Test 1 Flashcards
comparative politics
the study and comparison of domestic politics across countries
international relations
a field in political science which concentrates on relations between countries, such as foreign policy, war, trade, and foreign aid
institution
the humanly devised constraints that structure political, economic, and social interaction
politics
the struggle in any group for power that will give one or more persons the ability to make decisions for the larger group
power
the ability to influence others or impose one’s will on them
comparative method
the means by which social scientists make comparisons across cases
inductive reasoning
research that works from case studies in order to generate hypotheses
correlation
an apparent relationship between two or more variables in which they appear to move in either the same direction (positive) or opposite direction (negative)
causal relationship
a connection between two entities that occurs because one produces, or brings about, the other with complete or great regularity
multicausality
when variables are interconnected and interact together to produce particular outcomes
area studies
a regional focus when studying political science, rather than studying parts of the world where similar variables are clustered
selection bias
a focus on effects rather than causes, which can lead to inaccurate conclusion about correlation or causation
endogeneity
the issue that cause and effect are not often clear, in that variables may be both cause and effect in relationship to one another
theory
a systematic, detailed means of explaining why a social phenomenon exists that recognizes the influence of a multitude of factors, is subject to change, and avoids moral arguments in favor of empirical arguments
modernization theory
a theory asserting that democracy can be expected as a consequence of the emergence of economic development, industrialization, education, and urbanization, all of which contribute to the emergence of a middle class
behavioral revolution
a movement within political science during the 1950s and 1960s to develop general theories about individual political behavior that could be applied across all countries
qualitative method
study through in-depth investigation of a limited number of cases
quantitative method
study through statistical data from many cases
rational choice
approach that assumes that individuals weigh the costs and benefits and make choices to maximize their benefits
game theory
an approach that emphasizes how actors or organizations behave in their goal to influence others; built upon assumptions of rational choice
formal institutions
institutions usually based on officially sanctioned rules that are relatively clear
informal institutions
institutions with unwritten and unofficial rules
freedom
the ability of an individual to act independently, without fear of restriction or punishment by the state or other individuals or groups in society
equality
a shared material standard of individuals within a community, society, or country
state
the human community that successfully claims a monopoly of legitimate force over a given territory
sovereignty
a state’s legal authority to carry out actions or policies within a territory independently from external actors or internal rivals
regime
the fundamental rules and norms of politics, embodying long-term goals regarding individual freedom and collective equality, where power should reside, and the use of that power
government
the leadership or elite in charge of running the state
country
term used to refer to state, government, regime, and the people who live within that political system
legitimacy
a value whereby an institution is accepted by the public as right and proper, thus giving it authority and power
traditional legitimacy
legitimacy that accepts aspects of politics because they hav been institutionalized over a long period of time
charismatic legitimacy
legitimacy build on the force of ideas embodied by an individual leader
rational-legal legitimacy
legitimacy based on a system of laws and procedures that are highly institutionalized
federalism
a system in which significant governing powers, such as taxation, lawmaking, and security, are divided between a national government and several subnational governments, each of which is legally supreme in its assigned sphere; the powers of each level of governance are usually specified in a federal constitution
asymmetric federalism
when power is divided unevenly between regional bodies; for example, some regions are given greater power over taxation or language rights than others - a more likely outcome in a country with significant ethnic divisions
unitary state
a state in which most political power exists at the national level, with limited local authority
devolution
a process in which political power is “sent down” to lower levels of state and government
strong state
a state that is able to fulfill basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy
weak state
a state that has difficulty fulfilling basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy
failed state
a state so weak its political structures collapse, leading to anarchy and violence
capacity
the ability of the state to wield power to carry out basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy
society
complex human organization, a collection of people bound by shared institutions that define how human relations should be conducted
ethnic identity
specific attributes and societal institutions that make one group of people culturally different from others
nation
a group that desires self-government through an independent state
national identity
a sense of belonging to a nation and a belief in its political aspirations
nationalism
pride in one’s people and the belief that they have a unique political destiny
citizenship
an individual’s relationship to the state, wherein citizens swear allegiance to that state and the state in return is obligated to provide rights to those citizens
patriotism
pride in one’s state
nation-state
a state encompassing one dominant nation that it claims to embody and represent
ethnic conflict
a conflict in which different ethnic groups struggle to achieve certain political or economic goals at each other’s expense
national conflict
a conflict in which one or more groups within a country develop clear aspirations for political independence, clashing with others as a result
political attitudes
description of one’s views regarding the speed and methods with which political changes should take place in a given society
radicals
those with a political attitude that favors dramatic, often revolutionary change
consevatives
those with a political attitude that is skeptical of change and supports the current order
reactionary
someone who seeks to restore the institutions of a real or imagines earlier order
political ideology
the basic values held by an individual about the fundamental goals of politics or the ideal balance of freedom and equality
liberalism
1) a political attitude that favors evolutionary transformation 2) an ideology and political system that favors a limited state role in society and the economy, and places a high priority on individual political and economic freedom
communism
1) a political-economic system in which all wealth and property are shared so as to eliminate exploitation, oppression, and, ultimately, the need for political institutions such as the state 2) a political ideology that advocates such a system
social democracy (socialism)
1) a political-economic system in which freedom and equality are balanced through the state’s management of the economy and the provision of social expenditures 2) a political ideology that advocates such a system
fascism
a political ideology that asserts the superiority and inferiority of different groups of people and stresses a low degree of both freedom and equality in order to achieve a powerful state
anarchism
a political ideology that stresses the elimination of the state and private property as a way to achieve both freedom and equality for all
fundamentalism
a view of religion as absolute and inerrant that should be legally enforced by making faith the sovereign authority
culture
a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by humans as members of society
political culture
set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments that provide the basic assumptions and rules that govern political behavior
empirical
analysis drawn from observations of the world
normative
analysis concerned with specifying which sort of practice or institution is morally or ethically justified
operationalization
the process through which we take our basic concepts and render them measurable
evidence
information that has implications for a theory or hypothesis
level of analysis
the level (e.g., individual, organizational, societal) at which observations are made, or at which causal processes operate
case
in comparative analysis, a unit or example of a phenomenon to be studied
variable
an element or factor that is liable to change, or vary, from case to case
outcome
typically used as a synonym for effect; something that is produced or changed in any social or political process
dependent variable
in hypothesis testing, the dependent variable is the effect or outcome that we expect to be acted on (or have its value altered) by the independent variable
independent variable
in hypothesis testing, the independent variable is the one we expect to “act on” or change the value of the dependent variable
variation
difference between cases in any given study of comparative politics
most-similar-systems
a research design in which we compare cases that are similar with respect to a number of factors but with distinct outcomes
most-different-systems
a research design in which we compare cases that differ with respect to multiple factors but in which the outcomes are the same
comparative checking
the process of testing the conclusions from a set of comparisons against additional cases or evidence
generalizability
the quality that a given theory, hypothesis, or finding has of being applicable to a wide number of cases
within-case comparison
the comparative analysis of variation that takes place over time or in distinct parts of a single case
hypothisis
a specific prediction, derived from a theory or model, that can be tested against empirical evidence
deductive reasoning
the process of moving from general claims or theories to specific observations or predictions about a phenomenon or set of cases
deviant case
a case that does not fit the pattern predicted by a given theory or model
inductive reasoning
the process of moving from specific observations to general claims
thesis
a statement for which one argues on the basis of evidence
qualitative
a form of analysis that aims to discern relationships between events of phenomena as described in narrative form, such as an account of an historical process
quantitative
a form of analysis that aims for the mathematical discernment of relationships between variables, typically involving a large number of empirical observations
inference
the process through which we aim to test observable implications (often about cause and effect) of any given theory
causation
when one thing can be shown to cause another
falsifiability
the testability of a model or hypothesis; a goo hypothesis could be logically demonstrated to be false by evidence
empirical critique
an effort to point to important evidence that does not support a conventional version of any theory or model
theoretical critique
an effort to show that a given theory or model has logical limitations
scope conditons
the conditions or range of cases for which an argument works
indicator
an element or feature that indicates the presence of an underlying factor
measurement error
either an episodic error, such as improperly recording data, or a systematic error, meaning that a measurement does not fully reflect what it is designed to measure
measurement bias
a measure is biased if it will not produce comparable results for all observations
measurement validity
whether a given measure effectively captures or represents the concept we are researching
model
a simplified picture of a part of the real world; a set of interrelated guesses about the processes that led to outcomes in the real world
truth
a criterion for assessing a causal model’s accuracy
circular model
a model that is not testable
critical experiments
a method of comparing alternative models by finding a question for which they give different answers
simplicity
a causal model that has a small number of assumptions is more attractive than one having a large number of assumptions
fertility
a causal model that produces a relatively large number of interesting predictions per assumption
justice
a criterion for assessing a model’s likely implications for the world
beauty
a model that is simple, fertile, and/or surprising
culturalist
a theoretical lens that asks how social rules and values constitute individual and group identities and how those rules develop or change
rationalist
a theoretical lens that asks how actors use reason to satisfy interests
structuralist
a theoretical lens that asks how rules and institutions create incentives that shape political behavior
public goods
goods, provided or secured by the state, available to society and which no private person or organization can own
social expenditures
state provision of public benefits, such as education, health care, and transportation
gross domestic product (GDP)
the total market value of all goods and services produced by a country over a period of one year
monopoly
a single producer that is able to dominate the market for a good or service without effective competition
capitalism
a system of production based on private property and free markets
Gini index
a statistical formula that measures the amount of inequality in a society; its scale ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 corresponds to perfect equality and 100 to perfect inequality
human development index (HDI)
a statistical tool that attempts to evaluate the overall wealth, healthy, and knowledge of a country’s people
autonomy
the ability of the state to wield its power independently of the public, external actors or internal rivals
The major political thinker who wrote widely on such topics as bureaucracy, forms of authority, and the impact of culture on economic and political development and whose famous work was “Economy and Society” was
Max Weber
____ asserted that more developed societies will become capitalist democracies, converging around a shared set of values and characteristics
modernization theory
The ability to influence others or impose one’s will on them is called
power
Which of the following would NOT be considered an American institution?
soccer
___ was a major political thinker considered the first modern political scientist; he analyzed different political systems and made generalizations about which systems experienced success or failure.
Niccolo Machiavelli
___ reasoning starts with a puzzle, from there generates some hypotheses about cause and effect, then collects data to test these hypotheses.
deductive
Central to nearly all debates in politics, power, and debates of justice is the tension between
freedom and equality
In comparative research, if we concentrate on cause and not effect, we run into the danger of choosing only those cases that support the hypothesis, which may lead us to an incorrect conclusion. This problem would be an example of
selection bias
The major political thinker who developed the idea of the “social contract,” arguing that people surrender some liberties for the order provided by the state, was
Thomas Hobbes
The largest share of comparative politics research continues to be about _____, which demonstrates that the field remains uneven in its coverage and has been slow to adapt to new issues and questions
Western Europe
Which of the following is necessary for becoming a successful student of comparative politics?
having the ability to reconsider your own beliefs in the light of new evidence
Comparative politics is the study
and comparison of domestic politics across countries.
___ reasoning starts from a specific case or evidence to generate hypotheses.
inductive
____ seeks to explain the cause and effect, and relies on quantitative data and statistics to generate theories that could be applied to politics in many countries.
Behavioralism
To successfully describe and compare the complexity of state power, political scientists go beyond classifying states as strong, weak, or failed, and instead evaluate which of the following?
capacity and autonomy
The modern state helped create domestic stability, increased trade and commerce, and the development of infrastructure, which could help give rise to:
an increasing sense of national identity
We expect that “strong” states are able to carry out some basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy. This is the ability of the state to wield power to carry out those basic tasks:
capacity
This philosopher believed humans were basically compassionate and egalitarian until the rise of the state corrupted them:
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Which type of legitimacy depends on the force of ideas embodied by an individual leader?
charismatic
This philosopher believed that individuals created states as a way to escape from a brutal anarchy:
Thomas Hobbes
One advantage of the state was the ability to apply technological innovations. Why did rulers embrace technology?
Because it fostered economic and military power
A long-standing monarchy, where a particular family holds the office over generations, might be said to exhibit which form of legitimacy?
traditional
This is the leadership of the elite in charge of running the state:
government
A key characteristic that defines a state:
sovereignty
This is the fundamental rules and norms of politics in a country. It embodies the long-term goals of freedom and equality as well as determining where power should reside and how it is used:
regime
Because it placed authority of the political over that of the spiritual, political scientists date the beginning of state sovereignty to:
The Treaty of Westphalia (1648)
Countries like France, Japan, or China concentrate their power in the national government, and are thus examples of:
unitary states
This is the process by which a unitary state “sends down” power to regional or local government:
devolution
On the text excerpt on Pakistan, which of the following is NOT listed as a reason why Pakistan’s early state-building has contributed to its current danger of state failure?
Pakistan was drawn into a costly war with England shortly after Partition
A major advantage of states is that they promote economic development. To do this, they created this idea, which evolved out of the need to balance the extraction of resources from the population with the need for economic productivity of individual producers:
property rights
What major factor spurred the development of the modern state?
anarchy in the Dark Ages generated rapid evolution of political structures
According to more recent research
States evolved out of tribal battles over territory and resources.
What is the major danger for states that have both high capacity and autonomy?
They may undermine individual freedom and democracy.
According to Weber, this is an organization that maintains a monopoly of violence over a territory:
state
Some countries - like Russia, India, and Spain - devolve power unevenly to their regions. This is known as:
asymmetric federalism
Pride in one’s people and the belief that they have their own sovereign destiny that is separate from others is called
nationalism
Which of the following is NOT true about ethnicity and society?
A majority of countries around the world are ethnically homogenous.
The nation-state is a state that claims to represent one dominant people and emphasizes the achievement of that one nation over others. Which European country was the first nation-state, that is, the first state to use intense nationalistic sentiment to unify and mobilize its population?
Napoleonic France
The major difference between radicals and liberals is that
radicals believe in dramatic change in the current political order: liberals believe in change, but within existing political structure
Which of the following ideologies would be labeled as a “liberal” political attitude in North America?
social democracy
Regarding political attitude, a reactionary is someone who
seeks to restore institutions from a real or imagined earlier order
National identity is
a set of institutions that bind people together through common political aspirations
The key difference between communism and social democracy (or socialism) is that
both strive for economic equality, but socialism accepts private ownership and market forces
An ideology that seeks to unite religion with the state is called
fundamentalism
Which of the following is NOT true of citizenship?
In the modern era, every state automatically grants citizenship to those born in their territory
Which of the following is NOT discussed as a political ideology?
conservatism
____ places a high priority on individual rights and freedoms, and favors a limited state role in society and the economy.
liberalism
Patriotism is pride in one’s
state
Ethnic identity or ethnicity is a
set of institutions that bind people together through common culture
A societal explanation for why conflicts occur would argue that conflict emerges
due to the number of ethnic groups in the society and their degree of integration or polarization
The development of ethnic and national identities paved the way for ____, the notion that the state and the people are bound by a set of mutual responsibilities.
citizenship
A factor that determines which ideologies dominates a country’s political regime may be
political culture
To try to deal with its extreme diversity, India has created a system of asymmetric federalism, which has devolved power differently across its states. What has been the consequence of this decision?
It has created more opportunities for corruption.
The key difference between ethnic conflict and national conflict is that ethnic conflict
occurs between ethnic groups to achieve political or economic goals; national conflict involves one or more groups striving for sovereignty.
Ethnic identity first began to emerge
as a result of travel and commerce in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
The categories of radical, liberal, conservative, and reactionary are all political
attitudes
culturalist lens
close-up; asks about identities; How do rules constitute identities? How do we decide who we are? How do our rules change?; aims to fully understand the context, not come up with law-like rules that are always right
structuralist lens
mid-range lens; how do actors relate to each other through institutions? think about institutions as buildings that block or change your path (affect your choices)
rationalist lens
zoomed out lens; might see people/patterns, but individuals are tiny), how can actors use reason to satisfy interests?
perennialism/primordialism
view of ethnic conflict that says differences are fixed and more contact between different groups will create more conflict; if a country is highly diverse, there will be more conflict
constructivism
view of ethnic conflict that says that leaders choose to activate division and the salience of the ethnic differences; looks at how context effects how we pay attentions to our identities; could measure by analyzing leader rhetoric or official state discrimination
modernization
view of ethnic conflict that says if benefits or modernization help one group over another or upends social structures, then ethnic conflict might be more likely; would look at economic inequality
Posner
view of ethnic conflict that says it is based on the size of the groups in relation to the political arena; if your ethnic group is a small percentage of the population, you don’t have the weight to fight with other groups; differs from constructivist in that it doesn’t take leaders to kick up the conflict
Fearon and Laitin
view of ethnic conflict that thinks countries that are prone to insurgencies are more likely to have civil war; prone to insurgency = low state capacity, limited government knowledge of the country, poor terrain, bad infrastructure; poverty leads to weak state capacity, which leads to potential insurgency, which can lead to civil war
Lichbach and Zuckerman, 1997
The reading argues that all of the three main comparativist ideologies, rationalism, culturalism, and structuralism, seek to understand important events of both the past and present by employing and applying unique modes of comparison.
Lerner, 1957
This reading argues that the people of Balgat would desire more than life inside of their small village if they are exposed to the world outside of Balgat.
Weber, 1918
The reading argues that modernization has led to the expropriation of political organization from numerous individual lords to the state, leading to states becoming more bureaucratic, with the political power residing with one body and staff being delegated jobs that keep them dependent upon the state.
Rotberg, 2002
The reading argues that a nation-state fails when it is unable to provide adequate goods or services to its people due to bad leaders or groups in the state, removing the legitimacy of its government and causing a power vacuum that can be filled by unsanctioned violence and corruption.
Herbst, 1990
The reading argues that Africa has not seen the political organization and state development that Europe experienced because it has not had significant interstate war to cause a more efficient tax system and a national identity to develop.
Posner, 2004
“I argue that the political salience of a cultural cleavage will depend on the sizes of the groups that it defines relative to the size of the arena in which political competition is taking place.”
Fearon and Laitin, 2003
This reading argues that civil war cannot be predicted by ethnic or religious differences, but by how favorable conditions in a state are for insurgency.
Which of the following is an argument against having the state regulate trade?
keep the cost of goods low
Laissez-faire economics characterizes which of these political economic systems?
liberalism
_____ is a period when prices rise because there are too few goods, and wages and savings lose their value as a result.
Inflation
____ is a political economic system that may employ neocorporatism to govern relations between the state, labor, and businesses.
Social democracy
Which of the following countries is an example of a modern mercantilist state?
Brazil
According to the section on Japan’s economic decline, what lesson should we learn from this case?
Any set of political-economic systems that work well under some conditions can still become out of sync as a result of broader changes over time.
Which of the following is an example of a public good?
national defense
Which of these traits is typical of a mercantilist political economic system?
state-owned or parastatal industries
____, one measure of economic wealth, compares the different costs of living across countries.
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)
Edward Bernstein is a major contributor to theory about ____.
social democracy
The Gini index measures ____
economic inequality
Which of these traits is typical of a liberal political economic system?
low taxes
Despite recent economic crises, the two political economic systems that remain the most prevalent type around the globe are
liberalism and social democracy
The United States is best classified under which political economic system?
liberalism
____ seeks to replace the free market with a centrally planned economy and an extensive welfare state.
communism
_____ is a period when the prices and value of goods, services, investments, and wages drop, and unemployment and less spending may result.
Deflation
___ exemplifies the interaction between the forces of supply and demand.
Markets
____, created by the UN Development Program, seeks to measure the overall well-being of a country’s people.
Human Development Index (HDI)
A state’s central bank
controls the state’s flow of money and sets interest rates.
In the development of democracy, what did 13th-century England contribute?
the Magna Carta, the document that laid the foundation for the idea of individual liberty
In democracies, political parties do a number of things. What is something they do not do?
guarantee the separation of powers
Which society provided the earliest form of indirect democracy with republicanism, or representation through elected officials?
Ancient Rome
Which electoral system tends to have the most political parties (and the ones with the most party discipline)?
proportional representation
The governmental institution in which national politics is considered and debated is called the
legislature
An electoral system in which seats in a legislature are allocated based on the percentage of votes each party receives in the election is callled
proportional representation (PR)
Of the following, which did the ancient Greeks contribute to the development of democracy?
a system that allowed the people to participate directly in government
Some argue that _____ is more effective because the executive and legislature are fused, increasing legislative efficiency and reducing the possibility of deadlock.
a parliamentary system
When each constituency elects only one member to the legislature (whether they win a plurality or a majority of votes), this system is called
a single-member district (SMD)
Which of the following is generally true about prime ministers?
They are members (and leaders) of parliament.
In a democracy, the executive has two roles: the ____ represents the nation at home and abroad, and the ____ deals with the everyday tasks of running the state.
head of state; head of government
Which of these organizations would not be part of a country’s civil society?
the military
Though they vary greatly in how they act and how much power they have, three key institutions in a democracy are the
executive, the legislature, and the judiciary
Democracy can be defined as political power exercised either indirectly or directly through
participation, competition, and liberty
A policy measure that is voted on by the people is called
a referendum
Some who criticize modernization theory argue that one of the key predictors for whether a country will be a democracy or not is the
level of income inequality
When a court considers the constitutionality of legislation when triggered by a court case, this is called
concrete review
In 2012, Hungary adopted a new constitution in a move that received domestic and international criticism. Which of the following was a change made in this new constitution?
reducing the power of the constitutional court
Some argue that modernization leads to democracy. Which of the following best represents this reasoning?
As societies become more economically and socially sophisticated, the population will desire more control over the state so they can protect their own interests.
Which of the following is not true about presidents?
They are members (and leaders) of parliament.
Patrimonialism is
nondemocratic rule in which leaders trade benefits with a small group of insiders for their political support.
Illiberal or hybrid regimes are growing in prominence around the world. The key feature is that they
have democratic features, but with important qualifications.
Co-optation is the appropriate term when
the state establishes a beneficial relationship with the people.
Military rule usually emerges due to
a coup d’état.
Which type of regime, which is present in all cases of totalitarianism, is often associated with communist and fascist countries?
one-party rule
Modernization theorists argue that nondemocratic regimes emerge
when poverty is rampant and income inequality is high
The political system in Iran, where religious faith is the foundation of politics, might be called
a theocracy
Which of the following is not a feature of nondemocratic regimes?
constitutionally mandated accountability to the people
Cultural arguments hold that democracy requires a society that emphasizes
individualism and secularism
Nondemocratic regimes often compel individuals by threatening harm to their lives and livelihoods. This is known as
coercion
Some nondemocracies maintain control by creating or sanctioning a limited number of organizations to represent the interests of the public and restricting those not approved by the state. This is called:
corporatism
Turkmenistan’s former leader, Saparmurat Niyizov, called himself the “Father of the Turkmen,” named months of the year after himself and his mother, and constructed a large public statue of himself. We would consider his rule an example of
a personality cult
States with an abundance of oil and minerals often struggle with democratic development for a number of reasons. This is known as
the “resource trap” theory
Kleptocracy, or “rule by theft,” may be thought of as an extreme example of
clientelism
Under bureaucratic authoritarianism, the military and the state bureaucracy believe that the problems of the country can be solved by:
rational, technical expertise rather than emotional ideology
International actors can either help or hinder the democratic process. Which of the following countries has not been a key supporter of nondemocratic regimes?
Norway
____ lacks a consistent ideological foundation; instead, it emphasizes hostility toward elites and established state institutions and the need for people to “take back” the state.
populism
Countries like Nazi Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union, or modern North Korea possess a highly centralized state and regime with a well-defined ideology that seeks to transform and fuse the institutions of state, society, and the economy. This form of nondemocratic rule is called
totalitarianism
Over the last 40 years, the number of
nondemocratic regimes has dramatically declined
Another commonly used term for nondemocratic rule is
authoritarianism
Acemoglu, 2003
This reading argues that while geographic conditions in an economically underdeveloped country may contribute to its lagging economy, bad institutions are actually the cause of the lack of economic development.
Krugman, 1994
This reading argues that rapid Asian economic growth can be accounted for, like the growth seen in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, due to growth inputs such as labor and capital, instead of gains made in efficiency, thus Asian economic growth is not sustainable.
Schmitter and Karl, 1991
This reading argues that democracy is a regime in which people placed in authority are held accountable by citizens, often indirectly through their elected representatives, but democracy is not necessarily more efficient economically and administratively, more orderly and governable, or economically free, often because of the ability of citizens to hold their leaders accountable.
Ansell and Samuels, 2014
This reading argues that democracy emerges when economically up-and-coming groups act to limit the power of the elite, which is particularly likely during times of high economic inequality that has created fragmentation among the elite.
Berman, 1997
This reading argues that civil society is neutral in the promotion or downfall of democracy, but, rather, the strength of political institutionalization determines the success of democratization.
Linz and Stepan, 1996
This reading argues that solely using democracy, totalitarianism, and authoritarianism to classify regimes is too limiting, and the addition of post-totalitarianism and sultanism as classifications would help further the study of how prior regime type affects democratic transition.
Levitsky and Way, 2002
This reading argues that competitive authoritarianism’s distinct mix of democratic institutions and authoritarian leadership means that democratic norms are often widely ignored, and it sets a significant historical basis in each state that is impactful for its economy, human rights, and chances of democracy.
