1. Industrialized Democracies
AP Comparative Government

2. Democracy Democracy is made up of the following characteristics
Rights: In democratic societies, people have the right to freedom of the press, religion, association, and speech.
While there are limits to these concepts, it is widely accepted that people are allowed to express their own views

3. Democracy
Competitive Elections: This concept is supported through the idea that people have the right to choose their government through regular, free, and fair elections between two or more candidates and/or political parties
Many countries use different electoral systems to determine who their leader will be
In single-member districts only one person per district goes to the legislature.
In a proportional member district representation is divided based upon the proportion of the voting populous

4. Democracy
Another important concept of Democracy is that people follow the rule of law
Following the rule of law means that people are governed by clear and fair rules rather than by the arbitrary, personal exercise of power
People can expect to be treated fairly by the government, both in their routine dealings with the state and in the rare occasions when they have to fight against it
Civil Society and Civic Culture
Successful democracies have a civic culture in which people accept not just the rules of the political process but the elites who lead them
Having a civic culture and a civil society binds people in loyalty to the state

5. Democracy
Most democracies run under the precept that there must be private ownership of the means of production within the state
Most industrialized democracies are the richest countries in the world and the majority of their people are literate

6. Democratic Thought
While we trace the roots of democracy back to ancient Greek society, modern democracy dates back to the late eighteenth century
The rise of democracy was spurred on because of individualism, capitalism, Protestantism, the emergence of the scientific revolution, and the exploration of the New World
Thinkers of this time period felt that the natural world was full of danger and that by creating a society in which people could freely and fairly pursue their own interests would benefit all

7. Theory
Thomas Hobbes claimed that if people were left to their own devices, the competition among them would be so intense that it would lead to the “war of all against all”
In order to protect against anarchy, people had no choice but to give up some of their freedom (Leviathan)

9. Theory
John Locke share many of the same ideas that Thomas Hobbes expressed in Leviathan
Locke believed that the state’s role was to protect the “life, liberty, and property” of it’s people.
The theories of Hobbes and Locke were in line with early capitalists
Laissez-faire capitalism was taking root in Europe as the main economic system
Those who subscribed to the laissez-faire system of economics felt that the state should be limited and that it should only be a referee in the economic world not an entity that prescribes action.

11. Suffrage
Suffrage is the right to vote and was severely limited in most democracies until the early 20th century
The concept of democracy is however rooted in the 1700’s, because monarchs were being limited in the power that could be expressed

12. Meanings of Left and Right
Period
Left
Right
Eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
Pro-democratic
Anticlerical
Pro-market
Anti-democratic
Proclerical
Ambivalent on market
Industrial era
For socialism and/or welfare state
More Pro-democratic
Usual proclerical
Less positive about welfare state, against socialism
Postindustrial era
Egalitarian, but qualms about welfare state and socialism as we know them
Mostly globalist
New Social Issues
Pro-market capitalism
Traditional values
More nationalistic

13. Gap and other factors
In most industrialized democracies something known as the gender gap exists
Gender Gap is the difference in voting habits in men and women
Many women have flocked to progressive parties, while men have gravitated more towards conservative parties
In postmaterialist societies there has been a shift in what voters look for
These voters worry about “higher order” values, including job security, self- actualization, and international understanding

14. New Movements
Realignment is beginning to take place throughout many political parties
The first step, dealignment, is when people begin to view themselves as more independent from the main political parties
The second step is that conservatives redefine what they stand fore
Interest Groups
Interest groups are groups of people with a specific point of view that push to get people into office who support their point of view and will push legislation that will benefit that point of view