Comparative Politics Key Concepts
Classified in Social sciences
Written on in 
English with a size of 2.86 KB
- Comparative Politics
- Study and evaluation of similarities and differences between political systems.
- State
- Political organization, institution for government, possessing sovereignty and territory.
- Nation
- Group of people united by fundamental characteristics.
- Nationalism
- Belief by a nation that it can be a state.
- Nation-State
- Borders coincide with a particular nation.
- Territoriality
- Unit has a certain geographic perimeter.
- Sovereignty
- State is supreme within its own borders.
- Internal Control
- Monopoly on the use of legitimate violence.
- External Autonomy
- Not subservient to any other state.
- De Facto
- Empirical.
- De Jure
- Juridical.
- Three Worlds
- System of classifying states.
- First World
- Liberal democracy.
- Second World
- Communist.
- Third World
- Not powerful enough to fit in other categories.
- Political Liberalism
- Spend money, greater welfare benefits.
- Classical Liberalism
- Secure private rights and limited government.
- Democracy
- Rule by the people.
- Representative Democracy
- Power resides with the people, authority given to representatives.
- Liberal Democracy
- Dedicated to principles of limited government, independent rights, free enterprise, equality, and majority rule.
- Party Systems
- Types include:
- One-party system
- Dominant-party system
- Two-party system
- Multi-party system
- Coalition Government
- No single party achieves a majority in the legislature.
- Single-Member System
- Divide country into districts, send representatives if they secure a plurality vote.
- Proportional Representation
- Allotment of seats in a legislative body, determined by the proportion of votes (often in multi-party systems).
- By-Election
- When someone's seat is vacated, occurs outside of the designated time period.
- Principles of Parliamentary System
- Legislative body
- Executive power derived from the legislative body
- Prime minister as head of government
- Power held until a new election
- Prime Minister
- Leader of the cabinet, head of the executive and legislative bodies.
- Presidential System
- Characterized by separate elections, separate powers, and a fixed term.
- Corporatism
- Major social and economic groups are given privileged positions of power.
- Loose System
- Vote the way you want without penalty.
- Tight System
- Vote the way the party leader says.
- NEO
- Different way of making decisions.
- Treaty of Westphalia
- Ended the Thirty Years' War.