Comparative method of analyzing political system

Lipset’s main research question: Only wealthy countries are/become democracies?

Przeworski, Alvarez, Cheibub and Limongi (2000): 'the incidence of democracy is

undoubtedly related to the level of economic development'. 'Wealthy countries tend
to be democratic not because democracies emerge as a consequence of economic
development under dictatorship but because, however they emerge, democracies
are much more likely to survive in affluent societies'.

«Economic development makes democracy possible; political leadership makes it

real» (Huntington 1993: 316).

A political system is made up of 3 major components:

1. Political community: all those persons who are subject to the authoritative allocation of
values;

2. Authorities: those persons who have the power to imperatively allocate values for their
societies;

3. Regime: the set of rules that contribute to the formation and the maintaining of the
system.

The components of the political system.

What is a political system?

 According to David Easton (1965), "political system is that system of interaction in any
society through which binding and authoritative allocations of value are made and
implemented".

The structure of a political system

A political system is made up of 3 major components

1. Political community: all those persons who are subject to the authoritative allocation of
values;

2. Regime: the set of rules that contribute to the formation and the maintaining of the system;

3. Authorities: those persons who have the power to imperatively allocate values for their
societies.
 The components of the political system.

Interaction between components of a political system

Interest articulation

 voting, participation in elections;

 informal group, social movement;

 personal interest contact;

 protest activity;

 interest groups;

 channels of political access.

Interest aggregation

 political demands of individuals and groups are combined into policy programs.

Interaction between components of a political system

Personal interest aggregation

 patron-client network;

 central person or group;

 provides benefits to supporters;

 in exchange for their loyalty.

Associational groups

 e.g. aggregation of labor and business interests.

Institutional groups

 e.g. bureaucracy and military.

Political parties are the primary structures of interest aggregation

 democratic vs. authoritarian party systems.

State and political system

According to Easton, the concept of political system does not correspond to the concept
of state.

A state is a form of political system but not all political systems are states.

A state is a legal and political entity based on the administration of a territory. The
defining elements of the state are:

 Territory: fixed, marked territory with clear borders;

 Sovereignty: supreme control over the territory, its people and resources;

 Independence: it operates without answering to a higher authority;

 Legitimacy: recognition by residents and other states as having legal jurisdiction over
their territory.

The political community and its transformations

Definition: A political community is a dynamic element of a political system and

includes all those subject to the authoritative allocation of values.

It is a group of person bound together by a political division of labor.

When and how a political community changes → Interesting cases:

1. Italian and German Unification;

2. Indian, Pakistan and Bangladesh;

3. The velvet separation of Slovakia and Czech Republic;

4. The disintegration of Yugoslavia;

5. The Scottish referendum.