democratic regimes (unit 5) Flashcards
democracy
political power exercised either directly (public policy making) or indirectly (elected representatives) by the people through participation, competition, liberty
liberal democracy
ideology of liberalism with emphasis on individual rights and freedoms
republicanism
emhasized the separation of powers within a state and the representation of the public through elected officials
civil society
organized life outside the state
“art of association”
organizations created by people to help define their own interests (churches, sport teams, environmental groups)
executive
carries out law and policies of a state
head of state (fixed term) /head of government
legislature
lawmaking
bicameral (2 houses), unicameral (1 house)
judiciary
determines the constitutionality of laws and acts
constitutional court
judicial review (concrete- specific case, abstract- theoretical case)
rule of law
sovereignty of law over people and elected officials
parliamentary system
indirectly elected prime minister for unfixed term and can be removed by vote of no confidence
directly elected president/monarch- ceremonial
presidential system
directly elected president serves for fixed term and cannot be easily removed from office (impeachment)
semi-presidential system
directly elected president set policy, foreign policy
indirectly elected prime minister executes policy
vote of no confidence
voting to bring down a government
electoral system
way the members of the public cast their votes
constituencies
geographic area that an elected official represents
single-member district (SMD)
plurality- first past the post
majority
each constituency has only one representative
fewer larger parties
