Chapter 8: Vocabulary Flashcards
party competition
battle of the parties for control of public offices
political party
“team of men and women seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.” - Anthony Downs
linkage institutions
channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda
party image
voter’s perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for.
rational-choice theory
popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians.
party identification
citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other
ticket-splitting
voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices
party machines
type of political party organization the relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern.
patronage
given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone. One of the key inducements used by party machines.
closed primaries
elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates
open primaries
elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests.
blanket primaries
elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all the parties
national convention
meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform.
national committee
one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions.
national chairperson
responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party and is usually hand-picked by the presidential nominee
coalition
group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends
party eras
historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections
critical election
electoral “earthquake” where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old one, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party
party realignment
displacement of the majority party by the minority party
New Deal coalition
coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s
party dealignment
gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification
party neutrality
term used to describe the fact that many Americans are indifferent toward the two political parties
third parties
electoral contenders other than the two major parties
winner-take-all- system
electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first to their constituencies.
proportional representation
electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election
coalition government
when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legisature
responsible party model
view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work: parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates
