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Chapter 1: Five Principles of Politics
Chapter Summary
Introduction
American government and politics are extraordinarily complex. The framers of the United States Constitution divided governmental power and responsibility both among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and, again, federally between the national government and the states. Although this complexity was designed to disperse power in American politics, it has also placed significant burdens on citizens seeking to participate in politics and to influence government policy. Understanding these complexities constitutes the aim of this book.
1) Making Sense of Government and Politics
What is government? What types of governments exist? What are the essential elements of government and what functions do governments perform in society?
- Government is the term generally used to describe the formal institutions through which a land and its people are ruled; the term refers as well to institutions as simple as a tribal council and more complex establishments known as "states."
- Governments vary both in terms of the number of people included in government decision-making and the extent of the government's authority.
- Autocracies are governments ruled by a single individual. Oligarchies are ruled by a small group of people. Democracies permit citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process.
- Totalitarian governments recognize no formal limits on their authority. Authoritarian governments are checked (often reluctantly) by other political, economic, and social institutions. Constitutional governments recognize and often codify broad limits on their authority.
- There are at least two foundational elements of government: all governments require a means of coercion and a means of collecting revenue.
- Governments exist to perform essential functions that, in the absence of effective governance, might go un-performed in society. Governments are necessary to maintain order, to protect private property, and to provide public goods.
2) Five Principles of Politics
What are the underlying logics of political behavior, collective action, and institutional politics? What are the five principles of politics that will be used to guide analysis throughout this textbook?
- The Rationality Principle holds that all political behavior has a purpose and that people tend to be goal-oriented in their political activities as they make instrumental choices about how to act.
- The Collective-Action Principle refers to the idea that both bargaining and collective action in politics are difficult and that difficulty mounts as the number of participants (and the diversity of their goals) mounts. Formal and informal bargaining relationships are struck in politics to provide for collective decision-making, and organizational efforts to overcome the tendencies of individuals to "free ride" on the labors of others are necessary to overcome collective action problems endemic in governing.
- The Institution Principle recognizes that political institutions routinely solve collective-action problems. Institutional rules and procedures - like jurisdiction (who has the authority to apply rules or make decisions), decisiveness (the rules by which authoritative and final determinations are made), agenda power (who determines what issues will be taken up), veto power (the ability to defeat something even if it is on the agenda), and delegation (the transmission of authority to some other official or body) - are consequential for political outcomes.
- The Policy Principle holds that political outcomes are the products of individual preferences and institutional procedures. Combining lessons from the Rationality and Institution principles, we see that individual political actors' personal, electoral, and institutional ambitions are filtered through and otherwise shaped by institutional arrangements in politics and that policy outcomes are the products of the complex intermingling of individual goals and institutions.
- The History Principle reminds us that history matters. Political circumstances and outcomes are understood to be path dependent (that is, partially determined by the historical paths that preceded them) and that such historical paths influence existing rules and procedures, political loyalties and alliances, and political viewpoints and perspectives.
3) The Principles of Politics in Action
How can these abstract theoretical "principles of politics" be applied to better understand real world political events like the government's response to the September 11th terrorist attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the elections of 2004 and 2006, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina?
- The Rationality Principle: Actions taken by the president during this time displayed an unwavering focus on re-election and his political future.
- The Collective-Action Principle: In order for the war on terrorism and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to succeed, many different departments of the federal government had to coordinate their efforts. The result of coordination in this case meant that some participants and programs gained political strength from their actions while others were marginalized.
- The Institution Principle: To better carry out war policies, President Bush created the Department of Homeland Security, an institution that oversees and coordinates the efforts of other government agencies crucial to the war effort. The creation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in 2005 aimed to coordinate the intelligence gathering activities of the national government but also touched off a round of bureaucratic "turf" warfare between the Defense Department, the CIA, and other agencies of the national government.
- The Policy Principle: Following September 11th, President Bush combined his own political ambitions with the powers of a chief executive faced with a security threat to produce desired policies. By mobilizing support from other government institutions President Bush was granted permission to use force in Afghanistan and Iraq, the budgetary means to fight those wars and legislation to assist with the War on Terror (e.g., the Patriot Act).
- The History Principle: Historical legacies matter to politicians and it seems particularly important to President Bush. The attacks of September 11 and the ensuing invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have naturally drawn associations between President Bush and other wartime presidents though with mixed results as different historical lenses are applied to draw lessons about current situations and the present administration.