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Political Science > Exam 1-Key Terms > Flashcards

Exam 1-Key Terms Flashcards

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1
Q

1-Politics

A

The process of making binding decisions about who gets what or whose values everyone is going to
live by.

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2
Q

1- Government

A

The institution that has
the authority to make binding decisions for all of society.

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3
Q

1-sovereignty

A

The legitimate authority
in a government to wield coercive power to authoritatively allocate
values.

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4
Q

1-autocracy

A

A form of government in
which the power to make authoritative decisions and allocate resources
is vested in one person.

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5
Q

1-oligarchy

A

A form of government in
which the power to make authoritative decisions and allocate resources
is vested in a small group of people.

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6
Q

1-democracy

A

A form of government in
which all the citizens have the opportunity to participate in the process
of making authoritative decisions and
allocating resources.

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7
Q

1-popular sovereignty

A

The idea that the highest political authority in a democracy is the will of the people.

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8
Q

1-majority rule

A

The principle under
which government follows the course
of action preferred by most people.

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9
Q

1-absolute majority

A

Fifty percent plus
one of all members or all eligible
voters

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10
Q

1-simple majority

A

Fifty percent plus
one of those participating or of those
who vote.

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11
Q

1-plurality

A

The largest percentage of a
vote, when no one has a majority.

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12
Q

1-minority rights

A

The full rights of
democratic citizenship held by any group numerically inferior to the majority. These fundamental democratic rights cannot be taken away—even if a majority wishes to do so—without breaking the promise of democracy.

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13
Q

1-political equality

A

The idea that indi-
vidual preferences should be given
equal weight

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14
Q

1-equality under the law

A

The idea that
the law is supposed to be applied impartially, without regard for the identity or status of the individual involved.

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15
Q

1-social equality

A

The idea that people
should be free of class or social barriers and discrimination.

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16
Q

1-economic equality

A

The idea that each
individual should receive the same amount of material goods, regardless
of his or her contribution to society.

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17
Q

1-equality of opportunity

A

The idea that every individual has the right to develop to the fullest extent of his or
her abilities.

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18
Q

1-direct democracy

A

A form of democracy in which ordinary citizens, rather than representatives, collectively make government decisions.

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19
Q

1-initiative

A

An election in which ordinary
citizens circulate a petition to put a
proposed law on the ballot for the
voters to approve.

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20
Q

1-referendum

A

An election in which a
state legislature refers a proposed
law to the voters for their approval.

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21
Q

1-representative democracy

A

Defined as a system of government where ordinary citizens do not make governmental decisions themselves
but choose public officials—
representatives of the people—to make decisions for them.

e.g: Great Britain and USA

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22
Q

1-liberal democracy

A

A representative democracy, such as the United Kingdom or the United States, that
has a particular concern for individual liberty. The rule of law and a constitution constrain elected representatives and the will of the majority from
using their power to take away the rights of minorities.

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23
Q

1-ideology

A

A consistent set of values,
attitudes, and beliefs about the appropriate role of government in
society.

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24
Q

1-partisanship

A

A psychological attach-
ment to a political party.

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25
Q

1-false consensus

A

The tendency of
people to believe their views are normal or represent common sense and therefore are shared by most
people.

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26
Q

1-pluralistic

A

A term used to describe
a society in which power is widely distributed among diverse groups and
interests.

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27
Q

1-elitist

A

A term used to describe a
society in which organized, influential minority interests dominate the political process.

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28
Q

1-political science

A

The systematic
study of government, political institu-
tions, processes, and behavior.

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29
Q

normative

A

Theories or statements that
seek to prescribe how things should be valued, what should be, what is
good or just, and what is better or
worse.

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30
Q

1-empirical

A

Questions and debates that
can be answered by careful observation. Systematic empirical observation is the foundation of science and
the scientific method.

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31
Q

1-science

A

A method of acquiring
knowledge through the formulation of hypotheses that can be tested
through empirical observation in order to make claims about how the
world works and why.

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32
Q

1-research question

A

a statement of
information or knowledge being sought. A research question assumes
there is no known universally correct answer and that alternative answers
need to be given fair consideration

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33
Q

1-theory

A

A potential explanation of how
the world works.

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34
Q

1-hypothesis

A

An “educated guess” that
logically must be either true or false
and can be empirically tested.

35
Q

1-null hypothesis

A

A statement positing
that there is no relationship between the variables being observed. It is the
opposite of the research hypothesis.

36
Q

1-utility

A

The amount of enjoyment an individual receives from a given situation or outcome.

37
Q

2-Declaration of Independence

A

A document written by Thomas Jefferson that lays the foundation of American constitutional theory.
Jefferson justifies the struggle for independence with a republican theory of government based on the concepts of natural rights and popular sovereignty.

38
Q

2-constitution

A

A document or unwritten
set of basic rules that provides the basic principles that determine the
conduct of political affairs.

39
Q

2-Articles of Confederation

A

The first constitution of the United States.

39
Q

2-unicameral

A

A legislature with one
chamber.

40
Q

2-Federalists

A

The group of people
who supported the adoption of the
Constitution and favored a stronger
national government.

41
Q

2-Anti-Federalists

A

The group of people
who opposed a stronger national government than what existed under the Articles of Confederation
and opposed the ratification of the Constitution.

42
Q

2-Shays’ Rebellion

A

An armed revolt by
farmers in western Massachusetts
who were resisting state efforts to
seize their property for failure to pay
taxes and debts.

43
Q

2-Virginia plan

A

The first major proposal
presented at the 1787 Constitutional Convention that formed the basis of the Constitution. It called for a bicameral legislature with a
popularly elected lower house and an upper house nominated by state
legislatures.

44
Q

2-bicameral

A

A legislature with two
chambers

45
Q

2-Connecticut Compromise (Great
Compromise)

A

A proposal at the
Constitutional Convention that called for a two-house legislature with a
House of Representatives apportioned on the basis of population and a Senate representing each state on
an equal basis.

46
Q

2-New Jersey plan

A

A proposal
presented at the Constitutional Convention that called for a one-house
legislature with equal representation
for each state.

47
Q

2-Federalist Papers

A

A series of 85 political essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay with the intent of persuading New Yorkers to ratify the proposed Constitution. They remain the single best source for understanding the justifications for the political institutions and processes the Constitution
established.

48
Q

2-faction

A

In James Madison’s terms,
“a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority
of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse
of passion, or of interests, adverse to the right of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of
the community.”

49
Q

2-Madisonian dilemma

A

The problem
of limiting self-interested individuals who administer stronger governmental powers from using those powers to destroy the freedoms that government is supposed to protect.

50
Q

2-republican form of government

A

A form of government in which the government operates with the consent of the governed through some type of representative institution.

51
Q

2-separation of powers

A

The idea that
each branch of government is authorized to carry out a separate part of
the political process.

52
Q

2-federalism

A

A political system in
which regional governments share power with a central or national government, but each level of government has legal powers that are independent of the other. This division of power between the national
and state governments attempts to balance power by giving independent
sources of authority to each and allowing one level of government to
serve as a check on the other.

52
Q

2-constituency

A

The group of people
served by an elected official or
branch of government.

53
Q

2-check and balance

A

The idea that
each branch of the federal government should assert and protect its own rights but must also cooperate
with the other branches. Each branch is to serve as a limit on the others’ powers, balancing the overall distribution of power.

54
Q

2-civil liberties

A

The freedoms and
protections against arbitrary governmental actions given to the people in a democratic society.

55
Q

2-mixed government

A

The idea that
government should represent both
property and the number of people.

56
Q

2-custom and usage

A

The term used to
describe constitutional change that occurs when practices and institutions not specifically mentioned in the Constitution evolve in response to political needs and alter the structure, functions, or procedures of
the political system.

56
Q

2-enumerated powers

A

The powers
specifically listed in the Constitution as belonging to the national government.

57
Q

2-inherent powers (prerogative
powers)

A

Powers that are not
listed or implied by the Constitution but that rather have been claimed as essential to the functioning of government or a particular office.

58
Q

2-implied powers

A

Those powers
belonging to the national government that are suggested in the Constitution’s “necessary and proper” clause.

59
Q

3-confederation

A

A political system in
which the central government receives no direct grant of power from
the people and can exercise only the power granted to it by the regional
governments.

59
Q

2-executive privilege

A

An inherent
power of the president to withhold confidential communications from
Congress and the courts if disclosure would violate separation of powers
or interfere with the president’s ability to discharge the powers and
duties of the executive branch.

60
Q

2-judicial review

A

The power to review
decisions of the lower courts and to determine the constitutionality of
laws and actions of public officials.

61
Q

3-unitary system

A

A political system in
which the power is concentrated in the national government, and the regional governments can exercise only those powers granted them by the central government.

62
Q

3-McCulloch v. Maryland

A

An 1819 court case involving a dispute over whether the central government had
the power to create a national bank.

62
Q

3-police power

A

The authority of the
states to pass laws for the health, safety, and morals of their citizens.

63
Q

3-concurrent powers

A

The powers listed in the Constitution as belonging to both the national and state
governments.

64
Q

3-interstate rendition

A

The obligation
of states to return people accused of a crime to the state from which
they fled.

65
Q

3-enabling act

A

A resolution passed by
Congress authorizing residents of a
territory to draft a state constitution
as part of the process of adding new
states to the Union.

66
Q

3-“supreme law of the land”

A

The idea that the U.S. Constitution, laws
passed by Congress, and the treaties made by the federal government are supreme, and state constitutions and laws are subordinate to them.

67
Q

3-dual federalism

A

The idea that
federal and state governments are
sovereign, with separate and distinct
jurisdictions.

68
Q

3-nullification

A

The act of declaring a
national law null and void within a
state’s borders.

69
Q

3-grants-in-aid

A

A form of national subsidy to the states designed to help them pay for policies and programs that are the responsibility of states
rather than the national government.

70
Q

3-cooperative federalism

A

The idea that
the distinction between state and national responsibilities is unclear and that the different levels of government share responsibilities in
many areas.

71
Q

3-general revenue sharing

A

A type of
federal grant that returns money to state and local governments with no
requirements as to how it is spent.

72
Q

3-categorical grants

A

A type of federal
grant that provides money for a specific policy activity and details how the programs are to be carried out.

73
Q

3-block grants

A

A type of federal grant
that provides funds for a general policy area but offers state and local governments’ discretion in designing the specific programs.

74
Q

3-crossover sanction

A

Conditions placed
on grant money that have nothing to do with the original purpose of
the grant.

75
Q

3-new federalism

A

A movement to take
power away from the federal government and return it to the states.

76
Q

3-devolution

A

The return of policy power
and responsibility to the states from
the national government.

77
Q

3-unfunded mandates

A

Federal mandates for which the federal government does not pay any associated
costs.

78
Q

3-ad hoc federalism

A

The process of
adopting a state- or nation-centered view of federalism on the basis of
political convenience.

79
Q

3-preemption

A

Congress expressly giving
national laws precedence over state and local laws.

Political Science (2 decks)

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