AP Comparative Government Chapters 2 and 3 Study Guide

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the core comparative government concepts from Chapters 2 and 3, including state legitimacy, political ideologies, social cleavages, and state capacity.

Social Democracy (Socialism)

A system where freedom and equality are balanced through state management of the economy.

Society

A broad term referring to human organization.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A measure evaluated from $0$ to $1$, where $1$ indicates high life expectancy and $0$ indicates low.

Gini Index

A measure of economic dispersion scaled from $0$ (perfect equality) to $1$ (perfect inequality).

Freedom House

An organization that measures political rights and liberties across regimes, assessing the risk of collapse.

Fragile States Index

A metric scaled from $0$ to $120$, with $0$ being the most stable and $120$ being the most fragile.

Social Cleavages in Nigeria

Social divisions primarily structured around ethnicity, region, and religion.

Social Cleavages in Mexico

Social divisions primarily structured around religion and class.

Social Cleavages in Russia and China

Social divisions structured around class, urban versus rural divides, and ethnicity.

Social Cleavages in Iran

Social divisions structured around ideology, religion, and ethnicity.

Federalism

A system where state power is devolved to regional and local bodies for functions such as taxation and sanitation.

Symmetric Federalism

A federal system characterized in notes as having power divided unevenly among regional bodies.

Unitary State

A state where political power exists primarily at the national level with limited local authority.

Devolution

A process where power is sent down from the central authority to lower levels of government.

Strong State

A state capable of fulfilling basic tasks such as defense, taxation, and economic regulation.

Weak State

A state that cannot fulfill basic tasks.

Failed State

A state that is so weak that its political structure collapses.

Anarchism

An ideology advocating the elimination of the state and private property to achieve equality and freedom for all.

Citizenship

An individual's relationship to the state, defined by state-obligated rights.

Communism

A political and economic system where wealth and property are shared, eliminating the need for the state.

Conservatives

Individuals with a political attitude that is skeptical of change and supportive of the current order.

Culture

The basic institutions that define a society.

Ethnic Conflict

A struggle where different ethnic groups compete to achieve political or economic goals at the expense of others.

Ethnic Identity (Ethnicity)

A specific set of attributes and societal institutions that binds a group of people together.

Fascism

A political ideology asserting the superiority or inferiority of groups, emphasizing low freedom and equality in order to create a powerful state.

Fundamentalism

A view of religion as absolute, asserting that it should be sovereign and legally enforced.

Liberal Democracy

A political system promoting participation and liberty while emphasizing individual rights and liberties.

Liberalism

A political stance favoring evolutionary transformation, a limited role for the state, and high individual freedoms.

Liberals

Individuals holding a political attitude that favors evolutionary change.

Nation

A group of people desiring self-government through an independent state.

National Conflict

A conflict where multiple groups in a country develop clear political aspirations that clash with each other.

National Identity

A sense of belonging to a state and a belief in its political aspirations.

Nationalism

Shared pride and belief in a group's unique political destiny.

Nation-State

A state encompassing one dominant nation that it claims to embody and represent.

Patriotism

Pride in one's state, which can exist independently of nationalism.

Political Attitude

A description of one's views regarding the preferred speed and methods of political change.

Political Culture

The basic norms for political activity in a society.

Political Ideology

The basic values held by an individual regarding fundamental political goals and the balance of freedom and equality.

Populism

A political approach that splits society into two distinct groups: the common people and the elites.

Radicals

Those who favor rapid, revolutionary political change.

Reactionaries

Those who seek to restore institutions previously held.

Country

A state, its sovereignty, and its regime, combined with the people who live within that state.

Government

A set of institutions or people with authority derived from the state.

Regime

The set of foundational rules and norms guiding a political system.

State

The centralized authority and locus of power within a territory.

Autonomy

The ability of a state to wield power independently of public or external pressures.

Capacity

The ability of a state to wield and effectively carry out its power.

Charismatic Legitimacy

Legitimacy built on and embodied by a leader's ideas, personality, and personal appeal.

Rational-Legal Legitimacy

Legitimacy derived from a system of laws and procedures that are highly institutionalized.

Traditional Legitimacy

Legitimacy built on established aspects and habits of politics that have existed for a long period of time.