Political Science: Regimes, Constitutions, Institutions, and Protest Politics

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering constitutional structures, protest movements, political party systems, and branches of government.

Protest

Oppositional political action occurring outside of formal institutional channels seeking significant changes in policy.

Language of Defense vs. Protest

A conceptual framing used by many Indigenous activists that shifts away from making complaints or appeals to authority toward actively protecting land, rights, and communities.

Civil Disobedience

A protest tactic characterized by intentionally choosing to break the law, accepting the consequences, publicizing the law's unfairness, and appealing convictions to a higher court to seek the law's overturning.

Terrorism

A form of political violence targeting the general population with the intent to generate fear, project power, and pressure the government.

Costs of Organized Protest

The distinct resources and risks involved in collective mobilization, specifically material resources, social resources, time, legal risk, and personal risk.

Constitution

The foundational set of rules, principles, and fundamental laws establishing how a state is governed and formalizing the conduct of politics.

Uncodified Constitution

A constitutional system where principles and rules are not assembled into a single formal document, relying instead on constitutional conventions and common law.

Dickson v. Vuntut Gwitchen First Nation

A legal dispute where an Indigenous constitution's residency requirement for councilors was challenged under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada under Section 25 protecting Aboriginal and treaty rights.

Unitary System

A state structure wherein the central government holds supreme authority over regional and local bodies, maintaining uniform national laws and delegating tasks downward.

Devolution

The mechanism in a unitary system by which the central government delegates specific legislative and administrative powers to regional governments.

Federal System

A governance structure in which regional governments are not subordinate to the center, both levels derive distinct powers from the constitution, and constitutional change requires mutual consent.

Totalitarian State

An authoritarian regime described as having 'all within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state,' utilizing an official ideology, single mass party, police state, communications monopoly, and planned economy.

Absolute Monarchy

A non-democratic regime type in which the state is ruled by a monarch possessing unrestricted, unlimited executive and legislative power.

Personal Dictatorship

A regime dominated by a single ruler who governs arbitrarily without institutional constraints or the consent of the population.

Theocratic Dictatorship

A non-democratic system of governance in which political power is held and directed by religious elites.

Military Dictatorship

A regime where political leaders are drawn from the armed forces, typically coming to power through a military coup.

Parliamentary Party

The wing of a political party consisting solely of representatives who have been elected by citizens into legislative office.

Extraparliamentary Party

The broader organizational base and grassroots membership of a political party located outside of elected legislative office.

Patronage

A risk inherent to campaign finance where political donors contribute funds with the expectation of receiving government favors, appointments, or preferential treatment.

Two-Party System

A party system where government alternates between two dominant parties capable of securing a clear legislative majority, often resulting in policy convergence toward the center (e.g., the United States).

Two-Party Plus System

A party system where two main parties regularly alternate in governing, but third or smaller parties win significant legislative seats, regularly giving rise to minority or coalition governments (e.g., Canada).

Multiparty System

A political party system featuring several significant parties where coalition governments are standard, offering broad representation at the expense of executive stability (e.g., Italy).

One-Party Dominant System

A system where a single party wins successive elections and rules continuously for decades without facing an effective competitive threat (e.g., Japan from 1955 to 2009).

Legislative Branch

The branch of government responsible for debating policies, allocating subsidies, approving regulations, levying taxes, and voting on bills into law.

Canadian House of Commons

The lower elected federal legislative chamber in Ottawa comprising $343$ Members of Parliament (MPs) elected from individual ridings across Canada.

Canadian House of Commons Floor Plan

The formalized layout of the parliamentary chamber specifying designated spaces for the Speaker, Prime Minister, Leader of the Official Opposition, the Mace, Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, and distinct public galleries.

Executive Branch

The branch of government responsible for formulating policy, drafting legislation, overseeing the public bureaucracy, making key appointments, and conducting foreign affairs.

Head of State

The official institutional figurehead representing the state as a whole in a formal, ceremonial capacity.

Head of Government

The individual who directly heads the political executive, sets strategic policy direction, and manages governance (such as a Prime Minister or President).

Cabinet

A high-level executive body that proposes primary legislation, guides research, supervises policy formulation, and directs implementation across ministries.

Fused Legislative and Executive Powers

A defining trait of parliamentary democracies where members of the executive (Prime Minister and Cabinet) simultaneously hold seats in the legislature, taking part directly in legislative debates and voting.

Responsible Government

A constitutional principle mandating that the executive can only govern as long as it retains the confidence and majority support of the elected legislative assembly.

Vote of Non-Confidence

A parliamentary vote sponsored by opposition parties that tests legislative confidence in the executive, immediately determining whether the government falls or remains in power.

Presidential System

A regime based on the separation of powers where the head of state and head of government roles are combined in a president who is elected independently from the legislature.

Semi-Presidential System

A hybrid constitutional design that features a popular, directly elected president alongside a prime minister who must maintain the confidence of the national legislature (e.g., France).

Judiciary

The court branch responsible for interpreting laws in individual disputes, deciding sentences or penalties, and conducting judicial review.

Judicial Independence

The constitutional doctrine guaranteeing that judges remain expert, non-partisan, and shielded from political influence through unelected status, secure tenure, and protected salaries.

Judicial Review

The power of higher courts to review government actions or statutes and invalidate those that unreasonably infringe upon rights protected by a written constitution.

R. v. Morgentaler (1988)

A historic Supreme Court of Canada ruling that struck down Criminal Code abortion restrictions because procedural barriers and delays arbitrarily threatened women's bodily security, violating Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.