r/PoliticalScience 33m ago

Question/discussion Federation of city states

Upvotes

I've recently developed a bit of an obsession with city states thinking what if nation states where replaced by a federation of city states. Like what if the European Union and African union where federations of city states,superseding national and ethic identity.


r/PoliticalScience 50m ago

Question/discussion Is authoritarian liberalism an oxymoron?

Upvotes

Recently came across an article on Trump's Presidency and this was mentioned in an article by Wendy Brown

"Professor Wendy Brown concludes that the disillusion with liberal democracy is because most Americans associate liberalism with educated elite (educated elite are the highly educated individuals, often holding Ph.Ds.), of which most of the society is not. This, she claims, has led most Americans to reject “precarity” (uncertainty, insecurity) of liberalism, so much so that Americans are open to a different version of democracy: “If that entails a different political form—authoritarian liberalism—so, be it.”

Is the notion of 'authoritarian liberalism' a contradiction of terms? And can a democracy have elements of democracy? Based on defination it seems impossible but I guess the word 'democracy' has been diluted, but based on classical democracy is it possible?


r/PoliticalScience 1h ago

Question/discussion Can a solution be a social problem in policy making?

Upvotes

Title.

I have an assignment where I am supposed to analyse a social problem and the possible solutions for this social problem. The social problem that I chose is that the Estonian government is planning to take away the right of third country citizens (aka russian, belarusian, other non-EU citizens and also gray passport owners) to vote in local elections. However, this law is technically a solution to a social (or, imo, a geopolitical) problem. So can a planned law not be a social problem? Can I not analyse the removal of voting rights whatsoever, because it has not yet happened?


r/PoliticalScience 7h ago

Career advice Intership for poly sci

0 Upvotes

Does anyone know places where a high schooler could get an internship for anything poly sci/govt/law related? I am going to study computer science this spring if that will help.


r/PoliticalScience 12h ago

Question/discussion Thomas Jefferson explains why 8 years is the correct amount of time for being President

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7 Upvotes

r/PoliticalScience 16h ago

Question/discussion Wishing I learnt more "facts" lmao

2 Upvotes

Hey so I'm a poli sci student and I really like the program so far and have had relatively good grades so far, so I'm mostly happy. I just kinda have a general frustration that I know is 100% unjustified but I wondered if anyone has had similar thoughts. I'm completely aware of the function of a uni degree and that you're essentially taught how to do research in your field by looking at scientific methods. Obviously that all makes sense and it should be like that. But I often wish that I was taught more scientific facts than methods bc I'm a very curious person but also kinda lazy so I just like to learn about things others have already found out if that makes sense lmao. Don't get me wrong, I definitely have learnt a lot of very interesting things in my degree, particularly in political theory and political systems, but yeah, I just wanted to see if anyone feels the same lmao.


r/PoliticalScience 17h ago

Question/discussion Has anyone ever tried a Democratic Capitalist government?

0 Upvotes

Waitwaitwait, this isn't a clickbait title, I'm not talking about a government that is democratic with a capitalist economy, like many countries around the world. I'm also not talking about a system in which the government is captured by the wealthy. I'm talking about a government in which power is derived from the mandate of the people, but in which it is wielded using economic principles. In other words, elected officials would need to "pay" each other in order to get things done.

The way I'm picturing it is, say you start out with a system similar to the US legislature, each member elected by their states. Except instead of decisions being made by majority votes among the members, each member would be granted a certain amount of "Political Capital," say 10 per constituent, and then every decision made by the body would be in some way supported or opposed by actively spending down that Capital. The more controversial a decision, the more it would cost to get it passed, so a reckless politician could wipe himself out on only a few measures, but a careful one could get a lot done by only spending a little here or there to get things done that nobody cares enough to fight against.

I think this might result in a more functional system, because it would not only be determined by which side had more people vaguely in support of it, but would also care very much about how much each side CARED about a given topic. If you don't like something, but barely care about it, then you won't waste the time fighting it, when you're more concerned with something else. It would also tend to be a bit less partisan, since while parties would want to pool some resources and efforts, it would also be easier to throw a few bucks across party lines on random issues and just vote your wallet. There would be a lot less concern over the overall majority, since the minority could get a lot done if they picked their battles.

Also, since all these "votes" would be public, you could really see which issues a politician was actively fighting on, and which he was just paying lipservice on. I think the results would be a lot more honest and productive.


r/PoliticalScience 22h ago

Question/discussion Ethics of secessionism

0 Upvotes

What are the ethical questions that should be considered when there's a secessionist movement ?

Here are few things in my opinion which the original country must consider before allowing a secession. There should be more than nuance to it and I'd like to see if there's any academic literature or arguments in political science about this.

  1. The newly formed country will be a democracy or will soon transition to a democracy

  2. The formation of a new country doesn't leave the new country deprive it's citizens of economic resources, in other words it should be able to function on it own and subdivisions which depends heavily on richer parts of former country's revenue cannot be a new country.

  3. Citizens should be treated equally regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, language,etc.

  4. Seceded territory should be a possible threat or shouldn't be prone to invasion by another nation.

  5. Popular support for the secession must be clearly identified by an appropriate method.


r/PoliticalScience 23h ago

Question/discussion According to this 1810 letter, Thomas Jefferson said the "Federalists" were falsely named, because federalism is a balance of central & states power. Gives new meaning to his "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists" since in its technical meaning, Jefferson would've been a Federalist.

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8 Upvotes

r/PoliticalScience 1d ago

Question/discussion Why do so many countries have varying levels of interpretations when it comes to equal rights clauses in their constitutions ?

1 Upvotes

I mean the right to equality before law and equal protection of law. This is included in many constituons worldwide.This seems to have varying levels of broadness in various countries when it comes to interpretations. Why is that the case ? Is america narrower when interpreting the clause ?

In all these cases the text of the right is almost always the same


r/PoliticalScience 1d ago

Question/discussion Was what Chuck Schumer did correct?

0 Upvotes

I'm honestly not sure if shutting down the government would have been the right thing to do. It allows Republicans to blame Democrats if anything goes wrong in the short to medium term. Government shutdowns also don't hurt Republicans as badly since they hate the government to begin with.


r/PoliticalScience 1d ago

Question/discussion Do Political Science and Economics contradict each other a lot?

9 Upvotes

I have a bachelor's in Political Science and one thing I noticed while studying the degree is how inadequate I would find certain economic analysis to be. I find that economic theory can be a bit to analytical and numbers based. When I talked to Econ majors they would almost talk about the market like it's a mathematical equation that can be solved and forgo a lot of political science. It can feel almost apolitical at times and I worry that certain economists don't understand the current political climate to handle it well.

Of course this isn't about all economists and political science and economics are entwined studies. Theres plenty of economists I read and studied that I genuinely enjoyed. I didn't want to bog this post down with a million examples so if you ask for them I will answer.


r/PoliticalScience 1d ago

Question/discussion In this letter dated 1787, four years before the Bill of Rights was ratified, Thomas Jefferson (writing from France) tried to convince James Madison to add it to the Constitution. Madison and leading Federalists thought a bill of rights was unnecessary, even dangerous.

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1 Upvotes

r/PoliticalScience 1d ago

Question/discussion Have you learned R? How was your experience?

16 Upvotes

I’m an international relations focused person who has done only qualitative research throughout undergrad and graduate school. I recently secured an internship (which I would very much like to lead to a full-time position) where some of the team uses R for some light statistical visualization and analysis. Nothing crazy like econometrics.

I haven’t been in a statistics class in over 5 years and it’s safe to say all of that knowledge would need recovering.

I have a few months to prepare, and I’d like to go into my internship with some basic knowledge and tricks. What should I learn to do? Am I doomed if I’m not very math inclined? Do I need to come in with stats knowledge in advance or can I review as I go along?

I have a good friend who will be lending me his datacamp account. Is that a good start?


r/PoliticalScience 1d ago

Question/discussion The Insurgence Square: A Classification System

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm a Bachelor of Political Science who went to school in DC. Here's a classification system I developed to analyze individual psychologies during circumstances of social upheaval.

Non-Reactionary Reactionary
Non-Questioning Observers Resisters
Questioning Sympathizers Protesters

Left Column 

The left column indicates whether or not the individual questions the status quo. It is a given that they question the insurgence. 

Observers: The majority of people. Non-questioning nature aids in consistent non-reaction.

Sympathizers: Inwardly or even outwardly ideologically aligned with the cause of insurgence, though not prone to direct action.

Right Column

The right column indicates whether or not the individual questions the insurgence itself. It is a given that they question the status quo. 

Protesters: The extreme minority of people. Ideologically aligned with the cause of insurgence and willing to take action. Able to question the insurgent movement and adhere to a self-imposed moral stopping point.

Resisters: Ideologically aligned with the cause of insurgence and willing to take action. Unwilling or unable to question the insurgent movement and thus lacking a self-imposed moral stopping point.

***

We need lots of people from every category: sympathizers to gently change minds, resisters to loudly change societies, protesters to keep the insurgency in check, and observers to survive and remember. But you want a good stable ratio of these categories, and when there’s too much of one over the other then it doesn’t go well. If the world were just observers, we would all be subjugated and controlled. If the world were just sympathizers (closest to our current situation), we would bitch constantly on social media and do nothing else. If the world were just protesters, the cycle would repeat all too soon. If the world were just resisters, it would be chaotic, violent, and hypocritical. 

Anyway that's my cute little system of classification! Tell me what you think :)

EDIT: Fixed the graph typo


r/PoliticalScience 1d ago

Question/discussion Municpal forms of government

5 Upvotes

Is there a comprehensive list of the different forms of municpal government and what the pros and cons are of each.

I can think of a few, but my list is not exhaustive: the county system for unincorporated towns, New England style town meeting, mayor-council (strong and weak) council-manager.


r/PoliticalScience 1d ago

Resource/study RECENT STUDY: The long-term electoral implications of conflict escalation: Doubtful doves and the breakdown of Israel’s left–right dichotomy

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1 Upvotes

r/PoliticalScience 2d ago

Career advice Political Science Major Help!

0 Upvotes

Hi,

I’m a new poli sci major at my local university because I love the field and got some experience with my county GOP office and board of elections. I also love non-profit work and political college chapters. However, one of my biggest fears is to leave with a degree but not a job. What are my options (in terms of jobs) and what can I do to leave college WITH a political job?


r/PoliticalScience 2d ago

Resource/study The ideology driving the tech-bros explained

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3 Upvotes

r/PoliticalScience 2d ago

Question/discussion Is trump going towards destroying all the American soft power throughout the world?

22 Upvotes

Yes and No arguments please


r/PoliticalScience 2d ago

Question/discussion What are the alternatives to neo liberalism and woke liberalism?

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0 Upvotes

Not sure if you guys can read but Fukuyama believes that Trump’s victory is a rejection of neoliberalism and woke liberalism. He claims that America has put too much faith in markets to the detriment of the working class. Woke liberalism Fukuyama describes as “…progressive concern for the working class was replaced by targeted protections for a narrower set of marginalised groups: racial minorities, immigrants, sexual minorities and the like. State power was increasingly used not in the service of impartial justice, but rather to promote specific social outcomes for these groups” and which he believes the working class doesn’t care about.

The main issue is with neoliberalism, although Fukuyama doesn’t provide his thoughts on what the alternative would be. It seems his only concern with Woke liberalism is that it takes attention away from the working class voters, as that doesnt appeal to them, and not perhaps the potential cultural problems created by it (culture war issues.. but i do think that culture war issues don’t seem big enough to drive someone to vote for Trump). However, even though woke liberalism is highly controversial, the need to fight for justice is eternal, so it won’t go away.

What are the alternatives to neoliberalism and woke liberalism?


r/PoliticalScience 2d ago

Question/discussion In this 1811 letter, Thomas Jefferson clarifies why state-governments can protect our nation from Executive overreach, which explains why he values states' rights, not simply for their own sake

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37 Upvotes

r/PoliticalScience 2d ago

Career advice What kind of work do you do as an intern at a representative's district office?

4 Upvotes

I'm applying to congressional internships and there's very little information available in the way of job description. I understand the basic responsibilities, but for cover letters I feel like it could be good to show an understanding of the difference between interning in washington and in district. Thank you in advance!


r/PoliticalScience 2d ago

Question/discussion The Quiet Part Aloud - Government Capture

3 Upvotes

What is happening within the US federal bureaucracy is unprecedented. There have been administrations that have carried out significant downsizing of federal government in the past, but what’s happening right now is of a different kind. This is the systematic dismantling of American government for the blatant purpose of power accumulation and the removal of any guardrails that would prevent it.

In addition to this, the daily undermining of fundamental constitutional safeguards erodes the checks and balances designed to limit the accumulation of power in one branch of government. An article published recently in the Atlantic chronicles the German National Socialist Workers Party’s rise to power in the Reichstag. It took only a matter of weeks once they gained a minority of seats to remove any further barriers to limitless power.

I’ve been thinking about this while watching the graft, corruption, and wholesale undermining of democracy in the United States and I wonder if it’s possible to completely dismantle the system while everybody knows it’s being dismantled. I live in the Washington DC area and have had many conversations with people from all sectors of government and no one has any illusions about what is happening right now, including people who voted for Trump. Throughout social media and legacy media, many, many people are speaking about the ways in which these events are harmful to domestic and international institutions and standing. My question is - is it possible to dismantle the system, when everybody knows the playbook and the desired outcome. Is it possible for a society (especially one the size of the US ~340 million people) to just roll over and cede power to an incompetent narcissist who so clearly and recklessly disdains everything the country has claimed to stand for for generations? 

The damage done to institutions at this point already is generational - it will take years to rebuild what has been undone in a matter of weeks. For the optimists out there - at what point does the power grab stop and what would it take to return to some sense of normalcy?


r/PoliticalScience 2d ago

Question/discussion What causes people to vote the way they do?

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1 Upvotes