Test #1 for comparative Policy

The Study of Politics and comparative politics, Magstadt Ch1, Kesselman Ch` 1, Kesselman Ch2, Magstadt Ch2, Ideologies & the Public Good, Magstadt Ch3

Authoritarian Regimes

A form of government in which power is highly concentrated at the top, political freedom is limited, and those with authority are not accountable to those they govern. Power depends not on popular legitimacy but on the coercive force of the political authorities.

Bureaucracy

An organization structured hierarchically, in which lower-level officials are charged with administering regulations codified in rules that specify impersonal, objective guidelines for making decisions.

Cabinet

An organization structured hierarchically, in which lower-level officials are charged with administering regulations codified in rules that specify impersonal, objective guidelines for making decisions.

Cold War

The hostile relations that prevailed between the United States and the Soviet Union from the late 1940s until the demise of the latter in 1991.

Communist Party-State

The hostile relations that prevailed between the United States and the Soviet Union from the late 1940s until the demise of the latter in 1991.

Consolidated Democracies

The hostile relations that prevailed between the United States and the Soviet Union from the late 1940s until the demise of the latter in 1991.

Countries

A territory defined by boundaries generally recognized in international law as constituting an independent state.

Critical Juncture

A territory defined by boundaries generally recognized in international law as constituting an independent state.

Democracy

From the Greek demos (the people) and kratos (rule), a political system that, in its ideal form, features selection to major public offices through free and fair elections; the right of all adults to vote; political parties that are free to compete in elections; government that operates by equitable and relatively open procedures; protection of political rights and civil liberties; an independent judiciary (court system); and civilian control of the military.

Distributional Politics

The use of power, particularly by the state, to allocate valued resources among competing groups.

Executive

The agencies of government that implement or execute policy. The chief executive, such as a prime minister or president, also plays a key policy-making role.

Globalization

The intensification of worldwide interconnectedness associated with the increased speed and magnitude of cross-border flows of trade, investment and finance, and processes of migration, cultural diffusion, and communication.

Government

The specific people in charge of the political institutions of a country at a given time.

Hybrid States

A country whose political systems exhibit some democratic and some authoritarian elements

Illiberal Democracy

A state where the government has been brought to power (and perhaps reelected) by democratic election, but then takes steps to seriously limit political competition, undermine the rule of law, and deprive citizens of their basic rights.

Institutional Design

The institutional arrangements that define the relationships between executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government and between the national government and subnational units, such as states in the United States

International Relations

The field of political science that focuses largely on how states interact with each other, or the role of international organizations or networks in politics, rather than the internal politics of each country.

Judiciary

The political institutions in a country that are responsible for the administration of justice and, in some countries, for determining the constitutionality of state decisions

Legislature

The political institutions in a country in which elected or appointed members are charged with responsibility for making laws and usually for authorizing the taxation and expenditure of the financial resources enabling the state to carry out its functions.

Liberal Democracy

A democratic system of government that officially recognizes and legally protects individual rights and freedoms and in which the exercise of political power is constrained by the rule of law.

Nation

A group of people that claims a right to sovereignty on behalf of a shared identity.

Nation-State

A distinct, politically defined territory in which the state and national identity (that is, a sense of solidarity and shared values based on being citizens of the same country) coincide.

Political Economy

The study of the interaction between the state and the economy; that is, how politics influences the economy and how the organization and performance of the economy influence the political process.

Populism

A style of mobilization by a political party or movement that seeks to gain popular support by emphasizing antiestablishment rhetoric, decrying elite concentrations of power as the source of national decline, and promising to be responsive to the needs of ordinary people.

Regime

The overall system of governance, and the rules for who gets to be the government at a given time. Monarchies, democracies, and dictatorships are examples of regime types.

Social Class

A group whose members share common worldviews and aspirations determined largely by occupation, income, and wealth.

Social Movements

Large-scale grassroots action that demands reforms of existing social practices and government policies

State

The most powerful political institutions in a country, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, as well as the police and armed forces.

State Formation/Building

The historical development of a state, often marked by major stages, key events, or turning points (critical junctures) that influence the contemporary character of the state.

Typology

A method of classifying by using criteria that assign cases to categories whose members share common characteristics.

Politics

The process by which a community selects rulers and empowers
them to make decisions, take action to attain common goals, and
reconcile conflicts within the community

Power

The capacity to influence or control the behavior of persons
and institutions, whether by persuasion or coercion.

Authority

Command of the obedience of society’s members by a government.

Legitimacy

The exercise of political power in a community in a way
that is voluntarily accepted by the members of that
community.

Legitimacy Authority

The legal and moral right of a government to rule over a specific
population and control a specific territory; the term legitimacy
usually implies a widely recognized claim of governmental
authority and voluntary acceptance on the part of the population(s)
directly affected

Order

n a political context, refers to an existing or desired arrangement of
institutions based on certain principles such as liberty, equality,
prosperity, and security. Also often associated with the rule of law
(as in the phrase “law and order”) and with conservative values such
as stability, obedience, and respect for legitimate authority

Society

An aggregation of individuals who share a common identity. Usually
that identity is at least partially defined by geography, because people
who live in close proximity often know one another, enjoy shared
experiences, speak the same language, and have similar values and
interests

Social Contract

A concept in political theory most often associated with Thomas
Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke, the social contract
is an implicit agreement among individuals to form a civil society and
accept certain moral and political obligations essential to its
preservation.

Government

The persons and institutions that make and enforce rules or laws for
the larger community

Republic

A form of government in which sovereignty resides in the people of
that country, rather than with the rulers. The vast majority of
republics today are democratic or representative republics, meaning
that the sovereign power is exercised by elected representatives who
are responsible to the citizenry

State

in its sovereign form, an independent political-administrative unit
that successfully claims the allegiance of a given population,
exercises a monopoly on the legitimate use of coercive force, and
controls the territory inhabited by its citizens or subjects; in its other
common form, a state is the major political-administrative
subdivision of a federal system and, as such, is not sovereign but
rather depends on the central authority (sometimes called the
“national government”) for resource allocations (tax transfers and
grants), defense (military protection and emergency relief), and
regulation of economic relations with other federal subdivisions
(non-sovereign states) and external entities (sovereign states).

Sovereignty

A government’s capacity to assert supreme power successfully
in a political state

Country

As a political term, it refers loosely to a sovereign state and is
roughly equivalent to “nation” or “nation-state”; country is often
used as a term of endearment—for example, in the phrase “my
country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty” in the patriotic song
every U.S. child learns in elementary school; country has an
emotional dimension not present in the word state.

Nation

Often interchangeable with state or country; in common usage, this
term actually denotes a specific people with a distinct language and
culture or a major ethnic group—for example, the French, Dutch,
Chinese, and Japanese people each constitute a nation as well as a
state, hence the term nation-state; not all nations are fortunate enough
to have a state of their own—modern examples include the Kurds
(Turkey, Iraq, and Iran), Palestinians (West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon,
Jordan), Pashtuns (Afghanistan), and Uighurs and Tibetans (China)

Nation-State

A geographically defined community administered by a government.

Nation Building

The process of forming a common identity based on the notion of
belonging to a political community separate and distinct from all
others; often the concept of “nation” is based on common ethno-
linguistic roots

Stateless Nation

People (or nations) scattered over the territory of several states or
dispersed widely and who have no autonomous, independent, or
sovereign governing body of their own; examples of stateless
nations include the Kurds, Palestinians, and Tibetans (see also
nation)

Justice

Fairness; the distribution of rewards and burdens in society in
accordance with what is deserved.

Political Literacy

The ability to think and speak intelligently about politics.

Methodology

The way scientists and scholars set about exploring, explaining,
proving, or disproving propositions in different academic disciplines.
The precise methods vary according to the discipline and the object,
event, process, or phenomenon under investigation.

Positivism

A philosophy of science, originated by Auguste Comte, that stresses
observable, scientific facts as the sole basis of proof and truth; a
skeptical view of ideas or beliefs based on religion or metaphysics.

Behaviorism

An approach to the study of politics that emphasizes fact-
based evaluations of action

Normativism

Applying moral principles—norms—rooted in logic and reason to
problems of politics and government; putting moral theory into
political practice through good laws, wise legislation, and fair
judgments.

Scientific Method

Objective study of nature and society using empirical methods,
data collection, and statistical analysis; results of scientific
experiments are generally not considered valid or definitive unless
they can be repeated and verified.

Ticket Splitting

A voter who votes for candidates from more than one party; this is
the opposite of straight-ticket voting

Swing Vote

An independent voter who votes for the Republican Party in one
election and votes for the Democratic Party in another in the US

Rational Choice

The role of reason over emotion in human behavior. Political
behavior, in this view, follows logical and even predictable patterns
so long as we understand the key role of self-interest.

Political Realism

The philosophy that power is the key variable in all political
relationships and should be used pragmatically and prudently to
advance the national interest; policies are judged good or bad on the
basis of their effect on national interests, not on their level of
morality

Cases

Any of the specific countries, subnational units, or historical events that is being compared within a study.

Case Study

An in-depth study of a particular case, in order to provide significant detail. However, it almost always makes theoretical comparisons to other cases.

Causal Theory

An in-depth study of a particular case, in order to provide significant detail. However, it almost always makes theoretical comparisons to other cases.

Comparative Method

The systematic comparison of cases in order to draw specific inferences from similarities or differences within them.

Comparativists

A political scientist who studies the similarities and differences in the domestic politics of various countries.

Correlation

An empirical relationship where a change in one variable corresponds to changes in other variables—whether or not there is a cause-and-effect relationship.

Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

An empirical relationship where a change in one variable corresponds to changes in other variables—whether or not there is a cause-and-effect relationship.

Democratic Transitions

The process of a state moving from an authoritarian to a democratic political system.

Dependent Variable

The variable symbolized by Y in the statement that “If X happens, then Y will be the result;” in other words, the dependent variable is the outcome of X (the independent variable).

Doctorships

A form of government in which power and political control are concentrated in one ruler or a few rulers who have concentrated and nearly absolute power.

Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index

An index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), based in the United Kingdom, that measures and rank the state of democracy in 167 countries. It classifies the world’s states as Full Democracies, Flawed Democracies, Hybrid Regimes, and Authoritarian Regimes.

Empirical Data

Any data which represent or capture objective, real phenomena in the world. This need not be quantifiable and includes more complicated phenomena like accurate descriptions of political actors’ beliefs—whether or not those beliefs themselves are true.

Empirical Theories

Claims, arguments or theories about the relationship between facts and/or objective phenomena.

Endogenous Relationship

A relationship between two or more variables where each may contribute to the value of the other, or where each may be both the cause and the effect of each other

Environmental Performance Index

Developed by Yale University and Columbia University, a measure of how close countries come to meeting specific benchmarks for national pollution control and natural resource management.

Ethnography

A research method that relies on the direct observation of phenomena by the researcher, as they happen.

Fieldwork

Research done while the researcher is spending time in the context (country, location, organization, etc.) being studied.

Global Gender Gap

A measure developed by the World Economic Forum of the extent to which women in 58 countries have achieved equality with men.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A composite number used by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to measure and compare levels of achievement in health, knowledge, and standard of living.

Independent Variable

The variable symbolized by X in the statement that “If X happens, then Y will be the result;” in other words, the independent variable is a cause of Y (the dependent variable).e

Level of Analysis

The primary units being compared in a study, which may be the same as the level of observation or at a higher level.

Level of Observation

The units being measured and recorded in a piece of comparative research.

Middle level Theory

A theory that seeks to explain phenomena in a limited range of cases, such as comparing presidential democracies (e.g., the United States) with parliamentary democracies (e.g., Britain).

Most Different Systems

A research design that explores relationships between variables by comparing two systems that are as different as possible (except for the variables being examined).

Most Similar Systems

A research design that explores relationships between variables by comparing two systems that are as similar as possible (except for the variables being examined).

Normative

Claims, arguments or theories about how things ought to be and/or are fundamentally about opinions or values.

Probabilistic Relationships

A relationship between two (or more) variables where a change in the value of X is shown to make Y more or less likely but does not guarantee the outcome.

Qualitative Methods

Research methods that generate empirical data that cannot be easily quantified or may be misleading when quantified, often requiring more description and context.

Quantitative Methods

Research methods that generate numerical data.

Rational Choice Theory

A largely quantitative approach to analyzing political decision making and behavior that assumes that individual actors rationally pursue their aims in an effort to achieve the most positive net result.

Reflexivity

The examination by a researcher of their own relationship to the phenomena they are studying.

State Capacity

The ability of a state to carry out its desired policies once decisions are made.

Public Good

The shared beliefs of a political community as to what goals
government ought to attain (for example, to achieve the fullest possible measure of security, prosperity, equality, liberty, or justice for all citizens).

Ideology

Any set of fixed, predictable ideas held by politicians and
citizens on how to serve the public good.

Anarchism - skip

A system that opposes in principle the existence of any
form of government, often through violence and
lawlessness

Nihilism - skip

A philosophy that holds that the total destruction of all existing social and political institutions is a desirable end in itself

Monarchism

A system based on the belief that political power should be
concentrated in one person (for example, a king) who rules by decree.

Fascism

A totalitarian political system that is headed by a popular,
charismatic leader and in which a single political party and carefully controlled violence form the bases of complete social and political control. Fascism differs from communism in that the economic structure, although controlled by the state, is privately owned.

Nazism

Officially called National Socialism, Nazism is a form of fascism based on extreme nationalism, militarism, and racism; the ideology associated with Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust.

Capitalism

An economic system in which individuals own the means of
production and can legally amass unlimited personal wealth. Capitalist theory holds that governments should not impose any unnecessary restrictions on economic activity and that the laws of supply and demand can best regulate the economy. In a capitalist system, the private sector (mainly business and consumers), rather than government, makes most of the key decisions about production, employment, savings, investment, and the like; the opposite of a centrally planned economy such as existed in the Soviet Union under Stalin and Stalin’s successors

Libertarianism

The belief that the state is a necessary evil best kept small and weak relative to society; libertarians typically value individual liberty above social services and security.