SOC 105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Gerrymandering, Direct Democracy, Homophily
16 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Structures of power: the us & the rest of the world. The us is the predominant superpower, w/a military dwarfing all other (almost all combined) in size, expense & sophistication. The us & the rest of the world. Nation-states in the world range from: liberal democracies (us) autocratic states w/democratic veneers (russia) nondemocratic state (china) Many nation-states face tensions w/(even rebellions from) suppressed nationalist minorities. Many nation-states also face the territorial legacy of colonialism, where there is little connection b/w the formal map & actual national or ethnic differences. Leaders who possess appropriate judgment or technical expertise are elected as managers of the complex decisions necessary to run a state. This is usually accomplished effectively through competition among political parties. Political party: an organization of individuals w/broadly similar political aims, oriented toward achieving legitimate control of gov"t through an electoral process. Interest groups (business organizations, ethnic groups, labor unions) compete w/one another to.
