Comparative Government Flashcards
Grade 12 · Social Studies · Flashcards
Master vocabulary for analyzing and comparing political systems, institutions, and regime types around the world.
Flashcards
- Regime
- The formal and informal rules that govern who can hold power, how leaders are selected, and the constraints on political action in a given state.
- Civil Society
- The sphere of organized social life between the state and the individual — including NGOs, media, religious groups, and civic associations — that is voluntary, self-organizing, and independent of government.
- Legitimacy
- The widely accepted belief that a government has the right to rule; legitimacy can be based on tradition, charisma, or legal-rational authority (Weber's three types).
- Coup d'état
- The sudden, violent, or illegal seizure of power from an existing government, typically carried out by the military or a political faction.
- Patronage System
- A political arrangement in which leaders distribute jobs, contracts, or benefits to supporters in exchange for political loyalty, often undermining meritocracy and rule of law.
- Electoral College
- The indirect mechanism used to elect the US President, in which states cast electoral votes (generally winner-take-all) based on their congressional representation.
- Technocracy
- A system of governance in which experts in technical fields make policy decisions based on their specialized knowledge, rather than elected politicians.
- Political Culture
- The shared values, beliefs, and attitudes of a population regarding the proper role of government, political participation, and authority, shaping how institutions function in practice.
- Unicameralism
- A legislative structure with a single chamber, as in Denmark, New Zealand, and most subnational legislatures; contrasted with bicameralism.
- Coalition Government
- A government formed by multiple political parties that together command a legislative majority, common in parliamentary systems with proportional representation.
- Oligarchy
- A form of government in which power is controlled by a small, elite group — often defined by wealth, military strength, or family ties — rather than by the broader population.
- Veto Players
- Political actors whose agreement is required for a policy change to occur; the more veto players in a system, the harder it is to change the status quo (George Tsebelis).
- Civil-Military Relations
- The relationship between the armed forces and civilian government; healthy democracies maintain civilian control over the military, preventing the military from exerting undue influence on politics.
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