PS100 Exam 2

descriptive representation

a facet of political representation that refers to which social groups are represented in the legislature; also known as mirror representation

district

the territorial area that an elected offical represents in the legislature; also called a constituency or riding

district magnitude

the number of seats available in the electoral district; abbreviated as the letter “m”

electoral rules

the laws that set forth how voters choose their elected representatives and how votes are turned into seats in the national legislature

gender parity

when the gender quto mandates half men and half women

plurality

referring to the most, not the majority; in single-member districts, candidates win with the most votes

political representation

a multifaceted concept describing who is present in a national legislature and what they do

substantive representation

a facet of political representation that refers to which interests re manifested during the lawmaking process as well as the extent to which voters’ policy preferences and interests are promoted by their representatives

symbolic representation

a facet of political representation that refers to how citizens’ and voters’ behaviors and attitudes change in response to descriptive representation

apportionment

how the disritcts are drawn relative to population

Duverger’s law

PR leads to muliparty systems while SMD leads to single party systems

gerrymandering

redrawing distirct boundaries to favor a party

malapportionment

drawing the districts in a way to benefit one group and exclude another

minority groups

social and legal discrimination of a group

proportional representation

elects members of the government based on the percentage the party got in the vote

redistricting

redrawing of district boundaires

representation

elected officals acting on the behalf of the people that voted for them

single-member district

whoever gets the most votes in an area wins

conceptual stretching

a conceptual problem that arises when a concept is applied to a broad sets of cases; attempt to cover all cases, yet it loses meaning or becomes distorted in the process

conceptual traveling

a conceptual challenge faced by comparativists because concepts do not always have the same meaning in different contexts, yet concepts should be able to “travel” to different contexts without losing meaning

cross-sectional research

a research design used to compare different cases at one point in time

cross-temporal research

a research design used to compare one case over a longer period of time

decolonization

the political and economic processes of removing formal colonial governance by Global North countries of Global South countries

ethnocentric bias

the tendency to view one’s own culutre as superior and to judge other groups

explanatory unit

the mahor relevant entity used to explain patterns of results

falsification

the scientific process during which existing theories are tested and revised in light of new empirical evidence

historically marginalized groups

groups whose interests, grievances, and voices risk being overlooked in politics as a result of historical and structural processes of marginalization

inequality regimes

a broad set of political practices, processes, actions, and meanings that produce power hierarchies and social inequalities in relation to social class, gender, race, ethnicity, age, and so on

inference

the process of generalizing characteristics from a set of cases to the entire population

methodological diversity

using a wide range of research designs, data collection techniues, and analytical approaches

observational unit

the mahor relevant entity used in data collection and analysis

political culture

sets of beliefs and values people have about politics that are related to how they think about politics, the political values they cherish, whether they believe politicans can be trusted, how they relate to the politcal sysrem, and how they define and express their political identites

unit of analysis

the major relevant entity under study

case study

compare a smll number of units in depth

description

detailed, systematic catloging political instituiotns and phenomena

explanation

where/when/why/under what circumstances are politica events likely to occur

political institutions

sets of formal and imformal rules that make up the political game

prediction

using what we know of past events to predict futrue occurences

quantitative study

surveys and statistics

qualitative study

interviews

most similar systems

cases that share similarities but have different outcomes

most different systems

cases that are different but have similar outcomes

bureaucracy

a subsidiary of the executive, tasked with implementing and executing the laws of the state

cabinet

the set of appointed officals in a government who oversee specific policies such as healthcare, defense, and the like

coalition

a partnership between parties who agree to govern together because neither party has a majority on its own

competitive authoritarianism

political regimes where democratic institutions are put in place but authoritarian political leaders constitently undermine these institutions to stay in power

elite networks

informal, mutually beneficial relationships between top political, economic, and corporate learders

executive

the branch of governments tasked with implementing and executing the laws and policies in a state

head of government

oversees the day-to-day functions of the government

head of state

the country’s symbolic representative

one-party rule

one party possesses overwhelming control over the political process; in general, other parties do exist, but they have limited power and are kept in check by the dominant party

parliamentary system

a government system where the head of government is chosen from the legislature by the ruling party and also serves as the head of state

president

the chief executive in a presidntial democracy; serves as both the head of state and the head of government

presidential system

a government system where the legislative and executive branch have seperation of powers; unlike in parliamentary systems, the legislature is unable to remove the government

prime minister

the chief executive in a parlimentary democracy; serves as head of state and typically is also head of the largest party in parliament

semi-presidential system

a mix between pure parliamentary and pure presidential systems. the legislature elects the head of government and had the ability to remove the government from office, but there is also a popularly elected head of state

separation of powers

a system in which differnt branches of the government possess separate and independent powers, so no specific political institution has too much power; this is also known as checks and balances and is typically divided into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary

vote of (no) confidence

constitutionally mandated authority to remove the government thorugh a vote of the legislature

civil service

career civilian government employees

electoral college

means by which the US president is elected

red tape

excessive bureaucracy

spoils system

prior to 1883, civil service reform act where parties hanged out government postitions as rewards

bicameral legilsature

legislative branches with two chambets as opposed to a unicameral legislature, where there is only one chamber

clientelist policies

constituency service

services a legislator provides to constituents who are seeking assistance, such as helping them navigate bureaucratic processes; also known as caseswork

gatekeeping authority

the authority to block legislation from advancing to the chamber floor

legislative agenda

what bills will be heard on the chamber floor, when they will be discussed and if they will come before the chamber for a vote

legislators

the individuals elected to hold office in the legislature

legislature

“a body created to approve measures that will form the law of the land”

negative agenda control

the ability to prevent bills from being heard on the chamber floor, typically because they are blocked in the committee process

seniority

legislators who have served the most terms in office are said to have legislative seniority

unicameral legislature

legislative branches with only one chamber as opposed to a bicameral legislature, where there are two chambers

electoral cycle

In the US, cycle is 2, 4, and 6 years

executive power

implementing power

federal system

national and regional governments each have powers outlined in the constitution

fusion of powers

as in a parliamentary system executive and legislative power and fused because the cabinet and PM are part of the legislative branch and responsible

issue ownership

paries and candidates are perceived by voters as more competent or trustworthy on specific issues

judicial power

interpreting laws

legislative power

creating laws

limited government

the prinicple that government power is bounded by constitutional rules and laws

nation

a group of people with a shared history and identity

nation-state

the idea that states should map onto nations

polarization

increasing ideolgical division between political groups

progammatic policy

affect large segments of the population

closed list pr

targeted policy

affected specific constituencies

open pr list

clientelistic policy

affect specific constituency in exchange for support

single-member district

prospective voting

assess what candidates say they will do and vote accordingly

retrospective voting

assess how the incumbent has done and vote accordingly

separation of powers

in a prediential system, executive and legislative power are separate because the cabinet and president are not part of the legislative branch

speaker

higly desirable and most powerful postion which sets the agenda

state

an enetity that is sovereign over a territroy which requries recognition of other states

unitary system

regional units are subodrinate legislature

voting bloc

3/5 clause

enslaved people counted as only 3/5 of a person for represntation in the house of representatives

appellate jurisidction

when higher courts have the authority to hear appeals from lower-level courts

caste system

a rigid form of social stratification, that assigns individuals to a specific hierarchy based on birth

civil law

a legal system in which the law is strongly constructed, detailed entity created by a legislature or other lawmaking political institutions

codified

the process of arranging laws, rules, or regulations into a systematic, written code

collegial politics

how judges interact with their colleagues

common law

a legal system in which the laws are less detailed and in which judges have considerable room for interpreting the law