Term
| What are the four concentrations of political science? |
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Definition
| Comparative politics, American politics, international affairs and political theory |
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Term
| Which method of political science studies two to eight units by comparison? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which type of method of political science uses numbers to draw descriptive and inferential conclusions while controlling for many, many explanations? |
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Definition
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Term
| What method of political science examines a single case? |
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Definition
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Term
| What method of political science features the formulation of a hypothesis and conducts a manipulation of a variable while controlling for alternative explanations? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the two types of comparative methods? |
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Definition
| Most Similar Systems Design and Most Different Systems Design |
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Term
| What is the Most Similar Systems Design? |
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Definition
| It is a research design within the comparative method where two units that are similar in almost all ways except for the considered IV are compared. |
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Term
| What is the Most Different Systems Design? |
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Definition
| It is a research design within the comparative method where two units that are different in almost all ways except for the considered IV are compared. |
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Term
| What is the Least Likely Case Design? |
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Definition
| It is a research design within the case study method examining an unexpected phenomenon. |
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Term
| What is the Most Likely Case Design? |
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Definition
| It is a research design within the case study method examining the absence of an expected phenomenon. |
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Term
| Why are experiments uncommon in political science? |
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Definition
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Term
| Country. What are three examples? What is a non-example? |
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Definition
| A political territory with a clearly-defined geographical border. E.g. Mexico, Iran, Brazil. Incorrect/iffy: the United Kingdom. |
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Term
| State. What are three examples? What are two failed examples? |
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Definition
| A sovereign set of institutions that exercise a monopoly over the legitimate use of force. E.g. United States, Chile, Japan. Failed states: Haiti, Somalia. |
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Term
| Nation. What are three examples? |
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Definition
| A cultural group or community sharing one or more of a history, religion, language or other social link. E.g. the Japanese, the Kurds, the Croatians. |
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Term
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Definition
| A group of people who temporarily hold the offices of the state. In the United States, this is the leadership of each of the three branches. |
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Term
| Administration. What are three examples? |
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Definition
| The leadership of the executive branch. E.g. Obama Administration, Cameron Government, Harper Government. |
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Term
| Bureaucracy. What are two example components? |
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Definition
| The people who run the day-to-day executive functions of the administration. I.e. from the IRS to the DMV. |
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Term
| Regime. What are two examples? |
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Definition
| The rules of a state, determining 1. Who gets power? and 2. How much power does whom get? E.g. Democracy v. Autocracy. |
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Term
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Definition
| Characterized by advocacy for less government control in politics and economics, support for democracy and individual freedom. Popularized between the 14th and 16th Centuries. |
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Term
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Definition
| Reaction to classical liberalism; characterized by a focus on maintaining order through a philosophy that sees revolution as something that inevitably creates instability and chaos. E.g. French Revolution, Iraqi invasion. |
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Term
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Definition
| A spinoff of classical liberalism; characterized by a desire for less regulation on social and family issues. |
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Term
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Definition
| A spinoff of classical liberalism; characterized by a desire for less regulation on businesses and economic interests. |
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Term
| What was the sole initial purpose of the state? |
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Definition
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Term
| By whom, when and where was the first modern state created? What did it include? |
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Definition
| Napoleon's early 1800s France. Central bureaucracy, standing army, uniform language, French identity, formalized borders. |
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Term
| What are the four types of goods? |
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Definition
| Common pool resources, private goods, public goods, toll goods. |
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Term
| What are the two types of non-excludable goods? |
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Definition
| Common pool resources and public goods. |
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Term
| What are the two types of excludable goods? |
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Definition
| Private goods and toll goods. |
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Term
| What are the two types of non-rival goods? |
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Definition
| Public goods and toll goods. |
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Term
| What are the two types of rival goods? |
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Definition
| Common pool resources and private goods. |
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Term
| Where do common pool resources lie on the excludability/rivalry table? What is an example? What problem affects these, if any? |
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Definition
| Non-excludable, rival. Fish. Tragedy of the commons. |
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Term
| Where do private goods lie on the excludability/rivalry table? What is an example? What problem affects these, if any? |
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Definition
| Excludable, rival. An apple. None. |
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Term
| Where do public goods lie on the excludability/rivalry table? What is an example? What problem affects these, if any? |
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Definition
| Non-excludable, non-rival. Military protection. Free rider problem. |
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Term
| Where do toll goods lie on the excludability/rivalry table? What is an example? What problems affects these, if any? |
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Definition
| Excludable, non-rival. Cable television service. None. |
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Term
| What is the collective action problem? |
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Definition
| A problem that arises from citizens finding no incentive to contribute to a project. |
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Term
| What are the two types of problem within the collective action problem? |
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Definition
| Free rider problem and tragedy of the commons. |
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Term
| Which of types of goods on the excludability/rivalry table work well with capitalism? Which don't? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which type of goods on the excludability/rivalry table tends to form a natural monopoly? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the four ways to fix the collective action problem (free rider problem)? |
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Definition
| 1. Coercion—e.g. IRS wage garnishment, 2. Selective incentives—free mug from the PBS drive or services while you fund AAA lobbying, 3. Smaller groups—social peer pressure, 4. Wealthy people who can bear the full or remaining costs. |
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Term
| How many waves of democratization have occurred? |
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Definition
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Term
| When was the first wave of democratization? What stopped it? |
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Definition
| 1820–1926. The rise of fascism. |
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Term
| When was the second wave of democratization? What stopped it? |
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Definition
| 1945–1962. The Vietnam War after the rise of communism. |
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Term
| When was the third wave of democratization? What stopped it? |
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Definition
| 1975–present. It has not been stopped and probably won't be. |
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Term
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Definition
| The ability to issue orders that will be followed. |
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Term
| What are the three ways to get authority? |
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Definition
| Incentives (the carrot), punishment (the stick) or legitimacy. |
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Term
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Definition
| Assumption that commands should be followed, solely on that belief within itself. |
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Term
| What are the four ways to get (and end) legitimacy? |
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Definition
| 1. Results—Clinton/Lewinsky, meh; 2. Habit—no more queen if the crown goes down tomorrow; 3. Identity—India stopped listening to the British; 4. Procedure—Gore and Bush. |
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Term
| Why is legitimacy not enough to get and keep a democracy? |
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Definition
| It can be used to validate an autocracy—Putin's Russia. |
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Term
| What four values are often attributed to a good political culture? |
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Definition
| 1. Tolerance, 2. Participation, 3. Interest and information dissemination, 4. Legitimacy. |
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Term
| What are the six ways to classify an economy? |
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Definition
| 1. Allocation mechanism; 2. Form of ownership; 3. Role of planning; 4. Role of incentives; 5. Redistribution of wealth; 6. Link to the political regime. |
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Term
| What is an allocation mechanism? What are three examples? |
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Definition
| The process by which decisions on inputs/output and consumption decisions are made. Market (supply/demand), command (state) and traditional (often religion). |
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Term
| What is the form of ownership? What are two examples? |
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Definition
| The decision on who owns the means of production. Capitalism and socialism. |
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Term
| What does the role of planning entail? What is an example of planning? |
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Definition
| Capability of the state to plan the role of the economy, how far ahead the state may plan / is planning. Manufacturing subsidies. |
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Term
| What does the role of incentives entail? What are three examples? |
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Definition
| How the economic regime compels cooperation through incentivizing. Capitalist materialism, socialist fairness, traditional faith. |
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Term
| When might we see a command–capitalist scenario? |
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Definition
| Steel production during wartime. |
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Term
| When might we see a market–socialist scenario? |
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Definition
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Term
| How does capitalism benefit democracy? |
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Definition
| Private funding from citizens influences public decision making. |
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Term
| How does democracy benefit capitalism? |
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Definition
| Prevents rebellion against the wealthier, à la Marx, because of a sense of equal control. |
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Term
| How does capitalism harm democracy? |
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Definition
| Money = influence = power. Inequality. |
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Term
| How does democracy harm capitalism? |
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Definition
| Popular sentiment can distort the market through policy decisions regarding intervention. |
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Term
| What is the goal of an election? |
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Definition
| To translate popular preferences into policy. |
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Term
| What are the five problems with elections? |
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Definition
| 1. It is irrational because one's vote holds little sway for the productive time lost, 2. Because informed and educated voters are the most partisan, the uneducated centrists decide the elections, 3. The message is too blunt for complex individuals like Deborah, 4. The rules ultimately decide things and can decide everything (gerrymandering), 5. Elections can legitimize an autocracy. |
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Term
| What are the three ways to classify an election and the classifications therein? |
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Definition
| 1. District magnitude: the number of seats to be filled in a single district in a single election, 2. Ballot structure: how you cast your vote—categorical (check the box) v. ordinal (rank ordering by preference), 3. Electoral formula: How do you translate votes into winners?—plurality, majority, PR. |
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Term
| What are the pros and cons of proportional representation? |
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Definition
| Pro: more representative of the voters; cons: extremists, no direct constituent representation |
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Term
| What are the pros and cons of a single-member-district plurality electoral system? |
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Definition
| Pros: elimination of extremists, constituent representation; cons: moderates not necessarily reflecting population |
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Term
| What are the two types of representatives and a legislative and executive example of each? |
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Definition
| Delegates, who simply channel constituents' wishes as in the president of the United States and the members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and trustees, who act as experts on constituents' behalf as in a prime minister or U.S. Senators. |
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Term
| What is the key to identifying decision-making systems? |
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Definition
| The method of choosing the chief executive. |
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Term
| How are the legislature and chief executive chosen in a presidential system? |
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Definition
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Term
| How are the legislature and chief executive chosen in a parliamentary system? |
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Definition
| The people elect the legislature, which elects the chief executive. |
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Term
| What are the pros and cons of a presidential system? |
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Definition
| Pros: separation of powers, checks and balances, minority voice, fixed elections; cons: harder to place accountability, can be slow |
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Term
| What are the pros and cons of a parliamentary system? |
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Definition
| Pros: quick action, more accountable, usually a more experienced chief executive; cons: no separation of powers, no checks and balances, no minority voice, sporadic elections |
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Term
| Who can call elections in a parliamentary system? |
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Definition
| Generally, either the prime minister or the head of state. |
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Term
| At what two points and why might a prime minister call an election? |
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Definition
| When things are going very well, to show strength and renew their license to govern; when things are going very poorly to place the crisis with the opposition and avoid public resentment. |
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Term
| What does the median voter theorem state? |
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Definition
| Public policy will be at the median of ideology from left to right, similar to the concept of Justice Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court. |
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Term
| What state is a key exception to DuVerger's Law? Why does this not apply to the United States? |
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Definition
| India: It is a heterogenous country where thirty-eight parties can sit in the parliament simultaneous because they are geographically placed. This could not happen with, say, the Green Party because they are geographically scattered. |
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Term
| Describe a state with a parliamentary system and a single-member-district plurality electoral system. |
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Definition
| The best. Citizens have a representative to go to, extremists are kept away, high accountability, quick response, experienced prime minister. E.g. the United Kingdom. |
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Term
| Describe a state with a presidential system and a single-member-district plurality electoral system. |
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Definition
| Good. Citizens have their representative and extremists are kept away, but there is still significant potential for gridlock and reduced accountability. E.g. the United States |
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Term
| Describe a state with a parliamentary system and a proportional representation electoral system. |
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Definition
| Dangerous. Not totally doomed but great likelihood of instability because of high number of parties in coalition. E.g. Japan. |
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Term
| Describe a state with a presidential system and a proportional representation electoral system. |
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Definition
| The worst. Government is overrun with political parties which may also fight with the president (nothing gets done), room for extremists, least accountability. E.g. Brazil. |
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