What is political power What is liberal representative democracy Which of the ideological perspectives provides the best perspective on freedom and equality - Admission/Application Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages This essay explores the political power as the ability of one actor to control another’s political behavior. It is the ability to influence, coerce or dictate how an individual or group participates in the political process, or if they participate in the political process at all. Politics is different than political power. Politics is the mechanism that individuals and groups use to obtain political power over others. Political power is important because political power has the ability to shape the policies and institutions of government. Ideology can be put into practice through the skilled use of political power. An important aspect of political power is an understanding of the concepts of force and influence. Political power is gained through politics, but power is exerted through force and influence. The real measure of political power is when you can cause someone to act in a political manner that they would not otherwise do without your influence. One of the most dangerous situations in any governmental system is when political power is concentrated in the hands of the few. This is a dangerous situation because the desires of the few will be represented in government and the desires of the many will be ignored. The entire governmental system can be bent to the will of only a few powerful individuals or groups. This is especially damaging in a democracy because this system of government is built on the belief that all people should have a say in the government. When many people participate in a democracy that only has the illusion of fairness, then citizens will become disenchanted with governmental participation. They will choose to disengage from their responsibilities as citizens and even more political power will flow to the political elites. A democracy that has the political power concentrated in the hands of a few important actors is not a healthy system. This system is a recipe for corruption, abuse of power and discrimination. 2. Define globalization and evaluate if the process is reducing the importance of the state. Globalization is the growing economic and cultural interdependence that is occurring today. It is a process that has been happening for decades now and has been helped by several important events. Globalization is encouraged by economic treaties and trade between nations. The steady shifting of manufacturing establishments from Europe and North America towards the developing world has been facilitated by these economic agreements (Lechner, 2009). A good example of an agreement that encourage globalization is the recent trade treaty signed between The United States and South Korea. This will make importing beef less costly for South Koreans and importing Korean cars easier for Americans. The North American Free Trade Agreement is another regional trade agreement that has lead to globalization. In addition to agreements between governments, multinational corporations have grown in strength these last few decades. The rapid rise of these massive businesses allows them to influence decisions made by sovereign governments. For example, if a powerful multinational corporation does not like the tax policy in a certain nation; they simply will threaten to move their business elsewhere. This will result in a loss of tax revenue as well as jobs for the nation, so often they will concede to the demands of the multinational corporation. The end result of globalization is the traditional power held by the nation-state is being diminished. Barriers to travel, trade and production are being eliminated. Erecting these barriers in the past was a key way nations could exert control over their national policies. Today, multinational corporations have enough power to tell the nations what they want them to do within their own legislatures. 3. What is ‘liberal representative democracy’ and does the model provide an appropriate combination of freedom and equality? The term ‘ ...Download file to see next pagesRead More