Political Institutions

What this unit covers

The topics below follow the published Comp Gov course framework for Unit 2. This unit is worth 22–33% of the exam, so budget your time against that rather than against how long the unit takes to teach.

Lessons in this unit

• Executives: Presidents, Prime Ministers & Supreme Leaders15 min · 3 objectivesDistinguish parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems · Separate the head of state from the head of government across the core countries · Explain how executives are selected and removed in the six countries
• Legislatures14 min · 3 objectivesCompare unicameral and bicameral legislatures across the core countries · Explain the functions of legislatures and how their real power varies · Distinguish genuine lawmaking bodies from rubber-stamp legislatures
• Judiciaries & Bureaucracies13 min · 3 objectivesExplain judicial independence and judicial review across the core countries · Compare bureaucracies and the role of the party-state in China · Analyze how courts and bureaucracies either check or serve executive power

What examiners penalize here

• For every executive question, ask two things: (1) Is the executive accountable to the legislature (parliamentary) or elected separately for a fixed term (presidential)? (2) Are the head-of-state and head-of-government roles combined or split? These two axes classify all six countries.
• Watch for bicameralism tracking federalism: federal states (**Russia, Mexico, Nigeria**) tend to have a second chamber representing regions, while the unitary authoritarian systems (**China, Iran**) are unicameral. The UK is unitary but bicameral — a useful exception to remember.
• The UK’s historic principle of **parliamentary sovereignty** means Parliament’s statutes were traditionally supreme and not subject to being struck down by courts — a sharp contrast with strong judicial review. Note the 2009 UK Supreme Court can review *government actions* but this legislative-supremacy tradition still shapes the system.

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