AP Comp Gov Unit 1 Vocab Flashcards
Quantitative
Relating to, measuring, or measured by the quantity of something rather than its quality.
Qualitative
Relating to, measuring, or measured by the quality of something rather than its quantity.
Empirical Data
Information that comes from research, experiment, or experience. Based on analysis of data or experience rather than deduction or speculation.
Empirical v. Normative Statements
Normative statements contain value judgements and can contain words like should or should not, more opinionated. Empirical statements do not evaluate, they can be measured and tested.
Correlation
If positive, a direct association between two variables, when one becomes larger the other does as well. If negative, it is inverse. As one variable becomes larger, the other becomes smaller.
Causation
A correlation in which a change of one variable results in a change in others.
States
Set of institutions that maintain control over a given territory.
Regime
A government, form of government, or the government in power.
Government
Leadership that runs a state.
Sovereignty
Legal right and ability of a state to carry out actions and policies within its territory.
Nation
A nation is a group of people bound by common traits (such as race, language, religion, and ethnicity) and political identity or aspirations.
Totalitarian Governments
Political system in which the government uses political, economic and ideological control to exercise power and dominate all aspects of public and private life.
Scope
A state’s range of functions, from domestic and foreign security, the rule of law and other public goods, to regulation and social safety nets, to ambitious functions such as industrial policy or running parastatals.
Strength
How well a state can implement the goals they want to achieve/their ability to execute their plans.
Comparative Politics
Comparative politics is the study and comparison of domestic politics across countries.
Inductive Reasoning
Inductive reasoning is research that works from case studies in order to generate hypotheses.
Deductive Reasoning
Making an inference based on widely accepted facts or premises.
Multicausality
When several variables interact to produce particular outcomes
Selection bias
An inherent preference that comparativists have to analyze a nation due to analogous linguistics or because we find certain characteristics of said country intriguing.
Modernization Theory
The view that capitalist democracies are the supreme standard for societies to become.
Rank from less to more institutionalized:
Regime State Government
Government
Regime
State
