POL S101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Multinational Corporation, Non-Interventionism, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
7 Jun 2018
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2018-06-06
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CHAPTER 7
Institutions and States
Understanding Institutions
•Regular patterns of behaviour that give stability and predictability to social life
•Informal: no clear written rules, such as the family, social class, or ethnic group
•Formal: codified rules, such as governments, political parties, bureaucracies, legislatures,
constitutions, law courts
Institutions
•Can structure and constrain behaviour
•Can also serve as tools or resources
•Political scientists tend to focus on formal institutions
•Attempt to identify regularities that might serve as “laws” (e.g., first-past-the-post electoral
systems produce two-party systems)
Structuration
•Anthony Giddens (1979)
•System: political system; arena in which institutions compete for influence
•Structure: political institution
•Structuration: factors that both constrain and provide resources for changes in the
operation of both systems and structures
Structure and Agency
•Structuration can account for highly complex decision making
•However, rarely are political decisions made by structures alone
•Agency, the impact of actions taken by one or more agents, plays an important role
•Agency and structures work to shape each other
States
•Structure of rule and authority within a particular geographical area
•Modern European state emerges in the 17th and 18th centuries
•European model spread globally by colonialism
State Capacity
•“The ability of a government to administer its territory effectively” (Wang, 1995)
•Four basic forms:
1. Extractive capacity
2. Steering capacity
3. Legitimation capacity
4. Coercive capacity
The Development of the State
•State and ruler inseparable until the 17th century
•Cost of warfare leads to new forms of tax collection
•French Revolution introduces universal taxation, which is then adopted by the rest of
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Document Summary
Institutions: can structure and constrain behaviour, can also serve as tools or resources, political scientists tend to focus on formal institutions, attempt to identify regularities that might serve as laws (e. g. , first-past-the-post electoral systems produce two-party systems) Structuration: anthony giddens (1979, system: political system; arena in which institutions compete for influence, structure: political institution, structuration: factors that both constrain and provide resources for changes in the operation of both systems and structures. States: structure of rule and authority within a particular geographical area, modern european state emerges in the 17th and 18th centuries, european model spread globally by colonialism. State capacity: the ability of a government to administer its territory effectively (wang, 1995, four basic forms, extractive capacity, steering capacity, legitimation capacity, coercive capacity. The development of the state: state and ruler inseparable until the 17th century, cost of warfare leads to new forms of tax collection, french revolution introduces universal taxation, which is then adopted by the rest of.
