The State & Government Flashcards
This is an organized political community under a government.
State
This refers to the people who constitute the state, often citizens. It may include individuals residing outside the state’s borders.
Population
This includes the land, natural resources, and airspace within a country’s jurisdiction.
Territory
This is the capacity of a state to self-govern without external influence or interference. It is closely related to the concept of self-rule.
Sovereignty
This is the mechanism through which a state’s will is expressed and enforced and ensures societal order.
Government
This is often a symbolic figure representing the state’s unity and cultural identity.
Head of State
This official is responsible for actual policy development and implementation.
Head of Government
Ruled by a single individual; assisted by a bureaucracy of ministers, court officials, and local governors.
Monarchy
The monarch’s power is restricted by a constitution, leading to limited executive power.
Constitutional Monarchy
Power is concentrated in a small group of social, economic and intellectual elites.
Oligarchy
Ruled by a group of nobles.
Aristocracy
Refers to a social class between royalty and commonfolk.
Nobility
A system of government where supreme power is vested in the people and exercised through a system of representation, typically involving periodic free and fair elections.
Democracy
The President is the highest official and head of the executive branch; there is a separate branch for legislation, based on a congressional system.
Presidential Democracy
A legislative body that has one chamber.
Unicameral Legislature
A legislative body that has two chambers.
Bicameral Legislature
This government is headed by a Prime Minister; who is aided by a Cabinet chosen from among legislators in the parliament.
Parliamentary Democracy
A hybrid system that combines elements of both presidential and parliamentary democracies.
Presidential-Parliamentary Democracy
Power is divided between a central federal government and member states, each with its own democratic processes.
Federal Democracy
A government ruled by an individual with absolute power and no legal restraints.
Tyranny
A form of government where the military holds power, often established through a rebellion or coup d’état.
Military Junta
