Democratic institutions
Modernization Theory
● Main point:
● The idea that all societies proceed through a similar series of economic
and political stages.
● Democracy is more likely to emerge and survive as countries develop
and become richer.
● Main criticism:
● Lacks a strong causal mechanism and that it simply relies on an
empirical correlation between income and democracy.
Survival story theory
● Main point:
● The probability of a transition to democracy is unaffected by increasing
income
● Democracy is more likely to survive as countries develop and become
richer, but it is not more likely to emerge.
Natural resources
● Valuable resources found in a country in form of oil, minerals, and/or
diamonds
Political resource curse
● Countries that rely on natural resources with no revenue or coercion is prone
to corruption, poor governance and civil war.
● Demand-side
● Emphasize how resources revenues reduce both the citizens’ demand
for democratic reform and government responsiveness to that demand.
● Supply-side
● Focus on how resource revenues enable dictators to resist pressure to
democratize and help them to consolidate their hold on power
Sovereign debt
● Refers to debt that is accrued by the sovereign( the government)
Credible commitment problem
1
, ● Occurs when (a) an actor who makes a promise today may have an incentive
to renege on that promise in the future and (b) power is in the hands of the
actor who makes the promise and not in the hands of those expected to
benefit from the promise.
Dependent variable
● Is an outcome or thing we want to explain.
● An independent, or explanatory, variable is what we think will explain, or
determine the value of, the dependent variable.
Foreign aid
● Aid that people in one country give to another
● In the form of money, food, technical assistance, military weapons
GDP per capita
● Gross domestic product
● The measure of a country’s economic output that accounts for its number of
people.
Independent (explanatory) variable
● A variable not affected by any other variable.
● When a variable is not independent its an explanatory variables
Abstract review
● A constitutional court may rule on legislation without a specific court case.
Bicameral system
● Legislatures that contain two houses
Civil liberties
● Refers to the promotion of freedom
Civil rights
● Refers to the promotion of equality.
Civil society
● Organized life outside the state
● The fabric of organization created by people to help define their own interests.
● Ex: church, sports teams, environmental groups etc.
2
Modernization Theory
● Main point:
● The idea that all societies proceed through a similar series of economic
and political stages.
● Democracy is more likely to emerge and survive as countries develop
and become richer.
● Main criticism:
● Lacks a strong causal mechanism and that it simply relies on an
empirical correlation between income and democracy.
Survival story theory
● Main point:
● The probability of a transition to democracy is unaffected by increasing
income
● Democracy is more likely to survive as countries develop and become
richer, but it is not more likely to emerge.
Natural resources
● Valuable resources found in a country in form of oil, minerals, and/or
diamonds
Political resource curse
● Countries that rely on natural resources with no revenue or coercion is prone
to corruption, poor governance and civil war.
● Demand-side
● Emphasize how resources revenues reduce both the citizens’ demand
for democratic reform and government responsiveness to that demand.
● Supply-side
● Focus on how resource revenues enable dictators to resist pressure to
democratize and help them to consolidate their hold on power
Sovereign debt
● Refers to debt that is accrued by the sovereign( the government)
Credible commitment problem
1
, ● Occurs when (a) an actor who makes a promise today may have an incentive
to renege on that promise in the future and (b) power is in the hands of the
actor who makes the promise and not in the hands of those expected to
benefit from the promise.
Dependent variable
● Is an outcome or thing we want to explain.
● An independent, or explanatory, variable is what we think will explain, or
determine the value of, the dependent variable.
Foreign aid
● Aid that people in one country give to another
● In the form of money, food, technical assistance, military weapons
GDP per capita
● Gross domestic product
● The measure of a country’s economic output that accounts for its number of
people.
Independent (explanatory) variable
● A variable not affected by any other variable.
● When a variable is not independent its an explanatory variables
Abstract review
● A constitutional court may rule on legislation without a specific court case.
Bicameral system
● Legislatures that contain two houses
Civil liberties
● Refers to the promotion of freedom
Civil rights
● Refers to the promotion of equality.
Civil society
● Organized life outside the state
● The fabric of organization created by people to help define their own interests.
● Ex: church, sports teams, environmental groups etc.
2
