Politics & Political Systems, CAN-CON
Monarchies, republics, democracies, dictatorships, and hybrids of every kind all offer ways of organizing power. Explore the systems and ideas through which societies govern themselves.
Politics & Political Systems Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance, former Canadian populist conservative political party, largely based in the western provinces.......
Canadian Federal Election of 2008
On October 14, 2008, Canadians voted to return Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party to power,......
Canadian Federal Election of 2011
Canadian Federal Election of 2011, After five years of ruling Canada with a minority government, Prime Minister......
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
The Canadian Radio-television Commission was established in 1968 as a federal agency to oversee broadcasting in......
Canadian Space Agency
Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Canadian government organization founded in 1989 that coordinates spaceflight activities.......
Candidate, The
The Candidate, American film drama, released in 1972, that offered a behind-the-scenes look at political campaigning......
canton
canton, political subdivision in France, Switzerland, and other European countries. In France the canton, a subdivision......
Canton system
Canton system, trading pattern that developed between Chinese and foreign merchants, especially British, in the......
capacity building
capacity building, activities through which vested parties (individuals, organizations, communities, or nation-states)......
capitulation
capitulation, in the history of international law, any treaty whereby one state permitted another to exercise extraterritorial......
Carlisle Commission
Carlisle Commission, during U.S. War of Independence, group of British negotiators sent in 1778, to effect a reconciliation......
Carlism
Carlism, a Spanish political movement of traditionalist character, originating in the 1820s in the apostólico or......
carpetbagger
carpetbagger, in the United States, a derogatory term for an individual from the North who relocated to the South......
Casus belli
Casus belli, a Latin term describing a situation said to justify a state in initiating war. The United Nations......
Catherine the Great, Instruction of
Instruction of Catherine the Great, (Aug. 10 [July 30, old style], 1767), in Russian history, document prepared......
Cato Institute
Cato Institute, a private U.S.-based nonprofit organization devoted to public-policy research, founded in 1974.......
caucus
caucus, any political group or meeting organized to further a special interest or cause. The word caucus originated......
caudillo
caudillo, Latin American military dictator. In the wake of the Latin American independence movement in the early......
cease-fire
cease-fire, a total cessation of armed hostilities, regulated by the same general principles as those governing......
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, headquartered......
Central Committee
Central Committee, in the history of the Soviet Union, the highest organ of the Communist Party between party congresses,......
Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), principal foreign intelligence and counterintelligence agency of the U.S. government.......
Centre Party
Centre Party, in Germany, political party active in the Second Reich and Weimar Republic, from the time of Otto......
challenges to democracy
challenges to democracy, in contemporary political science and international relations, the problems and threats......
chargé d’affaires
chargé d’affaires, the lowest rank of diplomatic representative recognized under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic......
Chartism
Chartism, British working-class movement for parliamentary reform named after the People’s Charter, a bill drafted......
chauvinism
chauvinism, excessive and unreasonable patriotism, similar to jingoism. The word is derived from the name of Nicolas......
checks and balances
checks and balances, principle of government under which separate branches are empowered to prevent actions by......
China National Space Administration
China National Space Administration (CNSA), Chinese government organization founded in 1993 to manage national......
Chinese civil service
Chinese civil service, the administrative system of the traditional Chinese government, the members of which were......
Chinese Communist Party
Chinese Communist Party (CCP), political party of China. Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China......
Chinese examination system
Chinese examination system, In China, system of competitive examinations for recruiting officials that linked state......
Christian democracy
Christian democracy, political movement that has a close association with Roman Catholicism and its philosophy......
Christian Democratic People’s Party
Christian Democratic People’s Party, Swiss centre-right political party that endorses Christian democratic principles.......
Christian Democratic Union
Christian Democratic Union (CDU), German center-right political party that supports a free-market economy and social......
Christian nationalism
Christian nationalism, ideology that seeks to create or maintain a legal fusion of Christian religion with a nation’s......
Christian Social Union
Christian Social Union (CSU), conservative German political party that was founded in Bavaria, Germany, in 1946......
Christian Socialism
Christian Socialism, movement of the mid-19th century that attempted to apply the social principles of Christianity......
church and state
church and state, the concept, largely Christian, that the religious and political powers in society are clearly......
Ciompi, Revolt of the
Revolt of the Ciompi, (1378), insurrection of the lower classes of Florence that briefly brought to power one of......
citizenship
citizenship, relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn......
city
city, relatively permanent and highly organized center of population, of greater size or importance than a town......
city manager
city manager, principal executive and administrative officer of a municipality under a council-manager system of......
city-state
city-state, a political system consisting of an independent city having sovereignty over contiguous territory and......
civic capacity
civic capacity, capacity of individuals in a democracy to become active citizens and to work together to solve......
civic republicanism
civic republicanism, tradition of political thought that stresses the interconnection of individual freedom and......
civic virtue
civic virtue, in political philosophy, personal qualities associated with the effective functioning of the civil......
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
Civil Constitution of the Clergy, (July 12, 1790), during the French Revolution, an attempt to reorganize the Roman......
civil religion
civil religion, a public profession of faith that aims to inculcate political values and that prescribes dogma,......
civil service
civil service, the body of government officials who are employed in civil occupations that are neither political......
Civil Works Administration
Civil Works Administration (CWA), U.S. federal government program instituted during the Great Depression to employ......
Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), one of U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s earliest New Deal programs, established......
Civilista
Civilista, member of a Peruvian political movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that opposed military......
civitas
civitas, citizenship in ancient Rome. Roman citizenship was acquired by birth if both parents were Roman citizens......
classless society
classless society, in Marxism, the ultimate condition of social organization, expected to occur when true communism......
Clear Grits
Clear Grits, political movement and party that arose in Canada West (now Ontario) in opposition to the moderate......
Clermont, Council of
Council of Clermont, an assembly for church reform called by Pope Urban II on November 18, 1095, which became the......
clientelism
clientelism, relationship between individuals with unequal economic and social status (“the boss” and his “clients”)......
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), left-wing political party prominent in Canada from the 1930s to the......
coalition
coalition, in politics and international relations, a group of actors that coordinate their behaviour in a limited......
coalition government
coalition government, in a parliamentary government, body of advisors that is formed when different political parties......
Codex Alimentarius Commission
Codex Alimentarius Commission, joint commission of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and......
cohabitation
cohabitation, in politics, the state of affairs in which a head of state serves with an antagonistic parliamentary......
COINTELPRO
COINTELPRO, counterintelligence program conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1956 to 1971......
Colebrook-Cameron Commission
Colebrook-Cameron Commission, committee sent by the British government in 1829–32 to investigate its colonial government......
collective security
collective security, system by which states have attempted to prevent or stop wars. Under a collective security......
collectivism
collectivism, any of several types of social organization in which the individual is seen as being subordinate......
Cominform
Cominform, agency of international communism founded under Soviet auspices in 1947 and dissolved by Soviet initiative......
comitia
comitia, in ancient Republican Rome, a legal assembly of the people. Comitia met on an appropriate site (comitium)......
Commerce, U.S. Department of
U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), executive division of the U.S. federal government responsible for programs and......
commission
commission, in political science, a multiheaded body created to perform a particular function, whether it be administrative,......
Commission on Presidential Debates
Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), U.S. organization established in 1987 that has sponsored U.S. general......
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), established in 1974, is an independent U.S. federal agency based......
Commons, House of
House of Commons, popularly elected legislative body of the bicameral British Parliament. Although it is technically......
commonwealth
commonwealth, a body politic founded on law for the common “weal,” or good. The term was often used by 17th-century......
Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), free association of sovereign states that was formed in 1991 by Russia......
Commonwealthmen
Commonwealthmen, British political writers of the late-17th and 18th centuries who championed the cause of limited......
communism
communism, political and economic doctrine that aims to replace private property and a profit-based economy with......
Communist Manifesto, The
The Communist Manifesto, (“Manifesto of the Communist Party”), pamphlet (1848) written by Karl Marx and Friedrich......
Communist Party
Communist Party, Political party organized to facilitate the transition of society from capitalism through socialism......
Communist Party of Cuba
Communist Party of Cuba, Cuban communist party organized by Fidel Castro and others in 1965 but historically dating......
Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India (CPI), political party in India whose headquarters are in New Delhi. Suravaram Sudhakar......
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist), left-wing national political party in India. It was formed in 1964 after splitting......
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), Nepalese Maoist political party that led a successful campaign to overthrow......
Communist Party of Spain
Communist Party of Spain (PCE), Spanish political party founded in 1921 by dissident members of the Spanish Socialist......
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), Russian political party that opposes many of the democratic and......
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the major political party of Russia and the Soviet Union from the Russian......
Communist Party of the United States of America
Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), left-wing political party in the United States that was,......
communitarianism
communitarianism, social and political philosophy that emphasizes the importance of community in the functioning......
compellence
compellence, the ability of one state to coerce another state into action, usually by threatening punishment. American......
competition policy
competition policy, public policy aimed at ensuring that competition is not restricted or undermined in ways that......
Concerned Women for America
Concerned Women for America (CWA), American organization founded in San Diego, California, in 1979 by Beverly LaHaye......
concordat
concordat, a pact, with the force of international law, concluded between the ecclesiastical authority and the......
Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America, in the American Civil War, the government of 11 Southern states that seceded from......
confederation
confederation, primarily any league or union of people or bodies of people. The term in modern political use is......
Conference of the parties
Conference of the parties (COP), a generic term that refers to the governing body of an international treaty or......
confidence-building measure
confidence-building measure, in international relations, an action that reflects goodwill toward or a willingness......
Congress of the People
Congress of the People (COPE), South African political party founded in 2008 by Mbhazima Shilowa, Mluleki George,......
congressional-executive agreement
congressional-executive agreement, binding agreement between the United States and a foreign country that is easier......
Conseil d’État
Conseil d’État, (French: “Council of State”), highest court in France for issues and cases involving public administration.......