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9- The comparative analysis of interest formation and articulation…
9- The comparative analysis of interest formation and articulation
introduction : Analysing comparative politics: structures, inputs, processes and outputs
politics --> resolve conflicts, distributed valued ressources, common good
David Easton : in the structures : inputs --> processus --> outputs --> feedback --> ..
politics as a structure
how to organize decision, based on institutions
politics as a set of processes
behaviour that leads to decisions, the way actors interpret institutions
politics as a set of outputs and outcomes
responses to political action, final decisions (output), concrete consequences (outcomes)
Interest formation, the origin of the "inputs"
demands : what citizens / groups want
Support : wether institutions and political actors are backed
Political culture : political norms, values and beliefs
Political socialisation : transmission of the political culture
political behaviour depends on political culture, political socialization, cleavages, medias
cleavages : socio-eco or cultural conflicts
Political culture and political socialization
introduction
political culture
values : morally good / bad
Norms : what is socially accepted
beliefs : factually right / wrong
political socialisation
process to acquire : knowledge, abilities, orientation to participate or not the political realm
primary / secondary socialisation
"civic culture" - Almond & Verba
well performing democracy --> political socialisation
civic culture = ppl are participants, their voice and input matter / sense of civic duty and civic competence (you can avec gvt outcome)
approach : 1000 individuals from 5 countries (US, UK, Germany,Italy, Mexico)
findings
3 ideal types of political culture
parochial
subject
participant
correct mix --> civic culture
if culture and regime matches --> stability
criticisms
ethnocentric
elitist
fussiness
unclear causal theory
explains stability or instability but not transitions
Post-materialism - Inglehart,
the silent revolution in Europe
economic security, post-war influence --> new values , new will
approach : what is most important : order / more say in important political decisions / fighting rising prices / protecting freedom of speech
political consequences
new social movements : environment, peace, feminist, anti-trade
poste-material parties : green parties, pirate parties, feminist parties
less material cleavages or working class concerns
traditionnel parties incorporante new vases
criticisms
Measurement
conceptualisation
no clear definition of post-material / bourgeois values
Social Capital thesis - Robert Putnam
Making democracy work
: study Italian regional gvt --> sociocultural factors (social networks, interpersonal trusts = social capital) --> successful democracy
Bowling Alone
: decline of social capital in the US --> falling engagement in politics --> women work / mobility / family breakdown / individualism due to technology (tv and not community)
criticisms
US is an exception
maybe the politicians are bad and not the voters
no clear distinction btw dependent and independent variable
correlation not causality
doesn't study unconventional activities
socio-economic positions, interests and cleavages
generic approach
structural-sociological : influence of social inequalities in political behaviors
ppl w/ socio-eco ressources --> central position / defend their interests
psycho-sociological
different social position --> different orientations
the orientation of the citizen (attitudes, beliefs and values) are a filter btw the social context/socioeco and the political behavior
cleavages
Lipset & Rokkan : in Europe parties froze cleavages : class, religion, national identity --> appear in the 19th --> still influence
centre/periphery (centralist vs peripheral nationalisms)
religious (catholic vs protestant / clerical vs anti-clerical)
class (working class vs bourgeoisie = left vs right)
urban-rural (agrarian vs urban based elites)
new cleavages due to post-materialism + globalization
political behavior
drop in electoral turnout but doesn't mean no political participation
ppl w/out strong attachement to a party less likely to vote
older, well-educated, middle-class --> more likely to vote
collective action
Not all political participation is collective action
collective actions are not always political
Social movements are just one expression of collective action --> sporadic riot are also collective actions
paradox of collective action - Olson
self-interest ppl don't participate in groups except if it is small
free-rider : don't participate in a group if the group obtains things for the non-member
exit, voice, loyalty - Hirschman
Voice : action to counter deterioration
exit : accept negative outcome but change behaviour to avoid consequences
loyalty : accept deterioration
rational choice : depends on cost-benefits
social movements and interest groups
Definitions
Mario Diani : networks of interactions btw plurality of individuals --> political or cultural conflicts, share collective identity
Graham Wilson : autonomy from the state , try ton influence public policy
different from interest groups which have organizational structure
post-materialism --> evolution of social mvt (issues, repertoires of action, organizational forms, identity and social backgrounds)
interest groups
protectional
restricted membership
pursue selective /private benefits
well-funded and well-connected
insider status w/ gvt
ex : trade unions, business associations, professional organisations
promotional
open membership
collective good / benefit
promote ides, values, identities --> causes
cooperation w/ gvt sporadic
ex : environmental organization, consumer organization
the role of the mass media
interest formation : message dissemination
opinion formation
agenda setting
information about actors of the political process
issues on the agenda
interest articulation : message construction
priming : amount of time and space devoted to an issue
framing : focus, tone, jargon used to communicate about an issue