Comparative Politics Final

caretaker government

occurs when an election is called or when an incumbent government either resigns or is defeated in a vote of no confidence. It rules the country for an interim period until a new government is formed.

Civil Service System

refers to the law(s) that govern the recruitment, retention and promotion of civilian (non-military) public employees.

Clientelism

refers to the distribution of goods and services that is either not public or not shaped by publicized rules, which is contingent on some form of individual political support

Cohabitation

Having a president from one political bloc and a prime minister from another. This occurs when the party of the president does not control a majority in the legislature and is not represented in the cabinet.

Constituency Service

refers to non-legislative activities undertaken by legislators (or their staff) on behalf of residents of their districts

Core Voters

voters who are predisposed in favor of a party on partisan or programmatic grounds

Decentralization

refers to the extent to which actual policymaking power lies with the central or regional governments in a country

Delegation

occurs when one person or group (principal) relies on another person or group (agent) to act on the principal’s behalf.

Descriptive Representation

characterizes the degree to which representatives resemble and therefore “stand for” their constituents

Duverger’s law

holds that the simple-majority single-ballot (FPTP) favors the two-party system

District magnitude

the number of representatives elected in a district or constituency

Electoral formula

A formula that translates votes into seats or offices

Electoral threshold

The minimum number of votes a party needs to obtain a seat

Effective number of parties

a measure that captures both the number and the size of parties in a country

Federalism

a political organization in which the activities of government are divided between regional governments and a central government in such a way that each kind of government has some activities on which it makes final decisions

Insurgency

a technology of military conflict characterized by small, lightly armed bands practicing guerrilla warfare from rural base areas

Least minimal winning coalition

the minimal winning coalition, where there are no extra parties in addition to those that are required to control a legislative majority, with the lowest number of surplus seats

Legislative responsibility

refers to a situation in which a legislative majority has the constitutional power — through a vote of no confidence — to remove a government from office without cause.

Majoritarian electoral system

one in which the candidates or parties that receive the most votes win office

Mixed electoral system

one in which voters elect representatives through two different systems, one majoritarian and one proportional

Parliamentary democracy

if the government does not depend on a legislative majority to exist

Party discipline

Party discipline is high when all party members in the legislature act and vote cohesively, are on the same page about party policy, and in which leaders speak for the party.

Party platform

a formal set of policy goals which are supported by a party or individual candidate in order to appeal to the general public with the purpose of winning votes

Patronage

refers to a system in which politicians appoint trusted individuals by discretion to non-elective positions in the public sector

Personal vote

occurs when an individual votes based upon the characteristics of a particular candidate rather than the characteristics of the party to which they belong

Political cleavage

an alignment between a social cleavage and a political party that endures over time

Presidential democracy

if the government does not depend on a legislative majority to exist

Primary election

an election in which voters select a party’s candidate for a general election

Principal-agent problem

refers to the difficulties that arise when a principal delegates authority to an agent who potentially has different goals from the principal and cannot be perfectly monitored

Proportional representation

a quota- or divisor-based electoral system employed in multimember districts

Proportionality

An electoral system is more proportional if the distribution of seats mirrors the distribution of votes more closely

Quota

mechanisms within an electoral system or candidate selection processes that are intended to guarantee or promote the representation of an underrepresented group in an elected body

Semi-presidential democracy

if the government depends on a legislative majority to exist and in which the head of state is popularly elected for a fixed term.

Strategic voting

A voter engages in strategic voting if they vote in favor of a less preferred option because they believe that doing so will ultimately produce a more preferred outcome.

Substantive representation

characterizes the degree to which representatives “act for” their constituents by taking actions in line with their constituents’ substantive or ideological interests.

Symbolic representation

characterizes the meaning that is constructed when representatives “stand for” their constituents

Vote of no confidence

generally involves a vote in the legislature on whether a government should remain in office. If a majority of legislators votes against the government, the government must resign.