Comparative Politics Final Exam Flash Cards - Definitions

Caretaker Government

Occurs when an election is called or when an incumbent government either resigns or is defeated in a vote of no confidence. It rules the country for an interim period until a new government is formed.

Civil Service System

Refers to the law(s) that govern the recruitment, retentions, and promotion of civilian (non-military) public employees

Clientelism

Refers to the distribution of goods or services that are either (a) not public, or (b) not shaped by publicized rules, which is contingent on some form of individual political support

Cohabitation

Having a president from one political bloc and a prime minister from another - occurs when the party of the president does not control a majority in the legislature and is not represented in the cabinet.

Constituency Service

Refers to non-legislative activities undertaken by legislators (or their staff) on behalf of residents of their districts.

Core Voters

Voters who are predisposed in favor of a party on partisan or programmatic grounds.

Decentralization

Refers to the extent to which actual policymaking power lies with the central or regional governments in a country.

Delegation

Occurs when one person or group (principal) relies on another person or group (agent) to act on the principal's behalf.

Descriptive Representation

Characterizes the degree to which representatives resemble and therefore 'stand for' their constituents.

Duverger's Law

Holds that the simple-majority single-ballot system (FPTP in our discussion) favors the two-party system.

Duverger's Hypothesis

Holds that second ballot (two round systems) favors multipartyism.

District Magnitude

The number of representatives elected in a district or constituency.

Electoral Formula

A formula that translates votes into seats or offices. This can include a threshold for the minimum number of votes a party needs to win a seat.

(Electoral) Threshold

A formal rule that sets the minimum share of the vote a party must win to be eligible for any seats in a PR system; parties below this minimum vote share are excluded from seat allocation.

Effective number of Parties

A measure that captures both the number and the size of parties in a country.

Federalism

A political organization in which the activities of government are divided between regional governments and a central government in such a way that each kind of government has some activities on which it makes final decisions.

Congruent federalism

Exists when units of a federal state share similar demographic makeup with one another and the country as a whole.

Incongruent federalism

Exists when the demographic makeup of territorial units differs among the units and the country as a whole.

Symmetric federalism

Exists when the territorial units of a federal state possess equal powers (to each other) vis-a-vis the central government.

Asymmetric federalism

Exists when some territorial units enjoy more extensive powers than others relative to the central government.

Insurgency

Insurgency is a technology of military conflict characterized by small, lightly armed bands practicing guerrilla warfare from rural base areas.

Least Minimal Winning Coalition

A minimal winning coalition (MWC) is one in which there are no extra parties in addition to those that are required to control a legislative majority. A least MWC is the MWC with the lowest number of surplus seats.

Legislative Responsibility

Refers to a situation in which a legislative majority has the constitutional power - through a vote of no confidence - to remove a government from office without cause.

Majoritarian Electoral System

A system is one in which the candidates or parties that receive the most votes win office.

Mixed Electoral System

A mixed electoral system is one in which voters elect representatives through two different systems, one majoritarian and one proportional.

Dependent Mixed System

One in which the application of the electoral formula in the top tier is dependent on the distribution of seats or votes produced by the majoritarian formula in the lower tier.

Parliamentary Democracy

A democracy is a parliamentary democracy if the government depends on a legislative majority to exist and in which the head of state is not popularly elected for a fixed term.

Party Discipline

Party Discipline is high when all party members in the legislature act and vote cohesively, are on the same page about party policy, and in which leaders speak for the party.

Party Platform

A party platform is a formal set of policy goals which are supported by a party or individual candidate in order to appeal to the general public with the purpose of winning votes.

Patronage

Refers to a system in which politicians appoint trusted individuals by discretion to non-elective positions in the public sector.

Personal Vote

Occurs when an individual votes upon characteristics of a particular candidate rather than the characteristics of the party to which they belong.

Political Cleavage

An alignment between a social cleavage and a political party that endures over time.

Political Party

As a group of people that includes those that hold office and those who help get and keep them there.

Presidential Democracy

A democracy is a presidential democracy if the government does not depend on a legislative majority to exist.

Primary Election

An election in which voters select a party's candidate for a general election.

Principal-Agent Problem

Refers to the difficulties that arise when a principal delegates authority to an agent who (a) potentially has different goals from the principal and (b) cannot be perfectly monitored.

Proportional Representation

Also known as PR. A PR electoral system is a quota- or divisor-based electoral system employed in multimember districts.

Closed List PR

Voters vote only for parties. Party determines order of candidates on the list. The seats that a party wins are allocated according to the order on the party list.

Open List PR

Voters can vote for their preferred candidate within a party (or just vote for the party list). The seats that a party wins are allocated according to who got the most votes.

Proportionality

An electoral system is more proportional if the distribution of seats mirrors the distribution of votes more closely.

Semi-Presidential Democracy

A democracy is a semi-presidential democracy if the government depends on a legislative majority to exist and in which the head of state is popularly elected for a fixed term.

Strategic Voting

A voter engages in strategic voting if they vote in favor of a less preferred option because they believe that doing so will ultimately produce a more preferred outcome.

Substantive Representation

Characterizes the degree to which representatives 'act for' their constituents by taking actions in line with their constituents substantive or ideological interests.

Symbolic Representation

Characterizes the meaning that is constructed when representatives 'stand for' their constituents.

Vote of No Confidence

Generally involves a vote in the legislature on whether a government should remain in office. If a majority of legislators votes against the government, the government must resign.