Chapter 2 terms

Question 1

the existing state of affairs

Answer 1

status quo

Question 2

a document, usually in the form of a stamp in a passport, that allows a citizen of one nation to visit another

Answer 2

visa

Question 3

those public officials who are literally closest to the people by being in almost constant contact with them.

Answer 3

street-level bureaucrats

Question 4

the greek philosopher who originateed much of the study of logic, science and politics

Answer 4

Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

Question 5

a politcal leader accused of seeking or gaining power through the use of arguments designed to appeal tp a mass public’s sentiments, even though critics may consider those arguments exaggerated

Answer 5

demagogues

Question 6

a latin word meaning “the public thing”; the state and its institutions; ;that form of government in which sovereignty resides in the people who elect agents to represnt them in political decision

Answer 6

republic

Question 7

the meeting in Philadelphia, held from May 25 to September 18, at which 55 delegates from the various states designed the U.S. Constitution

Answer 7

constitutional convention of 1787

Question 8

the only person to be both president of the U.S (1921-1930) and chief justice of the Supreme Court (1921-1930).

Answer 8

William Howard Taft (1857-1930)

Question 9

one who believes the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted narrowly and literally. A loose constructionist, in contrast, believes that the Constitution should be interpreted liberally in order to reflect changing times.

Answer 9

Strict Constitution

Question 10

the English physician and philosopher whose writings on the nature of governance were a profound influence on the founding fathers.

Answer 10

John Locke

Question 11

the presidential claim that the executive branch may withhold information from the Congress or its committees and the courts to preserve confidential communications within the executive branch or to secure the national interest.

Answer 11

executive privilege

Question 12

a written order issued by a judicial officer requiring a specified person to appear in a designated court at a specified time, either to serve as a witness in a case under the jurisdiction of that court or to bring material to that court.

Answer 12

subpoena

Question 13

a prosecutor appointed to consider the evidence in a case and, if necessary, to undertake the prosecution of a case that presents a possible conflict of interest for the jurisdiction’s regular prosecutor

Answer 13

special prosecutor

Question 14

the oval-shaped White House office of the president of the U.S. Although the office itself was built in the 1930’s as part of an expansion of the West Wing of the White House, the term did not come into general usage until the Nixon administration.

Answer 14

Oval Office

Question 15

an administrative style that encourages taking risks on behalf of one’s clients or one’s moral values; the opposite of a reactive style

Answer 15

proactive

Question 16

any formal statement of an official (or would be) government policy, with its associated background documentation

Answer 16

white paper

Question 17

a political campaign slogan or short statement that summarizes a candidate’s beliefs.

Answer 17

sound bite

Question 18

the economist and policy analyst who is generally credited with establishing the intellectual framework for public choice economics is his “An Economic Theory of Democracy”. His classic book on bueaucracy, “Inside Bureaucracy”, sought to justify bureaucratic government on economic grounds and to develop laws and propositions that would aid in predicting the behavior of bureaus and bureaucrats.

Answer 18

Anthony Downs

Question 19

one of the most influential and prolific of social scientists. his most lasting legacy is probably his pioneering work in developing the concept and methodology of the policy sciences

Answer 19

Harold D. Lasswell

Question 20

the Yale University political scientist who since the 1950’s has been asserting that incrementalism is the most viable approach to understanding how public policies are made

Answer 20

Charles E. Lindblom

Question 21

The sociologist whose early work on organization theory steered him toward political integration and communitarianism

Answer 21

Amitai Etzioni

Question 22

The 1962 confrontation between the U.S and the Soviet Union over the Soviet placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Answer 22

cuban missile crisis

Question 23

a compulsive analyst of public policy processes. “Wonk” is slang for a student who is a grind or a nerd

Answer 23

policy wonks

Question 24

a law passed by a legislature; legislative-made as opposed to judge-made law

Answer 24

statute

Question 25

a term that is loosely used as a synonym for international politics. it can include almost anything that is not exclusively domestic in nature.

Answer 25

international affairs

Question 26

this is the very definition of politics proved by the title of Harold Lasswell’s classic 1936 book “Politics: Who Gets What, When, How.

Answer 26

Who gets what

Question 27

the established routines by which organizations accomplish their objectives

Answer 27

standard operating procedures

Question 28

any directive established to make decisions in the face of uncertainty.

Answer 28

decision rule

Question 29

competence as well as speed in performance.

Answer 29

efficiency

Question 30

the extent to which an organization accomplishes some predetermined goal or objective; more recently, the overall performance of an organization from the viewpoint of some strategic constituency

Answer 30

effectiveness

Question 31

the final phase of the government budgetary process, which reviews the operations of an agency, especially its financial transactions, to determine whether the agency has spent its money in accordance with the law, in the most efficient manner, and with desired results.

Answer 31

audit

Question 32

an oft-heard campaign slogan of the party not in power. Sometimes all it really means is that it is time for a change of rascals

Answer 32

Throw the rascals out

Question 33

any ordering of persons, things, or ideas by rank or level. the administrative structures are typically hierarchical in that each level has authority over levels below and must take orders from levels above

Answer 33

hierarchy

Question 34

a tax on the manufacture, sale, or consumption of a product such as gasoline or tobacco

Answer 34

excise tax

Question 35

an approach to public administration and politics based on microeconomic theory that views the citizens as a consumer of government goods and services.

Answer 35

public choice economics

Question 36

the belief that the United States is basically ruled by a political, military, and business elite whose decisional powers essentially preempt the democratic process.

Answer 36

power-elite theory

Question 37

a sociological term that implies that (1) each succeeding wave of immigrants to the United States blends into the general society, and (2) this melting is ideally what should happen

Answer 37

melting pot

Question 38

the political scientist who was the intellectual create of modern interest group theory

Answer 38

Arthur F. Bentley

Question 39

a political scientist whose principal work, “The Governmental Process”, views group interaction as the real determinant of public policy

Answer 39

David B. Truman

Question 40

the group theorist whose “The Group Basis of Politics” asserted that government itself is a group just like the various private groups attempting to access the policy process

Answer 40

Earl Latham

Question 41

a subdivision of a legislature that prepares legislation for action by the respective house or that makes investigations as directed by the respective house.

Answer 41

committee

Question 42

a justification for actions that violate the laws of war

Answer 42

military necessity

Question 43

George Orwell’s symbolization, from his novel “1984”, of government so big and intrusive that it literally oversaw and regulated every aspect of life. Any potential menacing power constantly looking over one’s shoulder in judgement

Answer 43

Big Brother

Question 44

a temporary joining of political actors to advance legislation or to elect candidates.

Answer 44

coalition

Question 45

english historian; original name was John Dahlberg

Answer 45

Lord Action (1834-1904)

Question 46

the dynamic relation between a citizen and his or her nation.

Answer 46

citizenship

Question 47

paramilitary state and local government organizations whose most basic responsibilities include maintaining public order and safety (through the use of force if necessary), investigating and arresting persons accused of crimes, and securing the cooperation of the citizenry.

Answer 47

police

Question 48

a political philosophy that advocates governance by a dictator, assisted by a hierarchically organized, strongly ideological party, in maintaining a totalitarian and regimented society through violence, intimidation, and the arbitrary use of power

Answer 48

fascism

Question 49

the socially enforced requirements and expectations about basic responsibilities, behavior, and thought patterns of members in their organizational roles

Answer 49

norms

Question 50

the deliberate disclosure of confidential or classified information by someone in government who wants to advance the public interest, embarrass a bureaucratic rival, or help a reporter disclose incompetence or skulduggery to the public

Answer 50

leaks

Question 51

the manner in which a person acts out or theatrically stages his or her organizational or political role.

Answer 51

dramaturgy

Question 52

a noble and/or gracious gesture

Answer 52

beau geste