Introduction Flashcards
Social Sciences require
a clarity in word usage and need a specialized terminology
a group of people characterized by frequency of interaction through common rules
society
Government……binding on the whole…..
Government makes and enforces rules binding on the whole, society.
Anything that determines the direction of something (physical, theoretical etc) is…
governing the process.
pouvoir is..
french word for power
How many kinds of power are there in the political science respect, and what are they? CIA
3
Coercion, influence, authority
Power is an ____ or a _____ more than a _________. Political Science will study it but it is an _____.
Power is an ART or a SKILL more than a SCIENCE. Political Science will study it but it is an ART.
Politics has also been called the art of the __________.
possible. Woo.Hoo.
My goodness I have never met anyone speak SOOO passionately about their topic and yet sooooo completely unenthused in his tone.
The act of resolving conflicts and gathering support (notes definition) - text definition on page 3. Also described as …
politics…coalition building
when gathering support for your solution towards a conflict we call it…Can also be described as uniting forces or powers in society against opposing forces or powers.
coalition-building
Politics and coalition building require
power
Types of influence according to Aristotle…
logos, nomos, pathos
The state is operated by__________ and has three things:
the government
1 territory
2 sovereignty
3 population
sovereignty means
no one has higher power over the sovereign (state)
process of resolving conflict and gathering support that makes government possible
politics
power in political science refers to
the SOCIAlL ability to have others do as you want them to.
“if you do A you will get B - and B is a good thing” is an example of which type of influence defined by Aristotle
LOGOS
“We must act because that is what good people do” is an example of which type of influence defined by Aristotle
NOMOS
“tell them ALLLLL the ways B is good and moral by convincing them of the higher stakes” (very dramatic) : An example of which type of influence defined by Aristotle
PATHOS- political debates are often much like this
Commanding obedience through harm or threats of harm for non compliance is using… (example of political coercion)
- coercion
- strikes
If people obey or do what we want them to do we have:
Name the 2 kinds and define
- authority
- natural : parental , role model etc
- public: goats we have that we respect because we view them as legitimate
Three kinds of public authority and examples
- Traditional: birth right/monarchy
- Legal: OBEY RULES - not person - ex: constitution
- Charismatic: RARE- elected people that ‘seem’ like the right guy
Governments have authority when they are viewed as
legitimate
Governments want to rule through___________ and not coercion because..
authority and not coercion because it is very costly (jails, police etc)
rule by many
democracy
all people are involved in decision making via large votes (think of Greece when everyone was called in to vote)
direct democracy
Type of Canadian democracy
Indirect, Representative democracy
Without free and fair elections the _____________ of Canada’s government would be compromised
legitimacy
_____________ of ____________can threaten legitimacy of govt. What helps preserve legitimacy while placing some limits on how the government act?
- perceptions of unfairness
- constitutional rules
Many aboriginal people view the state as an illegitimate colonial power because they never actually gave up their
right to sovereignty
Both ____________ and ___________ try to influence one another. examples:
government and people try to influence one another. and example of this = people lobbying for specific causes, petitioning OR the governments purchase of media spots to promote their ‘economic action plan’
Canada has FOUR levels of government
- federal, provincial, municipal and Aboriginal
when citizens elect representatives to make governing decisions on their behalf
representative democracy
Benefits of representative democracy
- most practical way to apply democracy on a large scale
- frees public up from figuring out what is best for society by leaving job to committed ‘experts’
Drawbacks to representative democracy
- representatives are not clear about intent so voters have little choice
- nothing guaranteeing official will follow through or not be influenced by own choices
?referendums, initiatives and recal procedures as an alternative to _________nature of representation. Allows the people with ‘common sense’ to have a say
Plebiscitary democracy
-alternative to elite-oriented representation
A vote by people on a particular questions asked by the government of legislative body
referendum
proposed new law or drafted changes to a new law by an individual rather than by a government. Proposal is put to a vote after enough signatures are gathered. A snow removal initiative comes to mind
Which province has a procedure for this?
initiative, BC
-a procedure that allows citizens to recall their representative and require that a new election be held, provided sufficient names are obtained on a petition. (They attempted this with Notley and the NDP- it fell flat on it’s face)
recall
dangers of plebiscitary mechanisms-
give an example of how it can be used against minorities…
- wording may be vague and manipulative
- does not fit well with parliamentary govt when reps are supposed to vote with their party not FOR people
- offers yes or no answers - not enough info
- typically low voter turnout
- can be used to trample rights of minorities ex: shut down same sex marriage in many states
Democracy has been described as ____ rule in the past. It was thought leaders would __________ social order by acting in ______ manner and assume dictatorship in the name of the peole
MOB RULE. It was thought leaders would UNDERMINE social order by acting in UNLAWFUL manner and assume dictatorship in the name of the peoPLE
T / F Liberal democracy places some limits on what governments can do
True
liberal democracy ensures the rights of the people to engage in ___________ activity are firmly established and _______________ are fair allowing people’s choice of representative. An added feature of liberal government is…
liberal democracy ensures the rights of the people to engage in POLITICAL activity are firmly established and ELECTIONS are fair allowing people’s choice of representative. CONSTITUTIONAL GOVT
Constitutional government consistently _________ in keeping with established___________ __________ & _____________
Constitutional government consistently ACTS in keeping with established FUNDAMENTAL RULES & PRINCIPLES
The ‘liberal’ aspect of liberal democracy means maintaining a substantial …. This protects __________ in society by allowing people to practice their own beliefs and values regardless of majority opinion etc.
private area of private activity where government should not intervene
-protects diversity. (Basically as long as you are not harming another person and following the laws, you can worship and wear what and who you choose and we are not gonna force you otherwise…unless it’s a turban or a Niqab…then we are gonna make up a lot of shit to force you to do as we say because scared dummies are dumber, yet somehow more powerful than the average happy dummy.)
