Comparative Politics Midterm 2

Modern State

A political organization that exercises sovereign authority over a defined territory and population, maintains a monopoly on the legitimate use of force, and is governed through centralized institutions.

Nation

A socially constructed community whose members share a sense of common identity based on culture, language, history, or ethnicity, and who imagine themselves as belonging together politically.

Nation State

A political entity in which the boundaries of the state largely coincide with the boundaries of the nation, meaning one dominant national identity corresponds to one sovereign state.

Characteristics of the Modern State

Defined territory, Permanent population, Monopoly on legitimate violence, Centralized bureaucracy, Sovereignty, Capacity to tax and administer laws.

War-Making

The process by which states build military capacity to defend territory or wage war, often leading to stronger institutions and increased extraction from society (Tilly).

State-Making

The process of eliminating internal rivals and consolidating control within a territory, including policing, law enforcement, and administrative expansion.

Social Contract Theory

A theory arguing that the legitimacy of the state derives from an implicit or explicit agreement in which individuals give up some freedoms in exchange for security and order (e.g., Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau).

Institutionalism

An approach emphasizing that political and economic outcomes are shaped by formal and informal institutions, such as laws, rules, norms, and organizations.

Resource Curse

The paradox that countries rich in natural resources often experience slower growth, weaker institutions, corruption, and authoritarianism due to rent-seeking and reduced accountability.

Rentier State

A state that derives a large share of revenue from external rents (e.g., oil), reducing reliance on taxation and weakening state–society accountability.

State Capacity

The ability of a state to implement decisions, collect taxes, enforce laws, provide public goods, and maintain order effectively.

Strong / Weak / Fragile State

Strong state: High capacity and institutional effectiveness, Weak state: Limited ability to govern or enforce rules, Fragile state: Lacks legitimacy and capacity, often facing violence or collapse

Market Economy

An economic system where prices and production are determined primarily by supply and demand, rather than central planning.

Capitalism

An economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production, wage labor, profit

Keynesianism

An economic theory advocating state intervention in the economy, especially through fiscal policy, to manage demand and reduce unemployment during downturns.

Neoliberalism

An economic paradigm emphasizing free markets, privatization, deregulation, reduced state intervention, and global economic integration.

Liberal Market Economies (LMEs)

Capitalist systems (e.g., U.S., UK) where firms coordinate primarily through markets and competition, with flexible labor markets and limited state coordination.

Coordinated Market Economies (CMEs)

Capitalist systems (e.g., Germany, Sweden) where firms coordinate through institutions, long-term relationships, and state involvement, including strong unions and vocational training.

Globalization

The process of increasing economic, political, and cultural interconnectedness through trade, capital flows, migration, and information exchange.

Clash of Capitalisms (Milanovic)

Milanovic’s argument that different models of capitalism (liberal meritocratic vs. political capitalism) are competing globally, especially Western capitalism versus China’s state

Fahnbulleh (The End of the Neoliberal Era)

Argues that neoliberalism is losing legitimacy due to inequality, stagnation, and crises, creating space for renewed state intervention and alternative economic models.

Nationalism

An ideology asserting that the nation should be the primary basis of political loyalty, often demanding self

Anderson (Imagined Political Communities)

Benedict Anderson’s theory that nations are imagined communities—not because they are false, but because members will never meet most fellow members yet still feel connected.

Print Capitalism

Anderson’s concept describing how mass printing of newspapers and books in vernacular languages helped create shared national identities.

Regime Type

The rules and institutions that determine how political power is obtained, exercised, and transferred in a state.

Democracy

A regime in which political leaders are selected through free, fair, and competitive elections, with broad participation and civil liberties.

Electoral democracy

A political system in which leaders are chosen through regular, free, and fair elections with universal suffrage, and basic freedoms of expression and association exist so elections are meaningful → Focuses on elections as the core democratic mechanism, even if other liberal protections are weak.

Liberal democracy

A form of democracy that combines electoral competition with strong protection of civil liberties, the rule of law, checks and balances, and constraints on executive power → Goes beyond elections to ensure individual rights and institutional accountability.

Participatory democracy

A model of democracy that emphasizes direct and active citizen involvement in political decision

Deliberative democracy

A form of democracy that stresses public reasoning, debate, and justification of political decisions, where policies are shaped through inclusive, informed, and respectful discussion rather than just voting or interest aggregation → Emphasizes the quality of decision

Parliamentary vs. Presidential Democracies Parliamentary

Executive depends on legislative confidence (e.g., UK) and Presidential: Executive elected separately with fixed terms (e.g., U.S.)

Majoritarian and Consensus Democracies (Lijphart) Majoritarian

Concentration of power, winner-take-all (e.g., UK). Consensus: Power-sharing, proportional representation, coalition governments (e.g., Netherlands)

Procedural Democracy

Defines democracy by procedures, especially elections, rather than outcomes like equality or welfare.

Intrinsic vs. Instrumental Definitions of Democracy (Sen) Intrinsic

Democracy is valuable in itself (political freedom), and Instrumental: Democracy is valuable because it produces better outcomes (e.g., accountability, famine prevention)

Measurements of Democracy

Quantitative indices that compare regime characteristics across countries and time.

Freedom House

Measures democracy based on political rights and civil liberties, producing scores from “Free” to “Not Free.”

Polity

Focuses on institutional features of executive recruitment, constraints on executive power, and political competition, producing a continuous democracy–autocracy score.

V Dem (Varieties of Democracy)

A multidimensional dataset capturing different forms and qualities of democracy using expert

Electoral Democracy

A regime with competitive elections, suffrage, freedom of expression, and association, but not necessarily strong rule of law or equality.

Competitive Authoritarianism

A regime where formal democratic institutions exist, but incumbents systematically abuse power to tilt the playing field against opponents.

Authoritarianism

A regime characterized by limited political pluralism, restricted civil liberties, and concentration of power, often without free elections.

Categorical vs. Continuous Measurement of Authoritarianism Categorical

Regimes classified into types (democracy vs. autocracy) and Continuous: Regimes scored along a spectrum of authoritarianism

Hybrid Regimes

Political systems that combine democratic and authoritarian features, falling between full democracies and full autocracies.

Democratic Backsliding

The gradual erosion of democratic institutions, such as weakened checks and balances, reduced civil liberties, or manipulated elections.

Modern Authoritarianism

Contemporary authoritarian regimes that maintain elections and legal institutions while using surveillance, media control, and legal manipulation to entrench power.