POL114H5 Study Guide - Summer 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - International Law, Soviet Union, Soft Power
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
POL114H5
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Monday – May 7th, 2018
Week 1 – Lecture 1 – No Chapter
Global Politics
What is Politics?
Politics can be explained in two forms:
1-Precise definition → Harold Lasswell → the study of who gets what, when, and how.
2-Intiuitive understanding → the study of power, where power is the ability to affect change in
order to get what you want.
Power as Domination (power-over):
-Robert Dahl → A has power over B to the extent that A can get B to do something he would not
otherwise do.
-The ability to compel others to do your will.
-Coercion → threat or use of force.
-Giving or withholding material incentives such as money and food.
-Power is relative, and zero sum, which means that if someone has more of that power, the other
will have less.
Other Conceptions of Power:
A) Empowerment (power to):
-Ability and capacity to produce change and transform self and others.
-Positive sum (not zero sum).
B) Authority (vs. power):
-Derives from legitimacy, expertise, and social standing.
-Generally prevents coercion.
C) Power as Prerogative:
-The powerful party has the ability to make the rules that others follow, as well as break them.
For example: government officials in Arab countries.
-These powerful parties face fewer consequences than others when breaking the rules.
Soft Power:
-Joseph Nye → The ability to obtain preferred outcomes through attraction.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
-Agenda-setting: identifying and publicizing issues so that others take note of them.
-Makes the costly “hard power” less necessary.
-Elements:
-Culture
-Values
-Policies
Soft Power and the Cold War:
-Regis Debray: there is “more power in blue jeans and rock n’ roll than the entire Red Army”
-Referring to the Soviet army.
-Jeans symbolized what is good about America and what Soviet’s want but cannot have.
-Jeans were associated with glamour.
-The Soviets used to show movies with homeless Americans, but the irony was in that even these
homeless people were able to afford and wear blue jeans.
Soft Power Today:
-The decline in the popularity of the United States around the world implies a decline in soft
power, and the emergence of radical groups like ISIS.
-Hard power is needed to fight the radicals, but they cannot overcome this using hard power
alone.
-Soft power is necessary to reduce the number of potential and current recruits.
Power as Hegemony:
-Antonio Gramsci of the Italian Communist Party wrote Prison Notebooks.
-Hegemony:
-The political leadership requires the consent of the governed.
-Ability to spread the ideology and view of the ruling class.
-Make others want what you want.
-If force must be used, then hegemony fails.
Who/What Yields Power?
-Government
-Bosses
-Celebrities
-Professors
-Religious leaders
-Internet trolls
-Criminals
-The wealthy
Power of the Powerless
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Week 1 lecture 1 no chapter. 1-precise definition harold lasswell the study of who gets what, when, and how. 2-intiuitive understanding the study of power, where power is the ability to affect change in order to get what you want. Robert dahl a has power over b to the extent that a can get b to do something he would not otherwise do. The ability to compel others to do your will. Giving or withholding material incentives such as money and food. Power is relative, and zero sum, which means that if someone has more of that power, the other will have less. Other conceptions of power: empowerment (power to): Ability and capacity to produce change and transform self and others. Positive sum (not zero sum): authority (vs. power): The powerful party has the ability to make the rules that others follow, as well as break them. These powerful parties face fewer consequences than others when breaking the rules.
