Chapter 1-10 Flashcards
government
the institutions and processes through which public policy is created for a society
unitary government
a way of organizing a nation so that all of the power resides in the central government
monarchy
form of government where a king, queen, or emperor holds supreme power (authoritarian)
oligarchy
a small group of people who have all of the political power (authoritarian)
direct democracy
procedures such as initiative, referendum, and the recall, by which voters can have a direct impact on policy making and the political process by means of the voting booth
citizens themselves vote on a law and create policies for the country
(democratic)
referendum
a state level method of direct legislation that gives the voters a chance to approve or disapprove legislation or a constitutional amendment proposed by the state legislature
Representative democracy (presidential)
citizens elect officials to make laws and these representatives are accountable to those they govern
citizens elect both the legislative and executive branch
(democratic)
representative democracy (Parliamentary)
citizens elect officials to make laws and these representatives are accountable to those they govern
citizens elect the legislative branch (parliament) and the legislative branch appoints the executive (prime minister)
(democratic)
dictatorship/totalitarianism
one single individual retains all of the power (authoritarian)
confederate
most of the power resides with the states
federal
power is divided between the states and the national government
Authoritarian government
citizens don’t influence government, freedom is restricted, no rights; leaders are above the rule of the law, retain power for life and keep it with force; media is censored, government controls all businesses, limits freedoms of citizens choosing what job they want, COMMAND ECONOMY
Democratic Government
citizens participate in government by voting and running for office; leaders obey the rule of the law, gov’t power is separated and officials place limits on each others powers; media is owned by citizens and is uncensored, citizens have rights guaranteed by a constitution; citizens own and run businesses MARKET ECONOMY/CAPITALISM
what should a government do
provide a national defense public services (public goods) preserve order socialize the youth collect taxes
legislative branch (WHO)
national: CONGRESS
state: MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY (STAE SENATE and HOUSE OF DELEGATES
local: BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL
executive branch (WHO)
national: PRESIDENT
state: GOVERNOR
local: MAYOR
judicial brach (WHO)
national: SCOTUS
state: COURT OF APPEALS
local: DISTRICT COURT
politics
the process by which we select our governmental leaders and the polices these leaders pursue. it produces authoritative decision about public issues
party-platform
a political party’s statement of its goals and polices for the next four years. the platform is drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidates strength. it is the best formal statement of what a party believes in.
political participation
all activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the politics they pursue. voting is the most common but not the only means of political participation in a democracy (others include protest and civil disobedience)
single-issue groups
groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics. (this makes them different from interest groups)
policy-making system
the process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time. people’s interests, problems, and concerns create political issues for government policy makers. these issues shape policy, which in turn impacts the people, generating more interests, problems, and concerns
policy-making system flow chart
people (interests, problems, concerns) –> linkage institutions (parties, elections, media, interest groups) –> policy agenda (political issues) –> policymaking insinuations (legislative, executive, court, bureaucracy) –> policy (expenditures, taxes, laws, regulations, non-decisions) –> people (impacts of policy)
linkage institutions
the political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the political agenda. (elections, political parties, interest groups, media)
policy agenda
the issues that attract serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in optics at any given point in time
politcal issue
a result of people disagreeing about a problem or about the public policy needed to fix it
policy-making institutions
the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues. US constitution established the three, and political scientists today consider bureaucracy an institution
public policy
a choice that government makes in response to a political issue. a policy is a course of action taken in regard to some problem
policy impacts
the effects a policy has on people and problems. impacts are analyzed to see how well a policy met its goal and at what cost
democracy
a system of selecting policy makers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences
framers view of democracy
no fondness for it because they doubted the ability of the ordinary American to make informed judgments about what the government should do
traditional democratic theory
equality in voting effective participation enlightened understanding citizens control the agenda inclusion
15th amendment
Africans Americans can vote; ever race can vote
17th amendment
the citizens can vote for senators as well as house members in congress
19th amendment
women can vote
23 amendment
gave DC electors
24th amendment
no more poll taxes
26th amendment
people at and above the age of 18 can vote