Political Systems, Regimes & Governments

What this unit covers

The topics below follow the published Comp Gov course framework for Unit 1. This unit is worth 18–27% of the exam, so budget your time against that rather than against how long the unit takes to teach.

Lessons in this unit

• States, Sovereignty & Legitimacy14 min · 3 objectivesDistinguish state, nation, regime, and government as analytical concepts · Explain sovereignty and the difference between unitary and federal states · Identify traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal sources of legitimacy across the core countries
• Regime Types: Democracy, Authoritarianism & Hybrids14 min · 3 objectivesDistinguish democratic, authoritarian, and hybrid (illiberal) regimes · Compare how the core countries constrain or concentrate power · Explain the difference between substantive and procedural democracy
• Democratization & State Power13 min · 3 objectivesExplain the process of democratization and factors that promote or hinder it · Distinguish state power capacity and autonomy in shaping outcomes · Analyze transitions in the core countries, including Mexico and Nigeria

Every term in Unit 1

All 27 terms we publish for Political Systems, Regimes & Governments, with definitions. Reading them through is the fastest way to find the ones you cannot define — then drill those in cram mode until you can produce them without the prompt.

Sovereignty

Supreme authority within a territory, internally over its population and externally against outside interference. The EU is the standard case of members pooling it voluntarily, which is why Brexit was argued in these terms.

Legitimacy and why it matters

The belief that a government has the right to rule. Regimes with low legitimacy must spend more on coercion, which is the mechanism linking legitimacy to stability.

Traditional legitimacy

Authority resting on custom and inheritance. The British monarchy is the clearest surviving example, though its power is now ceremonial.

Charismatic legitimacy

Authority resting on the personal qualities of a leader. Inherently unstable because it does not survive the individual, which is why such regimes hurry to institutionalize.

Rational-legal legitimacy

Authority resting on rules and offices rather than persons. Weber's third type, and the basis of every consolidated democracy on the syllabus.

Democratization

Movement toward competitive elections, rule of law and civil liberties. Mexico from 1988 to 2000 and Nigeria in 1999 are the syllabus cases; neither is complete.

Democratic consolidation

When democracy becomes "the only game in town" — no significant actor seeks power outside the rules. Mexico's 2000 alternation of power is the usual marker; Nigeria's is more contested.

Authoritarianism

Concentrated power with limited pluralism and no meaningful electoral accountability. China is the syllabus example of a fully authoritarian regime.

Totalitarianism

Authoritarianism that additionally seeks control over private life and ideology. China under Mao qualified; contemporary China is generally classified as authoritarian rather than totalitarian.

Competitive authoritarianism

Elections happen and opposition exists, but the playing field is so skewed that turnover is near-impossible. Russia is the standard case, and this label is more precise than "hybrid regime".

Theocracy

Rule justified by religious authority. Iran is the only theocratic case on the syllabus, and it is a hybrid: clerical bodies sit alongside elected ones.

Unitary state

Power concentrated at the center, which may delegate but can also reclaim. China, Iran and the United Kingdom are unitary — the UK devolves without becoming federal.

Federal state

Power constitutionally divided between center and subunits, so the center cannot unilaterally abolish them. Russia, Mexico and Nigeria are federal in form.

Asymmetric federalism

Subunits with different powers. Russia's republics formally hold more autonomy than its oblasts, though in practice the power vertical has flattened the difference.

Why Russia is federal in name

Its constitution is federal, but appointed governors, federal districts and revenue centralization mean the center dominates. A frequent essay prompt, and the answer is that formal structure and actual practice diverge.

Common law vs code law

Common law builds on judicial precedent, as in the UK and Nigeria; code law applies comprehensive statutes, as in Mexico. Nigeria additionally applies Sharia in twelve northern states.

Rule of law

Government itself bound by law, applied equally. Distinguish it from rule BY law, where law is an instrument the rulers wield but are not bound by — the standard characterization of China.

Constitution: written vs uncodified

The UK has no single written constitution, relying on statute, convention and common law. This makes constitutional change legally easy and politically difficult.

State capacity

A state's ability to implement policy across its territory. Nigeria's difficulty in taxing, policing and delivering services outside major cities is the syllabus example of low capacity.

Failed and fragile states

States that cannot maintain a monopoly on force. Nigeria is fragile rather than failed — Boko Haram and banditry contest territory without displacing the state.

Regime vs government

A regime is the enduring set of rules; a government is the particular set of officeholders. Mexico changed government in 2000 and had already been changing regime for a decade.

Political economy systems

Command economies allocate by state plan, market economies by price, and mixed economies combine both. China's "socialist market economy" is the syllabus's hardest case to classify.

Rentier state consequences

When most revenue comes from resource exports rather than taxation, rulers need citizens less. Iran, Russia and Nigeria all show weakened accountability and vulnerability to price swings.

Resource curse

Resource wealth associated with slower growth, more corruption and less democracy. Nigeria is the textbook case; Norway is the standard counterexample showing it is not automatic.

Globalization's effect on sovereignty

Trade agreements, international courts and capital mobility constrain state choices. The Brexit campaign and Mexico's NAFTA and USMCA experience are the two syllabus illustrations.

Supranational vs intergovernmental

Supranational bodies can bind members against their will, as EU law did in the UK; intergovernmental bodies require consent. The distinction drove the sovereignty argument over Brexit.

Comparing regimes: what earns credit

Name the country, name the institution, state the causal mechanism. "Russia is less democratic" earns nothing; "appointed governors remove the electoral channel through which regions could check the center" earns the point.

What examiners penalize here

• Keep the four core terms sharp: **state** (sovereign territory), **nation** (shared identity), **regime** (enduring rules/institutions), **government** (current officeholders). AP prompts frequently test whether you can tell a change of *government* (an election) from a change of *regime* (a revolution).
• Do not equate "holds elections" with "democracy." Russia and Iran hold elections but are hybrid/authoritarian because competition is managed. On the exam, judge a regime by whether power is genuinely **contested and constrained**, not just by whether ballots are cast.
• When a prompt describes a democracy that "cannot deliver," reach for **state capacity**, not regime type. AP loves scenarios where a country is democratic in form but weak in practice (Nigeria) versus authoritarian but effective (China) — separate the two dimensions explicitly.

Practice Comp Gov

Our practice bank is drawn from across the whole course rather than filtered to one unit, which is closer to how the exam asks anyway — it will not tell you which unit a question is testing.

Questions about this unit

All 5 units of AP Comparative Government & Politics

1. Unit 1 · Political Systems, Regimes & Governments
2. Unit 2 · Political Institutions
3. Unit 3 · Political Culture & Participation
4. Unit 4 · Party & Electoral Systems
5. Unit 5 · Political & Economic Changes