Political Power, Social Movements Flashcards
Democracy
A political system that allows the citizens to participate in political decision making or to elect representatives to government bodies
Participatory democracy
A system of democracy in which all members of a group or community participate collectively in making major decisions
Direct democracy
A form of participatory democracy that allows citizens to vote directly on laws and policies
Liberal democracy
A type of representative democracy in which elected representatives hold power
Nation-state
Particular types of states, characteristic of the modern world, in which governments have sovereign power within defined territorial areas, and populations are citizens who know themselves to be part of single nations
Sovereignty
The undisputed political rule of a state over a given territorial area
Nationalism
A set of beliefs and symbols expressing identification with a national community
Power
The ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold
Authority
A government’s legitimate use of power
Democratic elitism
A theory of the limits of democracy. It holds that in large-scale societies democratic participation is necessarily limited to the regular election of political leaders
Pluralist theory
Theories that emphasize the role of diverse and potentially competing interest groups, none of which dominates the political process
The power elite
Small networks of individuals who hold concentrated power in modern societies
Collective action
Action undertaken in a relatively spontaneous way by a large number of people assembled together
Civil society
The realm of activity that lies between the state and the market, including the family, schools, community associations, and noneconomic institutions
