Key Concepts in Political Science for Strategic Decision Making of States

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Introduction
In this paper we are going to analyze the five concepts in political science that are key to the
strategic decision making of states. These concepts determine how state strategy will be
formulated in a political economy.
Neo-institutionalist thinking aims to dispel the mystery of development, emphasizing the solid
link between the institutional framework and growth. The "Political Economy of Development",
linked to the neo-institutionalism of "Rational Choice", emphasizes the political aspects of
development. With the support of "narratives" about the birth and evolution of the Western
world, it explains the emergence of the modern nation-state analyzing the role of violence as a
source of prosperity (welfare) and institutional quality, depending on its public or private
provision . Starting from a parallel between the underdeveloped world and the insecure Hobbes
society, where the control of violence is private, it focuses on the causes that have prevented the
contemporary countries of the Third World from following the development guidelines of the
States(Haggard et al. 234).
Distribution concept
The neo-institutional approach has extended to the study of colonization along two lines: the
"Political economy of conquest" and the "Political economy of economic failure". The first
argues that the colonization modalities determined different political, economic and social
institutions and these would explain the divergences of growth rates. The second, that the
abundance of indigenous population and precious metals explain the appearance of a high degree

of economic and political inequality that would have been a decisive hindrance to economic
development.
The first concept is distribution of capital. Inadequate government policies and other Social
economic factors could lead to political and social instability in a country. According to Ricardo
a classical economist distribution of capital should be divided into three social classes: rent for
landlords, wages for laborers and profits for the owners of capital (Bartels, Larry 45). According
to Ricardo if we take limited growth potential of any national economy a particular social class
could have more gain at the expense of another. Thus , strategic decision making of states is
essential to economic growth and this is the reason why Economic stimulus Programs (ESP) are
sometimes important to be carried out by the government as a way of distributing income and
wealth in the state.
Risk measure measurement and analysis concept
This concept determines the risks of a country using various variables. In every country there is
country level risk and also a tool called Robin Country Risk Index that incorporates four
dimensions namely operations, economics , governance and society. The policy makers should
make decisions based on these parameters.
Role of Institutions
This concept shows how important institutions are to the economy and how they can be used in
making good strategic decisions for the economy. The role of institutions in a political economy
cannot be understated. It is because of social challenges, long standing and deep rooted political
challenges that necessitate the introduction of these institutions (Haggard et al. 234). Economic