AP CoGoPo Unit 1: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, concepts, and institutional structures for AP Comparative Government and Politics Unit 1: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments.

Empirical data

Fact-based information from observation or experimentation.

Normative statement

A value or opinion statement that cannot be proven or disproven.

Quantitative data

Information that can be measured with numbers.

Qualitative data

Information that is difficult to measure, including sources such as speeches, foundational documents, political cartoons, maps, and political commentaries.

Correlation

Exists when there is an association between two or more variables.

Causation

Causal relationships that are difficult to determine with certainty in comparative politics because numerous variables potentially influence political policies and/or regime stability, with no way to isolate and demonstrate which is producing the change.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A summary measure from the United Nations Development Programme of average achievement in key dimensions of human development, including statistics about life expectancy, amount of schooling, and income.

Gross domestic product (GDP)

The market value of goods and services produced over a certain time in a country, which can depict the overall size of a national economy.

GDP per capita

A metric that can reflect the size of the national economy in comparison with the population size.

GDP growth rate

A measurement that shows the rate of national economic expansion.

Gini index

A measurement showing income inequality within a country, where a score of $100\%$ indicates perfect inequality and a score of $0\%$ indicates perfect equality.

Freedom House scores

Rankings reported by the nongovernmental organization Freedom House that evaluate countries based on scores for political rights and civil liberties.

Governmental transparency

The ability of citizens to access information about a government’s policy making and policy implementation to help hold officials accountable.

Governmental corruption

When public officials abuse power for personal benefit.

Fragile States Index

An assessment (formerly called the Failed States Index) reported by the non-governmental organization The Fund for Peace that ranks countries based on their potential to weaken due to conflicts and domestic turmoil.

Political systems

The laws, ideas, and procedures that address who should have authority to rule and what the government’s influence on its people and economy should be.

States

Political organizations that combine a permanent population with governing institutions to exercise control over a defined territory with international recognition.

Regimes

The fundamental rules that control access to and the exercise of political power, which typically endure from government to government.

Government

The set of institutions or individuals legally empowered to make binding decisions for a state.

Sovereignty

The independent legal authority over a population in a particular territory.

Nation

A group of people with commonalities including race, language, religion, ethnicity, political identity, and aspirations.

Rule of law

The principle that a state should be governed by known laws and not arbitrary decisions made by individual government officials.

Free and fair elections

Elections that allow competition so that an opposition candidate and party can defeat the ruling candidate and party.

Independence of governmental branches

A structural feature that prevents any one branch from controlling all governmental power.

Independent election commissions

Bodies that attempt to reduce voter fraud and manipulation and enhance electoral competition.

Suffrage

A synonym for voting rights.

Universal suffrage

The condition where every citizen above a certain age is legally eligible to vote.

Civil Rights

The protection of groups of citizens from discrimination by the government or other individuals.

Civil Liberties

An individual’s protection against abuse of powers by the government.

Corporatist system

A system of government-created and supported interest groups (typically for labor groups, business owners, and agricultural workers) that serve as the government’s preferred linkage institutions for citizen participation.

Pluralist system

A system where citizens can affiliate with more independent interest groups to attempt to shape public policies.

Gender quotas

Governmental or party rules intended to increase female representation in legislatures.

Illiberal democracies and hybrid regimes

Regimes that hold elections with little competition toward the ruling party and tend to have diminished civil liberties.

One-party states

Systems where rival parties are prohibited from controlling governmental power.

Theocracies

States that require governance to be controlled by leaders of a particular religion.

Totalitarian governments

Authoritarian governments that severely limit citizens’ rights to movement and free choice of employment.

Military regimes

Systems where military leaders hold top positions of governing authority.

Political efficacy

Citizens’ belief that their political participation impacts the shaping of governmental policies.

Democratization

A transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic regime, typically moving toward more competition, fairness, and transparency in elections; increased citizen participation; universal adult suffrage; greater transparency; protected rights and liberties; equal treatment; and the rule of law.

Coup d’etat

A sudden and illegal removal of a government and seizure of its powers by an elite faction, typically allied with military and security leaders.

Revolution

The overthrow and replacement of a political system with the support of a large portion of the country’s population.

Democratic consolidation

The process by which a democratic regime matures in terms of election rules, separation of powers, and protection of civil liberties, making it unlikely to revert to authoritarianism without an external shock.

Power

The ability of the state to influence the conduct of individuals and organizations within the state.

Authority

The state’s legitimate right to enforce a power.

Sources of power and authority

Foundations of state influence including constitutions, religions, military forces, political parties, legislatures, and popular support.

Federal states

States that divide power among different levels of government to confer a degree of local autonomy in supplying social and educational services, while also reserving powers for the national government.

Unitary states

States that concentrate power at the national level with more uniform policies and potentially more efficient policy making.

Devolution

The delegation of power to regional governments that can enhance or weaken legitimacy and create both opportunities and obstacles to resolving social, political, and economic issues.

Multiethnic states

Countries that are comprised of a population with a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

Legitimacy

Whether a government’s constituents believe their government has the right to use power in the way they do, which confers authority on and can increase the power of a regime and government.

Sources of legitimacy

Factors conferring legitimate authority including popular elections, constitutional provisions, nationalism, tradition, governmental effectiveness, economic growth, ideology, religious heritage and organizations, and dominant party endorsements.

Political stability

The ability of a government to consistently provide services that meet the basic needs of most of the population to foster public confidence in state institutions.

Coercion

The use of government force to guide citizen behavior and actions, which can range from a citation and small fine to brute force and violence.