Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Comparative Politics > Midterm > Flashcards

Midterm Flashcards

1
Q

a form of regime associated with “rule by the people” with rights and liberties for citizens

A

Democracy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

is the ideology of government that favors closed, concentrated, and hierarchical process of decision making, often characterized by blind obedience to authority and suppression of individual freedom

A

Authoritarianism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

authoritarian regimes in which elections are held, at least nominally

A

Electoral authoritarianism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Formal democratic institutions are in place but often and significantly violates, thus failing to meet standards for democracy

A

Competitive authoritarianism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

democracy but the electorate delegates much authority to the government

A

Delegative democracy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

democracy, but political and civil rights are not all provided or protected

A

Illiberal Democracy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

a political system that is marked by free and fair elections, and by the rule of law, a separation of powers, and the protection of basic liberties of speech, assembly, religion, and property

A

Liberal Democracy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Levitsky’s Opinion on democratic institutions

A

o Formal democratic institutions are widely views as the principal means of obtaining and exercising political authority. Incumbents violate those rules so often and to such an extent, however, that the regime fails to meet conventional minimum standards for democracy
o Democracy is the rule of the game, but frequently and severely violated that fail to meet the minimum requirement of a democracy
o Arenas for political authority contestation in a competitive authoritarian regime
 The electoral arena- elections can be meaningful
 Legislature- maybe weak but not absent
 Judiciary- formal judicial independence and incomplete control by the government can provide political openings
 The media- independent media and media supervision

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

o Transition from democratic to authoritarian regime

A

Democratic breakdown

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

o Process by which a new democratic order becomes institutionalized
o Democracy more likely to endure in “consolidated democracies” than “transitional democracies”

A

Democratic consolidation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

o Political organizations that bring together diverse groups of people and ideas under the umbrella of an ideological mandate

A

Political Parties

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

o Patterns of party politics characterized by the number of relevant parties in a country
o Types: dominant, tow party, and multi-party

A

Party Systems

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

o Organizations that make demands in the political system on behalf of their constituents and members

A

Interest Groups

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

groups compete openly to influence government decisions and policy marketplace for ideas and equal opportunity for groups; collective action problem and important groups may be excluded

A

Pluralism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

certain major groups are officially designated as representatives of certain interests ensures representation and facilitates consensus and national strategy; state can co-opt groups and contribute to authoritarianism; elitism also

A

Corporatism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

o Political parties in which membership and scope are largely restricted

A

Elite Parties

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

o Parties with large number of citizens as members and undertake massive political mobilization

A

Mass Parties

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

o Parties that are flexible on their ideological positions and aim to attract support from a broad range of interest groups and voters

A

Catch-all Parties

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

o A party system in which one party dominates

A

Dominant Party System

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

o Party system with two significant parties that have duopoly on governing
o Median voter theorem; strategic voting for more extreme voters

A

Two-party system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

o Party system with more than two major parties that have opportunities to govern; can be relatively fragmented

A

Multi-party system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

 Single ballot majoritarian elections with single member districts tend to favor a two-party system
 Proportional representation favors multi party systems

A

o Duverger’s Law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Root words for democracies

A

Demos + Kratos

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

origin of democracy? How was it defined?

A

Greek around 5th century BCE; A form of regime associated with rule by the people with rights and liberties for citizens

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

o Basic rules, procedure, or standards required; also called minimal definition of democracy

A

Procedural Definitions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

o Emphasis on achieving end goals, more equity and more participation

A

Substantiative Definitions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

A kind of regime; transition from one type of regime to another, through which it becomes more of a democracy

A

Democratization

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

emphasis on direct citizen involvement; committee meetings to discuss

A

Direct Democracy

29
Q

Politicians and institutions represent the citizens; there are elections

A

Representative Democracy

30
Q

o Features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination an cooperation for mutual benefit

A

Social Capital

31
Q

Civil society in Pluralist v Corporatist systems

A

o Relations to the state : less state involvement v more state involvement
o Organizational and structural differences: nonhierarchical v hierarchical characteristics
o Diversity of civil organizations: multiple groups competing v fewer groups

32
Q

Civil society and democratic transitions

A

o Conditions for civil society to thrive are conducive to democratization

33
Q

 Civil society and quality of democracy

A

o Stimulates political participation
o Provides alternative channels for interest’s representation
o Develops democratic attitudes: tolerance, moderation, compromise
o Promotes socioeconomic development and improves governance by help addressing problems like social inequity

34
Q

 The state led deliberation or elimination of the political institutions sustaining an existing democracy

A

Democratic backsliding

35
Q

 The process by which institutions, practices, values, and norms gradually and perhaps slowly get eaten away

A

Democratic erosion

36
Q

o Fundamental rules and norms of politics, embodies basic principles in political in society, particularly where power should reside and how it should be used

A

Regime

37
Q

o Regime controlled by a small group of individuals who exercise power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public

A

Non-democratic regime

38
Q

o Regimes in which fundamental rules and norms of politics exemplify the authoritarianism

A

Authoritarian regimes

39
Q

o A type of authoritarian regime in which a state is controlled more by a group of elites rather than a single leader

A

Bureaucratic-authoritarian regimes

40
Q

a form of authoritarian regime that aims to control everything about the lives of its subject population

A

Totalitarian regime

41
Q

an authoritarian state controlled by religious leaders, or a state with very strict religious restrictions that uses religion as its main mode of legitimation

A

Theocracies

42
Q

Cause and effects of authoritarianism - Historical institutionalism

A

o Theory: coalitions among groups or classes shape fates of regimes, and institutions give these coalitions enduring effects
 When actors combine forces, they may get regime that benefits them
 Important actors may include social classes, economic interests, working class and peasants, military
o Barrington Moore: whether a strong middle class was present when a society passed to political modernity makes a difference

43
Q

Cause and effects of authoritarianism- states weakness and failure

A

o Theory: states with weak institutions are more likely to be authoritarian
o Result in predatory states
o Less capable of totalitarianism
o State weakness may be intervening variable
 Low development weakness authoritarianism
 Unstable coalition weakness authoritarianism

44
Q

Cause and effects of authoritarianism- poverty and inequality

A

o Theory: high levels of poverty or inequality leads to more authoritarianism
 Absence of middle class
 Populace in poverty concerns more with economic issues than political liberties
 Inequality leads to mistrust between groups
* Wealthy interests and reactionary authoritarians may defend privilege
* Poor masses and radical authoritarianism may favor populism and redistribution

45
Q

providing benefits to people in return for public support

A

Clientelism

46
Q

assembly or body of representatives with the authority to make laws

A

Legislature

47
Q

o Representation of citizens
o Vote on legislation
o Control spending
o Oversee the executive
o Votes of no confidence (parliamentary systems)
o Impeachment

A

Functions of legislature

48
Q

voters select representatives from specific geographic constituencies
o Voters on the losing side may not feel represented
districting can result in more/less seats for different parties
o Gerrymandering can occur
o Apportionment of seats by districts affects representation
o Malapportionment: apportionment in which voters are unequally represented

A

District systems

49
Q

voters choose a preferred party and parties win seats according to the percentage of vote the party wins
o Most PR is “closed list”- party leaders determine politician elected
o Open list PR: citizens vote for individual candidates and all votes for all candidates aggregated by party to determine how many seats a party will get
o Votes are not wasted
o Does not provide voters with legislator that specifically represents their geographic constituency
 Voters don’t know who to contact
 Not much representation of local interests

A

Proportional representation

50
Q

public officials acting on behalf of the citizenry
o Mandate approach: elected officials follow public opinion as a reflection of interest or views of citizenry at large
o Independence approach: officials exercise discretion or their own judgement once they are elected

A

representation

51
Q

Authoritarian resilience in China

A

-citizen satisfaction has increased based on economic wellbeing
o Persisting problems were corruption, pollution, social unrest, and separatism
o New challenges included the internet, rising rights consciousness among citizens
o The Chinese government has survived through coercion, surveillance, co-potation, and political indoctrination
o Legitimacy: ideological legitimacy
 performance-based legitimacy
 Delivered economic development, higher standards of living and higher governance
o State-sponsored nationalism: patriotic campaign and propaganda
o Spontaneous nationalism and cyber nationalism: more popular in nature but subject to state influence
o Nationalism goes hand in hand with pro-regime discourse: Regime in general portrayed as playing a positive role in saving and building China and defending national interest
o International influence over nationalist support for the regime: trade war and criticism of the regime over Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc

52
Q

fundamental and supreme laws, usually written in a charter, that establishes the bases of a political system and the basis for other laws

A

Constitution

53
Q

limitation of government through a constitution

A

Constitutionalism

54
Q

features of a constitution that form the bases of the political system
o Separation of power, responsibilities between level of government, and branches of government

A

Constitutional Design

55
Q

executive leaders make direct appeals to the people and seek to develop direct political ties with the masses

A

Populism

56
Q

A lower stage of communism/ a stage towards communism; often does not imply totalitarian political system and may embrace liberal political systems; emphasize economic equality achieved through state action

A

Socialism

57
Q

an ideology that seeks to create human equality by eliminating private property and market
o The liberation of everyone, no exploitation or repression

A

Communist Manifesto

58
Q

Evolution of human society

A

Primitive slavery Feudalism Capitalism Communism
o Productivity, means of production, and social relations
o Capitalism communism
o Developed productivity; exploitive relations, capital, labor, surplus value of labor class struggle : capitalist v working class

59
Q

Why are communist regimes declining?

A

o Communist regimes become totalitarian
o Communist parties no longer serving and guiding the working class, but become a privileged class and serve as a control machine and power tool
o Failure of planned economic

60
Q

Communism as a theory

A

 International communist movement
o Workers of the world, unite
 World systems and Central Periphery Theory
o Core (exploits), semi-periphery, and periphery
 Mao’s odea of 3 worlds

61
Q

the most important form of political organization in modern politics
o Central political institution that exerts a “monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory- Max Weber
o Defining characters of modern state: territory, claims sovereignty, legitimacy, and bureaucratic system
o Normally, modern states are expected to perform certain functions and provide certain public goods
o Modern stated are made up of a large set of institutions both to maintain itself and to play the functions- army, police, taxation, a judiciary

A

The modern State

62
Q

a large and geographically bounded population that often shares common history, culture, collective identity, and political aspirations

A

Nation

63
Q

the ultimate authority within specifically demarcated territories- no other domestic or foreign actors above the states; territorial disputes

A

Sovereignty

64
Q

A form of organization that has individuals operating and working under established, specified, and complex rules and procedures

A

Bureaucracy

65
Q

states identified with institutions rather than the personalities of their leaders

A

Impersonality

66
Q

Functions of modern states?

A

 Defense
 Policing
 Taxation
 Managing the economy
o Macro-management: supply of currency, making economic policy, directly run on some states
 Provide social welfare-welfare states
o Public health care
o Education, social insurance and pension
 Provide infrastructure and other public goods

67
Q

o Shorthand for the political system that combines state, regime, government as well as for the people living within the system

A

Country

68
Q

state’s capacity to govern and to preform functions

A

State Capacity

69
Q

how independent the state can wield its power vis-à-vis the publics
o Strong states v weak states; failed states and state building

A

State autonomy

Comparative Politics (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions