PSC 1001 Late Midterm

late midterm

Communism

All wealth and property are shared to eliminate exploitation, oppression, and the government

Base

Economic system of a society, made up of technology and class relations between people. Means and relations of production.

Bourgeoisie

The middle class, including merchants, industrialists, and professional people. Property owners.

Dialectical Materialism

Process of historical change that is not evolutionary but revolutionary; The existing base and superstructure (thesis) would come into conflict with new technological innovations, generating growing opposition to the existing order (antithesis)-- This would culminate in revolution, overthrowing the old base and superstructure (synthesis)

Proletariat

Marx's term for the exploited class, the mass of workers who do not own the means of production

Difference between bourgeoisie and proletariat

Bourgeoisie control the means of production in capitalism. Proletariat are members of the working class.

Vanguard of the Proletariat

An elite communist party would have to carry out revolution, because as a result of false consciousness, historical conditions would not automatically lead to capitalism's demise

Nomenklatura

Politically sensitive or influential jobs in the state, society, or economy that were staffed by people chosen or approved by the Communist Party

Politburo

A seven-member committee that became the leading policy-making body of the Communist Party in Russia

Central Committee

Legislature body. 340 members that meet together annually for a week; carry on the business of the National Party Congress between sessions, although their policymaking powers are limited; meetings are called plenums

Party-State

A political system in which power flows directly from the ruling political party (usually a communist party) to the state, bypassing government structures.

Central Planning

A communist economic system in which the state explicitly allocates resources by planning what should be produced and in what amounts, the final prices of goods, and where they should be sold

Glasnost

A policy of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev which called for more openness with the nations of West, and a relaxing of restraints on Soviet citizenry. More free discussion. Political liberalization.

Perestroika

A policy initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev that involved restructuring of the social and economic status quo in communist Russia towards a market based economy and society

Shock Therapy

A process of rapid marketization. By Boris Yeltzin.

Superstructure

All noneconomic institutions in a society (e.g., religion, culture, national identity); These ideas and values derive from the base and serve to legitimize the current system of exploitation

Vladimir Putin

President of Russia. Changed the rules to make himself president all the time. Ruled since 2000.

Siloviki

Derived from the Russian word sil, meaning "force," Russian politicians and governmental officials drawn from the security and intelligence agencies, special forces, or the military, many of whom were recruited to important political posts under Vladimir Putin.

Dimitry Medvedev

President of Russia from 2008 to 2012; prime minister of Russia from 2012 to 2020; current head of the United Russia Party

Mikhail Mishustin

Prime minister of Russia since 2020

Orthodox Christianity

A branch of Christianity developed in the Byzantine Empire, after its split from the Roman Empire. Splits from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.

Tsar

The Russian term for ruler or king; taken from the Roman word caesar.

Duma

Russian parliament. Lower house of Russian legislature.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Russian founder of the Bolsheviks and leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution and first head of the USSR (1917-1924).

Soviets

Local councils consisting of workers, peasants, and soldiers

Cheka

Secret soviet police set up by Lenin. Arrested "enemies of the revolution". Precursor to KGB.

KGB

Soviet secret police agency charged with domestic and foreign intelligence

Joseph Stalin

Bolshevik revolutionary, head of the Soviet Communists after 1924, and dictator of the Soviet Union from 1928 to 1953. He led the Soviet Union with an iron fist, using Five-Year Plans to increase industrial production and terror to crush opposition

Boris Yeltsin

President of the Russian Republic in 1991-1999. Helped end the USSR and force Gorbachev to resign.

Boris Yeltsin History

Was the first President of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1999. The Yeltsin era was a traumatic period in Russian history—a period marked by widespread corruption, economic collapse, and enormous political and social problems. In June 1991 Yeltsin came to power on a wave of high expectations. On June 12 Yeltsin was elected president of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic with 57% of the vote, becoming the first popularly elected president in Russian history. But Yeltsin never recovered his popularity after endorsing radical economic reforms in early 1992 which were widely blamed for devastating the living standards of most of the Russian population. By the time he left office, Yeltsin was a deeply unpopular figure in Russia, with an approval rating as low as two percent by some estimates.

Kremlin

Eleventh-century fortress in the heart of Moscow that has been the historical seat of Russian state power. Offices of Russian government.

Federal Security Service

Russian intelligence agency and police force. Successor of KGB, acquired increasing importance under Putin

Federation Council

The 178-seat upper house of Russia. Wields relatively little power and represents local interests. It must approve bills that involve certain issues, and can reject Duma legislation, but only within certain parameters.

Constitutional Court

The highest judicial body in a political system that decides whether laws and policies violate the constitution

Asymmetric Federalism

A system where power is devolved unequally across the country and its constituent regions, often the result of specific laws negotiated between the region and the central government

Alexei Navalny

Political activist who has been detained repeatedly for his opposition to Putin and United Russia

Parties of Power

Russian parties created by political elites to support their political aspirations; typically lacking any ideological orientation

United Russia

Main political party in Russia and supporter of Vladimir Putin

Communist Party of the Russian Federation

Successor party in Russia to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

A Just Russia

A small party in the Russian Duma with a social-democratic orientation. 38 seats.

Liberal Democratic Party of Russia

Political party in Russia with a nationalist and antidemocratic orientation. Pro-reform and stresses national, aggressive foreign policy, and harsh treatment of non-Russian minorities

Yabloko

Small party in Russia that advocates democracy and a liberal political economic system

Caucasus

Southwest Russia, near the Black Sea and Turkey, where there is a diverse mixture of non-Slavic peoples with distinct languages and customs as well as a much stronger historical presence of Islam than Orthodox Christianity

Chechnya

One of the republics that remains a part of Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union despite independence movements and violent upheaval. Experienced the worst violence and treatment ever.

Eurasian Economic Union

Economic and political union among several former Soviet states

Oligarchs

Russian people noted for their control of large amounts of the Russian economy (including the media), their close ties to the government, and the accusations of corruption surrounding their rise to power

Oligarchy

A small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.

Xi Jinping

President of China. Head of Party, Head of State, & Head of Military. Specifically, he is the CCP General Secretary, PRC President, and CMC Chairman.

Century of Humiliation

China's self-described long century (1839-1949) of intervention and exploitation at the hands of Western and Japanese imperialists. Opium War to Communist Victory.

Reform and Opening

The policies that the Chinese leadership instituted in the aftermath of Tiananmen Square as a partial response to the calls for liberalization. May also refer to the liberal policies of Deng Xiaoping in his break from Maoism. 1970s.

Tiananmen Square

Site in Beijing where Chinese students and workers gathered to demand greater political openness in 1989. The demonstration was crushed by Chinese military with great loss of life.

Confucianism

A philosophy that adheres to the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It shows the way to ensure a stable government and an orderly society in the present world and stresses a moral code of conduct. Social harmony.

Kuomintang

Nationalist Party in China led by Chiang Kai-Shek, which began a war against the Communist Party led by Mao Zedong. Both fought for control of China, with Mao and the Communists ultimately winning in 1949. The others fled to Taiwan.

Sun Yat-Sen

Chinese nationalist revolutionary, founder and leader of the Kuomintang until his death. He attempted to create a liberal democratic political movement in China but was thwarted by military leaders. Modern China.

May Fourth Movement

Student-led anti-imperialist cultural and political movement from student demonstrations in Beijing (1919).

Chinese Communist Party

Authoritarian, dominant party of China.

Mao Zedong

(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.

Long March

The 6,000-mile (9,600-kilometer) flight of Chinese Communists from southeastern to northwestern China. The Communists, led by Mao Zedong, were pursued by the Chinese army under orders from Chiang Kai-Shek. At this time, there was a civil war with the KMT.

People's Liberation Army

Chinese Communist army; administered much of country under People's Republic of China.

Great Leap Forward

Mao's economic and social plan used in China from 1958 to 1961 which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern industrial society.

Red Guards

The youths who led Mao's Cultural Revolution. Wore red arm bands and carried his book. Terrorized Chinese citizens and determined who went to camps.

Cultural Revolution

(1966-1976) Political policy in started in China by Mao Zedong to eliminate his rivals and train a new generation in the revolutionary spirit that created communist China. The Cultural Revolution resulted in beatings, terror, mass jailings, and the deaths of thousands.

Deng Xiaoping

Communist Party leader who seen as responsible for Chinese economic reforms after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976.

Danwei

Mao's plan. A control maintained through this system, all Chinese citizens have a lifetime affiliation with a specific industrial, agricultural, or bureaucratic unit that dictated all aspects of their lives, including housing, health care, and other social benefits.

Hukou

An official record used in China to identify a specific person as a resident of a particular place. The hukou system is used in China to control the movement of people, particularly from rural areas to cities.

Floating Population

Migrants from the rural areas who have moved temporarily to the cities to find employment.

National Party Congress

Body of over 2,000 delegates chosen primarily from congresses on lower levels; meets every 5 years to approve decisions by party leaders; main power: elect members of the Central Committee

Chinese Dream

Paramount leader Xi Jinping's policy vision calling for China's national rejuvenation, modernization, and prosperity. Back to greatness.

Hu Jintao

China's paramount leader from 2002 to 2012

Harmonious Society

CCP propaganda term for the continuation of economic reform but with more concern for the growing wealth and welfare gap between urban and rural China

National People's Congress

The legislature of the People's Republic of China. It is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party and is not an independent branch of government.

Jiang Zemin

Successor of Deng from 1997 to 2002; continued economic reforms and liberalization

Li Keqiang

China's premier and head of government (2013-). Head of State Council.

Anticorruption Campaign

Xi Jinping's sweeping campaign against graft and other forms of corruption, launched in 2012 and used both to tackle government malfeasance at all levels and eliminate political rivals

Uyghurs

Muslims of Turkish descent in Xinjiang. Underwent forced assimilation and violence.

Falun Gong

Meditative martial arts movement founded in 1992 and banned by Chinese government in 1999 as an "evil cult"

Three Represents

Jiang Zemin's 2001 policy that China should always represent the development needs of China's advancing productivity, advancing culture, & the interests of the majority of the population (co-opting private entrepreneurs into the CCP) (workers, peasants, merchants)

Red Capitalists

In China, private entrepreneurs who are also members of the CCP and whose interests generally align with those of the party state

Social Credit System

State-implemented behavioral modification system that tracks the economic and social actions of Chinese citizens and businesses

Belt and Road Initiative

China's huge infrastructure development and investment project launched in 2013, designed to link China to the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and beyond

Iron Rice Bowl

A feature of China's socialist economy during the Maoist era (1949-1976) that provided guarantees of lifetime employment, income, and basic cradle-to-grave benefits to most urban and rural workers.

Reds Vs. Experts

Mao's policy favoring politically indoctrinated party cadres (Reds) over those people who had economic training (Experts).

Household Responsibility System

Deng's 1980s' highly successful rural reform program that lowered production quotas and allowed the sale of surplus agricultural produce on the free market.

Special Economic Zones

Region offering special tax breaks, eased environmental restrictions, and other incentives to attract foreign business and investment.

Beijing Consensus

Neomercantilist model of state-led capitalist development adopted by China and proposed as alternative to Western neoliberal model known as the Washington consensus

Washington Consensus

Policies restricting public spending, lowering import barriers, privatizing state enterprises, and deregulating markets.

Middle Income Countries

Historically less-developed countries that have experienced significant economic growth and democratization

Lower Income Countries

Countries that lack significant economic development or political institutionalization or both

Developing Countries

A country with relatively low levels of industrialization and income

Empires

Single political authorities that have under their sovereignty a large number of external regions or territories and different peoples

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Colonialism

The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. Physical occupation.

Neocolonialism

Economic dominance of a weaker country by a more powerful one, while maintaining the legal independence of the weaker state. In the late nineteenth century, this new form of economic imperialism characterized the relations between the Latin American republics.

Import Substitution

A government policy that uses trade restrictions and subsidies to encourage domestic production of manufactured goods

Middle Income Trap

A situation where countries experience economic growth but are unable to develop at a speed necessary to catch up with developed countries

Export-Oriented Industrialization

A mercantilist strategy for economic growth in which a country seeks out technologies and develops industries focused specifically on the export market

Neoliberalism

An economic and political worldview that sees the free market as the main mechanism for ensuring economic growth, with a severely restricted role for government

Informal Economy

Economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government; and is not included in that government's Gross National Product; as opposed to a formal economy

Microcredit

A small loan available to poor entrepreneurs, to help small businesses grow and raise living standards.

Caste

The class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law.