A text that emphasizes the importance of case studies in social science scholarship and shows how to make case study practices more rigorous.

Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences

It is increasingly common for social scientists to describe political processes as “path dependent.” The concept, however, is often employed without careful elaboration. This article conceptualizes path dependence as a social process grounded in a dynamic of “increasing returns.” Reviewing recent literature in economics and suggesting extensions to the world of politics, the article demonstrates that increasing returns processes are likely to be prevalent, and that good analytical foundations exist for exploring their causes and consequences. The investigation of increasing returns can provide a more rigorous framework for developing some of the key claims of recent scholarship in historical institutionalism: Specific patterns of timing and sequence matter; a wide range of social outcomes may be possible; large consequences may result from relatively small or contingent events; particular courses of action, once introduced, can be almost impossible to reverse; and consequently, political development is punctuated by critical moments or junctures that shape the basic contours of social life.

/pdf/increasing-returns-path-dependence-and-the-study-of-politics-32zejax04q.pdf

Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics

Drawing upon philosophy and social theory, Social Theory of International Politics develops a theory of the international system as a social construction. Alexander Wendt clarifies the central claims of the constructivist approach, presenting a structural and idealist worldview which contrasts with the individualism and materialism which underpins much mainstream international relations theory. He builds a cultural theory of international politics, which takes whether states view each other as enemies, rivals or friends as a fundamental determinant. Wendt characterises these roles as 'cultures of anarchy', described as Hobbesian, Lockean and Kantian respectively. These cultures are shared ideas which help shape state interests and capabilities, and generate tendencies in the international system. The book describes four factors which can drive structural change from one culture to another - interdependence, common fate, homogenization, and self-restraint - and examines the effects of capitalism and democracy in the emergence of a Kantian culture in the West.

/pdf/social-theory-of-international-politics-3eegdnnwai.pdf

Social Theory of International Politics

This book proposes a framework for comparative analysis of the relation between the media and the political system Building on a survey of media institutions in eighteen West European and North American democracies, Hallin and Mancini identify the principal dimensions of variation in media systems and the political variables that have shaped their evolution They go on to identify three major models of media system development, the Polarized Pluralist, Democratic Corporatist, and Liberal models; to explain why the media have played a different role in politics in each of these systems; and to explore the force of change that are currently transforming them It provides a key theoretical statement about the relation between media and political systems, a key statement about the methodology of comparative analysis in political communication, and a clear overview of the variety of media institutions that have developed in the West, understood within their political and historical context

Comparing Media Systems: three models of media and politics

List of Figures ix List of Tables xi Preface and Acknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 PART I: VETO PLAYERS THEORY 17 One: Individual Veto Players 19 Two: Collective Veto Players 38 PART II: VETO PLAYERS AND INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS 65 Three: Regimes: Nondemocratic, Presidential, and Parliamentary 67 Four: Governments and Parliaments 91 Five: Referendums 116 Six: Federalism, Bicameralism, and Qualified Majorities 136 PART III: POLICY EFFECTS OF VETO PLAYERS 161 Seven: Legislation 165 Eight: Macroeconomic Policies 187 PART IV: SYSTEMIC EFFECTS OF VETO PLAYERS 207 Nine: Government Stability 209 Ten: Judiciary and Bureaucracies 222 Eleven: Veto Players Analysis of European Union Institutions 248 Conclusion 283 Bibliography 291 Index 309

Veto Players: How Political Institutions Work

De la Sociedad multietnica de Giovanni Sartori se pueden tener distintas e incluso opuestas opiniones, pero antes que nada habra que convenir que es una obra original que traspasa la convencionalidad. Eso la hace que no pase desapercibida a la vez que se muestra muy oportuna; aparece en un momento crucial de la presencia masiva de inmigrantes en los paises del Sur de Europa, justo cuando se enciende la fragua del debate social sobre la convivencia multicultural. Sartori, con el olfato del que esta atento y conoce la realidad, se aventura a tomar parte en la polemica cuando esta en pleno fragor, y desde su contundente discurso contribuye a enriquecerlo aun cuando no deja por ello de inflamarlo. Por eso decimos que su trabajo no puede pasar desapercibido, porque apuesta, desde su personal percepcion politica y moral, suscita y compromete la reflexion de aquellos que lo leen, aportando argumentos obtenidos en hechos de la realidad actual. Y ese es su principal valor: su apuesta por tesis claras y sin ambages. Se puede –y yo diria se debe, en sus excesos– discrepar con el; pero para ello hay que conocer la densidad de los argumentos y su textura para poder entablar las condiciones de la discusion.

http://www.esi2.us.es/%7Embilbao/pdffiles/sartori1.pdf

La sociedad multiétnica: pluralismo, multiculturalismo y extranjeros

Teoría de la democracia

(2005). Party Types, Organisation and Functions. West European Politics: Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 5-32.

Giovanni Sartori

Papers

La sociedad multiétnica: pluralismo, multiculturalismo y extranjeros

Teoría de la democracia

Party Types, Organisation and Functions

La comparación en las ciencias sociales

Homo videns : televisione e post-persiero