What is CPO?

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What is CPO?
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I. Introduction A Traditional Chinese
proverb says may you live in interesting times.
I think that it is pretty safe to say that we do
live in interesting times.
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Introduction

• As the author of a popular CPO textbook, Charles
  Hauss makes clear, political life may well have
  changed more in the past few years than in the
  rest of recorded history?Do you agree???

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I. Introduction

• Examples of this change
• a. collapse of Berlin Wall 1989
• b. disintegration of the USSR in 1991
• c. triumph of capitalism over communism
• d. AIDS and overpopulation crises
• e. Growth of interdependence/globalization?and
  reactions to it (see f.)
• f. 9-11-01 terrorist attacks aftermath

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II. Definitions

• Comparative Politics
• J. McCormick (p. 2) CPO involves studying the
  institutions, character, and performance of
  government and the political process in different
  countries to (1) better understand how politics
  works and (2) draw up rules about politics
• Politics McCormick (p.1)?the process by which
  two or more people make decisions on issues of
  mutual interest
• Politics Lasswell?the process of deciding who
  gets what, when, and how

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II. Definitions

• Power
• 1. An impt concept that is widely misunderstood
  to mean control of wealth, resources, etc
• Better way of looking at it
• Hauss the ability to get people or groups to do
  what they ordinarily would not do
• Snow and Brown the ability to get someone to do
  what that individual would not otherwise do

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II. Definitions

• State
• Kegley and Wittkopf a legal entity that
  possesses a permanent population, a well-defined
  territory, and a government capable of exercising
  sovereignty

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II. Definitions

• Nation
• Hauss nation refers to cultural, linguistic and
  other characteristics that can tie people
  together

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II. Definitions

• Government
• Janda, Berry, Goldman government is an
  institution that has the legitimate right to use
  force--including imprisonment and executionto
  control human behavior within territorial
  boundaries

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III. Comparison

• You cant be scientific if youre not
  comparing, political scientist James Coleman
  used to tell his studentscountries not really
  unique/are comparable is what hes suggesting

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III. Comparison

• The uniqueness trap often catches commentators
  of the American scene off-guard
• For example Person X might say the US political
  system is breaking down. But the question is
  always, compared to what?

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III. Comparison

• To France in 1958 (collapse of the govt over the
  crisis in Algeria)? To China in 1966 (Cultural
  Revolution)? Or to the US itself in 1861-65
  (Civil War)? To Afghanistan or Iraq RIGHT NOW?
• Compared to these other cases, the US today is in
  rather good shape.

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IV. Why Study CPO?

• 1st, it is inherently interesting
• 2nd, comparison helps us understand ourselves
• 3rd, comparison helps us understand other
  countries
• 4th, comparison helps us to understand the global
  system
• 5th, comparison helps us break down ethnocentrism

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V. Classification Systems

• A. Three Worlds System of Classification (Alfred
  Sauvy, 1952)
• 1. 1st World wealthy, democratic
  industrialized states (N. Am W. Europe Japan)
• 2. 2nd World communist block (led by USSR,
  China, Cuba etc)
• 3. 3rd World all the rest?less developed
  countries of Africa, ME, L. AM, S Asia)

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V. Classification Systems

• B. McCormicks System of Classification (the Six
  Arenas)/pp13-18
• Liberal Democracies
• a. 31 countries located mainly in Europe and N.
  America, including Japan and S Korea
• b. stable govts, wealthy, free market econ.
  Systems with highly developed systems of welfare
  states

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V. Classification Systems

• B. McCormicks System of Classification (the Six
  Arenas)/pp13-18
• Communist Post-communist (CPC) Countries
• a. 29 mainly E European and Asian countries led
  by Russia, China, N Korea and Cuba?24 have moved
  away from this system and only 5 officially
  remain communist (China, Cuba, Laos, N Korea,
  Vietnam)

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V. Classification Systems

• B. McCormicks System of Classification (the Six
  Arenas)/pp13-18
• Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs)
• a. 32 mainly S East, S Asian, Caribbean and LAM
  countries undergoing rapid pol, econ, social and
  technological change
• b. countries like Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica,
  India, Mexico, Jamaica, Philippines, Singapore, S
  Africa, Thailand, Turkey, etc

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V. Classification Systems

• B. McCormicks System of Classification (the Six
  Arenas)/pp13-18
• Less Developed Countries (LCDs)
• a. 36 mainly African, C Am, Pacific Island
  states?Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Cameroon,
  Congo, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras,
  Kenya, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Samoa, Solomon
  Islands, Zimbabwe
• b. they have potential (for pol, econ, and social
  stability) BUT arent quite there?many democratic
  but poor, corrupt, social divisions, etc

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V. Classification Systems

• B. McCormicks System of Classification (the Six
  Arenas)/pp13-18
• Islamic Countries
• a. 26 mainly ME and N African states?states like
  Afghanistan, Algerian, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
  Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen
• b. Majority are Muslims, and where religion plays
  signif actual or potential role in politics and
  economics/different levels of econ, pol
  developmentinteresting that Turkey, Indonesia
  listed as NICs

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V. Classification Systems

• B. McCormicks System of Classification (the Six
  Arenas)/pp13-18
• Marginal Countries
• a. 35 mainly sub-Saharan African countries
• b. poorest, least politically developed states in
  worldUN calls them least developed countries
• c. pol. Instability, deep social divisions, poor
  records on human rights, pol concentration of
  power, extensive black markets, heavy dependence
  on foreign aid, and isolation from intl
  community/globalization