Political Development Essay
Introduction
Political Development involves the use of a number of criteria to enhance political experience. Precisely, the criteria are used to improve the living standards of ordinary people in developing countries. The essay focuses on the criteria used in political development and their associated influence to the living standards of people in Third World Countries. A number of case studies demonstrating the significance of the criteria in fostering political development are also analyzed.
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Political Development Criteria
Generally, Political Development can be viewed as the constant effective increase in the potential of a system in response to social transitions and other institutions, thus providing an effective communication channel between the population and the government.
The development process can be undertaken in three different criteria. These include structural differentiation, system capabilities and equality tendency. The essay focuses on each of the criteria and their associated significance to the development experience and the lives of people in developing countries.
Structural Differentiation
It entails complicating societal relations with regard to the law concerning the increase in the diversity of peoples’ activities within the society and emergence of new interests among the diverse groups of individuals within the society. The reaction of political systems should be immediate so as to be effective. An effective political system is therefore characterised by highly specialised political institutes functionality and strong differentiation of its structures (Vasilik 2006).
Consequently, the specialisation and functional differentiation level of structures yields the difference between developed and traditional political systems. The idea is based on the similar role played by both complex and simple political systems. Thus structural composition aspect forms the basis of the difference between the political systems since developed systems are more structurally differentiated (Vasilik 2006).
The standardised model for socio-economics is used in measuring the relationship between economic development and structural differentiation aspect of political development. According to the model, political involvement is determined by the availability of distinct social resources in a society that bears economic significance.
Participation of individuals that are highly educated and earning higher levels of income in political development far much exceeds the participation noted from the opposite group of individuals that are deemed poor and earning lower salaries. It has also been observed that rich persons having a higher reputation in the society participate in politics far much more than poor people that occupy low status in the society (Yamada, Kohno & Ikeda 2003).
Consequently, adequacy of such structural resources is dependent on their economic development level. Economic development of a nation consequently transforms the social differentiation structure of its individuals. Therefore, effective political development should be aimed towards ensuring an expansion of opportunities to guarantee mobility of labour, an expansion of training centres to escalate the number of trained labourers and an expansion of the education system that is formal.
A government that implements such initiatives transforms the societal social structure. An increase in the number of learned individuals would in return increase their participation in politics, thus fostering political development. Highly learned individuals consequently form part of informed personnel that can occupy higher employment levels hence earn high salaries.
Furthermore, structural political development can aim at transforming psychological perspective of members of a society to foster economic development. Structural circumstances define political actions. Internal processes and preferences of an actor fuel political actions. Political participation of members of a society is, therefore, dependent on their attitudes and beliefs.
Consequently, Political Development should be aimed at integrating such cultures and attitudes into the political system so as to enhance political participation. Adequate access to education, media and wealth foster political participation, thus enhances political development.
Democracy is also fostered by modernisation. Structural differentiation, therefore, aims at increasing individual involvement in politics. An increase in individual participation in politics fosters political development (D’Souza 1994).
The Role of Politics in Development
The study encompassed a number of societies that is Mainland China, the colonial territory of Hong Kong and Taiwan that exhibited democracy. The type of the regime played a significant role in the modification of individual behaviour of members of the societies. It was observed that the rate of economic development within the entire country was unequal since the development rate in some regions surpassed that of other regions within the same country.
Disparity was noted in the distribution of psychological and socioeconomic resources in the country. The difference was attributed to the variations in economic development levels in the regions. From the study, it was evident that the level of government activities in the regions was determined by the available resources. The difference, therefore, enabled an assessment of the relationship between economic development and political participation.
The study revealed that China’s development declined as one moved from the coastal region to the mainland provinces and finally to the provinces occupying the northwest region. The per capita Gross Domestic Product range of individual counties from 1993 statistics was 1,036-48,035 Yuan. Results indicated a positive correlation between economic development in mainland provinces and the level of involvement in politics among citizens.
89.4% of individuals in developed areas confirmed participation in politics whereas 80.5% of individuals in less developed regions affirmed motive-based participation in politics. However, the results were different in Hong Kong since there was a negative correlation between the level of participation in politics and economic development. This was attributed to Hong Kong’s poorly developed electoral system.
Political Development Capabilities
Political development is enhanced by an increase in the capabilities of the political system. The capabilities include survival acts, innovation and mobilisation. Innovation capability encompasses the ability of a political system to adjust and solve emerging problems and its reaction flexibility to emerging and unpredicted issues.
Mobilisation capability entails resource mobility that is both material and human. Resource mobility assumptions include: transforming unclear weights expectations into policies and solid programs, distribution and development of joint action projects, existence of political insights that can offset or adjust weights to fit into certain situations, accumulation of all the required resources and authority on the part of the leaders (Vasilik 2006).
Survival capability entails the ability of the political system to implement appropriate specialised socialisation structures that will enable offsetting of the actions of revolutionists and counterculture development. System capability should conform to both the social and technological aspects. Social capability entails the abilities of private and public organisations and the support obtained from cultural and social factors.
Significant elements of social capability include expert competence, management and organisation expertise in macro businesses, ability of markets and other financial institutions to mobilise capital, stakeholders trust and honesty in the development process and the government’s effectiveness and stability in rules enforcement and fostering economic growth (Fagerberg & Srholec 2008).
Technological capability entails the organisational, economic and social capability required to finance big company investments in the country in a bid to foster economic development. Countries that intend to undergo positive economic development, therefore, have to possess the abilities (Chandler 1990). However, technological capability can also be achieved through technology exploitation and exploration, like in the case of Japan.
Japan’s success was attributed to its ability to link technological innovations with appropriate organisational requirements. Chandler’s perspective used by countries from the West was changed by Japan from “knowledge and creation” to “scale and scope”. Absorptive capacity is the other paradigm that can be used in enhancing technological capability of a political system.
This refers to the ability of the system to recognise emerging foreign information, integrating it into its system and using the information for productive purposes aimed at fostering economic development (Cohen & Levinthal 1990).
Further study on the applications of the various technological capability paradigms depicts technological advancements of newly industrialising countries. Technological capability in developing nations was linked to the implementation of suitable technological activities in the 1970s and 1980s. For instance, technological capability transformed Korea from being an impoverished nation to a global technological hub within 30 years.
Three elements were considered under technological capability. They include innovation, production and investment capabilities. Absorptive capacity was used by the country in achieving technological capability. The paradigm, therefore, focuses on technology exploitation capability besides research and development (Fagerberg & Godinho 2004).
Resource mobilisation entails the use of a number of means. These include: manipulation of trade terms, inflation tax, forced savings, among others. Tax is a significant factor in state capability and formation. The political dimensions of a political system and state capacity and power parameters are measured by tax as one of the key measuring instruments.
Consequently, developing countries should devise appropriate tax systems that foster growth through incentives, meet demands of distribution and collect adequate revenue. According to Toye (2000), state effectiveness and viability are guaranteed by increased revenue.
Tax revenue can be used by the government in infrastructure development and effective delivery of key services that are paramount to economic development. The political system should, therefore, aim at developing a suitable tax system that will finance its operations, thus improve the living standards of citizens.
Political Involvement Impact to Community Development
This involves individual participation in political activities. The traditional submission culture should be transformed into participation culture. The submission culture aimed at ensuring the realisation of administrative responsibilities. On the contrary, the culture of participation entails active engagement into politics regardless of the associated attitudes from distinct institutions. The transition can be realised democratically. Mandatory mobilisation can also be used to effect the transformation.
Equality tendency can be achieved through enactment of universal laws that are applicable to all members of a society without discrimination and privileges. The recruitment process of various holders of different state positions should be based on the applicant’s competence rather than being hereditary or limited to a specific group of members of a given class only (Vasilik 2006).
However, equality tendency can decrease the capability of a political system. Consequently, in a bid to maintain the capability of the system, the level of political representation and the expression of interests of various groups are limited. The criterion thus focuses on functional differentiation of the institutes of the political system.
Political development is thus enhanced when the system integrates the social interests of different groups through deliberate consolidations, aggregating interests using political parties and enhancing political social relations by permitting the acquisition of political information by the media. There are four groups that makeup performance possibilities of political systems.
They include: development of institutes of the political system that is responsible for logical bureaucracy and unity of the country, global possibility that permits the integration of international standards into the system, involvement possibility that entails the creation of a civil and democratic culture and structure and distribution possibility that provides the network for welfare standards’ circulation and effective coordination among social, economic and political structures.
Economic development should correspond to the following dimensions: growth should be noted in the productive capability of the society, individual living standards should be improved significantly and continuously, income and assets distribution should be broadened, health and safety conditions should also be improved, improvement in resource utility and environmental management and improvement in gender equality (Vasilik 2006).
The tenets of the democratic theory used to achieve equality tendency include the principles of universal citizenship, equality, popular sovereignty, weight and legality. The political system should aim at transforming authoritarian regimes into democratic ones.
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This entails extending political rights to individuals of a country, establishing electoral procedures that are limited, permitting self-organisation of independent political parties and extending press freedom to enable the acquisition and transmission of certain sensitive political information.
Democratic regimes are effective in producing a wide range of benefits, thus foster economic development. Furthermore, corruption incidences are not prevalent in democratic regimes. This makes them suitable for economic development (D’Souza, 1994).
After the Second World War, many developing nations have undergone a series of economic and political developments. The study on the correlation between the development processes of these countries and the associated democracy is vital to convey the causal relationship between the two variables. Findings of the study indicate that democratic political institutions significantly fostered the process of economic development in the countries.
As a matter of fact, the poor are numerous in developing nations. Consequently, successful politics in such regions is dependent on the ability of a political party to address economic development issues of such poor people. Therefore, election of such politicians into the parliament and government will guarantee enactment of laws that will enhance economic development of poor people since politicians have the propensity of gaining support and favour (De Haan & Siermann 1996).
Therefore, continuous economic development in developing countries coincides with the rate of democratisation. Poverty eradication programs will be implemented by regimes that rely on poor people for their survival. However, the implementation of such programs in developed nations faces multiple challenges since it involves a lengthy process.
It is also evident that democracy emerges with economic development. It is, therefore, effectively sustained in developed nations rather than developing ones. Basing on another study that was conducted on 135 countries for the study period that is 1950 and 1999, 44 countries remained under dictatorship. 34 countries were observed to have sustained democracy throughout the entire study period. There were transitions in the regimes from dictatorship to democratic and vice versa.
Single regime change was noted in 29 countries with 2 countries changing their political regime from democracy to dictatorship and 27 changing from dictatorship to democracy. Double regime transition was noted in 12 countries. The countries that experienced 3, 4, 5 and 6 regime transitions were 5, 5, 3 and 2 respectively. One country that is Argentina experienced 8 regime transitions within the study period (Brass 1986).
Results indicated that dictatorship regimes faded under a number of circumstances. For instance, some dictatorship regimes collapsed during economic crises, whereas others fall as a result of economic development of a country. International forces were also responsible for the crumbling of some dictatorship regimes.
However, empirical results indicate that democracy survived in countries that exhibited an increase in economic development and failed in the case where a country’s prosperity either stagnated or declined. With regard to income distribution, a decrease in the income ratio of top-to-bottom individuals of a country enhanced survival of democracy. In summary, democracy fosters economic development since it guarantees effective allocation of resources to all parts of a country (Patti & Navarra 2009).
Democracy also exhibits effective utility of the allocated resources. This fosters economic development in the country. Political Development should be centred towards establishing democracy regimes to guarantee appropriate resource allocation, especially to the disadvantaged regions of a country.
Transparency and accountability are also enhanced under democracy regimes rather than dictatorships. Consequently, there is a high chance that a country that adopts democracy as a tool for attaining equality tendency improves the living standards of its citizens (Bardhan 1999; Bardhan 2005).
Reference List
Bardhan, P. 1999, ‘Democracy and Development: A Complex Relationship’, in I Shapiro & C Hacker-Cordon (eds), Democracy’s Value, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 93-111.
Bardhan, P. 2005, ‘Institutions matter, but which ones?’, Economics of Transition, vol. 13, no.3, pp. 499-532.
Brass, P. R. 1986, ‘The Political Uses of Crisis: The Bihar Famine of 1966-1967’, The Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 245-267.
Chandler, A. D. 1990, Scale and Scope: The Dimension of Industrial Capitalism, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA).
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Yamada, Y., Kohno, M. & Ikeda, K. 2003, Influence of Social Capital on Political Participation in Asian Cultural Context, Asian Barometer, Taipei.
