Political Terms Flashcards
Nation
An ethnic term
Country
A geographic term
State
legal/political term
Government
The process of making leadership decisions
Politics:
The process of obtaining a position in which you are able to make, or at least influence, leadership decisions.
Democracy:
a significant portion of the population is able to participate.
Dictatorship:
participation is limited to a very few, perhaps only one.
Confederate:
the primary power is given to local governments.
Unitary:
virtually all of the power is given to the central governments.
Federal:
power is shared between the local and central governments.
Parliamentary:
the chief executive is a member of the legislature.
Presidential:
the chief executive is NOT a member of the legislature.
“Ballot Fatigue”:
voters get tired of voting and quit making choices before completing the entire ballot.
Suffrage:
the right to vote
Political Socialization:
how we develop images and views of people in politicsàfamily, education
Caucus:
meeting of some people who have something in common
Coattail Effect:
someone at the top of ballot wins in a landslide, people of the same political party will prob do better
Land-slide:
someone wins more than 60% of the vote
Flanking Privilege:
Congress Can use U.S. postage for free
Midterm Election:
congressional election in a year when there is no presidential election
Rider:
additional thing added to a bill, that has really nothing to do with the bill
Rider
additional thing added to a bill, that has really nothing to do with the bill
Junket:
Congressional field trip
Filibuster:
speaking super long in order to stall a vote
Cloture:
stop to a filibuster
àGerrymandering:
drawing district lines for benefit of candidate
Blockbuster:
real estate dealer of the 1970s who supplied blacks with good quality pricing
Jim Crow laws:
provided for separate facilities for whites and blacks in south
Affirmative Action:
companies attempt to increase the percentage of black employees
De facto segregation:
happens today
Minutiae:
dividing line between slave and free states under MS comp
Nation Building:
Bush/Clinton principle for the U.S. to use all means to assist failed states in restoring stability
Mutually Assured Destruction:
situation where both US and Russia could easily both destroy the other
Internationalism:
calls for the US to take an active role of leadership in world affairs
Self Determination:
all countries have the opportunity to choose for themselves the type of gov they desire
Manifest Destiny:
occupy all land from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Domino Effect:
if one country falls the communism, the neighboring countries will also
Dollar Diplomacy:
Pres Taft American military should be used to protect private business affairs overseas
Containment:
George Kennan stop communism in its tracks
Deterrence:
if the US and her allies are strong enough militarily, our enemies will not dare to attack us
Monroe Doctrine:
all European nations must stay out of the Western Hemisphere
Isolationism:
avoid all entangling political and military alliances around the world. 100-150 years.
Selective Engagement:
Obama choose the situation we want to become involved in
Collective Security:
the US should join a worldwide community of nations NATO
Détente:
Henry Kissinger & Nixon ease tension with Soviets and open up trade with them
Bush Doctrine:
aggressively dealing with countries that give in to terrorist groups
Theocracy:
Politics and Religion are one in the same
Benevolent Neutrality:
the government should support religion but still remain neutral; doesn’t choose side
