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Political Parties and Voting Systems template



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An economic system in which individuals and firms exchange goods and services in a largely unfettered mannermarket economy
The combination of a market economy with private property rightscapitalism
An economic system in which most prices, property, and production are directly controlled by the statecommand economy
Those goods or services that cannot or will not be provided via the market because their costs are too high or their benefits are too diffusepublic goods
Phenomenon that occurs when markets fail to perform efficiently or they fail to perform according to other widely held social valuesmarket failure
A cost or benefit of the production process that is not fully included in the price of the final market transaction when the product is soldexternality
The control of the entire supply of a valued good or service by one economic actormonopoly
The control of the entire supply of valued goods or services by one economic actor in a sector of the economy in which competition would raise costs and reduce efficiencynatural monopoly
Named for British economist John Maynard Keynes, who argued that governments can reduce the "boom and bust" cycles of capitalism via active fiscal policy, including deficit spending when necessaryKeynesian theory
Government budgetary policyfiscal policy
Government spending more than is collected in revenuedeficit spending
Simultaneous high inflation and high unemploymentstagflation
Economic theory that states only monetary policy can affect economic wellbeing in capitalist economies; rejects Keynesian policy, arguing instead for a reduced role for government in the economymonetarist theory
The amount of money a government prints and puts into circulation and the basic interest rates the government setsmonetary policy
Theory of trade that argues that economic efficiency and well-being will be maximized if each country uses its resources to produce whatever it produces relatively well compared to other countries and then trades its own products with other countries for goods it does not producecomparative advantage
Development policy popular in the 1950s-1970s that uses trade policy, monetary policy, and currency rates to encourage the creation of new industries to produce goods domestically that the country imported in the pastimport-substitution industrialization (ISI)
A development theory supporting structural adjustment programs that argues developing countries should reduce the role of government and open themselves to global trade to allow the market to allocate resources to maximize efficiency and thereby economic growthneoliberalism
Development programs created by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund beginning in the 1980s; based on neoliberalismstructural adjustment programs (SAPs)
To sell off government-owned assets to the private sectorprivatize
A rapid increase in the flow of cultural symbols, political ideas and movements, economic activity,technology, and communications around the globeglobalization
In Germany, a postwar economic system that combines a highly productive market economy with an extensive and generous welfare state, as well as unusually active involvement of both business and labor in economic policysocial market economy
A system in Germany that requires unions to be represented on the supervisory boards of all German firms of more than 2,000 employeescodetermination
A state that seeks to create national strength by taking an active and conscious role in the development of specific sectors of the economydevelopmental state
Government entities with monopoly control over the domestic and international marketing of key crops; usually found in Africamarketing boards
The ability of the citizenry, directly or indirectly, to control political leaders and institutions verticalpolitical accountability
The ability of individuals and groups in a society to hold state institutions accountableaccountability
The ability of state institutions to hold one another accountablehorizontal accountability
The branch of government that must exist in all modern states; the chief political power in a state and implements all lawsexecutive
Branch of government that makes the law in a democracylegislative
Branch of government that interprets the law and applies it to individual casesdemocracy judiciary
A type of democratic system that concentrates power more tightly in a single-party executive with executive dominance over the legislature, a single legislative branch, and constitutions that can be easily amendedmajoritarian democracy
A democratic system with multiparty executives in a coalition government, executive-legislative balance, bicameral legislatures, and rigid constitutions not easily amendedconsensus democracy
Government in a parliamentary system in which at least two parties negotiate an agreement to rule togethercoalition government
An individual or collective actor whose agreement is essential for any policy changeveto player
The official, symbolic representative of a country, authorized to speak on its behalf and represent it, particularly in world affairs; usually a president or monarchhead of state
The key executive power in a state; usually a president or prime ministerhead of government
A term denoting a parliamentary system of democracy in which the executive and legislative branches are fused via parliament's election of the chief executiveparliamentarism
The head of government in parliamentary and semipresidential systemsprime minister (PM)
An elected member of the legislature in a parliamentary systemmember of parliament (MP):
In parliamentary systems, a vote by parliament to remove a government (the prime minister and cabinet) from powervote of no confidence
All cabinet members must publicly support all government decisions in a parliamentary systemcollective responsibility
A legislature that has two housesbicameral legislature
A term denoting a presidential system of democracy in which the executive and legislature are elected independently and have separate and independent powerspresidentialism
Constitutionally explicit division of power among the major branches of governmentseparation of powers
A term denoting a semipresidential system of democracy in which executive power is divided between a directly elected president and a prime minister elected by a parliamentsemi presidentialism
Sharing of power between a president and prime minister from different parties in a semipresidential systemcohabitation
The right of the judiciary to decide whether a specific law contradicts a country's constitutionjudicial review
Legal system originating in Britain in which judges base decisions not only on their understanding of the written law but also on their understanding of past court cases; in contrast to code lawcommon law
Literally, "let the decision stand"; in common law, the practice of accepting the precedent of previous similar casesstare decisis
Legal system originating in ancient Roman law and modified by Napoleon Bonaparte in France in which judges may only follow the law as written and must ignore past decisions; in contrast to common lawcode law
The belief and ability of judges to decide cases as they think appropriate, regardless of what other people, and especially politically powerful officials or institutions, desirejudicial independence
A problem in which a principal hires an agent to perform a task but the agent's selfinterest does not necessarily align with the principal's, so the agent may not carry out the task as assignedprincipal-agent problem
Officials who serve at the pleasure of the president or prime minister and, among other things, are assigned the task of overseeing their respective segments of the bureaucracypolitical appointees
Members of the legislature, usually in key committees, oversee the working of the bureaucracylegislative oversight
Theory of reform of bureaucracies that argues for the privatizing of many government services, creating competition among agencies to simulate a market, focusing on customer satisfaction, and flattening administrative hierarchiesNew Public Management (NPM)
Theory of reform of bureaucracies that argues for a more participatory and democratic process of determining regulations and service provision that fits local community needs; it relies on bureaucracy interacting with networks of citizens interested in a particular policy areaNew Public Service (NPS)
Gaining an advantage in a market without engaging in equally productive activity; usually involves using government regulations for one's own benefitrent seeking
In Japan, the "descent from heaven," in which senior bureaucrats get positions in the industries they formerly regulatedamakudari
Three sided cooperative interaction among bureaucrats, legislators, and business leaders in a particular sector that serves the interest of all involved but keeps others out of the policy-making processiron triangle
Political systems in which the central government has sole constitutional sovereignty and power; in contrast to a federal systemunitary systems
Political systems in which a state's power is legally and constitutionally divided among more than one level of government; in contrast to a unitary systemfederal systems
A federal system in which all subnational governments (states or provinces) have the same relationship with and rights in relation to the national governmentsymmetrical federal system
A federal system in which different subnational governments (states or provinces) have distinct relationships with and rights in relation to the national governmentasymmetrical federal system
Partial decentralization of power from central government to subunits such as states or provinces, with subunits' power being dependent on central government and reversibledevolution
Individuals being unwilling to engage in a particular activity because of their rational belief that their individual actions will have little or no effect, yet collectively suffering adverse consequences when all fail to actcollective action problem
Formal, legal mechanisms that translate votes into control over political offices and shares of political powerelectoral systems
Electoral system in which each geographic district elects a single representative to a legislaturesingle-member district (SMD)
The receipt of the most votes, but not necessarily a majorityplurality
Electoral system in which individual candidates are elected in singlemember districts; the candidate with the plurality of votes wins"first-past-the-post"(FPTP)
Electoral system in which seats in a legislature are apportioned on a purely proportional basis, giving each party the share of seats that matches its share of the total voteproportional representation (PR)
Electoral system in which each party presents a ranked list of candidates, voters vote for the party rather than for individual candidates, and each party awards the seats it wins to the candidates on its list in rank orderclosed-list proportional representation
Electoral system in which multiple candidates run in each district, voters vote for the individual candidate of their choice, and the candidates with the most votes in the party get the seats the party winsopen-list proportional representation
An electoral system that combines singlemember district representation with overall proportionality in allocation of legislative seats to parties; Germany is a key examplemixed, or semiproportional, representation system
Electoral system in which multiple seats exist in each legislative district but each voter only votes for one candidate; Japan prior to 1993 was a key examplesingle, nontransferable vote (SNTV) system
Single member district electoral system in which voters rank all candidates rather than voting for just onealternative-vote (AV) system
party systemThe number of parties and each one's relative institutional strength
Parties that have a small membership of political elites who choose candidates and mobilize voters to support them; in contrast to mass partiescadre parties
Parties that recruit as many members as possible who expect to have some control over their party and from whom the parties gain financial support, labor, and votes; in contrast to cadre partiesmass parties
A broad and charismatic appeal to poor people on the part of a leader to solve their problems directly via governmental largess; most common in Latin America in the early to mid-twentieth centurypopulism
Party system in which multiple parties exist but the same one wins every election and governs continuouslydominant-party system
Party system in which only two parties are able to garner enough votes to win an election, though more may compete; the United Kingdom and United States are key examplestwo-party system
Party system in which two large parties win the most votes but typically neither gains a majority; a third party (the "half" party) must join one of the major parties to form a legislative majority; Germany is key exampletwo-and-a-halfparty system
Party systems in which more than two parties could potentially win a national election and governmultiparty systems
Institutionalist argument by French political scientist Maurice Duverger that FPTP electoral systems will produce two major parties, eliminating smaller partiesDuverger's Law
Interest group system in which many groups exist to represent particular interests and the government remains officially neutral among them; the United States is a key exampleinterest-group pluralism
Also called societal corporatism; corporatism that evolves historically and voluntarily rather than being mandated by the state; Germany is a key exampleneocorporatism
Organizations that bring together all interest groups in a particular sector to influence and negotiate agreements with the state; in the United States, an example is the AFL-CIOpeak associations
Corporatism mandated by the state; common in fascist regimesstate corporatism
Part of civil society; they have a loosely defined organizational structure and represent people who have been outside formal institutions, seek major socioeconomic or political changes, or employ noninstitutional forms of collective actionsocial movements
Social networks and norms of reciprocity that are important for a strong civil societysocial capital
India, a movement to define the country as primarily Hindu; the founding ideology of the BJP partyHindu nationalism
A relatively rapid transformation of the political system and social structure that results from the overthrow of the prior regime by mass participation in extra­legal political action, which is often (but not always) violentrevolution:
: Revolutions in which the outcomes are negotiated among political elites, each with the backing of a segment of the popurevolutions from abov
: Revolutions in which a mass uprising of the populace to overthrow the government plays a central rolerevolutions from belo
Political violence targeted at civilian noncombatterrorism
The use of violence by nonstate actors for political endspolitical violence
: A regime change typically involving a negotiated process that removes an authoritarian regime and concludes with a founding election of a new, democratic regimetransition to democrac
Leaders of an authoritarian regime who believe in repressing any opposition and preserving the status quo when faced with a demand for political liberalization or democratizationhardliners
Leaders of an authoritarian regime who are willing to consider compromising with opponents as a means to survive demands for democratizatiosoftliners
Leaders of democracy movements who wish to achieve immediate and complete democracy and are unwilling to compromise with the existing regimeradicals
Leaders of democracy movements who are willing to compromise with the authoritarian regime to gain partial democracymoderates
pactIn a transition to democracy, a conscious agreement among the most important political actors in the authoritarian regime and those in civil society to establish a new form of government
The opening of the political system to greater participation; typically before a transition to democracypolitical liberalization
The first democratic election in many years (or ever), marking the completion of a transition to democracyfounding election
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 welldemocratic consolidation
Political systems in which opposition parties are legal and elections take place, but full civil and political rights of liberal democracy are not secureelectoral democracies
Improvement in the quality of democracy, including the extent of participation, the rule of law, and vertical and horizontal accountabilitydemocratic deepening
Democracies in which free and fair elections take place but neither vertical nor horizontal accountability is strong enough to prevent the emergence of elected executives with nearly unlimited powerdelegative democracies



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