POLI 2053 S25 Final Exam Review

(Political) institutions

Structures and organizations that shape political behavior.

Constitution

The foundational charter and fundamental laws of most modern states

Rule of law

Observance of/compliance with a regime's constitution

Unitarism

A constitutional feature in which the central government wields the most political power

Parliamentary sovereignty

The principle that only a legislature can determine what is constitutional

(Political) party

A political organization that seeks to influence policy by getting candidates and members elected or appointed to public office.

Interest groups

Organizations that make demands in the political system on behalf of their constituents and members.

Single-party system

A party system in which parties besides the dominant party are banned

Clientelistic parties

Parties that rely on providing direct services and benefits to their supporters in order to maintain support.

Corporatism

An interest group system in which major groups are designated as representatives of certain interests in society

Legislature

Deliberative bodies composed of the decision makers who represent the population at large

Executive

The individual or branch of government that implements and administers laws passed by legislatures.

Hybrid / hybrid systems

Electoral systems combining elements of district-based and proportional representation systems.

Portfolio

The combination of cabinet positions a party is offered as part of a coalition.

Minimum winning coalition

A coalition with no surplus parties beyond those needed to reach a majority of seats.

Political economy

The study of how politics and economics relate to each other.

Development

The process by which a society changes or advances in terms of economic growth or other indicators

Contention

A type of political conflict in which at least one group involved in the conflict pursues goals outside of formal political institutions

State interventionism

An economic ideology that holds poverty can be reduced through the state expanding the social safety net and providing more public goods

Revolutionary movement

A social movement with maximalist goals (e.g., independence/self determination, regime change, or change in social structure

Bureaucracy

A characteristic of the modern state that is also a key part of the executive.

Federalism

The presence of nationalism and strong nationalist ideologies in different regions of a country may lead to this constitutional feature

Neoliberalism

This economic ideology is compatible with the political ideologies of libertarianism, and at times conservatism and social democracy

Closed-list proportional representation system

This type of proportional representation system, in which parties choose candidates, tends to lead to the highest number of women winning seats in the legislature

Social revolution

The rising middle class (bourgeoisie) in France led to more democracy, as the modernization theory would predict, but achieving more democracy required this type of event to occur.