POLI107 Week 2 lecture notes - democracy

Flashcards covering key concepts related to democracy, measurement, and accountability.

Polyarchy

A political regime characterized by elected officials, free and fair elections, freedom of expression, and inclusive citizenship

Operationalization

Translating concepts into variables

Dichotomous Variable - democracy

Defining a country as democratic if it meets specific conditions for both contestation and participation

Contestation

The executive is directly or indirectly elected in popular elections and is responsible either directly to voters or to a legislature - which is chosen in free and fair elections

Continuous Variable - Democracy

The extent to which political leaders are elected under free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed - ranging from 0 to 1

Selectorate Theory

Every political regime has residents, a electorate (voters), and a winning coalition (the winners of the election and those that voted for them)

Accountability

De facto constraints on governments' use of political power through requirements for justification of its actions and potential sanctions

Vertical Accountability

Leaders being directly removed by voters and parties

Horizontal Accountability

Those in the other strands of government and oversight bodies sanctioning leaders

Diagonal Accountability

Media and CSOs sanctioning leaders