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AP Comparative Government And Politics Notes: A Companion to The Ethel Wood Study Guide

AP Comparative Government and Politics Notes

Empirical data: based on statistics
Normative: requires value judgment opposed to empirical
Causation: the idea that one variable influences another
Civil society: the way in which citizens organize and define themselves and their interests
Informal politics: takes into consideration not only the ways that politicians operate outside their formal powers, but also the impacts that belief, values, and actions of ordinary citizens have on policy making.

APCPG compares countries in the following ways:

The impact of informal politics (see above).
The importance of political change (for example, superpower to developing).
The integration of political and economic systems (for example, communism as an economic policy and its role in government).

Keeping the latter in mind, AP Comp. Gov. categorizes China, Great Britain, Russia, Nigeria, Iran, and Mexico into the following categories:

Advanced Democracies- well established democratic governments and a high level of economic development: Great Britain
Communist and post-communist countries: Russia as a post-communist country, and China as a currently communist country
Less Developed and Newly Industrializing Countries- traditionally “third world”, divided into two groups (newly industrializing: experiencing rapid economic growth, have shown a tendency towards democratization and social/political stability; less developed: lack significant economic development, also tend to have authoritarian regimes). Mexico and Iran represent the newly industrializing, while Nigeria represents the less developed category.

Topic 2: Sovereignty, Authority, and Power

A common feature of most states; defined as long lasting organization that help to turn political ideas into policy.
Institutions make states themselves long lasting (such a parties, judicial systems, bureaucracies, etc.)
Sovereignty: the ability to carry out actions or policies within their borders independently from interference
A lack in sovereignty means the state lacks autonomy, and states lacking autonomy are often exploited (by people or institutions who wish to control the state for their own needs), resulting in a high level of corruption.
Nation: a group of people bound together by a common political identity
Regime: the rules that a state sets and follows in exerting its power. Two examples include democracies and authoritarian regimes.

Democracies base their authority on the needs of the people and can either be indirect, with elected officials representing the people, or direct, when individuals have immediate say over how many decisions that the government makes.

Parliamentary systems of democracy: where citizens vote for legislative reps, who in turn select the leaders of the executive branch

In this democracy the principle of parliamentary sovereignty governs the decision making process. Although theoretically untrue, no separation exists between the executive and legislative branches (as the legislative branch is controlled by the same party as the executive- the majority). There is a separation in the executive branch, however, between the head of state (symbolic) and head of government (runs the gov).

Presidential system of democracy: where citizens vote for legislative reps as well as executive branch leaders, and the two branches function w/ separation of powers

Head of state and head of gov are one person- the president, who is directly elected by the ppl. Policy decision making is slow b/c of the checks and balances btwn judicial, legislative, and executive branches. In order for the branches to be truly independent of each other, they must have independent bases of authority- which is debatable in Nigeria and Mexico (both have presidential systems).
Semi-presidential system: some countries combine the aforementioned systems, as illustrated in Russia’s 1993 Constitution, for example. A president coexists with a prime minister. France & India have semi-presidential systems.

In authoritarian regimes, decisions are made by political elite without much input from the citizens. May be ruled by a single dictator, hereditary monarchy, or a single political party.

Communism
Corporatism: An arrangement in which government officials interact with people/groups outside the gov. before they set policy (generally business and labor dealers or heads of patron-client systems that provide reciprocal favors and servicers to their supporters).

Common characteristics of authoritarian regimes:

Small group of elites wielding power
Citizens with little input regarding government
No constitutional responsibilities of leaders to the public
Restriction of civil rights and liberties
Totalitarianism: a particularly oppressive regime; generally have strong ideological goal
Military regimes: usually begins with a coup d’etat; usually lacks a specific ideology; may precede democracy (such as in South Korea and Taiwan in the 1990’s?!!!)

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Corporatism: a method through which business, labor, and other interest groups bargain with the state over economic policy
Emerged as a means by which authoritarian regimes tried to control the public by creating organizations to represent the interests of the public.
Co-optation: The means by which a regime uses to get support from its citizens.
Patron-clientelism: A form of co-optation in which the state provides specific benefits or favors to a specific person or small group in return for public support.
Pluralism: a basic principle of democracy; a situation in which power is split among many groups that compete for a chance to influence the gov.’s decision-making.
Political legitimacy: the right to rule as defined by a state’s citizens

Max Weber classified political legitimacy into three forms:

Traditional legitimacy: belief that tradition should determine who rules and how. For example, if a particular family has ruled for hundreds of years, the current members of the family are the legitimate rulers.
Charismatic legitimacy: based on dynamic personality, for example, Napoleon. Charismatic legitimacy generally does not survive its founder.
Rational-legal legitimacy: based on a system of laws and procedures. The rule may take two forms: common law (based on tradition, past practice, and legal precedents set by courts and past rulers; example is England) or by code law (based on a system of written rules; examples include Russia, Mexico, and China).

Factors that contribute to legitimacy in both democratic and authoritarian regimes:

Economic well-being: citizens often blame their gov. for times of economic hardship, obverse being true as well.
Historical tradition/ longevity:  if the gov. has been in place for a long time citizens and other countries are more likely to view it as legitimate
Charismatic leadership: charismatic leaders important in legitimacy
Nationalism/shared political culture
Satisfaction with the government’s performance/responsiveness in general
Political culture: refers to the collection of political beliefs values, practices, and institutions that the government is based on. Political culture may be analyzed in terms of social capital.
Social capital: the amount of reciprocity and trust between citizens and between the state. More social capital usually means democratic.

The number and depth of disagreements among citizens within a society forms the basis for dividing political culture into two types: consensual and conflictual.

Consensual political culture: citizens tend to agree on how decisions are made, what issues need fixing, and how problems should be solved (for example, citizens think elections are good and accept their outcomes). In short, consensual political culture accepts both the legitimacy of the regime and solutions to major problems.
Conflictual political culture: citizens are sharply divided. Examples include communism vs. capitalism or extremely prominent religious differences.

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Political ideologies: sets of political values held by individuals regarding the basic goals of government and politics. Some example:
Liberalism: places emphasis on individual political and economic freedom. Seek to maximize freedom for all; believe that citizens have a right to influence the decisions of the state.  Value equal opportunity.
Communism: generally values equality over freedom. Advocate the control of all resources by the state in order to ensure that a single monopoly does not manifest, in turn destroying all good within the state. Individual liberties must give way to the needs of society as a whole.
Socialism: shares the value of equality with communism, but is influenced by the values of liberalism. Socialists accept individual ownership and promote free market principles. Holds that the gov. has the responsibility to ensure some sense of equality, and does so through public benefits like healthcare. Minimally regulates economy.
Fascism: rejects value of equality; instead holds beliefs that some are superior, while others are obviously inferior. Believe that the gov. has the right to mold the state and eliminate all obstacles.
Religions: important source of group identity.

Topic 3: Political and Economic Change

Economic and political change often occur hand in hand, if they don’t obvious tensions crop up. For example, China’s recent economic evolution vs. their still largely authoritarian government. Types of change include:

Reform: does not advocate for the overthrow of basic institutions. Reforms want specific details regarding the state changed,  like the government to be more responsive to environmental friendliness.
Revolution: implies a basic revision or complete overhall of political/economic institutions. Often targets either economic or political change, but almost always end up substantially altering both.
Coup d’état: most limited of the three types; replaces old leaders with new leaders. Typically occur in nations whose government institutions are weak.

The latter three changes are almost always prompted by certain attitudes towards change. These include:

Radicalism: radicals believe rapid, dramatic changes are needed. Radicals are often the leaders of revolutions. Ex: 1917 Russian tsarist overthrow.
Liberalism: supports reform and gradual change. Believe in improvement or repair.
Conservatism: see change as disruptive, feels significant changes will have an undermining and unpleasant outcome.
Reactionary beliefs: oppose both revolution, reform, AND the status quo. Reactionaries want to turn back the clock to an earlier era they find pleasant and replace economic and political institutions that existed during that time.

Democratization: movement towards democracy. Free, regular, competitive elections is the requirement for a state to be considered a democracy. Liberal democracies display other characteristics such as:

Civil liberties: freedom of speech, belief, assembly, etc.
Rule of law: provides equal treatment of citizens and due process
Neutrality of the judiciary: checks on abusive power
Open civil society: allows citizens to live private lives and media independence
Civilian control of the military: restricts the likelihood of the military taking control of the government
Liberal democracies are also called substantive democracies
Illiberal/procedural democracies are nations in which regular and free elections held, but liberal democratic characteristics are lacking.

Huntington’s Three Waves of Democratization:

First wave: developed gradually over time
Second wave: occurred after the Allied victory in WWII, until the 1960’s. Was characterized by decolonization around the world.
Third Wave: current wave, began in the 1970’s. Characterized by the defeat of dictatorial or totalitarian rulers in South America, Eastern Europe, and some parts of Africa.
Causes of democratization: loss of legitimacy in authoritarian regimes; expansion of middle class; a new emphasis on human rights by the EU and the US; and the “snowball effect”
According to Huntington, the greatest obstacle to democratization is poverty, as it restricts the ability of citizens to participate in government.
Huntington states that a government can be declared democratic after two successive turnovers of power.
Democratic consolidation: the process by which a new democracy matures, requires willingness of the elite and active participation on the part of the people. In a consolidated democracy, all institutions and many people participate.
Political liberalization: an experience said to occur after a state has progressed from a procedural democracy to a substantive democracy.

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Does democratization follow capitalism? Does capitalism follow democratization? Are the two spurious?
Bourgeoisie: middle class businessmen
The ideology of liberalism has its roots in 19th century Europe. Bourgeoisie didn’t want their economic goals hampered by the government. Also wanted freedoms inherent within political freedoms. Radicals, like Karl Marx, advocated for equality rather than liberalism as liberals allowed too much inequality.
Command economy: where the government owns almost all industrial enterprises and retail sales outlets. In the USSR, this was managed by a party-dominated state planning committee in five-year plans.  This worked VERY well for communist countries, but problems resulted by the late 80’s when high gov. economic prosperity did not translate to higher living standards for citizens.
Economic liberalization: the process of limiting the power of the state over private property and market forces
Marketization: describes the state’s re-creation of a market in which property, labor, goods, and services can all function in a competitive environment to determine their value.
Privatization: the transfer of state owned property to private ownership
Most countries view a “mixed economy” (a cross between a market economy and a command economy) as the best means of economic prosperity. In a mixed economy the likelihood of depression is limited, although recessions and smaller economic downturns still occur.
Fragmentation: division based on ethnic or cultural identity.

Topic Four: Citizens, Society, and the State

Divisions between religion, ethnic groups, race, and social/economic classes

Bases of social cleavages:

Social class: differences between classes, like the working class vs. the middle-class, or peasants vs. property owners.
Ethnic cleavages: clearly the most divisive of cleavages currently; based on different cultural identities
Religious cleavages: closely intertwined with ethnicity although doesn’t have to be
Regional cleavages: often linked to economic development and political values; geographic conflicts may result
Coinciding and cross-cutting cleavages: coinciding cleavages are often explosively detrimental (when every dispute aligns the same groups again each other); cross-cutting cleavages divide society into many potential groups that may conflict on one issue or divide on another.
Political efficacy: a citizen’s capacity to understand and influence political events; a lack in efficacy may lead to citizens not voting and in some cases ignoring laws and regulations put forth by the government.
Political socialization: how citizens learn about the politics in their country.
Transparent government: a government that is open with its people regarding all affairs of the state.
Social movements: organized collective activities that aim to bring about or resist fundamental change in an existing group or society.
Civil society: refers to voluntary organizations outside the state that help people define and advance their own interests (churches, for example).
Cosmopolitanism: a universal political order that draws its identity and values from everywhere

Topic Five: Political Institutions

Political institutions: structures of a political system that carry out the governing
Unitary system: a distribution of power that is entirely concentrated in one central geographic place
Confederal system: spreads the power among many sub-units (such as states) and has a weak central government.
Federal system: divided power among the central government and the sub-units (examples include Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia).
Centripetal forces: bind together the people of a state; includes nationalism, fast communication, and institutions such as schools, military, and religion.
Centrifugal forces: oppose centripetal forces by destabilizing the government and encouraging the state to fall apart. For example, the Russian orthodox church opposed communism as it was banned under the ideology.
Separatist movements: when nationalities within a state demand independence.
Devolution: tendency to decentralize decision making to regional governments.
Ethnonationalism: the tendency for an ethnic group to see itself as a distinct nation with a right to autonomy and independence.
Forces that encourage devolution: ethnic, spatial (example: Puerto Rico is separated by the Caribbean yet is still part of the US), and economic.
Party coalition: in a country that has no clear majority party, a party coalition will form, where several parties join forces and are represented in different cabinet posts.
Bureaucracies: consist of agencies that generally implement government policy; usually a part of the executive branch

Basic characteristics of a bureaucracy as defined by Weber:

Hierarchical authority: a chain of command that is hierarchical; the top bureaucrat has ultimate control, and authority flows from the top down
Task specialization: a clear division of labor in which every individual has a specialized job.
Extensive rules: clearly written, well-established formal rules that all people in the organization follow
Clear goals: a clearly defined set of goals
The merit principle: merit-based hiring and promotion
Impersonality: job performance that is judged by productivity, not by how much work the individual gets done
Discretionary power: given to bureaucrats; the power to make small decisions in implementing legislative and executive decisions
Patronage system: a system in which political supporters receive jobs in turn for their assistance in getting the president elected.
Technocrats: civilian bureaucrats

All bureaucracies tend to have the following in common:

Non-elected positions
Impersonal, efficient structures: meant to be efficient in accomplishing their goals with little concern for feelings
Formal job qualifications: highly experienced and educated individuals are appointed, not friends. Otherwise the administration will fail in accomplishing their necessary goals.
Hierarchical organization
Red tape/inefficiency: Once the bureaucracy reaches a certain size, the orderly flow of business begins to break down
Bicameralism: a legislature having two houses; a unicameral only has one
Most common is bicameralism, and can be traced to Britain’s House of Lords and House of Commons
Bicameralism allows for one house to represent regional interests in a Federal system
Elite recruitment: identifying future leaders of the government
Constitutional court: rules on the constitutionality of laws and other gov. actions
Judicial review: the mechanism that allows courts to review laws and executive actions for their constitutionality
Linkage institutions: groups that connect the government to citizens, such as political parties, media, etc.
Electoral systems: rules that decide how votes are cast, counted, and translated into seats in a legislature
First-past-the-post: system in which countries divide their constituencies into single-member districts in which candidates compete for a single representative’s seat.AKA plurality system, or winner-take-all system.
Proportional representation: creates multi-member districts in which more than one legislative seat is contested in each district
Under the proportional system, voters cast their ballots for a party rather than a person, and the majority party is then given a certain number of seats in the legislature they are able to fill.
Mixed-system: combines the two; Mexico and Russia use a mixed-system
Election of public officials: many legislative members in democracies are elected directly, and the members of the lower house are usually directly elected
Referendum: a piece of legislature or decision voted on by the public versus just by the legislative branch. A plebiscite is a ballot to consult public opinion in a non-binding way.
Initiative: a vote on a policy that is initiated by the people
Transmission belts: interest groups that convey to their members the views of the party elite
Corporatism: state and interest group autonomy mixed
Interest group pluralism: autonomy from the state
State corporatism: state determines which groups are brought in; neocorporatism/societal corporatism: which interest groups take the lead and dominate the state
Civil rights: usually refers to the promotion of equality
Civil liberties: promotion of freedom