Political Sociology Flashcards
The ability of people, or groups, to gain access to government and use its power to influence society
Politics
Countries where people share a national language or culture
Nation states
People can directly vote for their representatives and, in some cases, can even vote on specific rules or policies
Democratic states
Permits citizens to contact elected leaders to argue for what they want
Lobbying
Believe that states aren’t listening to them and that “normal” forms of influence are inadequate or illegitimate
Activists
Groups of people organized for social change and who act in contentious ways
Social (or protest) movements
Challenging the state so effectively that the state collapses
Revolutionary social movements
The “ultimate authority” within some geographical territory. They tend to have courts, police officers, and legislatures.
States
Using the force of government to collect funds that are used to pay for services like the police, schools, and healthcare
Taxation
States where a large part of their budget is spent on social services, such as retirement benefits and healthcare.
Welfare states
Includes rules of behavior that the state creates, like laws, as well as the services that governments provide for people
Policy
The way states are made, acquire power, and use power to further their goals by creating and enforcing policy
Axis of politics
Governments that control a single city and the surrounding area
City states
People influence the state and its policies by voting for representatives, who then decide which policies to approve
Representative democracy
Where people can directly vote on government policies
Direct democracies
Eligible voters get to say “yes” or “no” on a specific proposed law
Referendum
Where people have a genuine option to vote for alternative candidates
Competitive democracies
Kings and queens who inherit their kingdoms
Aristocracy
Policies written down in law
formal policies
Less like formal organizations and more like vast, amoeba-like networks of people and organizations. Includes the Republicans and Democrats.
Political parties
Policies that are not written down in law
Informal policy
Democratic government tend to offer policies that reflect the voter who is exactly in the middle (the median) of voter preferences
Median voter model
People really care about an issue
Salience