Political Science For Dummies

Marcus A. Stadelmann, PhD, is a professor of political science and chair of the Department of Political Science and History at the University of Texas at Tyler. Along with teaching at universities in California, Utah, and Texas, Dr. Stadelmann has published and given presentations in the fields of American politics and international relations.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Conventions Used in This Book 2Icons Used in This Book 2Beyond the Book 3Where to Go from Here 3Part 1: Understanding Political Science 5Chapter 1: Discovering the Discipline of Political Science 7Looking at Politics and Political Science 8Going back to the history of political science 8Being a part of the social sciences 9Being fragmented 10Studying Political Power 11Exercising political power 12Different thoughts on political power 12Views on who holds the power 12Checking on sources of political power 14Searching for Sources of Legitimacy 15Political structures 15Results 15History 16Habit 16International recognition 16Religion 16Nationalism 17Chapter 2: Shaping Research in Political Science: Looking at Major Approaches 19Starting with Traditionalism 20Switching to Behavioralism 21Being a behavioralist 22Turning the social sciences into a real science 25Moving Leftward with Post-Behavioralism 25Agreeing with behavioralism 26Differing from behavioralism 26Comparing Political Science Theories 27Creating theories 28Grand theory 28Medium-range theory 29Narrow-range theory 29Looking at Historical Sociology 29Seeking Benefits: Rational Choice Theory 30Chapter 3: Dealing with Political Culture 31Analyzing Political Culture 31The importance of political culture 32Changing political cultures 33Sustaining Democracy: The Civic Culture 34Being behavioral in nature 35Asking questions 36Finding three political cultures 37Needing three political cultures to sustain democracy 38Working on Political Socialization 39Goals of political socialization 40Agents of political socialization 41Moving from Materialist to Postmaterialist 44Part 2: Comparing Governments 47Chapter 4: Discussing Different Forms of Government 49Identifying Types of Governments 49Diving in to democracy 50Testing totalitarianism 52Answering to authoritarianism 55Dividing Powers 56Centering on a unitary system 56Focusing on federalism 57Dissecting federalism versus a unitary system 57Checking on confederations 59Classifying the three systems of governments 61Chapter 5: Setting the Rules: Constitutions 63Looking at Constitution Basics 64Discovering the purpose of constitutions 65Checking out constitution components 65Creating a New Country: The U.S Constitution of 1789 66Framing the U.S Constitution 67Facing problems 67Writing a constitution 68Using checks and balances 69Forming an electoral college 69Getting stronger 70Using three principles 71Protecting citizens’ rights 72Making changes 74Checking on a New Document: The Russian Constitution 75Looking at similarities 75Noting the differences 76Structuring government 76Guaranteeing civil rights and liberties 77Changing the Russian Constitution 78Chapter 6: Comparing Political Institutions: Systems of Government 79Comparing Democratic Political Systems 80Parliamentary democracies versus presidential democracies 80Unicameralism versus bicameralism 82Studying the U.S Congress 82Looking at Great Britain 85Analyzing Executives 86The U.S presidency 86Evolution of the U.S presidency 87Great Britain’s prime ministry 88Going Bureaucratic 89The French bureaucracy 90The U.S bureaucracy 90Settling Disputes 91Classifying law 91Being supreme: The U.S Supreme Court 92Comparing two higher courts 93Chapter 7: Elections, Political Parties, and Interest Groups 95Studying Elections 96Explaining voting behavior 96Determining the vote 97Political Parties — Necessary for Democracy 99Defining a political party 99Dealing with party systems 101Causing different party systems 102Classifying political parties 103Functioning in a democracy 103Realigning with another party 106Interest Groups: Influencing the Government 107Going pluralist 107Being elitist 108Differing from political parties 108Classifying types of interest groups 109Joining interest groups 109Being powerful 110Checking out interest group functions 111Part 3: Going Global: International Relations 113Chapter 8: Thinking Globally: The Study of International Relations 115Understanding the Origins of International Relations 116Creating states 116Getting familiar with international relations terms 117Getting into the Theories of International Relations 117Individual: The first level of analysis 118State: The second level of analysis 118Systemic: The third level of analysis 119Getting Real: The Power of Realism 119Balancing power: The balance of power theory 120Avoiding conflict: The power transition model 122Noting neorealism 123Moving into hegemonic decline 125Doing Good: Idealism 127Being Equal through Global Humanism 129Striving for Change with Constructivism 130Chapter 9: Creating Some Order: International Law and Diplomacy 131Defining International Law 132Studying Sources of International Law 133Reviewing the great writers of international law 133Examining international treaties 137Connecting with Diplomacy 141Being a successful diplomat 142Regulating diplomacy: The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 142Chapter 10: Creating Order through International Organizations 145Getting Together in Europe — The Concert of Europe 146Calling for a League of Nations 146Coming up with 14 points 147Starting weak as an international organization 148Needing a United Nations 149Sharing similarities with the League of Nations 150Setting up a Charter for the United Nations 151Looking at the six structures of the United Nations 152Budgeting for an international organization 156Keeping the peace 157Guaranteeing human rights 158Setting up the International Bill of Human Rights 160Chapter 11: Not Going to War: The Cold War 1946–1991 163Explaining the Cold War 164Using systemic explanations 164Applying history 164Misinterpreting actions 165Trying to protect itself 165Being aggressive 166Highlighting the Cold War 166Containing the Soviet Union 166Coming together 167Saving Greece and Turkey: The Truman Doctrine 168Restoring Europe: The Marshall Plan 168Feeding millions: The Berlin Airlift 169Going to war in Korea 169Just talking: The Doctrine of Rollback 170Building the Berlin Wall 171The Cuban missile crisis 172Staying Communist: The Brezhnev Doctrine 172Getting stuck in Vietnam 172Invading Afghanistan 175Destroying an empire 175Analyzing Strategic Doctrines and the Arms Race 176Becoming superior one more time 177Getting creative in the 1970s 178Chapter 12: Dealing with Political Violence: War and Terrorism 181Examining Warfare 182Discovering the types of war 182Changing warfare 183Looking at the Causes of War 184Economic 184Sociological 184Psychological 185Ideological 186Systemic 187Dealing with Terrorism 187Studying characteristics of terrorism 188Taking in types of terrorism 189Going to War with Evil 191How a terrorist group begins: Al Qaeda 192Evolution of a terrorist leader 193Exploring the Costs of War 193Chapter 13: Mixing Disciplines: International Political Economy 195Fusing Economics and Politics 196Creating a New Economic Order 196Designing a World Bank 197Establishing the International Monetary Fund 198Developing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 199Discovering Economic Theories 199Economic liberalism 200Mercantilism 201State capitalism 202State socialism 203Examining Population and the Division of Wealth 204Defining terms 204Looking at global inequality 205Causing Economic Decline in the Third World 205Colonialism 206Dependency theory 206Third-World elites 207Domestic factors 207International organizations 208The international debt crisis 208Multinational corporations 209Seeking Globalization: An Integration of Countries 210Measuring globalization 211Comparing countries: The KOF Index of Globalization 211Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel 213Part 4: Going from Classical to Modern Political Ideologies 215Chapter 14: Starting in Greece: The Roots of Political Science 217Studying Ancient Greece and the Start of Political Science 218Questioning Everything: Socrates 219Introducing inductive reasoning 219Taking a critical look at politics 220Putting Political Philosophy into Play: Plato 220Advocating for ethics 222Believing in just behavior 222Dividing into classes 223Creating an elite 224Seeking a Scientific Approach: Aristotle 224Creating communities 225Being human: A look at humanity and politics 226Classifying forms of governments 226Putting Ethics to Use 227Serving the public first 227Designing the U.S government 228Chapter 15: Going Modern: Middle Ages to the Present 229Taking a Lesson on Catholic Theory 229Saint Augustine (354–430) 230Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) 231Revolting against religion 232Understanding Power 232Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) 232Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) 236John Locke (1632–1704) 239Montesquieu (1689–1755) 241Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) 243Moving to Classical Conservatism 245Saving traditional beliefs and institutions 245Defining conservative views 246Advocating for Classical Liberalism 247Leaving the economy alone 248Believing in people 249Putting the Government Back in Charge: Modern Liberalism 250Chapter 16: Moving to the Right: Fascism, Neofascism, and Right-Wing Populism 251Getting a Sense of Fascism 252Starting Out: The Beginnings of Fascism 253Coming first: Benito Mussolini 253Causing Fascism 254The story behind Fascism 255Fascist core beliefs 256Rising of Neofascism 259Challenging the Elite: Populism 260Making a path for populism 261Causing populism 262Swinging Right: Right-Wing Populism in Europe 262Building of a right-wing populist party in France: The French National Front 263Wanting change: The Alternative for Germany (AfD) 267Chapter 17: Going Left: Communism, Socialism, and Social Democracy 271Causing Socialism 271Starting with Karl Marx 273Marx’s political theories 274Marx’s economic theories 277Realities of Marx’s theories 279Updating Marxism: Lenin 279Lenin’s contributions to Marxism 280Dissecting Lenin’s pivotal work 281Traveling to Asia: Maoism 283Going Democratic: Social Democracy 285Part 5: The Part of Tens 287Chapter 18: Ten Political Science Books Everyone Should Read 289Politics (335–323 BCE) 290The Prince (1513) 290Leviathan (1651) 291Two Treatises of Government (1690) 291The Wealth of Nations (1776) 292The Communist Manifesto (1848) 292The American Voter (1960) 293Man, the State, and War (1959) 293Who Governs? (1961) 294Who’s Running America? (8th Edition, 2017) 295Chapter 19: Ten Modern Political Scientists 297David Easton 298Gabriel Almond 298Hans Morgenthau 299Kenneth Waltz 299Vladimir Orlando Key 300Samuel P. Huntington 300John Rawls 301Francis Fukuyama 301Robert Gilpin 302Robert O. Keohane 302Index 303