AP Comparative Government and Politics

Empirical Data

Fact-based information from observation or experimentation

Normative statement

A value or opinion statement that cannot be proven or disproven

Qualitative Data

Information that is difficult to measure

Causation

Association between two or more variable

Human Development Index

A summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development, including statistics about life expectancy, amount of schooling, and income

Gross Domestic Capital

The market value of goods and services produced over a specific time in a country. GDP can depict the overall size of an economy

GDP per capita

Reflects the size of the national economy compared to population size

Gini Index

Shows income inequality within a country. 100% indicates perfect inequality, whereas 0% indicated ideal equality

Governmental transparency

The ability of citizens to access information about a government’s policymaking and policy implementation to help hold officials accountable

Governmental corruption

When public officials abuse power for personal benefit

Political system

Comprised of laws, ideas and procedures that address who should have authority to rule and what the government’s influence on it people and economy should be

States

Political organizations that combine a permanent population with governing institutions to exert control over a defined territory with international recognition

Regimes

Fundamental rules that control access to and exercise political power

Freedom House

Ranks countries based on scores of 1-7 for political rights and civil liberties

Government

The set of institutions or individuals legally empowered to make binding decisions for the state

Sovereignty

The independent legal authority over a population in a particular territory

Nation

A group of people with commonalities, including race, language, religion, ethnicity, political identity, and aspirations

Rule of law

The principle that a state should be governed by known laws and not arbitrary decisions made by individual government officials

Independence of governmental branches

Prevents any one branch from controlling all governmental power

Independent election commissions

Attempts to reduce voter fraud and manipulation and enhance electoral competition

Suffrage

Voting rights

Civil rights

Protection of groups of citizens from discrimination by government or other individuals

Civil Liberties

Individual’s protection against abuse of powers by the government

Corporatist system

Government created and supported interest groups that became the government’s preferred linkage institutions for citizen participation

Pluralist system

Citizens can affiliate with more independent interest groups to attempt to shape public policies

Democratic electoral system

Accommodates ethnic diversity and increase multiparty competition with rule adjustments, including gender or cultural quotas, proportional representation, and changes in vote thresholds and district boundaries

illiberal democracies and hybrid regimes

Hold elections with little competition toward ruling party, which tends to diminish civil liberties

One party state

when rival parties are prohibited from controlling governmental power

Theocracies

Requires the state to be controlled by leaders of a particular religion

Totalitarian governments

Authoritarian governments that severely limit citizens’ rights to movement and free choice of employment

Military regimes

Military leaders hold top positions of governing authority

Democratization

Transition from authoritarian regimes to a democratic one

Democratic consolidation

process by which a democratic regime matures in terms of election rules, separation of powers, and protection of civil liberties

Power

The ability of the state to influence the conduct of individuals and organizations within a state

Authority

The state’s legitimate right to enforce power

Sources of power and authority

Constitutions, religions, military forces, political parties, legislature, and popular support

Federal states

divides power among different levels of government to confer a degree of local autonomy in supplying social and educational services while reserving powers for national government

Unitary states

concentrates power at the national level with more uniform policies and potentially more efficient policymaking

Devolution

delegation of power to regional government

Legitimacy

Right for government to use power

Sources of legitimacy

Popular election, constitutional provisions, nationalism, tradition, government effectiveness, economic growth, ideology religious heritage, organizations, and the dominant political party’s endorsement

Political stability

The ability of a government to provide services that meet basic needs of most of the population

Coercion

Use of government force to guide citizens behavior and actions