intro to Poli Sci Flashcards
What is Government?
the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies
public policies
all of the things that a gov decides to do (laws)
If a gov. can’t control a society it will_____
Fail
Power is___
control
Control is obtained and maintained through some combination of __
force and influence
6 types of power
- physical force
- wealth
- state action
- social norms (make people change( marriage equality))
- ideas
- numbers (amount of people)
first law of power
-power is never static, if you aren’t taking action, your being acted upon
Second law of power
- Power is like water, it flows and moves and changes
third law of power
power compounds
3 main types of governmental power
- legislative: laws
- executive: executes the laws (enforces)
- Judicial: Judges if laws are constitutional or not (limits gov.)
4 key features of a country
- population
- territory(land)
- sovereignty (independence, freedom)
- government
purpose of a gov?
The preamble… in order to form a more perfect union
- establish justice
- ensure domestic tranquility
- provide for the common defense
- promote the general welfare
- and secure the blessings of our liberty to ourselves and our posterity
Force theory
one person or a group claimed control over an area and forced all within it to submit to that persons rule
evolutionary theory
the primitive family of which one person was the head and thus the “government”.
- was the first stage in political gov. overtime this family became a network of relatives, a clan. once this clan stopped being nomadic , it settled down and state was born
divine right theory
god created state, and had given royal birth the “divine right” to rule. opposition to the king was considered treason/ mortal sin
social contract theory
created by hobbes, harrington, locke, and rosseau.
- no gov. existed, people were only as secure as their own physical strength/ intelligence. agreed to create state to provide safety for all
political parties
groups of people with a similar ideology seeking to control political power and influence
