Comparative politics

organization that seeks to influence government policy and actions and be elected to directly take part on government or legislation

thumb|right|A ballot box used in France

thumb|Eugène Delacroix's romantic painting, La liberté guidant le peuple – "Liberty Guiding the People". An example of a revolution in the political sense thereof. In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements at their core: (a) efforts to change the political regime that draw on a competing vision (or visions) of a just order, (b) a notable degree of informal or formal mass mobilization, and (c)

Populism is a contested concept for a variety of political stances that emphasise the idea of the "common people", often in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed in the late 19th century and has been applied to various politicians, parties, and movements since that time, often assuming a pejorative tone. Within political science and other social sciences, different definitions of populism have been employed.

An institution is a humanly devised structure of rules and norms that shape and constrain social behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions and norms are all examples of institutions. Institutions vary in their level of formality and informality. Institutions embody a great deal of knowledge of how to do things in society and have been described as the social science equivalent of theories in the natural sciences.

loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular set of goals

form of government that protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens

persecution of an individual or group within society for political reasons, for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take part in the political life of a society

sociology concept

Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law".

measures by governments or institutions which aim to improve or reform society

thumb|upright=1.3|Since 1900, the number of countries democratizing (yellow) has been higher than those autocratizing (blue), except in the late 1920s through 1940s and since 2010.

set of attitudes and beliefs that give order and meaning to a political process

ideology holding the United States as unique among nations; facet of nationalism in the United States

field and a method used in political science

notion that resources flow from a periphery of poor underdeveloped states to a core of wealthy states; contends that poor states are impoverished and rich ones enriched by the way poor states are integrated into the world system

In political science, the term polyarchy, literally ”rule by many” ( "many", arkhe "rule") was used by Robert Dahl to describe a form of government in which power is invested in multiple people. It takes the form of neither a dictatorship nor a democracy. This form of government was first implemented in the United States and France and gradually adopted by other countries. Polyarchy is different from democracy, according to Dahl, because the fundamental democratic principle is "the continuing responsiveness of the government to the preferences of its citizens, considered as political equals" w

a sociological theory arguing that the stability of society is determined by functional institutions and individuals having a specific role

2012 book by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson

theory of the state

explanation for the process of modernization within societies

Consociationalism ( ) is a form of democratic power sharing. Political scientists define a consociational state as one which has major internal divisions along ethnic, religious, or linguistic lines, but which remains stable due to consultation among the elites of these groups. Consociational states are often contrasted with states with majoritarian electoral systems.

type of organization of a democracy in terms of the number of parties and their relative power

Behavioralism is an approach in the philosophy of science, describing the scope of the fields now collectively called the behavioral sciences; this approach dominated the field until the late 20th century. Behavioralism attempts to explain human behavior from an unbiased, neutral point of view, focusing only on what can be verified by direct observation, preferably using statistical and quantitative methods. In doing so, it rejects attempts to study internal human phenomena such as thoughts, subjective experiences, or human well-being. The rejection of this paradigm as overly-restrictive would

form of government

Exceptionalism is the perception or belief that a species, country, society, institution, movement, individual, or time period is "exceptional" (i.e., unusual or extraordinary). The term carries the implication, whether or not specified, that the referent is superior in some way.

political actors acting on behalf of citizens in public-policy-making processes

form of political behavior

development of a centralized government structure

view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the framework of government, but that many non-governmental groups use their resources to exert influence

The study of the relations between language and politics

phenomenon of state-led macroeconomic planning in East Asia in the late 20th century

form of government

Politicisation (also politicization; see English spelling differences) is a concept in political science and theory used to explain how ideas, entities or collections of facts are given a political tone or character, and are consequently assigned to the ideas and strategies of a particular group or party, thus becoming the subject of contestation. Politicisation has been described as compromising objectivity, and is linked with political polarisation. Conversely, it can have a democratising effect and enhance political choice, and has been shown to improve the responsiveness of supranational i

the catastrophic failure and downfall of a government

holistic view of politics, developed by David Easton

disruptive action oriented to change