AP®︎ Comparative Government: Topic 1.1 Flashcards
Master key terms and definitions for Topic 1.1 of AP Comparative Government – The Practice of Political Scientists to help you prep for quizzes and the AP exam.
Comparative Political Analysis
Systematic comparison of political systems across countries, within countries, or over time to identify patterns and draw evidence-based conclusions
Systematic comparison of political systems across countries, within countries, or over time to identify patterns and draw evidence-based conclusions
An abstract political idea, such as freedom, corruption, inequality, development, or regime stability
The process of representing an abstract concept with observable or measurable evidence
A characteristic that can take different values across cases or over time
The outcome a researcher seeks to explain
A factor proposed as a possible explanation for variation in the dependent variable
A conclusion drawn from evidence
An account of why a political pattern or outcome occurs
A broader claim about politics derived from one or more cases
A defensible claim supported with relevant evidence and reasoning
Factual, observable information used to apply concepts, support generalizations, and construct arguments
An empirical statement makes an evidence-checkable claim about what is; a normative statement makes a value judgment about what ought to be
Quantitative information is numerical; qualitative information is primarily nonnumerical and reveals meaning, motivation, context, or process
Percentage-point change is new percentage − old percentage; percent change is (new value − old value) ÷ old value × 100%.
A map that uses shades or colors to place territories into value categories
An association between variables; positive correlation means higher values of one tend to occur with higher values of another, while negative correlation means higher values of one tend to occur with lower values of another
A relationship in which a change in one factor produces a change in another; correlation alone does not establish it
A third factor that may influence both variables being studied and create or alter their apparent relationship
A problem in which the supposed outcome may also cause the factor proposed as its cause
A condition in which a political outcome results from several interacting causes rather than one factor alone
A comparison of different countries during the same general period
A comparison of the same country or political unit across different points in time
A UN index from 0 to 1 combining life expectancy, education, and gross national income per capita; higher values indicate greater measured human development
The market value of final goods and services produced within a country during a specified period
GDP ÷ population, giving average economic output per person rather than the economy's total size
The percentage change in GDP between periods: (new GDP − previous GDP) ÷ previous GDP × 100%.
A measure of income or consumption inequality from 0 to 1 or 0 to 100; higher values indicate greater inequality
An NGO whose Freedom in the World reports score political rights and civil liberties from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater measured freedom, and classify countries as Free, Partly Free, or Not Free
An NGO whose Corruption Perceptions Index scores perceived public-sector corruption from 0 to 100; higher scores mean less perceived corruption
A Fund for Peace index from 0 to 120 measuring social, economic, political, and security pressures on states; higher scores indicate greater fragility
