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absolute majority
An absolute majority means more than half of those entitled to vote, as opposed to a mere plurality.
absolute majority electoral system
Also known as the alternative vote, the absolute majority electoral system seeks to ensure that the winning candidate is acceptable to a majority of those voting. The procedure begins with voters ranking candidates in order of preference (1, 2, 3, etc). If no candidate wins a majority of first preferences, the bottom candidate is eliminated and his or her votes are redistributed according to second preferences. Repeat until a candi¬date has a majority. This system takes into account more information about voters’ preferences than the single-member plurality system but is not a form of proportional representation.
accountability
Accountability can be used narrowly, to refer to a reporting requirement (‘to be called to account’) or more broadly as a synonym for responsibility (‘to be held to account’). In the latter sense, to be accountable is to be held responsible for one’s actions by and often before another body. See vertical and horizontal accountability.
additional member system
The additional member system is a phase often used in Britain to describe mixed electoral systems in which electors vote for both a party list and a district candidate. Within this category, it is important to distinguish between mixed member majoritarian and mixed member proportional systems.
administrative capacity
Administrative capacity refers to the bureaucracy’s ability (or lack of it) to provide effective management and implementation of public policy. Capacity-building is currently an important theme of international development agencies, reflecting belated realization that competent public administration is an important condition of even market-led economic development.
administrative law
Administrative law sets out the principles gov¬erning decision-making by public bodies, mainly the bureaucracy, and the remedies for breaching such rules. For example, America’s Administrative Procedure Act (1946) requires courts to hold unlawful any agency action that is ‘arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law’. The issues involved here concern public law and have no clear analogy in the private sector. Typical questions asked in administrative law are: was an official authorized to make a particular decision? Was the decision made in the correct way (e.g. with adequate consultation)? Does the decision accord with natural justice? Although administrative regulation may lack the high-profile political activity of constitutional courts, subjecting the work of public officials to law is a function essential to a liberal society. Clear, enforceable regulations help to secure a balanced rela¬tionship between state and citizen.
adversary politics
Adversary politics is a critical term denoting a sterile and negative competition between the leading parties in a two-party system. The phrase was coined in the 1970s to describe British party politics during an era when neither the Conservative nor Labour governments seemed capable of resolving the country’s economic difficulties. Party competition in Britain remains intense but is now less ideologically-based.
affirmative action
Affirmative action means giving preference to the members of under-represented groups, particularly in allocating resources such as college places and public sector jobs. Affirmative action can help to compensate for past discrimination but can create new resentments. In practice, it tends not to reach the least advantaged members of under-represented groups. Also known as positive discrimination.
agenda-setting
To set the agenda is to control what topics are discussed. Agenda-setting is a form of influence which might be missed when focusing solely on the debate about the topics that are on the agenda. For instance, it is often claimed that media coverage influences the agenda; reported events are widely discussed by the public but non-reported events lose visibility. See non-decision.
alternate
As a noun, this word is used in politics (and elsewhere) to refer to a stand-in, substitute or replacement.
alternative vote
Also known as the absolute majority electoral system, the alternative vote is an electoral system seeks to ensure that the winning candidate is acceptable to a majority of those voting. The procedure begins with voters ranking candidates in order of preference (1, 2, 3, etc). If no candidate wins a majority of first preferences, the bottom candidate is eliminated and his or her votes are redistributed according to second preferences. Repeat until a candi¬date has a majority. This system takes into account more information about voters’ preferences than the single-member plurality system but is not a form of proportional representation.
anti-clerical
Opposition to the political influence of the church and its clergy. Anti-clericalism was an important theme in the political development of many West European countries where socialist and communist parties adopted an intensely secular approach in opposition to the traditional privileges of the Catholic church. The resolution of these clerical/anti-clerical conflicts has often left a legacy of a strongly secular state, even in Catholic countries such as France. Anti-clericalism has also surfaced in some nationalist movements.
apparentement
An option in some list systems of proportional representation permitting parties to pool their votes for seat allocation purposes. Such alliances can be advantageous to small parties in electoral systems biased against small parties, for example the D’Hondt formula. Apparentement can also be used to marginalize extreme parties with which no other party is willing to ally.
apportionment
Apportionment is the process of allocating seats to regions, usually to ensure that each region receives representation in proportion to population. See districting, gerrymandering.
appropriation
An allocation of public funds for a stated purpose. In most countries, appropriations are controlled by the executive though the American Congress has retained control over the authorization of funds; this command of the purse is a crucial source of its influence.
aristocracy
Aristocracy is government by the best. Aristotle distinguished between an oligarchy (a small minority which governs in its own interests) and an aristocracy (a small minority which governs in the general interest). ‘Aristocracy’ can also refer to government by the landed nobility or other privileged groups.
asymmetric federalism
Asymmetric federalism arises when some states within a federation are given more autonomy than others. In Canada, for example, Quebec national¬ists have long argued for special recognition for their French-speaking province; they view Canada as a compact between English- and French speaking communities rather than a contract between 10 equal provinces. By contrast, in the more common and straight-forward symmetrical federations, such as the United States all states within the country possess the same constitutional relationship with the centre.
attentive public
The attentive or issue public consists of the minority with a particular interest in or knowledge of a given topic. The attentive public forms a small but influential part of public opinion. Often, politicians pay more attention to the attentive public than to the general public.
Australian ballot
The Australian ballot is a term for a voting paper prepared by the authorities which contains the names of candidates (and perhaps parties) and which is marked in secret by all voters. Such ballots were introduced in Australia in the nineteenth century. They have long replaced most earlier methods such as public expressions of preferences. One surviving alternative (compatible with some but not all electoral formulae) is the ballot and envelope method. Here the voter selects a paper with the names of the preferred candidate (and perhaps party), places the ballot in an envelope and the envelope in the ballot box. Eventually, of course, these manual methods will be replaced by electronic voting.
autarky
Autarky is a policy of national self-sufficiency, aimed at avoiding dependence (including economic dependence) on other countries. Not to be confused with autarchy, meaning self-government.
authoritarian advantage thesis
The authoritarian advantage thesis is the proposition that non-democratic regimes are more capable than democratic ones of launching and guiding economic development. The argument is that democracy affords special interest groups the power to block, delay or hinder changes that stimulate growth, such as high investment in infrastructure. By contrast, authoritarian governments can enforce high tax, savings and investment regimes which are required for economic take-off. In reality, however, few authoritarian regimes successfully exploit these potential advantages and the growing availability of external private capital may have reduced the need to extract resources from an unwilling population. See developmental state.
authoritarian rule
Authoritarian (non-democratic) rule is the most common form of rule in history. Rulers stand above the law and are free from effective popular accountability. The media are controlled or cowed. Political participation is usually limited and discouraged. Elections, if held, provide no meaningful choice. Some writers distinguish between authoritarian and totalitarian rule. In the former, the rulers’ power is often constrained by the need for tacit alliances with landowners, industrialists, the armed forces or religious leaders. Examples include military governments and ruling monarchies. Some authoritarian regimes dress themselves up in democratic clothes and it is often difficult to tell where authoritarian rule ends and illiberal democracy begins.
authoritative allocation of values
A term used by the American political scientist David Easton to refer to the core political function of making, and implementing, collective decisions. See political system.
authority
Authority is the right to take decisions, even if those subject to them disagree with the actual decision made. Authority creates its own power so long as people accept that the person in authority has the right to make decisions. An influential classification by Max Weber distinguished between traditional, charismatic and legal-rational authority. To be in authority is not necessarily to be an authority in the sense of an expert. See power.
autogolpe
An autogolpe is a self-coup; that is, a coup launched by an existing president to extend and deepen his control over the political system. A president may judge that he lacks sufficient control over Congress to implement his initiatives; or he may simply wish to dispense with term limits so that he can continue in power, protecting the people against instability and disorder. See coup d'état.
autonomy
Self-determination. The capacity of a group or country to shape its own destiny.
backsliding
Backsliding occurs when a democratic transition is reversed, in whole or especially in part. For example, a liberal democracy may slide back to authoritarianism or a democracy may revert to military rule. The term would not usually be used in cases such as the collapse of the Weimar Republic and its replacement by Hitler’s dictatorship. Here the existing regime was replaced by a new form of rule.
Balkanization
Balkanization involves dividing a state into smaller, independent and often hostile units, usually with the aim of reducing the military threat posed to an external power by the original, undivided entity.
ballot structure
Ballot structure denotes the nature of the choices offered to a voter on the voting paper. How many candidates and parties can a voter support? Can or must the voter place preferences in order? The ballot structure and the linked electoral formula are essential components of an electoral system.
behavioralism
The behavioural revolution was a post-war school of thought in political science, especially in the United States, which emphasized the study of individuals rather than institutions. The focus was on voters rather than elections, legislators rather than legislatures and judges rather than the judi¬ciary. The aim was to replace the traditional study of institutions with a programme to discover scientific generalizations about political attitudes and behaviour. The project did deliver coherent if limited findings but eventually ran out of steam as it became immersed in statistical technicalities (behaviorism was an earlier and broadly similar movement in psychology. Reflecting American origins, both words are used here with their American spelling).
bicameral legislature
A parliament with two chambers, as in Australia, Canada and the United States. In bicameral legislatures, the first or lower chamber is typically called the chamber of deputies, national assembly or house of repre¬sentatives. The second or upper chamber is usually known as the senate (literally, council of elders). Weak bicameralism arises when the lower chamber dominates the upper house, providing the primary focus for government accountability in parliamentary systems. In strong bicameralism, found in a few federations, the two chambers are more balanced. Bicameralism is found in federations and many larger countries However, most legislatures are unicameral.
bill
A bill is a draft law put before a legislature. When passed, it becomes an act.
bill of rights
A bill of rights is a statement of individual freedoms which can be enforced against the state and which normally forms part of a codified constitution. Such declarations usually draw on the tradition of natural rights. Two influential examples, each dating from 1789, are the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen adopted in France and the first ten amendments appended to the American constitution.
block grant
A block grant is a form of funding typically distributed from the central government to lower units. It covers a particular programme or function (e.g. medical care) rather than a specific project (e.g. a new hospital). Block grants are more specific than revenue-sharing but less specific than categorical grants.
bureaucracy
Bureaucracy means rule by officials. The word ‘bureau’ comes from the Old French term la bure, meaning the brown woollen cloth on which the king’s administrators laid out their accounts. The second half of the word comes from the Greek kratos, meaning rule, just as in democracy. Today, the bureaucracy refers to the salaried officials who conduct the detailed business of public administration, advising on and applying policy decisions. However, the fragmentation of the public sector into notionally autonomous agencies means that the bureaucracy can no longer (if it ever could) be treated as a single entity. See new public management, public administration.
bureau¬cratic authoritarianism
A term coined to describe regimes in which technocrats in the bureaucracy imposed economic stability under the protection of a military government. Such regimes repressed popular movements. The concept emerged in the context of Latin America countries such as Argentine and Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s. See developmental state.
cabinet
1. The cabinet is the ruling council of ministers in parliamentary government. This plural executive contrasts with the single chief executive in presiden¬tial systems. The cabinet is headed by a prime minister who may be the leading figure within the group (as in single-party administrations such as Britain’s) or merely first among equals (as in many coalition governments). In governments of a substantial size, not all ministers will be members of cabinet. Presidentialization notwithstanding, cabinet government still allows for deliberation among different interests, parties and perspectives at the apex of the parliamentary executive.
2. Cabinet is also a French term for a group of about 15 to 20 people who form a minister’s personal advisory staff and work directly under his or her control. French-style cabinets provide the minister with ideas and help in liaising with the department, other ministries, the party and the constituency. The danger, however, is that such personal advisers are too dependent on their patron, preferring to offer blandishments and flattery rather than home truths.
cabinet committee
Cabinet committees are small workgroups of the full cabinet, established to focus on specific areas such as the budget, legislation or overall strategy. In addition to these standing commit¬tees, prime ministers also set up ad hoc commit¬tees of ministers to respond to specific issues such as labour disputes and terrorism. In many governments, cabinet committees are closer to the point of decision than the full cabinet, which tends to become a ratifying, discussion and appeals body.
candidate-choice elections
Candidate-choice elections only permit a choice of candidates from within a single ruling party. Such contests were charac¬teristic of several East European countries in communism’s later phase of the 1970s and 1980s. Central rulers found candidate-choice elections useful in testing whether local party offi¬cials retained the confidence of their communities. Such elections do not, however, provide an opportunity to change the governing party itself.
cadre
From a French term for the officers of a military regiment, cadre denotes an organized group of political activists, particularly in the context of political parties. The cadres stand between the top leaders and ordinary members.
cadre party
Cadre (or elite) parties are created within parliament. They are formed by groups of members – the cadres - joining together to express common con¬cerns and then to fight effective campaigns in an enlarged electorate. The earliest nineteenth-century parties were of this cadre type: for example, the Conservative parties of Britain, Canada and Scan¬dinavia. The first American parties, the Federalists and the Jeffersonians, were also loose elite factions, based in Congress and state legislatures. Such parties remain heavily committed to their leader’s authority, with the members playing a supporting but certainly not a sovereign role. Reflecting the core position of the parliamentary members, cadre parties are sometimes called caucus parties. See mass and catch-all party.
cartel party
Cartel parties are leading parties that exploit their dominance of the political market to estab¬lish rules of the game, such as public funding and high electoral thresholds, which reinforce their own strong position. By definition, if there are any cartel parties in a political system, there must be at least two. In politics, as in business, the danger of cartels is that they damage the standing of the colluders over the longer term, increasing the distance between parties and society. See political class.
case study
A case study is an intensive investigation of a single instance of a broader category. For example, the massacres in Rwanda in 1994 can be studied as a case of the wider phenomenon of genocide. Case studies can be classified as representative (typical of the category); prototypical (expected to become typical); deviant (exceptional); archetypal (a case that creates the category); and critical (if true here, then true everywhere). Case studies are generally multi-method, using a range of sources and techniques to investigate the case. Thus, case analysis can be contrasted with methods such as experiments and sample surveys, which investigate an issue though a specific technique.
catch-all party
The catch-all party is a phrase developed by Otto Kirchheimer to describe the outcome of an evolutionary path followed by many European political parties, both cadre and mass, in post-1945 conditions. The catch-all party responds to a mobilized political system in which governing has become more technical and in which electoral communication takes place through the mass media. Leaders communi¬cate with the voters through television, bypassing the membership. Such parties seek to govern in the national interest rather than as representatives of a social group. Catch-all parties seek electoral support wherever they can find it; their purpose is to govern rather than to represent. The broadening of Christian Democratic parties (such as the CDU in Germany) from religious defence organizations to broader parties of the centre-right is an example of the transition to catch-all status.
categorical grant
A categorical grant is a payment for a specific project, such as building a new hospital. The term is typically used in the context of financial transfers from central to state and local governments. Categorical grants are more specific than block grants and revenue-sharing.
caucus
A caucus is a closed meeting, particularly of all or a faction of the party’s members in the legislature, to decide on a plan of action. See cadre party.
caudillo
Caudillo is a Spanish term for a political boss who rules the roost in a particular territory, providing order and expecting allegiance. These local strong-men remain important figures in much of Latin America, where they reflect and reinforce the weakness of state institutions. This form of boss politics is called caudillismo.
celebrity politician
Celebrities-turned-politicians (such as Arnold Schwarzenegger) exploit the fame they have acquired in non-political arenas to ease their entry into political office. Although politicians may increasingly need to compete in the celebrity space as exposure to political programming falls, American examples such as the actress Helen Gahagan Douglas and the astronaut John Glenn show that this political style predates the current century. Politicians-as-celebrities (as opposed to celebrities-turned-politicians) consist of politicians whose style is to present themselves to the electors as if they are famous stars of stage and screen.
centre-periphery
The relationship between a country’s core, usually based on the capital city, and its outlying regions or periphery, is an important theme in the political development of many states, notably in Western Europe. Nationalizing elites have frequently used force to impose central authority, often breeding resentments in the periphery which can fuel movements of protest or even secession.
charismatic authority
Charismatic authority is based on the intense commitment of followers to the leader and his message. Charisma refers to the nature of the relationship between leader and followers, not to any intrinsic characteristics of the leader; thus, charisma is a sociological rather than psychological construct. Charisma was an element of Max Weber’s classification of authority. See traditional authority, legal-rational authority, routinization of charisma.
checks and balances
Dividing political authority between distinct and independent bodies. The separation of executive, legislative and judicial authority in the United States is the classic expression of this liberal principle. Power is used to check power, with the underlying aim of producing a balanced constitution which minimizes the danger of tyranny (including the tyranny of the majority). The danger, however, is immobilisme; the more numerous the checks, the more difficult decisive action becomes. Whether power should be checked to prevent harm or concentrated to facilitate good is a fundamental question in politics. See power-sharing.
citizens’ jury
In a citizen’s jury (or deliberative opinion poll), people are briefed by, and can question, experts and politicians on a given topic before their own opinions are measured. This technique seeks to measure what public opinion would be if the public were fully informed on the issue. It is an attempt to overcome the tendency for opinion polls to ascertain ill-considered judgements.
civic culture
The ideal conditions for democracy, suggested Almond and Verba, emerge when many citizens are politically active in politics but a passive minority provide ballast and stability to the system. Further, participants are not so involved as to refuse to accept decisions with which they disagree. This blend of participation and passivity, of engagement and acceptance, is the civic culture. See political culture.
civil law
Civil law systems are based on codified statements of law which present an overall framework for society. Such legal frameworks derive from the original Roman law codes. In civil law systems, judges reach decisions by applying extensive written codes to cases; they are treated as applying rather than making the law. By contrast, judges in the less common Anglo-American common law system compare cases and reach decisions accordingly, creating judge-made precedents (civil law is unconnected with a ‘civil case’, a term used to indicate a non-criminal action).
civil service
The civil service consists of public officials directly employed by the state to advise on, and supervise the implementation of, government policy. The term is narrower than the public sector, which includes local government officials and many teachers. ‘Civil’ is in contrast to the military service; in Europe, both branches were originally servants of the monarch. See bureaucracy, public administration.
civil society
Civil society consists of those groups which sit above the personal realm of the family but beneath the state. The term covers public orga¬nizations such as labour unions, interest groups and, on some definitions, recreational bodies. However, companies are usually excluded because they are not voluntary bodies emerging from society. The continued weakness of civil society is a prominent theme in discussion of post-communist countries.
class action
A class action is a legal device initiated by com¬plainants on their behalf and ‘for all others so sit¬uated’. The mechanism enables legal costs and gains to be shared among a large group and pro¬vides a lever by which interest groups can pursue their goals through the courts. Class actions are common in the United States but play a smaller role in most other legal systems.
cleavage
A cleavage is a social division which creates a collective identity among those on each side of the divide. These interests are expressed in such organizations as trade unions, churches and parties. In Western Europe, class and religion were the widest and deepest cleavages, providing the foundation for many party systems. However, such divisions have been in decline for a generation, allowing opinion cleavages (such as pro-life v. pro-choice) to come to the fore.
clientelism
Clientelism denotes politics substantially based on patron-client relation¬ships. The patron provides protection to a number of lower-status clients who, in exchange, offer their unqualified allegiance and support. Clientelistic relationships provide the basis of political organization in many low income countries with extensive inequality. Such pyramids of personal relationships inhibit the development of programmatic political parties; of other horizontal groups, such as those based on social class; and of civil society generally. See patriarchy, patronage.
cloture
Cloture is an American term for a rule ending legislative debate on a bill if a certain number of members agree. Cloture is a response to the filibuster. See also guillotine.
coalition government
In a coalition government, executive power is shared between two or more political parties. Coalitions are normally based on a formal agreement setting out a common programme. A majority coalition controls more than half the seats in the legislature. A minority coalition lacks a majority but may still form especially when no positive investiture vote is needed. Coalitions are common in countries employing proportional representation, a system that rarely delivers a majority of parliamentary seats to a single party. Coalition government both reflects and reinforces a culture of cautious governance through inter-party agreement, a style that is particularly appropriate for societies characterized by ideological conflict and strong cleavages. See grand, minimum winning, oversize and rainbow coalitions, divided government.
coat-tails
The electoral bonus accruing to lesser candidates from the strength of the person heading the party’s ticket, as in ‘he was elected purely on the president’s coat-tails’. See list-puller.
conference committee
A conference or mediation committee is a joint committee of both houses of a bicameral legislature. Its purpose is to reconcile differences in the versions of a bill passed by each chamber. An alternative but less common method is to call a joint session of both houses. See shuttle.
codetermination
Codetermination is a system of company management found in Germany in which a supervi¬sory board, representing diverse stakeholders (including union representatives) appoints and monitors the normal managing board as well as approving key corporate decisions. In a sense, codetermination is an industrial equivalent of a coalition government. As with coalitions, codetermination allows decisions to emerge through discussion and negotiation but at the risk of falling foul of the joint decision trap. See coordinated market economy.
codified constitution
A codified constitution, as in the USA, is set out in a single document. An uncodified constitution, as in the UK, is spread among a range of documents and is influenced by tradition and practice. Nearly all constitutions are codified. See civil law, common law.
cohabitation
Cohabitation occurs in a semi-presidential exec¬utive when the president and the prime minister are drawn from different political camps. It intensifies competition between the two principals and places the presi¬dent in the awkward position of leading both the nation and the opposition. When cohabitation has occurred in France (as it did three times between 1986 and 2006), presidential power has tended to shrink as prime ministers have asserted their constitutional duty to ‘determine and direct the policy of the nation’.
cold war
The cold war refers to the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union which lasted from the late 1940s to the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. In this era, the superpowers sought support wherever they could find it, showing little concern over an ally’s internal politics. The end of the cold war was a decisive moment in world politics, unleashing forces such as democratization and nationalism which continue to unfold in the twenty first century.
collapsed state
A collapsed state is usually defined institutionally, to denote the crumbling of state organization and its effective replacement by private and sub-national bodies. The term possess dramatic appeal but it is important to recognise that a collapsed state does not ential social anarchy. In addition, in post-colonial countries, the state’s functions may never have been extensive to begin with. See failed state.
command economy
In a communist command economy, also called a centrally planned economy, the national government set quotas for state-owned production units and allocated resources to them. The bureaucracy then implemented the plan. Private ownership and market mechanisms played little if any role. A command economy can speed the transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy by mobilizing inputs and holding back consumption. However, the political and human price is considerable; productivity (as opposed to production) remains low; and market-based allocations are more efficient in an advanced, services-based economy.
committee-based legislature
In a committee-based or working legislature, such as the American Congress, most work takes place in committees. There, members transform bills into laws, conduct hearings and scrutinize the executive. In contrast to a debating legislature, debate on the floor possesses a formal, ritual quality in committee-based legislatures.
common law
The common law, found in England and many of its former colonies, consists of judicial rulings on matters not explicitly treated in legislation. Common law is based on precedents created by decisions in specific cases. It therefore establishes a sphere of judicial authority to some extent separate from, and which certainly builds on, statute law. By contrast, judges in codified civil law systems perform a less exalted role, functioning as spokespersons for the code. See civil law.
communist state, communist party-state
A regime nominally committed to the achievement of Marx’s communist utopia. Such states were powerful dictatorships controlled by a ruling party and the term ‘state socialism’ is sometimes used to distinguish them from Marx’s ideal of a stateless society. The first communist state was established by the Russian revolution of October 1917 and the form later spread to, and was imposed on, Eastern Europe and beyond. Before the decisive collapse of the late 1980s and early 1990s (again stimulated by reform in Russia), 23 regimes claiming Marxist inspiration ruled more than 1.5 billion people – about one in three of the world’s population. Although the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev once boasted to the West, ‘we will outlast you’, once industrialization was achieved communist states proved to be sterile dictatorships based on unproductive command economies. The collapse of communism in the final decades of the twentieth century was a major turning-point that initiated the end of the cold war. The surviving ‘communist’ regimes, as in China, are in the main party-based dictatorships in which political contacts provide access to wealth-creating opportunities in a more market-oriented but sill fundamentally corrupt economy.
comparative politics
Comparative politics is a form of political analysis which seeks to understand the similarities and differences between political units, most often countries. Comparative politics adds variation which is unavailable to students of a single political system. Once such variation is identified, its causes and consequences can be explored and cross-national learning becomes possible. In this way, the study of comparative politics contributes to a broader and fuller understanding of the political world, including our own country.
concurrent jurisdiction
Concurrent jurisdiction is a term used to describe functional responsibilities shared between different levels of government in a federation. In Canada, for instance, both the national and provincial governments can pass laws dealing with agriculture and immigration. Concurrent jurisdiction encourages cooperative federalism and can be contrasted with dual federalism.
concurrent majority
A concurrent majority means that more than one majority is required: for example, a double majority comprising all voters and all states in a federation.
conditionality
Conditionality means adding riders or provisos to an agreement. The term is usually used in the context of conditions attached by international organizations to financial aid offered to governments in low-income countries. These conditions typically included a commitment to economic reforms such as privatization. However, the instrument has proved to be excessively blunt, with the recipient government often lacking commitment to the conditions imposed. Conditionality is currently judged to be an inadequate tool for securing structural economic reform. Rather, the emphasis now is on encouraging governments to ‘buy into’ reform in a non-financial sense.
con¬federation
A confederation is a weak link between participating countries, in which the members retain their separate statehood. Confederations fall between two stools, lacking both the flexibility of a traditional alliance and the binding character of a federation.
consociational democracy
A cooperative association between the separate communities or pillars of a plural society. See elite accommodation, power-sharing.
constitution
A constitution sets out the formal structure of the state, specifying the powers and institutions of central government, and its relationship with other levels. In addition, constitutions express the rights of citizens and in so doing create limits on government, thus implementing the liberal vision of the relationship between state and society. A codified constitution is set out in a single document; an uncodified constitution is spread among a range of documents and is influenced by tradition and practice.
constructive vote of no confidence
The constructive vote of no confidence requires an assembly to select a new prime min¬ister before it can dispose of the incumbent. The purpose is to prevent legislatures from acting destructively by bringing down a government without adequate thought to the successor. In this way, the mechanism is intended to enhance governmental stability in parliamentary regimes. The device comes from Germany but has also been adopted in Hungary, Israel and Spain.
cooperative federalism
Cooperative federalism, as practiced in Germany, is based on collabora¬tion between levels of government. National and state govern¬ments are expected to act as partners in following the interests of the whole. Cooperative federalism has been an integral theme in European federations, notably Germany. By contrast, the American tradition comes closer to dual federalism though the term cooperative federalism is often used there to describe the growing interdependence between levels in the first six decades of the twentieth century, as for example in Roosevelt’s New Deal.
coordinated market economy
In a coor¬dinated market economy, the ‘private’ sector is seen less as an independent sphere of activity and more as an arena subject to control by social and political forces. These forces have included not just a strong socialist party but also an influential Catholic church. In societies divided by class, religion and ideology, economic competition has been subject to political control in order to deliver social stability. Social cohesion and solidarity are core values, reflecting a shared desire to prevent Adam Smith’s invis¬ible hand from becoming an invisible fist. Germany is the archetypal case. The contrast is with liberal market economies of which the USA is the archetype. See codetermination, stakeholder capitalism.
corporatism
In a democratic context, corporatism is a relationship between the state and interest groups in which major domestic decisions emerge from discussions between the government and leading peak associations representing capital and labour. In return for their influence, the peak associations are expected to ensure the compliance of their large memberships. This system is sometimes called liberal or societal corporatism to distinguish it from the state corporatism of fascism. Traditional corporatist settlements, as in Austria, have decayed but looser social pacts retain appeal. Corporatist arrangements can be contrasted with pluralism, in which the government acts as an umpire in a free competition between interest groups.
correlation
The correlation coefficient measures the accuracy with which we can predict from one statistical variable to another. In the most widely-used measure of correlation (Pearson’s r), the relationship is measured on a scale from zero to one. Zero indicates the absence of correlation; one indicates the ability to predict the value of one variable from the value of the other with complete accuracy. Irrespective of its size, a correlation can be positive (when one variable goes up, so does the other) or negative (when one variable goes up, the other goes down). Thus, a perfect positive correlation is scored +1.0; a perfect negative correlation is -1.0. Regression, not correlation, measures the sharpness or impact of the independent variable; a correlation can be large even though the slope of the relationship, as shown visually in a scatterplot, is modest. Whether a correlation is statistically significant usually depends on the size of the sample as much as the magnitude of the correlation.
corruption
Corruption is the use of public office for private gain. Taking bribes may be endemic in countries where public salaries are low or where loyalties to ethnic groups take priority over those to the state. In these circumstances, bribery may be accepted as a normal part of everyday life. What appears as corruption to the outsider can just be seen as by the participants as fulfilling obligations. Corruption is therefore a concept where the comparativist must take care to understand its application (if any) in a given culture.
cost-benefit analysis (CBA)
Cost-benefit analysis is a framework for assessing the value of a particular policy or project. It involves giving a mone¬tary value (positive or negative) to every conse¬quence of choosing each option and then selecting the option with the highest net benefit. In this way, the efficiency gain from adding a new runway to an airport can be netted off against the additional noise pollution for local residents. The technique is time-consuming, difficult to apply but systematic nonetheless. Even when its conclusions are ignored (as they often are in the normal political process of adjusting interests), gross departures from the option with the highest net benefit can at least embarrass politicians.
council system of local government
In the council system of local government, elected councillors form a committee (‘the council’) which operates through smaller subgroups or functional committees. The unelected and often barely visible mayor is appointed by the council or by central government. Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden are examples of countries employing this format. See council-manager and mayor-council systems of local government.
council-manager system of local government
In the council-manager system of local government, the elected mayor and council appoint a professional manager to run executive departments. This format is employed in about 3,000 American cities, including Dallas, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona. Its origins lie in an attempt, rarely completely successful, to depoliticize the provision of local services. See council and council-manager system of local government.
counterfactual
A counterfactual is a statement of what would have happened had something not occurred. Counterfactual analysis consists of thought experiments speculating on likely outcomes if A had occurred rather than B. What would our world be like if Hitler had died in a car crash in 1932 or if his invasion of Russia had succeeded? Counterfactual thinking inheres in any effort to assign causes to an event.
coup d'état (putsch)
A coup d’état is a sudden seizure of state power, typically by the military. Most military coups occurred in post-colonial countries between the 1960s and 1980s, with sub-Saharan Africa the major arena. The term conjures up images of a violent and unwelcome capture of power against civilian rulers but many coups replaced one military regime with another; involved little if any loss of life; and were more or less invited by the previous rulers. After the Cold War, the generals could no longer rely on the tolerance of a superpower; in the main, they returned to their barracks. See autogolpe.
critical election
A critical election (or more often a critical sequence of elections) is a rare but pivotal contest instituting a realignment of party identification and a transformation of the relationship between social groups and political parties. The term is less useful in era of partisan dealignment. See normal and deviating elections.
critical theory
A form of social and political analysis which seeks to demonstrate the interests underlying orthodox and establishment thinking. By this means, critical theory seeks to open new avenues for genuine, open and democratic deliberation. Critical theory shares Marx’s concern with deconstructing dominant world-views but does not attribute such norms solely to the interests of the dominant economic class. Of course, the fact that a particular position represents the interests of a dominant group or interest does not show that this position is incorrect.
cumul des mandats (accumula¬tion of offices)
The cumul is found in a number of countries in continental Europe. In France, for example, national politicians often become or remain mayor of their home town. Even after a tightening of the rules in 1985 and 2000, the most popular cumul - combining the office of local mayor with mem¬bership of the National Assembly - is still per¬mitted. The cumul comes in for widespread criticism but has provided an avenue through which well-connected localities can pursue their goals at national level.
dealignment
Dealignment refers to the weak¬ening of relationships between social groups, political parties and electors. It is a process rather than an outcome. The disappearance of such cleavages yields nonalignment; only their replacement would constitute realign¬ment.
debating legislature
In a debating or arena legislature, such as the British House of Commons, floor debate is the central activity. It is here, rather than in committee, that major issues are addressed and parties (and politicians) gain or lose ground. A debating legislature occupies itself with the grand questions affecting the nation, rather than the small prints of bills. See committee-based legislature.
decentralization
Decentralization occurs when central government functions are executed by subnational authorities. For instance, local governments administer national welfare programmes in Scandinavia. However, in contrast to devolution the centre retains policy-making authority. Thus decentralization is consistent with – and indeed is a feature of – unitary states.
deconcentration
Deconcentration occurs when the execution of central government functions is moved away from the capital, to the regions.
decree
A decree is simply an edict or order issued by a person in authority, especially presidents. Governing by decree is often contrasted with the rule of law. Certainly, decrees which are not based on law (or which automatically become law) indicate authoritarian rule.
delegated legislation
Delegated legislation consists of detailed regulations issued by a government department to give effect to primary legislation. In the USA, the national government publishes about 70,000 pages of regulations in the Federal Register each year. The British government also publishes thousands of Statutory Instruments every year. Delegated legislation is also known as secondary or subordinate legislation.
delegative democracy
Delegative democracy is a term used by Guillermo O’Donnell to describe a non-institutionalized and non-consolidated democracy in which presidents who win a presidential election consider themselves empowered to govern as they see fit for the term to which they have been elected. Numerous other phrases are used to describe this syndrome: for example, illiberal, low-intensity and managed democracy. What ever the wording, the contrast is with liberal democracy.
deliberative democracy
A perspective on democracy which emphasises the value of public discussion among free, equal and rational citizens in giving legitimacy to decisions and in enhancing their quality. The expectation is that public discussion will yield a consensus on the way forward, since in a public forum special pleading for private interests will soon be unmasked. The perspective is theoretical but clearly implies dissatisfaction with representative democracy.
deliberative opinion poll
In a deliberative opinion poll (or citizens’ jury), participants are briefed by, and can question, experts and politicians on a given topic before their own opinions are measured. This technique seeks to measure what public opinion would be if the public were fully informed on the issue. As such, it seeks to overcome a weakness of a traditional opinion poll which asks only what people think, given what they already know.
democracy
The core principle of democ¬racy is self-rule; the word itself comes from the Greek demokratia, meaning rule (kratos) by the people (demos). In modern representative democracies, the people elect representatives to govern on their behalf. For the first time in history, most people in the world now live under tolerably democratic rule. This fact reflects the dramatic transformation of the world’s political landscape in the final quarter of the twentieth century. Over that short period, the number of democracies more than doubled from less than 40 to more than 80. See deliberative, direct, illiberal and liberal democracy.
democratic consolidation
A democracy has consolidated when it provides an accepted framework for political competition. Adam Przeworski suggests that a democracy has consolidated when its institutions have become the only game in town and when no-one can imagine acting outside this framework. An unconsolidated democracy, in which politicians seek to alter the rules in search of political advantage, is not necessarily unstable but may itself come to represent a form of equilibrium.
democratic deficit
The democractic deficit is a phrase used to indicate the shortfall in the running of an organization against a democratic yardstick. The term developed in the context of the European Union but is also sometimes applied to integovernmental organizations such as the International Monetary Fund. Use of the term ‘deficit’ presupposes that the absence of democracy is a lack or weakness; in that sense, the phrase expresses a political position.
democratic peace
The democratic peace hypothesis is that democracies are less war-like than authoritarian regimes and that they rarely fight each other. The hypothesis possesses at least some supporting evidence.
dependency ratio
The ratio of the economically dependent part of the population to the employed part. Dependents are those who are too young or old to work, the latter group being more significant in most developed states. Other things being equal, the higher the ratio, the greater the cost of welfare provision. As populations age, so dependency ratios increase, implying an increase of welfare expenditure (e.g. on medical care) even if the level of benefit for an individual remains the same.
dependent variable
In a statistical analysis, the dependent variable is the factor we wish to account for; for example, party voted for. The phrase ‘dependent variable’ makes fewer assumptions than using such words as ‘effect’ or ‘consequence’ which imply a relationship of cause and effect. See independent variable.
deputy
In contemporary politics, the word ‘deputy’ is typically used to describe a member of the lower house of parliament, which is itself sometimes known as the Chamber of Deputies. Strictly, the word implies that the member acts merely as an agent of the electors (just as the deputy sheriff stands in for the sheriff) but this connotation is often lost.
developmental state
A developmental state leads a society to rapid industrialization by combining a powerful bureaucracy, which formulates national economic targets, with private ownership of the means of production. The main examples are East Asian states such as democratic Japan and initially non-democratic South Korea in the post-war decades. Like communist states, development states provided a route to industrialization in the twentieth century but needed to adapt – and found difficulty in doing so – once their economies matured. See authoritarian advantage thesis.
deviating election
In a deviating election, the natural majority party loses the election due to short-term factors such as an unpopular candidate or a faltering economy. However, in contrast to a critical election, the defeat leaves the underlying balance of party identification unchanged, leading to the expectation that a normal election will restore the balance. The term is less useful in era of partisan dealignment.
devolution
Devolution occurs when the central government of a unitary state grants some decision-making autonomy to lower levels. However, devolved authority can be regained by the centre, thus providing a contrast with the divided sovereignty of a federation. See decentralization, deconcentration.
D’Hondt formula
The D’Hondt formula is a method for assigning seats to parties in multi-member districts. The D’Hondt formula is commonly used but shows some bias to larger parties. The alternative Sainte-Lagüe method is fairer to small parties.
diaspora
A diaspora is a national group which is dispersed beyond its homeland. The term was originally associated with the dispersal of the Jews from their Palestinian homeland following the defeat by the Romans in 70 AD. Only a minority of the world’s Jews now live in the ancient homeland. Other examples from Asia include the Chinese diaspora in South East Asia linking the Chinese homeland with economically important groups in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
dignified part of constitution
Walter Bagehot defined the dignified part of the constitution as that which excites and preserves the reverence of the population. By contrast, the efficient part is that by which the constitution in fact works and rules. Bagehot suggested that these two dimensions complement each other; a constitution must first gain authority and then use it in the work of government.
direct democracy
In a direct democracy, the citizens themselves assemble to debate and reach decisions on matters of common interest. In its richest sense, democracy refers not to the elec¬tion of the rulers by the ruled but to the denial of any separation between the two. In a direct democracy, state and society become one. The polis of ancient Athens is the pre-eminent example. In the modern world of large states, direct democracy has been supplanted by representative democracy, a system which grants decision-making authority to elected rulers who are expected to bring exceptional judgement and understanding to their task.
dirigisme
A word of French origin (and a continuing French practice) meaning state direction and leadership, principally of the economy.
discount rate
The discount rate is the factor by which the expected future benefits of a policy are reduced to estimate their present value. In general, a high discount rate based on market levels of interest will sharply reduce the current value of projects with long-term benefits, such as schemes to contain global warming. Although economists often use prevailing interest rates to discount future benefits, interest rates do not themselves seem to possess moral weight. The question of the appropriate discount rate to use in political decisions therefore remains unanswered.
distribution requirements
Distribution requirements set out how a candidate’s votes must be arranged across different sections of the electorate in order for the candidate to be declared the winner. The most common (but still unusual) requirement is for a minimum level of support in a certain number of provinces. Such requirements can require the winning candidate to acquire cross-community support but can lead to failed elections in which no candidate jumps through all the hoops.
district magnitude
District magnitude refers to the number of representatives chosen for each electoral district (not to its number of electors). The more representatives to be elected for a specific district, the more proportional the electoral system can be and the smaller the discrimination against minor parties. For this reason, district magnitude is an important source of variation within the category of proportional representation systems. See electoral threshold.
districting
Drawing the boundaries of electoral districts. Districts often need to be redrawn to reflect population change; they can also be manipulated for partisan purposes through gerrymandering. See also apportionment.
divided government
Divided government is an American term denoting a situation in which the president’s party lacks a majority in Congress. Overseas observers sometimes exaggerate the importance of divided government in explaining disagreements between the White House and Congress, failing to recognize that these conflicts can continue even when the same party occupies both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. The term is not usually used in the context of coalition governments or cohabitation in Western Europe.
dominant party system
In a dominant party system, one party is a constant in office, either governing alone or in coalition with other parties. Generally, dominant parties have tended to fall victim to their own success. The very strength of a dominant party’s position means that factions tend to develop within it, leading to an inward-looking perspective, a lack of concern with policy and increasing corruption. India’s Congress Party is an example of a diminished – and no longer dominant – party. One of the few contemporary examples is the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa. The ANC has multiple strengths, benefiting not just from memories of its opposition to apartheid and from its strong position among the black majority but also from its use of office to reward its own supporters. Japan under the Liberal Democrats is another example.
dual federalism
As originally envisaged in the USA, federalism meant that national and state governments retained separate spheres of action. Each level would independently performed the tasks allocated to it by the constitution. This format, which we now call dual federalism has long been overtaken by the realities of interdependence and a national economy. See cooperative and marble-cake federalism.
dual system of local government
A term used to describe a formal separation of central and local government. Although the centre is sover¬eign, local authorities are not seen as part of a single state apparatus; rather, they retain a separate standing deriving from historical traditions of local administration. Britain is an example of this dual system. The contrast is with the fused system exemplified by France.
due process
Primarily an American term, due process refers to the implementation of an individual’s legal rights as implied by the rule of law.
Dutch disease
Dutch disease emerges when a predominance of commodity exports causes a country’s exchange rate to rise, handicapping other sectors with export potential and exposing domestic producers to cheaper imports. The mechanism is named after the decline in the Dutch manufacturing sector following the country’s discovery of natural gas reserves in the 1960s. Dutch disease is endemic in rentier states.
Duverger’s law
Formulated by Maurice Duverger in the 1950s, this law states that an almost complete correlation exists between the single-member plurality method of election and a two-party system. The United Kingdom and the USA were prominent examples. Today, most observers would express greater caution, pointing out that multiparty systems are found in India and to a lesser extent the United Kingdom, even though both countries still use the plurality method. In an era of partisan dealignment, minor parties with a strong regional base can secure parliamentary seats even under the plurality method. Indeed, first-past-the-post can be an advantage to regional parties.
effective number of parties
The effective number of parties is a statistical measure of party fragmentation within a political unit such as an assembly. Simply counting the parties achieving any representation gives a number which is over-sensitive to the presence of many small parties. For example, an assembly in which 10 parties each contain one representative but all the other seats are divided equally between two large parties is a 12-party system. Even so, it forms what is effectively a two-party system. Accordingly, the formula used to calculate the effective number of parties takes into account not just the number of parties but also their relative size. Thus, an assembly with three parties of equal size would score higher on the index than an assembly with one large party and two small ones, even though the number of parties is the same.
efficiency of the vote
The efficiency of a party’s vote is shown by its ratio of seats to votes. Under plurality elections, a perfectly efficient distribution consists in never winning a seat by more than one vote and securing no votes at all in seats unwon.
efficient part of constitution
Walter Bagehot defined the efficient part of the constitution as that by which the constitution in fact works and rules. The dignified part, by contrast, is that which excites and preserves the reverence of the population. Bagehot‘s view was that these two dimensions complement each other; a constitution must first gain authority and then use it in the work of government.
election monitoring
Since the 1980s, international bodies have increasingly been asked to assess whether an election is free and fair. Such monitoring provides a device through which the international community can promote democracy and through which the host government can add to its international and even domestic legitimacy. In practice, monitoring cannot cover the whole of an election and, in any case, many made elections are heavily biased not just before election day but even before the campaign gets under way. The concept of election monitoring implies assessment against a standard and is therefore held to be more judgemental than the related notion of election observation.
election rule
An election rule is an agreement among the partners in a coalition government to call an election if the coalition ends, thus embedding an incentive for the partners to soldier on.
electoral-pro¬fessional party
The concept of an electoral-pro¬fessional party is used by Angelo Panebianco to denote parties centred on fighting elections through the mass media. Election campaigns are highly centralized, directed by a small inner circle within the party, and supported by paid professional advisors such as pollsters and advertisers. The clearest contrast is with a mass party but the electoral-professional party can also be seen as a further development of the catch-all party. In new democracies, however (especially those in post-communist Eastern Europe), electoral-professional parties emerge without passing through these earlier stages. Russian observers use the term political technology to refer to a similar emphasis within parties on modern campaigning techniques.
electoral authoritarian regime
A form of rule in which the trappings of democratic rule disguise a more fundamental authoritarianism. Elections remain an important source of authority and are nominally competitive but not free and fair. Rather, control over the media, and selective repression of opponents, produce a biased result. The rulers stand above the framework of law, rather than being subject to it. The term overlaps with illiberal democracy but with greater emphasis on the authoritarian dimension.
electoral formula
The rules governing the translation of votes into seats. In a single-member plurality system, the formula is that the candidate winning most votes is elected. In proportional representation, the formulae are more complicated. See ballot structure, D’Hondt formula.
electoral system
A set of rules for conducting an election, with specific reference to the ballot structure and electoral formula. See district magnitude, proportional representation and single-member plurality system.
electoral threshold
A level of electoral support below which a party receives no seats, whatever its entitlement under other rules of the electoral system. Explicit thresholds are often introduced in list systems of party list proportional representation and are typically no more than four or five per cent. Operating at district or national level, thresholds help to protect the leg¬islature from extremes. Thresholds can also be used as a tool by the main parties to keep small parties out of the assembly. Implicit thresholds can also operate, as in the single-member plurality system under which a party coming second in every district would win no seats.
elite accommodation
An agreement between group leaders on distributing national resources without compromising the autonomy and distinctiveness of each pillar within a divided society. See consociational democracy.
enabling authority
The enabling authority is a term used to sum¬marize one vision of local governance. The enabling local authority does not provide many services itself. Rather, its concerns are to coordinate the provi¬sion of services and to represent the community both within and beyond its territory. An enabling authority is strategic, contracting out service pro¬vision to private agencies, whether voluntary or profit-making. The term carries most resonance in countries such as the United Kingdom where local authorities were traditionally service-providers.
enclave
An enclave is a country or part of a country which is wholly surrounded by the territory of another country. For example, Lesotho is an enclave within South Africa. See exclave for another viewpoint.
elite political culture
Elite political culture denotes the beliefs, atti¬tudes and ideas about politics held by those who are closest to the centres of political power. The values of elites are more explicit, systematic and consequential than are those of the population at large and therefore merit particular scrutiny.
equalization grant
An equalization grant is a form of payment used in some federations (e.g. Canada and Germany) in an effort to harmonize financial conditions between the states. A policy of equalization can create resentment in the wealthier states without offering a clear strategy for long-term improvement in the poorer regions.
equilibrium
A position of balance, with no tendency to change. A political equilibrium exists when no significant actors feel they would gain appreciably from changing the current position. For example, democracy is closer to equilibrium than dictatorship because in a democracy even the losers think their time will come, thus reducing their incentive to rebel when their opponents are in power. Shocks may and do change the equilibrium point.
ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing means transforming an ethnically-mixed area into a homogenous one by forcible removal of a specific ethnic group. The term came into popular use in the 1990s as a critical term for deportations and mass killings during the Balkan Wars. See genocide, partition.
ethnic group
A group with a shared identity, particularly of a racial kind. An ethnic group will usually claim a common ancestry, history and tradition but it matters little whether these claims are correct. ‘Ethnic group’ has largely replaced ‘tribe’ but lacks the biological connotations of ‘race’. Examples of groups which would not be described as ‘ethnic’ are social classes and interest groups.
ethnocentrism
A belief in the superiority of one’s own culture. In comparative politics, an ethnocentric perspective involves viewing another political system through the lens of one’s own. Such an approach does not always lead to error but it often does.
exclave
An exclave is an area of territory which is physically separate from the country to which it belongs. For example, Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave which borders Lithuania, Poland and the Baltic Sea. See enclave for another viewpoint.
exclusive jurisdiction
A political unit (e.g. the national government in a federation) possesses exclusive jurisdiction when it is solely responsible for a particular function (e.g. foreign affairs, the currency). See concurrent jurisdiction.
executive
The political executive forms the top tier of government, directing the nation’s domestic and foreign affairs, super¬vising the implementation of policy, mobilizing support for its goals and offering crisis leadership. In a broader sense, the executive branch is often taken to encompass the bureaucracy as well as the political class, thus distinguishing the executive from the judiciary and the legislature. However, the political executive, which makes policy, must be distinguished from the bureaucracy, which puts policy into effect. Unlike appointed officials, the members of the political executive are chosen and removed by political means, most often by election. The political execu¬tive is the accountable body; it is where the buck stops.
executive privilege
Executive privilege refers to the right of the president and government officials to withhold information from the legislature or the courts, and to decline to appear before these bodies. American presidents, for example, argue that some secrecy is essential for national security. Their claim is accepted but the boundaries of executive privilege remain subject to dispute.
exit poll
An exit poll is a survey of voting choices taken as electors leave the polling place. Unlike opinion polls of voting intentions, exit polls report behaviour and exclude non-voters. The accuracy of exit polls is well-attested, though issues of sampling, response rate and respondent misreporting still provide potential for error.
express powers
Express powers are those explicitly granted in a constitution. For example, the American constitution declares that ‘The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States’. See implied powers.
faction
A faction is an organized and aware group within a larger entity such as a political party. Factions are commonly based on ideology (e.g. left and right factions) or patronage (e.g. followers of a senior figure in the party). Factions are common within dominant parties, preventing the broader organization from acting coherently and often contributing to its eventual downfall.
failed election
A failed election is a contest in which no candidate meets all the requirements for election. The rules may stipulate a minimum level of turnout (e.g. 50 per cent). Or they may require the winner to secure a majority of votes cast. Alternatively, distribution requirements may call for a minimum level of support in a certain number of provinces. If an election fails, the rules normally require another contest. The rules for this second election should be such that another failure is impossible.
failed state
A failed state no longer performs its key role of monopolizing the legitimate use of force within its territory. The term possess dramatic appeal but it is important to recognise that a failed state does not ential social anarchy. In addition, the state’s functions, especially in post-colonial countries, may never have been extensive to begin with. See collapsed state.
federalism
The principle of sharing sover¬eignty between central and state (i.e. provincial) governments. The existence of a federation does not depend on the extent of decentralization but only on the formal sharing of sovereignty. Federalism is a common method of political organization in large populous states such as India and the USA. See asymmetric, dual, cooperative and fiscal federalism.
federation
A federation is a political system based on the principle of federalism. See confederation.
filibuster
Blocking passage of a bill by exploiting the tradition of unlimited debate in a legislature. Procedures such as cloture and the guillotine have developed in response.
first-past-the-post electoral system
Also known as the single-member plurality system. The candidate securing most votes (not necessarily a majority) is elected on the first and only ballot within each single-member district. This method is mainly found in the United Kingdom and its former colonies, notably the United States. The method can lead to a victory in seats for a party coming second in votes and also discriminates against those minor parties whose support is evenly distributed across the country. Where strong national parties exist (as in the UK and the USA), the system can deliver majority government by a single party even though no single party normally secures a majority of votes.
fiscal federalism
Fiscal federalism denotes the financial relationships between central government and the states in a federation. The fiscal realities (which generally favour the centre but with variations over time) tend to drive the political balance of power and initiative. Fiscal federalism is also used more specifically, to describe the transfer of funds from the national government to the states for particular programmes.
fiscal policy
The government’s approach to taxation and spending. As long as a country’s economy is not wholly dependent on larger neighbours, fiscal policy can be loosened or tightened so as to influence overall demand. See monetary policy.
flash party
Flash parties exploit popular resentment against the government or the political system, usually by highlighting specific issues such as high taxation or a permissive immigration or asylum policy. They are short-lived protest parties which fall as quickly as they rise. Their leaders are typically populist but inexperienced, with activists operating on the margins of the law.
>focus group
A focus group is a moderated discussion among a small group of respondents on a particular topic. An open-ended technique that has found favour with party strategists, a focus group is a qualitative research method used to explore the thinking and emotions lying behind people’s attitudes. In that way, they complement rather than provide an alternative to opinion polls.
focused comparisons
Qualitative comparison of a few cases, typically two or three. Focused comparisons provide some of the intellectual gain of the comparative method without embracing the variable-based approach of large-N research. See small-N.
formateur
A formateur is a person or party charged by the head of state with initiating negotiations for a coalition after a parliamentary election or government resignation. The formateur is usually the leader of the party with most seats in parliament. Formateurs are only needed when no party possesses a majority; even so, not all political systems with a coalition tradition have established a formal position of this kind.
founding election
A founding or transitional election is the first to be held following the introduction of a new regime. The level of turnout serves as a referendum on the legitimacy of the new order. Typically, turnout is high in a founding election but falls in second and subsequent elections.
framing
Framing refers to the way an event is narrated as a coherent story. A frame focuses on particular aspects of a problem, often including its origins, remedies and evaluation. It encourages receivers to interpret the topic in the same way. For example, immigration might be framed as a negative threat to national identity or as a positive solution to a labour shortage. The term is usually encountered in studies of media coverage but can also be applied to how parties and rulers articulate particular themes, such as the war on terror. See priming.
franchise
Generally, any right granted to an individual by an authority. Specifically, the franchise consists of those entitled to vote.
free and fair election
A free and fair election is a phrase more often used than defined. Broadly, it indicates an election which allows an authentic choice to emerge. A free election implies freedom of speech and association, thus enabling genuine deliberation. A fair election is held on a level playing field, with no built-in advantages for any particular party. The Bergstraesser Institute suggests that elections should be universal, equal, secret and free. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe advocates seven principles: universality, equality, fairness, secrecy, freedom, transparency and accountability.
free rider
A free rider benefits from a public good without contributing to its provision. Free riders pose particular difficulties with public goods such as national defence. An individual who avoids paying tax will still enjoy such goods but, if everyone free rides, the goods will cease to be supplied. So taxes, and sometimes military service, are compulsory.
free trade area (FTA)
A free trade area permits the free flow of goods and services within a group of countries, usually in the same region. However, members continue to follow their own policies on trade with external countries. Free trade agreements offer gains from trade without the loss of sovereignty involved in a federation. However, free trade agreements are sometimes for show; they are rarely fully implemented; and they complicate the task of developing a multilateral regime policed by intergovernmental organizations.
free vote
A vote in parliament on which no party line applies. Members can vote as they wish.
functionalism
A form of political analysis which seeks to understand a particular process or institution by locating its significance for a wider political system, need or requirement. The part is understood by grasping its relationship to the whole. Thus, a functional interpretation of a legislature would identify its role in the wider system of government. Similarly, a functional account of the European Union might be that it contributed to the member states’ need to achieve the efficiency gains of a larger market. In pure form, functional explanations are ahistorical and contrast with process tracing. See political system, systems analysis.
functional representation
Functional representation occurs when the members of a body such as a legislature are selected through non-territorial organizations such as chambers of commerce, churches, universities and women’s groups. Functional representation is often judged to be old-fashioned, especially in mobile societies in which the individual is held to be pre-eminent. Even so, the work-place is often a more important source of identity than the local area in which an elector lives and votes. See corporatism.
führerprinzip
Associated with the German philosopher Hermann Keyserling (1880-1946), the führerprinzip (leader principle) views an organization as a quasi-military hierarchy of meritocratic leaders. Each leader possesses unqualified authority and answers only to those above. As applied by Hitler, the führerprinzip left little room for coherent, stable organization within the Nazi Party. See bureaucracy.
fused system of local government
In a fused system of local government, municipalities form part of a uniform system of administration applying across the country. Centre and locality form a single structure of state authority, traditionally linked through the post of prefect. France is the archetype; Britain historically exemplifies the contrasting dual system. See cumul des mandats.
garbage-can model
The garbage-can model of policy formulation sees problems and solutions mixing at random within an organization, rather as the garbage in a waste container depends on what garbage is produced at a given time and how often the bin is emptied. If organizational problems are resolved at all, it is in an ad hoc, piecemeal fashion. The model implies that organizations do not normally pursue coherent overall goals in a systematic fashion; rather, issues are fleetingly addressed by a series of distinct groups. Many universities illustrate governance by garbage can.
general competence
Where general competence exists, local government is empowered to make regulations in any matter of concern to its area. Where general competence is lacking, local authorities are restricted to those tasks expressly delegated by central authority. See ultra vires, Dillon’s Rule.
general election
1. An election which selects all the members of a body such as a parliament. In this sense, a general election is distinguished from a by-election taking place in a specific district only. 2. An election which determines which candidate is selected for an office, as opposed to a primary election which determines who is to stand as candidates.
general will
The general will is followed when citizens make decisions for the good of society as a whole rather than for the interests of particular groups and individuals within it. The term was central to the political thought of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) and still finds echoes in some distrust within France of special interests.
generational effect
The tendency for political attitudes and behaviour to differ by generation. A generational effect implies a difference in attitudes or behaviour compared to another generation at the same age. If attitudes and behaviour are only measured at one point in time, it is impossible to distinguish empirically between life-cycle, generational and period effects.
genocide
Genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a large proportion of a people, nation, race or ethnic group. The term was coined by Raphael Lemkin, a Jewish lawyer from Poland who reached the United States during the war. The term comes from the Greek word genos (race, people) and the Latin word caedere (to kill). Lemkin applied his term to the destruction of the culture, language, national feelings and religion of a group, even if the group was not physically eliminated. No comparable word exists to describe mass killings that are not ethnically based (e.g. by communist leaders such as Stalin and Pol Pot) though politicide, democide and classicide have been suggested.
gerrymandering
Gerrymandering is the art of drawing seat boun¬daries to maximize the effi¬ciency of a party’s vote. The term comes from an electoral district designed by Governor Gerry of Massachusetts in 1812. It was so long, narrow and wiggly that it reminded one observer of a salamander - hence gerrymander. The normal method is to construct electoral districts in which a party either wins narrowly or loses heavily, a strategy that can backfire if the party’s level of support is over-estimated.
glasnost
A Russian term meaning open to scrutiny. Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost in the USSR, unaccompanied by substantial economic reform, contributed to the disintegration of communist rule in the Soviet Union and indeed of the USSR itself. See perestroika.
globalization
Globalization is a process in which the constraints of geography on economic and political arrangements recede and in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding. The term can refer either to a long-run trend in human history or, more specifically, to the rapid expansion of international trade and communication in the period since 1945.
governance
Governance is the activity of making col¬lective decisions, as opposed to the institutions of government themselves. The term directs our attention to the fact that government may not play a leading role in collective regulation. In international relations, for instance, many issues are resolved by negotiation: governance without government. In domestic politics, too, decision-making authority is increasingly captured by regulatory agencies, expert practitioners and even interest groups that bend only with difficulty to the government’s will. Governance is also used to refer to the quality of public management, as in the phrase, ‘good governance’.
government
Government consist of institutions respon¬sible for making collective decisions for society. More narrowly, government refers to the top political level within such institutions.
grand coalition
A grand coalition is between the two largest parties in an assembly, typically one from the left and the other from the right. Examples include the coalitions formed in Germany in 1966, and again in 2005, between the Christian and Social Democrats. Grand coalitions are almost invariably minimum winning yet even so each partner must normally give up more than if it made a coalition with a smaller pivot party. For this reason, grand coalitions are unusual, typically forming in the context of substantial national problems. See oversize and rainbow coalitions.
gross domestic product (GDP)
The total value of goods and services produced within a country over a year.
gross national income (GNI)
Gross domestic product, plus income received from other countries, less similar payments made to other countries, over a year. Gross national income and gross national product (GNP) are one and the same.
guillotine
The guilllotine is a legislative procedure for limiting the amount of time set aside for debate on a particular topic, such as a bill. The ability to cut off discussion, and override a filibuster, is a mechanism through which the executive and majority parties can control parliament’s agenda. See cloture.
hard money
Expenditure on election campaigns which is officially regulated and limited. The stricter the control of hard money, the greater the emphasis on soft money.
hegemony
A hegemon is the pre-eminent leader of a group; the top dog. A hegemon possesses a recognised position of ascendancy in which coercion ceases to be necessary. The challenge only comes (and come it will) when the hegemon is already weakened by the costs of sustaining the leadership position. The business class may be considered hegemonic within a capitalist society, just as in the late twentieth century the USA was judged to be the hegemon of the international system.
homing tendency
The tendency for voters to return to the party with which they identify, or for which they normally vote, after a flirtation with other parties. Some homing tendency is often observed in the run-up to an election as mid-term defectors from the governing party return to the fold. The homing tendency helps to explain why deviating elections are often followed by normal elections. However, the homing tendency may be less pronounced in an era of partisan dealignment.
horizontal accountability
Horizontal accountability exists when oversight or superintendence operates at the same level. An example is a president whose actions are subject to judicial review. Weak horizontal accountability is a feature of illiberal democracy. See accountability, vertical accountability.
human development index (HDI)
A rating of human development, by country, produced by the United Nations Development Programme. HDI is based on averaging three dimensions: life expectancy, education (enrolment, adult literacy) and gross domestic product per head. The aim is to produce and promote a broader measure of development than is reflected in economic statistics alone.
hypothesis
A relationship posited between two or more factors or variables: for example, between electoral and party systems, or between war and revolution. See large N.
ideology
A consistent system of ideas offering an interpretation of the political world and a guide to political action. Major ideologies include anarchism, conservatism, fascism, liberalism and socialism. The term is often used critically, to describe ideas acting as a cover for self-interest, and is sometimes compared unfavourably with science or even common-sense.
illiberal democracy
In an illiberal democracy, leaders are elected with no or minimal falsification of the count. However, the rulers exploit their position to prevent a level playing-field. To keep their potential opponents off-balance, they interfere with the rule of law, the media and the market. Horizontal accountability is weak, with the rulers often claiming a patriachal relationship with the people. Individual rights are poorly entrenched, the judiciary is weak and the rulers claim to be the best judge of the national interest and the guarantor of stability. An illiberal democracy is a common if far from inevitable outcome of the transition from authoritarian rule in poorer countries. See delegative democracy, liberal democracy.
immobilisme
Immobilisme is a French word for the inability to reform, change and reach decisions. Immobilisme was a major feature of the French Third and Fourth Republics and a condition which the designers of the constitution of the Fifth Republic therefore sought to avoid.
immunity
In politics, immunity refers to the freedom of members of parliament and the judiciary, and often the president, from legal liability, arrest and trial. Also known as ‘parliamentary privilege’ in the specific context of members of the legislature. In particular, members of the legislature are typically exempt from liability for statements made in the assembly. France’s Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the Citizen (1789) declared that ‘person of each deputy shall be inviolable’. Although the principle of immunity sits uncomfortably alongside the common law principle of one law for all, immunity for life can encourage presidents to leave office rather than remaining in post simply to avoid trial (of course, lifetime immunity may just encourage illegal acts in the first place). Presidential immunity can be compensated by special procedures of accountability, notably impeachment.
impeachment
Impeachment is a process, usually based in the lower house of the legislature, for censuring a public official. Impeachment can lead to a trial, often held in the upper house. On conviction, the official may be removed from office. Impeachment and trial are separate stages but the word ‘impeachment’ often now denotes the whole process. Impeachment was occasionally used in England to hold ministers to account in the era when ministers were still primarily responsible to the crown. The device was adopted in the American constitution: ‘The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors’. So far, just two - including Bill Clinton in 1998 - have been impeached though neither was convicted (however, Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, anticipating conviction).
incremental policy-making
Policy-making in small steps. Unlike the more synoptic approach of cost-benefit analysis, incremental policy-making seeks modest improvements to the current position, rather than the implementation of a grand design. The object is policy acceptable to all sides. Goals and means are considered together, analysis focuses on a small number of options and comparison with similar problems is heavily used. The incremental model can be used both to describe how much policy is made in practice and as a guide to policy-making in situations of uncertainty and imperfect knowledge.
incumbency effect
An incumbent is the current member of a body such as a legislature. Incumbents enjoy strategic advantages over challengers: for example, name recognition, experience and access to resources. These strengths give incumbents an electoral bonus in securing re-election: the incumbency effect. See open seat, term limits.
independent variable
In a statistical analysis, the independent variable is the factor believed to influence the dependent variable. If we sought to explore the impact of level of education on electoral choice, vote would be dependent and education would be treated as independent. The language of independent and dependent variables is more neutral about causal relationships and direction than is the language of cause and effect.
indirect election
In an indirect election, office-holders are elected by a body that has itself been chosen by a wider constituency. The device is employed in many presidential elections and for upper houses of parliament. It was also employed in communist states to insulate elites from lower levels.
inherent powers
Inherent or implied powers are those held to derive from an officer’s express powers. For instance, the American president’s obligation ‘to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution’ is taken to contain within it the notion of emergency powers. See prerogative.
initiative
A procedure which allows a certain number of citizens (typically around 10 per cent in American states permitting the device) to initiate a referendum on a given topic.
institution
An institution is a formal organization, often with public status, whose members interact on the basis of the specific roles they perform within the structure. In politics, an institution typically refers to an organ of government mandated by the constitution.
institutional agenda
Cobb and Elder define the institutional agenda as consisting of the set of items under active and serious consideration by policy-makers. It is a small subset of the systemic agenda.
interpellation
A procedure used in many legislatures in continental Europe, an interpellation is a question to a minister which interrupts normal business and requires a prompt answer. Unlike ordinary questions, interpellations may be fol¬lowed by a debate and vote on the assembly’s satisfaction with the answers given.
interest aggregation
Interest aggregation is the process by which a multitude of specific demands are filtered and combined into more manageable packages of proposals. Where interest groups articulate detailed interests, political parties aggregate them. In this way, parties contribute to reducing the systemic agenda to the institutional agenda.
interest group
Interest groups are organizations distinct from government itself but which aim to influence public policy. Examples include employers’ organizations, trade unions, consumer groups, bodies representing specific industries and professions, and broader campaigning organi¬zations. Such groups are indispensable to governance, offering expertise and legitimacy to collective decisions while also, of course, defending the interests of their members. The relationship between groups and governments is a central concern of pluralism and corporatism. The term interest group is sometimes used in the context of protective rather than promotional groups with the related term pressure group used more generally to describe any non-governmental body seeking political influence.
intergovernmental organization (IGO)
An intergovernmental organization is a body whose members include states. IGOs are established by treaty and usually operate by consent, with a permanent secretariat. Examples include the International Olive Oil Council, the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
intergovernmental relations (IGR)
A term used to describe the complex interactions between levels of government, particularly in federations. Multilevel governance (MLG) is a similar and more recent concept though multilevel governance also assumes the engagement of interest groups in the policy process. IGR is more commonly used in the USA; MLG, in the European Union.
internal colonialism
A critical metaphor sometimes used to describe the political and economic dominance of a core region within a country over its poorer and more peripheral areas. The term should not be taken literally, however, since the peripheral areas are not established as subjects of a separate power. See centre-periphery.
interpretive approach
An interpretive approach to politics emphasizes the importance of grasping the ideas which political actors themselves hold about their activities. The assumption is that political reality does not exist independently of people’s ideas; rather, political discourse in a particular country largely defines that reality. An interpretive approach asks, ‘what is the meaning of it?’ rather than ‘what is the cause of it?’ Understanding meaning is a precondition of explanation but the two are far from synonymous. See thick description.
investiture vote
A vote in parliament to formally approve a new government. Investiture votes may be positive (to take office, a new administration must obtain majority support) or negative (a new government takes office unless voted down by a parliamentary majority). Some countries, such as Denmark, do not require any investiture vote at all. See minority government.
iron law of oligarchy
Robert Michels (1875-1936) was a German sociologist who became disillusioned with socialism. His iron law of oligarchy states that ‘to say organization is to say a tendency to oligarchy’ (often reproduced as, ‘who says organization, says oligarchy’). Michels argued that even parties formally committed to democracy, such as socialist parties, become dominated by a ruling elite.
iron triangle
Iron triangles, subgovernments and policy communities are terms used to refer to inward-looking coalitions of interests, based on senior bureaucrats, interest group leaders and sometimes relevant legislators, that dominate policy-making in particular sectors (e.g. agriculture). Many of the finest examples were found in the USA, where the decentralization of power allowed such coalitions to prosper. In many liberal democracies (including the United States), these informal cartels have given way to looser issue networks which are more open to outside organizations and considered debate.
irredentism
An irredentist movement seeks to reclaim part of a foreign state which it believes belongs to it for cultural, linguistic or historic reasons. The original irredentists sought to incorporate Italian-speaking areas of Austria within Italy. Irredentists often use the prefix ‘Greater …’.
issue network
An issue network is a concept used to denote the extensive range of loosely-connected actors involved in making policy in specialized policy sectors within contemporary liberal democracies. The participants in an issue network operate in a non-hierarchical way, engaging in a constructive exchange of resources such as knowledge (e.g. acad¬emic specialists), legitimacy (elected politi¬cians), control over implementation (interest groups) and the capacity to draft bills and regu¬lations (bureaucrats). While many members of the network may meet in formal settings such as government committee meetings, the term is informal, describing a pattern of interaction rather than a formal organization. The phrase developed as a contrast to the older and more collusive format of iron triangles. See governance.
issue public
The issue or attentive public consists of the minority with a particular interest in or knowledge of a given topic. The issue public is a small but influential part of public opinion.
J-curve
James Davies suggested that revolutions are most likely to occur when a prolonged period of eco¬nomic and social development is followed by a short period of sharp reversal. The mechanism is relative deprivation: economic growth stimulates popular expectations of future improvements which are then frustrated by a phase of decline. The hypothesis is so-called because the pattern of growth and decline is shown by an upside down J. In some other disciplines, the J-curve hypothesis has a different application.
joint decision trap
The joint decision trap refers to the tendency for decisions requiring the approval of several actors to reduce to the lowest common denominator. Rather than seeking the best solution, the debate concentrates on finding a position acceptable to all. The European Union, and many federations, are said to be caught in the joint decision trap. See codetermination, pluralism.
laissez-faire
To leave to do. A policy of laissez-faire is an inherent part of liberalism’s commitment to individual freedom; it is also favoured by those who advocate a market economy. However, a market economy requires a delicate balance between public and private sectors which is inadequately maintained by a crude laissez-faire policy. See nightwatchman state.
lame duck
A phrase which denotes the declining authority of elected officials who are nearing the end of their non-renewable term or who have been defeated in an election but are seeing out their tenure. See term limits.
large-N
Large-N analysis consists in quantitative, variable-based comparison of many or all cases. By contrast, small-N analysis focuses on case-based examination of one or a few examples. See focused comparisons.
left and right
In the French assembly of 1789, the nobility sat to the king’s right while representatives of the commoners sat to his left. The notions of left and right have now broadened to encompass ideological perspectives and policy positions rather than just social groups. Traditionally, socialists (in support of public ownership) were to the left while conservatives (in support of private property) were to the right. The collapse of socialism has made the distinction less clear-cut and, more significantly, less important. In general, the left favours change, particularly in the direction of greater equality; the right supports the status quo and is more sympathetic to hierarchy. The left advocates progress, reform, participation, democracy and an international outlook; the right is more cautious, conservative, nationalistic and traditional.
legal-rational authority
As defined by Max Weber, legal-rational authority is based on regular and formal procedures; the basis of rule is the office rather than its occupant. Legal-rational authority was an element in Max Weber’s influential classification of authority. See charismatic authority, traditional authority.
legitimacy
A legitimate system of government is based on authority. That is, those subject to its rule rec¬ognize its right to make decisions, even if they disagree with the decisions themselves. A regime may operate in accordance with law but still be regarded as illegitimate; or be viewed as legitimate even without a constitutional basis.
liberal democracy
In a liberal democracy, representative and limited government operating through law provides an accepted framework for political competition. Regular elections based on near universal suffrage are free and fair. Individual rights, including freedom of expression and association, are respected. In combining a measure of political equality with a market economy based on private property, liberal democracy has proved to be a successful form of rule. See illiberal democracy.
liberal market economy
In a liberal market economy, competing firms operate in a flexible labour market, seeking to enhance prof¬itability so as to satisfy the demands of their shareholders for a return. The government and the judiciary aim to ensure that contracts are enforced and disputes resolved but, as under pluralism, their function is to umpire rather than to play. Similarly, industry associations and trade unions seek to advise and support, but not to direct, their members. The United States is