Comparative Politics Exam 2

Monarchy

A system of government where a single person, the monarch, serves as the head of state and inherits the position through a royal family line. In absolute monarchies, the monarch holds real political power vs. symbolic power in constitutional monarchies.

Military Dictatorship

a form of government in which the military controls political power, often after seizing it through a coup, and rules without meaningful input from the public or democratic institutions. In these systems, military leaders (often generals) make decisions, restrict political freedoms, and suppress opposition to maintain control.

Dominant Party Dictatorship

A system where one political party controls the government over a long period of time, even if there are elections, because the system keeps them in power. Opposition parties can exist, but they have low chances of winning due to control of the media and unfair advantages.

Personalist Dictatorship

a type of authoritarian government where all power is concentrated in one individual leader, rather than shared with institutions like the military or a political party. The leader makes decisions based on personal loyalty and control, and often weakens or ignores formal rules to stay in power.

Dictator’s Dilemma

problem authoritarian leaders face when they try to stay in power: they need accurate information about what people think, but they also restrict free speech, which means people are too afraid to tell the truth. As a result, dictators often rely on biased or false information, making it harder to respond to real problems or threats.

Electoral authoritarian regime

a system where elections exist, but they are not free or fair, so the ruling party or leader stays in power no matter what. These regimes use elections to appear democratic, but they manipulate media, restrict opposition, or control results to maintain control.

Selectorate

group of people in a country who have some say in choosing the leader, whether through voting or influence. In democracies, this group is large (like all eligible voters), while in authoritarian regimes, it is much smaller (such as elites, military leaders, or party members).

Winning Coalition (selectorate theory)

the smaller group within the selectorate whose support a leader actually needs to stay in power. These are the key people the leader must keep satisfied, often through rewards, benefits, or influence.

Problem of power-sharing

The challenge leaders face when they need to share power with others (like elites, military leaders, or party members) to stay in power, but those same people could also threaten or overthrow them. Leaders must balance giving enough power and rewards to keep allies loyal, without making them strong enough to become rivals.

Problem of authoritarian control

the challenge dictators face in maintaining power over the population—specifically, how to keep people from rebelling while still governing effectively. Leaders must balance repression (like censorship or punishment) with enough satisfaction or stability so people don’t resist.

Return to the Barracks

when the military gives up political power and goes back to its normal role of national defense, allowing civilian leaders to govern. This usually happens after a period of military rule or a coup, when the military steps out of politics.

Government

the system or group of people that has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws, and decisions for a country or state. It includes institutions like leaders, legislatures, and bureaucracies that manage public affairs and maintain order.

Presidential Democracy

a system of government where a president is both the head of state and head of government, and is elected separately from the legislature. The president has fixed terms and operates independently from the legislative branch, meaning there is a clear separation of powers.

Parliamentary Democracy

a system of government where the executive (prime minister and cabinet) is chosen from the legislature and depends on its support to stay in power. This means the executive and legislative branches are closely linked, and the government can be removed if it loses the confidence of parliament.

Coalition Government

a government formed when no single political party wins a majority, so multiple parties join together to share power and govern. These parties must negotiate and agree on policies to maintain support and stay in power.

Minimum Winning Coalition (MWC)

a coalition made up of just enough parties or members to achieve a majority, but no extra members beyond what is needed to stay in power. The idea is that leaders want to share power and resources with as few partners as possible.

Collective Cabinet Responsibility

refers to the principle that members of the executive cabinet make decisions together and publicly support those decisions as a unified group, even if they disagree privately. This means the cabinet shares responsibility for government actions and presents a single, consistent position.

Formateur

The person (usually a political leader or party head) who is chosen to try to form a government, especially after an election when no party has a clear majority. The formateur negotiates with other parties to build a coalition that can control the legislature.

Gamson’s Law

the idea that in a coalition government, political parties get positions in proportion to the number of seats they contribute to the coalition. The more support a party brings, the more power and positions it gets.

Connected coalition

coalition governments made up of political parties that are next to each other, or close to each other, on the ideological spectrum. This means the parties usually have similar views, which makes it easier for them to work together and agree on policy.

Cohabitation

a situation in a semi-presidential system where the president and the prime minister come from different political parties, meaning they have to share power despite political disagreement. This usually happens when voters elect a president from one party but give control of the legislature to another. (For example, in France, cohabitation has occurred when the president and prime minister were from opposing parties.)

Federalism

a system of government where power is divided between a central (national) government and smaller regional governments, like states or provinces. Each level has its own responsibilities and authority, rather than all power being held in one place.

Unitary country

a system of government where all political power is centralized in the national government, and regional or local governments only have the authority that the central government chooses to give them. Unlike federal systems, there is no constitutional division of power—everything ultimately comes from the center.

The Majoritarian Model

a system of democracy where political power is concentrated in the hands of the majority, often allowing the winning party to govern with few constraints. It typically features strong executives, single-party governments, and less power-sharing with minority groups.

The Consensus Model

a system of democracy where power is shared among multiple parties and groups, and decisions are made through negotiation and compromise rather than simple majority rule. It often includes coalition governments, proportional representation, and strong protections for minority voices.

Veto player theory

idea that certain individuals or institutions in a political system have the power to block changes to policy, meaning their agreement is needed for decisions to pass. The more veto players there are, and the more they disagree, the harder it is to change policy.

Judicial review

the power of courts to examine laws or government actions and decide whether they are constitutional or not. If a law violates the constitution, the court can strike it down.

Legislature supremacy

the idea that the legislature (parliament) is the highest authority in the political system and can make or change laws without being overridden by courts. This means there is little or no judicial review to strike down legislation.

Unicameralism

a system where a country has only one legislative chamber (one house of parliament) that is responsible for making laws. This means there is no second chamber to review or revise legislation.

Bicameralism

a system where a country has two legislative chambers (usually a lower house and an upper house) that both play a role in making laws. This means a bill must pass through both chambers before becoming law.

Electoral formula

method used to convert votes into seats in a legislature. It determines how election results translate into political representation, such as whether winners take all the seats or seats are distributed proportionally.

Single-Member District

an electoral system where each geographic district elects one representative to the legislature. Voters in that district choose one candidate, and the candidate with the most votes wins the seat.

Multi-Member District

an electoral system where each district elects more than one representative to the legislature. Voters may vote for multiple candidates, and seats are often distributed based on the proportion of votes each party receives.

Two-Round Elections

a voting system where if no candidate wins a majority in the first round, a second round is held between the top candidates. This ensures that the final winner has more than 50% of the vote.

Proportional Representation

an electoral system where political parties receive seats in the legislature based on the percentage of votes they get in an election. This means if a party gets 30% of the vote, it gets about 30% of the seats.

Disproportionality

the mismatch between the percentage of votes a party receives and the percentage of seats it actually gets in the legislature. In other words, some parties may get more or fewer seats than their vote share would suggest. (For example, in the United Kingdom, a party can win a majority of seats without winning a majority of votes.)

Open-List PR

an electoral system where voters choose not only a political party but also specific candidates within that party, influencing which individuals get elected. Seats are still distributed based on each party’s share of the vote, but voters have more control over who represents them.

Closed-List PR

an electoral system where voters choose a political party, and the party decides which candidates get the seats based on a fixed list order. This means voters cannot choose individual candidates—only the party.

District Magnitude

the number of representatives elected from a single electoral district. For example, if a district elects one person, the magnitude is 1; if it elects five people, the magnitude is 5.

Electoral Thresholds

the minimum percentage of votes a political party must receive in an election to gain seats in the legislature. If a party does not reach this cutoff, it gets no representation even if it received some votes.

Duverger’s Law

the idea that electoral systems with single-member districts and winner-take-all rules tend to produce two-party systems. This happens because smaller parties struggle to win seats, so voters and candidates shift toward the two strongest parties.

Duverger’s Hypothesis

the idea that proportional representation systems are more likely to produce multiparty systems, meaning several parties can compete and win seats. Unlike Duverger’s Law, which focuses on two-party outcomes in winner-take-all systems, this hypothesis explains why more inclusive electoral rules encourage more parties to survive.