5 Flashcards
Commerce Claus
A clause in Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitutions that grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.
Common-carrier role
The media’s role as an intermediary between the people and the government.
Common law
A system of law, originally from England, in which previous decisions guide judges in interpreting the law.
Communism
An extreme form of Socialism that advocates violent revolution to create a socialist state.
Comparative politics
An academic discipline that compares states in order to understand how they work.
Concurrent powers
Powers exercised simultaneously by the states and the federal government.
Concurring opinion
An opinion issued by a judge who votes with the winning side but disagrees with the majority or plurality opinion.
Confederacy
A loose relationship among a number of smaller political units.
Confederate system
A system of government with a very weak central government and strong states.
Conformism
A tendency for people to act the same way, watch the same television programs, read the same books, and so on.
Constituency
The people in a district represented by a legislator.
Constitution
A set of rules that govern how power will be distributed and used legitimately in a state.
Constitutional democracy
A type of government characterised by limitations on government power spelled out in a constitution.
Constitutional government
A regime in which the use of power is limited by law
Constitutional powers
Powers of the president granted explicitly by the Constitution.
Continuing resolution
A measure passed by Congress that temporarily funds an agency while Congress completes its budget.
Conventional participation
Political participation in activities deemed appropriate by most; includes voting, donating to a campaign, and writing letters to officeholders.
Convention delegate
A party member or official who goes to the national convention to vote for the party’s presidential nominee and to ratify the party’s platform.
Cooperative federalism
A term used to describe federalism for most of the twentieth century (and into the twenty-first), where the federal government and the states work closely together and are intertwined; also known as marble-cake federalism.
Corrupted practices acts
A series of laws in the early twentieth century that were the first attempts to regulate campaign finance.
