Government and Politics Flashcards
Absolute Monarchies:
Governments wherein a monarch has absolute or unmitigated power.
Anarchy:
The absence of any organized government.
Authority:
Power that people accept because it comes from a source that is perceived as legitimate.
Charismatic Authority:
Power legitimized on the basis of a leader’s exceptional personal qualities.
Constitutional Monarchies:
National governments that recognize monarchs but require these figures to abide by the laws of a greater constitution.
Democracy:
A form of government that provides all citizens with an equal voice or vote in determining state policy.
Dictatorship:
A form of government in which an individual or small group wields complete and absolute authority over a government or populace after they rise to power, usually through economic or military might.
Monarchy:
A form of government in which a single person rules until that individual dies or abdicates the throne.
Oligarchy:
A form of government in which power is held by a small, elite group.
One Person One Vote:
A concept holding that each person’s vote should be counted equally.
Patrimonialism:
A type of authority wherein military and administrative factions enforce the power of the master.
Politics:
A means of studying a nation’s or group’s underlying social norms as values as evidenced through it’s political structure and practices.
Power:
The ability to exercise one’s will over others.
Power Elite:
A small group of powerful people who control much of a society.
Rational-Legal Authority:
Power that is legitimized by rules, regulations, and laws.
