American Politics Terms Flashcards
Adverse selection
o Problem of incomplete information
o Choosing alternatives without fully knowing the details of available options
agents of socialization
o help shape individuals’ basic political beliefs and values
o family, social groups, differences in education, political conditions
attitude
a specific preference on a specific issue
Australian Ballot
- administered by the state, identical
- includes all candidates
- capable of voting for multiple parties candidates
bandwagon effect
supporting the person/team likely to win
closed primary
primary election where voters can participate if they have been member of the party for a period of time before primary day
conservative
o Generally support social and economic status quo and are suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulas and economic arrangements.
o Many conservatives also believe that a large and powerful government poses a threat to citizens’ freedoms
o better training of existing workers; better supervision
Duverger’s law
asserts that a pluarlity rule election system tends to favor a two-party system
electoral college
vote a group of electors selected by the political parties who eventually vote during plurality votes and the presidential election
equal time rule
provide candidates for same office with equal time in media
fairness doctrine
provide opposing views on controversial topics
framing
medias ability to influence how events and issues are interpreted
gender gap
- voting patterns of men and women
gerrymandering
apportionment of voters in disctricts to give unfair advantages to one political party
going public
launching a media campaign to build popular support
group affiliations and party id
an individual voter’s psychological ties to one party or another
illusion of salience
impression CONVEYED by polls; something appears to be important to the public when it actually is not
informational benefits
(interest groups) newsletters, conferences, and providing information
initiative
process by which citizens may petition to place a policy proposal on the ballot for public opinion (attempt by citizens)
interest group
organized groups of individuals or organizations; make policy related appeals to the government
issue voting
vote for a candidate because of one or so specific policies
liberal
(big government) generally supports political and social reform
supported by the poor, minorities, and women
lobbying
the intention of influencing decisions made by legislators and officials in the government
majority party
holds a majority (50%+1) in the legislature
majority rule (system)
system in which, to win a seat, a candidate must recieve a majority (50% plus one) of all the votes in the relevant district
material benefits
(interest groups) rental car discounts, heathl insurance, a day planner
measurement error
errors such as amiguous or poorly worded questions
median-voter theorem
competition between two candidates
voters preferences distributed along a single dimension
moral hazard
we don’t know all aspects of the actions taken by an agent
nominally on behalf of the principal by potentially at the principal’s expense
multiple-member district
an electoral district electing more than one representative to office
nomination by convention
(democratic) a formal caucus of delegates elected by countries or states
nomination by primary election
(republican) part members select nominee directly, plagued by low voter participation
open primary
primary election; voters can choose on the day of the primary which party to enroll in
party activist
a partisan who contributes time, energy, and effort to support a party and its candidates
party identification
an individual’s attachment to a particular political party, which might be based on issues or ideology, past experience, or upbringing
party machine
political parties ran the government (late 19th early 20th centuries)
pluralism
lors of competing interests (Madison)
a theory of how interest groups operate in democracy
pluarilty system
system in which victory goes to the individual who gets the most votes in an election, BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE MAJORITY
dem. 40, rep 35, other 25
political action committee (PAC)
private group organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation
political caucus
house to elect speaker (also republican)
a meeting of a party member within a legislative body to decide on questions of policy or leadership ( to select candidated to run for positions)
political ideology
a cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about th erole of government
political orientations
an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation
