Ap comp

Quantitative information is presented in numbers, and in comparative politics, they serve as a way to compare different countries and draw conclusions.

Qualitative information is typically presented in statements.

Correlation is when two sets of data are related.

Causation is when one variable influences another

Empirical statements simply state facts. ○ “The United Kingdom’s GDP per capita in 2020 was $39800.” would be an empirical statement, because it’s merely stating a fact.

Normative statements include value judgments. ○ “Nigeria should change its economic policies.” would be a normative statement, because what Nigeria should do is a matter of opinion.

Linkage institutions are institutions that can connect people to policy making.

States are political organizations

Charismatic legitimacy (also related to the term personality cult) is when one person is the central part of a state’s legitimacy

Unitary states choose to concentrate most (or all) of their power in one level of government. (Remember, in this context, level equates to central and regional.)

Devolution occurs when the central government gives certain important powers to regional governments.

Federal states maintain an official (and constitutional) division of power between the central and regional governments.

Linkage institutions connect the people to the policymaking process.

Traditional legitimacy is when a ruler is accepted because that’s how it has always been.

Legitimacy is how much people accept and believe the state’s right to rule the state.

States also have sovereignty, which means that they are essentially “at the top of the ladder” when making decisions for the people.

state institutions, which are formal institutions that are most directly involved with policymaking. (ie) legislative, executive, judicial)

Nation - A group of people who share commonalities, like race, religion, language, political identity, ethnicity, and most importantly, the desire for sovereignty

regmie - The rules that oversee a political system’s operations. A regime determines the acquisition and practice of political power.

Reforms are gradual and evolutionary changes.

Revolutions are sudden and extreme changes.

Cleavages are the basis for political conflict, in that they separate different people into their interests.

Cross-cutting cleavages occur independently of each other. Therefore, they divide people into their individual interests.

Coup d’états are when the military seizes political power

goverment - The people who currently hold political power in official positions of authority.

The equivalent to nationalism in states is patriotism, in terms of citizenship. Patriotism is a belief in the state’s capabilities

Radicals prefer dramatic and revolutionary change and believe that completely new institutions must be established.

Liberals prefer progressive change through legal reforms.

Conservatives believe there is very little or no need for social change and are often critical for proposed changes in the system

fascism - Fascism guarantees neither equality and freedom. They praise the state and their people’s apparent superiority.

communism - Communism believes that economic equality results in true freedom. They also believe that economic inequality undermines a state.

Political culture is the norm and standard for political activity in a country.

liberalsim - Liberalists believe that economic and personal freedom are important goals of a state. They disagree with state interference in their beliefs and actions.

liberlasim - The state should have minimal control over economic policies.

Referendums are citizen votes on essential policy changes.

Civil society is a group formed by people that helps them define their interests.

Pluralist societies allow civil societies to form naturally.

Corporatist societies’ civil societies are controlled by the state

Social Democracy - They believe in similar things as liberalism, but also concede that economic inequality needs to be resolved.

Liberal democracies fully respect the rights of the people when it comes to policy making.

Illiberal democracies hold valid elections, but will not always guarantee said rights. (Take Russia as an example.)

Rule of law emphasizes the importance the law has on a country.

Proportional representation means that different parties’ number of seats and how many votes they got will be equal

Single-member-district systems will give seats to whichever candidate has the most votes in a given district. —- SMD systems are based on plurality, or who got the most votes (not to be confused with the majority, which represents over 50% of something), two party systems

The Magna Carta was the first document to separate the government from the regime.