Chapter 2 - Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy?

Question 1

a system of government in which the power to govern is concentrated in the hands of one individual

Answer 1

Autocracy

Question 2

a system of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of a few people

Answer 2

Oligarchy

Question 3

a system of government in which, in theory, the people rule, either directly or indirectly

Answer 3

Democracy

Question 4

a view of democracy as being embodied in a decision-making process that involves universal participation, political equality, majority rule, and responsiveness

Answer 4

Procedural Democratic Theory

Question 5

the concept that everyone in a democracy should participate in governmental decision making

Answer 5

Universal Participation

Question 6

the principle–basic to procedural democratic theory–that the decision of a group must reflect the preference of more than half of those participating; a simple majority

Answer 6

Majority Rule

Question 7

a system of government where rank-and-file citizens rule themselves rather than electing representatives to govern on their behalf

Answer 7

Participatory Democracy

Question 8

a system of government where citizens elect public officials to govern on their behalf

Answer 8

Representative Democracy

Question 9

a decision-making principle, necessitated by representative government, that implies that elected representatives should do what the majority of people wants

Answer 9

Responsiveness

Question 10

the view that democracy is embodied in the substance of government policies rather than in the policymaking procedure

Answer 10

Substantive Democratic Theory

Question 11

the benefits of government that cannot be denied to any citizen by majority decisions

Answer 11

Minority Rights

Question 12

the classical theory of democracy in which government by the people is interpreted as government by the majority of the people

Answer 12

Majoritarian Model of Democracy

Question 13

an organized group of individuals that seeks to influence public policy; also called a lobby

Answer 13

Interest Group

Question 14

an interpretation of democracy in which government by the people is taken to mean government by people operating through competing interest groups

Answer 14

Pluralist Model of Democracy

Question 15

the view that a small group of people actually makes most of the important government decisions

Answer 15

Elite Theory

Question 16

a process of transition as a country attempts to move from an authoritarian form of government to a democratic one

Answer 16

Democratization

Question 17

equality in political decision making: one vote per person, with all votes counted equally

Answer 17

Political Equality