Chapter 1: Forces Of Change In the Twenty First Century

Question 0

INSTITUTION

Answer 0

A long-standing, identifiable structure or association that performs certain functions in society.

Question 1

DIVIDED GOVERNMENT

Answer 1

A situation in which political party control over the government is divided- for example, when the president is a Democrat and Congress is controlled by Republicans.

Question 2

POLITICS

Answer 2

According to David Easton, the “authoritative allocation of values” for a society; according to Harold Lasswell, “who gets what, when and how” in a society.

Question 3

GOVERNMENT

Answer 3

A permanent structure (institution) composed of decision makers who make society’s rules about conflict resolution and the allocation of resources and who possess the power to enforce those rules.

Question 4

AUTHORITY

Answer 4

The features of a leader or an institution that compel obedience, usually because of ascribed legitimacy. For most societies, government is ultimate authority.

Question 5

LEGITIMACY

Answer 5

A status conferred by the people in the government’s officials, acts, and institutions through their belief that the government’s actions are an appropriate use of power by a legally constituted governmental authority following correct decision-making policies. These actions are regarded as rightful and entitled to compliance and obedience on the part of citizens.

Question 6

POWER

Answer 6

The ability to cause others to modify their behavior and to conform to what the power holder wants.

Question 7

COMPLIANCE

Answer 7

The act of accepting and carrying out authorities’ decisions.

Question 8

TOTALITARIAN REGIME

Answer 8

A form of government that controls all aspects of the political and social life of a nation. All power resides with the government. The citizens have no power to choose the leadership or policies of the country.

Question 9

OLIGARCHY

Answer 9

Rule by a few members of the elite, who generally make decisions to benefit their own group.

Question 10

ELITE

Answer 10

An upper socioeconomic class that controls political and economic affairs.

Question 11

ARISTOCRACY

Answer 11

Rule by the best suited, through virtue, talent, or education; in later usage, rule by the upper class.

Question 12

ANARCHY

Answer 12

The condition of having no government and no laws. Each member of the society governs himself or herself.

Question 13

DEMOCRACY

Answer 13

A system of government in which ultimate political authority is vested in the people. Derived from the Greek words demos (“the people”) and kratos
(“Authority”).

Question 14

DIRECT DEMOCRACY

Answer 14

A system of government in which political decisions are made by the people directly, rather than by their elected representatives; probably possible only in small political communities.

Question 15

LEGISLATURE

Answer 15

A government body primarily responsible for the making of laws.

Question 16

INITIATIVE

Answer 16

A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment.

Question 17

REFERENDUM

Answer 17

An acrid referring legislative (statutory) or constitutional measures to the voters for approval or disapproval.

Question 18

RECALL

Answer 18

A procedure allowing the people to vote to dismiss an elected official from state office before his or her term has expired.

Question 19

CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE

Answer 19

The idea that governments and laws derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed.

Question 20

REPUBLIC

Answer 20

A form of government in which sovereignty rests with the people, who elect agents to represent them in lawmaking and other decisions.

Question 21

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Answer 21

A form of government in which representatives elected by the people make and enforce laws and policies.

Question 22

UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE

Answer 22

The right of all adults to vote for their representatives.

Question 23

Majority

Answer 23

More than 50 percent.

Question 24

MAJORITY RULE

Answer 24

A basic principle of democracy asserting that the greatest number of citizens in any political unit should select officials and determine policies.

Question 25

LIMITED GOVERNMENT

Answer 25

A form of government based on the principle that the powers of government should be clearly limited either through a written document or through wide public understanding; characterized by institutional checks to ensure that government serves the public rather than private interests.

Question 26

POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY

Answer 26

The concept that the ultimate political authority rests with the people.

Question 27

ELITE THEROY

Answer 27

A perspective holding that society is ruled by a small number of people who exercise power in their self-interest.

Question 28

PLURALISM

Answer 28

A THEROY that views politics as a conflict among interest groups. Political decision making is characterized by bargaining and compromise.

Question 29

HYPER PLURALISM

Answer 29

A situation that arises when interest groups become so powerful that they dominate the political decision-making structures, rendering any consideration of the greater public interest impossible.

Question 30

POLITICAL CULTURE

Answer 30

The collection of beliefs and attitudes toward government and the political process held by a community or nation.

Question 31

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

Answer 31

The process through which individuals learn a set of political attitudes and form opinions about social issues. The family and the educational system are two of the most important forces in the political socialization process.

Question 32

DOMINANT CULTURE

Answer 32

The values,customs, language, and ideals est. by the group or groups in a society that traditionally have controlled politics and government institutions in that society.

Question 33

LIBERTY

Answer 33

The greatest freedom of individuals that is consistent with the freedom of other individuals in the society.

Question 34

EQUALITY

Answer 34

A concept that all people are of equal worth.

Question 35

PROPERTY

Answer 35

Anything that is or may be subject to ownership. As conceived by the political philosopher John Locke, the right to property is a natural right superior to human law (laws made by the government).

Question 36

FRATERNITY

Answer 36

From the Latin fraternus (brother), a term that came to mean, in the political philosophy of the eighteenth century, the condition in which each individual considers the needs of all others; a brotherhood. In the French Revolution of 1789, the popular cry was “liberty, equality, and fraternity.”

Question 37

IDEOLOGY

Answer 37

A comprehensive and logically ordered set of beliefs about the nature of people and about the institutions and role of government.

Question 38

LIBERALISM

Answer 38

A set of beliefs that includes the advocacy of positive government action to improve the welfare of individuals, support for civil rights, and tolerance for political and social change.

Question 39

CONSERVATISM

Answer 39

A set of beliefs that includes a limited role for the national government in helping individuals, support for traditional values and lifestyles, and a cautious response to change.