AP Comp Gov Unit #1 Vocab: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments

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

Governmental Corruption

when public officials abuse power for personal benefit.

The Fragile States Index (Failed States Index)

is reported by The Fund for Peace which is a non-governmental organization that assesses and ranks countries based on their potential to weaken due to conflicts and domestic turmoil.

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

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 the exercise of political power. Regimes typically endure from government to government.

Government

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

Human Development Index (HDI)

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

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

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

GDP per Capita

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

GDP Growth Rate

shows the rate of national economic expansion.

Gini Index

shows income inequality within a country. A Gini of 100% indicates perfect inequality whereas a Gini of 0% indicates perfect equality.

Freedom House

scores are reported by a non-governmental organization (Freedom House) that ranks 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.

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

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

Independence of Governmental Branches

Prevents any one branch from controlling all governmental power.

Independence of Governmental Branches

prevents any one branch from controlling all governmental power.

Independent Election Commissions

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

Suffrage

a synonym for voting rights. Universal suffrage means that 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

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

Corporatist System Government

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

Pluralist System

citizens can affiliate with more independent interest group to attempt to shape public policies.

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.

Gender Quotas

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

Coup

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

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

Authority

state’s legitimate right to enforce a power.

One-Party States

rival parties are prohibited from controlling governmental power.

Theocracies

require the state 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

when 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; the transition process can start or temporarily change direction, but typically moves toward more competition, fairness, and transparency in elections; increased citizen participation in policy-making processes; universal suffrage for adult citizens; greater governmental transparency; protected civil rights and liberties; equal treatment of citizens; and establishment of the rule of law.

Federal States

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.

Devolution

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

Unitary states

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

Multiethnic States

countries that are comprised of a

population of a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

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 the power of a regime and government.

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. Can be as small as a citation and small fine to as large as brute force and violence.