Intro To Political Science: Final Flashcards

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1
Q

Feminism

A

Opposes the political, economic, and cultural relegation of women to positions of inferiority.
- Critiques laws, customs, and beliefs that posit that women are inferior to men.
-Simple definition: Women should be as free as men

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2
Q

Patriarchy

A

The rule of men as a social group over women as a social group
-Women are subordinate in this system

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3
Q

Matriarchy

A

The rule of women as a social group over men as a social group
-Men are subordinate in this system

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4
Q

What are some examples of evidence that a patriarchy exists?

A

-Women have been denied equality of resources
-Women have been denied equality of political power
-Women have been denied equality of educational opportunities
-Women have been denied equality of basic health care
-Women have been denied equality of respect
-Women have been denied equal protection from violence
-Women have been denied equal protection by the state

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5
Q

How does Religion relate to Patriarchy?

A

-Over human history religion has been used as a tool of oppression in order to subjugate women
-Some counter that there are examples of egalitarianism in religion as pointed out in the text
-Arguments made for the modern subjugation of women are often rooted in fundamentalist interpretations of religious writings

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6
Q

What are the branches of Feminism?

A

-Liberal Feminism
-Radical Feminism
-Socialist Feminism
-Diversity Feminism

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7
Q

What are the Liberal Feminist policy positions?

A

-Antidiscrimination measures
-Affirmative action
-Access to safe and legal abortion
-Funding for childcare centers
-Flexible work hours

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8
Q

This person was one of the first women to assert the Liberal Feminist perspective and argued in her seminal work “Vindication of the Rights of Women’ that women should be included in the Lockean definitions of human nature and not just men and that the systematic oppression of women was unjust.

A

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)

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9
Q

What is the name of the woman who argued along with other second wave feminists that women should have access to educational institutions, career growth, and economic advancement? She was a Liberal Feminist.

A

Betty Friedan

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10
Q

What are the beliefs of Socialist Feminists?

A

-The mainstream of a society such as the United States should itself be radically changed
-Asserts that capitalism and patriarchy are mutually reinforcing and that both should be dismantled
-By disempowering women economically, the patriarchy provides capitalism a source of cheap labor and by keeping women in poverty, capitalism reinforces women’s dependence on men.
-“I would leave my husband, but I need his healthcare”

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11
Q

What are the Radical Feminist Beliefs?

A

-Rejects classical feminism and opposes mainstream institutions and politics because they are systems of oppression created by and run for the benefit of men
-Concentrate on offering alternative systems
-Critique the patriarchy, the creation of systems of victimization of women
-Critique advertising for its narrow depiction of women
-Argue that the legal system in almost all countries discriminate against women and leave them vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse

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12
Q

What are the Diversity Feminists Beliefs?

A

-Critiques what is perceived as a limited perspective of liberal feminism and draws on the experiences of women from multiple ethnic, racial, cultural, and international backgrounds
-Opposes the privileging of any single ethnic, racial, cultural, or national perspective on women’s issues

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13
Q

What is Environmentalism?

A

Asserts the importance of viewing natural resources from an ecological perspective. As advocates of an ecological perspective, environmentalists emphasize the importance of protecting the natural resources found within the earth’s varied ecosystems.

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14
Q

What is Ecology?

A

Coined as a term in 1860 by scientist Ernst Haeckel to describe how organisms interacted in their environment.

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15
Q

What are the basic tenants of Environmentalism?

A

-Emphasizes preservation of ecosystem health and well being
-Calls on women and men to assume obligations to nature
-Advocates environmental stewardship
-Proposes that any use of the nature be done in a manner supportive of sustainable development
-Claims that owning natural resources does not imply complete discretion over use of those resources
-Rejects the belief that humans are the center of the universe and masters of nature
-Suggests that economic value is not the only value to consider when calculating the worth of natural resources

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16
Q

What is Postmodernism?

A

Postmodernist- Put forward the concept of metanarratives to describe ideologies (and outlooks generally) that posit objective truths (truths presented as intrinsically true).
Rejects metanarratives as a source of intrinsic truth.

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17
Q

What are Comparative Politics?

A

The study of how governments, political groups, political procedures, and citizenship vary across countries or time periods.

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18
Q

Democratic Governments

A

Governments in which the people and the government are connected; in other words, the people are self-governed.

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19
Q

Nondemocratic Governments

A

A government in which the people are not self-governing and are not, therefore, in a position to direct government policy toward the expression of the people’s interests.

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20
Q

What are the hallmarks of a pure democracy?

A

1.Elections in which the people are free to select and reject government officials
2.Ongoing access to the government by the people between elections
3.The enactment of laws and policies reflecting the interests of a self-governing people

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21
Q

What are the 5 components of Democracy?

A
  1. Participation
  2. Pluralism
  3. Developmentalism
  4. Protection
  5. Performance
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22
Q

This kind of government can be Anti participatory (deny freedom of participation by the people), may suppress various groups within its society, and may produce laws and policies that are not reflection of popularly defined and properly articulated interests.

A

Nondemocratic Governement

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23
Q

Who was China’s first communists leader?

A

Mao Zedung

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24
Q

What are two policies that were put into place during Mao’s reign?

A

-The Great Leap Forward Policy
-The Cultural Revolution Policy

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25
Q

What is an Interest Group?

A

Interest Groups are defined as groups of individuals and/or institutions united by shared opinions or interests and organized together in an effort to influence political outcomes. These groups seek to influence beliefs and attitudes and to effect the actions of the government and the people.

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26
Q

What is Direct Lobbying?

A

Direct Lobbying is a strategy whereby interest groups make personal contact with political officials and try to persuade them to support the aims of the interest group. Direct Lobbyists target public officials carefully and tend to concentrate on contacting a small group of officials whom the lobbyists identify as key decision makers.

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27
Q

What is Grassroots Lobbying?

A

Grassroots Lobbying is a strategy of trying to convince voters and members of the public to support the interests groups position. Their tactics include mass mailings, television or newspaper ads, telephone calls, internet postings, email, door-to-door campaigns, and more.

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28
Q

What is Astroturf Lobbying?

A

This is when a company or industrywide interest group poses as the ‘average person” and tried to influence voters and politicians.

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29
Q

What does Campaign Involvement mean?

A

Interest group activity in conjunction with political campaigns.

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30
Q

What are some tactics of Campaign Involvement?

A

-Registering Voters
-Working on behalf of certain candidates
-Convincing candidates to support certain positions
-Joining political parties
-Shaping party decisions from the inside
-Making campaign contributions

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31
Q

How can interest groups influence the courts?

A

Interest groups can influence the courts by bringing lawsuits or by supporting one side or another in a case by filing an amicus curiae brief.

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32
Q

What are two results of using protests as an interest group strategy?

A

-Gains attention for the cause
-Can be negative of positive attention

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33
Q

What are Direct Contributions?

A

Are contributions made to candidates themselves

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34
Q

What are Independent Expenditures?

A

Money spent on behalf of candidates but not directly given to them

35
Q

What is Bundling?

A

This is the process of combining numerous individual contributions together to make a single large contribution

36
Q

What is Soft Money?

A

Is money used for party-building programs and activities
-Get-out-the-vote drives, voter registration, and political ads

37
Q

What is Interest Group Pluralism?

A

Encompasses interest groups and government relations in which interest groups are outsiders competeing for influence over government

38
Q

What does it mean when a society is a Democratic Corporatist Society?

A

Means that interest groups are insiders or partners with the government

39
Q

What is State Autonomy?

A

When the government is fairly insulated from and autonomous of interest group pressures

40
Q

What is State Corporatism?

A

State Corporatism is when states control interest groups by incorporating groups into the government in ways that makes the groups subordinate and submissive to the government itself.
-In these systems interest groups are not partners, but servants of the government.

41
Q

What are Political Parties?

A

Political Parties are organizations that put forward proposed leaders whom they support for official positions in government.

42
Q

What are political parties like in the U.S?

A

U.S. parties are broad based organizations in the sense that they are inclusive of anyone and everyone who wishes to identify with them.
-US political parties cannot exclude anyone who wants to register as a party member or vote for the party

43
Q

What does it mean when people say that the US political Parties are Decentralized?

A

This means that the national political party committees and leadership do not dictate or control the actions or decisions of the state parties

44
Q

Does the political party tightly control the ideology you can have while representing that political party?

A

No, you could have the following combinations:
-Republican: Liberal, Moderate, or Conservative
-Democrat: Liberal, Moderate, or Conservative

45
Q

What is Interest Articulation?

A

Interest Articulation is the communication of political ideas, as when the Republican Party articulates an anti-abortion stance and, in so doing, tries to educate its members on the importance of abortion policy

46
Q

What is Interest Aggregation?

A

Interest Aggregation is mobilizing members to vote for a winnable candidate or policy issue

47
Q

What are Third Parties?

A

Third Parties compete against the dominate two parties in the US and may often emphasize ideas, doctrines, and causes

48
Q

How do parties differ in democracies?

A

1.Organizational centralization/decentralization
2.Number of competitive parties
3.Majoritarian outcome vs multiparty outcome
4.Party relations

49
Q

What does Majoritarian Outcomes mean?

A

Only two major parties are organized or with minor as well as major parties, although minor parties are unable (usually because of election laws) to prevent the major parties from capturing majorities within the national legislature over time

50
Q

What does Multiparty Outcomes mean?

A

Systems that have the existence of numerous parties and the absence of election laws that work against minor party competition combine to create a situation in which no single party gains control of the legislature; as a result, parties must form coalitions in order to govern.

51
Q

What is the Electoral College?

A

The electoral college consists of a group of people who vote officially for president and vice president only. Your vote for president on election day helps your state determine how it will cast its state electoral votes for allocation to the electoral college

52
Q

What are the Single-Member Plurality rules?

A

-The candidate that receives more votes in that election than anyone else
-Doesn’t require a majority, but rather just to be the top vote getter

53
Q

What is Proportional Representation?

A

Proportional Representation is when parties receive a percentage of offices based on the percentage of votes received in an election

54
Q

What are the two approaches that are usually adopted for the Executive/Legislative relationship?

A

-Presidential System
-Parliamentary System

55
Q

What is a Presidential System and how does it work?

A

Presidential Systems are ones in which executive-legislative relations operate as follows:
1.Executives and legislators are elected in distinct, separate elections for fixed terms of office
2.Executives cannot be removed by votes of no confidence (but they can be impeached)
3.Executive power is separated from legislative power

56
Q

What is a Parliamentary System and how does it work?

A

Parliamentary Systems are ones i which:
1.Legislators select executive leadership
2.Executives can be removed by votes of no confidence, and new elections may be necessitated
3Executive and legislative powers are combined - not separated - in order to forge a working partnership between the two branches of government

57
Q

What are the constitutional powers and responsibilities of the president in the US?

A

-Serves as commander of the country’s military force and state militias
-Grants pardons, except in disputes involving impeachment
-Negotiates treaties, in consultation with the senate
-Appoints, in consultation with the senate, ambassadors, Supreme Court justices, and other officials
-Makes a State of the Union Address to Congress
-Proposes laws to Congress for consideration
-Convening and adjourning Congress
-Approving or disapproving laws passed by congress (veto)
-Receiving foreign officials and ambassadors
-Ensuring that the country’s laws are implemented

58
Q

What are some examples of the expansion of presidential powers in the US?

A

Presidents can expand their power through the people or through the tools of governing
-The presidential lawmaker
-Congress has enlarged the president’s powers
-The use of presidential staff to persuade of lobby Congress
-The ability to reward of withhold “goodies” to motivate members of Congress
-Leader of the country persuasion power

59
Q

What are the steps to impeach a US president?

A
  1. The House introduces articles of impeachment (simple majority vote)
  2. The Senate acts as a trial court (or should) and votes on whether or not to convict the president of the articles of impeachment (to convict and remove the president requires a vote of 2/3rds of the senate
60
Q

The Bicameral Legislature system in the US is comprised of:

A

-The House: 435 members; Two-year term
-The Senate: 100 members; Six-year term

61
Q

What are the steps to create a new law?

A
  1. Introduction
  2. Leadership receives
  3. Referred to committee by leadership
  4. Committee sessions and mark-up
  5. (House) Calendar & Rules committee action
  6. (Senate) Majority Leader can alter the bill
  7. Floor votes
  8. Conference Committee (if applicable)
  9. Final floor vote (if applicable)
  10. Presidential action
62
Q

What are Models of Analysis

A

Models of Analysis influence the process by which governments make international decisions and the means by which those decisions are analyzed by political scientists and citizens
-A model of analysis is a set of fundamental operating assumptions that asses why things happen as they do

63
Q

What is Liberal Idealism?

A

Idealism is a perspective that makes both normative (value) and empirical (factual) claims.
-Proposes that governments should pursue ethical principals when making foreign policy decisions
-Posits that human nature is capable of reason and peaceful, harmonious interactions

64
Q

What do Liberal Institutionalists focus on?

A

They focus on the concepts of economic interdependence of state and the importance of international organizations

65
Q

Iroquois League

A

-Each member nation retained its own customs and traditions but agreed not to attack any other member nation of the league
-Each member nation pledged to defend all other nations within the league
-League membership was up for renewal every 5 years, at which time member nations could declare their intent to renew their membership or to leave the league

66
Q

What is Realism in terms of international politics?

A

Realism is another perspective on international politics with normative and empirical dimensions that entertains the ides that political behavior is conflict oriented
-Normative perspective would argue that government decision making is guided by the requirements of amassing power, not pursuing morality at the expense of power
-Empirical realism would argue that people are irrational and violent

67
Q

Idealism asserts that:

A

-Human nature is rational and capable of peace
-States should follow moral principals in foreign policy
-States should seek cooperation
-States should promote human security
-International organizations can enhance state efforts to exist peacefully
-States tend to exist in a world that looks increasingly interdependent to many idealists such as liberal institutionalists

68
Q

Realism asserts that:

A

-Governments cannot count on the existence of a peaceful and cooperative human nature to produce harmonious interactions
-States must be cognizant of the fact that anarchic relations in world politics place each state in position of needing to advance its own power
-Foreign policy must be based on a state’s need to protect and advance its own power, not on morality (if power and morality com into conflict)
-International political relations are prone to conflict
-When governments act rationally in advancing their own power, their decisions are often similar, regardless of the different ideologies subscribed to by the governments in question

69
Q

What is International Anarchy?

A

This is the absence of any overarching world government that enforces rules of peace on existing governments.
Due to the existence of international anarchy democratic and nondemocratic countries will compromise on ethics and morals to survive and retain power.

70
Q

Define Containment

A

strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States beginning in the late 1940s in order to check the expansionist policy of the Soviet Union.

71
Q

Define the Truman Doctrine

A

the principle that the US should give support to countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or Communist insurrection.

72
Q

Define the Marshall Plan

A

a program of financial aid and other initiatives, sponsored by the US, designed to boost the economies of western European countries after World War II.

73
Q

What is NATO?

A

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to provide for the common defense of its members in 1949, and throughout the Cold War, NATO viewed the USSR as the major threat to European Security

74
Q

What are some tensions that led to the Cold War?

A

-The Soviets put in place the Berlin Wall in 1961, a few months after the Bay of Pigs invasion; the wall separated Berlin into Eastern and Western sphere of influence and prevented freedom of movement
-The Cuban missile crisis developed in 1962, when the US discovered Soviet missile sites in Cuba and demanded that the Soviets remove their missiles from Cuba
-The Soviet Union sent troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968 to maintain Soviet influence
-The US had more than 540,000 troops in Vietnam by the end of 1969 and justified the deployment on the grounds of preventing communist expansion in South Vietnam

75
Q

What are the 5 divisions of the United Nations?

A

1.General Assembly
2.The Security Council
3.Economic and Social Council
4.International Court of Justice
5The Secretariat

76
Q

Who are the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council?

A

1.United States
2.Russia
3.China
4.France
5Berlin

77
Q

The UN Internation Court of Justice

A

-The ICJ issues advisory opinions and hears cases involving states
-The courts consists of 15 members who serve for 9-year terms
-Members are elected by the General Assembly and Security Council
-The members of the World Court are not to be spokespeople for their individual countries, rather they are to decide cases and issue opinions in an impartial matter

78
Q

What role does religion play in shaping the ideology of would-be suicide bombers?

A

“No research has identified religious beliefs as the sole motivating force, even among Palestinians or al-Qaeda, but the general consensus appears to be that it plays a crucial role, although there is variation in the importance assigned”

79
Q

What role does nationalism play in shaping the ideology of would-be suicide bombers?

A

While it is clear that some groups have strong ties to nationalism (Tamil Tigers) in some cases it is hard to separate religious and nationalist motivations as they can be entangled

80
Q

What three spheres does political scientist Joseph Nye suggest we view international politics through?

A

1.The sphere of military power
2.The sphere of economic power
3.The sphere occupied by “transitional” organizations

81
Q

What is Globalization?

A

Refers to an international arena in which state boundaries are increasingly penetrable; globalization has been occurring for centuries

82
Q

What are the “Bretton Woods Institutions”?

A

International Monetary Fund (IMF): Working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world
World Bank: Working for sustainable solutions to reduce poverty and aid developing countries

83
Q

What was the first world trade agreement?

A

GATT in 1947
This was eventually replaced by the WTO in 1995