PO101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Authoritarianism, Comparative Politics, Liberal Democracy
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Regular patterns of behavior that give stability and predictability to social life. Informal: no clear written rules, such as the family, social class or ethnic group. I(cid:374)ter(cid:374)alize (cid:862)(cid:272)odes of (cid:271)eha(cid:448)ior(cid:863) as a result of being socialized as member of the group. Formal: codified rules, such as governments, political parties, bureaucracies, legislatures, constitutions, law courts: may see them as constraints which limit what people can do; may see them as tools or resources to achieve goals. Political scientists examine the environment in which political systems are located: environmental pressures can rock any political system and lead to domestic political distribution or breakdown. Steven steinmo institutions define the rules of political game and shape who wins and loses. Structure the impact of a particular group of institutions: outcomes are path-determined. Agency the impact of actions taken by one or more agents, either individuals or groups of them. Structure of rule and authority within a particular geographical area.
