Foundational Vocabulary
A political regime type in which political power is exercised either directly or indirectly by the people
Democracy
The leadership in charge of running the state for a period of time and who are responsible for enforcing the regime.
What is a government?
These are the two basic metrics used to measure state strength.
What are capacity and autonomy?
People with this political attitude prefer strong leaderships, clear and strict rules, and value safety and order over freedom and equality.
What is an Authoritarian Attitude?
This is the process by which political power is transferred informally down to lower level structures of the state
What is Devolution?
A shared material standard or criteria applicable to all individuals within a community
What is equality?
Aside form legitimacy, this is the only other recourse the state has to enforce their authority over the population.
What is coercion?
China deciding to use state funds to create the largest high speed train network in the world in record time is an example of this combo.
High capacity and high autonomy
People who question the status quo, embrace change, innovation and diversity, and believe the government should be an agent of change are called this.
Who are the Progressives?
The different types of Federations with deciding power and regional laws enshrined in the regime are examples of this.
What is decentralization?
An organization or activity that is self-perpetuating and valued for its own sake.
What is an institution?
people accept those in power because they have always been there, and the ascension of a new leader is not questioned
What is Traditional Legitimacy?
One risk of having this combo is that it may lead to political gridlock and government inaction.
What is a danger of having High Capacity and Low Autonomy?
This ideology privileges the needs of workers over those of entrepreneurs, seeks to foster social equality even at the cost of slower growth, and believes the state should intervene in the economy to keep it fair for all.
What are some traits of Social Democracy?
Authoritarian states often just have one legal entity of this type, but all democracies have at least two and often more of them competing for power.
What are Political Parties?
A group of people bound by common aspirations, history and culture who believe they belong together and want to control their destiny, but may or may not control a territory.
What is a nation?
Nayib Bukele touting his achievement of a year with zero murders as his main pitch to get reelected again is an example of this.
What is an example of results-based legitimacy?
The inability of Mexico of building their own high speed train network on their own without requiring foreign help to do so reveals this trait about their nation.
What is an example of Mexico's Low Capacity?
This ideology believes the state should promote a set of universal values, enforce social homogeneity, promote discipline, order, and respect for hierarchy, and identify and neutralize antagonist groups.
What are some traits of Fascism?
In this system, political power and administrative decision making power is concentrated mostly in the capital city, and laws tend to be universally applied throughout the whole territory.
What is a centralized state?
The ability of a state to carry out actions or policies within a territory independently of external actors or internal rivals
What is sovereignty?
An intense government propaganda campaign promoting the leader is an attempt at building this type of legitimacy
Charismatic legitimacy
A government that can't fully control its territory, has high tax evasion, has a corrupt government and has a weak national identity is considered to be this.
What are some traits of Weak States?
This ideology believes in fostering national monopolies, wants to keep control of key national industries, and opposes free trade in favor of using political power to always trade at a profit, selling expensive and buying cheap.
What are some traits of Mercantilism?
It's a political system in which the head of government and the head of state roles are combined into a single executive position that is elected directly by voters.
What is a Presidential System?