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Comparative Politics Terms
Advanced Democracies: Countries which have well established democratic
governments and a high level of economic development (GB).
Political characteristics include:
 Competitive elections that are free, fair and regular
 Rule of law
 Civilian control of the military
 Civil liberties
 Open civil society
 Neutrality of the judiciary
Economic characteristics include:
 Post-modernism, which emphasizes quality of life over material gain
(preservation of the environment, promotion of health care and education)

Authoritarian Regime: one in which decisions are made by political elites without
much input from citizens. May be ruled by a single dictator, a hereditary monarch,
a small group of aristocrats, or a single political party. Characterized by:
 Small group of elites exercising power
 Citizens with little or no input into the selection of leaders and government
decisions
 No constitutional responsibility of leaders to the public
 Restriction of civil rights and civil liberties
Bureaucratic Authoritarian Regimes: a regime in which the head of government
exercises complete control over the activities of bureaucracies. (Example: Stalin
in the USSR. ) In the 1970s in South America, military officers and civilian
bureaucrats (technocrats) formed ruling coalitions that seized control of the
government and determined which other groups were allowed to participate.
Bureaucracy: consist of agencies that generally implement government policy.
Usually part of the executive branch of government. Function differently in
democracies than they do in authoritarian regimes. Characteristics of all
bureaucracies (democratic and authoritarian) include:
 Non-elected positions
 Impersonal, efficient structures
 Formal qualifications for the job/merit principle
 Task specialization
 Extensive rules
 Clear goals
 Hierarchical organization
 Red tape/inefficiency
Cabinet Coalition: a situation (in a multi-party system) where no one party has a
clear majority and several parties join forces and are represented in different
cabinet positions.
Civil Society: refers to organizations outside government that help people define
and advance their own interests. Usually strong in liberal democracies. The
organizations that compose it may represent class, religion, or ethnic interests, or
they may cross them, creating strong bonds among people that exist outside of
government control.
Clash of civilizations – Huntington’s theory that future conflict will not be over
ideological differences, but rather between different civilizations that he identifies,
such as the West, the Orthodox world, Islamic countries, Latin America, Africa,
the Hindu World, the Confucian world, the Buddhist world, and Japan.
Coinciding/Cross-cutting Cleavages: Cleavages (divisions in society based on
social class, ethnicity, religion, and region) are coinciding when every dispute
aligns the same groups against each other; likely to be explosive (Northern
Ireland); Cross-cutting cleavages divide society into many potential groups that
may conflict on one issue but cooperate on another; tend to keep social conflict to
more moderate levels.
Command Economies: based on the socialist principles of centralized planning
and the state ownership.
Common Law/Code Law: Common law is based on tradition, past practices and
legal precedents set by the courts through interpretation of statutes, legal
legislation and past rulings. Code Law is based on a comprehensive system of
written rules (codes) of law divided into commercial, civil, and criminal codes.
Communism: generally values equality over freedom. Rejects the idea that
personal freedom will ensure prosperity for the majority. Holds that an inevitable
result of competition for scarce resources is that a small group will eventually
come to control both the government and the economy. Communists advocate
the takeover of all resources by the state that in turn will insure economic equality
for all.
Competitive Elections: Elections that offer a real possibility that the incumbent
government might be defeated. An essential requirement for democracies.
Confederal System (Confederate): power is spread among many sub-units (such
as states) and has a weak central government
Conflictual Political Culture: citizens are sharply divided often on both the
legitimacy of the regime and solutions to major problems; i.e., citizens disagree
on communism vs. capitalism or pronounced religious differences lead to one
religion not accepting an elected leader from another religion
Consensual Political Culture: citizens generally agree on how decisions are made,
what issues should be addressed, and how problems should be resolved; accepts
both the legitimacy of the regime and solutions to major problems. (US, UK)
Conservatism: much less supportive of change in general than are radicalism and
liberalism; see change as disruptive; consider the state and regime to be very
important sources of law and order that might be threatened by making significant
changes in the way they operate.
Constitutional Courts: serve to defend democratic principles of a country against
infringements by both private citizens and the government; the highest judicial
body that rules on the constitutionality of laws and government actions.
Co-optation: the means a regime uses to get support from its citizens—i.e.,
patron-clientelism.
Corporatism: a method through which business, labor and/or other interest
groups bargain with the state over economic policy.
Cosmopolitanism: refers to a universal political order that draws its identity and
values from everywhere.
Coup d’etat: replacing a country’s leaders with new leaders; typically occurs in
states where government institutions are weak and leaders have taken control by
force; often carried out by the military.
Democratic Consolidation: a stage in the process of transition from an
authoritarian regime to democracy in which there is a willingness on the part of
the ruling elite to accept power-sharing arrangements, as well as a readiness on
the part of the people to participate in the process and to lend their active support
to it. Leads to the creation of a stable political system that is supported by all
parts of society, so that democracy penetrates political parties, the judiciary and
the bureaucracy. The military, too, cooperates with political leaders and
subordinates its will to democratically-based government.
Democratic (neo) Corporatism: interest representation is institutionalized through
recognition by the state. New groups can form only if the state allows it;
organizations develop institutionalized and legally binding links with state
agencies so that they become semi-public agencies working on behalf of the
state. Compare to Pluralism.
Devolution: the tendency to decentralize decision-making to regional
governments. Example: devolution of power to Scottish and Welsh parliaments.
London is still the geographic center of decision-making in the UK.
Direct Democracy: when individuals have immediate say over many decisions that
the government makes.
Economic Liberalization: the process of limiting the power of the state over
private property and market forces.
Electoral Systems: rules that decide how votes are cast, counted and translated
into seats in a legislature. Examples include first-past-the-post (also called a
plurality system or winner-take-all) in which they divide constituencies into singlemember-districts in which candidates compete for a single representative’s seat.
(US, UK); Proportional Representation creates multi-member-districts in which
more than one legislative seat is contested in each district; Mixed System
combines first-past-the-post and proportional representation (Mexico, Russian
Federation)
Elites (political): leaders that have a disproportionate share of policymaking
power. In democracies -- chosen in competitive elections. Elite Recruitment:
ways to identify and select people for future leadership positions.
Empirical data: data based on factual statements and statistics. Compare with
normative: based on value judgments.
Fascism: like communism, it devalues the idea of individual freedom. Similarities
end there. Fascism also rejects the value of equality and accepts the idea that
people and groups exist in degrees of inferiority and superiority. Believe the state
has the right and responsibility to mold society and economy and to eliminate
obstacles (including people) that might weaken them. No strictly fascist regimes
exist today, but the ideology is influential in many parts of the world.
Federal system: constitutionally divides power between the central government
and the sub-units (such as states). Compare to unitary: state that concentrates all
policymaking powers in one central geographic place; and confederal
(confederate): spreads power among many sub-units and has a weak central
government. No countries in the world today are confederal.
First-past-the-post (plurality, winner-take-all): constituencies are divided into
SMDs in which candidates compete for a single representative’s seat. Also called
plurality system or winner-take-all system because the winner does not need a
majority to win, just needs to get more votes than anyone else
Fragmentation: refers to divisions based on ethnic or cultural identity.
Increasingly important in world politics. A tendency for people to base their
loyalty on ethnicity, language, religion, or cultural identity.
Freedom House Ratings: an organization that studies democracies around the
world and ranks them on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 being most free and 7 being the
least free.
Globalization: refers to the growing interconnectedness of the world. An
integration of social, environmental, economic and cultural activities of nations
that has resulted from increasing international contacts. Remember sensitivity
and vulnerability.
Government: a reference to the leadership and institutions which make policy
decisions for a country.
Head of Government: deals with the everyday tasks of running the state, and
usually directs the activities of other members of the executive branch. Compare
to Head of State – a role that symbolizes and represents the people, both
nationally and internationally and may or may not have any real policymaking
power.
Illiberal democracies: countries that have regular, free and fair competitive
elections, but are missing other qualities like civil liberties, rule of law, neutrality
of the judiciary, an open civil society, and civilian control of the military. Also
known as procedural democracies. (Russia and Nigeria)
Indirect democracies: democracies in which elected officials represent the people.
Compare with direct democracy – in which individuals have immediate say over
many decisions that government makes.
Informal politics: takes into consideration not only the ways that politicians
operate outside their formal powers, but also the impact that beliefs, values, and
actions of ordinary citizens have on policymaking.
Initiative: a vote on a policy that is initiated by the people. Less common than
referendum: a national ballot, called by the government on a policy issue, which
allows the public to make direct decisions about policy. Examples: Russian
Constitution of 1993; devolution of powers to Scottish and Welsh parliaments in
GB; proposed national referendum on the adoption of the Euro and the European
Constitution in GB. Russian President and British PM have the power to call for a
referendum.
Institutions: stable, long-lasting organizations that help turn political ideas into
policy. Common examples are bureaucracies, legislatures, judicial systems and
political parties.
Interest group pluralism: healthy competition between autonomous groups and
with government for influence over state policies
Judicial Review:
Legitimacy(traditional, charismatic, rational-legal): the right to rule, as determined
by their own citizens
Liberal democracies: beyond competitive elections, characteristics include civil
liberties, rule of law, neutrality of the judiciary, an open civil society, and civilian
control of the military. Also known as substantive democracies.
Liberalism (as an ideology): supports reform and gradual change. As an approach
to economic/political change – generally do not believe they are broke, but rather
need to be repaired or improved.
Liberalism (as an approach to economic and political change):
Linkage Institutions: link people to the government – i.e., political parties, interest
groups, media
Market economies: economies based on private ownership of property and little
interference from government regulation. May take the form of a “mixed
economy” – one that allows for significant control from the central government, or
a pure market economy
Marketization: term that describes the state’s re-creation of a market in which
property, labor, goods, and services can all function in a competitive environment
to determine their value
Military rule: In states where legitimacy and stability are in question, the military
may intervene directly in politics as the organization that can solve the problems.
Usually begins with a coup d’etat. Once in control they often restrict civil rights
and liberties, and in the name of order, keep political parties from forming and
elections from taking place. Usually lack a specific ideology.
Mixed economies: a type of market economy tat allows for significant control from
the central government. Example: Germany
Mixed electoral systems - combination of proportional representation and firstpast-the-post
Multi-member districts – more than one legislative seat is contested in each
district – used in proportional representation systems
Multi-party systems – usually arise in parliamentary systems, particularly those
that use PR
Nation – a group of people bound together by a common political identity. State –
the organization that maintains a monopoly of violence over territory (Weber).
Combine the two to have a nation-state.
Nationalism – the sense of belonging and identity that distinguishes one nation
from another. Ethnonationalism – the tendency for an ethnic group to see itself as
a distinct nation with a right to autonomy or independence. Usually stronger if
group is clustered in particular spaces within a nation state. Examples –
Yugoslavia, Russia
Parliamentary system – head of government – the executive – is also a member of
the legislative branch. Citizens vote for the legislative branch, which in turn
selects the leaders of the executive branch.
Patronage system – a system in which political supporters receive jobs in return
for their assistance in getting the patron elected
Patron-client system – a system in which the state provides specific benefits or
favors to a single person or a small group in return for public support.
Plebiscite –a variation of a referendum (see below). A ballot to consult public
opinion in a non-binding way (the govt. does not have to act on it)
Pluralism (democratic) : a situation in which power is split among many groups
that compete for the chance to influence government decision-making. The
formation of interest groups is spontaneous. Dialogue between interest groups
and the state is voluntary. Compare to Democratic Corporatism.
Political culture: refers to the collection of political beliefs, values, practices and
institutions that the government is based on.
Political Elites: leaders that have a disproportionate share of policy-making
power.
Political ideologies: sets of political values held by individuals regarding the
basic goals of government and politics.
Political Liberalization: a state that progresses from procedural democracy to
substantive democracy is said to experience political liberalization.
Political socialization: How citizens learn about politics in their country. Possible
vehicles for political socialization include family, media, schools
Politicization of religion: basing political actions on religious beliefs
Presidential System: a system in which the roles head of govt and head of state
are given to one person – the president. The central figure is directly elected by
the people and serves as the chief executive within a system of checks and
balances between the legislative (and sometimes judicial) branches, Separation
of powers between branches ensures no one branch dominates the other.
Privatization: the transfer of state-owned property to private ownership.
Proportional representation – an electoral system that creates multi-member
districts in which more than one legislative seat is contested in each district.
Under this system, voters cast their ballots for a party rather than a candidate, and
the % of votes a party receives determines how many seats the party will gain in
the legislature.
Radicalism – belief that rapid, dramatic changes need to be made in the existing
society, often including the political system. EX: Russia in 1917
Reactionary beliefs – go further to protect against change than do conservatives.
Oppose revolution and reform as do conservatives, but rather want to turn the
clock back to an earlier era, and reinstate political, social, and economic
institutions
Referendum – allows the public to make direct decisions about policy. Examples
include: the 1993 Constitutional referendum in Russia; the referendum of
devolution of power to Scottish and Welsh assemblies in UK; the proposed
referendum in the UK on ratification of the EU Constitution; the President of
Russia, and the PM in the UK have the power to call for a referendum
Reform – a type of change that does not advocate the overthrow of basic
institutions. Instead, they want to change some of the methods that political and
economic leaders use to reach goals that the society generally accepts.
Regime – the rules a state sets and follows in exerting its power.
Revolution – implies change at the more basic level, and involves either a major
revision or an overthrow of existing institutions. Usually impacts more than one
area of life.
Revolution of rising expectations – explains how some authoritarian regimes may
transition to democracy. Often a trigger event, such as an economic crisis or
military defeat may leads to this transition. Often, the economic crisis is preceded
by a period of relative improvement in the standard of living.
Rule of law – refers to equal treatment of all citizens – including political leaders –
and due process of law
Semi-Presidential System – a system where a prime minister coexists with a
president. Russia, China
Social Capital – the amount of reciprocity and trust that exists among citizens,
and between citizens and the state
Social Cleavages – divisions in society based on religion, ethnicity, race, and
social and economic classes
Social Movements – refer to organized collective activities that aim to bring about
or resist fundamental change in an existing group or society. They try to
influence political leaders to make policy decisions that support their goals.
Women’s suffrage movements in the US and Great Britain; Civil Rights Movement
in the US
Socialism – shares the value of equality with communism but is also influenced
by the liberal value of freedom. Unlike, communism, accept and promote private
ownership and free market principles. In contrast to liberals, believe the state has
a strong role to play in regulating the economy and providing benefits to the
public in order to ensure some measure of equality.
Societal or (neo) corporatism – a form of corporatism in which interest groups
take the lead and dominate the state.
Sovereignty – having absolute authority within your own borders.
State corporatism – the way in which authoritarian regimes tried to control the
public by creating or recognizing organizations to represent the interests of the
public.
State – the organization that maintains a monopoly of violence over a society
(Weber)
Subject activities – in authoritarian regimes most citizens are subjects (as
opposed to participants). Such activities include paying taxes, obeying laws,
following military orders. Participant activities (found in democracies) include
voting in elections, working for a candidate, contributing money, and joining
political parties.
Succession – the process that determines the procedure for replacing leaders
when they resign, die, or are no longer effective.
Technocrats: a civilian bureaucrat with specific expertise. In authoritarian
bureaucratic regimes, may form a ruling coalition with military leaders.
“Third Wave” of Democratization: Based on Huntington’s “Three Waves” of
democratization. We are currently in the “third wave”, which began in the 1970s.
Characterized by the defeat of dictatorial or totalitarian rulers in South America,
Eastern Europe and some parts of Africa. The political change in Mexico is part of
this “third wave.” Factors that have led to democratization:




The loss of legitimacy of by both right and left wing authoritarian
figures
The expansion of an urban middle class in developing countries
A new emphasis on human rights by the US and the EU
The “snowball effect”; when one country in a region becomes
democratic, it influences others to do so. Example: Poland’s effect
on Eastern Europe
Three-world approach – a method for comparing countries in the Cold War era
First World: US and its allies
Second World; USSR and its allies
Third world: nations that did not fit into the first two categories and were all
economically underdeveloped and deprived.
Totalitarianism – a regime that seeks to control and transform all aspects of the
political and economic systems of the society.
Transmission belt – interest groups that serve to convey to their members the
views of the party elite - The Nashi youth league that exists in Russia that
supports the policies of Putin has been identified as a “transmission belt”
Transparency: a transparent government is one that operates openly by keeping
citizens informed about government operations and political issues and by
responding to citizens’ questions and advice. Low levels of transparency are
often found in authoritarian regimes (China) and corruption tends to be lower in
countries where government activities are relatively transparent.
Tyranny of the majority – the tendency of democracies to allow majority rule to
neglect the rights and liberties of minorities. In many ways, civil society checks
the power of the state and helps to prevent tyranny of the majority.
Measurements of Economic Performance:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – value of all goods and services produced
by a country’s economy in a given year, excluding income citizens and
groups earn outside the country.
Gross National Product (GNP) - like GDP, but also includes income citizens
and groups earn outside the country.
GNP (or GDP) per capita – divides the GNP (or GDP) by the population of
the country
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) – a figure like GDP (define this if asked in
FRQ section of AP Exam), except that it takes into consideration what
people can by using the income in their local economy.
Measures of social welfare:
Gini Index: a mathematical formula that measure the amount of income
inequality in a society – the lower the coefficient the more equal the income
distribution – of the 6 core countries, UK has the lowest and Mexico has
the highest
Human Development Index: measure the well-being of a country’s people
by factoring in adult literacy, life expectancy, and educational enrollment,
as well as GDP