Unit I: AP Comparative Gov Vocab

Cold War

the hostile relations that prevailed between the US and the SU from the late 1940s until the demise of the latter in 1991

Liberal Democracy

a democratic system of government that officially recognizes and legally protects individual rights and freedoms and in which the exercise of political power is constrained by the rule of law

Populism

a style of mobilization by a political party or movement that seeks to gain popular support by emphasizing anti-establishment rhetoric, denouncing elite concentrations of power as the source of national decline, and promising to be responsive to the needs of ordinary people

Comparative Politics

the filed within political science that focuses on domestic politics of countries and analyzes patterns of similarity and difference among countries

Critical Juncture

an important historical event when political actors make critical choices that shape institutions and future outcomes in both individual countries and the international system

Nation-state

a distinct, politically defined territory in which the state and national identity coincide; a sense of solidarity and shared values based on being citizens of the same country

Collective Identities

the groups with which people identify (gender, class, race, region, religion) which are the “building blocks” for social and political action

Globalization

the intensification of worldwide interconnectedness associated with the increased speed and magnitude of cross-border flows of trade, investment and finance, and processes of migration, cultural diffusion, and communication

Comparativist

a political scientist who studies the similarities and differences in the domestic politics of various countries

World Bank

an international financial institution (IFI) comprising over 180 member-states that provides low-interest loans, policy advice, and technical assistance to developing countries with the goal of reducing poverty

Human Development Index (HDI)

a composite number used by the UNDP (united nations development programme) to measure/compare levels of achievement in health, knowledge, and standard of living

Global Gender Gap

a measure developed by the world economic forum of the extent to which women in 58 countries have achieved equality with men

Environmental Performance Index (EPI)

developed by Yale and Columbia, a measure of how close countries come to meeting specific benchmarks for national pollution control and natural resource management

Corruption Perception Index

a measure developed by Transparency International that ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians

Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index (EIU)

an index that measures/rank the state of democracy in 167 countries; classifies states as full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes

Keynesianism

an approach to economic policy in which state fiscal policies are used to regulate the economy in an attempt to achieve stable economic growth

Neoliberalism

a term used to describe government policies aiming to promote free competition among business firms within the market; ex: reduced governmental regulations and social spending

Country

a territory defined by boundaries generally recognized in international law as constituting an independent nation

State

the most powerful political institutions in a country, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of gov, as well as the police and armed forces

Executive

the agencies of government that implement/execute policy and play a key role in policy making; ex. president or prime minister

Cabinet

The body of officials who direct executive departments over by the chief executive; ex. Ministers, secretaries

Bureaucracy

an organization structured hierarchically in which lower-level officials are charged with administering regulations codified in rules that specify impersonal, objective guidelines for making decisions

Legislature

the political institutions in a country in which elected/appointed members are charged with responsibility for making laws and usually for authorizing the taxation/expenditure of the financial resources enabling the state to carry out its functions

Judiciary

the political institutions in a country responsible for the admin of justice and for determining the constitutionality of state decisions (in some countries)

Legitimacy

a belief by powerful groups and the broad citizenry that a state exercises rightful authority

State formation

the historical development of a state often marked by major stages, key events. Or turning points (critical junctures) that influence the contemporary character of the state

Rational Choice Theory

a largely quantitative approach to analyzing political decision making/behavior that assumes that individual actors rationally pursue their aims in an effort to achieve the most positive net result

Normative

not quantitative (not numbers) + cannot be easily measured with numbers

Empirical

numerical; used most in this class

Causation

the relationship between two variables in which one variable creates the result of the second variable

Correlation

the relationship between two variables in which there is a similarity (or a lack of one) but their relationship is uncertain (one doesn’t necessarily create the other)

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

the total of all goods/services produced within a country that is used as a broad measure of the size of its economy

Freedom House

the index that measures the degree of civil liberties and human rights in each nation

Fragile State Index

an index that evaluates national stability