Unit 1: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments

Comparative politics

A subfield of political science that explains why political outcomes differ across countries using concepts, evidence, and causal reasoning.

Empirical data

Information gathered through observation, experimentation, or other systematic collection; evidence about what is actually happening in the world (what is).

Normative claim

A values-based judgment about what should be (what is fair, legitimate, democratic, or desirable), rather than a factual description.

Correlation

A statistical relationship showing that two variables move together (positively or negatively) without necessarily proving one causes the other.

Causation

A relationship where one variable directly influences or produces change in another; strong explanations identify the mechanism linking cause to outcome.

Survey

A research method used to measure public opinion, political attitudes, and voting behavior through questionnaires or structured responses.

Quantitative analysis

The use of mathematical and statistical tools to analyze numerical political data.

Qualitative analysis

The use of non-numerical evidence (e.g., interviews, observations, documents, open-ended responses) to identify themes and patterns.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The total value of goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a given time period.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A composite measure of life expectancy, education, and per capita income used to rank countries into four tiers of human development.

Gini Index

A measure of income inequality ranging from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (perfect inequality).

Freedom House

An organization that produces research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights.

Transparency International

An organization that tracks and publicizes corporate and political corruption.

Failed (Fragile) States Index

An index that ranks countries by vulnerability to conflict/instability and their capacity to provide services and maintain rule of law.

Political system

The set of institutions and processes a society uses to make and enforce collective decisions, including formal bodies and informal practices.

State

A political-legal entity that claims authority over a defined territory and population, exercising sovereignty through institutions like bureaucracy, courts, and security forces.

Sovereignty

Ultimate authority within a territory and independence from outside control; in practice it can be weakened by low territorial control, corruption, or external influence.

Regime

The enduring rules, institutions, and norms that determine how leaders are selected and how power is exercised; usually persists even when leaders change.

Government

The current leadership and governing institutions in office at a particular moment (e.g., the administration, cabinet, ruling coalition).

Power

The ability to get others to do what you want through persuasion, incentives, social pressure, control of resources, or force.

Authority

Power viewed as legitimate; people accept that leaders or institutions have the right to make binding decisions, reducing reliance on coercion.

Legitimacy

The belief among citizens and elites that a government or regime is rightful and deserves obedience.

State capacity

How effectively a state can implement decisions and provide order and services (e.g., tax collection, law enforcement, territorial control, public goods delivery).

Informal institutions

Unwritten rules and practices (e.g., patronage networks, corruption norms, informal bargaining) that shape outcomes alongside or despite formal rules.

Procedural legitimacy (rational-legal legitimacy)

Acceptance of authority because power is gained and used through accepted procedures such as constitutions, elections, and due process.

Performance legitimacy

Acceptance of a regime because it delivers desired outcomes such as economic growth, safety, and public services.

Ideological legitimacy

Acceptance of a regime because it embodies a guiding worldview (e.g., nationalism, revolutionary ideology, socialism, theocracy).

Charismatic legitimacy

Acceptance rooted in devotion to a leader’s personal appeal, vision, or perceived exceptional qualities.

Re-legitimation

Efforts to rebuild legitimacy through reforms such as new elections, constitutional changes, anticorruption campaigns, or improved service delivery.

Coercion

Maintaining rule through force or intimidation (e.g., surveillance, repression, censorship), especially when legitimacy is weak.

Federal system

A territorial system that divides power between a central government and regional governments, with constitutionally protected regional authority in some areas.

Unitary system

A territorial system that centralizes power in the national government; subnational units exercise authority delegated by the center.

Nation

A group of people who see themselves as a shared community, often based on language, ethnicity, religion, history, or culture.

Nation-state

A state whose boundaries largely match a single national identity.

Citizenship

Formal membership in a political community with rights (e.g., voting, legal protections) and duties (e.g., taxes, obeying laws, sometimes service).

Cleavage

A deep, lasting social division (e.g., ethnic, religious, regional, class, urban-rural) that structures political identity and competition.

Political culture

Widely shared beliefs, values, and attitudes about politics and government that shape expectations about authority, corruption, and participation.

Political socialization

How individuals learn political values and behaviors through agents like family, schools, religion, media, peers, and major national events.

Civil society

Organizations between the individual and the state (e.g., NGOs, unions, student groups, religious/advocacy groups) that can mobilize participation and monitor government.

Political participation

Ways citizens influence politics, including conventional actions (like voting) and unconventional actions (like protests, strikes, boycotts, and civil disobedience).

Political efficacy

The belief that participation matters; internal efficacy is confidence in one’s ability to participate, and external efficacy is belief the government will respond.

Clientelism

The exchange of targeted benefits (jobs, cash, services) for political support, often through patron-client networks, shifting competition toward access to resources.

Democracy (procedural vs. substantive)

A regime where power ultimately rests with the people; procedural democracy emphasizes rules like competitive elections and universal suffrage, while substantive democracy emphasizes real rights, responsiveness, and fair treatment in practice.

Liberal democracy

A democracy that combines elections with strong civil liberties and the rule of law, including an independent judiciary and constraints on executive power.

Illiberal democracy

A system with elections but weak protections for rights and checks and balances, making it vulnerable to democratic erosion even if voting continues.

Democratization

The process of moving toward democracy, often involving stages such as liberalization, democratic transition (competitive elections), and consolidation (democracy becomes “the only game in town”).

Democratic backsliding

The weakening of democratic rights and institutions—often by elected leaders concentrating power—through actions like media restrictions, judicial weakening, or opposition harassment.

Authoritarianism

A regime that concentrates power in a leader or small group and limits meaningful political competition, often using repression, low accountability, and restricted rights.

Co-optation

A strategy of maintaining power by offering jobs, contracts, or privileges to potential opponents to reduce resistance and stabilize rule.

Repression

A strategy of maintaining control through surveillance, arrests, intimidation, or legal harassment to deter opposition and dissent.