Poli Si midterm 2: Regimes connection to political participation and polarization

What defines a liberal democracy?

A system combining free and fair elections with strong civil liberties, rule of law, and constraints on executive power.

How do liberal democracies shape individual participation?

Low-cost, rights-protected participation; voting, protest, and civic engagement are legally accessible.

How do liberal democracies shape collective action?

Nonviolent collective action is easier and more effective due to rights protections and due process.

How do liberal democracies shape political parties?

Parties act as gatekeepers, aggregate interests, and stabilize politics through institutionalization.

How do liberal democracies shape polarization?

Polarization can rise through identity sorting, but institutions can buffer against democratic breakdown.

What threatens liberal democracy?

Erosion of norms, executive aggrandizement, polarization, and abandonment of gatekeeping by parties.

What is an illiberal democracy?

A system with elections but weakened civil liberties, restricted opposition, and concentrated executive power.

How do illiberal democracies shape individual participation?

Participation exists but is constrained by repression, media control, and tilted electoral rules.

How do illiberal democracies shape collective action?

Collective action becomes riskier; surveillance and emergency powers suppress mobilization.

How do illiberal democracies shape political parties?

Ruling parties tilt the playing field; opposition parties face harassment or legal restrictions.

How do illiberal democracies shape polarization?

Leaders weaponize polarization, framing opponents as enemies to justify rights restrictions.

Why do some citizens support illiberal leaders?

Perceived effectiveness, fear of opponents, crisis narratives, or distrust of democratic institutions.

What defines an authoritarian regime?

A system where leaders claim unlimited authority, elections are absent or meaningless, and civil liberties are repressed.

How do authoritarian regimes shape individual participation?

Participation is coerced, symbolic, or dangerous; dissent is punished.

How do authoritarian regimes shape collective action?

High-risk environments push resistance underground; everyday resistance becomes common.

How do authoritarian regimes shape political parties?

Parties are tools of control (single-party states) or irrelevant (personalist dictatorships).

How do authoritarian regimes shape polarization?

Regimes manufacture enemies and out-groups to justify repression and consolidate power.

How do authoritarian regimes maintain control?

Repression, co-optation, propaganda, patronage, and claims to legitimacy (nationalism, religion, performance).

How does regime type affect participation?

Liberal democracies enable participation; illiberal democracies restrict it; authoritarian regimes repress it.

How does regime type affect collective action?

Nonviolent action thrives in democracies; becomes dangerous in illiberal regimes; becomes covert in authoritarianism.

How does regime type affect political parties?

Strong parties stabilize democracies; weak or manipulated parties enable illiberalism; authoritarian parties enforce control.

How does regime type affect polarization?

Democracies experience identity-driven polarization; illiberal regimes weaponize it; authoritarian regimes manufacture it.

Which regime type is most vulnerable to democratic backsliding?

Illiberal democracies — they retain elections but hollow out rights and institutions.

What is the 'democratic dilemma' during crises?

Crisis demands decisiveness; democracy demands restraint — leading to temptation for illiberal emergency powers.

What is the first warning sign of democratic erosion?

Rejection of democratic rules (e.g., undermining elections, endorsing coups).

What is the second warning sign of democratic erosion?

Denying legitimacy of opponents (calling them criminals, traitors, or enemies).

What is the third warning sign of democratic erosion?

Tolerating or encouraging political violence.

What is the fourth warning sign of democratic erosion?

Readiness to restrict civil liberties of opponents, media, or critics.