. "Inequality and Democratization: a Contractarian Approach." - Journal Review
Journal Review
Andrew Parker
Comparative Politics
Dr. John Sutherlin
March 26, 2013
Ansell, Ben, and David Samuels. "Inequality and Democratization: A Contractarian Approach." Comparative Political Studies 43.12 (2010): 1543-574. SAGE. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. <http://cps.sagepub.com/content/43/12/1543.full.pdf+html>.
Introduction
Ben Ansell and David Samuels, authors of the article, are Political Science professors at the University of Minnesota and have each published works through the renowned Cambridge University Press. This article was published in the Comparative Political Studies journal in 2010 and predominately focused on two questions: Is the relationship between economic development and democratization effected by economic inequality? In addition, do “land inequality” and “income inequality” affect democratization differently? Ansell and Samuels took a different approach than their predecessors; “drawing on contractarian political theory,” rather than “redistributivist theories” of democratization, to develop their arguments against the previous theories (Ansell 1543). The purpose of this article was to approach a long-debated question in the field of Political Science from a “fundamentally distinct theoretical premise” than that of previous scholars (Ansell 1544). The authors presented a theory and hypothesis that was political, testable, falsifiable, and observable. This article is relevant to the field of Political Science, as well as Comparative Politics, because it questions the utility of the redistributivist approach to democratization and “highlights the utility” of their contractarian alternative (Ansell 1546).
Article Summary The bulk of the research that was conducted in this article was based on a number of theoretical premises, which the authors successfully portrayed to the reader. The authors used the literary works of Carles Boix, Daron Acemoglu, and James Robinson as the literary basis for their comparative study of the
Andrew Parker
Comparative Politics
Dr. John Sutherlin
March 26, 2013
Ansell, Ben, and David Samuels. "Inequality and Democratization: A Contractarian Approach." Comparative Political Studies 43.12 (2010): 1543-574. SAGE. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. <http://cps.sagepub.com/content/43/12/1543.full.pdf+html>.
Introduction
Ben Ansell and David Samuels, authors of the article, are Political Science professors at the University of Minnesota and have each published works through the renowned Cambridge University Press. This article was published in the Comparative Political Studies journal in 2010 and predominately focused on two questions: Is the relationship between economic development and democratization effected by economic inequality? In addition, do “land inequality” and “income inequality” affect democratization differently? Ansell and Samuels took a different approach than their predecessors; “drawing on contractarian political theory,” rather than “redistributivist theories” of democratization, to develop their arguments against the previous theories (Ansell 1543). The purpose of this article was to approach a long-debated question in the field of Political Science from a “fundamentally distinct theoretical premise” than that of previous scholars (Ansell 1544). The authors presented a theory and hypothesis that was political, testable, falsifiable, and observable. This article is relevant to the field of Political Science, as well as Comparative Politics, because it questions the utility of the redistributivist approach to democratization and “highlights the utility” of their contractarian alternative (Ansell 1546).
Article Summary The bulk of the research that was conducted in this article was based on a number of theoretical premises, which the authors successfully portrayed to the reader. The authors used the literary works of Carles Boix, Daron Acemoglu, and James Robinson as the literary basis for their comparative study of the
Bibliography: Ansell, Ben, and David Samuels. "Inequality and Democratization: A Contractarian Approach." Comparative Political Studies 43.12 (2010): 1543-574. SAGE. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. <http://cps.sagepub.com/content/43/12/1543.full.pdf+html>.