AP Comparative Politics Unit 1 Vocabulary

Quantitative Data

Data associated with mathematical models and statistical techniques used to analyze spatial location and association.

Qualitative Data

Data associated with a more humanistic approach to geography, often collected through interviews, empirical observations, or the interpretation of texts, artwork, old maps, and other archives.

Empirical Statement

statements that traditionally contain facts or are provable

Normative Statement

a claim about how something should be based on opinion or value. less testable, more opinionated

Causation

A cause and effect relationship in which one variable controls the changes in another variable.

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

HDI

Human Development Index, measure of quality of life using factors like life expectancy, literacy, access to clean water, income, etc.

GDP/GDP per capita

Gross Domestic Product, the value of the total output of goods and services produced in a country in a year.

GDP per capita-the measure of the average person's contribution to generating a country's wealth in a year. Exceeds $20,000 in most MDCs compared to about $1,000 in LDCs.

GDP growth rate

annual percentage change in the value of real GDP

Freedom House

organizations that ranks countries based on political and civil rights

Gini index (coefficient)

scale which measures the level of equality present within a country

Failed States Index

A measure of the degree to which a state is weak and fragile, or how likely it is to fail

Transparency International

A non-governmental organization that monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in international development. rates countries on 0 to 10 scale. 0 is absolutely corrupt

Political Systems

The laws, the ideas, and the procedures that decide who has the authority to rule and what the government's influence should be politically and economically.

States

political organizations with a population and government institution controlling territory

Regimes

rules that control access to and exercise of political power

Goverment

set of institutions

Sovereignty

where power lies within a nation

Nation

a group of people with commonalities including race, language, religion, ethnicity, political identity and aspirations

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

Authoritarianism

A political system in which a small group of individuals exercises power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public.

Rule of Law

No one is above the law

Transparency

how open a country is about it's internal ongoing

illiberal democracy

a polity with some democratic features but in which political and civil rights are not all guaranteed or protected. not necessarily democracy.

hybrid regime

A system of government with both democratic and authoritarian elements.

one-party state

a political system in which one party controls the government and actively seeks to prevent other parties from contesting for power

Theocracy

A government controlled by religious leaders

Totalitarianism

A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator

military regime

system of government in which military officers control power

Democritization

the process of creating a government elected by the people

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

Coups d'etat

forcible removal of a head of government by the society's own armed forces or internal security personnel

revolutions

cause radical changes in the institutions of government and bring about basic changes in society as a whole

federal states

a state in which power is shared between two levels of government such as national and sub-national

unitary states

states in which nearly all of the sovereignty and power reside with the central government

ethnic cleavages

political division based on ethnicity, which affects political representation as minority ethnic groups fight for representation

supranational organizations

Groups of nations that work together regionally or on an international level to achieve greater political and economic gain or influence.

legitimacy

A belief by powerful groups and the broad citizenry that a state exercises rightful authority.

nationalism

pride in one's country

political efficacy

The belief that one's political participation really matters - that one's vote can actually make a difference

devolution

The gradual granting or greater political autonomy to sub-nations, regions, states or localities within a larger nation-state.

separatist group

group of people who want to establish an independent state

private capital

The money that is generated by, and owned by privately owned businesses or private individuals. This is not money generated or owned by the government.

foreign direct investment

direct investment into production or business in a country by an individual company of another country

civil society

A collection of groups or organizations working in the interest of the citizens but operating outside of the governmental and for-profit sectors such as labor unions, non-profit organizations, churches, and other service agencies.