Introduction to comparative politics

State

organization that maintains a monopoly of violence over a territory

Politics

struggle in any group for power that will give one or more persons the ability to make decisions for the larger group 

Power

ability to influence others to do something that they would not otherwise do

Sovereignty

the principle that the state is the ultimate authority within the bounds of its own territory and that neither internal or external actors can overrule the state

(Political) Regimes

the fundamental rules and norms that structure politics

Governments

the rulers or elites that run the state

Legitimacy

value whereby someone or something is recognized as right and proper

State capacity

the technical and material means that the state and its leaders may draw upon to achieve their goals

Autonomy

ability of states to wield power independent of external actors and internal rivals

Nation

group of people who share a common desire for self-government through an independent state

Ethnic group

group of people who share a common culture whether based on language/religion/geographic location/customs/history among other thing

Principles

statements of rectitude (what sort of behaviour is regarded as right, moral, and expected as well as not) with regard to politics and to what ends the state should run

Rules/norms

statements which lay out more specific expectations about the behaviour of political actors and for which sanctions are expected for non-compliance 

Decision-making procedures

processes for making collective political choices

Inclusiveness

the extent to which citizens are able to participate in politics

Contestation

the extent to which citizens are free to organize themselves into competing blocks to press for policies they desire

Presidential systems

democracy doesn’t depend on legislative majority to exist

Semi-presidential systems

democracy does depend on legislative majority to exist AND head of state is popularly elected for fixed term

Parliamentary systems

democracy does depend on legislative majority to exist AND head of state is not popularly elected for fixed term 

Legislative Responsibility

legislative majority has the constitutional power to remove government from office without cause 

vote of no confidence

initiated by legislature government must resign if no legislative majority

vote of confidence

initiated by government government must resign if no legislative majority

democratic transition

process through which democratic regimes emerge to replace existing dictatorship

top-down transitions

dictatorial elite introduces liberalising reforms that (might) lead to democratic regime

bottom-up transitions

people overthrow existing authoritarian regime in popular revolution

policy of liberalisation

controlled opening of political space to allow greater inclusion/contestation

revolutionary pathway

authoritarian civilisation through creation new-party states as result of revolutionary succes

counter-revolutionary pathway

authoritarian civilisation through joint-project of military and civilian elites coalition because of threats from rebellion

electoral system

set of rules that regulate electoral competition between parties and candidates

electoral formula

rule that determines how votes translate into seats in legislature or executives

district magnitude

rule which determines the number of representatives elected from each district 

ballot structure

rule governing whether individuals vote for candidates, parties, or both and how

majoritarian electoral systems

electoral system in which the candidates or parties with the most votes win

Single-Member District Plurality system

electoral system in which individuals cast single vote for candidate in district from single-member district

Single Non-Transferable Vote system

electoral system in which individuals cast single vote for candidate in district from multimember district 

Alternative Vote system

electoral system in which individuals rank order candidates in single-member district

Majority-runoff Two-Round system

electoral system in which individuals cast single vote for single candidate in single-member district (absolute majority)

quota

“price” in number of votes that party must “pay” to guarantee seat

divisor

divides total number of votes by series of numbers to obtain quotients

electoral threshold

minimum level of support party needs to achieve representation

closed lists

order of candidates on party list controlled by party

open lists

voters cast single vote for party and can indicate preference of candidate

mixed electoral system

electoral system in which voters elect representatives through one majoritarian system and one proportional system

electoral tier

level at which votes are translated into seats

independent mixed electoral system

electoral system in which majoritarian and proportional components are implemented independently 

dependent mixed electoral system

electoral system in which proportional electoral formula dependent on distribution of seats or votes from majoritarian formula

political parties

organizations which comprise a group of officials linked with a sizeable group of citizens

single-party systems

party system in which only one person is legally allowed to hold power

one-party dominant systems

party system in which multiple parties may legally operate and contest but only one party has realistic chance of gaining power

two-party systems

party system in which multiple parties compete but only two parties have realistic chance of gaining power

multi-party systems

party system in which multiple parties compete and more than two parties have realistic chance of gaining power

bottom-up view

parties formed to represent interest of national divisions/social cleavages (natural representative of people with common interests) 

top-down view

parties formed by individuals who see opportunity to represent unrepresented interest (teams of office seekers)

social cleavage

natural divisions within society that are potential bases for political parties to form and represent

federal state

state in which sovereignty has been constitutionally split between at least two territorial levels so that independent governmental units legally posses final authority in at least one policy realm

unitary state

state in which sovereignty has not been constitutionally split and final authority rests at national level

geopolitical division

country divided into mutually exclusive set of territories

independence

regional and national governments which rule within their respective territories have independent bases of authority

direct governance

authority shared between regional and national governments

congruent federalism

territorial units of federal state share similar demographic makeup

incongruent federalism

territorial units of federal state differ in demographic makeup

symmetric federalism

territorial units of federal state possess same powers relative to political centre

asymmetric federalism

territorial units of federal state don’t possess same power relative to political centre

coming-together federalism

federal arrangements emerge from bottom-up bargaining process between previously sovereign entities

holding-together federalism

federal arrangements emerge from top-down process in which central government decentralises power to subnational government