Texas Politics 1

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Texas politics

1. Sovereignty refers to where multiple governments work together and share authority over a

specific territory. It is the supreme power and authority of a state to govern itself or any other

state. Sovereignty can be categorized into two; external and internal sovereignty. External

sovereignty is the independence of a political body and its manifested structural authority from

interference and external control. Internal sovereignty refers to a legitimate, effective, and

authoritative structure of decision-making within a political body.

The origin of federalism started from a meeting that resulted in the making of The United States

constitution. With the idea of forming a new American government, the constitution framers

developed the idea of federalism. Their main idea was to create a government that would hold

sovereignty and balance power amongst each other. Thus, it created federal, local, and state

branches of the government.

According to Kristina Mitchell in lecture unit 1 on the purpose of the government, “there is no

universal answer to the question: ‘what is the purpose of government?’ but in Jefferson’s words

and in the ideas of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, we can see the predominant schools of thought

on the question, which can help us more wisely form our own normative positions when thinking

of the government of our own country, the state of Texas, and our local government as well”
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(Kristina Mitchell 2017). Declaring that there is no single answer for the government helped

generate more answers that help form our own answers.

The state's role in decision-making in our government is mandated to make their own decisions

as long as it does not contradict or compromise the constitution. A state provides a

representative who is entrusted the power to represent and make decisions based on its citizens’

desires. In a nutshell, the states represent people in the decision-making process.

2. Daniel Elazar, a political scientist, highlights three political cultures: moralistic,

individualistic, and traditionalistic. In moralistic culture, it places a high value on government

and the common good, emphasizing conscience and ethical standards. Individualistic culture

considers the government as a “utilitarian requirement" while championing personal freedom and

the ability to make their own decisions. Lastly, traditionalistic cultures advocate for family and

social ties more than other cultures. It looks towards the hierarchy approach, where those on the

top take a decision-making role.

In moralistic culture, examples include voting, political participation, vying for an office

position, organizing political campaigns and meetings to deliberate citizens' concerns. etc., the

examples for individualistic culture have little concern in general issues about citizens. They

distance themselves from people and are less concerned about the politics of a state. Lastly, in

traditionalistic culture, they tend not to change any rules for it to fit citizens' desires. Their main

objective is to represent the citizens; ultimately, they keep everything unchanged and advocate

for higher social status people to occupy the office.

A region’s political culture might affect the type of political representation used due to the

diversity of personal beliefs. One culture differs from the other. Hence, each person has their
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own political representation, and they can be affected if they live in a traditional state and be

represented in a moralistic culture.

References

Cole, T. M., Katz, E., & Tarr, G. A. (1996). Federalism and rights. CrossRef Listing of

Deleted DOIs, 26(2), 154. https://doi.org/10.2307/3330680

Blackboard Learn. https://ttu.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3328875-dt-content-rid-

18508241_1/courses/201857-POLS-2306-D10/regions.html

McGraw-hill Education (n.d.). https://router-integration.mheducation.com/v1/ltiproxy