Intro to Comparative Politics Final Exam

Vocabulary and Concepts learned from this semester

Comparative Politics

the study and comparison of domestic politics across countries.  

International politics

a field of political that concentrates on relations between countries such as foreign policy, war, trade, and foreign aid.

Formal institutions

institutions usually based on officially sanctioned rules that are relatively clear 

Informal institution

institution with unwritten and unofficial rules

Freedom

the ability of an individual to act independently, without fear of restriction or punishment by the state or other individuals or groups in society

Equality

a material standard of living shared by individuals within a community, society, or country 

Analytic concepts

assumptions and theories that guide our research

Methods

ways to study and test those theories

Ideals

beliefs and values about preferred outcomes  

Institutions

organizations or activities that are self-perpetuating and valued for their own sake

Politics

the struggle in any group for power that will give one or more the ability to make decisions for the larger group  

Power

the ability to influence others or impose one’s will on them

Comparative method

how social scientists make comparisons across cases  

Inductive reasoning

research that works from case studies to generate hypotheses 

Deductive reasoning

research that works from a hypothesis that is then tested against data  

Correlation

an apparent relationship between two or more variables

Causal relationship

cause and effect- when change in one variable causes a change in another variable

Multicausality

when variables are interconnected and interact to produce particular outcomes

Area studies

a regional focus when studying political science, rather than studying parts of the world where similar variables are clustered  

Selection bias

a focus on effects rather than causes, which can lead to inaccurate conclusions about correlation or causation  

Dependent variable

a variable whose value changes based on that of another  

Independent variable

a variable whose value does not depend on that of another  

State

the organization that maintains a monopoly of force over a given territory. (2) a set of political institutions that generates and executes policy regarding freedom and equality  

Endogeneity

the issue that cause and effect are not often clear, in that variables may be both cause and effect in relationship to one another 

Theory

an integrated set of hypotheses, assumptions, and facts 

Modernization theory

a theory asserting that as societies developed, they would take on a set of common characteristics, including democracy and capitalism  

Behavioral revolution

a movement within political science during the 1950’s and 1960’s to develop general theories about individual political behavior that could be applied across all countries.  

Qualitative method

study through an in-depth investigation of a limited number of cases (typically inductive approaches)  

Quantitative method

study through statistical data from many cases (typically deductive methods)

Rational choice

approach that assumes that individuals weigh the costs and benefits and make choices to maximize their benefits 

Game theory

an approach that emphasizes how actors or organizations behave in their goal to influence others, built upon assumptions of rational choice 

Sovereignty

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

Regime

the fundamental rules and norms of politics, embodying long-term goals regarding individual freedom and collective equality, where power should reside, and how it should be used  

Government

the leadership or elite in charge of running the state

Country

a state, government, and regime, and the people who live within that political system

Consensus

individuals band together to protect themselves and create common rules; leadership chosen from among the people. Security through cooperation ---> Democratic rule  

Legitimacy

a value whereby an institution is accepted by the public as right and proper, thus giving it authority and power  

Traditional legitimacy

legitimacy that accepts aspects of politics because they have been institutionalized over a long period of time 

Charismatic legitimacy

legitimacy built on the force of ideas embodied by an individual leader  

Rational-legal legitimacy

legitimacy based on a system of laws and procedures that are highly institutionalized 

Federalism

a system in which significant state powers, such as taxation, lawmaking, and security, are devoted to regional or local bodies  

Asymmetric federalism

a system in which power is divided unevenly among regional bodies-for example, some regions are given greater power over taxation or language rights than others, a more likely outcome in a country with significant ethnic divisions 

Unitary state

a state in which most political power exists at the national level, with limited local authority 

Strong state

a state that is able to fulfill basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy 

Weak state

a state that has difficulty fulfilling basic tasks such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy 

Failed state

a state so weak that its political structures collapse, leading to anarchy and violence  

Capacity

the ability of the state to wield power to carry out basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy

Autonomy

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

Political economy

the study of the interaction between states and markets  

Market

the interaction between the forces of supply and demand that allocates resources

Property

the ownership of anything tangible on intangible; includes but is not limited to land, buildings, businesses, or personal items 

Private goods

possible to exclude others from consuming

Public goods

goods, provided or secured by the state, available to society, and which no private person or organization can own

Social expenditures

state provisions of public benefits, such as education, healthcare, and transportation

Gross domestic product (GDP)

the total market value of all goods and services produced by a country over a period of one year

Central bank

the state institution that controls how much money is flowing through the economy as well as how much it costs to borrow money in that economy

Inflation

an increase in the general price level of goods and services in the economy 

Hyperinflation

inflation of more than 50% a month for more than two months in a row

Deflation

a decline in the prices of goods and services 

Regulation

a rule or an order that sets the boundaries of a given procedure  

Monopoly

a single producer that is able to dominate the market for a good or service without effective competition  

Tariff

a tax on imported goods 

Quota

a nontariff barrier that limits the quantity of a good that may be imported into a country 

Nontariff regulatory barriers

policies and regulations used to limit imports through methods other than taxation

Comparative advantage

the ability of one country to produce a particular good or service more efficiently, relative to other countries’ efficiency in producing the same good or service  

Opportunity cost

the potential loss from an alternative choice  

Political-economic system

the relationship between political and economic institutions in a particular country and the polices and outcomes they create  

Laissez-faire

the principle that the economy should be “allowed to do” what it wishes, a liberal system of minimal state interference in the economy 

Capitalism

a system of production based on private property and free markets

Mercantilism

a political-economic system in which national economic power is paramount, and the domestic economy is viewed as an instrument that exists primarily to serve the needs of the state  

Parastatal

industry partially owned by the state

Purchasing power parity (PPP)

a statistical tool that attempts to estimate the buying power of income across different countries by using prices in the United States as a benchmark  

Gini index

a statistical formula that measures the amount of inequality in a society; its scale ranges from zero to 100, where zero corresponds to perfect equality and 100 to perfect inequality 

Human development index (HDI)

a statistical tool that attempts to evaluate the overall wealth, health, and knowledge of a country’s people  

Economic liberalization

changes consistent with liberalism that aim to limit the power of the state and increase the power of the market and private property in an economy

Developed democracy

a country with institutionalized democracy and a high level of economic development  

Modern

characterized as secular, rational, materialistic, technological, and bureaucratic, and placing a greater emphasis on individual freedom than in the past

Postmodern

characterized by a set of values that center on “quality of life” considerations and give less attention to material gain

Populism

a political view that does not have a consistent ideological foundation, but that emphasizes hostility toward elites and established state and economic institutions and favors greater power in the hands of the public

Integration

a process by which states pool their sovereignty, surrendering some individual powers in exchange for political, economic, or societal benefits 

Devolution

a process of devolving or “sending down” political power to lower levels of government 

Intergovernmental system

a system in which two or more countries cooperate on issues  

Supranational system

an intergovernmental system with its own sovereign powers over member states

Authoritarianism

a political system in which a small group of individuals exercises power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public  

Nondemocratic regime

a political regime that is controlled by a small group of individuals who exercise power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public. 

Totalitarianism

a nondemocratic regime that is highly centralized, possessing some form of strong ideology that seeks to transform and absorb fundamental aspects of state, society, and the economy, using a wide array of institutions 

Resource curse

theory of development in which the existence of natural resources in a given state is a barrier to modernization and democracy  

Corporatism

a method of co-optation whereby authoritarian systems create or sanction a limited number of organizations to represent the interests of the public and restrict those not set up or approved by the state. 

Co-optation

the process by which individuals outside an organization are brought into a beneficial relationship with it, making them dependent on the regime for certain rewards 

Neo-corporatism

a more open variant found in some social democracies that encourages coordination between business, labor, and the state

Clientelism

a process whereby the state co-opts members of the public by providing specific benefits or favors to a single person or a small group in return for public support 

Rent seeking

privileged economic benefits mediated by political power  

Kleptocracy

“rule by theft” where those. in power seek only to drain the state of assets and resources 

Coercion

(1) public obedience is enforced through violence and surveillance  (2) individuals are brought together by a ruler, who imposes authority and monopolizes power. Security through domination ---> Authoritarian rule 

Personality cult

the public is encouraged to obey the leader, based on their extraordinary qualities and compelling ideas  

Patrimonialism

a variant of clientelism whereby a ruler depends on a collection of supporters within the state who gain direct benefits in return for enforcing the ruler’s will  

Bureaucratic authoritarianism

a system in which the state bureaucracy and the military share a belief that a technocratic leadership focused on rational, objective, and technical expertise, can solve the problems of the country without public participation

Illiberal regime

a regime where democratic institutions that rest on the rule of law are weakly institutionalized and poorly respected  

Theocracy  

“Rule by God”; holy texts serve as foundation for regime and politics  

One-party rule 

Rule by one political party that bans or excludes other groups from power