Political Institutions and Democracy

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to political institutions, democracy, and governance.

Formal Institutions

Rules by which regimes resolve conflict; includes constitutions, electoral rules, and laws.

Informal Institutions

Unwritten rules that structure collective expectations about dispute resolution and behavior.

Majoritarian/Plurality Systems

Electoral systems where votes are translated into seats; typically involves the 'first past the post' method.

Mixed-Member Electoral Systems

Legislative seats are split between single-member districts and proportional representation lists.

Presidential Democracy

A system where the government is not responsible to the elected legislature.

Parliamentary Democracy

A system where the government is responsible to the elected legislature.

Presidentialism

A system of political organization where the president is also the head of government without depending on the confidence of the legislature.

Coalition Government

A government formed by multiple political parties that must collaborate to secure a legislative majority.

Veto Players

Individuals or groups whose agreement is necessary for a change in policy.

Judicial Review

The right of the judiciary to decide whether a specific law contradicts a country’s constitution.

Bureaucracy

A rational, impersonal, rule-bound organizational structure set up to perform large-scale administrative tasks.

Electoral Systems

Rules that determine how votes are translated into seats in a legislative body.

Agenda-Setting

The ability of an individual, group, or institution to shape and influence the issues that are perceived as important.

Confidence Vote

A vote in parliament to determine whether the government continues to have the support of the legislature.

Separation of Powers

The division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another.