APCompGov_Texts_Unit1_Spring.24

Big Ideas in AP Comparative Government and Politics

POWER AND AUTHORITY (PAU)

LEGITIMACY AND STABILTY (LEG)

DEMOCRATIZATION (DEM)

INTERNAL/EXTERNAL FORCES (IEF)

METHODS of POLITICAL ANALYSIS (MPA)

Unit 1: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments

MPA— Enduring Understanding

Using facts helps explain how people act in politics.

Looking at numbers and descriptions helps to compare countries.

When studying politics look at facts instead of opinions.

Arguments in political science often look at links between different things.

Correlation is a connection between two or more things.

Causation is hard to prove because many things can change politics.

Ways to Collect Information:

Human Development Index (HDI)
Gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP per capita
GDP growth rate
Gini index (coefficient)
Freedom House
Transparency International
Failed States Index

Human Development Index (HDI):

A way to measure how well people live in a country.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP):

The total value of things made in a country.
GDP per capita: GDP divided by the number of people.
GDP growth rate: How fast the economy is growing.

Gini Index:

Shows how equal income is in a country.
100%: very unequal
0%: very equal.

Freedom House:

Ranks countries on political rights and freedom.

Governmental Transparency:

When people can see what the government is doing.

Corruption Perception Index:

Ranks how corrupt people think countries are.

Fragile State Index:

Ranks countries by how likely they are to have problems.

PAU— Enduring Understanding

Politics is about the balance of power between the government and the people.

2 Describe differences between regimes, states, nations, and governments

Political systems are the rules and ideas about who should rule.

States are countries with a government and people.

Regimes are the rules that control power.

Government is the group that makes decisions for a state.

A nation is a group of people with things in common.

PAU— Enduring Understanding

Politics is about the balance of power between the government and the people.

3 Describe democracy and authoritarianism

Things that show if a country is a democracy or dictatorship:

Following the law
Control of news
Fair elections
Open government
People's ability to participate
Separate parts of government

Types of dictatorships:

Partly free countries
One-party states
Religious states
Governments with total control
Military governments

PAU— Enduring Understanding

Politics is about the balance of power between the government and the people.

4 Explain the process and goals of democratization

Democratization is giving people more say in their government.

Key Things for Democratization:

Fair elections
People involved in decisions
Open government
Protected rights
Following the law

Good election systems can help different groups get represented.

Corruption makes democratization hard—courts can help.

Democratization can stop or go backward.

When a democracy is strong, it is hard to go back to dictatorship.

Agreeing on important issues helps democracy.

PAU— Enduring Understanding

Politics is about the balance of power between the government and the people.

5 Explain sources of power and authority in political systems

Power comes from things like laws, religion, the army, and the people.

PAU— Enduring Understanding

Politics is about the balance of power between the government and the people.

6 Change in Power and Authority

Regimes change when the rules are replaced.

Governments can change more easily than regimes.

PAU— Enduring Understanding:

How power is shared affects how stable a country is.

7 Describe federal and unitary systems among course countries; Explain the purposes of adopting a federal or unitary system

Federal countries share power between national and local levels.

Unitary countries have power mostly at the national level.

How power is shared can change over time.

Multiethnic states are countries with many different groups of people

LEG— Enduring Understanding

When people think the government is fair, the country is more stable.

8 Describe the sources of political legitimacy for different types of regimes among course countries:

Legitimacy is when people believe the government has the right to rule.

Power can come from elections, laws, traditions, and a good economy.

LEG— Enduring Understanding

When people think the government is fair, the country is more stable.

9 Explain how governments maintain legitimacy

Governments stay in power by being effective, having good leaders, and following laws.

Peace, good transfer of power, less corruption, and a good economy help.

More corruption, unfair elections, and problems hurt power.

Giving power to local governments can help or hurt.

If people don't trust elections, it can cause problems.

LEG— Enduring Understanding

When people think the government is fair, the country is more stable.

10 Explain how internal actors influence and interact with state authority and either enhance or threaten stability

How different groups act affects how stable a country is.

Governments try to control bad groups to help the economy.

People can push for changes to protect rights and stop corruption.

AP CompGov: Glossary Unit 1: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments

Empirical data: Facts
Normative statement: Opinion
Quantitative data: Numbers
Qualitative data: Descriptions
Correlation: Connection
Causation: Hard to prove
Human Development Index (HDI): Measures how well people live
Gross domestic product (GDP): Value of things made in a country
GDP per capita: GDP per person
GDP growth rate: How fast the economy grows
Gini index: How equal income is
Freedom House scores: Ranks freedom
Governmental transparency: Open government
Governmental corruption: Abuse of power
The Fragile States Index: Ranks how likely a country is to have problems
Political systems: Rules for who rules