Political Systems and Democracy Models Overview

Federal Systems

When the government power divided between national and local governments.

Unitary System

a government system where the national government holds more power over local governments and the states or provinces are only given the power the national government allows them to have

SMDP Voting

voting system where the candidate with most votes wins, and not necessarily majority or 50% of the population

Duverger's Law

law that argued that SMDP promotes and is bound to create a dominance of two political parties.

PR System

a voting system where seats allocated or given based on percentage of votes a candidate received.

Coalition Governments

a government system where multiple parties collaborate and coexist together to govern the nation.

Westminster Model

a model of democracy that is majoritarian democracy where most of the executive power belongs to the cabinet or prime minister and only one party control the government.

Consensus Model

a model of democracy that allows power-sharing among coalitions or political parties that allows representation of the people and all voices to be heard.

Huntingston's View On Democracy

the argument that democracy works best if power is transitioned often and peacefully

Schumpeter's View on Democracy

the argument that democracy is a competition and the leader decides who wins

Dahl's View on Democracy

the argument that democracy must include voting equality, participation, and control over decisions that affect people's lives

Presidential Systems

a system that separates the president and legislature to increase checks and balances.

Impeachment

a process that removes the president for misconduct.

Parliamentary System

a system where the legislature and executive are combined and the prime minister is chosen by parliament and not the people.

Semi-Parliamentary System

a system that combines both parliamentary ad presidentary and the prime minister manages daily affairs while the president handles national issues.

Corporatism

when the government collaborates with organized interest and lobby groups directly to policies that are structured and predicable.

Pluralism

when the government indirectly collaborates with multiple groups and lobbyist who are competing for influence without direct government ties.

Confederal Systems

a government system where the states hold more power than national government.

Mixed Electoral Systems

a electoral system that combines district-based voting and proportional representation.

Liberal Democracies

a democracy where when civil liberties, free elections, and checks and balances are guaranteed in a government

Illiberal Democracies

a democracy where when elections are held but restrict freedoms like press and speech in the government

Totalitarianism

a system of government with omplete control over all aspects of life by government such as beliefs, media, and everyday life

Authoritarianism

a system of government where the dictatorships allows limited freedoms while having most control.

Bureaucratic Authoritarianism

a system of government where the military and technocrats prioritize stability over democracy.

Import Substitution Industrialization

an economic policy that focuses on domestic trade within the country so the country is stable without having to rely on foreign trade

Constitutional Rigidity/Flexibility

the difficulty in changing laws.

Institutionalization

the level of stability of a political institutions affects governance predictability.