Key Political Concepts and Definitions

These flashcards cover essential terms and definitions from political theory and concepts discussed in the lecture.

Hypothesis

A causal & falsifiable argument that links a specific cause to an effect.

Case

A particular subject of study in research, such as a country, individual, or group.

Method of agreement

Comparative approach that finds one common attribute among cases that share the same outcome to identify causality.

Method of difference

Comparative approach that identifies a present or absent attribute to explain why similar cases have different outcomes.

Collective action problem

Individuals have private incentives not to participate in an action that would benefit the entire group.

Free-riding

Reaping the benefits of collective mobilization without contributing time, energy, or money to the effort.

Political regime

The basic form of a state’s government, typically classified as democratic, non-democratic, or a hybrid of the two.

Government

The concrete organization or individual with the authority to act on behalf of a state & make binding decisions.

Nation

A cultural grouping of individuals who associate with one another based on a collectively held political identity.

State

A political-legal unit with sovereignty over a specific geographic territory & its residing population.

Formal institutions

Official, written rules & organizations, such as laws, courts, & legislatures.

Informal institutions

Unwritten social norms & shared codes of conduct, like mutual toleration or institutional forbearance.

Political behavior

Actions such as voting or protesting that are shaped by identity, ideology, & institutions.

Democracy

A political system where rulers are accountable to the ruled through institutionalized participation & contestation.

Liberal democracy

A democracy that ensures individual & minority rights are protected & all citizens are equal before the law.

Illiberal democracy

A regime that holds elections but lacks the full protection of rights & individual freedoms found in liberal systems.

Competitive authoritarianism

A hybrid regime where democratic institutions exist but are systematically subverted by the incumbent to maintain power.

Authoritarianism

A non-democratic regime that uses coercion to limit pluralism & maintain political control.

Totalitarianism

A non-democratic regime that uses extensive ideological indoctrination & coercion to control all aspects of social & political life.

Oligarchy

A non-democratic regime where political power is held by a small social, economic, or political elite.

Communism

A totalitarian ideology that emphasizes the interests of the working class & national community under a single-party state.

Fascism

A totalitarian ideology that emphasizes militarism, nationalism, & a strong, charismatic leader.

Selectorate

The specific subset of the population in a non-democracy that has the power to choose or remove the leader.

Plurality rule (first past the post)

Electoral system where the candidate who receives the most votes in a district wins the seat.

Proportional representation

Electoral system that distributes legislative seats based on the percentage of the vote each party receives.

Democratic backsliding

The process where elected leaders subtly undermine democratic institutions & norms to consolidate power.

Political identity

The way individuals categorize themselves & perceive their belonging to a larger social or political group.

Political cleavage

A deep-seated social division—often based on identity like race or religion—that creates competing political interests.

Primordialism

A theory stating that identities are innate, unchanging, & rooted in biological or kinship ties.

Constructivism (regarding identity)

A theory viewing identities as socially constructed & fluid, shaped by the political & social context.

Race

A highly salient dimension of political identity that can be the basis for direct or strategic discrimination.

Ethnicity

Group of people who share an understanding of a common heritage based on religion, language, territory, or family ties.

Secularization

Process involving a gradual decline in the societal importance of religion.

Religious pluralism

Diversity of forms of worship & religious sects existing within a single society.

Gender

The social & cultural characteristics associated with femininity & masculinity, distinct from biological sex.

Traditional gender gap

A situation where women are more likely than men to be conservative & vote for conservative political parties.

Modern gender gap

A situation where women are more likely than men to be liberal & vote for more liberal parties.

Wage gap

The difference in average earnings between men & women for performing the same job.

Private goods

Goods that only one person or a few people can consume, such as an apple.

Public goods

Goods that everyone can consume, regardless of whether they helped produce them, such as clean air.

Social movement

Organized, sustained collective efforts that make claims on behalf of a group to challenge established authorities or practices.

Political opportunity structure

The way a country's political system shapes, promotes, or checks the challenges it confronts from organized civil society.

Interest group

An organized group of citizens that seeks to ensure the state enacts particular policies.

Pluralism (as relates to interest groups)

A pattern where societal interests organize freely & compete in an unregulated fashion to influence the state.

Corporatism

A pattern where the state plays an active role in organizing societal interests & mediating between them.

Political party

An organized group seeking to attain & hold political power.

Coalition government

A government formed by two or more parties that cooperate to achieve a majority in the legislature.

Political violence

The use of force by state or non-state actors to achieve political goals.

Civil war

Armed combat within the boundaries of a state between parties subject to a common authority.

Genocide

Deliberate, coordinated plan to eliminate all members of a particular ethnic, religious, or national group through mass murder.

Terrorism

The use of violence against civilians by non-state actors to achieve political goals.

Economic development

A process of improving a nation's economic well-being & quality of life through industrialization & structural change.

Interventionist state

An economic system where the central government allocates resources & owns many productive industries.

Market failure

A situation where an economic market fails to produce or distribute needed or wanted goods & services efficiently.

Economic liberalism

An ideology that favors minimal state involvement in the economy as the best recipe for growth.

Comm& economy

An economic system where the state controls all economic decisions & owns most productive resources.

State-led development

A strategy where the government coordinates private-sector investment & gives preferential treatment to essential industries.

Social democracy

A political ideology that balances capitalist markets with state intervention to ameliorate economic inequality.

Welfare state

A state that intervenes to protect the economic & social interests of its citizens through social programs & redistribution.

Progressive redistribution

Policies designed to reduce inequality by taxing the rich more heavily to provide benefits for the poor.

Social insurance

Government programs that protect citizens against economic risks, such as healthcare, pensions, & unemployment benefits.

Globalization

The spread of political, economic, & cultural dynamics among governments & groups beyond the borders of any one country.

Political globalization

The growth in transnational political issues & the increasingly international responses to those issues.

Economic globalization

The integration of national economies into a global network of production, trade, & consumption.

Cultural globalization

Transnational spread of consumer culture & information technology, potentially homogenizing or diversifying local cultures.