States, Regimes & Governments
This term refers to the fundamental rules and norms of politics that persist across different leadership changes.
Regime
What is the political science term for a citizen's belief that the government has the legal right to rule?
Political legitimacy
What essential democratic event occurs when an incumbent party peacefully steps down after losing an election?
Peaceful transition of power
What principle guarantees that all citizens and government officials are equally accountable to the law?
Rule of law
What type of statement is based purely on factual, objective, and verifiable evidence?
Empirical statement
In a unitary system, what is the term for the central government delegating powers to regional bodies?
Devolution
What is the primary source of political legitimacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran?
Religious authority
What type of regime holds regular elections but severely limits civil liberties and independent media?
Illiberal democracy (or Hybrid regime)
What occurs when authoritarian regimes manipulate the judicial system as a tool to repress political rivals?
Rule by law
What type of political statement expresses value judgments and opinions about what should or ought to be?
Normative statement
Which system grants subnational governments (regional) independent legal authority that cannot be unilaterally revoked by the central legislature?
Federal system
What type of legitimacy relies on a country's economic growth and rising living standards?
Performance legitimacy
What is the term for a human community bound together by shared history, ethnicity, language, or culture?
Nation
What institutional principle ensures that judges can make decisions without fear of executive retaliation?
Judicial independence
Besides per capita income and life expectancy, what is the third key component measured by the Human Development Index?
Education
(Educational attainment)
Name three of the core AP Comparative countries that have a federal system.
Mexico, Nigeria, Russia
What type of legitimacy is based on long-standing customs, historical continuity, or sacred heritage?
Traditional legitimacy
What is the term for the slow, incremental decay of democratic institutions from within by elected leaders?
Democratic backsliding
What is the primary institutional mechanism in a democracy that holds leaders accountable and reduces corruption? (allows for change in leaders)
Competitive elections
What index measures a country's economic inequality based on income distribution across its population?
Gini index
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned in 2022 and was replaced by Liz Truss. Is this an example of state, regime, or government change?
Government change
Identify a factor that can decrease a government's legitimacy.
Poor performance, corruption, repression, weakened institutions, security concerns, etc.
What digital barrier does China use to filter web traffic and restrict citizen access to foreign internet sites?
The Great Firewall
What specific type of state relies heavily on natural resource revenues rather than taxation, often breeding high corruption and weak rule of law?
Rentier state
If two political variables move together in data without one directly/verifiably causing the other, what is their relationship?
Correlation