Early Midterm

political economy

The study of the interaction between states and markets

Markets

interaction between buyers and sellers

Property

Ownership of the goods and services exchanged through the market

Public Goods

Goods provided or secured by the states that are available for society and no one can own them

social expenditures

State provision of public benefits, such as education, health care, and transportation

GDP

the total market value of all final goods and services produced annually in an economy

central bank

an institution that controls how much money is flowing through the economy as well as how much it costs to borrow money in that economy

Inflation

General increase in the general price level of goods and services

Hyperinflation

Inflation of more than 50 percent a month for more than two months in a row

Deflation

Too many goods are chasing too little money

regulation

Rules or orders that set the boundaries of a given procedure

Monopoly

A market in which there are many buyers but only one seller.

Tariffs

Taxes on imported goods

Quotas

limit the quantity of a good coming into the country

non-tariff regulatory barriers

may create health, packaging, or other restrictions and whose purpose is to protect its citizens and make it difficult or expensive for foreign goods to be sold in the local market

Why regulate trade?

generate revenue and protect domestic industry

Why not regulate trade?

-to promote competition

-to keep the costs of goods low

-to stimulate domestic innovation in areas of comparative advantage

political-economic system

the actual relationship between political and economic institutions in a particular country, as well as the policies and outcomes they create

Liberalism

High priority on individual political and economic freedom, limits state power

Laissez-faire

Idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private property and free markets

8 key conditions for economic development

1. Infrastructure investment

2. Investment in education and health to develop human capita

3. Macroeconomic stability

4. Open trade and investment regimes on active private sector

5. Public Governance

6. Social Inclusiveness

7. Vision for the future

8. Political stability, security and good relations with neighboring countries

Mercantilism

Economic system in which national economic power is paramount and the domestic economy is viewed as an instrument that exist primarily to serve the needs of the Tate

Parastatals

industry partially owned by the state

Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

estimates of the buying power of a currency by comparing the cost of a product in multiple countries

Gini Index

measures income inequality

Human Development Index (HDI)

assesses health, education, and wealth of population

economic liberalization

cutting taxes, reducing regulation, privatizing state-owned businesses and public goods, and expanding property rights

Voodoo Economics

an economic policy perceived as being unrealistic and ill-advised, especially a policy of maintaining or increasing levels of public spending while reducing taxation.- Ronald Reagan

Patrimonialism

system that distributes political and economic power to a small group of regime supporters within the state while holding society in check by force

political violence

Violence outside of state control that is politically motivated

Revolution

Public seizure of the state in order to overturn the existing government and regime

Factors of Revolution

Public participation, want to gain state control, remove entire regime

relative deprivation

Model that predicts revolution when public expectations outpace the rate of democratic change

Terrorism

The use of violence by nonstate actors against civilians in order to achieve a political goal

state-sponsored terrorism

Terrorism supported directly by a state as an instrument of foreign policy

guerrilla warfare

A conflict whereby non state combatants abide by the rules of law and targets the state

nihilism

A belief that all institutions and values are essentially meaningless and that the only redeeming value is violence

free trade

international trade left to its natural course without tariffs, quotas, or other restrictions.

A+B= increased volume of trade

A= industrialize for export

B= lower trade restriction

Free Trade Agreement

an agreement between member countries to remove duties and trade barriers on products traded among them. You actually sign the contract

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

A multilateral free trade agreement being negotiated by 12 Asia Pacific countries

Democracy

Political power exercised either directly or indirectly by the people through participation, competition and liberty

Republicanism

Separation of powers within a state and the representation of the public through elected officials

civil society

organized life outside the state

Executive

Branch that carries out the laws and policies of a state

Head of State

a role that symbolizes and represents the people, both nationally and internationally, embodying and articulating the goals of the regime

head of government

The executive role that deals with the everyday tasks of running the state, such as formulating and executing policy

Legislature

Viewed as the body in which natural politics is considered and debated

bicameral system

legislatures that contain two houses

unicameral system

legislature with one house

Constitutional court

ensures that legislation is compatible with the constitution

concrete review

Constitutional court rules on the basis of actual legal disputes

Abstract Review

Court rules on questions that don't arise from actual legal disputes

vote of no confidence

Vote taken by a legislature as to whether its members continue to support the current prime minister. Depending on the country, a vote of no confidence can force the resignation of the prime minister and/or lead to new parliamentary elections.

presidential system

a system of government in which the legislative and executive branches operate independently of each other

Parliamentary System

A system of government in which the legislature selects the prime minister or president.

electoral system

A set of rules that decide how votes are cast, counted, and translated into seats in a legislature

Constituencies

each a geographic area that an elected official represents

single-member district

an electoral district in which a single person is elected to a given office

proportional representation

Electoral system in which political parties compete in multi member districts

First past the post system

Individual candidates compete in single member districts

multi-member districts

more than one legislative seat is contested in each district

mixed electoral system

combines plurality or majority SMDs with PR

Referendum

A national vote called by a government to address a specific proposal, often a change to the constitution

Initiative

A national vote called by members of the public to address a specific proposal

Civil rights

Individual rights regarding equality that are created by the constitution and the political regime

Civil Liberties

Individual rights regarding freedom that are created by the constitution and the political regime

Ten conditions of democracy

1. Elites committed to Democracy

2. State Institutions

3. National Unity

4. National wealth

5. Private Enterprise

6. A middle class

7. Support of the disadvantaged for democracy

8. Citizen participation, civil society, democratic, political country

9. Education and freedom of information

10. Favorable integrated environment

6 Ways to End terrorism

1. Decapitation

2. Negotiation.

3. Success

4. Failure

5. Repression

6. Reorientation

developed democracies

A country with institutionalized democracy and a high level of economic development

Modern

Characterized as secular, rational, materialistic, technological, and bureaucratic, and placing a greater emphasis on individual freedom than in the past

Post modern

characterized by a set of values that center on "quality of life" considerations and give less attention to material gain

Intergovernmental system

Two or more countries cooperate on issues- UN

supernational system

An intergovernmental system with its own sovereign powers over member states- EU

Neoliberal

A policy of economic liberalization adopted in exchange for financial support from liberal international organizations; typically includes privatizing state-run firms, ending subsidies, reducing tariff barriers, shrinking the size of the state, and welcoming foreign investment

Third Way

Term describing recent policies of the Labour Party that embrace the free market

Celtic Fringe

Welsh and Scots

Common Law

a system of law based on precedent and customs

Magna Carta

the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215

Parliament

UK Legislature

English Civil War

1642-1651 defenders of Charles vs Supporters of Parliament

Parliament won and executed Charles

common wealth

UK and 52 of its former colonies

House of Lords

the upper house of the British parliament

- use to represent aristocracy

House of Commons

England's lower house in Parliament

- in the past represent lower class

- 650 members

Collective Consensus

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

hung parliament

no party has a majority (2010)

Majoritarian

Term describing the virtually unchecked power of a parliamentary majority in the UK political system

Prime Minister

Max five years

Scottish National Party

Scottish independence

Good Friday Agreement

an agreement to end the conflict in Northern Ireland signed in 1998 by Protestants and Catholics

Quangos

Quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organizations that assist the government in making policy

Trades Union Congress (TUC)

A confederation of the UK's largest trade unions

Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

The United Kingdom's most important group representing the private sector

The troubles

Name given to the three decades of extreme ethnic conflict (late 1960s to late 1990s) between Northern Ireland's nationalists or republicans, who are mostly Catholic, and unionists or loyalists, who are mostly Protestant

Parliament over Presidents

Diane Francis prefers canadas parliamentary democracy because it is more efficient

Arab Peace Initiative

Proposed in 2002 by the prince of Saudi Arabia and endorsed by all members of the Arab League. Calls for the return to pre-1967 territories, recognition of Palestine as a state with East Jerusalem as its capital and a solution for Palestinian refugees.

US Failures

- DC Doesn't have voting rights

- segregation

- Native reservations

Declaration of Independence

Signed in 1776 by US revolutionaries; it declared the United States as a free state.

American Revolution

1775-1783