Political Systems & Regimes
This country is the only "Advanced Democracy" among the six core countries and is categorized as a "full democracy."
What is the United Kingdom?
In this country, the Guardian Council has the power to veto legislation passed by parliament if it contradicts Islamic law.
What is Iran?
This informal network in China involves leaders whose factions compete for power based on personal connections.
What is Guanxi (Patron-Clientelism)?
For 71 years, this political party dominated Mexico's government through a patron-client system before losing the presidency in 2000.
What is the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party)?
This 1994 trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. deeply linked the Mexican economy to global markets.
What is NAFTA?
Nigeria, Russia, China, and Iran are all categorized as this general regime type, which limits political pluralism.
What is Authoritarian?
This country uses a dual executive system with a President and a Prime Minister, where the President holds significant "decree" powers.
What is Russia?
Groups like the Zapatistas (EZLN) in Mexico represent this concept, where a specific group feels marginalized by the state.
What is a Cleavage?
In the UK, this electoral system often results in a "two-party system" despite the presence of multiple competitive parties.
What is First-Past-The-Post (or Single Member District Plurality)?
Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to reform the Soviet Union using glasnost (openness) and this policy of economic restructuring.
What is Perestroika?
This concept refers to the right to rule as determined by a country's own citizens, often secured through tradition or elections.
What is Legitimacy?
The Upper House in the UK serves as an example of this type of legislature, though its power to delay bills is limited.
What is Bicameral (or the House of Lords)?
This term refers to voluntary organizations outside the state that help citizens define their interests, such as NGOs in Nigeria.
What is Civil Society?
In Iran’s electoral system, this 12-member appointed body has the power to disqualify thousands of candidates from running for the Majles or the Presidency, effectively acting as a "theocratic filter."
What is the Guardian Council?
This "snowball effect" occurred in Eastern Europe in the 1980s, where one country's move to democracy influenced its neighbors.
What is Democratization?
This country's regime is a theocracy, where ultimate legal authority rests in sharia law rather than a secular constitution.
What is Iran?
In China, these government-endorsed interest groups act as "transmission belts" to convey party views to the public.
What is State Corporatism?
This term refers to the gap in political and economic status between citizens living in major cities versus those in the countryside.
What is the Urban-Rural Cleavage?
This independent body was created in Mexico to safeguard honest election results and reduce fraud.
What is the IFE (Federal Electoral Institute)?
Since the return to civilian rule in 1999, this Nigerian policy aims to sell off state-owned enterprises to improve efficiency and reduce government spending.
What is Privatization?
According to Samuel P. Huntington, a country has achieved this when it has had at least two successive peaceful turnovers of power.
What is Democratic Consolidation?
This term describes a system where the state determines which specific interest groups (like labor or business) are allowed to influence policy.
What is Corporatism?
This Chinese system once provided citizens with "cradle-to-grave" benefits through their workplace but has diminished with market reforms.
What is the Danwei system?
Russia's transition to a system that favors the "party of power" (United Russia) has led it to be classified as this "hybrid" regime type.
What is an Illiberal Democracy (or Hybrid Regime)?
This process describes how a state might move from a centrally planned economy to one based on supply and demand, as seen in China.
What is Economic Liberalization?