AP Comparative Government and Politics study plan
AP Comparative Government and Politics · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments & Political Institutions
Define and distinguish the six course countries (UK, Russia, China, Iran, Nigeria, Mexico) by regime type, using at least three comparative criteria
Build a comparison grid of the six countries' executive structures (head of state, head of government, cabinet formation)
Explain the difference between a regime, a government, and a state, and give one example of each from the course countries
Identify the sources of legitimacy (tradition, charisma, rational-legal) and map at least two to each country
Your checkpoint
A completed six-country grid comparing regime type, executive structure, and legitimacy sources, with a one-paragraph written justification for each country's classification
Political Institutions
Compare legislative structures across the six countries: unicameral vs. bicameral, seat counts, and selection methods
Trace how a bill becomes law in at least three course countries and note where the process bottlenecks
Describe judicial systems and the degree of judicial independence in each country
Explain federal vs. unitary arrangements and place each of the six countries on that spectrum with evidence
Your checkpoint
A written comparison (600-800 words) of legislative and judicial institutions across all six countries, including a table of federal/unitary status
Political Institutions & Party and Electoral Systems and Citizen Organizations
Diagram the party system of each country (dominant-party, multi-party, etc.) and identify the major parties by name
Compare electoral systems (SMD/FPTP, PR, mixed, and Iran's and China's distinctive arrangements) and predict seat outcomes under each
Explain how executive selection differs across the six (direct election, parliamentary selection, indirect bodies)
Analyze how electoral rules shape party fragmentation in at least two countries
Your checkpoint
A party-and-electoral-systems reference sheet covering all six countries, plus two short worked examples predicting seat distribution under different rules
Political Culture and Participation & Party and Electoral Systems and Citizen Organizations
Compare political culture dimensions (deference vs. participation, religion's role, attitudes toward the state) across the six countries
Identify major citizen organizations, interest groups, and social movements in each country
Explain the channels of participation available in each country and which are restricted
Evaluate how civil society strength varies and connect it to regime type
Your checkpoint
A timed 25-question self-made practice set on culture, participation, and parties, scored and annotated with corrections
Political and Economic Changes and Development
Compare economic systems across the six countries: market vs. state-led, degree of privatization, and role of the state in the economy
Trace each country's post-1980 economic trajectory and name one major reform or crisis per country
Explain how globalization and international institutions (IMF, WTO, EU) have affected at least three course countries
Connect economic change to political change (e.g., legitimacy, protest, policy liberalization) in at least two cases
Your checkpoint
A comparative economic-development timeline for all six countries linking at least one economic event to a political consequence in each
Political and Economic Changes and Development & Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments
Compare democratization and authoritarian persistence pathways across the six countries
Analyze causes and consequences of political change (revolution, reform, coup, transition) using at least three country cases
Evaluate how economic development relates to regime change using course-country evidence
Revisit and revise the week 1 regime classifications in light of development evidence
Your checkpoint
A revised regime-classification grid with a written paragraph defending any classification changes, supported by development evidence
Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments & Political Institutions & Political Culture and Participation
Synthesize cross-cutting comparisons (executive-legislative relations, federalism, legitimacy) into reusable analytical frameworks
Practice writing thesis-driven comparative responses to free-response-style prompts under time limits
Identify and correct recurring weaknesses from prior practice sets
Drill country-specific factual recall (leaders, institutions, dates) to reduce gaps
Your checkpoint
Two full-length timed free-response essays written and self-scored against a rubric, plus a one-page list of recurring errors and fixes
Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments & Political Institutions & Political Culture and Participation & Party and Electoral Systems and Citizen Organizations & Political and Economic Changes and Development
Complete a full-length timed mock exam under test conditions
Review every missed item and trace it to a specific domain and concept
Re-drill the two weakest domains identified by the mock
Consolidate a final one-page cross-country cheat sheet for last-minute review
Your checkpoint
A scored full-length mock exam with an error-analysis log and a completed one-page final review sheet
Milestones
Week 2: Can name each country's executive structure, legislative type, and judicial arrangement without notes, and explain federal vs. unitary placement for all six
Week 4: Scores at least 80% on the self-made 25-question set on culture, participation, parties, and electoral systems
Week 6: Can explain, for each of the six countries, one economic change and its political consequence, and defend a regime classification with evidence
Week 8: Scores at least 75% on the full-length mock exam and has a written error log mapping every miss to a domain