POLSC 135 Midterm Review Outline of Last Lecture Economy Outline of Current Lecture Midterm Review Current Lecture I Important terms to know Categorical Syllogism A specific type of argument that consists of a major premise a minor premise and a conclusion Comparative Method Involves the systematic search for the necessary and sufficient causes of political phenomena Method of Agreement Compares cases that agree in regards to the phenomenon to be explained Method of Difference Compares cases that disagree in regards to the outcome to be explained Necessary Sufficient Conditions A necessary condition is a circumstance whose absence the phenomenon in question cannot occur A sufficient condition is a circumstance in whose presence the phenomenon must occur Contestation Inclusion Contestations captures the extent to which citizens are free to organize themselves into competing blocs in order to press for the policies and outcomes they desire Inclusion refers to who gets to partake in the democratic process Polyarchy A political regime with high levels of both Contestation and Inclusion Credible Commitment Occurs when a an actor who makes a promise today may have an incentive to renege on that promise in the future and b power is in the hands of the actor who makes the promise and not in the hands of hose expected to benefit from the promise Modernization Theory Argues that all societies pass through the same historical stages of economic development Survival Story The Argument put forth by Prezworski that predicts that democracy is more likely to survive as countries develop and become richer but is not more likely to emerge as predicted in modernization theory Resource Curse Refers to the paradox that all countries with an abundanc of natural resources tend to experience like poor governance low levels of economic development civil war and dictatorship Dutch Disease the apparent relationship between the increase in exploitation of natural resources and a decline in the manufacturing sector or agriculture Dependent Variable The outcome or thing that we want to explain Independent Variable What we think will explain or determine the value of the dependent variable Best Reply The action that yields the highest payoff given what the other player is doing These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture It is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute II Contractarian view of the state sees the creation of the state as resulting from a social contract between individuals in the state of nature in which the state provides security in exchange for obedience from the citizen Predatory view of the state holds that states that exercise an effective control over the use of violence are in a position to threaten the security of citizens This makes it possible for them to exploit the citizens that according to the social contract view of the state they have a duty to protect Discount factor and present value The discount factor tells us the rate at which future benefits are discounted compared with today s benefits in effect it tells us how much people value the future The present value is a stream of benefits that tell us how much the stream of future benefits is worth to us today Failed state A state like entity that cannot entirely coerce and is unable to unsuccessfully control the inhabitants of a given territory Preference ordering The order of which choices are preferred by actors in a given situation State of nature a situation where there is no clear and defined state Grim trigger strategy Best described as the strategy that emerges in the prisoner s dilemma game Tit for tat A strategy that refers to doing one action when another actor does a certain action Study Guides Chapters 2 6 Questions Study Guide 1 Chapter 2 2 1 Logic Questions 1 Major premise If a country has a strong economy the government will be popular Minor premise The government is not popular Conclusion Therefore the country does not have a strong economy Is this a valid argument 2 Major premise If a country has a strong economy the government will be popular Minor premise The government is not popular Conclusion Therefore the country does not have a strong economy What form what type of categorical syllogism does this argument take a Affirming the antecedent b Denying the antecedent c Affirming the consequent d Denying the consequent 3 Major premise If the president commits a criminal act then he can be impeached Minor premise The president does not commit a criminal act Conclusion Therefore the president cannot be impeached Is this a valid argument a Yes b No 4 Major premise If the president commits a criminal act then he can be impeached Minor premise The president does not commit a criminal act Conclusion Therefore the president cannot be impeached What form what type of categorical syllogism does this argument take a Affirming the antecedent b Denying the antecedent c Affirming the consequent d Denying the consequent 5 Major premise If the president commits a criminal act then he can be impeached Minor premise The president cannot be impeached Conclusion Therefore the president has not committed a criminal act Is this a valid argument a Yes b No 6 Major premise If the president commits a criminal act then he can be impeached Minor premise The president cannot be impeached Conclusion Therefore the president has not committed a criminal act What form what type of categorical syllogism does this argument take a Affirming the antecedent b Denying the antecedent c Affirming the consequent d Denying the consequent 7 Major premise If a country employs proportional representation electoral rules it will have many parties Minor premise The country does not employ proportional representation electoral rules Conclusion Therefore the country does not have many parties Is this a valid argument a Yes b No 8 Major premise If a country employs proportional representation electoral rules it will have many parties Minor premise The country does not employ proportional representation electoral rules Conclusion Therefore the country does not have many parties What form what type of categorical syllogism does this argument take a Affirming the antecedent b Denying the antecedent c Affirming the consequent d Denying the consequent 9 Major premise If theory T is correct all rich countries will be democracies Minor premise All rich countries are democracies Conclusion Therefore theory T is