AP Comp Gov Exam Flashcards

Authoritarian Regime

A regime characterized by the absence of free and fair elections, limited civil liberties, and significant state control over many aspects of life.

Austerity Measures

Government policies aiming to reduce government debt or budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both.

Bicameral

A legislature consisting of two chambers or houses.

Catch-all Political Party

A political party that aims to attract support from a wide range of social groups and ideologies, often with ideologically diverse platforms.

Causation

The relationship between cause and effect, where one variable directly influences another.

Civil Liberties

Freedoms guaranteed to individuals from arbitrary governmental interference.

Civil Rights

Rights that guarantee equal social opportunities and equal protection under the law, regardless of race, religion, or other characteristics.

Civil Society

A range of voluntary associations that are autonomous from the state, including NGOs, religious groups, professional associations, and media.

Communism

A political ideology that advocates for the abolition of private property and near total governmental control of the economy.

Comparative Politics

The subfield of political science that studies and compares domestic politics across different countries.

Competitive Authoritarian Regime

A hybrid regime that holds contested elections but with limited competitiveness, minimal civil liberties, and limited governmental transparency.

Correlation

A mutual relationship or connection between two or more variables.

Corporatist System

A system of interest group representation where the government controls access to policy making by relying on state-sanctioned groups or single peak associations.

Coup d'état

A sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.

Democracy

A regime characterized by free and fair elections, protected civil liberties and rights, governmental transparency, and the rule of law, allowing significant citizen control over the policy-making process.

Democratic Consolidation

The process by which a democratic regime matures and becomes unlikely to revert to authoritarianism.

Democratization

The transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic regime.

Devolution

The transfer of powers from the central government to regional or local governments.

Dominant Party System

A political party system where one party consistently holds governing power, often despite the formal existence of other parties.

Empirical Statement

A factual and objective statement based on observable evidence.

Executive Branch

The part of government responsible for formulating, implementing, and enforcing policy.

Fascism

An extreme nationalist ideology that favors authoritarian rule and the rights of the ethnic majority over minorities and the political opposition.

Federal State

A state that divides power among different levels of government (national, regional, local).

First-past-the-post

An electoral system in which the candidate with the most votes in a single-member district wins the election, even if they do not have a majority.

Foundational Documents

Key legal and political texts that establish the framework and principles of a state's government.

Freedom House

An organization that assesses the degree of political freedom and civil liberties in different countries.

Gini Index (coefficient)

A measure of income inequality within a population.

Globalization

The increasing interconnectedness of the world economy, culture, and population, brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, flows of investment, people, and information.

Government

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

Grassroots Social Movement

A social movement that originates and draws power from the local level.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The total value of goods and services produced within a country in a specific time period.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita

GDP divided by the population, often used as a measure of average income.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate

The percentage increase or decrease in a country's GDP over a specific period.

Guardian Council (Iran)

A powerful institution in Iran that vets candidates for elected office and ensures that laws comply with Islamic law.

Head of Government

The political leader responsible for the day-to-day operations of the government and the implementation of policies.

Head of State

The ceremonial or symbolic leader of a state.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators, used to rank countries into four tiers of human development.

Hybrid Regime

A political system with a mix of democratic and authoritarian features.

Ideology

A set of values and beliefs about the goals of government, public policy, or politics.

Illiberal Democracy

A regime that holds contested elections but lacks significant civil liberties and protections.

Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI)

Economic policies aimed at reducing foreign dependency by raising tariffs and encouraging local production of industrialized products.

Independent Judiciary

A judicial system that is free from political influence from the executive and legislative branches.

Individualism

A political ideology that emphasizes individual civil liberties and freedom over governmental restrictions.

Inference

A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.

Interest Group

An organization explicitly formed to represent and advocate for a specific interest or policy issue.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

An international organization that provides financial assistance and advice to countries to promote global monetary cooperation.

Judicial Review

The power of a court to review the constitutionality of laws or actions taken by the executive and legislative branches.

Legislative Branch

The part of government responsible for making laws.

Legitimacy

The belief by constituents that their government has the right to use power.

Majles (Iran)

The unicameral legislative body in Iran.

Managed Democracy (Russia)

A term used to describe the political system in Russia, characterized by elections that are managed to favor the ruling party and limit opposition.

Military Regime

A regime where the military exercises direct or indirect control over the government.

Multinational Corporation (MNC)

A company that operates in several countries.

Multiparty System

A political party system where multiple parties have a realistic chance of gaining power.

Nation

A group of people with commonalities including race, language, religion, ethnicity, political identity, and aspirations.

National Electoral Institute (IFE) (Mexico)

An independent institution established to oversee and regulate elections in Mexico.

National People's Congress (NPC) (China)

The unicameral legislative body in China, controlled by the Communist Party.

Nationalization

The process by which a government takes control of a privately owned industry or asset.

Neoliberalism

A political ideology that advocates for limited governmental intervention in the economy and society, supporting privatization, free trade, and deregulation.

Nongovernmental Organization (NGO)

A non-profit, voluntary citizens' group organized on a local, national, or international level.

Normative Statement

A statement expressing a value judgment or opinion.

One-party State

A regime where only one political party is legally allowed to hold governing power.

Parliamentary System

A political system where the executive and legislative functions are fused, with the legislature selecting and potentially removing the head of government.

Pluralist System

A system of interest group representation that promotes competition among autonomous groups not linked to the state.

Political Culture

The collective attitudes, values, and beliefs of the citizenry and the norms of behavior in the political system.

Political Efficacy

The belief that one's political participation matters and can influence government.

Political Ideology

A set of values and beliefs about the goals of government, public policy, or politics.

Political Participation

The various ways in which citizens engage with the political system, ranging from voting to protesting.

Political Socialization

The lifelong process of acquiring one's beliefs, values, and orientations toward the political system.

Political System

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.

Populism

A political philosophy that supports the interests and rights of the common people over that of the elites.

Post-materialism

A social valuing of self-expression and quality of life that leads to pressure on governments to address environmental issues and social/economic equality.

Presidential System

A political system with separate fixed-term elections for the executive and legislature, where the executive serves as both head of state and head of government.

Privatization

The transfer of ownership of a government-owned industry or asset to private hands.

Proportional Representation

An electoral system that allocates legislative seats to political parties based on the proportion of the total vote they receive.

Referendum

A direct vote by citizens on a specific policy question.

Regime

The fundamental rules that control access to and the exercise of political power; typically endures from government to government.

Rentier State

A state that obtains a significant portion of its total government revenue from the export of natural resources or by leasing resources to foreign countries.

Resource Curse

The negative political and economic outcomes often associated with rentier states that are heavily reliant on natural resource exports.

Rule by Law

A system where the state uses the law to reinforce its authority.

Rule of Law

The principle that a state should be governed by law and not arbitrary decisions, where the state is limited to the same rules as its citizens.

Semi-presidential System

A political system featuring separate popular elections for the president and legislature, where the president nominates a prime minister approved by the legislature, and the cabinet is accountable to both.

Sharia Law

Islamic religious law.

Single-member District

An electoral district represented by a single elected official.

Social Movement

Large groups of people pushing collectively for significant political or social change.

Socialism

A political ideology that advocates for the reduction of income disparities and the nationalization of major private industries.

Sovereignty

The right and power of a state to govern itself without outside interference.

State

A political organization that combines a permanent population with governing institutions to exercise control over a defined territory with international recognition.

Structural Adjustment Programs

Economic policies imposed by international financial institutions like the IMF as conditions for providing financial assistance, often requiring privatization, reduced tariffs, and reduced subsidies.

Supranational Organization

An organization with sovereign powers over the national governments that are member states (e.g., EU, WTO).

Theocracy

A regime where religious leaders hold ultimate political authority and the legal system is based on religious law.

Totalitarian Government

A highly authoritarian regime that seeks to control all aspects of public and private life.

Transparency

The degree to which information about government and policy making is allowed to circulate openly.

Unicameral

A legislature consisting of a single chamber or house.

Unitary State

A state that concentrates power at the national level.

Universal Suffrage

The right of all adult citizens to vote.

World Bank

An international financial institution that provides loans and grants to governments of poorer countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

An international organization that regulates and facilitates international trade.