CAPS Glossary Flashcards
What is a state?
Main unit of poltical organisation
What are core feautures of a state
Territory, population, sovereignty (domestic / external)
Which kind of anomalies of states are there?
Supranational organisations (EU)
Partially recognised states (Taiwan/Palestine) which behave as countries but lack full external soverignty/ recognition
De facto states - behave as states, but are recognised by very small minority of states
Failed states - states which have external sovereignty but lack domestic sovereingty
Non-sovereign territories (Greenland, Puerto Rico) - non-sovereing states which maintain links with other states
What is a nation?
Imagined community, it is a social construct. A nation seeks self-determination and sovereignty (self-governance and political autonomy)
What is ethnicity?
A social construct, common descent and heritage
A material basis: Common genetic background and features
Can be internal or cross-cutting, some states have multiple ehtnic groups
What is the difference between ethnicity and nationalism?
Ethnicity does not want political sovereignty
Ethnicity can coincide or resist nationalism
Ethnicity and nationalism can be used by political leaders for support or opposing the formation of a nation, or for mobilisation and legitimacy
What is a direct democracy?
No distinction between the ruling class and the ruled, almost non-existent, difficult to facilitate in large polities
What is representative Democracy?
Distinction between rulers and the ruled, we choose representatives to rule on our behalf. It is criticised for its democratic elitism. Only true democracy with elections
What is a majoritarian democracy?
A majority of people should decide
What is a liberal democracy?
As many people as possible should decide. Emphasis on protection of minorities, freedom and rule of law. Can be seen as less democratic as majority preference is not always decisive
What is an Authoritarian Regime
The most important feautures are no competition for political power and limited freedoms for the population
What is a democratic regime?
Strong element of political equality.
Direct / representative democracy
Majoritarian vs Liberal Democracy
What are Hybrid / Illiberal Regimes?
Different degrees of Media Freedoms, Judicial Freedom, Civil Rights, Role of the Opposition, etc. Often unstable classification of progress or regress. Often unstable and plagued by massive political turmoil between pro-democracy advocates and authoritarian forces.
Totalitarian Regime
Want to transform society on an ideological basis. Participation ecourages or enforced, state controls all apsects of public and private life. System of terro usually enforced by a secret police. Single mass party, often led by a charismatic dictator
What is a cleavage?
Social division creating a collective identity among those on each side of the divide
Lipset and Rokkan ) cleavages are important for democracy because they establish regular channels for the expression of conflicting interests in democratic nation-states
Name 4 examples of cleavages
Class cleavage (owner / worker)
Religious cleavage (Church / State)
Urban / Rural
Politcal Centre / Periphery
What are dormant cleavages?
Cleavages that exist in society but do not translate to party competition / are not strongly politicised
Cross-cutting cleavages
Cleavages that cross-cut. Owners and workers living in both urban and rural areas
Overlapping Cleavages
Owners are catholic and workers are protestant. Cleavages dont cross-cut
Salient Cleavages
Cleavages that create divergent political interests. Not in authoritarian systems
Regime
The norms and rules regarding individual freedom and collective equality, the focus and use of that power
Presidential system
A legislative-executive system that features a directly elected president with most executive powers. (Ex. US and Brazil)
Semi-Presidential system
A legislative-executive system that features a prime minister approved by the legislature and a directly elected president (Ex. France, Russia, Iran (theocratic elements)
Parliamentary system
A legislative-executive system that features a head of government (often prime minister) elected from within legislature (Ex. UK, Germany, South Africa)
Head of Government
Individual who deals with the everyday tasks of running the state, such as formulating and executing policy
Head of State
Individual who symbolizes and represents the people nationally / internationally, embodying and articulating the goals of the regime
Electoral system
system that determines how votes are cast and counted
Single-Member Districts
Districts in which only one representitive for each constituency and the candidate with the largest number of votes - not majority - winst the seat
Multi-member Districts
Districts in which more than one legislative seat is contested
Majoritarian electoral system
An electoral system where the winning candidate needs the majority of votes (ex. US, presidential elections in France)
Plurality system
A system where you only need to acquire a plurality of votes (more than other candidates) Ex. UK, legislative elections in France
Proportional representation
electoral system where the percentage of votes a party receives in a district dtermines how manhy of that district’s seats the party will gain
- Open-List PR (used in Brazil, Weimar Republic, French Fourth Republic) - Electoral system where voters have some influence over which candidates on a party list are elected ( =weak party discipline, fragmentation, personalistic voting)
- Closed-List PR (used in South-Africa) vote on the party not the candidate (=strong party discipline, weaker intra-party democracy)
Mixed electoral system
electoral system that combines single-member districts and proportional representation
- Mixed member majoritarian (Russia)
- Mixed Member Proportional (Germany)
First-Past-the-Post
Electoral system where the candidate that wins only needs to acquire a certain vote share to win (plurality / majority)
Duverger’s Law
Majority / plurality (FPTP / SMD / two-round / alternative vote) systems tend to result in two-party
systems
Proportional / mixed (List PR, single transferable vote, mixed member proportional) systems tend to
result in multi-party systems
Majority systems limit the number of cleavages that can be expressed in party competition
Proportional / mixed systems allow for more to be expressed
But: Electoral system is just one of the factors determining party competition. It is the interplay between
cleavages, parties and elections that decides.
Two-Round system
Majoritarian system that seeks to ensure the majority of the public support the elected candidate. Encourages electoral alliances (two-bloc system)(where creating a wide coalition is necessary to win the second round). Ex. France, Russia, Brazil, Iran
Intra-Party Politics / Democracy
A vote for president. Not president in China, but in USA very much
What two revolutions created cleavages?
Industrial Revolution = class cleavage
Frech Revolution = Centre-Periphery / Religion Cleavage
Ideology
Collection of beliefs and values. Can be invoked to mobilise people around clevages
What does the translation of cleavages into parties and party systems depend on?
Legitimisation of the cleavage - recognistion of opposition
Incorporation - does the cleavage matter
Representation - Are the cleavages represented in parties
Majority Power - If majority is so powerful, other cleavages become irrelevant
Party families
Conservative
Communist
New Left
Liberal
Christian Democratic
Green
Radical / Far-Right
Populist
Ethnic
Regional / Secessionist
Freezing hypothesis
Lipset and Rokkan ) Parties have remained even though cleavages might have changed
Alignment
party identification on the basis of cleavage structure and ideologies.
Realigment
Shifting party identification on the basis of changin cleavages or change in political systemd
Dealignment
Declining party identification that is not replaced with new ones
- declining rates of political participation due to lacking identification
- political apathy and cynicism
Silent Revolution
Inglehart: Value change in post-industrial democracies in the 1960s-70s
Rising material welfare = New group of yojng people emerge who do not identify with material values or economic position, but are concerded with new values: Democracy / human rights / environment / pacifism
System change: New Left, Green parties
Unitary State
States that concentrate most political power in the national capital, allocating very little decision-making power to regions or localities: UK, France, China, South Africa, Iran
Federal States
States whose power is divided between the central state and regional or local authorities (such as provinces, counties, and cities)
EX. US, Germany, Russia, Brazil
Symmetrical Federalism
All units have the same power
Asymmetrical Federalism
A system where power is devolved unequally across the country and its constituent regions, often the result of specific laws negotiated between the region and the central government
Cooperative Federalism
States and federal government share power
Competitive federalism
States oppose the actions of the central government and vice versa, especially states with ideological differences with the federal government
Judicial Review
The mechanism by which a court can review laws and policies and overturn that are seen as violations of the state’s constitution
Ex. Germany, Iran, USA, Brazil, South Africa
(cannot in UK)
Abstract Review
The power of judicial review that allows courts to decide on questions that do not arise from actual legal cases; sometimes occurs even before legislation becomes law.
Concrete Review
The power of judicial review that allows the high court to rule on constitutional issues only on the basis of disputes brought before it.
Common Law
legal system based on custom and precedent rather than formal legal codes
Code Law
Law derived from detailed legal codes rather than from precedent
Input legitimation
rulers derive legitimacy from being elected by the people
Output legitimacy
rulers derive legitimacy from their performance. Authoritarian regimes need to maintain idea of stability and economic growth or they face a profound threat to their rule
Charismatic Legitimacy
legitimacy based on a state’s identification with an important individual
Clientelism
Reciprocal relation between patron (politician) and client (voter)
Client offers patron political support in exchange for material benefits (jobs, food, money, permits/loans)
Seen as anti-democratic or corrupt
Seen in all systems but particularly in new democracies and post-colonial states
Alternative for cleavage-based / programmatic politics
