Terms Flashcards
Analytical approach
perspective that views politics as an empirical (that can be observed) discipline, rather than a science; argues that politics cannot be broken down into parts, but must be seen comprehensively.
Authoritarianism:
political system requiring absolute obedience to a constituted authority.
Behaviouralism:
perspective that concentrates on the “tangible” aspects of political life, rather than values; objective was to establish a discipline that was “scientific” and objective.
Citizenship
status granted to people that comes with responsibilities and duties as well as rights.
Comparative approach:
method of political analysis that compares different systems of political authority, based on system type, time period, or form of leadership.
Conflict:
differences in preferred outcomes among social groups.
Conflict resolution:
process in domestic or international affairs that attempts to reconcile antagonism (either existing or potential) through the use of mediation and negotiation.
Decision-making:
mechanism or pattern of relations involving different levels of government in which determinations and judgements regarding the governance of the political system are made (sometimes referred to as the “black box”).
Empirical
analysis based not on concepts and theory, but on what can be observed or experimented upon.
Ethnic and religious conflict:
war or opposition among different racial, linguistic, or religious groups.
Ethnocentrism
belief that one’s culture or group is superior to others or that other cultures or groups must be examined in relation to one’s own.
Globalization
the intensification of economic, political, social, and cultural relations across borders.
Government:
the institutions and people responsible for carrying out the affairs and administration of a political system.
Influence
the ability to change behaviour in others without exerting direct power over them.
International politics:
the study of foreign policy and relations among states and other actors at the international level; also called international relations.
Levels of analysis
approach to political studies that suggests that accurate analysis must be inclusive of international, domestic, and individual arenas of interaction.
Liberal democracy:
political system based freedom and individual liberty, and on the principle that governance requires the assent of all citizens through participation in the electoral process, articulation of views, and direct or indirect representation in governing institutions.
Most different systems:
method of comparative analysis that examines political systems that share no (or few) common features yet have similar outcome or phenomena.
Most similar systems:
method of comparative analysis that examines political systems that have common features in an effort to identify different variables.
Multiculturalism:
peaceful coexistence of several racial, cultural, or ethnic identities in one nation.
Multinational corporations (MNCs):
corporate bodies that operate in more than one country.
Non-governmental organization (NGO):
non-profit group organized on a local, national, or international level.
Political economy:
approach that views political and economic spheres as harmonious and mutually dependent perceptions of the world; relationship between people, government, and the economy.
Political studies:
formal study of politics within and among nations.
Post-behaviouralism:
approach that attempted to reconcile the problems of behaviouralism by allowing for values and ideology in its analysis.
Power
ability to achieve goals in a political system and to have others do as you wish them to.
Protectionism
tendency of countries to safeguard their own economic sectors or industries through tariffs, quotas, or other forms of trade and investment legislation.
Public goods:
resources that are present in a political system whose use by one individual should not affect use by others.
Social sciences:
scientific study of human society and social relationships.
Socialization:
process whereby individuals act in a social manner; creation of social and political authority and rules to regulate behaviour and thus permit operation of social units.
Structural-functionalism:
approach that focuses on the role of political structures and their functions in society.
Subjective reality:
perspective of reality that is influenced by our personal experiences and bias.
Systems theory
approach that views politics as a system of interaction, binding political structures, such as government to individual action; argues that politics is a dynamic process of information flows and responses that encompasses political institutions, groups, and individuals.
Traditional approach:
method in politics drawing heavily on fields of law, philosophy, and history and relying on subjective evaluation of the observer; also called the analytical approach
Agency
individual or group action in a social context.
Authority
the power or right to force obedience.
Community
social, political, cultural, and economic ties that bind individuals to one another.
Concept
general idea emerging from events or instances.
Body politic:
entirety of a political community.
Democracy
political system based on the principle that governance requires the assent of all citizens through participation in the electoral process, articulation of views, and direct or indirect representation in governing institutions.
Duties
related to rights; responsibilities to protect rights.
Economic justice:
redistribution of economic resources from certain groups in society to others
Equality
parity in a political system.
Freedom
ability to act without constraint.
Identity
a person’s understanding and expression of their individuality or group membership.
Institutions
groupings that have developed to attend to particular societal needs.
International system:
system of two or more actors that interact regularly in the global arena, using established processes in given issue areas.
Justice
state of affairs involving the maintenance of what is morally right and fair within a society.
Laws
rules imposed on society by the governing authority.
Leadership
group of individuals that lead society.
Legislation
laws enacted by governing authority.
Legitimacy
what is lawful, appropriate, proper, and conforms to the standards of a political system.
Liberty
freedom from despotic control.
Licence
unlimited freedom to do as one pleases.
Monarchy
form of government by a single ruler who holds at least nominally absolute power.
Nation
group of persons who share an identity that is based on, but not limited to, shared ethnic, religious, cultural, or linguistic qualities.
Nation-state:
autonomous political unit of people who share a predominant common culture, language, ethnicity, or history.
Negative liberty:
areas of activity in which governments do not interfere and an individual is free to choose.
Order
condition in which both units and interaction within a political system are marked by regularity and stability with the imposition of accepted and enforced rules, structures, and practices.
Organizations:
structured relations existing within a political community that are established to distribute both the responsibilities and the privileges that arise from formal association with others.
Policy
laws or principle of performance adopted by a government.
Positive liberty:
freedom to achieve one’s full potential
Progress
advancement in society towards a better and improved state of affairs; an integral element of liberal political theory.
Rights
socially acceptable, morally correct, just and fair privileges granted to members of a political community.
Security
freedom from danger or injury.
Separation of powers:
division of powers among several government institutions (e.g. legislature, executive) to avoid concentration of authority.
Social justice
equitable distribution of goods and values in society.
Social order:
recognized structure of power, responsibility, and liberty.
Sovereignty
recognition by other political authorities that a government is legitimate and rightful for a political community.
State
a recognized political unit, considered to be sovereign, with a defined territory and people, and a central government administration responsible for administration.
System
a group of individual entities or actors that interact with each other to form an integrated whole.
Tyranny
government by a single ruler who often exercises arbitrary power for his or her own benefit rather than that of the community.
Values
principles, standards; what an individual or community esteems as meaningful.
War
use of armed forces in conflict with an enemy.
Welfare
legislation or social action taken to provide citizens with physical, financial, health, or other
assistance.
Bourgeois
according to socialists such as Marx, the property-owning class that exploits the working class (proletariat).
Caliphate
government inspired by Islam that rules over its subjects using Islamic law.
Capitalism
economic system in which production and distribution of goods rely on private capital and investment.
Cold War:
period of rhetorical, non-violent hostility; most often used as a reference to the period of 1945–91 and the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Communism
political theory based on writings of Marx and Engels that espouses class conflict to form a system where all property is publicly owned and each citizen works to his or her own best ability and is compensated equitably.
Confucianism
philosophy and political thought of Confucius that stresses social harmony, obedience, and morality.
Dialectics
in Marxism, points where ideas and processes throughout history come up against each other and form a new reality
General will: the will of the community as a whole.
Ideology
set or system of ideas that form the basis of a political or economic system and provide guidance and direction for political leadership.
Invisible hand:
Adam Smith’s notion that economic forces left on their own would lead to maximize efficiency and economic growth over time as they engage in competition against each other; benefits to society as a whole exist without political interference.
