AP Comparative Government Study Sheet

This sheet is a list of terms found in the review book used in class and their definitions.

Disclaimer: there are tons of information found in the textbook that don’t belong in any terms here; therefore reading
this only will probably not do you so well on the test. So do not blame me if you do not get a 5.

Introduction to Comparative Government

Important Terms and Concepts
advanced democracies
● Well established democratic governments and a high level of economic development. (GB)
authoritarian regime
● Ruled by political elites, not much input from citizens. May be monarchy, dictator, small group, or single party.
bicameral, unicameral legislatures
● Bicameral = two houses, unicameral = one house.
bureaucratic authoritarian regimes
● Complete control of activities, manage almost everything in country.
bureaucracy
● Agencies that generally implement gov’t policy.
● Discretionary power, or power to make small decisions in implementing legis/execu decisions.
cabinet coalition
● Country that has multi-party system with no majority party, several parties join forces and represented in
different cabinet posts.
causation
● The idea that one variable causes or influences another.
checks and balances
● Powers are shared and no branch dominates.
civil society
● Voluntary organizations that help citizens organize and define themselves and interests.
coinciding/crosscutting cleavages
● Coinciding – likely to be explosive, every dispute aligns same groups against each other.
● Crosscutting – divide society into many political groups, may conflict on one issue but cooperate on another.
command economies
● Government owns almost all industrial enterprises and retail sales outlets.
common law/code law
● Common law – based on tradition, past practices, legal precedents set by courts through past rulings
● Code law – based on comprehensive system of written rules (codes) of law divided into commercial, civil, and
criminal codes.
communism
● Party controls everything from government to economy to social life.
● Values equality over freedom.
competitive elections
● Regular, free, fair elections that offer real possibility that incumbent may be defeated.
confederal system
● Spreads power among many subunits and weak central gov’t.
conflictual political culture
● Sharply divided on legitimacy of regime and solutions to major problems; threatens to topple regime.
consensual political culture
● Accepts both legitimacy of regime and solutions to major problems; tends to agree with gov’t
conservatism
● Less supportive of change in general, thinks change may bring unforeseen outcomes
● See state and regime as important sources of order/
constitutional courts
● Serve to defend democratic principles of a country against infringement.
co-optation
● The means a regime uses to get support from citizens.
corporatism
● An arrangement in which gov’t officials interact with ppl/groups outside of gov’t before they set policy.
correlation
● An indication that causality may be present
● Exists when change in one variable coincides with change in another.
cosmopolitanism
● A universal political order that draws its identity and values from everywhere.
coup d’etat
● Forced takeover of government. New leaders by force.
democratic consolidation
● Authoritarian regime transitions into a democracy because of a trigger event.
● Process creates a stable political system that is supported by all parts of society
● All institutions and people participate, democracy penetrates everything
democratic corporatism
● Interest representation is institutionalized through recognition of state
● Organizations develop institutionalized and legally binding links with state agencies, on behalf of state.
direct democracy
● Individuals have immediate say over many decisions that gov’t makes.
economic liberalization
● Limiting power of the state over private property and market forces.
electoral systems
● Rules that decide how votes are cast, counted, and translated into seats in a legislature.
elites
● Those that hold political power
empirical data
● Factual statements and statistics
Fascism
● Does not value freedom or equality, idea that state has the right to mold society and economy
● Has the right to eliminate obstacles, people that might weaken them
federal system
● Divides power between central gov’t and subunits.
first-past-the-post (plurality, winner-take-all)
● Winner needs to get more votes than anyone else and wins by plurality.
fragmentation
● Divisions based on ethnic or cultural identities.
Freedom House ratings
● Organization that ranks countries with 1 being most free, and 7 being least free.
Gini Index
● Formula that measures economic inequality in a society.
globalization
● Integration of social, environmental, economic, and cultural activities of nations resulting from more
international contacts.
GDP, GNP, GNP per capita
● Gross Domestic Product – all the goods and services produced by a country’s economy in a given year
● Gross Nation Product – same as GDP, but includes income citizens earned outside of country.
● GNP per capita – divides GNP by population of country.
government
● Reference to the leadership and institutions that make policy decisions for the country.
head of government
● Role that deals with tasks of running gov’t.
head of state
 ● Role that symbolizes the power and nature of gov’t
hypothesis
● A speculative statement about the relationship between two or more factors (variables)
illiberal democracies
● Competitive elections, but missing parts of the liberal democracies (civil liberties, etc.)
independent variable/dependent variable
● Independent variable influences dependent variable; dependent depends on independent
indications of democratization
● Loss of legitimacy, expansion of urban middle class, human rights, snowball effect.
indirect democracy
● Elected officials represent the people.
informal politics
● Takes into consideration the ways that politicians operate outside of formal powers and the impact of citizens
on policy making.
initiative
● Vote on a policy that is initiated by the people. Proposes a nationwide vote and must collect certain # of sigs.
institutions, institutionalized
● Stable, long lasting organizations that help turn political ideas into policy. (parties, bureaucracies)
Integration
● More inclusive of everything.
interest group pluralism
● Pattern of autonomous groups competing with each other and gov’t for influence over state policies.
judicial review
● Mechanism that allows courts to review laws and executive actions for their constitutionality.
legitimacy (traditional, charismatic, rational-legal)
● Right to rule
● Traditional – tradition determines who should rule; heritage, myths, legends, descendants
● Charismatic – dynamic personality of leader, usually is short-lived as it stops when leader dies.
● Rational-legal – institutionalized, based on a system of well-established laws and procedures.
liberal democracies
● Civil liberties – freedom of belief, speech, and assembly
● Rule of Law – equal treatment of citizens and due process
● Neutrality of the judiciary – checks on abuse of power
● Open Civil Society – citizens lead private lives and mass media operate independently from gov’t
● Civilian control of military – lowers chance of military seizing control of gov’t.
liberalism as a political ideology
● Places emphasis on individual political and economic freedom.
liberalism as an approach to economic and political change
● Supports reform and gradual change rather than revolution; belief that polit/econ system can be fixed.
linkage institutions
● Groups that connect gov’t to citizens (political parties, interest groups, print and electronic media)
market economies
● Pure, does not allow for significant control from the central government.
● Private ownership of property, little interference from gov’t regulation
marketization
● State’s recreation of a market in which property, labor, goods and services can all function in a competitive
environment to determine their value.
military rule
● Nondemocratic rule, military intervenes in politics to solve problems.
mixed economies
● Market economy that allows significant control from gov’t.
mixed electoral system
● A mix of first-past-the-post and proportional representation.
multi-member districts, single-member districts
● Multi- for proportional rep, single – first past the post.
multi-party system
● Usually arises in parliamentary systems that use proportional rep method.
nation
● A group of people bound together by a common political identity.
Nationalism
● The sense of belonging and identity that distinguishes one nation from the next.
normative questions
● Value judgments, ie what something should be like
parliamentary system
● Citizens vote for legislative reps, who then select leaders of executive branch.
● Parliamentary sovereignty
● Theoretically, legislature makes laws, etc, but actually, cabinet makes policy
● Two branches of gov’t fused, legislature usually agrees with executive.
party system
● Help bring together people and ideas to establish the means by which maj can rule.
● Provide labels for candidates that help citizens decide how to vote
● Hold politicians accountable to the electorate and other political elites.
patronage
● Political supporters received jobs for their assistance in getting president elected.
patron-client system
● Provides reciprocal favors and services to their supporters.
plebiscite
● A ballot to consult public opinion in a nonbinding way.
pluralism
● Power is split among many groups that compete for the chance to influence gov’t decision making.
● Democratic – interest group formation is spontaneous, dialogue between interest groups and states is
voluntary.
political culture
● Collection of political beliefs, values, practices, and institutions that the gov’t is based on.
political efficacy
● Citizen’s capacity to understand and influence political events. High level = belief that gov’t takes input seriously
and care about what they have to say, low level = do not believe it is important to vote, ignore gov’t efforts.
political elites
● Leaders who have disproportionate share of policy making power.
political frameworks/institutions
● Structures of a political system that carry out the work of governing
political ideologies
● Sets of political values held by individuals regarding the basic goals of gov’t and politics.
political liberalization
● State that progresses from procedural democracy to substantive democracy through democratic consolidation
political socialization
● How citizens learn about politics, their view of politics.
politicization of religion
● Religion starts to play a role in politics.
PPP (purchasing power parity)
● Takes into consideration what people can buy using their income in local economy (uses GNP)
presidential system
● Citizens vote for legislatives reps and executive branch leaders; two branches have separation of power.
● Both state and government role given to one person, president, directly elected by the people.
privatization
● The transfer of state-owned property to private ownership.
procedural democracy
● Refer to illiberal democracies.
proportional representation
● Multimember districts in which more than one legislative seat is contested in each district. Votes are casted for
a party and % of votes receives determines number of seats they get.
radicalism
● Belief that rapid dramatic changes need to be made in existing society, including political system.
reactionary belief
● Protect against change, want to turn back the clock to older times, use violence.
recruitment of elites
● Ways to identify and select people for future leadership positions.
referendum
● A national ballot called by gov’t on a policy issue; allows public to make direct decisions about policy itself.
reform
● Change that does not advocate overthrow of basic institutions; changes methods to reach goals
regime
● The rules that a state sets and follows in exerting its power.
revolution
● Change at a basic level, major revision or overthrow to existing institutions. Affects larger area.
revolution of rising expectations
● Crisis preceded by a period of relative improvement in the standard of living fuels discontent.
rule of law
● Provides for equal treatment of citizens and due process.
Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations”
● Primary source of conflict on religious and cultural lines.
semi-presidential system
● Prime minister coexists with a president who is directly elected by people with lots of power.
separation of powers
● Powers split among branches, they check each other.
social boundaries
● Separation of people based on social cleavages.
social capital
● The amount of reciprocity and trust that exist among citizens between them and state.
social cleavages
● Divisions that impact policy making (religion, ethnic groups, races, social and economic classes)
social movements
● Organized collective activities that aim to bring about or resist fundamental change to society.
socialism
● Values equality and freedom, accept promote private ownership w/strong state regulations.
societal corporatism (neo-corporatism)
● Interest groups take the lead and dominate the state.
sovereignty
● The ability to carry out actions or policies within borders independently from interference from outside or
inside.
state
● The organization that maintains a monopoly of violence over a territory.
state corporatism
● State determines which groups are brought in.
subject activities
● Obeying laws, following military orders, paying taxes.
substantive democracy
● Citizens have access to multiple sources of info.
succession
 ● Process that determines procedure for replacing leaders when they resign, die or no longer effective.
technocrats
● Military regime formed ruling coalition that includes military officers and civilian bureaucrats.
“third wave” of democratization
● First wave gradually over time, second wave after WWII, third wave characterized by defeat of dictators.
● Factors
○ Loss of legitimacy by both right and left wing authoritarian regimes
○ Expansion of an urban middle class in developing countries
○ New emphasis on human rights by US and EU
○ Snowball effect
third world
● Economically underdeveloped and deprived nations
three-world approach
● United States and allies
● Soviet Union and allies
● Third world nations
totalitarianism
● Repressive, detested regime; has strong ideological goal, does not necessarily use violence.
“transmission belt”
● Convey to members views of party elite.
transparency
● Government that operates openly and keeps citizens informed.
two-party system
● More common in plurality election systems, first past the post.
tyranny of the majority
● Tendency in democracies to allow majorities to neglect rights and liberties of minorities.
unitary systems
● Concentrates all policymaking powers in one central geographic place.

Advanced Democracies
modernism
● A set of values that comes along with industrialization, including secularism, emphasis on reasoning,
materialism, technology, bureaucracy, and freedom.
post-modernism
● Values include preservation of environment, promotion of health care and education
post-industrialism
● Majority of the people are employed in the service sector.
sectors of the economy (agriculture, industrial, service)
● Service – industries such as technology, health care, business and legal services, finance, and education
● Industrial – employs people to create tangible goods
● Agricultural sector – small, everything is mechanized nowadays.

Britain
Backbenchers
● Less influential MP, sit away from table.
Beveridge Report
● Social insurance program that made all citizens eligible for health, unemployment, pensions, and other benefits.
Blair, Tony
● Labour pt, promised to bring about a third way, a centrist alternative to the left Labour and the rt Conservative.
British Broadcasting Corporation
● Monopoly over media. Sought to educate citizens and was usually respectful of gov’t officials.
● Gov’t strictly regulated BBC, ie, no ads for politicians, parties, or political causes.
● Labour supports license fee that allows BBC to maintain a large presence on TV, conservatives critical, want a
 more transparent BBC.
British National Party
● Party on the far right, formed in 1982, never represented in parliament, and overtly anti-Semitic
● Now focusing on presence of Muslims in Britain.
Brown, Gordon
● Long time cabinet member who became PM after Blair resigned. Had difficulty taking control of gov’t.
Cameron, David
● Current party leader of the conservatives.
Caucuses
● Meetings of people from the same area or of like mind.
“civic culture”
● Political culture characterized by trust, deference to authority and competence, pragmatism and harmony.
Clause 4
● Called for nationalization of British industry, at first part of Labour party.
Clegg, Nick
● Leader of Liberal Dems, criticized Labour for erosion of civil liberties.
collective consensus
● based on social democratic values that support a great deal of gov’t control of economy.
collective responsibility
● leaders of the majority party take responsibility for making policy for the country, all members of the cabinet
publicly support PM’s decisions.
Confederation of Business Industries
● Negotiated with TUC for lower wages in exchange for 3% income tax reduction rate.
Conservative Party
● Dominant party btwn WWII and 1997, main pt on the right, usually pragmatic rather than ideological.
● Characterized by noblesse oblige, organization is elitist,
● Party is divided into traditional wing (one-nation Tories), who want to take everyone’s opinions into account and
support membership in the EU, and Thatcherite wing who want more free market.
“Constitution of the Crown”
● Britain’s unwritten constitution, includes important documents, common law, and customs
cultural heterogeneity
● Different cultures are about the same.
Democratic Unionist Party
● Party in northern Ireland led by protestant clergymen.
devolution
● Turning over of some political powers to regional gov’t.
English Bill of Rights
● Lists rights retained by Parliament, gave policymaking power to parliament, power of the purse.
Euroskeptics
● Those of the Thatcherite wing who think EU’s move toward integration is a threat to British sovereignty.
“first-past-the-post” voting systems
● Single member districts that are given to plurality winner.
the Glorious Revolution
● Established constitutional monarchy
the “government”
● Consists of MPs on the first rows of majority party side, most important policymakers as long as they hold
power.
gradualism
● Political change that is gradual in nature.
hereditary peers
● Those who hold seats on House of Lords that have been passed down through family ties.
home rule
● Ruled by themselves, especially in Northern Ireland where there was too much conflict btw Protestant/Catholic
insularity
● The feeling of separation from the continent of Europe.
Irish Republican Army
● Imposed home rule, used guerilla warfare tactics to convince British to allow Irish independence.
“Iron Lady”
● Prime minister for 11 years, supporters thought she was capable, critics thought she was crippling.
Keynesianism
● Government takes action to secure full employment, expand social services, maintain steady growth, keep
prices stable.
Labour Party
● Represent the rights of the newly- enfranchised working man (1906)
● Control from 1997, Tony Blair prime minister until 2007.
● Started out as alliance of trade unions and then strengthened with expansion of rights
law lords
● 5 people who serve as Britain’s highest court of appeals.
Liberal Democratic Alliance
● Liberals and Social Democrats, merged, got 26% of pop vote in 1983, campaigned for prop rep and Bill of Rights
liberalism
● Philosophy that emphasizes political and economic freedoms for the individual and market.
life peers
● Those people appointed to the House of Lords based on distinguished service to Britain.
limited government
● Minimal intervention by gov’t of economy and personal liberties.
“loyal opposition”
● The party that receives the second most votes.
Magna Carta
● King agrees to consult nobles before he makes important political decisions, especially those with taxes.
“misery index”
● Inflation + unemployment.
mixed economy
● Government directing economy and nationalizing major industries, w/o giving up capitalism.
multi-nationalism
● Different cultures that are united under a gov’t still impact political system with their national identities.
neo-corporatism
● Interest groups take the lead and dominate the state
neo-liberalism
● Revival of class values that support low lvls of gov’t regulation, taxation, and social expenditures, and the
protection of individual property rights. Reversed Keynesianism
noblesse oblige
● The duty of the upper classes to take responsibility for the welfare of the lower classes.
OPEC
● Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries, caused oil price spike and embargo, effect was devastating.
Oxbridge
● Oxford and Cambridge = portal through elite classes such as members of parliament or cabinet positions.
parliamentary system
● Prime minister and cabinet are members of legislature.
Plaid Cymru
● Smaller party in Wales.
plurality voting system
● Person who has most votes wins the district.
politics of protest
● The tendency to disagree openly and sometimes violently
proportional representation
 ● Multimember districts, number of seats = % of votes received.
quangos
● quasi autonomous nongovernmental organizations or policy advisory boards that the gov’t appoints.
Question Time
● an hour where PM and ministers defend themselves against attack from opposition and sometimes members of
their own party.
rational-legal legitimacy
● System of well-established laws and procedures
referendum
● Public votes on particular policy issues such as on the new EU constitution and the Euro.
safe districts
● Members of parliament do not have to live in the district they are representing, so leaders run in districts where
it is almost guaranteed that they will win.
Scottish National Party
● Minor party in Scotland, both Plaid Cymru and SNP managed to shut out conservatives.
“shadow cabinet”
● Members of the opposition party’s cabinet that would be in place if they became the majority.
Sinn Fein
● Political arm of the IRA, a regional party in northern Ireland.
solidarity
● Keeping old job and living in the old neighborhood more important than individual success.
Speaker of the House
● The member of parliament that resides of the debate in Question Time, usually not part of majority party.
Thatcherism
● A conservative capitalist backlash led by Margaret Thatcher
the third way
● A more central approach to politics.
Tories
● Tories supporting the king from Charles II, Irish bandits, became Conservatives
Trade Union Congress
● A coalition of trade unions that has been a major force in British politics.
traditional leadership
● Hereditary ruling family had a right to rule.
UK Independence Party
● Focused more on opposition to Britain’s membership in EU.
unitary government
● Political authority centralized in London-based gov’t. PM not directly elected by ppl but is a MP.
● PM speaks for all members of parliament, chooses cabinet ministers and subordinate posts, makes decisions in
the cabinet with agreement of ministers, and campaigns and represents party in parliamentary elections.
“vote of confidence”
● A vote on a key issue, if issue not supported, members of the cabinet resign immediately and elections for new
MPs must be held.
welfare state
● Government has responsibility to provide public benefits, such as education, health care, and transportation.
● National Health Service falls into this category.
Whigs
● Whigs opposing the king, started with Charles II, Scottish bandits, became Liberals.

European Union
Commission
● 27 members, 1 per each country, supported by bureaucracy. Each commissioner takes responsibility for a
particular area of policy, each heads a dept called Directorate General. Commission headed by prez, swear an
oath to the EU. Together, supposed to initiate and implement new programs, form an executive.
Common Market
● Informal name for EEC.
Council of Ministers
● Consists of all the leaders of the countries, legislation is passed through here. Each minister gets to prez every
13 ½ years, and they hold meetings as the European Council.
crisis management
● Council put this at core of development of common security and defense of EU members.
● Crises defined as humanitarian, rescue, and peacemaking tasks.
Democratic deficit
● Loss of direct control of political decisions by the people, is feared because of integration.
EC (European Community)
● Established in 1965, expanded EEC to beyond economics, unified approach to atomic energy.
● Development limited by disagreements of how much power to be given.
EEC (European Economic Community)
● Established by the Treaty of Rome, informally named the “Common Market” in 1957
● Provisions for elimination of all tariffs between Euro nations and creation of new ones.
Enlargement fatigue
● People are not as willing to enlarge the EU because there aren’t that much more benefits to doing so.
European Central Bank
● Bank has supranational authority to influence the economic policies of the member-states
European Constitution
● 2004, meant for replacing the overlapping set of treaties that govern interactions.
● In process of ratification, member-states keep delaying.
European Council
● Heads of the Council of ministers convene every 6 months as the European Council.
European Court of Justice
● Supreme Court of the EU, has power of judicial review, decisions may limit national sovereignty.
● Has broad jurisdiction, hears cases on disagreements among commissioners, council of ministers, and MEPs
● Can also settle disputes among member nations, private companies, and individuals, 27 members.
European Parliament
● Does not have a great deal of legislative power, members(MEP) directly elected by the people of their own
countries, may propose amendments to legislations, may reject proposals from Council, Council may override
with unanimous vote. Weakest of the bodies.
European Monetary Union
● Has the power to set basic interest rates and other fiscal policies.
EU
● 1991 Maastricht Treaty established EU, gave it authority in new areas such as monetary policy, foreign affairs,
national security, transportation, the environment, justice and tourism.
● Important goal was to coordinate economic policies through a common currency, euro.
Farm subsidies
● Guarantees of selling goods at high prices. So far, very expensive, have yet to improve farm efficiency.
Free movement
● Involved setting policy regarding visas, asylum, and immigration
integration
● A process that encourages states to pool their sovereignty in order to gain political, economic, and social clout.
Lisbon Treaty
● Document that attempted to consolidate previous treaties in force (12/2007)
● A strengthening role for the European Parliament, giving new powers over EU legislation which puts it on equal
footing with European Council, new rights in farm subsidy policies, border controls, asylums, and integration and
more say over the EU budget, only subservient to areas in tax and foreign policy.
● A greater involvement of national parliaments
● Clarification of the relationship between member-states and the EU, more clearly delineate realms of
responsibility of the EU.
 ● Withdrawal from the EU.
● The creation of a permanent president of the EU, 2 ½ term of office.
● Introduction of a Charter of Fundamental Rights: civil, political, economic, and social rights.
Maastricht Treaty
● Treaty established the EU, has three pillars or spheres of authority
MEPs
● Members of European Parliament, directly elected by people of their countries.
mixed economy
● Government controls some parts of economy, still capitalist.
monetary policy
● Control of the money supply.
● Euro is generally stronger than most newer member’s currencies.
Requirements for EU membership
● A stable and function democratic regime
● A market-oriented economy
● Willingness to accept all EU laws and regulations.
social market economy
● Team oriented and emphasizes cooperation between management and organized labor
● Used in Western Europe, provides a stronger economic safety net.
supranational organization
● An organization that integrates a group of things. (UN, EU)
“three pillars”
● Trade and other economic matters, the euro, and the creation of a European Central Bank
● Justice and home affairs, policy governing asylum, border crossing, immigration, and judicial cooperation on
crime and terrorism.
● Common foreign and security policy, including join positions and actions and common defense policy.
Treaty of Amsterdam
● Set major policy initiatives for judicial affairs, main pt was to establish free movement within the Union.
● Defined cooperation among national police forces and judicial authorities in combating crime.

Communist and Post-Communist Countries

bourgeoisie
● Owners of factories and other means of production.
BRIC
● Fast growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Growing so fast, may overtake combined economies
of richest countries by 2050.
central planning
● Ownership of private property and market mechanism were replaced with allocation of resources by the state
bureaucracy.
● Communist economies experience problems- Logistical difficulties, management of economy takes more work
and energy than market economy which does so spontaneously.
● Lack of worker incentives, workers don’t fear losing their jobs, factories don’t worry about going out of business.
The Communist Manifesto
● First interpretation of history and vision for the future in 1848. Saw capitalism as an economic system that
exploited workers and increased gap btwn rich and poor. Believed proletariat would overcome bourgeoisie and
social class would disappear as ownership of private property would be banned. Equality and cooperation.
co-optation
● Allocation of power throughout various political, social, and economic institutions.
democratic centralism
● Rule by a few for the good of the many.
Maoism
● Also believes in equality and cooperation, but preserves peasant based society.
market-based socialism
● Allows for significant infusion of capitalism into the system.
Marxism
● The view that capitalism is bad and economic equality and no social class is better. Communism sprouted from
here, encouraging equality and cooperation, w/o greed and strife, governments not necessary.
Marxism-Leninism
● Thought revolution would happen in industrialized, capitalist societies, happened in Russia first
● Lenin believed tsar had to be overthrown, Russia peasants released from oppression. Directed industrialization
and agricultural development from a centralized gov’t, capitalist ventures restricted in soviet union.
nomenklatura
● Recruitment of elites through this, or the process of filling influential jobs in the state, society, or the economy
with people approved and chosen by the Communist Party.
● Includes political jobs and all top positions in other areas, such as university pres, newspaper editors, and
military officers. Party approval = party membership.
proletariat
● The working class.
social mobility
● Ability for individuals to change social status over course of lifetime.
“vanguard of the revolution”
● A group of revolutionary leaders who could provoke the revolution in non-capitalist Russia