POL 1 Midterm: Midterm Review
Document Summary
Distinguish between two theories of democratic government: procedural and substantive. Procedural: emphasizes democratic processes; universal participation, political equality, majority rule, and government responsiveness to public opinion. Substantive: substance of policies over the procedures; some rights are so important that they should never be overturned by majority decision. Compare and contrast majoritarian vs. pluralist models of democracy. M: majority rules; theorists believe us is governed by a small number of rich people and large businesses; us is becoming more majoritarian, as seen through party-line voting in congress. P: competition between opposing groups in society, more representative; Us is closer to p although it is definitely a mix of both. Evaluate challenges facing countries trying to democratize. Globalization: increasing interdependence of people across the world. Globalization affects individual governments because it impacts their ability to be sovereign, in that it puts international economic, social, and legal pressures on the countries involved.
