po151 miderm 1 - china/uk

politics

any type of interaction/reaction to/with the government/system in power

political science

systemic study of politics and the distribution of power

comparative politics

involves the systemic study and comparison of the world’s political systems, for our class using theoretical comparison methods and historical analysis

state

an extremely broad term, referring to not only the territory but also the political system and community within

regime

the system of governance, a particular configuration of power often extremely resistant to change and established by a document such as a constitution

government

a particular set of office holders, which changes rapidly

political culture

how people expect their political system to work, typically based on history and how it’s already worked in the past

imperial system features

confucianism, legalism, centrality of the emperor, bureaucracy, and social hierarchy

confucianism

emphasis on social harmony and five key relationships, including respect for the elderly and order

legalism

way of governing that assumes people are selfish, and focuses are keeping people obeying

dynastic cycle

new dynasty brings peace, some corruption leads to landlessness and a growing wealth gap, population rebels, tax increases/repression ensues, the population overthrows the dynasty, and there is a brief period of disorder until a new dynasty is named

decline of imperial system

economic issues such as overpopulation, landlessness, and peasant rebellions, as well as Western intervention through the Opium War and Boxer Rebellion, and other western ideas

Opium War

Chinese government attempted to restrict opium trade due to addiction problems, but British viewed it as an affront on their profit and sponsored a war that forced China to reopen trade

Boxer Rebellion

local population that rose up and attempted to assert itself, led by Christian missionaries

War Lord Period

a period after the imperial system fell, where China was in extreme disorder

May Fourth Movement

a student-led protest in 1919 that called for communism and led to the rise of these ideologies

Sun-Yat Sen

studied in the west and a communist, founder of the Guomindang (GMD)

Chiang Kai-Shek

the successor of Sun Yat-Sen, who broke off the GMD’s alliance with the CCP in search of more power

Long March

a heroic 6,000 mile trek led by Mao Zedong and other communists, technically they were retreating from GMD’s prosecution but this came to represent their struggle and relatability to peasants

Characteristics of early Chinese communism

rose after decades of struggle, aligned closely with rural populations, used campaigns as a tool of transform and control

Moderate Period

the beginning of Chinese communism, in which Mao left much of the old system in place, but he used campaigns to prep people for more radicalism

Three-Anti Campaign

campaign during the Moderate Period against corruption, waste, and bureaucracy

Five-Anti Campaign

campaign against the Moderate Period against elites, bribery, theft, tax evasion, disobeying the government, etc

100 Flowers Campaign

supposed to allow people to have a voice in the government, but criticism left the government upset

Anti-Rightist Campaign

response to the feedback, which targeted government officials specifically

Great Leap Forward

Mao’s attempt to drive development by separating lands into communes, but rural populations weren’t equipped for such high levels of production which the government expected, and millions died

Extremism Period

period where Mao enacted radical reform, most notably the Great Leap Forward

Lin Biao

supported Mao in taking back his power after he was momentarily pulled back due to the failure of the Great Leap Forward, but later plotted against him and died in a coup attempt because Mao disagreed with his choice of successor

Jiang Qing

leader of the Gang of Four, a group of highly ranking and powerful political officers, who encouraged Red Guards and led the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

several year long crusade carried out mostly by students that targeted former capitalists, destroying homes, temples, and anything from “Old China” but eventually falls due to PLA intervention and infighting

Zhou Enlai

CCP official against extremism, he helps implement reforms between the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and he puts Deng in office after Mao’s death

People’s Liberation Army

the militant section of the CCP, formed primarily during WW2 and continues to operate today

Deng Xiaoping

Mao’s successor after he dies, implements economic reform such as private markets, but refuses to implement political reform

Democracy Wall Movement

popular protest that called for purging of Mao’s ideas, specifically in political reform linked back to unemployment, rising inflation, and corruption in the government

Tiananmen Square protests

pro-democracy protests following Deng’s death, met with tanks and open fire into crowd, hundreds died

Hu Jintao

set the precedent of two terms for rulers, and also begins to slow reforms

Xi Jinping

China’s current ruler, holding three high positions, he rewrote and amended the constitution and has been very strict with accumulating more political power and slowing economic development

authoritarianism

regime that focuses on the state having strong political power, it doesn’t allow for disobedience but generally allows diversity and doesn’t reach into personal life

totalitarianism

regime that often comes with an ideological belief system, it seeks to fully control what people believe and think such as Nazi Germany or North Korea

competitive authoritarianism

leaders who step in, typically doing military rule, declaring authoritarianism because of the crisis state of the country

soverignty

the ability to carry out actions and policies within a territory independent of external actors and internal rivals

autonomy

the ability of the state to wield its power independently of the public or international action

Maoism

centralized power that can reach down to most local levels, focusing on peasants and rural populations

political inertia

the observation that things generally continue as they have in the past, unless there is some outside influence or a radical event to force change

authority

the ability to command obedience and respect from a subject population

ideology

a set of doctrines and beliefs that explain and justify a political system

Third Way in China

30% state ownership in China, not majority but ownership gives them power because they are the government

foreign direct investment and special economic zones

economic policies implemented to open up China’s economy to the global economy and allowing experimentation

Umbrella Movement

movement in Hong Kong for democracy, in response to tightening restrictions by Chinese government

decline of feudalism

Enclosure Movement, economic transformations, widespread tragedy

Magna Carta

established power of the monarchy, and also started the divergence of interests between monarchs and aristocrats

British Civil Wars

didn’t involve the whole population, was fought as a power struggle between aristocrats and monarch, resulted in aristocrats winning and Oliver Cromwell’s takeover

Oliver Cromwell

represented aristocracy/Parliament as a dictator, especially in Ireland, leading to a restoration of the monarchy

Glorious Revolution

invited new people, William and Mary, from a different family to reinstate monarchy, with more checks to their power this time

Rise of cabinet

happened mainly under King George, because he relied heavily on his advisors, but eventually they began to meet without the king

Industrial Revolution

worldwide event that led to rise of the wealthy class in the UK, which the government had to make concessions to in order to prevent rebellion, also led to greater wealth inequality

John Locke

defined liberty, inspired British government to move towards more liberal democracy

Reform Act of 1832

the first of many legislative pieces to allow general populations to vote, at first there were property restrictions but eventually opened up to everyone

Tories/Conservatices

one of the original British political parties, typically more center-right and originally focused on rural issues

Whigs

one of the original British political parties, typically focused on industry and business and somewhat aligned with unions but had more of a tie with business

Unions/Labour Party

one of the original British political parties, which now represents center-left politics and began with supporting unions and workers’ rights

Rise of the welfare state

caused by internal fighting as well as international events like world wars and the Great Depression, leading to the state having a more active role

Margaret Thatcher

conservative prime minister from 1979-1990, popularized the idea of “Real Brits” and campaigned against both diversity and government, also the first female PM

John Major

followed as PM directly after Thatcher, he was extremely similar but lacked her charisma

Tony Blair

following Major and Thatcher, he was from the Liberal party and created a stronger social welfare state but maintained a constrained budget, also helped pass Good Friday Agreement

Thatcher policies

privatization of utilities/industries, anti-union, smaller government with lower taxes, sympathetic to apartheid government, anti-LGBTQ, anti-women’s rights

English Bill of Rights

document written following the Glorious Revolution that gave primary power to the Parliament and established role of government

British political culture

characterized by pragmatism, pride in the system, and cooperation between political parties, but there is decreasing belief that the system in place currently is functioning efficiently

Parliamentary v presidential system

less checks and balances between executive and other cabinets, as well as less separation of powers

Brexit

the withdraw of the UK from the European Union, first came to in a referendum with David Cameron and then took place under Boris Johnson, although negotiations are still ongoing and promised change didn’t take place

David Cameron

following Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, contrastingly he is conservative but left office because he didn’t want to be associated with Brexit

Boris Johnson

Trump-like figure who entered after Theresa May, finally made Brexit happen, ultimately left to COVID scandal

Rishi Sunak

first post-Brexit prime minister, also first non-white PM, he’s conservative and was voted out in 2024

Kier Starmer

represented a turn back to the Labour party after Sunak, he attempted to appeal to both sides with anti-immigration and anti-transgender laws but failed

Andy Burnham

politically similar to Starmer, also from the Labour party, and the current prime minister of the UK

unitary

populations vote for central government, then they create regional governments

federal

populations vote for both regional and central government

confederate

populations vote for regional government, which then creates central government

House of Commons and Lords

UK’s legislative branch, although only the former has real power while the latter just edits certain legislation

Supreme court

UK’s judicial branch, can only declare laws incompatible rather than unconstitutional

British Nationality Act of 1948

opened up borders with British colonies, including colonies in southern Asia and Hong Kong

Buggery Act in 1533

made being LGBTQ+ in UK punishable by death

The Troubles

series of conflict and tension in Ireland between Protestants and Catholic representation in government

Good Friday Agreement

signed in by Tony Blair, established a Protestant and Catholic government in Ireland, although peace is still tentative and uneasy

Loyalists/unionists

the name for Protestants in Ireland during The Troubles, because they wanted to remain part of the UK

Republicans

the name for Catholics in Ireland during The Troubles, because they wanted to join the Republic of Ireland

Nigel Farage

creator of Reform UK party and major politician who popularized Brexit, he resigned from politics in 2021

Liberal Democratic Party

centrist third party in the UK

majoritarian

term describing the virtually unchecked power of a parliamentary majority in the UK political system

neoliberalism

a set of policies championed by Thatcher in the 1980s that aimed at diminishing the role of the state in the economy

Third Way in UK

term describing recent policies of the Labour Party in the UK which embrace the free market

vote of no confidence

vote taken by the legislature in the UK as to whether they support the current prime minister; a no results in either a new cabinet or prime minister

Beijing Consensus

neo-mercantilist model of state-led capitalist development adopted by China and proposed as an alternative to the Western neoliberal model known as the Washington consensus