Foundations of Political Science: Why Rational Voters Might Stay Home
Power, the state, legitimacy, regimes, political culture, participation and the main ways political scientists explain them, with plenty of surprises along the way.
Try 3 questions
1. Robert Dahl defined power as A getting B to do what?
- Something B would not otherwise do
- Something both of them already want
- Whatever the law already requires
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Answer: Something B would not otherwise do
Dahl's definition focuses on observable conflict: power shows when A changes B's behavior against B's own inclination.
2. What is the "second face" of power?
- Keeping issues off the agenda entirely
- Winning open votes in parliament
- Using military force against rivals
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Answer: Keeping issues off the agenda entirely
Bachrach and Baratz argued that the powerful often win by preventing certain questions from ever being debated or decided.
3. Steven Lukes's "third dimension" of power refers to what?
- Holding a third of legislative seats
- Controlling a country's courts
- Shaping people's very wants and beliefs
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Answer: Shaping people's very wants and beliefs
The deepest form of power, Lukes argued, is making people accept or desire arrangements that work against their real interests.
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