Political Science

Democracy

A regime whereby political power is widely spread, where power in some way rests with the people.

Interpretations of Democracy

Different perspectives on the meaning of democracy, including ideas such as everyone governs, rulers are accountable to the ruled, and rulers are chosen by the ruled.

Types of Democracy

Different forms of democracy, including liberal democracy, direct democracy, representative democracy, associative democracy, cosmopolitan democracy, deliberative democracy, and ecological democracy.

Theories of Democracy

Classical theory of democracy emphasizes active participation of citizens, while elitist theory of democracy emphasizes accountability of political leaders to voters.

Definitions of Democracy (Proceduralist, Instrumentalist, Empirical)

Different perspectives on the purpose and benefits of democracy, including pure proceduralism, pure instrumentalism, soft proceduralism, and soft instrumentalism.

Epistocracy

A political regime where political power is distributed according to competence, skill, and good faith to act on that skill.

Brennan's Proposals for Epistocracy

Restricted suffrage, plural voting, enfranchisement lottery, epistocratic veto, and weighted voting.

Who Holds Power?

Different entities that can hold power in a political system, including foreign power, king or president, military, dominant party, religious figures, and oligarchy.

Types of Hybrid Regimes

Weak pluralism and dominant power based on competition between elites, and democratic/authoritarian and failed/fragile states based on the functioning of the state.

J-Curve

A concept that authoritarian regimes are stable, openness has a destabilizing effect, and fully open societies are the most stable.

Regime Change

Factors that can cause a change of regime, such as military defeat, economic collapse, external intervention, socio-economic change, and dominant coalition splits.

How to Avoid Regime Change

Strategies to prevent regime change, including mobilizing support, disarticulating social structure of opposition, repression, elimination of opponents, and divide and rule.

Group Theory

The idea that different interests offset the negative effects of a locally dominant interest, and the state aggregates political influence in policymaking.

Pluralism

Dahl's pluralism emphasizes variable motivations of citizens, the organizing of interest groups, and the role of competitive elections in influencing policy.

Neopluralism

The idea that policy is influenced by a plurality of interests, with no dominant group, and countervailing power results from "public interest groups."

Elitism

Power Elite Theory suggests a national power elite dominates politics, while Multiple-Elite Theory suggests separate coalitions dominate different areas of public policy.

Corporatism

The role of centralized authorities in policymaking, with societal corporatism emerging from pressure from below and state corporatism designated by the state.

Public Sphere

A set of institutional spaces and discursive rules where public opinion is formed, allowing for public deliberation of social issues.

Positive View of Media

The media as a means of holding the executive to account, an important branch of civil society, and embodying the principle of freedom of expression.

Concerns about Media

Ownership concentration limiting pluralism, and the need for reliable information, investigations, analysis, social empathy, public forum, mobilization, and publicizing representative democracy.

Media Models

Polarized Pluralism Model, Democratic Corporatist Model, and Liberal Model, each with different characteristics and approaches to media regulation.

New Technologies in Public Sphere

New Communication Technologies providing additional opportunities for citizen participation, new decision-making forms, and democratization of the media.

Representation Modes

Delegate Model, Trustee Model, and Politico Model, each with different approaches to representing constituents.

Other Conceptions of Representation

Dyadic vs Collective Representation and Descriptive vs Substantive Representation, each highlighting different aspects of representation.

Legislature Types

Different types of legislatures based on power, number of chambers, and decision-making processes.

Alternative Decision-Making Forms

Sortition and Citizens' Assembly as alternative methods of decision-making and representation.

Electoral Systems Around the World

Systems used to translate votes into seats in the political landscape, with different associations and effects.

Duverger's Law

The relationship between electoral systems and party systems, with proportional systems leading to multi-party systems and majoritarian systems leading to two-party systems.

Electoral Reform

Shifts from majoritarian to mixed or proportional systems due to established parties' fear of being replaced.

Median Voter Theory

The idea that elections are won by the median voter, who is pivotal to the election outcome.

Legislatures

Permanent collegial institutions with representative, transparent, accessible, accountable, and effective functions.

Party Systems

Systems of interactions resulting from interparty competition, characterized by the number of parties, alignment with

National control over the flow of labor and capital

The ability of the national government to regulate the movement of labor and capital within a country.

Reducing Inequality

The national government's efforts to decrease the gap between different socioeconomic groups.

Grants

Money provided by the national government to state/local governments for various purposes.

Categorical Grant

A specific type of grant that is closely regulated and used for redistributive policies.

Block Grant

A type of grant that allows state/local governments flexibility in how they use the funds, often for developmental policies.

Legislative Theory

The principles that voters are more sensitive to concentrated benefits/costs and politicians seek credit for benefits and avoid blame for costs.

Development vs

The distinction between policies that offer concentrated benefits (developmental) and those that provide diffuse benefits (redistributive).

Strategies to Avoid Blame

Various tactics used by politicians to shift responsibility or minimize blame for unpopular decisions.

National Legislators' Support

The factors that influence national legislators' support for redistribution and infrastructure spending.

Tension between Governments

The conflicts and differences in competence and political interests between national and state/local governments.

New Public Management (NPM)

A managerial approach that emphasizes incentives, competition, and performance in government operations.

Agencies

Semi-independent entities that are performance-oriented and separate policy from implementation.

Executive Branch Governance

The coordination of formal and informal interactions between the public and private sectors within the executive branch of government.

Good Governance

The capacity of government to make and implement policy effectively, with criteria including state effectiveness, civil society representation, market-economy independence, and productivity.

Policy Communities

Communities formed by the interaction of officials and interest groups that shape policy.

Iron Triangles

Groups of officials, politicians, and experts who collaborate in formulating policy.

Issue Networks

Activists and professionals who promote specific policies, often centered around a particular issue or cause.

liberal democracy

Type of government that protects individual rights and freedoms, encourages popular participation in decision-making, and has checks and balances to prevent the concentration of power.

Direct democracy

citizen-led government where people make decisions directly instead of electing representatives. It allows citizens to propose, vote on, and enforce laws and policies, promoting active participation and a more direct form of governance.

Representative democracy

Form of government where citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf. These elected officials represent the interests and viewpoints of the people, and are responsible for creating and implementing laws and policies.

Associative democracy

political movement in which "human welfare and liberty are both best served when as many of the affairs of a society as possible are managed by voluntary and democratically self-governing associations

Cosmopolitan democracy

Political theory that advocates for the establishment of democratic principles and institutions at a global level. It aims to promote equal rights, participation, and representation for all individuals, regardless of their nationality or citizenship. The concept envisions a global governance system that transcends national boundaries and allows for collective decision-making on global issues.

Deliberative democracy

Political theory that emphasizes the importance of inclusive and reasoned public deliberation in decision-making processes. It promotes the idea that citizens should have the opportunity to engage in open and respectful discussions, exchange diverse viewpoints, and collectively shape policies and laws.

Ecological democracy

Political and social framework that integrates ecological principles and values into democratic decision-making processes. It emphasizes the importance of sustainability, environmental justice, and the protection of ecosystems in shaping policies and governance.