AP Comparative Government Political Institutions Political institutions are structures of a political system that carry out the work of governing Just because countries have the same types of institutions does not mean that those institutions have the same powers ID: 533490
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Slide1
Political Institutions
AP Comparative GovernmentSlide2
Political Institutions
Political institutions
are structures of a political system that carry out the work of governing
Just because countries have the same types of institutions does not mean that those institutions have the same powersSlide3
Levels of Government
Unitary Government
A unitary system of government is one that concentrates all policymaking powers in one central geographic place
Confederal system
A confederal system spreads the power among many sub-units and has a weak central government
Federal system
A federal system divides the power between the central government and regional bodies have significant powers such a taxation, lawmaking, and keeping orderSlide4
Supranational Organizations
Supranational
organizations are not bound
by national
boundaries
These organizations reflect a trend toward
integration
, a process that encourages states to pool their sovereignty in order to gain political, economic, and social clout
Examples of these organizations include NATO, the E.U., NAFTA, and OPEC
These organizations reflect the concept of
globalization
, or the integration of social, environmental, economic, and cultural activities of nations
Economic globalization has intensified international trade, tying markets, producers, and labor together while also integrating capital and financial markets.Slide5
Challenges to the Nation-State
The use of supranational organizations, who at times dictate rules and laws to nations, may be changing the role of nation-states
In the E.U. member states are subject to the rules and laws of the E.U. reducing their
sovereignty
Slide6
Centripetal v Centrifugal
Centripetal forces tend to unify nations while centrifugal forces tend to fragment them
Centripetal forces
bind together the people of a state giving them strength,
One of the most power centripetal forces is
nationalism
, or the ability to identify oneself based upon nationhood
Centrifugal forces
destabilize the government and encourage the country to fall apart
These tend to take hold in countries that are not well-organized or that is not well governed
Separatist movements
tend to take place in which groups who self identify as being separate from the government fight for independenceSlide7
Devolution
Devolution
is the tendency to decentralize decision-making to regional governments
Devolution is a centrifugal force that can take place for a number of reasons
Ethnic Force
An
ethnic group
shares a well-developed sense of belonging to the same culture
This identity is based upon language, religion, and custom
Ethnonationalism
is the tendency for an ethnic group to see itself as a distinct nation with a right to autonomy or independence
The concentration of ethnicities help to lead these movementsSlide8
Devolution
Economic forces
Economic inequalities may destabilize a nation-state, particularly if the inequalities are regional
Spatial forces
Distance and remoteness promote
devolution, especially if
water,
desert, or mountains separate the areas from the center of power and neighbor nations that may support separatist objectivesSlide9
Linkage institutions
Linkage institutions
are organizations that are intermediaries between the people and the government
These organizations include political parties, interest groups, and the media
Political parties operate in countries and have varying roles depending on the system of the country. Generally they:
Help bring different people and ideas together to establish the means by which the majority can rule
Provide labels for candidates that help citizens vote
Hold politicians accountable to the electorateSlide10
Interest Groups
Interest groups are organizations of like-minded people whose main political goal is to influence and shape public policy
Parties and interest groups are different because:
Parties run candidates for office while interest groups only support candidates
Parties have a broad spectrum of interests while interest groups generally have a single focus
Interest groups in authoritarian regimes are sometimes referred to as
transmission belts
Meaning they convey the desires of the party elite to the peopleSlide11
Interest groups
In the west interest groups are autonomous
They generally work outside the formal constraints of government to try and impose change on the system
In between the two systems is corporatism
Corporatism
is when the government approves a groups monopoly of a certain sector of the economy
State corporatism
is where the state determines which groups are brought in
Societal corporatism (neocorporatism)
is where interest groups take the lead and dominate the state