AP Comp Gov Vocab Unit 1

Emperical Data

fact based information from observation or experimentation that can be used to validate theories or hypotheses.

normative statement

value or opinion statement that cannot be proven or disproven such as moral judgments or beliefs about how things ought to be.

Qualitative data

information that is difficult to measure, including sources such as speeches, foundational documents, political cartoons, maps, and political commentaries

correlation

exists when there is an association between two or more variables

causation

occurs when one variable directly affects another, indicating a cause-and-effect relationship.

Human Development Index

a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development, including health, education, standard of living, ammount of schooling, and income.

Gross Domestic Product

the market value of goods and services produced over a specific time in a country. GDP can depict the overall size of a national economy.

GDP per capita

size of the national economy compared to the population size.

Gini Index

income inequality within a country. a Gini of 100% indicates perfect inequality, whereas a Gini of 0% indicates ideal equality

Governmental transparency

ability of citizens to access information about a government’s policymaking and policy implementation to help hold officials accountable

governmental corruption

when public officials power for personal benifit

political systems

comrpise the laws, ideas, and procedures that adress who should have authority to rule and what the government’s influence on its people and economy should be.

states

political organizations that combine a permenant population with governing insitutions to exercise control over a defined territory with int. recognition. population, terriitory, sovereignty, government.

regimes

the fundemental rules that control access to and exercise political power. regimes typically endure from gov to gov.

Freedom House

scores reported by a nongovernmental organization that ranks countries based on scores 1-7 for political rights and civil liberties

government

set of institutions or individuals legally empowered to make binding decisions for a state.

sovereignty

independent legal authority over a population in a particular territory

nation

group of people with commonalities, including race, language, religion, ethnicity, political identity, and aspirations

rule of law

principle that a state should be governed by know laws and not arbitrary decisions made by individual government officials

independence of governmental branches

prevents any one branch from controlling all governmental power

independent election commissions

attempt to reduce voter fraud and manipulation, and enhance electoral competition

suffrage

voting rights

civil rights

protection of groups of citizens from discrimination by the government or other individuals

civil liberties

individual’s protections against abuse of power by the government

corporatist system

government created and supported interest groups that become the government’s preferred linkage institutions for citizen participation

pluralist system

citizens can affiliate with more independent interest groups to attempt to share public policies

Democratic electoral systems

accomodate ethnic diversity and increase multiparty competition with rule adjustments, including gender or cultural quotas, proportional representation, and changes in vote thresholds and district boundaries.

illiberal democracies

hold elections with little competition towards the ruling party, which tends to diminish civil liberties (protection against gov abuse)

one-party states

when rival parties are prohibited from controlling governmental power

theocracies

require the state to be controlled by leaders of a particular religion

totalitarian governments

authoritarian governments that strictly limit citizens’ rights to movement and free choice of employment

military regimes

when military leaders hold top positions of governing authority

democratization

process of transitioning an authoritarian regime to a democratic one.

democratic consolidation

process by which a democratic regime matures in terms of election rules, seperation of powers, and protection of civil liberties, making it unlikely to revert to authoritarianism without an external shock

power

states ability to influence the conduct of individuals and organizations within the state

authority

states legidimate right to enforce a power

sources of power and authority

includes constitutions, reigions, military force, political parties, legislatures, and popular support

federal states

divide power among different levels of government to confer a degree of local autonomy in supplying social and educational services while reserving powers for the national gov

unitary states

concentrate power at the national level with more uniform policies and potentially more efficient policy making

devolution

the delegation of power to regional governments that can enhance or weaken legitimacy and create opportunities for and obstacles to resolving social, political, and economic issues.

Legitimacy

whether a government’s constituents believe their government has the right to use power in the way they do. Legidimacy confers authority on and can increase a regime’s and government’s power.

Sources of legidimacy

can include popular elections, constitutional provisions, nationalism, tradition, governmental effectiveness, economic growth, ideology, religious heritage, organizations, and the dominant political party’s endorsement

Political stability

the ability of a government to consistently provide services that meet the basic needs of most of the population, to foster the public’s confidence in the institutions of the state

Coercion

use of government force to guide citizens behavior and actions. It can be as small as a citation and small fine, to brute force and violence

Authoritarian - semi-presidential, unitary, communist, party over people, rule by law, no independent judiciary, not free

China

Democratic - Parliamentary, Unitary, socialist, pluralism, independent judiciary, rule of law, strong civil society

United Kingdom

Democratic - young, developing free market capitalism, federal system, rule of law - new judicial system - semi-independent, good civil society, relatively free

Mexico

Authoritarian - illiberal democracy - semi-presidential, federal system, mixed market, not free - no civil society, no independent judiciary - ruled by law, autocratic

Russia

Democracy - presidential, federal system, mixed market - socialism, strong civil society, rule of law, tons of diversity, rentier state bc of oil

Nigeria

Authoritarian - theocratic, semi-presidential, socialist market, rule by law, unitary system, weak civil society, no independent judiciary, no free and fair elections

Iran