Here are some elements that may help you with your studying! Not everything but somethings!

 Sovereignty – independent legal authority over a population in a particular place; the degree to which a state controls its own territory and independently makes policy  Nation – a group of people who identify themselves as belonging together  State- people, territory, sovereignty, government – includes all institutions and individuals that exercise political authority  Nation-state – territorial unit controlled by a single state and governed by a single government  Regime – organization for a government (often described in a constitution/supreme law)

 Head of State – Public representative  Head of Government – charged with leading the operation of the government  Civil Society – all organizations which provide avenues of public participation in society (non- governmental)  Legitimacy – belief that a regime is a proper and that the government has authority (earning legitimacy= representative govt, rule of law, history of stability, shared national identity, good economy, transparent/honest system, govt responsiveness, protection, achievements, charismatic leadership…)

 supranational organizations – with powers greater than nation-states – European Union  Multinational corporations – exercise economic and political powers that in some cases challenge sovereignty and limit the capacity of nation-states  Rule of Law – constitutionalism; governance system operating predictably under a known and transparent set of procedural rules  International Civil Society/NGOs – examples are Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Red Cross, CARE International, Doctors without borders – groups seek to pursue their goals in cooperation with organizations within the state – relation often determined by the group’s goals in terms of alignment with the govt

 Political culture – the collection of history, values, beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, traditions and symbols that define and influence political behavior  Political socialization – process by which people learn their political behavior or become a part of the political culture (family, schools, peers, schools, media, etc.)  Socialism – political/economic system in which the govt plays a major role (may be democratic or authoritarian)  Liberalism – set of beliefs that favors a limited role of govt in the economy and people’s lives; emphasis on individual freedoms

 Economic Liberalization  Democracy  Liberal Democracy  Substansive Democracy  Procedural Democracy  Illiberal Democracy  Authoritarian  Democratic Centralism

 Executive – shared by a popularly elected president and presidentially appointed premier; policies made by legislature and president  Legislative – Bicameral – Duma/lower is elected proportionally (7% threshold to win seats) --- Federal Council/upper is appointed to represent local govt (delaying power is about it) --- United Russia has become dominant  Separation of powers – hybrid Presidential/Parliamentary … Assymetrical Federalism ----Hybrid Regime (elements that are democratic and authoritarian)--- illiberal democracy  Judiciary – Supreme Court and lower courts – Constitutional Court considers contradictions to the constitution and limited ability to negate statues (potential for limited Judicial Review)- inquisitorial (model) and civil (based on statutes)---Rule of Law=has become limited due to Putin/UR … loss of transparency --- commercial law is more transparent however, govt ownership of major corps and media is lessening transparency---- Judicial Review- can be appealed but only the Constitutional Court can overrule the legislature or executive policies extremely limited  Judicial Independence – no …. Legislature can appoint and remove judges --- courts do not challenge the president  Constitutional separation of powers BUT dominance of Putin/UR – control by UR negates some of the checks and balances  1 party dominant---President elected by majority in 2-round – Duma elected by party list proportional system and Federal Council appointed by local govt

 Cleavages – Nationality and religious (especially in the Southern/Caucus region) – Urban vs. Rural and Social class  Civil Society – freer than under the USSR but since 2003 limitations on groups connected to international organizations have been persecuted … lobbying is risky especially when it opposes govt.--- interest group = becoming state corporatism  Nomenklatura -slivoki  Social Movements – Since 1993 there have been small scale movements (environmental, human rights, etc.) with the help from international NGOs but there has been govt opposition – govt has cut links between domestic groups and international NGOs  Rentier Status – when a country’s govt relies on the sale/rent of natural resources for a large portion/most of its revenue --- Some put Russia in this category  Transparency – history of bribery=political culture, citizens believe the govt is corrupt, multinational companies are discouraged from investing, integration of politics and business encourages corruption

 Executive – Premier named by president and national legislature= H of G President is the H of S and often head of CCP and its Politiburo Standing Committee= all significant policy decisions are made  Legislative – Unicameral – National People’s Congress (3,000 members) – legislators are chosen by provincial legislatures (with CCP approval) --- NPC approves policies from the Central Committee (very rarely do they say no)  Fusion – real power lies with the politiburo  Judicial – Supreme People’s Court is the top appellate --- Civil Law and inquisitorial ---Rule of law = rule of CCP – Courts hold secret sessions, more in commercial law (but still guanxi patron-client system) ---- Judicial Review only in terms of lower court rulings/laws and policies approved by NPC are not reviewable! No Judicial Review of the other branches  Judicial independence – no – National People’s Congress has power to determine if laws are constitutional = Politiburo/CCP really decides  Constitutional separation of powers ….BUT/AND fusion of power with the CCP (Dual Role)  1 party system– Pres and leg. Chosen by indirect methods at the direction of the CCP

 Cleavages – Urban vs. Rural most important – Social Class -- -over 90% Han, which when geography is added to ethnicity they become reinforcing cleavages (political conflict results in places like Tibet and Xinjiang)  Civil Society – very limited – CCP/govt go toG great lengths to be in control … businesses have some exceptions but foreign businesses most allow official unions and party cadres to keep tabs … state corporatism  Guanxi patron-clientelism - nomenklatura  Social Movements – CCP and govt maintain the only legitimate political activity --- Falu Gong is a religious/social movement that has been harshly suppressed – activists campaigning for environmental or human rights causes are routinely kept under surveillance and often arrested  Transparency – bribery and embezzlement is common, integration of politics and business = corruption, rapidly growing economy =inequalities = corruption

 GDP – equal to market value of goods and services – most widely used measure of the size of the economy  HDI – Human Development Index – statistic based upon life expectancy, education, and income data - combining social welfare and economic data = a more meaningful comparisons between countries than GDP  Gini - accounts for income distribution - measure of inequality – higher #s indicate greater economic inequality  Freedom House – NGO that conducts research – Higher the number the less free (Russia/11 and China/13 are categorized as not free)