Introduction to Political Systems and Waves of Democracy

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering sovereign states, global democratic trends, Samuel Huntington's waves of democracy, presidential versus parliamentary structures, and electoral systems based on the lecture.

Sovereign State

A modern political unit tied to fixed territorial borders with exclusive jurisdiction and final authority over punishment, leaving no independent jurisdiction for religious or other authorities.

Feudal System

A historical political arrangement characterized by overlapping and shared sovereignty among emperors, kings, princes, dukes, and ecclesiastical religious authorities with separate secular and religious courts.

Freedom House 2025 Report

An assessment of global politics showing that global freedom declined for the twentieth consecutive year, recording $89$ free countries (about $45\%$ of states), $52$ partly free, and $67$ not free.

Semi-Presidential Republic

A hybrid democratic system that divides executive authority between both a prime minister and an elected president, originally modeled by France and adopted on paper by countries like Russia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

First Wave of Democracy

A slow, Western, and predominantly Protestant expansion of democracy lasting through approximately $1926$ that reached $29$ democracies, largely driven by the gradual expansion of suffrage in existing countries.

First Reverse Wave

The historical period between World War I and World War II during which the rise of fascism across Europe (e.g., under Mussolini, Hitler, and in Spain) caused the collapse of $12$ democracies.

Second Wave of Democracy

The post-World War II democratic expansion that brought the world total to $36$ democracies, spurred by the Allied victory over fascism and the onset of decolonization in places such as India.

Second Reverse Wave

A steep reversal occurring across the 1960s and 1970s that eliminated nearly $30$ democracies, driven by democratic breakdowns into authoritarianism in Africa and expanding Soviet influence.

Third Wave of Democracy

The democratic surge following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s and an African democratic renaissance, which caused satellite states and post-Cold War autocracies to transition toward democracy.

Wealth-Democracy Correlation

The strong indicator identified by Samuel Huntington showing that wealthy countries are significantly more likely to be democracies, whereas poorer nations are easier for authoritarian dictators to control.

Snowballing Effect

The phenomenon wherein political upheaval or democratization in one state sparks similar mass movements or regime changes in neighboring or culturally linked states (e.g., the Arab Spring).

Presidential Democracy

A democratic system featuring separated powers where voters independently elect the legislature and the executive (president); it makes passing laws harder due to potential divisions and tends toward authoritarianism when it fails.

Parliamentary Democracy

A system of fused powers where voters elect members of parliament, and the majority party in parliament directly selects the executive (prime minister and cabinet) from its own sitting legislators.

Bicameral System

A legislative structure consisting of two distinct chambers (such as the House of Representatives and the Senate in the United States) that must both approve legislation before it can become law.

Divided Government

A scenario in a presidential system where the presidency is held by one political party while one or both houses of the legislature are controlled by an opposing party, making lawmaking difficult.

First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)

A plurality electoral system where each district has one open seat that is awarded entirely to the candidate who secures the most votes, typically favoring a stable two-party system over small parties.

Proportional Representation

An electoral system in which multiple legislative seats are allocated to parties in proportion to the percentage of total votes they receive, which rewards small parties and produces a multi-party system.

Coalition Government

A government formed in a multi-party parliamentary system when no single party wins an absolute majority, requiring multiple parties to combine their legislative seats to appoint a prime minister and rule.