AP COGO Country Examples

China - Head of State

Xi Jinping

China - Head of Government

Li Quang

Iran - Head of State

Ali Khamenei

Iran - Head of Government

Masoud Pezeshkian

Mexico - Head of State/Government

Claudia Steinbaum

Nigeria - Head of State/Government

Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Russia - Head of State

Vladimir Putin

Russia - Head of Government

Mikhail Mishutin

United Kingdom - Head of State

Charles III

United Kingdom - Head of Government

Keir Starmer

China - Regime established?

• 1949 = Communists establish People’s Republic of China

• Chinese Revolution of 1949

Iran - Regime established?

• 1979 = Monarchy overthrown

• Iranian Revolution

Mexico - Regime established?

• 1917 = Constitution written

• Mexican Revolution

Nigeria - Regime established?

• 1999 = Constitution written

• 4th Nigerian Republic

Russia - Regime established?

• 1991 = Soviet Union collapses

• 1993 = Constitution written

United Kingdom = Regime established?

• 1215 = Magna Carta written

• Established Bill of Rights and tradition

Democratic regimes (AP6)

1. Mexico

2. Nigeria

3. United Kingdom

Authoritarian regimes (AP6)

1. China

2. Iran

3. Russia

China - Example of government change

Xi Jinping elected president by the National People’s Congress in 2012

Iran - Example of government change

Masoud Pezeshkian elected as 9th president of Iran via popular vote in 2024

Mexico - Example of government change

Claudia Sheinbaum elected president of Mexico via popular vote in 2024

Nigeria - Example of government change

Bola Ahmed Tinubu elected president of Nigeria via popular vote in 2023

Russia - Example of government change

Vladimir Putin becomes prime minister in 2008 and is later elected president again in 2012

United Kingdom - Example of government change

Keir Starmer appointed as prime minister by Parliament in 2024

United Kingdom → Executive

• Parliamentary system

• Head of State: Monarch

• Head of Government: Prime Minister

• Members of Parliament are directly elected

• Parliamentary sovereignty

Russia → Executive

• Semi-presidential system

• Head of State: President

  • President is directly elected

• Head of Government: Prime Minister

  • Prime Minister is appointed by the President

  • Prime Minister oversees civil service

Iran → Executive

• Head of State: Supreme Leader

  • Self-appointed political and religious authority

• Head of Government: President

  • President is directly elected for a 4-year term

• Guardian Council is unelected and oversees legislation

Nigeria → Executive

• Presidential system

• Head of State/Government: President

  • President is directly elected for a 2-term, 4 year limit and serves as chief executive, commander-in-chief, and head of civil service

• Cabinet in the Senate is appointed by the President

China → Executive

• Head of State: President

  • President is commander-in-chief and secretary of the CCP

• Head of Government: Premier

  • Premier is nominated by the President

• Top leaders of the CCP determine top governing officials without input from the people, including the president

Mexico → Executive

• Presidential system

• Head of State/Government: President

  • President is directly elected and serves as chief executive, commander in chief, and head of the civil service

  • President appoints cabinet members to the Senate, though some need approval

Mexico → Legislature

Congress of the Union (Congreso de la Unión) → Bicameral

• Upper House: Senate

  • Confirms presidential appointments

  • Ratifies treaties

  • Approves federal intervention in states

• Lower House: Chamber of Deputies

  • Debates/passes legislation

  • Levies taxes

  • Approves budget

  • Certifies elections

**Multiparty system

United Kingdom → Legislature

Parliament → Bicameral

• Upper House: House of Lords

  • Hereditary/appointed

  • Reviews/amends bills

  • Can delay legislation for up to a year but cannot prevent bills from passing into law

• Lower House: House of Commons

  • Debates/passes legislation

  • Approves budget

  • Holds committee hearings

  • Formally question the Prime Minister (Question Hour)

Russia → Legislature

Federal Assembly → Bicameral

• Upper House: Federation Council

  • 85 administrative units with 2 senators each (170 total)

  • Drafts laws/initiates legislation

  • Reviews monetary policies passed by the Duma

  • Negotiates foreign policy

  • Approves judicial nominations

• Lower House: Duma

  • Debates/passes laws

  • Confirms prime minister nominee

  • Initiates impeachment

**Because Putin’s party is the majority and because of his control over Russian politics, the Federal Assembly has little autonomy

Nigeria → Legislature

National Assembly → Bicameral

• Upper House: Senate

  • 3 senators from each state

• Lower House: House of Representatives

• Both houses:

  • Debate/pass legislation

  • Approve the federal budget

  • Can check executive power

China → Legislature

National People’s Congress → Unicameral

• Not directly elected = Chosen from municipal, regional, and provincal people’s congresses

• Controlled by the CCP

• Does not have much power = symbolic

Iran → Legislature

The Majles → Unicameral

• Passes laws

• Approves cabinet nominees

• Ratifies international treaties

• Confirms ½ of nominees to the Guardian Council

**Candidates for the Majles must be approved by the Guardian Council → they must be conservative and follow Islamic law

Mexico → Judiciary

Rule of law

• Appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for 15-year terms

• Has judicial review

  • Plagued by corruption

  • Rule of law is weak

United Kingdom → Judiciary

Rule of law

• Common law system

• Appointed by the monarch based on referrals by the prime minister and recommendations by a judicial selection commission

• No judicial review (no constitution)

  • Can overturn government actions that violate civil rights or liberties

  • Can rule on devolution

• Cannot overturn laws from Parliament

Russia → Judiciary

Rule by law

• Supreme Court → Final court of appeals through concrete review

• Constitutional Court → Abstract review; judges appointed by president so judicial review is weak

• Judicial system used to target political opponents

Nigeria → Judiciary

Rule of law

• President nominates justices, Senate confirms them

• 1 chief justice and up to 21 associate justices

• National Judiciary Council insulates judiciary from elected officials

China → Judiciary

Rule by law

• Supreme People’s Court = Highest court

  • Can interpret laws but not overturn them

• Uniform set of rules

• Rule of law is weak

• Due process is weak

  • Executions/harsh punishments are common

Iran → Judiciary

Rule by law

• Supreme Leader appoints head of judiciary, who then appoints the judges underneath him

• Can nominate half of the Guardian Council

  • No formal political role beyond this

• Religious review based on the Quran

• Judiciary used to repress political opponents

UK - Political socialization example

• Brexit = the UK's decision to leave the European Union

  • The Leave campaign appealed to nationalist and conservative ideologies, emphasizing sovereignty and anti-immigration sentiment

  • The Remain campaign reflected liberal ideologies, prioritizing economic integration and global cooperation

• Brexit highlights the role of ideological divisions in shaping public opinion, voter turnout, and political mobilization

Russia - Political socialization example

• The dominance of authoritarian political ideology under Vladimir Putin has significantly constrained political participation

• Laws like the "foreign agents" law (2012) label NGOs receiving foreign funding as threats, limiting their ability to operate and stifling political activism

  • This demonstrates how a dominant political ideology (authoritarianism) can suppress civil society and restrict pluralism in political participation

China - Political socialization example

• China’s social credit system, implemented under the ruling Communist Party, is designed to enforce behavior aligned with state-approved political ideology

• It rewards "good" behavior (e.g., loyalty to the state) and punishes dissent (e.g., pro-democracy activism), shaping how citizens interact with the state

  • This system shows how political socialization in an authoritarian state fosters conformity to state ideology and limits independent participation in politics

Iran - Political socialization example

• The 2009 Green Movement in Iran emerged after widespread claims of electoral fraud in the presidential election

  • Protesters, primarily reformist and liberal-leaning, called for greater political freedoms and transparency, clashing with Iran’s dominant conservative, theocratic ideology

• This example illustrates the tension between political ideologies (liberal reformists vs. conservative Islamists) and how citizens can challenge the state through political participation, even in authoritarian regimes

Mexico - Political socialization example

• The creation of the Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE) in the 1990s was a significant step toward reducing corruption in elections and increasing political participation

  • This reflects the growing influence of liberal democratic ideology in contrast to decades of authoritarianism under the PRI

• Mexico’s democratization process demonstrates how changing political ideologies can foster electoral reforms, empowering citizens to participate in a fairer political system

Nigeria - Political socialization example

• Nigeria’s political culture is deeply shaped by ethnic and religious divisions

  • Political ideologies differ significantly between the predominantly Muslim North (supporting Sharia law and more traditional governance) and the Christian South (favoring liberal democratic practices)

  • These cleavages often influence voter turnout and political mobilization, as seen in the contentious 2019 presidential election

• Nigeria highlights how political culture and cleavages influence participation and the role of competing ideologies in shaping the political landscape