Unit 2 Democracy Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering institutional structures, democratic classifications, electoral arrangements, and civil society concepts from the Unit 2 Democracy Review Sheet.

Democracy

A political system in which political power is exercised either directly or indirectly by the people, typically through regular, free, and fair elections.

Liberal Democracy

A democratic system that promotes political competition and popular participation, while also upholding civil liberties, the rule of law, and institutional checks on executive power.

Illiberal Democracy

A governing system that holds elections, but significantly restricts civil liberties, lacks transparency, and compromises the rule of law and political competition.

Developed Democracy

A state that combines institutionalized democratic governance with a high level of economic development, prosperous living standards, and advanced infrastructure.

Consolidated Democracies

Democratic regimes that have matured to the extent that democracy is widely accepted as the permanent and legitimate system of government, making a return to authoritarianism extremely unlikely.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A composite statistical measure created by the United Nations to evaluate a country's social and economic development based on life expectancy, education, and per capita income.

Executive

The branch of government tasked with carrying out, administering, and enforcing the laws and policies enacted by the legislature.

Term Limits

Constitutional or legal boundaries restricting the number of terms or total years an elected official can hold a specific political office.

Cabinet

A body of senior executive officials, often heading government departments or ministries, that advises the chief executive and aids in policy implementation.

Bureaucracy

A hierarchical, rule-based organization of non-elected, professional civil servants who implement and manage public policies and everyday government operations.

Head of State

An executive leader who serves as the chief public representative and symbolic figurehead of the country, embodying national unity at home and abroad.

Head of Government

The executive leader who oversees the day-to-day administrative operations of the government, directs policy formulation, and leads the executive cabinet.

Presidential System

A democratic system of governance where the executive leader is elected independently of the legislature, holds distinct powers, and serves a fixed term.

Parliamentary System

A democratic governance framework in which the executive (prime minister and cabinet) is drawn directly from and is held accountable to the legislature.

Separation of Powers

The constitutional division of governmental responsibilities among distinct legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent the concentration of authority.

Fusion of Powers

A constitutional arrangement, typical in parliamentary systems, where the executive and legislative branches are intermingled rather than kept strictly separated.

Legislature

The deliberative governing body vested with the primary authority to draft, debate, amend, and enact laws and state budgets.

Unicameral

A legislative body structured with a single deliberative chamber or house.

Bicameral

A legislative structure composed of two distinct chambers or houses, typically divided into an upper house and a lower house.

Judicial Review

The authority of courts to evaluate the constitutionality of legislative acts and executive decisions, and to invalidate them if they violate constitutional principles.

Rule of Law

The principle that all citizens, leaders, and governmental institutions are subject to and held accountable under publicly established, equally enforced laws.

Civil Rights

State-guaranteed protections that ensure equal treatment for all citizens and protect individuals against unlawful discrimination by the state or other citizens.

Civil Liberties

Basic individual freedoms and rights protected from government infringement, such as freedom of speech, assembly, press, and religion.

Political Culture

The shared set of fundamental beliefs, values, norms, and attitudes that define how individuals in a society perceive and interact with their political system.

Electoral Systems

The set of legal and institutional rules governing how elections are conducted, votes are cast, and electoral ballots are translated into legislative seats or executive offices.

First Past the Post / Plurality / Single Member District

An electoral mechanism in which each legislative district is represented by a single person, and the candidate winning the most votes (a plurality) wins the seat, regardless of whether they achieve an absolute majority.

Proportional Representation

An electoral system in which multimember districts allocate legislative seats to political parties in close proportion to the percentage of total votes they receive.

Mixed Electoral Systems

An electoral method that combines elements of single-member district plurality voting with proportional representation to allocate legislative seats.

Competitive Elections

Elections characterized by genuine political competition where multiple political entities can contest office freely, and where results are not predetermined.

Non-competitive elections

Elections in which the governing authority predetermines or heavily manipulates the results, preventing meaningful competition or genuine opposition.

One Party System

A political arrangement where only one political party legally or effectively controls government power and prohibits or eliminates viable political competition.

Two Party System

A political landscape dominated by two major political parties that consistently win the majority of elections and alternate in forming the government.

Multi-Party System

A political system where three or more parties have sufficient electoral strength to compete for and obtain significant representation or form governing coalitions.

Referendum

A direct universal vote by the electorate on a specific legislative policy proposal, statute, or constitutional issue.

Democratization

The multi-stage transition from an authoritarian or illiberal regime toward an institutionalized, consolidated democratic political system.

Political Participation

The array of actions and behaviors through which citizens engage in politics and attempt to influence government policy and leadership, including voting, campaigning, and protesting.

Linkage Institutions

Societal channels—such as political parties, interest groups, elections, and the media—that connect everyday citizens to their government and policymakers.

Civil Society

The aggregate of non-governmental organizations, voluntary citizen groups, and civic networks that function independently of government oversight and commercial interests.

Interest Groups

Voluntary associations of people organized around shared objectives who actively lobby and seek to influence public policy decisions without seeking public office themselves.

Pluralism

A political condition or doctrine in which numerous independent and competitive interest groups vie autonomously for influence over public policy without state dominance.

Corporatism

A system of interest representation where the state integrates, controls, or officially sanctions designated peak interest groups to collaborate directly in policy development.

Political Parties

Organized groups of people holding shared ideological orientations and policy goals who nominate candidates to contest elections and win governmental power.

Social Movements

Large-scale, decentralized, collective efforts by citizens focused on demanding, accelerating, or resisting broad social or political transformation.

Transparency

The principle that government information, operational processes, decisions, and public records should be openly accessible, observable, and clear to citizens.