test 1 Flashcards
politics
the struggle over power or influence within organizations or informal groups that can grant or withold benefits or privileges.
institution
an ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society and that has a life seperate from the lives of the individuals who are part of it at any given moment in time.
government
the preeminent institution within a society. government has the ultimate authority to decide how conflicts will be resolved and how benefits and privileges will be allocated.
order
a state of peace and security.maintaining order by protecting members of society from violence and criminal activity is the oldest purpose of government.
liberty
the greatest freedom of the individual that is consistent with the freedom of other individuals in the society.
authority
the right and power of a government or other entity to enforce its decisions and compel obedience.
legitimacy
popular acceptance of the right and power of a government or other entity to exercise authority
totalitarian regime
a form of government that controls all aspects of the political, social, and economic life of a nation.
Authoritarianism
a type of regime in which only the government itself is fully controlled by the ruler. Social and economic institutions exist that are not under the government’s control.
democracy
a system of government in which political authority is vested in the people.
Direct democray
A system of government in which political decisions are made by the people directly, rather than by their elected representatives
Legislature
A governmental body primarily responsible for the making of laws
Initiative
A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment.
Referendum
An electoral device whereby legislative or constitutional measures are referred by the legislature to the voters for approval or disapproval
Recall
A procedure allowing the people to vote to dismiss an elected official from office before his or her term has expired
Republic
A form of government in which sovereign power rests with the people, rather than with a king or a monarch.
Popular sovereignty
The concept that ultimate political authority is based on the will of the people.
Democratic Republic
A republic in which representatives elected by the people make and enforce laws and policies.
Representative Democracy
A form of government in which representatives elected by the people make and enforce laws and policies, but in which the monarchy may be retained in a ceremonial role.
Universal Suffrage
The right of all adults to vote for their representatives.
Majority rule
A basic principle of democracy asserting that the greates number of citizens in any political unit should select officials and determine policies.
Limited government
A government with powers that are limited either through a written document or through widely shared beliefs.
Majoritarianism
A political theory holding that in a democracy, the government ought to do what the majority of the people want
Elite theory
The argument that society is ruled by a small number of people who exercise power to further their self interests.
Pluralism
A theory that views politics as a conflict among interest groups. Political decison making is characterized by bargaining and compromise.
Political culture
The patterned set of ideas, values, and ways of thinking about government and politics that characterize a people.
Political Socialization
The process by which people acquire political beliefs and values
Civil liberties
Those personal freedoms, including freedom of religion and of speech, that are protected for all individuals in a society.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Equality
As a political value, the idea that all people are of equal worth.
Property
Anything that is or may be subject to ownership. As conceived by the political philosopher John Locke, the right to property is a natural right superior to human law( laws made by government).
Capitalism
An economic system characterized by the private ownership of wealth- creating assets, free markets, and freedom of contract.
Political ideology
A comprehensive set of beliefs about the nature of politics and the role of government.
Conservatism
A set of beliefs that includes advocacy of a limited role for the national government in helping individuals, support for traditional values and lifestyles, and a cautious response to change.
Conservative movement
An American movement launched in the 1950’s that provides a comprehensive ideological framework for conservative politics.
Liberalism
A set of beliefs that includes advocacy of positive government action to improve the welfare of individuals, support for civil rights, and tolerance for political and social change.
Socialism
A political ideology based on strong support for economic and social equality. Socialists traditionally envisioned a society in which major businesses were taken over by the government or by employee cooperatives.
Libertarianism
A political ideology based on skepticism or opposition toward most government activities.
Progressive
a popular alternative to the term liberal.
Representative Assembly
A legislature composed of individuals who represent the population.
Natural rights
Rights held to be inherent in natural law, not dependent on governments. John Locke stated that natural law, being superior to human law, specifies certain rights of ‘‘life, liberty, and property.’’ These rights altered to become ‘‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,’’ are asserted in the Decleration of Independence.
Social Contract
A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules.
Unicameral Legislature
A legislature with only one legislative chamber, as opposed to a bicameral (two chamber) legislature, such as the U.S. Congress. Today Nebraska is the only state in the Union with a unicameral legislature.
Confederation
A political system in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except for those powers they expressly delegate to a central government.
State
A group of people occupying a specific area and organized under one government. It may be either a nation or a subunit of a nation.
Bicameral Legislature
A legislature made up of two parts, called chambers. The U.S. Congress, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, is a bicameral legislature.3edfj,xcmvcmx,
Supremacy Doctrine
A doctrine that asserts the priority of national law over state laws. This principle is stated in Article VI of the Constitutiton.
Great Compromise
The compromise between the New Jersey and Virginia plans that created one chamber of the Congress based on population and one chamber representing each state equally; also called the Connecticut Compromise.
Separation of Powers
The principle of dividing governmental powers among different branches of government.
Madisonian Model
A structure of government proposed by James Madison, in which the powers of the government are separated into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
Checks and Balances
A major principle of the American system of government whereby each branch of the government can check the actions of the others.
Electoral college
A group of persons, called electors, that officially elects the president and the vice president of the United States. The electors are selected by the voters in each state and in the District of Columbia.
Federalist
An individual who was in favor of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and the creation of a federal union with a strong central government.
Anti- Federalist
An individual who opposed the ratification of the new Constitution in 1787. The Anti- Federalists were opposed to a strong central government.
Judicial Review
The power of the Supreme Court or any court to examine and possibly declare unconstitutional federal or state laws and other acts of government.
What are the four major principles of the U.S. Constitution
- seperation of power. 2. federalism 3. limited government. 4. checks and balances
in what four ways has the constitution adopted
- Supreme court decisons. 2. legislation. 3. amendments 4. development of political parties.
what three things did the constitution do.
- establish government 2. distributed powers 3. restrained government.
what happened at watergate?
Group called plumbers broke into watergate hotel. TO find out what democrats were up to.
who was involved in water gate?
Nixon’s group plumbers, CREEP (committee to reelect the president. Nixon
What happened during the iran contra affair?
Cia sold arms to enterprise. enterprise sold arms to Iran to send to contras in Nicaragua. Reagan supported this.
Who was involved in Iran Contra?
U.S., Iran, Nicaragua, Regean, secret government
what was the boland amendment?
three amendments from 1982-1984 helped stop aid to contras.
what year was the CIA formed?
1947
What year was the national security council formed
1947
what is the definiton of plausible deniability?
eliminating paper trail or evidence so that nothing can be tied back to who it originated from.
what does nuremburg refer to?
rallies and trials against the nazis.
who is Klaus Barbie?
French Nazi know as a butcher
what did the gulf of tonkin resolution declare.
only congress could declare war
what is the savak?
Shai of Iran. secret police
enterprise
to control money buy weapons and sell them to contras
cold war
1945-1989 US and Russian in a proxy war.
zyklon B
poisonous gas used by Nazis
What were the plumbers?
clandestine group formed by nixon to stop leaks.
what did the national security act of 1947 do?
set up the CIA and national security council
