Political Science 6 Multiple Choice Questions pt.2 Flashcards
Causes of state development
War
Groups of people that are frequently at war, or under threat of war, develop string states as a defensive mechanism or else they are defeated and absorbed by groups
Colonialism
Most modern states were once european colonies
The kind/strength if the state you have depends on what kind of administrative structure you inherited
Economic development
Economic development contributes to the state’s capacity to fulfill its functions.
A financially stable government can better provide essential services, enforce laws, and maintain public order
World Bank Governance measures
Political stability and the absence of violence
Government effectiveness
Regulatory quality
Rule of law
Control of corruption
Voice and accountability
Liberal democracy definition
Protection of individual liberties, especially the rights and liberties of minorities/weak and responsiveness to citizen preferences
Electoral authoritarianism definition, examples
allow little real competition for power but leaves enough political space for political parties and organizations of civil society to form, for an independent press to function to some extent, and for some political debate to take place
Examples:
Mexico under the PRI
Russia and Putin
Regime definition
A set of rules that govern political activity, especially the relationship between states and citizens (members of the political community) and determine how power is exercised
Corporatism definition
where the state forces everyone to join one of a limited number of corporations
Pluralism definition
Multiple, competing, non-hierarchical interest group arrangements
Consociationalism definition
Explicit power sharing between specific ethnic groups which provides each with some amount of power in the central government
Primordialism
Sees identity groups as “natural” to human psychology
Instrumentalism
Elites manipulate symbols and feelings of identity to mobilize a following in order to achieve rational goals
Security Dilemma
belief that another group poses an imminent threat and institutional constraints not sufficient to protect us: we have to act
Constructivism
method for producing and defending principles of justice and legitimacy
Presidentialism definition, examples
by the separation of the executive branch from other aspects of government
Examples:
The United States
Brazil
Parliamentarism definition, examples
power is concentrated in one place, creating very few institutional veto players
Examples:
Great Britain
Japan
Semi-presidentialism definition, examples
splits executive power between an elected president and a prime minister
Examples:
Russia
France
Westminster model of parliamentarism
type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England
Absolute majority versus plurality
Absolute majority is where only 2 candidates are in the running, meaning the winner must have over 50% of votes
Plurality system can have more than two candidates running, so although the winner must have the majority % of votes, it can be less than 50%
Downs
Voters will choose the party closest to them ideologically, so parties will change their ideological positions in order to capture more votes
The median voter
Duverger’s Law
Institutionalist argument that SMD electoral systems will produce two major parties, eliminating smaller parties
PR—open list
allow voters to cast votes for individual candidates on one party’s list