CFHS AP GOVERNMENT

5/21/09

2009-05-29T01:21:00.000-07:00

Everyone went to get their yearbooks excluding Grayson+ myself.

YAY

Thursday, May 21, Third Period

2009-05-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is so late!
We watched All In The Family today.
There were two letters to the President from one household. :)

May 26th, 4th Period

2009-05-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't done the blog yet this 9 weeks so I'm just gonna go ahead and post this:

Today in class G divided the class into 2 teams for an intense game of Jeopardy: Government Style. We were quizzed on our knowledge of various things from both US and Comp. that we have learned this past year. The winning team gained 12 extra credit points, and the losing team gained 6. Don't forget, the group game project is due next Monday, June 1!

blog from last Tuesday

2009-05-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is a little late. Last Tuesday we started the trial and Period 7 almost completed it. Both sides went through their witnesses to plead their case and tomorrow the jury will announce their verdict.

Since this post was last, we already know that Yertle was found not guilty.

7 days left of school!

Monday, May 18th, 4th Period

2009-05-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

We worked on the Yurtle the Turtle case, with the prosecution and defence getting ready to go at it the next day.

May 20

2009-05-20T11:50:00.001-07:00

Today in class, we finished our Yurtle the Turtle trial.
The jury found Yurtle not guilty. They made their decision based on the lack of evidence of Yurtle's wrongdoings. The government system is a monarchy, and there are no laws against forcing turtles to stack on top of each other to create a throne.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

2009-05-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today in class we began our trial of Sadie vs. Yertle the Turtle.

The defense successfully called on all of their witnesses: Sadie, Slither, Yolanda, and the doctor.

We left off just before the Defense called upon their first witness and will proceed from their tomorrow.

Monday- 7th Period

2009-05-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry for a day late post, I wasn't signed up!

Anyway, onto Monday's festivities...

We went back and finished off the last few "Questions Americans Should Ask" (mine included). It seems that most people find the economy and what will be done to fix it to be the most important question right now and understandably so. If you get newsweek, look in the issue that arrived today (tuesday) and read the little thing in the back about President Obama's 2010 budget, its kinda related and really interesting. Anyway...back on topic...
Once we finished up all the questions, we split into our Yertle groups and prepared for the trial. The defense and the prosecution worked on making their cases and that was about it.

Friday, May 15th

2009-05-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

Today we discussed the trial about Yertle the Turtle and we each drew a piece of paper from a hat with a character on it whom we would embody in the trial. Mr. G also read to us about the lovely tale of Yertle the Turtle, who wanted to rule over all he could see by stacking his subjects underneath him to form a throne. During the trial on the 19th, Yertle will be put on trial for causing injury to one of his subjects, Sadie. Sadie and her supporters will form the prosecution, and Yertle's supporters will form the defense. The rest of the class consisted of the defense and the prosecution getting together and working on what questions they'll ask and such.

Sorry this is late....

Friday

2009-05-17T13:46:00.001-07:00

Today we were assigned positions for the upcoming trial of Yertle the Turtle.

Trials are on Tuesday be ready!

2nd Period: 5/14/09

2009-05-15T06:15:00.001-07:00

Today we continued our discussion about The Most Important Questions. :) :) :) :)

Note's for May 11, 2009

2009-05-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

Today in class we had a discussion period. We discussed the following questions as certain people shared their answers and we opened up a dialogue on certain points.
The questions were:
1. What are the most important questions Americans should be asking?
2. What are the most critical things people should be doing right now?
a. Regual citizens
b. Parents
c. Schools
d. High School/College Youth
e. Government officials
f. World leaders
g. Religious leaders
3. What do you think are the biggest challenges before us?
4. What do you hope will happen? Why?

BLOG MONDAY 5/11/09

2009-05-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

yes i know its wednesday but heres the run down for monday. In class we were supposed to have prepared answers for the "what do you think?" assignment. Myself, and a few others went all through our responses and then the class was opened into a forum for discussion. our main topic of discussion was the war in Iraq as well as other topics such as Pakistan, the economy,etc.

May 12, 2005

2009-05-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

Today we handed back any of the books or packets we got for U.S. and comparative gov. Make sure to bring them back whenever you can.

Tuesday, May 12th

2009-05-12T06:26:00.000-07:00

Today we continued our discussion on the discussion questions we were assigned over the weekend.

Monday, May 11, 2009

2009-05-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

We began the "What Do You Think?" presentations. Mr. Gottschalk treated the assignment as a class discussion where each student presents their findings and classmates respond to those opinions. Every student must present to the class to receive a grade.

Tuesday 4/28

2009-05-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday April 28th we went over more material for AP tests and we were given the chance to look over the princenton review books.

April 30th Thursday

2009-05-04T03:08:00.000-07:00

we went over timed write questions mainly with the US government to prepare for the AP exam

KATE LAWLOR for 4/30

2009-05-03T17:22:00.000-07:00

In class we went over a released multiple choice test on the overhead. STUDY for AP test on Monday. Meet in room 102 at 7:40

Thursday 4/30

2009-05-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

Today in class we reviewed an old AP Comparative Governemnt test together and we got through about half of it before the bell rang. The general consensus was that we are prepared for the AP exam and that the questions in class seemed relatively easy.

4/27 (Late: SORRY!)

2009-05-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 27th, we looked at our Mid Term in preparation for our AP exams. We spent the class answering any questions in regards to the mid term. AP exams are on Monday! AHH STUDY TIME!!

Mexico Notes for 4th pd (intended for 4/20)

2009-04-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry its really late!

Political Socialization: Supportive of political institutions since revolution and 1917 democratic constitution. This leaves it deemed legitimate.

The society is, hoever, critical of government's performance of meeting goals
Self serving elitists/Corrupt Bureaucrats
Cynical Mexicans on the electoral process (PRI)
The mexicans "just did it..." as a merely ritualistic system (only for the government benefits)
Strong Patron-client relations (Camarilla)
PRI dependent on these patron client systems to mobilize votes
Media, schools, church, are all vital social agent

Political Participation: Voting, 18 years of age, rallys and government ceremonies brought small rewards (free meals, bus prizes, door prizes.

PRI Regime:

Failure to participate held benefit loss.

Now, more recently, a multi party system:

Harder to push non-voters since there were no prizes
Middle class recruited for elites
Revolution led for middle class, religious, educated,
Technico's advanced in the system
1970-76, politicols losing to technicos College, advanced degrees, foreign universities, economic and public administrations
Upper middle class spent entire career as civil servants (financial and planning particularly)
Technicos did NOT run for officse
Technicos rize to leadership positions faster AND in younger conditions.

Interest Groups:

No party platform telling the president of PRI what to do
PRI had 3 large National Organizations: (TM--Work, labor) (CNC--Rural Peasants) ("Popular Sector"--everyone else) Bureaucrats small business.

Corpratists System

PRI lost power since 2000, other organized interest groups: Entrepeneurs, military, Catholic Church
Business Community: Several private interest groups, pluralist
Patron Clients as well! Had advantages (of TM or CMC had large demand of govermnent, they had to listen, but with small patron clients its easier to say no, which was common)

Myth of right Connection: If citizens appealed governmnet and got declined, they kept looking.

Growth of middle class, angry peasants, (mad at credit squeezes, and urbanization) and large growing low income urban population left to independent org's

Party system: up to 2000: PRI supported president pretty much

Able to maintain power by being dominant over every system
PRI limited citizen demands to depressureize president
Co-opting (absorb into PRI all of the political interests possible, and give them their own "faction" of sorts
Today PRI is inclusive.
Before 2000, democratization of PRI was predominant, no independend policy influence
Mexico all 2000, was dominated by PRI, guaranteed election untill 1988-89.
They had access to mass media
PRI controlled Federal Election Commission to manipulate results
PRI vote declines due to population shifts (rural to urban)
Cheap goods =Cheap labor

Opposition parties in the 70's were helpful

Oppositions overtime became competititive
PAN (2nd party) 1939, nationwide following.
present in federal legislature; it controlled major cities but not Mexico city.
Social, political right, opposed anti-church
Opposed PRI monopoly on public education
Supported urban middle class, conservative peasants, working middle class
Forced PRI to move right on the political spectrum.
PRI became supportive of free economic policies
PRI signed nafta.
3rd party PRD democratic revolutionary party (political leftist) after 1988 presidential election.
Tries to appeal to poor and workers unions.

--Darryl

3rd Period: April 29, 2009

2009-04-29T20:10:00.001-07:00

Today in class, we went over the free response questions for last years ap us gov exam. Here's the links to the scoring guidelines and questions:
Free response questions: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap08_go_po_us_frq.pdf
Scoring guidlines: http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ap/students/govpol/ap08_gopo_us_sgs.pdf

Remember, that your answers don't have to be long! Just get straight to the point and answer the question.

AP Test on Monday! STUDY and GOOD LUCK!!

April 21 2009

2009-04-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Constitution
With the PRI dominating, it was kind of hard to classify Mexico’s system,
and we call it a democratic system today. Under the PRI, it was part-free,
part-authoritarian, and then over time, in the 80s and 90s, it was a system
that became increasingly competitive in its elections as the PRI became
less and less able to pull off voter fraud. With that change, the system in
Mexico is more committed to fair and honest elections. Mexico has had a
modern authoritarian regime that under the PRI dealt successfully with
recruiting elites to run for political office and then managed to get them
elected. The system was always one under the PRI that tried to co-op rather
than eliminate or crush pesky political forces or groups that were being
critical. Under the PRI, the Mexican government tried to have the broadest
range of social economic and political interests all inside the PRI or
inside the PRI within its mass organizations. As potential opposition
groups would appear, usually their leads would be co-opted into existing
government organizations, or new ones would be created to meet the needs.
Historically, opposition which could not be co-opted was dealt with
harshly. Ordering the army into the state of Chiapas in 1998 when EZLN came
out of the jungle and refused to negotiate. Another example would go back
to 2000, when more than 2000 federal police stormed Mexico’s largest
university to oust radical students who had taken over the campus. The
students had taken over the campus, barricaded building, forced classes
closed for nine months. Government put up with it, dealt with it
differently than they had in 98, when they killed 300 rebellious students.
The police this time do not injure anyone. The 2000 dispute with the
students also kind of illustrates the types of problems that Mexico faces
as it becomes more modern. The university students who took it over took an
old line dinosaur approach and were demanding a free education. The
increasingly technocrat government of Mexico wanted to modernize the
university, and they had proposed raising tuition from the current tuition,
two cents a year, to $140 a year, which is a steep change. This proposal
sparked a backlash from students, their parents, and university alumni, and
many left-leaning political people who all strongly endorsed the
university’s 89-year tradition in providing a free education to anyone in
Mexico who could gain admission. Under this protest, the government drops
the proposal for tuition, and then the students, rather than stopping and
going back to class, began to press for more admittance, and they began to
demand that they be given more time to complete their education. They were
also calling for relaxation of admissions standards.

On paper, the Mexican government looks very much like that of the US. They
have a president, three separate branches, checks and balances, and clearly
it is a federal system ON PAPER. In practice, especially during the PRI,
the government acts very different. Some differences:
1. Mexican President elected for six years, no opportunity for reelection.
Other than that, president must be native-born with Mexican parents and at
least 35 years old
2. There is no Vice President
3. Elections are held if the president dies or becomes disabled in the
first two years of his term. After the first two years, if the president
dies or becomes disabled, the Congress will select a substitute to finish
out the term.
4. Mexico has a two-house legislature, but it’s chosen by a system of mixed
single-member districts and proportional representation.
5. There is a federal judiciary, headed by a Supreme Court with 21
magistrates appointed for life by the President with the approval of the
Mexican Senate.
6. The federal courts in Mexico have the power to invalidate a law or an
act that it finds to be unconstitutional. However, in Mexico, a Court’s
decision, even by the Supreme Court, does not nullify the law. Instead, if
a court finds the law to be unconstitutional, it suspends the law in the
case they’re looking at, but it still applies in every other case.
7. In Mexico, five consecutive decisions without an intervening contrary
decision have the effect of a precedent. So if a law is challenged in
court, and the Supreme Court strikes it down five times, it’s no longer a
law.
8. According to the Mexican Constitution, judicial review does exist, but
the Supreme Court during the years of PRI dominance, cooperated with the
PRI presidents on political matters, and in all those 70 years of PRI
dominance, the Supreme Court never invalidated any major policy of an
incumbent PRI president. They break that after the 2000 presidential
elections. When Zedillo comes in, the Supreme Court pretty much stunned the
country by ruling against Zedillo in a dispute with the Congress. The Court
rarely strikes down a President still, though. Constitution was written in
1917.

Tuesday 4/28

2009-04-29T05:26:00.000-07:00

In class today we had a choice of mid term review or ap review book. Yay.

Tuesday April 28

2009-04-29T01:31:00.000-07:00

Today Mr. Gottschalk passed out study books if you wanted to go through one during class, and he passed out our mid-terms for a second time.

April 9th notes..I may have forgotten. here they are

2009-04-28T07:09:00.000-07:00

1917- constiution-current

politparty- holds 1st convention in 1924.

1929- 'National Revolutionary Party'- it became an official party, Mexico is a 1 party state

1946- Changes to PRI , not until Cardanos is president (1934-40) 6 year terms

In Mexico- Prez cannot run for re-election

during his presidentcy, urban workers have success in pushing land

In sextenuim, unprecedted strikes, petition, anger

more land distribured in 6 years than ever before combined

1940- land tenership is rather changed, tradition and high number of haciendas broken, now higher sector of lowly peasant farmers called Ejudatarios who is a peastant farmer who gets land from gov't though agraian reform programs

new organization of rural peasant

urban workers

turned into nationwide orgs

weapons whent to militias and gov't, nationalized foreign iol com's

worker orgs, don't amount too much utnil end ot WWII, then take off after, wealth in mexicio given to elite during time of economic goodness

heritage of prez pcardeno still live

org policies remian

includes

1. establishing presidency as primary polit position

2. sweeping powers for prez during term

3. co-op military- will defened constitiution and not have coupes, in exchange is a pillar of society

4. elaborate netowrk of supprt for PRI until 2000

long haul, democracy slow

influence of orgz on society falls thorugh

impact is limited

-Party (PRI) domiantes mexican politics for 70 years to extent that meexico was 1 party state

-PRI won every race for 70 years, had the majoirty in the lower house form 1929 to 1997.

Being challenged for past 25 years, PAN, national action party

Challange is high during Pres Salinas

1990s- debates on

dinosaurs- old PRI's lose out to new reformist in 1990s, want to go back to when Nation owned ecnomy

1970-1976- Echerria to 1976-1982 Portillo and with Delamadrie and with Salina to Zedillo. Over time, dinosaurs lost out to technocratsMExico signs NAFTA and joins GATT and join new laws need to industrial development -when foreign firms are encouraged to open factories (Maquiledoras) that use duty free components to assemble products and export them

1990- over 15,000 maquiladores- products for export. dinosaurs trace loss of PRIpower to alot of tecnhicrats who are elitiest U.S. educated and out of touch

Tecnhicrats implement reforsm, privatize industy, liveralize trade laws, change electoral laws,a nd strike PRI core constituents and bourght away from socialist route

reforms of Mexicos authoriarian and corrupt system bacem part of Zedillos adm

-sent ament to stat for rat

-took control out of elections

-out of hands og PRI

-new election system

amended const- give polit parties equal access to media

limited campiagn spending

andy party can use green, oragnce, and white colors

2000- PRI LOSES

3 problems disrupt gov't

1. economic problems

2. indian revolt in southern state

3. corruption with carnotics

Peso collapses -1995

Zedillo has to devalue the peso, results in 34%drop

to head of collapse, u.s. steps in provides $40 billion loan to garauntee no debt

largest loan in in't aid program since 1948, but allowed mecico to avoid default debt

issue with indians -1994- group of peasant annouce they are an army EZLN, occupy touwns and make calls for economic develpment. issue declaration, wirite, product of slavery, war, expansion. nothing to lose. no homes, land, work, health, food, education, choice, indepedence, justice, complain about develpment

2/3- never completedd primary school. object to electioification of mexico city through rivers when 1/3 of them had no electricity, distribution of wealth

Monday the 27th

2009-04-28T03:46:00.000-07:00

Today we just went over midterms to see what we missed and ask any questions!

One week Guys! Good luck!

2009-04-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today, we turned in our Mexico Country Questions as well as reviewed AP US Government material from the mid-term exam. We will continue to review material throughout this week.

Make sure if you have any questions that you ask Mr. Gottschalk so that he can clarify.

The AP Exam for this class is 1 week from today. =]

Thursday April 23

2009-04-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Thursday we had the Mexico Test. Questions due on Monday. AP Test May 4th! done with govt.

4/23 4th Period

2009-04-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

We had a test. Last country questions are due Monday. APs are the next Monday. Awesome.

Mexican Notes 4/20/2009

2009-04-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

Socialization and Political Culture:
Culturally, Mexicans are highly supportive of their political institutions that they see as having evolved from the Mexican Revolution, and they like the democratic principles that were written into the Constitution of 1917. Given that they considered their regime legitimate, nobody is trying to overthrow the regime. Mexicans are, however, critical of their government’s performance. You remember the revolution and then the goals written into the constitution that were going to create jobs for people, reduce social inequality, get better basic public services, same things that the EZLN wanted, and people were openly critical that the government hasn’t come through sufficiently in each of those areas. Mexicans consider politicians and bureaucrats to be 1) elitist, 2) to be self-serving; that is, they are looking out for themselves, and 3) probably corrupt. Mexicans are cynical about the electoral process. For some seventy years under the one-party system, under the PRI, the average Mexican regarded participating in election campaigns, rallies, voting drives, going to actually vote, joining a political party as just something you would do, something used to say sort-of ritualistic, just something in the pattern of things people would do and that, at best, they were necessary only to extract some benefits from the system because if you were seen as getting out and supporting the PRI and their candidates, the PRI was going to dominate the government so conceivably there’s going to be some benefits for you. Mexican society is known for strong patron-client relations, and, in Mexico, we call the strong patron-client relationship a camarilla. And when the PRI was dominating for its seventy years, it depended heavily on patron-client networks to get people out to vote and to mobilize organizations to support the vote. Since 2000, patron-client networks are still there but not quite as dominant. For Mexicans, their official interpretation of the Revolution of 1910 stresses a lot of symbology, or mist—become aware of the idea that somehow their system is going to have social justice, be a democracy, and that there’s a need for national unity and that the ruling government in place came from the people. And they hold up its heroes, some of the people whose names we mentioned along the way: Father Hidalgo, Juarez, Zapata, Pancho Villa, and President Cardenas. The government’s role in all of this has been constantly reinforced by political socialization, through the mass media, through the public school system, through the families, and again when the PRI was dominant during the mass organizations that the PRI had. Another agent of socialization that I should have mentioned and didn’t was the Church; the Church is a strong teacher.

Participation:
If we look at participation in Mexico: like everywhere else, the number one form of participation is voting, and, amongst the votes, the vote that’s going to get the most turnout is going to be the presidential election. In Mexico, everyone eighteen and older can vote. In the years of the PRI domination, participation in party rallies, ceremonies often brought some degree of rewards—turned out for a PRI campaign drive, probably got a free meal, door prizes, free transportation (got to ride around in a city bus), and, so in those days during the PRI domination again, people would turn out to participate, and it would almost have a holiday flavor. On the other hand, failure to participate could result in some loss of benefits from the government. Now, since 2000, as Mexico has developed into a multi-party system, it is tougher to say what the pay-off for participation is. The rewards for being seen as an active participant probably remain, but it’s tougher for a losing party to, in any way, punish people that didn’t turn out to support them. Sanctions aren’t going to be in place anymore; they’re very like the U.S. today in this regard. Political elites in Mexican have traditionally been recruited from the middle class. 1910 Revolution opened up opportunities for ambitious, well-educated elements of the middle class, and political power has shifted to that educated middle class. Since the 1970s, tecnicos (and that is lawyers, engineers, government planners, economists, professional administrators) had all advanced much to the distress of the old dinosaurs beginning with the Echeverria administration (1970-1976) continuing through Portillo (1976-1982), particularly during the de la Madrid sexennial (1882-1988), and then the Salidas (1988-1994). Through several years then old-wide politicians who had risen to leadership in Mexico through politics or through labor organizations or through peasant organizations (those mass organizations sponsored by the PRI), have lost out to the tecnicos. Tecnicos, again, are people recruited from the college-educated; they hold advanced university degrees, often from foreign universities like the universities in the United States, and they tend to take their degrees in fields like economics and public administration. These are people, the tecnicos, that tend to spend their entire career within the government bureaucracy; they’re going to be career government workers, especially in the financial and planning agencies. They don’t often run for elective office, but when they do, they are being successful. President Fox, the first president from the PAN, was the sixth president in a row to be elected president of Mexico without previously having held any elected office. So these are people who get their education, spend a career in the bureaucracy working in the government, and then rising in their party ranks, and finally running for a top elected office and getting it. The tecnicos’ advance in the system to positions of leadership faster than the dinosaurs, consequently, tecnicos are younger.

Interest Group System:
In Mexico, agenda-building—deciding major issues—takes place within the upper levels of the government bureaucracy. Policies, historically, have been initiated and then shaped by the inner circle of the president’s advisor before they get presented to the public. Remember, for the most, particularly through the PRI years, the president was really the dominant figure through those six years. So, the president would come in, get a close ring of advisors, and they would decide the issues they were going to tackle and advise to the public. The former official party, the PRI, had been the lead in all of this, and, during their seventy years of domination, the PRI maintained three mass nationwide organizations, similar to China, but in Mexico’s case much stronger. They had a mass organization referred to as the CTM that represented organized labor; they were the National Labor Union. They had another one called the CMC that supposedly represented all the peasant farmers. And then they had another third organization that they referred to as the Popular Sector that tried to scoop up everything else—sort of a mish-mash and no where near as strong as the other two. But during the PRI, then, we are operating under a corporatist system because the CTM was the recognized organization representing labor, and the CNC was the officially recognized organization representing the rural peasants. And if the workers or peasants had an issue that they want taken up with government, they had to work it through the channels of that mass organization, and the government would get back to them through those channels. Citizens and segments of Mexican society then had access to government through these mass organizations were essentially licensed by the state to represent their sector. Now, with the loss of the presidency for the PRI, these mass organizations have all but disappeared. There were other organized interest groups, which were not controlled by the PRI. They included the entrepreneurs; in the business world, they included the military and the Catholic Church. Those groups were important enough in themselves that they had access to government elites; if the head of the military needed to talk to the president or somebody high up, he could and the same with the head of the Church. So they didn’t need either a political party or a mass organization. The business community organized into several different interest groups, and, today, we’re operating pretty much on a pluralist system. Patron-client networks sprung up and, again, particularly during the seventy years of the PRI. And they became important during the seventy-year domination of the PRI because if individuals or groups wanted to go around/bypass the mass organization [They didn’t want to deal with the CTM or the CNC, and they had their own contacts in government (patron-client relationship)], they could make their needs known to government through those patron-client networks. Under the seventy-years of the PRI, having a patron-client structure, and I would guess to some extent today, something that has worked pretty well for Mexico because a patron-client structure makes it difficult for popular demands to be collected by one group, that is to mass gathered and presented; they tend to go to government in one-sies and two-sies through patron-client relationships. If you got requests or demands from the public coming to you by individuals, it’s easier to say “no” than if it’s a big mass group coming to government. And, in Mexico over the years, the people sort-of accepted that, that is, being told “no,” and they had what they called in Mexico the “Myth of the Right Connection”—a Mexican who went to a government official and asked for something and was told “no” simply assumed that they had asked the wrong person. You got to find the right connection, and they go ask somebody else. And it tended to limit citizen frustration with government performance because they would take it on themselves to try to find the right person rather than being openly critical to government. Independent organizations not tied specifically to the PRI appear in the 1980s and continue; you had a number of human rights organizations, environmental groups, Labor Worker Association, and an active women’s movement. And over time, as Mexico is changing, you get a middle class growing, and they come together and form pluralist groups. You have angry peasant groups coming together, like the EZLN—certainly not a pre-sponsored group, but effective up to a point. And the other group that is not as well organized but is large, growing in size, low-income urban population around Mexico City (so many people live in Mexico City), which is surrounded by enormous Shanty towns—people living in huts and cardboard boxes, probably no electricity. You got people drawn to Mexico City for jobs, and then there’s no housing for them; they live in these massive slums, and, when they can, they put their bans on government for better housing for electric power, plumbing, and sanitation services, those sort of things. We try to put a bottom line on this, and I think we would say that the political elite in Mexico now faces a substantially larger number of interest groups that unlike the days of the PRI dominance are now pursuing their goals with much less deference to government, which the other side of that point would be more demanding of government, more independent. Patron-client relations are going to remain in place if citizens can find people in government to strike a relationship with.

Political Parties:
The principle political structure in Mexico from 1929 to 2000 was the PRI. When the PRI dominated, it did not have to pull citizens’ interests together to formulate a party platform in the sense that parties in western democracies tend to do. The PRI was able to maintain power by turning their clientelistic social structure into an umbrella organization called the PRI that shaped what most people did politically most of the time. The PRI was an elaborate network of camarillas, patron-client relationships. They had some fifteen million members. In addition, it was an authoritarian, non-competitive party, and it had its corporatist mass organizations over the labor movement and over the rural peasants. With the situation of PRI was interested in limiting the scope, or the amount, of flexibility that citizens had to make demands on the government. They wanted to limit demands for the people in order to take pressure off the president. And the PRI, then, (This is during their seventy years of dominance.) would seek to absorb into the party as many of the diverse economic interests, political tendencies that existed in Mexico. They tried to co-opt them and bring them in. Today, say the PRI is an inclusive party that occupies pretty much the raw center of the political spectrum in Mexico, but it flounders without a clear ideology. Before democratization, the 2000 presidential elections, the PRI was very much an appendage of government itself, especially at the presidency; you can hardly tell where government stopped and the party began—very dominant one-party system. The PRI, as a party, did not, even during its dominance, did not exert any independent influence on government, either its economic policies or social policies. And this is back to its overwhelmingly strong president. The PRI party was what the president and the leading technocrats made it at any one time, and, as presidents came and went, then the essence of the party would change to be supportive of that new president; the president is going to call the shots for six years. The party doesn’t need a platform because it does what the president wants. It just gets people out to vote. In Mexico under the years of the PRI dominance, it was probably the world’s most accomplished vote-getting machine. If you got nominated to elected office by the PRI, you were going to win. Until 2000, there had never been a non-PRI president. Until 1988/1989, there had never been a non-PRI federal government senator, and there had never been a non-PRI state governor before 1988/1989. During the years of its dominance, the PRI has several advantages; it had privilege access to the mass media (We get prime time, extensive coverage, and, if it wasn’t getting everything it wanted, it spent government money to buy it. They would hire reporters to write good stories about them.). The PRI had access to government funds to finance their election campaign. There was this vast network of government patronage because of all the jobs and favors that the government, meaning the PRI, could dispense. So the PRI had a nationwide network of campaign organizers, local representatives, poll watchers, people like that, who controlled the election. The PRI also controlled the Federal Election Commission, which was responsible for counting and validating election returns, and the Federal Election Commission could easily manipulate election results. An example was that polling places tended to move during the middle of Election Day, and only PRI supporters seemed to know where they had moved to. And there’s tremendous ability to commit election fraud and stuff the ballot boxes. Despite all these advantages, over time a share of the vote going to the PRI decline, went down. What was happening is that the population was shifting from rural to urban locations, and the PRI’s mass organizations didn’t work as well in the cities as they did in the countryside. Over time, the education level of the Mexican citizens went up and that hurt the PRI’s dominance. The PRI’s mass organizations, those representing the rural peasants, those representing organized labor, the vote fell off from them; they lost some of their grip. Younger population was increasingly out of touch with the political movements and social reforms from the 1930s and 1940s. And then we have the rise of the technocrats, and, again, some of the people fed up with the PRI. If you were a worker and by chance you may want a pay raise, you go to your mass organization, CTM; we need a pay raise; cost of living is getting away from us. CTM goes to the government leadership, the president and advisor, and said, “Workers need a pay raise.” The government is going to respond “no” because they would lose cheap labor, which was their chief attraction to get companies to come in. Workers get angry at CTM because organization is not meeting their needs; so workers start looking elsewhere. Rural peasants the same thing, who say, “We need land, preferably land with water so we can grow food.” The government doesn’t come through, and the rural peasants look elsewhere. The PRI starts losing the vote. There was a sense in which Mexico’s opposition parties was helpful to the PRI during its seventy-year dominance: 1) It gave an outlet for a protest vote (People decided that they were fed up with the PRI, they go vote for another party, and the PRI can let it go because they knew that the other party was going to win because if they had to, they would rig the election. It wasn’t costing the PRI anything.) 2) It made Mexico’s system look a little more legitimate because it made it look like a competitive two-party election system. So, over time we get opposition parties slowly becoming competitive, even though they were operating at this tremendous disadvantage of the PRI turned to fraud when it wanted to. And then it leads to the PRI losing the presidency in 2000 and starting to lose its majorities in the legislative branch. The PRI of course, looking ahead to the presidential election of 2006, was hoping that they would regain the presidency and slip right back into their dominant role, and then that didn’t happen. A second party is the PAN, the National Action Party. It formed in 1939. It has a nationwide following. It first won a governorship in 1989; that grew slowly in 1996. It was up to four governorships, and it’s about there today. PAN saw its presence in the federal congress slowly increasing, and the PAN became the dominant party in Mexico’s cities, with the exception of the one very important city of Mexico City. In 2000, as we know, the PAN wins the presidency for the first time and repeats that success in 2006. PAN represents the political right, or the conservative side, of the political spectrum. It was opposed to the anti-Church provisions of the 1917 Constitution but has to kind of accept them. As it came on, it opposed the PRI, or government, monopoly over public education. The PAN supporters included the urban middle class and some socially conservative peasants, as well as some urban working class. And having a strong political party on the right has forced the PRI to move right on the spectrum trying to co-opt supporters of the PAN, which means that the PRI . . .

Blog For Today

2009-04-24T08:21:00.001-07:00

Friday April 24th 2009

Today in class we had the Mexico timed write. Simple as that.

2009-04-23T04:04:00.000-07:00

Mexico Test!
Good Luck : ]

Wed 4/22 7th

2009-04-22T19:54:00.001-07:00

Beauracracy
There are career gov’t workers and not a whole lot more. It’s mainly about patron client system. The patron client system would correlate with a one party system or dominance, clear dominance by a political party. So we use the term patron-client, when we have China, Nigeria, based on pre dominance where Mexico is a one party system with an overwhelming patron client system referred to as their Camarillas. Patron-client builds to that pyramid that we talked about with Nigeria, with the client to a patron and the patron becomes a client to a higher patron and the system builds up. That’s what was in place in Mexico up until 2000 and has lost some steam there. A patron would not limit itself to one client and no client with just one patron. In Mexico’s case when we try to use to term camarilla, were talking about that vertical building of that pyramid. In the days of the dominate PRI then there was a lot of political competition between camarillas, you’d have two senior politicians competing for favors from the president or high level jobs in the gov’t, not only did they want those jobs but everyone else in their camarilla because they all want to move with benefits. Mexico in the days of PRI dominance when the president would leave in the end of 6 years and it would become a clean slate and the new president would come in. Loyalty is what holds a camarilla together. Some implications for political systems for this, if you have a strong patron-client system there is very little opportunity for a fresh, policy idea to come from the bottom and work its way up. There’s not going to be a lot of new guys coming in saying hey I have an idea, why don’t you pass this along to the top, and the reason being is that the client isn’t going to come in all new and stuff and do anything to offend the patron because they don’t want to risk losing their job. In a strong patron client system your policy ideas are going to come from the top and be pushed down. The other thing that can happen is that when you have this strong patron client system is that the people at the bottom are not going to be very creative they are going to be concerned that they do not offend the patron. What that means is that if they are working in gov’t office where they are meeting the public and the public is coming in with either requests or demands of something, in the patron client system if they are not comfortable they are going to say no to the citizen and do what they have to do for the client.
we're done! last test tomorrow =D

4/20 notes

2009-04-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Mexicans tend to be proud and supportive of their political system. This is due to their connection to the Mexican Revolution, and the 1917 Constitution. They feel that the regime is legitimate.
However, they are critical of government performance, and point out shortfalls
They tend to consider politicians and bureaucrats as elitists, self serving, and probably corrupt
Strong patron client networks called camarillas exist
The PRI depended on patron client networks to mobilize citizens
They stress the symbols of the Revolution such as social justice, democracy, national unity, and the idea that the ruling government came from the people
Revolutionary figures are national heroes. Ex: Hidalgo and Villa
The mass media, public schools, the church, and families are forms of socialization. The PRI used organizations that they controlled to socialize as well.
Participation
Voting in National elections is the most common form of political participation
anyone 18 or older can vote
Election rallies and political party ceremonies were common during the PRI’s dominance
The PRI encouraged support by providing incentives such as a free meal or transportation to those who showed up to their rallies. If you didn’t support you ran the risk of not getting the help you want from the government
In 1910 the revolution shifts power to the ambitious well educated middle class. Since the 1970s, technocrats (lawyers, engineers, professionals, administrators) have advanced quickly
1970- Through the next several presidencies, oldline politicians have lost ground to the technocrats ( usually have advanced university degrees and are recruited from the upper/middle class. They tend to spend their entire career in the government bureaucracy) Technocos rarely run for public office.
Interest Groups
Historically, agenda building has been done under the upper level government
When the PRI was dominant, 3 organizations existed
CTM- represented organized labor, CNC- represented rural peasants, the Popular Secor- covered other interests ( wasn’t very strong)
Under the PRI it was a Corporatist interest group system. Organizations were licensed by the government to represent a group.
Those 3 organizations aren’t as strong anymore. Other interest groups exist that are not controlled by a political party. They’re controlled by entrepreneurs, the military, or the Catholic Church.
The business community is organized into interest groups. This is considered a pluralist system.
There is a strong patron-client system. It is strong because individuals would try to go around the nationwide organization representing them. They looked for a patron to help them out. The system makes it less difficult for the government because it’s easier to say no to individuals than to an organization.
This method brought about the saying "Myth of the Right Connection". If an official says no, find another way to get what you want.
Human Rights, Environmental, Labor, and Women’s Rights groups were increasing
There was a growth in middle class, and angry peasants upset with urban development and the refusal from banks to give out loans. There was a growing low income urban population asking for public services.
Today, the political elite has to deal with a larger number of interest groups who are less likely to take no for an answer.
Political Parties
PRI dominance: from 1929-2000. They didn’t develop a political platform. The president called the shots.
The PRI was a vote getting machine. A network of camarillas enrolled 15 million members.
It was Authoritarian, non-competitive, corporatist mass organization
It limited the amount of demands that citizens could demand of government. They tried to absorb diverse political interests to keep pressure off of the president. They wanted to diffuse demands.
Today, the PRI is an inclusive party. It is middle of the spectrum. It is also lacking in ideology an platform.
The PRI was an appendage of the government, especially of presidency
PRI didn’t exert independent policy from the government. The PRI was what the president was.
Until 2000, there had never been a non-PRI president.
It was a One Party system
They had access to mass media, government funds to finance election campaigns, a huge network of government patronage (or jobs to be given out), and nationwide campaign watchers in local areas.
They controlled the election commission, who counted the ballot returns. They could easily manipulate the numbers.
Over time, dominance of the PRI declined probably because of rural to urban population shift. The PRI’s organization methods weren’t as effective in cities.
Education and income was rising. PRI candidate support from CTM and CNC fell off.
Until the late 70s, a few opposition parties were important to the PRI. It allowed some citizens to get rid of frustration with the system. It also made the system seem more legitimate.
Over time, the PRI loses ground.
In 2000, PAN (the opposition party) won the presidence.
In 1989 the PAN won state governorship. There was an upward trend of the number of seats owned in congress as well.
The PAN owned all major cities except Mexico City.
In 2006, the PAN won again. The PAN is right on the political spectrum. They are opposed to anti-church language in the 1917 constitution. They disliked the PRI’s dominance over education.
It consists of urban middle class, conservative peasants, and some of the city working class.
The PAN has forced the PRI to move a little more right. Free market economies are now supported by the PRI. Industries are privatized.
The PAN had ties to the U.S. within business circles. The PRI had been standoffish towards U.S. business.
The PAN is not linked to the lower class. They have no interest in income equality. It is the party of choice for the young people,
The third party, the PRD (the democratic revolutionary party) is the most recently formed. It is to the left on the political spectrum.
It formed after the 1988 elections as a result of the split in the PRI.
The PRD tries to appeal to industrial workers, and rural peasants.
The PRD’s success has been in winning mayor of Mexico City

Better Late than Never....First Mexican Notes

2009-04-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

Mexico
-strongly influenced by their past
-Spain dominated Mexico for 300 years
-Spanish impose spanish political, economic, religous, cultural systems on their Indian institutions.

-They incorporate a cast systems:

Spanish Born
Spanish but born in Mexico Creoles
Mixed offspring of Creoles and Indians (Mestizos)
Mexicans/Indians

-Colonial economy was based around Indian labor.
-Most important instrument of control was the Roman Catholic Church

-Independence Movement in 1810. Father Hidalgo led peasant Indians against the Spanish.

Independents free Mexico from political control. The cast system only modified slightly. Highest Spaniards led, but creoles just move up a knotch. Handicapped by priveledged Roman Catholic Clergy and also by the system of large estates hat caontinued to grow at expense of Indians. Colonia character contained, with an emphasis on export of minerals. Political instability halts the ability to fix these problems. Caudillo (strong men)- Santa Anna dominated, defeated Americans at Alamo, last Texas and New Mexico to the U.S., and was forced into exile in 1885. Following which was the second Revolution in 1855-1856. Reform Movement led by Benito Juarez (sp?), whose goals was to establish a federal system, eliminate priveledges of clergy and military, channel wealth of Church into capitalist economy, and create class of small landholders to balance out large holders. Effort reached a climax with the Consitution of 1857. Juarez has alot of foreign debt. Europeans intervention alters the situation politically. Juarez goes into exile. Church hiearchy came to be regarded as an anti-mexican institution. Nationalism was strengthened and some Juarez reforms were written into the Constitution. Mestizos were coming into more power, federal system established, but the problem of land distribution was not solved. 1872 Juarez dies, setting off periods of violence that culminate in a military coup in 1876. From 1876-1911 Mexico is ruled by a dictator Porifirio Diaz, who emphasized the econoymy, managed to achieve order, manages progress and wins supports or bureaucracy. With help of foreigners he builds railroads, telephone lines, banks. Provoked the Revolution of 1910 because prosperity for only few who dominated the economic system and it didn't trickle to masses. The Rural landholders gathered 5 million peasants and forced them into servitude on large land estates called Hacendas (sp?). The third revolution Movement in 1910 had an agragarian character. Peasants wanted land, water, and schools. Led by Emiliano Zapata , Pancho Villa who rallied around Francisco Madero. 1910 Diaz defeated Madero in a rigged election after he was arrested on trumped up charges. Madero released and took to countryside. Was strong enough to wage a few battles, then forced in 1911 agreement for Diaz to step down. The Revolution expands and strving to work for original revolution by weakening the church, capitalists, military, large landholders. 1911 Madero was elected president. Madero was ousted in a coup, arrested, then killed. Mexico then turns into a warlord system. Pancho Villa and other guys such as Venustiano Carranza of 11 form massive armies of unfortunates. Ends in 1916when Carranza and followers write reforms into the Constitution of 1917 which established principle of state control over all natural resources, established Roman church as subordinate to state, asserts the gov. right to redistribute land, and declares it law of land. Does very little to enforce it. Soon quarrels with organized labor.

4/22 4th period

2009-04-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

Bureaucracy
like other countries
exec branch departments headed by cabinet members
large patron client systems (camarilla) correlate with one-party system
until early 2000s defining characteristic was camarilla system
politically powerful build camarilla to compete with other camarillas to dominate policymaking
camarilla : -patrons have several clients -clients have several patrons, and try to develop their own clients
when the president leaves, camarilla goes too
incoming president brings in their own camarilla
its difficult in a large camarilla to have new ideas
the policies come from the top most of the time rather than from the clients/public
#1 job of the client is to please patron
clients cannot say yes to public as much, most of the time they are unresponsive as to not promise something they can't guarantee

then we filled out the AP packet things. if you were absent ask G about it.
Mexico multiple choice/short answer test tomorrow. free response on friday. questions due monday.

Tuesday, April 21

2009-04-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

Constitution

In the days of pre dominance, it was difficult to clasfiy the political system because it seemed to be a hbrid system with both free and authoritarian elements

i. By the time you get to the 1980s, elections become more competitve, and the PRI is forced to clean up its act on voter fraud.

ii. As the elections become more competitive you get a stronger committmnt to fairness, making it more democratic

For most of the time with the PRI, there is a moderate, authoritarian regime that was successful

i. They could find and nominate people to offices; no recruitment problems

ii. If a president dies, the party would just select a new one

Mexico’s sstem is one hwere if people came up with new ideas and challenged gobernment, the government would try very hard to coop these challengers.
Historically, if the Mexican government was unable to coop oposition, the governmetn woiuld come down pretty hard on the opposition

i. Ex. In 1998, when the EZLN had come out of the Chiapas state complaining, and the goenemrnt tried to deal with them, the EZLN said they wouldn’t negotiate anymore, and that’s when the army was sent in

On paper, the Mexican government looks very much like the U.S. government (constitution

i. President

ii. Three separate branches

iii. System of checks and balances

iv. Specifies a federalist system

v. States have considerable powers

vi. There are some differences though

1. Mexican president serves for 6 years, can’t be reelected

2. President must be native born with Mexican parents and be 35 years old

3. No Vice President

a. If the president dies within first 2 years, a successor would be chosen in a special election

b. If the president is in for more than 2 years, the Congress would chose a sucessor to finish out the term

vii. Two House legislature elected by a system of mix part single member districts and proportonal representation

viii. The judicial branch is headed by a supreme court with 21 magistrates who are appointed for life by the President with the approval of the Senate

1. The federal courts have the power to declare a law unconstitutional or to invalidate it

a. Works differently, in Mexico if the court calls in unconsitutional, the law is suspended in the particular case to which the court is hearing

i. Not much weight given to precedent

ii. If a law is challenged on grounds of constiutionality in 5 consecutive cases, the law is struck down

ix. Judicial review does exist but historically, the supreme court has cooperated with the president on policy matters, and the point is is that the supreme court had neve invalidated any major policy of an incubent president from the PRI party during 64 of the 70 yers of dominance

1. Not until after the 2000 election Zedillo (as he is on his way out) the court settled a dispute that he was involved in and the court went against him

Executive

President is the key figure

i. Prsaentialist sytem with a lot a consitutional powers vested in the president also with a lot of unwriteen poiwers

ii. The principle of executive power of the legislature and the judiciary has been well established

There is a cabinet

i. Under the PRI the cabinet postiions were filled by the members of the President’s camarillos

ii. When fox was elected, he broke with the tradition and appointed a cabinet full of business leaders are prominent politicians without a close tie to Fox or the PAN

iii. Calderon has continued Fox’s approach

Ratification of the PRI presidents policy was virtually locked from 1930-2000 but the legisltaure is no longer a rubber stamp
The 1988 election put anew wrinkle into Mexican politics in particular the President

i. In Mexico, it takes a 2/3 majority in both houses to amend the constiuttion, and during PRI dominance, the constiution was amended to allow policy changes

1. From 1917, the constitution has been amended over 300 times

2. The PRI lost their majority in 1988 and thus fewer constiuttional amendments have been passed

The judiciary had been firmly under the presidents contorl on any significant issue

i. Significantly, the judiciary followed the incumbent president’s lead and none of his actions were eclare un consitutional until they ruled against Zedillo in 2000

Mexican presidents are not seriously constrained by the Mass media

i. The government does not censor the mass media

During PRI dominance, Presidents had the poewr to make appointments from practically top to bottom

i. Outgoing presidents could name his successor

ii. That changes, and giong into the 2000 elections, the last PRI president, Zedillo, announces that the PRI would hold a primary election to determine is candidated for President in 2000

The Legislature

Prior to 2000, the legislature was essentially a rubber stamp legislature
Still today, there are two chambers

i. Upper house is called the Senate

ii. Lower house is called the Chamber of Deputies

Seats in both houses are distributed with a hybrid of single member districts and proportional representation

i. 300 of the 500 seats in the Deputies are chosen by single member districts

1. the other 200 chosen by proportional representation

ii. in the Senate, each state and in addition the federal district have 3 senators, and then another 32 seats are distributed through porportional representation

Mexico is poruod of this sytem because it gives a good balance to a proportioanl representation sytem and a single member dsitrict system

i. It allows both representation through a single member districts and a fair distribution through proportaion representation

The president no longer controls the legislature

i. When the congress is not in session, they havea permanent commission composed of 14 senators and 15 deputies appointed by the two houses to acto n bhalf of the congress on matters to urgent to wait for the next session

Since 2000, the congress has had a chance to become an independent check on the presidency

i. No party holds a mojority in either house

Tuesday April 21, 2009

2009-04-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

CONSTITUTION

The Mexican government used to be moderately authoritarian under the rule of the PRI.
As the PAN challenged the PRI in the elections, the elections became more fair.
Groups that used to rival the PRI that couldn't be coopted were dealt with harshly.
The government now is democratic and reflects many similarities of the American government.
Mexico has a federal system.
There are 3 independent branches, the constitution establishes checks and balances, and the president is elected to 6 year terms
The President must be 35, Mexican born, and have Mexican parents.
There is no Vice President.
If the President dies or becomes unable to leave within two years of his presidency then elections are held to replace him. If it's after the two years then congress appoints a standing leader.
The constitution establishes a 2 house legislature and are elected by both single member districts and proportional representation.

JUDICIARY

The court system is headed by the supreme court.
21 magistrates are appointed for life by the president.
The court can decide if a law is unconstitutional but can only suspend the law in the particular case that they are adjudicating.
If the court finds the same law unconstitutional 5 times consecutively then the law becomes nullified.
If their is a disruption with the law before the 5 consecutive suspensions of it are up then the process starts over.
Judicial review exists but in the past the court cooperated with the incumbent PRI presidents until 2000.
In 2000 the supreme court ruled against outgoing President Zadillo which was a first

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

It is the dominant part of government in Mexico.
Many unwritten laws give the president recognized powers that have been produced through the long stretch of PRI rule.
The President had control over the legislature and Judiciary branch in the past when the PRI had control.
The president's cabinet used to be filled with members of his Camarilla but since Fox they have ben appointing prominent politicians instead of old party friends and affiliates.
Policies made by the president used to be passed easily under PRI control of the government but recently the loss of the majority in the legislature has slowed the president's power.
In the 1988 election the PRI lost its 2/3 majority of the legislature.
The presidents have never been really constrained by the mass media.
A big power that the president has is appointing public office holders at all levels of the political system.

LEGISLATURE

The legislature was weak during the PRI dominance.
There are 2 houses in the legislature and they consist of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
The chamber of deputies consists of 500 seats. 300 are chosen by single member district elections (winner take all) and the remaining 200 are chosen through proportional representation.
The chamber of deputies members hold 3 year terms.
Each state of Mexico gets three senators and 32 senators proportionally represent the states.
Each senator holds 6 year terms.
The legislature is becoming more powerful in terms of its influence in government.
There is a permanent commission of 14 senators and 15 deputies that act on behalf of congress when congress is out of session.
No party holds a majority in either house of the legislature.

NOTES FROM FRIDAY BEFORE BREAK, 4/10

2009-04-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

In July of 2006, the presidential election held some surprises. The PAN candidate, Felipe Calderon, won a close, disputed race against the PRD candidate, Obrador (the mayor of Mexico city who was popular with the lower class). Calderon won 36% if the vote, and Obrador was beat by less than 1%. PRD wouldn't accept the results. They had large demonstrations. Results were confirmed, though the PRD still refused to accept this and demonstrations continued. PAN now had the largest voting block in congress while the PRD had the second largest. Calderon was a good politician, and was able to scramble up a coalition with the PRE. Congress raised taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Government pensions were recalculated. The composition of the Federal Electoral Institute were revisesd to better represent the three major parties, but also limit the chances of future smaller parties. Calderon had ambitious iniative and decided to take on narcocorruption and organized crime. He set the Mexican army against the drug lords. These battles are dangerous, nasty, regular, and current. Violence sometimes reached across the border into the US. However, the Mexican army is hanging in there. The US government met in talks with Mexico to help them in their war against drug lords. Yet, some Mexicans blame the US because drug lords are getting weapons from the US. Also, they blame the US for their American drug users. In 2007, legislation was passed to make Mexico City the largest city in Latin America to legalize abortion in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. This struck down a 70 year law of criminal penalties against women getting abortions. In 2008, the Supreme Court supported Mexico City's decision in an 8 to 3 ruling as it didn't violate the Mexican constitution and didn't violate any international agreement. This was supported by the PRE and PRD. The church and PAN opposed this decision. In 2008 president Calderon signed legislation to fundamentally change the Mexican justice system, allowing US style oral trials and presumption of innocence for criminal defendants. Also, it allowed local and state police departments to investigate organized crime (previously only the national government could do this). This will possibly not be fulfilled until 2016. Currently, trials in Mexico are done through breifs, and defendants are kept in prison for years until cases are resolved. In 2008 there was a debate with economic implications. Mexico recieves 40% of its annual income from the national oil company, called PEMEX. They're obligated to send a large portion of revenue to the government. This leaves little money left for the company for profit. This has left the company with eroded equitment, including breaking pipelines, drying up reserves, and debt. Legislation has been introduced to allow the company to pay bonuses, not give ownership shares. They will reduce imports. This is contested by the PRD who seized control of congress and held up proceedings for two wekks. This hasn't been voted on yet, and probably won't be voted on for a while.

Notes for 4-10

2009-04-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

Notes for 4-10

-July 2006: President Election month: PAN candidate Felipe Calderon wins a very close and bitterly disputed race against PRD candidate Lopez Obradore
-Calderon wins with 36% of the vote, and wins by 1% of the the vote
-PRD refuses to accept results
-PAN has largest voting block in Congress at the time
-PRD has the 2nd largest block
-PRE comes in 3rd
- 1st 2 yrs in office: gets decent coalition in congress, raises taxes on corporations and wealthy, and passes law to revive composition of federal electorate
-Calderon has fully engaged Mexico's army against drug gangs
-2007: Mexico City passes legislation to legalize abortion
-2008: Supreme Court ruled 8 to 3 in favor that the law didn't violate the constitution or any agreements
-2008: Calderon signs legislation to make it seem more like a U.S. style court system
-Currently, criminal cases conducted in briefs, the public usually never watches, and the defendant is usually held in prison for many years
-2008: There is a huge debate on the economy
-40% of the profit from the oil industry is from penex
-Pipelines are in very poor condition, are deep in debt, and the petroleum supply is support

Friday Before Break, Way late

2009-04-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Mexican Government when confronted by EZLN 1994-98 fighting occurs the government sends troops. There are occurrences of disappearances and torture occurs. The Army went in with harsh treatment.
Mexico deals with much corruption. In 1996 the United States and Mexico makes an agreement to train new army with narcotics. In 1998 80 members of the narcotics task force are said to be involved in Drug Trafficking.
Election 2000 PAWN wins and Fox is elected president. When ballots were counted obviously not PRI fraud. Fox realizes PRI is still dominated in the Legislator. This causes a lack of progress.
Fox deals with economic issues. Mexico now has to compete with China because China produces cheaper iteams.
Felipe Calderon wins 2006 with 36% of the vote. PRD refuses to except these results. Calderon for his first two years coalition with the PRI. Raising taxes on the wealthy re-calculate government pentions. Represented the interest of three major parties. Limit organized crime.
In 2007 Mexico City legalizes abortion, biggest city to do this in mexico. Abortion must take place no later than the 12 week. In 2008 Mexican Supreme Court 8:3 said it was consitutional. PRI and PRD support it, PAWN and church do not.
In 2008 Mexico's much critize justice system by allowing moral arguments. Criminals are now presumed innocent instead of presumed guilty. State Police were now allowed to Investigate organized crime. Changes fully implemented in 2016. Cases are now written in breifs. Improvements in the public defender system.

Thursday 4/9, third period

2009-04-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry they're late!

We get a political party called the National Revolutionary Party holding its first convention in 1929, and this party will become Mexico’s official party because from this point on until 2000, Mexico is a one-party system. In 1946, they changed the party’s name to its current name, which is PRI (Partido Revolucion Institucional).

President serve six-year terms, a sexennium. Not until the sexennial (1934-1940) of President Cardenas that peasants and urban workers succeeded for this first time in pressing their claims for land and higher wages. This is a period of unprecedented strikes, protests, and petitions to the government calling for the break-up of the haciendas. As a result, more land was distributed by Cardenas than had been distributed by all of Cardenas’ predecessors combined. By 1940, Mexico’s land tenure system/ownership system had been fundamentally altered, breaking the traditional domination of the large haciendas and creating a large sector of small peasant farmers called ejidatarios. The ejidatarios are small peasant farmers who receive a lot of land from the government under their agrarian reform program. As more and more peasant farmers get land, we get new organizations, one of peasant farmers, the other of urban industrial workers in Mexico. They get formed into nationwide organizations. During this timeframe, weapons are provided to rural militants, and foreign oil companies are nationalized, meaning the Mexican government takes them and American-owned oil companies. US doesn’t worry, lets it go. The worker and the peasant organizations don’t take off very much, they don’t become large or effective until after WWII. The heritage, or legacy, of Cardenas, is in some respects still alive in Mexico. If you visit or read their papers, they still talk about their revolution and its goals, but from Cardenas’s constitution and his term in office, we get:
1. The Presidency as the primary institution of Mexico’s political structure, so a one-party system with a very strong President
2. Cardenas’s time sweeping powers given to the president during his six-year term. Mexican presidents are ineligible to run for re-election ever, but while Cardenas is there for six years, he can do almost anything he wants until 2000.
3. Under Cardenas, the Mexican military is co-opted or brought in to a be supporter and defender of the Constitution, and an organization that is not a threat to power and a coup again. So the military is brought in barracks and referred to as a pillar of society, and the president says goof things about this Constitution supporting military.
4. Cardenas bring a mass organizations, particularly the peasant and labor organizations, which become functioning under the control of the PRI, and become an arm of the PRI who will support, vote, and work hard for the PRI.

Democracy has been slow to arrive fully in Mexico. The influence of these mass organizations over government policies and government priorities has been limited. There’s one mass-organization representing peasants and workers, but they’re held to the PRI, and although they support the PRI, the Mexican President didn’t really have to listen to them very much. So the PRI dominates Mexican politics for the next 70 years to the extent that Mexico was for those seventy years almost a one-party state. The PRI won every presidential race from its founding in 1929 until the year 2000, they never lost a presidential election. The PRI had a majority in Mexico’s lower house of Congress from 1929 until 1997. The PRI was challenged for the last 25 years by a rival party called the PAN. When a lot of corruption becomes public knowledge during the Selinas Administration (1988-1994), the PRI flounders a bit under so many allegations of corruption. During the 1990s, we get an internal debate going on inside the PRI between an old –guard, autocratic faction called “Dinosaurs,” who lose, to more reform-minded, free-market oriented technocrats. Technocrats win in the 70s. Dinosaurs come back in the 90s and beg for the good old days and getting the Yankees out, et cetera. This begins with the Presidency of Echeverria, 1970-1976. This continues with President Portillo, 1976-1982, and then especially with President Delemadrid, 1982-1988, and then President Selinas, 1988-1994, then to President Zedillo, 1994-2000. Gradually over several administrations, old-line politicians lose out to the Technocos (Technocrats), who open up the Mexican economy. During this time frame, we see Mexico signing the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994 with Canada and the United states, Mexico joins the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which is an international organization that regulates free trade. Ultimately, they join the WTO (World Trade Organization) like China.

New laws in this time frame led to industrial development generally concentrate din the Northern part of Mexico where foreign firms operated factories known as Maquiladora, which are factories that use duty-free, imported components to assemble intermediate or final products, and then export what they manufactured. Many similarities with China. Mexico is building up more assembly plants where the components are brought into Mexico, assembled there, and then exported.

By 1990, more than 15000 of these Maquiladoras were manufacturing GI Joes, Barbie dolls, televisions, and automobiles for exports. The dinosaurs then trace the PRI’s declining fortunes in the last couple of decades to the rise of these Technocos, who they claim are elitist, US-educated, never had to run for elected office, and out-of-touch with the party rank and file. The Technocos during these years had implemented a few reforms, such as government run or state run industries had largely been privatized, liberalization of their trade laws had opened up Mexican markets to foreign products, changes in their electoral laws made multi-party elections freer, and that in turn struck very hard at the PRI’s core constituencies, and in part steered the party and the entire country away from their roots that were largely socialist in nature. So there’s at least a twenty year period with dramatic change in Mexico.

Reforming Mexico’s authoritarian and corrupt political system then becomes the cornerstone of President Zedillo’s administration (1994-2000). Zedillo is looking at the PRI and saying its lost support, where it’s being accused of corruption, and being challenged by the PAN, and will lose if they’re not careful. He accuses the people of not being democratic. The PRI won all these elections by doing what they had to do to win, including stuffing ballot boxes and delivering ballots to the polling places. PRI would go around and take the polling boxes to a secret location, where PRI would count it, then announce. They also had advantages. Zedillo says people are upset with the PRI, and proposes amendments to the Constitution, sends them to the states for ratification, and one would take control of elections away from the PRI, and over to an independent federal election commission. The amendment would give this independent federal election commission the authority to supervise balloting, issue picture voter registration cards to voters, give the Mexican Supreme Court the authority to ejudicate election challenges rather than leaving that with the executive branch which was controlled by the PRI, the election commission was in the authority to equalize limited access of the media, which had been in the hands of the PRI. The amendment set limits on campaign spending, contributions, and allowed any political party, not just the PRI, to use the green, orange, and white colors of the Mexican flag in their campaign banners. Up until this time, the PAN and others couldn’t use green, orange, and white in their campaign material.

There are at least three major problems that have disrupted Mexico in recent years that prove to be beyond the ability of the PRI to keep control. One of those is the economy, two is a revolt by native Indians in a Southern state named Chiapas, and three, the Narco-corruption and drug wars such as what is occurring now where people are dying, and the wars are threatening to spill over to the US. The new Mexican President, Zedillo, on the economic side, was forced to devalue the peso. The currency is under a great deal of pressure and near collapse. He devalues it and then floats it against other currencies in the international markets, and it results in a 34% drop in the value of the peso against dollar. To head off an international collapse at the time, countries agree they can’t let Mexico collapse and their currency fail, so to head off a collapse, the Clinton administration in the US provided a 40 billion dollar loan to Mexico, which guaranteed Mexico’s debt. If the government couldn’t pay its debt, US would cover it up to 40 billion dollars, and Mexico would be expected to pay it back. That loan from the US and other loans from the international monetary fund was the largest international assistance program since the Marshall Plan in 1948 after WWII, but is allows Mexico to veer away from collapse from debts, and Mexican markets stabilize during the spring of 1996.

The Indian problem goes back to 1994 when a group of Mayan Indian peasants calling themselves the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in January 1994, popped up and appeared in the state of Chiapas. They occupy several towns, and start calling for economic development. To highlight conditions in Mexico, and the large gap in wealth between Mexico’s well-off, and it’s very poor, the EZLN issues a declaration from the jungle when they emerge on the first of January. These peasants that are rebelling say,

“We are the product of 500 years of struggle, first against slavery in the war of independence against Spain, then to escape being absorbed by North American expansion. We have nothing to lose, absolutely nothing. There’s no decent roof over our heads, no land, no work, poor health, no food, no education, no right to freely and democratically chose our leaders, no independence from foreign interests, and no justice for ourselves or our children.”

In this declaration and other things they say, these peasants are rejecting the way Mexico had developed where, at the time they emerged, two of every three people in a population of over 3 million, never completed primary school. They were saying “no” to electrification programs in Mexico, in which the rivers in their state of Chiapas were used to supply electric power to Mexico City, but 1/3 of the population living in Chiapas lived in huts without electricity. It was rejection a distribution of wealth in Mexico where some 2/10 of 1% of the population were billionaires, owning things like supermarket chains or telephone companies, where this 2/10 of 1% were richer than half the people of Mexico combined, and they’re upset that ½ the people living in Chiapas have houses with dirt floors, and they’re upset that in Chiapas, there are twenty families that monopolize all the best land and they were very wealthy exporting cattle raised on large farms or estates to the US, when most people were landless or had a very little amount of land. They’re complaining about a pay scale in which 80% of the agriculture workers in 1994 earn less than the minimum salary per day, they were earning less than $5. This resulted in an estimated 88% of their children having growth retardation from malnourishment.

So these rebels come out of the jungle and make their declarations. The government has trouble dealing with them, and fighting occurs off and on from January 1994 to 1998. The Zedillo administration eventually sends tens of thousands of army troops into the state of Chiapas, bringing torture, disappearances, and arbitrary detentions for the residents of Chiapas. The rebels today are prominent, but the Mexican government never really did solve their complaints, or at least not totally.

The third problem, narco-corruption, is another major problem in Mexico. In 1996, during the Zedillo timeframe, the US and Mexico formed new army units trained by US special forces to lead in fighting the drug war in Mexico, and by 1998, over 80 members of this new elite drug-fighting organization were under investigation for being involved in drug trafficking. The drug situation and the drug wars are really nasty right now.

In the year 2000, for the first time, the PRI loses the presidency, and the candidate from the PAN, Vicente Fox, is elected President, and Mexico celebrates. Mexico is now a democracy, a two-party state, they’ve broken the PRI’s domination. However, Fox doesn’t win the cooperation of the legislative branch. The legislature remains dominated by the PRI, and they vow that they will not pass any of his legislation, so very few of his campaign promises get carried out. The lack of perceived progress resulted in some gains for the PRI in the July 2003 mid-term election. The PRI in 2003 went from 207 seats in the lower house to 222 seats. At the same time, the PAN went from 202 seats down to 151 seats. So by 2003, Fox, PAN’s president, is essentially a “lame duck.”

Fox also faced a new problem in Mexico, and that was that for years, Mexico had been a source of cheap labor. As long as the workers worked for low wages, Mexico was an attractive place for industry to locate, or for foreign factories to relocate. By 2003, Mexican industries were being heavily challenged by China. So Mexican-made products that were at one time priced low and looked attractive for export to countries like the United States, being undersold by the Chinese. An example is Mexico had made blankets, marketed at $10, cheap in the US. China comes along, and does blankets for $6, and Mexico loses. So Fox must step up to this competition.

Thursday's Notes (4/9)

2009-04-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

sorry, my computer keeps messing up the bullets...

In 1929, the National Revolutionary Party held its first convention. It became the official party in a one-party state for over 70 years. It changed its name to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
1934-1940, Cardenas was president.
Presidents had 6-year terms and were not eligible for reelection.
Under the Cardenas administration, peasants and urban workers had their first success in pressing the government for land and increased wages.
This led to a period of unprecedented strikes, protests, and petitions to break up large estates.
Under Cardenas, there was more land distribution than by all of his predecessors combined.
By 1940, the land ownership system had changed, breaking the tradition of haciendas. A large economic sector of peasant farmers emerged. They received land from the government under the agrarian reform program and were known as ejidatarios.
New organizations of peasant farmers and urban workers formed into mass confederations (like those in China). The confederations were taken over by the PRI and Mexico turns into a corporatist state.
Weapons were given to rural militias
Foreign oil companies were nationalized
Mass organizations were not very strong. Immediately after WWII, economic expansion in industry, commerce, and finance allowed elites to regain their power over these businesses.
The heritage of Cardenas is still alive in Mexico:
Redistributed income
Full employment
State patronage to help the weak sectors of society
Cardenas’ legacy includes:
Established the presidency as the primary institution of political structure (strong and dominant).
Sweeping powers for the president
Cooperative military, didn’t carry out coups
Mass organizations provide a mass base of supporters for the official party, the PRI.
Democracy was relatively slow to develop in Mexico.
The influence of mass organizations over government policies was quite limited in actuality.
Until 2000, Mexico was a 1-party state. The PRI won every presidential race from the founding of the PRI in 1929 until 2000. They held a majority in the lower house of Congress from 1929-1997. For the last 25 years or so, the PRI has been challenged by the PAN- National Action Party.
President Salinas was in power from 1988-1994. His term was marked by extreme corruption in the government and PRI, causing the PRI to stumble a bit and citizens look at the PRI in a different light.
During the early 1990s, there was a debate in the late 1970s inside the PRI (similar to the ones in China and Russia) between old guard autocratic members of the PRI (called dinosaurs) who lost out in party politics and reform-minded free-market technocrats. The dinosaurs wanted government control over the economy and a rest on foreign investment. They rose in the system by being good party members, not like the technocrats who advanced through education and expertise.
Beginning with the 1970-76 Echeverria administration, to Portillo (76-82), to De La Madrid (82-88), to Salinas (88-94), to Zedillo (94-00), old-line politicians lost out to rising technocrats. They opened the economy to foreign trade, signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, joined GATT, joined the World Trade Organization, passed laws leading to industrial development, and established maquilladoras (foreign factories using duty-free imported components. Mexicans assembled the products and exported them. These factories were like China’s Special Economic Zones). By 1990, there were 1,500+ maquilladora plants.
The dinosaurs’ trace the decline in the PRI to the last 20 years and to an increase of elitist, US-educated technocrats who had never run for an elective office and were out of touch with politics.
The technocrats implemented reforms, privatized industry, liberated trade, and changed electoral laws (making multi-party elections easier). The changes struck hard at the PRI core constituencies and moved Mexico away from a socialist route.
The reform of the authoritarian and corrupt political system was the focus of President Zadillo. He sent a number of constitutional amendments to the states for ratification. Elections were out of the hands of the ruling elite and put into the hands of the independent election committee. This committee supervised balloting, issued registration cards, gave the Supreme Court the authority to adjudicate election challenges, equalized political party access to the media, set campaign spending limits, and allowed any political party to use the Mexican colors in campaign material.
Zadillo tried to change the fraud rampant in the PRI, but he ended up being the last PRI president.
There were 3 recent problems with Mexico that were beyond PRI control:
1. Economy
The Mexican currency collapsed when Zadillo devalued the peso by 34%. Clinton gave Mexico $40 billion in loans to guarantee the debt. This loan was the largest international aid since the Marshall plan in 1948. The market gradually stabilized by 1996 and Mexico paid all of the money back.
2. Indians
In January 1994, Mexican peasants of Mayan descent came out of the jungle calling themselves the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN in Spanish). They occupied towns, calling for economic development. They issued the “Declaration from the Jungle,” showing peasant conditions. They complained that 2/3 of people never completed primary school, objected to development projects using their rivers for hydroelectricity when their homes weren’t even wired for electricity. ½ of them had dirt floors in their homes. They rejected the pay scale were 80% earned less than $5/day. The Mexican government had difficulty dealing with the EZLN. They fought on and off from January 1994-98. The Zadillo administration sent troops in and citizens were tortured, disappeared, or were sent to detention centers. Eventually the EZLN lost steam and the peasants calmed down.
3. Narco-corruption (illegal drug trafficking)
In 1996, the US and Mexico collaborated and formed new army units to fight the drug war. Within 2 years, 80 members of the army were under investigation from drug trafficking themselves.
In 2000, President Vicente Fox won the election. Although he was not a PRI member, Congress was still dominated by the PRI and refused to pass almost all of his legislation. By midterm elections, very few of his campaign initiatives had been carried out, leading to a PRI revival in Congress. They went from having 207 to 222 seats in the lower house and from 202 to 151 in the upper house. Fox became a lame duck in his final 3 years of office. Fox faced a new problem by the mid-2000s--China had become competitive with Mexico in manufacturing because China could often produce products at cheaper prices.

2009-04-09T08:49:00.003-07:00

i posted this several times before but it wont post....so i hope it does this time...this is from Thursday last week
Judiciary
The supreme leader appoints the head of the judiciary the title is chief judge. By definition, the chief judge must be a cleric. The courts system is supposed to be independent but its political role in practice reflects the ideological make up of the judges who are almost conservative clerics. They have a penal code refered to as retribution law based on a narrow read of the sharia, their penal code permits injured families blood money, which is on the principle of an eye for an eye (or a life for a life). The penal code mandates the death penalty for a long list of moral transgressions including adultery, homosexuality, drug trafficking, habitual drinking. It sanctions stoning, live burials, and amputations. The code treated men and women differently. There is an appeals system, the government appoints and can dismiss judges, the harsh punishment prescribed are rarely implemented. The court system is supposed to be independent but it is not in practice. Limited by the fact that to a person the people who get appointed to the jobs are very conservative clerics. The chief judge is a cleric and when the government goes to appoint other judges, the come out to be conservative clerics; consequently, we got a set of judges who are going to be enforcing the Islamic law. There is an appeals system and a hierarchy of courts. The guardian council decides whether or not a law is passed or not.
The bureaucracy and less than efficiently managed public sector dating back to the expansion of the shahs bureau (before the revolution) and dating to the states expropriation of property at the time of the revolution. Since the revolution the bureaucracy has been staffed by a group of non-cleric technocrats. Technocrats tend to be more educated. The technocrats of the bureaucracy maintain close ties with the church, they are sometimes referred to as the second stratum (layer) of the states and they gain education and upward mobility under the Islamic republic. Today we have bureaucrats that are rather docile functionary, they are a-political in the sense that they will work for any president cabinet. they are career civil servants and its generally said that iran’s bureaucracy is bigger than it needs to be- it’s a bit large. Its plagued with clientilism, corruption, mismanagement, patronage- these are present in probably every system. The patron client corruption really did not come up that much. The other part of the bureaucracy is the military establishment. There are two parts, one is the regular army and the other is a group called the revolutionary guards (were formed during the 79 rev). They have the job of maintaining internal security while the army is to safeguard the borders and fight off invasions. Unlike Nigeria, which has a long history of military coups and a history of rule by military leaders and military government, Iran’s military has not played an interventionist role in the country’s politics. All through the turmoil following the 79rev, the military respected orderly transfer of power, it followed the direction of the ayatollah Khomeini (which the rule is the military should stay out of politics, so they did.) it would be true that the rake and file of the revolutionary guard show signs of being divided into reformist and conservatives. The bigger point, however, the revolutionary guards are extremely loyal to the supreme leader. The guards come along during the revolution and are part of the people that helped bring Khomeini back so it is consistent with their origin.

2009-04-09T08:49:00.001-07:00

2009-04-09T08:47:00.001-07:00

4/8 notes Period 4

2009-04-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

MEXICO
there are many ways we can compare Mexico with the countries we have already studied: their revolutions, colonial history, one party rule, dual transition, being a major producer of oil
not being a rentier state
HISTORY
strong influenced by colonial and revolutionary past
Spain dominated (1521-1821) for 300 years
they incorporate natives into a social hierarchy: 100% Spaniards, creoles, mestizos, and then native Mexican Indians
colonial economy based on the exploitation of Indian labors
INDEPENDENCE
September 16, 1810
Led by Creole priest Father Hidalgo
He was captured and killed within a year but followers were never defeated
Mexico was freed from control of Spain
Caste system modified slightly
Economy is still colonial
Political instability follows
NEW LEADERSHIP
22 years a caudillo with armed following takes control
Named Santa Anna
Lost Texas to the US
Was forced into exile in 1855
2ND REVOLUTION (1855-56)
Led by Benito Juarez
Wanted to establish a federal republic, eliminate military and clergy privileges, and create a class of small landholders
Climaxed in 1857 with a written Constitution
His party was discredited upon his return from exile
Nationalism was strengthened
Clergy economic power was weakened
Benito dies 172
1876-1911
Dictator Prifiro Diaz rules
Does a lot of good things
Builds railroads and strings telephone lines
Promotes industry
3RD REVOLUTION 1910
Initially rural/agrarian
Led by cadillos Emillo Zapata and Pancho Villa
Rallied around Francisco Madero
1911 Diaz gives up presidency and Madero is elected president
Madero wants to complete the original work of independence
His regime lasts 15months
1917 CONSTITUTION
Current constitution
Put in revolutionary reforms
Is declared law of the land

notes period 7 from friday

2009-04-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

The Judiciary
kkk. The Supreme Leader appoints the head of the judiciary, Chief Judge
i. By definition, he must be a cleric
lll. The courts are supposed to be independent
i. Its political role in practice reflects the ideologies of the justices who are pretty much all conservative clerics
mmm. Have a penal called called retribution law, based on a narrow reading of the Shari’a
i. This code permits injred families to request blood money (eye for an eye, life for a life)
ii. This code also mandates he death penalty for a long list of moral transgressions
iii. It sanctions stonings, live burials, and amputations
nnn. Women are treated differently within the court system
ooo. There is an appeal system, with a hierarchy of state courts
i. The government appoints and can dismiss judges
ii. The harsh punishments percribed are rarely implemented
ppp. Because the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader decide on the constitutionality of laws and policies, the courts do not possess the power of judicial review
The Bureaucracy
qqq. The is a large and less than efficiently managed public sector dating back to the shah before the revolution and dating back to the state at the time of the revolution
rrr. Since the rvolution the bureaucracy is staffed by lay (non religious) technocrats (educated)
i. These technocrats are culturally orhodox and have close ties with the church
1. Known as the second stratum of the state
ii. Gain their educations under the Islamic republic
iii. Many come from reasonaly humble backgrounds
sss. Bureaucrats are docile functionaries and mostly apolitical
i. They are also careerists
ttt. The bureaucracy is a little too large
i. Plagued with clientilism, corruption, patronage, and mismanagement (however this is also present in may other countries)
uuu. The military establisment is also part of the bureaucracy
i. 2 parts
1. the regular army
a. used to safeguard the borders
2. the Revolutionary Guards
a. have the job of maintaining internal security while
vvv. unlike Nigeria who has a llong history of mmilitary coups and a history of rule by corrupt military leaders, Iran’s military has not played an interventionist role in politics
i. following the 79 revoltuion, the military respected orderly transfer of power, followed directions by the Ayatollah Kehomeini to stay out of politics
1. the rank and file of the revolutionary guar show signs of being divided by reformists and conservatives
2. the top leadership is extremely loyal to the supreme leader

TEST MONDAY! TIMED WRITE AND QUESTIONS DUE TUESDAY!

notes period 7 from wednesday april 1

2009-04-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

Direct Socialization/Political Culture
ii. Cleavages include class, ethnicity, religion, and language
jj. Political socialization in Iran over the second half of the 20th century can best be described as fragmented
i. Large gaps exist between the values of different social groups
1. Western influences (US/Britain) under the Shah worked its way through the upper and middle classes in Iran and generally became roups of people who supported liberal and technocratic values (business expertise)
a. These classes also showed some willingness to oppress opponents for the sake of orderly modernization in Iran
b. The post 1979 revolutionary Iran has ha to deal with rather candid , honest calls from a large group of secular minded technocrats, professionals, and industrialists who demand a liberalization of the eeducation system, a relazation of artistic and cultural restraints, the abandonment of the cultural and political xenophobia towards the west, and they also want legal moderation
c. In general we have an upper middle class technocrats dong well ewith th Shah, and they do not support the moves that the church made wihen Kahomeini came in
2. Iranians are in a tug of war between reformesr and the conservatives (Islamic supporters of the government)
a. After the Islamic revolution of 1979, the Clergy attempted to reinstall religious orthodoxy into public life
b. In the Iranian cultural revoulution, the education system at al llevesl was told to impress the values of the Islamic state onto all students
i. Universities were cleared of liberals and staffored with supporters of the Ayatollah
ii. The debate we sa in china (Red vs Expert debate) came back to Iran in the shape of Islamic Values vs. Technnocratic values
c. While the ccivil society was forced into retreat, it didn’t wither away
i. Groups continued to function and press for modernization
d. Tere is an internal and active conversation regarding the maerits of the 3 types of political systems
i. They debate about being a total theocratic system (based on Islam), be completely secular, or be a democratic theocracy
ii. The government shifts back and forth over the years
e. Most of the people in the loyal opposition would like to reform the system wile retaining the basic principles of an Islamic state
i. An influential group of critics including whats left of the pre revolution upper and middle classes in favor of a cleaner more radical break with clerical rule and a return to secularism
3. Iranians enojy personal prosperity even though they live in an oppressive state
a. Thriving movie and literary industry BUT
i. No criticism of Islamic doctrine or of its revered personalities
ii. No criticism of the Ayatollah Kahomeini
iii. Critical reporting of the treatment according to religious minorities is prohibited
iv. National security issues are also off limits
v. Still, Iranians enojy a pretty lively print media
1. Besides go owned and opposition newspapers, there arre over 200 general and professional hournals covering a wide range of interests
a. Relative freedom to criticized the gov domestic and foreign policies
vi. One efffect of the censorship of the newspapers was that in 2003, the govt started restricitng access to internet websites
1. In May 2008, the government moved to blcok access to several websites related to womens issues and uman rights in addtion to porn sites that had long been blocked
2. There is a 36 member sureme council of cultural revolution which sets the parameters for what is allowed on the Iranian internet and theMinistry of Islamic Guidance and cuultur has a supervisory board which decide which sites should be blocked
b. The government is trying to shut down some websites (there rae over 700,000 blogs that are written in the Iranian language)
Political Participation
kk. Millions of Iranians participated in revolutioary participations that brought down the Shah’s govt and millions more have taken part in more than 24 elections sinxe 1979
ll. Turnout for presidential elections is 83%
i. Students and youth have gained significatn poolitical weight
1. K-12 and university students comprise a third of the population
Political Agenda
mm. Tin the first two decades after the founding of the Islamic republic, we see that the republic often violated its own constitution
i. Closed down newspapers, professional associations, labor unions and political parties
ii. It banned demonstrations and public meetings
iii. It incarcerated 10s of thousands without due process
iv. It systematically tortured prisoners to extract false confessions and recant
v. It executed some 25000 political prisoners to gain support for the war in Iraq (without due process)
nn. Today there is free access to radio, newspaper, and tv
i. Porn, and anti-revolutionary articles are censored
oo. In interest gorups there arent many formal organizations
i. Recognized as a slightly pluralist even though there arent that many influential organizations, if any
ii. The Shah cracked oddown on them and so did the church, so they werent really able to fom (lacks tradition)
iii. They are able to exist today, but they aren’t that influential
iv. The technocrats have to be careful what they way, where, and when which holds back a boiseterous interest group system
v. Civil society is alive and well though, as these elements are out there
Political Parties
pp. The Iranians do not benefit from the presence of recognized legitimate or effective political parties
qq. The most important post revolutionary political party which was the Islamic republican party was established in 1979 and dissolved in 1987 by Kahomeini
i. For the nextdecade or so after 87 there was a ban on political party formation
ii. Not until 1998 that parties were finally legalized
iii. But they are still at a fairly early statge of development and policy formation
iv. The parties more resemble professional groupsinngs engages in political ventures
rr. The largest reform party is the Iran Participation Front
i. Formed by followers of Kahatami
ss. Another party, the Servants of Construction is ag oruping of technocrats allied with former president Raf Sanjani
tt. Other political entities include
i. The reformists reped by Assembly of Combatant Clerics
1. President Kahatami belongs to this group
2. Also repd by the Assembly of the Follwoers of the Imams Line
3. And by a third group, the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revoultion Organization
ii. On the conservative side we have the Islamic Society of Engineers and ew have the Combantant Clergy Association
1. Both of these parties back current president Ahmadiadjad
2. There are some other parties
a. The society for miilitant clergy
b. The islamic coalition party
c. The coalition for the development of islamic iran
iii. There used to be armed opposition parties but have been put down
1. Mojahedin of Iran
2. The people’s Fedayeen of Iran
3. The Kurdish democratic party
Elections
uu. Competitive
vv. Typically with high voter turnout
ww. Usually a candidate to seat ratio is 10:1
xx. Both the conetesting and participationg dimensions are present in Iran
yy. Just having elections are not synonomous with a democratic government
i. Voters have to choos from a set of handpicked candidates
ii. This leads to prior disqulification of presidential and legislative candidates
1. GC does not have to give detailed explanations

4th Pd. Monday Notes

2009-04-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

Apologies on the lateness of the post.

Ayatolla Khomeni argues that all accompassing authority over community; insists that only the senior clerics have the sole (the only people confident) to understand the Sharia.
Aruges that the divine authority of Muhammed and the Imaams have been passed on to the clergy.
Throughout history, clergy had championed rights of people against bad government and foreign power.
He began to resent the Shah; he was increasing central control, purchasing U.S. weapons, (more western businessmen in Iran)
Newspaper criticizes him, the community then speaks out.
1977, only takes few sparks to ignite revolution (through economic difficulties and international pressures of human rights/violations)
Economic: 1977-8, 20% rise in oconsumer prices, 10% decline in oil revenues.
Cuts gov't funded construction projects, declares war against "price gougers". (Shopkeepers in the Bazaars)
Pressure of human rights stems from amnesty international and the Carter Administration in U.S. 1977, Shah yeilds to International pressures, lets Red Cross officials visit prisons in Iran.
lets defense attorneys to be presents at trials. (loosens of the rings)
Seals shah's fate.
"Bloody Friday" Troops fire into crowd killing hundreds of demonstraters.
Late 1978, strike btought economy to a halt.
Paralyzed oil, banks, transportation system, also media, bazaars, education, and civil service. (shut's down country).
Oil workers vowed to not export oil until they exported the Shah.
January 1979, Shah goes into exile.
Khomeni returns to iran in February '79, supporters announce "islamic revolution"
March 1979, nationwide referendum on whether or not to retain monarchy.
Monarchy is replaced with islamic republic.
Write a new constitution by late '79 by elected group called Assembly of Religious Experts.
Election for Assembly was boycotted by secular organizations and clerics who opposed Commenni.
The majority of people in this assembly were pro commenni clerics.
Draft a Theocratic Constitution with lots of authority in Clergy and for Khomeni, over the objections of the Prime Minister.
Commennni submitted clerical constitution in 1979.
99% voters endorsed it, but voter participation dropped to 75%
Iraq invaded Iran in 1980-1988
Oil prices continued to climb.
Clerics were able to finance social programs
After second decade of Islamic Revolution, clerics run into problems
June 1989, Khomeni Dies.
Successor lacks charisma and credentials of Khomeni. His name was Khameini.
1989, elections in Iran chooses new president (Ayatolla; senior cleric) Rafsanjani.
He is reelected in 1993 (4 year term)
He's a pragmatist, turns attention in Iran to economic issues, little political reform.
Except a slight shift of power away from clerics.
1997, new president,Khatami.
He's in office for two terms.
It becomes easier for people to organize political groups, open protests.
2004, elections to Majles Parliament, Guardian Counsel refused to allow 2500 reformers to run.
It became a conservative parliament.
Presidential election in 2005.
GC refused to let 1000 candidates (all women included) to run for office.
Achmadimenijad - Mayor of Turan. Won a runoff election system (demonstrates political election system).
Wins election with former president Rafsanjani (an ayatolla, millionaire).
Cabinet members did not want to back democratic reform.
Ahmadenijad declared Israel should be wiped off map.
Rejects package of aid from Europe.
2008, growing discontents with Ahmadenijad:
1, unemployment. 2. Inflation, 3. Fuel Shortages, 4. Increasing Inequality.
Discontent. Not allowed to affect parliamentary elections.
over 4700 ran for 290 seats in Majles.
1700 candidates were disqualified by GC, insufficiently loyal to Iranian Revolution and Islam.
These people including 19 sitting members of Majles.
Constituted 90% of independent and reformist candidates.
Allies of Ahmadenijad including Society of Engineers and Combatant Clergy kept hold on parliament.
Independence claimed some 39 states, 14 were in favor of reform.
5 seats made for the Jewish, Zoroastrian, and Christian, 70 races went to runoff elections.
Politics Today: preparation for June 2009 Presidential Election.
Ahmadenijad is running again, not officially declared candidacy.
Former president was in race until March 17, he dropped out.
Cannot control prices of oil.
Iran, 1/2 of budget subsidize life necessities (in rations). 30 month Gasoline ration, 36 cents a gallon. 44 a gallon for unrationed.
Subsidized milk is 20 cents a quart.
Ahmadenijad announced restructuring, ending subsidies over next few months, replaced with 70 dollar a month payment to low income families. Also taxes on people.
Plan was not well recieved. 70 dollars a month wouldn't replace value of subsidies.
October, Bazaars close shop to protest the 3% sales tax. Goverment delayed opposing the tax for a year, Iranians feared poverty.

Monday's NOTES

2009-04-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is a couple days late

1941, British and USSR invade Iran
22 year old Shah takes control of Armed Forces
finds out he must live with free press, competitive elections, etc.
He had to combat 2 political movements
Tudeh movement= communists
National Front, led by Muhamed Mosadeq
Tudeh gets support from working class trade unions
Nation Front gets support from middle class
They called for Nationalizatn of British oil company
Mosadeq wants to sever Shah's ties with armed forces
Mosadeq said that the Shah should not be day to day ruler
1951, Mosadeq becomes Prime Minister
immediately he nationalizes oil industry
1953, Mosadeq overthrown in a coup backed by the CIA
With Mosadeq gone, the Shah builds off of three "pillars"
1. Support from armed forces
2. bureacracy
3. royal patronage system
the bureaucracy developed immensely under the Shah
the interior ministry had the power to appoint most local officials
also appointed electoral supervisors
this put them in a posotion to rig elections
creates rubber stamp legislature
thing shah does:
education ministry grows x20
Justice ministry replaces sharia with british style courts
justic system is further secularized when Shah decreed a controversial family protection law. It raised marriage age to 20 for men and 18 for women. Also, allowed women to work outside home. Furthermore, restricted polygamy to an extent.
State controls many insitutions like major banks, radio and tv networks, and national Iranian oil company.
Muhammed Rheza Shah establishes Palavi foundation, which controlled 207 large companies. These companies are tax exempt
1975, Shah announces Resurgance Political Party
declares Iran a one party state and those in opposition are jailed
Resurgance party establishes Bazarre gujilds which it expects merchants to join.
Widespread resentment towards Shah is prevalent in Iran during this time
1979, Cultural Revolution overthrows Shah
Before 1979, Newspaper outside iran publishes article written by previously exiled Iranians
Article basically points out all of Shahs bad policies and thing he did while in office
Basically said he was CIA's puppet, increased military excesively, trampled on consitituion, and used government money for his own use.
This stirred up already bad feelings towards Shah
Ayatolah Khomeimi=exiled Iranian who denounces palavis
Khomeini said the Iranian masses were being opressed
He invented a new form of Shi'ism
changes the Jruists' Guardianship and gave the SEnior Clergy the power
By 1977, a few sparks set off Revolution
economic difficulties
insults against Shah's control of the poeple
The Carter administration criticised The Shah's violation of human rights
labor unions, trade association, and bazar guilds all rise up when Shah loosens reigns
bloody Friday=troops fire into a crowd of protestors, killing hundreds
the whole country goes on strike and economy goes down
oil workers said they would not export oil until the Shah was exported
January 1979, Shah leaves power
February 1979, Khomeini returns and announces Islamic Revolution
referendum replaces monarchy with Islamic Republic
Assembly of Religious Experts (elected body) writes a new constitution
This constitution was highly theocratic and put power in the hands of the clergy
1979, referendum about constitution
99% of people voted yes
only 75% voter participation though :/

2009-04-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

3rd Period Notes from Thursday April 2nd 2009

Legistlature
-290 seats elected by citizens over the age of 16 and serve 4 yr terms
-Has fair amount of authority. Can pass laws and statues. Only if the Guardian Council accepts it and follow Islamic law and Constitution law.
-Parliament chooses 6 of the 12 members of the Guardian Council.
-Parliament can investigate cabinet ministries and public complaints about the executive and judicial branch whenever.
-Can remove cabinet members except the President through a vote of no confidence
-Can withhold foreign loans, international treaties, and cabinet appointments
-Free to have closed debates, provides with immunity of arrest.
-Ruling elite decided to create a new council in 1988 called the Council for Expediency of the State or Expediency Council (EC) for short.
-EC is appointed by the Supreme Leader to 5 year term/3 year terms not totally sure.
-EC composed of 2 dozens of political elites and has the heads of the 3 branches of gov.
-EC resolves policy disputes that serves best for Iran.
-The Guardian Council, committee chairs, and cabinet ministers can serve temporarily in the EC.

Judiciary
-Supreme Leader appoints head of judiciary who is called the Chief Judge and muist be a cleric
-Court system is suppose to independent
-It has a penal code, or retribution law, based on a norrow reading of the Sharia.
-Law code mandates death penalty on things like adultry, drug trafficking, murder, and other stuff.

Bureaucracy
-Since Islamic Revolution bureacuracies have been staffed by technocrats that maintain close ties with the clergy.
-After revolution bureacrats are dossel, and do what they are told.
-They dont take a political party and can work with any president
-The bureaucracy in Iran is a bit large for its needs.
-Good deal of clientalism, corruption, and patronage.
-Military made up of Army and Revolution Guards
-Revolution Guards are entrusted to maintain internal security
-The army protects the borders of Iran
-Iran military has not intervined with politics, they respect change in power.
-Revolution Guards have conservatives and reformists.
-Top leaders of Revolution Guards are very loyal to the Supreme Leader.

2009-04-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

3rd Period Iran Notes
4/1/09

Political Agenda
-shut down private media
-arrested people
- but gave free access to media

Political Parties
-Islamic Republican Party (1979-1987)
-Parties legalized in 1998
-Resemo
-Islamic Iran Praticipation front-largest reform party (1997)
-servants of Construction Party-Tecnhocrats
-The Reformists-Assembly of the combatant clerics
-Assembly of the Followers-Imans line
-Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution organization
-Islamic society of engineers-conservative
-Combatant clergy organization
-Society for militant clergy
-Militant opposition severely handled
Elections
-competitive, voters choose form set picket from Guardian Council

Constitution
-After Rev. Sharia restored with modern conditions (1979)
-Islamic Law was state law (1979)
-President-from shi'ite sect/well known in politics
-disenfranchises many minorities
-Relgious minorities have 5 seats in parliament

Executive Branch
-President elected on universal suffrage on votes cast in a run-off system
-4 year term of office, 2 term limit
-president chooses cabinet, presents legislations, and upholds constitution and coordinates gov't decisions
-Irianian president is weaker than Russia or Nigeria
Supreme Leader-Most powerful political figure-(Islam) has authority to dismiss or overrule president, appoints head of judiciary and 1/2 of Guardian Council, and appoints highest military - all in the name of upholding the Islamic state
Supreme leader appointed by 'Assembly of Experts' and serves for life
1989- qualification for supreme leader changed from the higest shi'ite cleric to established member of clergy (most charismatic)
Council of Guardians-12 member council who has veto power, along with Supreme leader, over anything against Islam
-kinda like the higest house of British parliament
another power of the Guardian Council- who can run in local, presidential, and religious elections
-Council is made up of 6 clerical mebers picked byt he supremem leader and 6 lawyers who are reccommended by judiciary and are subject to approval of parliament and serves 6 year term
-6 lawyers vote mainily on question of constiutionality and consider 'Islamic-ness'
-Assembly of Religious Experts- 86 males who choose the supreme leader and watch his performance
-Popularly elected, but ismostly clerics because they have to pass test on religious knowledge

Notes for Friday, March 27th

2009-04-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is late, but here is the 2nd day's worth of notes on Iran

Currently in Iran, there are very little Sunni left, with the majority of them being Shi'ite. By the 17th century, 90% of Iranians wer Shi'ite. Islam is divided into two main branches: Sunni and Shi'ites. The division appeared when separate parts wanted to be Caliph once Muhmammed died. The Shi'ites believed that the Islamic world could only descend by blood relatives from Muhammed. Shi'ites also believe that all secular church activity in Iran is illigitamate until Muhammed comes back.
Both tribes accept the Five Pillars: Muhammed is the only god; Give to charity; Pray everyday towards Mecca; Make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca per lifetime; Fast during the day during Rammadan.

The Suffaed dynasty collapses in 1722 and allow the Kayjars to take over and establish a new dynasty from 1794 to 1925. The Kayjars conquer much of Iran, set up a capital in Turan, Islam must be the state religion.
The new dynasty coincides with European imperialism. Russia seizes parts of Iran and sets up a monopoly to fish for scurgion. The British Imperial Bank wins a monopoly on paper money. Indo-European company establishes communication lines. The British were allowed to drill for oil in the Southwest.
Eventually, the Kayjars were forced to borrow from the British banks, b/c they insisted on living lavishly. The loans were so heavy and eventually had to give all customs service control to the British to pay off their debts.

Many Iranians feel like their govt was auctioned off. Eventually, in 1905-09, the Constitutional Revolution ensues. Money lenders and shopkeepers begin to demonstrate their dissatisfaction. The govt was faced with many problems, including the protestors, rising sugar prices, etc, so they whip 2 sugar merchants in response. The citizens were outraged.
14000 protesters head to the gardens in Toran in 1906 and demand a written constitution form the govt. The govt eventually gives in and it features: Elections, laws made by assembly, national sovereignty, keeping the Sharrs, centers the power in the Majles, etc. It gave the Majles authority over all laws, treaties, composition of the cabinet, etc.
Shiism becomes the official religion that was set up by the Guardian Council. But for some reason, the Council isnt really even get set up until 1979 Revolutoion. It runs under democratic policies until then.

1921, complete disarray, famine after WWI, some 1,000,000 die.

Liberals are in favor of social reforms after the split of parliament and decide to replace Islam law with civil law. The Conservatives, however, are opposed to giving women and religious minorties the rights the liberals want granted.
1921, Colonel Raza Kahn carries out a coup. He replaces the cabinet, puts power in his hands as Commander-in-Chief. In 1925, he disbands the Kayjarrs, calls himself the Shah-in-Shah, and establishes his new dynasty.

2009-04-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

Notes from Tuesday, March 30, 2009
-Subsidies willhave to stop and taxes will begin
-Oct 2008, 3% of sales tax was protested by closing the bazaars

Socialization/Political Culture

-socialization is fragmented

-Shah Western influence went to upper and middle classes and liberal/technocratic values (modernize)

-Secular minded technocrats demanded liberalization of education, legal modernization, relaxation of media restriction

-Technocrats/industrial porfessionals pushed against clergies

-Reformers (modernize)/Conservatives (Church led gov)

-Shi'ites launch cultural revolution

-education teaches values of islamic state on students

-Internal conservation regarding merit of alternate poitical systems, completel secular state or religious run

at this point, Mr. G got angry with the class for not paying attention to his notes. kaitlyn took over from here...

Political Agenda

-shut down private media, arrested people, gave free access to media

Political Parties

-Islamic Republican Party (1979-1987)

-Parties legalized in 1998

-Resemo

-Islamic Iran Praticipation front-largest reform party (1997)

-servants of Construction Party-Tecnhocrats

-The Reformists-Assembly of the combatant clerics

-Assembly of the Followers-Imans line

-Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution organization

-Islamic society of engineers-conservative

-Combatant clergy organization

-Society for militant clergy

-Militant opposition severely handled

Elections

-competitive, voters choose form set picket from Guardian Council

Constitution

-After Rev. Sharia restored with modern conditions (1979)

-Islamic Law was state law (1979)

-President-from shi'ite sect/well known in politics

-disenfranchises many minorities

-Relgious minorities have 5 seats in parliament

Executive Branch

-President elected on universal suffrage on votes cast in a run-off system

-4 year term of office, 2 term limit

-president chooses cabinet, presents legislations, and upholds constitution and coordinates gov't decisions

-Irianian president is weaker than Russia or Nigeria

Supreme Leader-Most powerful political figure-(Islam) has authority to dismiss or overrule president, appoints head of judiciary and 1/2 of Guardian Council, and appoints highest military - all in the name of upholding the Islamic state

Supreme leader appointed by 'Assembly of Experts' and serves for life

1989- qualification for supreme leader changed from the higest shi'ite cleric to established member of clergy (most charismatic)

Council of Guardians-12 member council who has veto power, along with Supreme leader, over anything against Islam

-kinda like the higest house of British parliament

another power of the Guardian Council- who can run in local, presidential, and religious elections

-COuncil is made up of 6 clerical mebers picked byt he supremem leader and 6 lawyers who are reccommended by judiciary and are subject to approval of parliament and serves 6 year term

-6 lawyers vote mainily on question of constiutionality and consider 'Islamic-ness'

-Assembly of Religious Experts- 86 males who choose the supreme leader and watch his performance

-Popularly elected, but ismostly clerics because they have to pass test on religious knowledge

Thursday March 26, third period

2009-03-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's late!
First he talked about colleges, the tests, timed writes, CQs, et cetera...

Iran
The Islamic republic of Iran today is a mixture of theocracy and democracy. It’s the theocracy that makes Iran unique. Iran has a political system based on clerical, or church, authority, as well as popular sovereignty. It’s based on the divine rights of the clergy as well as the rights of the people. It’s based on concepts derived from early Islam as well as form modern democratic principles such as the separation of powers. The country has regular elections for the presidency and for their parliament, which is called Majles. But in Iran, a clerically dominated “Guardian Council” determines who can and cannot run for president of the parliament. The President is the formal head of the executive branch of government but he can be overruled and even dismissed by the chief cleric, who is known as the Supreme Leader. The President appoints the Minister of Justice, but the whole judiciary is under the supervision of the Chief Judge, who is not the Minister of Justice. The Chief Judge is appointed directly by the supreme leader. So there’s a typically bureaucratic government, with a Ministry of Justice with a Minister, and also a Senior Cleric, the Supreme Leader, appointing the Chief Judge, who is overlooking the entire system. The Majles is the legislative branch of government, but its bills do NOT become law unless the Guardian Council deems them to be compatible with the Islamic religion and with Iran’s Islamic Constitution.

The income form oil has made Iran into a textbook example of a rentier state, meaning a state that has rents. A rentier state is a subsystem of a renier economy, which is an economy that is heavily supported by state expenditures while the state itself continuously receives rent from abroad.

Although modern Iran traces it’s roots to the ancient Iranian empire of 6th century BC, and it’s Islamic religion, to the Arab invasions of the 17th century, it’s current national identity, or it’s interpretation of Islam is Shi’ism (Shi’ite).

1501-1722 – Safavid Dynasty
1794-1935 – rule by Qajar Dynasty
1925-1979 – Pahlavi Dynasty
Then the Islamic Revolution, or Cultural Revolution, of 1979, which led to the establishment of the current Islamic republic

Notes 3/27

2009-03-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

What better way to spend my Friday night than to update the blog...enjoy

Following 1906 Constitution we run into WWI and after WWI Iran is in complete disarray. Internal arguments were made that divided the Majlas into conservative and liberal groups
liberal- in favor of social reforms, wanted to replace islamic courts with more modern civil law and courts
conservatives- opposed all reforms pertaining to women's rights, islamic courts, land laws, religious minority rights, etc

At the same time the central government is very weak. The beauro was horrible, no army to speak of, the government was unable to collect taxes, and there was no way for the government to reach the country side.

By 1921 Iran is a mess. A conol Raza Khan carried out a couee. He steps in and replaces the cabinet and consolidates the government. He is commander in chief.

By 1925 Raza had disposed of the Qujars and crowned himself with the title "Shah in Shah" (means monarch). The Pahlavi dynasty is established.

Raza rules with an iron fist until 1941 when Russia and Britain invade Iran in an attempt to save them from Nazi Germany. With the Soviets and Brits in Iran, Raza resigns fleeing the country and giving up the throne to his 22 year old son Muhammad Raza Shah. The new Shah hold onto armed forces control but because of Constitution he must deal with free press, independent judiciary, competitive elections, assertive ministers, and parliament. He also finds himself facing two strong poltical movements:

Tudah Party- draws support from working class trade unions

National Front- draws support from middle class and is lead by Muhammad Mosaddeq. This movement lands a public campaign for the government to nationalize the UK owned oil company. Mosaddeq also argued that the armed forces should supervise the cabinet ministers.

It's 1951 and Mosaddeq is elected prime minister. He promptly nationalizes the oil industry. British and US are not too happy about this. In 1953 the US sends the CIA to bring down the Iran government. Mosaddeq is overthrown. But this still leaves the Shah who builds a highly centralized state based on 3 pillars:
1.Armed forces
2.Buero
3.Shah patronage system
In 1950s Shah enlarges military from less than 40,000 to more than 400,000 by 1979.

The beuro expands from a collection of scribes to 21 executive branch ministries employing over 3000 civil servants by 1979. One ministry that was strong was the interior ministry which had the authority to appoint providential governors,town mayors, district superintendents, and village headman. Also appointed electoral supervisors which supervised elections. Because of this the interior could now rig elections creating a rubber stamp legislature for the Shah. By this point the 1906 election is no longer affective.

The Shah runs with this. The education ministry grows "20 fold". The justice ministry replaces islamic law courts with a euro style civil code. Church courts are replaced with a modern judicial court system.

But on the flip side the Shah is doing "lots of bad". In the 1960s he does another move to seculize judical system by decreeing a contoverstal "family protection law". This law contradicted the traditional system of the Sharia it:

1. raised the marraige age
2.allowed women to override spousal objections and work outside the home with permission from the court
3.allowed men to have multiple wives with permission from his previous wives and the court

The Palavi state further bolstered by court patronage. It does this by Shah auguring huge land holds, buying out casinos, beach resorts, hotel, etc. He also gave 207 large companies tax exemption under the tax exempt palvi foundation.

In 1975 the Shah announces formation of the resurgent party and declared Iran to be a one party system, threatening to execute or exile all people refusing to join the party. This was designed to dig a heavy hand into the Bazzars. The pa try established its own Bazzar guilds, newspapers, womens org, professional org, and labor unions.

On eve of 1979 revolution and exiled iranian newspaper verbally dis troys Palavis and charges the Shah family with many things such as widening the gap between rich and poor, wasting resources on a giant military, becoming a military dictatorship,etc. A inner iran man Ayatolah Khomeini anti slaw who dystorys thee palavis siding with the under class. He begins to formulate new form of Shi when he calls for overthrow of Shah and gives new meaning to "Jurist's Guardinship"

Class Notes 3/26

2009-03-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

Iran Notes.
-Islamic Republic of Iran. A mixture of theocracy and democracy. It is a political system based on clerical authority and popular sovereignty. Based on right of the clergy and right of the people intertwined. The country has regular elections for presidency and the parliament called "majles". But a clerical group called the guardian council decides who can run for president and parliament. The president is re formal head of the executive branch of government but can be overruled or dismissed by the chief cleric called the Supreme Leader. The parliament is the executive branch of government but its bills don't become law unless the guardian council seems them compatible with the Islamic religion. Church has a big check on the system. Income from oil makes Iran a perfect example of a rentier state- derives a substantial amount of its constant revenue from foreign rents. The rentier state is a sub system of a rentier economy which is an economy in which state governments are heavily supported by expenditures while state receives rents from abroad. Different from Nigeria. Iranian government takes rents then turns around and invests it back into the country. Traces roots to ancient Iranian empire and its Islamic religion to the Arab invasions. Its current national identity is Shiaism and political system were formed over 4 more recent time periods. 1 Safavid 1501-1722. 2- Quajar 1794-1925. 3-Pahlavi 1925-1979. 4-Islanic Revolution of 1979 led to establishment of the current islamic republic. Also called cultural revolution. Modern Iran with its shia identity and it's present day boundaries can be traced to the 16th century when the Safavid family conquered the territory, established their dynasty and converted their subjects to Shiaism by force. By mid 1700s they had converted almost 90% of their subjects leaving a small population of Sunni. From it's earliest days 2 major groups Sunni, and Shiite. Sunni are modern traditional followers. Make up the majority. Shiites are followers of Ali make up only 10% of Muslims. The difference in opinion in who was to be the Prophet Muhammad’s successor as caliph saw the division of the 2 groups. Shiites belief leadership could only descend through the heirs of the prophet Muhammad. Shiites look at other early leaders of Islam that lacked Muhammad’s blood lines as pretenders. Imams lasted several generations until the last imam disappeared in 1874. Since then Shiites have held on to messianic belief that the hidden imam will return at the end of time and restore order. Shiite political thinkers historically upheld until the return. Often hidden imam all secular authority is illegitimate. Both branches ofIslam accept the 5 pillars. 1. Only one god Mohammed the prophet 2. Give to charity 3. Pray everyday facing Mecca 4. Make a pilgrimage once in a lifetime to Mecca. 5. During the daytime hours in the month of Ramadan they fast to honor gods revelation of the Quran to Mohammed. The sofavid established their capital, Isfahan, and recruit Persian scribes into their court administration. They process to govern through these scribes and Shiite clerics but through local notables( merchants, tribal leaders. war bosses) financial constraints kept from creating a bureaucracy and a long standing army. The public was linked to the government through notables. Sofavid collapses in 1722 when Afghans invade capital. Half century of civil war. Quajars reconquered much of Iran and move capital to Tehran. Quajars declared Shiaism as state religion although they did not have links to the imams. New shas did not pretend to be descendants of imams, so the Shiite clerical leaders claimed to be the main interpreters of Islam. Quajar rule these hundred years. Coincide with a great deal of European imperialsim. Iran got through it under quajars. Russia takes chunk of Iran. Must give Russians a monopoly in fishing for sturgeon in the Caspian Sea. Given an exempt from internal tariffs and the jurisdiction of local courts. Russians carve out a chunk of economy. British imperial bank won the monopoly to distribute paper money in Iran. Indo-European Telegraph Company got a contract to extend communication lines. Drilling rights to oil in southwest was given to a citizen. By end of century the Quajar debt had become so heavy that Quajars were obliged to repay debts that they put Iran under European financial supervision. People felt the whole country had been auctioned off. This brought on the constitutional revolution 1905-1909. Shopkeepers demonstrating against customs collecters handing over money to foreign nations. Intensified when 2 sugar merchants were publicly whipped. Some 14,000 protestors sit in British (embassy) and demanded a written constitution. The 1906 constitution introduced essential features of modern government: called for elections, provides for separation of powers, provides for laws made by a legislative assembly and also includes concepts of popular sovereignty and of the nation. Constitution retains the monarchy but centers power in the majles. Guaranteed seats in parliament to recognize the religious minority. Other prominent religions are Jewish, Christians, and Zoroastrians. Gave majles extensive authority over laws, treaties, loans, concessions and the composition of the cabinet. Head ministers were accountable to the majles. The constitution also included a bill of rights guaranteeing protection of life and property, safeguards from arbitrary arrest, freedom of expression, and freedom of association, and equality before law. It has all this then shiaism was declared religion by constitution only Shiite could hold cabinet position. Clerical courts contained rights to implement sharia and the guardian council was formed of senior clerics and the constitution gave them veto power over parliamentary bills they deemed to not be Islamic. Popular sovereignty is limited by Islamic veto power. Guardian council does not meet until 1979. 73 years after constitution was drafted.

Wednesday, March 25,2009

2009-03-26T06:50:00.001-07:00

Today we took the timed write for Nigeria and went over the test. The Nigeria Notebook Questions are due tomorrow, Thursday, March 26.

March 24

2009-03-25T16:45:00.001-07:00

Soo, this is a day late, but yesterday we took the Nigeria test. Fun times.

Tuesday 3/24/09

2009-03-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

So, BIG day with lottttssss of notes... actually, I lied, just the Nigeria test today. yay.

Wednesday 3/25/09

2009-03-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

Today in class we took the Nigeria timed write. The timed write may or may not have been the same for all classes. Remember that tomorrow the dreaded country questions for Nigeria are due so I would suggest you get started if you have not done so already!

KATE LAWLOR 3rd period

2009-03-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

Monday in class we asked questions and reviewed for the test on Tuesday. Timed Write on Wednesday.

03/23/09

2009-03-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

Today Mr. G allowed us time to clarify any questions we had about our Nigeria notes. He clarified any confusion and filled in gaps for students who missed portions of the notes.

March 19, 2009 AP Government 4th period

2009-03-24T03:48:00.000-07:00

In Nigeria’s 2007 election there was much corruption and fraud (stuffed ballot boxes, more votes than voters, etc.)
Ø between 50-300 people die in violence leading to it
Ø each major ethnic group had a political party

Yardua won, became president
Ø he retired some of the top military officers to prevent another coup
Ø sought to relax the Niger Delta

Nigeria has a small international debt, a lot of agricultural land, and natural reserves (oil). Making it ripe for a developing state economy

Socialization
Ø 1- ethnicity
Ø religion, urban/rural, class, and region also come into play
Ø 6 inexact areas
1. Northwest
2. Northeast
3. Middle Belt
4. Southwest
5. Southeast
6. Southern minority zone

Elite
Ø politically active
Ø urban, well-educated, speak English, cash economy
Ø want an honest government
Ø want civil liberties

Masses (urban and rural)
Ø subjects
Ø take what the government will hand out to them
Ø not active except during campaigns
Ø patron-client networks (are the clients)
Ø earn favors to survive
Ø not well educated (1/2 illiterate)
Ø no English
Ø subsistence economy
Ø care about results, not government

Oil revenues
Ø important to the government
Ø supposed to serve state and national government funding
Ø causes corruption (General Babangida bought new cars for his top supporters using that money)

Officials called “loot-o-crats” (in relation to the corruption)
Ø “It takes a village to raise a child”- if a person gets an education and leaves, he is still responsible for the village
Ø mixes sense of community responsibility with patron-client
Ø uneducated rely on educated for goods
Ø patron gets more money or power, the village wants more rewards
Ø “pre-bendalism”- dispersion of public jobs and rents (money the national government makes off of other countries for oil) that people say the village is owed

Culture
Ø North- under British, agricultural
Ø South- under British, modern (economy, institutions, etc)

65-75% of kids go to primary school
Ø more in South than in North
Ø few get beyond (expensive)
Ø instructed in English
Ø over ½ the country is illiterate

Participation
Ø voting rates hard to determine (cheating on census)
Ø 1993- 46% estimated voters
Ø 1997- 67% estimated voters (fraud)
Ø 1979- women get right to vote

Political elites
Ø Obas- Yoruba ethnic area
Ø Emirs- Middle
Ø Village Leaders- South

Political agenda
Ø ethnic based groups in cities
Ø rural- farming groups
Ø labor unions exist but aren’t powerful and never really have been

Political parties
Ø military governments and political parties don’t mix well
Ø Top 3 parties in 1998-99
1. PDP- Obasanjo
2. All People’s Party- descendent of Igbu NCNC
3. Alliance for Democracy- descendent of Yoruba Action Group
Ø All ethnically based

Tursday 19th Notes (3rd Period)

2009-03-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

Obisanjo comes in as a bit of a compromise president. His ethnic group is Yoruba. Yoruba is normally S. W. but people in the N. accept him because of his first peaceful transfer of power. 1999 people hope his military backgrous would be enough to keep the military "in barracks" (meaning out of polotics). Within weeks of taking office Obi. suddenly retires all the military officers who had held positions of political power under the previous military government. He raised the minimum wage and created a special commission to look into ways to channel more oil revenue back to the impovershed and environmentally degradated Niger River Delta. Civil society groups thrived and so does the media. Obi. felt obliged to appoint the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party to high level positions in his government as high as Minister. Which brings back many corrupt politicians who line their own pockets with public funds. Obi. becomes openly disdainful to the legislature. But with the help of appointees he sought and won reelection in 2003. In 2005 we have the Nigerian gov. being confronted by militant that is armed, rampaging in the N. River Delta region. This was triggered inpart by the arrest in 2005 and filing of treason against a man who was a separatist leader; who publicly called Obi. a dictator and was in charge of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (a rebel group). He claimed to have 6,000 followers, when he issued a declaration of war against the oil industry in 2005 he was flown to the capital city, for talks with President Obi.. Rebels from his group forced Chevron oil to shut down two oil flow station which together produced 27,000 barrels of oil a day. A second larger rebel group comes in. This one is still active today. Called the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta which claims to be fighting for a greater local share of Nigerias oil wealth and is now an umbrella gorup for long existing armed gangs involved in the illegal tapping of pipelines and wells to rip off crude oil. Shell was forced to shut down a facility that moved 400,000 barrels of oil a day. 9 Americans were taken hostage, and they also blew up a shell pipline. The Niger Del. Region has seen little development in decades in spite of all the money from oil. In March 2006 militants release 6 of the hostages and this hipe of activity continues into the presidential election campaign of 2007 and has still continued. June 2008 militants in speed boats raid oil installation 85 miles off of the coast. Forced Shell to slash production. Rebel actitivity has cut their out put about 30%. The U.S. is the biggest purchaser of Nigerian oil. Cleavage-Ethnic w/diff. political parties. Religious Cleavage was also visible in Nov. 2008: over 400 die in fighting between Muslim and Christian gangs in a dispute over local elections in the central nigerian city. Military troups called in to quel the violance and killed an addition 47 people...mostly Muslims... didn't match the more than 1,000 people killed in 2004 w/fighting between Muslims and Christians. Ethnicity is the defining political cleavage. Religion, geographic region, whether urban or rural, and social class can be significant cleavages. Ethnicity and religion in Nigeria can be divided into six rather inexact areas or zones. N.W-Core North- dominated by the largest ethnic group Fulani. N.E. is a minority region and with the N.W. are predominately Muslim. The Middle Best is home to a wide range of minority groups and both Muslims and Christians. S.W. dominated by the seconds largest ethnic group the Yoruba. Approximately 40% Muslim, 40% Christian, and 20% African tribal. S.E. Igbu which is the third largest. Primarily Christian. Southern Minority zone near the N. Rive Delta are without alot of different minority groups. Political Elite tend to be urban, well educated, english speaking, involved in a cast economy. Most of the people in both city and rural are subjects and aren't political activists. They take whatever government lays on them. More likely involved in a patron-client network trying to earn enought favors to survive. Not well Educated. Over half the pop. is illiterate. Dont speak English, and are involved in a subsistance economy. Elites tend to want respresentative government, and want civil libersties. The masses tend to be so poor and hurt by a lack of education that they look more so for results than anything else. Oil revenues that flow into the government are extremely important to understand. They are supposed to fund government services at both state and naitonal levels. Flow of money makes possible the corruption that is very pervasive in Nigeria. The lowest level, security and customes officials at the large airports suggest that gifts would facilitate their progress through the aiports. At the highest level Babangida got new cars for each of his supporters when leaving power. The government money goes to their buddies. Many poorer people refer to them as lootacrats (sp?) This corruption is apart of tradition Nigerian culture. Have responsibility to people in their own village than other people. If people are uneducated they rely on more educated individuals to get things done. In return their loyalty follows the patron. If they get in to a position to access government power or government fuds the clients expect more rewards. Rents are moneys paid to national gov. by countries paying for their oil. Prebedalism is a disperse rents to ethnic based clients. There are two sides to prebend. which is an office holder and a client as well as many expectations for both. The north is different from the south. The south with oil enjoys the basis for a modern economy and exposure to dem. institutions under the British. The family is the first teacher of socialization...duh. The stronger than community loyaltyies. People are expected to support families even more than communities between 65-70% of children are in promary schools. More kids int he south than in the north attend school. The North has higher boys and education widley is seen as important but bew go byond primary school. Post secondary education is expensive.

Fourth Period: 3/23/09

2009-03-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Today in fourth period;
-talked about submarines and ships and how they collided
-talked about the gap in Nigeria's history (1914-1960ishh) which was just Britain's rule.
-Mexico and Iran are now flipped. Iran will be first, then Mexico (in case G has to cut out material it is easier to cut out Mexico stuff).
-AP MONEY NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT IN!! ($172.00 ASAP)
-Then we chilled.
-Jordan's cookies looked mighty delicious. :)

-Nigeria test tomorrow. Good Luck!!

Friday, March 20, 7th Period

2009-03-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

Parties

during periods of military rule Nigeria had no political parties because the military banned them

in the 1993 elections, Babangida decreed the existance of 2 political parties

Gen. Abacha may have had influence in the creation of 5 political parties that granted him nominations in the '97 election

under the 2nd republic, parties were required to demonstrate a national support base (this is done by recruiting supporters from sources outside the dominate ethinc area of the ethnic area)

local elections feature 9 parties, the top 3 of which were allowed to nominate candidates for the '99 election

the People's Democratic Party nominated Obasanjo who won 62 % of the vote

the All Peopl'es Party and the Alliance for Democracy both nominated Olu Falae

The People's Democratic Party is a desendant organization from the Normal People's Congress

The All People's Party represents the Igbu

The Alliance for Democracy represents the Yoruba

Constitution

federalist constitutions have been written in '60, '63, '79, and '99

mostly failed because of ethnic and language differences of 250+ ethnic groups in Nigeria and an attempt at democratic values while getting all of the groups to support democracy did not mix well

a unitary system has emerged because of these difficulties, though it carries the guise of federalism

Nigeria has a strong central government surrounded by very weak units

Nigeria featured 3 states in '60, Middle Belt was added in '63, after the Biafran Civil War 12 states existed, now 36 states exist

the increase in the number of states is meant to combat the ethinc differences by giving the people something else to unite around

29 years of military rule has lead to weak state and local governments

it is written into the constitution that a % of the total oil income is guaranteed to the state and local gov'ts, but they don't get it

Executive

because of the military rule, the executive branch has become overdeveloped at the expense of weak judicial and legislative institutions

the constitution grants the executive relatively unchecked power

patronage politics and the strong executive combine to hurt the economy

the president has no veto and must give Presidential Assent for a bill to become a law

if the president doesn't give Assent, the bill fails unless the legislature repasses it with a 2/3 vote (almost exaclty like a veto)

president has 4-year term by a direct plurality vote with @ least 25% of the vote in 24 out of 36 states

the president's power is pretty much ultimate, and the constitution takes little precedence to the president's policy, the person shapes the office/government

Legislature

for 3/4 of Nigeria's history there was no legislature and policy was made by a military council

now the legislature is bicameral (House of Representatives and Senate)

representatives are elected to 4 year terms

3 senators come from single member districts per state

1st past teh post system

the capital city elects 1 senator (total senators: 109)

360 members in House from single member districts, # of districts per state is determined by population

Senate approves high level presidential appointments

overall, the legislature follows the executive

Judicial

the judicial branch has been resticted over time by military rule

'93-'95 (uner Abacha) was especially hard on the judiciary

Abacha revoked judicial review, took cases to the military courts decreased their funding, and just ignored them in general

'99 constitution established a 15 member Supreme Court, members nominated by the president, and approved by the Senate

also, Nigeria has Courts of Appeals and High Courts with judicial review

b/c of nominating power, the executive branch can dominate the courts

Islamic law courts (Sharia courts) exist in the North

traditional courts exist in the Middle Belt and the South

the Sharia has an Appeals Court in the capital city, only Muslims come under jurisdiction, some Northerners want to replace all courts with the Sharia Courts

Bureaucracy

cultural divisions worsened by prebendalism and clientalism (ethnic groups would recieve disproportionate shares from their patrons)
patrons and clients are linked by: ethnicity, religion, cultural ties
clientalism undermines political trust and economic stability; politics has become an arena of struggles between ethnic groups over national wealth
loyalty pyramid:
BIG MEN
patrons (clients to Big Men)
patrons patrons (clients to above)
patrons patrons patrons (clients to above)
patrons patrons patrons patrons (clients to above)
clients clients clients clients clients clients (clients to above)
etc.
Big Men rely on rents from the state because they need resources to pass to their clients
policy making is a spin off of competeing intrests among Big Men
intentions are focused towards clients instead of the country
PARASTATAL-state owned business
parastatals account for much of the government's employment
500+ parastatals
high positions are appointed by the executive branch

Period 3: Friday 3/20

2009-03-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

-Nigerians are most likely to belong to ethnic based groups in cities
-long history of womens market associations, part of the grassroots economy
-military officers and civilians make up the Kaduna Mafia
-SW Nigeria: National Democratic Coalition, calls for a good 'honest' government
-Labor unions exist but are not very powerful. The large number of ethnicities makes organization of large groups difficult
-North and Rural areas are more likely to be apart of patron-client networks.

-Military rulers banned political parties
-first political parties were associated with ethnic groups
-the 2nd Republic: parties were required to demonstrate national support
-1998/1999: parties were allowed to form. 9 parties competed in elections and 3 successfully competed in 1999.
3 parties: PDP, APP (All peoples party), AD (Alliance for Democracy)

-Written constitutions of 1960, 63, 79, 99 ( all set up a federal government)
- it was an attempt to build a coherent nation state with all ethnicities while blending democratic values with a strong gov't.
-because of colonial rule, a unitary system was practiced even though it was a written federal system.
-states are not dependent enough to function on their own. Today there are 36 states
-more states are meant to reduce ethnic conflict and encourage competition
-29 years of military rule suppressed the ability of state to build power

-because of military rule, the executive branch has been over developed at all levels.
-weak legislative and judicial branch
-constitution gives many powers to the president, unchecked powers
-President must give assent to bills passed by legislative but has no power of veto.
-if the pres refuses assent, or doesnt act it will become law of the legislative tries to pass it again with a 2/3 vote in both houses.
-4 year term by direct vote must win by plurality and at least 25 percent of the vote in 24 states.
-appoints a federal cabinet (must be approved by senate)
-can refuse to give assent to the legislature
-realites of government are not always shown in the constitution. the executives characterize the regime.

-3/4 of Nigerias history there has been no legislature because the military made all the decisions
-bicameral legislature & resembles the US Congress
-members of both houses serve 4 years
-each state elects 3 members from single-member districts.
House: 360 members, candidates from single member districts based on population
Senate: must approve all high level presidential appointments

-@ independence Nigeria has an active judiciary.
-overtime powers were restricted by the military regimes
-1993-95, particilary hard; no judicial review , decreased funding, decisions were ignored.
-new constitution set up a 15 member Supreme Court, appointed by the President and approved bythe Senate.
-constitutitonal court has the power of judicial review
-executive funds the judicial system
-Sharia Courts: in the North, follows Islamic Law
Traditional courts: middlebelt and south
-some northeners have called for all Nigerian courts to be replaced by Sharia Courts.

-culutrual divisions have been made worse by prebendalism
-patrons linked to clients by ethnic, religious ties
-only benefitted a small group fostering ethnic competiton & undermines economic stability
-loyalty pyramids from patron-client networks: BIG MEN.
-Parastatals: state owned enterprises: much gov't employment, patronage resource.
-over 500 of these organizations, independent, appointed by government executive
-produce utilities, transportations, public services (etc...)

tuesday notes period 4

2009-03-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

2007 elections- wide spread corruption and fraud, stuffed ballots, more votes than voters.
50-300 people die leading up to election
Unknown northern Governor, Umaru Yaradue of Peoples Democratic party chosen over Nigerian Party and Action Part.
President Umaru Yarudue
Like Obasanja, retires top military officers
Promises end to violence in Niger Delta
Socialization and Political culture
Ethnicity, Religion, Geographic region, urban/rural, and class
Ethnicity and religion
NW- Hausa Fulani, Islamic
NE- Several nondominant groups, Islamic
Middle belt- center of country, wide range of groups, Muslim and Christian.
SW- Yoruba, 40% Muslim, 40% Christian, 20% tribal
SE- Igbo homeland, 3rd largest group, Christian.
Southern- minority zone, between Igbo and Yoruba, on Niger delta, mix of religions.
Elite
Politically active, Urban, well educated, English speakers, in cash economy
Want honest government, Rep. government, civil liberties

Masses
Urban and rural- subjects, not active politically except during smpaigns. Patron client to survive, not well educated, ½ of Nigeria is illiterate, not English speaking, subsistence economy.
Want results; don’t care what type of gov.
Oil revenue/ corruption /patron-client
Supposed to go to state and national level. Made corruption easier
Lowest level- customs officers- gifts and bribes for everyday service. At airport in LAOS
Highest level- Gen. Bobengida bought new cars for supporters the week he steps down.
Government workers referred to as lutocrauts.
Part of traditional existence
Everyone is responsible for village children even if someone is successful still responsible. Even head of state is responsible for village aka bribes/ gifts
Mixed w/ patron-client corruption occurs
If patron gets access to gov. funds clients expect more rewards at village
Prebendalism
Dispensing of public jobs and rents (money paid to National government by other countries for rule) Money comes on, clients tap patrons for money
Two sides office holder and clients
Culturally
North and South are different. Geographic region
South-enjoys basis for modern economy, and democratic institutes under British.
North-remained agricultural under British
Family, community, first base.
65%-75% of children go to primary school
More in south than North, in north than girls.
Education seen as important but few get past primary school.
2ndary is expensive and in English
Gov tries to shape attitudes about politics from campaigns to parties, have
Local officials- educated in English, likely to be open to bribes.
Jr. high- $50 for an A
Media
Tv- mostly gov.
Radio-mostuse it for information. BBC, voice of America
Cwll phone in 2002- land line inreliable, cell phones are. Limited access to internet. Cyber cafes
Participation
Voting rates difficult to estimate. A census is a volatile issue. Unsure of number of people in Nigeria
Due to military rule, voter fraud, and a tradition of nontrust. Estimated 47% in 93’ and 67% in 97’ turnout each year. But unreliable due to massive raud
In middle belt and south, women tend to vote more.
Women in north couldn’t vote until 1979
Elites divided both ethnically and religiously
· Routes to elite are dominated by the military, which is dominated by northerners
· Although former General Obsanjo, not president, was from the middle belt
· Officer core is well educated.
· Traditional leaders exist as well. north Muslims are Emirs, the south Yoruba's are kings and others are village leaders
· Almost ass higher level civil servants have a degree- does little to stop corruption

NOTES FOR FRIDAY MARCH 20th

2009-03-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

Political Parties
-militray rulers banned pol. parties and some politicans
-at least 1 military govt created a pol. party
-in '93 elections Bambita (SP) decreed existance of 2 pol. parties
-very unsettled system
-sometimes no parties allowed
-other times decreed
-not solid party system

1st parties-ethnic groups and second try pol. parties were required to demonstrate nation-wide organization and support. (like Russia)

-9 pol. parties competed in local elections
-most sucessful three allowed to nominate for '99 elections
-Obasonyo (SP) won 62% of the vote
-in '99 two other parties ALl peoples Party and ALliance for Democracy) both nominated same candidate

Tracing them back:
1. PDP is the descent from the NPC
2. ALl Peoples Party descended from Igbo
3. ALliance from Orginial Yubo(sp) dominated Party Action Group

parteis demonstrate nat'l character by recruiting, organizing minority ethnic groups outside their area of majority. (into other states)

Constitution
-has had several written
-adopting a federal demo. was an attempt to build a coherent nation-state of over 250 groups
-but because of colonial/military rule unitary system with a federal disguise

-system with all powerful central govt, surrounded with weak states and is not strong enough to function with authority
-increasing number of states is a way to reduce ethnic-based pol. conflict
-not having state for each ethnic group--creates several states having to compete for resources which weakends ethnicites
-many smaller minority groups would be better able to compete with maj. gorups by establishing dominance in state alone

-const. gurantees percentage to state/local govt but silent on how to be divided

Executive Branch
-b/c of mil. rule haws been overdevloped at all levels
-at the expense of weak leg.
-current const. written by miiliartry-placed tremendous powers with prez. and unchecked power with mil.
-prez. must give accent to bills passed by leg.
-but NO VETO. if refuses accent the bill will become law if both houses pass it with 2/3rds vote
-pres.=4 yr. term elected by direct vote but must win plurality
-appoints cabinet-Federal Execution Comm. which must be approved by upper house
-person in exec. office or civilian have created regime as much as law
-personality shaped it

Legislative Branch
-for 3/4th no legislatures.
-policy decisions made/implemetned by mil.
-members of both houses-4 yr terms
-each state elects 3 senators from single-member districts
-the federal district elects one senator total-109

-House of Rep.360
-candidates run in single-member districts

-upper house must approve appt.s
-COngress can iniate legislation
-the legis. is a follower not a leader in process

Judicary
--at independence had independent judicary
-over time its power restricted by mil. regimes '93-'95 really bad
-No judicial review

-new const. 15 member S.C
-appt. by prez., approved by senate
-court of appeals
-fed and state courts
-has const. court with judicial review
exec. branch controls funding etc.

-courts known as Sharia COurts (norhtern courts)
islamic law based
-more want there to be all sharia courts

Bureacracy
-cultural divisons made worse
-clientism-practice by which group receives greater share of benfefits/favors of patron
-patrons linked to clients by ethnic reliious of other ties--only benefit small elite
-undermine trust and security
-reduces state to struggle over distribtution called "nat'l cake"
-struggle over who gets biggest instead of whole country benefits

Notes 3/19 (we went slow ;) )

2009-03-19T12:23:00.001-07:00

The Socialization/ Political culture cleavages are
1) Ethnicity
2) Religion
3) Geographic Region
4) Urban/Rural
5) Social Class
Ethnicity and Religion have six exact areas
1 North West- Dominated by the major ethnic group the Hausa-Fulani and are predominately Muslim.
2 North East minority region with a variety of groups and also predominately Muslim.
3 Middle Belt a wide range of groups here mostly minor. Muslims and Christians.
4 South West second largest group, Yoruba are 40 percent, Muslim 40 percent, and the traditional African tribes 20 percent.
5 South East, Igbos 3rd largest and Primarily Christian.
6 The South Minor zone of the Niger and delta with a lot of ethnic groups.

The Nigerian elite are politically active and are urban, well educated, English speaking people who live in the cash economy. Most of Nigeria are part of the masses however who are urban and rural not polemically active, part of the patron-client networks, not well educated and 1/2 of the population is illiterate and don't speak English and live in a subsistence economy, or one of ration. The Elite want a honest, civil liberty, representative government. While the Masses just want results and the government to help. The oil revenues which come into the economy are used for both national and state governmental matters making corruption possible. An example The lowest level of the custom of the airport in Nigeria the Murtala Muhammed International, on one's way into customs the security hands out gift that help you "get through faster" and on the higher level and example is that Bobangida would give brand new automobiles to his supporters. The head of the country and the airport worker have earned the nickname Lutocrats. The phrase "He takes a village to raise a child" refers to the fact that everyone that resides in a village is under the responsibility of the government official should there be one. If someone goes and gets an education he then comes back after making money and is responsible for the village children. The mixing of two ideas; the taking responsibility of the village you call home and the strong patron-client networks results in strong corruption. Illiterate people rely more on the educated to get things done and these people become there Patron who they loyally follow. The Patron who positively access the government funds there clients who get more reward.
The combination of underpinning causes Prebendalism- to give out public government jobs and state Rents based on clients, basically state offices are regarded as prebends that can be appropriated by officeholders, who use them to generate material benefits for themselves and their constituents and kin groups. Rents are monies paid by the national government company by outside sources that fund the state and national government. Culturally the North is different than the south. The
South with oil basis itself on a modern economy and exposure to democracy under the
British. The North is largely monarch and agriculturally inclined.

The Family is the first teacher and is stronger tam loyalties. The support of the family is always there even when away. Between 65-75 percent of children go to primary schools only more so in the south, and in the north more boys go to school. Education is important but few make it beyond primary school as secondary is expensive. Education is in English. The Public attitudes about politics are through government which creates political parties. Local officials of education have a power demand for money and bribes, a junior high school teacher makes people pay 50 bucks for an A! There are 80 national and local competitors for newspapers and magazines which are in English. The TV is mostly government run, so everyone listens to radio for political information as most are illiterate. Cellular devices became popular in 2002 because of unreliable landlines and there's limited access to the internet.

Participation in voting rate have are difficult to calculate the estimate census due to fraud. There is no traditional voting. In 1993 the rate was 46 percent and in 1997 67 percent but this is not very reliable due to fraud. Women couldn't vote in the North until 1979 and is still not frequent. The political elites are divided ethically and religiously. The roots of the elite status are mostly in the North and this is the dominant officer core. There was one military Governor from the Middle belt who played a key role in the head of state. Military officers are well educated. The traditional leaders from the north Muslims are Emirs, the south Yoruba's are kings and the others are village leaders. A large population of well educated professional a, all higher level civil servants with university degrees are not well paid and have not prevented corruption.

The political agenda most likely belongs to ethnic based groups and cities of local farmers and rural areas both initiate protest. Women have the marker association that's common in the south and a vital grassroot to economy. Other organization/groups are the military officer and civilian loose organization who favored Bobangida but then shifted towards Obasanjo the Kaduna Mafia. The Organization of national democratic coalitions in the south west, once favored Abiola, keep going. Labor unions are allowed but not powerful and are difficult due to ethnicity and military governments that diminish power of the unions. The organization of the chambers of commerce are put into effect but not allowed to influence policy. There are a few professional groups the Nigerian Bar (Lawyers), The Nigerian Medical union, the Union of Journalist. The civil groups are less common in rural areas and Patron client networks mostly influence interest groups.

Political parties and the military government don't mix well. Militia rulers ban political parties. However Bobangida created a political party in his run in 1993 and Abacha is said to have helped the 5 political party when nominated in 1997. There are some rules 1) Associated with ethnic groups. 2) Political parties require democracy nationwide support. 3) Between 1998-1999 Political parties allowed organization of 9 parties to have a local election. This was successful and in 1999 a candidate was nominated. The People's Democratic Party nominated Obasanjo who won with a 62 percent change the All People's Party and Alliance Democracy nominated Olu Falae.

The People's Democratic Party was formerly the Nigerian people's Congress of the first republic.
The All People's Party was formerly the Igbo party the National Council of Nigerian Citizens
The Alliance Democracy Party was formerly the Yoruba action group.

These three parites are the national character which recruit organizations of the minorities and primarily in majorities.

Blog for Wednesday, March 18, 2009

2009-03-19T06:02:00.000-07:00

Since Mr. G was absent, the class voted on a study hall period.

Blog For Wednesday, March 18, 2009

2009-03-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Today in Mr. G's period 4 class we had a sub. The sub for today was Mr. Wood. On this day we were able to have a free period in which we were quiet and did work for school.

Friday, March 13

2009-03-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

We had a timed write. Quite possibly the most difficult timed write in the history of man.

Monday, March 16th

2009-03-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

From all the other countries we have studied, Nigeria has been called an “unfinished state”. Characterized by instabilities and uncertainties. Some even question why there is a Nigeria. Nigerian politics have been characterized by turm oil and crises since the British relinquished colonial power in 1960. This is the first country we have studied that has a colonial history. And we will be looking at what is the impact of the colonial experience, and what legacy did the British leave, how does it structure this government and what have they done since the British left. So we got the British giving up power in the 1960s and now almost 50 years later the country is still trying to escape its colonial past and piece together even a fragile democracy. Per capita incomes are scarcely higher than they were in the 60s. in 1960 Nigeria was stronger economically than countries like Indonesia or Malaysia. In 1960 nigeria had a wealth of natural resources, a large population, and the presence of highly entrepreneurial/ or business related people in the all regions of the country. Today, Nigeria is among the poorest countries in the world. Its rich endowment of natural resources was not enough to ensure economic development. Their richness in resources may even have encouraged rent seeking (for now it is a form of patron-client relations). So the natural resources encouraged rent seeking which in turn are behaviors that undermine the economy. The authoritarian rule, single party, and military rule allowed corruption, fraud, mismanagement, and a restriction of civil liberties. So this is going to be the first country that we have studied that will have a list of military government. All of these problems undermine the development of a stable system of democracy, with competitive elections, checks and balances, professional civil service, and independent judiciary and free press (which are all the symbols and signs of a political democracy that are not really (noise, I think it said shown) any longer). The existence of over 250 (maybe as many as 400) competing nationalities or ethnic groups, largely defined by language groups, have made it difficult to answer the “national question” – how is the country to be governed with it’s great diversity? Or how is Nigeria going to stay together? We have not looked at any country with 350 ethnic group until now. The lack of asound economic policy let Nigeria split into an overwhelming dependence of petroleum exports owing to underinvestment and neglect of agriculture. Nigeria moved from self sufficiency in the area of basic food stuff in the 1960s to heavy dependence on imports of food less htan 20 years later. Prebendealism (another term that is associated with patron-client association) pb style patron client relations ship became the public ethic and economic development suffered. Prebendalism is a system of large patronage networks based loyalty through which civilian officials hve used high level positions to gain larger wealth. Pb has skewed, its economic and political management has brought political instability to Nigeria. Local government officials gained support from villagers from dispensing favors and they in turn received favors for supporting their patron bosses, of course, most favors are exchanged among the political elite. The pattern persists on all levels. With PC comes corruption and informal influence. Nigeria economy becomes dependent on oil- it is a major oil producer. Nigeria’s heavy indebtedness gives foreign competitors and the international monetary fund (IMF) a strong influence over the economic policies. The government has a low level of legitimacy and accountability and a persistant inablility to meet the needs of its citizens. Nigeria has undergone several political transistions from democratic government to autocratic regimes (both civilian and military) and from one military regime to another. It has yet to witness an orderly and constitutional chart over a power from one democratic government to another. Although in the year 2003 an elected civilian who was the president was named olusegun Obasanjo. In 2003 he was reelected president, close to a democratic turnover. The catch with obasanjo is that he had been a military general and had been involbed in previous military government. In the year 2007 a man named umaru yar’adua was elected president amid wide spread allegation of voter fraud, ballot box stuffing, and other irregularities. Nigeria has had 6 military regimes and countless attempted coops and a bloody called the Biafra civil war. Now while it was still a colony the British recognized the multi-ethnic character of their colony and the British divided Nigeria into a federation consisting of three regions- each having an elected government, in 1954. This tendon to strengthen the collective identities of Nigeria’s ethnic group by fostering political competition. Each of the three federal units soon fell from the domination from one of the three largest ethnic groups and of their respected political parties. Nigeria is split into thirds by the flow of two rivers. We have a north and then in the south its split into east and west. The northern region comes under the control of political party called the northern people congress, the dominant interest group is hausa-fulani. In the south, the region west of the Niger River and the Venu River was controlled by the political party called the action group, and the dominant ethnic group is called the Yoruba. The dominant ethnic group in the south east is the igbo and they are associated with the political party called the national convention of Nigerian citizens. It’s a federal system and although the country is not big there is an awful lot of states. In 1960 Britain grants Nigeria independence the British parliamentary model was adopted for the regional and federal governments. The chief executive, who is the prime minister, is chosen by the majority party. Northerners came to dominate the federal government because of their greater numbers. Within two years the northerner’s people’s congress achieved an outright majority in the national legislature and the northerners controlled government leadership. When the Northerners set out to redistribute resources to their own direction they came into direct conflict with the south. So we got people from the north showing favoritism and they are showing discriminatory in distributing the country and sending to the north more funding than to the other regions and the south objects. Rivalries intensify as northern people’s congress sat atop an absolute majority and had absolutely no need to form a coalition with any other party. When widespread voter fraud gave these northern people congress and tarnished history in 1965, a group of largely Igbo military officers who resented north dominance seized power in January 1966. The general in charge and in general Ironsi hoped to end the political corruption with a new constitution that would replace the federation with a unitary state. Northerners were suspicious. In July 1966 general Iransi was killed in a second coup, this time by non-igbu military. The new leader is the general Gowon, he was a middle belt (the area on the board between north and south) Christian and he became the consensus (head of state) of state in July 1966. There’s a variety of religions in Nigeria, and in this country we are going to see very sharp cleavages. There are ethnic group that compete with three dominant political parties. If you are in a certain group you don’t vote for the others political parties. They also have a variety of religions. Now we are going to get people whose vote is also influenced by religion, when you have 2 separate cleavages that override each other we speak of cross cutting cleavages. They are all over Nigeria. By 1967 the predominantly igbu population of eastern Nigeria attempted to form an independent nation, they decided they would secede from Nigeria. They wanted to form and independent Nation called Biafra. Civil war breaks out. In January 1970, Biafra was defeated in a civil war. During the war general Gowon inc. the size of Nigeria Military from 10,000-25,000. After the war general Gowon sets out to dilute the power of the big three groups. He is going to do it by breaking the 4 state fed. Into 12 states (later inc. to 19 by Gowon successor. Further down in increased to 36) this increase in the number of states was an attempt to reduce ethnic and regional polarization. Ideally it would reduce competition. Senior military officers were getting rich from oil boom 1973-74. Corruption was wide spread and General Gowon postponed a return to civil rule that he had promised to achieve by 1976. He promised to turn government back to civilian rule. He is overthrown in 1975 by a man named Kartala Muhammed and he restarts a transition to civil rule in 1975, he is assassinated in 1976 and gen. Olisigan Obisanyo took control but now in 1976 he is a military general and has control of the country. And he peacefully seized power to an elected civilian government in 1979 and his turn over to a 2nd civilian government marks the turn to a 2nd civilian republic.
norah :D this is already half of the history

3rd Period: March 16, 2009

2009-03-16T15:52:00.000-07:00

Today in class, Mr. Gottschalk handed back our China tests, China timed write, and Russia questions. We went over them, and he asked if we had any questions. Common mistakes made on the timed write were not staying within the time frame (1990s) and mixing up privatization with privatized industry. This took up most of the period. In the remaining few minutes, we started going over the HISTORY OF NIGERIA

Nigeria has been called an "unfinished State" characterized by instabilities and uncertainties.
Nigerian political culture has been characterized by turmoil and crisis since the British relingquished colonial power in the 1960s
Over 40 yrs later, Nigerian is still trying to escape its colonial past. The percapita incomes are scarcely higher than at independence.
In 1960, NIgeria was stronger economically than India and Malaysia, with a wealth of natural reserves, large population, and a presence of a highly entrepreneual group of people
Today, it's one of the poorest countries in the qorld. National resources are not enough to ensure its economic stability. RENT SEEKING (a form of patron client relationships) behaviors undermine the economy
Authoritarian, single party, and military rule allowed corruption, fraud, and mismanagement all undermined the stability of democracy

Notes

2009-03-15T12:32:00.001-07:00

¯ After the Communists realize how much of a flop the Great Leap Forward turned out to be, they re-analyzed the structure of their actions. Their moves to change included the return of private farms, and communal farms either diminished in size or were taken away.
¯ Mao, who had been demoted from his position as head of the Communist party, gets the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on his side and launches an attack in 1965. This attack is called the “Cultural Revolution.”
Factors that contributed to this Cultural Revolution included:
¯ Mao’s hostility to the growing power of the moderates. He allowed two of his followers, Liu Shaoqi and Dang Xiaoping to try market-oriented policies. Dang Xiaoping also was important in the move to return land to the peasants. They revived the economy, and though they were successful, Mao was upset because it did not follow Communist principles.
¯ Policy disputes within the leaders at the top of the Communist party. The leadership is diverse and argues much about policy; not everyone listens to Mao.
¯ Concern among older Maoist followers that the young generation did not understand the principles of Communism and are losing passion for Communist China.
¯ Mao’s wanting to take control.
The characteristics of the Cultural Revolution included:
¯ Attempts to glorify Mao and his ideas
§ The little red book of his sayings was popular with the peasants
¯ In the media, they claimed that he was vigorous in spite of his age and swam six miles in one hour per day.
¯ The purge of moderate and bureaucratic leaders, including Shaoqui (the person who replaced Mao) and Xiaoping
§ Thousands of people are arrested and killed
¯ Effort to mobilize mass actions and get enthusiasm for the old revolution.
§ Jiang Qing forms the Gang of Four in Shanghai; they take control of the Western influences in Shanghai and cleans the media of anything other than Mao.
¯ Manipulation of public opinion
¯ The Cultural Revolution began in 1965 with media attacks on Communist leaders who opposed Mao. It emphasizes service to society and struggle.
§ A band of thugs called the Red Guard create violence in the streets and are puppets to Mao and the Gang of Four; they allow the Red Guards to use weapons and kill.
¯ In late 1967, Mao realizes the Cultural Revolution has gone too far and attempts to gain control of the Red Guards. He is unable to, so he calls in the PLA to restore order and shut down the Red guards. It takes them around three years to completely settle the violence.
¯ 1969 brings the Cultural Revolution to a close, it brings an end to violence and dirty politics
¯ Prior to 1970, a coalition of three major groups forms the leaders of the Communist party. By 1970, they all compete to be in the lead and the Communist party tries to decide
§ One group is Mao, the gang of Four, and his followers
§ Another group is the military, PLA (people’s liberation army
§ The last group is the small number of remaining moderate administrators and bureaucrats
· This is led by Xhou Enlai, who emphasizes the need for economic development and promoted limited Western influence
· In 1973 he announces the Four Modernizations to improve the economy and sets development programs to modernize agriculture, industry, national defense, science, and technology.
¯ This coalition proves to be unstable and a coup is led against Mao
¯ Lin Biao, Defense Minister, tried to escape to the USSR but his plane crashes; this takes the military out of Communist leadership
¯ Mao dies in 1976, which takes him out of the scene; the Gang of Four, however, still remains.
¯ Hua Guofeng took over for Mao as head of the Communist party and purges the Gang of Four.

¯ After the Cultural Revolution, the coalition broke up.
¯ China has to overcome the effects of no intellectual development of a decade; everything gets put on hold for the Cultural Revolution. There is a new emphasis on achievement over ideological purity in the Communist party; those who are technically competent have the primary qualifications for running the country.
¯ The economy take top priority, and Xiou Enlai becomes important.
¯ He dies in 1977, which clears the way for Dang to emerge as a strong advocate for modernization and the breaking of Maoism; he was an outspoken critic of the Cultural Revolution.
¯ In Dec. 1978 decisions are made in the Communist party that repudiated Mao’s ideas; there is a clean break from Maoism and the Communist party removes Goufeng from leadership, allowing Dang to come to power.
¯ In China, one can be the real leader and not hold a role as head of the party or government.
¯ The use of material incentives, market forces and de-centralization results in the greatest economic boom in China’s history.
¯ Agriculture takes off first, and farmers are given discretion; the result is a grain surplus, which is an unusual problem.
¯ There are similar results in industry, which begins to boom; there is tremendous growth in the economy. Private businesses are allowed to develop, and foreign investors are allowed too, which is very different from the old Communist rule.
¯ By 1990, over 400,000 private businesses have developed
¯ Back in the 80s, the economy was opened to foreign investment before Mao died
¯ When they realized how beneficial foreign investment was, they allowed it and used SEZ to control it; by 1979 four had been set up. These were special economic zones that were cut off to Chinese businesses and had their own special taxes. By the mid 1990s the market and foreign investment had spread to most of urban China. The relations between foreign and Chinese investors take off and the new slogan is born: GET RICH.
¯ This refers to the mixing state/government planning with independent planning in the market economy; there are still some government owned industries, it is not completely privatized.
¯ Four main indications of Dang’s impact on China:
¯ Under Dang’s influences, the higher education system is re-vitalized; the best and brightest students used to be sent to other countries.
¯ Another important aspect of Dang’s influence is that he decentralizes the economy.
¯ Dang tolerated limited private enterprises.
¯ Dang encouraged talented technicians to join the Communist party; as long as they were talented, they were welcomed. He attempted to recruit these people.
¯ An important cleavage can be recognized in the people’s reaction to the reforms. One group wants more reforms, another wants to put an end to the reforms. The latter group is made up of old Communists.

Some old russia notes from feb 20th-sorry so late

2009-03-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

I. Parties
a. USSR- one party- communist
i. Through control of schools etc, able to fully indoctirnate citizens in idea that comies made no mistakes
b. Policy making accomplished at the highest levels fo the part, whether it was the oligarchy (politburo), or a dictator
i. As the moed towards democracy and into Russia system is weak
c. Unde rYeltsin, parties are brand new, only recently formed and win seats in national legislature
i. Leads to major clashes with Yeltsin to the point where he dissolved the legislature and created havoc
d. 42 parties were trying to win seats in the Duma in ’95, but only 4 parteis got the more than 5% of the vote to win seats
i. going into 1999, 26 parties vying
1. new party – Unity, formed around of personality of the Prime Minister, Vladmir Putin
a. on election day, Unity showed surprising strength
i. it had no platform other than support Putin
e. Setp 2003- dissappearance in # of small parties ((democratic parties- parties that formed under Yeltsin as Russia was tring to become more democratic)
i. In the end, 23 parties competed
ii. Only the communist party was an authenti political party with a national base of membership/constiuency
1. Everything else = local
iii. Brand new parties
1. United Russia
a. Formed by merger of Unity and Fatherland All Russia
i. Was and still is in most ways the old unity party
ii. Had no platform other than to support Putin
2. Motherland
a. Electoral trickster
b. Nationalist party (stronger Russia)
c. Approved by Putin
d. Tasked with running a campaign in order to take votes from the Communist party
e. Platform attacked Oligarchs, voter sentiment amongst people in favote of renationalizing Oligarh companies
iv. United Russia ended up gett 37.1% of vote Commie = 12.7%, the Liberal Democratic Party (based around Zhirinovsky) = 11.61%, Motherland = 9.1% of vote
1. Lib Dems- people who were absolutely bitter about Russia’s loss of statureon the global stage
2. Only 4 parties won seats in the Duma
3. Yabloko came in with 4.3% of vote, and Union of Right Forces came in with 4.6%
f. 2007 Elections
i. only 4 parties meet the now 7% needed to gain seats in Duma
ii. United Russia wins 315 seats out of 450
1. Gives them the 2/3 vote needed to amend the constitution, which accouts for the 2008 amendments going throguh
iii. After 2007, commie part still only tru opposition, holds 57 seats
iv. Liberal democrats win 40
v. New party called Fair Russia won 38 seats
1. Controlled by the government under Putin and was designed to do the same thing as Motherland (steal votes)
g. Reduction in # of parties, weakening of commie party signals the end of transitionn to Western Democracy
h. Parties still based on personalities of the leader of the party
i. Because of this, political scientist call the party system a Floating Party system
1. Parties based on political personalities seem to come and go and there isnt much continuitities in parties that contest elections and the voters that subscribe to them
i. Where is it going?
i. Russia looks more and more like a one party state at times
1. A lot of that due to law in 2006 raising percentage to vote needed to keep seats in Duma to 7%
a. Also requires political parties to prove they have mor etha 50,000 members nationally
b. Must prove they have functioning branches in at least 45 regions
i. Each branch must have 500 members
c. Combination of these rules caused more than 35 small parties to disband
2. Medvedev maybe forming a political party
j. Platforms
i. Communist party = furthest left on spectrum
1. Orginially totally opposed to Yeltsin and Gorbachev;s reform
2. Today favor redirecting economic reforms
a. More state protection of industry
b. Slow down privatization
c. Wide social security net for workers who lose their jobs and retire
ii. United Russia
1. Unity had no platform other than support Putin
2. Today UR characterized as “party of power”
a. Political party designed to keep Putin in power and in office
3. Put together in secret by early Oligarch
a. Boris Berezhovsky
b. B was first of Oligarchs to penetrate into system, advised Yeltsin
c. Splits with Putin, and one of the first ones run out of the country bu Putin
i. No longer a part of the party he supposedly founded
4. Fatherland All Russia = center left party
iii. Fair Russia
1. Created in 2006 supposedly designed as Junior partner in eventually two party system with UR, make it look like a democratic system
a. Putin was going to control both parties
2. Merged by Motherland, and 3 other countries
3. Never managed to seriously challenge the communists
iv. Liberal Democrats
1. Strong nationalists
2. Don’t like privatization
a. Have early success
i. Enough people hurt by loss of stature that they joined
3. Zhirinovsky very popular in the press
II. Constitution
a. USSR had on
i. Dominant role of the party was spelled out
1. Declare the communist party in the USSR was the leading and guiding force on soviet society
2. Operated within bounds of democratic centralism
3. Collective leadership- deisions for country made by consensus after freen and open discussion ad once decision was made, all members expected to accept int and carried it out
a. Didn’t work that way
b. Always led from top down by small #
b. Gorby to change this, constitutional and institutional restructuring
i. Introduces new office ito government
1. President- appointed himsself
2. Thought that clear head of government would make them look mor legitimate?
c. Republic of Russia
i. Created new office
1. Boris yeltsin elected by direct popular vote
2. Became obvious Russia needed to rewrite constitution, adopts revised consitution which borrowed many ideas from Western systems particularly France which had mix of President and Prime Minister (very strong president)
3. Putin follows cosntitution whileusing own dominance to interpret it the way he wanted, but still sticks with it somewhat
4. Rule of Law problem.

So old, this is back from February 6th but hey I'm getting it done

2009-03-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

EU
-coal and steel co. 51'
-set up a high authority to serve as an administrative body
-to make policy
-set up a ct. of justice
-common assembly
-reach has grown more countries and products

Treaty of rome 57'
Single European Act 85'
Masterich 93'
-gave authority to act in a number of places
-not many things it can't touch
-creates European citizenship live, work. vote. in parliamentary elections in member countries
-created the common currency and European central bank

Policy making
-1st step-commission-27 members
-responsible for looking at laws to see if they are good for Europe
-can propose legislation
2nd step- council of ministers
-each nation looks out for their own country(PMs or Sr. gov't officials)
-commision-promotes integration
council-has to pass the laws
-can produce legislation as well
-some topics they want unanimous vote
-QMV-qualified majority voters

Treaty of Nice 03'
-assign a number of votes to the council based on pop.
-all votes for one country can't be split
3rd European ct. of justice
-resolves disputes based on various treaties and legislation passed
-union law takes precedent over national law
4th European Parliament-526 members every 5 years
-choosen by citizens
-consulted 2x when trying to make a law
-1st-commission proposes law
-gives opinion on
-the council must consider opinion
-2nd-when council makes its initial decision
-if they agree or takes no action for 3 months -passed
-if they suggest ammendments
-goes back to com. 1 month
-council changes
-if par rejects concil can override with unanimous vote
-can dismiss entire commission-never used
-can't appoin single commissionsers
-treaties give par. veto power
-power to induct investigations and conduct other European bodies-used in 99' on part of commissio-everyone resigned
-efforts at unification
-Eastern communist block 04' (10) countries
-attempted to write a constitution
-citizens voted
05' EU-launched 1st satelite
08' Eu-comitted to reduce greenhouse emissions by 20% in 2020
-also 20% comes from solar, wind energy
08' Ireland rejected Lizbin treaty

There you have in in case you wanted to know a bit about Great Britain still =P

march 12

2009-03-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today we took the China test.
Tomorrow is the timed write, and Country Questions are due on Monday!!!
:)

Period 3, 3/10/09

2009-03-11T20:22:00.001-07:00

What’s the number one direct agent of socialization? China’s gonna be ((?)). The Communist party is a socializer, the family, the education system. Over history the communist party will kind of try to instill a highly moralistic centralized culture, but in recent years, as we’ve noted, corruption seems to have over taken the system on many levels. Back in ancient China the family, not the individual, is the basic unit of Chinese society. And since about 1949 family policy could be divided into three phases. Early 1950s freedom of marriage, freedom of divorce and the equality of the sexes was recognized. While the local power of the old families over local affairs was being replaced by authority in the communist party, so this is soon after the revolution. From the mid 50s into the 1980s family power declined and since 1980 the family has gained much of its former status. At the same time, since 1980 a new marriage law has furthered liberalized divorce, although obtaining a divorce remains difficult. The one child per family population growth control policy has effected families also. Under the current one child per family policy, city residents are limited to one child while rural residents may have two. In addition, parents who themselves are only children and members of that same minority are granted exceptions. There’s a section on minorities in your textbook. They have a lot of vigorous (something).
Interesting to China watchers, Chinese government announced in January 2007 that fines for violating this one child per family policy may actually be reduced. And it seemed to show some government concern over public opinion and the growing gap between rich and poor. And then in January 2008 it was announced the 500 people in one province had been expelled from the communist party for violating the policy, which I think tells us that the Chinese leadership isn’t quite clear on what the policy should be and how it should function. One of the other things that is happening in China is that more Communist party members, more celebrities, more well off people, are violating the policy, which then undermines social equality and embarrasses the communist purists. They have some problems enforcing the program.
By in large the education policy in China had been a tremendous success. In the post-Mao period, education policy emphasized qualitative improvement rather than simply expansion of education opportunities. And the shift in the academic environment was a result of the communist party’s emphasis on modernization. They recognized, and they said before that these are pretty pragmatic people, that in order for China to make progress in science and technology, their universities have to be expanded. And experts had to be encouraged and restructured. The Chinese didn’t hesitate to send students overseas to foreign universities while their own universities were improving.
In their communications, the mass media in China is controlled by the Communist Party. The People’s Daily is the newspaper of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and has an authoritative voice. There is heavy editorial oversight of the media content by the party and there is no private mass media in China. There is private local media, but with smaller audiences. Criticism of negative phenomenon and even of leadership failings is allowed in the government press, but there cannot be general criticism of the leadership and their really can’t be opposition to the current party. So the language of the Chinese read often slogan-bound. And you’ve seen a lot of slogans, often ideological and sometimes kinda obscure and hard to understand. The media is designed to persuade the people to carry out communist party policy.
And finally we get some indirect socialization through individual experiences and that can become a major socialization factor in a country undergoing as much rapid social change as China is(did?). We look at the political culture and the People’s Republic of China rose from it’s revolutionary era dominated by three themes.
One was nationalism. One was a national unification under a national authority, and if you remember at the revolution, part of the revolution warlords had been local strongman and the central government was not very strong, and so a communist theme. And the third theme was social and economic reform. We would call China and authoritarian political system. The regimes legitimacy has been threatened by events like the cultural revolution, Tiananmen square massacre, challenged by the Fao Lu Gong, but it seems to have survived. China has a mixed economic system. Part government owned businesses. In China government over the past decade or so has become less intrusive, still no such thing as a loyal opposition political party, however China does have an ethnic cleavage. China’s ethnic population is primarily Hahn((??)). Hahn Chinese form China’s basic identity they were the majority. Minority groups compose only about 8% of china’s population, but as we saw in Russia, the minorities live in China in autonomous areas (like Tibet) and the autonomous areas were told by the minority percent of populations, have 60% of China’s territory and have a long history of resistance to the Chinese government. There are 55 officially recognized minority groups. Generally the central government’s policy has been to encourage economics development and to suppress expression of dissent in these minority groups. There is also a growing urban-rural cleavage that reflects economic difference as well as social lifestyle differences and the many episodes of rural unrest makes this cleavage pretty obvious.
If we look at how average citizens participate. Chinese Communist party decides what people should do and tries to turn them out to meet the party’s goals. It used to be that the government could mobilize political participation, get huge crowds to turn out, fill stadiums with people, more difficult for them to do that these days, but there are still basically three ways for the average citizen to participate.
1. Vote in local elections. That is, elections the village, distract, or county level communist party congresses and turnout in local elections usually exceeds 90%.
2. Get involved in the government’s occasional mass campaigns, which do get people involved, to and extent, in policy implementation, and allows influence on local decisions or local decision makers.
3. Person to become actively involved in local affairs, below the level of local government, in being a local activist and being recognized.
We look at the elites. When China was very tightly communist, top to bottom, left to right, we spoke of three political roles, one of those being an activist, a cadre, and a party member. Those three layers or levels had dominated the staffing of the Chinese political system, historically. And in 2001 a fourth role for the elites was added when communist party membership opened up to capitalists, the businessmen and business owners. Activists by definition as average citizens, they do not hold full time, official positions in government. They, on their own, acquire interests in gov’t take some initiative and may even gain some responsibility in public affairs. So being an activist is the first step to becoming a political elite and most people that go on to become cadres or party members are drawn from the activists. Cadres are those who hold a leadership position in a government organization and it would generally be their full-time job. State cadres, that is, full time employees who staff state, party, and mass organization hierarchy, above the primaries above the local levels and who receive their salaries from the government. State cadres, appointed from within the bureaucracy through the personnel section of the government and the communist party. There is a tension in the Chinese government at this cadre level between people who are mostly politicians moving up and those who have professional or technical skills and aren’t overwhelmingly interest in politics, you have a clash there. Admission to the communist party is the decisive act to becoming a political elite in China. Party membership provides entrance into the political careers with opportunities for advancement, for power, for privileges. Higher level govt’ units and some types of profession s have mostly party members. A difficult task for Chinese Communist Party has been to identify and advance or promote technically qualified people who can lead China’s modernization, but who are also politically reliable. And the communist party in china to it’s discomfort has had to place less emphasis on political conformity in order to place more emphasis on productivity and this is particularly true during Deng’s time, to post-Mao period. Today, technically competent, politically reliable people are still needed to run the government owned businesses as well as to advice the communist party and the government leadership, But as the number of private businesses in creases and as a private sector becomes a larger and larger part of the economy business men are less likely to be interested in government positions and to be more interested in making money. To keep from becoming increasingly disconnected from the business elites Chinese Communist membership has made a ((something, 21:00)) in 2001. If we look at getting as far on the political agenda and this is normally where we would take up interest groups we go back to Mao’s day, Mao at least theoretically got things placed on the political agenda in accordance with his idea of the mass line. That is, taking the ideas of the people and concentrating them, and giving them back to the people and explaining the idea until the masses agree and accept the idea as their own/. The mass line then, was a principle that party leadership depends on constant contact with the party and the public. ((Discussion on the AP and if it will discuss the mass line. He doesn’t think so, but wants you to know in case. Pay attention to the test and give him feedback.)) Today organized interest groups while there, are not permitted to influence the political process unless they are under the Communist Party state authority. The Communist Party State tries to preempt the formation of groups by forming mass organizations in which people may express their opinions within fairly strict limits. These mass organizations \often form around occupations or social categories for example, most factory workers belong to the All China Federation of Trade Unions which is an official state organization and it alone has the power to collectively bargain for wages and benefits. So in China, workers are not allowed to form independent unions. Women’s interest are represented in the All China Women’s Federation. And concerns of young people are supposedly represented in the Communist Youth League. In urban areas the communist party tries to maintain social control through what are called tanwei. These are social units from the party, usually based on a person’s place of work. And people come to depend on their tanwai for jobs, for income, for promotion, as well as for medical care and housing, day care centers, recreational facilities. Still in the last 15 years, China has gone from having virtually no interest groups of any kind to more thasn 300,000 non-government organizations. But in China their impact on policy making is weak. These organizations, these non-government organizations, the tanwei, and the state’s relationships reflect state corporatism. Most organizations are created are at least approved by the state and many have government officials as their leaders. The state only allows one organization for any one profession or activity making it easier for the government to monitor and control them. In authoritarian society, like China individual contacts and patron-client networks take on a (something) China recruits it’s leaders through the nomenclature system. However Chinese leaders communicate with one another through a patron-client network that they call a guanzi. These linkages that are similar to the good-old-boy networks that we pointed out in the UK have the underscored importance of career ties between individuals as they rise through the political system.
Events like the student protest in Tiananmen Square, the demonstrations by the Fao Lu Gong, and recent protests against the governments one-dog policy of November 2006. We have talked about the one dog policy. November 2006 government decided that there were too many stray dogs running the streets and families could only have one dog. And actually they sent out the army into the street and clubbed stray dogs to death. And not only strays. People walking their dogs had them taken and clubbed to death right in front of them. ((Noise)) The protest at Tiananmen square, the Fao Lu Gong, protests against this one=dog policy and the way the government went about implementing it are another way of getting interests on the political agenda. Only thing is, they’re not particularly well received by the government. The internet also frustrates govt control. While the government often tries to maintain a blackout on bad news barring almost all newspapers and broadcasters from reporting and ordering major internet sites to censor the news the proliferation of small websites keeps the news alive even as the government tries to close them down, if the government notices a lot of traffic going to a specific site. The govt has laws banning use from internet cafes, and has implemented control programs that kick teens off network games, have to file out in addition china has internet addiction clinics, which teens are sent if they become addicted to the internet. These are becoming effective and combining the use of cell phones and the internet. Watch the frustration of the authority. In the summer of 2007 environmental activists had hundreds of thousands of text messages ricocheting around cell phones in a particular cite, warning of government plans to build a giant chemical factory which they claim would cause leukemia deform babies. Messages generated a lot of public anger and forced a halt in construction pending further environmental impact studies by the government th9is delay in 2007 marked a rare instance in China of public opinion rising from the streets and actually prompting a policy change in the communist party. During the 2 days of street demonstrations that were in response to the text messages citizen journalists carry cell phones sent text messages to bloggers in several other cities who then posted real time reports to the entire country. Bloggers stayed a step ahead of government security forces that tried to cut down sites carrying the reports. And who’s going to win? Is there any way for the government to take control of cell phones and the internet?

notes

2009-03-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

little late. sorry! but here they are before the test

3.4.2009
a. 1978-1979
b. place near govt headquarters in Beijing where ppl had the oppurtunity to express their views on greater political freedoms (posting essays, graffiti, posters)
c. invitation to call for greater freedoms, not just economic
d. young political activist, Xu Wenli goes and collects the essays at Democracy Wall and assembles them into a political journal
e. as the calls got louder, Deng had enough, and he moved to smash the Democracy Wall movement
i. in return Xu got arrested, brought on trial, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
f. This illustrates the Commie party willing to loosen economic things but jealously retracting their political power
vi. 1989, College Students take to Tianemen Square demonstrating for more political reform
1. tension between the Communist Party and the citizens came to a head again.
2. brought out due to death in Hu Yaobeng, who had been ousted by Commie hardliners
a. hero to the reformist wing of the Communist Party
3. students in the Square are criticized in editorial in the official newspaper, People’s Daily
a. Communist party mixed, some think enough is enough students need to be in school, and some think that it’s alright, they should look into it
b. The secretary of the party, Zhao Ziyang, disagreed with the criticism
4. The demands continued, ignored calls from the govt, and they initiate a hunger strike as the govt. doesn’t meet their demands
i. This puts compromise out of reach
5. Deng goes to crush the march, and Zhao resigns
a. The military converges in Tianemen Square, and the demonstration is brutally ended
vii. Foreign Investment continued to be encouraged
viii. Deng is force behind government but heavily influencing decision making even though he is essentially retired
1. He doesn’t hold any position within the Party, but they wont move on with decisions with out him
a. Regarded as an elder
2. By 1995, Deng’s health is failing
a. They realize they have to find a new leader, the premier Li Peing announces that China’s President Jiang Zemin, an advocate of edonomic reform had been confirmed of the third generation leader
b. 3rd person in high government positin as vice premier, Zhou Roujin
i. in charge of ecnomic reform of Chines government
c. they said they would be a ruling 3-some
3. this leads to more stability as they don’t have to worry about choosing a leader
4. Deng dies at 92, in 1997
5. Leadership goes to Jiang Zemin, who is 72
t. Jiang is President, Secretary of the Party, and head of the Government
i. Jiang Zemin is able tto strengthen his political position at the Communist Party congress in Fall, 1998
1. Held every five years
ii. Two critics who were members of the politburo were forced to retire at this meeting
iii. Li Peing comes up against term limits and canot continue as Premier, and takes the #3 position, the head of the legislature (National People’s congress)
1. Zhou Rongji takes the Premier position
u. 1998- the Communist party agrees to large scale privatization to government owned industries which were lagging behind privatized industries
i. don’t call it privatization though – don’t want to be like soviets
1. call it shift to public ownership
ii. the gvoernment planned to hold on to some 3,000 companies, and some 10,000 other firms were going to sell shares to public or workers, but with the government maintaining sizeaable stakes within the companies
iii. other medium sized and smaller firms were given considerable latitutude to get off government life support (whatever they had to do)
iv. privatizing presented major challenges
1. Chinese companies had traditionally provided craddle to grave benefits to its workers, but now its tough to sll offf companies that also own and operate a whole raft of social services
a. Ex: 1997, China’s sixth largest steel company owned 11 kindergartens, 15 primary schools, and 15 high schools with 1500 staff members, owned a hospital with 1900 beds and 1200 members, more that 16,000 subsidized apartments for workers, and in addition businesses supported their own retirees
b. Thus private China had no social security system or safety net
2. By 2006, this privatization moved combined with no SS prgram has meant that elderly Chinese are dependent on their children
3. The one child program meant that one person found themselves supporting 2 elderly parents (difficult)
4. The move away from gov ownership to mix of market ecnomy presents additional difficulties
a. Chinese citz appreciated less control over economy and want less control of private lives
b. In rural areas (passed over by boom) people protesting gov corruption
i. Been problem since Mao’s days and continues today
c. National health care is problem
i. Gov has problem financing system with indiviudual responsibilites
ii. Includes new taxes
5. In Spring 1998, growing # awareness within the Party’s senior ranks that they couldn’t dictate economy or lives, they could also no longer represent everybody equally
a. Intelletuals began to say the time was right for the public to debate on the future of China
b. July 1998, 10 dissidents (critics) of the government arrested after the attempted to register anew political party called the China Democratic Party
i. Challenge to dominance
ii. All of them were released and none were charged
c. September
i. Dissidents attempt to register same party in 2 additional cities, they were told the aplications would be considered and no arrests were made
d. December
i. Authorites arrrest 5 members of the china Democratic party including Zhou Wenli and when that happesn Li Peing speaks out and pronounces that the opposition party would lead to unexpected turmoil and would not b allowed to exist
ii. 3 dissidents were tried and sentence, Zhou Wenli gets 13 years for plotting to overthrow state power, one gets 12 years, and the other gets 11 years
e. the week after the sentences, newspapers run new rules that threaten diretors, popular singers, and software engineers with life in prison for threating to overthrow power
6. Late 90’s (mostly 99) commie party leadership faced another party
a. Sect known as Falun Gong
i. Millions of members that grew very quietly with no stated political goals
ii. Each morining and evening these members would go to public parks and do exercises and go off on their way
iii. Most of them were unemployed, retired, poor, or other wise disaffected demonstrating that the reforms had passed them by
b. April 99, gov surprised whne more that 10,000 members surrounded the HQ of the party and sat down in a peaceful sitting
i. They demanded legal status for the movement
ii. Government banned the Gong, and members would be pursued and sent to labor camp, all 28,000 sites were to cease
iii. Ban not effective, thousands went to Tianemen Square and held protests
iv. More than 3,000 arrested
v. Afte 20 years of reform, Chinese people by turn of century are not as easily pacified by the government
vi. Also because of widespread corruption, the Partys simply didn’t seem as effective when smashing movements
c. Oct 99, the 114 exec committee of national people’s congress rules that leaders of religious cults may be prosecuted for murder and endangering national security opening way for death sentences for Falun Gong leaders
i. Day after, 4 leaders were arrested and charged with organizing cult
ii. Crack down spreads nationwide, and in nov 99, 589 people had been sent to labor camps, more than 3000 were held for protesting, at least half a dozen had died in police custody, and 4 held for serious crimes
iii. Falun Gong still operates thoug
1. Managed to break into gov tv stations and took over broadcasitng studio and put their own messages on the air
v. March 2000, Zhu Rongji makes ending corruption a major issue for 2000
i. He lashed out at frivolous spending
ii. Focused on need for China’s factories to produce better products
1. Including crackdown on bogus goods and fake medicine
iii. When calle dfor better SS, called for crackdown on officials who stole from pension fund investment plans
iv. Reform state owned assets
v. Colect more taxes
vi. Warned of more fees, major unrest in rural areas
vii. March 2000, leaders crackdown hard, deputy leader sentenced to deat for taking 658,000 dollars in bribe
viii. One convicted and sentened to death for 5 million dollar for bribery scandal
ix. Four major party fiures fired for corrruption
x. Head of Beijing’s powerful food and drug agency executed for accepting bribes (2007)
w. March 2002, in meeting of NPC, one new thing happened to China.
i. They gained membership to the World Trade Organization
1. This involved China lowering barriers to forrieng competition
ii. Rongji said must faithfully abide by terms of membership, which was going to be difficult
iii. Allowed collapse of nearly 2000 gov owned businesses from 1998-2002
1. Rongji expected pace of business failures to accelerate once they faced foreign competition
iv. Millions of workers in China lose their jobs
v. Leads to unrest, 10000-50000 workers protested as a result of layoffs due to inefficient gov owned enterprises
1. Yet while millions were losing jobs, some of China’s rich were trying to become "big rich".
2. Pursuing the wealthy dream in China is easier than in the U.S.
x. November 2002, 16th Commie party Congress
i. Chinese demonstrate that they are thinking ahead
1. They introduce/announce the 4th generation of leadership
a. With Jiang Zemin still there, they announce the VP, Hu Jintao was to replace him as the Commie Party chairman
b. First orderly handover of power since communists achieve control in 1949
ii. In March 2003, when the legislatrure meets
1. Replaced Jiang Zemin as president with Hu Jintao, and at the same time replace Zhu Rongji with the Vprimeir with Wen Jiabao
iii. Expected that Zemin would wield influence cuz he had contorl of militarly and a lot of proteges in the politburo
1. In 2004, he resigned as head of military (surprising) and gives it to Jintao
a. Jintao was head of gov, military, and party,
b. Zemin became an elder
y. Zemins legacy
i. Keeps minimm political tension which brought party to brink of destruction
ii. Gov stepped out of people’s lives
iii. The Communisst Party abandoned the downtrodden and sided those who emerged as winners in the economic boom
1. Allowed capitalists to become members of the Chinese communist party
iv. As a result the Chinese are able to find jobs, work whereever, and live almost wherever they please
v. While civil righs guarantees fall short of western world, citizens enjoy freedoms
1. Evolved from totalitarian under Mao to authoritarian state that has allowed unparalleled expnsion in economy but hold strangle hold in personal life
vi. Communist Party realased suppport of its original base of supporters (poor, workers)
1. Became party of economic, intellectual, and political elite
z. In their first years, Jintao and Jiabao were cautious managers of the Commie bureaucracy
i. Purused reforms which were started by their predecessors but were determined to to give up grip on power
ii. August 2003, after several months of permitting intellectuals to criticize (even suggesting revisions to Constitutions) for months, the communist party orders a halt, and security personnel began harrassing leading leaders in industry
iii. December 2003, 2 amendments to constitution
1. 1st est right to private property in constitution and broadened focus of pearty to party which represented private businesses along with gov businesses
a. confirms reality that existed for decades
i. the real estate market had been full of curruption as gov officials sought land to use for own enterprises
ii. attempt to boost commerce and limit oppurtunities for corruption
2. 2nd amend
a. est Jiang’s theory as official Communist Doctrine
b. Jiang Zemin’s contirbution to comm thinking = 3 represents
i. Argues Commie party in China should rep interests in China, not just proletariat
1. Wants to look out for elites
2. opened party ranks to entrepeneurs
a. former gov officials
aa. 2004, the Communist party central committee warns party that things in China are tense and that there is likelihood of outburst of discontent that could burst in violence
i. comes against background of 58,000 incidents of social unrest in China in 2003
1. Commie party scared
ii. Nov 2004, 10’s thousands protset damn
iii. Textile strike crushed, retirees came out and demanded pension payments
iv. Thousands protested outside department store
v. Unrest continues today
vi. Gov becomes concerned, late 2004, campaign launched that could reinvigorate socialist ideology
1. Comes at a time when President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jintao expressed concerns of bad effects of ccorrruption and need to closegap between city dwellers and the 60% who had been bypassed
2. This shows the hesitancy takes the form of study and self criticism in gov ministries, bureaucracys, chools, and factories
3. At these study meetings the theoriesof Shaopeng who declared market economies integral part of China socialism, and the 3 represents were studied
4. They also said study sessin should also look out how to marry China comminism and capitalism in ventrues between china’s businesses and foreign ventures
bb. July 2005, step taken to market economy
i. Increase value of currency, Yaun
ii. Got rid of 10yr old fixed exchange rate between them and USD, in favor of link into group of world currrency
iii. U.S. pushed China to do this
cc. 2006-07 concerns reflect focus of reigning in econom growth and shifted to solving social tensions wihtin society
i. speech to central committee calling for harmonious society
ii. China’s leaders are conerned bout problems tied to the rapid economic growth and its inpamct of the people hwo miss out
a. Growing gap between rich and poor, inadequate social security system
iii. Retirees increasingly cant live on pensions
iv. Crime/divorce rates higher
v. Wen wne public with gov emphasis on a new socialist countryside
1. Would lift rural economy and shrink some cleavage between rural and urban
dd. 2007 national party congress appoints Hu Jintao to second 5 year term as chairman/secretary
i. and 2nd 5 year term to president
ii. appoints Wen Jibao as Premier to 2nd term
iii. introduce 4 new members of politburo standing committee
1. in China, the politburo of Commie party is the place where policy is made (highest levels of Commie party)
a. extra layer of elietes in China’s
i. stanidng committee, and the real decision makers
iv. also at the same meeting they let on that the intent is to replace Jintao and Jiabao in 2012
1. moving into 2 term rotation
v. 3 of the 4 committee members who are pushed out were supporters of Zemin
1. Hu strengthening grip on leadership in 2nd 5 year term
vi. Recognized Hu’s political innovation
1. Scientific Development
a. They are talking about his emphasis on tempering economic devvelopment and focusing of social concern like environment and guarantees for the poor
i. Likely to joing Mao, Deng, and Jiang as elders
2. He and Jiabao have set temselves apart from predecessors since they are focusing on social issues
ee. March 2008, NPC meeting for a week
i. Concerned about summer olympics In Beijing
1. More degrees of oppennes
2. Such a big issue that both the NPC congress with 2,987 members and the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Congress with 2200 people met
ii. Because there was a lot of press here, the published proposals for public comment
1. More news conferences, referred to this process as "Consultative Democracy"’
2. Refered to democracy as people being able to comment on proposals
ff. June 2008, Taiwan and China agree to set up permanent offices in each others territory for first time in nearly 60 years (since Commie revolution)
i. Perform Consular duties (not full blown embassy)
gg. September 2008
i. China passed Japan to become U.S. governments largest foreign creditor
ii. Owns 1 dollar out of 10 dollars in U.S. debt
1. U.S. being increasingly forced to rely on China for money
a. 2 risks
i. cant afford to offend China
ii. if they cant lend us money then we are fucked
hh. like the U.S. Britain and Russia they are hurting
i. announce 586 billion dollar stimulus package in November
1. eased credit restrictions, expanded social welfar servics, infrastructure spending program
a. but only º of stimulus coming from central govt
i. another º coming from local govs
ii. remaing _ coing from enterprises, banks, etc
ii. unrest more than rural protests
1. those continue but now more educated chinese behind strikes disrupting strikes in city
2. workers unable to pay for ed

Wednesday March 11 4th Period

2009-03-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

So we watched a movie about China, since 4th and 7th periods are more advanced than 3rd. It was pretty interesting. Tomarrows the China test, the day after is the Timed Write, and the questions are due Monday. So...study.

2009-03-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

We watched a movie about China today because we were ahead.
CHINA TEST TOMORROW :0
Timed write Friday
Country Questions due Monday

Final Day of China 3/10/09

2009-03-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

… Developing party options that we already discussed with political parties. Political party system in China is relatively simple. The Communist Party is the only political party allowed. And consequently, it’s the only organization in china that tries to take the various interests of the people, interests that are on the political agenda and pull them together to make policy. So the monopoly of policy making by the communist party often gives a rather incorrect or artificial appearance of unity or harmony. In the leadership. And since there is no legit opposition, and since the media is controlled by the party leadership conflicts in china only become obvious in China when the current leadership is displaced by new or the party announces a rather abrupt change in policy direction. Otherwise we don’t really know what arguments are going on behind the scene. But we know that the leadership argues enough that they do differ with themselves and they can work it out. So factionalism within the highest levels of the communist party can be an obstacle that a party leader faces when trying to gain approval for policies. I’ve been careful to say in class when we’ve talked about changes in major leadership, that usually in the first party congress the new leaders find that the politburo members in support of the old party leadership are replaced and the new leader gains political power in the politburo and that situation where a new party leader comes in becomes precedent. In the politburo it means they’re really making policy or pushing for be totally supported, so in their first years the new leadership has to be somewhat careful and win people over or move to get them replaced. Although the ((something)) of opposition can open challenge is the basic rule of the game, differing views on policy do exist. And again, particularly on the politburo and more particularly in China on the standing committee of the politburo. And of course informal networks based on any number of factors, mutual support, shared opinion, patron-client networks will form some ties amongst the elites in the politics. It’s a one-party system keeping in mind that there are differences within the party. We said it in the US way back last fall, and I’ve mentioned a couple of times since, it is tough for a small number of political parties to represent a large, complex population. And as China has diversified, it’s gotten tougher and tougher for the party to speak for everyone and we get more behind the scenes disagreement in the politburo and I said the same point, that it’s hard for the democratic party and the republican party of this country to really truly represent half the populations, or whatever percentage.

We shift to the constitution in China. China’s political structure consists of two organizations hierarchies. One is the state, or the government. Local government, provincial government, right up to national government and the other is the Chinese Communist Party which has low level units (in factories, apartment houses, villages) right on up to national levels. And then there’s a third element in China and that’s the People’s Liberation Army. And then to a lesser extent, the mass organizations that the party and government put together.

Of the first constitution for the People’s Republic of China adopted in 1954 and they did new constitutions in ’75, ’78, ’82, not significant, ’82 to the best of my knowledge is the most recent constitution, which sets out a unitary system of government, with a central government having the power. According got the 1982 constitution, the People’s republic of China is officially governed by the national people’s congress. This is the government side, not the party. National people’s congress or the NPC. It is the highest legislative institution of state power at the national level. It has over 2000 deputies. ((Student question)) The Chinese legislature is a very easy job. You get on the legislature, you go to Beijing and meet for a week, ten days, once a year. The party hands you bills that need to be passed into law, and you say, okay! And they’re rubber stamped and the rest of the time, you celebrate the party. Whereas in the country our legislators relax and party all year round. The NPC, the legislature meets every year for a five year term, once a year. Provincial level congresses and army units elect the congress. If we do the NPC, if we do the legislature and ignore that, cause I’ve used this for both the people and the government, but the legislature we’re talking about, low level army units, factories, villages, apartment houses, people get to vote in local elections, I just want to make that clear. You only vote in local elections. Above this level and to make it a shorter story. The provincial level is for the provinces. These low levels will elect a member to elect someone to represent them at the next level. And there will be many of these in congress at this level. These will choose a rep, and they will vote for the national congress. It’s a step system. So, government legislature NPC is elected by provincial level congresses and army units, now in practice, the NPC is not the highest, or most powerful institution of state power. The highest, most powerful, belongs to the communist party And in particular is belongs to the roughly 24 members of the communist party politburo and even more particularly to the roughly nine member standing committee of the politburo, of the communist party. Now, that’s the legislature. The NPC has a smaller body that’s the standing committee. Don’t often get to see the members, last number I have is 130 members. When the NPC is not in session, the standing committee of 130 people will act for it. They do have a smaller body to call into session if they need it. Keep the appearances of government being independent of the party. That would be the party having a policy they need implemented now, and activating the standing committee so they can rubber stamp it. Now, some important tasks though, the NPC elects the president of the PRoC and elects the vice president, it elects a chairman of the central military commission, it elected a president of the Supreme People’s Court, and it chooses the chief procurator of the Supreme People Procurator ate. So legislature chooses five people. Some of these people can be the same. Legislature approves the nominated premier, vice premier, ministers and commissioners, and the members of the central military commissions, and theoretically it may recall these officials as well. The central military commission similar to our joint chief of staff, plus our secretary of defense. The highest executive branch organization in this government is called the State Council. Includes the premier, vice-premier, and the ministers. The state councils task is to translate the communist party decisions into state or government decree or law and to hold control over the government and what it does at all levels. So in this system the premier is the head of government. The president is head of state. The supreme people’s court is the judicial authority, but it is not an independent court and it is responsible to the NPC or it’s decisions. The supreme people’s procuratorate is a supervisory and investigative body with the job of insuring that the constitution and national laws are obeyed and carried out. But in China the rule of law is secondary to the rule of the communist party. The public must obey the communist party decrees and officials as well as government laws and state officials. And if the system is working smoothly, those are consistent as systems. If they are not working smoothly they may be separate, in which case you must be careful.

The second major hierarchy is the Chinese communist party, and like the government, it has a constitution dating form 1982. And it sets out a party organizations that parallels that of the government. So we have some form of party organization alongside almost all of the government institutions. They have a completely separate constitution. They are separate, and dated the same, updated at the same time, but they are independent. By positioning some form of communist party organization alongside most of the government organization then the communist party has a close knowledge of and can supervise the activities of the government and at each level the communist party is going to have the more authoritative voice. The communist party congress members are elected by the congresses immediately below them, so a hierarchy very much like the government one. Ordinary communist party members choose their representatives only at the local level. Now the national party congress (careful! National people’s congress and national party congress have the same initials) NPartyC over 2000 members, elects the central committee of the Chinese communist party. The central committee acts for the NPartyC and is probably the most important representative body in China. It’s got a 198 full members and 158 alternate members, in case something happens to one of the primary members. The committee most important job is choosing the top leadership, choosing the members of the politburo and the standing committee of the politburo. Choosing the general secretary of the communist party and choosing the secretariat of the communist party. The organizational principle of the Chinese Communist Party is democratic centralism. Same term we use with the Soviet. And probably somewhere along the line I said, I don’t know if this term is still in the exam or not, but the last released exam for comparative, which is only two years old question on democratic centralism. It’s alive and well in China and may not be alive and well in Russia. Democratic centralism was the idea that the policies would be discussed top to bottom in the parties and decision made and everyone would carry it out. According to the communist party constitution the individual is subject to the organizations, the majority subject to the minority, the lower level subordinates to the higher level and the entire communist party is subordinate to the party central committee which really means, in practice, that it’s subordinate to the politburo.

We’re moving to the executive branch. There is a certain amount of duplication here. The president of the PRC is the executive and ceremonial head of state. President must be at least 45 years old, and today serves a five year term with a two term limit. Hu chosen as party leader at the national Party Congress in Nov. 2002 Then chosen as president by national people’s congress march 2003. He replaced Jaing Zemin. Jaing Zemin was chosen president in 1993 and ’98, so every five years. ((Question on recycling presidents. G doesn’t think so.)) Hu is also head of the central military commission so he holds party, state, and military leadership posts. Hu’s election was a continuation of a trend or shift to younger technocrats taking the presidency. China does have a vice-president, has very few duties. Current vice-president is Hua Jian Min. He becomes VP in march 2003 same time. That Hu was put into office. VP also limited to two, five year terms. This Premier is the head of govt. Wen was selected in 2003 to replace ((name)). The premier serves a five year term. Wen was the only candidate on the ballot at the time. Which makes it easy. The premier heads the state council which functions sort of like a cabinet in other systems and has the task of translating communist party decisions into state laws and decrees that then get implemented through the many layers of the Chinese bureaucracy. The state council, the cabinet=like organization, oversees 45 bureaucratic ministries and commissions and so the bureaucratic organization is pretty good sized. If we look at the legislative branch the NPeople’sC hold the legislative power. The people are elected for five year terms on the Congress by the army and provincial congresses. Meets once a year in early march for five years, when they have elections again. There are currently 2987 deputies. The legislature elects a standing committee, smaller numbers around 133 to act for it and supervise the state council. The NPeople’sC is mostly a rubber stamp legislature which ratifies major reports and documents submitted to is by the communist party. The task of the NPeople’sC is choosing the president, vice president, approving the premier, the ministers, and choosing the chairman of the central military committee and the procurate.

Bureaucracy, China probably has the world’s largest bureaucracy. The Chinese bureaucracy is a major link between modern China and ancient or traditional China. Ancient China had a bureaucracy that was highly trained in Confuciusism, the teachings of Confucius. Stressed a highly competent bureaucracy that was not in any way corrupt. Of course this changed over time. The bureaucracy of today includes a variety of structures, as you can imagine government or state agencies, communist party agencies, the military bureaucracies, and their various agencies and subagancies. The bureaucracy manages the communist party’s local members and includes the structures that the government uses when it tries to mobilize the population on some major piece of policy initiative.

For Monday, March 9

2009-03-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry, this is a bit late!

-Agents of Direct Socialization: Family is the most important, followed by the Communist Party, the education system, and the media

-The family is the basic unit in China, and family policy has changed over the years. During the mid-50s to the 80s family power declined, though it has regained since then.

-The 1-child policy applies to urban residents, with rural Chinese allowed up to 2 children. There are some exceptions to the rule, though, such as only-child ethnic minorities

-Fines for breaking this policy have lessened recently due to negative public opinion

-Education policies in China have been successful; they emphasized qualitative learning and mondernization, and they have no problem with sending students abroad to gain other knowledge that they can then bring back to China.

-The mass media is controlled by the Communist Party, with heavy editorial sight. There is no private mass media

-Criticism of government failures is allowed in the press, though criticism of current policies and the leadership is not.

-It is generally used to persuade the people to support their policies

-Political Culture- There are 3 themes: nationalism, national unification under central authority, and social/economic reform

-China has an authoritarian system. Their regimes legitimacy has been threatened by the failure of the Cultural Revolutoin, the Tiananmen Square Massacre, etc. It has managed to survive, though.

-Government over the past decade has become less obtrusive in everyday life.

-There is still no loyal opposition party to the Communists

-The major cleavage in China is ethnicity: the Han are the majority; minorities are only 8% of the total population. Minorities mostly live in autonomous areas (like Tibet) that make up more than 60% of the total Chinese territory and have a history of resistance; there are 55 total officially-recognized minority groups. The gov't has encouraged economic development in these areas

-Urban/rural cleavage is also evident

-Avg citizen participation in gov't: many vote in local elections (turnout exceeds 90%); many also get involved in gov't mass campaigns, which, in a way, incorporate the public into policymaking (to a small extent); some become community activists as well

-Political elites: many begin as community activists, then rise to the position of cadres, then become party members and so on.

-Cadres are appointed from within the bureaucracy

-Becoming a party member is the entrance to being a political elite

-Lately the Communist Party has had trouble promoting those with technical expertise who are also loyal party members

-Organized interest groups are not permitted, unless they are under state authority

-Instead the gov't has mass organizations, which allow for political discussion on strict terms. These are usually focused around workers and social groups

-Danwei: worker units related to the Communist Party that focus on certain occupations; people become dependent on them for employment, healthcare, etc. They have a weak impact on policymaking, though

-China practices state corporatism

-Only 1 non-official group is allowed per occupation

-Patron client networks and the nomenklatura list are both important for recruiting. They also use a system of personal connections similar to the "good ol' boy" networks in Great Britain

AP Government Notes 3/11/09

2009-03-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

· The internet is taking control away from the government on the media
· The Chinese in general are good at combining cell phones with the internet
o Environmental activists sent hundreds of thousands of texts to warn the public of a chemical plant, and enough public outcry ceased construction. Street demonstrations followed and journalists were able to text bloggers for real time updates
· Political Party System: the CCP is the only party allowed in China, it is the only body that makes policy options, and it gives the appearance of unity and harmony that could be fake. Disputes have risen when leadership or policy has changed. Factionalism has risen in the highest levels of government.
· Constitution: there’re 2 major organizational hierarchies: 1) the state and government, and 2) the Communist Party. And to a lesser extent the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The first constitution was drafted in 1954, and the current constitution was drafted in 1982. It created a unitary government that would be governed by the National People’s Congress (NPC), which is the highest legislative institution. In practice the most powerful institution is the CCP 24 member Politburo, and especially the 9 member Standing Committee Politburo.
· Executive Branch: it is organized at the national level with the State Council, the Premier (who’s the head of government), the vice Premier, and ministers make up the cabinet. The cabinet’s job is to translate the decisions of the CCP into laws and decrees, and keep the government functioning.
· The Supreme People’s Court is not independent. It is responsible to the NPC.
· The Supreme People’s Procuratorate is an investigative body (similar to the FBI), and it charges rule of law secondary to rule of CCP. Citizens have to be careful if they don’t know if all the CCP decrees are laws.
· The CCP has its own constitution, created in 1982. Its hierarchy is parallel to the NPC’s, so it can supervise activities of the government, and the CCP has more authority. The National Party Congress elects the Central Committee, choosing the top leadership in the CCP Politburo. China is s democratic centralist country: before decision are made it is discussed, and when it passes everyone will agree and follow it. The individual is subject to the organizations. The President of the People’s Republic of China is the head of state. A candidate must be at least 45 years old, and he is elected for 5 year terms with a 2 term limit. Jintao is the current President, elected in March 08’. He is the head of the CCP, the President, and the head of the Central Military Commission. He’s continued the shift towards the technocrat. The Premier is the Prime Minister and the head of government. The current Premier is Wen Xhuboa. He heads the State Council and the Cabinet, translating the decisions of the CCP into laws and decrees.
· Legislative: the NPC is the strongest legislative body. Elected representatives serve for 5 year terms. The elect a Standing Committee to act when the are out of session and to supervise the State Council. The NPC is basically a rubber stamp legislative that just approves the laws that the CCP proposes. They formally elect the President, Vice President, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the President of the Supreme People’s Court, the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Premier, the Vice Premier, and commissioners of the Central Military Commission.
· Bureaucracy: it is the largest bureaucracy in the world, and it is not independent. It is a major cultural and historical link between modern and historical China. In the dynasty eras bureaucrats were highly educated and had great morality, but now there’s corruption. There’re a variety of ministries, and the government could make any committee it saw fit.
· There’s no checks and balances in China. The top officials of the Politburo do disagree and they work things out.

7th prd 3/10

2009-03-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

(i missed some of the very beginning, but heres hwere I can pick up)

-Communist party was the only politcal party allowed to opporate, only org that has various intersts on the politcal agenda. tries to pull it together to make policy.
-this monopoly on policy making is going to give us a rather artifical sense of the chinese gov't, being unified and constantly in harmony
-one of the difficulties here in watching china since there is no legitamite opposition, and b/c the mass media are controlled by the communist party gov't, we don't get to see disputs and conflicts in the chinese leadership very often
-when they announce a change we can assume at least that there was a debate within the party for it to be changed.
-When it comes to obstacles that a new party leader faces to try to gain apporval for his policies, the prohibition of oppoisition and what would keep them down, at a certain point, different views on policy do exist.
-within the party informal memebrs based on different factors shared opinions can work your relationships, hatred client type ties for a fairly strong since of ties between members of the party or political elite, but we don't often see that in public
Constitution

-only have one
political structure consists of two major org. heirarchys.
1. gov't or the state
2. chinese commi party
on the side sort of a 3rd peice but not fully equal, the peoples liberation army.
then spreading beyond party and gov't to include the army, we could go a step farther and acknowledge the mass organizations.
China does have a constitution.
-first one adopted in 1954. been revised a number of times
-current const from 1982
-unitary system of gov't with the central gov't of Bejing having the power
-accroding to the language of the 1982 constitution, peoples repulic of china, is offically governed by the national peoples congress, or NPC
-highest legislative instution of state or gov't power in the national level of china, this is their gov't this is their legislature.
-meets briefly in march
-over two thousand deputies, almost 3000
-choosen for five year term,
---meets once a year every year for those five years, in march
-Reason called a heirarchy, the national peoples congress is elected b peoples congresses at the probicial level and by the military.
-people only vote in local elections, in the legislature at the local level, factories, partner houses, villages, military units, there would be local people as congressmen, they would vote to choose a rep to go to the probitutal level of peoples congresses, in the lowest level people get to vote. but only voting for own leadership and then they choose from that to go up to the next level. who go to the probitutal level, and then reps are choosen for national congress.
-the national peoples congress is not the highest gov't or state power, that power belongs to chinese commi party
-it belongs to the24 member chinese commi party politburo, and even smaller, 9 member standing committee over the politiburo.
-the almost 300 members don't stay in session year around. national peoples congress have astronger body, so they have a stronger body called the standing committee,
-Standing committee has roughly 133 members
-acts for national peoples congress in the event that something comes up or congress is not in session.

-national peoples congress has some important functions: it chooses or electsthe president of the peoples republic of china, it elects the vice president of the peoples republic of china, it elects the chairman of the central military commision, it elects the president for bringing people to court, and it elects the chief procurator of the supreme peoples procuratorate.
--Also approves the nominateed primiers, vice primiers, minsters and commisioners and members of the central military commission, and they recall those officials as well.
-central military commission is probably similar to our chief of staff's secratary of defense.
^^legislative side of gov't

-Highest exectutive branch of organization spelled out in the constitution is called the State council
-State council includes: primier, vice primier and ministers
-state council's jobs are to translate commi party decisions into gov't laws or state decrees, and hold control over the go'vt over the beuro's at a lower level.
-so the primier is head of gov't in the system.
-the supreme peoples court is the judicial authority, but it is not an independant court, is resposible for its actions to the national peoples congress.
-supreme peoples procuratorate have something similar to the FBI and investigate people.
--ensure observace to the law
-the trick in china is that the rule of law is really secondary to the rule of the commi party
--have to obey party decrees as well as gov't laws.

-other major org. heirarchys of the chinese commi party
-chinese commi party has it's own constitution dating from 1982 and it sets out a commi party org roughly parallel to that of the state and so what they do is they position and form aparty org right along side most state or go'vt istitutions. so that way the commi party has knowlegdge of or can supervise activities.
-each level of the heirarchy side by side the commi party has the stronger voice.
-communist party congresses, they too have an NPC, is the national party congress
-way at the top
-NPC elects what is called the central committee of the commi party
-198 full members, 158 alternates. sort of like that standing committee.
central committee of the commi party acts for the national party comgress when congress not in session. that makes central committee probably the most important
-central committee important jobs are to choose the top leadership of the ocmmi party
-choose the politburo, the standing committee of hte politburo, the gneral secratart of the commi party, secratary of the commi party.
-organizational prinicple of the Chinese commi party is democratic centralism.
--the idea that the party is going to make policy, that policy is discussed top to bottom and a decision is made and everyone follows---doesn't work much better than it did in soviet union

-china has a different way of expressing demo centralism,
--to say that the individual subject ot the organization, the minority to the majority, the lower level sbordiniate to the higher level, and the entire party is subordinate to the central committee to the commi party, which means the politburo,
-make it clear that the politburo and standing committee are at the top

exectutive branch
-president of the peoples republic of china
-had exectutive as well as ceremonial head of state
-pres must be at least 45 years old
-serves five year term, twoterm limit
-just watched hu jing tao? choosen as leader in 2002, and then as president of nationals peoples congress in march 2003. now in second term
-common for the leader to not only be head of party, but to be pres and head of central military commission
-the election of hu jing tao continues a shift in china to younger peoples.
-does have a vice president
-very few official duties.
-vice president's name: hua jianmin
--he became vice in march 2003
-also limited to two five year terms

primier (PM)
-head of gov't
-five year term
-primier heads the state council, and state council functions like a cabnet in other systems, and has task of translating commi party decisions into state or gov't laws and seeing if they are implemented throughout the beuro's.
beuro's are large, state councils oversee about 45 ministries and commisions

legislature
-national peoples congress hold legislative power
-members are elected into five year terms by the poeples congresses and by the army
-meets once a year in march for five years
-currently 2987 deputites
-congress elects a standing committe --133 members--to acto for it in a supervised state council
-national peoples congress is largely a rubber stamp legislature which ratifies major documents that come in from commi party.
-usually pass things without much discussion
-important task of national peoples congress is electing the pres, vice pres, primier, approving various ministers, chairman of central military commission

beuro
-china has probably the worlds largest beuro
-sig. of beuro, beuro in china is a major and sig link between modern china and more ancient more traditiona china, back in the dynasties before mao and commis came into power, china had a large and respected beuro with official gov't reps in cities towns villages, all around.
-china's beuros for its day were highly educated, trained in the thoughts of confucious. taught to be honest, considerate of the people, and very different from the other beuro's out there today.
-ancient beuro was held in pretty high regard in all of china
-linkage of the past in china
-like all beuro's includes a variety of structures.
-state or gov't agenceies, commi party agencies, military beuro's, commi party has what they call primary units, smaller cells, apt house, schools, universities, and any other committee or element that the party might use to try to org the public.

Monday March 9

2009-03-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today we started off with Direct Socialization.

Direct Socialization

primary factor is families
only one party, so political ideals aren't exactly too varied
Commies try to instill their party values in citizens
the family, not the individual is seen as the basic unit of Chinese society
Since Commies in '49, three phases of policy regarding families have happened: 1. increased liberty in personal marriage decisions 2. '50's-'80, family power declines 3. since 80's, family importance is on the rise
divorces are now easier to obtain, but still hard
1 child per family in cities, 2 in rural
parents who are only children and ethnic minorities are granted exceptions to this rule
Jan. '07, fine for violation of 1-child law to be reduced, this suggests a growing awareness of the rich/poor gap in society
edu. policies have been a success, emphasis has been put on the quality of an education, and not just the expansion of education programs, to do this, the Commies had no problem with sending smart people to foreign universities to improve learning potential
China has a heavy emphasis on the oversight of media, there is no private sector of the mass media
the government controls the press, but criticism of past leaders and policy failures is allowed, just not criticism of current leaders or policies
this system is designed to increase support for the Commies
Indirect Socialization-socialization through individual experiences

Political Culture

focus on nationalism, national unification, and social/economic reform
authoritarian political system; the legitimacy of this system was threatened with such events as the Cultural Revolution, Tienanmen Square, the Falun Gong stuff, etc.
supports a mixed economy with partial government ownership and some free enterprise
Single Party System
Ethnic cleavage-primarily Han Chinese, minority groups total to only about 8% and live in autonomous areas (i.e. Tibet, etc.), these areas, however constitute about 60% of China's territory, these groups are historically resistant to the central Chinese government
in total, there are 55 minority groups
generally in these areas, the Chinese government encourages economic development and suppresses contradictory thinking in the minority areas
there is a growing urban/rural cleavage

Citizen Participation

historically, China had mass mobilized participation in political activities which was encouraged by the government
other forms are Mao's Little Red Book, which everyone had and knew
there are three methods of participation for the average citizen: 1. voting in local elections; usu. with a 90% turnout 2. get involved in mass campaigns set up by the government 3. be an activist in one's community (not necessarily government oriented)
for the elite folks, they can do these three methods: 1. be an activist (not a full-time thing, just to show support) 2. cadre-who hold leadership positions in government organizations as an occupation; cadre are appointed to their positions 3. Commie party member-entrance into political careers, to obtain this position, leaders would like to see good commies, but have settled for those who are more productive than loyal
because businessmen are less likely to be interested in political positions due to the success they can easily find, a fourth position was added in '01 that allowed capitalists to become Commie party members

Political Agenda

Mao used the mass line which took the ideas of the people, processed them through the government, and then regurgitated them back to the people for approval or something; the basic idea behind this was to keep a constant contact between the people and the government
there is a suppression of the formation of independent groups, instead, mass organizations in which people express their opinions in a limited environment are preferred
workers aren't allowed to form independent unions
women are represented by the All China Women's Federation
young people are represented by the Communist Youth League
Danwei-social units based on a person's place of work, designed to keep people happy to stop them from forming interest groups
contrary to what the government would like, at least 300,000 NGO's exist in China, these still have only a small impact on policy making
reflects state corporatism, most are approved by the state and run by government employees
patron/client networks are important
uses Nomenklatura, leaders communicate through Guanzi (similar to Britain's "good 'ol boy" network)
though the government sets the agenda, events like Tienanmen Square, the 1-dog policy protests, and other uprisings are proving to have some impact on the overall legitimacy of the Communist regime

The Internet

frustrates government
proliferation of small websites keeps the news flowing even with government resistance
young people are banned from internet cafes, there are internet addiction clinics, limit of 5 hours of consecutive use before internet shuts off
use of cell phones also frustrating government because of the instant updates they provide, esp. multi-function phones with internet that allows for blogging and whatnot on the go

Friday, March 6th

2009-03-08T18:02:00.001-07:00

In March 2002, the National People’s Congress met. China gained membership to the World Trade Organization and lowered barriers to foreign competition. Rongji said China must be faithful members of the WTO, which was difficult. It allowed the collapse of roughly 2,000 businesses. The rate of business collapse was expected to accelerate, and millions of workers lost their jobs. Social security was not up to the task and millions were without unemployment benefits.
10,000 to 50,000 workers protested laying off by inefficient government-owned businesses.
While millions lost their jobs, some of the richest citizens tried to become “Big Rich,” like Deng Hong.
In 2002, the 16th National People’s Congress met. They thought ahead and introduced the 4th generation leadership--Hu Jintao was to replace Zemin as CCP Chairman. In March 2003, the NPC replaced Zmin as president with Jintao and replaced Premier Rongji with Wen Jiabao.
In September 2004 Zemin resigned as military head and gave the position to Jintao. Zemin became an elder, and Jintao was now the President, CCP Chairman, and head of the military commission.
Under Zemin, the CCP did 3 new things:
Kept political infighting to a minimum
Stepped out of people’s lives
CCP abandoned the poor and downtrodden and sided with winners of the economic reforms.
Capitalists were now allowed to become members of the CCP.
The Chinese citizens were generally allowed to do whatever they wanted. Civil rights were short of Western Standards but they enjoyed increased freedoms. China evolved from a totalitarian to an authoritarian government.
The CCP was divested of their foreign constituency. They turned their backs on the poor, which was a change from Mao’s generous treatment of peasants. In 13 years, the CCP had become a party of the intellectuals and political elite.
In his 1st years in office, Jintao and Jiabao were cautious managers of the CCP bureaucracy and pursued preexisting economic plans.
In August 2003, Hu and Wen ordered a halt to the elite debate and security officers harassed the leading intellectuals.
In December 2003, there were 2 amendments to the Constitution:
Established the right to private property (formal establishment of property rights). It was an attempt to boost commerce and limit the opportunity for corruption and abuse
To lock a place in the Chinese history for Zemin, an amendment called the 3 Represents was passed. It argued that the CCP should represent the interests of all groups of citizens, not just the proletariat. It established Jiang’s theory of the 3 represents as a guiding principle of CCP thinking.
In 2004, the CCP Central Committee warned the party that China was tense and there was a likelihood of outburts or riots/opposition. The committee urged officials to improve their job. Over 58,000 incidents of social unrest occurred in 2003. This scared the CCP. The government was concerned about the amount of unrest and the effects of corruption.
In late 2004, the CCP launched the Campaign to Reinvigorate Socialist Ideology. The campaign was a plan of study and self-criticism in government ministries, schools, and factories. At the study meetings, the theory of Deng Shaopeng and the 3 Represents of Zemin were studied. They also looked at how to join the CCP with capitalist ventures with foreigners.
In July 2005, the government announces that they had raised the value of the Chinese currency (the yuan), which linked China with a group of world currencies.
In 2006-2007, the CCP’s concerns continued to reflect a shift in focus from reigning in economic growth to solving increasing social tensions. They called for a harmonious society.
Leaders were concerned about problems with rapid economic growth and the impact on the poor and the growing gap between rich and poor, as well as a lack of social security. Retirees couldn’t live on their small pensions, crime increased, divorce increased, etc. So Jiabao announced a government emphasis on a New Socialist Countryside.
In 2007, the NPC appointed Jintao to a 2nd term as secretary, chairman, and president. They appointed Jiabao to a 2nd term as Premier. They also introduced 4 new members to the politburo standing committee (the top elites). They let on that they intended to replace Jintao in the next election, and this began an informal two-term rotation.
The CCP also recognized Jintao’s major political innovation--called Scientific Development. It emphasized slowing down breakneck economic development and focusing on social aspects. Jintao’s predecessors pushed for economic reform, but he was concerned more with the environment and the poor.
In March 2008, the NPC was concerned about the Olympics. They established free press and a new policy of openness. Because there was a lot of press interest, they published proposals for public comment and had more news conferences--”Consultative Democracy”.
In June 2008, Taiwan and China agreed to set up permanent offices in each other’s territory--the first time in 60 years.
In September 2008, china passed Japan to become our largest foreign creditor. The US is increasingly forced to rely on China’s money. Like other countries, China was hurt by the economic downturn. They introduced the largest economic stimulus plan ever to ease credit restrictions, expand welfare, and launch infrastructure building. Only a ¼ of the stimulus came from central government.

3rd Period: March 6, 2009

2009-03-08T12:52:00.000-07:00

After Tianamen Square, China has to back up and look at themselves. China's government policy was in favor of modernization, foreign trade, and investment was encouraged
Deng was in power and greatly influenced decisions even though he was retired. Deng Shau Ping was an Elder (people consulted with him to make decisions)
By 1995, Deng's health had declined. China recognized that they needed a new leader before he died. The premier Li Peng tells international observers that the president of China, Jiang Zimen, an advocate of economic reform was confirmed as the third generation leader. Along with Li Peng and Jiang Zimen, Vice Premier Zhou Rongji (had been in charge of economic reformation) would rule
With the ruling three, modernization in China is more stable because the chinese leadership was more pragmatic
Deng dies at age 92 in February 1997, power is transfered to Jian Ziemen (he was 70). He becomes president of China, general secretary of Chinese Communist Party, and head of military. He strengthens his power in Fall of 1998, when there was a CCP Congress where two critics of Jiang were forced to retire from politburo and the CCP.
At Congress, Li Peng couldn't continue as premier because of term limits and he becomes chaiman of the national legislature.
Zhou Range is promoted from vice premier to premier
In 1998, CCP gave permission for what seemed to be privatization. they agreed to do large scale privatization of government industris because they were lacking. Chinese call this "Shift to Public Ownership". To do this privatization, government planned to hang onto 3,000 large important corporations, probably merge big ones, 1,000 large/medium sized firms were to sell shares to private citizens. But gov maintained control. Some medium and small firms were told to privatize.
This preserved the unique problemto them. The chinese companies had originally provided lifetime benefits. Example: In 1997, the 6th largest steel company owned 11 kindergartens, 15 primary schools, 15 high schools, a hospital, and owned 56000 subsidized housing. These companies provided social security benefits to people. Private companies couldn't make a profit doing privatization, and couldn't provide the benefits.
By 2006, privatization combined with no government social security program, elderly chinese are dependent on their children. The one kid policy means that one person may have to support 2 elderly parents.
Chinese people got used to less government control in business and want it in their personal lives. Rural peasants protest government corruption because the economic boom had passed by them.
Other problems in the 1990s- national health care. tried to replace government health care and have citizens split the cost
Spring 1998- there is a growing awareness in CCP leadership that they couldn't dictate every part of peoples' lives. They couldn't represent the population completely as it is diversified.
A group of intellectuals say it's time for a debate about this issue
July 1998- 10 dissidents (critics) were arrested after they attempted to register the China Democratic Party. All 10 are released and not charged
September 1998- a group of dissidents tried to register the china democratic party in different parts of china and told it will be considered
December 1998- 5 are arrested or campaigning for this party. Xhou Wenlai is arrested. Li Peng announces that the opposition party would lead to turmoil. 3 of these 5 were sentenced (Xhou for 13 yrs, one for 12 yrs, and the other for 11 yrs). The following week, the government runs newspapers and publish tough rule. They say singers, movie producers, and computer software developers were a threat to government
Late '99- CCP leadership faves challenge. A sect, Falun Gong, with millions of members. They went into public parks and performed exercises. Most were unemployed, retired, poor, or otherwise disaffected citizens. All lost out in the economic boom.
April '99- the government is surprised when more than 10,000 Falun Gong surrounded the CCP headquarters and demanded leagal status. They basically had a sit in outside of the building. The gov came out later and said that they weren't a legal party/organization. The gov places bans on public parks for Falun Gong, but they aren't effective. Many went to Beijing and 3,000 were arrested. The CCP isn't as effective as it once was thought
October '99- 114 member executive committee of the the National People's Congress ruled that leaders fo religious cults may be sentenced for morder and threat to national security. The Falon Gong leader was arrested
November '99- reports emerge that a t least 500 people were sent to labor camps for being Falon GOng. 111 leaders are indicted
Falong Gong is still around today, even in the US
March 2000, National People's Congress in meatting. Zhou Rongji gives speech on corruption to the legislature. He complains about: wasteful government spending and lax management, urged better goods, urged stricter regulation on food and medicine, called for better social security network, and called on gov to crack down on those who stole from gov

Notes - March 5, 2009

2009-03-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Following the Cultural Revolution, China had to overcome the effects of a decade in which scientific and industrial development had been put on hold and a generation of students had been unable to attend school. China underwent a transitional period of shifting away from Mao’s revolutionary politics toward more pragmatic means of modernization which emphasized economic achievement over ideological purity. With the economy and administration taking center stage, the country’s leading administrator and survivor, Zhou Enlai, became more influential. In 1973, Zhou announced that China would concentrate on the Four Modernizations—development programs to modernize agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology. When Mao died in September of 1976, he was succeeded by Hua Guofeng as CCP chairman and premier. Hua arrested the Gang of Four and Deng Xiaoping emerged as the strong advocate of modernization and breaking with the Maoist model and as a critic of the Cultural Revolution. When Zhou died in January 1977, massive demonstrations were held in his honor. In December 1978, at the CCP’s meeting, Deng’s supporters criticized Mao’s followers. Decisions by the party at this meeting repudiated Mao’s ideas and removed Hua Guofeng from all positions of power.

Deng supporters rose to the premiership and party chairmanship in 1980 and 1981. The core of the modernization efforts was economic policy. There was an unparalleled expansion in the use of material incentives and of market forces which resulted in the greatest economic boom in Chinese history. Deng had made a now famous statement. In 1962, “It doesn’t matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice.” Even when working for Mao between 1960 and 1966, Deng didn’t worry too much about whether a policy was capitalist or socialist as long as it improved the economy. Under Deng’s leadership after Mao’s death (1976), agriculture set the pace. Given discretion, Chinese farmers produced a grain surplus in 1984 which was beyond China’s storage capacity. Similar structural reforms were introduced into the urban, industrial economy which ten became the area of the economy in which China enjoyed its greatest increase. Private businesses owned either by Chinese or by foreign investors were allowed to develop. By 1990 there were about 400,000 private, entrepreneurial firms in China. The leadership began to open the economy to foreign investment even before Mao’s death. Foreign aid and investment came to be seen as good for the economy. To facilitate—and control—foreign entry into the Chinese market, four Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were created in 1976. Here foreign investors were given preferential tax rates and other incentives. Within five years many more areas became SEZs. By the mid-1990s the market and the foreign investment had spread to most of urban China. Joint ventures have been established in several industries. The Chinese slogan “Get Rich” came to refer to mixing state planning in industry and agriculture with individual participation in a market economy.

Under Deng’s influence, China:
1) Revitalized its higher education system
2) Decentralized the economy
3) Tolerated limited private enterprise
4) Emphasized recruiting technicians and intellectuals into the CCP

The success of modernization left two camps: those who would support even more reform and conservatives protective of Communist Party control over the political system and the economy.

The split was very visible during 1978-1979 when China’s leaders permitted the Democracy Wall—a place where people, even government critics, pasted posters calling for freedom on a wall near government headquarters in Beijing. A young political activist named Xu Wenli united the various essays into the most influential political journal of its time in China. Deng moved to smash the Democracy Wall movement in the early 1980s. Xu was sentenced to fifteen years in prison during a one day trial. This illustrates the CCP’s willingness to loosen economic controls while jealousy protecting its political power.

The split came to a head in 1989 when students took the streets of Tiananmen Square demonstrating for more reforms on the occasion of the death of former CCP chairman Hu Yaobang who had been ousted by CCP hardliners two years before but remained a hero to the CCP’s reformist wing. (Interestingly, in September 2005 President Hu Jintao, who had been mentioned by Hu Yaobang, agreed to restore the standing of Hu and announced a series of events to honor Hu on the 90th anniversary of his birth November 20 ending 18 years of official silence.) The students were criticized in an editorial in the People’s Daily. CCP Secretary Zhao Ziyang distanced himself from the editorials. As student demand increased a hunger strike was initiated. Eventually, with compromise out of the question, Deng decided to crush the demonstration. Zhao resigned. Troops converged on the square and the demonstration was forcefully and brutally ended. No one knows how many people were killed, but estimates run as high as four thousand.

February 7th Activities

2009-03-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

I know this is rather late unfortunately. =/

On this particular day we completed a Russia timed write.

Also, we turned in our Russia country questions.

Thanks and have a great evening.

Notes- 2/26/09

2009-03-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

Notes- Thursday, February 26th

Failure of Greap Leap-reality shock
return forms to peasants
people communies, abolished or minimized
Commys- commit to agriculture
Mao- not happy, turn to PLA (peoples liberation army)

Liberation Army

1965- with support of army, lauched 2nd effort to implement his ideas for communism and eliminate opposition
2nd attempt- Cultural Revolution
caused by

Mao hostile with political moderates. lets two followers (Lui Shoagi and Deng Xiaoping) ikmplement market-oriented policies worked and helped economy
policy deispute amoung top commy leaders
concerns for hardline communists, young people don't share revolutionary zeal that Mao had
Mao's desire to regain control

5 things, Cultural Revolution

Magnify Mao's personality- absurd
purge moderate political leaders, including Liu Shaogi and Deng Xioping. THousands are arrested, sent ot prison or workcamps. many die, including Liu Shaogi
effort to mobilize mass action, bring back commitment to revolution. Mao's wife, Jiang Quing and 3 men- Gang of Four. active in ensuring Western (non-communist) aspect removal
Manipulating public opion and action of leaders
attack on press-

red guards- took to streets (violence) against old commy party elites
Roughly half of commy party leaders removed
renewed emphasis on Mao's thoughts
collectiveism and stresses service to society
During Revolution, Mao's wife urgesRed Guards to use weapons, Cultural Revolution turns violent
late 1967- Mao realizes extremity, but can't reign in Red Guard. PLA does it, takes 3 years
1969- Revolution over, who's in charge?

3 groups, in an unstable coalition

hardline Mao supporters and Gang of Four
Miltiary - PLA has role in policy making, led by Zin Biao
small number of remainign moderate vertan administraters- led by Zhou Enoai

-emphasize need for economic modernization

1st group to have issues- military

attempt to coupd in 1976- Prime MIn ister (Hua Gutoena)
gets rid of Gang of Four
way behind, education, tecnology, science,
move towards practice modernization
emphasized ecnomomic achievement over political ideology
1973- Shou Enoui- Four Modernizations

agriculture
industry
national defense
science and technology

Guoteng- premier of goverment
Deng Xiapoing emerges as strong advocate of modernization- critic of Mao and cultural revolution
Zhou dies in 1977- massive demonstrations in his name
Dec. 1978- CCD meting- Xiaping supporters ciriticize Mao supporters
Guoteng removed from power
Next years, Xiaping suporters rise to leadersip positions
Under Deng's leadership- economic unparalleled expansion of market forces- greatest economic boom in CHinese history
1962- Deng says it "doesn't matter if a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice"
= if it works, it's good
Under Deng, agricutlure set pace- farmers produce grain surplus, no storage
Urband industry- CHina enjoys highest
190- some 400,000 private firms in CHina
90's- leadership ioen to foreign invesetment

foreign aid and investment- good for economy

set up 4 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in 1979
SEZs- foreign investers get perks, min. 5 years more areas became IDed as SEZs with benefiits for foreign
Mid 1980's- almost all of urban China had SEZ areas

Chinese name for this time - Get Rich

refers to economy with mixed planning witha griculture and industry with private owndership
ecnomony getting stronger- 4 things happen

education reviatalized
decentralization of economy
tolerate limited private enterprise
emphasis on recruiting intellectuals into commy party

Success- leads to division

support more freedom
felt commy party was losing control

split, very visibile during Democracy Wall

This is Kevin Yarnell.....3/4/09

2009-03-05T04:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in class we discussed our timed writes and went over any questions about the test, Also remember to report to room 320 because Mr. G is doing sol proctoring.

Blog for Adopt-A-Senior Day

2009-03-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

I had the blog for Ad0pt-A-Senior day, but...we sat around and did nothing, so I didn't post anything. It was a long time ago, but whatever, heres my post:)

Notes 2/26/09

2009-03-03T14:47:00.000-08:00

7th period notes:

¯ After the Communists realize how much of a flop the Great Leap Forward turned out to be, they re-analyzed the structure of their actions. Their moves to change included the return of private farms, and communal farms either diminished in size or were taken away.
¯ Mao, who had been demoted from his position as head of the Communist party, gets the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on his side and launches an attack in 1965. This attack is called the “Cultural Revolution.”
Factors that contributed to this Cultural Revolution included:
¯ Mao’s hostility to the growing power of the moderates. He allowed two of his followers, Liu Shaoqi and Dang Xiaoping to try market-oriented policies. Dang Xiaoping also was important in the move to return land to the peasants. They revived the economy, and though they were successful, Mao was upset because it did not follow Communist principles.
¯ Policy disputes within the leaders at the top of the Communist party. The leadership is diverse and argues much about policy; not everyone listens to Mao.
¯ Concern among older Maoist followers that the young generation did not understand the principles of Communism and are losing passion for Communist China.
¯ Mao’s wanting to take control.
The characteristics of the Cultural Revolution included:
¯ Attempts to glorify Mao and his ideas
§ The little red book of his sayings was popular with the peasants
¯ In the media, they claimed that he was vigorous in spite of his age and swam six miles in one hour per day.
¯ The purge of moderate and bureaucratic leaders, including Shaoqui (the person who replaced Mao) and Xiaoping
§ Thousands of people are arrested and killed
¯ Effort to mobilize mass actions and get enthusiasm for the old revolution.
§ Jiang Qing forms the Gang of Four in Shanghai; they take control of the Western influences in Shanghai and cleans the media of anything other than Mao.
¯ Manipulation of public opinion
¯ The Cultural Revolution began in 1965 with media attacks on Communist leaders who opposed Mao. It emphasizes service to society and struggle.
§ A band of thugs called the Red Guard create violence in the streets and are puppets to Mao and the Gang of Four; they allow the Red Guards to use weapons and kill.
¯ In late 1967, Mao realizes the Cultural Revolution has gone too far and attempts to gain control of the Red Guards. He is unable to, so he calls in the PLA to restore order and shut down the Red guards. It takes them around three years to completely settle the violence.
¯ 1969 brings the Cultural Revolution to a close, it brings an end to violence and dirty politics
¯ Prior to 1970, a coalition of three major groups forms the leaders of the Communist party. By 1970, they all compete to be in the lead and the Communist party tries to decide
§ One group is Mao, the gang of Four, and his followers
§ Another group is the military, PLA (people’s liberation army
§ The last group is the small number of remaining moderate administrators and bureaucrats
· This is led by Xhou Enlai, who emphasizes the need for economic development and promoted limited Western influence
· In 1973 he announces the Four Modernizations to improve the economy and sets development programs to modernize agriculture, industry, national defense, science, and technology.
¯ This coalition proves to be unstable and a coup is led against Mao
¯ Lin Biao, Defense Minister, tried to escape to the USSR but his plane crashes; this takes the military out of Communist leadership
¯ Mao dies in 1976, which takes him out of the scene; the Gang of Four, however, still remains.
¯ Hua Guofeng took over for Mao as head of the Communist party and purges the Gang of Four.

¯ After the Cultural Revolution, the coalition broke up.
¯ China has to overcome the effects of no intellectual development of a decade; everything gets put on hold for the Cultural Revolution. There is a new emphasis on achievement over ideological purity in the Communist party; those who are technically competent have the primary qualifications for running the country.
¯ The economy take top priority, and Xiou Enlai becomes important.
¯ He dies in 1977, which clears the way for Dang to emerge as a strong advocate for modernization and the breaking of Maoism; he was an outspoken critic of the Cultural Revolution.
¯ In Dec. 1978 decisions are made in the Communist party that repudiated Mao’s ideas; there is a clean break from Maoism and the Communist party removes Goufeng from leadership, allowing Dang to come to power.
¯ In China, one can be the real leader and not hold a role as head of the party or government.
¯ The use of material incentives, market forces and de-centralization results in the greatest economic boom in China’s history.
¯ Agriculture takes off first, and farmers are given discretion; the result is a grain surplus, which is an unusual problem.
¯ There are similar results in industry, which begins to boom; there is tremendous growth in the economy. Private businesses are allowed to develop, and foreign investors are allowed too, which is very different from the old Communist rule.
¯ By 1990, over 400,000 private businesses have developed
¯ Back in the 80s, the economy was opened to foreign investment before Mao died
¯ When they realized how beneficial foreign investment was, they allowed it and used SEZ to control it; by 1979 four had been set up. These were special economic zones that were cut off to Chinese businesses and had their own special taxes. By the mid 1990s the market and foreign investment had spread to most of urban China. The relations between foreign and Chinese investors take off and the new slogan is born: GET RICH.
¯ This refers to the mixing state/government planning with independent planning in the market economy; there are still some government owned industries, it is not completely privatized.
¯ Four main indications of Dang’s impact on China:
¯ Under Dang’s influences, the higher education system is re-vitalized; the best and brightest students used to be sent to other countries.
¯ Another important aspect of Dang’s influence is that he decentralizes the economy.
¯ Dang tolerated limited private enterprises.
¯ Dang encouraged talented technicians to join the Communist party; as long as they were talented, they were welcomed. He attempted to recruit these people.An important cleavage can be recognized in the people’s reaction to the reforms. One group wants more reforms, another wants to put an end to the reforms. The latter group is made up of old Communists.