Global Politics Exam 2

Etymological meaning of Democracy

”rule by the people”

Democracy (Schmitter and Karl 1991)

Modern political democracy is a system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens, acting indirectly through the competition and cooperation of their elected representatives.

Democracies guarantee (Robert Dahl)

1. Freedom of association

2. Freedom of expression

3. The right to vote

4. Broad citizen eligibility for public office

5. The right of political leaders to compete for support

6. Alternative sources of information

7. Free and fair elections

8. Institutions that make government policies depend

on votes and other forms of citizen preferences

Markoff’s First Wave of Democracy

• 1828-1926

• Influenced by the American and French Revolutions

• The US extended the right to vote to a large portion of the white male population.

• Included transitions to democracy in FINLAND, ICELAND, SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, UK, AUSTRALIA, CANDA, and SOME LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES.

Markoff’s Second Wave of Democracy

• 1943-1962

• Took place as formerly fascist states turned democratic

• SOME LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES reasserted their democratic credentials

• New countries born after decolonization started off as formal democracies: India, Malaysia, Nigeria and Kenya.

Markoff’s Third Wave of Democracy

• 1970s-1990s

• The trigger was the end of dictatorships in southern Europe, notably Spain, Portugal and Greece.

• Within a decade several Latin American countries returned to civilian multiplarty rule, such as in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay .

“The end of history”

In 1990s the argument which was made by Fukuyama gained momentum. Centers on the belief that since communism and fascism have been defeated there should no longer be any serious competition for liberal democracy.

Democratization

is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction.

Democratization two major transition

Democratic initiation

Democratic consolidation

Political accountability

the ability of the citizenry to directly or indirectly control political leaders or institutions

Vertical accountability

the ability of individuals and groups to hold their state’s institutions accountable directly.

Horizontal accountability

the ability of the state’s institutions to hold one another accountable

Majoritarian Democracies

GREATER vertical accountability. LESS horizontal accountability. Concentrate power in a single place and office; they have a single-party executive, executive dominance over the legislature, a single legislative branch, and constitutions that can be easily amended.

Consensus Democracies

LESS vertical accountability. GREATER horizontal accountability. Have multiparty executives (coalition governments), executive-legislative balance, bicameral legislature, and rigid constitutions that are not easily amended.

coalition governments

in which two parties negotiate an agreement to rule together.

veto player

is an individual or collective actor whose agreement is essential to effect policy change.

parliamentary democracy

A system where the prime minister is the head of government and is chosen by the legislature. The executive and legislative branches are closely linked, and the prime minister can be removed easily through a vote of no confidence. (e.g., UK, Canada, Germany)

prime minister (PM)

Member of legislative and executive. Leader of the majority party or coalition party in the legislature. Not directly elected to executive office but is named after the legislative election determines the dominant party in parliament.

head of state

the executive is the official, symbolic representative of a country authorized to speak on its behalf and represent it, particularly in world affairs.

head of government

the executive’s task is to implement the nations laws and policies.

vote of no confidence

is a parliamentary vote that can remove the prime minister and their government if they lose the legislature’s support.

semi-presidential democracy

A system where power is shared between a directly elected president and a prime minister. The president oversees national affairs, while the prime minister manages day-to-day governance, often depending on the legislature’s support. The president is harder to remove; the PM can be dismissed by parliament. (e.g., France, Russia, Ukraine)

presidential democracy

A system where the president is both the head of state and government, directly elected by the people. The executive and legislative branches are separate, making it difficult to remove the president before their term ends. (e.g., U.S., Brazil, Mexico)

judicial review

the authority vested in unelected judges to decide whether a specific law contradicts a country’s constitution.

common law

judges base decisions on their understanding of written law and their understanding of past court cases (precedent).

code law

judges may only follow the law as written interpreting it as little as necessary to fit the case. precedent is irrelevant.

decentralized judicial review

In COMMON law countries the same courts that handle everyday criminal cases also
decide constitutional issues and can do so at any level.

centralized judicial review

In CODE law countries a special court handles constitutional questions.

Concrete judicial review

in COMMON law countries only someone who has actually been negatively affected by the
law in question can initiate a case.

judicial independence

the belief and ability of judges to decide cases as they think appropriate, regardless of what other politically powerful officials or institutions desire.

judicial legitimacy

Without legitimacy, the judiciary has little power, given
that it does not control a military nor financial resources.

judicial institutional strength

As seen in the degree to which judicial
processes and procedures are established, predictable, and routinized

unitary system

The central government has sole constitutional sovereignty and power.

federal system

The central government shares constitutional sovereignty and power with subunits, such as states, provinces, or regions.

why federalism?

Larger countries often adopt federal systems to bring government closer to the people and limit majority power by decentralizing authority. These systems usually have bicameral legislatures, with an upper house representing states or provinces, helping protect religious and ethnic minorities.

symmetrical federal system

All states have the same relationship with and
rights in relation to the national government. (like US)

Asymmetrical federal system

some states or provinces have special rights or powers that others do not. common in ethnically dived societies.

electoral systems

are formal, legal mechanisms that translate votes into control over political offices and shares of political power.

Single-member districts (SMD)

A state’s territory is divided into geographic units, and each unit elects one or more representatives.

plurality system

Whoever gets the most votes wins the election, even if they don’t have majority. This is also referred to as the “first-past-the-post” system

majoritarian system

the winner must gain an absolute majority of the votes (50%, plus one) rather than just a plurality (the most). If no candidate wins an absolute majority, a second election takes place between the top two candidates to produce a winner.

political parties

are associations that seek to formally control government

party system

refers to the number of parties and their
relative institutional strength.

dominant-party system

Multiple parties contest free and (more or less) fair elections following the electoral rules of the country, but one party is popular enough to win every election

two-party system

only two parties are able to garner enough votes to win an election, though more may compete.

multiparty systems

are those in which more than two parties could potentially win a national election and govern.

Duverger’s law

Maurice Duverger contended that the logic of competition in SMD electoral systems results in the long-term survival of only two parties.

different forms of social policy

1.Universal entitlements

2. Social insurance

3. Means-tested public assistance

4. Tax expenditures

universal entitlements

are benefits that governments provide to all citizens to, usually funded through general taxation.

Examples: universal healthcare, universal primary education, Universal Basic Income (UBI).

social insurance

provides benefits to categories of people who have contributed to a (usually mandatory) public insurance fund.

Examples: social security, some pensions

Means-tested public assistance

programs that individuals qualify for when they fall below a specific income level.

Examples: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Program (SNAP; known as “food stamps”),

subsidized public housing, and Temporary Assistance

to Needy Families (TANF); conditional cash

transfers.

tax expenditures

targeted tax breaks for specific groups
of citizens or activities in an attempt to reduce poverty and/or inequality.

types of welfare states

social democratic, Christian democratic, liberal

social democratic

Emphasizes universal entitlements to achieve greater social equality and promote equal citizenship.

Tend to include paid maternity leave, preschool, child allowances, basic retirement pensions, and job
training

Christian democratic (conservative)

Primarily emphasizes income stabilization to mitigate the effects of market-induced insecurity.

Benefits are usually tied to contributions, and financing is mainly through employer and employee
payroll taxes rather than general taxation

liberal

The focus is on ensuring that all who can work and gain their income in the market do so. They are
more concerned about preserving individual autonomy via market participation than reducing poverty
or inequality.

Means-tested public assistance is the major mechanism of poverty alleviation.

Gender (in)equalities and the state

Orloff identified two views on how welfare states affect gender relations: one sees them reinforcing gender hierarchies, while the other views them as reducing gender inequality. Welfare policies can shape, sustain, or challenge societal gender norms.

the dictator’s dilemma

Because of the repression authoritarian regimes practice, they lack accurate information on how much
political support they actually have. This
often leads them to try to co-opt potential
opposition and to try to build their legitimacy
through various strategies

Five core assumptions of the transition paradigm

1. Any country moving away from dictatorial rule can be considered a country in transition toward democracy.

2. Democratization tends to unfold in a set sequence of states.

3. Elections equal democracy.

4. Underlying structural conditions (economic system, political history, institutional legacies, ethnic make-up, etc.) will not be major factors in either the onset or the outcome of the transition process.

5. New democracies are being built on coherent functioning states. State-building and democracy-building would be mutually reinforcing.

Cather’s Critique of the “transition paradigm”

By the early 2000s, “Of the nearly 100 countries considered as transition in recent years, only a small number, probably fewer than 20, were clearly on route to becoming well-functioning democracies”

Competitive authoritarianism

where democratic institutions exist and opposition parties can contest elections, but the ruling party unfairly uses state resources to maintain power. While competition is real, it is not democratic due to an uneven playing field favoring incumbents.

Full authoritarianism

A regime in which no viable channels exist for opposition to contest legally for executive power.

populist

are not only anti-elitist but also anti-pluralist, claiming exclusive representation of "the people." They reject the legitimacy of opposition, dismissing dissenting voices as contrary to the true will of the people.

populist mobilization

Appealing to citizens directly, often threatening established institutions, parties, and elites;
emphasizing a united and morally superior ‘people’ battling corrupt elites; engaging in ‘bad manners’; and focusing rhetoric around a sense of ‘crisis’ that threatens ‘the people

democratic regression

occurs when elected leaders, often populists, gradually weaken institutions, opposition, media, and civil society to undermine democracy. (diamond)

Diamond's four global trends eroding democracy

1. Social media’s influence

2. rising inequality

3. Globalization’s job losses and economic insecurity

4. neoliberal policies fueling financial instability and public dissatisfaction.

Primordialism

People’s identities are perceived to be “natural,” “God given,” and/or biological. Groupings are considered to
fixed, natural, and pre-political; they are things in and of themselves

Constructivism

Argues that identities are socially constructed. Discourses, culture, storytelling, symbols, and social relations are crucial for constructing identities and learning about who “we” are.

The political salience of identities

National, ethnic, religious, gender, and class identities tend to be the most politically salient, though their
relative importance varies in time and space.

nativism

Muddle defines it as xenophobic nationalism, seeking a state exclusively for a single nation. It views both foreign people and ideas as threats to national identity.

Eric Kaufmann describes it as “majority-ethnic
nationalism” or a boundary-based nationalism.

right wing populism

blends populist rhetoric with right-wing policies, focusing on nationalism, anti-immigration, and defending traditional values. The “defense” of hegemonic masculinity and “traditional” gender norms is crucial for contemporary right-wing populism

Nationalism

is the desire to form or control a nation-state, an ideology prioritizing loyalty to the nation over other interests, and identification with one's nation, often to the exclusion or detriment of others.

nation

A group of people who perceive themselves as sharing a sense of belonging and who often have a common language, culture, and set of traditions. Also a group that proclaims itself as such and has or seeks control
of a state.

nation-state

When the reach of nations and states generally coincide, we speak of…

race

refers to a social construct used to categorize people based on physical characteristics such as skin color, facial features, and hair texture, often linked to geographic, cultural, or ancestral origins. It has no biological basis but has significant social, political, and historical implications.

ethnicity

refers to a social group defined by shared cultural traits, such as language, traditions, religion, and ancestry. Unlike race, which is often based on physical characteristics, ethnicity focuses on cultural identity and common heritage.

citizenship

is the legal status and relationship between an individual and a state, granting rights and responsibilities, such as the right to vote, work, and live within the country, while also requiring allegiance and adherence to its laws.

The political salience of nationalism in the USSR

In the USSR, nationalism was suppressed by the central government but resurfaced in non-Russian republics seeking autonomy. Policies like Russification aimed to strengthen Russian dominance while managing ethnic diversity, leading to tensions.

Multicultural citizenship regimes

are systems where the state recognizes and accommodates cultural diversity within its population. These regimes provide legal and political rights to various cultural, ethnic, or religious groups, promoting inclusion and equal recognition while allowing for the preservation of distinct cultural identities.

Paschel on the politicization of blackness in Brazil and Colombia

the politicization of blackness in Brazil and Colombia by examining how race and black identity are shaped by historical, social, and political contexts. In Brazil, blackness is often minimized in favor of a myth of racial democracy, but Afro-Brazilian movements push for recognition and rights. In Colombia, blackness is politicized through both Afro-Colombian identity and resistance to marginalization. Paschel highlights the different ways black communities in both countries navigate racial politics, with varying degrees of visibility and institutional support for their struggles.

TR Reid’s core findings about healthcare systems

highlight the diverse approaches to healthcare across different countries, emphasizing that universal coverage, cost control, and quality care can be achieved through various models. He identifies that countries with successful healthcare systems, like those in Europe and Japan, prioritize accessibility and preventive care, while keeping costs low through government regulation, private partnerships, or a combination of both. Reid stresses the importance of a system that focuses on health outcomes rather than profit.