Students TeachStudents
Try a lesson
History and Social SciencesComparative Government and Politics

AP Comparative Government and Politics

Compare political systems, institutions, participation, and policy across the course countries while practicing evidence-based political analysis.

Start with the course map All AP courses

Course map

Open a section, then choose the exact idea.

Unit 1Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments10 topics

Learn the comparative method and use it to distinguish states, regimes, governments, authority, legitimacy, stability, and systems of territorial power.

  1. 1.1The Practice of Political Scientists
  2. 1.2Defining Political Organizations
  3. 1.3Democracy vs. Authoritarianism
  4. 1.4Democratization
  5. 1.5Sources of Power and Authority
  6. 1.6Change in Power and Authority
  7. 1.7Federal and Unitary Systems
  8. 1.8Political Legitimacy
  9. 1.9Sustaining Legitimacy
  10. 1.10Political Stability

Unit 2Political Institutions9 topics

Compare executive, legislative, and judicial arrangements and evaluate how institutional design distributes power and accountability.

  1. 2.1Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Systems
  2. 2.2Comparing Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Systems
  3. 2.3Executive Systems
  4. 2.4Executive Term Limits
  5. 2.5Removal of Executives
  6. 2.6Legislative Systems
  7. 2.7Independent Legislatures
  8. 2.8Judicial Systems
  9. 2.9Independent Judiciaries

Unit 3Political Culture and Participation9 topics

Connect civil society, ideology, political values, participation, rights, and social cleavages to the way people experience and influence government.

  1. 3.1Civil Society
  2. 3.2Political Culture
  3. 3.3Political Ideologies
  4. 3.4Political Values and Beliefs
  5. 3.5Nature and Role of Political Participation
  6. 3.6Forces that Impact Political Participation
  7. 3.7Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
  8. 3.8Political and Social Cleavages
  9. 3.9Challenges from Political and Social Cleavages

Unit 4Party and Electoral Systems and Citizen Organizations6 topics

Analyze how election rules, party systems, social movements, interest groups, and state–society relationships shape access to political power.

  1. 4.1Electoral Systems and Rules
  2. 4.2Objectives of Election Rules
  3. 4.3Political Party Systems
  4. 4.4Role of Political Party Systems
  5. 4.5Impact of Social Movements and Interest Groups
  6. 4.6Pluralist and Corporatist Interests

Unit 5Political and Economic Changes and Development9 topics

Evaluate how globalization, economic change, public policy, industrialization, demography, and natural resources reshape political systems.

  1. 5.1Impact of Global Economic and Technological Forces
  2. 5.2Political Responses to Global Market Forces
  3. 5.3Challenges from Globalization
  4. 5.4Policies and Economic Liberalization
  5. 5.5International and Supranational Organizations
  6. 5.6Adaptation of Social Policies
  7. 5.7Impact of Industrialization and Economic Development
  8. 5.8Causes and Effects of Demographic Change
  9. 5.9Impact of Natural Resources