CH 1

Question 1

Government

Answer 1

the institutions and structures through which societies are governed

Question 2

Institution

Answer 2

A formal organization or practice with a political purpose or effect, marked by durability and internal complexity

Question 3

Thomas Hobbes

Answer 3

• 1588-1679
• Argued that government provides us with protection from the harm that we would otherwise inflict on each other in our quest for gain and glory.
• common wealth

Question 4

Political system

Answer 4

the interactions and organizations through which a society reaches and successfully enforces collective decisions

Question 5

Governance

Answer 5

the process by which decisions, laws, and policies are made, with or without the input of formal institutions

Question 6

politics

Answer 6

The process by which people negotiate and compete in the process of making and executing shared or collective decisions

Question 7

Power

Answer 7

the capacity to bring about intended affects. the term is often used as a synonym for influence, but is also used more narrowly to refer to more forceful modes of influence notably, getting one’s way by threats.

Question 7

three aspects of politics

Answer 7

• it is a collective activity, occurring between and among people.
• it involves making decisions regarding a course of action to take, or a disagreement to be resolved.
• once reached, political decisions become authoritative policy for the group, binding and committing its members (even if some of them continue to resist)

Question 8

Luke’s three dimensions of power core questions

Answer 8

• Who prevails when preferences conflict?
• Who controls whether preferences are expressed?
• Who shapes preferences?

Question 9

Luke’s three dimensions of power core quality

Answer 9

• decisions are made on issues over which there is an observable conflict of interests
• decisions are prevented from being taken on potential issues over which there is an observable conflict
• potential issues are kept out of politics, whether through social forces, institutional practices, or the decision of individuals

Question 10

authority

Answer 10

The right to rule. authority creates its own power, so long as people accept that the person in authority has the right to make decisions.

Question 11

Legitimacy

Answer 11

The condition of being legitimate. A legitimate system of government is based on authority, and those subject to its rule recognize its right to make decisions

Question 12

ideology

Answer 12

A system of connected beliefs, a shared view of the world, or a blueprint for how politics, economics, and society should be structured

Question 13

comparative politics

Answer 13

The systematic study of government and politics in different countries, designed to better understand them by drawing out their contrasts and similarities