Reference no: EM132672395

1. Since each state's political system has its unique aspects of how social, political, environmental, and economic factors are governed. Some are more similar than others, but none is exactly alike. The only way to successfully compare and contrast these different systems is to create a standard base-level set of concepts which will be clearly defined and differentiated (which Powell on page 23 refers to as "conceptual framework").

Likewise, Powell on states these terms need to apply to all the common evaluated subjects and give an analysis of how each concept is applied within each of the compared state systems. Political scientists can then explain and predict the actions of state actors on the global stage or even political players at different levels of a single subject state.

2. Although states have a political systems that is supported through a political structure, these structures, or agencies, may not control/influence in the same manner. For example, like the United States, Iran has a president, but the ultimate power for decisions rests with their religious leader: the Ayatollah. And, although the U.S. president can veto laws from congress, Iran's president cannot (CIA, 2015). Another important difference between the two political systems is Iran is governed by the laws of Islam, but the U.S. has a separation of Church and State.

3. Nationally, I think agents like social group identities such as ethnicity or religion bind people together into political movements or parties. Many evangelical Christians and Catholics, for example, are part of organizations with the stated goal to ban abortion in the United States. These are, for the most part, national organizations trying to influence the most elected officials possible for their cause. I think agents like interest groups, also heavily influence national politics in the same manner. Anti-gun activists form interest groups which, like the religious organizations' cause, seek to reach via campaign funding maximum influence over the largest number of officials possible.

Locally, I think agents like families have a larger impact since that is the base unit of human groups in any state. Family views, conflict, etc. impact how political activities will start often times at a local level. This, coupled with local public schools, form some of the pivotal aspects of local society. In contrast to the national agents discussed, these local agents seek to impact a far narrower swath of people due to their size constraints have far more limited influence on overall political policies.

4. These three agents - school, media, peers - are important to me because they allow me to make up my own mind as to my political structure. In other words, I do not care about agreeing with an individual or group. I just want to form my political structure based on my experiences. I believe most people in this country are considerably under-educated on how government works and their intentions. For example, when President Obama was running for office, there was a woman on television that said she was going to vote for him because she would not have to pay her mortgage anymore after he became president. How absolutely ridiculous is that? The same goes for people who vote for a candidate because of their gender or ethnicity; this results in uninformed decisions. I am not sure how I would describe myself politically, but both parties have valid ideas; unfortunately, they spend more time fighting each other than making a difference. For example, when Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House, I was very proud that a woman had finally gotten that close to being president (third in line). She quickly disappointed me when she spent the majority of her term bashing President Bush instead of trying to unify both parties.