Unit 1-Political Systems, Regimes and Governments

Empirical Data

Is dfact-based information from observation or experimentation

Normative Statement

Is a value or opinion statement that cannot be proven or disproven. For example a normative statement about Russian politics is that “Valdimir Putin should not have returned to become Russia’s president in 2012

Qualitative data

Is information that is difficult to measure, including sources such as speeches foundational documents, political artoons, maps, and political commentaries

Correlation

exists when there is an association between two or more variables

Human Development Index

Which comes from the United Nations Development Program as ä summary measure average acheivement in key dimensions of human development including statistics about life expectancy amount of schooling and income.

Gross Domestic Product

th market value of goods and services produced over a specific time in a

GDP per capita

can reflect the size of the national economy compared to the population size

Gini index

shows incoje inequality within a country. A gini of 100% indicates perfect inequality, whereas a Gini of 0% indicates ideal equality.

Government transparency

Is the ability of citizens to access information about a government’s policymaking and policy implementation to help hold officials accountable

Governmental corruption

when public officials abuse power for personal benefit

Political systems

comprise 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

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

Regimes

Refer to the fundamental rules that control access to and exercise politcal pwoer. Regimes typically endure from gvoernment to government

Freedom House

scores are reported by a nonvgovernmental organization (Freedom HOuse) that ranks countries based from government to government

Government

Is the set of institutions or individuals legally empowered to make binding decisions for a state

Sovereignty

Is 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.

The rule of law

Is the principle that a state should be governed by known laws and not abitrary decisions made by individual government officials.

Independence of governmental branches

Prevents any one branch from controlling all government power

Independent election commissions

Attempt to reduce voter fraud and manipulation and enhace electoral competition

Suffrage

Is a synonym for voting rights. Universal suffrage means that every citizen above a certain age is legally eligible to vote

Civil Rights

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

Civil Liberties

Is an individual’s pprotection against abuse of powers by the government

Corporatist system

The government created and supported interest groups( typically for labor groups, bussiness owners, and agricultural workers) that became the government’s preferred linkage institutions for citizen participation

Pluralist system

Citizens can affiliate with more independent interest grups to attempt to shape public polices

Democratic electoral systems

Accommodate ethnic diversity and increase multiparty competition with rule adjustments including gender or cultural quotas, proportional representation, and changes in vote thresholds and district boundaries.

Illiberal democracies and Hybrid regimes

Hold elections with little competition toward the ruling party which tends to diminish civli liberties

One party states

When rival parties are prohibited from controlling government power.

Theocracies

Require the state to be controlled by lead3ers of a particular religion

Totalitarian governments

Authoritarian governments that severly limit citizens rights to movement and free choice of employment

Military regimes

When military leaders hold top positions of governing authority

Democratization

Is a transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic regime; the transition process can start or temporaily change direction but typically moves toward more competition, fairness, and transparency in elections; increased citizen participation in policy-making processes; universal suffrae for adult citizens; greater governmental transparency; protected civil rights and liberties; equal treatment of citizens; and establishment of the rule of law. Dem

Democratic consolidation

Is 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

Include constitutions religions, military forces, political parties, legislatures and popular support

Federal states

Divide power among different levels of government to confer a degree of local autonomy in supplying social and educational services while reserving powers for the national government

Unitary states

concentrate power at the national level with more uniform polices and potentially more efficient policymaking

Devolution

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

Legitimacy

refers to whether a government’s constituents believe their government has the right to use power in the way they do. Legitimacy confers authority on and can increase a regime’s and government’s power

Sources of Legitimacy

Can include popular elections, constitutional provisions nationalism tradition governmental effectiveness economic growth ideology religious heritage organization and the dominant political party’s endorsement.

Political stability

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

Coercion

The use of government force to guide citizen behavior and actions. It can be as small as a citation and small fine, to as large as brute force and violence