Comparative Paper II

Preliminary:  All those who gained 80 and above in the prelim paper must email a soft copy to:

ustrmc22@gmail.com 

For the 2nd comparative paper.  You're approach is either Hypothesis Testing or Prediction.

But you will do neither.  Rather, the paper will propose three things.

1. Propose a hypothesis for testing or a prediction on one state.  The other state will be used to support claims if needed.
2. Propose 1 qualitative method of testing the hypothesis or prediction.
3. Propose 1 quantitative method of testing the hypothesis or prediction.

Logistics:

• Submission; October 23, 2014
• Pages: 3-4 excepting reference list
• Due to a number of cheaters (plagiarists) in the prelim paper, a plagiarized work will definitely get the writers (both partners) a failed Comparative Politics in Transition Grade.
• Title page now follows the format in the syllabus since there's no more need of pictures.
• For the students names, just put in successive sequence alphabetically.  (i.e. Castillo, Ronald M. and Rodriguez, Ma. Zenia M.)

Content:

The Introduction is 1-2 paragraphs.  It must be where the authors propose their hypothesis or predictions along with the two methods. The hypothesis creates a relationship between two variables.  A prediction proposes the possibility of a political event to happen (you will have to agree on which state to focus on).  The proposed hypothesis or prediction must be accompanied with an explanation justifying a background on why such hypothesis or prediction was generated.  This background should be rationally based on current facts about that state. 

The Discussion will discuss how your claim can be supported by 1) qualitative analysis, and 2) quantitative analysis.  Hence, your sub-headings for the discussion will be on those two.

You will not actually do the analysis.  But rather you will prove that the analysis can support your hypothesis or prediction.

For example, I propose a hypothesis that "the reason for rebellion of Bangsamoro in the Philippines is the unitary system and cultural diversity".  I will give a short explanation why I suspected this cause (with citations).

To this, I will propose 1) phenomenology and 2) T-Test.

The discussion for phenomenology will be on how I will interview Islamics in Mindanao with regards to the issue.  There will be a short list of questions that satisfy the hypothesis or prediction.  I will include how analysis of the interview is done using phenomenology.  

For T-Test, I will measure the ratings of Mindanao citizens on variables such as a) how they feel cared for by the national government, b) how Philippine laws clash with their beliefs, and c) the degree of their feeling of difference with non-Mindanao citizens.

For other samples, check out Landman's Issues and Methods in Comparative Politics.  The samples that you surveyed before will be good guides.

Be sure to give lots of narrative examples of your proofs (i.e. how you propose to do the analysis).

For the Conclusion, in paragraph form, reiterate your proposals with a short version of your proofs.

Grading:

Grade Rubric:

Hypothesis or Prediction (4pts)

4 - justified with existing political science theory, principle or law.

3 - justified with explanations based existing situations.

2 - justified but with errors in reasoning.

1 - unproven claim

0 - no hypothesis 

Qualitative and Quantitative Method (4pts each)

4 - Clearly explained method.  And method matches the hypothesis or prediction.

3 - Method clearly explained but did not completely support the hypothesis or prediction.

2 - Method both unclear and did not completely match the hypothesis or prediction.

1 - Method both unclear and did not support the hypothesis or prediction.

0 - no method.

Format (3pts)

3 - Flawless format.

2 - Few (1-2) violations of format.

1 - Paper is riddled with format violations.

0 - Did not follow the format for the entire paper.

TOTAL of 15 pts.

Please posts your questions in the comments box.

Classifications of Governments: PGC Substitute Lecture for 1LIT2, 1CA2 and 1CA4

Governments can be classified in several ways.  De Leon provides 5 ways to classify, and the Philippine government, under the 1987 Constitution, can be described using the kinds of government under these classes.

The five classifications are: 

1. According to the number of rulers.
2. According to the extent of power exercised by the national / central government.
3. According to the relationship between the executive and legislative branches.
4. According to the nature and origin of power.
5. According to the identity or non-identity of the state and government with the people.

Each of the above classes has different kinds of of government under them.  Let us identify them.

According to the number of rulers.

Aristotle in ancient Greece classified governments based on the number of rulers.  He also made a distinction regarding the quality of rule (good/pure or corrupt/bad).

• Monarchy, from ancient Greek mono = one, and archos=ruler.  The government under one ruler as in the times of the Pharoah of Egypt, the Kings and Queens of France and England.
• Aristocracy, rule by the few.  Aristos=best, and kratos=power.  As proposed by Plato, Aristotle's senior, the rulership of the few which is composed of the best or most capable members of the community. 
• Oligarchy, rule by the rich.  From Greek Oligos=wealthy.  The corrupt version of Aristocracy. 
• Democracy, rule by the many.  Demos=the people.  The form of government wherein all members have the right to participate in governance whether by directly ruling or by voicing out their concerns.
• Tyranny is the corrupt verson of monarchy.  From Greek tyrannos=terrible) is the government under a single terrible/oppressive ruler.

According to the extent of power exercised by the national / central government.

This way of classification identifies delegation of powers by the constitution.  There are two ways.

• Unitary - when the constitution concentrates all powers to the national government (President, congress) or first delegates powers to the national and leaves some for the national to give to the local. The local governments (provinces, cities) are reliant to the central government.
• Federal - when the constitution distributes or delegates governmental powers between the national and the local.  E.g. In the United States.  The national, called 'federal government', has power over printing of currency, command over military, and handling foreign relations. While each local government ('states' - State of California, State of New York) has power to determine THEIR OWN taxes, marriage policy, etc.        

According to the relationship between the executive and legislative branches.

There are three general or basic powers to govern.  The power to make laws - legislative.  To administer that the laws are observed - executive.  And to interpret the law as it applies to the actions of people (if they violated or obeyed the law) - judicial.  All three powers held by one person or office  lead to abuses by rulers.  Charles de Secondat, the baron of Montesquieu, proposed that all 3 be separated and given to 3 separate branches or agencies.  Each co-equal to the other, no interference, and with checks to guard the abuses of the others.  These agencies were the Executive (Head of State/Government), Legislative (congress or parliament) and Judicial (courts) branches. 

The courts have the essence of always being neutral and by nature passive - it only acts on questions set before them.  No question, no answer.  But the other two are active, legislature makes laws to keep up with modernity, executive should never cease to implement the law. The relationship of these two branches determine whether a government is:

• Presidential - all three powers and branches are separate.  The President is both Head of State (symbol of the state/symbolic head) and Head of Government (actual person who leads the administration).
• Parliamentary - the two active branches (executive and legislature are fused as one.  Such as in Great Britain.  The legislative branch is called 'parliament', The people elect members of parliament called 'ministers'.  After they are elected, all ministers will then elect from among them a 'Prime Minister' who then becomes the head of government.  The head of state is the Monarch currently a Queen (Elizabeth I) who has little powers in government other than being recognized as symbol of the state.  

According to the nature and origin of power.

Power can have two ways to determine source:

• Elected - the power to rule comes from the people choosing who should rule them.
• Hereditary - the power to rule is passed from generation to generation in the blood line of a family.  There are two ways to determine hereditary passing of rule.  a. Primogeniture (heirs are from eldest child to youngest, then eldest next of kin).  and b. Ultimogeniture (youngest to eldest child, then next of kin).  Sometimes this is restricted by gender, e.g. only males, only females.  

According to the identity or non-identity of the state and government with the people.
There are two kinds of democracy.  This distinction differentiates the government's identity with the people.

• Primary - also called direct democracy.  In a small territory, direct democracy can be practiced with every quaslified citizen participating in the deliberations of government.  This was the original democracy as was done in Athens.  The people and government are one. 
• Republic - but its not easy to have direct governance by the people when the territory is large with also a large number of qualified participants.  To make this run smoothly, there is indirect democracy.  The people elect representatives to become members of government tu rule in their place.  Here the government is accountable to the people.

History of the Discipline from Ancient Greece to the Enlightenment - POL 201 Lecture

Political science disciplinary history identifies an open minded (eclectic view).  It uses the minimalist definition of science which reads:

"systematic enquiry, building toward an ever more highly-differentiated set of ordered propositions about the empirical world” (Goodin and Klingemann, 1996).

Our discipline makes propositions, scientific statements about the world – particularly the political world.  i.e. “Power tends to corrupt, but absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Online Library of Liberty, 2014). The quote originates from John Dalberg Acton.  Also known as Lord Acton, he described people who hold power in his statement.  Leading to a hypothesis that the more power a person holds, the greater the tendency that person has to become corrupt both as a person and in handling affairs of state.

The minimalist definition of science used here is in contrast to the maximalist perspective which qualifies the words “scientific enquiry”, seen above, as the use of only mathematical and experimental methods.  To use the minimalist view is a mature way of accepting the variety of systematically built ideas since the time of ancient Greece to the present.  The progress part of the perspective helps us identify where the improvements were.  So let us begin at the 1^st two points of the timeline.  I will not write the specifics that can simply be read from the book.  This lecture is about insights in understanding it.

• First a note on time:
• Greece – ancient time (start approx.. 400 - 001 B.C.)
• Rome – Early Middle Ages (Start of A.D. 001-499)
• Medieval – Middle Ages (approx. 500-1299)
• Renaissance – Late Middle Ages (1300-1599)
• Enlightenment – Early Modern (1600)
• Modern – 19^th Century (1800)

Greece and Rome and the Middle Ages

Plato and Aristotle did classify governments.  Here they tried to answer: What are the different forms of government, or by what form can we better govern man.  The timeline started with Plato who used metaphysics – Greek ta meta phisika “that which is beyond the physical”.  His process was by way of logical reasoning.  Using the essence of virtues as arguments.  This was somewhat improved by Aristotle who used empiricism by comparing actual constitutions as a process for analysis and answering the question mentioned earlier.  He also makes a somewhat scientific stance when he proposes polities as solutions to the problem of governance mimicking a doctor prescribing medicine (Almond, 1996).

But there was something missing, the several polis of the Hellenes (Greek nation) was a small world in the Aegean part of Europe.  These philosophers may have had the advantage of discourse, but they were big fish living in a small pond.  The rise of empire through Alexander solved this by expanding the known world across continents (Europe, Africa, Asia).  From this, the Stoics, a school of Philosophy began the ideas of 1) Universal Humanity and 2) Natural Law. 

The first allows us to assume that there is a common essence of what makes man, wherever man may be in the world.  The second is that we humans, by using our intellect and reason can deduce principles from nature. 

I.e. Aristotle proposed that “man is by nature political” (Online Library of Liberty, 2014) such statement is based on the essence of man as a social being who lives in the polis (city-state).  This is because man has a need to make himself better.  And in order to attain a better life, he needs other people, and must please other people who happen to have their own concerns.  Thus a political relationship exists among all humans.

Other such examples are – All men want to be treated justly.  Government requires legitimacy.

These two begins the 2 scientific questions which become the theme of almost every political idea.  1) What are the forms of polity? 2) What are the standards used to evaluate polity?  Answer: 1) Aristotle’s 6 real types (which will change as time progresses).  2) Principles of Universal Humanity and Natural Law (which will have new ideas in time).

Both Plato and Aristotle contributes to us the theory of mixed constitutions as the best polity.  This will carry to Rome during the time of Cicero (Rome) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Middle Ages), with Venice as the best proof of the theory in practice.

The Renaissance

The time when Europe is renewing the lost knowledge and art of the past, which was destroyed during the dark ages.  Machiavelli becomes the father of modern political science because of his value-free politics.  Before him, political philosophers (note that practitioners were not yet called scientists then) evaluate polity as pure (good) or corrupt (bad).  Machiavelli is a realist, it’s not about good or bad.  It’s all about what actually gets results.

He was followed by Bodin who in turn made the polemic (philosophical attack) on mixed constitutions by reasoning (with evidence) that such mixed polities were actually authoritarian.

The Enlightenment

The beginning of reason eclipsing metaphysics. The two fathers of opposing state of nature/social contract theories Hobbes and Locke provides the progress in our history through the strength of their logical rationalism.  Both have different opinions of humanity and the state of nature, and yet they were able to theorize the legitimate purpose of government.  Locke’s ideas would eventually become foundation of the U.S. and the 1987 Philippine Constitutions.

Locke, with Montesquieu (title of Charles de Secondat, Baron of Montesquieu), and Publius (pen name of the 3 Federalist writers James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay) also added to disciplinary improvement through actual testing of the philosophies of the past in the foundation of new government – the United States. 

Locke’s was the social contract, and his version of the power of government.

Montesquieu formalized the separation of powers.

The Federalists explained the uses of a federal republic.

All three combined produced the polity of presidential and federal system of government.

The achievements of this time period also include the improvement of the science-like approach used by the philosophers.  There was the emphasis of balance in the separation of powers.  And the use of logical equation-like reasoning of x+y=z [separation of powers + checks and balance = liberty (Almond)].

Note: Pls. post questions of clarifications and inquiry on the comment box.

References:

Almond, G. (1996). Political Science: History of the Discipline. In R. Goodin, & H. Dieter-Klingemann, A New Handbook of Political Science (pp. 3-49). New York: Oxford University Press.

Goodin, R. & H. Dieter-Klingemann (1996). Political Science: The Discipline. In R. Goodin, & H. Dieter-Klingemann, A New Handbook of Political Science (pp. 3-49). New York: Oxford University Press.

Online Library of Liberty (2014, April 10). Acton-Creighton Correspondence (1887). Retrieved from Online Library of Liberty: http://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/acton-creighton-correspondence-1887?q=power+corrupts#

--- (2014, April 10) Introduction to The Politics of Aristotle, trans. into English with introduction, marginal analysis, essays, notes and indices by B. Jowett. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1885. 2 vols. Vol. 1: http://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/aristotle-s-politics?q=aristotle#

The People - PGC Lecture

The Philippines based on the constitution is a Republic type of democracy.  Both the preamble and Article II attest to this.  Basically, it is a "rule by the people".  But what does to rule mean? And who are the people?  If we look it up, the first question can be answered technically through Article V, and the second can be answered through section IV.

Since the Philippines is a democracy, the people are called citizens.  If it was under a monarchy, they would be called subjects, since the people will then be subject to the rule of another.  There are four kinds of citizens differentiated on how they became Filipinos (Art. IV sec. 1).  For citizens by birth, the general rule applied is Jus sanguinis (the rule of blood relationship as opposed to rule of birthplace).

Citizenship can be aquired voluntarily and involuntarily.  But what is citizenship? It's a political concept.  By being a citizen, citizenship is a process whereby the state grants a person rights and privileges.  Since it's a grant. It can be lost involuntarily or renounced voluntarily (see De Leon). And lost citizenship can also be gained through the process of repatriation.  Naturalization though applies to a person who seeks citizenship from a state for the first time (he / she has not lost citizenship from that state).

Do citizens rule in Philippine democracy?

Such is a complex question.  Let's take a look at the difference between Article IV and V.  Citizens are have rights, privileges and duties, and are protected by the state.  The bill of rights (Article III) grants people the freedom of speech - particularly to voice out their ideas on how government should be.  Article II places supremacy of civilian authority over military authority.  These are manifestations of indirect rule.

Direct rule is exercised by "the people" when they use their right of suffrage.  The 3 powers of government are not usually wielded by the hands of the people.  It is in the hands of the administration.  But who put the administration in office?

The people in terms of suffrage and in terms of citizenship are different.  Article V states who have the right of suffrage, and Article IV tells us who are citizens (see De Leon).  All who can exercise suffrage must be citizens, but not all citizens can exercise suffrage (1st sentence of Art V, sec. 1).  It is a right and obligation given to those who fit the requirements.

Suffrage is voting (THERE IS NO WORD CALLED VOTATION!!!), and election is a a kind of suffrage.  There are four other kinds of the exercise of suffrage: Plebiscite, Referendum, Initiative and Recall.

Plebiscite, Referendum, and Initiative apply to law making.  Here the people participate and wield the power to make laws.  In Plebiscite and Referendum, the people gain the power to approve laws.  In Initiative, the people gain the power to directly propose laws.  Recall is the reverse of election, wherein the the people may directly remove by the proper procedure a public official before the end of his / her term.

So who are "the people"?  Ask, "based on what context?"

The technicalities of citizenship and suffrage can be supplemented through De Leon.

Please raise questions through the comment box.

Conflict Resolution: Approaches and Strategies Reading

Reading can be downloaded here:

http://webworld.unesco.org/water/wwap/pccp/cd/pdf/negotiation_mediation_facilitation/alternative_dispute_resolution_approaches.pdf

Prelims Coverage

Check out syllabus:

PGC:

• Units 1-4 (unit 4 is discussed online)
• Latin Maxims

POL 201:

• Unit 1-4
• Robert's Rules - Only the table of motions (precedence, interruption, votes, etc.)

POL 241:

• Units 1-2 and until part D of unit 3.
• Federalism
• Sunni Shia Divide