unit 1 vocab: political systems, regimes, and governments

normative statement

a value or opinion statement that can't be proven or disproven.

power

ability of the state to influence the conduct of individuals and organization within the state

democratic electoral systems

accommodate / encourage diversity to increase multiparty competition; often with rule adjustments, including gender or cultural quotes, proportional representation, and change in vote thresholds and district boundaries. typically try to maintain and increase transparency, along with other items listed. all of these ideas serve to maintain and increase legitimacy of the system and the leaders.

Direct Democracy

all voters are asked to vote on a majority of issues (Ancient Greece)

free and fair elections

allow competition so that an opposition candidate and party could potentially defeat ruling candidate and party

Fragile States Index

an annual report published by the Fund For Peace that is a non-governmental organization that assesses and ranks countries based on their potential to weaken due to conflicts and domestic turmoil. based on the countries ability to provide basic public services and maintain its sovereignty. (Somalia)

Civil Liberties

an individual's protection against abuse of powers by the government

independent election commissions

attempt to reduce voter fraud and manipulation and enhance free and fair electral competition

Totalitarian governments

authoritarian governments that severely limit citizens' rights and liberties such as unrestricted movement and choice employment

rational-legal legitimacy

based around rule of law (US constitution)

political efficacy

belief by the citizens in any country that their participation in politics matters and that the government cares about its citizens, cares about their needs and respects them a human being

Pluralist System

citizens can affiliate with independent interest groups in a attempt to shape public policies

political system

comprise the laws, ideas, and procedures that address who should have authority to rule and what the government's influence on its people and economy should be

unitary states

concentrate power at the national level with more uniform policies and potentially more efficient policy making

sources or power / authority include ...

constitutions, religions, military forces, political parties, legislatures, and popular support

freedom house

scores are reported by a non-government organization that ranks countries based of scores of 1 (great) to 7 (seven) for political rights and civil liberites

Gini Index

shows income inequality within a country. a mini of 100% indication perfect inequality whereas a mini of 0% show perfect equality

hybrid regimes

term used to describe regimes that combine elements of liberal democracy and authoritarianism in post-communist and other countries. Will have good and bad things

traditional legitimacy

that it might seem odd / out of place in contemporary times but its the way its been done (UK monarchy). very hard to alter this especially if it includes other main types of legitimacy.

political stability

the ability of a government to consistently provide services that meet the basic needs of most of the population to foster the public's confidence in the institutions of the state

Government Transparency

the ability of citizens to access verifiable information about a government's policy making and policy implementation to help hold officials accountable.

accountability

the concept that government officials are responsible for their actions; in many places, especially democracies, this concept is also tied in to/associated with transparency and legitimacy

Sovereignty

the independent legal authority over a population in a particular territory

charismatic legitimacy

the leader has the support of the people due to their personality / attractiveness on a variety of levels and for a variety of reasons (Stalin, Hitler but also JFK, Lincoln)

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

the market value of goods and services produced over a certain time in a country. GDP can depict the overall all size of a national economy.

rule of law

the principle that a state should be governed by a known laws and not arbitrary decisions made by individual governments officals

democratic consolidation

the process which a democratic regime matures in terms of elections rules, separation of powers, and protection of civil liberties, without an external shock

civil rights

the protection of groups of citizens from discrimination by the government or other individuals

government

the set of institutions or individuals legally empowered to make binding decisions for a state

Demography

the study of human populations, including size, structure, distribution over space, socioeconomic characteristics, households and families, migration, marriage, labor forces, and vital processes like birth, aging, death.

Political Demography

the study of the relationships between politics and population change. some of the issues which are studied are: surges of young people in the developing world and significantly increasing aging in the developed world

Totalitarian Dictator

the ultimate authoritarian

coercion

the use of government force to guide citizens behavior and actions.

Representative Democracy

voters select people to speak for them and make laws on behalf of them. (parliamentary, presidential, and mixed)

correlation

A measure of the relationship/association between two variables

Human Development Index (HDI)

An indicator of the level of development for each country, constructed by the United Nations Development Program, that is based on income, literacy, education, and life expectancy. "a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development"

GDP growth rate

Shows the Tate of national economic expansion

authority

Statesville legitimate right to enforce a power

Illiberal Democracy

a governing system in which, although elections take place, citizens are cut off from knowledge about the activities of those who exercise real power because of the lack of civil liberties. not free or fair (Russia)

nation

a group of people with commonalities including race, language, religion, ethnicity, political identity and aspirations

Authoritarian state

a leader(s) with nearly unlimited powers

suffrage

a synonym for voting rights. universal suffrage means that every citizen above a certain age is legally eligible to vote

democratization

a transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic regime; the transition process can start or temporarily change direction, but typically moves toward more competition, fairness, and transparency in elections; increased citizens participation in policy-making processes; universal suffrage for adults citizens; greater governmental transparency; protected civil rights and liberties; equal treatment of citizens, and establishment of the rule of law

devolution

delegation of power to regional governments that can enhance or weaken legitimacy of the central government; can create both opportunities as well obstacles resolving social, political, and economic issues

Causation

difficult to determine with certainty in comparative politics, as often there are numerous variables that potentially influence political policies and/or regime stability, with no way to isolate and demonstrate which is producing the change

federal state

divid power amount different levels of government to confer a degree of local autonomy, while also reserving power for the national government

emirical data

fact-based information from observation or experminentation

Corporatists system

government created and supported by specific interest groups (typically for labor groups, business owners, and agricultural workers) that become the government's preferred linkage institutions for citizen participation

gender quotas

governmental or party rules intended to increase female representation in legislatures

Democracy vs. Authoritarianism of states

included the extent of state adherence to rule of law; the degree of governmental influences on or control of the media: degree and practice of free and fair elections; degree of transparency of governmental decisions making; the degree of political participation by citizens; and the degree of independence of governmental branches

qualitative data

information that is difficult to measure including sources such as speeches, foundation documents, political cartoons, maps and political commentaries.

illiberal democires and hydrid regimes have what kind of election?

little true competition toward the ruling party and that tend to diminish civil liberties

states

political organizations that combine a permanent population with governing institutions to exercise control over a defined territory with international recognition

sources of legitimacy

popular elections, constitutional provisions, nationalism, tradition, governmental effectiveness, economic growth, ideology, religious heritage, organizations, and the dominant political party's endorsement

independence of governmental branches

prevents any one branch from controlling all governmental powers. aka separation of power. the existence and use of Judicial Review is one of the best indicators of actual branch independence.

three main types of legitimacy

rational-legal charismatic traditional

regimes

refer to the fundamental rules that control access to and the exercise of political power. regimes typically endure from government to government.

GDP per capita

reflect the size of the national economy in comparison with the population size

theocracies

requires the state be controlled by leaders of a particular religion

one-party states

rivals parties are prohibited from acquiring governmental power

military regimes

when military leaders hold top political positions and maintain authority

governmental corruptions

when public officials abuse power for personal benefit

regime change

when the current type of government is replaces by a different type of government. can be peaceful or violent

Legitimacy

whether a government's constituents believe their government has the right to use power in the way they want to. legitimacy confers authority on and can increase the power of a regime and/or government