polisci 101 final

Democracy

sys of gov ruled by the ppl with elections as main mechanism, schmitter and karl= not just elections, requires accountabbility, freedoms, rule of law

Politics

process of making collective decisions about resource distribution, laws an governance

Dahl

polyarchy= contestation. democracy is a system where citizens have meaningful opportunities to participate, vote in free and fair elections, compete for leadership, and access information, with government responsiveness to the people.

rule of law

everyone is subject to the law, protects rights, fairness, justice

executive power

implement and enfornce laws and daily governance

agenda setting

media/political act, ability to decide what issues are discussed

analytical

questions of logic

empirical

questions of facts

normative

questions of values/person

metaphysical

questions of faith and religious claims

citizenship

formal country membership

junta

collective rule by various leaders of the armed forces

coup d’etat

armed over-throw of old regime

cult of personality

hero image of leader, when leader uses propaganda, media, and symbolism to create an idealized, heroic image of themselves

externalities

socially negative side effects of individual decisions, for ex: pollution

polyarchy

Dahl, rule by many, the practical, close to real wrld democracy, power is widely distributed among many groups w free fair elections

sovereignty

ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states

charismatic authority

based on a personal “gift of grace” of leader, power based on a leader’s personal charm, charisma

judicial power

courts, interpret laws, deliver justice

legislative power

create, amend, enact laws

absolute monarchy

generally based upon hereditary rule, “divine right of kings”, 1 ruler holds power

APC All Progressives Congress

political party in nigeria, 2013, opposed PDP

biafra war

nigerian civil war, 1967-1970, between igbo and hausa-fulani, ethnic and economic tensions: biafra region tried to secede=famine= deaths

boko haram

terrorist/extremist islamic group in nigeria, violence against government and people, 276 girls kidnapped

brexit

uk british exit from EU, sovereignty and economic independence

BA bureaucratic authoritarian regime

dictatorship run by military leaders and technocrats, seeks to repress and demobilize. civil society

congress of berlin

1878 conference to reorganize states in balkan peninsula, replaced treaty of san stefano, w/o africa’s input by EU powers

constitutional monarchy

gov. which monarch shares power w/ a constitutionally organized gov. checked by laws and elected bodies

direct democracy

citizens directly participate on decision making on laws + policies

federalism

gov. which power is divided federal /national gov. and the states

EU european union

effort to coordinate coal and steel production, 6 western european nations after ww2, 27 eu countries, works together on trade, laws, and policies, with shared institutions and free movement of people, goods, services, and capital.

eurozone crisis

financial crisis, 2009-2014, sovereign debt in EU countries w/ euro, debt+ weak economy led to emergency efforts to bail out of greece, ireland, portugal

forbeance

polititians refraining themselves from using all legal power, preserve demoratic norms

HOG head of gov

main holder of brit political power, runs the day-to-day operations of a country’s government

HOS head of state

sysmbolic leader representing a country, and often embodies national unity (such as a monarch or president). for ex: queen of england

supermajority

2/3, over 50%

herrenvolk regime

form of gov. which only a specific ethnic group has voting rights and right to run for office, democracy only exists for them

illiberal democracy

“semi-authoritarian”, falsely claims democracy, procedural dem w/ elections but w/o real competition, lacks freedom, civil rihts and liberties

nation state

sovereign state whose citizens share a common national identity, language, culture, political entity which state and nation are congruent

NGO’S non govermental organizations

independent groups / organizations outside the gov. that work on social, environmental and political issues (red cross, BLM)

Olusegun Obasanjo

nigerian leader, military ruler and civilian president, took over after muhammed’s death, re-wrote constitution modeled on the us, allowed new elections in 1999, created the 1st truly national PDP

PDP people’s democratic party

generally a center-right party, originally based in north nigeria, 1st real national party, politically, dominant force 1999-2015

presidentialism

sys of gov in which president serves as “chief executive” being independent of legislature, is both HOS and HOG

procedural democracy

country w/ regular free, fair competitive elections but w/o some essentials, “minimal democracy” based on universal suffrage

rational-legal authority

based on claims to rule of law, based on and secular ideas of rationality - Authority based on written laws, formal rules, and institutions, where power comes from holding an official position rather than from personal traits or tradition.

regime

longer-term set of institutions and practices of a country, rules regarding how leaders are elected and replaced, norms of how a gov operates

representative democracy

large group of people of elect officials to legislate on their behalf, citizens pick representatives

schengen agreement

1985, guaranteed open borders w the end of border cheks between signtory nations for eu citizens (uk opt out)

single-party regime

political power is centered around a single party, only one effectively allowed to run in or win elections, dictatorship

technocratic regime

rule by religious authorities, claiming to govern on behalf of god

technocratic rule

decision makers are elected based on their technical expertise rather than democratic processses, seeks to repreess and demobilize civil society to promise social peace and prosperity

totalitarian regime

highly ideological, such as communist and fascist states, seek high levels of control over political, economic and social systems

territoriality

sovereignty recognized within a mutually agreed-upon border, states granted control of those within their borders

traditional authority

based on appeal to “an eternal yesterday”, based on identities and traditions, customs and practices

treaty of westphalia

1648, formal “nation states” in the modern sense emerged in 17th century, secular coherent gov started to recognize one another and respect their mutual boundaries, edning the 30 yrs war, establish principle of state sovereignty

unitary state

decisions are made at a national level

bundestag

Germany’s federal parliament, main law-making body

chancellor

HOG in Germany, runs country day to day, leads exec branch, sets policy

CDU christian democracry

major center-right pol party in Germany, supports mix of free-market econ, social welfare & traditional Christian values, generally conservative

SPD social democracy

major center-right pol party in Germany, supports mix of free-market econ, social welfare & traditional Christian values, workers rights, strong welfare programs

federalist 10

James Madison, Nov 1787, addresses dangers of factions & advocates for a strong central gov to mitigate their effects

federalist 51

argues for a system of separation of powers in order to preserve liberty & prevent any 1 branch from obtaining too much power, prevents tyranny

republic

a sizable republic democracy

unicameral

legislature consisting of only one body

backbenchers

MPs neither in the cabinet nor shadow cabinet, not gov. / leadership position

fixed-length terms

set time in office=stability cant be removed early just by impeachment

leader of opposition

head of largest minority party not in gov

plurality

in each district candidate with more votes wins “1st past the post”

double ballot

voting happens in 2 rounds if no one gets a required majority in 1st round

barner clause

setting a minimal vote % needed to win a seat

ranked-choice

aka instant run off, voters rannk candidates in order of preference marking as 1,2,3

closed list

parties have list of candidates that would be MPs after a election, voters vote for political party not individual candidates

open list

voters choose both the party and preferable candidates from party’s list

filibuster

60 votes supermajority is needed in the 100 member senate to pass certain types of legislation, to delay/blockk a vote/legislation not in constitution

ehtnic nationality

links american identity to a particular ethnic or religious group, shared ethnicity / language

civic nationality

defines nat. identity in terms of it’s ideals, specially in terms of dem. freedom, equality, human rights, shared ideals

cultural nationality

person’s sense of belonging based on shared culture like language, traditions, values, customs, and history, rather than legal citizenship.

tyranny of the majority

if private interests org. a majority faction, it might disregard the public good, rights of others, rules justice, use power to opress rights of minorities

bicameral legislature

2 chamber / houses system of gov where legislature body is divided into two separate assemblies, upper and lower house, house of rep and senate

counter.majoritarianism

structures in a democratic system that prevent simple majority rule, protecting minority interests/rights

electoral college

presidency is determined by electors selected on a state-by-state basis with a # of eletors determines by # of senators and representatives a state has

checks ad balances

sys of gov where each branch can limit the power of others to prevent andy one branch from becoming too powerful

article of confederation

1st written constitution of the us, 1781-stablished a weak federal gov. with limited powers and strong states, no tax, no president, no enforcing laws

presidentialism

president is both HOS and HOG, exec, legis and jud branches are separate, (congress) fixed terms, president is elected independently, stability, direct mandate, gridlock

parliamentary

HOG is the PM, executive and legislative branches are connected,OS (monarch) is separate and symbolic role, more flexible and efficient = instability, flexibility, accountability

confidence of motion

terms of PMs can be cut off short if they fail to maintain support of a majority of parliament

coalition gov

when 2 or more political parties join together to from a majority and run gov. by promising them seats in the cabinet and tthe passage of legislature

gridlock

political deathlock where nothing gets done bc of disagreement/division w diferent political parties

labour party UK

center-left,PM Keir Starmer, 1900, social dem alternative to liberal party=fairness, workers rights and strong public services

segmented sys

diff bodies are elected diff ways, not fully proportional

mixed member sys

electoral system that combines single-member districts with proportional representation, where some representatives are elected by district winners and others are elected from party lists to balance overall results.

proportional rep systems (PR)

parties are allocated a # of seats according to # of votes in a multi-member district, multi-party sys, 30% votes=30seats

duverger’s law

maurice duverger, 1946/1972, argues that the # of political parties tends to reflect a country’s electoral laws, plurality tends to produce 2 party systems

gerrymandering

drawn to favor the political party in power, redraw electoral district boundaries to give 1 political part advantage over others

single member district system

candidates run as individuals w/ 1 winner per race, 1 rep per disctrict, winner takes all

shadow cabinet

group of members of principal political party in opposition chosen as counterparts of members of gov holding cabinet positions, monitor work of gov

prime minister PM

HOG in parliamentary sys, lead exec branch, can be removed by a vote of no confidence

member of parliament

MP, elected official who represents ppl in their electoral district, propose debate and vote on laws

conservative party UK

center-right, held prime ministership 2010-2024, officially conservative and unionist party, known as tory party (tories)=tradition, economy freedom and not leadership