Introduction to Politics

1. Introduction to Politics Canadian & World Politics www.CraigMarlatt.com/school

2. How the PowerPoints Work • For many lessons in the course, key points and visuals are displayed in PowerPoint slideshows which are available on the course website. • If you want, print the slideshows out in advance (you can print “handouts” with 6 or 9 slides on a page) so you can take notes on information talked about, without having to copy the screen. • The first slide will be a “table of contents” for the lesson, followed by any relevant text and visuals for that lesson.

3. Introduction to Politics • What is Politics? • Names and Faces • Political Classifications

4. What is Politics? • Many people imagine that studying politics is just studying government. Government is important, but Politics is much more than this. • Politics is a diverse, sprawling and dynamic discipline, which is not defined by a particular method or approach, but by a concern with themes of human community, power, conflict, and change.

5. What is Politics? • Politics is the operation of power in society: • physical power • economic power • legal power • power over opinion • Power is used to pursue the interests of human beings. These interests are often aggregated into factional alliances. Political Studies, often also called Political Science, is the academic discipline that tries to establish how this happens.

6. What is Politics? • The study of politics is one of the oldest academic disciplines. In ancient Greece political philosophers studied the uses of power. They also concerned themselves with creating a good society and balancing the pursuit of power with justice and order. • They started the study of the four great sub-disciplines of Political Studies: • domestic politics and policy studies (Herodotus) • political philosophy (Plato) • comparative politics (Aristotle) • international politics (Thucydides)

7. Names and Faces • Canadian, Dead, Neither, Both? • Movie Metaphors for Canadian Prime Ministers • Politicians Summary Sheet • Political Leadership

8. Names and Faces - Leadership • Laissez-Faire • very little participation by leader in am authoritarian role • used when working with people of equal qualifications • “the principle of letting people do as they please” Gage 1983 (?) • “laid back” approach - leading without being up front and in the spotlight • getting a group to head towards a goal by suggesting and nudging them in the right direction

9. Names and Faces - Leadership • Democratic • decisions made through group discussions and votes • used when there is a specialist in the field • “....a form of government in which power is held by the people and is exercised by them directly or through their elected representatives.” (NGS 1989) • “a government that is.... controlled by the people who live under it.” Gage 1983 • India, United States are the largest democracies • a leader is obviously present but more or less mediates decisions based on input from the entire population

10. Names and Faces - Leadership • Autocratic • decisions made by one person without consult of anyone but himself • often used in emergency situations where time is of the essence • “a government having absolute power over its citizens; absolute authority; ruling without checks or limitations” Gage 1983 • since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, North Korea, China, Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba are the only communist countries left on Earth • leader determines all policies and gives orders

11. Political Classifications • Supranational “Governments” • National Governments • Governments by Mode of Succession • Governments by Type of Rule • Governments by Structure • Levels of Government • Branches of Government

12. Supranational Political Systems • Empires • e.g. British, Roman, and Ottoman • a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority

13. Supranational Political Systems • Leagues • e.g. Baltic, Arab; also League of Nations • an association of nations or other political entities for a common purpose

14. Supranational Political Systems • Confederations • e.g. European Union • is a large state composed of many self-governing regions • has a very weak central government with little influence over the actions or policies of the member regions

15. Supranational Political Systems • Federations • e.g. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics • formed by a compact between political units that surrender their individual sovereignty to a central authority but retain limited residuary powers of government

16. Supranational Political Systems • United Nations • voluntary association of most of the world's nation-states • not a world government, does not make laws, and does not have its own police force or military

17. National Political Systems • Unitary Nation-States • e.g. Belgium, Bulgaria, France, The Netherlands, Japan, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom, the Scandinavian countries, Spain, and many of the Latin-American and African countries • basically a single tier of government with varying degrees decentralization - some are decentralized so much as to resemble federal states, some allow limited regional rule, others have only token decentralization

18. National Political Systems • Federal Systems • political authority is divided between two autonomous sets of governments, one national and the other sub-national, both of which operate directly upon the people • Jot down a few examples of the world’s federations as the maps appear on the next few slides.

19. National Political Systems • Federations of the World

20. National Political Systems • Federations of North America

21. National Political Systems • Federations of South America

22. National Political Systems • Federations of Africa

23. National Political Systems • Federations of Europe

24. National Political Systems • Federations of Asia

25. National Political Systems • Federations of Oceania

26. Govts by Mode of Succession • Hereditary Succession • Succession by Constitutional Prescription • Succession by Election • Succession by Force

27. Govts by Mode of Succession • Hereditary Succession • e.g. western Europe monarchies, and some Arab nations • Often first-born son, then his first-born son, ….

28. Govts by Mode of Succession • Monarchies of the World • Currently there are 29 monarchs reigning over 44 countries (QEII is Head of State for 16 countries)

29. Govts by Mode of Succession • Succession by Constitutional Prescription • e.g. United States • Next leader already specified by law

30. Govts by Mode of Succession • Succession by Election • e.g. Canada • Next person is chosen by party vote (a leadership convention) or general election

31. Govts by Mode of Succession • Succession by Force • e.g. Hitler’s Germany, Mussolini’s Italy

32. Govts by Type of Rule • Autocratic • Democratic

33. Govts by Type of Rule • Autocratic • e.g., dictatorships, absolute monarchies - Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Vatican City • one person or group of people holding all power

34. Govts by Type of Rule • Democratic • e.g., Canada • prescribed division of powers for different purposes such as Governor General, Prime Minister, etc.

35. Govts by Structure • Monarchy • Dictatorship • Oligarchy • Constitutional

36. Govts by Structure • Monarchy • e.g., Monaco, Spain, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, The Netherlands, Japan • king or queen, emperor, etc. • can be largely symbolic or an absolute ruler • legitimized by blood descent

37. Govts by Structure • Dictatorship • e.g., Myanmar • a self-proclaimed leader, taking advantage of failures of western set-up government structures then banning oppositions and building replicas of communist world • See Evita or Moon Over Parador for Hollywood renditions of dictatorships

38. Govts by Structure • Oligarchy • e.g., Union of Soviet Socialist Republics • irresponsible rule by small groups • almost extinct today but historically were in Asia where governing elites were recruited exclusively from a ruling caste • Also: • South Africa • Guatemala

39. Govts by Structure • Constitutional Government • e.g. Canada, the United States • defined by the existence of a constitution • constitution may be a legal instrument or merely a set of fixed norms or principles generally accepted as the fundamental law of the polity that effectively controls the exercise of political power

40. Levels of Government • National • Sub-National • Regional • Municipal • School Board

41. Levels of Government • National • e.g. Government of Canada • www.canada.ca • Country

42. Levels of Government • National Powers and Responsibilities • National Defence • Unemployment Insurance • Postal Service • Trade Regulation • External Relations • Money and Banking • Citizenship • Indian Affairs • Criminal Law • plus anything else not identified in the constitution

43. Levels of Government Governor General, Prime Minister, and the Cabinet

44. Levels of Government • Sub-National • e.g. Government of Ontario • www.ontario.ca • Province, Territory, State (U.S), or Canton (Switz)

45. Levels of Government • Provincial Powers and Responsibilities • Property and Civil Rights • Administration of Justice • Education • Health • Welfare • Natural Resources • Licensing • Charities • Civil Laws • Municipalities

46. Levels of Government Lieutenant Governor, Premier, and the Provincial Cabinet

47. Levels of Government • Regional • e.g. Regional Municipality of Durham • www.durham.ca • Region, County, District, Parish (southern U.S.)

48. Levels of Government • Regional Municipality Responsibilities • Only has powers that provinces give them • Regional Planning • Public Health • Long Term Care • Waste Collection & Disposal • Water Treatment • Trunk Sewage • Public Transit • Social Assistance • Public Housing

49. Levels of Government Chair & the Regional Council

50. Levels of Government • Local • e.g. Town of Whitby • www.whitby.ca • City, Town, Township, Municipality