PoliSci

1. Anarchy — Absence of government.

2. Autonomias — Spain’s regional governments with transferred local powers, including their own assemblies and some control over taxation and language. 

3. Center — The national capital and the governmental powers located there. 

4. Center-periphery — Tension when outlying regions resent political rule from the national capital, often because of economic, linguistic, or cultural differences. 

5. Centrifugal — Forces or tendencies that pull a country or political union apart.

6. Confederation — A union in which its component governments can override the central authority. 

7. Decentralization — Transfer of some administrative duties from the national government to lower levels; less extensive than devolution.  

8. Department — The main first-order territorial division of France, administered by a prefect. 

9. Devolution — Transfer of some political powers from the central government to regional or component governments. 

10. Electoral systems — Rules for choosing representatives; the text distinguishes single-member plurality elections from proportional representation, which affect party systems and governing stability. 

11. Failed state — A state unable to perform even basic national government functions; armed groups may operate without effective control. 

12. Federal systems (pros and cons) — A system in which central and component governments have their own powers. Advantages: local influence, policy experiments, cultural autonomy, shared defense and markets. Disadvantages: duplicated services, poor coordination, uneven resources and possible separatism. 

13. Federalism & central/periphery influence — A balance of authority between a central government and autonomous subdivisions; component states retain protected powers, while the center normally controls national affairs such as foreign and defense policy. 

14. First-order civil divisions — A country’s main territorial subdivisions, such as states, provinces, departments or prefectures. 

15. First-past-the-post — A single-member-district election in which the candidate with more votes than any rival wins, even without an absolute majority. 

16. Fukuyama’s 3 stages of development — Political order develops in sequence: (1) a capable state and bureaucracy; (2) rule of law that binds rulers and citizens; (3) accountability, eventually including democracy. Skipping the first foundations can undermine democracy. 

17. Gerrymandering — Drawing voting-district boundaries to favor a party; it makes elections less competitive and can increase polarization. 

18. Glasnost — Gorbachev’s policy of greater openness in Soviet media and public discussion.

19. Governance — the system of rules, processes, and institutions that a group, organization, or country uses to direct, control, and manage its operations

20. Horizontal federalism — the system of legal and political relationships among the individual states (or provinces) within a federal country, operating side-by-side rather than stacked vertically between a national government and a state.

21. Institution — An established, lasting arrangement of authority, larger and more durable than the individuals temporarily holding office. 

22. Institutional authority, power & effectiveness — Political institutions turn temporary personal authority into lasting, recognized authority. Effective institutions can settle conflicts, carry out decisions, adapt, and endure changes of leaders. 

23. Institutionalize — To make a political authority, relationship or practice lasting rather than dependent on one person. 

24. Laissez-faire — A largely private market economy with minimal government ownership, interference and income redistribution. 

25. Land — A German state (plural: Länder), a major component of Germany’s federal system. 

26. Majoritarian — An electoral arrangement, commonly associated with first-past-the-post, that gives one party more than half of legislative seats, sometimes without half the votes. 

27. Majority — More than half of votes or seats.

28. Mixed-member — A hybrid electoral system combining representatives from single-member districts with seats allocated by proportional representation. 

29. Modernization — The process of developing and updating society and its economy, sometimes guided by the state through education, infrastructure and industry. 

30. Monarchy — Government with a hereditary ruler, who may govern directly or serve mainly as a constitutional figurehead. 

31. Nation — A population sharing a sense of identity, history and culture, often including a common language. 

32. Party Election Threshold — A minimum percentage of the vote a party must win to gain seats under proportional representation; the book calls it a “threshold clause.”

33. Plurality — More votes than any other candidate or party, but not necessarily more than half. 

34. Political institution — An established and durable pattern of governmental authority, such as a legislature or executive department. 

35. Political Party List — A ranked slate of candidates offered by a party in a proportional-representation election; parties receive seats based on their vote share and fill them from the list. 

36. Prefect — A French government administrator assigned to a department. 

37. Prefecture — A principal territorial division of Japan, overseen by central authorities but with some local self-government.

38. Proportional electoral system — An electoral system that distributes legislative seats among parties roughly according to their percentages of the vote. 

39. Proportional representation — Voters select parties, often from party lists in multimember districts, and parties obtain seats in proportion to their vote totals. 

40. Quasi — Almost or nearly; for example, Britain is described as quasi-federal after devolution.

41. Regionalism — A strong awareness of regional identity and differences, sometimes accompanied by demands for independence.

42. Republic — A political system without a monarch; it is not necessarily democratic. 

43. Rule by law (man) — Using laws as tools of a ruler’s arbitrary will, including against opponents, rather than requiring rulers themselves to obey impartial law. 

44. Rule of law — The principle that everyone, including leaders, must obey the law; contrasted by Fukuyama with arbitrary “rule by law.” 

45. Single-member district electoral system — An electoral system electing one representative per geographic district, normally with the candidate winning a plurality. 

46. Socialism — An economic system in which the government owns most or all major production and claims to manage it for society’s benefit, with extensive welfare provision.

47. State — The governmental structures through which a nation exercises authority, usually sovereign and able to enforce decisions. 

48. State capitalism — A system in which the government owns and directs major industries while smaller private businesses also operate; the book treats it as contemporary statism. 

49. States as laboratories of democracy — Federal states can test policies locally; successful experiments may spread nationwide, while unsuccessful ones have limited impact. 

50. Statism — An economic system of state ownership and direction of major industries to strengthen the state, usually with fewer welfare benefits than socialism. 

51. Strong/effective state — A state capable of administering and taxing its territory, enforcing laws, maintaining security, and providing public services with relatively low corruption. 

52. Unitary system (pros & cons) — A system concentrating power in the national capital with limited subunit autonomy. Advantages: clear authority, coordinated policy, uniform standards. Disadvantages: distant decisions, excessive centralization and regional alienation. 

53. Vertical federalism — the power-sharing and hierarchical relationship between different levels of government—specifically, the national (federal) government and subnational (state or regional) governments

54. Weak state — A government too weak or corrupt to govern effectively, resist crime, enforce laws or control its full territory. 

55. Welfare state — A largely private economy in which the government substantially redistributes income and provides social benefits such as health care and pensions. 

56. Amendment processes — Constitutions are deliberately harder to change than ordinary laws. The text gives the usual U.S. process as two-thirds approval in each house of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures. 

57. Basic law — The German Basic Law (Grundgesetz), Germany’s constitution since 1949.

58. Bearing arms as an individual right [Heller Case] — District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) interpreted the Second Amendment to protect an individual’s right to possess a handgun at home for self-defense, separate from service in a militia. 

59. Brandenburg free speech test/guidelines — a legal standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) that defines when the government can punish or restrict inflammatory speech under the First Amendment. Abstract Advocacy is Protected, Imminence is Required (Future or distant harm does not meet the standard—the danger must be immediate), Replacement of Older Standards (The Brandenburg v. Ohio decision replaced older, more permissive standards like the "clear and present danger" test and the "bad tendency" doctrine, making it one of the most speech-protective legal standards in the world.)

• The Two-Prong Test—To strip speech of First Amendment protection and classify it as illegal incitement, the government must prove that the speech meets two strict criteria:

  • Intent (Directed to Inciting): The speech is specifically intended to produce imminent lawless action (immediate unlawful behavior or violence).

  • Likelihood (Likely to Produce It): The speech is likely to actually incite or produce that immediate lawless action.

60. Checks and balances — Constitutional arrangements in which separate branches can limit or counterbalance one another, helping prevent concentrations of power. 

61. Civil rights Bad Tendency Test (Freedom of speech) — Civil rights include political participation, voting and speech. In Gitlow v. New York (1925), the Court accepted a “bad tendency” rationale for punishing speech thought likely to incite crime, corrupt morals or disturb peace.

62. Clear and present danger test (to national security) — A rationale for restricting speech when it presents a clear and immediate threat of serious harms government is entitled to prevent; the book associates it with World War I antiwar speech cases.

63. Constituent assembly — A legislative body brought together to draft a new constitution, commonly after a change of regime. 

64. Constitution — The written or unwritten rules and customs governing the structure, powers and limits of a political system. 

65. Constitutional courts — Courts assigned to interpret a constitution and determine whether particular laws and government actions conform to it. 

66. Constitutional interpretation — Applying a constitution’s general wording to particular disputes; judicial interpretations can change how its provisions operate. 

67. Constitutionalism — The principle and practice of limiting governmental power by laws and institutions that protect fundamental rights.

68. Constructed rights — The text argues that some rights are socially created and become enforceable through law, rather than being timeless or naturally self-evident. 

69. Economic rights — Claims to material necessities or opportunities, such as employment, education, health care and an adequate standard of living; often require government spending. 

70. Habeas corpus — A detainee’s right to challenge imprisonment before a judge. 

71. Hate speech — Expression viewed as stirring or expressing hatred toward a group; the book contrasts broad U.S. free-speech protections with restrictions in much of Europe. 

72. Human rights — Basic protections against government mistreatment, including arbitrary arrest, torture, confinement or death without due process. 

73. Judicial activism — A judicial approach willing to invalidate laws or governmental practices as unconstitutional. 

74. Judicial restraints — Judicial restraint: reluctance by judges to overturn laws or intervene in legislative decisions.

75. Judicial review — The authority of courts to determine whether government actions or laws violate the constitution and invalidate those that do. 

76. Legitimacy and constitutions — A constitution can affirm a new regime’s right to govern, communicate permanence, and provide recognized rules for public authority. 

77. Limited government — Government whose authority is restricted by constitutional rules, institutions and protected individual rights.

78. Minority — Groups within a society that differ from a dominant population in ethnicity, religion, language or culture and whose rights may require protection. 

79. Political culture — A nation’s shared political psychology, attitudes and expectations, which influence how formal constitutional rules operate. 

80. Prior restraint — is a form of censorship in which the government or an institution prohibits speech, publication, or expression before it actually happens, rather than punishing it afterward.

81. Prior Restraint principle — a form of government censorship that stops speech, writing, or media from being published or broadcast before it happens, rather than punishing it afterward.

82. Red scare — A period of exaggerated fear of Communist infiltration or subversion, as during World War I and the McCarthy period. 

83. Rights (meaning and types) — Human/natural rights protect life and liberty; civil rights permit participation and expression; economic rights concern jobs and material well-being. The book also examines whether rights are created by laws. 

84. Sedition — Speech or actions encouraging rebellion or the overthrow of the state; governments have used anti-sedition laws to suppress radical opposition.

85. Sedition Acts (1798,1917, 1940-Smith Act; 1950 McCarran Act) — 1798: punished criticism of federal leaders; 1917 Espionage Act: punished interference with the war effort; 1940 Smith Act: criminalized advocacy of violent overthrow; 1950 McCarran Act: imposed anti-Communist restrictions and registration rules. 

86. Separation of powers — A constitutional division of responsibilities among branches, with each branch distinct and capable of checking the others. 

87. Social and economic rights — Constitutional or legal promises of education, work, health and social welfare; the text notes that ambitious guarantees may be financially difficult to fulfill. 

88. State Duma — The national legislature (parliament) of Russia. 

89. Statute — An ordinary law enacted by a legislature rather than part of the constitution. 

90. Symbolic speech — a legal term for nonverbal or nonwritten communication—such as gestures, clothing, or actions—that purposefully conveys a specific message or political viewpoint.

91. USA 1st & 2nd amendments — First Amendment: protects religion, speech, the press, peaceful assembly and petition. Second Amendment: protects keeping and bearing arms, interpreted in Heller as including an individual right at home. 

92. Written and unwritten constitution — A written constitution is a codified document; an unwritten constitution draws on customs, statutes, precedents and traditions rather than one single document, as in Britain. 

93. “One man-one vote” (political equality) — All eligible adults should have equal opportunities for political participation, summarized by the book as “one person, one vote.” 

94. “the state … that’s me” — Louis XIV’s phrase “L’état c’est moi” illustrates a ruler identifying himself with the state, an early example of authoritarian rule. 

95. A free press (definition and characteristics) — Independent media can criticize leaders and reveal wrongdoing without official censorship; competing outlets enable people to compare accounts and judge claims for themselves. 

96. Authoritarian capitalists — Regimes that retain tight political control while permitting partly market-based economies; the book identifies China and Russia as examples.

97. Authoritarian leadership goals — Authoritarian rulers prioritize command, obedience, order and political passivity, allowing limited freedoms outside politics but discouraging opposition. 

98. Authoritarian v. totalitarian — Authoritarian government restricts political participation but leaves some private life outside its control; totalitarian government aims to control and reshape nearly every part of social life using a dominant party and ideology. 

99. Civil disobedience & right to dissent — Civil disobedience is the deliberate, nonviolent violation of an unjust law to advance a higher principle; democracies must also permit citizens to challenge government decisions. 

100. Consociational democracy [elite accommodation] — An arrangement in which leaders of major social groups bargain, divide benefits and accept constitutional rules in order to prevent conflict. 

101. Dahl’s Influence terms (rational persuasion, manipulative persuasion, inducement, power threats, coercion, physical force) — A scale of influence: rational persuasion uses truth; manipulative persuasion misleads; inducement offers rewards or penalties; power threatens harsh punishment; coercion leaves no option to refuse; physical force adds threatened or actual bodily harm. 

102. Demagogue — A politician who excites mass support using extreme, misleading claims and promises of simple solutions. 

103. Democracy (definitions, procedures and types: structural) — A system of mass political participation and competitive elections with accountable representatives, genuine alternatives, periodic changes in power, protected rights and meaningful popular input. The book contrasts direct with representative democracy. 

104. Democratic and authoritarian transitions — Movement toward democracy can follow authoritarian economic growth and growth of a middle class; transition away from communist or other dictatorships can also fail or reverse if institutions and democratic culture are weak. 

105. Democratic Peace Theory — The proposition that democracies do not wage war against one another. 

106. Direct democracy (modern and historic) — People themselves make policy decisions, as in ancient Athens and some town meetings; modern referendums preserve a limited form of direct participation. 

107. Elites & elite theory — Elites are a political system’s most influential decision-makers. Elite theory argues that organized, well-connected minorities hold power and are often insufficiently accountable to ordinary people. 

108. Freedom House — An organization that ranks countries by levels of political rights and freedom; the text describes its 1-7 scale and “free,” “partly free” and “not free” classifications. 

109. Gerrymandering & democratic impact — Drawing district boundaries for partisan advantage creates “safe” seats, weakens electoral competition and representation, and can deepen party polarization.

110. Hierarchy — A system arranged in levels of authority or power from higher to lower. 

111. Illiberal democracy — A regime with elections but weak protections of civil rights, the rule of law and limits on government. 

112. Interest group — An association that attempts to influence government to adopt policies its members favor.

113. Iron law of oligarchy — Robert Michels’s claim that even organizations founded democratically eventually come to be controlled by a small leadership elite. 

114. Kleptocracy (types: personalized, etc.) — Government dominated by officials who steal or divert public wealth; the textbook defines kleptocracy as rule by thieves but does not give a classification of its types.

115. Lipsett’s (8) characteristics for a democracy — 

1. High Levels of National Wealth: A higher Gross National Product (GNP) per capita correlates strongly with democratic stability. 

2. Advanced Industrialization: A shift away from agrarian dependency toward technology, manufacturing, and industrial infrastructure.

3. Widespread Urbanization: • The transition from isolated rural areas to densely populated urban centers.

4. High Levels of Literacy and Education: • Education is the single most important element of his modernization hypothesis.

5. A Large, Stable Middle Class: A sizeable middle class acts as a stabilizing force between the ultra-wealthy elite and the impoverished lower class.

6. Deeply Rooted Political Legitimacy: The widespread belief that existing political institutions are the only proper ones for the country.

7. Cross-Cutting Cleavages: Society is structured so that individuals belong to multiple groups (e.g., a union, a church, a professional group) with varying.

8. An Open and Dynamic Value System: A cultural ethos that embraces pluralism, individual freedoms, and political tolerance.

116. Majority rule with minority rights — A majority ordinarily decides public issues, but independent courts and rights protections must prevent it from suppressing a minority. 

117. Mandate (re-present representation) — A model of representation in which elected legislators seek to carry out voters’ specific instructions or expressed wishes. 

118. Middle class & democracy — The text links a broad, educated middle class to moderation, participation and the ability to sustain democracy, although exceptions exist. 

119. Modern democracy — Large societies govern through elected, accountable representatives rather than continuous policy decisions made directly by the entire public. 

120. Modernization theory — The idea that sustained economic growth promotes education, an independent middle class and pluralism, making stable democracy more likely.

121. Petrostate — A country heavily dependent on exporting oil or natural gas; concentrated energy revenues can weaken democratic development. 

122. Pluralism — A view of politics as interaction and competition among many groups, whose influence makes officials responsive to society. 

123. Polyarchy — Dahl’s model in which the leaders of multiple groups interact and reach stable understandings rather than one elite monopolizing all authority. 

124. Popular equality & consultation — Political equality grants adults equal voting and participation rights; consultation requires leaders to listen to opinion and respond to public concerns. 

125. Power alternation — The peaceful, lawful transfer of governing authority from one party or leader to a rival after an election. 

126. Power elite — C. Wright Mills’s account of closely connected top business, political and military leaders exercising disproportionate influence over U.S. policy. 

127. Reason new democracies fail — The book identifies obstacles such as poverty, inequality, lack of a middle class, low education, dependence on oil, tribalism, weak civil society, colonial legacies, no democratic experience and few democratic neighbors.

127b. Referendum — A public vote directly on an issue rather than a choice among candidates; a form of direct democracy. 

128. Representative democracy — Citizens influence government through elected and accountable representatives instead of personally deciding every law and policy.

129. Requirement of political competition — Real democracy requires at least two genuinely distinct parties or candidates, with sufficient freedom and time to organize, campaign and reach voters.

130. Right-Wing totalitarianism — Fascist systems that reinforce existing social hierarchies, glorify nation and state, persecute outsiders, and direct private industry toward regime goals. 

131. Super-PACs — Political fundraising organizations through which wealthy donors can spend large amounts to influence elections; the book uses them as an example of elite financial influence.

132. Third world — The developing regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America, as described by the textbook. 

133. Totalitarian — A system in which a dominant party and state seek to control and transform virtually every aspect of public and private life. 

134. Totalitarian characteristics: all encompassing ideology, single party, organized terror, communications monopoly, weapons monopoly, controlled economy — Six features identified in the book: mandatory official ideology; one ruling party and leader; police terror; control of mass communication; monopoly of weapons; and a state-directed economy. 

135. Trustee representation approach — A model in which representatives use their judgment to pursue the public good rather than simply obey specific voter instructions. 

136. Two-turnover test/guideline — Samuel Huntington’s proposed indicator of a stable democracy: power changes between competing political groups through elections at least twice. 

137. Tyranny of the majority — A danger in which the electoral majority suppresses minority interests and rights because no effective protections restrain it. 

138. Voting uncertainty and individual variation — Democratic outcomes must remain genuinely uncertain because voters can switch their choices rather than voting automatically according to fixed class, religion, ethnicity or region.

139. Whig democracy — An early, limited phase of democracy in which meaningful political participation is largely restricted to the better-off before mass suffrage expands.