Introduction to Comparative Politics: Legitimacy, Capacity, Regimes, and Institutions

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering state capacity, legitimacy, government structures, electoral systems, and non-democratic strategies from the comparative politics lecture.

Traditional Legitimacy

A form of political legitimacy derived from long-standing customs and tradition rather than democratic elections, as seen in Saudi Arabia where citizens do not question their monarch.

Charismatic Legitimacy

Legitimacy based on the dynamic personality and magnetism of a leader who serves as a central symbol for followers and draws popular support across a nation.

State Capacity

A state's governing ability to maintain order, enforce laws, defend borders, collect taxes, and deliver public infrastructure such as healthcare and education systems.

Unitary State

A state organization model where political power is concentrated nationally at the central government level, such as in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Turkey, and France.

Federal State

A state organization model where political power is divided across central and regional levels, providing local autonomy but increasing coordination challenges, as in the United States, Germany, Brazil, and India.

Regime

The overarching rules and norms of the political game that govern how power is acquired, distributed, and exercised within a country.

Authoritarian Regime

A political system characterized by limited public participation in decision-making, restricted rights and freedoms, and a lack of transparency regarding who holds actual power.

Head of State vs. Head of Government

The distinction between the official representative of a nation's unity and sovereignty versus the chief executive who manages daily governance, which are separate in many parliamentary systems but unified in the U.S.

Parliamentary System

A democratic system where the executive prime minister emerges from and depends on legislative support, often using coalition bargaining and votes of no confidence.

Presidential System

A democratic system featuring a directly elected president with a fixed term and an electoral mandate separate from the legislature, which can lead to institutional gridlock.

Semi-Presidential System

A democratic system where executive authority is shared between a directly elected president and a prime minister.

Proportional Representation (PR)

An electoral system using multi-member districts where legislative seat allocation roughly matches each party's national vote share, encouraging multi-party representation.

Single-Member District (SMD)

An electoral system where each geographic district elects a single representative using plurality winner-take-all rules, often disadvantaging smaller political parties.

Mixed Electoral System

An electoral model combining candidate voting in single-member districts with proportional party lists, as seen in Germany, Japan, Russia, and Mexico.

Personal Dictatorship

An authoritarian regime centered entirely on the personal authority and rule of a single strong leader, as in North Korea.

One-Party Regime

An authoritarian political framework dominated and controlled by a single ruling political party, as exemplified by China.

Co-optation

An authoritarian strategy of incorporating citizens and elite factions into beneficial relationships with the ruling regime to secure political alignment and support.

Corporatism

A tool used by authoritarian states to limit independent participation by channeling citizen political activity through state-sanctioned interest groups.

Clientelism

A political control strategy involving the targeted distribution of specific public benefits, favors, or resources to specific supporter groups in exchange for political loyalty.

Patrimonialism

A practice in authoritarian states where state resources, benefits, and decision-making powers are concentrated strictly among ruling elites.

Civil Society

Organized groups and networks operating outside of direct state control that enable citizens to articulate, define, and promote their collective interests.

Nation State

A state in which the political entity aligns homogenously with a single dominant national or ethnic group, such as France, Italy, or Turkey.

Banal Nationalism

Everyday, routine expressions of national identity embedded in public life, such as national flags, anthems, and school pledges.

Chosen Traumas and Chosen Glories

A concept identified by scholar Mohammad Volkhan describing how nations selectively highlight historical achievements to foster national identity and invoke past historical traumas during periods of crisis.

Populism

A political narrative asserting that existing elites and institutions fail to represent the true people, usually centered around a charismatic leader and provoking societal polarization.