2020 AP Comparative Government - ALL VOCAB TERMS

Empirical Data

Information from observation or experimentation.

Qualitative Data

Information that is difficult to measure including sources such as speeches, foundational documents, political cartoons, maps, and political commentary.

Correlation

Exists when there is an association between two or more variables.

Causation

Difficult to determine with certainty in comparative politics, because there are numerous variables that can influence political policies and/or regime stability with no way to isolate and demonstrate which is producing the change.

Human Development Index (HDI)

An indicator of the level of development for each country, constructed by the United Nations, that is based on income, education, and life expectancy.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

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

GDP per capita

Reflects the size of the national economy in comparison with the population size.

GDP growth rate

Shows the rate of national economic expansion.

Gini Index

Shows income inequality within a country.

Freedom House

An organization that ranks countries from scores of 1-7 based on political rights and civil liberties.

Governmental Transparency

The ability of citizens to access information about a government's policy making and policy implementation to help hold officials accountable.

Governmental Corruption

When public officials abuse power for personal benefit.

The Fragile States Index

Ranks countries based on their potential to weaken due to internal conflicts and domestic turmoil.

Political Systems

The laws, ideas, and procedures that address who should have authority to rule and what the government's influence on its people and economy should be.

States

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

Regimes

The fundamental rules that control access to and the exercise of political power. Regimes typically endure from government to government.

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.

Free and Fair Elections

Allows competition so that an opposition candidate and party can defeat the ruling candidate and party.

Transparency

Governmental decision making in which citizens can discover how policies are made and implemented.

Independence of Governmental Branches

Prevents any one branch from controlling all governmental power.

Independent Election Commissions

Attempt to reduce voter fraud and manipulation, and enhance electoral competition.

Suffrage

Voting rights.

Universal Suffrage

Every citizen above a certain age is legally eligible to vote.

Legislative branch

Part of government responsible for writing laws and major policies.

Executive branch

Part of government responsible for implementing laws through the government's bureaucracy.

Judicial branch

Part of government responsible for hearing cases and applying and interpreting laws

Head of State

Executive leader who represents a nation in ceremonial functions; in some governments can also have formal powers to shape foreign policy

Head of Government

Executive leader sometimes known as a chief executive who formulates, implements and enforces policies through the cabinet and different agencies

Parliamentary systems

When a national legislature has combined lawmaking and executive functions with the power to select and remove a prime minister who acts as head of government*

Presidential systems

When separate election processes are used in the selection of the president and the national legislature; president serves as head of state and head of government who oversees the bureaucratic implementation of executive regulations and laws written by the legislature.*

Semi-presidential systems

When separate election processes are used in the selection of the president and the national legislature; president serves as head of state and selects the head of government, with the legislature's approval, to shape policies and implement the legislature's laws.

Fixed-term election

System in which elections for public officials take place on a regularly announced established date

Executive bureaucracy

The system of governmental agencies that implement executive regulations and laws written by the legislature

Question Time

Allows majority members of a legislature to indicate representation of the interest of their constituencies (districts) and allows the opposition party to verbally challenge the majority party governance and policy making.*

Executive cabinet

Top government officials in charge of formulating, implementing, and enforcing policy through different methods and bureaucratic agencies

Commander in chief

Top governmental official in charge of decisions pertaining to the military Prime minister: When the leader of the national legislature is also the head of government who is in charge of formulating, implementing, and enforcing policy through different methods and bureaucratic agencies

Civil Service

Permanent members of bureaucratic agencies who implement laws and governmental regulations

Civil Society

Voluntary associations independent from the state, including local religious and neighborhood organizations, news media, business and professional associations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Nongovernmental organizations

Civil society groups that provide services governments can also provide such as volunteer fire departments to groups that provide advocacy for foster children.

Political culture

The collective attitudes, values, and beliefs of the citizenry and the norms of behavior in the political system.

Political socialization

The lifelong process of acquiring one's beliefs, values, and orientations toward the political system.

Political ideology

A set of values and beliefs about the goals of government, public policy, or politics.

Individualism

Belief in individual civil liberties and freedom over governmental restrictions.

Communism

Belief in the abolition of private property with near total governmental control of the economy.

Socialism

Belief in the reduction of income disparities and the nationalization of major private industries.

Fascism

Extreme nationalist ideology that favors authoritarian rule and the rights of the ethnic majority over that of ethnic minorities and the political opposition.

Populism

Political philosophy that supports the interests and rights of the common people over that of the elites.

Democracy or authoritarianism of states

Include the extent of state adherence to rule of law; the degree of governmental influence on or control of the media; degree and practice of free and fair elections; degree of transparency of governmental decision making; the degree of political participation by citizens; and the degree of independence of governmental branches.

Power

Ability of the state to influence the conduct of individuals and organizations within the state.

Authority

A state's legitimate right to enforce a power.

Rule of law

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

Civil Rights

The protection of groups of citizens from discrimination by the government or other individuals.

Civil Liberties

An individual's protection against abuse of powers by the government.

Political participation

Ways citizens can attempt to shape government policy. Can be formal (casting a ballot in a government election) or informal (protests and political criticism expressed through social media).

Referenda

Allow citizens to vote directly on policy questions as exemplified by the United Kingdom's 2016 national vote about whether citizens preferred leaving or remaining in the European Union.

Political stability

The ability of a government to consistently provide services that meet the basic needs of most of the population to foster the public's confidence in the institutions of the state.

Cleavages

Social and political cleavages are internal divisions that structure societies and may be based on class, ethnicity, religion, or territory.

Separatist movement

When a group's actions to gain greater autonomy from a government diminishes the sovereignty of that government.

Brute repression

Use of coercive force by the government to suppress actions the government opposes.

Proportional representation

Election system in which the party appoints legislative members proportional to the election results. This system promotes multiples parties being represented in the legislative branch and is sometimes called party list elections and often features multimember districts. With the appointment of representatives by party leaders, proportional representation systems can help increase the number of women and minority community representatives.

Gender quotas

Requirements that a certain percentage of candidates or representatives placed in seats in proportional representation systems be women in an effort to promote the ideal of gender equity.

Single-member district, plurality system

Election system in which one candidate with the most votes (not necessarily a majority of 50% + at least 1 vote) in a district wins the sole representative seat. Tends to promote two-party systems. These provide voters with strong constituency service and accountability because there is a single representative per district. This type of system ensures geographic representation.

Executive election plurality system

Election system in which one candidate wins the election as the sole executive by winning the most votes (not necessarily a majority of 50% + at least 1 vote.) .

Second round, runoff election system

Election system in which a candidate for a sole executive position or legislative positions must win a majority of the vote (50% + at least 1 vote.) In a multi-candidate race, the winning candidate must win a majority of the vote either in the first round of balloting or in the second round of balloting that features the top two vote earners in the first round.

Majoritarian rules

Winning candidate must win a majority of the vote (50% + at least 1 vote.)

Multi-party system

When elections feature more than two parties competing for governing power.

Two-party system

When elections feature two major parties competing for governing power.

Dominant party system

When elections allow multiple parties to run in elections, but one major party inevitably wins governing power.

One party system

When only one party is allowed to control governing party even if other parties exist.

Catch-all political parties

Often the dominant party in a dominant party system that earns support from groups with different characteristics, attracting popular support with ideologically diverse platforms.

El dedazo

Translates as "the point;" metaphor from Mexico describing the nomination process of a new PRI candidate (who would become the expected presidential winner during PRI dominance until 2000) by the outgoing PRI president.

Patronage

Also known as patron-client relationship or clientelism; this allowed government officials to distribute government jobs and services in return for voter loyalty; institutionalizes a quid pro quo ("this for that") relationship between elected officials and voters is often viewed as examples of corruption by those not benefitting from the patronage relationship.

Social movements

Involve large groups of people pushing collectively for significant political or social change such as indigenous civil rights, redistribute revenues to different classes, conduct fair and transparent elections, and ensure fair treatment of citizens of different sexual orientations.

Interest groups

Groups organized to represent and advocate for a specific interest or policy issue.

Grassroots social movements

Exert their power up from the local level to the regional, national, or international level.

Single peak associations (SPAs)

A type of interest group that commonly represents professional or commercial groups and helps establish standards for that profession or industry.

Economic globalization

Includes economic networks that are growing more interconnected, a worldwide market with actors unconstrained by political borders, and a reduction in state control over economies.

Multinational corporations (MNCs)

Businesses with a large presence in countries in different regions of the world. MNCs increasingly dominate global markets and pose challenges to, and sometimes conflict with, domestic economic policies regarding labor, the environment, land rights, taxation, and the budget.

Special economic zones

Areas in China (particularly along China's east coast) designated by the government as regions where private businesses could attract foreign direct investment.

Privatization

Government-owned industries to businesses run with free-market forces that are owned and operated by private investors.

Nationalization

Government-owned industries run without free-market forces.

Foreign direct investment

Money invested in private businesses by individuals or a corporation outside of the country that can pose a challenge to a government's foundational economic and political ideas and principles.

Environmental degradation

Environmental problems created by industrialization and other forms of economic development.

International organizations

Organizations joined by member states with a common interest such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF,) the World Bank and the United Nations. International Monetary Fund (IMF) exerts great influence through preconditions for financial assistance; countries that receive IMF assistance often must agree to structural adjustment programs requiring privatization of state-owned companies, reduced tariffs, and reduced governmental subsidies of domestic industries.

Supranational organizations

Organizations in which member states grant the governing organization sovereignty over policies typically related to trade such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union (EU), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Structural adjustment programs

Neoliberal reforms often required by international organizations granting emergency loans to countries that require privatization of state-owned companies, reduced tariffs, and reduced governmental subsidies of domestic industries.

Tariffs

Taxes imposed by a government against imported goods.

Subsidies

Government funding made to support domestic industries against foreign competition or to shape economic behaviors.

Import substitution industrialization (ISI)

Policies aimed at reducing foreign dependency by raising tariffs and encouraging local production of industrialized products.

Austerity measures

Governmental budget cuts and / or tax increases intended to decrease budget deficits and national debt; often required for IMF emergency loans.

Gender equity

Civil rights ideal for women to be protected with equal treatment and to secure equal power as men in governing a country.

Maquiladora zones

Areas of the Mexico's manufacturing industry mostly located in northern Mexico; factories established to assemble parts imported from the United States for assembly in Mexico made more possible due to NAFTA. Contributed to greater economic development in the north than in the south, as well as other regional disparities.

Rentier states

Countries that obtain a sizable percentage of total government revenue from the export of oil and gas or from leasing the resource to foreign countries and have been able to raise standards of living and fund governmental programs based on their huge reserves.

Economic diversification

When a country is able to obtain economic balance between agriculture, manufacturing and service without over dependence on one commodity or economic sector.

Post-materialism

Social values of self-expression and quality of life issues such as environmental issues and social and economic equality.

Neoliberalism

Referring to the removal of barriers and restrictions on what internal/external economic actors can do; beliefs in limited governmental intervention in the economy; privatization of government controlled industries, free trade to lower tariffs on imported goods, deregulation of governmental controls on business, and the elimination of state subsidies for industries.

Resource Curse

Countries that rely too heavily on the export of commodities face negative economic, political and environmental consequences.