IMPORTANT SHIT Flashcards
U.K electoral system
parliamentary democracy: which means that the gov. is elected by and held accountable to parliament.
parliament: 2 HOUSES
1. house of commons (elected)
- lower house and most important in terms of legislative power
- members of HoC = MPs
- 650 constituencies and each elect 1 MP. voting system is FPTP so candidate with the most votes, wins the seat.
- elections held every 5 years
- house of lords (appointed or hereditary)
- upper house where members get appointed or inherited
- can delay legislation but not prevent it
monarchy: UK is a constitutional monarchy where King Charles III serves as the head of state
why the U.K. is a primarily 2 party system?
- DUVERGER’S LAW: principle where plurality voting systems like FPTP tends to favor a two party system
stability at the expense of proportionality:
- proportionality: the idea that the % of seats a party holds should reflect its share of the national vote.
- smaller parties, even if they have a significant portion of the vote, are often underrepresented in Parliament, leading to an electoral system that favours stability but limits diversity and fair representation of all views.
threshold?
- no formal national threshold % for parties to win seats in the HoC.
- candidates only need to win the most votes in each constituency over 50% of vote
France’s electoral system
unprecedented political shift during the 2017 elections that marked a radical departure from traditional french political dynamics reference Durovic (2019)
Presidential elections
- two round system (runoff voting). if no candidate secures an outright majority in the first round the top two candidates proceed to the second round
threshold:
- during first round: at least 12.5% of total registered votes in a constituency
- second round: plurality (majority wins)
Legislative Elections (National Assembly)
- 577 constituencies and NA members are elected through two round system as well
threshold:
- first round: candidate needs at least 50% of vote to win outright. must receive at least 12.5% of registered voters’ votes to qualify for second round
- second round: most votes win
European Parliament Elections
- PR via closed regional party list system: divided into 8 multi-member consistencies
- threshold: at least 5% of vote in consistency to gain seats
- seats are allocated based on the D’Hondt method
German electoral system
Bundestag (federal parliament) elections:
- two votes per person:
1. for direct candidate in a constituency.
- majority voting system
2. for a party list at the federal level
- where PR occurs and voters choose a party rather than a candidate and seats are allocated to parties based on their share of the second vote
- must win at least 5% of second vote to enter the Bundestag. only if a party manages to win three direct mandates (three constituency seats) in the first vote, it is allowed to enter the Bundestag even if it does not meet the 5% threshold. this ensures that smaller parties with some regional or local support are not completely excluded from parliament
- consists at least 598 members
- 299 constituencies
- Bundestag elections held every 4 years
- each of germany’s 16 states/regions has its own parliament and elections are held at different times
Mixed-member proportional system (MMP)
- by combining first vote for local candidates and second vote for party lists, the idea is to ensure that the final composition of the Bundestag reflects the second party vote
- if a party wins more FTPT seats than PR of second vote this party is given OVERHANG SEATS. to maintain proportionality the other parties are given additional compensatory seats
- weimar germany era (1919-1933), example of extremely unstable party system
Spain electoral system
parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy
Cortes Generales (Spain’s parliament)
1. Congress of Deputies (lower house)
- 350 seats
- 52 constituencies. number of seats based on province population
- uses PR based on D’Hondt method: divides each party’s total vote by a series of divisors to calculate which party gets the seats.
- 3% Threshold
- voting process: closed-list system where voters in spain choose from party lists
- senate: upper house
- 266 seats
- 208 of 266 senators are directly elected by the people
- in provinces w/ fewer than 3 senators seats are allocated based on majority voting. individual candidates
- in provinces w/ more than 3 senators a PR system is used. party lists.
Israel election system
considered an extreme proportional representation model
closed list PR system to elect members to the Knesset
- 120 seats
single nationwide constistuency: entire country votes as one large electoral unit
threshold: 3.25% of national vote in order to gain representation in the Knesset
- elections every 4 years
reference Shugart (2021)
Democratic Regimes are
representative regimes
institutions are, in part, the mechanism through which polities achieve representation, translating preferences into votes into policies.
Inductive Reasonings
research that goes from case studies to form a hypothesis
working with the “data” that is, learning about the details of the cases and drawing conclusions and even building theories from them.
qualitative
deductive reasonings
research that starts from hypothesis and then tested against data/then seek out evidence
coming up with arguments, theories, ‘hypotheses’ which are then applied to (or ‘tested against’) the evidence.
greater advantage of guiding research
quantitative
Large N
This refers to a large sample size or population. Larger sample sizes typically lead to more reliable results and lower variability, improving the generalizability of the study’s findings. A large N would be something like 1,000 or more participants.
Small N
This refers to a small sample size or population. In statistical terms, this might be a small number of observations or participants in a study, often leading to less reliable generalizations and higher variability in the results. For example, if a study is based on 10 participants, this would be considered small N.
Institutions Defined
The rules, formal and informal, that govern economic and political life. our concern is in the main with politics.
this is the mechanism through which power is exercised
Ethnic boundary-making strategies by Wimmer
in Griogiadis and Elitsoy reading (2021) about palestinian and kurdish descent. week 7 on apartheid and segregation
were used to limit minority rights and preserve dominant national identities
strategies to shift boundaries:
1. Expansion
2. Contractions
strategies to alter the meaning of an existing boundary:
3. Inversion
4. Repositioning
5. Blurring
Members of the political elite are the main actors in the boundary-making process as they may shift and modify the meaning of boundaries by redefining insiders and outsiders.
King (2017) reading
Forceful Federalism against American Racial Inequality by Desmond King
Fluctuating Federal Commitment: the federal government’s engagement with racial equality is inconsistent and frequently challenged by opponents of racial progress
1. Enforcement of policy is weak
2. National engagement fluctuates because it energetically resisted and challenged by opponents of racial progress
Persistent Racial Disparities: significant gaps remain in wealth, income, education, and opportunities between white and African American populations
Civil rights legislation: major laws in the 1960s (Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act) were critical in establishing standards for racial equality
Protest-driven change: civil rights movements were instrumental in forcing federal action and transforming societal structures
Challenges to federal racial equality efforts
- Systemic resistance: multiple mechanisms work to dilute or resist federal civil rights enforcement
- Judicial limitations: SCC decisions have often weakened affirmative action and anti-discrimination measures
- Political fragmentation: the US political system makes fundamental policy changes extremely difficult
Long term consequences:
- Structural barriers: persistent disparities exist in income, wealth, education, health, and criminal justice
- Ongoing inequality: despite some progress, significant racial gaps continue to challenge American democracy
Crucial observation:
Federal activism is essential but frequently undermined by political, judicial, and social resistance to comprehensive racial equality reforms.
Mercantilism
**form of economic nationalism that sought to increase the prosperity and power of a nation through restrictive trade practices.
**
Germany’s experience with mercantilism was shaped by its political fragmentation, but key states like Prussia and Bavaria used mercantilist ideas to promote industrial growth and national wealth.
The Zollverein: a customs union created in 1834 that unified most of the german-speaking states in terms of trade was a notable success in fostering economic unity and creating a strong internal market, which was essential for the later unification of Germany in 1871.
While Germany eventually embraced more capitalist and free-market policies in the late 19th century, the legacy of mercantilist ideas, particularly in terms of protectionism and state involvement in the economy, continued to influence German economic policies.
6 characteristics of a modern state by Weber (1919)
- the legislature:
- law-making body - the executive:
- the institution that executes, puts into practice. the decisions of the legislature - civil service:
- the institution responsible for the day-to-day implementation and application of all laws and regulations emerging from the executive - the courts
- the police
- army
weber’s definition of the state: the modern state is a compulsory association which organizes dominance O’Neil (2021)
the formulas and their functions
Hare: total votes/total seats
- produces higher proportionality
Droop: total votes/(total seats+1)+1
- has majority problem
D’Hondt: used by Israel, northern Ireland, Spain
- uses a series of rounds to approach proportionality, ensures that even smaller parties have a chance but mostly favors larger parties
- to allocate seats, the total votes for each party gets a list and is divided by a series of numbers (1,2,3,4)
Sainte Lague: used in Germany for Bundestag
- divided by 1,3,5, etc which favors smaller parties more
- way to allocate seats in a PR system
how power is defined
Robert Dahl: “A has power over B to the extent that (they) can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do.”
in simpler terms: getting someone or something to do what they/it would not otherwise do is an exercise in power.
what is comparative politics
politics is the pursuit of power in any organization, and comparative politics is the study of this struggle around the world
definition of coup
a quick violent, and illegal overthrow of a government by a faction of the armed forces or other powerful group in society
cite O’Neil (2021) chapter 2 when speaking about anything related to…
states: weber’s def
sovereignity: the ability to carry out actions and policies within a territory independently of external actors and internal rivals
regime: the fundamental rules and norms of politics, individual freedom and collective equality, where power should reside, and how power should be used
2 paths of political organization
1. consensus: individuals band together to protect themselves and create common rules; leadership chosen from among the people; security through cooperation. leads to DEMOCRATIC RULE
2. coercion: individuals brought together by a ruler who imposes authority and monopolizes power; security through domination. leads to AUTHORITARIAN RULE
legitimacy
- in the absence of legitimacy, one must rely on coercion
strong vs. weak states and their capacity/ ability to wield power in order to carry out basic tasks of providing security and reconciling freedom and equality
autonomy: ability of state to wield its power independently of the public or international actors
- high capacity and autonomy: execute major policies relatively easily
- high capacity but lower autonomy: has widespread powers but are more subject to public oversight and intervention
- high autonomy but low capacity: few limits on decision making but lacks the ability to realize policies effectively
- weak autonomy and weak capacity: unable to fulfill national tasks
political violence definition
deployment of force by non-state actors with the aim of achieving some political objective
2 basic forms of political violence
- revolution
- separate from a coup because the people lead it not the state and the aim is removing entire regimes - terrorism
- violence against civilians to achieve a political goal
drivers of flight
- persecution
- mynamar - economic collapse
- venezuela - war (biggest driver)
- syria and afghanistan
Venezuela
- Hugo CHAVEZ’s rise to power was dependent on the complete collapse of the party system in the 1990s because the Christian Democratic Party dominated politics
- in 2013: Nocholas MANDURO became president and used price and currency controls to spiral inflation and completely collapse the economy
- result: 5 million ppl or 15% of population fled
afghanistan
- kabul, the capital’s monarchy managed to maintain power by
1. playing the great powers off each other
2. cultivating a fusion of afghan nationalism and islam
3. declaring Jihad (extremeist Islamist defenders) to repel foreign invaders in the Anglo-Afghan wars - under the best of circumstances, central institutions were weak so Kabul’s hold over the provinces was tenuous. tribal identities were strong, and religion was one of the few uniting attachments
- when that balance was distrupted in 1978&79 due to Daoud KHAN launching a coup then Soviets took over and invaded because the countryside rebelled.
- result: creation of taliban through refugee camps
Syria
- Hafez AL-ASSAD’s minority status, the highly concentrated power and brutality made civil war possible but his control of the military and their loyalty ensured iranian and russian aid. its medium-term failure allowed him to cling to power for a decade
Bashar Al-Assad the evil son
- result: decade long civil war where 6.8 million refugees/ asylum seekers and 6.7 million internally displaced people.
