Politics Week 4

by

Democracy and Legitimacy

Politics Week 4, Instructional Plan

  1. Chapter 4 presentation
  2. Answer chapter 4 review questions
  3. Review last week’s Chapter 3 material (The State)

For next week

  1. Read Chapter 5 Nations and Nationalism
  2. Critical Thinking test
  3. holiday, two weeks later
  4. Chapter 6 Political Economy and Globalization and review, three weeks later
  5. midterm exam, four weeks later

Lecture Notes (pdf)

QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER 4 – DEMOCRACY AND LEGITIMIZATION

These are the questions for the quiz. Write a complete paragraph for each question.

  1. What are legitimacy and democracy?
  2. Describe three ways democratic states maintain legitimacy.
  3. Do modern industrial societies have a legitimization crisis?
  4. Describe five different ways democratic governments generally operate today.
  5. How would you describe the form of democracy in practice in Korea? Explain your answer with reasons and details.
  6. Is democracy really the best way to rule a society?
  7. Can you think of any charismatic leaders? 
  8. What impact, if any, do you think the 2008 US financial crisis, or the 1997 Korean financial crisis, has had on legitimacy in either country?
  9. Do special interest groups have too much influence in this country?

VOCABULARY

Define these concepts in a few words or phrases. Give examples where practical.

  1. democracy
  2. direct democracy
  3. representative democracy
  4. legitimacy
  5. charismatic authority
  6. traditional authority
  7. legal rational authority
  8. revolution
  9. reform
  10. crisis
  11. political equality
  12. consent
  13. government overload 

OTHER MATERIALS

A terrific and challenging documentary by Michael Moore: Capitalism: A Love Story.

This report by The Economist presents an interesting discussion about democracy around the world. It also ranks countries with a democratic score.