AP Comparative Government & Politics Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3

AP Comparative Government & Politics Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3 causation - Correct Answer A cause and effect relationship in which one variable controls the changes in another variable. correlation - Correct Answer A situation where one set of observed data seems to be closely related to another set of data, but does not necessarily mean causation empirical - Correct Answer based on observation or experiment normative - Correct Answer describes beliefs or values about how things should be or what people ought to do government - Correct Answer the leadership and institutions that make policy decisions for a country politics - Correct Answer Method of maintaining, managing, and gaining power (who gets what, when, and how) variable - Correct Answer measurable traits that change under different conditions Gross Domestic Product - Correct Answer The sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a nation Purchasing Power Parity - Correct Answer A way to calculate gross domestic product that takes the cost of living and buying power into account. Gini Index - Correct Answer a mathematical formula that measures the amount of economic inequality in a society Human Development Index (HDI) - Correct Answer Measurement developed by the United Nations that assesses health, education and wealth of population capacity - Correct Answer the ability of the state to wield power in order to carry out the basic tasks of providing security and reconciling freedom and equality autonomy - Correct Answer The ability of the state to wield its power independently of the public or international actors state - Correct Answer Population + defined territory + governing institutions + international recognition + use of force (if necessary) nation - Correct Answer a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language regime - Correct Answer The fundamental rules and norms of politics, embodying long-term goals regarding individual freedom and collective equality, where power should reside, and the use of that power nation-state - Correct Answer a sovereign state whose citizens or subjects are relatively homogeneous in factors such as language or common descent. Authoritarianism - Correct Answer A political system in which a small group of individuals exercises power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public. Totalitarianism - Correct Answer A political system in which the government has total control over the lives of individual citizens. Theocracy - Correct Answer a political system in which religious leaders control political decisions and religious law provides the basis for policy decisions. military regime - Correct Answer System of government in which military officers control power, asserting need for order Democracy - Correct Answer A political system which favours free and fair elections, civil liberties, rule of law Prime Minister - Correct Answer the head of a government; the majority party's leader in parliament Rule of Law - Correct Answer principle that the law applies to everyone, even those who govern proportional representation - Correct Answer An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote. illiberal regime - Correct Answer An authoritarian regime that retains the basic structures of democracy but does not protect basic civil liberties Coup d'état - Correct Answer A sudden overthrow of the government by a small group (usually military) Revolution - Correct Answer a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. Parliamentary System - Correct Answer A system of government in which the chief executive is almost always the leader whose party holds the most seats in the legislature after an election presidential system - Correct Answer a form of government headed by a president who is elected by the people for a limited term of office and whose powers are balanced by an elected legislature Republic - Correct Answer A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws; emphasizes separation of powers democratic consolidation - Correct Answer The widespread acceptance of democracy as the permanent form of political activity; all significant political elites and their followers accept democratic rules and are confident everyone else does as well shah - Correct Answer a title of the former monarch of Iran. tsar - Correct Answer The Russian term for ruler or king; taken from the Roman word caesar. Devolution - Correct Answer the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to state governments Constitution - Correct Answer A document which spells out the principles by which a government runs and the fundamental laws that govern a society Civil Liberties - Correct Answer freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair legal treatment Common Law - Correct Answer a system of law based on precedent and customs Civil Law - Correct Answer A legal system based on a written code of laws Secular - Correct Answer Non-religious Sovereignty - Correct Answer Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states. legitimacy - Correct Answer Political authority conferred by law or by a state or national constitution What is the name of the most powerful group of people in China that is also a part of the Politburo? - Correct Answer The Standing Committee