GOVT 133 final

Formateur

Someone who helps form coalitions.

Cabinet

Ministers who head government departments on behalf of the executive.

Government (in Parliamentary and Semi-Presidential Systems)

The PM is the Head of Government, not the Head of State.

Portfolio

Areas of responsibility for a cabinet member.

Vote of no confidence

A vote that takes place when a majority of government members don't support a leader or their policy.

Caretaker government

Temporary government that is formed when the government collapses.

Hung Parliament

No party or coalition has a majority in government.

Coalition

Parties that group together for stronger power in government.

Coalitional Presidentialism

A system where the president shares power with a coalition.

Cohabitation

When the executive and legislative branches are very different on the political spectrum.

Unicameralism vs. Bicameralism

Uni has one legislative body while Bi has two.

One-person, one vote

A principle of equal representation in voting.

Presidential systems

Strong executive system in the government; elected by the people.

Parliamentary systems

Strong legislative system in the government where the majority party rules.

Semi-Presidential/Mixed systems

A system where the President acts as head of state and the PM acts as head of government.

Electoral System

A set of laws to regulate electoral competition.

Electoral formula

Rules that convert votes into seats.

District magnitude

The number of representatives elected from a given district to the same legislative body.

Plurality/Majoritarian

District Magnitude (DM) = 1.

Alternative Vote

An electoral system where candidates are ranked.

Two-round system for presidential elections

Two elections to shortlist candidates to one in presidential elections.

Proportional Representation systems

Allocation of seats is equal to the share of votes received.

Mixed systems

Two-round electoral systems, commonly used.

Veto Actors

Institutional actors that can veto policy making.

Divisors (D’hondt, Sainte Lague, Modified Sainte Lague)

Methods used for counting elections.

Quotas (for allocating seats)

Number of votes guaranteed to a party for a number of seats in a district.

Thresholds (for allocating seats)

Minimum percentage of votes a party must win to obtain a representative.

Types of electoral lists

Open (choose candidate and party), Closed (vote only party), Free (vote across multiple parties).

Head of State

Role of the President.

Head of Government

Role of the Prime Minister.

Duverger’s law & strategic/tactical voting vs. sincere voting

Favors a two-party system.

Internally-generated parties

Parties that stem from elites and powerful people.

Externally generated parties

Parties that stem from social movements.

Mass parties

Mobilization parties with a large support base.

Catch-all parties

Parties that shift ideologies to fit the interests of most people.

Post-materialist parties

Single-issue parties focusing on self-expression and progression.

Cleavages

Social/cultural divisions.

Extreme Right parties

Parties characterized by nationalism, xenophobia, and racism.

Median-Voter Theorem

Parties should appeal to the middle of the political spectrum.