click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
COGO Unit 1
AP comparitive government-unit 1 vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
qualitative data | Describes qualities or characteristics. It is collected using questionnaires, interviews, or observation, and frequently appears in narrative form. |
quantitative data | Data that can be counted or measured in numerical values. |
empirical statements | (factual/objective) apply concepts, support generalizations, or make arguments. |
normative statements | (value) argue how situations should be. |
correlation | A measure of the relationship between two variables |
causation | A cause and effect relationship in which one variable controls the changes in another variable. |
human development index (HDI) | Indicator of level of development for each country, constructed by United Nations, combining income, literacy, education, and life expectancy. |
gross domestic product (GDP) | The sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a nation. |
gini coefficient | A measure of income inequality within a population, ranging from zero for complete equality, to one if one person has all the income. |
freedom index | A publication written by the Freedom House; it measures how free a country is based on political rights (such as the right to vote) and civil rights (such as the rights to speak and worship freely). |
transparency international | A non-governmental organization that monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in countries around the World. |
fragile states index | The Fragile States Index (FSI; formerly the Failed States Index) is an annual report published by the United States think tank the Fund for Peace and the American magazine Foreign Policy. |
regime | At its most basic it is categorized somewhere on the scale of democratic to authoritarian. The "programming" of politics. |
state | The monopoly of force over a given territory. The set of political institutions that carry out policy. The "machinery" of politics. |
nation | A group of people with a common culture living in a territory and having a strong sense of unity. |
government | The leadership or elite in charge of running the state. Composed of elected, or unelected officials. The "operator" of politics. |
power | The ability to achieve a desired goal. |
authority | The legal right to exercise power on behalf of the society/government. |
sovereignty | Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states. |
legitimacy | Political authority conferred by law or by a state or national constitution. |
stability | The capability of the government to achieve its specified goals while staying in power. |
liberal democracy | A political system that promotes participation, competition, and liberty and emphasizes individual freedom and civil rights. |
illiberal democracy | A procedural democracy, with elections, but without real competition, and lacking some civil rights and liberties. |
authoritarianism | The enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom. |
theocracy | A government controlled by religious leaders. |
totalitarianism | A political system in which the government has total control over the lives of individual citizens. |
nationalism | Identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations. |
rule of law | Principle that the law applies to everyone, including those who govern. |
rule by law | Leaders use the law for their own purposes and are not accountable to those laws themselves. |
democratization | A process of transition as a country attempts to move from an authoritarian form of government to a democratic one. |
democratic consolidation | The widespread acceptance of democracy as the permanent form of political activity; all significant political elites and their followers accept democratic rules and are confident everyone else does as well. |
federal system | A system of government that divides the powers of government between the national government and state or provincial governments. |
unitary system | System of government in which all power is invested in a central government. |
social cleavages | Divisions theoretically outside the realm of politics (religion, ethnic groups, race, social and economic classes) that interact with the political system and have a tremendous impact on policy-making. |
political cleavages (cross-cutting cleavages) | When national, ethnic, religious, or linguistic divisions affect political allegiances or policies. |
devolution | The process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government. |
internal actors | Individuals, groups, or institutions within a country that influence and participate in the political processes and decision-making. |