Comparative Politics – Democracy, Selectorates & Democratization

Vocabulary flashcards cover key terms and concepts from the lecture on selectorate theory, democratization processes, executive powers, regime types, and leading theories explaining shifts toward or away from democracy.

Selectorate Theory

Framework that categorizes who can influence leader selection into the nominal selectorate, real selectorate, and winning coalition.

Nominal Selectorate (Interchangeables)

Everyone legally eligible or registered to vote in a political system.

Real Selectorate (Influentials)

Citizens who actually cast ballots and participate in choosing leaders.

Winning Coalition (Essentials)

Subset of the real selectorate whose support directly secures victory for leaders.

Hybrid Regime

Political system combining democratic and authoritarian elements; e.g., ‘competitive authoritarianism.’

Competitive Authoritarianism

Hybrid form where elections occur but incumbents heavily tilt the playing field to retain power.

Democratic Transition

Initial phase in which an authoritarian regime begins moving toward greater democracy.

Democratic Consolidation

Moment when democracy becomes ‘the only game in town,’ often marked by two peaceful turnovers of power and routinized rights.

Democratic Breakdown

Collapse or reversal of democratic institutions back toward authoritarian rule.

Authoritarian Drift

Gradual erosion of democratic practices leading a regime toward greater authoritarianism.

Regime Change

Major shift from one regime type to another, including democratization or authoritarian conversion.

Democratization

Process of becoming more democratic and less authoritarian, encompassing transition and consolidation stages.

Modernization Theory

Claim that economic development—industrialization, wealth, education—fosters democracy (Lipset).

Lipset Hypothesis

Higher levels of industrialization and a large middle class increase prospects for democracy.

Przeworski Survival Thesis

Democracies rarely die in wealthy countries; economic development sustains, rather than causes, democracy.

Cultural Theory of Democracy

Perspective that prevailing political culture and social norms shape democratic possibilities (de Tocqueville).

Political Culture (de Tocqueville)

‘Habits of the heart’—values and participation patterns that constrain or enable democratic politics.

International System Theory

View that global forces and major powers promote or hinder democratization, e.g., during the Cold War.

Third Wave Democratization

Huntington’s period (mid-1970s – 1990s) of widespread democratic transitions aided by external support and snowballing effects.

Snowballing / Demonstration Effect

When success in one country inspires democratic movements in others.

Domestic Institutions Approach

Argument that constitutional design—federalism, electoral rules, judicial independence—conditions democratization.

Open-Access Order

Political-economic system with broad, impersonal rights and institutionalized competition, contrasted with a ‘natural state.’

Agency-Based Theory

Emphasizes choices of key individuals or groups at critical junctures (O’Donnell’s ‘softliners’ vs ‘hardliners’).

Softliners

Authoritarian elites willing to negotiate gradual liberalization.

Hardliners

Authoritarian actors resistant to any political opening, preferring repression.

Selectorate Size Rule

Leaders with small winning coalitions provide private goods; large coalitions incentivize public goods provision.

Formal Executive Powers

Constitutional authorities such as vetoes, decrees, dissolving legislatures, or declaring emergencies.

Partisan Powers

Control executives wield over party careers—cabinet posts, nominations, committee slots.

Informal Executive Powers

Unwritten influence like agenda-setting, patronage, or using the ‘bully pulpit.’

Bully Pulpit

Executive’s informal ability to shape public debate by commanding media attention.

Patronage

Distribution of government jobs or contracts to secure political support.

Vote of No Confidence

Parliamentary motion that can remove a government before its term expires.

Presidential System

Executive elected separately for fixed terms; potential issues of dual legitimacy and winner-take-all outcomes.

Parliamentary System

Executive emerges from legislature and can be removed by flexible votes of no confidence; argued to foster power-sharing.

Factional Competition

Polity coding for highly polarized contestation; lowered the U.S. Polity score after 2016.

POLITY Scale

Dataset measuring democratic authority from −10 (autocracy) to +10 (full democracy).

Freedom House Score

0–100 rating of political rights and civil liberties; U.S. fell from 89 (2017) to 83 (2025).

Anocracy

Mixed regime type (Polity 1–5) exhibiting both democratic and autocratic features.

G7 Freedom Index Leader

In 2025, only one G7 country—Canada—scored 100/100 on Freedom House’s freedom index.