Chapter I:

What is political science?

→ the systematic study of governance by applying empirical discipline, as it accumulates
knowledge, and generally scientific analysis methods.
- examines the state and its organs and institutions.
- Political science is about power.

Legitimacy, Sovereignty, and Authority

→ Basic concepts of political science and democracy.

Sovereignty (‫)السيادة‬

Legitimacy (‫)الشرعية‬ Authority (‫)السلطة‬

→ Legitimacy: Mass feeling that the government’s rule is rightful & should be obeyed.
(Legal votes)
- respect for a Government.
- refers to not only the “LEGAL Right to Govern” but also the “PSYCHOLOGICAL Right to
Govern”.
- means an attitude in people’s minds that the government’s rule is Rightful.
- Psychological: how people/citizens feel about the one in power.
★ How can a government achieve legitimacy?
1. Security
2. Rule of Law
3. Long-established governments
4. Good governance
5. Economic growth & employment
6. Structure of the government & National symbols.

→ Sovereignty: stands for “to rule over” your territories and control the borders.
(Land)
- Capacity of the country to control the land and make it secure.
- Respect for a country
- Nations safeguard their sovereignty. Therefore, armies exist.

→ Authority: the psychological ability of leaders to get others to obey them.

 - Is the leader capable of exercising power or not?
- Charisma is the key to any leader’s success.
- Leader should be respected
- It relies on a sense of obligation based on the legitimate power of office.
- Even if authority comes with office, it needs to be cultivated.

★ If a country follows the 3 concepts → it has a well-functioning political system.

★ If any of the 3 starts to collapse→ it will negatively affect the other 2, and the
country will eventually collapse.

❖ Examples:

- Lebanon: people did not accept and were not convinced by the one in power.
Legitimacy and authority were accordingly affected and thus, sovereignty started to
collapse.
- Syria: psychological legitimacy as people were not convinced that the government is
legitimate. Revolution happened and they lost the land, thus, sovereignty collapsed.
- Tunisia: faced a problem in legitimacy. People were not satisfied psychologically, and
authority collapsed as the leader fled to Saudi Arabia, but sovereignty did not collapse as
elections were done immediately and the land was not lost.
- U.S.A: psychological legitimacy, people were not satisfied with Trump, however,
sovereignty will not collapse as the system is functioning well.

Chapter II:

What are Nations/States?

Nation State

★ A nation is a population with a sense ★ A state is a government structure.

of itself, a cohesiveness, a shared ★ It is usually sovereign and powerful to
history, and culture. enforce its writ. Therefore, states are
★ Often has a common language. government structures of a nation.
 Effective, Weak & Failed States

Effective Weak Failed

★ 3 Institutions are ★ Penetration of crime into ★ Essentially no national

functioning well. politics.
★ Control their entire ★ Justice is bought.
territory. ★ Government does not have
★ Laws are mostly obeyed. the strength to fight
★ Corruption is fairly lawlessness, drug
minor. trafficking, corruption &
★ Collect considerable poverty.
taxes. ★ Democracy is absent,
★ Can utilize all resources, however, elections are
their citizens, and there.
security. ★ Little is collected in
★ Freedom of speech taxation.
exists. ★ Revenues from natural
★ Rule of law resources are gone to
★ criminal rates are private pockets. Corruption
minimal exists.
★ Welfare of benefits ★ Rule of law not completely
★ High-quality of life applied.
★ Security is extremely ★ Existence of crime rate
high ★ Welfare benefits are
minimal
→ Examples: U.S.A, Japan, U.K, ★ High rates and struggle of
Germany, South Korea, unemployment.
Australia, Canada, India. ★ Average quality of life.
→ Examples: Egypt, North Africa,
African Countries, Latin America
government, incapable of
minimal governance.
★ Warlords, militias & drug
lords are in control
★ No law except the gun
★ Education & health
standards are in
deterioration
★ Only outside assistance &
pressure keep those
countries from
disappearing.
★ Branches of the
government are not
working (jud., exc., leg.)
★ Rely on receiving
support/ resources from
other countries.
★ Guns are ruling (no law).
★ Most of the failed
countries became war
zones.
★ The 3 concepts
(sovereignty, legitimacy,
authority )
→ Examples: Libya, Somalia,
Afghanistan (Yemen, Syria, and
Lebanon are on the way)

- Gulf countries are between being effective and weak states because there is no freedom,
no rule of law, the law only exists in discipline/ streets, and high levels of corruption
exist.
- Why Iraq is excluded? was occupied by America, what caused destruction is American
intervention, the same story goes for Palestine, thus they’re not failed by their choice.

Chapter III:

Unitary and Federal systems

 Unitary System
★ Centralization of power in a nation’s
capital with little autonomy for
subdivisions.
★ The first-order civil divisions –
territorial components of a country –
are largely administered by national
authorities.
★ All decisions come from the central
aka government
★ If there’s over-centralization, people
in the countryside will be somehow
excluded because some of the
decisions taken cannot be implied on
them.
★ There is something existing in unitary
systems: decentralization of power,
and there are other similar systems
such as devolution or autonomy: the
decision does not come from the
capital, the government distributes
money to the governorates and they
take the money and spends it wisely
and give feedback to the government
how they spent this money.
★ Unitary governments control local
authorities and citizens’ lives more
than federal systems do.
★ Have a national police force and court
system, whose judiciary officers are
appointed by the national
government.
→ Examples: Egypt (Unitary), U.K
(decentralization)
→ Examples: U.A.E, U.S.A, Belgium
(Although Belgium is a really small country, it
is federal due to the diversity of mindsets)
Federal System
★ Balancing of power between a nation’s
capital and autonomous subdivisions.
★ The first-order civil divisions have
considerable political lives of their
own.
★ The core is that the component states
have some powers that can not be
overridden by the central government.
★ The components of a federal system
are represented in an Upper House.
★ Central governments have exclusive
control over foreign, defense &
monetary policy.
★ States control education, police, roads,
and other affairs connected to citizens.
★ Shared language & culture help in the
success of federations.
★ Balance of power
★ All states are equal
★ If a country is huge with different
timezones like the U.S.A or the
country itself has diverse mindsets,
then federal systems are definitely the
key.
★ When it comes to war and peace, the
central government decides.
★ When it comes to monetary politics,
the central government decides.
★ When it comes to foreign policy, the
central government decides.
★ Why are Federal Systems established?
➔ National security.
➔ Economic purposes.
➔ Protect national unity.
➔ Guarantee local autonomy.
➔ Control vast territories.
Advantages and disadvantages of federal and unitary systems
Unitary systems:
Advantages
❖ Centralization of power can be an
advantage in solving modern
problems → capital can push
economic resources, coordinate
planning & development..etc
Federal Systems:
Advantages
❖ Closeness of citizens to their local
governments.
Disadvantages
❖ People may feel important political
decisions are made by distant officials
→ producing political alienation
❖ Center-periphery tensions or
regionalism arise in several countries.
❖ Authority can be absurdly
overcentralized.
Disadvantages
❖ Local gov’t may lack money to finance
programs.
❖ Officials are sometimes corrupt and
incompetent.
❖ Local decision-making can lead to
poor coordination.
❖ If its components are too different, the
system might fail to hold on.
Chapter IV:

Ideologies

What is an Ideology?
- An ideology begins with the belief that things can be better, it is a plan to improve
society.
- Ideologies are often based on political and economic theories but simplified and
popularized to sell to the masses, build political movements and win elections.
- Ideologies never work precisely the way their advocates intend.
- All ideologies contain wishful thinking, which frequently collapses in the face of reality.
- There are right, left and moderate wings:
→ right-wing is known as conservatives
→ left-wing is known as liberals
→ moderate are between left and right, they do not belong to any in other words.

I. Liberalism

★ Adam Smith founded the laissez-faire economy also known as the free market economy
★ In liberalism, the economy functions freely
★ It is also known as ‘capitalism’
★ Liberals belong to the left wing
★ In the free market, there is an “invisible hand” that regulates and self- corrects the
economy.
★ Governments also should not supervise religion, press, or free speech. Society should be
as free as possible from government interference.
★ The laissez-faire economy created problems. The free market economy was not
completely self-regulating.
★ The system produced terribly poor class (wages below starvation levels). And class
positions were largely inherited.
★ It was time for government intervention to correct economic and social ills. It is stepping
in to guarantee the freedom to live at an adequate level. That is to say, protecting
freedom from an unfair economic system.
★ Modern liberals championed the right to form unions, health insurance, improved
educational opportunities, and higher taxes on the rich.

II. Socialism

★ Classic liberalism dominated the 19th Century, but criticism began with the growing gap
between rich and poor. Critics believed that reforms would not be sufficient, they wanted
to overthrow the capitalist system.
★ Marx was the leading thinker behind this. Capitalism would be overthrown by the
proletariat → then comes socialism: a just, productive society, without class distinctions
→ at a later stage, when industrial production is very high, the society will turn to
 communism: a perfect society, without police, money, private property or even
government.
★ Living in well-being, helping other people

III. Nationalism

★ Most popular ideology

★ It won over all ideologies as it still dominates today.
★ A people’s heightened sense of cultural, historical, and territorial identity, unity, and
sometimes greatness. (Ex. Fascism & Nazis)
★ This ideology still dominates today. It is an exaggerated belief in the greatness and unity
of one’s country.
★ Basic to nationalism is resentment of foreign domination (be it British, French, or
European colonies) and the fight for independence.
★ Therefore it is linked to sovereignty. As it is born out of occupation and repression by
foreigners.
★ It appeared with the French revolution, as it's based on ‘the people’, it heightened the
French feelings about themselves as special and led others to free themselves.
★ Now it is in developing countries that nationalism is now most intense.
★ More than any other ideology, nationalism depends on emotional appeal. The feeling of
belonging to a nation is more of a psychological aspect.
★ citizens/leaders feel that they are unique
★ Unity, belonging to a nation

IV. Populism

★ Populism is taking root among many societies especially in Europe and the U.S.
★ Populism as a rightest political movement has different dimensions; arising heavily in
democracies, claiming an alternative to the existing political institutions. It is flourishing
in circumstances of social unrest and increasing inequality, threatening the established
democratic institutions. They claim that they are more aware of society's needs, hence
they call for democratic revision and renewal.
★ Extreme ideology → right-wing
★ People want the benefits of the country only for them and they don't want any migration
★ It's based on the popular will of the original people, based on exclusion.
★ They don’t like to integrate or be mixed with other people.
 V. Islamism

★ Muslim religion turned into a political ideology.

★ Islamism blends religion, nationalism, and socialism. Islamism resembles nationalism,
but in Islam, the political was always intertwined with the religious. The prophet
founded Islam as one giant community, umma.
★ Salafiyya or Islamic Fundamentalism started with a call to return to the pure ways of the
Prophet. (currently in Saudi Arabia). • Islamism got more into the scene with the Iranian
revolution in 1979.
★ With the Arab Spring, Islamist parties appeared on the political scene.
★ Extremists also showed up associated with terrorism.
★ Islamists seek to oust U.S. influence as it erodes Islamic morals & culture, destroy Israel
and get back the Islamic holy land, and take over all the Muslim countries and eventually
the world. Then Islamism will share the wealth.
★ Islamism has several weaknesses, it is split between Sunni & Shia, Where both branches
are always into conflicting debates and struggle. And it has no economic plan.
★ Islamism might fade away, but currently it is a major challenge to the West.
★ Islamists are not accepted nowadays because they are extreme and are known as
terrorists examples are isis and the Taliban. So this stereotype will never be eliminated
because it is known as terror.

VI. Feminism

★ Ideology for psychological, political, and economic equality for women.

★ It started in the 1960s with a handful of female writers, then by the 1970s women’s
movements had become a political force in the West.
★ Feminism writers argued that women were paid less than men, not promoted, denied
loans, and were generally second-class citizens.
★ They started gaining an impact, where women were given fairer chances, promoted to
higher positions, and working wives became the norm.
★ Politically, however, feminists did not achieve all they wish for.

VII. Environmentalism

★ It aims at saving an endangered nature through regulation and lifestyle decisions.

★ They argued that Economic Development paid little attention to the damage it did to the
environment.
★ “Greens" urged public transportation & bicycles instead of cars, wholegrain foods &
vegetables instead of meat, and renewable energies instead of nuclear or fossil-fueled
power plants.
★ By the 1980s, Green Parties started to run for parliamentary elections, determined to
end nuclear power, toxic waste, and war. Many young Europeans find the Greens an
attractive alternative to old ideologies.
VIII. Authoritarian Capitalism

★ is the presence of a capitalist economy on one hand along with the absence or
erosion of democracy and civil liberties on the other hand.
★ must be carefully distinguished from public ownership, which is unproblematic
insofar as state companies are democratically-controlled and accountable.
★ This ideology came up based on the model of china.
★ Not democratic, thus effective economy and people are living satisfied.
★ Anyone is free to start any privately owned business as long as it is under the
supervision of the government.
★ It is proven to be successful as per china’s model.
★ This ideology can be a very good model in countries like Egypt, gulf countries,
and Latin America.