Comparative Politics Midterm I

Horizontal Accountability

the ability of one branch of government to hold another branch of government accountable

Vertical Accountability

individuals' and groups' ability to hold state institutions accountable

administration

a specific set of leadership within a country

Anti-establishment

against the establishment or established authority.

authoritarianism

A system of rule in which power depends not on popular legitimacy but on the coercive force of the political authorities.

Authoritarian Regime

a form of government in which power in highly concentrated at the top, political freedom is limited, and those with authority are not accountable to those they govern

Ballot Structure

how electoral choices are presented on the ballot paper

Bicameral Legislature

a legislative body with two houses, such as the US Senate and House of Reps

Unicameral Legislature

a legislative body with one house

bourgeoisie

owners of modes of production

Brexit

The possible British Exit from the European Union

"British disease"

a high level of strike activity caused by powerful trade unions taking advantage of low unemployment to push for higher wages

citizens over-reliance on government handouts

UK was uncompetitive in international markets

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

Cabinet

the body of officials (ministers and secretaries) who direct executive departments presided over by the chief executive (PM or president)

Casual Theory

a hypothesis that can be expressed formally in a casual way (if...then)

**Civil Right

the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.

Classical Liberalism

The political ideology of individual liberty, private property, a competitive market economy, free trade, and limited government. The idea being that the less government does, the better, particularly in reference to economic policies such as tariffs and incentives for industrial development. Attacking corruption and defending private property, late-nineteenth-century liberals generally called for elite governance and questioned the advisability of full democratic participation.

coalition government

When two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature. This form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of Europe.

cohabitation

when the head of state and legislature are controlled by different political parties

collective identities

The groups with which people identify, including gender, class, race, region, and religion, and which are the "building blocks" for social and political action.

Collective Responsibility

in a parliamentary system, the concept that all cabinet members agree on policy decisions and that all will be responsible for the results

Collectivist Consensus

Postwar consensus between the UK's major parties to build and sustain a welfare state.

Communism

the stage of development that follows socialism in which all property is publicly owned, economic production is coordinated for the common good, and a radical degree of equality has been achieved

Communist Party-State

a type of nation-state in which a communist party exercises a complete monopoly on political power and controls all important state institutions

Comparative Politics

The field within political science that focuses on domestic politics and analyzes patterns of similarity and difference among countries.

Comparativist

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

Consolidated Democracy

A democratic political system that has been solidly and stably established for an ample period of time and in which there is relatively consistent adherence to the core democratic principles.

Constitutional Monarchy

System of government in which the head of state ascends by heredity but is limited in powers and constrained by the provisions of a constitution.

contractarian view of the state

sees the creation of the state as resulting from a social contract between individuals in the state of nature in which the state provides security in exchange for obedience from the citizen

Core

the countries in the dependency theory that create finished goods

Corruptions 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 officals and politicians

Country

A territory defined by boundaries generally recognized in international law as constituting an independent country.

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

Democracy

rule of law- no one is above the law

Equality under the law

consent of the governed

Majority rules with minority rights

Democratic Consolidation

being so democratic that there is no concern of the viability of the democracy

Democratic Transition

specific moment in time at which a country becomes democratic

Democratization

the process of being more democratic

Dependency Theory

a model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of the historical exploitation of poor nations by rich ones

Dependent Variable

a variable whose value depends on that of another.

Devolution

the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration

Dichotomy

a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

Dictatorship

a form of government in which power and political control are concentrated in one ruler or a few rulers who have concentrated and nearly absolute powers

Disproportionality

What SMD systems are, do not represent/reflect the majority

Distributional Politics

The use of power, particularly by the state, to allocate some kind of valued resource among competing groups.

District Magnitude

The number of seats in a district

Duverger's Law

the type of electoral system creates the number of parties

SMD creates a two party system

PR creates a multi-party system

Economic System

the method used by a society to produce and distribute goods and services. Ex. capitalism, communism

Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index

an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unity, based in the UK, that measures and ranks the states of democracy in 167 countries. It classifies the states as Full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes

Economy

A system for producing and distributing goods, and services to fulfill people's wants

"Enterprise Culture"

the government no longer bails out business

enviromental performance index

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

ethnocentric

believing in the superiority of one's own ethnic and cultural group, and having a corresponding disdain for all other groups

executive

The agencies of government that implement or execute policy.

extreme poverty (how measured)

Least Developed Countries, a country confronting severe impediments to sustainable development, have high vulnerability to economic and environmental shock, and low levels of human assets

failed State

a country whose political or economic system has become so weak that the government is no longer in control

first past the post

Electoral system based on single-member districts in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins.

foreign direct investment

Ownership of or investment in cross-border enterprises in which the investor plays a direct managerial role.

formula

the way votes are transferred into seats in an electoral system

Fusion of Powers

A constitutional principle that merges the authority of branches of government, in contrast to the principle of separation of powers.

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

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.

government

the chief executive and his/her cabinet

grand coalition

a government made up of the two largest parties, often in response to outsider parties deemed unfit for governing

gross domestic product (GDP)

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

Gross national product (GNP)

GDP plus income earned by the country's residents; another broad measure of the size of an economy.

head of government

the political role of the president as leader of a political party and chief arbiter of who gets what resources

Head of state

The role of the president as ceremonial head of the government.

hegemonic power

A state that can control the pattern of alliances and terms of the international order, and often shapes domestic political developments in countries throughout the world.

house of commons

the first legislative body of Parliament whose members are elected.

house of lords

the upper house of the British parliament, unelected house

human development index

a composite number used by the UNDP to measure and compare levels of achievement in health, knowledge, and standard of living

hung parliament

A situation after an election when no single party comprises a majority in the Commons.

hybrid state

a country whose political system exhibit some democratic and some authoritarian elements.

idea

an opinion, conviction, priniciple

identifiability

knowing who will become the head of state before an election takes place.

identity/identities

who you think you are, how you see yourself vs. how others see you

ideology

a set of doctrines or beliefs about how states should govern

illiberal democracy

a state where the government has been brought to power (and perhaps reelected) by democratic election but then takes steps to seriously limit political competition, undermine the rule of law and deprive citizens of their basic rights

independent Variable

a variable (often denoted by x ) whose variation does not depend on that of another.

individual ministerial responsibility

whoever the head of government is, he/she will automatically resign if a problem/scandal happens in their department

industrial policy

a policy that uses state resources to promote the development of particular economic sectors

industrial revolution

A period of rapid growth in the use of machines in manufacturing and production that began in the mid-1700s, originated in England in the 1700s

Institutional design

the institutional arrangements that define the relationships between executive, legislative, adn judicial branches of government and between the national government and subnational units, such as states in the US

institutionalization

refers to the process of of embedding some convention such as a brief, norm or value within an organization, social system or society as a whole

institutions

rules and procedures that structure social interaction by constraining and enabling actors' behaviors

Interests

the underlying motives, ideological beliefs, poltiical agenda, and world view held by a given political actor.

Judicial Independence

insulating judges from the need to be accountable to voters or elected officials so that they can make impartial decisions based on the law

Judicial Review

the capacity of a high court to nullify actions by the executive and legislative branches of government that in its judgment violate the Constitution (NO IN BRITAIN)

Judiciary

the political institutions in a country responsible for the administration of justice, and in some countries, for determining the constitutionality of state decisions

Keynesianism

an approach to economic policy in which state economic policies are used to regulate the economy in an attempt to achieve stable economic growth. During recession, state budget deficits are used to expand demand in an effort to boost both consumption and investment, and to create employment. During periods of high growth when inflation threatens, cuts in government spending and a tightening of credit are used to reduce demand.

Labor Unions

An organization formed by workers to strive for better wages and working conditions

Laisses-faire

a term taken from the French, which means "to let do," it refers to the pattern to which state management is limited to such matters as enforcing contracts and protecting property rights, while private market forces are free to operate with only minimal state regulation

Legislature

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