Chapter 5 - Politics 6th Edition

Regime

A set of arrangements and procedures for government, outlining the location of authority and the nature of the policy process.

Government gridlock

Paralysis resulting from institutional rivalry within government, or the attempt to respond to conflicting public demands.

Government

any mechanism through which ordered rule is maintained, its central features being the ability to make collective decisions and the capacity to enforce them.

Utopia

An ideal or perfect society. Most are characterized by the abolition of want, the absence of conflict, and the avoidance of violence and oppression.

Ethnocentrism

The application of values and theories drawn from one's own culture to other groups and peoples; implies bias or distortion.

Demagogue

A political leader whose control over the masses is based on the ability to whip up hysterical enthusiasm.

Republicanism

The principle that political authority stems ultimately from the consent of the people; the rejection of monarchical and dynastic principles.

Absolutism

The theory or practice of absolute government, most commonly associated with an absolute monarchy. The government possesses unfettered power: it cannot be constrained by a body external to itself.

Gross domestic product

The total financial value of final goods and services produced in an economy over one year.

The West

Nations with the cultural and philosophical inheritance of Europe, as exported through migration or colonialism.

Polyarchy

The institutions and political processes of modern representative democracy. Operates through institutions that force rulers to take account of the public's wishes.

Majoritarianism

The belief that majority views should prevail over minority views, with the possible implication that the defeated minority is morally obliged to come into line with views of the majority.

Consociational democracy

A form of democracy that operates through power-sharing and a close association amongst a number of parties or political formations.

Veto player

An official or unofficial institution or actor in a political system which has the power to stop something from happening.

Transition regimes

Former communist regimes of the Eastern Bloc that are in the process of transitioning from central planning to market capitalism.

Democratic backsliding

The decline of the democratic characteristics of a political system, usually a in a gradual process over an extended period.

Confucianism

A system of ethics formulated by Confucius and his disciples that was primarily outlined in The Analects. Concerned with human relations and the cultivation of the self.

Democratization

The process of transition from authoritarianism to liberal democracy.

Shari'a

Islamic law, believed to be based on divine revelation, and derived from the Koran, the Hadith (the teachings of Muhammad), and other sources.

Theocracy

The principle that religious authority should prevail over political authority. A regime in which government posts are filled on the basis of the person's position in the religious hierarchy.

Authoritarianism

A belief in, or practice of, government 'from above', in which authority is exercised regardless of popular consent.

Dictatorship

A form of rule in which absolute power is vested in one individual; synonymous with autocracy. they are above the law and act beyond constitutional constraints.

Constitutional monarchy

A political system where the powers of the monarch are limited and bound by laws and conventions, and power is shared with other bodies.

Electoral authoritarianism

A form of dictatorship where sham elections are held periodically to legitimize the rule of an autocrat.

Coup d'état

(French) A sudden and forcible seizure of government power through illegal and unconstitutional action.

Junta

(Spanish) Literally, 'a council'; a (usually military) clique that seizes power through a revolution or coup d'état.