APCG unit 1- introduction

ap comparative government unit 1 terms

term limits

term limits

restri8ction on how many terms an elected official can hold

austerity

a way a government deals with an economic crisis

regime

a country’s insitutions and practices that carry over time

state

political unit with soverignty, a body of people, defined territory, and some form of government to make political decisions

nation

a group of people with similar values and cultural baqckground

nation state

a soveriegn territory where the people contained within it share common history, culture, and beliefs [Ex: Japan]

failed state

a state who political or economic system has become so weak the government fails to hold power [Ex: Eritrea]

authoritarian

a type of society where rigid rules are enforced with no explanation, disobedience is often punished harshly

socialism

a political/economic system where property and production is controlled in common (mostly by government)

fascism

a type of society where government is ruled by a dictator or small group that has total control [Ex: Mussolini]

populism

a political approach that appeals to ordinary people against elite groups who disregard their concerns [Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, AMLO]

communism

a type of society where property is public owned and all goods are qually shared. a perfect version of this society is impossible because there always has to be someone who takes charge.

democracy

a system of government where undertakings of the state, including laws and elections, are made directly or indirectly by the ‘people’.

democratic consolidation

the process of a newly established democracyh to become more stable and less likely to revert back to authoritarianism

rule of law

a principle that states all people and institutions, including the government, are accountable to laws to prevent the abuse of power.

bureaucracy

a body of government who are not elected but selected by a leader and form an administrative policy-making group.

public policy

a system of laws concerning a given topic that is composed and enforced by a government entity

catch-all parties

a type of political party that aims to appeal to a wide range of voters by adopting moderate positions. they value winning elections instead of enforcng strong ideological preferences.

single member district (SMD)

an electoral district where one member is elected to represent an entire constituency. a winner-takes all scenario where whatever canidate has the plurality has control, and other ideals are not represented.

proportional representation

a type of representation where multiple elected officials are chosen depending on how much support their party recieves. exists in a multimember district [Ex: British Parliament]

presidential system

a system where the head of government is referred to as the president, and leads an executive branch that enforces the law.

parliamentary system

a form of government where decision making is held by a cabinet of members who are individually responsible to the legislature. [Ex: U.K]

civil liberties

the fundamental rights and freedoms owed to a person by birth, and which governments cannot impede on. [Ex: freedom of speech]

civil societies

a sector of soceity that shape the foundations of functioning society and are essential to securing democracy. [Ex: labor unions]

corporatism

the control of a state by interest groups, mostly businesses that have a lot of economic power

normative statement

a type of statement that is rooted value judgements, opinionated

empirical statement

a type of statement rooted in observation and facts

interest groups

a group of people who gather because of common interest and who want the government to consider their values

cleavages

an internal division between two different groups based on ethno-religious or socioeconomic differences [Ex: Muslims population in China]

cross-cutting cleavages

the different kinds of ethno-religious and socioeconomic differences converging in on area that divide the society.

globalization

the process where the entire world becomes increasingly connected through trade and technological advances. issues become relevant to more than one country.

qualitative

a type of statement measuring quality, non-numerical data (type of empirical)

quantitative

a type of statement measuring quantity, numerical data (type of empirical)

causal

a type of relationship between two variables where one variable is impacted by an outcome of the other.

correlation

a type of relationship between two variables where changes in one variable is associated with changes in another variable.

party system

types of political system that are run by individual groups who have different ideologies and who compete for power.

electoral system

a set of rules established to control how elections work. can vary in the amount of winners, how the winners are chosen, etc.

pluralism

when power is split among many groups who compete for influence over government.

socialization

the process of a person influenced to have certain opinions or values. might be influenced by family, friends, or media to enforce political values and biases.

suffrage

the right to vote

representative democracy

a democratic system where people vote for representatives who make policies, as opposed to a direct vote in government.

devolution

the transferral of powers to lower levels of government. [Ex: Dobbs v. Jackson]

substantive democracy

a type of democracy where the policies guarantee more political rights and civil liberties than the requisite ones. guarantees equal participation and rights to marginalized groups.

procedural democracy

a type of democracy that guarantees free and fair elections for policymakers where all adults are eligible to participate, but does not necesarily mean that the values of the constituency are protected. the minimum requirement for a government to be considered democratic.

supranational organization

an organization that consists of multiple countries, uniting them on a uniform set of ideas and goals.

federal state

countries where power is shared between a central government and lower, smaller governments. each section of government can make its own rules on certain issues. [Ex: Nigeria]

Unitary states

a state where most of the power is held by a central government. local goverments may exist that function under the central government’s decisions.

gender equity

fairness in the distribution of benefits and responsibilities of all genders

gross national product (GNP)

the value of all product services of a country, including the income of citizens who are residing outside of the country. Can be measured in any value of money.

gross domestic product

the value of all goods and services produced by a country’s economy in a given year, excludes citizens who are residing internationally. Defines a country’s worth and the value of its currency. Can be measured in any value of money.

human development index (HDI)

a summary measure of a country’s average achievements in health, knowledge, and standard of living. The better the conditions in a country are, the higher this value will be.

Gini Coefficient

a value for a country’s division of income/economic inequality. a larger number means a larger economic disparity in the country, or the greater the difference between the wealthiest and poorest people.

transparency

the openness of a government to its people on policies, issues, and processes of government.

legitimacy

an individual’s right to power. can be obtained in different ways; hereditary (familial), elected»charisma, rational-legal, economic

political culture

the broad beliefs and values that make up the government, or the environment that government is currently existing in. split into consensual and conflictual types depending on how well groups under a government interact in this environment.

political ideology

the beliefs on how politics and government should function, or should change eventually to improve.

postmaterialism

a societal shift towards valuing political freedom, self-actualization, personal relationships, creativity, and environmental care over materialistic values like economic security. Attitudes favor quality of life over wealth because of economic stability.

referendum

an event where the people of a constitutency vote against a law that deals with a specific issues, or a public vote in a society where the vote is otherwise not public. can be both optional or mandatory.

resource curse

a state a country is in when the valuable resources in that country are not as valuable as they once were, leading to economic downturn.

secularism

a concept that divides religion and government. can be a personal lifestyle or a national value, as long as people are treated equally regardless of religious affiliation. The opposite of theocracy, which is a government that recognizes the value of a religion as the foundation of their policies.

state sovereignty

the condition of a state where it has authority over itself without foreign interfence.

state centralization

the process where most/all power resides in a central body instead of different levels of government.

political efficacy

the belief of an individual that their voice has impact in the government, which fuels participation

advanced democracy

a type of democracy where a country has had a long, stable history of democracy, with a high degree of legitimacy and social capital (common purpose)

liberalism

a type of belief that values individual political and economic freedom. People have individual rights that cannot be taken away.

economic liberalization

the lessening of government regulations/restriction for private entities and companies.

linkage institutions

a type of institution that connects the people with the government. [Ex: Political parties]

reform

the improvement or change of something that is wrong, corrupt, or unsatisfactory.

revolution

suddent and violent demands for change that aim to establish new political system or to overhaul old, corrupt ones. [Ex: Iranian overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979]

Coup

sudden and violent changes in government illegally or by force that aim to change political system and overhaul old ones