GVPT 280 Chapter Notes - Chapter Week 1: Jeffrey Herbst, Christian Mortalism, Comparative Politics
3 Sep 2018
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GVPT280: Week 1 Readings
• “Politics as a Vocation” by Max Weber
o The state is an entity with a monopoly over the legitimate use of coercive power
within a given territory.
▪ Politics is the pursuit of power over the state.
o Weber’s definition:
▪ “The state is seen as the sole grantor of the ‘right’ to physical force.
Therefore, ‘politics’ in our case would mean the pursuit for a portion of
power or for influencing the division of power whether it is between
states, or between groups of people which the state encompasses.”
o There are three perinciples that justify the legitimacy of political domination
within a state:
▪ Tradition – authority based on habit; custom is largely patriarchal,
patrimonial, and traditional
▪ Charisma – authority of revelations, heroism, or other individual
leadership quanlities; associated with the “charisma” of prophets,
demagogues, and popular vote
▪ Law – authority derived from valid statutes enforced by technically trained
civil servants; assumes rational competence and conditioned obedience of
both civil servants and people to the legal apparatus
o Politicians must balance “ethics of moral conviction” with “ethics of
responsibility.”
▪ The Ethic of Moral Conviction is the core, unshakeable beliefs that a
politician must hold.
▪ The Ethic of Responsibility is the day-to-day need to use the state’s
violence to preserve peace for the greater good.
o “Politics is made with the head, not with the other parts of the body, nor the soul.”
▪ The most successful politicians are able to excite the emotions of their
followers while governing strictly through cold reason. Normal humans,
being vain, cannot do this.
▪ As humans, politicians are tempted to make decisions based on emotional
attachments to followers or allies, not on pure reason.
▪ Politics is not suited for one who seeks salvation of their immortal soul
through peace and brotherhood.
o Weber focuses on two forms of the state:
▪ An administrative staff beneath the ruler in status and power has its own
means of administration separate from those of the ruler. This may include
wealth and possessions as well as control over labor and the means of
production. This administration is essentially aristocratic.
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▪ An administrative staff completely or partly separate from the tools of
administration, similar to Marx’s conception of the proletariat being
separate from the means of production. In patriarchal organizations of
deference and delegation, this staff become confidants without means.
▪ The first form is called “patrimonialism” and depends on the personality
of the ruler and the loyalty of their followers.
▪ The second is the modern form of administration; administrators do not
own the funds, buildings, or state organs they direct. Executive decisions
usually remain with politicians, despite them not having the technical
ability of the modern administrator.
• “War and the State in Africa” by Jeffrey Herbst
o There is such a thing as a permanently weak state.
▪ European wars caused powerful states to annex weaker neighbors.
Belgium is an examples of a weak state kept alive by protection from
powerful states.
▪ In Africa, weaker states exist due to a lack of war and international aid.
▪ Weak African states are untested, but thought to be viable on their onw.
o Taxes and nationalism create stability and cohesion.
▪ Taxation creates steady revenue for the state and fuels wars.
▪ Nationalism unites a state and makes the people more willing to pay taxes
in support of it.
o Tilly’s model of warfare is not present in Africa.
▪ Most African states won independence bloodlessly. Since independence,
most of them have not faced external threats to security.
▪ African governments, thus, have not gained a monopoly over power and
are often not seen as legitimate institutions with respect to extraction.
o African states are weaker than European ones because they are developing in a
new environment.
▪ The constant wars that plagued Europe through its development are absent
from today’s Africa.
o Taxation is important, but it is difficult to change African tax systems.
▪ Tax systems fuel public structures and institutions.
▪ War has been seen as a legitimate means of raising taxes to collect
revenues.
▪ Without wars, it is difficult to justify raising taxes in many African states.
o Herbst believes that it is impossible to consolidate power and develop a new
national identity without war.
▪ Doing so results in the creation of a permanently weak state.
o There are possible, nonviolent methods of solving the Africa problem.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Politics as a vocation by max weber, the state is an entity with a monopoly over the legitimate use of coercive power within a given territory, politics is the pursuit of power over the state. Gvpt280: week 1 readings: weber"s definition, the state is seen as the sole grantor of the right" to physical force. This may include wealth and possessions as well as control over labor and the means of production. This administration is essentially aristocratic: an administrative staff completely or partly separate from the tools of administration, similar to marx"s conception of the proletariat being separate from the means of production. Belgium is an examples of a weak state kept alive by protection from powerful states. This does not create nationalism: essentials pp. The ability to carry out actions and policies within your territory independent of external actors or intern.
