Principles of Civil Society Flashcards
Conventional Political Participation
This type includes traditional or expected political participation, such as voting. Other examples include donating to a campaign, volunteering for a campaign, and even serving in public office.
Unconventional Political Participation
This type includes activities that are sometimes considered to be inappropriate but are not illegal. Examples of unconventional political participation include boycotts, demonstrations, and protests.
Illegal Political Participation
This type of political participation includes activities that are specifically prohibited by law. Examples of illegal participation include sabotage, vandalism, wiretapping, forgery, and any act of terrorism.
Economic Interest Groups
Economic interest groups are the most numerous type of all interest groups formed and include groups who mirror the major economic groups of the American economy. These include business groups and trade associations, agricultural interest groups, labor unions, and interest groups of professionals.
Public Interest Groups
Public interest groups exist to promote the best interests of the overall community and national good rather than the narrow interests of a particular group; such as environmental protections, civil rights, and public safety concerns.
Foreign Government Interest Groups
Foreign government interest groups lobby the U.S. government when vital legislation affecting their trade interests is considered. The governments of the largest U.S. trading partners, such as Japan, South Korea, Canada, and the European Union, all maintain lobbying staffs within the U.S.
Lobbyist
A lobbyist is an individual or a group of individuals that are hired to influence government officials, legislators, and agencies based on the best interests of their clients.
Political Action Committees (PACs)
Political Action Committees, commonly referred to as PACs, are special interest groups that influence candidates or political parties through money. PACs, such as the National Rifle Association, the American Medical Association, or antiabortion groups, are focused on a particular area of interest.
Pluralist Model of Political Power Theory
The pluralist model, as described by sociologists, is all about negotiation, and power is distributed among competing interest groups. No one group gets all the power, but instead, alliances are forged among interest groups working toward the same goal. (See Power-Elite Model of Political Power Theory.)
Power-Elite Model of Political Power Theory
In the power-elite model, sociologists argue that the majority of the power is held by the wealthy. In this case, the wealthy refers to businesses, government, and the military. Due to the distribution of the power to a few, it is argued that the average person cannot have his or her voice heard. (Pluralist Model of Political Power Theory.)
Max Webber - Tripartite Classification of Authority (Sociopolitical Power)
Max Weber (1864-1920) distinguished three ideal types of legitimate political leadership, domination, and authority. He wrote about these three types of domination in both his essay ‘The Three Types of Legitimate Rule’, which was published in his masterwork ‘Economy and Society’ (German: 1922; English: 1968), and in his classic speech ‘Politics as a Vocation’. Charismatic Authority: Character, heroism, leadership, and religious. Traditional Authority: Patriarchs, patrimonialism, and feudalism. Rational-Legal authority: Modern law and state, and bureaucracy.
Tripartite Classification of Authority (Sociopolitical Power) [Webber] - Charismatic Authority
Charismatic Authority: Character, heroism, leadership, and religious. Here, the charisma of the individual or the leader plays the important part. It is the authority which is derived from the gift of grace or when the leader claims that this authority is derived from a “higher power” (e.g. God or natural law or rights) or “inspiration”, and followers accept this and are willing to follow this hitherto or inspired authority, in the place of authority that they have hitherto been following.
Tripartite Classification of Authority (Sociopolitical Power) [Webber] - Traditional Authority
Traditional Authority: Patriarchs, patrimonialism, and feudalism. It is derived from long established customs, habits, and social structures. When power passes from one generation to another generation, then it is called traditional authority. The best example is the right of hereditary monarchs to rule a country.
Tripartite Classification of Authority (Sociopolitical Power) [Webber] - Rational-Legal Authority
Rational-Legal authority: Modern law, state, and bureaucracy. It is the form of authority which depends for its legitimacy or formal rule and established laws of the state, which are usually written and often complex. The power of rational-legal is outlined a constitution. Modern states depend on rational-legal authority. Government officials are the best example of this form of authority.
Voter Apathy
Voter apathy is when a voter feels that his or her vote doesn’t matter, so they lose interest in the political process and stop voting. When there is low voter turnout on Election Day, apathy is the perceived cause.
