Introduction Flashcards
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 (France’s Constitutional Council)
civil society
Organizations outside of the state that help people define and advance their own interests
clientelism
The state provides benefits to groups of its political supporters
concrete review
The power of allowing the high court to rule on constitutional issues only on the basis of disputes brought before it (SCOTUS)
constitutional court
The highest judicial body that rules on the constitutionality of laws and other government actions, and, in most political systems, formally oversees the entire judicial structure
corporatism
When citizens are forced to participate in state-sanctioned
groups.
state
Organizations that maintain a monopoly of violence over a territory
government
The leadership or elite that operates the state
strong state
one that performs the basic tasks of defending its borders from outside attacks and defending its authority from internal nonstate rivals
weak state
one that has trouble carrying out those basic tasks and often suffers from endemic internal violence, a poor infrastructure, and the inability to collect taxes and enforce the rule of law
failed state
a state that suffers a complete loss of legitimacy and power and may be overwhelmed by anarchy and violence
unitary state
a state that concentrates most of its political power in the national capital, allocating little decision-making power to regions or localities
federal state
a state that divides power between the central state and regional or local authorities (such as provinces, counties, and cities)
head of state
symbolizes and represents the people, both nationally and internationally, embodying and articulating the goals of the regime
head of government
deals with the everyday tasks of running the state, such as formulating and executing policy
parliamentary system
This system has an executive head of government
(often “prime minister”) who is usually elected from
within the legislature. The head of state has ceremonial duties and is usually either an indirectly elected president or a hereditary monarch
presidential system
combines the roles of head of state and head of government in the office of the president. They feature a directly elected president who holds most of the government’s executive powers. Presidential systems have directly elected legislatures that to varying degrees serve as a check on presidential authority
Examples of parliamentary systems
United Kingdom, India, Ger-
many and Japan
Examples of presidential systems
Brazil, Mexico and the United States
semi-presidential system
This system includes both a prime minister approved by the legislature and a directly elected president, with the two sharing executive power.
Examples of semi-presidential systems
Russia and France
multi-member district system
in which more than one legislative seat is contested in each electoral district. Voters cast their ballots for a list of party candidates rather than for a single representative, and the percentage of votes a party receives in a district determines how many of that district’s seats the party will win.
proportional representation
relies on multi-member districts, so the percentage of votes each party wins in each district should closely correspond to the percentage of seats allocated to each party
single member district system
In these systems, there is only one representative for each constituency, and in each district the candidate with the greatest number of votes (not necessarily a majority) wins the seat
Examples of SMDs
United Kingdom and its former colonies (United States, India, Nigeria) and France
Examples of PRs
Germany, Brazil, and Russia
corporatism
when citizen participation is channeled into state-sanctioned groups
clientelism
when the state provides benefits to groups of its political sup- porters
rent-seeking
when a government allows its supporters to occupy positions of power in order to monopolize state benefits
cooptation
A tool of nondemocratic regimes whereby members of the public are brought into a beneficial relationship with the state and the government; used in place of/in addition to coercion
personality cult
the state-sponsored exaltation of a leader
foreign direct investment
the purchase of assets in one country by a foreign firm
intergovernmental organization (IGO)
groups created by states to serve particular policy ends, e.g. United Nations, World Trade Organization, European Union, Group of 8 (G8)
