Government Flashcards
What is gov’t
the formal institutions through which a territory and its people are ruled
what is politics
the conflict over the leadership, policies, and structure of gov’t
what are public goods
services provided by gov’t people cannot otherwise provide for themselves (protection from foreign aggression, stable currency, public order, enforcement of contractual obligations, etc.)
what determines type of gov’t
who rules and how much power they are allowed
autocracy
a gov’t with a single individual having control over the nation governed
oligarchy
a gov’t led by a small group of individuals with full control over the nation
liberal/constitutional gov’t
constitutions and laws limit what gov’t can do and how it goes about it
authoritarian gov’t
the law imposes few real limits but gov’t is kept in check by political/social institutions it cannot control (self-governing territories, labor unions, organized religions)
totalitarian gov’t
lack of legal limits
actively seeks to eliminate institutions that will challenge authority
seek at controlling social, economic, and political life
direct democracy
citizens directly vote on legisltaion
representative democracy
citizens elect officials to office that draft and vote on legislation on their behalf
political power
having control over gov’t leadership, how gov’t is organized, and what the gov’t policies are
pluralism
group politics
pattern of struggle among interests
theory that most interests are/should be free to compete for influence in government (the end result being compromise/moderation)
democracy
a type of government in which citizens excercise popular sovereignty
majority rule, minority rights
a democratic principle
the gov’t follows the preferences of the majority voters but protects the intersts of the minority
