Chapter 1: Forces Of Change In the Twenty First Century Flashcards
INSTITUTION
A long-standing, identifiable structure or association that performs certain functions in society.
DIVIDED GOVERNMENT
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.
POLITICS
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.
GOVERNMENT
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.
AUTHORITY
The features of a leader or an institution that compel obedience, usually because of ascribed legitimacy. For most societies, government is ultimate authority.
LEGITIMACY
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.
POWER
The ability to cause others to modify their behavior and to conform to what the power holder wants.
COMPLIANCE
The act of accepting and carrying out authorities’ decisions.
TOTALITARIAN REGIME
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.
OLIGARCHY
Rule by a few members of the elite, who generally make decisions to benefit their own group.
ELITE
An upper socioeconomic class that controls political and economic affairs.
ARISTOCRACY
Rule by the best suited, through virtue, talent, or education; in later usage, rule by the upper class.
ANARCHY
The condition of having no government and no laws. Each member of the society governs himself or herself.
DEMOCRACY
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”).
DIRECT DEMOCRACY
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.
LEGISLATURE
A government body primarily responsible for the making of laws.
INITIATIVE
A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment.
REFERENDUM
An acrid referring legislative (statutory) or constitutional measures to the voters for approval or disapproval.
RECALL
A procedure allowing the people to vote to dismiss an elected official from state office before his or her term has expired.
CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE
The idea that governments and laws derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed.
REPUBLIC
A form of government in which sovereignty rests with the people, who elect agents to represent them in lawmaking and other decisions.
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY
A form of government in which representatives elected by the people make and enforce laws and policies.
UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE
The right of all adults to vote for their representatives.
Majority
More than 50 percent.
MAJORITY RULE
A basic principle of democracy asserting that the greatest number of citizens in any political unit should select officials and determine policies.
LIMITED GOVERNMENT
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.
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
The concept that the ultimate political authority rests with the people.
ELITE THEROY
A perspective holding that society is ruled by a small number of people who exercise power in their self-interest.
PLURALISM
A THEROY that views politics as a conflict among interest groups. Political decision making is characterized by bargaining and compromise.
HYPER PLURALISM
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.
POLITICAL CULTURE
The collection of beliefs and attitudes toward government and the political process held by a community or nation.
POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
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.
DOMINANT CULTURE
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.
LIBERTY
The greatest freedom of individuals that is consistent with the freedom of other individuals in the society.
EQUALITY
A concept that all people are of equal worth.
PROPERTY
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).
FRATERNITY
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.”
IDEOLOGY
A comprehensive and logically ordered set of beliefs about the nature of people and about the institutions and role of government.
LIBERALISM
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.
CONSERVATISM
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.
