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Ryan Lawson
19 April 2011
PolSci 111
Exam 2

I.Ds:

1. UNDERDEVELOPMENT- Frank reading. Underdevelopment is when a country exists with shortcomings or even lacks in areas of industrial growth, social welfare, jobs, political stability, education, and literacy. These countries typically have much poverty and unequal distribution of wealth. This is significant to comparative politics because we study how underdeveloped countries come to be more successful nation-states with prospering markets. We also study examples of countries that have failed at this. Some of the more successful countries would be Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Africa and Afghanistan would be prime examples of countries that still have trouble with underdevelopment.

2. SYNCRETISM- Sil reading. Syncretism is the strategy of Nation building that combines foreign/modern and native/traditional values. Sil believes that in order for a Third World country to move forward, traditions must be reconstructed with newer, more modern ideals. This is significant to Comparative Politics because it is a way of understanding how social mobilization affects modern nation building.

3. ZAIBATSU- Johnson and Fukai reading. Zaibatsu are eastern Asian industrial and financial conglomerates that unleashed entrepreneurship in countries like Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. They focus capital in developmental projects in underdeveloped countries and constitute compromise between inefficiencies of purely state enterprise and indifference to developmental goals of purely private enterprise. This is significant to Comparative Politics because it started entrepreneurship and encouraged investment in Third World counties. It is also a prime player in the Capitalist Developmental State Model of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, and has spread globally.

4. 5 STAGES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH- Rostow Reading. 1.)Traditional Society, 2.) Pre-Takeoff Conditions, 3.) Take-off, 4.) Drive to Maturity, 5.) Age of Mass Consumption. This is an analytic skeletal-structure, rooted in a dynamic theory of production. Rostow believes that these are the stages in which countries develop. This is significant to comparative politics because it is one way of categorizing and understanding where a country stands, developmentally, in today’s world. This includes Third World countries as well as more successful superpowers.

5. BERLIN CONFERENCE- Cammack Reading. In 1884, the Berlin Conference regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period. Europeans wanted to open Africa for trade, specifically King Leopold II along with France and Germany. It is significant to Comparative Politics because the European colonization of Africa helped Europe gain resources and opened markets. It also

Page 2 created competition among European powers and had a very strong link to Europe’s industrialization.

6. CIRCULAR CUMULATIVE CAUSATION- Myrdal Reading. The CCC is the main antithesis to the mechanistic analogy and stable equilibrium of the social and economic system. It denies trends in development and anticipates danger such as poverty and social crises. It is significant to Comparative Politics because it is a theory that tries to explain how successful countries grow and stay successful, whereas less successful countries have more difficulty because they do not already have the resources or the capital to move forward. Myrdal states that “countries are not working towards balance, but always working to move further, mainly in regards to Industry.”

ESSAYS:

1. Despite a common legacy of colonialism, some Third World countries have had greater success with economic development than others. Why is this?

When analyzing the different Third World countries that have existed, one will find that each of

these countries have had different success rates. The level of state involvement in the development of a country’s market is directly linked to its success or lack thereof. There are three different types of developmental models studied within this course: the Developmental Statist Model (Andre Gunder Frank), the Liberal Capitalist Model, and the Capitalist Developmental State Model (Chalmers Johnson). After further observation of each model and examples of Third World countries that have displayed the three different types of development stated, one will certainly find that some countries have greater success because they followed the Capitalist Developmental Model. First, it is necessary to look at the less successful models: the Developmental Statist Model and the Liberal Capitalist Model. According to Andre Gunder Frank, The Developmental Statist Model displays characteristics such as economic isolation, high domestic consumption and social services. This model has high state involvement that is somewhat intrusive, owning everything and overseeing all of the development. Shortcomings of this model include high tariffs and less foreign capital. The Developmental Statist Model is also more susceptible to corruption, stagnation, and high state spending. Thailand, with
Page 3 tariffs as high as 80 to 150 percent and a high focus on import substitution, is an example of this model.
Considering all of these characteristics, it is clear that this model doesn’t allow room for private enterprise and entrepreneurship, thus discouraging investment and capitalism. The next less successful model to examine is the Liberal Capitalist Model. This model is best defined as a privatised developmental model with very little state involvement. When a country is overly privatised, it experiences shortcomings within social services and welfare. There is a lack of help for the poverty-stricken parts within its sovereignty. A country using a Liberal Capitalist Model has problems within education and literacy as well. Lastly, the unequal distribution of wealth is a significant problem in this model. An example of this model is China, which offers it’s citizens no unemployment benefits, no social security and no national health insurance. Private investors within a country are an absolute necessity, however, there still needs to be state-regulation.
Now, moving on to the most successful model for state development, the Capitalist Developmental State Model. Chalmers Johnson and Shigeko and Karuhiro Fukai explain this model as a country containing a Governmental/Business Nexus. It is a balance between privatised institutions and governmental regulation. Japan is the best example of successful development through the use of the Capitalist Developmental State model. Being one of the top three economies in the wold, Japan is known for being the largest world creditor and having one of the highest GNPs (Country-studies.com). Also, Japan allows less foreign capital, participating mostly in export and self-manufacturing. Johnson describes Japan as a “soft authoritarian” state, because there is a large presence of private enterprise and entrepreneurship as well as close governmental regulation. Unlike the United States, Japan does not put so much faith in the market. Japan has been so successful that even Korea and Taiwan have followed this “Japanese model.” These three countries all rely on financial and monetary means to guide and control these private activities.
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Johnson states an example of this, Korea, whose loans and money markets contribute to eighty percent of its assets. Control of bank credit is a common, successful trait of Japan, Korea and Taiwan (Johnson.)

One key characteristic of Japanese development is its investing. Japan is a very ingenious, non-ideological and manipulated market state that offers public incentives for private savings and investment. This Governmental/Business Nexus allows for groups such as the Zaibatsu to exist. The Zaibatsu are industrial and financial business conglomerates that focus capital in developmental projects in underdeveloped countries, and constitute compromise between inefficiencies of purely state enterprise and indifference to developmental goals of private enterprise. This group was monumental in the unleashing of entrepreneurship. By Japan allowing groups like this to exist, it encourages investment and reduces its risks.
The next aspect of Japanese government involvement is its “Administrative Guidance” (Johnson) of such groups. In the Fukais’ and Johnson reading, they describe this as informal governmental counsel. Through the “Iron Triangle,” politicians, bureaucrats, and business leaders oversee the relationship between governance and policy making. Some of these policies include the pay rates of the workers. Japanese workers make a lower average salary, but make high annual bonuses and receive an allowance. This is called “Lifetime Employment”(Fukai). This encourages a strong work ethic and loyalty to businesses, which helps with employment rates and efficiency.
Building upon the last topic, a Capitalist Developmental State gives more social services than the other models. Japanese social welfare relies highly on employer - and work-based social services, even though there is an extensive system of statutory local-authority personal social services for the major need groups (doesn’t receive much governmental funding.) Social workers in these municipal agencies are
Page 5 responsible for both monitored income support and protective social care (Britannica). In more populated cities they work with a growing amount of volunteer institutions, the Minsei-iin being the largest and oldest. Thus, in the Japanese Capitalist Developmental State, the balance between government and business allows for a shared social obligation to help its citizens. The country does not put the responsibility on just one section of the state, therefore being able to give more aid. This helps create economic and political stability through an equal distribution of wealth.
These examples and examinations of countries that have displayed a Capitalist Developmental State Model clearly show why some Third World countries have been more successful than the others. Through achievements in their economy, politics, and society, countries like Japan, Korea, and Taiwan give more than enough proof that a Government/Business Nexus - with moderate state regulation of the market and promotion of savings and investments and better social services - is going to be more successful than a “Hard,” Developmental Statist Model or a “Soft,” Liberal Capitalist Model. 2. Why do we observe high levels of political instability in the Third World?
Political Instability by definition is a condition in national political systems in which the institutionalized patterns of authority break down, and the expected compliance of authorities is replaced by violence intended to change the personnel, policies, or sovereignty of the political authorities by injuries to person or property. The study of political instability helps to better understand how a nation-state and its market is built. It is imperative to study political instability in Third World nations because it can alter the structure of a country. It helps one understand the policies made by politicians and lawmakers, and displays the type of society a country has. According to Samuel Huntingon , political instability is characterised by social mobilization and modernization of politics. Studying these two characteristics gives insight to the issues within Third World countries and the policies made by politicians and lawmakers.
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Firstly, it is necessary to study the influence of political modernization when asking the

question of why we study high levels of political instability in the Third World. Political modernization

encompasses many new ideas that impact the social and political structure of a country. It involves a

new rationalization of authority, meaning that a country is now replacing traditions, religion, customs,

family, and ethics that reaches farther than the village or township (Huntington.) Also, legal entity, the

military, scientific groups, and administrations are now separate from politics. There are now political

parties and institutions on a state-level. Identified groups will be made consciously aware of now as well.

These are all changes that take place during political modernization. However, Huntington claims that with

these new changes during political modernizations comes the violent side-effects. The efforts of

modernization can produce social and political disorder. Huntington states that if a country modernizes too

fast it creates violence and instability. This continues into the next characteristic of political instability.

The second characteristic of political instability - said to be a product of political modernization - in

which should be examined is the social mobilization. Huntington states that social mobilization is the

process by which “major clusters of old social, economic and psychological commitments are eroded or

broken and people become available for new patterns of socialization and behavior.” There is a change in

attitudes and values and expectations of people, typically learned through literacy, education,

communication, media, and modernization. This spectrum involves the traditional and the new, common,

modern world. Social mobilization consists of mobilization of a country’s citizens as part of litigious politics.

Social mobilization is often used by grass-roots groups, which even include revolutionary movements. It

typically involves mass public gatherings like meetings, marches, parades, processions and demonstrations,

Page 7 normally in protest of something. Social mobilization typically begins in areas in which people have strong

ties to communities (peasant villages, labor unions, or religious ties). News or rumors of political change

(or political opportunity) are frequent starting points for social mobilization, that bring attention to economic

problems of the community. Nigeria was a prime example of a violent social mobilization that changed the

political stability and structure of a country. During the Nigerian-Biafran War, in which the imbalance and

corruption of the electoral and political process led to several back-to-back military coups in 1966 led by

young leftist Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu (Kew and Lewis). Another

example is Iran. According to Ervand Abraham, the Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the

overthrow of Iran's monarchy (Pahlavi dynasty) under ShahMohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement

with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution. This revolution

was caused by conservative backlash against the Westernizing and secularized efforts of the

Western-backed Shah, and a liberal opposition to social injustices and other problems of the ancien régime.

The Shah was seen by most as a puppet of a non-Muslim Western power (the United States) whose

culture was corrupting the culture of Iran (Africamasterweb.com). The Shah's regime was seen by his

opposition as corrupt, extravagant, oppressive, and brutal; it also contained basic functional failures — an

over-ambitious economic program that brought economic bottlenecks, inflation and shortages. Iranian

Security forces could not contest the protest or demonstrations. The enormous size of the anti-shah

movement contained literally too many protesters to put down (Ervand.) The people of a country, just like

in the example of Nigeria and Iran - whether it be the experiencing of economic depression, corruption, or

oppression - will stand up and mobilize in a revolutionary effort to make a change to the problems within

Page 8 their country. In milder cases, such revolutionary efforts can be made more peacefully. In the United

States, when citizens socially mobilize they may show their disagreement through polls, protests, and public

dissent. Whichever way it is carried out, social mobilization greatly affects the political stability of a

country, and this is proven throughout many Third World countries in the form of riot, rebellion, and

revolution.

In short, we observe high levels of political instability because when power of a country

changes hands, it is important to know what caused it and why. It is absolutely certain that leadership changes, laws change, policies change and economies change, because of political modernization and social mobilization. These two characteristics of political instability help to better understand why riots, rebellions, and revolutions occur. People within a nation come together and demand that their leaders abolish corruption and end issues such as oppression and poverty.

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Resources:
- Johnson, Chalmers. “Political Institutions and Economic Performance: Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan” in Fredric Deyo, ed., The Political Economy of the New Asian Industrialism. (Ithica: Cornell University Press, 1987), pp. 136-164.

- Fukai, Shigeko and Haruhiro Fukai. “Japan” in Introduction to Comparitive Politics, pp. 662-644

- Huntington, Samuel. Political Order in Changing Societies. (New Have: Yale University Press, 1968), pp. 32-64

-Kew, Darren and Peter Lewis. “Nigeria” in Introduction to Comparative Politics, pp. 364-388.

-http://www.africamasterweb.com/BiafranWarCauses.html

-Abraham, Ervand. “Iran” in Introduction to Comparative Politics. pp. 416-430.

- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/551426/social-service/38988/Japan

-http://www.country-studies.com/japan/economic-achievements-and-the-liberal-democratic-party.html

- Lecture Notes