Comparative Politics – Democracy, Selectorates & Regime Change

Vocabulary flashcards cover key terms, theorists, and concepts from the lecture on selectorate theory, democratization pathways, executive powers, and institutional designs in comparative politics.

Selectorate Theory

Framework (Bueno de Mesquita et al.) that categorizes who influences leader selection: nominal selectorate, real selectorate, and winning coalition; regime type depends on coalition size.

Nominal Selectorate (Interchangeables)

Everyone legally eligible or registered to vote in a polity.

Real Selectorate (Influentials)

Those who actually turn out and vote in an election.

Winning Coalition (Essentials)

Subset of the real selectorate whose support is necessary for a leader to gain/retain power.

Hybrid Regime

Political system mixing democratic rules with authoritarian practices; e.g., ‘competitive authoritarianism.’

Competitive Authoritarianism

Hybrid regime where formal democratic institutions exist but incumbents abuse power to tilt the playing field.

Public Goods vs Private Goods

In selectorate theory, large coalitions push leaders toward public‐good provision; small coalitions induce private‐good patronage.

Democratic Transition

Initial shift from authoritarian rule toward democracy, often marked by first free elections.

Democratic Consolidation

Phase when democracy becomes ‘the only game in town,’ usually after at least two peaceful transfers of executive power and routinized rights.

Democratic Breakdown

Reversal in which an established democracy collapses into hybrid or authoritarian rule.

Authoritarian Drift

Gradual move away from democracy toward more authoritarian practices without outright regime change.

Regime Change

Any major alteration in regime type, including democratization, breakdown, or authoritarian replacement.

Democratization

Process of becoming more democratic and less authoritarian; includes transition and consolidation.

Modernization Theory

Lipset’s idea that industrialization, wealth, and education foster democracy via a strong middle class.

Lipset (1959)

Argued higher wealth and education increase prospects for democracy through an open class system.

Przeworski et al. (2000)

Found that ‘democracies never die in wealthy countries’; development sustains, rather than causes, democracy.

Political Culture Theory

Perspective stressing how ingrained values or evolving political culture shape democratic possibilities (e.g., de Tocqueville).

de Tocqueville (1835)

Observed U.S. social conditions (‘habits of the heart’) that supported participatory democracy.

International System Theory

View that global forces—Cold War dynamics, external actors—promote or hinder democracy.

Huntington’s Third Wave

Period (mid-1970s–1990s) of widespread democratization driven by legitimacy crises, external support, and demonstration effects.

Domestic Institutions Theory

Emphasizes design of federal/unitary structures, electoral systems, judicial independence, etc., in democratization.

Agency Theory

Focus on decisive choices by individuals or groups—softliners vs hardliners—during regime transitions (O’Donnell et al.).

Softliners

Authoritarian elites willing to negotiate reforms toward democratization.

Hardliners

Regime actors opposed to liberalization; may trigger repression if facing radical opponents.

Formal Executive Powers

Constitutionally granted tools such as veto, decrees, dissolution of legislature, and emergency declarations.

Partisan Powers

Influence leaders exert over party careers, nominations, or legislative discipline.

Informal Powers

Non-constitutional leverage (agenda-setting, patronage, ‘bully pulpit’) used by executives.

Veto

Formal executive refusal to sign legislation, blocking its passage.

Dissolution of Legislature

Executive power to call new elections by dismissing the current parliament.

Vote of No Confidence

Legislative mechanism to remove a government in parliamentary systems.

Parliamentarism

System where executive derives authority from and is accountable to the legislature; touted by Linz as democracy-friendly.

Presidentialism

System with directly elected, fixed-term president separate from legislature; criticized for dual legitimacy issues.

Dual Legitimacy

Problem in presidentialism where both president and legislature claim popular mandates, risking deadlock.

Freedom House Score

0-100 index rating political rights and civil liberties; U.S. declined from 89 (2017) to 83 (2025).

Polity Scale

-10 to +10 measure of regime authority; warnings of U.S. drop toward ‘anocracy’ (+5) amid factional competition.

Factional Competition

Polity coding for polarized political contestation reducing executive constraints.

Private Patronage

Use of state resources or jobs to reward supporters, more prevalent with small winning coalitions.

Selectorate Size & Leader Effort

As selectorate grows, fear of exclusion induces loyalty, enabling leaders to exert less effort yet survive (Mesquita et al.).

Fixed Terms vs Flexible Terms

Presidential terms are fixed; parliamentary governments can fall early, offering flexibility during crises.

Outsider vs Insider Executives

Presidents can rise as political outsiders; prime ministers usually insiders chosen by party elites.

Competitive Authoritarian Burkina Faso

Country experienced two coups in 2022, illustrating narrow selectorate and unstable hybrid rule.