AP Comparitive Government Unit 1: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments

Qualitative Data

information about qualities; information that can't actually be measured

Quantitative Data

information about quantities; that is, information that can be measured and written down with numbers.

Empirical Statement

data, or knowledge acquired using the senses, particularly by observation and experimentation

Normative Statement

expresses a value judgment about whether a situation is desirable or undesirable. It looks at the world as it "should" be

Causation

the relationship between an event or situation and a possible reason or cause

Correlation

the relationship between things that happen or change together

HDI (Human Development Index)

It tracks the development of a country. GIves a value of 0-1; one is the highest level of development a country can have.

GDP/ GDP per capita (Gross Domestic Product)

The total of all goods and services produced within a country; it is used as a broad measure of the size of its economy

GDP growth rate

The annual average rate of change of the gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices based on constant local currency, for a given national economy, during a specified period of time

Freedom House

A NGO that ranks countries based on their corruption levels (0: extremely corrupt, 1: completely clean)

Gini index

What the income inequality of a country is. (1: perfect inequality, 0-perfect equality)

Failed States Index

an annual ranking of 178 nations based on their levels of stability and the pressures they face. (The higher the score the more fragile the state)

Transparency International

Corruption Perception Index- ranks countries based on the corruption of the public sector (0-100, 100 is good); Control of Corruption- how much is public power used for private gain (-2.5 to 2.5, negative is bad)

Political Systems

Laws, ideas, and procedures that determine authority, government, and economic systems

States

Politcal organizations with a population and governing institution controlling a territory

Regimes

Rules that control access to and exercise of political powers

Government

Set of institutions

Sovereignty

A state's claim to have authority and political control of political decisions within a given boundary, state or nation

Nation

Group of people with commonalities

Democracy

When ultimate authority is derived from the governed and their will is done directly or through representatives

Authoritarianism

A system of rule in which few personal freedoms exist and nearly all power is given to a strong central government.

Rule of law

Set of rules (laws) that are applicable to all and consistently enforced

Transparency

A government that is open about everything they do is a government that has ____________.

illiberal democracy

A state that claims to use democratic values but regularly deviates from them

hybrid regime

when democratic institutions are imitative and adhere to authoritarian methods

One-party state

a country where a single political party controls the government, either by law or in practice

theocracy

A state ruled by the church.

totalitarianism

A political system in which the government uses political, economic and ideological control to exercise power and dominate all aspects of public and private life

military regime

a form of government wherein the political power resides with the armed forces

democratization

The movement from an authoritarian state to a democratic state

democratic consolidation

Process by which a democratic regime matures in terms of election rules, separation of powers, and protections of civil liberties, making it unlikely to revert to authoritarianism without an external shock.

coups d’etat

A sudden overthrow of the government by a small group

Revolutions

A fundamental change in the political and social institutions of a society, often accompanied by violence, cultural upheaval, and civil war.

Federal States

a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal governmen

unitary states

states in which policymaking powers are concentrated in one central geographic place

Ethnic clevages

a divide involving multiple ideas of identity

Supranational organizations

Organizations that are made up of and usurp the sovereignty of nations to carry out their will

legitimacy

Belief of a significant segment of the citizenry that the state is entitled to command compliance from those who live under its rule and acts lawfully in pursuit of desirable aims.

Nationalism

identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.

political efficacy

the belief that ordinary people can influence the government.

devolution

a tendency towards decentralization

separatist group

someone who secedes or supports separation from an established group, such as a church or nation.

private capital

a collection of investment strategies that deal in private assets as opposed to publicly traded ones, like stocks and bonds

foreign direct investment

a category of cross-border investment in which an investor resident in one economy establishes a lasting interest in and a significant degree of influence over an enterprise resident in another economy.

civil society

Voluntary associations that are not part of the state, such as unions, professional associations, and other voluntary association groups.