AP Comparative Government and Politics: Non-Democratic Regimes

Chinese public elections

are held to choose local officials but not for any national offices

The media in China

often expose local corruption but portray the national government positively in calls to fix the corruption problem

Market reforms in China have necessitated

legal reforms to ensure the enforcement to contracts, labor rights, and property rights

most important policymaking organization in China

Politburo

Economic policy in Communist China (Today)

close to a market economy today, but still has a large state-owned sector

In both China and Russia, the president

acts as the ceremonial head of state

The Soviet state vs. the Chinese state responses to democratization

the Soviet leadership was more receptive in attempting democratic reform, while the Chinese responded with violet crackdowns against protesters

Democratic centralism in the Soviet Union referred to

the concentration of power in the hands of those in the top rungs of the Communist Party

Mass line

Maoist view; emphasized communication between party members, leaders, and peasants

In Russia, the prime minister is

appointed by the president

Population in China

A single ethnicity makes up approximately 90 of Chinas population, while ethnic minorities typically live in distant, isolated areas away from major cities

Compared to democratic regimes, authoritarian regimes

Concentrate more power in the hands of the chief executive

Russia's judicial system

is often dominated by the chief executive and executive institutions

Chinese legal system

Economic reform had led to widespread judicial reform in civil law

Office in China that is most likely to be chosen through a competitive popular election

Mayor in a village

Identifiable part of Russian political culture

Statism

How was the Russian Constitution of 1993 ratified

national referendum

Russia's Constitutional Court

has the power to challenge laws and presidential decrees

Compared to Chinese free market reform, Russia's was

implemented much more rapidly

Per capita GDP in China

is not reflective of the wide disparity between the urban middle class and the rural poor

The primary goal of the Chinese Cultural Revolution

Unify and purify the ideology of the country

Current legal system of China

While criminal proceedings are often arbitrary, much progress has been made in improving rule of law and protecting contracts and workers rights

Unitary State

Concentrates power at the national level (Iran and China)

Authoritarian regimes are most specifically defined as those systems that

Have no formal means for the people to hold the government accountable

An authoritarian regime would be undermined by the presence of

A large and broad middle class

Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong built legitimacy through

a cult personality around the leaders

The collapse of the Soviet Union was preceded by

Policies by Gorbechev government attempting to open and liberalize the Soviet Union

Asymmetric federalism in Russia

The varying degrees of autonomy to individual regional governments

Region of Russia that has ethnic tension most frequently expressed through political violence

Chechnya

Civil Society in Russia

is poorly organized and weak with low participation rates in all manner of citizen groups

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation

acts as weak and generally non-confrontational opposition party

Political and economic power in Russia is increasingly held by

siloviki formerly employed in security services

Russian Population

Population is declining, and early death rates among men is causing a large imbalance between the number of men and women

Political power in China is frequently gained and exercised though

informal personal connections

Enduring legacy of the Chinese Revolution of 1949

The divide and political tension between mainland China and Taiwan

Results of Moas Great Leap Forward (1958)

a massive famine and economic decline

Changes of leadership succession in China from the 1980s to the present

Leadership transitions have become orderly and predictable within the CCP

Status of minority ethnic groups within China

concentrated in distant and remote parts of the country and are given special autonomy and exemptions in many policy areas

The Chinese states power to control and restrict civil society organization

has been weakened by the emergence of new technologies

The highest ranking members of the Chinese Communist Party hold positions in

The Politburo Standing Committee

Russia is a

federal state

Federalism (in Russia)

Asymmetric federalism; Meaning different subnational entities have different rights, prerogatives, and levels of freedom

Most of Russia's population

concentrated in the East

Brezhnev Doctrine

Policy proclaimed in 1968 and declaring that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene in any Communist country whenever it determined the Communist party was loosing power

Chechnya

A republic of Russia that has experienced some of the worst violence because they wanted independence; concern for Russia

Crimea

Former Ukrainian territory claimed by Russia after a referendum in 2015

Democratic Centralism

The Leninist organizational structure that concentrates power in the hands of the party elite

De-Stalinization

The liberalization of the post-Stalin Soviet Union led by reformer Nikita Khrushchev; rid the country of Stalins ideas

Shock Therapy

Abrupt move by Boris Yeltsin to a free market economy in Russia; command economy to market economy

New Economic Policy (NEP)

Lenin's 1921 policy to re-establish limited economic freedom in an attempt to rebuild agriculture and industry in the face of economic disintegration

General Secretary (Russia)

Most power; leads the party (chief executive)

Duma

450 members, SMD and PR mix, most powerful house in legislature

Russia's interest groups

highly corporatist; state manages formation and activity

Federal Assembly of Russia

Bicameral legislature, 170 seats

Federation Council

The largely powerless upper house of the Russian parliament (170 members, 2 for each republic)

The Constitutional Court

19 members; appointed by the president, it is supposed to have powers of judicial review

Nomenklatura

Leaders selected based on this and higher ranking leaders would identify promising lower-level members for promotion

Nikita Khrusher

Rode reformist wave to win power struggle after Stalin's death and delivered secret speech where he declared Stalin's programs a personality cult. He also began the program of de-stalinization.

Mikahil Gorbachev

Promised to reforms to save the communist economy through three programs :Glasnost (openness of sharing), perestroika (allow limited roles to markets rather than state dictating what to produce), and democratization (preserve communist structure while integrating limited democracy)

Oblasts

Ordinary regional governments made up of ethnic Russians w/ ability to elect own regional legislature and governor

Deng Xiaoping's Reforms

Four Modernizations; introduction of SEZ's and introduction of capitalism.

Chinese Type of Government

Unitary, One-Party State, Communist Government

Tibet

especially problematic, campaign for independence, rallies around the Dalai Lama, series of riots in 2008 on anniversary of failed uprising, increased tensions, etc.

Iron Rice Bowl

cradle-to-grave health care, work, and retirement security, proposed by Mao, state set production quotas and distributed basic goods to consumer

Household Responsibility System

individual families take full charge of the production and marketing of crops, families may consume or sell what they produce after paying taxes, has increased food production drastically

Iran

fuses religious and political authority in its state institutions

Oil resources during the Pahlavi shahs

turned Iran into a rentier state

Mohammad Khatami

Reformist; liberalization in freedom of speech and press. "Tehran Spring"

Green Movement (Iran)

a political movement that arose after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office; demanded a recount an election reforms

Supreme Leader of Iran

Chosen by the Assembly of Religious Experts

Qanum civil law with no sacred bias is crafted by

The Majlis

Guardian Council (Iran)

institution that has the ability to disqualify candidates from running for office

President of Iran

directly elected by the people

Revolution 1979 (Iran)

supported by middle class protesters and resulted in a theocratic state

Jurist guardianship was reinterpreted by Ayatollah Khomeini to justify

empowering clerics to exercise authority over all of society

The Guardian Council (Iran)

An advisory council to the Supreme Leader, with power to select who can run for the presidency and parliament, and to block parliamentary bills it regards as incompatible with Islamic law or contrary to the constitution; appointed, rather than elected

Supreme Leader may be removed by

The Assembly of Religious Experts

Highest form of law in Iran

interpretation of the Shari'ah

Political Parties in Iran

highly fluid, and change from election to election