Poli Si midterm 2: Regimes connection to political participation and polarization

What defines a liberal democracy?

A system combining free and fair elections with strong civil liberties, rule of law, and constraints on executive power.

How do liberal democracies shape individual participation?

Low-cost, rights-protected participation; voting, protest, and civic engagement are legally accessible.

How do liberal democracies shape collective action?

Nonviolent collective action is easier and more effective due to rights protections and due process.

How do liberal democracies shape political parties?

Parties act as gatekeepers, aggregate interests, and stabilize politics through institutionalization.

How do liberal democracies shape polarization?

Polarization can rise through identity sorting, but institutions can buffer against democratic breakdown.

What threatens liberal democracy?

Erosion of norms, executive aggrandizement, polarization, and abandonment of gatekeeping by parties.

What is an illiberal democracy?

A system with elections but weakened civil liberties, restricted opposition, and concentrated executive power.

How do illiberal democracies shape individual participation?

Participation exists but is constrained by repression, media control, and tilted electoral rules.

How do illiberal democracies shape collective action?

Collective action becomes riskier; surveillance and emergency powers suppress mobilization.

How do illiberal democracies shape political parties?

Ruling parties tilt the playing field; opposition parties face harassment or legal restrictions.

How do illiberal democracies shape polarization?

Leaders weaponize polarization, framing opponents as enemies to justify rights restrictions.

Why do some citizens support illiberal leaders?

Perceived effectiveness, fear of opponents, crisis narratives, or distrust of democratic institutions.

What defines an authoritarian regime?

A system where leaders claim unlimited authority, elections are absent or meaningless, and civil liberties are repressed.

How do authoritarian regimes shape individual participation?

Participation is coerced, symbolic, or dangerous; dissent is punished.

How do authoritarian regimes shape collective action?

High-risk environments push resistance underground; everyday resistance becomes common.

How do authoritarian regimes shape political parties?

Parties are tools of control (single-party states) or irrelevant (personalist dictatorships).

How do authoritarian regimes shape polarization?

Regimes manufacture enemies and out-groups to justify repression and consolidate power.

How do authoritarian regimes maintain control?

Repression, co-optation, propaganda, patronage, and claims to legitimacy (nationalism, religion, performance).

How does regime type affect participation?

Liberal democracies enable participation; illiberal democracies restrict it; authoritarian regimes repress it.

How does regime type affect collective action?

Nonviolent action thrives in democracies; becomes dangerous in illiberal regimes; becomes covert in authoritarianism.

How does regime type affect political parties?

Strong parties stabilize democracies; weak or manipulated parties enable illiberalism; authoritarian parties enforce control.

How does regime type affect polarization?

Democracies experience identity-driven polarization; illiberal regimes weaponize it; authoritarian regimes manufacture it.

Which regime type is most vulnerable to democratic backsliding?

Illiberal democracies — they retain elections but hollow out rights and institutions.

What is the 'democratic dilemma' during crises?

Crisis demands decisiveness; democracy demands restraint — leading to temptation for illiberal emergency powers.

What is the first warning sign of democratic erosion?

Rejection of democratic rules (e.g., undermining elections, endorsing coups).

What is the second warning sign of democratic erosion?

Denying legitimacy of opponents (calling them criminals, traitors, or enemies).

What is the third warning sign of democratic erosion?

Tolerating or encouraging political violence.

What is the fourth warning sign of democratic erosion?

Readiness to restrict civil liberties of opponents, media, or critics.

What is a liberal democracy?

A system combining electoral representation and rights, with free and fair elections, rule of law, civil liberties, and constraints on executive power.

What are the legitimacy claims of liberal democracy?

Rational‑legal authority (primary), effectiveness (economic performance), traditional authority (national identity), and charismatic appeals by leaders.

What is the organizational base of liberal democracy?

Competitive political parties, independent judiciary, free media, civil society, professional bureaucracy, and rule‑bound elections.

What kinds of authority does liberal democracy rely on?

Primarily rational‑legal; supplemented by traditional and charismatic authority.

What are the "carrots" used by liberal democracies?

Rights protections, public goods, economic opportunity, representation, and social programs.

What are the "sticks" used by liberal democracies?

Legal penalties enforced through due process, constitutional limits, and regulated state force.

What are key threats to liberal democracy?

Polarization, majority tyranny, erosion of norms, executive aggrandizement, emergency power abuse, declining trust, and weak party gatekeeping.

What examples of liberal democracies were given in lecture?

Norway, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Uruguay.

What is a theocracy?

A regime where religious authority is the basis of rule; political power is held by religious leaders or justified through religious doctrine.

What are the legitimacy claims of a theocracy?

Traditional religious authority, divine mandate, sacred law, charismatic spiritual leadership, and moral legitimacy.

What is the organizational base of a theocracy?

Clergy, religious courts, religious police, loyal security forces, state‑aligned religious institutions, and doctrinal enforcement bodies.

What kinds of authority does a theocracy rely on?

Primarily traditional and religious authority; often charismatic authority; rational‑legal authority through codified religious law.

What are the "carrots" used by theocracies?

Religious welfare networks, community services, spiritual legitimacy, and social benefits tied to religious institutions.

What are the "sticks" used by theocracies?

Religious police, censorship, punishment for heresy or dissent, imprisonment, corporal punishment, and moral enforcement.

What are key threats to theocratic regimes?

Generational secularization, internal clerical splits, economic crises, loss of moral authority, elite fragmentation, and international pressure.

What examples of theocracies were given in lecture?

Iran (primary example); Taliban Afghanistan fits theocratic‑militant hybrid.