Glossary of political science terms PDF

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PO22002 COMPARATIVE POLITICS Select Glossary of Terms This glossary is intended as a learning-aid for students taking the PO22002 Comparative Politics module. It lists some of the technical language which lecturers may use, together with short, condensed explanatory notes. Sometimes, within political science, a word or phrase or concept will have several - possibly even conflicting - meanings. (Which meaning is relevant may depend on the context, or on the purpose of the user, or on one’s political ideology or persuasion.) In these cases, we attempt to list the most common usages. This glossary is intended to be neither exhaustive nor fully comprehensive - merely a userfriendly guide to some technical terms which students might have difficulty with. ...................................................... Accountability Refers to the ability of voters to hold parliamentarians accountable for their behaviour, and of parliament to hold Government similarly to account. Both the theory and the practice differ even between liberal democracies. In British constitutional theory, a member of parliament is supposed to be accountable to the voters only at election time; in between elections, he/she is in theory answerable only to his/her own conscience. By contrast in many European democracies, including Ireland, an elected representative is regarded as a parliamentary deputy, the implication being that he/she is deputising for the voters in his/her constituency and should try to reflect their views. In practice, these distinctions are not very significant. Actually existing socialism Phrase used by dissident East German Marxist Rudolf Bahro, inter alia, to categorise the neo-Stalinist or Brezhnevite system which existed in pre-Gorbachev USSR and Eastern Europe - a system which claimed to be "socialist". Often the phrase "actually existing socialism" is used sarcastically and/or derisively to mock that system’s claim to have been socialistic. Sometimes official Soviet spokespersons in the Brezhnev era, apparently insensitive to the implied sarcasm, adopted the term. Equivalent term: "real socialism". (Cf. Developed socialism.) Alienation Indicates, in the context of political alienation, withdrawal of popular consent from the existing political system which, if widespread, may precipitate a crisis of political legitimacy (Cf. Legitimacy). It may be the case, of course, that sub-groups within society are alienated from the political system which nevertheless retains overall stability. Political scientists believe that the extent of alienation may be measured empirically by, for example, studying falling rates of voter turn-out, falling membership of established political parties, growth in protest movements and parties, growth in political extremes, falling levels of popular trust in politicians. Alternative vote system (Cf. STV, of which the Alternative Vote System is a variant) Refers to electoral system that aims to correct the disproportionality inherent in the British first-past-the-post system. In an Alternative Vote System, a voter ranks candidates in order of preference (1, 2, 3 etc.). If a candidate fails to win an absolute majority (50%+), the lowest placed candidate is eliminated and his/her votes distributed amongst the remaining candidates. This continues until a candidate is eventually elected with 50%+ of the votes cast. This system is used in Australian elections, although no European country employs it.

Authoritarianism A political tendency that emphasises the need for strong leadership, central control, tough law and order policies, social discipline etc., and is innately opposed to the toleration of diversity. Authority In political science terminology, a political actor or institution enjoys authority if it is endowed with legitimacy, i.e. the moral right to exercise power. This, in turn, depends on the willingness (or apparent willingness) of a majority of the population to freely consent to that exercise of power. Bourgeois democracy (Cf. liberal democracy). An expression used by some Marxist writers to refer to capitalist systems in which private ownership of the greater part of the economy combines with a political system based upon the values of liberal democracy. The implication in the use of the term `Bourgeois democracy` is that `real` political democracy cannot be divorced from democratic control over the economy and that therefore a capitalist liberal democratic system is a contradiction in terms, masking the fact that the ruling (bourgeois) class benefits most from the system. Brokerage Refers to role which politicians play in many, if not most, political systems in acting as intermediaries between electors and levels of the State, sometimes obtaining minor favours. An example might be an MP highlighting a constituent’s plight in order to obtain action from the relevant authorities. Most instances of brokerage involve not the exchange of favours at all, but merely applying pressure to obtain what was a citizen’s legal entitlement in the first place. Brokerage is widely regarded as relatively harmless, maybe even beneficial to a political system and must be distinguished from other forms of politician-voter exchanges (Cf. Clientelism, Patronage). Bureaucracy The totality of government offices that constitute the permanent government of a state; that is, those people and functions that continue irrespective of changes in political leadership. Sometimes the bureaucracy is referred to as the `Civil Service' or the `Public Service'. The bureaucracy produces the rules and practices needed to convert legal statutes into day to day administration and is responsible for formulating and enforcing the many regulations characteristic of much public policy in modern states. Call An American political term that indicates an electoral outcome in favour of a party or candidate (e.g. `New York State calls for Hilary Clinton, Democrat`). `Too close to call` indicates a photo finish in which the eventual outcome is impossible to comfortably predict. Checks and Balances Central to the version of liberal government associated with one of the USA’s `founding fathers`, James Madison, and inherent in the US Constitution is the idea that in order to guard against the possibility of tyranny the three great branches of government - legislature, executive and judiciary - should each have certain veto powers over the actions of the other two so that no one branch could take to itself all the powers of government and exercise them unchecked. The difficulty with such systems is to ensure that, while guarding against tyranny, you do not produce a system in which vetoes are so effective and used so often that government becomes impossible or very inefficient. Citizenship A status of `inclusion` which may be enjoyed by those born on the territory of, or descended from parents so born, or resident for a specified period of time within, a sovereign state. (The rules governing who has a right to citizenship vary from state to state). The possession of citizenship entitled an individual to certain specified rights and obligations, the exercise of which is however conditional upon the laws of the state. Citizenship is distinct from national identity or nationality; the former is linked to the exercise of political sovereignty, the latter is not necessarily. For example, someone born in Scotland might declare their sense of national identity to be Scottish, whilst their

citizenship would be British; likewise, until recently a citizen of the USSR enjoyed Soviet citizenship whilst he/she might declare his/her nationality to be Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Tatar etc. It is only now, with the emergence of new states, that those national groups are acquiring distinct citizenships. (Cf. Nationalism). Civil rights Refers to the concept that every citizen (Cf. Citizenship), by virtue of `belonging` to a given polity, has, or should have, certain citizen rights (e.g. the right to vote, to associate with others, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression etc.). As distinct from the concept of `Human Rights` - that posits certain fundamental rights (e.g. the rights to life, to freedom from arbitrary arrest & torture, to freedom from starvation etc.) common to all human beings by simple virtue of their humanity, `Civil Rights` are intrinsically linked to citizenship. Civil society A complex term, with three common (and sometimes contradictory) meanings: (1) refers to multitude of parties, unions, movements, social and cultural activities which are outwith State control and are autonomous expressions of people’s organisation and self-help; in this sense, the stronger `civil society` is, the weaker State control and coercion are, and the more democratic and decentralised a polity is. (2) refers to a society based upon the rule of law, and not upon arbitrary decree from above. (3) refers to a society in which a sense of civic loyalty and identity has transcended loyalty and identity rooted in family, kinship or tribe. (1) is a broader definition of Civil Society, was developed by the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937), and is favoured by radical democratic and socialist intellectuals. (2) is a narrower and legalistic definition and is favoured by lawyers and constitutionalists (among them, Mikhail Gorbachev). Class consciousness Refers to the extent to which members of a social class, identifying themselves as sharing common social and economic interests which set them apart from or in opposition to members of another social class, proceed to organise or act politically on that basis. Cleptocracy (From cleptomania (kleptomania) - addiction to stealing) A phrase which is sometimes used in countries such as Italy and Russia to describe a political system in which theft and corruption have become institutionalised amongst the ruling elites and, possibly, acquiring prevalence amongst the masses of society as a means of negotiating ones way through the system. Clientelism Refers to political relations based upon the exchange of favours by powerholders, be they politicians or bureaucrats, in return for the procurement of a political following. Clientelism tends to encourage `vertical`, hierarchical power relations between political elites and constituents and to work against `horizontal` political relations (i.e. the ability of people to organise collectively on a more-or-less equal basis to secure a political goal). As a political phenomenon, it is distrusted especially by socialists, who see it as entrenching the power of established dominant political and bureaucratic elites, and more generally by democrats, who feel it risks weakening the electorate’s ability to hold powerholders to account for their performance. (Cf. Factions) Confederalism A political arrangement whereby sovereign political entities agree to join together for specified, mutually beneficial purposes. In a confederation the units agreeing to ally with each other remain sovereign; that is to say, the actions of the confederation are dependent upon the consent and agreement of its constituent parts. The term `Confederalism` is often used interchangeably, but inaccurately, with `Federalism`. Students should beware the confusion that this often causes. (Cf. Federalism)

Consensus politics Usually refers to efforts in most advanced capitalist democracies in post-war period to combine sustained economic growth and political and social stability through institutionalised dialogue between organised capitalist interests, trade unions and Government, and possibly some level of participation in decision-making by such groups. At the political level, this tended to favour the forging of a basic consensus, or shared agenda, as to society’s political goals between the major political parties (known in the UK as Butskellism). In many West European countries it facilitated centrist coalitions. (Cf. Corporatism) Corporatism (neocorporatism) Refers to the notion that society’s interests are best guaranteed by the state facilitating the harmonisation of diverse social interests. Corporatists tend to use the analogy of the human body (the term is derived from `corpus` - Latin for `body`) when analysing society, and insist that different social groups and classes are akin to different parts of the body. The health of the whole is thus ensured by maintaining a proper balance between the various parts. The concept enjoyed popularity in Europe in the early part of this century, especially amongst anti-Communist and antirevolutionary elements that saw corporatism as an antidote to Marxism and class conflict. Corporatism featured prominently in the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. The concept was partially discredited by Fascism, which sought to impose `social harmony` by brute force. It was however revived, especially during the 1950s and 1960s, in a number of European countries where democratic corporatism (or neocorporatism) has taken the form of institutionalised contacts between trade unions, employers, farmers and Government. Corporatists see such co-operation as securing political and social stability and economic growth. It has its opponents however on both the Right and Left who accuse corporatism of impeding entrepreneurial talent and propping up a costly welfare state (the Right), or propping up capitalism by `buying off` the working class movement (the Left). (Cf. Consensus politics) Corruption The concept of political corruption is highly ambiguous, value-laden and often ethnocentric. It can refer to: (1) that which is unlawful; (2) that which is judged immoral, by some chosen moral criteria; (3) that which is perceived as involving the debasement or degeneration of a cherished political ideal. Needless to say, these do not necessarily amount to the same thing. Democracy Literally, `rule by the people`, but democracy can mean just about anything you want it to - and has been used (or abused) in countless ways. In this century, Nazifascism is the only significant political movement in the western world that has NOT claimed to be democratic. The basic requirement for a democracy would appear to be universal suffrage, but few would seriously argue that this is a sufficient condition. In the contemporary world, among the variants of regimes and movements which profess to be democratic we can discern: (1) Liberal democracy, which emphasises individual rights and limitations upon state power; (2) Socialist democracy, which emphasises social justice, economic equality and collective rights; (3) Radical democracy, which emphasises the quality of democratic participation and the need to reconcile the Liberal concern with defence of minority and individual rights with the Socialist concern for equality; (4) Populist democracy, which emphasises rule by the majority and "assimilation" of minorities; (5) `Guided` democracy, which claims to defend the people’s interests by guiding the people away from evil! Many military dictatorships have claimed to be "guided democracies" - e.g. the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile, and the Greek Colonels` regime (1967-74). An equivalent term for "guided democracy" might be "tutelary democracy"; some of the regimes in the post-Soviet republics (e.g. that of Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan) might possibly be so regarded. The leading Russian political scientist prefers the term “imitation democracy” to refer to those ex-Soviet republics that have not had a genuine handover of power from ruling elite to opposition forces.

Democratic centralism An organisational principle common in the old Soviet Union, and in the practice of some (but not all) communist parties. Ascribed usually to the thought of Lenin, although not originating with him. According to the theory of Democratic Centralism: (a) bodies are elected from below, but once elected they assume absolute authority over those below; (b) elected officials are answerable both to those who elect them and to higher placed officials - which in practice usually means they answer to those above them; (c) decisions, once agreed by the majority, cannot be dissented from publicly by a minority. In practice, historical experience where the party in question has been in power has shown that Democratic Centralism invariably ends by coming undemocratic centralism, in which the element of accountability and control from below is lost. Developed socialism A term coined by ideologues of the Brezhnev regime in the USSR in the 1970s to refer to the Soviet system. The use of the phrase "developed socialism" allowed the regime to claim that the USSR was still ahead of its eastern European allies which had merely achieved "socialism" - whilst avoiding the embarrassment of claiming to have achieved communism, said to be the final stage of history. In reality, the concept of "developed socialism" was devoid of all intellectual content, bore no relation at all to the thought of either Marx or Lenin, and was quietly dropped from Soviet discourse after Gorbachev came to power. Dictatorship A system of government in which those who exercise political power are not subject to legal checks or constraints and their opponents are deprived of legal guarantees or protection. Electoral systems Methods of electing parliaments, heads of state etc. The nature of the electoral system may have a determinant effect upon the party system, level of representativeness, quality of political debate, political stability etc. (Cf. Alternative vote system, Party list systems, Plurality systems, Proportional representation, Simple majority systems, STV). Elitism Usually refers to the concentration of power in the hands of relatively closed, selfreproducing social groups which may be defined by class, education, professional training, race, religion, political acceptability etc. `End of History' A phrase coined by Francis Fukuyama to describe the end point of humankind's ideological evolution and the universalisation of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government. (see G. Sorensen Democracy and Democratisation 1993 p.158). This is a hotly contested notion that has already fallen from fashion. Executive Refers to that arm of government which, in theory, `executes` or implements the decisions of the (Cf.) Legislature. Also known in the UK as the Cabinet or the Government (spelt with higher-case `G`). In practice, it is universally noted in Western European democracies that there is a increasing tendency for the Executive to act also as policy-initiator and legislator, reducing parliaments to the status of rubber-stamp. (Cf. Representation). Factions Are organised sections within larger organised groups (or parties) which are created, initially often informally by their promoters, for a specific purpose which may be at odds with the line supported by the larger group or party as a whole. This might be the support and advocacy of a particular policy or strategy, or the personal promotion of a individual political leader to whom the faction owes loyalty. Factions are often found within political parties; they exist in a highly organised form in Japan and Italy in particular, and

are supported by aspects of those countries` traditional political cultures. Within the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Italian Christian Democracy (DC), which enjoyed virtually unbroken reigns from after the second world war until the early 1990s, they are of enormous importance in the constant power struggle between their leaders for party and state leadership. Federalism Refers to a state in which the powers of central state agencies are circumscribed by certain limited and agreed powers being devolved to geographical regions within the state which are defined as sub-state political entities. Some areas of competence - for example, defence, foreign policy, currency regulation - are almost always reserved for the federal authorities, although this can vary. Unlike a confederation, a federation would seem to imply that lower units do not have the right to `opt out`, or secede. (The USA fought a civil war over this very point). This is no absolute standard of federalism, however, and many variations upon this theme are possible. Moreover, the demarcation line between a federal and a centralised state is not always easy to define. Very few states are wholly ...