Consequences of Democratic Institutions

Flashcards about the consequences of democratic insitutions

What are two different visions of democracy?

Majoritarian vision and Consensus vision

Describe the majoritarian vision of democracy.

Concentrate power in the hands of the majority.

Describe the consensus vision of democracy.

Disperse power to as many people as possible.

What is formalistic representation?

How representatives are authorized and held accountable.

What is descriptive representation?

The extent to which representatives resemble and 'stand for' their constituents.

What is symbolic representation?

Focuses on the symbolic ways that representatives 'stand for' the citizens.

What is substantive representation?

Emphasizes how representatives 'act for' the people and promote their interests.

What is retrospective voting?

When voters look at the past performance of incumbent parties to decide how to vote in the current election.

What is clarity of responsibility?

The extent to which voters can identify exactly who’s responsible for the policies that are implemented.

What is ideological congruence?

The extent to which the actions of the representatives are in line with the interests of the people at a fixed point in time.

What is ideological responsiveness?

How representatives change their behavior to become more congruent with the interests of the people over time.

What is group essentialism?

The idea that all members of a group share an essential identity that only they can have and understand.

What does fiscal policy involve?

The manipulation of tax and spending decisions to accomplish governmental goals.

What does Wagner’s Law state?

The size of government grows as countries become more industrialized.

What does the Meltzer-Richard Model state?

Citizen preferences regarding fiscal policy depends on their level of income.

State the main prediction of the partisan model of macroeconomic policy

Changes in the partisan control of the government will lead to predictable changes in fiscal policy.

What is diversity penalty?

Ethnic diversity is associated with lower public goods provision.

What is consociationalism?

A form of government that emphasizes power sharing through guaranteed group representation.

What is confessionalism?

A form of government that emphasizes power sharing by different religious communities through guaranteed group representation.

What is the alternative vote (AV)?

An instant runoff system that requires a candidate to win a majority of all votes cast in a district.

What does immobilism describe?

A situation in parliamentary democracies in which government coalitions are so weak and unstable that they’re incapable of reaching an agreement on new policy.

What is 'difficult combination'?

Presidentialism and multipartism