Unit 1: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments

Empirical data

Fact based information from observations or experimentation

Normative Statement

A value or opinion statement that cannot be proven or disprove. For example, a normative statement about Russian politics is that “Vladimir Putin should not have returned to become Russia’s president in 2012.”

Qualitative Data

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

Correlation

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

Causation

Complex to determine with certainty in comparative politics, as numerous variables often influence political policies and/or regime stability, with no way to isolate and demonstrate which is producing the change.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A summary measure from the UN Development Program averaging achievement in key dimensions of human development. Including statistics about life expectancy, amount of schooling, and income.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

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

GDP per Capita

Reflects the size of the national economy compared to the population size.

Gini Index

Shows income inequality within a country. A Gini of 100% indicates perfect inequality, whereas a Gini of 0% indicates 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 benefits.

Political Systems

Compromise 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

Refer to the fundamental rules that control access to and exercise political power. These typically endure from government to government.

Freedom House

Scores are reported by a nongovernmental organization (Freedom House) that 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 a 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

These attempt to reduce voter fraud and manipulation, and enhance electoral competition.

Suffrage

A synonym for voting rights. Universal suffrage means that every citizen above a certain age is legally eligible to vote.

Civil Rights

These are the protection for groups of citizens from discrimination by the government or other individuals.

Civil Liberties

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

Corporatist System

The government created and supported interest groups (typically labor groups, business owners, and agricultural workers) 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 Systems

These accommodate ethnic diversity and increase multiparty competition with rule adjustments, including gender or cultural quotas, proportional representation, and changes in vote threshold and district boundaries.

Illiberal Democracies and Hybrid Regimes

These hold elections with little competition toward the ruling party, which tends to diminish civil liberties.

One-Party States

States where rival parties are prohibited from controlling governmental power.

Theocracies

These require 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

When military leaders hold top positions of governing authority.

Democratization

A transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic regime; the transition process can start or temporarily change direction but typically moves toward more competition, fairness, and transparency in elections; increased citizen participation in policy-making processes; universal suffrage for adult citizens; greater governmental transparency; protected civil liberties; equal treatment of citizens; and establishment of the rule of law.

Democratic Consolidation

The process by which a democratic regime matures in terms of election rules, separation of powers, and protection of civil liberties, making it unlikely to revert to authoritarianism without an external shock.

Power

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

Authority

The state’s legitimate right to enforce a power.

Sources of Power and Authority

Sources are constitutions, religions, military forces, political parties, legislatures, and popular support.

Federal States

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

Unitary States

These concentrate power at the national level with more uniform policies and potentially more efficient policy making.

Devolution

The delegation of power to regional governments that can enhance or weaken legitimacy and create opportunities for and obstacles to resolving social, political, and economic issues.

Legitimacy

Refers to whether a government’s constituents believe their government has the right to use power in the way they do. This thing also confers authority on and can increase regime’s government’s power.

Sources of Legitimacy

Sources can include popular elections constitutional provisions, nationalism, tradition, governmental effectiveness, economic growth, ideology, religious heritage, organizations, and the dominant political party’s endorsement.

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.

Coercion

This is the use of government force to guide citizen behavior and actions. It can be a small as a citation and small fine, to as large as brute force and violence.