1. AP Comparative Government
Review Module’s 1-3
AP Comparative Government

2. What is Comparative Government and Politics?
Government: leadership and institutions that make policy decisions for a country
Politics: Power
Topics:
The Comparative Method
Sovereignty, Authority, and Power
Political and Economic Change
Citizens, Society, and the State
Political Institutions
Public Policy

3. The Comparative Method
Empirical data: factual statements and statistics
Normative issues: require value judgments
Scientific Method:
Hypothesis: speculative statement
Variables: measurable traits that change under different conditions- Independent variable is one that influences the Dependent Variable because its action depends on the influence of the Independent variable
Causation: The idea that one variable influences another
Correlation: Exists when change in one variable coincides with a change in another

4. The Comparative Method: Example
Why are poverty rates higher in one country than in others?
Causation: What causes or influences poverty to occur?
Hypothesis: Poverty level (dependent variable) might be caused by low levels of education (independent variable). A correlation exists when a change in one variable coincides with a change in the other. Correlations are an indication that causality may exist; they do not always indicate causation.

5. The Comparative Method: Different Approaches
Three World Approach (Cold War); Democracy v Authoritarianism; Communism v. Capitalism
The impact of informal politics: Connects civil society to the ways that the formal government operates- shows how beliefs, values, and actions of ordinary citizens have on policymaking.
The importance of political change: 1991
The integration of political and economic systems: Citizens are affected in many ways by economic inefficiency and turn to their government for solutions.

6. The Comparative Method
Advanced Democracies (Great Britain)
Communist and post-communist countries (Russia and China)
Less developed (Nigeria) and newly industrializing (or developing) countries (Mexico, Iran)

7. Sovereignty, Authority, and Power
State: The organization that maintains a monopoly of violence (force) over a territory and include institutions: stable, long lasting organizations that help turn political ideas into policy.
A state that lacks sovereignty lacks autonomy, and may be exploited.

8. States, Nations, and Regimes
State: All individuals and institutions that make public policy, whether they are in government or not. A geopolitical unit.
Nation: A psychological term to describe attachment or identity rather than a geopolitical unit such as a state. (Culture)
Nation-State: A state whose inhabitants consider themselves to be a nation.
Nationalism: The sense of belonging and identity that distinguishes on nation from another. (patriotism)

9. States, Nations, and Regimes
Regime: the rules that a state sets and follows in exerting its power
Democracies: Indirect- elected officials representing the people or Direct- individuals have immediate say over decisions
Parliamentary Systems: Citizens vote for legislative representatives, which in turn select leaders of the executive branch
Presidential Systems: Citizens vote for legislative representatives as well as for the executive branch leaders
Hybrid systems (semi-presidential): Combine elements of a presidential and parliamentary system

10. States, Nations, and Regimes
Authoritarian Regimes:
Political elites (1 person, political party, or many people) make decisions.
Citizens have little or no input into selection of leaders and government decisions
Economy is tightly controlled (communism) and state corporatism (an arrangement where government officials interact with people/groups outside the government before they set policy. Patron-client systems provide reciprocal favors and services to their supporters.
No constitutional responsibility of leaders to the public
Restriction of civil rights and liberties

11. States, Nations, and Regimes
Totalitarianism: Used to describe a repressive, detested, regime. Seek to control and transform all aspects of the political and economic systems of a society and have a strong ideological goal.
Military Regimes: Non-democratic rule. When legitimacy and stability are in question (violence), the military may intervene. Coup d’etat: forced take over of government.

12. States, Nations, and Regimes
Corporatism: A method through which business, labor, and/or other interest groups bargain with the state over economic policy. Makes an authoritarian state seem less controlling.
A less structured means of co-optation, or the means a regime uses to get support from citizens is patron- clientalism, a system in which the state provides specific benefits or favors to a single person or small group in return fro public support.

13. States, Nations, and Regimes
Pluralism: A basic principle of democracy- Power is split among many groups that compete for the chance to influence the government’s decision making.
Democratic (neo) Corporatism: Different from pluralism:
Pluralism: the formation of interest groups is spontaneous. Corporatism: interest representation is institutionalized through recognition of the state.
Pluralism: dialogue between state and interest groups is voluntary. Corporatism: organizations develop legally binding links with state agencies- groups become semi-public agencies, which act on behalf of the state.

14. States, Nations, and Regimes
Legitimacy: The right to rule
Traditional Authority
Charismatic Authority
Rational-legal Authority: Common Law- based on tradition, legal precedents. Code law- a comprehensive system of written rules (codes)
Factors which contribute to legitimacy:
Economic well-being, historical tradition, charismatic leadership, nationalism/shared political culture, satisfaction with the government’s responsiveness/ performance

15. States, Nations, and Regimes
Political Culture and Political Ideologies
Political culture: collection of political beliefs, values, practices and institutions that the government is based on.
Social capital: the amount of reciprocity and trust that exists among citizens, and between citizens and the state.
Types:
Consensual political culture: accepts both legitimacy of the regime and solutions to major problems
Conflictual political culture: sharply divided on both legitimacy of the regime and solutions to major problems

16. States, Nations, and Regimes
Political Ideologies:
Liberalism: economic and political freedom
Communism: values equality over freedom
Socialism: shares the value of equality and freedom
Fascism: Limits individual freedoms and rejects the value of equality
Religions: Important source of group identity; Theocracies

17. Political and Economic Change
Interested in causes and impact on the various policymaking process found in the 6 countries
Overall trend toward change
Political and Economic change occur together and influence one another
Tension is created when one occurs without the other (China)
Can authoritarian governments effectively guide market economies?

18. Political and Economic Change
Types of Change:
Reform: Does not advocate the overthrow of basic institutions
Revolution: Advocates the overthrow of basic institutions
Coup d’etats: Limited. Replace leadership of a country with new leaders. Instiutions remain intact

19. Political and Economic Change
Attitudes Toward Change
Radicalism: Rapid, dramatic change must be made (social/political) Revolution.
Liberalism: Supports reform and gradual change rather than revolution
Conservatism: Less supportive of change: Resist change
Reactionary Beliefs: Go further to protect against change than do conservative beliefs- Oppose both revolution and reform but also find the status quo unacceptable. Turn back the clock to earlier eras and will use violence if necessary.

20. Political and Economic Change
Three Trends
Democratization
Movement Toward Market Economies
Revival of Ethnic or Cultural Politics

21. Political and Economic Change
Democratization
Liberal Democracies:
Competitive Elections: Free, fair, and regular
Civil liberties
Rule of Law
Neutrality of the Judiciary
Open Civil Society
Civilian Control of the Military
Illiberal democracies are missing all of the above characteristics EXCEPT Competitive elections.

22. Political and Economic Change
Democratization
Samuel Huntington: 3rd wave of democratization- 1970s- defeat of dictatorial leaders in Africa and S. America
Why has democratization occurred?
Loss of legitimacy by authoritarian regimes
Expansion of the urban middle class
Emphasis on Human Rights
Snowball effect- when one becomes democratic others will follow
Revolution of rising expectations

23. Political and Economic Change
Movement Toward Market Economies
Belief that government is too big
Lack of success of command economies
Command economies- socialist principles of centralized planning and state ownership
Market economy- One that is based on free market controls
Mixed economy – Shares the principles of both command and market economies
Marketization: state’s re-creation of a market in which property, labor, services, and goods all function in a competitive environment
Privatization: the transfer of state-owned property to private ownership

24. Political and Economic Change
Revival of Ethnic or Cultural Politics
Fragmentation: divisions based on ethnic or cultural identity
Nationalism: identities based on nationhood
Politicization of Religion
The revival of ethnic or cultural politics tends to emphasize differences among nations rather than commonalities.

25. Citizens, Society, and the State
Social Cleavages are those facets of society that interact with the political system and have tremendous impact on policy making. (religion, ethnic groups, race, social and economic classes)
Bases of Social Cleavages: Mix of classes, etc? How deep are the cleavages? How do they separate society? Which cleavages are most influential on policymaking?
Cleavages and Political Institutions: How are cleavages expressed in the political system? Party membership based on cleavages? Do elites come from one main group or many? Do these cleavages block some groups from participation in the political system?

26. Citizens, Society, and the State
Comparing Citizen/State Relationships
Attitudes and beliefs of the citizens (political efficacy)
Political Socialization (How do citizens learn about government)
Types of political participation
Voting Behavior
Factors that influence political beliefs and behaviors

27. Citizens, Society, and the State
Social Movements: Organized collective activities which bring about or resist change in an existing group or society
Civil Society: Organizations outside of the government that help people define and advance their own interests. Helps define the people’s relationship role in politics and community affairs. Prevents tyranny of the majority.

28. Citizens, Society, and the State
Global Civil Society: Led by human rights and environmental groups
Global Cosmopolitanism: A universal political order that draws its identity and values from everywhere.
Authoritarian states do not foster civil society.

29. Political Institutions
Political Institutions: Structures of a political system that carry out the work of governing.
Levels of Government:
Unitary: policymaking powers are in one central, geographic location.
Confederal: Spreads the power among many sub-units (states) and has a weak central government
Federal: Divides the power between the central government and sub-units.

30. Political Institutions
Continuum
Unitary System Federal System Confederal System
Most concentrated Least

31. Political Institutions
Supranational Organizations: Go beyond natural boundaries- NATO, NAFTA, OPEC, United Nations
Globalization: an integration of social, environmental, economic, technological, and cultural activities of nations that has resulted from increasing international contacts
Effects: Internationalizes domestic issues and events. Counter Trend- fragmentation- a tendency for people to base their loyalty on language, ethnicity, religion, or cultural identity.

32. Political Institutions
Challenges to the Nation-State Configuration: Power of supranational organizations
Centripetal Forces: Bind together the people of a state and give it strength. Nationalism is developed by states through: symbols, rituals, flags, holidays, institutions, infrastructure, and the media.
Centrifugal Forces: Oppose centripetal forces. Weak, authoritarian states may promote extreme nationalism or separatist movements. Devolution may occur to diffuse tensions, whereby a unitary state (United Kingdom) may decentralize decision making to regional governments (Scotland and Wales).

33. Political Institutions
Devolution is a response to centrifugal forces. 3 types:
Ethnic Forces: Ethno nationalism is the tendency for an ethnic group to see itself as a distinct nation with a right to autonomy (Northern Ireland, UK and Chechnya, Russia)
Economic Forces: Regional economic inequalities (Northern Italy with Southern Italy)
Spatial Forces: Devolution occurs in the outer regions of the state (Tibet, China?)

34. Political Institutions
Executives
Head of State: A role that symbolizes and represents the people and may or may not have policymaking power
Head of Government: Deals with the everyday tasks of running the state and usually directs the activities of other members of the executive branch.
Functions: Chief executive is the most important person in the policymaking process. Presidential system, president has veto power, Parliamentary system the president has no veto power.
Cabinet: Parliamentary system, the cabinet is the most important collective decision-making body, its ministers are leaders of the majority party, and is led by the prime minister. Presidential system, the president appoints the cabinet, and its members are not from the legislature, but the president may have them removed.

35. Political Institutions
Bureaucracies: Agencies that implement government policy (executive branch of government)
Max Weber:
Hierarchical authority structure
Task specialization
Extensive rules
Clear goals
The merit principle
Impersonality

36. Political Institutions
Bureaucracies in Democracies: Discretionary Power- The power to make small decisions implementing legislative and executive decisions.
Bureaucracies in Authoritarian Regimes: Head of government exercises complete control over the bureaucracy.
Common Characteristics of Bureaucracies:
Non-elected positions
Impersonal, efficient structures
Formal qualifications for jobs
Hierarchical organization
Red tape/ineficiency

37. Political Institutions
Legislatures: Branch of government that makes laws.
Bicameral: Two houses (most common) Upper house represents regional governments and local interests. Other chamber determined by population
Unicameral: One house
Functions: Members formulate, debate, and vote on policies and control the budget. Some may appoint members to the other branches or even serve (UK) as the court of appeals. May also play a major role in elite recruitment of future leaders

38. Political Institutions
Judiciaries: Roles vary considerably from one state to another.
Authoritarian: Courts have little to no authority/independence.
Democratic: Offer a constitutional court which serves to defend the democratic principles of a state. Judicial Review, or the mechanism that allows the courts to review laws and executive actions for their constitutionality. Judges in the US are not directly elected, so they do not represent the direct will of the people. Weak branch in most countries.

39. Political Institutions
Linkage Institutions: Groups that connect the government to its citizens. (political parties, interest groups, and print and electronic media)
Parties:
Bring different people together and ideas together to establish the means by which the majority can rule.
Provide labels for candidates that help citizens decide how to vote.
Hold politicians accountable to the electorate and/or political elite.
Most democracies have multi-party systems (parliamentary systems); the two party system in the US is not common. The plurality of the electorate is main reason for the two party system in the US.

40. Political Institutions
Electoral Systems: Rules that decide how votes are cast, counted, and translated into seats in a legislature.
Democracies: All divide their populations by electoral boundaries.
Arrangements: First-pat-the-post divide their constituencies into single-member districts in which candidates compete for a single representatives seat. Also called plurality system, or winner-take-all system (don’t need a majority to win, only the most votes ). Proportional Representation creates multi-party districts in which more than one legislative seat is contested in each district. Voters cast ballots for a party, not a candidate and the percentage of votes a party receives determines how many seats the party will gain in the legislature. Russia and Mexico use a mixed system.

41. Political Institutions
Presidential System- directly elects the president, Parliamentary system, the prime minister is elected by the legislature.
Elections found in democracies:
Election of Public Officials: Legislators and other officials.
Referendum: Allows the public to vote on particular policy issues. Plebiscite: A ballot to consult public opinion in a non-binding way.
Initiative: A vote on a policy that is initiated by the people.

42. Political Institutions
Interest Groups: Organizations of like-minded people whose goal is to influence and shape public policy.
Types: Occupations, labor, business interests, agriculture, community action, or advocacy for a cause and may be organized at the national, state or local level. Many are non-political.
Power: Determined by how much autonomy the group has from the government.

43. Political Institutions
Interest Groups in authoritarian systems: Groups serve as a vehicle for the transmission of ideology and are chosen by the political elite.
Interest Group Pluralism: Found in Western Industrial democracies and guard their independence b selecting their own leaders and raising their own funds. These groups are always competing for control over policy.
Corporatism: Fewer groups compete than in pluralism, one for each sector. (labor, agriculture, and management) The group’s monopoly over its sector is approved by the state and sometimes protected by the state. 2 types:
State Corporatism: State determines which groups are brought in
Societal Corporatism (neocorporatism): Interest groups dominate the state.

44. Public Policy Common Policy Issues:
Economic Performance: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross National Product (GNP), GNP or GDP per capita, and Purchasing Power Parity.
Social Welfare: The Gini Index, The Human Development Index (HDI)
Civil liberties, rights and freedoms: Freedom House
Environment: Green parties