological) identities when push comes to shove. The implication is that ethnic identities and conflict are always lurking beneath the surface in plural societies. It cannot explain why some differences become salient while others do not. Nagel’s Constructivism views ethnic identity as neither fixed nor individually chosen, but rather socially constructed. The implication is that ethnic identities change, although slowly over several generations. This approach has less predictive power.