AP Comp Gov Intro Unit Vocab Test Pt. 1

Authoritarian

A system of rule in which power depends not on popular legitimacy but on the coercive force of the political authorities.

Bureaucracy

An organization structured hierarchically, in which lower-level officials are in charge with administering regulations codified in rules that specify impersonal, objective guidelines for making decisions

Cabinet

A body of officials (ie. ministers or secretaries) who direct executive departmentsA presided over by the chef executive (ie president, or prime minister)

Consolidated Democracies

A democratic political system that has been solidly and stably established for an ample period of time and in which there is relatively consistent adherence to core democratic principles

Corporatism

The control of a state or organization by large interest groups

Democratic Transition

A process of a state moving from an authoritarian to a democratic political system

Elitist Theory of Politics

The idea that the power and influence in any society or organization is concentrated in the hands of a select few

Empirical Statement

A factual claim about the world that can be verified or disproven through observation, sensory experience, or experimentation, relying on concrete data rather than opinion or theory

Executive

The agencies of government that implement or execute policy. The chief executive, such as president or prime minister, also plays a key policy-making role

Gini Coefficient

measures the inequality among the values of a frequency distribution, such as income levels

Human Development Index

A composite number used by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to measure and compare levels of achievement in health,knowledge, and standard of living

Illiberal Democracy

A state where the government has been brought to power (and perhaps reelected) by democratic election, but then takes steps to seriously limit political competition, undermine the rule of law, and deprive citizens of their basic rights

Judiciary

The political institutions in a country responsible for the administration of justices, and in some countries, for determining the constitutionality of state decisions

Legislature

The political institutions in a country in which elected or appointed members are charged with responsibility for making laws and usually for authorizing the taxation and expenditure of the financial resources enabling the state to carry out its function

Liberal Democracies

A democratic system of government that officially recognizes and legally protects individual rights and freedoms and in which the exercise of political power is constrained by the rule of law

Modernization Theory

suggests traditional societies evolve into modern ones by adopting Western industrial/capitalist/democratic models, driven by tech/wealth, leading to middle-class growth and stable democracy

Normative Statement

a value-based, subjective claim about what should or ought to happen in politics, policy, or society

Pluralist Theory of Politics

suggests that multiple groups, interests, and factions compete for power and influence in a democratic society.

Regime

refers to the fundamental rules, institutions, and norms that define how political power is accessed and exercised in a country, enduring across different governments, and determining the relationship between the state and its citizens, like democracy, authoritarianism, or hybrid systems

Regime Change

a fundamental shift in the system of government (e.g., democracy to authoritarianism)

Rule of Law

the core principle that everyone, including rulers, is subject to and accountable under consistent, fairly enforced laws

Transitional Democracies

countries moving from authoritarian rule toward democracy

Gross Domestic Product

The total of all goods and services produced within a country that is used as a broad measure of the size of its economy