Comparitive Politics Flashcards
What is a government
(2 definitions)
- The institutions and structures through which societies are governed; Reaching and executing binding decisions for society
- The top tier within these institutions
What is Governance?
It is the process of coordinating decisions, laws and policies.
What is politics?
(3 definitions)
- Communicating , negotiating and reconciling different interests within a social group
- Reaching and implementing Collective decisions
- Conflict over the distributions of resources.
What is Power?
The “ability” to bring about intended effects
What is Authority?
It is the “Right” to exercise power.
What is legitimacy?
It means that your authority is widely recognized and accepted by your subjects and by other governments
What is an ideology?
It is a system of connected believes, shared view of the world or a blueprints for how politics, economic and society should be structured.
What are the 5 main ideologies?
- Anarchism
- Marxism
- Liberalism
- Conservatism
- Fascism
What is a state?
It is the legal and political authority of a territory containing a population marked by borders.
What are the 5 characteristics of a state?
- Territory
- Population
- Government
- Legitimacy
- Sovereignty
What is a citizen?
It is a full member of a state, entitled to the rights and subject to the duties associated with the status.
What is Sovereignty?
It means to be recognized as the highest role within a state by its citizens(internal) and be recognized by other states as well(external).
What is a nation?
It is a group of people that claims they identify with one another because they share the same history, culture, traditions, myths, language, and often make a claim to a particular territory as their homeland.
What is Nationalism?
It is the belief that a group of people with a common national identity has the right to form an independent state and to govern itself free from external intervention.
What is a nation-state?
It is a sovereign political association whose citizens share a common national identity.
What is a Multi-National state?
State compromising different national groups but under the same government.
What are the Features of democracy?
-representative system of government based on regular elections
-Well-defined, stable and predictable political institutions
-A wide variety of political participation
-Limits on the power of government
-An active opposition
-Free and independent media
What is a representative democracy?
It is a democracy in which the people elect representatives, which share similar interests, to make decisions in their behalf.
What is Direct Democracy?
It is a system in which the citizens decide directly without electing representatives.
What are the decision rules in a democracy?
-Unanimity
-Consensus
-Qualified majority
-Absolute majority
-Simple Majority
-Plurality
What is the liberal democracy?
It is a representative democracy in which the power of the government is very limited by constitutional protection of individual rights.
What is an authoritarian rule?
It is the opposite of liberal democracy, it is a government that does not represent the people, it has a very centralized government, it represses the opposition, and has a lot of control over the media.
What are hybrid regimes?
It is a type of regime that appears to be democracy but it is quite authoritarian.
What is Absolute monarchy?
It is a type of authoritarian rule which has a monarch hold absolute power over a state
What is Personal Rule?
It is a type of authoritarian rule in which the authority is not based on the office held but rather the person who holds it.
What is ruling parties?
It is a type of authoritarian regime in which the state is controlled by one party, no other parties are legally allowed to exist.
What is Military government?
It is a type of authoritarian regime in which the government is ruled by the military, so the military is the government.
What is Theocracy?
it is a type of authoritarian regime in which the priests of a specific religion are act as rulers of the state claiming they are ruling under the will of god
What is a Totalitarian state?
It is the most absolute form of authoritarianism, based on a guiding ideology, with total control exercised by a leader, state or a party over all aspects of public and private life.
What is a constitution?
It is a document that outlines the powers, institutions and structure of government.
What is the rule of law?
It is a principle that societies are best governed using clear and just laws to all residents are subject to regardless of their status or background.
Who is the responsible for enforcing the constitution?
The judicial power is the responsible of enforcing the constitution.
What is the Executive?
It is the top level in a government, it is compromised by 3 levels: national, regional and local.
What are the 3 types of Executive?
-Presidential: government is headed by a powerful president, whom all ministers are accountable.
-Constitutional: Government emerges from parliament and it is accountable to parliament
-Semi-Presidential: government is headed by a president who shares power with a prime minister, the prime minister and other ministers are accountable to the president and the parliament