Unit Three Vocabulary

Question 1

Authoritarianism

Answer 1

A political system in which a small group of individuals exercises power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public

Question 2

Bureaucratic Authoritarianism

Answer 2

A system in which the state bureaucracy and the military share a belief that a technocratic leadership, focused on rational, objective, and technical expertise, can solve the problems of the country without public participation

Question 3

Clientelism

Answer 3

A process whereby the state co-opts members of the public by providing specific benefits or favors to a single person or a small group in return for public support

Question 4

Kleptocracy

Answer 4

“Rule by theft,” where those in power seek only to drain the state of assets and resources

Question 5

Patrimonialism

Answer 5

An arrangement whereby a ruler depends on a collection of supporters within the state who gain direct benefits in return for enforcing the ruler’s will

Question 6

Resource Trap

Answer 6

Theory of development in which the existence of natural resources in a
given state is a barrier to modernization and democracy

Question 7

Totalitarianism

Answer 7

A nondemocratic regime that is highly centralized, possessing some form of strong ideology that seeks to transform and absorb fundamental aspects of state, society, and the economy, using a wide array of institutions

Question 8

Corporatism

Answer 8

A method of co-optation whereby authoritarian systems create or sanction a imited number of
organizations to represent the interests of the public and restrict those not set up or approved by the state

Question 9

Populism

Answer 9

A political view that does not have a consistent ideological foundation, but that emphasizes hostility toward elites and established state and economic institutions and favors greater power in the hands of the public

Question 10

Nondemocratic Regime

Answer 10

A political regime that is controlled by a small group of individuals who exercise power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public

Question 11

Bourgeoisie

Answer 11

The property-owning class

Question 12

Communism

Answer 12

(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

Question 13

Dialectical Materialism

Answer 13

Process of historical change that is not evolutionary but revolutionary; the existing base and superstructure (thesis) would come into conflict with new technological innovations, generating growing opposition to the existing order (antithesis)-this would culminate in revolution, overthrowing the old base and superstructure

Question 14

Glasnost

Answer 14

Literally, openness; the policy of political liberalization implemented in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s

Question 15

Nomenklatura

Answer 15

Politically sensitive or influential jobs in the state, society, or economy that were staffed by people chosen or approved by the Communist Party

Question 16

Party-State

Answer 16

A political system in which power flows directly from the ruling political party (usually a communist party) to the state, bypassing government structures

Question 17

Perestroika

Answer 17

Literally, restructuring; the policy of political and economic liberalization implemented in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s

Question 18

Politburo

Answer 18

The top policy-making and executive body of a communist party

Question 19

Proletariat

Answer 19

The working class

Question 20

Shock Therapy

Answer 20

A process of rapid marketization

Question 21

Superstructure

Answer 21

All noneconomic institutions in a society (e.g., religion, culture, national identity); these ideas and values derive from the base and serve to legitimize the current system of exploitation

Question 22

vanguard of the proletariat

Answer 22

Lenin’s argument that an elite communist party would have to carry out revolution, because as a result of false consciousness, historical conditions would not automatically lead to capitalism’s demise

Question 23

Duma

Answer 23

Lower house of the Russian legislature

Question 24

Chechnya

Answer 24

Russian republic that has been a source of military conflict since 1991

Question 25

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

Answer 25

A loose integrationist body that incorporates many former Soviet republics

Question 26

Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)

Answer 26

Economic and political union among several former Soviet states

Question 27

Federal Security Service (FSB)

Answer 27

Successor to the KGB, the Russian intelligence agency

Question 28

Kremlin

Answer 28

Eleventh-century fortress in the heart of Moscow that has been the historical seat of Russian state power

Question 29

Siloviki

Answer 29

“Men of power” who have their origins in the security agencies and are close to President Putin

Question 30

Soviets

Answer 30

Name given to workers’ councils that sprang up in 1917

Question 31

United Russia

Answer 31

Main political party in Russia and supporter of Vladimir Putin

Question 32

KGB

Answer 32

Soviet secret-police agency charged with domestic and foreign intelligence

Question 33

Oligarchs

Answer 33

Russian people noted for their control of large amounts of the Russian economy (including the media), their close ties to the government, and the accusations of corruption surrounding their rise to power