Midterm Flashcards
How has globalization affected countries across the world?
It has increased interdependence of citizens across the world. It has created international law, relations and pressures. It threatens national sovereignty
What are the models of democracy?
Majoritarianism, pluralism and elitism
What do each of the 3 models of democracy emphasize?
Majoritarianism: Mechanisms that allow direct participation
Pluralism: Government by competing interest groups that represent the people
Elitism: Ability of a minority to set the agenda and secure favorable policies
What are the components of each of the 3 models of democracy?
Majoritarianism: Referendum, initiative, recall
Pluralism: Interest groups, a decentralized power structure that provides many access points to government, and divided government authority(separation of powers)
Elitism: Elites control finance, military, communications, industry and governmental institutions
What are the problems with each model of democracy?
Majoritarianism: Citizens are not informed enough to make decisions and the public lacks enough interest to participate
Pluralism: Actions of the majority are limited, it may allow minorities to rule, and it requires many strong and equally funded interest groups
Elitism: In inaccurate and not supported by studies, elections still give average citizens a say
What is general welfare in each model of democracy?
Majoritarianism: determined by the majority
Pluralism: Determined by compromise between different interest groups
Elitism: Determined by an elite minority
What is an accurate summary of each model?
Majoritarianism: Simple majority rule
Pluralism: Conflict and compromise
Elitism: Oligarchy
What are the 3 theories of government?
- Force theory: strongest person rules, most basic theory
- Divine right theory: A god has given someone the right to rule
- Social contract theory: Contract between gov. and prople
Who are Hobbes and Locke and what did they believe in?
They were philosophers
Hobbes: Absolute monarchy, people are born with rights that they relinquish to the monarch for protection(social contract). He believed people were naturally evil and would act on behalf of their interests only, they cant be trusted to govern themselves. The purpose of government was to keep law and order. People have no say in government(no revolt allowed)
Locke: Democracy, all people are born with inalienable rights(life, liberty and the right to own property). People could govern themselves if given the right info to make the right decisions. Purpose of government is to protect liberties and rights. People have the right to revolt against an abusive government
What are public goods?
Benefits and services such as parks and sanitation that benefit all citizens but are not likely to be produced voluntarily by individuals. You can touch them
What is equality of outcome and equality of opportunity?
Equality of outcome: The concept that society must ensure that people are equal, and governments must design policies to redistribute wealth and status so that economic and social equality is actually achieved
Equality of opportunity: The idea that each person is guaranteed the same chance to succeed in life
What is political ideology?
A consistent set of values and beliefs about proper purpose and scope of government
What are the 2 tests for political ideology?
- Readiness to change
2. Level of gov. involvement
How did ancient greeks classify governments?
By the number of citizens involved in the process, on a continuum of running from rue by one person, from rule by a few, to rule by many
What are initiative, recall, and referendum and how do they tie together?
Initiative: Voters propose an issue to be decided by legislature or by people in a referendum, it requires gathering of a specific number of signatures and submitting a petition
Recall: The process for removing an elected official from office
Referendum: An election on a policy issue, people vote on propositions
What are interest groups?
An organized group of individuals seeking to influence government policy, also called a lobby. Pluralist
What makes democratization difficult?
Ethnic and religious conflict where opposing groups dont want the other group to have power. Democratization is accompanied by political and economic instability leaving the government vulnerable to outside attacks and military revolt
What was the purpose of the 1st and 2nd continental congress?
1st: Met in Philadelphia, all states except Georgia sent delegates. The objective was to restore harmony between British and American colonies. The adopted rights and principles that ended up in the declaration of independence
2nd: Had to decide to go to war or reconcile with Britain. Deteriorating conditions made them decide on war. They wrote the Declaration of Independence. They adopted Articles of Confederation
Declaration of independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson, who became the “pen” to John Adam’s “voice”, at the second continental congress. It stated and rationalized America’s separation from Britain
What is a republic?
A government with no monarch rooted in the consent of the governed, whose power is exercised by elected representatives responsible to the governed
What were the weaknesses of he Articles of Confederation?
- National gov. could not tax, congress had to plead for money for war and affairs
- No independent leader for nation
- Did not allow gov. to regulate foreign and interstate commerce
- Could not be amended without unanimous agreement and assent of all state legislatures
What is the great compromise?
Aka he Connecticut compromise, it was a plan for a bicameral legislature in which the house of representatives would be apportioned according to state population (VA plan)and states would be represented equally(NJ plan) in the senate
What is dual federalism?
A view that holds that the constitution is a compact among federal states, so that powers of the national government and the states are clearly differentiated(layer-cake)
What is federalism?
The division fo power between a central gov and regional govs
What is cooperative federalism?
(marble cake) A view that the constitution is an agreement among people who are citizens of both state and nation, so there is much overlap between national and state powers
What is a grant in aid?
Money provided by one level of government to another to be spent for a given purpose
What are categorical grants and the types of categorical grants?
Grants in aid targeted for a specific purpose by formula or project
Types: Formula and project
Formula: categorical grants where rules or a formula specify who is eligable for the grants and how much they receive
Project: Categorical grants awarded based on competitive application submitted by prospective recipients to perform a specific task or function
What are block grants?
Grants in aid awarded for general purposes, allowing the recipient great discretion in spending the money
What are the federalist papers?
A series of newspaper articles defending the constitution. The bore the pen name Publius and were written primarily by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, assisted by John Jay.
What is federalist #10?
Written by James Madison, it is the most magnificent and frequently cited. Madison argued that the constitution was designed to break and control the violence of factions. The purpose was to show that gov was not likely to be dominated by factions
What is federalist #51?
Written by Madison, he argued that separation of powers and checks and balances would control tyranny. He called the system a compound republic
What is Marbury vs Madison?
A case where the supreme court declared that courts have the power to nullify gov acts that conflict with the constitution
What is home rule?
The right to enact and enforce legislation locally, gives cities a measure of self government and freedom of action
What is redistricting/reapportionment?
The process of redrawing political boundaries to reflect changes in population, occurring 2 years after each dicennial census on all levels of government
What is the Northwestern Ordinance?
a law where 5000 eligible voters can write a charter state constitution and apply to be a state
What is public opinion and its characteristics?
Our collective attitudes on a given subject or issue
Characteristics
- Our attitudes on the same issues have changed over the years
- Public opinion places boundaries on acceptable public policy
- Citizens will input opinions outside their expertise
- Government tends to respond public opinion
- The gov sometimes does not do what the public wants
What polling? Who is the father of modern polling?
To reliably measure public opinion, George gallop is the father of modern polling
What are the methods of polling and their downsides?
- Personal interview: inefficient
- Mail questionnaires: who filled it out?
- Email: who filled it out?
- telephone interviews
- exit polls: survey leaving the polling area, skewed based on location
What is skewed, bimodal and normal distribution of public opinion?
Skewed: Frequent response to one side(preference), asymmetrical bell curve
Bimodal: 2 Responses are chosen as frequently as each other
Normal: A symmetrical bell shaped distribution, centered a single most frequent response
What is political socialization? What are the agents of early socialization? Which agent becomes prevalent after?
The complex process by which people acquire their political values.
Early agents: Family, school, community, peers
Media becomes prevalent after
How are people likely to vote based on education, income, region, race, religion and sex?
Education: College educated people choose freedom over order and equality bc they tend to be wealthy
income: higher income people favor freedom
Region: South and midwest are republican(less freedom), Northeast and west favor freedom
Race: Minorites are liberal
Religion: Protestants are more conservative than catholics, who are more conservative than jews. Evangelicals wants less freedom, Jews want more.
Gender: Women are more democratic
How do liberals, conservatives, communitarians and libertarians think in terms of freedom, equality and order?
Liberals: More equality and freedom
Libertarians: More freedom
Conservatives: More freedom and order
Communitarians: More equality and order
Why do we know less about unconventional participation?
- It is harder to collect data on
2. Political scientists are biased towards conventional participation
Why do some people use conventional participation?
Particular benefits or broad policy objectives
What did the 15, 17th, 19th, 24th and 26th amendments do?
15: African Americans can voted
17: Senators are chosen by election
19: Women can vote
24: No poll taxes
26: 18 years olds can vote
What is a 527 committee?
Named after section 527 of the tax code, committees enjoy tax exempt status if unaffiliated with a political party and take positions on specific issues not candidates
What is the process for a presidential campaign?
- Invisible primary
- Exploratory committee
- Declare candidacy
- Iowa Caucus
- First primary
- Super Tues.
- Clinch nomination
- Convention
- Election day
What influences how someone votes(short and long term)?
Short: Issues facing the country, record/image of candidate, campaign effects
Long: demographic, predetermined vote status, winning candidate gets their party+independents, the are less registered republicans than democrats
What are negative and contrast ads?
Contrast: ad where it compares the positives of one candidate and the negatives of another
Negative: only focuses of negatives of opposing candidate, lowers voter turnout
What are campaign strategies?
- Go rally where your party is prevalent
- Have a plan for issues
- List achievements
