Chapters 1-6 | Comparative Politics

Civic Culture

A political culture in which citizens hold values and beliefs that support democracy, including active participation in politics but also enough deference to the leadership to let it govern effectively

Principal-Agent Problem

A problem in which a principal hires an agent to perform a task but the agent's self-interest does not necessarily align with the principal's, so the agent may not carry out the task as assigned

Democracy

A regime in which citizens have basic rights of open association and expression and the ability to change the government through some sort of electoral process

Authoritarian Regime

A regime lacking democratic characteristics, ruled by a single leader or small group of leader

Neocolonialism

A relationship between postcolonial societies and their former colonizers in which leaders benefit politically and economically by helping outside businesses and states maintain access to the former colonies' wealth and come to serve the interests of the former colonizers and corporations more than they serve their own people

Civic Nationalism

A sense of national unity and purpose based on a set of commonly held political beliefs

Regime

A set of formal and informal political institutions that defines a type of government

Political Institution

A set of rules, norms, or standard operation procedures that is widely recognized and accepted by the society, structures and constrains political actions, and often serves as the basis for key political organizations

Postmaterialist

A set of values in a society in which most citizens are economically secure enough to move beyond immediate economic (materialist) concerns to "quality of life" issues like human rights, civil rights, women's rights, environmentalism, and moral values

Political Culture

A set of widely held attitudes values, beliefs, and symbols about politics

Totalitarian State

A state that controls virtually all aspects of society and eliminates all vestiges of civil society; Germany under Hitler and the Soviet Union under Stalin are key examples

Neutral State Model

A model of secularism wherein the state is neutral about, but not opposed to, religion

Positive Accommodation

A model of secularism wherein the state is neutral among but willing to support religions that it recognizes as important elements in civil society

Ideal Type

A model of what the purest version of something might be

Populism

A political "style" or ideology emphasizing a united "people" pitted against corrupt elites, denying divisions among the "people," and often led by a charismatic leader

Strong State

A state that is generally capable of providing political goods to its citizens

Failed State

A state that is so weak that it loses effective sovereignty over part or all of its territory

Weak State

A state that only partially provides political goods to its citizens

Legislature

Branch of government that makes the law in a democracy

Laicite

A model of secularism advocating that religion should play no part in the public realm

Assimilation

A belief that immigrants or other embers of minority cultural communities ought to adopt the culture of the majority population

Modernizing Authoritarianism

A claim to legitimacy based the need to "develop: the country via the rule of a modernizing elite

Technocratic Legitimacy

A claim to rule based on knowledge or expertise

Consociationalism

A democratic system designed to ease ethnic tensions via recognizing the existence of specific groups and grating some share of power in the central government to each, usually codified in specific legal or constitutional guarantees to each group

Consensus Democracy

A democratic system with multiparty executives in a coalition government, executive-legislative balance, bicameral legislatures, and rigid constitutions that are not easily amended

Symmetrical Federal System

A federal system in which all subnational governments (states or provinces) have the same relationship with and rights in relation to the national government

Asymmetrical Federal System

A federal system in which different subnational governments (states or provinces) have distinct relationships with and rights in relation to the national government

Participatory Democracy

A form of democracy that encourages citizens to participate actively in many ways beyond voting; usually focused at the local level

Race

A group of people socially defined primarily on the basis of one or more perceived common physical characteristics

Ethnic Group

A group of people who see themselves as united by one or more cultural attributes or a sense of common history but do not see themselves as a nation seeking its own state

Nation

A group that proclaims itself a nation and has or seeks control of a state

Bureaucracy

A large set of appointed officials whose function is to implement the laws of the state, as directed by the executive

Bicameral Legislature

A legislature that has two houses

Centripetal Approach

A means used by democracies to resolve ethnic conflict by giving political leaders and parties incentives to moderate their demands

Citizen

A member of a political community or state with certain rights and duties

One-Party Regime

A system of government in which a single party gains power, usually after independence in postcolonial states, and systematically eliminates all opposition

Liberal Democracy

A system of government that provides eight key guarantees including freedoms to enable citizen participation in the political process and institutions that make government policies depend on votes and other forms of citizen preferences

Political Ideology

A systematic set of beliefs about how a political system ought to be structured

Parliamentarism

A term denoting a parliamentary system of democracy in which the executive and legislative branches are fused via parliament's election of the chief executive

Presidentialism

A term denoting a presidential system of democracy in which the executive and legislature are elected independently and have separate and independent powers

Semipresidentialism

A term denoting a semi presidential system of democracy in which executive power is divided between a directly elected president and a prime minster elected by a parliament

Proletariat

A term in Marxist theory for the class of free-wage laborers who own no capital and must sell their labor to survive; communist parties claim to work on the proletariat's behalf

Constructivism

A theory of identity group formation that argues that identities are created through a complex process usually referred to as social construction

Primordialism

A theory of identity that sees identity groups as being in some sense "natural" or God given, as having existed since "time immemorial" as as defined unambiguously by such clear criteria as kinship, language, culture, or phenotype

Majoritarian Democracy

A type of democratic system that concentrates power more tightly in a single-party executive with executive dominance over the legislature, a single legislative branch, and constitutions that can be easily amended

Multicultural Integration

Accepts that ethnocultural identities matter to citizens, will endure over time, and must be recognized and accommodated within political institutions; in contrast to assimilation

Neocorporatism

Also called societal corporatism; corporatism that evolves historically and voluntarily rather than being mandated by the state; Germany is a key example

"First-pass-the-post" (FPTP)

An SMD system in which the candidate with a plurality of votes wins

Theory

An abstract argument that provides a systematic explanation of some phenomenon

Postmodernist

An approach that sees cultures not as sets of fixed and clearly defined values but rather as sets of symbols subject to interpretation

Institutionalism

An approach to explaining politics that argues that political institutions are crucial to understanding political behavior

Territory

An area with clearly defined borders to which a state lays claim

Empirical Theory

An argument explaining what actually occurs; empirical theorists first notice and describe a pattern and then attempt to explain what causes it

Normative Theory

An argument explaining what ought to occur rather than what does occur; contrast with empirical theory

Member of Parliament (MP)

An elected member of the legislature in a parliamentary system

Mixed or Semi-proportional

An electoral system that combines single-member district representation with overall proportionality in allocation of legislative seats to parties; Germany is a key example

Ruling Class

An elite who possess adequate resources to control a regime; in Marxist theory, the class that controls key sources of wealth in a given epoch

Rational Choice Theory

An explanation for political behavior that assumes that individuals are rational beings who bring to the political arena a set of self-defined preferences and adequate knowledge and ability to pursue those preferences

Veto Player

An individual or collective actor whose agreement is essential for any policy change

Political Actor

Any person or group engaged in political behavior

Structuralism

Approach to explaining politics that argues that political behavior is at least influenced and limited, and perhaps even determined, by broader structures as in a society such as class divisions or enduring institutions

Judiciary

Branch of government that interprets the law and applies it to individual cases

Jus Sanguinis

Citizenship based on "blood" ties; for example in Germany

Jus Soli

Citizenship dependent on "soil," ore residence within the national territory; for example in France

Social Democracy

Combines liberal democracy with much greater provision of social rights of citizenship and typically greater public control of the economy

Separation of Powers

Constitutionally explicit division of power among the major branches of government

State Corporatism

Corporatism mandated by the state; common in fascist regimes

Jihad

Derived from an Arabic word for "struggle" and an important concept in Islam; the Quran identifies threes kinds of jihad

Neofascist

Description given to parties or political movements that espouse a virulent nationalism often defined on a cultural, racial, or religious basis and opposed to immigrants as threats to national identity

Single-Member District (SMD)

Electoral system in which each geographic district elects a single representative to a legislature

Closed-List Proportional Representation

Electoral system in which each party presents a ranked list of candidates, voters vote for the party rather than for individual candidates, and each party awards the seats it wins to the candidate on its list in rank order

Open-List Proportional Representation

Electoral system in which multiple candidates run in each district, voters vote for the individual candidate of their choice, and the candidates with the most votes in the party get the seats the party wins

Proportional Representation (PR)

Electoral system in which seats in a legislature are apportioned on a purely proportional basis, giving each party the share of seats that matches its share of the total vote

Psychological Theories

Explanations for political behavior based on psychological analysis of political actors' motives

Pluralist Theories

Explanations of who has power that argue that society is divided into various political groups and that power is dispersed among these groups so that no group has complete or permanent power; contrast to elite theory

Electoral Systems

Formal, legal mechanisms that translate votes into control over political offices and shares of political power

Collective Action Problem

Individuals being unwilling to engage in a particular activity because of their rational belief that their individual actions will have little or no effect, yet collectively suffering adverse consequences when all fail to act

Rent Seeking

Gaining an advantage in a market without engaging in equally productive activity; usually involves using government regulations for one's own benefit

Coalition Government

Government in a parliamentary system in which at least two parties negotiate an agreement to rule together

Subcultures

Groups that hold partially different beliefs and values from the main political culture of a country

Hindu Nationalism

In India, a movement to define the country as primarily Hindu; the founding ideally of the BJP

Mode of Production

In Marxist theory, the economic system in any given historical era; feudalism and capitalism in the last millenium in Europe

Vote of No Confidence

In parliamentary systems, a vote by parliament to remove a government (the prime minister and cabinet) from power

Dictatorship of the Proletariat

In the first stage of communism in Marxist thought, characterized by absolute rule by workers as a class over all other classes

Duverger's Law

Institutionalist argument by French political scientist Maurice Duverger that SMD electoral systems will produce two major parties, eliminating smaller parties

Rational Choice Institutionalists

Institutionalist theorists who follow the assumptions of rational choice theory and argue that institutions are the products of the interaction and bargaining of rational actors

Interest-Group Pluralism

Interest-group system in which many groups exist to represent particular interests and the government remains officially neutral among them; the United States is a key example

Common Law

Legal system originating in Britain in which judges base decisions not only on their understanding of the written law but also on their understanding of past court cases; in contrast to code law

Code Law

Legal system originating in ancient Roman law and modified by Napoleon Bonaparte in France, in which judges may only follow the law as written and must ignore past decisions; in contrast to common law

Liberationist

Member of the LGBT movement who seeks to transform sexual and gender norms so that all may gain social acceptance and respect regardless of their conformity to preexisting norms or institutions

Sharia

Muslim law

Cultural Nationalism

National unity based on a common cultural characteristic wherein only those people who share that characteristic can be included in the nation

Resource Curse

Occurs when a state relies on a key resource for almost all of its revenue, allowing it to ignore its citizens and resulting in a weak state

Legislative Oversight

Occurs when members of the legislature, usually in committees, oversee the bureaucracy

Political Appointees

Officials who serve at the pleasure of the president or prime minister and are assigned the task of overseeing their respective segments of the bureaucracy

Comparative Politics

One of the major subfields of political science, in which the primary focus is on comparing power and decision making across countries

Peak Associations

Organizations that bring together all interest groups in a particular sector to influence and negotiate agreements with the state; in the United States an example is the AFL-CIO

Parliamentary Sovereignty

Parliament is supreme in all matters; key example is the United Kingdom

Social Construction

Part of constructivist approach to identity, the process through which societies collectively "construct" identities as a wide array of actors continually discuss the question of who "we" are

Devolution

Partial decentralization of power from central government to subunits such as states or provinces, with subunits' power being dependent on central government and reversible

Dominant-Party System

Party system in which multiple parties exist bu the same one wins every election and governs continuously

Two-Party System

Party system in which only two parties are able to garner enough votes to win an election, though more may compete; the United Kingdom and United States are key examples

Multiparty System

Party systems in which more than two parties could potentially win a national election and govern

Social Contract Theory

Philosophical approach underlying liberalism that begins from the premise that legitimate governments are formed when free and independent individuals join in a contract to permit representatives to govern over them in their common interests

Federal Systems

Political systems in which a state's power is legally and constitutionally divided among more than one level of government; in contrast to a unitary system

Unitary Systems

Political systems in which the central government has sole constitutional sovereignty and power; in contrast to a federal system

Neopatrimonial Authority

Power based on a combination of the trappings of modern, bureaucratic states with underlying informal institutions of clientelism that work behind the scenes; most common in Africa

Feudal States

Premodern states in Europe in which power in a territory was divided among multiple and overlapping lords claiming sovereignty

Sovereignty

Quality of a state in which it is legally recognized by the family of states as the sole legitimate governing authority within its territory and as the legal equal of other states

Single Case Study

Research method that examines a particular political phenomenon in just one country or community and can generate ideas for theories or test theories developed from different cases

Quantitative Statistical Techniques

Research method used for large-scale studies that reduces evidence to sets of numbers so that statistical analysis can systematically compare a huge number of cases

Absolutism

Rule by a single monarch who claims complete, exclusive power and sovereignty over a territory and its people

Patriarchy

Rule by men

Theocracy

Rule by religious authorities

Cohabitation

Sharing of power between a president and prime minister from different parties in a semi presidential system

Social Capital

Social networks and norms of reciprocity that are important for a strong civil society

External Sovereignty

Sovereignty relative to outside powers that is legally recognized in international law

Quasi-States

States that have legal sovereignty and international recognition but lack almost all the domestic attributes of a functioning state

Marxism

Structuralist argument that says that economic structures largely determine political behavior; the philosophical underpinning of communism

Personalist Regime

System of government in which a central leader comes to dominate a state, typically not only eliminating all opposition but also weakening the state's institutions to centralize power in his own hands

Military Regime

System of government in which military officers control power

Corporatism

System of representation in which one organization represents each important sector of society; two subtypes are societal and state corporatism

Research Methods

Systematic processes used to ensure that the suited of some phenomena is as objective and unbiased as possible

Autonomy

The ability and right of a group to partially govern itself within a larger state

Second Dimension of Power

The ability not only to make people do something but to keep them from doing something

Vertical Accountability

The ability of individuals and groups in a society to hold state institutions accountable

First Dimension of Power

The ability of one person or group to let another person or group to do something it otherwise would not do

Horizontal Accountability

The ability of state institutions to hold one another accountable

Political Accountability

The ability of the citizenry, directly or indirectly, to control political leaders and institutions

Third Dimension of Power

The ability to shape or determine individual or group political demands by causing people to think about political issues in ways that are contrary to their own interests

Historical Materialism

The assumption that material forces are the prime movers of history and politics; a key philosophical tenet of Marxism

Judicial Review

The authority of the judiciary to decide whether a specific law contradicts a country's constitution

Judicial Independence

The belief and ability of judges to decide cases as they think appropriate, regardless of what other people, and especially politically powerful officials or institutions, desire

Islamism

The belief that Islamic law, as revealed by God to the Prophet Mohammed, can and should provide the basis for government in Muslim communities, with little equivocation or compromise

Executive

The branch of government that must exist in all modern states; the chief political power in a state and implements all laws

Politburo

The chief decision-making organ in a communist party; China's politburo is a key example

Bourgeoisie

The class that owns capital; according to Marxism, the ruling elite in all capitalist societies

Institutionalization

The degree to which government processes and procedures are established, predictable, and routinized

Political Saliency

The degree to which something is of political importance

Nationalism

The desire to be a nation and thus to control a nation state

Clientelism

The exchange of material resources for political support

Prime Minister (PM)

The head of government in parliamentary and semi presidential systems

Head of Government

The key executive power in a state; usually a president or prime minister

Comparative Method

The means by which scholars try to mimic laboratory conditions by careful selection of cases

Party System

The number of parties and their relative institutional strength

Head of State

The official, symbolic representative of a country, authorized to speak on its behalf and represent it, particularly in world affairs; usually a president or monarch

Politics

The process by which human communities make collective decisions

Political Development

The process through which modern nations and states arise and how political institutions and regimes evolve

Political Socialization

The process through which people, especially young people, learn about politics and are taught a society's common political values and beliefs

Plurality

The receipt of the most votes, but not necessarily a majority

Legitimacy

The recognized right to rule

Rational-Legal Legitimacy

The right of leaders to rule based on their selection according to an accepted set of laws, standards, or procedures

Charismatic Legitimacy

The right to rule based o personal virtue, heroism, sanctity, or other extraordinary characteristics

Traditional Legitimacy

The right to rule based on a society's long-standing patterns and practices

Ideological Hegemony

The ruling class's ability to spread a set of ideas justifying and perpetuating its political dominance

Internal Sovereignty

The sole authority within a territory capable of making and enforcing laws and policies

Civil Society

The sphere of organized nongovernmental, nonviolent activity by groups larger than individual families or firms

Political Economy

The study of the interaction between political and economic phenomena

Political Science

The systematic study of politics and power

Modernization

The transformation of poor agrarian societies into wealthy industrial societies, usually seen as the process by which postcolonial societies become more like societies in the West

Political Discourse

The ways in which people speak an write about politics; postmodern theorists argue that political discourse influences political attitudes, identity, and actions

Elite Theories

Theories that all argue societies are ruled by a small group that has effective control over virtually all power; contrast to pluralist theory

Modernists

Theorists of political culture who believe that clear sets of attitudes, values, and beliefs can be identified in each country that change very rarely and explain much about politics there

Historical Institutionalists

Theorists who believe that institutions explain political behavior and shape individuals' political preferences and their perceptions of their self-interest, and that institutions evolve historically in particular countries and change relatively slowly

Modernization Theory

Theory of development that argues that postcolonial societies need to go through the same process that the West underwent in order to develop

New Public Management (NPM)

Theory of reform of bureaucracies that argues for the privatizing of many government services,creating competition among agencies to simulate a market, focusing on customer satisfaction, and flattening administrative hierarchies

Political Rights

Those rights associated with active political participation-for example, to free association, voting, and running for office

Social Rights

Those rights related to basic well-being and socioeconomic equality

Civil Rights

Those rights that guarantee individual freedom as well as equal, just, and fair treatment by the state

Iron Triangle

Three-sided cooperative interaction among bureaucrats, legislators, and business leaders in a particular sector that serves the interests of all involved but keeps others out of the policy-making process

Electoral Authoritarian Regime

Type of hybrid regime in which formal opposition and some open political debate exist and elections are held; these processes are so flawed, however, that the regime cannot be considered truly democratic

Vanguard Party

Vladimir Lenin's concept of a small party that claims legitimacy to rule based on its understanding of Marxist theory and its ability to represent the interests of the proletariat before they are a majority of the populace

Virtual Representation

When voters' views are represented indirectly in the legislature by their chosen party's candidates who have been elected in districts other than their own