Poli Sci Notes MIDTERM_Finals

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2002

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PSCI 2002 Fall 2018- Canadian Political Environment- Midterm Notes INTRODUCTION LECTURE - September 7th 2018 Sources of Canadian Diversity Ideas About Politics - Widely shared systems of attitudes - No real dominant political culture in Canada Regionalism - Shapes everything - Role of Federalism - Regional character - Disagreements between provinces - Federalism- divided sovereignty Quebec and French Canada - History and Identity - “A main plotline in the story of [Canada]” Gender - Waves of feminism and the implications on public policy First Peoples - Consequences of colonialism - Social and economic inequalities and challenges to sovereignty - Responses to colonialism- shift towards self-government Multiculturalism and Immigration - Ideal of Canada as a multicultural society- characterized by tolerance (Quebec differs somewhat) - Nationalism- greater pride in diversity in Canada - Xenophobia: fear of difference Social Class - Stratification of access to social benefits - Most Canadians consider themselves middle class Relationship with the USA - Cultural, political and economic influence - Generally considered one-sided - Few nations have such influence on eachother POLITICAL CULTURES IN CANADA - September 14th

Overview - What are the predominant (if any) political identities values and beliefs in Canada? - How does Canada’s diversity affect how we understand Canadian political culture(s)? - What are the origins, and how does it change/stay the same? - How are we distinct from other countries? - What are the effects of the media? Political Culture- Key Terms Political Culture - Political culture: The fundamental and relatively enduring political identities, values, beliefs, and orientations that are widely held within a political community. They determine the norms and expectations of politicians, governments, parties, and citizens (How people should behave). - Examples: - Values- eg: work - Beliefs- politicians lie all the time, generous welfare programs cause dependency, lowering taxes stimulate the economy - Orientations- general attitudes towards politics (national pride) Subcultures - Subcultures: Variations on the national political culture Political Discourse - Political Discourse: The ways in which politics is discussed and the rhetoric that is used in political persuasion.Arguments, symbols that hold meaning - Examples : - Universal healthcare- equality Political Socialization - Political Socialization: The process by which new generations and immigrants are socialized into the political cultures. Process by which society passes on political culture. - Political culture is enduring as it is passed through generations in this way, undergoing slow change, through agents of socialization - Examples - Family, friends, schools, organizations, media Approaches to Analyzing Political Culture - Examining the country’s historical periences, its constitution and governing institution, the general policies that governments adopt, and the writings of its leading thinkers and political figures - Use of sample surveys that can accurately capture the views of a population at a given moment - Liberal Democratic: Canada is liberal democratic. Characterized by election between distinct political parties, a separation of powers into different branches of government,

the rule of law in everyday life as part of an open society, and the equal protection of human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and political freedoms for all people - Less consensus beyond that, no small part because of Canada’s diversity- and the many political subcultures within the country - illiberal: ruled by the people, balanced with the protection of minority rights Democratic Values Majority rule balanced with minority rights - The will of the larger number takes precedence - Minority rights protected by CORaF and courts Popular sovereignty - the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will. Political freedoms/ Equality - Charter of Rights and Freedoms Other Features- (Through comparison with other countries, particularly the U.S.A) Balance between individualism and collectivism - Individual freedom and the common good - USA- greater significance on individual freedom - Canada- values tolerance, egalitarianism- certain rights being enshrined in our constitution that the US does not have Tolerance - Tolerance: the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with. - Income, gender equality Egalitarianism - Egalitarianism: the doctrine that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities. Deference to Authority - National symbol- RCMP officer (law enforcement) - U.S.A (bad cop that doesn't play by the rules) - Greater sense of free reign Caution and diffidence - Inferiority complex- not willing to stand out, shrinking away from attention - Conservative in general outlook (Cautious about change and careful about the future) Diversity and Political Culture Provincial and regional subcultures - Quebec and Newfoundland - Value the province over the country - Every other province value national over provincial Indigenous Peoples - Federal and Provincial governments/institutions fraught

Quebec - French Settlers brought different ideas - Catholic church- encouraged their differences - Language keeps them distinct Socioeconomic - Poor people are more likely to support left ideologies - Rich people are more likely to support right ideologies Gender and Ethnicity - Intersections make things even more complex - Gender and race - Ethnicity and class Ideological Diversity in Canada Political Ideology - Political Ideology: A reasonably coherent set of ideas, values, and beliefs about politics, society, and the economic system based on assumptions about human nature - Ideas about politics that aren't completely incoherent - Liberalism, Conservatism, and Socialism are important ideologies in understanding the political ideologies in understanding the political ideology of Canada and other Western democracies - Points of emphasis on each- value of political freedom and equality - Conservatism: Emphasizes laws based on tradition and traditional moral values, established constitutions to maintain orderly society. They generally value order over freedom and freedom over equality - Liberalism - emphasizes individual freedom, equality and minority protection. (Those first two elements are often in contention with each other, creating a push-pull within liberalism) - Socialism- NDP- social and economic equality, valuing equality of outcomes over equality of opportunity Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Political Culture Founding Fragments Theory (Hartz and Horowitz) - The theory that in the founding of new societies, only a fragment of the political culture of the “mother country” formed the basis for the political culture of the new society - French culture is what makes Canada different from the U.S.A. - Canada’s fragments- French and English Canada - The Tory Touch- An element of traditional conservatism that includes the defences of a hierarchical rule by a privileged elite on behalf of the collective good of the nation

- They claimed that both Canada and USA were liberal from being settled by British immigrants who supported early democracy in English - Canada differentiated due to the additional French settlers, as they were from feudal, highly collectivised and conservative society, bringing with them the ideas of society, including deference to authority Formative Events Theory (Lipset) - Theory emphasizes the importance of a crucial formative enet in establishing the basic character of a country’s political culture - Canadian political culture viewed as more conservative (in the traditional sense of being more cautious, deferential to authority) because of its counter- revolution Are we Unique? How different are our core political outlooks from the people in other nations? - Founding Fragment and Formative Events theory- YES - Due to our unique settlement in the case of the former and our history in the case of the latter - Looking at the comparison between the values of other liberal democracies around the world- especially the US, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand- Our numbers are not all that different from other nations in PEW research study Mass Media - Shapes options about current issues and provides information Potential Effects of Mass Media - Potential effects: agenda- setting (deciding what is important, people start to care about things after they begin being talked about in the news) - Examples - Public debt in the 1990s - Syrian refugee crisis - Framing (angles, perspectives, presentation, affect how people view a topic - There are many different approaches to an issue- especially a controversial one- so which one is chosen can greatly affect the messages communicated - Example- Newspapers! Canada’s economic downturn (Bill C-51 anti terrorism act) Actual Effects of Mass Media? - Difficult to assess: - Biased selection of sources by consumers - Profit motive of media means they need to satisfy consumers- don’t want to give them an opinion they don’t like - Profit motive also means minimal information supplied by media- newspaper size change - Historical competition between media sources drove their content - Currently- you need to go to many sources to gather enough information, and the amount actually included in any given source has gotten lower over time

Sources of Change - Modernization: Change in culture as prosperity has grown; as basic needs are met people begin to prioritize other needs - Especially true of young people who grow up with those basic needs not being major concerns - Applies to all societies and political communities (not just canada- wealthy countries - What people value fundamentally are pretty basic needs being met (maslow’s hierarchy of needs- basic needs) - 60s/70’s Countries in north america- basic needs settled - Unprecedented wealth and safety and security - Higher order needs focused on (and cultural wars- identity rather than material concerns) - Generalizational change - Memories and ways of growing up- influential - Generational changes- significant generational difference - Globalization: Change in culture as exposure to new ideas has grown; as there is more cross culture exposure we are moving towards a much more homogenous political culture Post-Materialist Values - Values such as self-expression, participation in economic and political decisions, emphasis on the quality of life, tolerance of diversity, and concern for environmental protection Post-Materialist Theory - A theory that those who have grown up in relative security and affluence are more likely to give priority to post-materialist values rather than materialist values. FRENCH CANADA AND QUEBEC - September 21st 2018 Overview - French Canada: Demography and Conceptions - Canada’s expansion and French-English relations - Predominantly only in Quebec- francophone minorities in most provinces - These minorities evolved separately from the francophones inside Quebec - French Canada and Quebec in four phases - Pre-confederation - 1860-1950s - The Quiet Revolution and push for independence - Today: Nationalism and dealing with diversity

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