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OU Fall Classes 24' Decks > POLS Study Guide (Final Exam) > Flashcards

POLS Study Guide (Final Exam) Flashcards

1
Q

What is political ideology?

A

A system of beliefs and values about how a society and government should function.

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2
Q

What is political culture?

A

The shared attitudes, norms, and values, toward politics and governance within a society.

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3
Q

What are similarities of political ideology and culture?

A

Both deal with ideas and beliefs about governance and society. They shape political behavior and influence decision-making.

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4
Q

How are political ideology and political culture different?

A

Political ideology is the specific structure and plan for governance as outlined by its adhering constituents.

Political culture is a broad term for the general attitudes and norms that prevail within a society without necessarily prescribing action.

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5
Q

What is classical liberalism?

A

Political ideology focusing on individual freedom, limited government, and free markets.

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6
Q

What is social conservatism?

Current conservatives. Rooted in Christian ethics and nuclear family.

A

Belief system promoting traditional values, social stability, and moral order, often rooted in religion or cultural heritage.

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7
Q

What is traditional conservatism?

A

An ideology valuing established institutions, social order, and gradual change to preserve stability.

Broader and and includes philosophical considerations where social conservatives are more focused on moralism.

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8
Q

List three alternative ideologies and briefly describe each.

A
  • Libertarianism - Emphasizes individual liberty, minimal govt. and personal choice.
  • Liberalism - Advocates for individual rights, equal oppotunity, and limited role of gov. in personal freedom.
  • Progressivism - Suports social reform, gov. intervention in economy, and equality to address societal inequities.
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9
Q

What is a political party?

A

Group of people sharing common beliefs and goals who seek to gain political power by winning elections and influencing gov. policy.

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10
Q

What does PID stand for?

A

PID refers to the political party which an individual is affiliated with.

Determined by political party that an individual most commonly supports through voting or other means.

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11
Q

What are some general functions of political parties?

A

Nominating Candidates
Facilitating Elections
Formulating Policies
Educating Citizens
Promoting Governance
Building Coalitions

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12
Q

What is a caucus?

A

Meeting of party members to select candidates and build consensus.

Adopted for grassroots participation and direct political discussion.

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13
Q

What is a party convention?

A

A formal meeting to nominate candidates and unify party members.

Adopted to allow for structured large scale coordination of party goals - revealing the party platform.

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14
Q

What is a direct primary?

A

An election allowing voters to directly select candidates.

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15
Q

What’s the difference between an open and closed primary?

A

Open: Any registered voter can vote; regardless of party affiliation

Closed: Only registered party members can vote in their party’s primary.

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16
Q

What is a two-party presidential system?

A

A system with two major parties; the president is elected separately from the legislature.

Winner take all system.

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17
Q

What is a multi-party parliamentary system?

A

A system with mutiple parties; the executive is chosen from the majority party or coalition in the legislature.

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18
Q

What is proportional representation?

A

A voting system where seats in the legislature are allocated based on their share of the vote, allowing for broader representation.

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19
Q

What is the difference between proportional representation and a single-member, winner-take-all system of voting?

A

Proportional: multiple parties can win seats based on their share of the vote.

Winner-take-all: candidate with most votes wins. Leads to wasted voter syndome among third party voters.

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20
Q

How did political parties originate?

A

They emerged in the late 18th century from factions like the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans in response to differing views on governance.

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21
Q

What is realignment?

A

A significant shift in political support, often involving changes in party dominance or major voter group alignments.

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22
Q

What is alignment?

A

The agreement or association of individuals or groups with a particular political party or ideology.

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23
Q

What is a realigning election?

A

An election that results in significant shift in party alignment, voter demographics, or party dominance.

Often redifines political priorities and loyalites, and is rare in the US (Only five widely recognized realigning elections - 1800,1828, 1860, 1896, 1932).

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24
Q

What is a single member district?

A

An electoral district that elects one representative to a legislative body.

Based on census population for house members.

States can lose or gain house seats. Ohio has lost seats recently.

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25
Q

How does a single-member district fit into the winner take all system?

A

The candidate with the most votes wins the seat, outright. Favors two dominant parties.

26
Q

How many electoral votes are there? How is this number determined (broken down)?

A
  • There are a total of 538 electoral votes.
  • States are allocated electoral votes based on their population (minmum of 3 for each state)
  • A candidate need a majority of 270 votes to win
  • Representatives for each state are selected according to district population.
  • Each state has 2 senators.
  • DC counts as three electoral votes (23rd amendment)
27
Q

What are safe seats in politics?

A

Districts where a party or candidate consistently wins due to strong majority.

Safe seats rarely change due to incumbency being most safe. Held seats tend to remain held:
* voter are familiar
* track records appeal to voters
* atrract more donations
* constituent loyalty through targeted aid
* gerrymandering
* challengers lack resources and support

28
Q

What are coattail effects?

A

When a popular candidate boosts down ballot candidates of the same party.

29
Q

What is franking priviledge?

A

Ability of members of Congress to send mail to constituents without paying postage.

30
Q

What is dark money?

A

Funds from undisclosed sources, often funneled through nonprofits, influencing campaigns without transparency.

Issue: Lack of tranpsarency allows individuals to influence elections anonymously; preventing voters from knowing who is funding political messages.

Ex. nonprofit running issue ads without revealing donors. ‘In the dark.”

31
Q

What is soft money?

A

Unregulated money for party-building - not for direct support of candidates.

Ex. Donations for voter registration drives.

32
Q

What are Super PACs?

A

Independent expenditure-only groups that can raise unlimited money but cannot coordinate directly with candidates.

33
Q

What is hard money?

A

Regulated contributions directly given to candidates, subject to legal limits.

Ex. 2800 donated directly to campaign.

34
Q

What is interested money?

A

Contributions from groups or individuals with vested interests in policy outcomes.

Ex. Big oil donating to pro-energy policy group.

35
Q

What is the BCRA?

A

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. (2002)

Also known as the McCain-Feingold Act, sought to control soft money and increase transparency. Was weakened by Citizens UNited v. FEC. (2010)

36
Q

What is an example of a dark money loophole?

A

Undisclosed donors can contribute to non-profit groups who then donate to campaigns; exploiting the law and allowing massive funds to influence elections, secretly.

37
Q

Name three variables that shaped the 2022 midterm election.

A
  • Biden’s approval rating
  • Covid-19 Response
  • Inflation
38
Q

What is rational choice theory?

A

Voting is aligned with policy reflecting personal preferences.

39
Q

What is economical self-interest theory?

A

Voters prioritize policiy that alisgns with their financial well-being.

40
Q

What is retrospective voting theory?

A

Voting based on incumbent or party’s past performance.

41
Q

What is prospective voting theory?

A

Voting based on candidate’s future promises or proposed policies.

42
Q

What is issue salience theory?

A

Voter focus on issues that are personally meaningful or most visible to them.

43
Q

When voting, how does PID act as a guide?

A

Party loyalty influences voting behavior, as voter trust their party’s general issue positions.

44
Q

What is vote dillution?

A

The practice of reducing the power of a particular group, often by manipulating electoral district boundaries - as in, gerrymandering.

Cracking, and packing are examples

45
Q

Gerrymandering: What is meant by “cracking”, and “packing”?

A

cracking: splitting (minority) voters into multiple districts.

Packing: concentrating (minority) oppositional voters into a single district to limit influence across districts.

46
Q

What is the main difference between a delegate and a trustee?

A

A delegate is a direct representative of their constituents’ opinions and votes - regardless of their personal views. Based on popular will.

A trustee relies on their own judgment based on expertise - regardless if it contradicts their constituents’ immediate desires. Based on long-term implications.

47
Q

What is reapportionment?

A

The process of redistributing congressional seats among states based on the latest census data

48
Q

What is redistricting?

A

The process of drawing or redrawing electoral district boundaries within a state or jurisdiction.

Ensures districts have roughly equal populations and represent changes in demographics or population shifts

49
Q

What is a conference committee?

A

Committee comprised of members of both congressional chambers to reconcile differences in versions of a bill.

50
Q

What is a discharge petition?

A

Procedure forcing a bill out of committee to the floor for debate and vote. Requires 218 Signatures (majority of house).

51
Q

What is a rider?

A

Provision, amendment, or clause added to a bill that is usually unrelated to the main purpose of the bill.

Riders are often used to attach political advantageous measures to otherwise popular or essential legislation.

52
Q

What is cloture?

A

Legislative procedure to end a filibuster in the Senate by a 3/5ths majority (60 out of 100).

53
Q

Which amendment limits the president to two terms in office, or a maximum of eight years?

A

22nd

54
Q

What is a pocket veto?

A

Presidential veto of a bill that occurs by ignoring the bill for 10 calendar days. The president “puts the bill in his pocket and forgets about it.”

55
Q

What is a line item veto?

A

Power of the president to remove specific provisions or “lines” from a spending bill without rejecting the whole bill. allows for selective spending approval by the President.

56
Q

What is the honeymoon effect?

A

Initial period after a president takes office when they expericne high public approvall ratings and strong legislative support from Congress.

Why it matters: Allows president to prioritize major intiatives without significant political opposition. It ends when challenged by opposition or public controversy.

57
Q

What are some examples of rally points?

A

Crisis such as 9/11, WWII victory, Space exploration success, etc. They rally the union together in light of great success or substantial effort.

58
Q

Oragnize the structure of the US federal court system from lowest to highest court.

A

U.S. District Courts (Trial Courts), U.S. Court of Appelas (Appellate Courts), Supreme Court (Highest Court).

59
Q

What is meant by judicial restraint?

A

Principle that says judge should limit their own power by adhering strictly to he Contitution and deferring to elected officials - unless it clearly violates the Constitution.

60
Q

What is Judicial Activism?

A

It is the idea that judges should take an active role in shaping public policy by interpreting the Constitution in a broad, flexible way.

61
Q

What two ways can a case reach Supreme Court?

A

Appeal from a lower federal court, or appeal from a State Supreme Court.

62
Q

What is a docket?

A

Organizes case schedules and provides transparency.

Official list of cases to be heard in court, or a specific list of proceedings assigned to a judge.

OU Fall Classes 24' Decks (13 decks)

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