COMPARATIVE POLITICS FINAL

majoritarian electoral system

one in which the candidates or parties that receive the most votes win office

proportional representation

a quota or divisor-based electoral system employed in multimember districts

mixed electoral system

one in which voters elect representatives through two different systems, one majoritarian and one proportional

proportionality

an electoral system is more proportional if the distribution of seats mirrors the distribution of votes more closely

party discipline

party discipline is high when all party members in the legislature act and vote cohesively, are on the same page about party policy, and in which leaders speak for the party

personal vote

occurs when an individual votes based upon the characteristics of a particular candidate rather than the characteristics of the party to which they belong

constituency service

refers to the non-legislative activities undertaken by legislators (or their staff) on behalf of residents of their districts

descriptive representation

characterizes the degree to which representatives resemble and therefore “stand for” their constituents

substantive representation

characterizes the degree to which representatives “act for” their constituents by taking actions in line with their constituents’ substantive or ideological interests

symbolic representation

the meaning that is constructed when representatives “stand for” their constituents

quotas

the mechanisms within an electoral system or candidate selection processes that are intended to guarantee or prompt the representation of an unrepresented group in an elected body

effective number of parties

a measure that captures both the number and size of parties in a country

duverger’s law

holds that the simple-majority single-ballot system (FPTP in our discussion) favors the two-party system

duverger’s hypothesis

holds that second ballot (two round systems) favors multipartyism

strategic voting

a voter engages in strategic voting if they vote in favor of a less preferred option because they believe that doing so will ultimately produce a more preferred outcome

political cleavage

an alignment between a social cleavage and a political party that endures over time

legislative responsibility

refers to a situation in which a legislative majority has the constitutional power, through a vote of no confidence, to remove a government from office without cause

presidential democracy

a democracy is a presidential democracy if the government does not depend on a legislative majority to exist

parliamentary democracy

a democracy is a parliamentary democracy if the government depends on a legislative majority to exist and in which the head of state is popularly elected for a fixed term

semi-presidential democracy

a democracy is a semi-presidential democracy if the government depends on a legislative majority to exist and in which the head of state is popularly elected for a fixed term

caretaker government

occurs when an election is called or when an incumbent government either resigns or is defeated in a vote of no confidence. it rules the country for an interim period until a new government is formed

cohabitation

cohabitation, having a president from one political block and a prime minister from another, occurs when the party of the president does not control a majority in the legislature and is not represented in the cabinet

delegation

occurs when one person or group (principal) relies on another person or group (agent) to act on principal’s behalf

principal-agent problem

refers to the difficulties that arise when a principal delegates authority to an agent who a) potentially has different goals from the principal and b) cannot be perfectly monitored

federalism

a political organization in which the activities of governement are divided between regional governments and a central governement in such a way that each kind of governement has some activities on which it makes final decisions

decentralization

refers to the extent to which actual policymaking power lies with the central or regional governments in a country

patronage

refers to a system in which politicians appoint trusted individuals by discretion to non-elected positions

civil service system

refers to the law(s) that govern the recruitment, retention, and promotion of civilian (non-military) public employees

party platform

a formal set of policy goals which are supported by a party or individual candidate in order to appeal to the general public with the purpose of winning votes

core voters

voters who are predisposed in favor of a party on partisan or programmatic grounds

clientelism

refers to the distribution of goods or services that is either a) not public or b) not shaped by publicized rules, which is contingent on some form of individual political support

insurgency

a technology of military conflict characterized by small, lightly armed bands practicing guerilla warfare from rural base areas