AP COMP GOV: Mexico VS UK VS Russia

Mexico's current electoral system

Dual system of FPTP and PR in both chambers (Senate also has at-large PR).

Description of Russia's electoral system before the 2007 Duma elections

Split electoral system, with one-half "first past the post" (FPTP) and one-half proportional representation (PR)

Identify the Russian lower house How members are elected and their term in office Describe its powers to make laws

Duma SMD plurality system for a 5 year term Laws originate in the lower house and passed by majority vote

Economic liberalization policies in Mexico Economic liberalization policies in Russia

Approval of the NAFTA Shock therapy

Explain why the British prime minister has more power than the Russian prime minister

Bc she as the royal prerogative to make all executive decisions, Russian is subordinate to president

Explain how an election system change for the 2007 Duma election created a dominant party system.

By switching from a mixed SMD/PR system to a strictly PR system with a high 7% threshold, minor parties were kicked out who had previously only won SMD seats.

Describe two ways members of the House of Lords are chosen

Chosen on basis of their position in society (hereditary peers) Through recommendation of the prime minister (life peers)

Identify on other political party that also continues to win seats in the Duma

Communist Party

Political liberalization policies in Mexico Political liberalization policies in Russia

Election reforms in late 1990s to reduce corruption Allowing more political parties

Advantage of decentralization for public policies Disadvantages of decentralization

Ensures that local policies serve local needs Leads to corruption at the local level.

Identify the upper house Describe how its members are selected Describe its powers to make laws

Federation Council No fixed terms. Local officials select them Must approve all laws passed by Duma

The relationship between interest groups and the state in a corporatist system

Government controls access Relationship is fundamentally cooperative Formal relationship exists between the gov and interest groups

The relationship between interest groups and the state in a pluralist system

Groups compete for access Groups are not formally linked to the legislative process Groups are autonomous

Consequence of economic liberalization on social class in Mexico and Russia

Growing gap between the rich and the poor in both countries

What two units make up British parliament?

House of Lords and House of Commons

Describe the primary policy making power of the House of Lords

House of Lords can delay legislation passed by the House of Commons for up to one year It cannot veto legislation

How the electoral system shaped the pre-2007 Russian party system

It allowed multiple parties to develop

Identification of a country that was corporatist but is now pluralist

Mexico or UK

Explain why Mexico switched from ISI to SAPS during the 1980s

Mexico switched from ISI to SAPs when country reached limits of the ISI model. Low oil prices, high inflation rates, and large gov debts had stifled the economy, so in return for aid from the IMF and World Bank, Mexico began to economically liberalize its economy by lowering tariffs and joining NAFTA to increase access to foreign trade.

Describe what the prime minister had to do next to make the referendum results an actual public policy change

Minister had to invoke the clause of the Treaty of Lisbon that set in motion a 2yr deadline for leaving the EU

Identify the type of election system used for the Mexican legislature

Mixed election system in use for the Mexican legislature as the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate have both SMD and PR seats.

Identify the type of party system in the Mexican legislature

Multiparty system

Describe two restrictions that the Russian gov has put on political participation

NGO registration system made it difficult to form an NGO Russian gov has passed anti-extremism laws designed to allow authorities to label groups as foreign agents along w new internet agency to censor

Identify one referendum held in GB since 1990

One referendum was on whether or not to leave the EU (Brexit)

Explain how the party you identified was able to establish itself as a dominant party

One was to give the Mexican president the power of patronage to select office holders and bureaucrats for numerous offices. By providing jobs for his camarilla, the president was able to maintain support as his closest rivals hoped to be appointed as presidential successor. PRI created corporatist system of membership organizations that supplied votes in return for farming supplies and jobs. The PRI resorted to electoral alchemy to manufacture any needed votes.

Identify the dominant party in Mexico from 1930 to 2000

PRI

Electoral reform made in Mexico in the 1990s.

Priests were legally allowed to cast votes All parties receive government funding and have access to the media

Explain why the prime minister offered Brexit

Prime minister promised the referendum during the 2015 election campaign to quiet backbench opposition to the EU among Conservative Party backbenchers and limit defections to the anti-EU, the UK independence party

Explain how the establishment of the Public Chambers creates a corporatist system.

Putin selects certain interest groups to represent civil society and provides them w opportunities to negotiate public policy

Economic liberalization Political liberalization

Reducing gov intervention in the economy Increasing citizen rights and liberties

Describe how the British prime minister is selected

Selected by majority party in the House of Commons and installed by queen

Describe how the Russian prime minister is selected

Selected by president and confirmed by Duma

How Mexico's political system limited the decentralization of power prior to 2000.

The Mexican president was very powerful. Most governors of states came from the same party as the president and had to do the president's bidding.

Explain how having different individuals occupy the roles of head of state and the head of gov is an advantage in policymaking

The head of state is largely ceremonial, can be a unifying force increasingly the legitimacy of the gov in times of domestic tension over gov policies

Describe one reform that has changed the voting procedure in the House of Lords

The number of hereditary peers who had the right to vote was reduced

Identify the head of gov in GB Describe how that position is awarded

The prime minister is the head of gov The position is selected by the majority party or majority coalition in parliament

2 differences between import-substitution industrialization (ISI) programs and structural adjustment programs (SAPs)

The purpose. ISI is designed to help grow domestic manufacturing firms by making foreign product more expensive w higher tariffs SAP is designed to open a domestic economy to foreign trade The role of the government in the economy ISI gov could nationalize firms and give extensive subsidies SAPs require gov to privatize industries and reduce subsidies to encourage comp

Identify the head of state in GB Describe how that position is awarded

The queen is the head of state The position is hereditary

Description of a specific change to the Russian electoral system that was designed for the 2007 Duma elections

The system became only PR (FPTP was removed). The party threshold was increased from 5 percent to 7 percent.

Describe the traditional role of the House of Lords in the British court system and how it has changed

Traditionally, the House of Lords served as GB's highest court of appeals. Today, there exists an independent Supreme Court that has this power.

Identify the dominant party in Russia

United Russia