APCOGO UNIT 1 [vocab list 1 + readings p12-p44]

austerity measures

austerity measures

strict, frugal economic policies used by governments to manage public debt

authoritarian

• citizens blindly submit to authority

• freer than totalitarianism

• EX = italy under mussolini or germany under hitler

totalitarianism

• TOTAL control

• more suppressive and agressive

• EX = saudi arabia because absolute monarchy

authority

the power, influence, and responsiblity the gov has

bicameral legislature

2 legislative houses → large population and/or less stable democracies

unicameral legislature

one legislative house → small population and/or more stable democracies

bureacracy

most of the important decisions are taken by state officials [experts] rather than by elected representatives.

capitalism

trade industry controlled by private owners working for profit

catch-all party

aims to attract people of a large demographic and with diverse political viewpoints

causation vs correlation

causation = one thing directly affects the other

correlation = indicates connection but don’t necessarily have a causatory relationship

civil liberties

being subject only to laws established for the good of the community, especially with regard to freedom of action and speech.

civil rights

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

civil society

organizations and associations that serve the public's needs but operate outside of governmental and corporate spheres.

e.g. NGOs

coalition government

body of advisors that is formed when different political parties choose to cooperate in the administration and regulation of a country/community.

cleavages (types)

divisions that structure society

political → political divisions among citizens impacting political behavior

social → class, ethnicity, religion, territory

coinciding → every dispute alligns the same groups against eachother

cross-cutting → many groups that might dispute on one issue but then collaborate on next

coercion

the power used to gain compliance

common law vs. code law

common -> based on legal precedents from courts, tradition, past practices, legal legislation, and past rulings. → English

code -> comprehensive system of written out rules, divded into commercial, civil, and criminal codes. → europe, china, mexico, russia

command economy

gov controls factors of production.

market economy

privately owned businesses based on profit

communism vs. socialism

communism → there is no private property = achieve complete equality

socialism →equal distribution of wealth = greater equality

corruption perceptions index

measures the rates of corruption in countries

measures 1-100

cooptation

act or process of being elected or selected into a body by the existing members: Investigators and judges are selected via cooptation, not recruited through a public selection procedure.

democracy

a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

democratic consolidation

consolidated → expected to endure. a type of regime transition whereby new democracies evolve from fledgling regimes to established democracies, making them less at risk to fall back into authoritarian regimes.

→ fueled by “revolution of rising expectations”

→ triggered by a trigger event such as an economic crisis or military defeat.

democratization

making a country democratic

devolution

transfer of power to a lower level.

the central government → local/regional

coup d’etat

sudden and violent overthrow of existing gov by a small group

revolution

an overthrow with a substituition for the ruler

economic and political liberalization

eco → the reduction of state intervention

poli → increasion citizen rights and liberties and reducing state supervision

dependency theory

explains how poor countries depend on rich countries. It goes further and indicates that rich countries cause dependence by destabilizing the weak countries and causing them to be in need.

sovereignty

the ability of a state to be able to govern itself without outside interference. autonomy.

state

countries that have the power to control what is going on within their borders

• have armed forces, navy, airforce but citizens are usually limited to their use of force or weapons.

• include institutions that help run the country that can include judicial systems, legislatures, and political parties.

nation

a group of people bound togetehr by a common political identity.

nationalism

patriotism

binational/multinational state

contains more than one nation or common political identity

state’s periphery

outlying areas → not the core

multicore states

can get pulled in different directions by the two sep identities [nigeria]

however, america has multiple cores and doesn’t have that issue.

regime

• the rules that a state sets and follows in exerting its power.

• endure beyond individual govs and leaders

1. democracies

2. authoritarian

indirect democracies

elected officials representing people

direct democracy

individuals have immediate say over gov’s decisions

3 major branches of democratic government

1. executives = put decisions or laws into effect.

2. legislative = make laws

3. judicial = judge

parliamentary systems

• legislature makes laws, controls finances, appoints prime minister.

• parliamentary sovereignty governs decision making

• no seperation of power btw executive and legislative because legis votes for chosen executives decisions

• executive branch has this seperation however:

  1. head of state [queen of eg]= SYMBOLIZES power and nature of regime

  2. headof government [prime minister of eg] = running gov and everyday tasks

presidential system

• citizens vote for legislative reps AND executive branch leaders

• two branches powers are seperated

• head of state + head of gov GET COMBINED → president

• seperation of power = diffused power so no one dominates

• policymaking generally slowed down → gridlock is a common problem

• each branch must have an independent base of authority to actually diffuse power

semi-presidential system

prime minister + president whos elected

authoritarian regime characterics

• small group of elites exercising power over the state

• citizen have little to no input about leaders or decisions

• no constituitional responsibilty of leaders to public

• restricted civil rights and liberties

co-optation

means a regime uses to get support from citizens

patriot-clientelism

you scratch my back, i scratch yours → states gives favors to groups so they can give support.

democractic pluralism

BOTTOM → UP

power is split among many groups that compete for the chance to influence the government’s decision making.

1. interest groups form spontaneously.

2. interest groups and the state voluntarily interact with self autonomy

democratic corporatism

TOP → DOWN

1. new interest groups can only form if the government allows it → instituitionalized through state recognition

2. instuitionalized and legally binding links between the state agencies and interest groups. making the groups semi-public acting on the behalf of the state. so groups and individuals lose their freedom.

democracy index

ranks countries in terms of their democratic practices

based on:

1. electoral process

2. pluralism

3. civil liberties

4. functioning of government

5. political participation

6. political culture

legitimacy example

traditional → The king and queen of England, throne been passed down.

charismatic → adolf hitler, charismatic guy gaining authority.

rational → JFK assasinated so vp LBJ appointed president

factor encouraging legitimacy

1. economic well-being

2. historical tradition/longevity

3. charismatic leadership

4. nationalism/shared political culture

5. citizen satisfaction overall

political culture

collection of political beliefs, values, practices, and institutions the government is based on.

basically the political environment the gov is in.

social capital

amount of reciprocity and trust that exists among citizens, and btw citizens and the state. trust in gov from citizens.

low = society want authoritarian and anti-individual govs

high = society want democracy

consensual political culture

• citizens disagree on some political processes but

• agree on how decisions are made, what issues should be addressed, and how problems solved.

accepts both legitimacy of regime and solutions to major problems.

conflictual political culture

• citizens sharply divided

• often dont accept both legitimacy of regime and solutions to major problems.

• causes conflict no shit

• makes gov unstable

political ideologies

sets of political values held by individuals

types of political ideologies

1. liberalism

2. communism

3. socialism

4. facism

5. religions

liberalism

• emphasis on individual political and economic freedom.

• wants to maximize freedom for everyone → free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association.

• citizens have right to disagree w gov

communism

• equality > freedom

• personal freedom = bad

• inevitably results in scarcity of resources

• take over all resources of the state

• owning provate property = bad

socialism

• equality + freedom

• promote private ownership+free market principles

• state has strong control over economy

• state owning key industries - while providing benefits to public

• equal distribution of wealth

facism 🤠

• individual freedom = bad

• private ownership of property = good

• equality = bad [people born inferior/superior]

• gov has authority to mold economy and people so it doesnt get weakened

religions

US → seperation of church and state, but interest groups often based on religion

GB → official state religion, but political leaders not the same as religious leaders, monarch head of church .

CHINA → gov not religious

IRAN → shia islam

NIGERIA → north based on sharia, south christian.

types of change

1. reform

2. revolution

3. coup d etat

reform

• doesnt advocate for the overthrow of basic instituitions

• want to change methods leaders use to reach goals society generally accepts.

revolution

• major revision, or an overthrow of existing instituition.

• impacts more than one area of life. usually significantly changes multiples parts of a state → French and american revolution

coup

• violent overthrow

• replace leadership

• typically occur in countries w weak govs and leaders that have taken control by force

• usually carried out by military

radicalism

• rapid, dramatic change needs to be made.

• think that the current system cannot be saved and needs to be overturned

• often the leaders of revolutions

liberalism

• supports reform and gradual change rather than complete turnover

conservatism

• dont really support change

• want things to stay the way they are

reactionary beliefs

• go further than conservatism

• want to turn back the clock to an earlier era

• → MAGA

• are similar to radicals in that they are willlign to use violence to reach goals than liberals or conservatives

competitive elections

an essential requirement for a democracy. elections must be regular, free, and fair.

liberal democracies characteristics

1. civil liberites - freedom

2. rule of law - equal treatment

3. neutrality of the judiciary

4. open civil society - mass media operates independently, citizens live private lives

5. civilian control of the military

liberal democracies are aka

substantive democracies where citizens have access to multiple sources of information

illiberal democracies are aka

procedural democracies

illiberal democracy meaning

have some aspects of a liberal democracy but lacking many others

• leaders usually have a disporportiionate amount of power

• elections lack true competitiveness

three waves of democratization

1st wave → developed gradually over time

2nd wave → decolonization: occured after allied victory of WWII until early 60s

3rd wave → defeat of dictoral/totalitarian leaders around the world: South america, eastern europe, africa, Mexico.

why has democratization occured

1. loss of legitimacy

2. gain of human rights awareness

3. gain of urban middle class

4. gain of the snowball effect → one country does it others follow

when can democrcay be declared?

when a country hah had at least two successive peaceful turnovers of power.

biggest obstacle = poverty

political liberalization

procedural democrcay to substantive democracy

same as

illiberal → liberal

bourgeoisie

middle class profesionals or businessmen wanitng their views to be represented in the government.

• wanted political and economic freedom

• clashed w radicals who values equality > liberty

mixed economy

combines capitalism and socialism → command economy + market economy

marketization

the state’s recreation of a national economy from a planned to a market economy. making industries more competitive.

privatization

when a government-owned business, operation, or property becomes owned by a private, nongovernment party