pol100 final

Contentious politics

The usually disruptive, direct, and highly conflictive ways that people advance their claims on elites, authorities, and opponents

. Unitary system

A system of governance in which political power is concentrated in a single central national government

. Brexit

The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union

. Political gridlock

A situation in presidential systems where legislation is unable to pass due to tension between the executive and a legislature controlled by opposing parties

. Congress oversight role

The monitoring and review of federal departments and activities by the legislative branch

. Fusion of powers

A feature of parliamentary systems where the executive branch is a part or subset of the legislative branch

. Political protest

Oppositional political action taking place outside of formal channels to seek changes from government

. Devolution

The transfer of specific legislative powers and administrative responsibilities from a central government to regional bodies

. Majority government

A government formed by a political party that holds more than half of the seats in the legislature

. Semi-Presidential system

A mixture of parliamentary and presidential systems featuring a directly elected President and a Prime Minister dependent on parliamentary confidence

. Feminist IR

A critique of international relations that challenges state-centrism and argues that realism is used to justify large defense budgets over domestic spending

. Continuum of protest

A classification of political actions ranging from institutional (voting) to moderate (petitions) to direct action (civil disobedience) and violence

. Federal system

A system of governance in which political authority and sovereignty are shared between a national government and regional sub-units

. Minority government

A government formed by a party with less than half the seats, requiring support from other parties to pass legislation

. President-parliamentary

A semi-presidential system where the President has significant power to appoint and dismiss the cabinet

. Pole

A concentration of power within the international system

. Petitions

A document addressed to an official and signed by numerous individuals to signal information to policy makers

. Classical federalism

A model of federalism where national and regional governments have mutually exclusive domains and are supreme in their own areas

. Cabinet solidarity

The requirement that all ministers fully support and publicly defend all decisions made by the Cabinet

. Premier-presidential

A semi-presidential system where the Prime Minister and cabinet are primarily responsible to the legislature

. Unipolar

An international system characterized by a single dominant state or hegemon

. Bipolar

An international system dominated by two rival concentrations of power, such as the Cold War

. Multipolar

An international system with three or more concentrations of power, often resulting in a balance of power

. Boycotts

The voluntary refusal to purchase or use products or services from a specific firm or country as a form of protest

. Cooperative federalism

A system where levels of government are jointly involved in developing, financing, and administering government services

. Coalition governments

A government formed by two or more political parties cooperating to achieve a majority in the legislature

. Cohabitation

A situation in semi-presidential systems where the President and the Prime Minister belong to different political parties

. Second strike capability

The ability of a nuclear-armed state to launch a retaliatory strike after being hit by an initial attack

. Confederal system

A system where sovereign states delegate limited authority to a joint government but retain their individual sovereignty

. Prorogation

The act of ending a parliamentary session to reset the government's agenda without triggering a general election

. Classical realism

An international relations theory arguing that human nature's inherent "lust for power" is the primary driver of conflict

. Mutual Assured Destruction Doctrine (MADD)

The theory that a nuclear attack on a state with second-strike capability results in the complete annihilation of both sides

. Civil disobedience

The intentional and non-violent refusal to obey certain laws or demands of a government to protest an injustice

. Centralization

A condition in federal systems where the central government holds more authority relative to regional governments

. Collective responsibility

The principle that the Cabinet must function as a unit and defend government actions in Parliament

. Neorealism

An international relations theory arguing that the anarchic structure of the international system forces states to pursue power

. Fukuyama’s ‘end of history’

The theory that Western liberal democracy represents the final form of human government and that ideological conflict has ended

. Guerilla warfare

Hit-and-run tactics used by lightly armed irregular forces against a better-armed government

. Decentralization

The process in a federal system where regional governments gain more authority and autonomy relative to the central government

. Cabinet secrecy

The convention that Cabinet discussions and documents remain private for 20 years to allow ministers to speak freely

. Filibuster

A tactic used in a legislature to prolong debate and prevent a vote on a bill

. Cloture

A formal procedure used to end a filibuster and bring a bill to a vote

. Liberalism

An ideology emphasizing individual freedoms, limited government, and the rule of law

. Political Revolution

A revolution that changes rulers but does not necessarily alter the basic organization of society

. Social Revolution

A revolution that brings fundamental economic, political, and social changes to a society

. Asymmetrical federalism

A federal system where some regional governments have more self-government or legislative power than others

. Executive order

A directive issued by a President to manage government agencies or implement policies without new legislation

. Collective security

A system where states pledge to intervene together against any state that commits an act of aggression

. Terrorism

The deliberate targeting of innocent civilians to instill fear for political or ideological aims

. Parliamentary system

A system of government featuring a close relationship between the executive and legislative branches, where the executive needs the confidence of the house

. Impeachment

The two-step process to remove a President for illegal behavior, involving an investigation by the House and a trial by the Senate

. Realism

A theory viewing states as unitary, power-seeking actors in an anarchic world where national interest is paramount

. Security dilemma

The cycle where one state's military buildup leads to insecurity in others, resulting in an armaments race

. Institutional deficiencies

Flaws or gaps in governing structures that lead groups to challenge the status quo through collective action

. Presidential system

A system featuring a strict separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches

. Vice President

An official who serves as backup to the President; the role has recently expanded to include significant economic and foreign policy duties

. Frustration-aggression hypothesis

The theory that collective violence is caused by relative deprivation—the gap between what people think they deserve and what they actually have

. Separation of powers

The principle that the three branches of government have independent powers and check one another to prevent abuse

. Presidential veto

The power of a President to reject a bill passed by the legislature, which can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in Congress

. Anarchy

The absence of a central world authority to enforce rules in the international system

. Dependency theory

The belief that resources flow from poor "periphery" states to wealthy "core" states, perpetuating underdevelopment and dependency

. Development

A process focused on satisfying basic needs and creating a diverse, sophisticated economy

. Export-oriented industrialization

An economic model emphasizing the production of goods specifically for international markets

. Import substitution industrialization (ISI)

Replacing imports with domestic production through high tariffs to diversify the economy

. Free-market economic model

An approach emphasizing limited government intervention, economic freedom, and the "invisible hand" of the market

. International financial institution

Global organizations like the IMF and World Bank that provide loans and set economic conditions for developing nations

. Modernization theory

The idea that developing nations should adopt Western values and stages of growth to achieve industrialization

. Statist economic model

An approach involving high state involvement in the economy, including socialist and state-directed capitalist models

. Washington Consensus

A set of free-market policies imposed on the Global South by international financial institutions

. Structural adjustment programs (SAP)

Austerity and privatization policies required of developing nations in exchange for low-interest loans

. Official development assistance (ODA)

Resources provided by wealthy governments to promote economic and social development in poorer countries

. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The market value of all goods and services produced by a country in a given year

. Balance of power

A condition in a multipolar system where power is distributed so that no single state can dominate others

. Hegemon

A single dominant state in the international system

. Postmodern state

A state, such as those in the EU, where sovereignty is shared and security is no longer solely about borders

. Marxist IR

A radical approach viewing social classes and economic elites as the key actors in international relations

. Constructivism

A theory arguing that national interests are socially constructed by identities, ideas, and norms

. Foreign policy analysis

The study of how individual characteristics, state structures, and systemic distribution of power influence a country's actions

. Asian Tigers

Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, which achieved rapid industrialization through state-directed growth

. Mass political parties

Parties that recruit large memberships to educate and mobilize the working class

. Runoff elections

A follow-up election held if no candidate receives the required majority in the first round

. Cadre political parties

Elite-driven parties that focus more on winning office than on building a mass membership base

. Preferential ballot

A voting system where voters rank candidates in order of preference

. Iron law of oligarchy

Robert Michels' theory that all organizations eventually develop oligarchic tendencies, regardless of how democratic they begin

. Proportional representation (PR)

An electoral system where seats are allocated based on the total percentage of votes won by each party

. Electoral-professional party

A catch-all party that uses marketing experts and polling to design policies specifically to win elections

. Closed-list PR

A system where the party decides the candidate order and voters choose the party list

. Brokerage party

A party that avoids fixed ideology to reconcile diverse regional, ethnic, and linguistic interests

. Open-list PR

A system where voters choose their preferred candidate from a party list

. Programmatic party

A political party with a clear, consistent, and specific ideological platform

. Single Transferable Vote System

A proportional electoral system using preferential ballots in multi-member districts

. Personalistic party

A party that is dominated by and centered around a single charismatic leader

. State

A permanent sovereign power effectively ruling over a population within fixed territorial boundaries

. Two-party system

A party system dominated by two major parties

. Three or more parties

Multi-party systems

. Moderate multiparty system

A system with several parties that are not ideologically polarized

. Fragmented multiparty system

A multi-party system with many small parties, often leading to instability and coalition challenges

. Sovereignty

The highest authority of a state over its own population and territory

. De jure sovereignty

The legal and recognized authority of a state to govern itself as acknowledged by the international community

. De facto sovereignty

The actual control and exercise of power by a state, regardless of whether it has legal recognition