...Definitional activity (covering Power, Authority, and Legitimacy) There is no universally accepted view of power. Some authors have defined power as domination over others (Hobbes, 1651) while others defined it as a passage to achieve goals (Parsons, 1963). Some look to where power lies to define power from where power lies in the hands of many, this can be seen as Pluralism (Dahl, 1957) to where power lies in the hands of a few, this can be seen as Elitism (Pareto, 1935) but essentially it is the ability to do something For example, in the UK system, there are many accounts of both Elitism and Pluralism but realistically, we live in an Elitist state. The definition of authority is based on the power or right to act in a particular way and to influence others. To excise authority, consent is needed. Some may argue that there are three types of authority: charismatic authority, traditional authority and rational-legal authority (Weber, 1958). It can be argued that authority is used to excise social control (McLaughlin, 2008) and even that we, as humans, need authority in order to live (Seligman, 2003). An example of authority in the UK system could be the Prime Minister, as he has the power to “give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience” (Collins English Dictionary, 2009). The definition of legitimacy has many forms and shapes but some may argue that it derives from something that is right and proper. “Legitimacy has both a normative and a sociological meaning” (Keohane...
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...In Benjamin R. Barber’s article “Jihad vs. McWorld”, Barber predicts and classifies the future of politics into two possible outcomes—tribalism vs. globalization. The chief goals of McWorld are not only to achieve globalization, but also to create a world without national boundaries where enterprises become transnational and cooperate with others on economy, resources, information-technology and ecology. As a result of McWorld, people from different countries go to international banks that are available everywhere, use convertible currency, eat hamburgers at McDonald, watch American—produced movies, employ English software, and trade resources freely. In fact, McWorld is gradually becoming a tendency in the world. Oppositely, Jihad is a conflicting concept with McWorld. The most significantly purpose of Jihad is to pursue isolation and nationalism. People advocate and inherit their own cultures, nations, politics and religions. Therefore, wars and revolutions might usually arise for people to form boundaries with others. Although McWorld impresses people by its peaceful and prosperous features and seems more attractive than Jihad, it does not promote democracy more successfully than Jihad does. Instead, both notions are unbeneficial to democracy since McWorld ignore the distinction between nations and Jihad excessively points out the dissimilarity of different groups. Barber believes that confederal, the system that offers local places to...
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...People, of the three branches, Congress possesses “the greatest of all the powers of government, the power to make the laws” (328). The significant role of Legislators necessitates the need for immediate reform before the other branches due to their unique power. Currently, Congress is “the only form of elected office in American government not regulated by term...
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...Founded by William Phillips and Philip Rahv in February of 1934, leftist arts and politics magazine Partisan Review came about initially as an alternative to the American Communist Party’s publication, New Masses. While Partisan Review (PR) published many a Marxist writer, its politics diverged sharply from communism with the rise of Stalin. Perhaps this turn ensured the magazine’s almost 70-year run from ’34 to 2003, while New Masses folded in 1948. Partisan Review nonetheless remained a venue for some very heated political conversations (see more on which below), yet it has equally, if not more so, been known as one of the foremost literary journals of the 20th century. PR first published James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” in Summer 1957 and two of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets in 1940, for example, as well as Delmore Schwartz’s brilliant story “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities” in a 1937 issue that also featured Wallace Stevens, Edmund Wilson, Pablo Picasso (writing on Franco), James Agee, and Mary McCarthy. “More a literary event,” writes Robin Hemley at The Believer, “than a literary magazine,” even issues sixty or more years old can still carry “the punch of revelation.” Now you can assess the impact of that punch by accessing all 70-years’ worth of issues online at Boston University’s Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center. BU began hosting the magazine in 1978 after it moved from Rutgers, where founding editor William Phillips taught. Now the university has finished digitizing...
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...Pop Culture: an essay First, a definition. You will notice that the phrase is made from separable units: popular, and culture. Popular, I think, expresses the essential character of a high-tech, media-dominated age. Hence, by popular culture, I do not mean a culture everyone “likes” — as common usage would have it (“she’s the most popular gal in grade nine!”). If the media are correct, this is emphatically not the character of popular culture. No: pop culture is a “popular” one because it addresses itself to and thereby captivates the attention of The People. Every day each person is addressed by cultural institutions — television for instance — which assume as their audience nothing short of the Collective Man. It is the nature of popular culture to get into one’s daily life, whether discussions, chat, entertainment, or sex. And it does not matter who one is, popular culture makes few rhetorical distinctions, for we are all “of the people.” Innovations in technology guarantee that this will be the case not only in North America, but increasingly also in (for examples) Tokyo, Paris, and Beijing, each of which is becoming increasingly “Americanised.” Another way of saying this: the world is increasingly adopting the trappings of mass-produced popular culture, a culture “of the people.” And we are all of us of the people. By Culture I intend those instituted actions and objects expressing that which is held in high esteem. For the public articulation of personal beliefs is never...
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...KEY CONCEPTS Part I: Modern Politics: State and Citizens You will find listed below the key concepts for each lecture and chapters from the text. These concepts are what you will be tested on. They will appear on the midterm quiz, in the form of multiple choice questions and in the final exam will be the basis of both the short answer and longer essay questions. Please note that some of the concepts listed under lectures are also covered in the readings, sometimes in more than one chapter. Lec. 1-2 What is Politics? Concepts from the Lecture: Politics ‘Polis’ Plato Machiavelli Modern Age Thomas Hobbes Leviathan Concepts from the Texts: ‘Simile of the Cave’ ‘fortuna’ philosopher-king Behavioural Approach Class Analysis Elite theory Pluralism Institutionalism ‘Power to’ vs. ‘Power over’ Lec. 3 What is the State? Concepts from the Lecture: Treaty of Westphalia Social Contract Legal-institutionalism Branches of State Levels of State Elitism Pluralism Additional Concepts from the Texts: Night Watchman State Neo-liberal state Welfare State Liberal Democracy Lec. 4 The State: Power, Authority, and Sovereignty Concepts from the Lectures and Readings: Power Authority Sovereignty Weber’s Typology of Authority Concepts from Readings: See Lec. 3 concepts Lec. 5 Political Ideologies: Liberalism Concepts from the Lecture Ideology Left vs. Right ideologies John Locke/ Two Treatises of Government J.S...
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...in Havana. He attending the School of Law of the University of Havana, this is where he interests in politics began. After he graduated, Castro began practicing law and eventually became a member of the reformist Cuban People’s Party. Castro became their candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives for the Havana district, but the former Cuban president, toppled the government and stopped the election. Because the elections were canceled, Castro led over a hundred men on a suicide mission to attach the Moncada military barracks. This event demonstrated that Fidel Castro is a charismatic authority leader and because of his leadership style, he came into power in Cuba, broke the promises he made to his people, that lead the country into bring the first communists country, which in turn led to many adversities for the nation, and made it hard to conduct business in American because Castro had to overcome cross cultural barriers. Because of Castro’s “charismatic authority leadership” style, he had the support of most Cubans on the promises to restore the 1940 constitution, create an honest administration,...
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...The book The Irony of Democracy: An Uncommon Introduction To American Politics defines pluralist theory as “Multiple competing groups that individuals join or create and that make demands on government”(Schubert 2014, 11-13). Same-sex marriage was achieved through decades of social activism and the positive shift in public opinion to support it thus, challenging the patriarchal and heterosexist ideologies of society. It was the effort and hard work of a social movement and interest groups, which supported the community and often challenged other conservative groups, that changed the country into becoming more accepting of homosexuality and same-sex marriage, therefore people do have an influence over the government as opposed to the belief that people have minimal to zero influence over social policies, which is often described in an elite theory point of view. However, it is possible that same-sex marriage fits into the elitist point of view as well. Elitism refers to the approach of “describing society focusing on the few with power, their values, their behavior, and their demographics” (Schubert 2014, 1-2). Elites tend to be highly responsive to the demands of the masses. The gay movement may have also reflected in the elite system in such a way...
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...MPA E-mail: vchaney@elcamino.edu Phone: 310-660-3593 Website: http://profspace.com/vchaney Required Texts: AM Gov 2012, Losco/Baker ISBN: 978-0073526379 Taking Sides, 18th ed, Mckenna ISBN: 978-0078050329 Course Objectives: 1. Identify the theoretical foundations and the applications of the American political system. 2. Analyze major political institutions: the presidency, bureaucracy, Congress, Judiciary, elections, political parties, and interest groups. 3. Examine and assess the implementation of democracy, including the different perspectives of elitism, pluralism, and majoritarianism. 4. Evaluate the role of the mass media in the political process. 5. Identify and discuss political culture and the function of political socialization. 6. Compare and contrast the relationship of federal and state governmental systems and processes with emphasis on California. 7. Evaluate and analyze the interdependence of economics and politics. 8. Distinguish between civil rights and civil liberties and their evolution in American society. 9. Assess the federal and state judicial systems and their impact on public policy. 10. Examine and discuss the process of public policy making in relation to international and domestic policy issues. 11. Assess the concept and implementation of citizenship. 12. Analyze issues of race, ethnicity, class, age, and gender as they relate to the distribution of power in the...
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...American National Government Topic 1 American Government: An Introduction Assessment 1 Chapter 1 Directions: Answer the following questions after viewing the assigned Power Point presentation and reading related materials in the text. Be sure to use complete sentences. 1. Define government and politics. Compare these two terms and cite examples of each. Explain how the two terms are distinct but related to each other. · Government is the people who run the country. Politics is the process followed by the leaders of political groups who rule the country. Government implements the policies of the lands, such as with the judicial branch to enforce the laws, the legislative branch to create the laws, and the executive branch to perform national security duties. And politics are the tool utilized by the government. They both utilize political science which is the study of government and politics. While they both perform and aid the same basic function of running the country, politics is just the process while the government is the actual facility performing the tasks. 2. What is anarchy? Can anarchy ever a viable alternative to government, in your opinion? Why or why not? · Anarchy is living in a state of lawlessness. I believe it cannot, because humans do not function correctly without some type of structure. Without structure there will be total chaos. Murders and other unmentionable crimes will occur with no repercussions being put into place. 3. What...
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...Clark Atlanta University College of Arts & Sciences Department of Public Administration Sabine Kelly Augustin Concept Paper Master of Public Administration Program Advisor: Dr. Rhonda L. Franklin Fall 2014 CONCEPT PAPER GUIDELINES ------------------------------------------------- Please use the following format to develop your concept paper (must be typed.) ------------------------------------------------- SECTION I: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 1. Tentative Project Title: (No more than 15 words) 2. Name of Organization: (Name of Agency and/or Department/Unit) United States Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Medical Center Quality Management 3. Internship Position: Brief and concise description of the internship and the student’s role as an intern. The Atlanta Quality Management Office supports the mission of the medical center by monitoring processes, identifying the deficiencies, educating staff, analyzing data and facilitating improvements so that can assist the medical center staff in providing a high quality of health and wellness service to veterans. (Office of Quality Management, Atlanta VA Medical Center Intranet, 2012) Quality Management (QM) Office intern was responsible for tracking performance measures and standards based on Federal Department of Veterans Affairs Standards. Medical Center Memorandums (MCMs) are the central policies the hospital operates by, the QM intern was responsible for oversight of MCMs. Each MCM...
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...MODELS FOR POLICY ANALYSIS INSTITUTIONALISM: POLICY AS INSTITUTIONAL OUTPUT Government institutions have long been a central focus of political science. Public policy is authoritatively determined, implemented, and enforced by these institutions. Therelationship between public policy and government institutions is very close. Strictly speaking, a policy does not become a public policy until it is adopted, implemented, and enforced by some government institution. Government institutions give public policy three distinctive characteristics. •First, government lends legitimacy to policies. Government policies are generally regarded as legal obligations that command the loyalty of citizens. •Second government policies involve universality. Only government policies extend to all people in a society; the policies of other groups or organizations reach only a part of the society. •Finally, government monopolizes coercion in society, only government can legitimately imprison violators of its policies. The impact of institutional arrangements on public policy is an empirical question that deserves investigation. Federalism recognizes that both the national government and the state governments derive independent legal authority from their own citizens. PROCESS: POLICY AS POLITICAL ACTIVITY Today political processes and behaviors are a central focus of political science. Political scientists with an interest in policy have grouped various activities according to their relationship...
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...Recognition of gay and lesbian marriage and pluralism Word Count: 2024 What does pluralism reveal about the recognition of gay and lesbian marriage? What are the strengths and limitations of this theory in understanding the recognition of gay and lesbian marriage? Power overlaps between interest and political groups and as a result, political decision-making is reached through negotiation and compromise (Manley 1983). Indeed, when examining the progressive debate concerning the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Australia, the perception that power is bartered through interest groups becomes highly plausible through the lens of classical pluralist theory. There are competing visions of diversity in Australia, and behind the main positions; supportive, neutral, and opposing, there are a multitude of perspectives underlying these umbrella groupings. For some in the community, the concept of gay and lesbian marriage is controversial, and its complexities raise fundamental social, religious, moral and political questions. In analyzing how power has operated in this situation, I will apply classical pluralism to converse sides of the moral argument to reveal how Australian attitudes have changed over time in a progressively consensual political environment. For this issue, the strengths of pluralism lie in its empirical nature; it is an observable and comprehensive view of understanding how power operates in society, with regard to a multitude of perspectives and...
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...National pride in jeopardy: America dethroned Justine Leonard English 102 Derek Blemberg April 23rd, 2013 “The first step in solving any problem is recognizing that there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore” (Sorkin, 2012). As Americans we like to think, and in fact for decades have also been misleading others to believe, that we are the best at just about everything. Sadly, that hasn’t been true for quite some time. These troubled times are due to bias voters and lack of real leadership in presidential candidates. Despite the idealization of America, it is no longer the greatest country in the world; the U.S used to be known as the land of opportunities, freedom, diversity and equality but today we are being defined by such things as political parties that are tearing us far from being a united nation. There is nothing to prove we deserve the gold medal. We claim to be the land of the free but we actually rank seventh in that category beat by other nations like Japan and Belguim. We claim to be a nation of equality and opportunities, but in reality we sit thirty-ninth in income inequality and second in child poverty. As American citizens we are full of pride and take joy in our country. Likewise, people from all around the world desire to live here too. We all wish to experience “the good life,” but the truth is that the U.S. is eleventh on happiness scale. In the HBO drama The Newsroom, the lead character Will McAvoy, states that...
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...The Democratization of American Christianity by Nathan O. Hatch (Yale University Press, 1989) Right from the beginning of The Democratization of American Christianity, Hatch immediately states that "The wave of popular religious movements that broke upon the United States in the half century after independence did more to Christianize American society than anything before or since." (pg. 3). This is the central theme of the book and Hatch does a excellent job of supporting this theme throughout with details how it started, why it started, and the effects on our American society then and now. Hatch argues that the popular religious movements during the first half of the 19th century was responsible for the Christianize of American society and was primarily carried out through the Methodist and Baptist movements in both white and black society When the Revolutionary War ended, the United States experienced unprecedented growth due primarily to a high birth rate in both free and enslaved people. These are the years in which Christianity boomed and was later referred to as the “Second Great Awakening”. Citizen rights and society changes took center stage in the development of a religious America. The American Revolution and the freedom won from it helped to get people to think for themselves and they formulated strong opinions on freedom, equality, and representation. In our American society, children were they migrating to larger cities to find work, We saw a decrease...
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