CPO2001 ECP ch. 5/6 and CCP ch. France/Iran/South Africa

republicanism

indirect democracy that emphasizes the separation of powers within a state and the representation of the public through elected officials

vote of no confidence

vote taken by a legislature as to whether its members continue to support the current prime minister; depending on the country, a vote of no confidence can force the resignation of the prime minister and/or lead to new parliamentary elections

ancien régime

European “old order” of absolute monarchy buttressed by religious authority

blocked vote (France)

a vote that forces the legislature to accept bills in their entirety and allows amendments only if they are approved by the government

cohabitation (France)

an arrangement in which presidents lacking a majority of legislative power appoint an opposition prime minister who can gain a majority of support in the legislature

dirigisme (France)

an emphasis on state authority in economic development; a combination of social-democratic and mercantilist ideas

Estates General

Weak French assembly before the French Revolution, representing the clergy, nobles, and commoners

Events of May

Parisian riots of 1968 in which students and workers called for educational and social reforms

four-party, two-bloc system

a system requiring coalition building in the second round of the two-round single-member district system

laïcité (France)

the subordination of religious authority to state and national identity—state over church

motion of censure (France)

an act of legislature against the government, requiring new elections when proposed legislation submitted as matters of confidence are not passed

pantouflage (France)

literally “putting on slippers”; refers to the move of the administrative elite from the bureaucracy to the top echelons of the private sector

Yellow Vests Movement

mass protests that began in late 2018 in opposition to tax reforms and reductions in subsidies for gasoline; the movement was named for the safety vests that French motorists are required to carry in their vehicles

authoritarianism

a political system in which a small group of individuals exercises power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public

bureaucratic authoritarianism

a system in which the state bureaucracy and the military share a belief that a technocratic leadership, focused on rational, objective, and technical expertise, can solve the problems of a country without public participation

clientelism

a process whereby the state co-opts members of the public by providing specific benefits or favors to a single person or a small group of people in return for public support

corporatism

a method of co-optation whereby authoritarian systems create or sanction a limited number of organizations to represent the interests of the public and restrict those not set up or approved by the state

illiberal regime

a regime where democratic institutions that rest on the rule of law are weakly institutionalized and poorly respected

kleptocracy

“rule by theft,” where those in power seek only to drain the state of assets and resources

patrimonialism

a variant of clientelism whereby a ruler depends on a collection of supporters within the state who gain direct benefits in return for enforcing the ruler’s will

rent seeking

privileged economic benefits mediated by political power

Basij

“People’s militia,” which serves as a public moral police

bonyads (Iran)

parastatal foundations made in part from assets nationalized after the Iranian Revolution

Operation Ajax

US-UK-backed overthrow of Iranian PM Mosaddeq in 1953

principalists (Iran)

term for political conservatives in Iran who oppose liberalization and political reform

velayat-e faqih (Iran)

rule by Islamic jurists; also, Islamic Republic’s political system, which places power in the hands of clerics

White Revolution (Iran)

reforms enacted by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, beginning in 1963, to rapidly modernize and Westernize Iran

Bantustans (South Africa)

tribal “homelands” established by the apartheid regime to deprive the black majority of South African citizenship

Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE)

South Africa’s affirmative action program that aims to create a new class of black business owners and managers through a series of quotas and targets

Growth, Empowerment, and Redistribution (GEAR)

the 1996 liberal macroeconomic structural adjustment plan that moved the ANC toward a more market-friendly political policy

Group Areas Act

the centerpiece of apartheid legislation that divided South Africans into four racial categories and required strict segregation of housing along racial lines