Introduction Flashcards
Conflict
Competition between opposing forces based on the existence of different opinions, wants and needs
Politics
The activity through which people make, uphold and revise the general rules under which they live
Political power
A has power over B to the extent that she can get B to do something they would not otherwise do
Government
A set of institutions through which the general rules of society are made and enforced
Authority
The right to influence the behaviour of other based on an acknowledged duty to obey
Legitimacy
Rightfulness, in that it (a government) is a rightful government
Constitution
Rules that govern the government itself, and the country
Cabinet
Where the leader of the largest party (the Prime Minister) has the power to invite members of the HOC and HOL to sit with them, to initiate policy and laws
Separation of powers
Each unit of government should be separate, i.e.
- Executive (make law)
- Legislative (implement law)
- Judiciary (apply law)
The core features of a Liberal Democracy
- Free, fair regular elections with universal suffrage
- Competition for power
- Guaranteed civil liberties and Human Rights
- Constitutional government
- A free media
- Mixed economy (private/public enterprise)
Consensus politics
An overlap of ideological positions between two or more political parties
Sovereignty
The principle of absolute and unlimited power
Parliamentary Sovereignty
Parliament as the most powerful institution in the UK
Pluralism
A theory suggesting political power within society does not only rest with the electorate or the governing elite, but is distributed amongst a number of groups representing widely different interest within society and competing with each other
Elitism
A theory which suggests that political power within society rests with a small group who gain power through wealth, influence
Executive
Initiates and implements law